A new bill in Pennsylvania, if passed, would allow schools to display “In God We Trust.”

House Bill 1602, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Cris Dush, uses the country’s enduring legacy with the phrase to justify the displays, according to The Epoch Times.

“While this phrase was first introduced to the nation by Francis Scott Key in 1814 in the words of our national anthem, it was a Pennsylvanian, James Pollock, the 13th Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who was responsible for suggesting the installation of these words on our coins during his term as Director of the United States Mint,” Dush said in a memo.

“With this rich history in mind, my legislation will allow school districts to display the motto in each school building,” he said. “The display of our nation’s motto may take the form of mounted plaques or artwork from a student contest that will be prominently displayed in each school building.”

Schools, however, will not be required to display the phrase. As long as the displays are intended to advance the national motto and not advertise religion, Federal 5th, 9th, and 10th Circuit Courts would likely rule the bill as constitutional.

Some Democrats, however, believe the bill could alienate people without religious belief.

“I do believe that allowing for public schools to put this message in classrooms is an endorsement…

Christian publishing house Crossway has released a new Bible specifically geared for new Christians, as reported by Faithwire.

“The Bible can be daunting to a new believer,” the edition’s description reads. “The ESV New Christian’s Bible is a unique, affordable edition created specifically to help young Christians begin to navigate God’s Word for the first time.”

Four articles start off this new version, hoping to answer four questions: “What Is the Bible?” “How to Read the Bible,” “Where Do I Start?” and “Further Helps.”

The Bible, still English Standard Version, sections-off each new book with a helpful introduction and “30+ sidebars explaining core Christian beliefs tied to key passages.” Reading plans, ranging from 30 days to one year, also help readers grow in their understanding.

According to a recent study conducted by the Barna Group in partnership with the American Bible Association and reported by the Christian Post, reading the Bible has created a meaningful impact in Christians’ lives.

The study found that 60% of Americans found that the Bible “transformed their lives.” Reading Scripture also changed their behaviors and helped them make better decisions at school and work.

More than 20 million people are flipping through the thin pages of Scripture for wisdom this year and nearly 15 million of those who disengaged…

The children of a pastor imprisoned for his faith in Iran have been barred from completing their education because they refuse to study Islam and the Quran.

When Yousef Nadarkhani’s kids went back to school last week, they were summarily informed that their previous grades did not count due to their refusal to engage in Islamic recitals.

According to the Christian Post, two of the pastor’s children are not allowed back to school because they did not complete their Islamic education, while 17-year-old Daniel has been enrolled as a “guest” in the 12th grade – he has still yet to receive his certificate of achievement for the previous grades.

In protest against the mistreatment of his own children, Yousef has begun a hunger strike in prison, according to Article18, a British-based non-profit “dedicated to the protection and promotion of religious freedom in Iran.”

The human rights group noted that Yousef and his wife Tina have been “fighting for the rights of their boys to identify as Christians for the past decade.”

Unfortunately, despite the fact that Christians are often granted exemptions from Islamic classes on account of their religion, Christian converts are not afforded the same privilege.

“Members of recognised religious minorities – including Christians, as well as Jews and Zoroastrians – are ordinarily exempt…

University of Iowa officials who booted a Christian club off campus can be held personally liable and forced to pay damages out of their own pockets because they failed to follow an earlier court decision, a federal judge ruled Friday. 

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephanie M. Rose – who was nominated by President Obama – could have an impact across the country, according to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed the suit. 

The university was trying to prevent InterVarsity Christian Fellowship from requiring its leaders to share the group’s beliefs. Such a requirement, Becket argued, could have led to a non-Christian leading InterVarsity.

At issue is a university requirement that groups affirm a human rights policy banning discrimination on the basis of religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other classes. 

“It’s too bad it took twice for the University to learn its lesson,” said Daniel Blomberg, senior counsel at Becket. “There was no excuse the first time for squashing students’ First Amendment rights. University officials nationwide should now take note that religious discrimination will hit them in the pocketbook.”

The controversy began in 2017 when the University of Iowa kicked another group – Business Leaders in Christ – off campus because its statement of faith required…

Nigerian police rescued some 500 men and boys from a building posing as an Islamic school in the city of Kaduna, where they were allegedly sexually abused and tortured.

Kaduna state’s police commissioner, Ali Janga, told reporters that police raided the building after being tipped-off about suspicious activities going on in the building. 

When they arrived, police found that children— some as young as five-years-old— were among the boys locked in chains in the building. It is unclear how long the men and boys had been at the building.

“This place is neither a rehab or an Islamic school because you can see it for yourselves,” Janga told reporters. “The children gathered here are from all over the country … some of them were even chained. They were used, dehumanized, you can see it yourself.”

Janga called the building a “house of torture” where the detainees were injured and sometimes starved of food.

“I have spent three months here with chains on my legs,” Bell Hamza told Nigerian reporters.

“This is supposed to be an Islamic center, but trying to run away from here attracts severe punishment; they tie people and hang them to the ceiling for that,” he added.

Police arrested eight people— most were teachers.

The detainees are now being housed at a camp where families are arriving for them. Hafsat Muhammad Baba, of the…

In an op-ed piece with Fox News, Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Franklin Graham, shared from her new book “Jesus in Me: Experiencing the Holy Spirit as a Constant Companion” how the Holy Spirit encouraged her during her cancer journey.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, last year, Lotz was diagnosed with breast cancer and started treatment in October 2018. Though her prognosis was “excellent,” she still endured the physical toil of chemotherapy’s side effects: “hair loss, mouth sores, flu-like body aches, bone pain, metallic taste, appetite loss, fingernail loss.”

But she found hope in the Spirit’s whispers throughout her journey, she shared.

“The next morning [after surgery and the first chemo treatment], my devo­tional reading was from Job 42:12: ‘The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.’ The thought was that through Job’s suffering and grief, he had come to his heritage. Peace flooded over me as the Spirit seemed to indicate that my cancer experience was not a whirlpool. It was a journey with a purpose. God would use it to lead me to my heritage — where He wanted me to be,” she shared.

Anne’s road to recovery led her to countless hospital and doctor’s visits, meetings with pharmacists and lab technicians. Though they made her weary, Anne saw the work God was doing through…