Floyd Mayweather Reacts When Asked If He’d Do Bible Study With Pacquiao

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Floyd Mayweather Reacts When Asked If He’d Do Bible Study With Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Youtube Screenshot/ file

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao have a stare-down at the first and only press conference for their May 2 fight

Christian Post Report – Floyd Mayweather, who defeated Manny Pacquiao Saturday night in their welterweight title bout, reacted when asked during his post-fight press conference if he had been invited by the Filipino professional boxer to Bible study and whether he’d be willing to take it up.

“A lot of people tried to turn this fight into good vs. evil, and I didn’t really wanna entertain that,” Mayweather said at the press conference when asked the question, according to Fox Sports.

Pacquiao, a vocal Christian, had earlier said he wanted to teach Mayweather a lesson. “To be a good person, to be an example for everybody. To let him know that there is God and we should humble ourselves before God,” he told Balitanghali. “After the fight if I have a chance, I can share the gospel. I can share the Word of God,” he said

Mayweather, an American professional boxer who remains undefeated as a professional and is a five-division world champion, said Pacquiao wasn’t perfect either, as “nobody’s perfect.”

However, he praised Pacquiao after the fight. “I take my hat off to Manny Pacquiao. I see now why he is at the pinnacle of boxing,” Mayweather said. “I knew he was going to push me, win some rounds. I wasn’t being hit with a lot of shots until I sit in a pocket and he landed a lot of shots.”

At the press conference, Mayweather was also asked if his criminal past would have a bearing on his boxing career. “Only God can judge me,” he said.

Pacquiao had said “thank you” to Mayweather at the end of the staredown.

Pacquiao also thanked God before the flight. “Everything I have accomplished, God has given me this strength,” Pacquiao told reporters at a pre-fight press conference, according to The Telegraph. “I used to sleep in the street, hungry, and I cannot imagine that the Lord raised me to this level of life.”

Pacquiao fought while his right shoulder had been injured during training, and his request to take an anti-inflammatory shot in his dressing room before the fight had been denied.

Pacquiao felt he had won the fight, as some of his left hands seemed to shake Mayweather. “I thought I won the fight. He didn’t do nothing except move outside,” Pacquiao was quoted as saying. “I got him many times.”

Pacquiao recently recounted in a media interview how his life changed after he heard the voice of God and saw two angels, and has said he wants the world to know “there is only one way of salvation, only through Jesus Christ.”

Pacquiao, the 14th highest paid athlete in the world as of 2013 according to Forbes, had earlier said he doesn’t take credit for his devotion to God. “I’m really thankful that God has given me this kind of a heart.”

Source : Christian Post

Squeezing the Church for Political Ends

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Squeezing the Church for Political Ends
Squeezing the Church For Political Ends

The biggest news from Tuesday’s Supreme Court arguments isn’t news at all to conservatives: Same-sex “marriage” is a threat to religious freedom. For once, that revelation didn’t come from one of the lawyers on our side but from the Obama administration’s own attorney. In a rare moment of candor, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli sent a clear signal on where this debate is headed, and it isn’t to the marriage altar.

Christian Post Report – As the President’s chief attorney made stunningly clear, redefining marriage is — and has never been — the end goal of homosexuals. Silencing dissent is. And you can’t silence dissent without punishing speech and belief — which is apparently what the government has in mind if the Court rules in the Left’s favor.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/man-on-admission-obama-lawyer-donald-verrilli-reveals-taxing-truth-138478/#h1QRWlwzxX8x9TWj.99

Source : Christian Post

What Will You Be Remembered For?

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“‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.'”
— Revelation 14:13
What is heaven like? What will we do when we get there? The Bible has answers to all of that.

  • Greg Laurie
    (Photo: rever Hoehne for Harvest Ministries)
    Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California, shares the Gospel with a sold-out crowd of 19,000 for Harvest America at the American Airlines Center and Victory Park in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 5, 2014.

Christian Post Report – 1. Heaven is a place of rejoicing.

“Blessed are the dead . . .”

As much as we may miss our loved ones who have gone before us to heaven, we need to know that they are in pure bliss. The apostle Paul died and went to heaven and was brought back to life. Paul said he longed to go there—because it is “far better” (Philippians 1:23).

Adrian Rogers, who is now in heaven, once wrote, “Consider the artistry that God has put into Heaven.” In his commentary on Revelation he wrote these words, “The God who sculpted the wings of the butterfly, blended the hues of the rainbow, and painted the meadows with daffodils is the same who made Heaven.”

2. Heaven is a place of rest.

“That they may rest from their labors . . .”

We will have a permanent rest from our labors in heaven. The curse will be gone, and we will no longer have to work “by the sweat of our brow” (Genesis 3:19), but we will still be busy for the Lord! Our work is not over when we leave this earth; it continues in heaven and on the new earth.

3. Heaven is a place of reward.

“And their works follow them.”

You cannot work your way into heaven, for it is a gift of God to each of us. However, the Bible teaches that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).

Your “works will follow you.” One day, in your memorial service, no one will care about how successful you were in business or how much money you had. People will talk about your character, your merciful acts, and love for others. Make sure you have some “good works” to follow you to that day.

So let’s press forward—continuing to serve the Lord during our short time here on earth, knowing that eternity will be a time of rejoicing, rest, and reward!

Copyright © 2015 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000

Used with Permission

Source : Christian Post

United Methodist Church Considering New Process for Homosexuality Debate

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United Methodist Church Considering New Process for Homosexuality Debate
United Methodist (Photo: UMNS/Paul Jeffrey)

Dozens of demonstrators demanding a more inclusive church hold vigil at the edge of the May 3 session of the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida.

Christian Post Report – The United Methodist Church is considering a new process for proposals given at General Conference for agenda items pertaining to the debate over the denomination’s stance on homosexuality.

The Commission on General Conference, which plans the regular Church legislative gathering, proposed something called a “Group Discernment Process,” according to Heath Hahn of the United Methodist News Service.

“Under the plan, the first stop of all sexuality-related petitions would not be legislative committees. Instead, all 864 delegates would review the petitions in small groups with no more than 15 members,” reported Hahn.

“The groups would each have geographical, linguistic, ethnic, gender and age diversity, along with a mix of clergy and lay people … The commission asks each small group to make recommendations on the petition. Members will have the opportunity to review and sign the recommendations.”

According to the Book of Discipline, which is an important governing document for the UMC, homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

The Discipline further defines marriage as between one man and one woman, bars clergy from performing same-sex weddings, and allows for homosexuals to be ordained provided they remain celibate.

Over the past several years, the UMC has debated whether or not to maintain these official positions, with some groups lobbying for those parts of the Discipline to be changed.

At the last General Conference, held in 2012, an amendment to the Discipline that would have replaced the “incompatible” language with an “agree to disagree” statement failed.

As the debate over the Discipline language continues, some have wondered aloud if the UMC will experience a schism over the theological differences.

As part of the Group Discernment Process model, Commission members hope that more moderate voices on the debate will get heard.

“One goal is to bring out the ‘middle voices’ — those who typically don’t sign up for the legislative committees that deal with human sexuality and don’t speak up once debate gets going,” reported Hahn.

“Commission members, who themselves have varying theological views on homosexuality, don’t have a particular outcome in mind for the process …”

John Lomperis, director of the United Methodist Action Program at the Institute on Religion & Democracy, told The Christian Post that he will have “a fuller opinion when the details of the plan are finalized and publicized.”

“Genuine dialogue requires an interest from all sides in actually listening to the other. Our church has bent over backwards to listen to and accommodate a loud minority who dissent from biblical, historic, and official United Methodist teaching about marriage and sexual self-control,” said Lomperis.

“But many activist liberal United Methodists have made it perfectly clear that they are simply not interested in hearing what the Bible, the church, or anyone else who disagrees with them has to say on such matters.”

The top lawmaking body for the UMC, General Conference meets every four years. Its next meeting is scheduled for May 10-20, 2016 in Portland, Oregon.

Source : Christian Post

Korean Christians Want ‘Unification Through Gospel,’ ‘Willing to Become Martyrs’ for Worship in North Korea

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Korean Christians Want ‘Unification Through Gospel,’ ‘Willing to Become Martyrs’ for Worship in North Korea
Kang Chul-ho (Photo: The Christian Post/Samuel Smith)

Pastor Kang Chul-ho, who is the first North Korean defector to be ordained as a Methodist minister, speaks at a forum on North Korean freedom at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 1, 2015.

Christian Post Report – WASHINGTON—While speaking at a North Korea Freedom Week forum on Capitol Hill Friday, the first North Korean defector to be ordained as a Methodist minister asserted that Korean Christians not only want to topple the regime of dictator Kim Jong-un but want the unification of North and South Korea to occur through the Gospel.

Kang Chul-ho, who established the first North Korean defector church congregation in South Korea and is also the vice president of the North Korean Christian Association, spoke at the forum entitled “Ending the Kim Regime’s Reign of Terror in North Korea: What Must Be Done,” and explained that the socialist regime fears the power of the North Korean defectors more than it actually fears the military strength of South Korea.

“This is our 12th meeting of North Korea Freedom Week and I come to realize more and more each time I attend these rallies, there is an important role to be played by North Korean escapees,” Kang explained. “The saying goes that Kim Jong-un in a meeting stated that he was not afraid of the 600,000 military personnel in South Korea but he was concerned about the North Korean escapees and that these escapees were a threat to the republic.”

He continued by explaining that the regime is more fearful of the those who risked their lives to leave the country in search of freedom and dignity because he knows that they eventually will come back looking to liberate their homeland, where currently, Christian worship is not tolerated.

“The problem is that South Korean people do not want to sacrifice and the church in South Korea does not want to become martyrs,” Kang said. “For North Korean escapees, we have homes back in North Korea and we are willing to sacrifice and we are willing to become martyrs.”

Kang, who escaped from North Korea into China in 1995 after witnessing his father being executed for speaking out against the regime, was first called to God by a Chinese woman that took him into her home and told him that God saved him for a reason and that he should serve God.

After going to seminary school in China and arriving in South Korea in 1997, Kang started the Saetu Church and made it the church’s mission to eventually tear down the large statue of former North Korean dictator Kim Il-Sung and plant the church in that exact spot when North Korea is finally liberated.

“What do the South Korean people want? They want peaceful unification. What do the Christians want? We want gospel in North Korea and unification through Gospel,” Kang demanded. “When it comes to peace, there has to be people who work very hard at it. When it comes to Gospel, there has been people who are willing to become martyrs for the cause.”

Because Kang has been such a vocal advocate against the human rights abuses in North Korea and has continually expressed desire to see the communist government toppled, he and other leaders of North Korean defector NGOs have faced several threats to their life from the regime. He added that he even received a threat for taking part in the North Korea Freedom Week rally that was held in Washington, D.C. and New York City this week.

“Prior to my coming to the U.S. for the freedom week rally, there was on the North Korean internet, a threat that was levied on my life and many other people who would be attending the rally and they said that they would kill us,” Kang said. “I shall not be threatened or in fear and shall stand strong because I know people are out there who are strong supporters.”

“The next North Korea Freedom Week will be held in [the North Korean capital of] Pyongyang , I believe,” Kang stated, followed by an eruptive applause.

Suzanne Scholte (Photo: The Christian Post/Samuel Smith)

Suzanne Scholte, president of the Defense Forum Foundation, shows a map of one North Korean women’s journey to escape from the North Korean sex trafficking market. Scholte hosted a delegation of North Korean defectors for a North Korea Freedom Week forum in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2015.

North Korea Freedom Week is co-chaired by Suzanne Scholte, president of the Defense Forum Foundation, who said that although no one is quite certain the regime will collapse, it will happen soon.

“A common question I get since I began in 1996 is ‘When is the regime going to collapse?’— Tomorrow!” Scholte exclaimed. “That’s exactly the way I always answer, ‘Tomorrow,’ because we don’t know when it is going to happen but we know that it is coming soon and it is coming soon because of these people who are fighting and speaking out and not forgetting those they left behind.”

A number of North Korean defector-run NGOs have helped to make significant strides in the last decade toward processing information in and out of North Korea, so that the North Korean citizens’ eyes can be opened to how abusive their government truly is to them. It is through their efforts, Scholte said, that the liberation will be possible.

“Nobody is forcing us to do this work but because we love our hometowns, we accept this work as our destiny,” Kim Young-Il, who represents the NGO called People for Successful COrean Reunification, told the audience.

“Even though these conditions are tough, we will not give up because our brothers and sisters in North Korea are facing painful political persecution and are being sent to die in detention centers,” he continued. “It is our work as North Korean defectors… is to lead in human rights work and piece together and make North Korea a society where Democracy can [live].”

Source : Christian Post

Passion for Truth Ministries Pastor Jim Staley Confesses to Cheating Investors Out of $3.3M and Pocketing $570K for Himself

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Passion for Truth Ministries Pastor Jim Staley Confesses to Cheating Investors Out of $3.3M and Pocketing $570K for Himself
Jim Staley, Passion For Truth Ministries (Photo: Screen Grab via YouTube/PassionForTruthVideo)

Jim Staley, 39, pastor of Passion For Truth Ministries in Missouri was indicted for fraud by a federal grand jury on June 18, 2014.

Christian Post Report – Passion for Truth Ministries Pastor Jim Stanley, 40, who told his St. Charles, Missouri, congregation last summer that he didn’t realize he had been arrested after a federal grand jury indicted him last June for defrauding investors, admitted in federal court Thursday that he cheated his elderly victims out of $3.3 million while making $570,000 for himself.

In a courtroom packed with supporters, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Staley, who owned a financial consulting form, pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud rather than taking his case to trial. He admitted that he cheated 16 investors, and his defense attorney, Scott Rosenblum, says his client was ashamed and “completely accepted responsibility.” The attorney stressed that the crime “had nothing to do with his role as a pastor.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Collins said some of the investors trusted Staley because he was a “nice religious man” who referred to several of them as “Grandma.”

“Seniors tend to be more trusting and give people the benefit of the doubt, particularly people who hold themselves out as religious leaders,” said Collins.

At his sentencing on July 29, Staley will face six to eight years in prison. His attorneys will reportedly ask for less.

A June 25, 2014, release from the FBI highlighted the grave details of the indictment.

“James Staley was indicted for his alleged scheme to defraud investors by making false promises of high rates of return and minimal risk. The indictment states that Staley defrauded 11 investors/lenders by causing them to invest over $3.4 million, giving him commissions totaling over $570,000,” it said.

In 2007, according to the indictment, Staley operated Wealth Financial International, the same year he started his church and the same year he became a sales agent for a premium financing company in California called B & B Equity. Staley, in his capacity as sales agent, found people to provide loans for life insurance policies.

“In many instances, several of these investor/lenders’ funds were bundled together to provide financing to purchase one life insurance policy. Staley received a commission for each investor/lender that he found to contribute financing for the purchasing of the life insurance policies.

“B & B required the lender/investor to invest in the insurance policy for a fixed period of time varying from 18 months to two years. During this period of time Staley represented to clients of Wealth Financial that B & B Premium Financing Company would sell the bundled insurance policies on the open market with guaranteed returns,” said the release.

“However, Staley was well aware that if B & B was unable to secure a buyer for the bundled insurance policies that his clients would lose all their monies invested in the premium financing product sold by B & B,” it added.

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

Breakaway South Carolina Episcopal Diocese Mulling Affiliation With Conservative Anglican Group

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Breakaway South Carolina Episcopal Diocese Mulling Affiliation With Conservative Anglican Group
St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center (Photo: Lee Marion)

St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center, located in Johns Island, South Carolina.

Christian Post Report – A diocese that broke away from The Episcopal Church in 2012 over theological and personal differences might join a prominent conservative Anglican group.

Representatives for the Diocese of South Carolina and the Anglican Church in North America met Tuesday and Wednesday about the possible affiliation.

Held at the St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center in South Carolina, the meeting was overseen by South Carolina Diocese Bishop Mark Lawrence and ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach.

  • Diocese
    (Photo: SC Diocese)
    A banner bearing the seal of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.

“The Diocese of South Carolina has been in the process for some time of discerning what its permanent affiliation should be among the Provinces of the Anglican Communion,” the Rev. Jim Lewis, canon to the ordinary and an attendee of the meeting, told The Christian Post.

“We have reached a place where it seemed the next and most appropriate step was to meet with leaders of the ACNA to share our common interests and questions as this diocese continues the work of discernment.”

Lewis also told CP that while no date has been set for a convention vote on affiliation, the diocese stands on good terms with ACNA and other conservative Anglican groups.

“Our mutual respect and appreciation for each other is considerable, with many in the room having relationships that go back for years,” said Lewis.

“Our conversations were wide ranging and provided much needed clarity for all of us. Those are conversations that will certainly continue in the future.”

In November 2012, the Diocese of South Carolina voted overwhelmingly to leave The Episcopal Church over theological differences and the purported mistreatment of Bishop Mark Lawrence.

By January 2013, legal action ensued over who owned the name and property, the breakaway diocese leadership or those within the regional body who retained allegiance to The Episcopal Church.

An injunction was granted allowing for the breakaway leadership to retain the name of the diocese during the lawsuit. Those loyal to the national denomination gave themselves the name The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

In February, Judge Diane Goodstein ruled in favor of the breakaway diocese, concluding that they and not the national denomination owned the approximately $500 million worth of property.

The Episcopal Church appealed the decision to the South Carolina Supreme Court, which in April agreed to hear the case. Arguments are scheduled for September.

The Rev. Canon Andrew K. Gross, spokesman for ACNA, told CP that the diocese was “in the early stages of exploring whether or not it would like to affiliate as a diocese with the Anglican Church in North America.”

“It was a very positive meeting. It is the first time that the key leaders have been able to sit in the same room together and ask questions face to face,” said Rev. Gross.

“It’s early days, and no one can predict where this process will lead, but there is clearly a lot that we have in common.”

Source : Christian Post

The Impact of Prayer

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1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

  • Dr. Charles F. Stanley
    (Photo: In Touch Ministries)
    Dr. Charles F. Stanley (File).

Christian Post Report – When something’s on our mind, we are wise to consult Scripture or trusted spiritual mentors. God has also given His children the privilege of prayer, and He wants us to bring our concerns directly to Him. But believers often have questions about the power and effectiveness of prayer.

Will god’s plans fail if I don’t pray? God is not subservient to us or dependent upon our prayers. The time we invest in speaking with Him involves us in the work He is doing in our lives and in the world, but He will carry on with or without us. Laboring alongside the Lord is a blessing.

Does my prayer (or lack thereof) impact god’s work? I believe Scripture indicates the answer to this question is both yes and no, depending upon the situation. There are times when God’s purpose is set. He is in control and has determined the best course. In the Old Testament, He often revealed what He would do and then brought those events to pass.

In other cases, we “do not have because [we] do not ask” (James 4:2). There are some good things that God holds back until we extend prayerful hands to receive them. But He is a loving Father, who also pours out blessings that we wouldn’t even think to request.

Believer’s prayers have tremendous impact, particularly on their own faith and life. Do you understand what an awesome privilege it is to kneel before the all-powerful Father and know that He listens and will respond? God loves being good to His children and answering their prayers.

Used with permission from In Touch Ministries, Inc. © 2015
All Rights Reserved.

Source : Christian Post

Armenian Church Files Lawsuit for Return of Headquarters From Turkey; ‘Not an Iota” Will be Given, Responds Turkish Mayor

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Armenian Church Files Lawsuit for Return of Headquarters From Turkey; ‘Not an Iota” Will be Given, Responds Turkish Mayor
Armenian Church Armenian Church Catholicosate

Leaders and supporters of Armenian Church at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

Christian Post Report – Armenian Christians won’t get “an iota of land,” the mayor of a Turkish city says in response to a lawsuit filed by an Armenian Church in Turkey’s Constitutional Court to reclaim its headquarters that existed before the 1915 Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire.

“Not even an iota of land is to be handed over to anyone,” as Armenians have no proof of ownership of a monastery that was allegedly the church’s headquarters, Musa Ozturk, the mayor of Turkey’s Kozan district, said Friday, according to Daily Sabah.

The mayor’s statement comes three days after the Lebanon-based Armenian Church Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia filed the lawsuit, which carries telegrams from Talat Pasha and Cemal Pasha, two senior figures of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, as evidence of ownership of the monastery.

April 21 marked the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, which refers to the Ottoman Empire’s alleged systematic extermination of its minority Armenian subjects in their historic homeland within Ottoman Turkey and of those who lived in other parts of the territory constituting the present-day Turkey. About 1.5 million people were killed in the genocide, according to estimates.

As they observe the centenary of the genocide, Armenians want the world to recognize the mass killings and forced relocations as “genocide.”

“Armenian churches belong to the Armenian Church,” Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, said at a press conference at the National Press club in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “In 2011 the U.S. House passed a resolution HR306 calling on the Secretary of State to press Turkey to return the churches. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has also constructively addressed the issue.”

“This is a remarkable story of hope and a remarkable story of resilience of human spirit,” Payam Akhavan, the church’s lead international counsel in the case, added, of the church’s efforts to reclaim the monastery. “We hope the Turkish government sees this as an opportunity for reconciliation and returns these properties. However, His Holiness Aram the 1st has made it very clear that we are determined to go all the way to the European court of human rights.”

In the genocide, Akhavan sent on to say, “Turkey adopted a series of laws on abandoned properties—and of course, abandoned properties is a euphemism used to confiscate the properties of millions of Armenians that once were inhabitants of Ottoman Turkey.” He referred to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which Turkey signed to respect the rights of non-Muslim minorities.

“This ancient and sacred site must be returned to its rightful owners nearly a century after it was pillaged. Armenians are right to pursue all legal avenues to obtain justice and to seek the return of what is rightfully theirs,” Congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, said in a statement.

“The restoration of the Catholicosate of Sis would represent an act of justice, a first step toward the legal return of the Armenian Church and its faithful to their lawful place in their rightful homeland,” Hamparian added. “It would, as well, mark a meaningful milestone in the Armenian nation’s journey toward a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.”

Haykaram Nahapetyan contributed reporting to this article.

Source : Christian Post

Nigeria Army Rescues 234 More Female Captives From Boko Haram

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Nigeria Army Rescues 234 More Female Captives From Boko Haram
Boko Haram (Photo: Reuters/Jon Nazca)

A Nigerian woman is comforted by a man as they take part in a protest, called by Malaga’s Nigerian women Association, for the release of the abducted secondary school girls from the remote village of Chibok in Nigeria, at La Merced square in Malaga, southern Spain, May 13, 2014. The leader of the Nigerian Islamist rebel group Boko Haram has offered to release more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by his fighters last month in exchange for its members being held in detention, according to a video posted on YouTube on Monday.

Christian Post Report – Nigerian troops have rescued 234 more girls and women from the Boko Haram stronghold Sambia Forest in the country’s northeast, days after freeing 200 girls and 93 women from the same region.

The Nigerian Defense Headquarters posted a message on Twitter early Saturday, saying, “Another set of 234 women and children were rescued through the Kawuri and Konduga end of the #Sambisa Forest…”

This brings the total number of women and children rescued this week to 527.

However, a local senator claimed the women and children previously released may have been residents of the area, according to BBC. No details were given about the claim.

The military said the rescued girls and women are being screened to ascertain their identities.

Some women resisted, and even shot at the rescuers, The Associated Press quoted a military spokesman as saying. It is, therefore, suspected that some of them might now identify with Boko Haram after captivity and forced marriages.

The Nigerian military didn’t say whether any of the 234 girls and women is among the more than 200 schoolgirls the Boko Haram had mass kidnapped from Chibok in Abuja on April 14, 2015.

Nigerian Army spokesman Sani Usman said earlier in the week that the army has raided a number of Boko Haram camps in the forest, which has served as a stronghold for the Islamic militants. The region is not far from Chibok.

However, Usman confirmed that the 293 captives previously rescued were not the schoolgirls taken by Boko Haram in that particular raid.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had earlier threatened to sell the girls from Chibok “in the market.”

“I abducted your girls,” Shekau said in a 57-minute video earlier. “I abducted a girl at a western education school and you are disturbed. I said western education should end. Western education should end. Girls, you should go and get married. I will repeat this: western education should fold up. I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah. I will marry off a woman at the age of 12. I will marry off a girl at the age of nine.”

Boko Haram recently announced it was changing its official name to “Islamic State’s West Africa Province,” or ISWAP. The terror group has aligned itself with Islamic State, also known as ISIS or IS, which has gained control over large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Boko Haram has also posted videos showing beheading of people.

Boko Haram has also killed numerous Christians and attacked several churches. It is apparently seeking to create an Islamic state in the Muslim-majority northern Nigeria. It is believed that it earlier gained technical sophistication and weaponry with help from groups like al-Shabaab in southern Somalia and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Mali.

Source : Christian Post

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