
Pastor in Nepal seeks to change prison term into fine
More than a month after the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya to serve one year in prison under a law against proselytizing, he seeks to convert the sentence into a fine.

More than a month after the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya to serve one year in prison under a law against proselytizing, he seeks to convert the sentence into a fine.
A devastating wave is crashing over South Asia, wreaking havoc on those who choose to follow a faith other than the majority. It is a wave of anti-Christian sentiment. So-called “Freedom of Religion” and “Anti-Blasphemy” laws fuel it, generating a powerful undercurrent of distrust and disdain toward Christians.
The recent flood from the Himalayas through Nepal to India, shared via social media, stunned the world. Relief organizations mobilized to capitalize on the catastrophe and the Nepali government collected a great deal of financial aid to assist but relief action was slow. Whereas, NGOs and churches competed for the donor dollar while families grieved.
For a followers of folk religion in Taiwan, who understand religion as transactional with individual spirits, forgiveness of sins may not immediately sound like an answer to the practical fears that emerge during Taiwan's Ghost Month. Yet the gospel can reframe the human problem without ignoring the fear that brought the person to the conversation. Our deepest problem is not that we have failed to satisfy every unseen power. It is that we are sinners before a holy God.
Disciples are made to need one another, and in their interdependence they reveal God's glory. Collaboration with those who follow Christ from other backgrounds is a powerful witness in this regard. By living and ministering well together the lives of those who don't know Jesus will be impacted by a community of spiritually transformed, self-giving people who demonstrate a love that is not of this world.

A 72-year-old Christian in Pakistan was arrested and charged with blasphemy on Saturday (Feb. 10) based on a false accusation filed in retaliation over a property dispute, sources said.

Chinese families are coming under pressure to keep the Christian faith from their children. Chinese partners of Release International, an organisation supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said that schoolchildren are being made to declare whether they are Christians. Those who state that they are must then sign a declaration promising to renounce Christianity.

Last Sunday, I attended a worship service at a church, noticing a one-third reduction in the attendance. Additionally, the number of worship sessions decreased from three to two. Choirs and fellowships are also suspended until the end of February.

Citing lax government response to Islamic extremist attacks on a Christian community last August, an advocacy group on Wednesday (Feb. 7) filed another plea for justice with the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The first global database to track cases of anti-religion violence became available to the general public in January, providing rights advocates, ministries and others a plethora of information to defend religious freedom and belief.

The Church of Pakistan has announced its commitment to take action on climate change in line with the Lambeth Declaration, reiterating that the climate emergency was not just a physical crisis, but also a spiritual one.