Tag: Christians

World edges toward zero-tolerance for Christians

Michael F. Haverluck – February 17, 2020

Whether they reside in Iran, China, Nigeria, or North Korea, the world is quickly becoming less tolerant of Christians.

According to findings from Open Doors‘ latest World Watch List (WWL) featuring the 50 least-safe nations to practice Christianity, the world has become a much more dangerous place for hundreds of millions of Christians.

“In the top 50 countries alone, 260 million Christians face a level of persecution measured as extreme, very high, or high,” Open Doors announced over the weekend. “In total, one in eight Christians worldwide face persecution measured as extreme, very high, or high – a 6% increase from 2019.”

Under Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, the Hermit Kingdom’s communist dictatorship only allows citizens to honor and bow down to the state.

“North Korea remains the most dangerous place for Christians, having been number one since the inception of the list in 2002,” the global outreach serving the persecuted Church reported. “Something as simple as owning a Bible can mean a person is arrested and taken to one of the country’s infamous labor camps – never to return.”

In other communist, Islamic and Hindu nations, things aren’t much better for those living out their faith in Jesus Christ.

For example, China is 23rd on the World Watch List. As the country with the world’s largest population of 1.3 billion, it is leading the way in the proliferation of “digital persecution”; with the second-most populous nation, India – with 1.2 billion residents – having a Hindu-led government that is also using this high-tech ability to weed out Christians.

“China has begun to utilize AI and biometric measurement to increase their surveillance and control of religious believers – as seen with their surveillance of Uighur Muslims, [and] at least one major church now has facial recognition cameras to record worshippers’ presence,” Open Doors revealed. “India (10) is also set to make use of these technologies.”

In sub-Saharan Africa, terrorism at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists is on the rise.

https://onenewsnow.com

Christians are being captured and killed across the globe: ‘World Watch List’ takes you inside the crisis

Billy Hallowell – February 10, 2020

Millions of Christians across the globe live in perpetual fear that they will be punished, harmed — or even killed — for merely practicing their faith.

Worldwide persecution continues to be at a fevered pitch, with varying degrees of affliction for those who openly embrace the Bible.

This tragic reality is more than evident in Open Doors USA’s latest “World Watch List,” an annual report that offers “an unparalleled glimpse into the 50 places around the world where it costs the most to be a Christian.”

According to the stunning 2020 report, more than 260 million Christians live in places where there is a high level of persecution, amounting to one-in-eight Christians worldwide.

https://www.theblaze.com

Persecuted Christians in Africa

Jack Kerwick – February 5, 2020

Globally speaking, as it has been accurately said, “religious persecution” is virtually synonymous with “Christian persecution.”

Yet the international journalistic class, as well as Christian leadership, is all but silent. At the very least, they don’t make nearly as much noise about this continuing outrage as they should and most assuredly would be making if it were any other religious group being besieged by a fraction of the violence to which Christians are routinely subjected in legions of countries around the planet.

Giulio Meotti is worth quoting at length. He asks: “Where has been the global outcry for the serial butchering of Christians just because they are Christians?”

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the Bishops’ Conference likened parts of the country to “the killing fields” plowed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Only in this case, it is the blood of Christians that is feeding those fields.

Meotti summarizes a recent spate of homicidal violence against Christian in Nigeria alone:

“First there was the beheading of 11 Nigerian Christians during the recent Christmas celebration. The next day, a Catholic woman, Martha Bulus, was beheaded in the Nigerian state of Borno with her bridesmaids, five days before the wedding. Then there was a raid on the village of Gora-Gan in the Nigerian state of Kaduna, where terrorists shot anyone they met in the square where the evangelical community had gathered, killing two young Christian women. There was also a Christian student killed by Islamic extremists who recorded his execution. Then pastor Lawan Andimi, a local leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria, was beheaded.”

Father Joseph Bature Fidelis, of the Diocese of Maiduguri, refers to the “immense extermination” of Christians that is occurring.

https://www.frontpagemag.com

Midshipmen Establish Study Group for Satanic Temple Beliefs at US Naval Academy

Caitlin M. Kenney – November 1, 2019

WASHINGTON — Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy who have beliefs associated with The Satanic Temple now have a study group available to them, according to the military institution.

A space for a study group at the academy, located in Annapolis, Md., was requested by students with “beliefs aligned with those practiced by The Satanic Temple” so they could gather and share their views, according to a statement issued Thursday by Cmdr. Alana Garas, a Naval Academy spokeswoman.

An internal email sent out to the student body Oct. 8 stated “satanic services” would be starting at the academy, Garas said. However, the announcement was not reviewed or approved by the school’s command chaplain nor did it represent the U.S. Naval Academy’s Command Religious Program, according to Garas.

But the student’s request was for a space to conduct a study group, not to hold satanic services, according to Garas.

“The USNA Command Religious Program provides for the exercise of diverse beliefs. Arrangements were being made to provide the Midshipmen with a designated place to assemble as chaplains facilitate for the beliefs of all service members, a responsibility outlined by Navy instructions,” Garas said in the statement.

https://www.military.com

Warning to Parents: New Disney Cartoon Teaches Kids How to Be Witches, Using a Demon to Do So

Deborah Bunting – January 8, 2020

This is so beyond Cinderella it’s not even funny. Disney has come up with a new cartoon about a teenager who, in their words, “finds herself stuck in the Demon Realm and battles the forces of evil alongside a rebellious witch and a pint-sized warrior.”

In this so-called fantasy world, the main character, Luz, “pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda’s (the rebellious witch’s) apprentice.”

It’s called “The Owl House” and is set to premiere on January 10th on the Disney Channel. Here is the link to the show’s trailer if you’re inclined to watch it.

In another trailer, Luz declares, “I wanna stay and become a witch like you.” You can watch that trailer here.

The show tries to portray witchcraft as a positive tool to fight evil. That’s similar to what real-life witches have been promoting over the past few years as they’ve been putting hexes on President Trump and others in order to fight for their beliefs.

Folks, if you think this latest “Owl House” show is just “fantasy and fun,” think again. Over the years, Disney has gone farther and farther into the darkness of the spiritual world that opposes the living God, coming up with programming and characters that lead the vulnerable into that dark world of deception.

https://www1.cbn.com

Watchlist: 260 million Christians persecuted in 50 worst nations

WND Staff – January 16, 2020

More than 300 million Christians suffer high or extreme levels of persecution around the globe today, mostly in Muslim-majority nations, according to the new World Watch list by the organization Open Doors.

“The church is alive. The church is active. The church is growing. And that’s why the church is persecuted,” says Open Doors in its 2020 report. “The persecution of Christians is getting more severe than ever, affecting increasing numbers of believers around the world.”

In the top 50 countries on the World Watch List, a staggering 260 million Christians face high or extreme levels of persecution for their faith.

In the previous year, it was 245 million.

Open Doors estimates another 50 million Christians face high levels of persecution in a further 23 countries, including Mexico, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The worst offending country is the communist nation North Korea, followed by Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Sudan, Yemen, Iran and India.

Syria, where Christians have been caught in the crossfire of a years-long civil war, is No. 11.

“Of the top 50, 45 countries have been designated ‘extreme’ or ‘very high,’ in terms of the levels of persecution Christians face,”  says Open Doors. “That’s five more than last year.”

Nearly 3,000 Christians were murdered for their faith from Nov. 1, 2018, to Oct. 13, 2019.

https://www.wnd.com

Rutgers student told not to quote Bible in essay because of ‘separation of church and state’

Joshua Aminov – January 2, 2010

After quoting a popular Bible verse to back up his assertion about the tenets of Christianity in his college essay, a student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick says he was told to avoid quoting Bible verses in academic papers because of the “separation of church and state” and the potential to offend non-Christians.

Political science student and Campus Reform correspondent Peter Cordi was assigned an autobiographical paper in his “Intro to Gender, Race, and Sexuality” class last semester. In his paper, Cordi referenced a personal friend of his who struggles with his own homosexual identity, especially given the views of the individual’s mother. Cordi wrote about how his friend’s mother cites her Christain religion and beliefs to justify her opinion of people who identify as gay.

Cordi is a Christain who disagrees with his friends’ mother’s views toward members of the LGBT community and quoted scripture from the Bible to support his position. Cordi quoted the popular verse John 3:16 from the Bible: “For God so loved the WORLD that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

In grading Cordi’s paper, Professor Kathe Sandler included her remarks next to Cordi’s use of the quote, telling the student that his use of a quote from the Bible was inappropriate.

https://campusreform.org

Knoxville Satanic “Children’s Ministry” Looking To Teach Children Through School Release Program

Activist Mommy – November 5, 2019

A Satanic “children’s ministry” claims to be hoping to take advantage of a pilot program allowing them to “proselytize” children during school hours after a Knox County, Tennessee elementary school granted a local church the same right.

According to WVLT 8, a little-utilized law allows students to be released from school for one hour in order to attend a “course in religious moral instruction authorized by a local school district.”

Knox County Superintendent Bob Thomas approved the pilot program at Sterchi Elementary after the Elgin Foundation and The Church at Sterchi Hills first approached the school.

In a Facebook post drawing attention to the issue, Sterchi Hills member Clark Stepp explained not only the legality of release programs, but the calling for each Christian to participate or create one at their school:

“These release time programs are legal and completely OPTIONAL,” Stepp wrote. “A lie accepted by many Christians that has been misunderstood and misused for far too long is ‘separation of church and state.’ This simply means the state cannot mandate one religion for all to follow. This doesn’t mean we can’t practice or allow our children to practice their faith in the public realm.”

Upon hearing the news of the pilot program, however, a group calling itself “The Satanic Children’s Ministry of Knoxville” felt they had cause to rejoice.

https://activistmommy.com