Notable Lawyer's 'Disappearance' Exposes China's Hate of Religious Freedom

Terrence Halliday (R) and Li Heping (L)

By Terrence Halliday

Christian Post

My friend, Li Heping was "disappeared" on July 10, 2015.

Detained by China's security apparatus, Li Heping, a practicing Christian, has not been seen for 365 days by his wife or child, nor his chosen lawyers and diplomats rightly concerned about his safety.

Seized in the first wave of China's infamous "709" crackdown on hundreds of rights lawyers and activities, for a year Li Heping has been held in isolation, his only company round-the-clock security guards, punctuated by lengthy interrogations. Longtime observers of "disappeared" lawyers state there is a high probability of intense psychological and probably physical torture.

Who is Li Heping and what does his treatment tell us about freedom of religion and speech in China?

His powerful impulse to defend the weak and vulnerable grew out of Li Heping's early life in nearby populous Henan Province. From a poor family, he started his legal career in 1997 as a commercial lawyer. He moved to Beijing and quickly built the Global Law firm into a powerhouse of rights defense where many of China's most vocal rights lawyers concentrated their practice.

Like his rights colleagues, Li Heping took on high profile environmental pollution cases and the subsequently famous cause of blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng. He got deeply involved in many highly charged cases of property and land seizures by the government, and cases of religious freedom, most controversially defending Falun Gang adherents whose brutal persecution made rights defense dangerous even for the lawyers. 

In recent years he pulled back from the "front line" and led a fight against torture in China's justice system. He led workshops on international UN standards that define torture and recommended practices that restrained it.

Joined by other leading China rights lawyers, President George W. Bush hosted Li Heping at the White House and he gained international prominence in the media and international human rights organizations. Now he is confined to a cell.

Internationally acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei once told me, China has become a police state built on fear. Those who speak freely are crushed. They become like slaves.

Read more about Li Heping and China's Hatred of Religious Freedom

Persecution Unveiled is an e-publication established 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. 

PENTAGON'S TRANSGENDER POLICY STEAMROLLS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

World Net Daily

The Pentagon’s newly announced policy of allowing people who identify as transgendered to serve in the military and receive special health care raises serious religious liberty concerns, charges a coalition of military chaplains.

Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, which says it speaks for more than 2,600 chaplains serving the armed forces, noted that in a recent conference call with its associates, a senior Pentagon official outlined implications of the policy change.

Pointing out that anyone in the military who receives a medical statement from a military medical professional certifying that they suffer from gender dysphoria will have all medical resources available for surgical alterations.

On the call, the Pentagon official was asked whether medical professionals who hold a biblical view on human sexuality will be required to violate their consciences.

The official replied that it’s the responsibility of medical professional to serve military persons.

“It’s an understatement to say that this raises serious religious liberty concerns,” said Chaplain Ron Crews, executive director of Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty.

“The Department of Defense must ensure a service member is not forced to violate his or her conscience and that doctors and nurses who hold to a biblical view of human sexuality can serve in today’s military,” he said.

Article continues

Russia Puts Lid on Christians Sharing Their Faith

By Bob Unruh
World Net Daily

A new law in Russia that had prompted Christian groups to call for a day of prayer and fasting before its final adoption has been signed into law and now will restrict even the most innocuous conversations about faith, according to reports.

“The new law will require any sharing of the Christian faith – even a casual conversation – to have prior authorization from the state,” reported Barnabas Fund, which aids persecuted Christians worldwide.

“This includes something as basic as an emailed invitation for a friend to attend church. Even in a private home, worship and prayer will only be allowed if there are no unbelievers present,” the organization said. “Churches will also be held accountable for the activities of their members. 

So if, for example, a church member mentions their faith in conversation with a work colleague, not only the church member but also the church itself could be punished, with individuals facing fines of up to 50,000 rubles ($770).”

Radio Free Europe reported Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the “contentious” law that was promoted as countering terrorism.

It also toughens punishments for extremism and violence, boosts the government’s ability to do surveillance and makes it criminal to fail to tell authorities about certain crimes. It also, the report said, “boosts state access to private communications, requiring telecom companies to store all telephone conversations, text messages, videos, and picture messages for six months and make this data available to the authorities.”

Encrypted programs must provide authorities a key, and the law “also increases the number of crimes that 14-year-olds can be prosecuted for and restricts the activity of religious preachers.”

Critics have charged that it is unconstitutional and likely to be used “to suppress dissent.”

Article continues here: www.wnd.com

Persecution Unveiled is an e-publication established 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. 

Canadian Appeals Court Rules Law School Can Be Denied Accreditation Due to Biblical Marriage Beliefs

By Heather Clark
Christian News

A Canadian appeals court has ruled that a Christian law school can be denied accreditation due to its biblical beliefs about the institution of marriage.
As previously reported, Trinity Western University had filed suit in October 2014 after the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society (NSBS) refused to recognize graduates as being attorneys until the Christian institution changed its policy on sexuality.

“According to the Bible, sexual intimacy is reserved for marriage between one man and one woman, and within that marriage bond it is God’s intention that it be enjoyed as a means for marital intimacy and procreation,” the university policy reads. “Honoring and upholding these principles, members of the TWU community strive for purity of thought and relationship, respectful modesty, personal responsibility for actions taken, and avoidance of contexts where temptation to compromise would be particularly strong.”
Students and staff must sign a covenant committing to personally uphold these lifestyle standards.

In January 2015, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court court found that the Society did not properly protect the religious freedom of the school as required by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“I have concluded that the NSBS did not have the authority to do what it did,” Justice Jamie Campbell of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court wrote on Wednesday. “I have also concluded that even if it did have that authority it did not exercise it in a way that reasonably considered the concerns for religious freedom and liberty of conscience.”

But on Wednesday, the Ontario Court of Appeals ruled that Trinity Western University’s standards were discriminatory and compared the matter to the 1983 U.S. Supreme Court ruling over Bob Jones University’s opposition to interracial marriage.

Read more about the religious discrimination against TWU

Philly Archbishop Says Gay Catholics Should Abstain From Sex to Receive Communion. Mayor Blasts Decree as ‘Not Christian.’ And That’s Just for Starters.

By Kate Scanlon
The Blaze

The head of the Catholic League on Thursday slammed Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney as “un-American” for condemning guidelines on marriage from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The new guidelines reiterate Catholic teaching that those in relationships outside the sacrament of marriage — including those in same-sex relationships, the divorced, civilly remarried and unmarried couples living together — should abstain from sex in order to receive communion. The Catholic Church has long held that only those living according to church teaching are eligible to receive the sacraments, including the Eucharist.

“This is a hard teaching for many, but anything less misleads people about the nature of the Eucharist and the Church,” the guidelines state.

Kenney, who was raised Catholic, took issue with the guidelines and Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput on Twitter:

 Follow

Jim Kenney 

✔@JimFKenney

Jesus gave us gift of Holy Communion because he so loved us. All of us. Chaput's actions are not Christian. https://twitter.com/bsecka/status/750709624823767042 …

5:47 PM - 6 Jul 2016

 
•  122122 Retweets
 
•  232232 likes

In a statement, Catholic League president Bill Donohue sharply criticized Kenny’s remark.

“James Kenney was elected mayor of Philadelphia. He seems to think that gives him the authority, or qualifications, to run the Catholic Church in his city,” Donohue said. “It does not.”

Donohue continued:

Yesterday, Kenney ripped Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput as “not Christian.” The archbishop’s offense? He issued pastoral guidelines reiterating Catholic teaching on marriage, family, and reception of the Eucharist. There is nothing new in Chaput’s document. It merely calls — as the Church always has — for clergy to provide pastoral care for those living in relationships outside its teachings, while upholding the integrity of the sacraments. “Anything less,” Chaput correctly observed, “misleads people about the nature of the Eucharist and the Church.”

Kenney disagrees. Fine. But it is an abuse of his office to use his platform as mayor to publicly intrude on what is clearly an internal Church matter. And it is far from the first time he has used his position as a government official to attack the Catholic Church. [...]

Kenney labels Archbishop Chaput un-Christian for upholding Catholic teaching. The mayor is demonstrably un-American in misusing his public office to conduct his personal war on the Catholic Church.

The guidelines also call for “a sensitive pastoral approach in all such situations.”

According to Catholic Philly, a Catholic newsletter in Philadelphia, the archdiocese issued the guidelines because “Pope Francis has urged that pastors and all Catholics strike a balance between teaching the truths of the permanence of marriage and the dignity of human sexuality with a merciful approach to people in broken marriages or with same-sex attraction.”

Website: www.theblaze.com

Ministry Fighting Persecution Frets Over Surge … in West

By Bob Unruh
World Net Daily

An organization that long has fought persecution of Christians in locations where they are minorities, regions dominated by Islam, Hinduism, or other influences, now is expressing alarm about the surging attacks it is noticing in Western countries, where Christians for generations have been the majority.

And the group is blaming, at least partly, government or government-backed organizations. The recent report comes from Barnabas Fund, which for more than 25 years has helped Christians who are persecuted.

“However,” said the recent report, “we are increasingly concerned about the growing level of harassment of Christians in the West.”

Persecution comes in a wide range of forms around the globe, the report explains. There is information discrimination where Christians are simply denied jobs, and then official discrimination where universities in some countries require Christian applicants to get higher marks than those of the majority religion.

Then there is vigilante persecution where Christians face threats and violence and finally, official persecution, in which unfair treatment is “sanctioned by the government or law.”

“Over the last few years we have watched the level of persecution being experienced by Christians around the world increasing. However, we have also witnessed with growing concern a significant increase in the level of discrimination and harassment experienced by Christians in the West. 

We have seen Christians lose their jobs because they are Christians, for example in 2006 Nadia Eweida an Egyptian born Christian was sent home by British Airways for wearing a small cross, something that is at least as important to Middle Eastern Christians as Muslims wearing a head covering,” the report said.

Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert and Nina Shea have collaborated to create “Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians,” which confirms that groups like Pew Research, Newsweek and The Economist also identify Christians as “the world’s most widely persecuted religious group.”

“An increasing number of public sector jobs now effectively require employees to at least notionally assent to a secular humanist worldview, including, for example acceptance that homosexual relationships are morally ‘good’ in same way that heterosexual marriage is. 

Continue reading this story affecting Christians in America

THE NEW FRONTIER OF ISIS: THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

By Janelle P, Asia and Middle East
Open Doors

As a ministry, Open Doors began in 1955 when a young Dutchman (Brother Andrew) was burdened to reach out to Christians in Eastern Europe—the Soviet Union. On his first trip, he saw entire underground churches with just one Bible to share!

Brother Andrew was drawn to this region of the world because, at the time, that was where persecution was the greatest and most extreme. Since then, it has shifted to places like the Middle East, North Korea and Nigeria.

The recent growth of the Islamic extremist group, ISIS, has dramatically heightened persecution in the Middle East and countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. We find ourselves praying daily for Christians enduring extreme persecution in these nations today.

The suicide bombers that recently executed the attack on Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey show that ISIS is beginning to recruit in areas that have historically been strongholds of Christian persecution; the bombers were citizens of Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, three countries that were once part of the USSR.

In this post-Soviet region (now known as Central Asia), radical Islam is growing alongside the post-communist oppression that has remained since the fall of the USSR. We have even seen recent laws making it risky for Christians to meet or share the gospel in Russia.

Will you join with us to pray for this region, as persecution at the hands of Islamic extremists seems to be increasing rapidly? This region first held a special place in Brother Andrew’s heart all those years ago, and we are thankful for your diligent prayers for the same region today.

website: opendoorsusa.org

Blogger's Note: We live in a country with freedom of religion.  However, there are signs that we are losing that freedom incrementally.  It's important we join with others who are fighting to preserve our God-given rights enshrined in the Constitution.  If we do not, we will face the same fate our brethren suffer in countries that are hostile to Christianity.  Please remember to pray for Christians who are not living in a country that ensures their freedom and safety to practice their faith and are suffering extreme persecution.   

Palestinian Kills Israeli, Wounds Family in West Bank Attack

                                                                                                                                  (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Associated Press

Fox News

A Palestinian gunman ambushed a family traveling in a car in the West Bank on Friday, killing an Israeli man and wounding his wife and two teenage children in an assault that prompted the military to send hundreds of troops to the area — the largest operation in the territory in two years.

The army also imposed a closure on the Hebron district, a flashpoint area where many of the recent attacks have stemmed from.

Additionally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will reduce the amount of tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians each month, saying that some of the money was being given to families of attackers.

The tough Israeli action followed a deadly spike in Palestinian violence, with several attacks in two days.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, said the Hebron closure will limit movement except for humanitarian cases. Over 80 Palestinian attacks have originated or taken place in Hebron area since the current wave of violence erupted in September, he said. Hebron is the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank and home to about 170,000 Palestinians. About 850 Israeli settlers also live in heavily-guarded enclaves there.

Much of the animosity in the biblical city is over a holy site known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque.

News report continues here

Persecution Unveiled is an e-publication established 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. 

Beaten and Abused for their Faith in Jesus: Christian Persecution in India

Meena was beaten by Hindu radicals after she and
her sister converted to Christianity.  Open Doors

By Carey Lodge

Christian Today

Hundreds of thousands of Christians across India are faced with a sobering ultimatum: hide their faith, or risk harassment, intimidation, and even death.

Threats against churches, arson attacks on Christian property, and the harassment and violent abuse of new converts to Christianity are all on the rise in India, where just 2.3 per cent of the population identifies with the faith.

Two young women who have experienced such persecution are Meena, 32, and her 25-year-old sister, Sunita (names have been changed to protect identity).

They were severely beaten by a group of men from their village in Odisha state after news spread that they had converted to Christianity. Remarkably, they praise God for their experiences.

"We knew about persecution in theory because the Bible speaks about it," Meena told researchers for Christian persecution charity Open Doors. "And when it happened, we thanked God for it."

The sisters came to faith though a Christian radio show in 2004, and initially felt compelled to hide their conversion for fear of repercussions from local Hindu hard-liners. Two years later, though, they were baptised and began to attend church services. "My faith had grown stronger and I thought, 'If I die, I will be resurrected,'" Meena explained.

However, about a year later locals held a meeting and decided that Christians were not welcome in their village. They called the sisters' father, and pressured him to force the women out of the house. He refused, but stopped paying for their food and clothing.

"We had to take care of ourselves," Meena recalled. "The entire village rejected us, but we were blessed by the Lord."

Then a few months ago, Meena, Sunita and two other Christian women were stopped by a group of Hindus while picking berries in their village. They were told they could no longer use the main road or draw from the well, and were forced to escape to a nearby hill. For almost eight hours they sat terrified, as shouts of "Burn them!" Burn them!" resounded.  

The story of Meena and Sunita continues here

Government Claims Power to Control Content of Sermons

By Bob Unruh
World Net Daily

'This is something that should be deeply troubling to every American'

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission is being sued for claiming it has the right to control the content of church services that are “open to the public.”

The lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of Fort Des Moines Church of Christ is part of a nationwide battle against the implementation of President Obama’s declared foreign-policy priority in his final year in office: “gay” rights.”

At issue in the Iowa case are state mandates that protect “transgender rights.” Among them are allowing men to enter women’s shower rooms, dressing rooms and restrooms if they say they are women, and banning statements in meetings “open to the public” that “might cause individuals to believe that they are unwelcome because of their perceived gender identity”

The lawsuit charges the mandates violate the U.S. Constitution’s protections for free speech, religion, expressive association, due process and the right to peaceably assemble.

Named as defendants are commission members Angela Jackson, Patricia Lipski, Mathew Hosford, Tom Conley, Douglas Oelschaleger, Lily Lijun Hou and Lawrence Cunningham, and city of Des Moines Executive Director Kristen Johnson and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.

The complaint, filed this week, is clear.

“This is a civil rights action to stop the commissioners and the executive director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the Iowa attorney general, and the city of Des Moines from compelling an Iowa church to communicate government messages to which it objects and from forcing the church to use its building in violation of its religious beliefs.”

Read more at www.wnd.com

Belgian Catholic Nursing Home has to Pay Damages for Refusing Euthanasia

Andy Walton
Christian Today

A Catholic nursing home in Belgium is reported to have fallen foul of the country's courts after refusing to permit a resident to access euthanasia.

The incident happened in 2011 when Huize Sint-Augustinus home in Diest refused to allow an elderly woman's doctor access to see her – when it was thought she was about to be given a lethal injection.

The home has been ordered to pay €6,000 (approx $6,600 or £5,000) in damaged to the family of the woman.

The civil court in Louvain ruled that "the nursing home did not have the right to refuse euthanasia on the grounds of conscientious objection."

In this case, the 74-year-old who had terminal cancer received the injection in her own house, rather than in the nursing home.

continue reading at http://www.christiantoday.com

Persecution Unveiled is an e-publication established 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. 

 Persecution Unveiled can also be found on Facebook and Pinterest.    

Egypt: Coptic Christian Priest Killed in 'Hail of Bullets' Outside Church

By Florence Taylor

Christian Today

Coptic Christian priest has been killed in "a hail of bullets" outside The Church of the Martyr of St George in Sinai, Egypt today.

Raphael Moussa, 46, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman next to his car, having left the church in Arish where he attended a mass, according to Boulos Halim, a church spokesperson.

Security officials said there was more than one gunman involved in the shooting. They said the priest had been followed and shot at when he emerged from his car.  No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but extremists in the Sinai have targeted Christians before, accusing them of working with the government.

A branch of ISIS has been active in the Northern Sinai region and reportedly killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in the region. "The whole situation in El-Arish and North Sinai is under threat," said Halim. "Many people [Christians] have left."

Christians, mostly Orthodox Copts, account for about 10 per cent of Egypt's population, which is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.  Sectarian violence sometimes erupts over disputes on issues related to church building, religious conversions and interfaith relationships.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) last month recommended that the US State Department add Egypt to its list of "countries of particular concern", where "particularly severe violations of religious freedom are perpetuated or tolerated".

Though the Egyptian government has taken "positive steps to address some religious freedom concerns" in the past year, there remains a "climate of impunity", the USCIRF said.

website: christiantoday.com

#PRAYER REQUEST: CHINESE PASTOR MURDERED

* Representative Photo

By Asia P

Open Doors USA

Recently, Pastor Han, pastor of a church in Chiangbai, China was brutally murdered by North Korean secret agents, sources revealed that he was hacked to death. The purpose behind the murder was to provide a “warning” to Christians in China, who actively assisted North Korean refugees.

In addition to this warning, the Chinese government has warned Chinese and Koreans pastors to refrain from involving themselves. This warning has affected American pastors in the area, as well. 

"Special prayer is needed for the safety and protection of local, Chinese Korean workers", says an Open Doors spokesman. "Our ministry in North Korea is also being threatened by these developments. However, we believe Jesus’ promise that the power of the enemy will not overcome the church of Christ. We should be wise and courageous to deal with NK ministries in these difficult circumstances."

While coming in the latter half of our World Watch List, at number 33, China faces great persecution. However, God is bigger than any trial we face!

Pastor Han’s church and family has been devastated by the recent events. Yet, even in the midst of their great sorrow, they relentlessly gather day and night to pray and fast. Keep them in your prayers, that they are able to peacefully mourn Pastor Han’s death. Pray that God will provide a new pastor for the church. Pray for protection of other Christians on the Chinese-Korean border and surrounding areas. Lastly, pray for the Christians of North Korean; pray they will experience the power of God in their daily lives.

website: opendoorsusa.org

Persecution Unveiled Note: Please keep persecuted Christians in your prayers daily.  We have no idea what they are suffering because of their faith in Christ. All they ask is that we pray.  Thank you.

Supreme Court Rejects Pharmacists’ Religious Rights Appeal

By Jon Street
The Blaze

Editor’s Note: Story by the Associated Press; curated by Jon Street.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing Washington state to require pharmacies to dispense Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, rejecting an appeal from pharmacists who said they have religious objections to providing the drugs.

The justices’ order on Tuesday leaves in place rules first adopted in 2007 following reports that some women had been denied access to emergency contraceptives that are effective when taken within a few days of unprotected sex. Pharmacies must fill lawful prescriptions, but individual pharmacists with moral objections can refer patients to another pharmacist at the same store.

A Ralph’s Thriftway pharmacy in Olympia, Washington, and two pharmacists sued, saying the rules required them to violate their religious beliefs.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas said they would have heard the appeal.

Calling the court’s action an “ominous sign,” Alito wrote a stinging 15-page dissent for the three dissenting justices. “If this is a sign of how religious liberty claims will be treated in the years ahead, those who value religious freedom have cause for great concern,” he wrote.

A trial judge twice ruled for the pharmacists in the long-running lawsuit, but was twice overturned by the federal appeals court in San Francisco.

The case is Stormans Inc. v. Wiesman, 15-862.

website: www.theblaze.com/stories

Federal Court Orders Schools to End Anti-Christian Bias

By World Net Daily
Exclusive Report

It’s being hailed as good news in the unfolding battle for religious freedom: A Christian ministry has won its three-year legal struggle against an Ohio school district accused of discriminating against the faith-based group.

The Child Evangelism Fellowship of Ohio won the legal battle against the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as a federal district court approved a Consent Order finding that the school district violated CEF’s constitutional rights to equal access.

The court is requiring Cleveland Metro Schools to change its facility-use policies, and ordering it to pay $150,000 in damages and attorney’s fees.

The Child Evangelism Fellowship, or CEF, filed suit in 2013 with the backing of Liberty Counsel, seeking equal access to CMSD’s public school facilities for CEF’s after-school, Christian character education Good News Clubs.

Liberty Counsel announced the court ruling as a “major victory for equal access” on its website.

The school district was providing free after-school access to non-religious community groups, such as the Boy Scouts, but refused to treat CEF equally. Instead, the school district imposed facility fees which CEF could not pay, resulting in the shutdown of the Good News Club.

Read the entire consent order handed down by the court.

As a result of this victory, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is now required to change its policies to ensure that religious groups are not discriminated against in the future, and receive the same access and benefits to public facilities as similarly situated non-religious groups.

Child Evangelism Fellowship has been encouraging learning, spiritual growth and service to others for more than 70 years and is currently active in every state in the U.S., as well as over 183 countries. Good News Clubs worldwide are providing religious and moral education to children in 43,186 clubs.

Read more about this victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship

Orthodox Leaders Make Passionate Plea for Persecuted Christians in Middle East

Divine Liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Chania, Crete

 with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presiding.  John Mindala

By Ruth Gledhill
Christian Today

World leaders of the Orthodox Church have spoken out in support of Christians and other persecuted minorities in the Middle East.

At the end of a week-long summit in Crete, Greece, the Orthodox bishops and patriarchs said: "The oil of religious experience must be used to heal wounds and not to rekindle the fire of military conflicts.

"The Orthodox Church unequivocally condemns the extension of military violence, persecutions, the expulsion and murder of members of religious minorities, forced conversions, the trafficking of refugees, the abductions, torture and abhorrent executions.

"She denounces the destruction of churches, religious symbols and cultural monuments. Very particularly, she expresses her deep concern about the situation of Christians and of all the persecuted minorities in the Middle East.

"She calls on the governments in the region to protect the indigenous Orthodox and other Christians and all the populations who have an inalienable right to remain in their countries as citizens with equal rights. 

Our Council appeals to all parties involved to make systematic efforts without delay to bring to an end the military conflicts in the Middle East and wherever armed hostilities persist and to enable all those displaced to return to their homes."

The bishops emphasised the call to convert, saying: "The re-evangelisation of God's people in modern, secularised societies and the evangelisation of those who have still not come to know Christ remain an unceasing obligation for the Church."

Article continues here

A License to Discriminate

Some in the Golden State say Christian schools have a license to discriminate.
Actually, the opposite may be true.

by Eric Metaxas
BreakPoint Daily 

Earlier this year my BreakPoint colleague, John Stonestreet, told you that the U. S. Department of Education, under pressure from LGBT groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, agreed to create a public, searchable database of Christian colleges and universities that obtained Title IX waivers based on claims of religious freedom.

John and others called it a “Christian college hit list” because it will allow LGBT activists to target Christian colleges for harassment and possible legal challenges. Sen. Ron Wyden and several other Democrats in the Senate say the waivers “allow for discrimination under the guise of religious liberty.”

Christian colleges, for their part, say the exemptions are nothing new and allow religious schools, for example, to provide male-only or female-only dorms. They fear the database will make them easy targets for those who hate them.

You think those fears are overblown? Well, fast-forward to today.

The California state Senate has passed a bill that would make it harder for Christian institutions to obtain religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBT individuals, and make state grant money more difficult to obtain while making it easier for students and staff to sue them.

California, by the way, is the nation’s largest state and home to more than 30 higher education institutions that possess religious exemptions to federal or state anti-discrimination laws—at least for now.

The bill’s author, Sen. Ricardo Lara, claims LGBT students and staff have been expelled or fired based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Lara says, “These universities have a license to discriminate, and students have absolutely no recourse.” Actually, not true—there are plenty of public and private universities in California to choose from that openly accept LGBT lifestyles.

The bill, S.B. 1146, requires schools receiving the exemptions to disclose them publicly. It would also allow religious exemptions only for seminaries or religious vocational training schools, not colleges and universities—so most Christian schools would, in the end, be unable to enforce standards of conduct based on their faith.

While this challenge to religious liberty only concerns California, we all know that what goes on in California, particularly when it comes to matters of culture and law, doesn’t stay in California.

Shockingly, S.B. 1146 has received scant notice in the press, either inside or outside the state. Julia C. Duin of the excellent GetReligion blog, wonders why. “Where is the secular media on this?” Julia asks. “If the shoe [were] on the other foot and the state legislature was pondering a bill perceived as anti-gay, don’t you think the state’s largest newspapers, not to mention TV or radio, would be all over it?”

Apparently these vaunted defenders of free speech have forgotten the importance of freedom of religion—which is also part of the First Amendment!

On his Facebook page, Robert George, the Princeton law professor and past chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, notes a worrisome trend in America right now. “Many among the liberal secularist faithful,” George writes, “assume that Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others who hold to traditional principles of sexual morality hate those who think and act contrary to those principles. That’s false and dangerous. What’s even worse, though, is that many appear to think that they are justified in hating, and even seeking to impose civil disabilities upon, those who stubbornly refuse to accept liberal secularist ideology.”

You bet! You might even call it a license to discriminate.

Persecution Unveiled is an e-publication dedicated to educating people about the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in the US & worldwide.  Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest. Help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,

from your provident hand we have received

our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

You have called us as your people and given us

the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,

and your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,

you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,

bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel

to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us

in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.

Give us the strength of mind and heart

to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;

give us courage in making our voices heard

on behalf of the rights of your Church

and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,

a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters

gathered in your Church

in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,

so that, with every trial withstood

and every danger overcome—

for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,

and all who come after us—

this great land will always be "one nation, under God,

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen. 

Persecution Unveiled is an e-publication dedicated to educating people about the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in the US & worldwide. For more information, please follow us on Facebook and Pinterest. Help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Liberals Use Gov't Power, Intimidation to Silence Christians, Author Says

Kimberley Strassel, Wall Street Journlist and Author 

The Heritage Foundation

Washington 

Conservatives and Christians are being intimidated by the Left and an increasingly abusive government, says Kimberly Strassel, author of The Intimidation Game: How the Left is Waging War of Free Speech.

The Left, once the champion of civil liberties, is today orchestrating a coordinated campaign to bully Americans out of free speech. For nearly 40 years, Washington and much of the American public have held up disclosure and campaign finance laws as ideals, and the path to cleaner and freer elections.

Yet, as Kimberley Strassel argues and details through first-hand accounts, both campaign finance are disclosure reform have been hijacked as weapons against free speech and free association, becoming one of the most powerful tools of those intent on silencing their political opposition.

Through scare tactics and overreach, harassment of conservative politicians, targeting of groups by the IRS, state actions intimidating activists and businesses, and the politicization of a host of federal government agencies, America’s basic freedoms are increasingly besieged and under serious threat.

Kimberley Strassel is a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, based in Washington. Since 2007 she has written the "Potomac Watch" column and has worked for the Wall Street Journal in Brussels, London, and New York. An Oregon native, Ms. Strassel is a graduate of Princeton University.

website: www.heritage.org

Muslim Files A False Complaint With Police About A Church, Police Come And Beat Up The Pastor During His Sermon

By Andrew Biezad

Walid Shoebat

If there are any Christians alive today who truly know what life in the early Church was like, it is Christians in Pakistan.

These people literally live their lives day-to-day in a way that most cannot imagine. Hated by their Muslim neighbors and with no legal protections, they are harassed, beaten, attacked, and murdered each day and often times with the collusion of the police with local Muslims. Put simply, if you are a Christian in Pakistan, you believe because you know it is the truth and will stay with it, because that nation does everything it can to make Christians apostatize.

The persecution of Christians is getting worse in Pakistan, all the while the government continues to say it is working to stop it. The reality is that these people do not care about the Christians, and that being attacked even in your own church is no longer unexpected:

Muslim head constable Amir Abdullah hurried into united church in Fazalia colony, Lahore, and slapped the pastor, Riaz Rehmat, and used abusive language against worshippers during the Sunday morning service.

The policeman was supposed not to enter the church during service and should have been stopped by other policemen deployed there for the church security, but sadly nobody stopped him.

According to Amir Abdullah he received a call on the police helpline saying that church management were misusing the loud speaker. He said that a Muslim, Shabir Shah, registered a complaint on the phone. In response to that complaint he barged into the church and used derogatory remarks against worshippers, telling them to stop the service.

When Pastor Riaz asked him not to disturb the congregation, the policeman made his way up to the pulpit and manhandled the pastor. That outraged the congregation and they began protesting against his insulating behaviour.

Story continues at: shoebat.com/2016/06/20/

Queen Elizabeth for Brexit: “EU Courts ‘Denigrate’ Britain by Protecting Terrorists”

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

By Christine Williams

Jihad Watch

Even the usually neutral Queen is fed up with European courts protecting Islamic jihadist hate preachers, saying that they “denigrate Britain” and asking the question: “Give me THREE good reasons” to remain inside the European Union. 

Pity that the Obama administration and Western leftist authorities are not as wise as the Queen on this matter, as she has now signaled her position on Britain leaving the EU and the critical reason for doing so. 

The loaded challenge has been widely interpreted as an expression of Euroscepticism since the Royal biographer Robert Lacey made the revelation in a blog post in the Daily Beast.

The EU and the European Court of Human Rights are known for their history of protecting the “rights” of extremists and blocking deportations.

Last night Breitbart London revealed that Islamist hate preacher, terrorist apologist and Caliphate agitator Anjem Choudary supports Remain because “there are certain principles and caveats” in EU law that offer “recourse” to Islamist radicals.

According to Mr. Lacy: “We know from another leaked royal conversation that the European Court of Human Rights has annoyed the Queen as much as many Britons.

“She felt that the Court’s shielding of Abu Hamza, the extremist Muslim cleric whom the Home Office wished to deport in 2012, ‘denigrated’ Britain.”

Jihad Watch article continues here

US Vital to Stopping ISIS Genocide of Christians, Helping Refugees, Catholic Group Urges

by Fred Lucas
The Daily Signal

No one displaced from their homeland has it easy, but targeted religious minorities, such as those persecuted by the Islamic State, have faced a worse crisis, said Andrew Walther, vice president of the national Knights of Columbus.

“It’s very hard to be any refugee, but to be targeted for extermination because of your religious beliefs is a qualitatively different experience,” Walther told The Daily Signal in a phone interview on World Refugee Day.

Just two weeks ago, Walther traveled to the Middle East and saw some of the victims of Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL.

“I saw people who were persecuted for their faith,” Walther said. “They didn’t do anything wrong but be who they were and live in the region where their families had lived for 1,000 years, but were targeted by this extremist ideology. Some were kidnapped, murdered, and raped.”

continue reading at http://dailysignal.com

Fred Lucas is the White House correspondent for The Daily Signal.


Persecution Unveiled is an e-publication dedicated to educating people about the persecution of Christians and religious minorities in the US & worldwide. For more information, please follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.  Help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.