A recent Politico survey has shown that an increasing number of Americans feel political violence is justified if the other side wins in the presidential election.

Late last year, researchers noticed a worrying trend: people were more comfortable with political violence. Data sets over the course of three years, as well as a recent survey conducted in September, revealed that one in three Americans now believe violence is acceptable to push forward their agenda.

In 2017, only 8% of the population agreed. The data does not bend towards one party—both extreme Democrats and Republicans alike have voiced this opinion. In late 2018, the number increased to 13% of Democrats and 11% of Republicans. The numbers hovered in a similar range for 2019 but skyrocketed to 30% in June 2020. Only two months before the election and the population’s response once again ticked up to 33% for Democrats and 36% for Republicans.

The choices varied from violence is “never” an option to a “great deal.” Of the people who feel some level of violence is justified, 20 percent of Republicans and 19 percent of Democrats condone “a great deal” of it.

It is worth noting that the more extreme a member of a political party is, the more likely violence is seen as acceptable. People who identified as “very conservative” or “very liberal” were four times more likely to justify violence.

The survey…

A kindergarten teacher in Communist China was imprisoned for simply sharing her faith with the students, The Christian Post reports.

Esther, the teacher who was locked up, shared how Chinese Communist Party officials at first politely asked her to stop holding outreach events at Woodland kindergarten and simply focus on teaching the students only what was approved by the bureau of education. She refused and continued to hold outreaches at the school for college students while teaching the kindergarteners.

According to Esther, the Woodland kindergarten was not an outrightly Christian school, but it taught a lot of Christian values such as humility and joy. She also says she was surrounded by a lot of other Christians. But that didn’t stop Chinese Communist Party officials from demanding her come into the bureau of education.

Once Esther was there, they interrogated her for 24 hours straight, demanding she fess up to any illegal materials or teaching she may have been doing. During this time, they also raided her classroom for “illegal” materials such as religious documents or other things.

After the 24-hour interrogation session ended, Esther asked if she could go home. When the Chinese Communist Party officials refused, she asked if she could have a lawyer, to which they also responded no. Then they held her overnight. “I was very cold and very hungry,”…

In an interview with The Christian Post, new Christian artist Jason Biddle opened up about how he overcame his drug addiction and found redemption and healing in Christ.

Biddle, a former baseball player who tried out for the Cincinnati Reds, became a contractor after getting injured. But while he was a contractor, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. Realizing that he couldn’t conquer his addiction without the help of God, Biddle turned to God, ready to accept the consequences for his actions.

“When I prayed, I asked for consequences. I knew it was the only thing that would get me to stop,” Biddle told The Christian Post.

Shortly after, while with his kids, Biddle suffered from an overdose that nearly took his life. Following his overdose, Biddle went to a Christian treatment center.

In the treatment center, Biddle realized the drugs and alcohol addictions were simply symptoms of a much larger problem. It wasn’t until he surrendered his life to Christ that his addiction finally began to loosen its hold on him. Biddle grew up in a Christian household, and he says that “definitely planted seeds of hope and faith that would later come to fruition.”

Biddle, who is now in recovery and is a budding Christian music artist, recently released a new single, “Come On In.”

The song, which he wrote for a childhood friend who is a non-believer, is reminiscent of the struggles Biddle…

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris refused to say during Wednesday’s debate whether she and presidential nominee Joe Biden support a “court-packing” proposal to add seats to the U.S. Supreme Court, responding with an answer that reflected Biden’s own silence on the issue. 

The sole vice presidential debate was filled with question-dodging from both sides – Pence included – and was conducted with both candidates seated and divided by plexiglass dividers due to the pandemic. It was held in Salt Lake City. 

Much of the debate focused on President Trump’s nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Because Barrett’s confirmation could move the court to the right, some Democrats have proposed adding seats to the court to counter the ideological swing. The court has had nine seats since 1869. 

“I think the American people really deserve an answer, Senator Harris. Are you and Joe Biden going to pack the court if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed?” Pence asked. 

After Harris dodged the question, Pence responded, “The people deserve a straight answer, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, the straight answer is they are going to pack the Supreme Court if they somehow win this election. 

“Men and women, I’ve got to tell you people across this country, if you cherish our…

By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter Follow | Thursday, October 08, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic could accelerate a loss of faith among the next generation unless churches find ways to better disciple young churchgoers and keep them connected, senior researchers at the Barna Group say.

David Kinnaman, president of the California-based evangelical Christian polling firm and Mark Matlock, director of insights, cited earlier research highlighting how a majority of young people who grew up in the church will either walk away from their faith or from the church when they become young adults, during a recent discussion about the impact of the pandemic on Christians aged 18-29.

And both believe the pandemic will make this crisis of faith even worse unless steps are taken to stanch its impact.

“I think it will. I actually think we’re going to see an increasing number of people who’ve lost connectedness with their faith community, with their usual rhythms and practices. We’re going to actually see an increasing number in the years to come and the long-term impact is even more fallout from that,” Kinnaman said.

“We know that 22% of young people…

A Texas grand jury has indicted Netflix for “promotion of lewd visual material” depicting children for the company’s controversial movie Cuties.

The grand jury, in Tyler County, Texas, issued the indictment and said Netflix “knowingly promote[d] visual material which depicts the lewd exhibition” of children.

Texas state Rep. Matt Schaefer posted a picture of the indictment on social media. The Texan newspaper first reported about the indictment.

Netflix, Inc. indicted by grand jury in Tyler Co., Tx for promoting material in Cuties film which depicts lewd exhibition of pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 yrs of age which appeals to the prurient interest in sex #Cuties #txlege pic.twitter.com/UJ1hY8XJ2l

— Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) October 6, 2020

Cuties, rated TV-MA, follows a group of 11-year-old girls who join a dance group named “Cuties” and “become aware of their own femininity through dance,” according to the show’s description. A Twitter clip that has amassed 22.5 million views shows the girls on stage dressed in revealing outfits while they twerk and grind their hips, among other suggestive moves.

The indictment says the film depicts the “genitals or pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 years of age” and “appeals to the prurient interest in sex, and has no…

LAHORE, Pakistan, October 6, 2020 (Morning Star News) – A Christian sentenced to death in Pakistan on blasphemy charges six years ago was acquitted by a high court in Lahore on Monday (Oct. 5), sources said.

Sawan Masih, a 40-year-old Catholic father of three, had been handed the death sentence in March 2014 after a Muslim friend accused him of blaspheming against Islam’s prophet. The false accusation resulted in the burning down of more than 150 homes, shops and church buildings in Lahore’s impoverished, predominantly Christian Joseph Colony in March 2013.

“Hearing blasphemy cases is not an easy job, as there is a lot of pressure on the judges,” Masih’s attorney, Tahir Bashir, told Morning Star News. “I’m glad that the bench admitted our arguments on the basis of facts and set a good precedent in a country where religious sentiments and emotions often influence judgments.”

Masih’s defense had raised several objections about the police investigation and prosecution before a Lahore High Court division bench. Bashir said police registering the case 34 hours after the alleged blasphemy showed mala fide by the complainant.

“The investigation officer and the trial court ignored this material fact while deciding the case,” he said.

There were glaring contradictions between the First Information Report (FIR) and the statement recorded by the complainant, Shahid Imran, before…

(RNS) — Weeks before Election Day, leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals have reaffirmed their call for Christian engagement in the public square, signing a statement about issues on which they agree.

Dozens of leaders highlighted their reaffirmation of a 2004 NAE public policy guide called “For the Health of the Nation” in a full-page ad in the print edition of The Washington Post on Tuesday (Oct. 6).

“As evangelical Christians, we are called by Jesus to love God and to love our neighbor. As citizens who follow this call, we must engage with humility, civility, intellectual rigor and honesty in the complex and contentious social issues that face our nation,” the ad reads. “We invite all followers of Jesus — whether Democrats, Republicans or Independents — to join us in seeking the health of the nation for the good of all people.”

The president of the NAE, the Rev. Walter Kim, said the statement’s goal “is not political in nature” but rather has been and should be used by evangelicals of a variety of political and denominational affiliations to address eight issues, including protecting religious freedom, safeguarding the sanctity of human life, pursuing racial justice and seeking compassion for the poor.

“Today evangelical faith is often being narrowly defined and easily misunderstood and we believe this has long-term ramifications…

Reality TV star Duane Chapman, who plays Dog the Bounty Hunter in the A&E series by the same name, recently opened up about his faith in God after his wife’s passing, saying he “never doubted.” He also talked about his role in the Christian film Hunter’s Creed, a story asking, as he puts it, “Why does God allow bad things to happen?”

The movie is directed by Justin Jackola and explores keeping faith in Jesus in the face of great personal loss. The director stated the movie was “based on my personal journey asking who God really is.”

Chapman, who lost his wife, plays himself in the film. And, in an interview with The Christian Post, opened up about what it was like. When asked when he doubted God during the loss of his wife, he responded “I never doubted, OK, I don’t doubt God at all! To be surprised or to say, ‘Why is this happening to me? Why didn’t this happen?’ Yeah, that’s a normal feeling. And then you go to Scripture, and you listen to the voice in your mind that’s in your head that says, ‘This has happened for a reason.'”

Hunter’s Creed is about a recent widower who reunites with his old church buddies to film a hunting show after his wife passes away. It is there that he is confronted with a supernatural presence that forces him to confront his beliefs and faith. The film was released October 6, 2020, and can be rented on Amazon Prime Video or purchased on Amazon.

In a separate interview with