Disney's ABC Sitcom The Real O'Neals is Likely the Most Anti-Catholic Thing You'll See Today

By Christine Rousselle
Townhall

An upcoming show on ABC is raising some eyebrows for its rather bigoted portrayal of Catholicism.*

The trailer for the Real O’Neals, which is apparently based on LGBT activist Dan Savage’s early life, opens up by describing the O’Neals as your “typical Irish-Catholic family.”

It turns out, according to this show, that a “typical” Irish-Catholic family includes a closeted gay son with a girlfriend who is clueless about how contraception works (despite, you know, being a high-school age student living in a major city in today’s world), a kleptomaniac sister, a jock older brother with an eating disorder, and parents who are going through a secret divorce. Also, the priest is portrayed as a hypocrite with a vow of poverty—and a Lexus.

Sounds like your normal everyday family, yes?

If this is actually how Dan Savage was raised, then yes, I feel for him. I’ll give the trailer points for some of its funnier moments, but it seems a bit cheap to rag on a religion that’s a relatively low-hanging fruit. (Call me crazy, but I just can't imagine ABC working with Ayaan Hirsi Ali to make a show based off of her life with a less-than-favorable portrayal of Islam.) Also, using an eating disorder as the laugh line of a joke seems especially distasteful.

*Note to Reader: The article was published on May 14, 2015. This sitcom is still being aired on ABC every Tuesday at 8:30 PM. 

Read more: http://townhall.com/tipsheet/

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Persecuted Pastor Olaf Latzel of Germany, a Modern Day Paul

By GERI UNGUREAN

Months ago, a German reader of my articles wrote to me about Pastor Latzel of Germany. He told me that the pastor was preaching boldly the Word of God, and was getting into much trouble because of it. He was even in trouble with a council of pastors. They said that he was preaching hate speech!

Why, you ask? Pastor Latzel preaches that the God of the Bible is NOT the god of Islam – Allah. He preaches against Chrislam and says that it is a deception from the devil. He will not budge from the Word of God. He knows that he may wind up in jail, or worse; but preaching the Truth from God’s Word is most important to this brother in Christ.

Pope Francis is telling the world that God and Allah are the same. This does not surprise me in the least. Catholicism is a cult, and I truly believe that this Jesuit Pope may very well be the False Prophet spoken of in God’s Word.

Germany is days away from an onslaught of approximately one million migrant Muslims coming into their country. The Germans are watching in horror as they see the chaos, the rapes and the riots in other countries by these so-called “refugees.” My question is this: If these are truly refugees, then where are the women and children? All the world is seeing are able bodied young Muslim men.

It seems that this story about Pastor Latzel has gone all around the world. CBN interviewed the pastor.  Pastor Latzel believes that up to 85% of the pastors in Germany are not born again. In the interview, he asked for American Christians to be praying for Germany. He is asking God for revival to come to his country.

Please take a few moments to watch the video below or use this link to view it on Youtube. 




Continue reading:  https://grandmageri422.me/2015/10/24/

Persecution Unveiled has established this cause to educate people about the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in the US & worldwide. Mission Raising awareness to the growing tide of bigotry and hatred toward Christians around the world has become a burden on those trying to wake up those who cherish religious freedom as a God given right. Persecution Unveiled has been called by God to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to speak up and act on behalf of those who have no voice. You can also follow us on Pinterest and Facebook

Worldwide Rallies Support Kids Confiscated Over Faith

By Bob Unruh
World Net Daily

Thousands of activists plan to hold more than 50 rallies worldwide Saturday to draw attention to the Norwegian government’s seizure of five children from their loving parents because of their Christian faith.

WND reported in December the social media campaign in defense of Marius and Ruth Bodnariu, whose two daughters, two sons and subsequently their baby, Ezekiel, were taken by Norway’s child welfare services, the Barnevernet.

Social services agents and police removed the two oldest children from their school without their parents’ knowledge and hid them in an undisclosed location. Then, according to the British advocacy group Christian Institute, the agents and officers went to the family’s home, “where, apparently without any documentation, they seized their two sons and arrested Ruth – who they took to the police station along with baby Ezekiel. Marius was arrested while he was at work and also taken into custody.”

The parents were interrogated but later allowed to return home with their baby but no other children. The next day the baby also was seized, the report said.

World Magazine reported the governmental investigation of the family began when the principal of the daughters school notified the government she “had concerns about how the girls were disciplined at home because the parents were ‘very Christian.'”

“She said the family had ‘a strong faith that God punishes sin’ that ‘creates disability in children.’ The principal noted although the girls were creative, intelligent, and showed no signs of physical abuse, she believed the parents needed ‘help and guidance’ in raising their children,” the Christian Institute said.

The Home School Legal Defense Association on Tuesday announced more than 50 rallies around the globe will take place Saturday in support of the family.

“HSLDA is asking our members and friends to contact the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to express their concern about this situation. Norway has a great desire to maintain a good image, especially with the United States. Your efforts can help Norway realize that this kind of behavior can cause that image to be tarnished,” the announcement said. “You can email Norway’s Ambassador to the U.S., Ambassador Kåre R. Aas, at emb.washington@mfa.no.”

HSLDA provided links to information about the rallies, including for those in the United States and Canada, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand.

Read More About This Family's Plight

The Bible Joins List of Top 10 Most Challenged Library Books for the First Time

By Tre' Goins-Phillips
The Blaze

The American Library Association (ALA) fielded 275 formal challenges to materials in school libraries in 2015, and, for the first time ever, the Bible landed on the top 10 list.

Why was the holy book challenged? According to the ALA, “religious viewpoint” was the only reason cited. But that isn’t necessarily the only issue some people have with the Bible sitting on school library shelves.

“You have people who feel that if a school library buys a copy of the Bible, it’s a violation of church and state,” ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) Director James LaRue told the Associated Press. “And sometimes there’s a retaliatory action, where a religious group has objected to a book and a parent might respond by objecting to the Bible.”

This development coincides with the belief shared by the majority of Americans that religious liberty is in decline. However, along with that belief is the feeling that American Christians complain too often about the way they are treated.

Though this is the first time the religious book has made it to the top 10 list, 2015 did mark a downward trend in the number of complaints fielded. The ALA registered 311 complaints in 2014 and 307 in 2013. The average number of complaints lodged generally falls between 300 and 600 per year.

The AFA compiles the top 10 list by collecting “anecdotal data derived from media stories and voluntary reports sent to OIF about book challenges in communities across the United States,” according to the association’s website.

Article continues: See the Top Ten List of Books

Pope Francis’ Warning About What Happens to Those Who Refuse to ‘Go Against God the Creator’: ‘A Persecution of Which Not Much Is Being Said’

By Billy Hallowell
The Blaze

Pope Francis warned on Tuesday that he believes there’s an assault going on against Christians who hold to traditional, biblical values, with the pontiff embracing the concept of conscientious objection.

“There’s a persecution of which not much is being said,” Pope Francis said during a Mass at Santa Marta in Vatican City, adding that he believes this form of persecution is ”cross-dressed as culture, cross-dressed as modernity, cross-dressed as progress,” according to Crux.

The faith leader did differentiate between the horrific “bloody persecutions” like those unfolding at the hands of violent terrorists and “velvet-gloved” assaults that are “cloaked in politeness.” He said that these latter instances can lead a person to lose his or her job or face other push-back if an individual refuses to adopt laws that “go against God the creator.”

“We see every day that the powerful countries create laws that force us to go through this path … a nation that doesn’t follow these modern laws, these cultures, or that at least doesn’t want to have them in its laws, is accused, is politely persecuted,” Pope Francis continued. “It’s a persecution that robs man of his freedom, even from conscientious objection!”

As TheBlaze previously reported, the pontiff has discussed these issues in the past, notably making comments in the wake of the debate over defiant Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis’ refusal to offer gay wedding licenses that led some to ponder whether he agreed with her stance on the matter.

When asked aboard the papal plane last year whether he supports individuals who refuse to violate religious conscience as in the cases of those who decline to grant gay marriage licenses, the pontiff held little back, NBC News reported.

“I can’t have in mind all the cases that can exist about conscientious objection … but yes, I can say that conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right. It is a right,” he said in remarks that were translated by pool reporters. “And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right.”

Article continues: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/04/13/

Pakistani Christian Killed in ‘Savage Attack’ After Standing Up to Muslim Drug Dealers

People from the Pakistani Christian community leave a local church after 
attending Christmas mass, under security, in Islamabad, Pakistan. 

By Carly Hoilman
The Blaze

A Pakistani Christian man was brutally murdered last week by Muslim drug dealers, a local Christian organization announced.

Nazeer Masih, 55, was reportedly attacked while working in a field outside the his home village of Wandala Dayal Shah.

According to the British Pakistani Christian Association, the attack occurred shortly after Masih warned some Muslim drug dealers to stop recruiting young Christians to participate in the sale and consumption of drugs.

Masih was cutting grass with a Muslim friend when the two got into an altercation with two suspects, who cut Masih’s face and sliced open his throat. The dealers also attacked Masih’s Muslim friend, but his injuries were not fatal.

“This is not the first incident of persecution of Christians in our village, local Muslims are always creating problems for our Christian community,” local pastor Alfred Azam told BPCA. “Before and after our church services Muslim drug dealers swarm around our church trying to sell drugs to our vulnerable youth.”

According to Azam, it is common for drug pushers to hang around predominately Christian neighborhoods. They have been known to beat young Christians and force them to take drugs in the hope that they will become dependent.

“When our older men tell these criminals to leave our young people alone they get killed,” he said.

Masih left behind a wife, Rasheed Bibi, and a son, Patris Masih. Patris, 35, told BPCA he was “utterly horrified by the brutality of the savage attack” on his father, an event that left him “heartbroken and traumatized.”

Patris was one of the first to respond to the scene of the attack, but by the time he and other locals reached Masih, he had died.

Villagers who witnessed the altercation called police and named the two Muslim men responsible for the murder, but police officials reportedly refused to register a report for the crime or take any action whatsoever.

BPCA Wilson Chowdhry said the case is just the latest example of the lack of protection for Christians in Pakistan.

Article continues: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/04/11/

Kuwaiti Writer To Muslims: Stop Cursing Jews And Christians In The Friday Sermons

Ahmad Al-Sarraf

By Middle East Research Institute
Anti-Semitism Documentation Project

In the Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas, liberal Kuwaiti journalist Ahmad Al-Sarraf criticized imams who, in their Friday sermons in the mosques, curse their enemies, including the Jews and Christians. Al-Sarraf wondered why Muslims should yearn for Allah to help the mujahideen behead the Jews and Christians, when the Jews and Christians are behind inventions which benefit Muslims– such as cars, trains, planes, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and other vital things, and called on the Muslims to leave them alone and to recognize their superiority in many fields.

It should be mentioned that in another recent article, Al-Sarraf enumerated Israel's advantages over the Arabs in many areas, and called on the latter to learn from the former.

Following are excerpts from Al-Sarraf's article:

"'Allah, punish the Shi'ites, the communists, the Jews, and the Christians. Allah, punish the tyrants. Allah, disperse them, weaken them, and bring disasters upon their heads. Allah, facilitate our mujahideen brothers and help them behead them.'

"This is part of a prayer to Allah delivered a few days ago during Friday worship that was attended by tens of thousands of prayer-goers, and took place before dozens of TV cameras.

"This curse leveled by this 'imam' at the Shi'ites is meaningless, because they are [cursed] enough, and I do not think anyone needs to curse the communists, who are already forgotten and dispersed. However, I do agree with this imam's cursing of tyrants – may Allah disperse them – because this is necessary and desirable. No one loves them or sympathizes with them, and may Allah enable our 'mujahideen brothers' to behead them.

"However, I am intrigued by his curse beseeching Allah to also enable our 'mujahideen brothers,' or more accurately, 'ISIS and Al-Qaeda,' to behead the Jews and Christians. It is [the Jews and the Christians] who gave this preacher the prayer mat on which he stands, who invented the microphone through which his curse is heard by hundreds and thousands of people, who provided him with the [heater] that warmed him so he could [stand there] and say what he said, who made the vehicle that drove him to the mosque and will drive him back home; who created his bed and his bathroom, the doors of his home and the locks on his safe, his bath soap, his shoes, his silk clothes, and his wives' jewelry. It was they who also invented and produced the most complex medical instruments and discovered the best serums and drugs, which have healed hundreds of millions of Muslims, and without which they could have died due to lack of care.

"It is these [Jews and Christians], whom [preachers] beseech Allah to enable our 'mujahideen brothers' to behead as one would behead a sheep, who discovered our oil and extracted it from the ground, transported it, refined it, and purchased it from us, paying us hundreds of trillions of dollars, so that we can then be condescending and arrogant, deluge them with horrible curses, and beseech Allah to enable our mujahideen brothers to behead them.

Read more: http://www.memri.org/

Christian Translators Killed in Wycliffe Office Raid

By Lorraine Caballero    
The Christian Times

Four Bible translators have been killed by militants who stormed their office in the Middle East and destroyed some of their equipment. Two were shot dead while the other two died of the injuries they sustained from being beaten, according to Christian Headlines.

The militants beat the last two translators with their empty weapons. The translators were able to shield the lead translator from the attack by lying on top of him when the incident happened, the report details.

Aside from that, the attackers destroyed their Print on Demand equipment and some of their books and translation materials. Fortunately, the computer hard drives which contain eight language projects were spared from the attack, the report relays.

In the wake of the deadly attack, Wycliffe asked people to pray for the families of the murdered translators. The company also asked for prayer for new translators who will continue the project.

"Will you pray with me for the injured translators? Pray for others to step up and take on the translation task...," said Wycliffe. "Pray that God will strengthen their minds, their hearts, and their bodies to be able to continue the translation of the gospel for their people."

Moreover, Wycliffe also requested for prayer that God let the killers realize the wrong that they have done. The ministry also asked that the people pray that the attackers will come to know the Lord and be able to ask forgiveness for their sins.

Article continues:  http://www.christiantimes.com/

Saudi TV Host Goes Nuclear on Terror 'Hypocrites'

'It is we who blow ourselves up. It is we who blow up others'

Global Jihad
MEMRI

A female news anchor in Saudi Arabia blasted fellow Arabs for terrorism in a video clip that’s going viral.

Saudi columnist and television anchor Nadine Al-Budair harshly criticized Muslims in the Arab world as “hypocrites” for failing to admit terrorism does not represent their faith. She said it was time for Muslims to own up to elements of their faith that encourage followers to commit terrorist attacks.

In an April 3 monologue on Saudi Arabia’s Rotana Khalijiyah TV following the Brussels attacks, Al-Budair said, “After the abominable Brussels bombings, it’s time for us to feel shame and to stop acting as if the terrorists are a rarity. … We must admit that they are present everywhere, that their nationality is Arab, and that they adhere to the religion of Islam.”

Al-Budair highlighted an education system that enforces memorization of hardline Salafist texts, as well as schools and universities which “told them the others are infidels.”

She criticized those who insist terrorists do not represent Islam.

“Whenever terrorism massacres peaceful civilians, the smart alecs and the hypocrites vie with one another in saying that these people do not represent Islam or the Muslims. Perhaps one of them could tell us who does represent Islam and the Muslims,” she said.

Article continues: http://www.wnd.com/2016/04/

OWNING A BIBLE IN CHINA: THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM?

By Brianna Nishie
Open Doors

How uncommon is it to own a Bible in China? Thirty or forty years ago? Extremely uncommon. But thankfully, things have since changed. In most parts of China, there is now easy access to Han Chinese Bibles in paper or digital formats. Yet for Christians of certain ethnic groups who are surrounded by Muslim families and neighbors, a Bible in their own language is still a very precious gift. Open Doors worker Peony recently had the privilege of giving one of these Bibles to a young Uyghur brother.

Meeting Jack

Jack became a Christian a year ago. He feels he still has to hide his faith for now, as his father is a communist party member and his uncle is a devoted Muslim who serves as a teacher in a mosque. If his new faith were exposed, the consequences would be serious—his uncle would surely beat him, and his father would probably expel him from their home.

When I met Jack, I had two books in the Uyghur language with me, and asked him to identify them for me. He told me that one contained Luke and Acts, while the other was the New Testament, Genesis and Exodus. When he saw the latter book, his eyes lit up, and he asked if he could have it.

Jack’s Reaction

When I gave it to him, Jack was thrilled. He took the Scriptures to his lips, kissed them, and said, “Now I understand why a voice told me to carry my backpack along when I left home today. I didn’t see any need to do it, but I’m glad that I obeyed. It is to carry this Bible! Now I can hide it in the backpack and no one from the street or my house will see it.

Because of his reaction, I thought perhaps this was the first Bible Jack had owned, but he explained that a friend had given him one a year before. When authorities began searching for Uyghur Bibles in his community, he buried the book. Sadly, he couldn’t find it again once the situation cooled.

After hearing how he had lost his last Bible, it was a joy to see Jack holding the new one so tightly in his arms.

“I have been praying for another Bible and God sent you to bring me this gift today!” he said. “Thank you so much!”

Article continues: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/

ISIS Burns 15 Civilians Alive as Crying Woman Begs the West 'Save Us or Bomb Us'

An activist (not pictured) holds a burning torch near children carrying banners inside a cage during a protest against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma, eastern Al-Ghouta, near Damascus February 15, 2015.

By Stoyan Zaimov  

Christian Post Reporter

The Islamic State has reportedly burned 15 people alive for trying to escape the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah, and has also reportedly arrested a woman who pleaded in a video for Western powers to "save us or bomb us," so they can die quickly and end their sufferring.

MailOnline reported that IS captured and killed 15 civilians in Fallujah, which is located west of Baghdad, and is currently being besieged by Iraqi government forces who are trying to liberate the city.
continue reading at http://www.christianpost.com


Persecution Unveiled has established this cause to educate people about the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in the US & worldwide. Mission Raising awareness to the growing tide of bigotry and hatred toward Christians around the world has become a burden on those trying to wake up those who cherish religious freedom as a God given right. Persecution Unveiled has been called by God to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to speak up and act on behalf of those who have no voice. You can also follow us on Pinterest and Facebook.  

San Francisco Students Shout Down Jerusalem Mayor With Chants Supporting Stabbing Attacks on Israelis — and Worse

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat

By Sharona Schwartz
The Blaze

More than a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters at San Francisco State University interrupted a speech by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat Wednesday, shouting “long live the Intifada!” and the “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

Holding Palestinian flags while some wore keffiyeh headscarves, the protesters called for Barkat to be kicked off the campus.

However, even as they tried to drown out his words, Barkat descended from the podium and sat in the audience where he answered questions.  

The municipality said that police were called in to protect Barkat, but he insisted on remaining in the hall to answer questions.

Barkat wrote on Twitter Thursday that “we will not allow voices of hate [to] silence us.”

We will not allow voices of hate silence us. Will continue to build and devolop #Jerusalem for all! Today @SFHillel pic.twitter.com/QugLUpBQv9 — Mayor Nir Barkat (@NirBarkat) April 7, 2016

“Whoever thinks that calls to violence and wild incitement will succeed in silencing us or deflecting us from our positions is seriously mistaken,” Barkat said in a statement Thursday.

“We will continue to build, to develop and strengthen the State of Israel and within it a united Jerusalem and we will continue to make our positions and the rightness of our path heard wherever we are invited, including in those places where people will try to stop us,” he said.

Barkat said that he protested the “shameful conduct” to the university president and to the mayor of San Francisco.

“They must not allow dangerous incitement like this in a democratic country in general and on campuses in particular,” Barkat said.

Israel has been facing a seven-month wave of stabbing, car-ramming and other attacks widely described by Palestinians as a new “Intifada” or uprising, for which the U.S. students chanted their support.

Last year, Barkat along with his bodyguard tackled and stopped a knife-wielding Palestinian assailant who had just attacked an Israeli man outside the Jerusalem Municipality building.

Website: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/04/07/

TOP 50 LIST OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTORS

By Greg Corombos
World Net Daily

The persecution of Christians is getting worse all around the world, and Open Doors USA CEO David Curry says it could well be the most severe since the early church was under assault by the Roman Empire.

On Wednesday, Open Doors USA released its 2016 World Watch List, an annual report listing the 50 most repressive nations for Christians.

“This past year saw the persecution of Christians escalating to an unprecedented rate,” Curry told WND and Radio America. “We think that perhaps not since the first century church have we seen such an unrelenting and spreading threat against the Christian faith.”

While there were some changes in the ranking of the 50 worst nations, Curry said there’s so much persecution around countries making the list, which are far more aggressive in targeting believers than even just a few years ago.

“One of the things that made this the most difficult time in the modern era is that it’s more difficult to get on the list,” he explained. “Every continent is more difficult. So, unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of bright spots.”

Once again, North Korea tops the World Watch List for the most brutal repression of Christians.

“Tens of thousands of Christians are imprisoned for their faith, some even executed for things just as simple as owning a bible,” said Curry, who listed three other elements that factor into Pyongyang’s depravity.

“First of all, you have a cult-like system that sees Christianity as a threat to the worship of the leader there and his ancestors. They also have the ability to control the police system and the judicial system, if you can call it that, to use all the means of government to suppress freedom of religious expression,” said Curry, who explained that believers are very fearful of being discovered by the government or its spies.L

“The community itself is now so paranoid that it’s making it difficult for the Christian faith in North Korea,” he said.

Iraq is second on the list as a result of both government oppression of Christians and the terrorist tactics of ISIS. In fact, the nations ranked two through nine on the list are dominated by Muslims. In addition to Iraq, they include Eritrea, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Iran and Libya.

Curry said the threat posed to Christians in Islamic nations is intensifying greatly.

Article continues: http://www.wnd.com/2016/01/

ISIS Crucifies Young Men on Electrical Poles

Islamic State Fighters in Raqqa, Syria /AP

By Natalie Johnson

The Washington Free Beacon

ISIS crucified at least eight men on electricity poles in its de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria, this past weekend, according to human rights activists.

ARA News reported Monday that the young men who were killed had been detained for nearly a year prior to the executions. Three men executed were charged with attempting to desert the terrorist group while others were accused of violating ISIS rules.

Eyewitnesses speaking on the condition of anonymity told ARA News that extremists shot and killed the eight men before crucifying them on electricity polls situated on a Raqqa highway in northeastern Syria.

An ISIS member read aloud the accusations against the men prior to the executions, according to eyewitnesses.

Another individual was reportedly killed for allegedly spying on behalf of U.S.-led coalition forces.

On Saturday, 35 members of ISIS were arrested in Raqqa. Fifteen were subsequently executed, the International Business Times reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organization based in Britain.

The organization said the crackdown over the weekend was linked to the assassination of senior ISIS official Abu Hija al-Tunisi. Al-Tunisi was killed in an air strike Wednesday.

The onslaught of ISIS killings was likely intended to take out suspected spies, according to theInternational Business Times.

On Sunday, the U.S. and its allies carried out 24 air strikes against ISIS members in Iraq, Reutersreported. An ISIS fighter who killed a U.S. Marine by rocket fire last month was among those taken out by airstrikes Sunday.

Website: http://freebeacon.com/

GRIEVING THE DEATH OF A TRUE MARTYR IN BANGLADESH

representative photo

By Brianna Nishie    

Open Doors

We have confirmed that Hossain Ali (65), a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, was hacked to death early in the morning on Tuesday, March 22nd by Islamic militants in Garialpara, Kurigram, Northern Bangladesh.

While Hossain was coming back from his morning walk, three assailants on motorbikes approached him, threw a cocktail bomb and attacked with sharp weapons. Hossain Ali died on the spot. After police verification, Hossain’s body was sent for autopsy.

A True Servant of Christ

Hossain was a freedom fighter and became a Christian in 1999. After his conversion, his wife tied him up and held him captive in their house for three days. His family and relatives pressured and persecuted him, yet he never forsook Jesus.

In addition to the persecution he experienced for family members, Hossain, who worked as a government health worker, was even denied salary for a few months because of his faith. Amazingly, his faithfulness inspired his entire family to eventually embrace Christ.

Hossain was very active in evangelistic outreach to Muslims in Northern Bangladesh. Open Doors later sponsored his daughter and son-in-law so they could attend a Bible college in the Philippines.

Standing One With Them in Prayer

The entire Christian community in Bangladesh is shocked as they grieve Hossain Ali’s murder. People are anxious about the future activities of Islamic extremist groups in the country. Please join them in prayer:

• Pray for the police and local authorities to uphold justice and the safety of Christians.

• Please pray for the victims’ family—that they will experience God’s divine comfort. May God give them His peace and the strength to endure this incredible loss.

• Pray that Christians from various backgrounds and cultures will support and strengthen one another during this critical time in their country.

• Pray that Hossain Ali’s sacrificial death may become a living testimony to his nation.

Website: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/

CHRISTIAN'S HOUSE ARREST TURNED INTO TERM IN LABOR CAMP

World Net Daily

A man who was accused of insulting Islam and inciting hatred for becoming a Christian in Muslim-majority Kazakhstan was jailed for 12 weeks, then given a sentence of seven years under house arrest, according to a group that works in support of persecuted Christians around the world.

Then he was hauled back into court and told he was being shipped to a prison labor camp for two years. Immediately.

The report involving Yklas Kabduakasov, 54, has been documented by officials with The Voice of the Martyrs, which explained the nation’s secret police investigated him and made statements to the court.

Those police, in Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee, monitored his activities and movements for over a year, gathering secret recordings of his conversations with university students with whom he had a Bible study and raiding his home to seize his books.

“Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians” provides documented accounts of attacks on Christians worldwide, and it tells of the perseverance and courage of men and women who suffer abuse because of their faith in Jesus Christ

VOM reported, “The 54-year-old father of eight sought full acquittal, stating that he had not insulted Islam nor had he ‘incited religious hatred.'”

Prosecutors at his trial claimed both of the charges were true, that he insulted Islam and incited violence, including by attempting to “force” his co-workers to become Christians.

“After the revised punishment was handed down and Yklas was rearrested, he was transferred to a labor camp in Pavlodar, 280 miles northeast of his home in Astana. His wife is now solely responsible for the care of the couple’s six minor children, including their son born in September 2015,” VOM reported

Story continues: http://www.wnd.com/2016/04/

Churches May Get OK to Designate Armed Guards

Mississippi lawmakers are moving to make it easier for churches
to designate armed guards 

By Douglas Ernst
World Net Daily

Mississippi lawmakers are one step closer to ensuring churches have the ability to designate armed guards at their discretion.

The Church Protection Act will now head to the Mississippi House after its Senate voted 36-14 in favor of the measure. The law aims to allow individuals to obtain permits for the explicit purpose of protecting houses of worship.

“[The bill] gives members of the church, if they so choose, a greater ability to protect themselves and their families and their church,” state Sen. Sean Tindell told WLBT-3 on Tuesday.

Chris Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association, cheered the bill’s progress.

“This important piece of pro-gun legislation clarifies existing law in Mississippi and ensures that each Mississippian has the right to carry their firearm in the manner that best suits them,” Cox said in a statement.

State Sen. Hillman Frazier, a Democrat opponent of the bill from Jackson, said he did not want lawmakers “to pimp out the church for political purposes,” the NBC affiliate reported.

FBI affidavits filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit in February suggest The Church Protection Act could not be more timely. Khalil Abu-Rayyan, 21, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, allegedly told an undercover agent that he wanted to attack churches because they are generally gun-free zones.

“A lot of people go there. Plus people are not allowed to carry guns in church,” the FBI affidavit quotes him as saying, WND reported Feb. 22. “Plus it would make the news. Everybody would’ve heard. Honestly, I regret not doing it. (If I) can’t go do jihad at the Middle East, I would do my jihad over here.”

Abu-Rayyan was denied bail by a magistrate and faces up to 10 years in a federal prison if convicted on charges of possession of a weapon while under the influence of illegal drugs, WND reported.

Article continues: http://www.wnd.com/2016/03/

ISIS Uses Christians as Human Shields to Enclircle Capitlal

Assyrians Attend Mass in Solidarity with Christian Assyrians Abducted by ISIS

By Russ Read

The Daily Caller News Foundation

The Islamic State has barred Christians from leaving its de facto capital of Raqqa in an apparent move to use them as human shields as the terrorist group’s enemies in Syria begin to surround the city.

Activist-journalist group Raqqa Is Being Silently Slaughtered (RBSS) reported via social media Tuesday that ISIS officials are forcibly preventing the city’s few remaining Christians and Armenians from leaving, just as Syrian government forces and various other U.S.-backed militias continue to retake territory from the terrorist group.

“The suffering of Christians began with ISIS control of Raqqa,” said RBSS on its website. “ISIS looks at Christians as infidels loyal to the West more than their loyalty to their homeland which they live.”

According to RBSS, approximately 43 families remain in Raqqa, each comprising two to three individuals. Prior to the rise of ISIS, Christian families numbered as many as 1,500. The Syrian city has existed as a de facto capital for ISIS since its rise in 2014.

Christians once made up as much as 30 percent of the Syrian population, but their numbers have dwindled for some time. In Iraq, Christians numbered 1.6 million prior to the U.S. invasion in 2003, today that number is closer to 300,000. In addition to massacring Christian groups, ISIS is also known to have used them as sex slaves. Those fortunate enough to avoid slavery and death are ostracized from society in the caliphate, pay extra taxes (known as a jizya) and are forced to live in the shadows.

“The members belonging to [ISIS] told the Christian and Armenian families in Raqqa that they should pay tribute to the organization or get out,” said Jameel, a resident of Raqqa, to RBSS. The option to “get out” has since been restricted.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/31/

Islamic State Planning Imminent Attack on Turkey Jewish School

'This is a more than credible threat. This is an active plot'

Exterior of Istanbul’s Neve Shalom Synagogue in Galata

By Times of Israel Staff

Intelligence source cited by Sky News says concrete threat to Istanbul synagogue and community center, after Turkey and Israel both warn of increased danger for Jews and Israelis.

Islamic State terrorists are planning an imminent attack on Jewish kindergartens, schools and youth centers in Turkey, according to a report by Britain-based Sky News Monday.

According to Sky News, citing an "intelligence source", terrorists are plotting to attack a synagogue which also doubles as a school and community center in the Beyoglu neighborhood of Istanbul.

The source said the threat was imminent and could happen at any moment.

“This is a more than credible threat. This is an active plot,” the source said. “We don’t know when it’s scheduled for. It could be in the next 24 hours or next few days.”

The report was likely referring to the Neve Shalom synagogue, Istanbul’s largest, serving many of the country’s estimated 17,000 Jews. 

The synagogue has been the site of two previous deadly attacks: a 1986 shooting and a 2003 bombing. 

The source said the intelligence was related to the capture of a group of Islamic State operatives, including a suicide bomber, in Gaziantep, in southern Turkey, last week, and added that security was being beefed up along with increased anti-terror measures. 

On Saturday, Turkish police warned of possible Islamic State attacks against Christians and Jews over the weekend. 

The police issued a nationwide alert warning of possible attacks targeting churches during Easter on Sunday, as well as synagogues, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. 

Injured people get assistance on the scene of an explosionon
the pedestrian Istiklal avenue in Istanbul on March 19, 2016

Israeli officials followed up that warning Monday by raising the terror risk in Turkey from level 3 (basic concrete threat) to level 2 (high concrete threat). 

The Prime Minister’s Office cited a March 19 attack in central Istanbul in which three Israelis were killed and several others wounded.

Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/

God Is Performing ‘Supernatural Interventions’ to Protect Embattled Christians Across the Globe, Christian Leader Says. Here Are Just Some of the ‘Miraculous’ Stories.

By Billy Hallowell
The Blaze

The head of an organization that works to combat Christian persecution across the globe recently shared some stories with TheBlaze that he believes show God’s “miraculous intervention” in difficult and life-threatening situations across the globe.

“We’re hearing supernatural interventions going on all around the world,” said Dr. Jason Peters, associate vice-president of connection for the Voice of the Martyrs — an organization that has been working since 1967 to help besieged Christians.

Among a number of harrowing stories, Peters shared how he believes that God once intervened to help protect a missionary serving in Vietnam.

He described how that missionary felt as though God was calling him to minister in a certain part of town — an area where he did not have access or permission to visit. Despite those barriers, he decided to head there and share the Christian gospel anyway.

“As it began to get dark, he realized they were putting up a checkpoint and he didn’t know how he was going to get back [home],” Peters recounted.

Instead of turning back, the man prayed to God and said that, though he was uncertain, he would forge on and trust in the Lord. And that’s when a man on a motorbike randomly pulled up and asked, “Hey, do you need a ride?”

The missionary, though uncertain and slightly uncomfortable, agreed to ride with the stranger — but what happened next made him even more leery.

“The man on the motorbike drives directly to the police station,” Peters said, noting that he instructed the missionary to sit on the bike and wait for him to return from inside the building.

The missionary, who worried that the man might be getting police to arrest him, was left thinking, “Lord, should I stay or should I go?” But he felt as though God was telling him to remain, so he did.

When the man emerged from the police station, he was in a cop uniform with a fair amount of rank. Once again, the missionary was panicked, as he did not realize that the stranger was a cop. Rather than arrest him, though, the policeman made good on his offer to drive him to the designated area of town, and the situation concluded without incident.

After the missionary had time to consider the kind gesture, he decided to thank the cop — but there was just one problem.

“He made his way when it was safe to the police station … and as he began to describe the man, they said, ‘How much rank did you say this guy had?’” Peters recounted. “And they said, ‘There’s never been anyone with that much rank at this police station.’”

The man was told that this individual did not exist (at least not at the station), which truly shocked the missionary, leaving him convinced that it was an angel who assisted him that night. Whether that’s true or not, of course, cannot be substantiated, though the story certainly resonates with the faithful.

This is just one of the many stories that Peters said that the Voice of the Martyrs has collected over the years, as the group works in 68 countries and has extensive reach into communities through on-the-ground field workers who collect information from various groups and individuals.

Many of these stories are recounted in “I am N: Inspiring Stories of Christians Facing Islamic Extremists,” a new book that was recently released by the Voice of the Martyrs.

“The theme of the book really is, ‘We’re not going to let them suffer in silence, nor will we let them stand alone. We’re going to stand with them and help them to stand strong for Christ,’” Peters said.

Story continues:  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/03/30/

ISIS 'Threatened to Crucify Catholic Priest on Good Friday' after Kidnapping Him from Old People's Home where Four Nuns were Shot Dead

By Sara Malm
Daily Mail

The Indian Catholic priest kidnapped by ISIS-linked terrorists in Yemen earlier this month was crucified on Good Friday, it has been claimed.  Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, 56, was taken by Islamist gunmen, reportedly linked to ISIS, who attacked an old people's home in Aden, southern Yemen, killing at least 15 people, on March 4.

The terrorists reportedly carried out the heinous murder on Good Friday, after threatening to do so earlier in the week, according to the Archbishop of Vienna. It was reported last week that several religious groups had received threats that Father Thomas would be crucified on Good Friday, but this was denied by his church in hometown of Bangalore.

However, the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, told a congregation gathered in St. Stephen's Cathedral in the Austrian capital that the priest had been crucified.

'The cardinal doesn't himself have any sources that have confirmed the death of Father Tom. Thus, for the time being, there's still basis for hope that Father Tom is alive,' said Mr Prüller.

Yemeni authorities have blamed ISIS for the March 4 attack on the refuge for the elderly operated by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in main southern city Aden.  Four gunmen posing as relatives of one of the guests at the home burst inside, killing four Indian nuns, two Yemeni female staff members, eight elderly residents and a guard.

'According to our information, the extremists who attacked the elderly care home in Aden have kidnapped priest Tom Uzhunnalil, a 56-year-old Indian, who was taken to an unknown location,' a Yemeni security official said.

Story continues: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/

Bill Seeks to Prevent Religious Indoctrination in Schools

By Melanie Balakit
The Tennessean

A state lawmaker filed a bill Wednesday to quell statewide concerns about religious indoctrination in public schools.

Middle school students learn about major world religions in social studies, and in recent months, some parents and officials have raised concerns about how and what students learn about Islam.

The bill enables local school boards to set guidelines on how religions are taught in school, among other things.

"I'm not opposed to teaching religion. I am opposed to indoctrination and proselytization," said Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, who co-sponsors HB1905 with Rep. Timothy Hill, R-Blountville, and Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Johnson City.

The bill requires local school boards to draft and set policy by next school year on how religion should be taught in school. The policy process must include time for public comment.

The bill also requires school districts to provide parent access to course curriculum, course pacing and required major assignments in all social studies, science, math and English courses in grades 6-12; requires teacher training institutions to instruct educators how to teach religious content in an objective manner; and seeks to codify state reviews of social studies standards.

Read more: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/

Tennessee Lawmaker: ISIS Should be Allowed to Recruit at Colleges

Tennessee Rep. Martin Daniel

By Joel Ebert

The Tennessean

A Knoxville-based Republican lawmaker on Thursday defended his comments that free speech rights on college campuses should offer protections, even to groups like ISIS.

Speaking on the House floor, Rep. Martin Daniel said he supports people’s constitutional rights to free speech, even if he disagrees with the message.

“I just wanted to confirm and clarify that I will always respect the right of persons and organizations to speak,” he said. “That however is different from agreeing with the content of that speech. I will never apologize for defending the First Amendment. I will always cloak myself in it and defend others’ right to speak.”

Daniel’s defense comes one day after he fielded a question about whether he believed people should be able to stand in the middle of university campuses and “recruit for ISIS.

“So long as it doesn’t disrupt the proceedings on that campus. Yes sir,” Daniel told the House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee on Wednesday. “They can recruit people for any organization or any other cause. I think it’s just part of being exposed to differing viewpoints.”

On Thursday, Daniel elaborated, saying, “The remedy for disagreeable speech is not silence that speech — it is more speech.”

Some members of the House applauded Daniel after he offered the explanation.

In an email to The Tennessean, Daniel said he was simply trying to offer a legal opinion that “any organization has the simple right to recruit membership in any public space, including public higher education campuses.”

“If that speech should cross the line so that it becomes an imminent threat to someone, including our country, that would not be protected speech,” he wrote, citing Brandenburg v. Ohio, a 1969 Supreme Court decision that made inflammatory speech, which could incited “imminent lawless action” illegal.

While discussing the issue from his inside his legislative office, Daniel said he did not want his remarks to lead people to believe he supports the terrorist group.

Article continues: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/17

ABA Scolded on Plan to Punish Attorneys for Religious Beliefs

By Bob Unruh
World Net Daily

Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court, which recently ruled in opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage decision, blasted the American Bar Association for elevating “sexual behavior, appetites, and self-styled identity to the level of unchanging characteristics such as race, sex, ethnicity and national origin.”

“I am under no illusions that the ABA is a conservative or even an apolitical organization, but I would expect it to defend the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship rather than punish attorneys who have sincerely held religious or traditional beliefs and wish to obey God and their conscience,” Moore wrote to members of the ABA Ethics Committee, care of ethics counsel Dennis Rendleman.

The ABA has proposed a change in its rules that would make it ethical “misconduct” for a lawyer to consider “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in the attorney-client relationship.

Moore noted that one week ago, he issued an opinion in agreement with the four dissenting U.S. Supreme Court justices in the Obergefell vs. Hodges “same-sex marriage” case, describing the decision as “immoral, unconstitutional and tyrannical.”

“I predicted that the ‘consequences for our society will be devastating, and its elevation of immorality to a special ‘right’ enforced through civil penalties will be completely destructive of our religious liberty,'” he continued.

“As Justice Alito warned, Obergefell ‘will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy’ and ‘exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.'”

Read more: http://www.wnd.com/2016/03/

VISION OF CHRIST SAVES MUSLIM GIRL IN HORN OF AFRICA

By Janelle P in Aftrica
Open Doors

Hawa* grew up in a wealthy Muslim family in the Horn of Africa. Her parents had great plans for her. They wanted to send her to an Arab country for spiritual instruction. She was also engaged to a Muslim man who lives in America. However, everything was put on hold when she became very ill.

While in hospital, she had a life-changing spiritual experience. “I had a dream [in which] I saw a man who was smiling and crying at the same time. I somehow knew he was weeping for me.” None of her family could explain the dream. However, her mosque leader, who was a secret follower of Christ, told her it was about the Messiah and he gave her a Bible. “I read the Bible continually, and little by little, I learned about the love of Jesus for all men. It changed me from the inside.”

Hawa kept her faith a secret, but one day, her family discovered her Bible. Her father was furious and beat her and later chased her away. “You are dead to us!” Her fiancé also broke off the engagement. Hawa was very sad, but says, “The love of Christ was of more value to me than the love of my family.”

Her sister, Zulfa*, had learned enough about Christ from Hawa by now to join her on her road of suffering. All of a sudden, these young women who had always been so sheltered were destitute. They had no money, no home and no friends, and they were hated by their extended family.

To make matters worse, Hawa broke one of the discs in her spine one day as she tried to get away from an angry uncle and fell into a ditch next to the road. Zulfa tried to provide an income for them by baking hundreds of flatbreads on smoky fires. The fumes and smoke she was exposed to damaged her eyes so much they feared she would lose her sight.

Hawa and Zulfa went through a very dark time of suffering. But thankfully they receive great support from Christians around them. Open Doors provided medical care for Zulfa and then helped them start a small business. Their cafeteria generates a good income that helps them cover all their costs and even make some profit.

Hawa looks back on her time of suffering and says that Open Doors’ help brought light to their darkness. “The light is increasing day by day. I thank you for your help. God bless you.”

https://www.opendoorsusa.org/

CONVERTS FROM BUDDHISM FORCED FROM THEIR VILLAGE IN MYANMAR

By Janelle P in Asia 
Open Doors

Burmese pilgrims and tour busses filled with foreigners flock to a massive limestone cave near the town of Pindaya in the heart of Myanmar. Inside the caverns are more than 8,000 golden statues of Buddha collected over more than 240 years. Just a few miles away, hidden in plain sight among modest cement and brick homes lives a missionary pastor. During the week, he earns a meager living making and selling liquid soap—Open Doors provided the initial investment for the business. On Sundays, his home becomes a church for 12 former Buddhists who are now disciples of Jesus.

One couple that attends regularly is Aung* and his wife Phyu.* Aung is a small, wiry man, 59 years old, who has made his living as a carpenter. Until his conversion in 2012. “I was very faithful to Buddha,” he says through an interpreter. “I would collect money for the monks and did construction for monasteries and pagodas without any charge.”

Devout Buddhists constantly work to earn “merits” through a variety of good deeds. One is to sponsor boys as temporary monks. He also practiced regular mediation and even learned rituals for casting out evil spirits.

It was Aung’s older sister who changed the course of his life. She had become a follower of Jesus and sent her brother a Bible and a movie about Jesus. Aung was skeptical. Then his sister invited him and his wife to an evangelistic meeting. There they heard about the miracles of Jesus, including how he cast out demons with only a word—He didn’t need incense, candles or special chants. When Phyu surrendered her life to Jesus, Aung immediately followed.

Trouble started as soon as the couple returned home. Their village consists of about 200 households, all Buddhist. Aung was “invited” to the monastery to explain where he and his wife had been. One man declared that Aung and his wife had three days to decide to return to Buddhism.

Story continues: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/

Muslims Responsible for ‘Worst Year in Modern History of Christian Persecution’

By Pamela Geller

The media, cultural and political elites’ silence on the extermination of Christians in the Middle East is as evil as this unfathomable genocide. Their vicious persecution of those of us who dedicate our lives to exposing the ideology behind this vicious slaughter is, in and of itself, a war crime. History will not be kind to these accomplices.

And Pope Francis sanctions bringing this hatred and violence to the West. The Pope says that the “Arab invasion” of Europe is a social fact … and a good thing.

Muslims Responsible for ‘Worst Year in Modern History of Christian Persecution’ By Raymond Ibrahim, Front Page Magazine, March 7, 2016: The driving force behind 82% of the world’s persecution of Christians.

Open Doors, an organization that advocates for persecuted Christians, recently released its latest World Watch List—a report that highlights and ranks the 50 worst nations to be Christian. It found that 2015 was the “worst year in modern history for Christian persecution.”

Who claims the lion’s share of this unprecedented persecution? Muslims—of all races, nationalities, languages, and socio-political circumstances: Muslims from among America’s closest allies (Saudi Arabia #14 worst persecutor) and its opponents (Iran #9); Muslims from economically rich nations (Qatar #21) and from poor nations (Somalia #7 and Yemen #11); Muslims from “Islamic republic” nations (Afghanistan #4) and from “moderate” nations (Malaysia #30 and Indonesia #43); Muslims from nations rescued by America (Kuwait #41) and Muslims from nations claiming “grievances” against the U.S. (fill in the blank __).

The report finds that “Islamic extremism” is the main source of persecution in 41 of the top 50 countries—that is, 82 percent of the world’s persecution of Christians is being committed by Muslims. As for the top ten worst countries persecuting Christians, nine of them are Muslim-majority—that is, 90 percent of nations where Christians experience “extreme persecution” are Muslim.

Still, considering that the 2016 World Watch List ranks North Korea—non-Islamic, communist—as the number one worst persecutor of Christians, why belabor the religious identity of Muslims? Surely this suggests that Christian persecution is not intrinsic to the Islamic world but is rather a product of repressive regimes and other socio-economic factors—as the North Korean example suggests and as many politicians and other talking heads maintain?

Here we come to some critically important but rarely acknowledged distinctions. While Christians are indeed suffering extreme persecution in North Korea, these fall into the realm of the temporal and aberrant. Something as simple as overthrowing Kim Jong-un’s regime could lead to a quick halt to the persecution—just as the fall of Communist Soviet Union saw the end of religious persecution. The vibrancy of Christianity in South Korea is suggestive of what may be in store—and thus creates such fear for—its northern counterpart.

In the Islamic world, however, a similar scenario would not alleviate the sufferings of Christians by an iota. Quite the opposite; where dictators fall (often thanks to U.S. intervention)—Saddam in Iraq, Qaddafi in Libya, and ongoing attempts against Assad in Syria—Christian persecution dramatically rises. Today Iraq is the second worst nation in the world in which to be Christian, Syria fifth, and Libya tenth. A decade ago under the “evil” dictators, Iraq was ranked 32, Syria 47, and Libya 22.

The difference between Muslim and non-Muslim persecution (e.g., communist) of Christians is that the latter is often rooted in a particular regime. Conversely, Muslim persecution of Christians is perennial, existential, and far transcends this or that regime or ruler. It is part and parcel of the history, doctrines, and socio-political makeup of Islam—hence its tenacity; hence its ubiquity.

Article continues:  http://pamelageller.com/2016/03/