Every now and then, a little bit of justice sneaks up on the culture at a time when you least expect it. Case in point; A short time ago, 16 year-old Elliot Chambers borrowed and then wore to school, his sister’s “straight pride” sweatshirt. Elliot has a similar tee shirt of his own with the same in your face, not too subtle, pro-traditional family message.
ISTANBUL, April 7 (Compass) — Two Turkish Christians imprisoned near Izmir for a month on concocted charges of insulting Islam were ordered released March 30, after prosecution witnesses admitted that local gendarmarie officials pressured them to sign prepared complaints.
HO CHI MINH CITY, April 5 (Compass) — For the first time since the communist takeover in 1975, authorities in Vietnam have granted legal recognition to a Protestant organization in the south. Most observers see the move as a positive development, but they warn it is only one step on the long road to religious freedom in this Southeast Asian nation.
RIDGECREST, N.C. – April 5, 2001 (ANS) — Dr. Ted Baehr, a world renowned Christian expert on the mass media, urged Christians today to write and sell movie scripts and novels.
ISTANBUL, April 5 (Compass) — An Uzbekistan government official publicly hailed the Bible as “a priceless source of knowledge” during a March ceremony marking the first local publication of an Uzbek edition of Proverbs.
ATLANTA (ABP) — Southern Baptist leaders have informed the Roman Catholic Church that they are cutting off official conversations between the two groups that have been going off and on for 30 years.
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Pressing forward despite criticism of President George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers has unveiled the sweeping “Community Solutions Act.” The law would expand funding of religiously oriented social services and allow non-itemizers to deduct charitable giving from their taxable income.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP)–A 9-4 federal court ruling for Ohio’s motto, “With God, all things are possible,” is “an important victory for freedom and a sound defeat for those who want to strip our nation of its religious heritage,” constitutional attorney Jay Sekulow said.
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Launching a major effort to educate churches about the perils of taking tax dollars for social-service ministries, the Baptist Joint Committee and the Interfaith Alliance released a guide March 13 that will be distributed to 20,000 houses of worship.
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Amid growing criticism from the Religious Right, Republican lawmakers are stalling implementation of President Bush’s sweeping plan to expand “charitable choice” programs that provide government funding of religiously oriented social ministries.
SAN DIEGO, CA (ANS) – Clowns, doctors, dentists and street witnessing teams, are among those needed for Mike MacIntosh’s unique “Festival of Life” outreach in the historic city of Queretaro, Mexico, October 3-8, 2001.
HAPEVILLE, Ga. (BP)–An attempt to expel from the Atlanta Baptist Association two churches that affirm homosexuality came up short after messengers to the 93rd annual meeting of the association failed to reach a two-thirds majority.
SANTA ANA, CA (March 13, 2001) — One Christian was seriously injured and 35 more were hospitalized when about 100 Buddhist extremists assaulted the congregation of the Sanasum Sevana (New Life) Christian Center as they prayed on Sunday morning, February 18. The church is located in Nurwarawatte, near Hinguragoda, 220 kilometers northeast of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.
WASHINGTON (BP)–The White House is postponing action on a portion of its faith-based initiatives and may amend part of its plan, according to a March 12 news report.
MANADO, Indonesia (BP)–A Christian human rights leader from the United States and a five-member delegation he was leading were detained for a day and a half by security forces in Indonesia’s strife-ravaged Malukan island chain before being released Feb. 24.
J Peter Wilson, Director of VOICE FM in the West Bromwich area of the British Midlands, and former Station Director of 97.2 Stray FM in Harrogate, Yorkshire, reports: “We have recently received the news that the Radio Authority has declined our application for the West Midlands FM License.
BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA (February 18, 2001) — As young people growing up in Belize, Central America, Clive Welsh and his friends believed that America was “paved with streets of gold.”
SPRING LAKE, Michigan (Feb. 15, 2001) — (Assist) It had been slightly more than a month since a devastating earthquake rocked El Salvador, killing more than 800 people and leaving 200,000 more homeless. Yet the forces of nature weren’t through with the Central American people: A second quake — this one measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale — ripped through the country early Tuesday morning, killing 237 people and injuring approximately 1700 more, many of them children who had just reported for school.
ISTANBUL, February 15 (Compass) — Saudi Arabia released four Filipino Christians in Riyadh yesterday, 40 days after their arrest by the country’s strict Islamic police for conducting Christian worship services in a private home.
More Christians died for their faith in the twentieth century than at any other time in history, says Christian Solidarity International. Global reports indicate that over 150,000 Christians were martyred last year, chiefly outside of the United States. However, statistics are changing: persecution of Christians is on the increase in the United States. What’s happening to bring about this change?