Pope Francis Could Canonise 100 Murdered Christians

CM Editor
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Pope Francis Could Canonise 100 Murdered Christians

100 murdered Christians who were gang-raped, disemboweled or burned alive when they refused to convert to Hindus could be canonised by the Pope

Nearly a hundred Christians slaughtered in mob violence in India in 2008 could soon be on the road to sainthood.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the sub-continent, said he will personally ask Pope Francis to start to process to canonise the ‘martyrs of Kandhamal’ in the eastern Odisha province.

He has ordered Church authorities to collect evidence of atrocities against Christians who refused to abjure their faith at the point of death.

The martyrs include more than 90 Catholics butchered by Hindu nationalists during a seven-week pogrom against the Christian minority.

Protestants also died in witness to their faith but they will not be included among any future saints canonised by the Pope.

They include Parikhit Nayak, a Dalit Christian Protestant convert from Hinduism who was tortured to death in front of his wife, Kanak.

Some Hindus who had previously been his friends and neighbours burned him with acid, castrated him and finally disembowelled him, with some of them wearing his intestines around their necks as garlands.

Victims also include Rajesh Digal, a Pentecostal minister who was ordered by a Hindu mob to renounce his faith.

Hope: India's most senior Roman Catholic cleric has said he will personally ask Pope Francis to start to process to canonise the ‘martyrs of Kandhamal’

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Hope: India’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric has said he will personally ask Pope Francis to start to process to canonise the ‘martyrs of Kandhamal’

The victims were tortured, raped, burned with acid, castrated and disemboweled before they died, refusing to renounce their faith and convert to Hinduism

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The victims were tortured, raped, burned with acid, castrated and disemboweled before they died, refusing to renounce their faith and convert to Hinduism

When he refused, he was beaten severely and was buried up to his neck for two days, with his tormentors urinating in his mouth as he begged for water. The mob eventually battered him to death with clubs, sticks and axes.

Rajni Majh, an orphan girl in the care of a Catholic priest, was raped by members of a mob before she was tied up and burned alive. A 28-year-old nun was also gang-raped by at least 10 men.

Cardinal Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay and the leader of the Catholic Church in India, said he has personally asked the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood to start investigating the martyrdoms.

‘The Church is sensitive to modern day martyrs,’ the cardinal told Fides, a Vatican-based news agency.

‘The roles of the witnesses of the martyrs are quite important. It is a tedious work and needs proper and timely documentation.’

Cardinal Gracias added: ‘I am willing to speak personally about Kandhamal violence and its martyrs to Pope Francis.’

Victims: A Indian Christian villager looks over her home in Orissa's Kandhamal district in 2008

Destruction: A church in the village of Raikia, Kandhamal, is pictured in the wake of the attacks in 2008Destruction: A church in the village of Raikia, Kandhamal, is pictured in the wake of the attacks in 2008

The cardinal has meanwhile instructed Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack Bhubaneswar, whose niece was raped in the violence, to initiate the sainthood process at the local level in preparation for its formal opening.

Relations are usually peaceful between Christians, who make up 2.5 per cent of the country’s 1.1 billion people, and Hindus who account for more than 80 per cent. … Read more

Source : Daily Mail UK

Rick Warren: Harness God’s Power to Overcome Stress, Weariness

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Rick Warren: Harness God’s Power to Overcome Stress, Weariness

Avoiding weariness in life involves allowing oneself to harness God’s power, Pastor Rick Warren says in a devotional on Isaiah 40:29.

Warren, who heads Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, said in the devotional published Sunday on his website, Daily Hope With Rick Warren, that the leading cause for exhaustion among Christians is not bitterness, guilt, or fear, but rather a feeling of weariness. He added that many Christians are simply “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

The pastor writes that the overbearing feeling of weariness can only be overcome by allowing oneself to harness God’s power in their daily lives.

“There’s no way you can fulfill your purpose in life without being plugged in to God’s power,” Warren writes in the devotional.

He goes on to suggest that Christians need God’s “supernatural power” to adequately deal with all of the difficult aspects of life, including “the power to handle loneliness when you’re lonely. … The power to handle stress when you’re under pressure. … The power to handle guilt and fear and boredom and bitterness and rejection.”

Warren has previously spoken on the topic of God’s power before, writing in May 2014 that God gives praise to those who relinquish self-reliance and put their faith in Him. And noted that God celebrates “people who are dependent upon Him and surrendered to Him,” because it is then that Christians put the full weight of their faith in God.

In his Sunday devotional, Warren lists the ways Christians can harness God’s power in everyday life, including prayer, perserverance, and taking risks in God’s name.

“When you take a risk to do what God tells you to do, even when it’s hard or unpopular, even when it may cost you, even when it doesn’t make sense, even when nobody else is doing it, God will pour out his power in your life,” Warren writes.

Warren also suggests that it takes faith and trust in God to accomplish all things in life, using the goal of a healthy lifestyle as an example.

“Getting healthy, like any major change we make in our lives, can seem like an impossible challenge. Of course, it is impossible for those who try to do it on their own! But in our inadequacy, God’s strength for the person of faith is made perfectly evident,” Warren writes, adding ” That’s why it takes faith to maintain your health the way God desire.”

“You’ll never be able to do it on your own. You were never intended to be able to! Anything you can do in your own willpower doesn’t require faith, and when faith is not required, we’re living faithlessly,” Warren adds.

Source : Christian Post

InterVarsity Answers Why #BlackLivesMatter Was Included, but Pro-Life Group Was Not, at Urbana ’15

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InterVarsity Answers Why #BlackLivesMatter Was Included, but Pro-Life Group Was Not, at Urbana ’15
In an interview with The Christian Post, InterVarsity explained why a Black Lives Matter representative was included at its Urbana 15 student missions conference but a pro-life group was denied an exhibitor application.

InterVarsity’s denial of Students for Life had nothing to do with the worthiness of the organization’s mission but was based upon an application requirement that the pro-life group failed to meet, InterVarsity vice president Greg Jao told The Christian Post during a phone interview Monday.

“My understanding is that Students for Life is a non-religious organization,” Jao said.

Black Lives Matter activist Michelle Higgins criticized pro-life activism during her keynote address at the triennial conference that denied Students for Life an exhibitor application.

CP confirmed the “non-religous” status of Students for Life of America with the organization’s Director of Communications, Kristina Hernandez.

“We are not affiliated with any particular religion nor are we a religious organization. That said, many of our staff are Christians, but again, SFLA is not a religious group,” she wrote Monday via email.

Jao went on to say, “We require all of our exhibitors, speakers and others to be able to affirm our doctrinal basis.”

He explained that while there are many organizations that champion worthy causes, Urbana specifically features Christian ones.

Black Lives Matter, like the pro-life movement, is not specifically Christian but Christians are involved in the movement. Higgins, however, met InterVarsity’s requirements due to her involvement with a Presbyterian (PCA) church, Jao claimed.

Among her other qualifications, the social activist affirms InterVarsity’s doctrinal statement as a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary and through her involvement with the PCA church, he explained, before reiterating InterVarsity’s position on the Black Lives Matter movement.

“We believe all people are created in God’s image … ,” said Jao. “We believe that black lives do matter, and our students, our staff, our ministry partners who are black consistently tell us that black lives are endangered, black dignity is under constant threat in a variety of situations. … On college campuses this has become a huge issue and we felt it was important to address it. We think it’s an important global missions issue … ”

In a previous statement published Dec. 31, 2015, InterVarsity interim president Jim Lundgren also defended his organization’s decision to include the Black Lives Matter movement at Urbana 15 student missions conference last week while also affirming its stance on the pro-life movement.

“Scripture is clear about the sanctity of life. That is why I’m both pro-life and committed to the dignity of my black brothers and sisters,” wrote Lundgren. “We see racial reconciliation as an expression of the Gospel (e.g., Ephesians 2:14-18), and as an important practice in preparation for global missions. The need for reconciliation is obvious in the Middle East and other global mission fields. It is just as obvious in the United States InterVarsity has been involved in this conversation for decades. We believe it is important to stand alongside our black brothers and sisters.”

Higgins’ incendiary comments slamming the efforts of pro-lifers outraged Students for Life of America, whose President Kristan Hawkins questioned InterVarsity’s decision to enable the activist to disparage pro-lifers while InterVarsity denied the exhibitor application of Hawkins’ own pro-life organization — a group that was seemingly aligned with the objectives of the conference.

After voicing her disagreement on social media, Hawkins penned an op-ed published in The Christian Post Monday where she expounded upon her concerns.

Primary among those concerns was that “Students for Life and Rock for Life were denied the chance to exhibit at the conference because, according to an email from the exhibits manager, ‘… Students for Life does not align with Urbana’s exhibitor criteria. One of our key criteria for exhibitors is to have advancing God’s global mission as the vision and purpose of their organization.'”

Hawkins went on to write, “So helping young women to choose life doesn’t align with God’s global mission? Or what about educating students and training them to talk about abortion, our world’s greatest human rights injustice, on their campuses in a loving way?”

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Source : Christian Post

Ray Comfort Illustrates Eternity for Nonbelievers in Post-New Year Message

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Ray Comfort Illustrates Eternity for Nonbelievers in Post-New Year Message

New Zealand-born evangelist Ray Comfort is best known by many for street evangelism in which he asks people about God, the Bible, sin and salvation. And on Tuesday the minister continued sharing the promise of eternity in Heaven for believers in a post-New Year’s Day Facebook message to his followers.

Comfort’s post, in it entirety, can be read below:

“Some people have the idea that Christians will spend eternity sitting on clouds playing rusty harps. If that’s all I hoped for, I wouldn’t be a Christian. The hope I have is not nebulous; it is concrete. It is an ‘anchor of the soul,’ and is both sure and steadfast. Here is my hope. Consider the beauty of this massive Earth. Think of a majestic snowcapped mountain, a clear babbling brook, or a beautiful beach with clean white sand and turquoise waters filled with an amazing array of brightly colored fish.

The pristine waters reflect a clear blue sky, and the beach is surrounded with tall, lush palm trees. Think of magnificent California redwoods or of the incredible assortment of tasty fruit trees, or the breathtaking beauty of a sunset, or the magnificence of the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. Got it in mind?

Now consider this. All who repent and trust in Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, black or white, male or female, rich or poor, will ‘inherit the Earth.’ God has given it to us, and it will be ours for eternity. God’s spiritual Kingdom came to this Earth on the day of Pentecost, and the time will come when the literal Kingdom will come to this Earth.

God will replace this cursed and fallen creation with a new Heavens and a new Earth, and God’s will, will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. We not only escape Hell, but, by God’s grace, we get Heaven on Earth. What an unspeakably incredible future we have! We are going to see God and fellowship with Him forever, in a ‘world without end,’ where we will have ‘pleasures forevermore.’

If you are not saved, please think about your sins, and then think about the Savior. Think about what He did for you on the cross, because if you die in your sins, you will not only miss out on the pleasures of Heaven on Earth, but you will have to endure an everlasting hell, and that would be an unspeakable tragedy.”

Comfort followed up his message with an encouragement to believers about the distractions that come from the cares of life, urging Christians to look to eternity.

“All around us, people are concerned with things that don’t matter in the light of eternity. They are more concerned with what they will have for dinner than they are about where they will spend eternity. God isn’t in their thoughts,” he continued. “They have no concept of the eternal. But you do. You know what awaits them. So, take the initiative. Look into eternity.”

Comfort’s work also include the mini series “The Way of the Master” and films “180: Changing the Heart of a Nation” and “Noah and the Last Days.”

His last film “Audacity” took on the subject of homosexuality and Christianity, and seeks to answer the question of whether or not Christians should share the truth of the Bible with the LGBT community even if it’s frowned upon.

Source : Christian Post

‘The Masked Saint’ True Story of Pro Wrestler-Turned-Pastor Aims to Bring People to Christ

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‘The Masked Saint’ True Story of Pro Wrestler-Turned-Pastor Aims to Bring People to Christ

“The Masked Saint” hits theaters Friday and lead actor Brett Granstaff says the film’s message, told through the lens of wrestling, will reach a whole new audience.

“For people that say wrestling is bad or movies are bad, well, my gift is story telling and making movies, and maybe that’s where God wants me to bring the Word to more people,” Granstaff told The Christian Post.

“I think God gives a gift to everyone. Anyone can use a talent to help people find Christ,” he said. “If you look at this movie, it might not be the typical faith-based movie [but] one of the reasons I wanted to do this film was because I think Christian films in general kinda preach to the choir.”

“The Masked Saint” stars Granstaff (“Vice”) as Christopher ‘The Saint’ Samuels, who retires from the ring to settle down as a small town pastor. When Samuels witnesses rampant problems in the community, he decides to moonlight as a masked vigilante fighting injustice. While facing crises at home and at the church, Samuels must evade the police and somehow reconcile his secret, violent identity with his calling as a pastor.

“What it shows is the journey,” Granstaff said. “As the church gets better he gets better, so it was a lot of symbolism in terms of finding yourself and second chances. It was a second chance going from a pro-wrestling career to a preacher.”

The 35 year old told CP he was intrigued by the script because of how different it was.

“Unless you’re a hardcore believer you’re probably not going to see a faith-based movie,” he said. “But there’s always other people out there who love to go to movies. They might not go to church or have Christ in their life or even be exposed to the Lord in any type of way, but they go see movies. So why not do a movie that isn’t a beat you over the head type Christian film, [but] that’s filled with Christian values that has something else that can draw people into the theater [on] the secular side.”

“I do big Hollywood movies — that’s my normal thing. But I’m also a person a faith so I wanted to use this to say, ‘Let’s do a movie that has Hollywood values (so the production value is high), Hollywood storytelling, and lets try and bring in some people that wouldn’t normally go see a Christian movie and maybe they’ll be touched by the Lord,” he added.

Granstaff is the president of Ridgerock Entertainment Group, and is charged with the overall production strategy of the firm. “The Masked Saint” is the first of many faith-based films that was produced by Ridgerock Entertainment Group’s newly formed “Ridgerock Faith.” Granstaff also served as writer for the film.

“God has given me a talent for filmmaking and I’m hopefully going to use that to bring Christ to more people.” the multitalented actor asserted.

The family-friendly action flick features a lot of live wrestling scenes in which Granstaff says he got to do his own stunts.

James Preston Rogers “The Reaper” plays Granstaff’s opponent in the film. Standing at 6 feet 5 inches tall, the hulking, muscular actor worked with Granstaff to help improve his wrestling by using the professional skills he attained at the WWE’s training camp.

The Masked Saint

Source : Christian Post

ISIS Burns Christians Alive in Locked Caskets, Escaped Prisoner Revels

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ISIS Burns Christians Alive in Locked Caskets, Escaped Prisoner Revels
 An Iraqi soldier who escaped from an Islamic State prison has described the terror group’s brutal torture of Christians, many of whom died during the torture.

“They tortured the [expletive] out of the Christians and some died in the process,” Sergeant Karam Saad of the Iraqi military, who was held captive in June 2014, told Independent Journal.

“They would take some and lock them in a kind of casket, and set it on fire from the inside,” he added. “I only spent three nights in prison. During that time, I paid attention to how many guards were on duty and any signs of weaker security.”

IS, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, seeks to establish a caliphate in the Levant region and beyond. The Sunni terror group controls many parts of Iraq and Syria, and Christians are among their civilian targets.

Saad criticized President Barack Obama’s strategy to fight IS, which mainly involves airstrikes by an international coalition.

“The airstrikes are not effective and there are really no functional operations. The coalition is [expletive]! They might get a couple good shots here or there, but for the most part it’s not an effective strategy,” he was quoted as saying.

“In the future, I feel that the Republicans will be more effective to battle ISIS than the Democrats. … Since 1991, the Republicans have been better allies than Democrats. The Democrats have a stupid strategy. I had spent a long time on the battlefield with the Republicans politics and we’ve had way more victories in the fight.”

He added: “Under the Obama administration, America is not taking this fight seriously.”

Saad also narrated how he managed to escape.

“The bathroom had a window with access to the roofs,” he said. “In Iraq, the rooftops are flat, so you can jump from roof to roof. Every once in a while, IS would speed off in their cars in search of more prisoners, and only leave a couple guards behind.

“So I stole a spoon and turned it into a knife, with the intention to kill one of the guards. I asked him to take me to the bathroom. But as I was making my way there, I noticed another guard who had been left behind was armed with a gun, so killing was out of the question.

“I went to the bathroom and managed to knock out the IS fighter and put him a rear-naked choke. Then I made it onto the roofs, and escaped.”

IS terrorists believe Islam allows, or mandates them, to persecute non-Muslim minorities or even Muslims who do not obey them.

They also believe Islam allows them to rape non-Muslim women and girls.

A 12-year-old girl interviewed by The New York Times at a refugee camp in Qadia, Iraq, last year said an IS terrorist prayed before and after raping her and sought to explain to her that the Quran encourages such sexual assaults.

“I kept telling him it hurts — please stop,” the girl was quoted as saying. “He told me that according to Islam he is allowed to rape an unbeliever. He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God.”

More than 5,000 Yazidis were abducted last year, and at least 3,144 are still being held.

“Every time that he came to rape me, he would pray,” another victim, a 15-year-old girl, was quoted as saying. “He kept telling me this is ibadah (worship). He said that raping me is his prayer to God. I said to him, ‘What you’re doing to me is wrong, and it will not bring you closer to God.’ And he said, ‘No, it’s allowed. It’s halal.'”

Source : Christian Post

For King & Country’s Joel Smallbone Reveals Color Blindness

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For King & Country’s Joel Smallbone Reveals Color Blindness
Christian Post Report – For King & Country is now one of the most sought out bands in Christian music. Whether it be for their live performances or anthemic songs, the two brothers have added a different style to Christian music that brightens things up. Just over the holidays, Joel Smallbone – one half of the duo – was surprised by his wife with a gift that he says made his world feel more “alive.”

According to Smallbone’s Facebook post,he has a mild case of color blindness which makes it hard for him to decipher certain color tones from others. Thank to his wife, singer Moriah Peters, he now has somehting that allows him to see the colors of life like he never has before.

In the social media post Smallbone revealed his struggle along with a video reaction of the first time he sees the full color spectrum.

“I’m colored blind. It sounds worse than it is, but I find it hard to decipher certain color tones from others. This Christmas my dear wife did a stack of research, stole my sunglasses, and had the lenses replaced with a revolutionary new glass by EnChroma! This glass enables folks with my condition to see as you see. Here here is a snippet of the video when I first put them on… Wow!

Confession: I’m colored blind. It sounds worse than it is, but I find it hard to decipher certain color tones from others. This Christmas my dear wife did a stack of research, stole my sunglasses, and had the lenses replaced with a revolutionary new glass by EnChroma! This glass enables folks with my condition to see as you see. Here here is a snippet of the video when I first put them on… Wow!It truly was an ‘eye-opening’ moment for me, if you will. Somehow I find there to be a correlation between this moment and how I often live life… In minutes and seconds, in days and hours, in going through motions. But I do believe, like in this moment if we were to put on spiritual glasses, where we see things as God does, we would see people, circumstances, and life from heavens POV.. With all the colors and vibrance and drama and hope, as it was intended. -j

Posted by for KING & COUNTRY on Thursday, December 31, 2015

Facebook

It truly was an ‘eye-opening’ moment for me, if you will. Somehow I find there to be a correlation between this moment and how I often live life… In minutes and seconds, in days and hours, in going through motions. But I do believe, like in this moment if we were to put on spiritual glasses, where we see things as God does, we would see people, circumstances, and life from heavens POV.. With all the colors and vibrance and drama and hope, as it was intended. -J”

“It feels like everything is more alive,” Smallbone stated in the video once trying on his new and improved pair of sunglasses.

EnChroma lenses look like ordinary tinted lenses, but according to their website when you look through them something amazing happens: your experience of color vision is fundamentally transformed. With the advanced color correction technology, colors will appear more vibrant, saturated, full, but without compromising the accuracy or color balance of the scene.

Colorful objects, such as flowers, colorful paint and fabrics, food, and traffic signs are heightened. Similar to Smallbone, their website has people’s reactions as they experience things such as rainbows or a sunsets, seen for the first time with EnChroma.

The Grammy Award winning Australian brothers, for King & Country, kicked off the New Year as the headlining act of Winter Jam 2016 at the Charleston Civic Center on January 2. Although it’s unclear whether or not Smallbone wore his new lenses during the concert, the band’s performance is always expected to liven up the world around them. The will continue touring on the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular through until April.

Source : Christian Post

Franklin Graham Spotlights 18th-Century New Year’s Resolution to Transform Lives, World

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Franklin Graham Spotlights 18th-Century New Year’s Resolution to Transform Lives, World
People make many New Year resolutions, but there’s one that an 18th-century American preacher, Jonathan Edwards, made that could transform the lives of Christians and this world forever, evangelist Franklin Graham says.

“New Year’s is well known as a time for resolutions,” Graham writes in a Facebook post. “People make resolutions to lose weight, to spend more time at the gym, etc. Less than 10% of people actually keep them.”

Graham, who leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, then mentions a list of 70 powerful resolutions – not just for New Year’s, but for a lifetime – composed by Jonathan Edwards, 18th century revivalist preacher who graduated from Yale University and was president of what is now Princeton University.

“If we could just keep the first one, our lives and this world would be forever transformed,” Graham says.

The first resolution, Graham writes, states: “I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory…whatever difficulties I meet.”

Graham then concludes by wishing his followers a Happy New Year. “My goal for 2016 is to live for God no matter what. How about you? Share this if you agree. And … Happy New Year!”

The full text of the first resolution reads: “Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.”

The list of resolutions include: “Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the forementioned things. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.”

The list begins with this statement: “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.”

Source : Christian Post

Garissa University Reopens 9 Months After Islamists Slaughtered 150 Christian Students

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Garissa University Reopens 9 Months After Islamists Slaughtered 150 Christian Students

Kenya (Photo: Reuters/Noor Khamis)

Christian Post Report – People look a board displaying the pictures of some of the students who were killed by gunmen at Garissa University College, as Kenyans continue to pay their respects at the “Freedom Corner” in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, April 9, 2015.

Garissa University College in Kenya, which suffered a mass terror attack resulting in the deaths of close to 150 Christian students, has officially reopened nine months later.

BBC News reported that staff and students are expected back on campus next week, as the college and indeed the entire country hopes to continue on the path to recovery.

The terror attack on April 2, 2015, was carried out by militants from Somalia’s al-Shabaab extremist organization, in which gunmen stormed the college, held it hostage for more than 10 hours, and separated Christian from Muslim students. As many as 148 people were dead at the end, mainly Christian students.

Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Alessandro of the Garissa Diocese praised the reopening of the college, though noted it is mainly Muslims that will be returning.

Close to 650 of the students who survived the attack transferred over to a sister campus in Eldoret, western Kenya, to continue their education, and are not expected to return to Garissa, university officials have said.

As part of new security measures, a police post has been set up on campus, while the Kenyan military continues its long campaign along with the African Union to drive out al-Shabaab from the region.

Kenya’s Christians have been looking to remember the victims but also move forward from the tragedy. One Christian educator from Garissa, who lost her husband in a separate attack by a Muslim mob, said that the very first thing she did was ask God to show forgiveness.

The woman, identified by the name Gladys, told persecution watchdog group Open Doors in November that praying to God to forgive those who killed her husband “was tough, it was not easy.”

“But one thing I had to allow myself to do, I had to allow God to deal with me in pain. The thing that I felt reaching out to me was love. And love these people who had done this. I tried very hard to think about this in my mind, but my heart was leading totally toward love,” she added.

Back in December, Garissa Bishop, His Exc. Mgr. Joseph Alexander, praised an incident in which a group of Muslims risked their lives to save fellow Christian bus passengers in another al-Shabaab attack.

A group of militants had attacked a bus near the northeastern village of El Wak with the intention of separating Muslims from the Christians, much like what happened in April’s Garissa slaughter, but this time a number of the Muslims stood up to the gunmen and told them “to kill them together or leave them alone.”

Passengers said that some of the Muslims also gave the Christian women their hijabs, and helped others hide behind luggage.

“It is a very good thing; a concrete sign that Kenyan Muslims are against violence,” the Garissa bishop said.

“The Shabaab now know that they do not have the support of the Muslim community,” Alexander added. “We hope that we continue in this direction, because a year ago there was a similar attack that caused a massacre.”

Although two people were killed and three others were injured in the attack, Kenyan officials said that the gesture by the Muslim passengers prevented a larger death count.

Source : Christian Post

InterVarsity Answers Why #BlackLivesMatter Was Included, but Pro-Life Group Was Not, at Urbana ’15

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InterVarsity Answers Why #BlackLivesMatter Was Included, but Pro-Life Group Was Not, at Urbana ’15

Urbana (Photo: InterVarsity USA/Matt Kirk)

Christian Post Report – About 16,000 Christian youth are attending Urbana 2012, a triennial student missions conference, at Edwards Jones Dome in St. Louis. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship organizers, who are hosting the event, hope that students will come to a decision about serving God locally or globally.

In an interview with The Christian Post, InterVarsity explained why a Black Lives Matter representative was included at its Urbana 15 student missions conference but a pro-life group was denied an exhibitor application.

InterVarsity’s denial of Students for Life had nothing to do with the worthiness of the organization’s mission but was based upon an application requirement that the pro-life group failed to meet, InterVarsity vice president Greg Jao told The Christian Post during a phone interview Monday.

“My understanding is that Students for Life is a non-religious organization,” Jao said.

Black Lives Matter activist Michelle Higgins criticized pro-life activism during her keynote address at the triennial conference that denied Students for Life an exhibitor application.

CP confirmed the “non-religous” status of Students for Life of America with the organization’s Director of Communications, Kristina Hernandez.

“We are not affiliated with any particular religion nor are we a religious organization. That said, many of our staff are Christians, but again, SFLA is not a religious group,” she wrote Monday via email.

Jao went on to say, “We require all of our exhibitors, speakers and others to be able to affirm our doctrinal basis.”

He explained that while there are many organizations that champion worthy causes, Urbana specifically features Christian ones.

Black Lives Matter, like the pro-life movement, is not specifically Christian but Christians are involved in the movement. Higgins, however, met InterVarsity’s requirements due to her involvement with a Presbyterian (PCA) church, Jao claimed.

Among her other qualifications, the social activist affirms InterVarsity’s doctrinal statement as a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary and through her involvement with the PCA church, he explained, before reiterating InterVarsity’s position on the Black Lives Matter movement.

“We believe all people are created in God’s image … ,” said Jao. “We believe that black lives do matter, and our students, our staff, our ministry partners who are black consistently tell us that black lives are endangered, black dignity is under constant threat in a variety of situations. … On college campuses this has become a huge issue and we felt it was important to address it. We think it’s an important global missions issue … “

In a previous statement published Dec. 31, 2015, InterVarsity interim president Jim Lundgren also defended his organization’s decision to include the Black Lives Matter movement at Urbana 15 student missions conference last week while also affirming its stance on the pro-life movement.

“Scripture is clear about the sanctity of life. That is why I’m both pro-life and committed to the dignity of my black brothers and sisters,” wrote Lundgren. “We see racial reconciliation as an expression of the Gospel (e.g., Ephesians 2:14-18), and as an important practice in preparation for global missions. The need for reconciliation is obvious in the Middle East and other global mission fields. It is just as obvious in the United States InterVarsity has been involved in this conversation for decades. We believe it is important to stand alongside our black brothers and sisters.”

Higgins’ incendiary comments slamming the efforts of pro-lifers outraged Students for Life of America, whose President Kristan Hawkins questioned InterVarsity’s decision to enable the activist to disparage pro-lifers while InterVarsity denied the exhibitor application of Hawkins’ own pro-life organization — a group that was seemingly aligned with the objectives of the conference.

After voicing her disagreement on social media, Hawkins penned an op-ed published in The Christian Post Monday where she expounded upon her concerns.

Primary among those concerns was that “Students for Life and Rock for Life were denied the chance to exhibit at the conference because, according to an email from the exhibits manager, ‘… Students for Life does not align with Urbana’s exhibitor criteria. One of our key criteria for exhibitors is to have advancing God’s global mission as the vision and purpose of their organization.'”

Hawkins went on to write, “So helping young women to choose life doesn’t align with God’s global mission? Or what about educating students and training them to talk about abortion, our world’s greatest human rights injustice, on their campuses in a loving way?”

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Source : Christian Post

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