At Most of America’s Busiest Airports, Little Known Chapels Offer Places to Pray and Worship

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At Most of America’s Busiest Airports, Little Known Chapels Offer Places to Pray and Worship

Interfaith Airport Chapel, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Photo: Facebook)

Christian Post Report – One of the chapel locations of the Interfaith Airport Chapel at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia.

A few years ago, Adrien Neely was getting ready to have lunch at the food court inside the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia but he couldn’t find himself a vacant table. So Neely asked a woman eating alone if he could join her and she obliged. “What do you do here?” the woman soon asked him. “I am a chaplain,” Neely replied. She was shocked.

“What would a chaplain be doing at the airport?” she asked Neely as she tried to recover from the surprise.
“Well, you see all these thousands of people milling around? Not all of these people are going on vacations. Some of them are going to funerals and to visit loved ones in hospitals,” Neely said.

The woman broke down shortly after he said that. She told Neely her husband had died two months earlier and she was just then returning from the funeral of one of their best friends.

“She said: ‘I didn’t know there was a chaplain here. I didn’t know there was such a thing,'” said Neely, who’s the executive director of the Interfaith Airport Chapel at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The airport has maintained its ranking as the busiest airport in the world in 2014. More than 96 million passengers passed through the airport that year, according to the Airports Council International, amounting to more than 260,000 passengers a day.

“She looked like a pleasant traveler until you find out why she’s traveling. Not everyone is going on a happy holiday you know,” Neely explained in a telephone interview with The Christian Post on Wednesday.

And like the woman, many of the millions of travelers passing through America’s busiest airports who could use some quiet time in praise or reflection on God for support are not always aware that at most of them, there are dedicated chapels or prayer rooms, some with attendant staff, to cater to their spiritual needs.

Of the 30 U.S. airports classified as a large hub — airports that handle 1 percent or more of the nation’s annual passenger boardings — by the Federal Aviation Administration, 18 or 60 percent of them have a dedicated chapel or prayer room, according to Pew Research.

Many Major U.S. Airports

Most of these airport chapels and prayer rooms are designated as interfaith spaces, but at some airports like the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, there are four dedicated places of worship: a Catholic church, a Protestant chapel, a mosque and a synagogue said to be the only one in a major airport in all of North and South America, according to Pew Research.

Despite its massive passenger traffic, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s Interfaith Airport Chapel, which has three locations in the airport, appears to mostly get visits from members of the airport’s 60,000-member workforce. Neely explained, however, that the airport is working on better signs to inform regular travelers of the chapel’s presence.

“We have 60,000 employees at the airport and I would tend to think that a lot of our traffic is from the 60,000 employees that work here. They know about us, they can come on break time to pray or ask for help or prayer. We have services here for all faiths. Many of the Muslim folks come in all during the day for their prayer times. We have Christian services, Catholic communions … various denominations come in and hold their services, so it’s open to all,” said Neely.

“It surprised me. I thought there would be a lot of travelers coming in and out of the chapel, maybe nervous travelers or travelers that are grieving, maybe they are headed to a funeral. There’s someone in the hospital or something. We are doing our best to get new signs put out through the airport notifying people where these chapels are located,” he continued.

Interfaith Airport Chapel, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Photo: Facebook/Adrien Neely)

Sign advertising the Interfaith Airport Chapel at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia.

Beyond simply having a place to pray, worship and reflect, there is a lot of ministering that takes place via the airport chapels that most people don’t know about.

“It surprised me when about six years ago my buddy [who] is a chaplain out here said: ‘well, you need to come see what we’re doing at the airport.’ I thought ‘oh my goodness’ that will be a little bitty room where old ladies go in there that are nervous about flying. You know, people that have never flown before will go in the chapel and pray ‘oh dear God this plane won’t crash.’ I just couldn’t imagine a chapel at an airport.”

Among the many duties the airport’s chaplains have is working alongside military honor guards as deceased soldiers are transported to their final resting place. “We probably do about six military honor guard services a week for our fallen troops. They are not necessarily combat related, but Delta Airlines has a very active honor guard program for the military,” explained Neely.

“Delta Airlines called us a couple of years ago and said we have a deceased passenger on the plane coming in from Johannesburg. It was our duty to call the family and let them know that their loved one was coming in. … Thank goodness that’s a rare thing,” he added.

The first U.S. airport chapel, according to Pew Research is the Our Lady of the Airways, which opened at Boston’s Logan International Airport about 60 years ago, and since that time many airports all over the country have added spaces for prayer, worship and meditation.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s Interfaith Airport Chapel has been operating for about 33 years and is open 24 hours a day, according to Neely who says the many ways the chapel’s presence at the airport has ministered to people is so varied he cannot predict how things will turn out each day.

“There is so much variety out here. Somebody says ‘what do you do at the airport? I say, I don’t know, it could be totally different tomorrow than what it was today,” he explained. “You just never know who’s gonna walk into this chapel. It could be an employee, it could be a traveler.”

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

Source : Christian Post

Ma$e Closes Essence Festival Performance ‘in Jesus’ Name:’ ‘If I Die Tonight, I know I’m Right’

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Ma$e Closes Essence Festival Performance ‘in Jesus’ Name:’ ‘If I Die Tonight, I know I’m Right’
  • Ma$e
    (Photo: Twitter)
    Mason Betha, founder of El Elyon International Church and Mason Betha Ministries who is known in the hip-hop world as rapper Ma$e.

Christian Post Report – Mason Betha, founder of El Elyon International Church and Mason Betha Ministries who is known in the hip-hop world as rapper Ma$e, closed out a 45-minute performance at the Essence Festival in New Orleans on Sunday by leading the audience in prayer.

“I believe I receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior,” Betha said, according to Essence. “If I die tonight, I know I’m right. I’m blessed. I’m highly favored. I’m fortunate. I’m to be envied. In Jesus’ name.”

Betha, 39, initially quit rapping to become a minister in 1999 and raised some eyebrows in and out of the Christian community after he decided to return to mainstream rapping in 2004. Last year, he announced his full fledged return to mainstream rap with his secular song “Nothing.”

When the rapper attended the 2014 BET Award festivities, he was questioned by 92Q Jams DJ Konan about whether his church was upset with his rap career. Betha refused to talk about church business and chastised DJ Konan for broaching the subject.

“Actually the interview right now is about music …,” Betha previously told 92 Q Jams. “I think to put someone in a box is somewhat narrow-minded.”

“I only get questions like that from the East Coast, like Baltimore and New York,” he told the radio station. “I can’t be focused on church questions with hood people.”

While the preacher and rapper did not say he would never speak about church, it seemed he would only do so under certain circumstances.

“If they want to talk about church, they have to come to church and if they want to talk about music, we’re on the air for music and nothing else,” Betha told 92 Q Jams.

Last year, BET reported that Betha stepped away from the church. Still sources close to the rapper-turned-pastor reportedly told TMZ that he planned to use God as motivation to save souls outside of the church before he left.

“Sources close to Mase say he doesn’t see any issue doing both jobs because he’s really using his street cred to infiltrate hip-hop and ultimately plans to bring rappers closer to Christ,” TMZ reported.

Source : Christian Post

Tamera Mowry-Housley Reveals Faith-Based Origin of Baby Ariah Talea’s Name

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Tamera Mowry-Housley Reveals Faith-Based Origin of Baby Ariah Talea’s Name
  • Tamera Mowry-Housley
    (Photo: Reuters/Fred Prouser)
    Actress Tamera Mowry-Housley arrives at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 17, 2012.

Christian Post Report – Tamera Mowry-Housley, the Christian actress and talk show host who recently welcomed a baby girl into the world with her husband, Fox News correspondent Adam Housley, is revealing the faith-based meaning of their daughter’s name.

Mowry-Housley, 37, took to her official website to speak about the process of naming her family’s new addition, Ariah Talea Housley.

“I had always known that I wanted Aden to be my son’s name, and since Adam began with an A as well, I wanted to keep our family tradition alive of starting my childrens’ names with the same letter. So it worked out that before Adam and I were even married we stumbled across a shop named Araya,” Mowrey-Housley wrote. “I stopped and immediately told him I loved the name and wanted that to be my future daughter’s name. It was and is such a beautiful name.”

While the Housleys considered names like Arriana and Aliana, they decided on the name Ariah, which they chose to spell phonetically. For Ariah’s middle name, the co-host of “The Real” talk show said she loved the name Talea which a friend almost turned into a character inspired by the entertainer for a potential book.

After the Housleys officially decided on a name, the Christian couple realized that it had a divine meaning.

“It wasn’t until after we had decided on Ariah Talea Housley that Adam and I learned the origin and meaning of both names–they couldn’t be more appropriate for a family like ours whose faith is so very strong,” she wrote. “Both Hebrew names, Ariah means Lion of God and Talea means one who resembles the morning dew of Heaven. We couldn’t have found names with a better meaning if we had tried.”

Ariah was born at 2:54 p.m. on July 1 with a weight of 10 pounds, 2 ounces and 20.5 inches, according to People magazine. She joins 2 ½ year old son, Aden John Tanner Housley, as a member of the family.

The pair first spoke to People about how blessed they felt to welcome their second healthy child into the word.

“We are beyond overjoyed and blessed with our beautiful baby girl. Aden already made a welcome video for her,” the Housleys said in a statement.

Source : Christian Post

ISIS Executes 3 Journalists In Iraq, Syria; Two Bound to a Tree and Shot in the Head, Female Reporter Sentenced to Death by Shariah Court

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ISIS Executes 3 Journalists In Iraq, Syria; Two Bound to a Tree and Shot in the Head, Female Reporter Sentenced to Death by Shariah Court

ISIS (Photo: Reuters/Azad Lashkari)

Christian Post Report – Members of the Iraqi security forces take part in training, as they prepare to fight against militants of the Islamic State, at a training camp on the outskirts of Mosul, January 10, 2015.

The Islamic State terrorist organization executed three journalists in Iraq and Syria this week, of which two were tied to a tree and shot in the head, while one was sentenced to death by a Shariah court after being accused of spying.

The terrorist group released a video on Sunday showing the execution of two media activists in the group’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, while Iraqi media reported on Monday that ISIS killed a female print journalist in the groups’ Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.

According to the International Business Times, Bashar Abdul Atheem and Faisal Hasan al-Habib were both in their early 20s when they were abducted in Raqqa and accused by militants of handing out anti-Shariah leaflets and taking pictures of oil wells in the Raqqa area.

In a 7-minute ISIS video titled “They Are The Enemy and This Is a Warning,” the men are shown in orange jumpsuits being interrogated by jihadis. They were forced to confess that they were paid about $400 to take pictures of oil wells. The men also confessed to handing out leaflets criticizing Shariah law.

ISIS (Photo: Reuters/Stringer)

Iraqi security forces hold an Islamist State flag near the bodies of dead members of the Islamic State in the outskirt of Ramadi, December 23, 2014.

The men were also forced to say they had spied on ISIS fighters and gathered intelligence by traveling around the town in cars and motorbikes.

Following their taped confessions, the men were tied up to a tree by their waists. A group of armed militants in balaclavas start charging toward the activists and then two of the militants shot the victims fatally in the head.

Some reports, including one on Heavy.com, claim that the slain media activists worked for the anti-ISIS online monitoring group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, which is staffed by journalists who catalogue ISIS’ human rights abuses from inside the city of Raqqa.

However, Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently media activist Abu Mohammed told IBT that the two men executed in Raqqa did not work with his organization.

“I don’t know whether they are activists. Reports came out saying they were working with us, but that is not true,” Mohammed asserted. “I’m surprised by these reports.”

Mohammed added that ISIS has forbidden people to interact with any anti-ISIS media activists, like those that write for Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, who aim to shed a light on the injustice and brutality of ISIS’ Shariah law.

The Iraqi Journalists Syndicate watchdog group announced on Monday that ISIS carried out the execution of Iraqi journalist Suha Ahmed Radi, who was held captive in Mosul for several days before she was sentenced to death by a Shariah court, the Iraqi news site Rudaw reported.

According to IBT, Radi worked as a reporter for a Mosul-based newspaper but since ISIS seized the city last year, she began sourcing information to various Iraqi news agencies. When ISIS became aware of how Radi acted as an informant for news agencies, they raided her home, arrested her and charged her with espionage and spreading false propaganda against the Islamic State.

After Radi’s execution, her body was turned over to her relatives.

According to IJS, ISIS has executed at least 14 journalists in the city of Mosul since it took control of the city last June.

Source : Christian Post

‘God’s Not Dead 2: He’s Surely Alive’ to Feature ‘Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson

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‘God’s Not Dead 2: He’s Surely Alive’ to Feature ‘Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson

"God's Not Dead 2" (Photo: Courtesy of Pure Flix)

Christian Post Report – Melissa Joan Hart and Jesse Metcalf star in “God’s Not Dead 2: He’s Surely Alive.”

“God’s Not Dead 2: He’s Surely Alive,” the sequel to the $60 million grossing 2014 film, hits theaters on Easter of 2016 and will feature a slew of cameos from well-known celebrities, including an appearance from “Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson.

Robertson will follow in the footsteps of her parents, Willie and Korie, who made a cameo in the original “God’s Not Dead” film.

The sequel to the faith-based mega-hit stars Melissa Joan Hart, who’s best known for her roles in the TV series “Clarissa Explains It All” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” and actor Jesse Metcalf who made a name himself as the adulterous landscaper on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives.”

Other cameos include Hayley Orrantia of “The Goldbergs,” Ernie Hudson from “Ghostbusters,” model Robin Givens and singer Pat Boone.

Stars from the original “God’s Not Dead” film Trisha LaFache, Benjamin Onyango, Paul Kwo and David A.R. White will be returning for the second installment. The Newsboys will also have a cameo.

“God’s Not Dead 2: He’s Surely Alive” takes place in the fictional town of Hope Springs, Arkansas, at a high school where teacher Grace Wesley, played by Hart, faces opposition when she tries to speak about Jesus Christ openly in her classroom.

“With the principal and superintendent teaming up with a zealous civil liberties group represented by an attorney with no love lost for God, Grace faces an epic court case with the help of sympathetic and charismatic defense lawyer, that could cost her the career she had always dreamed of — and expel God from the classroom once and for all,” reads a description of the film that was shared with The Christian Post.

While the first “God’s Not Dead” film dealt with an antagonistic atheist professor, the new film will address the freedom of religion, a topic that has become even more prevalent since last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made state-level bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

“God’s Not Dead” is arguably one of the most successful faith-based movies of all time. The film cost just $2 million to make, and grossed over $60 million at the the box office.

The film also received the GMA Dove Award for Inspirational Film of the Year, beating out other faith-based heavy hitters including Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s “Son of God,” and “Heaven Is for Real.”

Pure Flix producer Michael Scott was floored by the overwhelming support of “God’s Not Dead” and discussed it in a press release last year.

“We are humbled and grateful for the support of audiences, pastors, church leaders and those that saw the greater message of “God’s Not Dead,” said Scott. “The making of this film has been an incredible and poingant journey, and the success has been an even greater surprise.”

Kevin Sorbo, who played atheist professor Radison in “God’s Not Dead,” the films main antagonist, boasted about the film’s success in comparison to all of Hollywood shortly after it was released on DVD in September of last year.

“‘God’s Not Dead,’ dollar for dollar, has been the most successful movie this year by far and the most successful faith-based movie,” said Sorbo.

The film also debuted at No.1 on the Nielson Christian Videos Sales Chart, and No. 2 Nielson VideoScan First Alert and Blu-ray Disc sales charts in August of 2014.

Source : Christian Post

Performance Artist Who Raised $1 Million for Charity Paints Stunning Image of Christ in Minutes

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Performance Artist Who Raised $1 Million for Charity Paints Stunning Image of Christ in Minutes

Christian Post Report – NEW YORK — Performance artist David Garibaldi, who accomplished his goal of raising $1 million for charity by age 30, wowed a Christian audience Tuesday when he brought to life in a matter of minutes a stunning image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.

Performance painter David Garibaldi paints live before an audience gathered Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for The Luis Palau Association NYCityFest. (Photo: The Christian Post/Nicola A. Menzie)

Performance painter David Garibaldi paints live before an audience gathered Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for The Luis Palau Association NYCityFest.

Garibaldi, who describes himself as “a performance painter on the go with a few things to say,” definitely gave his onlookers something to talk about when he created two works of art from scratch before thousands of Christians gathered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City last night.

The Sacramento, California, artist first painted a radiant image of a man carrying a child, with the child’s head resting on the man’s shoulder. That image, like the stunning painting of Christ, unfolded in a matter of minutes as audience members “oohed” and “aahed” at Garibaldi’s unfolding work.

Performance painter David Garibaldi paints live before an audience gathered Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for The Luis Palau Association NYCityFest. (Photo: The Christian Post/Nicola A. Menzie)

Performance painter David Garibaldi paints live before an audience gathered Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for The Luis Palau Association NYCityFest.

What brought on the “hallelujahs,” however, was when Garibaldi picked up his brush and a new set of paints and got to work on his second image.

At first, it wasn’t quite clear what would emerge from Garibaldi’s playful dance, quick strokes and colorful hues.

Performance painter David Garibaldi paints an image of Jesus Christ live before an audience on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for The Luis Palau Association NYCityFest. (Photo: The Christian Post/Nicola A. Menzie)

Performance painter David Garibaldi paints an image of Jesus Christ live before an audience on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for The Luis Palau Association NYCityFest.

But then, minutes later, he turned the painting upside down … or right-side up. It was clear what — or who, Garibaldi was painting.

Performance painter David Garibaldi paints an image of Jesus Christ live before an audience on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for The Luis Palau Association NYCityFest. (Photo: The Christian Post/Nicola A. Menzie)

Performance painter David Garibaldi paints an image of Jesus Christ live before an audience on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for The Luis Palau Association NYCityFest.

The thousands of Christians from the New York Tri-State area that were gathered in the concert hall went wild, erupting in applause and some of them yelling, “Hallelujah!”

Garibaldi, who has performed at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, at Bill Hybel’s Global Leadership Summit and for audiences around the world, has described his work as a “gift” that he likes to use to inspire people.

It was just a few years ago that the artist accomplished his goal of raising $1 million for various charities by the age of 30.

Garibaldi, who actually raised the vast sum through various show engagements a year early, explained of his venture: “It was more than just doing good. It was about using my gift to create a platform to benefit and inspire people.”

His performance Tuesday night at Radio City Music Hall was a part of the NYCityFest campaign organized by local Christian leaders and the Oregon-based Luis Palau Association.

Follow this Christian Post reporter on Twitter:
Follow @namenzie

Source : Christian Post

Saved by Grace

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Saved by Grace

Christian Post Report – Ephesians 2:4-10

Many people believe that piling up good works makes them right with the Lord. Yet when it comes to sin, death is the only payment that can satisfy divine justice (Romans 6:23). Since we all transgress, this leaves us in a desperate situation facing an eternity apart from God.

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

Grace, the expression of divine love and kindness to the utterly undeserving, prompted the solution: God sent His Son Jesus to die in our place. According to Romans 10:9, all we need to do is believe. Jesus’ death satisfied God’s justice and brought us:

New Life. Our spirit is made alive in Christ the moment we acknowledge we’re sinners, turn from our rebelliousness, and believe that His death paid our sin debt in full.

Freedom. At salvation, sin’s power over us is broken and we are set free from its hold. Jesus raised us up out of the quagmire of disobedience and gave us the faith to believe. Now we can exercise our newfound freedom and follow Him.

Security. When we accept God’s judgment that we are, by nature, sinners and acknowledge our Savior’s sacrifice as payment for our sins, we’re permanently adopted into the heavenly Father’s family. Our status changes instantly: Once objects of wrath, we are now children of God. Someday we will be seated in the heavenly realms with Christ to enjoy life everlasting with Him.

God, the very One against whom we rebelled, substituted His Son Jesus in our place to receive the punishment that was rightfully ours. How will you show your gratitude to God for His saving grace?

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

Source : Christian Post

Actress Candace Cameron Bure Defends Bakery That Refused Service to Lesbian Couple; Spars With View Co-Host Raven-Symone

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Actress Candace Cameron Bure Defends Bakery That Refused Service to Lesbian Couple; Spars With View Co-Host Raven-Symone

Candace Cameron Bure, Raven-Symone (Photo: Screen Grab via YouTube)

Christian Post Report – Actress Candace Cameron Bure (L) and “The View” co-host, Raven-Symone (R).

Christian actress Candace Cameron Bure sparred with ABC’s “The View” co-host Raven-Symone in an episode Tuesday in which she defended Oregon bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein who were recently ordered to pay $135,000 to a lesbian couple for refusing to bake a cake for the Sapphic couple’s wedding.

“I don’t think this is discrimination at all. This is about freedom of association,” said Cameron Bure, 39, in a clip from the show posted to YouTube. “It’s about constitutional rights. It’s about First Amendment rights. We do have the right to still choose who we associate with.”

“[The bakery] didn’t refuse to bake the cake because of [the couple’s] sexual orientation,” she continued. “In fact, they baked cakes for them previously. They had a problem with the actual ceremony because that — the ceremony — is what conflicted with their religious beliefs. They are saying that they stand for marriage between a man and a woman.”

The Oregon Labor Commission ordered the Kleins to pay $135,000 to compensate Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer for the emotional and mental anguish as a result of the Kleins’ refusal to make their wedding cake. The Christian couple had already been forced to shut down their bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, after gay activists campaigned against the business when the case attracted national attention.

“The Oregon law bars businesses from discriminating against sexual orientation, race, disability, age or religion,” Symone is heard telling Cameron Bure at the start of the clip, “and to me, it’s the same exact thing that they did back in the day saying that black people couldn’t do certain things because it’s my ‘religious belief.'”

“I refuse to associate with you right now,” said Symone, who is in a relationship with another woman.

Despite the fine, however, the Kleins have refused to back down from their position.

“He wants to silence anyone who opposes his point of view,” Aaron Klein told TheBlaze, speaking specifically about Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, who launched the case against the couple. “Unfortunately, he’s doing this with the wrong Christian, because I fight back.”

Klein further warned Americans and business leaders about why he thinks those who share his beliefs need to stand up.

“For years, we’ve heard same-sex marriage will not affect anybody,” he said. “I’m here firsthand to tell everyone in America that it has already impacted people. Christians, get ready to take a stand. Get ready for civil disobedience.”

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

Source : Christian Post

Christian Woman Forced to Strip Naked for Violating Islamic ‘Immoral Dress’ Law Will Be Imprisoned If She Can’t Pay Fine Levied by Sudanese Court

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Christian Woman Forced to Strip Naked for Violating Islamic ‘Immoral Dress’ Law Will Be Imprisoned If She Can’t Pay Fine Levied by Sudanese Court

Sudan (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Christian Post Report – South Sudanese Christians living in the North gather to attend Christmas day celebrations at a Catholic church in the Umbada locality of Omdurman, December 25, 2013.

A Sudanese court has ruled that a young Christian woman must pay a fine or serve a one month jail sentence after she and 11 other girls were accused of violating Shariah law by wearing trousers and skirts while walking home from a church function in the nation’s capital of Khartoum.

According to Sudan Tribune, only one of the 12 Christian girls who were arrested on their way home from a church service at El Izba Baptist Church in Khartoum on June 25 was ordered to pay a fine of 500 Sudan pounds, which is the equivalent to about $83. The judged stated that if she was unable to pay the fine she would be imprisoned for one month.

As previously reported, the women were stopped by police on their way home, arrested and taken to the local police station where two of them were freed without charge, while the other 10 were forced by officers to strip out of their clothes. The officers claimed they needed the women to strip so that they could inspect the clothes to determine if they were in violation with the law, an explanation that many believe is “hypocritical.”

The 10 young women and girls, three of whom are reportedly younger than 18, were charged as adults for committing “indecent and immoral acts.”

The judge’s guilty ruling in the case of the first defendant came quickly after he asked the first defense witness, pastor Felmon Hassan of El Izba Baptist, whether or not the girls’ dress showed off their arms.

Hassan argued that the clothes the girls were wearing that day are not considered immoral dress in the Christian culture. The second defense witness, Zaineb Badr el-Din, told the court that the clothes the girls were wearing are even considered normal dress in Khartoum. The third defense witness, Hala Abdallah, said the women’s clothes were not objectionable at all.

Leading up to the trial advocates for the women asserted that Sudan’s dress code is very vague and needs to be better defined. Additionally, many human rights groups have stated that Sudan’s immoral dress law is only applied arbitrarily.

“In fact, the attorneys who represented them said that there is a broad scope to define what constitutes indecent or immoral dress, and basically it is whatever Khartoum wants it to be at the moment,” Faith McDonnell, director of religious liberty programs at the U.S.-based Institute on Religion & Democracy, told The Christian Post.

Although Sudan’s constitution states that Shariah-based laws, like the immoral dress law, are not supposed to be enforced on Christians, the judge found enough evidence to convict the defendant.

“But as Christians, they are supposed to, under the constitution, have a right to dress the way they want and not according to Shariah,” McDonnell explained. “Shariah is not supposed to apply to the Christians, but more and more it is being used against them. Some were wearing skirts, so I don’t know what they consider immoral.”

The fine levied on the Christian woman for immoral dress is not the only judicial grievance Sudanese Christians have had in the last week.

Last Thursday, a court in Khartoum ruled that there is enough evidence to charge two South Sudanese Presbyterian pastors with espionage and six other charges that could potentially land the men on death row if their lawyer is unable to prove their innocence. Supporters of the pastors have labeled the charges “trumped-up” and have called for the pastors’ immediate release.

McDonnell added that she thinks the arrest of the 12 women, along with the imprisonment and serious espionage charges against the two pastors, is part of a larger effort by the Sudanese government to force Christians to leave the country.

“People need to know that these issues are taking place. And ever since the split of the country, the Islamic Republic of Sudan government under [President Omar] al-Bashir promised that they were going to get rid of Christianity in Sudan; that there was no place for it, that it was going to be a Shariah state,” McDonnell said. “So, little by little, they have been doing these things and sometimes not even little by little, in big ways.

“The more they do [ this, and see that] there is not any kind of backlash from the world community and from Christians around the world or from the U.S. government, then the more they think that they can get away with this,” she added.

Source : Christian Post

Former Evangelical Megachurch Leader Ulf Ekman Who Converted to Catholicism Reveals Virgin Mary Led Him to Catholic Church

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Former Evangelical Megachurch Leader Ulf Ekman Who Converted to Catholicism Reveals Virgin Mary Led Him to Catholic Church

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Ulf Ekman shares his reaction to joining the Roman Catholic Church in a video posted on March 9, 2014.” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Ulf Ekman shares his reaction to joining the Roman Catholic Church in a video posted on March 9, 2014.” name=”jpg” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/70296/ulf-ekman-shares-his-reaction-to-joining-the-roman-catholic-church-in-a-video-posted-on-march-9-2014.jpg” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: TidningenDagen Youtube video screenshot)

Christian Post Report – Ulf Ekman shares his reaction to joining the Roman Catholic Church in a video posted on March 9, 2014.

Ulf Ekman, the former leader of evangelical megachurch Word of Life in Sweden, reflected on his first year as a member of the Roman Catholic Church with his wife following his conversion, and said that things started to make sense for them after the reception. Ekman revealed that the Blessed Virgin Mary led him and his wife to the Catholic Church, and said that loving Jesus means to love the Church.

“It was a real experience for us. It was like several missing pieces fell into place, and so much started to make sense. There was a deep sense of ‘arriving’ that came to us,” Ekman explained in an interview with The National Catholic Register, talking about the reception with his wife, Birgitta, into the Church on May 21, 2014.

“It has been a wonderful year that we will never forget as long as we live. We feel very much at home in the Church and are grateful to the Lord. It has also been an intense year, due to the ongoing media coverage in Scandinavia. We have gained some wonderful new friends, but, like Blessed John Henry Newman said, it has also been a time of ‘parting of friends,'” he added.

The former Word of Life leader revealed that the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, had a hand in his own conversion.

“For us, Mary was the first ‘obstacle’ to overcome, though not the last. It was through her that we felt a leading toward the Church,” he said.

Ekman added that he hopes to be active in a “rich Catholic” environment, where he plans to preach the message that “to love Jesus is to love the Church.”

As for how Catholic tradition reflects on his daily life, he said: “My wife, Birgitta, and I try to pray the rosary on a daily basis and use a Catholic prayer book for morning devotions. Our daily Bible reading is established since many years, but now we also follow the daily portions for the mass. Step by step, we also try to take more time for eucharistic adoration, which we find quite amazing, actually.”

Ekman’s decision to leave the Protestant ministry in March 2014 caused an uproar among the faithful, he has admitted in past interviews.

“It caused more than just a stir when I told the congregation of the evangelical megachurch — that I served as pastor since I founded it 30 years ago — that my wife and I intended to become Catholics,” Ekman said back in August 2014.

“It caused a real uproar in my country of Sweden, which remains overwhelmingly Protestant. The period from that day, March 9 until May 21, when we were received into the Catholic Church, was marked by contention and debate. I have binders full of articles, comments and reactions that appeared in the traditional media and on the Internet.”

The Swedish Evangelical Alliance thanked Ekman for his service, but also noted that there are “crucial dividing lines” between Catholics and Evangelicals.

“This applies to the matter of salvation where we do not agree on the importance of justification by faith. The matter of authority where we do not agree on the relationship between Scripture and tradition and it also applies to the view of the Church where we do not agree that the body of Christ has a visible organizational structure led from Rome, to name some of the main issues,” Stefan Gustavsson, general secretary of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance, stated in March 2014 as reported by IRD President Mark Tooley.

Ekman and his wife will be sharing their story at the “Defending the Faith Conference” on July 24-26 at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

Source : Christian Post

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