Nigeria Islamic Herdsmen Kill Pentecostal Pastor
Suspected Islamic Fulani herdsmen have killed a Pentecostal pastor in Nigeria’s restive Niger Delta oil hub, Christian rights activists confirmed Thursday.
Faith
Iran Detains Christian Blogger
A Christian online writer who already received lashes for expressing her faith in Christ and criticizing Iran’s human rights abuses has been detained again, supporters said Thursday.
Report lists countries were Christians are most persecuted
The Open Doors persecution watchdog has published its 2021 list of countries where it is most dangerous for Christians to practice their faith, Christianity Today reports. Published this month, the list is based on grassroots reports from Open Door workers between November 1, 2019, and October 31, 2020.
Nigeria: Abductors release Christian university professor while country leads world for deadly persecution
The deputy vice-chancellor of the Christian Anchor University in Lagos state, Nigeria has reportedly been released after being kidnapped by suspected Muslim Fulani herdsmen on Jan. 18, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. John Fatokun is understood to have been released on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Nevertheless, Nigeria ranks number one on the 2021 World Watch List for countries in which Christians are killed for their faith.
Christian advocacy group: Biden’s executive order targets people of faith
A Christian advocacy group has said one of President Joe Biden’s first executive orders is an “assault on biological reality” that negatively targets people of faith and faith-based organizations that provide social services, Christian Today reports. The Family Research Council (FRC) said the president’s Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation may result in Christians having to violate their consciences and even lose government contracts for failure to comply.
India: Christians persecuted even during lockdown in 2020
The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) has reported that, even in the midst of coronavirus lockdowns affecting the whole country for months, there were over 300 incidents of religious persecution against Christians in India last year, International Christian Concern said. In its report, EFI noted that Christian persecution has more than doubled since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and his right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.
Christian Photographer Challenges Northam’s ‘Wedding Cake’ Law
A Christian photographer is challenging a Virginia law that would compel him to work at a same-sex wedding on religious-liberty grounds.
“It’s time for an Evangelical reckoning on Trump” says head of Billy Graham Center
Ed Stetzer, head of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College has publically asserted that white Evangelicals should consider whether their behavior in supporting President Donald Trump contributed to fuelling the Capitol insurrection last week.
Muslim gang attack Uganda pastor and his wife, destroy church building
Incited by local mosque leaders, a gang of Muslims in eastern Uganda beat up a pastor and his wife because they offered help to an Imam who recently came to faith in Christ, Morning Start News reports.
Supreme Court Hears Case Over Christian Student Silenced From Sharing Faith at GA College Campus
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving a Georgia college student who was silenced, more than once, from sharing his Christian faith with fellow students on campus.
India: First Christians arrested and jailed under anti-conversion law in Uttar Pradesh state
The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has charged and jailed its first Christians under a new anti-conversion law, International Christian Concern reports. A Korean Christian and three Indian nationals in the Gautam Buddh Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh were arrested under the new Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance on December 19, 2020.
Trump Faith Advisors and Other Christian Leaders Were Among First to Condemn Capitol Violence: ‘That’s Not Jesus’
As Americans watched in horror on their phones and televisions, a violent mob overwhelmed police at the US Capitol Wednesday, storming the building and taking over the legislative chambers. Evangelical leaders were quick to respond and urge an end to the rioting.
Wycliffe Associates Providing Technology That Helps Keeps Bible Translators and Their Work Safe in High-Risk Areas
In regions where Christians risk intense persecution and even death because of their faith, Wycliffe Associates is helping believers translate the Bible for their language communities through its Tablets for National Translators initiative.
Nigeria Militants Kill 11 Christians Over Christmas
Christians in northeast Nigeria plunged into mourning after Islamist militants killed at least 11 people on Christmas Eve, church sources and officials said.
Nigeria Fighters Kill and Kidnap Christians
Christian farming communities reportedly faced new attacks and abductions on Christmas Eve by suspected Islamic Fulani fighters who recently killed dozens of Christians.
Important new report on religious persecution in North Korea: Christians are the most targeted among faith groups
A groundbreaking new study entitled “Persecuting Faith” has found that Christianity is the most persecuted faith in secretive North Korea, Christianity Today reports. Drawing on the testimonies of 117 defectors, the 2020 report was published by the Korea Future Initiative (KFI) in the hope it will inform any future human rights sanctions applied to North Korea by Western countries.
Bethlehem To Celebrate Christmas Despite Coronavirus Crisis
Church leaders and local authorities say they are preparing Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, the Biblical birthplace of Jesus, despite a reported increase in coronavirus cases. “Bethlehem is going to celebrate Christmas. And Christmas will not be canceled,” pledged Mayor Anton Salman.
Nigeria Army Rescues Abducted Boys
Nigeria’s army said Friday it had rescued all 344 schoolboys who were kidnapped a week earlier by Islamic militants in the nation’s troubled northwest.
China City Bans Christian Teachers Professing Faith
Authorities in China’s Wenzhou City are forcing all school teachers, including Christians, to sign a document forbidding them to profess their faith or any other religious beliefs, rights activists and other sources confirmed.
Indonesia Detains Islamic Leaders Amid Rising Extremism
Indonesian security forces have detained hardline Islamic leaders with suspected links to terrorism amid concerns among Christians about growing Islamic extremism.