JOS, Nigeria, August 19, 2019 (Morning Star News) – After the killing of a Roman Catholic priest and a parishioner in southeastern Nigeria earlier this month, another clergyman on Thursday (Aug. 15) narrowly escaped an attack by Muslim Fulani herdsmen about 40 miles away, sources said.

Armed Fulani herdsmen on Aug. 1 killed the Rev. Paul Offu in Awgu town, south of Enugu city in Enugu state, as he was returning to his church site after a visit to other congregations he was overseeing, according to Enugu Diocese officials. The herdsmen shot his car as he drove along Ihe-Agbudu Road, forcing it to a halt, and then dragged him out and shot him to death, diocese spokesman Emmanuel Nkemjika Igwesihi said in a press statement.

The herdsmen took parishioner Kenneth Igwe in the ambush. Police found his corpse on Aug. 5, according to Igwesihi.

“The Rev. Fr. Paul Offu was shot dead by some Fulani herdsmen who took him into the bush around 2 p.m.,” the Rev. Ben Achi, director of communications for the diocese told Morning Star News by phone. “He was accosted by the herdsmen and was shot dead.”

About 69 kilometers (42 miles) north, herdsmen on Thursday (Aug. 15) ambushed another Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Chimezie Ani, near Caritas University, a Catholic university in Amorji-Nike, as he drove toward Ugwuomu, the priest told Morning Star News.

“I…

Methodist school Shenandoah University has hired Hanaa Unus, a Muslim chaplain, to support their student’s religious needs.

“Shenandoah is open to people of all faiths, or no faith, exploring their belief system and being leaders in this world for the greater good,” dean of spiritual life Rev. Dr. Justin Allen said, according to Diverse Education. “Hanaa provides the opportunity to be what we always say we value, and that’s a place that cherishes religious diversity.”

The school nestled in Winchester, Va. has tasked Unus to work with all students, regardless of their religion, to address their spiritual needs. She is the first clergy person in the school’s nearly 150-year history to not identify as Christian.

The university also hopes she can draw in more Muslim high school students.

“College is a delicate and defining period in a person’s life,” Unus said in a press release. “Hopefully, if students can learn about different faiths and different cultures, they can go out into the diverse world and be the change-makers Shenandoah hopes they will be.”

Unus’ hire raised a few eyebrows towards the liberal-leaning university, however. In an article for the Christian Post, Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, fired several questions towards the school.

“The school’s news release explains about hiring a Muslim chaplain:…

The Trump Justice Department is siding with a Christian-owned funeral home against a fired transgender employee in a major Supreme Court case that will determine whether federal law bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The high court will hear oral arguments Oct. 8 to decide if Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – which bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin – also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Lower courts have split on the issue. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals – which heard the funeral home case – ruled that the definition of “sex” within the Civil Rights Act encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity. 

The Trump Justice Department, in a new brief, sides with R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, a Michigan business which dismissed a biological male employee who came out as a transgender female and began dressing like a woman. The ex-employee is Aimee Stephens, formerly known as Anthony Stephens.

The funeral home’s owner is a Christian who has a sex-specific dress code requiring “male employees to wear suits and ties and female employees to wear skirts and business jackets,” the brief notes.

The question of whether transgender employees should be protected within the Civil Rights Act, the Justice…

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels have been a mall staple for years, dishing out buttery, salty soft pretzels to shoppers around the world. But behind the scenes of the booming business, founder Anne Beiler wrestled through guilt, shame, sexual abuse, and devastating loss.

“Without God, there would be no Auntie Anne’s today. I can say that with confidence,” Beiler said in an interview with the Christian Post. “I would’ve died. I was about to run away and start a new life. Instead, God said, ‘Get up off your knees.’ What I know now is that all of the things I’ve experienced have been for a purpose; out of my pain, purpose was born.”

Beiler’s earliest understanding of theology began in a small Amish community in Pennsylvania. She had been taught to believe that “life is good, and God is harsh.” When she married at the age of 19, she continued to carry this belief with her.

With her high school sweetheart, Jonas, Beiler gave birth to her daughter Angela. But tragedy struck when Angela was 18 months old, dying in a tragic farming accident.

“I struggled so much and blamed God for allowing Angela to die,” she said. “I couldn’t stop grieving; I couldn’t stop crying. I began to feel guilty as a Christian because I believed that I was a conqueror and able to overcome and be victorious through Christ. But I couldn’t get over that…