Up to 120,000 Trapped in North Korean Labor Camps

By Samuel Smith
Christian Post


Between 80,000 to 120,000 people are trapped in North Korean gulags with many of them being imprisoned for their faith, the U.S. State Department has said.

On Tuesday, the agency released its congressionally-mandated 2017 International Religious Freedom report, an annual document describing the status of religious freedom in every country.

This year's report labels the Rohingya refugee crisis in Burma as "ethnic cleansing." It also places an estimate on the number of people subjected to North Korea's notorious system of prison camps.

Escapees over the years have shared the horrors of torture, forced labor and abuse they have experienced inside North Korea's prison camps. People are imprisoned in what the Kim regime likes to call "re-education camps" for crimes such as worshiping in a church that's not state-recognized or for defecting from the country.

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High School Forces Christian Valedictorian to Remove References to Jesus, Faith From Speech

Sam Blackledge, 2018 Valedictorian of West Prairie High School, Sciota, IL

(SCREENSHOT: KFVS12)

By Leonardo Blair
Christian Post

Officials at an Illinois high school who forced their Christian student valedictorian to remove references to Jesus, God and his faith from his speech may soon be facing a lawsuit after First Liberty Institute, one of the nation's top religious liberty law firms, decried the move as a violation of the student's constitutional rights.

"The most important thing in your life is to find ... intimacy with God," Sam Blackledge, the 18-year-old valedictorian of West Prairie High School in Sciota, wrote in his prepared remarks for his graduation on Saturday, according to KVFS12. "As you search for goodness, justice, love and forgiveness, know that only God is big enough to provide that for you."

He said he turned in a copy of the speech to school officials on Saturday afternoon but ten minutes before his graduation ceremony, school administrators reportedly told him to remove all references to God from his speech and warned him not to discuss his faith.

Sam, who has a 4.0 grade point average, told Fox News that he told school officials that he wanted to share with his fellow classmates how his relationship with Christ impacted his life. But "the principal told me it wasn't appropriate for the setting."

School officials were worried, he said, that the audience at the graduation would think he was speaking on behalf of the school district. When he offered to include a disclaimer with his speech, however, the school rejected it and left him devastated.

"I never felt that feeling before," he said. "It was terrible. I felt like I wanted to cry. I had basically — for months — I knew I wanted to talk about Christ in my graduation speech. For that to be taken away ..."

He further told KVFS12: 

"There's always people out there that will go against what I have to say, and nobody always agrees, but I believe this is the truth. It's impacted my life, and I wanted to share the hope of Christ with others."  

Jeremy Dys, a lawyer with the nonprofit religious freedom firm First Liberty Institute who has taken on Blackledge's case, said what the school did was a violation because the valedictorian's speech is protected by federal law.

Christian Post article continues here

Churches Disappearing in China Due to New Laws

Officials Arrest Henan Pastor Mid-Service.
(Photo: China Aid)

By China Aid

Notices posted everywhere when you go out in public. Authorities bursting into your church services, even arresting your pastor in the middle of his sermon. Even your private life isn’t safe, when even meeting with friends in your home can result in fines or arrests if you’re caught.

This is the current situation facing Christians in Henan, a province in the heart of China.

In February, new religious regulations went into effect, and though China has always tried to force its citizens to only join and attend government-run churches, things are even more dangerous with these new laws.

Fearing corruption by propaganda from the Communist-run churches, many Christians prefer to meet in secret, outside of this official system in homes or rented buildings. These house churches risk their safety to gather for services. Even small prayer meetings are forbidden!

And for Henan, the circumstances are only getting worse.

Emboldened by the new laws, authorities are raiding services, arresting pastors, and placing house church members under house arrest. In a few short months, hundreds of house churches now gone. Churches that operated peacefully for years are no longer safe. The doors of their buildings are sealed over and their crosses are demolished.

Again and again, these Christians are pressured to join the “official” churches and register with the government. Their methods of seeking out these Christians are cruel, too. In some branches of the Communist Party, employees are forced to sign a statement denouncing all religious beliefs. If anyone refuses to sign it, everyone in the branch will have up to $5,000 deducted from their salary!

Even those who have registered with state-run churches aren’t exempt from the crackdown. Members of official churches were summoned in early April for “ideological reorientation,” where they were reminded that all churches should display the Chinese flag, that minors younger than 18 are not allowed within a church, and that Christian “propaganda,” such as signs and posters, should not appear on their buildings.

Despite the dangers and increasing pressure, many Christians are still meeting in secret, undeterred by the Communists’ threats. The Communist Party may fear that truth, but they will never defeat it!

Walking with the persecuted,

Bob Fu

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." -- Matthew 25:40, NIV

Website: China Aid

Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.

Defend Dying Christians in Pakistan

from ACLJ


Pakistan is one of the most pernicious persecutors of Christians ever.

Pakistani Christians are tortured, raped, and burned alive. Some – like Christian mother of five Asia Bibi – are falsely accused of blasphemy and sentenced to execution by hanging because of their faith.

Others face mob violence and governmental abuse and injustice.

Despite the increasing extremism, the Pakistani government persistently fails to protect Christians from violence or bring its perpetrators to justice. Even worse the government of Pakistan itself is one of the world’s worst jihadist persecutors of Christians. Yet it receives the most U.S. foreign aid of any nation.


This deadly barbarism – this monumental injustice – must end.

We’ve mobilized our offices on the ground in Pakistan, at the U.N., and on Capitol Hill to aggressively fight back. We are directly defending numerous Christians in Pakistani courts.

Save the lives of persecuted Christians before it’s too late. Take action with us.


Use this link to sign the petition defend Pakistani Christians from torment and death

ACLJ and its globally affiliated organizations are committed to ensuring the ongoing viability of freedom and liberty in the United States and around the world.

By focusing on U.S. constitutional law, European Union law and human rights law, the ACLJ and its affiliated organizations are dedicated to the concept that freedom and liberty are universal, God-given and inalienable rights that must be protected.

ACLJ and its worldwide affiliates engage in litigation, provide legal services, render advice to individuals and governmental agencies, as well as counsel clients on global freedom and liberty issues. ACLJ and its affiliated organizations also support training law students from around the world in order to protect religious liberty and safeguard human rights and dignity. For more information, please use this link. 

 

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‘I SURVIVED A NORTH KOREAN PRISON CAMP’

*Representative photo used for security

By John Choi
Open Doors

Someone recently asked me this question: “What is it like to have the freedom to live an open Christian life?”

This seemingly easy question took me back to the North Korean detention center where I almost died 14 years ago. I was only fifteen at the time. I was arrested for trying to escape the country.

Though I am happy and free now, my life has been hard and dark. I’ve buried many memories, but certain ‘triggers’ inevitably bring them back to me.

A few weeks ago, I was doing some research about the North Korean gulags—and suddenly I found myself back in the North Korean detention center. That night, when I went to bed in my free country, I couldn’t close my eyes, afraid for what I would see.

But I heard them. I heard the other prisoners scream and cry.

Prisons in North Korea are not silent, not at all. Writing about this topic is difficult, but I want you to know what it is like.

Prison at the border of North Korea at Dandong

Fifty people were crammed in my prison cell. The guards forced us to sit on the floor the entire time. We were back-to-back. One other inmate behind me died during the night. Cause of death? Torture? Starvation? Illness? Lack of medical care? All of the above?

Two policemen came and dragged him out like someone drags a dead animal. Prisoners are not humans in North Korea.

When I was a young boy, I saw a lot of death on the streets. Many died of starvation and were left outside. But at age 15, when I was in a North Korean prison cell, and the prisoner behind me died, that was a new–shocking–experience.

I was overwhelmed with fear. Fear of death. Fear of being dragged away like the other prisoner.

There were hundreds of prisoners like me in this intelligence detention center. That means that all prisoners–like me–were arrested in China or on their way to China. The guards needed to interrogate us so our sentence could be determined.

Even before my arrest, I had seen many tragedies.

Once I was forced to witness a public execution. After the soldiers were done, I ran to collect the empty cartridges. Later, I felt ashamed of myself.

Why am I sharing all this? Because you need to know where I come from to understand how much I value freedom.

I was released from prison after I almost died of torture. It was a miracle. God used a guard to release me. Eventually, I fled a second time to China and this time—despite many obstacles and dangers—I reached South Korea safely. Now I live in the United Kingdom, and I’m able to study and work in a free, democratic society.

In North Korea, freedom was a concept, an idea. Here freedom is my daily life. I can walk to church without being arrested. I can read the Bible and not be afraid of spies. I can pray, sing and worship, knowing that God AND others can hear me. I don’t have to be afraid.

Website: Open Doors USA

Indonesian Pastor Sentenced to 4 Years for Witnessing to Christian Faith

By Staff Writer
Christianity Today

An Indonesian court has sentenced a Protestant pastor to four years in prison for religious defamation after he discussed Christianity with a Muslim taxi driver.

Rev. Abraham Ben Moses, a convert from Islam, was also ordered to pay a fine of 50 million Rupiah (£2,600) or serve an additional month in prison.

The presiding judge said he had 'intentionally spread information intended to incite hatred against an individual, group and society based on religion'.

Moses was arrested in December after he uploaded a recording of a conversation with the taxi driver to Facebook.

In the recording he quoted a verse from the Quraan and invited the driver to convert, according to World Watch Monitor.

The prosecutors had asked for a sentence of five years. However, Moses' legal team are to appeal against the four-year sentence. 'The sentence is too heavy for the defendant,' his lawyer Maxie Ellia said.

In a video of his testimony posted by Voice of the Martyrs Moses says: 'I spread the word of Jesus Christ so everybody can be saved... I get my strength from Jesus, He is a very good friend.'

A spokeswoman for US-based International Christian Concern, Gina Goh, said in a statement: 

'The Indonesian government should revisit the country's blasphemy law, as it is increasingly being exploited by radical Muslim groups to target individuals who they find to be offensive and theologically out-of-line.'

Indonesia is number 38 on the Open Doors World Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Website: Christianity Today

Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.

Secular Organization Calls on Amazon to Drop Donations Ban Against Religious Freedom Law Group

Amazon appears to have based its decision on the recommendation of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a far-left group that has labeled the ADF (along with other conservative organizations) a "hate group."

By Michael Gryboski
Christian Post

Military Religious Freedom Foundation President Mikey Weinstein has sent a letter to Amazon in support of a conservative legal group that has been banned from receiving donations through the AmazonSmile program.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Amazon has banned the Alliance Defending Freedom from being eligible for its AmazonSmile program, which allows a shopper to have 0.5 percent of their purchase price for certain items go to a nonprofit of their choosing.

In a letter addressed to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and sent out on Monday, Weinstein said that while he often disagrees with the ADF's views, he nevertheless believes that they should not be considered a hate group and thus prohibited from the program.

"Frankly, we disagree with ADF's positions on almost everything in law and policy. For years we've crossed swords and fought for our respective opposing views," wrote Weinstein.

"But it is one thing to fight for ideals, and it's another to marginalize and suppress others — even those you vehemently disagree with. And that is what's happening when ADF is branded a 'hate' group and thrown out of the Amazon Smile program."

Weinstein went on to note that he knows "several senior ADF lawyers extremely well" and that "their integrity, compassion, character, empathy, honor, and concern for their fellow humans I will steadfastly affirm."

Amazon appears to have based its decision on the recommendation of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a far-left group that has labeled the ADF (along with other conservative organizations) a "hate group."

"Our beloved brothers and sisters at the marvelous and courageous Southern Poverty Law Center are longtime and valued allies of MRFF and they always will be," Weinstein added. "Irrespective of that immutable fact, on this particular and specific matter, MRFF and SPLC simply disagree. Even brothers and sisters can disagree."
Earlier this month, ADF President Michael Farris sent a letter to Amazon to protest the decision, arguing that the company should not use the SPLC to determine who to ban from their AmazonSmile program.

"Although the SPLC did good work many years ago, it has devolved into a far-left propaganda machine that slanders organizations with which it disagrees and destroys the possibility of civil discourse in the process," wrote Farris.

"The group has been discredited by investigative journalists and charity watchdogs as a 'direct mail scam' that has seen its leaders amass enormous fortunes. It is no surprise that the United States Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have severed ties with the SPLC."

Christian Post article continues here

Trump Administration to Strengthen Religious Freedom Protections for Christian Colleges

Betsy Devos, US Secretary of Education

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

The Trump administration is reportedly looking to strengthen religious freedom protections for Christian and other faith-based colleges and universities that receive federal tax dollars.

Citing a copy of the United States Education Department's spring regulatory agenda, Politico reported Wednesday that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos plans to review and rewrite rules that regulate the ways faith-based education institutions can access and use federal funding.

According to the news outlet, the Education Department will host a "rulemaking panel" to suggest changes to requirements that faith-based institutions face when they are involved in federal student aid initiatives and other federal higher education programs.

Agency officials reportedly noted in the document that there is some concern regarding rules that "unnecessarily restrict participation by religious entities" in such programs.

"For example, some provisions may be overly broad in their prohibition of activities or services that relate to sectarian instruction or religious worship," the document reads. "Other provisions may be overly broad in prohibiting the benefits a borrower may receive based on faith-based activity."

The department's agenda also indicates that it plans to edit rules that regulate the "the eligibility of faith-based entities to obtain grants from the department or to participate in state-administered programs and the activities that they may perform."

The department will "review to amend or rescind" certain regulations so that the department can be "consistent with current law" and "reduce or eliminate unnecessary burdens and restrictions on religious entities and activities."

The review of the department's rules relating to faith-based institutions comes after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last June in the Trinity Lutheran case. In that case, the court ruled that a Missouri law that prohibited a church from receiving funds as part of a secular aid program simply because it was a church was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of Trinity Lutheran, which sought aid available to similar secular institutions to help renovate its daycare playground.

"Various provisions of the department's regulations regarding eligibility of faith-based entities and activities do not reflect the latest case law regarding religion, or unnecessarily restrict religion," Education Department spokeswoman Liz Hill said in a statement to Politico. "The department plans to review and to amend such regulations in order to be more inclusive."

The Education Department's review comes as there has been much concern that Christian colleges and other institutions that uphold faith-based stances on homosexuality could lose their freedom to uphold policies consistent with their beliefs.

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 to legalize same-sex marriage, Chief Justice John Roberts issued concern that the ruling would lead to religious freedom conflicts and the possibility that religious colleges could lose their tax-exempt status for upholding traditional policies on sexuality.

In fact, then-U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli was pressed by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito during the oral arguments of the Obergefell case whether religious schools that don't provide housing to same-sex couples could lose their tax-exempt status.

"I don't deny that. I don't deny that, Justice Alito. It is, it is going to be an issue," Verrilli said.

Under pressure from LGBT activists, the Obama administration's Education Department released a "shame list" of hundreds of faith-based colleges that are seeking religious exemptions to Title IX law.

Christian Post article continues here

Giant Billboard Displayed Just Outside New York Times Offices Criticizes Their News Coverage of Israel

"Once again, readers won't be silent when Israel is 

maligned by the publication."

By News Staff JNS
Breaking Christian News

(New York, NY)—[JNS.org] The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) unveiled a giant billboard this week outside the offices of The New York Times, criticizing the major daily newspaper for biased coverage against Israel. (Photo: A giant billboard this week outside the offices of The New York Times put up by CAMERA/via JNS.org)

Looking out their office windows, editors and writers now see a massive billboard that reads: "The New York Times At it AGAIN: Defaming Israel with distorted 'news.' Stop the bias."

"The billboard represents the collective voice of hundreds of thousands of people frustrated at the Times' shoddy reporting and bias against Israel," says Andrea Levin, executive director of CAMERA. "We're inundated with complaints about The New York Times—and for good reason."

Since the beginning of 2018, the Times has published so many egregious factual errors that CAMERA created what it calls a "New York Times Line," a timeline that tracks the newspaper's errors on Israel. It provides a visual counterpoint to the Times' own recent ad campaign that lauds the paper as the arbiter of truth.

"Numerous examples of error-ridden articles at the Times have been documented by CAMERA analysts," says Levin (see examples). She added that "there are years when the coverage seems more attentive to objectivity and balance, and other times when opinion pours into the 'news' and editors allow this—and refuse to correct clear-cut factual errors. We seem to be back in one of those periods."

"All we ask is that the Times live up to its own standards of accuracy and accountability," states Gilead Ini, a senior research analyst at CAMERA. 

"The New York Times can and should provide excellent journalism, but unfortunately, its coverage of Israel right now is often marred by errors, bias and significant omissions. In the recent Gaza violence driven by Hamas—to mention just one instance—the Times termed the barrages of fire bombs, rocks and attempts to tear down the border fence an 'experiment with nonviolent protest.'"

CAMERA has documented coverage over many years, including a detailed analysis in its monograph, 'Indicting Israel: New York Times Coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.'

In 2013-14, the organization also rolled out a billboard campaign across New York City focused on bringing attention to biased coverage of Israel by the Times.  The current billboard, located in a high-trafficked setting, will be seen by an estimated 100,000 passersby a day.

Says Levin: 

"Once again, readers won't be silent when Israel is maligned by the publication."

[Reprinted with permission of JNS.org]

Website: Breaking Christian News

Four Countries in Asia Pass Laws Banning Religious Conversions

A Christian minister baptizes new Christian converts in Nagpur, India.

By Anugrah Kumar 

Christian Post

Four countries in South and Southeast Asia have laws that ban conversion of their citizens away from the majority religion, and two other countries are considering implementing the legislation, apart from numerous other nations in the region that prohibit blasphemy and apostasy, aimed mostly at Christian missionary work.

On Tuesday, Alliance Defending Freedom's international wing will present a white paper on laws regulating conversions at the Policy Briefing on the Global Crisis in Religious Freedom with U.S. Ambassador Samuel Brownback.

Commonly known as anti-conversion laws, the legislation regulates the act of converting to another religion through vaguely defined terms of "inducement," "force" or "fraudulent means," according to the paper. These words could be meant to include social work, praying for the sick or even evangelism.

These laws are in place in parts of India and throughout Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan, while Sri Lanka and one province in Pakistan have yet to pass a similar bill. Barring the bill in Pakistan, where minority religions are allegedly being protected through the legislation, the legislation is based on the premise that majority religion is under a threat. As a result, it incites violence.

"No person or group should live in fear of being killed, tortured, or oppressed because of their religious beliefs. The rise of anti-conversion laws worldwide testifies to a growing crisis in religious freedom," Balakrishnan Baskaran, Legal Consultant to ADF International in India, was quoted as saying.

Last month, the North Indian state of Uttarakhand became the eighth state in the country to pass the legislation, which is officially named the "Freedom of Religion Act" in India but has the allegedly hidden intent to punish those who facilitate religious conversions, especially conversions from Hinduism to Christianity. That law carries a jail term of up to two years.

"Hindu nationalists' stated rationale for anti-conversion laws is that Christians and Muslims are using coercion to convert vulnerable Hindus in the lowest castes, also known as Dalits or Untouchables," the paper reads. "Nationalists also have cited the need to 'protect the cultural identity of tribal communities of the country.'"

Christian Post article continues here

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Samuel Rodriguez Condemns 'Anti-Christian' California Bill as Worst He's Seen in Entire Ministry

Bill is a "dog whistle to the left that intelligent Christians holding traditional views are fair game for discrimination, 

smears and frivolous lawsuits."

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

Rev. Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, has said that a California bill seeking to ban material offering sexual orientation change advice is the worst example of anti-religious discrimination he has seen in his entire ministry.

"California's AB-2943 is the most egregious, tone-deaf, and discriminatory example of anti-religious legislation that I have witnessed in all my years of ministry. First, I am deeply troubled this profoundly flawed bill has already passed the California Assembly and now sits with the Senate," Rodriguez said in a Monday statement.

"It is not overstating the matter when to say this bill will have a destructive effect on churches and ministries far beyond its stated purpose of prohibiting sexual orientation change efforts — which in itself represents a wrong-headed abuse of power and an assault on individual freedom," he added.

AB-2943 has already led to some ministries, such as the Colorado Springs-based Summit Ministries, canceling an upcoming young adult conference in California, due to fears that the state will crack down on any efforts deemed to be promoting "sexual orientation change efforts."

Summit President Jeff Myers explained that although his group aims to equip students with an "intelligent, defensible Christian worldview," the wording of the bill is a "dog whistle to the left that intelligent Christians holding traditional views are fair game for discrimination, smears and frivolous lawsuits."

Christian Post article continues here

SPECIAL EVENT: We No Longer Stand Alone"