A new global assessment has found that an estimated 100 million Christians live without access to a Bible, revealing both legal restrictions and severe shortages across dozens of countries. The Bible Access List, released Thursday by the Bible Access Initiative, combines data and expert analysis from 88 countries to identify where Scripture is most difficult to obtain.
A recent statement issued by the Heads of Churches of Jerusalem is a timely and necessary intervention that addresses a growing and deeply troubling phenomenon: groups that claim to represent “Christians from the Holy Land” while speaking instead for biblically unfaithful political ideologies, foreign interests, and theological distortions that have little to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What is the Church’s role and responsibility toward its surrounding context? Should we isolate or adapt? Should the Church not encourage its people to participate in societal concerns such as justice, mercy, and development, while maintaining Christian values? These issues and more are considered from a Middle East perspective but provide a lesson for us all.
A message of deep urgency as history unfolds in Iran. As nationwide protests for freedom continued—with death toll reports climbing from the hundreds into the thousands—the Iranian regime shut down the internet, cutting off an entire nation from the outside world. Violence escalated. Families are grieving. Here is a biblical view of the situation.
Will the unprecedented current protests in Iran be terminal for the Islamic theocracy which has been in place since 1979? Social scientific insight seems to suggest not, but they've been wrong before. In spite of some key indicators that suggest the Iranian rule will continue, the triggers to regime collapse are mysterious.
The World Evangelical Alliance has appointed Advocate Botrus Mansour as its new Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer, marking the first time an Arab Christian leader will head the global body representing more than 600 million evangelicals in over 148 countries.
The number of countries with Christian majorities declined between 2010 and 2020, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center, highlighting a notable shift in global religious affiliation. As of 2020, Christians remained the majority in 120 out of 201 countries and territories analyzed—down from 124 in 2010. That means Christian-majority nations accounted for 60% of all countries surveyed, compared to 62% a decade earlier.
A Christian convert in Egypt has been charged with terrorism after he requested a new identification document to reflect his change of religion. The man, arrested earlier this month, now faces accusations of stirring unrest and spreading false news.
At least 21 Christians have been arrested in five different cities in Iran in a crackdown on “dissent” following the end of military conflict with Israel, according to advocacy group Article18.
An armed group in Suwayda city, Syria last week massacred a Christian pastor and several members of his extended family as they hid in their house from military clashes in the area, according to published reports.
Christianity is at risk of being “wiped out” in parts of the world due to intensifying persecution, the United Kingdom’s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, David Smith, has warned. The British government is now targeting 10 countries as part of its revised foreign policy focus to defend this human right.
A recent statement issued by the Heads of Churches of Jerusalem is a timely and necessary intervention that addresses a growing and deeply troubling phenomenon: groups that claim to represent “Christians from the Holy Land” while speaking instead for biblically unfaithful political ideologies, foreign interests, and theological distortions that have little to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
