To Fight Islamic Persecution Christians And Jews Team Up

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To Fight Islamic Persecution Christians And Jews Team Up

JERUSALEM, Israel — As stories of new beheadings of Christian children in Iraq come to light, many wonder – who will speak out against it?

Now Jews and Christians are banding together to fight growing persecution of Christians in Islamic countries.

“When hundreds of thousands of Christians – men, women and children – are killed, this isn’t a war, this is genocide. And Jews know what happens when the world is silent to genocide,” World Jewish Congress President Ron Lauder told participants at the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration in Jerusalem.

Lauder advocates for Jewish people around the world. Now he’s teaming up with the ICEJ and Empowered21 to fight Christian persecution.

“What’s happened to the Christians (is) they’re being massacred and killed,” Lauder told CBN News in an interview. “Some 120,000 were killed last year and no one says anything. Everyone’s focusing on Gaza now and the fact is the world is coming apart.”

The WJC, Empowered21 and the ICEJ sent a letter recently to more than 100 world leaders calling on them to take up the cause of persecuted Christians in Muslim countries. Together, the three groups represent millions around the world.

ICEJ Executive Director Jurgen Buhler told journalists, “For the first time to my knowledge in modern history, probably even in the history of Jewish-Christian relations, a Jewish organization and a Christian organization are joining in a letter to protect Christians in the Middle East.”

“There has simply been a horrendous thing that has been going on. Christianity is dwindling in the Middle East. We believe it should be growing,” Oral Roberts University President Billy Wilson, co-chairman of Empowered21 Global Council, told CBN News.

Canon Andrew White, known as the Vicar of Baghdad, said ISIS beheaded 30 more children on Saturday who refused to convert to Islam.

“The children said, ‘We have always followed Yesua [Arabic]. We will never leave Yesua.’ They all had their heads chopped off. This is the kind of terror that we are facing,” White told journalists.

Lauder encouraged more than 4,000 Christians from 80 nations at the Feast of Tabernacles celebration to fight together.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he wrote that God did not give us a spirit of fear but the spirit of power,” Lauder told Christian pilgrims at the feast.

“Do not fear. Have courage. Have strength and as one, Christians and Jews, we will be strengthened together and we will, we will not fail,” he said.

Source and Original Content by CBN News

“America Is Just as Wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah”, Rev. Billy Graham

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“America Is Just as Wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah”, Rev. Billy Graham

Reverend Billy Graham, arguably the most well-known and respected evangelical preacher of the last 50 years, said in a recently published commentary that America was “founded by men who believed in prayer” and that prayer can turn “the tide of history,” adding that while “America is just as wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah” and deserves “the judgment of God,” this judgment can be lessened through prayer.

“Even though America is just as wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah ever were, and as deserving of the judgment of God, God would spare us if we were earnestly praying, with hearts that had been cleansed and washed by the blood of Christ,” said Rev. Graham in his commentary for Decision magazine, published by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

“The problems of the world will never be settled unless our national leaders go to God in prayer,” he said. “If only they would discover the power and wisdom that there is in reliance upon God, we could soon see the solution to the grave problems that face the world!”

Graham is 95 and reportedly often bedridden at his home in Montreat, N.C. His commentary in the October issue of Decision, under the headline “Turning the Tide of History,” was reprinted from a sermon he delivered Jan. 7, 1962 on the Hour of Decision radio program.

Reverend Graham’s comments start off in saying, “Our nation was founded by men who believed in prayer,” and notes that Benjamin Franklin, in addressing the 1787 Constitutional Convention, said that “God governs in the affairs of men.”

“Today the world is being carried on a rushing torrent of history that is sweeping out of control,” said Rev. Graham. “There is but one power available to redeem the course of events, and that is the power of prayer by God-fearing, Christ-believing people.”

He continued, “One of the reasons the United Nations has become so ineffective in handling world situations is that there is no prayer, no recognition of God. Unless the leaders of nations turn to God in prayer, their best plans will fail, just as did the plans of those who built the tower of Babel…Read More

Source and Original Content by BCNN 1

Church Faithfuls Praying For Healing Against Ebola Virus In Liberia

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Church Faithfuls Praying For Healing Against Ebola Virus In Liberia

The Rev. James Nyemah stands at the pulpit, eyelids squeezed together as his parishioners begin to chant.

“Dear God!” he slowly says into a microphone. Each word thunders from the speakers at the back of the church, each word a separate explosion.

“Make a way,” he says, “make a way, make a way for the people dying from Ebola!”

Nyemah, a native of Liberia, leads this ritual each week at Africa Faith Expressions in Phoenix. Since July, some of the 150 church members have devoted their regular 6 p.m. Sunday service to a single cause: “Prayer Against Ebola.”

Most of the members are Liberian. Many have hosted refugees from West Africa. Many have lost friends and loved ones in Africa to the deadly virus.

So, each Sunday night, they gather in the glass-and-stucco office building that is home to their congregation.

Tobey Togba pleads to God for mercy. Theresa Wento begs for healing. William Fannoh asks for peace.

There is no money collection, no music, just the spoken word.

No one will give a sermon. No one must wait for silence before they begin to speak. In this service, all speak openly, in the moment, to share pain and frustration over the illness that is crushing the lives of a country they hold dear.

Although Nyemah has one microphone, two men and two women grab their own. The voices tumble over one another until they become a wall of sound.

The pastor’s voice, once the loudest of all, folds into the cascade… Read More

Source and Original Content by BCNN 1

“Houston Has No Power To Silence The Church”, US Senator

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“Houston Has No Power To Silence The Church”, US Senator

HOUSTON – Pastors in Houston are fighting back against an attempt by the mayor to silence them from the pulpit.

Some have been told to provide the government with their sermons. Now, they’re getting a little help from one of the top conservative voices in the country: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

On Thursday in Houston, Cruz visited his home church to give city officials a lesson on religious liberty.

“The city of Houston has no power, no legal authority to silence the Church,” he said.

The controversy began over a city ordinance that not only bans discrimination against LGBT people; it also allows them to choose which bathroom they want to use.

That’s when pastors in Houston said “enough.”

“There’s no such thing as anti-gay in the course of this at all, but we are for God’s standard of morality,” Dave Welch, executive director of the Texas Pastor Council, said.

Citizens signed petitions to overturn the ordinance and gathered enough to force a vote, but the Houston City Council declared the signatures invalid.

The Christian advocates behind the petition sued.

Then, in an attempt to fight back, the city demanded to see sermons, texts, emails or any correspondence whatsoever from pastors against the ordinance. That would have included any preaching about homosexuality or gender identity.

Pastors stood their ground and refused to comply.

In an exclusive interview with CBN News, Cruz says he hopes Christians take notice of what’s happening here.

“Is this a situation where a sleeping giant has awoke?” CBN News’ David Brody asked Cruz.

“I think it may well be. I certainly hope that it is,” the Texas lawmaker replied.

“I never imagined we would see this kind of hostility to faith here in Houston,” he added.

Neither can Pastor Khan Huynh, who came to American from Vietnam to get away from persecution. Now his name is on the government hit list.

“This is what’s going on. They sensor all the sermons. Pastors have to print out worship service programs and they have to approve it before we can conduct our service,” Pastor Huynh told CBN News about treatment of pastors in Vietnam.

The city of Houston begs to differ. City officials are trying to downplay the idea their actions are an assault on religious liberty.

Houston’s gay mayor, Annise Parker, is pushing the LGBT ordinance. She’s also downplaying the controversy, and says pastoral critics don’t understand the concept of unconditional love.

“People are rightly concerned if a government entity in any way tries to inhibit religious speech. That’s not the intent,” she said.

The city now says it will narrow the subpoenas and not require all the information it originally wanted.

But the pastors aren’t buying it… Read More

Source and Original Content by CBN News

“Force May Be Only Way to Defeat ISIS and Save Christians”, Anglican Archbishop

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“Force May Be Only Way to Defeat ISIS and Save Christians”, Anglican Archbishop

Archbishop of Canterbury and Church of England leader the Most Rev. Justin Welby has shared his views on the global war against terror group ISIS, and admitted that there may be no other choice but to use force to protect people under attack. He also called on religious leaders to stand up against religious extremism that seeks to justify violence.

“Within Christian teaching there is a strong and brave tradition of absolute pacifism. Yet there are calls from Christian leaders in the Middle East for armed help. They seek temporary support while their own governments get their act together. They do not want the Middle East emptied of its Christian populations, essential to its culture, critical in many areas of life and there since before the time of St Paul,” Welby wrote in an article for Prospect Magazine, to be released in November 2014.

“It may be that we cannot avoid some use of force, but that must be done in the context of a greater and more selfless ideal that renews the vision that rebuilt our own continent after the long wars that began in 1914,” Welby continued.

“This struggle is for the heart and the spirit, not only for our security and undisturbed wealth. It is a winnable struggle, but the victory requires us to reshape our values, as much as to overcome those of ISIS.”

The Church of England leader insisted that religious leaders need to play a prominent role in tackling religious extremism that fuels such conflicts, and urged them to “engage jihadism in religious, philosophical and ethical space.”

“Religious justifications of violence must be robustly refuted. That is, in part, a theological task, as well as being a task that recognizes the false stimulation, evil sense of purpose and illusory fulfillment that deceive young men and women into becoming religious warriors,” he wrote.

The Archbishop of Canterbury noted that attacks by ISIS on religious and ethnic minorities across Syria and Iraq are getting more severe, and said that any strategy to counter the terror group must be global in nature. He also told readers that there are many other violent conflicts going on in the world today, such as terror group Boko Haram’s attacks in Nigeria.

“The Central African Republic has descended into utter barbarism, with a religious edge, seen by many Muslims as religious cleansing of their followers. Somalia is chaos, Libya is in meltdown,” he added of other cases.

“This struggle is not simply a religious conflict, but a terrible mix of ethnicity, economics, social unrest, injustice between rich and poor, limited access to resources, historic hatreds, post-colonial conflict and more. It is impossible to simplify accurately,” Welby said… Read More

Source and Original Content by Christian Post

Pakistani High Court Confirms Asia Bibi’s Death Sentence

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Pakistani High Court Confirms Asia Bibi’s Death Sentence

Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian mother charged with blasphemy, has been sentenced to death by the Pakistani High Court. Bibi’s appeal has postponed by the court at least five times before the death penalty was confirmed by the court today (Oct. 16).

Bibi was originally accused of speaking against the prophet Muhammad in 2009, an accusation she denied. Following the accusation, Bibi was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010.

Nasir Saeed, director of the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), the organization that has represented Bibi said, “I am very disappointed with today’s result and my thoughts and prayers are with Asia’s family. It is not surprising that the judges were swayed by pressure from local influential Muslims, but I had hoped that justice would prevail and that the case would be judged based on its merits.

“While the rest of the world condemns such draconian laws, Pakistan continues to persecute its minorities simply because of their religion.”

Bibi’s attorneys will submit a final appeal against the ruling to the Pakistani Supreme Court within 30 days.

“I have to now remain hopeful that the Supreme Court judges will look at the case objectively and allow the final appeal, eventually acquitting Asia,” Saeed said.

Source and Original Content by Christian Headlines

Religious Persecution On The Rise In China

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Religious Persecution On The Rise In China

The state of religious freedom in China is moving from bad to worse, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), responding to a new report by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

“There’s a huge gulf now” between China and the Catholic Church, Smith stated during an Oct. 9 conference call with reporters. He acknowledged that “the underground church has been brutally persecuted in China, both Protestant and Catholic,” but said that now even the state-recognized church is facing persecution.

“The Patriotic Church, the Catholic Church, they are being targeted with church demolitions and other kinds of repression which we have not seen before. So there’s a great deal of concern that religious freedom, as bad as it was, has further deteriorated in China.”

Smith and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) co-hosted the teleconference, focusing on the latest annual report from the human rights monitoring group, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Both lawmakers cited various ways that the Chinese government has infringed upon the freedom of its citizens, including gross violations of human rights and targeting churches.

Smith cited a statement from the report: “Chinese authorities continued to harass, detain, imprison, and interfere with the religious activities of members of both registered and unregistered Protestant communities who ran afoul of government or party policy.”

It is very easy to “run afoul of government policy,” Smith added, noting that simply meeting to talk about religion could be a violation… Read More

Source and Original Content by Catholic News Agency

Church Complex Bombed By Sudan Air Force

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Church Complex Bombed By Sudan Air Force

KHARTOUM (Worthy News)– The Sudanese Air Force dropped four bombs on a church in the Nuba Mountains Friday.

The Rev. Youhana Yaqoub of the Episcopal Church of Sudan in Al Atmor, South Kordofan state, told Morning Star News that the aerial bombs completely destroyed the church compound in Tabolo.

“A family living at the church compound miraculously escaped the attack, although their whole house and property were destroyed.”

Yaqoub said the family thanked God for their safety as they watched their house burn from the bombs.

Sudanese armed forces had previously destroyed the ECS church building in Al Atmor in July.

Since the beginning of September, Sudan has dropped 19 bombs on South Kordofan villages.

Source and Original Content by WorthyNews

Christians Persecuted Even After Death In Pakistan

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Christians Persecuted Even After Death In Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (Worthy News)– Religious minorities in Pakistan face discrimination even after death as Christian cemeteries outside of Islamabad are allowed to fall into disrepair while Muslim plots nearby remain in excellent condition, according to The Express Tribune.

Although cemeteries were established by the Capital Development Authority to service Pakistan’s Christian community, it has failed to maintain them to the high same standards as Muslim graveyards nearby. For example, Christian cemeteries often lack walls, thereby permitting animals and vandals to damage the graves.

The pastor of Fatima Church, Reverend Father Yousaf Amanat, questioned why the CDA seemed so unconcerned about the poor condition of his congregation’s plots.

“Why has the authority ignored our graveyards despite us being equal citizens of the country?”

And Pastor Ashraf Bhatti said that his graveyards are as sacred as those belonging to Muslims and that both are the responsibility of the CDA.

The CDA director, Abdul Razak, blamed the poor condition of Christian plots on the recent rains, but said his staff would soon start cleaning Christian grave sites.

Source and Original Content WorthyNews

Mexican Priests Are Facing Grievious Persecutions

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Mexican Priests Are Facing Grievious Persecutions

Mexican Catholic priests are among the most persecuted in the world, with attacks having increased by 80 per cent over the past two years, a new report has found.

Released by the Mexican Catholic Multimedia Centre (CCM), the report confirms that six priests have been murdered and three others the victim of forced disappearances since President Enrique Pena Nieto was elected in July 2012.

The Mexican government has been accused of being “unwilling” to protect the religious freedom of its people. CCM is urging authorities to “provide security in areas with a significant presence of organised crime.”

Priests are often targeted as a result of denouncing criminal groups, or because they are working to help people exploited by violent gangs, such as victims of human trafficking or drug addicts. Churches are also seen as an attractive target for extortion and front for money laundering.

The report comes in the wake of Father José Ascensión Acuña’s murder last month. His body was found in the Balsas River near Santa Cruz de Las Tinajas after he disappeared on September 21.

Over 80 per cent of the Mexican population are Catholic. President Nieto met with Pope Francis at his inaugural Mass, and later travelled to the Vatican for an official meeting with the Pontiff last July. The Mexican constitution also guarantees freedom of religion or belief to all its citizen… Read More

Source and Original Content by Christian Today

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