China Christians Face Tough New Year
Devoted Christians in China were looking towards the New Year on Friday with little reason to cheer amid concerns the Communist government will continue a crackdown on worship outside state churches.
Faith
Iran Frees Christian House Church Pastor
Iran released a pastor from prison Thursday after the Iranian Supreme Court ruled that involvement in house churches “should not be considered a crime against national security,” Worthy News learned.
Evangelist Graham Condemns Satanist Attack On Christmas
American evangelist Franklin Graham has condemned U.S.-based Satanists after they tried “to destroy” Christmas over the weekend.
Gallup: 69% of Americans Identify as Christian
Based on two 2021 polls, Gallup found that nearly 75% of Americans identify with a specific religious faith, including 69% who identify as Christian.
DRC: Suicide bomber kills five in Christian area
Five people were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Christmas Day when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a hotel restaurant in North Kivu, an area where Christians are known to live, Christian Today (CT) reports.
Hungarian Christmas Cheer In Shoeboxes
Hungarian churches and charities have begun distributing support to thousands of impoverished children, including those who lost parents amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.
Christmas Cancelled In Europe?
Christians across the European Union began celebrating Christmas after the EU’s executive sought to cancel it as a feast with Christian roots.
Philippines Christians Clung To Faith As Typhoon Rai Devastates Nation
Filipino Christians clung to their faith on Christmas Day as the death toll of the Philippines’ super Typhoon Rai approached 400.
NASA Enlists Theologians To Help Look To Heavens
Roughly 2,000 years after wise men went after a star to find and worship Jesus born in Bethlehem, the U.S. space agency hires theologians to look to the heavens, again.
First Christian TV In Turbulent Zanzibar (Worthy News Exclusive)
A bishop leading the first Christian TV network in Zanzibar has received government permission to broadcast its first Christmas programs on the Muslim-majority archipelago.
“Prayer can help patients’ health” says respected cancer practitioner
A well-respected cancer practitioner stated in a recent USA Today article that he believes prayer can have a significant positive impact on patients’ health, Christian Headlines (CH) reports. A medical director at the Center for Recurrent Cancer in Florida, Dr. Gary Onik said his belief is based on both personal and clinical experience.
Protecting Female Abuse Victims: Federal Court Rules Anchorage Cannot Force Christian Women’s Shelter to Admit Trans Males
After a lengthy court battle, a federal judge ruled that the city of Anchorage cannot force a faith-based women’s shelter to accept trans-identified biological males.
Christians continue to be slaughtered in Nigeria
On December 19, Boko Haram terrorists affiliated with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) murdered 12 Christians in Borno state, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
India’s Southern Christians Fear Sad Christmas With Anti-Conversion Law
Christians in India’s southern state of Karnataka anticipated a sad Christmas as details emerged of a perceived “draconian” law proposal against religious conversions.
WHO: ‘Don’t Celebrate Christmas As Omicron Strikes’
The World Health Organization (WHO) has effectively urged Christians planning to celebrate Christmas and other religious groups to cancel their holiday plans citing rising Omicron infections.
Syria: Christians rebuild church decimated by ISIS
Christians have helped to rebuild a church in the Syrian city of Raqqa that was destroyed during the 2014-2017 Islamic State reign of terror there, CBN reports. The Raqqa church was rededicated following an effort led by the Free Burma Rangers aid agency and the Grace Community Church in Fulton, Maryland.
North Korea Executes 7 For Watching South Korean Videos; Christians Concerned (Worthy News In-Depth)
North Korea executed at least seven people for “watching or distributing South Korean videos,” including popular music, known as K-pop, according to a report obtained by Worthy News.
New Report Details North Korea Regime Starves, Tortures Christians
A new report by human rights organization Korea Future attests that the North Korean communist regime uses imprisonment, torture, and starvation to persecute Christians, Christian Today (CT) reports. North Korea ranks one on the US Open Doors Watch List 2021 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
FDA may allow abortion pill to be sent through the mail instead of administered in person
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday, December 16 faces a deadline by which it must finish a review that could result in permanently easing restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, allowing doctors to send the drug by mail instead of administering it to women in person, NPR reports.
India State Tables Anti-Conversion Law Amid Anti-Christian Violence
Christians were concerned Wednesday as the Hindu-led government of India’s southwestern state of Karnataka was to table a harsh anti-conversion law amid attacks against churches.