In an interview with CDI’s Africa Editor Jim Olang, Brazilian theologian Dr. Rosalee Velloso Ewell shared some reflections on how to interpret persecution today and what forms it may take in different parts of the world.
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.
The situation for Iranian people is more dangerous now than before the recent war with Israel and the United States of America. Even more so for Christians who represent a growing minority religion in the staunchly Shia theocracy. Under threat, the ruling regime has increased its morality terror with brutal force.
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.
New political winds are blowing with increasing force as the push-back against globalization grows with increasing nationalisms. The demand to pledge allegiance to something other than God in Christ will put renewed pressure on the Church and we need to be prepared to hold true to our faith. Here is a stern warning that Christians must take to heart.
New regulations for “religious activity venues” in China advance officials’ desire to replace spiritual instruction with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) political teaching, rights experts say.
The trial of Rhoda Jatau, a Christian mother of five in Nigeria’s Bauchi State, will continue following a judge’s refusal to dismiss the case against her. Jatau has been in prison since last May, accused of sharing a video on WhatsApp that condemned the lynching of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a Nigerian student killed by her classmates for sharing her Christian faith.
An exiled prisoner of conscience from Nicaragua told members of U.S. Congress he was arrested without a warrant, stripped naked and subjected to multiple interrogations about Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced to over 20 years in prison for sermons criticizing the government's human rights violations.
Four missionaries including a pastor and his wife from Gospel Echoing Missionary Society (GEMS) were brutally assaulted in a village near Garhwa district of Jharkhand. Pastor P. Sarvanan and his companion P. Andrew are admitted in a GEMS hospital since November 21, after complaints of severe headache and dizziness, informed Andrew to Christian Today.
Since the announcement of the election schedule, there has been a widespread appeal to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to change the vote counting date. The concern stems from the date falling on December 3, a Sunday, which is considered sacred for the majority Christian community (87%) in the state. Political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and churches have united in their demand for a rescheduled date.
Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists on Thursday (Nov. 30) killed seven Christians in attacks on two villages in Plateau state, Nigeria, sources said.
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.
