Jesus Appears to Group of 72 Christians About to be Killed. The Miracle that Followed is Right out of the Acts of the Apostles

These Believers met Christ face-to-face and heard Him speak; they have experienced His miraculous deliverance.

Michael Ireland 
Assist News

Northern Nigeria is a dangerous place for Christians—especially for those who have left Islam to follow Christ. (Image: Displaced Nigerian Christians /via Aid to the Church in Need-Canada)

But BarnabasAid says God intervened in power to save 72 converts and their children from Boko Haram militants.

According to BarnabasAid, these Believers excel in courageous faith, they have met Christ face-to-face and heard Him speak, they have experienced His miraculous deliverance.

They cannot build themselves up by daily study of His Word—because they cannot read. Or they do not have a New Testament.

Christ Appears 

Their story begins with a group of 500 Nigerian Christian converts from Islam and their children.

It is not normal for this tribe to gather in such large numbers, but all of them had already been attacked by Boko Haram Islamist militants and they hoped that a larger group would give them a measure of security.

Boko Haram were not deterred. They attacked the group and captured 76, taking them back to their camp.

At the Boko Haram camp, the Christians were tortured, and their four male leaders were told they must deny Christ and return to Islam or they would be shot.

The four refused and were duly shot dead, in full view of the rest of the group.

A week later the four widows of the dead men were told they must renounce their Christian faith or their children would be shot. They were given time to think over this dreadful choice.

As they agonized together that evening, their excited children came running in, telling their mothers that Jesus had appeared to them and told them all would be well.

Jesus then appeared to the whole group of 72, and told them not to fear for He would protect them. He said they should not renounce Him but should stay strong, and that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Deliverance from Evil

The next day, the four mothers gave their decision to the militants—they would not deny Christ.

The militants prepared to shoot the children, who were already lined up against a wall. The youngest was a little girl of four. Suddenly the militants began screaming and clawing at their own heads. Shouting "Snakes!" they fled the scene, and some of them dropped dead.

One of the Christian men reached for the gun of a dead militant but the four-year-old put her hand on his arm to stop him. 

"You don't need to do that," she said, "Can't you see the men in white fighting for us?" 

View Assist News story here

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Christian Doctor Faces Losing Medical License for Praying With Patients

"The fact is that prayer makes a difference" 

                                                               NHS in London, England. | Reuters/Toby Melville

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

A Christian doctor is under investigation after a complaint was filed accusing him of praying and "evangelizing" to patients. 

Dr. Richard Scott, 58, a general practitioner at the Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent, England, is the subject of a fitness to practice inquiry launched by the General Medical Council after a complaint was filed by the National Secular Society. 

He is also reportedly being investigated by the National Health Service in England, according to The Telegraph. 

The National Secular Society said in the complaint filed in May that Scott, who has worked as a doctor for more than 20 years, made a “vulnerable” patient feel “discomfort at the use of prayer.” The allegation was made to the NSS by an acquaintance of the patient. 

"The acquaintance told the NSS that the patient felt unable to express discomfort and was not able to raise the matter formally or change GP practice,” the NSS contends in a news release. “The NSS wrote to the GMC and the local clinical commissioning group to highlight the case and ask how the bodies intended to protect patients' right to access health care free from evangelism.”

Scott received written notice on June 7 from the GMC saying that it had received “some information” from the NSS and that an investigation was underway.

GMC issued Scott a warning in 2012 after Scott was accused by the NSS of telling a patient "the devil haunts people who do not turn to Jesus.” Scott was also accused of expressing his religious beliefs in a manner that distressed a “psychologically troubled” patient. 

The head of the GMC at the time declared that Scott’s actions constituted “a significant departure from the principles in Good Medical Practice.” 

The NSS notes that Scott could have been fired if there was another complaint issued against him in the ensuing five years. But no complaints were made in that time. The NSS contends that there have been three informal complaints and one minor written complaint filed against Scott since 2017. 

NSS’ most recent complaint to the GMC also included comments Scott made on BBC's Radio 4earlier this year, in which he declared drug addiction to be a “relevant circumstance" for using faith in his work.

Christian Post article continues

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7,000 Churches Fasting, Praying Over Terrifying New Persecution Law

"Russia is closing down in an awful way. The new law is in total conflict with the purpose and the task given to the church by the Lord. The law will send the church back into Soviet era Communist persecution," Hanny Haukka, Great Commission Ministries Chairman

                                                                             Vladimir Putin: Reuters

By Jessilyn Lancaster
Charisma News

Note: This article was originally published by Charisma News on July 8, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an anti-terrorism law, but for the country's many churches, the signature sparked a demand for prayer and fasting.

The bill toughens punishment for acts deemed to be terrorism and for the organization of "mass unrest," according to the Los Angeles Times. It would also introduce prison sentences of up to a year for those who fail to report such crimes.

• Furthermore, Great Commission Ministries Chairman Hanny Haukka tells Charisma News the law entails:Foreign guests are not permitted to speak in churches unless they have a "work permit" from Russian authorities
• If a friend or relative from outside Russia wishes to share his/her faith in your home the guest will be fined and expelled from Russia.
• Any discussion of God with non-believers is considered missionary activity and will be punishable.
• Missionary activity will be permitted by special government permission. Example: If one traveling on a train shares his faith without written permission the offender will be taken into police custody for the duration of the journey and will be fined 50,000 rubles ($1,000).
• Offenders from the age of 14-years-old will be subject to prosecution
• Religious activity is no longer permitted in private homes. Most churches in Russia meet in homes.
• Every citizen is obligated to report religious activity of neighbors to the authorities. Failure to be an informant is punishable by law.
• One may pray and read the Bible at home but not in the presence of a non-believing person. You will be breaking the law and be punished.
• If the church has purchased property it cannot be converted into a place of worship.
• In church buildings, it is not permitted to invite people to turn to God. Worship services are permitted but making a non-believer a follower of Christ is against the law.

In response, thousands of churches across the country have come together to cry out to God.

"The church is appalled at the news of the new law. About 7,000 evangelical/protestant churches are in fasting and prayer at the moment over the news," Haukka tells Charisma News via email.

Continue reading Charisma News article

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

Christian School Raided by California Gov't as Religious Freedom Concerns Cloud Future

“This armed incursion on a faith-based school shows that the State wants nothing less than to take jurisdictional control over Christian education in California. This is rooted in its disagreement with millennia-old religious values.” Kevin Snider, Lead Attorney 

                                                        Photo: Unsplash/Jeffrey Hamilton

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post Reporter

A Christian boarding school run by Teen Rescue in Northern California faces the possibility of closing after it was raided by state investigators earlier this year. The head of the school claims that its First Amendment rights, as well as parental rights, are being violated.

River View Christian Academy (RVCA), which serves to help troubled teens from across the U.S., has faced pressure from the Department of Social Services for over a decade over claims that it operates as an “unlicensed community care facility.”

Although the school had maintained through the years that schools are exempt from community care facility regulations, a law passed in 2016 requires many alternative boarding schools in the state to attain Community Care Licensing.

But in order to attain that licensing, the school fears that it would not be able to uphold its rules reflecting traditional Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality. Additionally, the school says that the state requires licensed facilities to allow students to have the right to engage in spiritual and sexual exploration.

Additionally, the law does not allow for religious exemptions in cases where a religious school would be forced to violate its moral convictions.

“We have been kind of harassed by the state of California Department of Social Services. Specifically, it's called Community Care Licensing,” RVCA CEO Phil Ludwig told The Christian Post, arguing that state investigators seem to have a political “agenda.”

According to Ludwig, DSS investigators have investigated the school on a number of occasions through the years to ensure that it was not operating in any way that would make it classified as a community care facility.

The school contends that it falls under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Education and files an affidavit every year that it is an accredited private boarding school.

According to a lawsuit filed against DSS, a team of 16 armed law enforcement from the California Highway Patrol (CHP), 2 canine units, and 17 social workers searched the school on Jan. 18.

According to the lawsuit, the state later admitted that the raid was prompted by an article online from a left-leaning tabloid that made the investigators think that the school was housing illegal drugs and stockpiling weapons to prepare for an end-times apocalypse.

Although the raid did not result in the discovery of drugs or guns, the school says that DSS began imposing daily fines of about $200 for operating as an “unlicensed community care facility” under the Community Care Facilities Act of 2016.

“Until 2016, River View Christian Academy was exempt from licensure under the Community Care Facilities Act,” the lawsuit reads. “The religious practices of River View Christian Academy violate portions of the Community Care Facilities Act. This regulation poses an existential threat to religious schools such as River View Christian Academy.”

Among other things, the school stresses that it could be forced to accommodate religious rituals that are inconsistent with the Christian faith and could even be forced to teach all religions from a neutral standpoint.

The lawsuit also lists a class of parents and guardians who had joined onto the school’s lawsuit.

“The Parent Class specifically sends their children to River View Christian Academy because of the spiritual guidance provided,” the lawsuit reads. “Thus, it would be a profound interference with the free exercise of religion of both River View Christian Academy and the Parent Class to place River View Christian Academy under the Community Care Facilities Act.”

The lawsuit stresses that the Community Care Facilities Act would give students the right “[t]o be free from acts that seek to change his or her sexual orientation, including efforts to change his or her gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”

“River View Christian Academy holds the religious convictions that sexual activities are proper only between a man and a woman who are married to each other,” the lawsuit states. “Moreover, River View Christian Academy does not allow any sexual or romantic encounters or entanglements between students of any kind.”

Continue Reading Christian Post article here
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China Forces Churches to Sing Communist Anthems, Bans Christian Hymns

A local resident rides a bicycle past a church in Xiaoshan,
a commercial suburb of Hangzhou, the capital of China's east
Zhejiang province December 21, 2006. | Reuters/Lang Lang/Files

By Leah MarieAnn Klett  

Christian Post Reporter

China’s Communist government is forcing churches to replace traditional hymns with songs praising the regime. 

Religious liberty magazine Bitter Winter reports that earlier this year, multiple Three-Self churches in Qingdao city in the eastern province of Shandong received an order from the Religious Affairs Bureau prohibiting churchgoers from singing songs from the Worship Songs or Spiritual Song Collection. Instead, Christians were ordered to sing the Newly Compiled Hymns published by China’s Two National Christian Councils.

The director of a government-approved Three-Self church told Bitter Winter that the hymns in Worship Songs is mainly Bible chapters, while Spiritual Song Collection contains testimonies of experiences written by Christians.

But the Newly Compiled Hymns only feature themes about loving China, respecting the aged and parents, and celebrating birthdays and funerals.

“The hymns published by the government only promote political, secularized content. All believers are unwilling to sing them,” the director said, citing 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.”

“Such hymns aren’t praising the Lord at all. They are entirely praising the country, and are no different from secular songs. Isn’t the government engaging in dishonesty and deceit?” the director said.

The censoring of Christian hymns has also been seen in other provinces and cities. In January, officials confiscated Canaan Hymns from some Three-Self churches in Chengde, Tangshan, and other cities in the northern province of Hebei.

Party members also prohibited the circulation and singing of Canaan Hymns and allowed only Christian hymns with Chinese characteristics.

Also in January, Christians in the central Henan Province complained that the government is forcefully turning churches into theaters, game rooms, and other types of entertainment venues.

Photos and clips circulated on the internet showed how pulpits across the country once meant to preach the Gospel have since been covered with Communist Party propaganda or turned into activity or entertainment centers.

“Traditional culture and drama shows have entered churches. Doesn’t that keep believers away from the Bible?” one Christian told Bitter Winter. “Churches have turned into theaters. The churches exist in name but no longer in reality.”

Christian Post report continues here 

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Christianity in Iraq is 'Close to Extinction,' Those Left 'Face Martyrdom,' Faith Leader Warns

"Will a peaceful and innocent people be allowed to be persecuted and eliminated because of their faith?..." 

Church destroyed by ISIS, Baghdida, Iraq. (Photo: Bill Devlin)

By Leah Marie Ann Klett
  
Christianity in Iraq is “close to extinction” and those who remain may “face martyrdom,” yet some Christian leaders in Britain refuse to condemn the atrocities perpetrated by Muslim extremists for fear of being accused of Islamophobia, the Archbishop of Irbil has said.

During an address delivered in London, the Most Rev. Bashar Warda said Iraq's Christian population is down to just 250,000 — an 83% decrease in population since the United States’ invasion of Iraq, according to the BBC.

“Christianity in Iraq," he said, “one of the oldest churches, if not the oldest church in the world, is perilously close to extinction. Those of us who remain must be ready to face martyrdom."

While the Islamic State terrorist group was driven from its last stronghold in Iraq earlier this year, religious structures and homes belonging to Christian families have been destroyed and thousands of families have not returned, he stressed.

"Our tormentors confiscated our present," he said, "while seeking to wipe out our history and destroy our future. In Iraq there is no redress for those who have lost properties, homes and businesses. Tens of thousands of Christians have nothing to show for their life's work, for generations of work, in places where their families have lived, maybe, for thousands of years."

The archbishop, who has been outspoken about the plight of Christians in his country, also said Britain's Christian leaders are so concerned with "political correctness" they refuse to speak out against the atrocities committed against Christians in Iraq at the hands of Muslim extremists.

"Will you continue to condone this never-ending, organized persecution against us?" he asked. "When the next wave of violence begins to hit us, will anyone on your campuses hold demonstrations and carry signs that say 'We are all Christians'?"

Warning Christians are “facing our end in the land of our ancestors,” Warda said, “the entire world faces a moment of truth.”

"Will a peaceful and innocent people be allowed to be persecuted and eliminated because of their faith? And, for the sake of not wanting to speak the truth to the persecutors, will the world be complicit in our elimination?"

The BBC notes that the outlook for Christians “remains bleak” in Iraq, as tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims persist and there are still IS fighters hiding out in parts of the country.

Christian Post article continues here

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

Trump Urged to Condemn China's Religious Freedom Abuses in Trade Talks

President Donald J. Trump is joined by US Trade Rep. Ambassador Robert
Lighthizer, Sec. of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Cabinet members and White House
 Sr. advisers, as he meets with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He Thursday, April 4, 2019,
in the Oval Office of the White House, following continued US–China trade talks.|
 Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

The Trump administration was strongly urged by a congressionally-mandated commission to bring up the continued persecution of Christians and other religious minorities with China’s top trade negotiator during this week’s trade talks in Washington.

The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which includes three evangelical leaders who’ve engaged informally with the Trump White House, called for administration officials to discuss China's systemic persecution of Christians, Uighur Muslims and others minorities with Vice Premier Liu He during his visit.

Liu's visit comes as the U.S. Department of Defense estimates that as many as 3 million Uighur Muslims have been sent to detention camps in the Xinjiang province of China, while countless Christians, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and other religious adherents continue to face arrest, imprisonment and the closing of their houses of worship.

“The communist Chinese government’s brutal campaign to ‘sinicize’ all religions is one of the worst abuses of religious freedom taking place today,” USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer, a veteran social conservative activist, said in a statement.

”The Trump administration believed that it was nearing a trade deal with China that would have opened up the Chinese market to U.S. companies. But after days of negotiation between Liu, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, no deal was reached.

Additionally, the U.S. increased tariffs on up to $200 billion of Chinese goods by 15 percent as China was accused of backtracking on months of negotiations when it submitted drastic edits to a draft trade agreement. Chinese officials blamed the U.S. for the deal not being reached and vowed to counter the U.S. tariffs.

USCIRF and other religious freedom advocates have long called for the U.S. government to include religious freedom concerns as part of the U.S.’ ongoing trade discussions with China and other countries called out for religious freedom violations.

At an event on Capitol Hill last week, Bauer said that trade negotiations with China should be more than just about “tariffs and jobs” but should also ensuring that the Chinese people are allowed to worship the way that they see fit.

“This is about the right of every man and woman, whether Muslim or Buddhist or Christian or Falun Gong, to worship as he or she sees fit,” Bauer argued in a statement Friday. “

 At a time when the lives and freedoms of millions of Chinese people are under attack by their own government, we must put religious freedom and human rights on the agenda, too.”
severe violations of religious freedom. 

In its 2019 annual report, USCIRF called for the Trump administration to use targeted sanctions against Chinese officials who either “perpetrated or tolerated” religious freedom violations.

USCIRF suggested the administration sanction the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo. Quanguo is said to have been responsible for violations committed against Buddhists in Tibet, who are reportedly subject to intrusive surveillance and political indoctrination.

Christian Post article continues here

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Chinese Christians Cry after Receiving Their First Bible

                                                             Photo courtesy: Chris Liu/Unsplash

By Michael Faust
Christian Headlines

A video showing Chinese Christians shouting for joy and even crying after receiving their first Bibles has sparked a range of emotions from believers in the United States.

International Christian Concern posted the video on its website and on social media this month as part of its new campaign to raise money for Bibles to be sent to countries where Christianity is either outlawed or severely restricted.

“In the West, we often take the Bible for granted, but I recently saw a video … of underground Chinese seminary students receiving their first Bible,” wrote Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern.

 “When the boxes were opened, they all converged on the box to make sure they got their own copy. Each one then held their Bible, kissed it, and wept. They had finally received the book that gives life!”

The video is at least five years old and shows several dozen Christians in a building opening the box. International Christian Concern said none of the Christians are in danger because of its release.

On Facebook, Christians in the U.S. said the video is convicting.

“If only we had the same zeal as these students,” Susan Elise Pearson wrote on International Christian Concern’s Facebook page.

Added another person, Charity Meyer, “How beautiful. It made me realize how much I take reading and holding my Bible for granted and that my life is so easy.”

Satan “knows well that the Bible is the most dangerous book in the world,” King said.

“Everywhere it goes, it smuggles Jesus and His Spirit into the hearts of dead and dying humanity, and exposes Satan and his schemes,” King wrote. “The Bible is, in fact, spiritual fertilizer. Everywhere it goes, life springs up.”

Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com

Video courtesy: International Christian Concern

Website: Christian Headlines

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China Tears Down Church’s Cross, Arrests Members, Raises Chinese Flag

Chinese officials have removed crosses from an estimated 4,000 churches in Henan.

                                                  Photo courtesy: Aaron Burden/Unsplash

By Michael Foust
Christian Headlines

Chinese officials arrested a pastor and three of his church members last month after they objected to the forced removal of a cross on church property.

All four are members of Zhongxin Church in the province of Henan. The action was part of a widespread crackdown on Christianity across Henan that often has included the removal of crosses, sometimes with cranes, China Aid and International Christian Concern (ICC) reported.

In recent years, Chinese officials have removed crosses from an estimated 4,000 churches in Henan.

Pastor Li Juncai, along with church members Wu Raoyun, Bai Yun and Ma Yanfang were arrested and charged with “disrupting public service” after they stood against the forced removal of the church’s cross. Government officials installed a flagpole in place of the cross to fly the Chinese flag.

The 700-member Zhongxin Church formerly was part of the Three-Self -sanctioned Protestant movement. It withdrew in 2013, according to ICC.

Four days after the pastor and church members were arrested, government officials returned to tear down the cross. They pushed away protesters, including the elderly.

“They hit people! The law enforcement hit people and drove the elderly away. They forcibly destroyed the lock and opened the gate. They are just like bandits,” one observer told International Christian Concern.

ChinaAid said the government sent “hundreds” of officials to remove the cross.

“They broke into the church via a side door, forced protesters away from the church’s main gate, and propped the gate open so that two cranes could enter,” ChinaAid said.

Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.

Website: Christian Headlines

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California May Evict 84-Year-Old for Bible Study in Veterans Home

                                                  Photo courtesy: Lucas Sankey/Unsplash

By Michael Foust
Christian Headlines

The California Department of Veterans Affairs is threatening to evict an 84-year-old widow from her California Veterans Home if she continues to hold Bible studies, according to her attorney.

The woman, Artis Breau, has volunteered as a chaplain and led Bible studies over the past decade.

The controversy began last September when one of the residents said he had trouble sleeping after having a conversation with her about heaven and hell. Officials with the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) labeled it elder abuse and emotional abuse, according to the Pacific Justice Institute.

Her volunteer status within the chaplaincy program was suspended in December. Then, on March 1, CalVet told the Pacific Justice Institute that Breau would be subjected to an “involuntary discharge” from the home if she continued leading Bible studies.

Breau believes officials are skeptical of her because she is an evangelical Jewish believer in Christ.

“CalVet’s treatment of this widow is shameful,” said Pacific Justice Institute attorney Matthew McReynolds.

 “Throughout this process, we have been deeply disturbed not only by the lack of constitutional guidelines, ineptitude, and lack of due process in the investigation, but even more by the notion that discussing religious views on the eternal state of the soul is somehow elder abuse or emotional abuse."

“Our client’s husband fought for his country to preserve the freedoms now being threatened by CalVet. Our veterans deserve better.”

Breau was a civilian employee in the office of the chief of staff of the Army at the Pentagon during the Korean War. Her husband served in World War II and the Korean War.

The Pacific Justice Institute is considering a lawsuit.

“This shocking attack from the State against our client’s exercise of religious convictions is deeply disturbing,” said Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute.

 “The State seeks to punish Artis based on non-existent directives, and deprive her of a personal ministry to the veterans who have benefited from her religious services for years. Artis isn’t fighting just for herself, but for the Gospel and for the residents who are unable to fight for themselves against the State’s attempted intimidation.”

Website: Christian Headlines 

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Chinese Official Vows to Eliminate Christianity in China

                                                                         Photo courtesy: Pixabay

By Amanda Casanova
Christian Headlines

A Chinese official says the country is vowing to eliminate Christianity in China, according to The Christian Post.

Xu Xiaohong, head of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China, says there are “problems” with Christianity in the country, calling the religion an “infiltration.”

“[We] must recognize that Chinese churches are surnamed ‘China,’ not ‘the West’,” Xu told delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

“The actions by anti-China forces that attempt to affect our social stability or even subvert the regime of our country are doomed to fail,” he added.

He said he is worried that Christianity is a “western” influence that isn’t best for the country.

“Therefore, people often say: "One more Christian, one less Chinese,” Xu said, according to Xinhua News Agency.

“For individual black sheep who, under the banner of Christianity, participate in subverting national security, we firmly support the country to bring them to justice,” he added.

China already has a “sinicization campaign” that works to bring religions under the country’s official atheist’s party control.

Part of that campaign includes trying to make the country’s religions more “Chinese” and even rewriting the New Testament with Buddhist and Confucian teaching.

The government must approve any Christian churches in China and religious activities are strictly monitored and regulated. Christians who do not adhere to the laws are sometimes arrested.

“Somehow, men and women of faith are viewed as a threat to the Chinese Communist Party,” he said. “It is clear that China’s misguided and cruel policies in Xinjiang are creating resentment, hatred, division, poverty, and anger.”

Website: Christian Headlines  

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Kenyan pastor who ministers to ex-Muslims beaten with clubs, hospitalized

“Believers who left Islam to follow Jesus are often killed on the spot when discovered. Al-Shabab has continuously expressed its desire to eradicate Christians from the country.”

People carry wooden crosses, symbolizing the people killed by gunmen

 at the Garissa University College, as they arrive for a memorial vigil at 

the "Freedom Corner" in Kenya's capital Nairobi, April 7, 2015. |

 (Photo: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

A pastor in Kenya who disciples former Muslims in their walks with Christ was beaten unconscious by a group of angry Muslims and hospitalized last week.

Morning Star News reports that a pastor on the outskirts of Garissa near the border of Somalia suffered a broken femur (thighbone) and other injuries last Friday night when he was attacked by a group of men while on his way home from a prayer gathering in Garissa.

The pastor, only referred to by the first name Abdul, claims to have been beaten by men with wooden clubs and essentially left for dead. Although he didn’t recognize his attackers, they are reported as being several Somali Muslims.

The pastor, who came to Christ about seven years ago, is 30 years old and is a father of three children ages 8, 5 and 3.

According to Morning Star News, an independent nonprofit news organization that covers Christian persecution across the globe, Abdul is the leader of an underground church made up of 30 former Muslims whom he disciples in small groups.

He explained that even though he tried to keep his missionary movements secret, Muslim extremists were still able to find out about his ministry.

The pastor claims one of the attackers told him: “We have been following your movements and your evil plans of changing Muslims to Christianity.”

“Immediately several assailants began hitting me with wooden clubs, and I became unconscious,” the pastor recalled. “I woke up and found myself surrounded by neighbors. I was rescued by the neighbors who found me in a pool of blood.”

Abdul was taken to the hospital in Garissa, the capital city of Garissa County in the eastern part of the country. Since it is near the border of Somalia, the city is predominantly ethnic Somali.

Abdul said that in addition to the pain in his thigh, he has pain in his waist, back and near the ankle of his left leg.

“I’m almost unable to bear the pain. My family is in great fear, and Christians have located us to another place,” he was quoted as saying. “Our prayer, for now, is to get a safe place for my family. My life and that of my family is at stake.”

While Kenya is ranked 40th on the Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List of countries with the greatest levels of Christian persecution, Somalia is ranked third.

An estimated 99 percent of Somalis are Muslim and the country is home to one of the world’s most brutal Islamic extremist groups: al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab has carried out a number of deadly attacks against Christians in eastern Kenya.

Continue reading article here

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Jack Phillips Vindicated as 'Overwhelming Evidence' Exposes State 'Hostility' Against Christian Baker

By Benjamin Gill

CBN News

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is reporting that the transgender cake case against Christian baker Jack Phillips is being dropped.

ADF says it was nothing more than anti-religious "harassment" that came even though Phillips had just won his previous case at the US Supreme Court.

Members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission (CCRC) who had come after Phillips have now been exposed by what ADF called "overwhelming evidence" of clear hostility toward religious freedom.

Phillips' Masterpiece Cakeshop was under fire again because he said his Christian beliefs prevented him from creating a cake that celebrated a transgender transition. An attorney had targeted Phillips with that transgender cake. That same attorney later asked Phillips to also design a cake with satanic themes and images.

The US Supreme Court had already ruled in the previous case that was brought against Phillips by CCRC that governments and state officials cannot show religious hostility in their decisions. Now there's new evidence that's what CCRC was doing with their second legal attack against him.

"The state of Colorado is dismissing its case against Jack, stopping its six and a half years of hostility toward him for his beliefs," said ADF Senior Vice President of US Legal Division Kristen Waggoner, who had argued on behalf of Phillips at the US Supreme Court.

"Jack's victory is great news for everyone. Tolerance and respect for good-faith differences of opinion are essential in a diverse society like ours," Waggoner continued. "But the state's demonstrated and ongoing hostility toward Jack because of his beliefs is undeniable."

One commissioner had already been exposed for calling Phillips a "hater" on Twitter. And former commissioner Diann Rice had called religious freedom "a despicable piece of rhetoric," prompting the US Supreme Court to rule against the Colorado commission for its anti-religious bigotry.

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