A high court has advised the Pakistan government to establish a commission to investigate alleged collusion between the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Islamist clerics to entrap innocent people in false blasphemy charges, sources said.
For decades the global missions community has talked about deeper collaboration with local ministry leaders as partners. But self-perception can misread reality. The post-COVID political shifts in China are a reality check, according to a long-term expatriate living through changes that are shattering the illusion that he knew better than the locals about how to advance the gospel in a foreign context. It is a new era for missions, demanding a new depth of humility.
The rise of Artificial General Intelligence is now unstoppable. It is not an overstatement to say that it is transforming life on earth as humans know it. No sphere of human interaction is immune, least of all the religious sector. Now, more than ever, we need to be spiritually discerning about AI/AGI use in our faith walk. Let us take care not put our trust in something that has neither heart nor soul.
India’s famed Emperor Ashoka was an ancient convert from Hinduism to Buddhism. He demonstrated that a person is NOT forced by others to convert from one religion to another. Today, “religious conversions are forced,” is the flawed premise of all anti-conversion laws of India. Who could have forced mighty Emperor Ashoka to change his religion? The Emperor’s famous religious conversion was his choice.
In a perfect world, where legal systems hold political power to account and protect minorities against human rights abuses we might expect an end to persecution. But we do not live in a perfect world. People with power continue to act with impunity against those who think and live differently to them. Christians have a way to cope with this reality and a real and living hope for a future free of persecution.
The president of Pakistan on Wednesday (Jan. 29) signed into law a digital crimes measure that church and rights leaders fear will be misused to persecute people who share persecution news online or criticize the government for its inability to stop such incidents.
Police in Pakistan this week arrested a mentally challenged Christian on blasphemy charges despite being aware of his condition, sources said.
Christian institutions and churches across India commemorated the nation’s 76th Republic Day with flag-hoisting ceremonies, cultural programmes, and special prayers for the country’s well-being and progress.
Reports of a recent dispute in the Church of Pakistan (CoP) about a regional bishop’s authority to appoint a successor without the involvement of the national leadership has revealed serious tensions that once again tear at the unity of the largest Protestant denomination in the country.
A court in Pakistan on Saturday (Jan. 25) acquitted Christian twin brothers of a false blasphemy accusation as the prosecution failed to prove charges against them, their attorney said.
On Sep. 5, 2024, China officially announced adjustments to its international adoption policy. Moving forward, except for foreign nationals adopting children who are direct relatives within three generations or stepchildren, the country will no longer send children abroad for adoption. According to statistics, since the Adoption Law legalized international adoptions in 1992, over 160,000 Chinese children have been adopted by foreign families.
Uruguay is poised to become the third country in Latin America to legalize euthanasia — a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the nation’s Catholic bishops. The bill, scheduled for a final vote today (Aug. 12) after eight years of legislative debate, would establish a comprehensive legal framework for the practice, setting strict medical and legal requirements for those seeking a so-called “dignified death.”
