BAPTIST LEADER FREED FROM PRISON IN MYANMAR
Rev Dr Hkalam Samson, former President of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), was released from prison in Myanmar/Burma on 23rd July. Rev Dr Samson, known for his human rights advocacy, was initially arrested on 5th December 2022, at Mandalay International Airport while attempting to travel to Bangkok. He was sentenced to six years in prison on 7th April 2023, on charges of unlawful association, defaming the State, and terrorism. [Source: CBN News]
CHRISTIANS SUFFERING IN SUDAN
An estimated 5.4 percent of Sudan's nearly 50 million people are Christians. Our brothers and sisters share in the suffering that has afflicted all people as a result of a civil war that broke out in April 2023. It is also reported that both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have targeted Christians, with more than 165 churches forced to close since the conflict began. Christians had previously endured decades of severe persecution under the Islamist government of Omar al-Bashir before he was ousted in 2019. PRAY that the Lord will sustain our brothers and sisters in the Republic of Sudan, as well as those who have fled into neighbouring countries. Ask that He will especially protect His people and restore peace to Sudan for all people [Source: Barnabas Aid]
LEFTIST MEDIA DECLARES WAR ON HOME SCHOOLING
Home education and home school families are under vicious attack from establishment media outlets, with major propaganda voices on both sides of the Atlantic working to portray home schooling as dangerous and radical. The anti-home schooling screeds come as the number of families removing their children from government schools has grown by as much as 100 percent in recent years. The general gist of the escalating jihad against parental rights and educational liberty is that parents cannot be trusted with their children. Some might fail to teach their children enough LGBT propaganda.
The left-wing media declaration of war against home schoolers — by far the best performing and safest students in the United States, according to the data — comes even as victims of government schools suffer from massive levels of illiteracy, innumeracy, mental-health problems, suicide, sexual abuse, gender confusion, and more. Federal data show less than one in three students in public schools are proficient in any core subject, with some government schools failing to produce a single student proficient in anything. Meanwhile, over 10 percent of children in government schools will be the victim of sexual abuse perpetrated by staff members of those schools including teachers and officials, US Department of Education data show.
These attacks will only increase, as the trillion-dollar US monster that is the "education" establishment recognizes the threat to its monopoly posed by home schooling. [Source: The Newman Report (USA).
MOROCCO: OFFICIAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY HAVE SOFTENED
"There is not a single city in Morocco that does not have a presence of Moroccan Christians, even in the villages," reported a pastor in the city of Temara. Official attitudes towards Christianity have softened in the past few years, added the pastor, and house church gatherings are generally tolerated. The pastor emphasised the loyalty of Moroccan Christians to their country. However, Christians – and particularly converts from Islam – still face reprisals from extremists within the Muslim majority. [Source: Barnabas Aid]
....NOT SO IN ALGIERS
Pastor Youssef Ourahmane's one-year sentence for "illegal worship" was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Tizi Ouzo, Algeria in April. Pastor Youssef, Vice President of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA), was charged with holding an unauthorised religious meeting in a building not permitted to be used for religious worship in March 2023. His original two-year imprisonment was halved on appeal in November 2023, but a fine of $1,210 remained in place. In rejecting his second appeal, the court added a further six months' suspended sentence on top of the one-year prison term. [Source: Barnabas Aid]
OLYMPIC GAMES DEMANDS SURFER REMOVE IMAGE OF CHRIST ON BOARD
The Olympics has been filled with controversy surrounding Christianity this year, and it appears that these storms are not over yet. A Brazilian surfer competing in this year's Olympics, Joao Chianca, was reportedly forced to remove images of Jesus Christ on his surf board before the start of the games. "The opening ceremony wasn't the only anti-Christian message sent to the world by the Olympic committee," the post reads. "Two weeks before the games, Brazilian surfer Joao Chianca was ordered to remove the image of Jesus Christ from his surfboard, or be barred from competing." Chianca was told he was not authorized to have Jesus on his board because 'Christ is a religious figure' and 'the games have strict rules and focus on total neutrality,'" the X post continued. [Source: Charisma News]
SIGN LANGUAGE USED TO TESTIFY HER FAITH AFTER BAN ON PRAISING JESUS
Amid controversy over perceived mockery of Christian symbolism during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, 16-year-old Brazilian skateboarder Rayssa Leal proudly expressed her Christian faith. After securing the bronze medal in the women's street skateboarding final on Sunday 28th July, Leal used sign language to quote John 14:6 - "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This was in response to her being told that she wasn't allowed to praise Jesus while competing.
In 2021, Leal became Brazil's youngest Olympian at aged 13, winning the silver medal in the skateboarding street competition. [Source: Premier Christian News]
BIBLE COLLEGES ACROSS THE UK ARE FACING MERGERS AND CLOSURES
A significant challenge facing Bible colleges in the UK, is securing universities to validate their degree programs, especially as universities themselves grapple with financial difficulties. Currently, around 30 Bible colleges operate in the UK, alongside the Church of England's Theological Education Institutions (TEIs), The Church Times reports. Mergers within the sector are not new. However, a principal warned this week that the sector could be reaching a "crisis point", with concerns around oversupply of programs and under-demand from students causing many colleges to question their short-term viability. Where a student body of 50 to 100 was once sustainable, institutions now find a "critical mass" of 150 to 200 students necessary for survival, Church Times reports.
Dr Anthony Royle, the principal of King's Evangelical Divinity School said he believes Bible colleges are "critical in equipping christians and engaging with society". He went on to say that "We need to value theological training more." [Source: Premier Christian News]
- compiled by Guido Kettniss
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