NEW DELHI, July 7, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Tribal Hindus persecuted a widowed, Christian mother of four before her body was found severely mutilated in the wilderness near her village in Chhattisgarh, India, sources said.

The body of 40-year-old Bajjo Bai Mandavi was initially unrecognizable as it appeared to have been eaten by wild animals when it was found two miles into the wilderness near her native Kumud village, Kuye Mari, on May 29. She was last seen going into the wilderness of Kondagaon District to collect firewood on May 25.

The death threats, deprivation of water and shunning she had suffered at the hands of villagers who were upset that she left their blend of Hindu and traditional tribal rituals led family members and area Christian leaders to believe she was raped and killed before animals fed on her body, they said.

“There was no way to find out who the people were who raped my sister-in-law and then murdered her, so police and the authorities thought best to call it an attack by a wild animal,” a sobbing Bhajnath Mandavi, her brother-in-law, told Morning Star News.

Bhajnath Mandavi is the younger brother of Bhola Mandavi, who died of an illness four years ago, leaving Bajjo Bai Mandavi with children who are now 6, 8, 12 and 17.

Villagers had met four times to discuss action against her, area pastor Rupesh Kumar Salam told Morning Star News.

“She was threatened and…

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was recently infected with COVID-19 but is gradually recovering in an Atlanta-based hospital.

His team has been posting updates on Herman Cain’s official Twitter account since the initial announcement last Thursday, according to the Christian Post.

Cain, 74, first tested positive for COVID-19 on June 29. Then on July 1, Cain’s team noted on Twitter that the business executive had developed more serious symptoms that required hospitalization.

“There is no way of knowing for sure how or where Mr. Cain contracted the coronavirus, but we do know he is a fighter who has beaten Stage 4 cancer,” the statement read. “With God’s help, we are confident he will make a quick and complete recovery.”

We are sorry to announce that Herman Cain has tested positive for COVID-19, and is currently receiving treatment in an Atlanta-area hospital.
Please keep him, and all who are battling this virus, in your prayers.
Our full statement appears below. Updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/lDRW7Rla4e

— Herman Cain (@THEHermanCain) July 2, 2020

On Sunday, Cain’s team posted an encouraging update, citing the power of prayer as a reason his condition has been improving.

“Update: Herman wants to thank everyone for praying for him. It’s making a difference.” the team wrote Sunday evening. “He’s still in the hospital but he’s…

The against-all-odds story of former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner will soon be a faith-based movie.

American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story will be directed by Jon and Andrew Erwin and released by Lionsgate. Kingdom Story Company is making it. A release date has not been set, although the movie is in pre-production.

The Erwins also directed I Still Believe, I Can Only Imagine and Woodlawn.

Warner’s story seemingly was made for a Hollywood film: He was working at a Hy-Vee grocery store in the 1990s when he won a job as quarterback for an Arena Football League team, the Iowa Barnstormers. He was so impressive that he eventually was signed by the St. Louis Rams, which he guided to two Super Bowls, winning it in 2000 (the 1999 season).

He’s also an outspoken Christian.

Zachary Levi (Shazam!) will play Warner, according to Deadline. Mark Ciardi, Kevin Downes and Kurt and Brenda Warner will co-produce it.

Jon Erwin called the story “incredible.”

“It’s one of the greatest underdog stories I’ve ever heard,” Erwin told Christian Headlines. “And the story behind the story – the story that people don’t know – is even stronger. Kurt and Brenda are amazing friends. They’re amazing partners. That movie is going to be extraordinary. It’s like Jerry Maguire meets Rocky – from the supermarket to the Super Bowl.”

Warner played college football at Northern Iowa and…

As COVID-19 restrictions continue to be lifted in China, churches across the country are starting to plan their reopening.

It appears, however, some churches are not being allowed to reconvene until congregants sing the national anthem and the national flag is raised under the instruction of the Chinese Communist Party, Bitter Winter reports.

On June 14, The Lishiting Catholic Church in the Shunhe district of Kaifeng reopened for the first time in five months.

In a gathering of around 20 people, a priest rang in the church’s reopening with a flag-raising ceremony. According to Bitter Winter, government officials attended the ceremony in a supervisory capacity.

“We solemnly raise the national flag here today after the epidemic, witnessing the fruits of all people working together under the leadership of Xi Jinping who directs the government and the Party,” the priest said.

Also on that day, in the Shunhe district, the Gangxi Christian Church reopened under the aforementioned conditions. According to one congregant, Church leaders were also instructed to commend Chinese leaders’ handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The church finally reopened after five months, 147 days, or 21 Sundays, but instead of singing hymns to praise God, the government required us to raise the national flag and sing the national anthem, praising Xi Jinping’s ‘victory in fighting the…

States are allowed to enforce sanctions against “faithless electors” who do not vote for the popular winner, according to a new ruling from the Supreme Court.

Fox News reports that the justices upheld state laws that require “faithless electors” to back the popular vote. The case was sparked by the “Hamilton Electors” in 2016 who chose moderate Republicans instead of Hillary Clinton in an attempt to push votes away from Donald Trump.

The court ruled unanimously, 9-0, that the sanctions imposed on the electors in Washington and Colorado were constitutional.  Michael Baca of Colorado was removed and replaced while Bret Chiafalo of Washington received a fine.

“We’re trying to be that ‘break in case of emergency’ fire hose that’s gotten dusty over the last 200 years,” Chiafalo told The Atlantic  in 2016. “This is an emergency.”

Electors cast the final official ballot for the presidential election based off of the popular vote in the state. In rare cases, the electors will break off from the popular vote and instead cast a vote for a different candidate.

“Among the devices States have long used to achieve their object are pledge laws, designed to impress on electors their role as agents of others,” said Justice Elena Kagan. “That direction accords with the Constitution—as well as with the trust of a Nation that here, We the People rule.”

Washington…

British independent film producer Cassian Cary Elwes is addressing protests by Christian organizations over his upcoming film Habit.

The film features Paris Jackson, the daughter of pop icon Michael Jackson, who news outlets initially alleged would be playing the part of Jesus as a lesbian woman.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, multiple Christian organizations such as Movieguide and One Million Moms started petitions calling for the film’s cancellation. Both petitions have garnered thousands of signatures.

According to the film’s official description, the movie follows a “party girl with a Jesus fetish who gets mixed up in a violent drug deal and finds a possible way out by masquerading as a nun.”

Elwes, who leads the independent film production company Elevated Films, dismissed claims that Jackson would be playing a lesbian Jesus calling the notion “absolute nonsense.”

That’s absolute nonsense https://t.co/VoIpxPRx8F

— cassian elwes (@cassianelwes) July 2, 2020

When a reporter asked Elwes about the petitions made against Habit, he asserted that the controversy was overblown.

“Of course the story has been completely blown out of proportion.” Elwes wrote last week on Twitter. “In fact, Paris appears in a fantasy moment that Bella [Thorne] has in the film where Bella has a vision of her mother (played by Paris) dressed as Jesus.”

Of course…

HYDERABAD, India, July 3, 2020 (Morning Star News) – When Kande Munda heard a knock on his door one night last month, the Christian father of two knew it was likely the same thugs and their colleagues in his area of Jharkhand, India who had harassed him for nearly four years.

They were particularly upset that Munda had reported them to police for a 2018 assault on his mother-in-law. The assailants, followers of tribal Adivasi religion, had opposed her conversion to Christianity by labelling her Christian prayers as “witchcraft” and gang-raping her.

Munda and his family were already in bed after a hard day of work on the night of June 7 when they heard the knock on the door. Munda told his wife not to answer it.

“He was suspicious that they must have come for him,” his wife, Bindi Munda, told Morning Star News.

Three men forced the door open and entered, while four or five remained outside, she said. Darkness obscured their faces.

“One of them pointed a gun at my husband and told the other two men that they should first rape me and then kill my husband,” Munda said.

Their children, ages 1 and 3, were asleep. The armed assailants seized her husband by the neck as he knelt and pleaded with them not to kill him, she said.

“I have done nothing wrong – please don’t kill me,” he cried repeatedly, according to his wife, who picked up their children, holding one in each arm, and fled into…

A 7-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were among a long list of gun violence victims in Chicago over the weekend.

The Chicago-Sun Times reports, as of Monday morning, 79 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, including nine minors. Of those shot, at the time of this writing, 15 people have died.

According to the Associated Press, the 14-year-old boy, identified by the Chicago-Sun Times as Vernado Jones Jr., was one of eight victims shot in the Englewood neighborhood Saturday before midnight. Police spokesperson Tom Ahern told the AP that two males died on the scene and two more, including Jones, died later at the hospital after four men opened fire on a large street gathering. Four others, including an 11-year-old and a 15-year-old boy, were injured and taken to the hospital. One victim is still in critical condition while the other three are likely to survive.

At the time of this writing, no arrests have been made.

In Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, while standing outside of her grandmother’s house around 7:00 pm, a 7-year-old girl was also fatally shot. The child, identified as Natalia Wallace, was reportedly outside with other children during a Fourth of July party, when three men fired at least 20 shots at bystanders.

A 32-year-old man was also shot during the attack but is in fair condition.

Arrests have yet to be made, but Police are believed to…