Face and Fingerprint Scanning Installed in Churches as China Increases Surveillance

“Just like employees punch in at work,” the person in charge of one church venue in the Nanzhulin community in Huangshi explained to a churchgoer. “In this way, the church can know clearly who attends the services and who doesn’t.”

A local resident rides a bicycle past a church in Xiaoshan, commercial

suburb of Hangzhou, the capital of China's east Zhejiang province 

December 21, 2006.| Reuters/Lang Lang

By Brandon Showalter 
Christian Post

Hi-tech surveillance devices including face and fingerprint scanning equipment are now being installed in churches throughout China.

According to a report from Bitter Winter, a publication that explores human rights and religious freedom in China, a facial recognition system that was placed in a government-controlled church, called the Three-Self Church, in Urumqi — the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region — is now being introduced elsewhere in China.

"On October 6, Muyang Church (literally Shepherding Church) in the central province of Hubei, which is also the home of the Two Chinese Christian Councils of Huangshi city, had two biometric devices set up on its second floor. Since then, congregation members have to stand in line to have their faces and fingerprints scanned before being allowed to enter the church," the publication reported.

"Around the same time, in the city’s state-run Tian’en Church, facial recognition equipment has been also installed to check the believers who attend gatherings."

A Christian told the magazine several weeks ago that local authorities required every meeting venue established by Three-Self churches in Huangshi city to take the fingerprints of fellow believers and put on file their personal and family information.

The churchgoer was disturbed by the order since it requires not only that church members be under constant tracking and surveillance but that their families and relatives are implicated by association.

Other local believers also reported that since October, multiple state-sanctioned churches in Huangshi began using fingerprint sensors and face scanners to record their attendance at services.

"In late September, members of a Three-Self meeting venue in the Nanzhulin community in Huangshi had their fingerprints taken. The person in charge of the venue told them that all congregants have to have their fingerprints scanned to attend Sunday services," Bitter Winter noted.

“Just like employees punch in at work,” the person in charge of one church venue in the Nanzhulin community in Huangshi explained to a churchgoer. “In this way, the church can know clearly who attends the services and who doesn’t.”

Chinese Christians believe this is yet another example of the ever-increasing amassing of power by the government.

State surveillance of churches is not new in China. What is called the Sharp Eyes Project has long had a presence in state-run churches, with cameras placed even in washrooms of certain places of worship to ensure "comprehensive monitoring."

According to the South China Morning Post, the name of the surveillance program seems to stem from a Mao-era slogan aimed at urging people to denounce those who failed to follow Communist Party creed: “The people have sharp eyes.”

The surveillance program intends to cover all rural areas with the goal of achieving "blind-spot-free monitoring" by the year 2020, “covering all regions, sharing across all networks, available at all times, and controlled at all points.”

Earlier this year, reports emerged that state-run churches in Qingdao city in the eastern province of Shandong were ordered to stop singing songs from the Worship Songs or Spiritual Song Collection and were instead ordered to sing from a book of hymns approved by the state. The new approved songs only featured themes about loving the nation of China, celebrating birthdays and funerals, and respecting parents and the elderly.

“The hymns published by the government only promote political, secularized content. All believers are unwilling to sing them,” one director of a state-approved church told Bitter Winter in June, referencing the chorus of one of the hymns as an example: “China is beautiful; China is great; the sons and daughters of China love China. Bless China, O Lord.”

Website: Christian Post

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Pastor Tortured in Iranian Prison Fears Deportation from Turkey after 4 Years

Esmaeil Falahati |Courtesy Esmaeil Falahati

By Samuel Smith
Christian Post

A pastor who fled to Turkey after spending over a month in Iran’s most notorious prison is desperate for help as he and his family are facing deportation, which would result in his imprisonment and possible torture. 

Pastor Esmaeil Falahati, a former Muslim who came to Christ at age 23 and planted house churches across Tehran for a decade, told The Christian Post that his family might soon have to flee after four years in Turkey or run the risk of being sent back to the Islamic Republic.

In Iran, Falahati is a convicted man set to serve years in prison because he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a community of ex-Muslims trying to live out their new faith in peace. 

Along with his wife, Falahati secretly led worship services and traveled to the homes of fellow convert believers.

But in August 2015, plainclothes police officers interrupted a prayer service attended by over 30 people in a garden in west Tehran. Falahati has suspicion to believe that they had been “ratted out” as Iran’s Shia theocratic regime bans Christians from sharing their faith with non-Christians.

All were arrested and questioned for hours, he said, while police searched the pastor’s house, gathered Bibles and other Christian items. Eventually, Falahati, the owner of the garden and two others were transferred to section 209 of Evin Prison.

Falahati spent 33 days in solitary confinement and was eventually charged with propagating against the Islamic regime and intent to disrupt national security. 

“I was tortured and questioned about my services and preaching the Bible,” the pastor said through a translator, adding that he lost a lot of weight and suffered from medical problems during imprisonment. 

During his imprisonment, his wife and family were also arrested, tortured and questioned for 12 hours for supporting his case. 

On Sept. 9, 2015, Falahati was temporarily released on bail by the Revolutionary Court. He said he was told by guards that it would be better for him to leave Iran or run the risk of being harmed. 

About 40 days later, Falahati, his wife and two children fled their native land. And a month after that, the family arrived in Turkey and registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

The family has been in Muslim-majority Turkey, a NATO ally, for nearly four years. 

However, Falahati contends that the Turkish immigration department has not given his family a fair shake, especially after Turkish authorities found out about his new ministry work preaching to families in Turkey. 

“We don’t receive any services which are provided for other refugees,” Falahati said. “We have no security, identity and nationality only for the crime of being Christian. It seems that we are in a bigger prison.”

Turkey on Edge

The family arrived in Turkey the year before the July 2016 coup attempt against the government of authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took place. 

In retaliation, Erdogan began an enormous crackdown on anything and anyone it suspected of having ties to the coup attempt or groups the government considers to be terrorists. 

The Erdogan government reportedly detained over 160,000 people for questioning and formally arrested 77,000 people for alleged links to terror. 

As Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees of any country worldwide (over 3.6 million Syrian refugees), the country has in recent years carried out mass deportations or forced returns of Syrian and Afghan refugees. 

"Turkey has welcomed millions of refugees over the past decade, a situation which has put great strain on the nation’s economic and social systems," Claire Evans, a regional manager for the U.S.-based persecution advocacy nonprofit International Christian Concern told CP. "Most refugees live in Turkey for many years before they are placed in a new country. Since the 2016 coup attempt, Turkey has become more closed towards any foreigners." 

The Turkish government has been accused of deporting dozens of foreign pastors and missionaries. 

Although President Donald Trump seems to have an improved relationship with Erdogan today, the Erdogan government had arrested and detained North Carolina missionary Andrew Brunson for over two years before his release in 2018 on trumped-up charges of terror connections.  

Brunson, who spent over 23 years in Turkey before his arrest, told the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in June that he knows of dozens of foreign church leaders and their family members that Turkey has deported in recent months for being a “threat to national security.” 

Joining the list of deportees soon could be Falahati and his family. 

Christian Post report continues here

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North Korea: Christian Prisoner Asked During Torture, ‘Is it a Crime to Believe in God?’

With each river crossing and each miraculous escape from prison, God was with Eun Hye, transforming her life and growing her mustard-seed faith. What started as a memory of her grandmother's prayer and her hopeful whisper in a bathroom stall became her lifeline she would choose to hold onto for the rest of her life...

By Open Doors

Eun Hye closed the bathroom stall door. She was now in the safest and dirtiest place in the kotjebi camp for North Korean street children.

Only a few weeks later, she was caught by the police and brought to a camp for street kids. It was a crowded place with over 2,000 children. There wasn’t even enough room to sit. She had to stand day and night, which made her legs swell up. For food, she received five tiny dirt-covered potatoes three times a day.

With no opportunity to wash themselves, the children’s bodies were filthy and tormented by maggots. Every day, children passed away because of the malnutrition.

In the quiet of the stall, Eun Hye remembered the prayers of her grandmother. Could this invisible God save her? she thought. She remembered the way her grandmother would secretly find a place to kneel and speak to the one she called “Hanonim,” which means Lord.

Eun Hye whispered the words she had heard her grandmother whisper on so many occasions before. “Hanonim, please save me. Please rescue me. Bring me back to my family,” she said with the quiet voice of a 16-year-old girl.

In this place, nobody wanted to go to the bathroom unless they had no choice. But Eun Hye came to appreciate those precious moments alone with the God of her grandmother. “Lord, save me from this pain, sadness and death,” she would repeat in the quiet of the bathroom stall.

Two months after her arrival in the camp, the guards asked for volunteers to collect chestnuts by climbing up trees in the mountains. It meant a long, difficult journey. Eun Hye and the other children were very weak and she had no intention of participating in what could become a walk of death. But then she heard a voice in her head she didn’t recognize that told her to volunteer. So she joined the group.

Crossing the Reservoir

On the journey, they had to cross a large reservoir with small boats. Then she was placed in a unit of four children. Two climbed up the trees to pick the chestnuts, while two others stayed down to collect them.

Eun Hye saw this as an opportunity to attempt an escape with another girl in her group. “Can you swim?” Eun Hye asked. The girl shook her head. Once again, Eun Hye prayed for help.

Later, when no one was around, Eun Hye and her friend escaped and found a rope at a nearby house. When they arrived at the reservoir, the girls tied the rope around their waists. The girl would try to float, while Eun Hye used all the strength she had to swim to the other side, dragging her friend through the water.

They reached the shore safely and walked all the way to the city. Afraid they would be caught again, they decided to board a train. Because they didn’t have train tickets nor travel permits, they dug a hole under the wall with their bare hands and accessed the railway track. Once they were through, they went their separate ways.

Eun Hye went back to her hometown to see if there was any word of her parents or siblings. She found neighbors and strangers who helped give her a little food to survive. Again she prayed, “God, I have no place to go. My future looks so bleak. Please guide me.”

Eventually, the family of a nearby farmer took her in. At least she was safe for a while. Now her prayers shifted from survival to finding her family: “Thank you, Lord, for what you’ve done for me. May I please continue to live here? And please help me find my family.”

One day, a family friend contacted Eun Hye. “Your father is with us,” they said. “And your brother too.” She ran to see her father and brother. She was elated at the answer to her prayer. Eventually, she asked, “How is mother?” “Your mother is fine. And your sisters too,” her father said. “They are married in China. Life is so much better [there].”

Upon hearing his words, Eun Hye made up her mind to escape North Korea and return to China with her father and brother.

Passage into China

They went to the river at night. Her father tied her little brother to himself with a rope and made sure both of them arrived at the other side safely. Eun Hye swam on her own. Behind her, North Korea was pitch black. The Chinese city in front of her burst with lights.

When they finally reunited with her mother and other siblings, they celebrated. Eun Hye told her mother about her prayers in North Korea. She quickly noticed her father had told the truth about the living standards. There were no street children, no blackouts, every household ate rice, and everyone was friendly.

Eun Hye (Open Doors)

That Sunday, Eun Hye went to church with her mother. For the first time in her life, she saw the cross on the wall. And she could see other people praying. They prayed with the same gestures and the same words as her grandmother had, so many years ago.

She didn’t understand the Chinese sermon, but she felt at home. She realized that the prayers of her grandmother, of her mother, of her father and the prayers of the church allowed her to make it safely to China.

“I was so thankful for their prayers. Later, a translator explained more about God to me. [How] Jesus had died and was resurrected to cleanse us of our sins,” Eun Hye says.

Back into North Korea

All North Korean refugees are at risk of being caught in China and sent back to their homeland. And eventually, someone reported Eun Hye’s family to the officials. Shortly after, her parents, her brother and Eun Hye were arrested. Eun Hye cried when they were driven to a bridge connecting China to North Korea. Her parents were shackled together. Eun Hye, almost 17, and her 13-year-old brother were shackled as well.

 
Continue reading Eun Hye's story 

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Six Christian Schoolgirls, Others Abducted in Nigeria Released After Torture: 'God Brought Us Help'

Persecution Watchdog Open Door USA Ranks Nigeria 12th on its 2019 World Watch List of Countries Where Christians Suffer the Most Persecution

Protesters gather during a demonstration against Fulani herdsmen
 killings, Abuja, Nigeria March 16, 2017.Photo:Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde

By Leah MarieAnn Klett 
Christian Post

Muslim Fulani herdsmen have released six girls and two staff members kidnapped from a Christian-run high school in north-central Nigeria after torture and payment of a ransom.

Nearly a month after abducting the girls and staff members at gunpoint from Engravers’ College in Kakau Daji village, Chikun County near Kaduna city, their Muslim captors released them late last month, one of the girls’ parents told Morning Star News, a nonprofit persecution watchdog outlet.

“Several people prayed in churches and mosques,” Ohemu Fredrick said. “Through their prayers, God brought us help. God used a former governor of Kaduna state to assist us.”

Fredrick did not disclose the former governor’s name or the ransom amount but revealed the former official offered the children and staff members free medical treatment. According to another parent whose identity was withheld, the hostages were reportedly tortured each time the kidnappers called the parents so they could hear their screams.

“They were torturing them each time they called us (parents) so that we could hear them,” the parent told The Punch Newspaper. “They said they were being fed rice mixed with palm oil while in captivity.”

The parent said after the kidnappers set them free, police picked them up and dropped them off near a toll gate near the city center.

The State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the news in a statement: “We are relieved that this criminal violation of the right to liberty is over and that they are all back safely. The victims, most of whom are minors, and their families will now be focusing on recovering from this undeserved trauma. We appeal for considerate reporting of their ordeal and respect for their privacy," Aruwan said, according to The Punch. 

“As we continue to combat banditry, kidnapping and other crimes, the Kaduna State Government urges all our communities not to give comfort to criminals. The state government calls for vigilance in all our communities and continued cooperation with the security agencies in this battle to secure our state and all who live in it.”

Shunom Giwa, vice principal of Engravers’ College, previously revealed that the eight individuals were kidnapped early October when armed herdsmen appeared at the door of his house and spoke with each other in the Fulani language. Others with the school’s vice principal arrived shortly after they told him to lie down, and Giwa escaped, he said.

The school of about 100 students has a secular curriculum but includes a Christian perspective, and students take Christian Religious Knowledge as a subject, Giwa said.

Thousands have been killed in the last few years as a result of Fulani attacks against predominantly Christian farming communities in the Middle Belt and southern Nigeria. 

According to Human Rights Watch, an estimated 11,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving Fulani militia since 2011. The death toll is said to be six times higher than the murders committed by Boko Haram terrorists.

In September, Fulani herdsmen abducted and executed the wife of an evangelical pastor after collecting a ransom of 250,000 naira ($690) from the woman’s family.

Also in September, suspected Muslim Fulani herdsmen shot and killed Baptist pastor Alhamdu Mangadus of Nasara Baptist Church in Asso as he worked on his farm.

In August, it was reported that suspected Fulani radicals killed Catholic priest Paul Offu in Enugu.

Kaduna Gov. Nasir el-Rufai told media that with the latest spate of kidnappings and murders, Fulani “bandits” are likely working alongside elements of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

“We have been receiving intelligence some three months ago that the bandits have connected with some elements of Boko Haram, and they will be targeting schools to kidnap children because they know that that is what makes the news,” El-Rufai said.

Persecution watchdog Open Door USA ranks Nigeria 12th on its 2019 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.

Website: Christian Post

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Obama Judge Deals a Blow to Religious Rights of Health Care Workers

"Judge Engelmayer's Ruling is Wrong and Morally Reprehensible." Allan Parker, Founder and President, The Justice Foundation

"

By Steve Warren
CBN News

Hundreds of health care workers say they face discrimination for their religious beliefs, but an Obama-appointed judge has now ruled that the current system that punishes people of faith is working just fine.

In the latest blow to religious liberty, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down a Trump administration rule that would have allowed health care workers to refuse participation in abortions and other services on moral or religious grounds.

The rule hadn't even gone into effect yet. The order by US District Judge Paul Engelmayer in New York blocks the rule from going into effect on Nov. 22.

Engelmayer said he was tossing out the rule in its entirety.

The rule came into being after President Donald Trump in May 2017 signed an executive order instructing the attorney general to issue guidance interpreting religious liberty protections in federal law.

Back in May of this year, the Department of Health and Human Services published a rule applying more than 30 "Conscience Provisions" that must be complied with for an entity to receive federal funding.

Lawsuits were immediately filed by states and cities led by Democrats and other liberals challenging the rule, arguing that the department exceeded its authority in establishing it, claiming it also violated the Constitution.

Engelmayer, who was appointed by Democrat President Barack Obama, wrote in a 147-page opinion that existing laws already define the duties of employers with respect to religious objections.

The new rule would have effectively superseded existing law in the health care field, he said.

The judge rejected arguments that the rule was "mere housekeeping." Rather, he said, it relocates "the who, what, when, where, and how — of conscience protection under federal law."

He said the Department of Health and Human Services lacked authority to create major portions of its rule, including to terminate an entity's federal health funding if it violates one of the provisions. It also put limits on an employer's ability to inquire about conscience objections, the judge wrote.

"These limits have clear potential to inhibit the employer's ability to organize workplace arrangements to avoid inefficiencies and dislocations," he said.

Health and Human Services and the Justice Department are reviewing the ruling but "will not comment on the pending litigation at this time," said Caitlin Oakley, a Health and Human Services spokeswoman.

Allan Parker, founder, and president of The Justice Foundation said Judge Engelmayer's ruling is wrong and morally reprehensible.

CBN News report continues here

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Chinese Congregation's Defiance in the Face of Regime Sanctioned Church Demolition Pays Off

                                                              Photo by Kevin Frayer / Getty Images

By Will Maule
Faith Wire

A brave group of Chinese Christians who put their lives on the line for the sake of their church have achieved a major win against the oppressive communist regime.

Last Friday, members of Wugaozhuang Church of Guantao in Hebei Province were left horrified when government officials notified them of their church’s impending destruction. As Faithwire previously reported, the demolition had been ordered on account of the church, which is state-mandated, not being in possession of all the required permits.

But in a risky bid to sway the government away from the action, church members decided to organize a stakeout, refusing to leave the site.

Now, it appears that this brave show of defiance has paid off.

After a series of negotiations between parish priests and government officials, an agreement has been reached.

“Eventually, the state officials relented and promised to provision the church a new parcel of land and 200,000 Yuan to rebuild a church building upon that land,” reported persecution watchdog, International Christian Concern. 

“The priests have demanded the land be granted immediately in return for relinquishing the present church building, although it is presently unknown whether or not the land promised has been turned over.”

During the stakeout, police reportedly blocked those attempting to deliver food to the faithful inside the building.“Local police blockaded the scene and prohibited anyone from entering or leaving,” a parishioner told UCA News. “Even food was not allowed in to coerce the priests and church members into giving up the protest.”

Considering the government’s relentless campaign of destruction against churches across the country, this will be viewed as a win for the embattled congregation, who refused to be cowed by the brutal state forces.

Earlier this month, a 3,000-member church in Anhui province was bulldozed as congregants worshipped. Another church was flattened in Henan province.

Do continue to pray for all those who face persecution on account of their religious beliefs.

Website: Faithwire

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

Pray for Persecuted Christians. It Makes a Difference.

A Christian church in Sudan - Reuters

By Todd Nettleton, Voices Contributor
Christian Post

Our persecuted brothers and sisters know they are being prayed for, and the knowledge that they are not forgotten, that they are a vital and honored part of the wider family of God, makes a difference. 

My coworker at The Voice of the Martyrs, Petr Jasek, was imprisoned in Sudan for 445 days and forced to share a cell with ISIS supporters. I talked with Petr just eight days after he was released from prison and allowed to return to his native Czech Republic, and I’ll never forget one of the things he told me.

He said there were two times each week during his long imprisonment when he knew with absolute certainty that people were praying for him. One of those times was on Sunday morning — Sudan is just one hour ahead of Prague — when Petr knew that his home church was meeting for worship, likely with his wife, Wanda, in their midst.

The other time was in the early evening on Tuesday — Sudan is eight hours ahead of Oklahoma — when Petr knew that we at VOM were meeting for our weekly chapel service.

Petr told me that throughout his 14 months in prison, which included a long trial and a judge’s decision to sentence him to life in prison for espionage, he was encouraged every single Sunday and every single Tuesday by the knowledge that people were praying for him in those hours.

Petr told another story about the difference prayer made for him while he was in prison. He said that at 9 p.m. every night, when the lights went out in his cell, he was able to go right to sleep. He was not restless or distracted by the other men or the noises around him. He would just lie down and almost immediately fall into a restful sleep.

When Petr returned home, he learned the reason for his slumber. The people in his church had agreed to stop whatever they were doing every night at 8 p.m. and take time to pray for Petr. And they did that throughout his time in prison. When Petr heard about their nightly prayers, he immediately understood his peaceful sleep: 8 p.m. in Prague is 9 p.m. in Khartoum, the hour at which the lights went out and he fell into a comfortable sleep.

As your church gathers to pray for Christians imprisoned in China or Iran, or a pastor missing in Malaysia, or Christians fearing the next Boko Haram attack in Northern Nigeria, or Christians trying to decide when to announce and explain their newfound faith in Jesus to their Muslim family members, don’t take it lightly. Your prayers make a vital difference. Our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ feel and experience your prayers in very real ways.

To receive a new, specific prayer request each day throughout the year, install VOM’s Pray Today app on your smartphone or tablet.

Todd Nettleton is the host of The Voice of the Martyrs Radio (VOMRadio.net), heard each week on more than 1,000 radio stations. He has met with and interviewed hundreds of persecuted Christians in more than 20 years of service at The Voice of the Martyrs. 

Click here to view Christian Post article

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

House Passes Resolution Declaring WWI Slaughter of 1.5 Million Armenians Christians a ‘Genocide'

It is sometimes called the “forgotten Holocaust” and was depicted in the film The Promise. 

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/David McNew/Staff

Michael Foust
Christian Headlines

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday calling the Ottoman Empire’s World War I-era slaughter of 1.5 million Armenian Christians a “genocide” – a historic vote that marked the first time in more than three decades that either body of Congress has used the term.

Turkey, which was formed out of the fall of the Ottoman Empire, acknowledges atrocities took place but has pushed back on the use of the word “genocide,” arguing they weren’t systematic. Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire either were killed or forced to flee. 

Although the mass killings took place a century ago, leaders from both parties – including former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton – often have blocked Congress from using the term because of the historically close relationship between the U.S. and Turkey.

But that tight relationship ended when Turkey invaded Syria in recent weeks. 

It is sometimes called the “forgotten Holocaust” and was depicted in the film The Promise. 

The resolution passed, 405-11. It says the genocide involved the “killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923” and that the U.S. provided relief to the “Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians.” 

Further, the resolution says, Congress rejects “efforts to enlist, engage, or otherwise associate the United States Government with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any other genocide.” 

The resolution says Adolf Hitler, before invading Poland in 1939, dismissed objections by saying, “[W]ho, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” That, the resolution says, set the “stage for the Holocaust.” It also notes that Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term “genocide” in 1944, “invoked the Armenian case as a definitive example of genocide in the 20th century”

The House passed resolutions in 1975 and 1984 using the term “genocide.” President Reagan, too, called it a genocide in a 1981 proclamation.

Democratic Rep. Adam B. Schiff sponsored the resolution, although it had support from members of both parties. Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, in a tweet, celebrated the fact that “Armenian Genocide recognition could finally receive vote on House floor.” 

“This is a vote I have waited 19 years to cast, one that tens of thousands of my Armenian American constituents have waited decades to see,” Schiff said during debate on the House floor, according to The Washington Post. “It is a moment that so many have worked and fought and prayed for, a moment when the House of Representatives refused to be enlisted in the cause of genocide denial.”

Website: Christian Headlines 

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

Kevin Sorbo Won’t Let Hollywood Stop Him From Defending Faith, Patriotism

Faith-based movies have “Exploded” in the last decade, Sorbo said, because Christians demand quality entertainment that won’t compromise values for a good story.

Photo courtesy of Movieguide® archives

                               

By Jessilyn Lancaster,
Managing Editor

                                                

Hercules hero Kevin Sorbo has made a name for himself in faith-based circles as he creates movies that prominently feature faith, freedom and patriotism.

His latest, The Reliant, is in theaters for a special one-night-only event on Oct. 24.

According to the Movieguide® review:

THE RELIANT is an exciting adventure movie about the five children of survivalist Christian parents in Ohio separated from their mother and father when the social order collapses. The children hide in the woods from a man who is out for revenge against their father, a doctor who failed to save the man's injured daughter at the hospital where the father works. As the days pass, the elder brother begins to doubt they can hide in the woods forever. He also begins to doubt the family's strong Christian faith.

THE RELIANT has a great cast of young actors. The ensemble is supported by fine performances from several veterans, including Kevin Sorbo. The script is well written and contains lots of intense, exciting action/adventure and depth. 

THE RELIANT promotes both Christian faith and American liberty. The movie is filled with wonderful references to God, Jesus and Scripture, plus some prayers and hymns. It also has a well-written subplot asserting the need for the Second Amendment. THE RELIANT has no obscene or lewd content, but lots of gun violence and intense moments that warrant caution for children.

The movie will inspire and encourage audiences with its passion for patriotism, which seems to contrast with many of the movies Hollywood has churned out recently.

For Sorbo, though, impressing Hollywood isn't on his agenda.

"Hollywood doesn't really owe me anything," Sorbo told Fox News. "I mean, I've had a great career within Hollywood, and since then, I've been doing independent films. I'm not out here to make them hire me. If they want to hire me, I'm more than happy to work with them. I don't cause any problems on the set. I've got a great reputation."

He continued, "I've worked in so many TV shows and movies through my 30 years in the business. You'd be hard-pressed to find one person to say that I was not professional in the set. I love to be in the set. I have fun in the set. I joke around with everybody in the set. We have a good time. So, it's easy to throw those labels out there, but most of the time it'd be a hard time to justify it."

Read the rest of this article at Movieguide®. Find out what God is doing in Hollywood!

'I've Got Blood in the Game': Fired Coach Vows to Fight for Right to Pray

Kennedy Emphasizes His Prayers Were Never Mandatory

By John Jessup
CBN

About an hour-long ferry ride from Seattle, and across the Puget Sound, sits the city of Bremerton.

Bremerton High School is known as an achievement award-winner among Washington state public schools. It is also known as being home to a legal battle involving a football coach and prayer that's all gone all the way to the Supreme Court.

Joe Kennedy loves the team he coached on this field for years and still proudly sports the school colors.

"Everything! Even down to my T-shirt is Bremerton Knights!" he said when we talked to him recently. That pride turned to disappointment in 2015 when the school district suspended him for a different public display: prayer.

"At the beginning it was kind of awkward to me, because I was just giving thanks. And I had a couple of kids, and they came up and said, 'Hey, Coach, what are you doing out there?' 'I'm just giving thanks for what you guys did,'" Kennedy said.

Fired for Silent Post-Game Prayer

These "silent" post-game prayers on the 50-yard line caught on, spilling over to his players and even to opposing teams. School officials worried this might give the appearance that the district approved of Coach Kennedy's public prayers, creating a potential endorsement of religion. They eventually fired Kennedy, who calls that act a violation of his right to free speech.

"No one should ever have to choose between living their faith and their job," said Latan Watkins, an attorney with First Liberty Institute, which represents Kennedy.

Coach's Case Draws Both Supporters and Critics

His attorneys argue this case is about the First Amendment and American religious liberty.

"Coaches, teachers, students do not shed their Constitutional rights just by walking onto a football field or a public school," Watkins explained.

Coach Kennedy's stance has sparked passion, with big-name supporters weighing in, as well as critics who say he's just plain wrong. Dori Monson is a popular right-leaning Seattle radio host who's addressed the case on his show.

"To be a successful coach you have to bring a diverse group of kids together," Monson said. "I think once a coach starts imposing his faith in a public school, then I think you have a challenge bringing those kids together."

The issue hits close to home for Monson. As a Christian and former coach himself, he quietly prayed for his players during games. He cites concerns about the country's religious diversity in disagreeing with Coach Kennedy's approach.

"If my kids were playing on a sports team and that coach happened to be Muslim, I wouldn't want that coach praying with my kids. And so I felt like, as a Christian, it's not my responsibility to pray with the girls that I was coaching at the public high school," Monson explained.

Kennedy emphasizes his prayers were never mandatory.

CBN Story Continues Here

Secular Group Asks Inspector General to Investigate Mike Pompeo for Endorsing Christianity

                                                                           Photo: Getty Images/Mark Wilson/Staff

Amanda Casanova     
Christian Headlines

A secular group is asking the U.S. Inspector General to investigate Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State – a separation of church and state watchdog – is asking the inspector general to look into Pompeo’s speech he gave at a Christian conference. The group says the speech was an “unconstitutional endorsement of religion,” the Christian Post reports.

Pompeo spoke earlier this month at an American Association of Christian Counselors’ World Conference in Tennessee. During his speech, called “Being a Christian Leader,” Pompeo told attendees that he uses the “wisdom of God” in his work to “be a force for good in the life of human beings.”

“Now, I know that even having just said that, I know some people in the media will break out the pitchforks when they hear that I ask God for direction in my work,” he said. “But you should know, as much as I’d like to claim originality, it is not a new idea. I love this quote from President Lincoln. He said, quote: ‘I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.’”

In a letter to the inspector general, Americans United said Pompeo’s speech was “proselytizing” that “endorsed Christianity in his official government capacity, as well as the department’s use of its resources to promote the speech.”

“While Mr. Pompeo is entirely free to engage in religious activities in his personal capacity, he must not use his official role as Secretary of State to promote his religion,” the letter argues. “In his role as secretary, delivering a speech that enthusiastically endorses Christianity is a violation of the Establishment Clause.”

The American Humanist Association, the National Jewish Democratic Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations also released statements criticizing Pompeo’s speech.

“This religious favoritism is the kind of abuse of their duty to represent all Americans equally that demonstrates how fundamentalism is the driving force of this administration’s agenda,” said AHA President Roy Speckhardt.

Website: Christian Headlines

What are the Biggest Threats to Religious Liberty in the US?

Supporters of Colorado baker Jack Phillips hold signs in front of the US
  Supreme Court as arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v.Colorado Civil
  Rights Commission on December 5, 2017. | (Photo: The Christian Post)

What is the status of religious liberty in America? What are the biggest threats to the freedom of religion? How should Christians, especially those who hold conservative theological views, approach the debate?

Luke Goodrich, an attorney with the religious liberty law firm Becket, attempts to answer these and other questions in his new book, Free to Believe: The Battle over Religious Liberty in America.

“We've long lived in a country where religious freedom was secure, and we didn't need to give it much thought,” he wrote. “Now we're realizing the country is changing and we might not enjoy the same degree of religious freedom forever. If we don't start thinking about it now, we'll be unprepared.”

The Christian Post interviewed Goodrich about his book on religious liberty and related topics, including how Americans might misunderstand freedom of religion and how he believes the U.S. Supreme Court is handling the matter.

Pilgrims, Martyrs, and Beginners

The 2019 book "Free to Believe: The Battle over Religious Liberty in America," by Becket attorney Luke Goodrich. | Courtesy A. Larry Ross Communications

Goodrich wrote about three categories he believes many American Christians fit into regarding how they approach religious liberty.

The first group, which he labels “Pilgrims,” see Christianity as having an essential place in society and often favor the state promoting religion.

The second, labeled “Martyrs,” believe Christians should not expect a special place in society and feel that churches should be counter-cultural and expect persecution.

The third, labeled “Beginners,” are individuals who support religious freedom, but do not feel it is an important debate and likely know little about the topic.

Goodrich explained to CP that these categories each have their own pluses and minuses when assessing the nature of religious liberty and how it should be handled.

"In my experience, Christians fall more into the Pilgrim camp than into the Martyrs camp, but there are also a large number of Beginners who are just waking up to the issue and aren't sure what to think yet,” said Goodrich.

"And as far as who is the most and least correct, I think they all have some truth in them but they are all mistaken in different ways.”

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