Tag: Christians

China Removes Bible Apps from App Store, Shuts Down Popular Christian Websites

Michael Foust – May 4, 2021

China’s government in recent days continued its clampdown on Christianity within cyberspace by banning various Bible apps and shutting down WeChat Christian public accounts, according to a new report.

International Christian Concern reported May 1 that Christian accounts on WeChat – a Chinese social media platform – are no longer available. When Chinese citizens attempt to access WeChat Christian pages such as “Gospel League” and “Life Quarterly,” they receive a message reading, “[We] received [a] report that [this account] violates the ‘Internet User Public Account Information Services Management Provisions’ and its account has been blocked and suspended.”

Father Francis Liu of the Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness posted screenshots of the blocked pages on his Twitter page, according to International Christian Concern.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has removed Bible apps from the Chinese app store, according to ICC.

“Those who want to download Bible Apps have to use [a] VPN to circumvent the Firewall,” ICC said in its report.

This is not the first time China has targeted Bible apps. In 2019, China’s government removed a 6-year-old Chinese Bible app called WeDevote after it had been downloaded 10 million times, World reported. Popular American Bible apps such as YouVersion are not available in the Chinese app store.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Biden Becomes 1st President to Omit ‘God’ from National Day of Prayer Proclamation

Michael Foust – May 6, 2021

President Biden on Wednesday issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation that touted the “power of prayer” and invited Americans to “give thanks,” although the proclamation’s absence of the word “God” sparked criticism and marked the first time that’s happened in modern history.

By a 1952 law, every U.S. president must issue a proclamation designating a National Day of Prayer. This year the day fell on May 6.

“Today, we remember and celebrate the role that the healing balm of prayer can play in our lives and in the life of our Nation,” the proclamation reads. “As we continue to confront the crises and challenges of our time – from a deadly pandemic, to the loss of lives and livelihoods in its wake, to a reckoning on racial justice, to the existential threat of climate change – Americans of faith can call upon the power of prayer to provide hope and uplift us for the work ahead.”

On the National Day of Prayer, “we unite with purpose and resolve, and recommit ourselves to the core freedoms that helped define and guide our Nation from its earliest days,” it reads.

“We celebrate our incredible good fortune that, as Americans, we can exercise our convictions freely – no matter our faith or beliefs,” it reads. “Let us find in our prayers, however they are delivered, the determination to overcome adversity, rise above our differences, and come together as one Nation to meet this moment in history.”

The proclamation, though, omits the word “God,” making Biden the first president not to include “God” in his proclamation in the modern history of National Day of Prayer proclamations. The omission is ironic, because secular groups in recent months have criticized Biden for discussing religion too much.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Christian Pastor Arrested in London for Quoting ‘Homophobic’ Bible Verses

Kurt Zindulka  – April 29, 2021

Police in London arrested a Christian street preacher for allegedly causing “alarm and distress” to pedestrians for citing allegedly “homophobic” verses from Genesis.

On Friday, Pastor John Sherwood was preaching alongside Pastor Peter Simpson of the Penn Free Methodist Church outside the Uxbridge Underground Station — in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own constituency.

Writing in the Conservative Woman on Tuesday, Pastor Simpson said that Sherwood preached on the final verses of Genisis 1, saying: “God’s design in creating mankind was to set human beings in families, headed by a father and a mother, not by two fathers or by two mothers. The distinction within mankind of just two genders, male and female, made in the image of God, constitutes the essence of God’s created order.”

Simpson said that the police informed them that three complaints were made in response to the street sermon.

He said that a police officer warned that he and Sherwood should avoid making any “homophobic statements” and that there is “no freedom to make statements which offend people”.

The police ultimately dragged Sherwood off his step stool and forcibly handcuffed the septuagenarian preacher.

“This dignified man of God, who is in his early 70s, was marched off to a nearby police car, as one of the helpers from my church cried out, ‘What has happened to us as a nation that a man can no longer preach from the Bible?” Pastor Simpson related.

https://www.breitbart.com

Report: 5.2 Billion People Face ‘Very Severe Violations of Religious Freedom’

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. –  April 20,2021

Nearly one third of the world’s countries, where two thirds of the world’s population live, violate religious freedom, the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reported Tuesday.

Christians are the most persecuted group in the world, according to ACN’s Religious Freedom in the World Report 2021, an 818-page compendium of the state of religious freedom and persecution in the world today.

Persecution on the grounds of religious belief is a growing global phenomenon, the biennial report declares, and religious freedom violations have accelerated and expanded to the point where “systematic and egregious attacks are coming from governments, lynching mobs, as well as international terror groups,” such as Boko Haram or the Islamic State.

The report found the populations of 62 countries out of a total of 196 face “very severe violations of religious freedom,” adding that the number of people living in these countries “is close to 5.2 billion, as the worst offenders include some of the most populous nations in the world (China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria).”

Moreover, during the past two years since the publication of ACN’s last report, “there has been a significant increase in the severity of religiously motivated persecution and oppression which is the principal category of concern,” the report noted.

https://www.breitbart.com

The Most Tragic Story Never Told: The Muslim Persecution of Christians

Raymond Ibrahim – April 7, 2021

Few phenomena are as horrifically widespread as they are virtually unknown—at least in the West—as the Muslim persecution of Christians.

The general facts are undeniable and have been and continue to be documented in a number of reports issued by a variety of human rights organizations around the world.  According to one of the most recent compilations, Open Doors’ “World Wide List, 2021”—which was published in January 2021 and which annually ranks the top 50 nations where Christians are most persecuted for their faith—13 Christians are killed for their faith every day around the world; 12 are illegally arrested or imprisoned; 5 are abducted; and 12 churches or other Christian buildings are attacked.

About 309 million of these Christians “suffer very high or extreme levels” of persecution.  “That’s one in 8 worldwide, 1 in 6 in Africa, 2 out of 5 in Asia, and 1 in 12 in Latin America.”  More specifically and for the reporting period covered (Oct. 2019 – Sept. 2020), “4,761 Christians were killed for their faith”; an additional 4,277 Christians were unjustly arrested, detained, or imprisoned; 1,710 were abducted for faith-related reasons; and 4,488 Churches or Christian buildings were attacked.

The worst category, “extreme persecution”—the harassing, beating, imprisoning, raping, and/or slaughtering of Christians on sight—occurs in 12 of the 50 nations.  Nine of these top 12 worst persecutors are Muslim: Afghanistan (#2), Somalia (#3), Libya (#4), Pakistan (#5), Yemen (#7), Iran (#8), Nigeria (#9), Iraq (#11), and Syria (#12).  (That these nations are racially, culturally, politically, and economically very different—Arab, Asian, Iranian, sub-Saharan African, etc.—should be indicative that something else accounts for their commonality towards Christians.)

Over all, the persecution Christians experience in 39 of the 50 nations making the list is also either from “Islamic oppression” or is occurring in Muslim majority nations.  This means nearly 80 percent of the Christian persecution around the world—including of those 13 Christians killed for their faith every day—is committed by Muslims.

https://www.frontpagemag.com

YouTube Intensifies Attack on Religion, Removes ANOTHER Faith-Based Channel

Kayla Sargent – April 1, 2021

YouTube removed yet another faith-based channel as the platform continues its relentless assault on religious liberty.

YouTube has a long history in deplatforming channels with dissenting opinions, and Christian media organization theDove alleges that it is the latest victim in the platform’s crusade. “On March 22, 2021 the Dove was permanently banned from YouTube,” theDove’s website stated. “Over 15,000 interviews and segments have been posted to YouTube and the Dove has experienced millions of views. In today’s cancel culture YouTube has deleted every video.”

YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi told Free Speech America that “In accordance with our long standing three-strikes system, we terminated the channel theDove for repeatedly violating our COVID-19 misinformation and presidential election integrity policies.”

It appears as though theDove plans to fight back. “We are dealing with two fairly significant law firms, one in Washington D.C. and one in California, to see if there’s any recourse we may have to retrieve our 15,000 videos,” Perry Atkinson, the organization’s CEO and president, told NewsWatch 12. “We are looking into three other platforms as to whether or not we can re-establish a way to distribute our videos.”

TheDove’s removal was not the first time that YouTube targeted a conservative, or even a faith-based organization. The platform recently removed LifeSiteNews’ channel, and even censored Senate testimony from doctors on COVID-19. YouTube additionally censored a Newsmax interview with former President Donald Trump.

Unfortunately, Google’s massive video-sharing platform does not appear to be slowing down its censorious campaign anytime soon. TheDove was not the first religious organization censored by YouTube, and it likely won’t be the last.

https://newsbusters.org

Calif. bill could ban conservative Christians from serving as police

Press California – March 16, 2021

SACRAMENTO – A Bay Area assemblyman wants to ban from service police officers and police officer candidates who are members of hate groups or have used hate speech in the past, even in “a private discussion forum” online.

Yet the definition of a “hate group” and “hate speech” used by Assemblyman Ash Kalra’s (D – San Jose) new bill, AB 655, is incredibly broad. Not only does it include armed militia groups and white supremacists promoting “domestic terrorism,” it also includes police officers expressing conservative religious or political views on abortion, marriage, and gender or with membership in a political party or church that does.

One legal expert said the bill would “usher in a new era of McCarthyism” where Muslim, Catholic, Evangelicals, and even registered Republicans would be blacklisted from law enforcement jobs.

“Under the guise of addressing police gangs, the bill at the same time launches an inexplicable, unwarranted, and unprecedented attack on peaceable, conscientious officers who happen to hold conservative political and religious views,” wrote Pacific Justice Institute Senior Staff Attorney Matthew McReynolds.

“Indeed, this is one of the most undisguised and appalling attempts we have ever seen, in more than 20 years of monitoring such legislation, on the freedom of association and freedom to choose minority viewpoints.”

According to a bill fact sheet provided by Kalra’s office, AB 655 is needed to root out “extremist infiltration” into our police departments as evidenced by “the apparent cooperation, participation, and support of some law enforcement,” gave to insurrectionists during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.

The document goes on to say that California sheriff departments all over the state have been “plagued by texting, email, and social media scandals where officers exchanged racist and homophobic messages.”AB 655 would require police candidates to receive a background check for “official membership in a hate group, participation in hate group activities, or other public expressions of hate.”Public complaints of employed police officers would result in the same investigation, “and if sustained, could lead to termination.”

https://presscalifornia.com

Venezuelan Christians forced to eat pages of the Bible, have ‘crosses’ etched into their bodies

Anugrah Kumar – March 2, 2021

At least four Christian men recently suffered serious injuries after they were stabbed, forced to eat pages of the Bible, and had “crosses” etched into their skin by eight hooded men, according to a persecution watchdog organization.

The attack by men suspected to be criminals from a drug gang took place at Restoration House in the city of Libertador on Feb. 16, Open Doors reported Friday. Restoration House is a church-led drug rehabilitation center in Venezuela’s Mérida State.

The charity, which works with persecuted churches in over 60 nations, explained that Christians, who deter people from criminal lifestyles, are often seen as a threat to the illegal activities of drug gangs in Latin America.

“The criminals covered our faces and started to beat and stab us,” a victim was quoted as saying. “They drew ‘X’ on our bodies and forced us to eat the Bible.”

While the four Christians have been discharged from the hospital, one of them remains in poor health due to two broken ribs and injuries to his lungs and head. Two others had casts put on their legs and arms.

“Weeks before the attack, in the middle of a meeting discussing neighborhood issues, two men said they were going to end the Restoration House because they did not agree with this type of program,” Pastor Dugarte, who founded the center with his wife, told Open Doors.

Pastor Dugarte remains strong in his faith, and he will carry on with the ministry in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

https://www.christianpost.com

Denmark May Force Churches to Submit Sermons to Government

Steve Warren – February 4, 2021

Christian leaders in Denmark say religious liberty and the freedoms of speech and expression have come under fire after a proposed law would require leaders of all faiths to translate their sermons into Danish and submit them to the government.

La Croix International reports the new measure is primarily aimed at radical Islamic groups, but it will also affect churches. It is scheduled to be reviewed this month at the Folketing, the Danish Parliament. The country has more a population of more than 270,000 Muslims, and most of the sermons in the mosques are preached in Arabic.

The government of Denmark has said the law is necessary to curb the growth of Islamic extremism.

CBN News sources explain the measure is aimed at getting the preaching of jihad out of mosques, but because Europe is so politically correct they won’t just pinpoint mosques. They’re including churches and casting a broad, politically correct net.

Christian leaders are sounding the alarm about the proposed law and the dangers it represents.

Church of England Bishop Robert Innes wrote a letter to Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen expressing his alarm over the measure with what he describes as an “overly restrictive” bind on freedom of expression, according to The Guardian.

Innes told the newspaper he feared the law if backed in the Danish parliament, would be replicated elsewhere in Europe at a time when religious minorities were generally finding their freedoms being encroached upon.

https://www1.cbn.com

Australian Christians In Shock: Ten Year Jail Sentence For Preaching Repentance

Evangelical Focus – February 08, 2021

The parliament of Victoria (Australia) is about to conclude the process of the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill.

The law has been approved by both the Lower House and the Legislative Council of the Victorian parliament and could be soon ready to be implemented.

Any practice that aims to “change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity” will now be illegal.

According to Australian evangelical magazine Eternity News, this ban includes “prayer conversations suggesting change, and counselling when targeted at an individual”.

Melbourne, the State’s capital, is known for being Australia’s region with a strongest support for LGBT movements – as seen in the Pride Marches and other demonstrations in the last years.

The law becomes a real challenge to churches that hold to a traditional and biblical view of sexuality. Jail sentences up to ten years and large fines can be imposed by courts if there is a perception that a ‘conversion’ practice has caused injuries to a LGBT person.

According to the analysis of Eternity News, the law distinguishes between general teaching and personal counselling. “Sermons and general discussion of same-sex and gender issues which might take a conservative line” would not be prosecuted but “activities which are directed at an individual, on the basis of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and have the aim to change or suppress that person’s identity” would.

The law will not come into effect right away, but there will be one-year period in which the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission will lead consultations to clarify the details of how the law would be applied in different scenarios.

Several church denominations in Victoria have expressed their concern about the law.

https://www.prophecynewswatch.com