The head of Indonesia’s counter-terrorism agency said officials are focussing on protecting teenaged children and women from Islamic radicalization as they have become the most targeted groups.
As the USA continues beyond its 250th anniversary, it is important to be reminded that the idea of freedom of religion and belief, one of its most significant values, did not develop from Enlightenment philosophy but with the theological conviction of an English Baptist who ultimately died for that conviction.
As the United Nations Refugee Convention marks its 75th anniversary on July 28, Christians are faced with an important question: when institutions become ineffective, unresponsive, or disconnected from the concerns of faith communities, should we disengage or continue to engage?
In the British Crown's "The Sovereign Grant" annual report, King Charles is revealed as "Supreme Governor of the Church of England... protecting the space for Faith (sic) within the multi-faith nation". This reveals a subtle shift in the British monarch's mandate. Not just protecting but potentially validating all faiths, which is biblically untenable.
The anti-Christian realities in India provide ample evidence that a culture can quickly turn against freedom of religion. Sadly, in India, some Christian leaders claim that if there is one place you can go to remain unaware of what is happening, it is in established churches on a Sunday morning! Thankfully the Holy Spirit is not so constrained and Christians continue to multiply in the midst of heightening persecution.
A school employee fired for social media posts opposing LGBTQ+ materials in class has won the right to take her dismissal to the U.K. Court of Appeal.
At least 17 of the more than 100 Christians arrested for their faith in a crackdown in Iran last summer received prison sentences of between three months and five years, or fines and floggings, by the end of 2023, advocacy group Article 18 reported.
The bruised body of a Ukrainian priest who was detained by Russian occupation forces turned up on a village street on Thursday (Feb. 15), with an unconfirmed report of a bullet wound to the head, according to watchdog group Forum 18.
A wave of political coups and a resurgence of Islamic terror groups in what is known as the Sahel region in Africa led to a marked increase in persecution of Christians. Despite threats, imprisonment, and displacement, however, Christians are holding on to their faith and the gospel is spreading.
Indonesia has officially changed a decades-old state policy of referring to Christian holidays by their Islamic names, such as Isa Messiah for Jesus Christ. President Joko Widodo signed a Presidential Decree to mark this shift to accommodate the Christian population in the country, which has the world’s largest Muslim population.
A judge sentenced a Christian to life in prison under Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes for a social media message that relatives say was posted on a phone stolen from him, sources said.
Auschwitz stands as a permanent memorial to horrors against humanity. However, memory can be manipulated and newly published research from a leading Jewish scholar has confirmed that there is much cause for concern. While antisemitism should absolutely be met with moral outrage, it should not eclipse compassion for other suffering groups, especially not for our fellow followers of Jesus within those groups. We need to be led by a biblical understanding of remembrance.
