Church of England Backs Plans to Bless Gay Couples

Pope Francis Calls for Same-Sex Civil Unions!

Pope Francis is calling for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples. This is a significant departure from the position of the Vatican’s doctrinal office as well as the pope’s predecessors on this issue.

His remarks came as part of a documentary that premiered last night and reflects on pastoral care for those who identify as LGBT. “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it,” Pope Francis said in the film.

He then spoke directly to the issue of same-sex marriage: “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.”

WHAT THE POPE AND CHURCH HAVE PREVIOUSLY STATED

According to the Catholic News Agency, the pope’s statement is a shift from his position in 2010, when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires and opposed efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. In the 2013 book On Heaven and Earth, he did not reject civil unions outright but described laws “assimilating” homosexual relationships to marriage as “an anthropological regression.” He also expressed concern that if same-sex couples “are given adoption rights, there could be affected children. Every person needs a male father and a female mother that can help them shape their identity.”

However, the National Catholic Reporter states that the pontiff has spoken in the past in favor of civil unions as a way to differentiate between Catholic marriages and relationships recognized by state authorities.

Conversely, under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI) and at the direction of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) stated in 2003 that “respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions. The common good requires that laws recognize, promote, and protect marriage as the basis of the family, the primary unit of society.”

The CDF added: “Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behavior, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity. The Church cannot fail to defend these values, for the good of men and women and for the good of society itself.” The document called support for such unions by politicians “gravely immoral.”

It also stated: “Not even in a remote analogous sense do homosexual unions fulfil the purpose for which marriage and family deserve specific categorical recognition. On the contrary, there are good reasons for holding that such unions are harmful to the proper development of human society, especially if their impact on society were to increase.”

THREE MAJOR QUESTIONS

The pope’s statement has generated global headlines and raises a variety of related issues.

First, will his opinion change church doctrine?

The person who made the documentary said that in his view, the film is not “about” the pope’s call for civil unions but “about many other global issues.” He explained that he looks at Pope Francis “as a humble human being.” Nonetheless, when the pope speaks to an issue, even on a personal rather than official basis, his opinions can sway many in the Church and beyond.

Second, if the Church changes its position on same-sex marriage, will this affect its adoption agencies and related ministries?

Fulton v. Philadelphia is set for argument before the Supreme Court on November 4. The case concerns whether the city of Philadelphia had the right in 2018 to stop placing children with foster parents that partner with Catholic Social Services, since the agency cannot endorse same-sex or unmarried couples as agency partners. This is just one of many cases where Catholic agencies have faced discrimination for upholding the biblical definition of marriage. In light of the pope’s statement, will these agencies change their stance on this issue in the face of legal and cultural opposition?

Third, if the Church changes its position on homosexual behavior and same-sex marriage, how will this affect ministries who affirm biblical marriage?

Since the Supreme Court discovered a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in 2015, many have been concerned that the IRS could eventually question the tax-exempt status of religious entities who continue to uphold the biblical definition of marriage. As the Roman Catholic Church is one such entity, some have felt that, given the Church’s enormous size and political significance, it would be unlikely that the IRS would take such action. However, if the Church were to shift its stance, would other ministries be more likely to face this threat?

HOW TO RESPOND WITH BIBLICAL COMPASSION

My purpose today is not to be an alarmist, since it is far too soon to know if the pope’s personal opinion will lead to any of these consequences. Rather, it is to note that, since the consequences of our personal beliefs are far larger than we might imagine, each of us should measure our opinions by biblical truth.

As I have previously written, God’s word clearly prohibits same-sex sexual activity (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:8-11) and defines marriage as the covenant between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:4-6). (For more, see my paper on biblical answers to readers’ questions about these issues.)

It may seem compassionate and tolerant for evangelicals to endorse same-sex sexual relationships and marriage. Such a decision certainly shields us from the vilification we face in a culture that brands us as intolerant and homophobic.

However, it is not truly compassionate to endorse what the Bible forbids, since this offers people less than God’s best for them. Rather, we need to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) out of a desire that all people experience abundant life in Christ (John 10:10). And we need to speak such truth in a spirit of humility (Colossians 3:12) that admits our mutual brokenness (Romans 3:23) and offers hope and help in Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:11).

In The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis wrote: “It does not matter that I know I must become, in the eyes of every hostile reader, as it were personally responsible for all the sufferings I try to explain.” Then he added, “But it matters enormously if I alienate anyone from the truth.” 

I pray that we would not “alienate anyone from the truth” today, but that we will lead them to the Truth (John 14:6).

Will you join me?

Publication date: October 22, 2020

Jim Denison

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Giulio Origlia/Stringer

Pastor David who defied Myanmar law test positive for Covid-19

At least 22 of the 94 recorded cases in Myanmar were traced to the religious gathering hosted by Pastor David Lah.

Pastor Lah and three of his companions, who were charged for violating government restrictions, have all reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and were receiving treatment, and legal action would be pursued upon their recovery.

Yangon, Myanmar – “I had a conversation with someone yesterday, who told me that thanks to God, there is not a single Christian who has been infected with the virus,” Pastor David Lah declared, wagging his finger at the audience in a recorded sermon posted on social media.

“I can guarantee that the church that goes by Jesus’s teaching, there will be no infection,” added Lah, as he waved a bible in the air at an event held earlier this month, in defiance of the Myanmar government’s order banning religious gatherings due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Days later, Lah tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the rapidly spreading coronavirus. He and three other people have also been charged with violation of the country’s Natural Disaster Management Law.

According to local news reports, as of Friday, at least 22 coronavirus cases were linked to the religious event that Lah hosted, including the pastor himself and famous Myanmar Christian rock singer Myo Gyi.

As of Saturday, Myanmar has recorded at least 94 cases of infections and five deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. Many of the new cases have no recent travel history and no contact with recent travellers.

Reported by Andrew Nachemson & Lun Min Mang

 

China Edits Pastor’s Sermon, Deletes ‘God Made Heaven and Earth’

Chinese government officials within the past year have closed churches, removed crosses, buried Bibles and beaten Christians.

Now, they’re apparently editing the Bible out of sermons, too.

A pastor in Shangqiu city in Henan province told Bitter Winter that local communist officials told him to delete a theological statement from his sermon – “God made heaven and earth, and created everything” – and to include more Chinese traditions and beliefs.

The pastor leads a government-registered Three-Self Protestant church and had sent his sermon to local authorities for approval.

“The censorship of sermons is a common occurrence in today’s China,” Bitter Winter’s Xin Lu wrote. Bitter Winter is a religious liberty watchdog that monitors human rights violations within China.

Three-Self pastors are required to “submit for authorities’ review everything they plan to say to their congregations.” It’s one of the reasons millions of Chinese Christians worship in illegal unregistered churches.

The Shangqui city pastor was chastised and told the Bible quotes in his sermon should include “Chinese interpretations.” The sermon also should examine Scripture within the context of Chinese culture, officials told him.

“We’re in a very difficult position now,” the preacher told Bitter Winter. “By making us write these ‘sinicized’ sermons, isn’t the CCP forcing us to tell lies and go against the Lord’s words?”

Bitter Winter reported the Chinese government “wants all sermons to be in accord with the Party ideology” and its “current policies.”

“[Sermons] should always praise the goodness of leaders and beauty of China’s nature,” Bitter Winter said, explaining the rules. “Sermons should include topics like the evolution or the Communist Party’s faultless leadership and kindness as the reason for the good life of China’s citizens.”

Reported by Michael Foust

‘Christian Witches’ to Host ‘Magickal’ Convention in Salem

Reverend Valerie Love is preparing to host the first “Christian witches” convention in Salem, Massachusetts, this April.

According to CBN News, Love is both an “ordained Minister of Spiritual Consciousness” and a practicing witch.

According to her website, Love was raised in “the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses” and after 26 years as a Jehovah’s Witness, she had a “magickal” awakening. The founder of the Covenant of Christian Witches Mystery School and author of 15 books, wrote on her website that she has “always been ‘magickal’” and is a “born witch.”

In 2013, Love published The Christian Witch’s Creed which has amassed a large following.

In her Christian Witch’s Creed, Love wrote, “I am a Christian Witch; I love my cross and my wand. I consult my Tarot deck and my Bible. I adore & am devoted to Christ and the Goddess.”

It continues, “There is no conflict in what I do, what I say or who I am.”

“Whether I’m walking in nature hanging out with Faeries, or in high consciousness communication with Angels or commanding demons & spirits, or stirring a healing remedy in my cauldron, or pulling herbs for a tea, or speaking a spell or dressing a candle, where ever I may be and whatever I may be doing, I am never confused and I am never in denial,” the creed goes on. “I am clear and certain. I was sent here by God for God’s good purpose,” the Creed proclaims.

According to CBN News, both Love and Calvin Witcher – a man who describes himself as a “prophet,” medium, and healer – both offer tarot card readings and “coaching sessions” that cost nearly $50,000.

In a Facebook live stream with Love, Witcher, who says he comes from a Christian background, describes the Bible as “not a Christian text,” claiming that it is full of sorcery. Witcher said, “The Bible is a huge book of sorcery. You literally can’t get around that. You can’t get around Jesus being a magician. There’s just no way.”

“You’re talking about the whole of Jesus’ adult ministry is all magic, all sorcery. Even if we just say ‘Jesus.’ Every particular miracle Jesus does defies human law, defies the laws of the universe and the world. So… you can’t really talk about being a Jesus follower without doing what he did which is magic,” he added.

Despite Witchers’ claims, the Bible speaks clearly about why Christian’s should not engage in witchcraft. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 says, “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.”

Galatians 5:19-21 echoes this sentiment saying, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

‘We Will not Forfeit Our Faith,’ Say Chinese Christians Whose Church Was Closed

Christians in China may be discouraged in the face of a government crackdown on their faith, but they’re not backing down.

“We will not forfeit our faith because of suppression by the authorities,” Gu Baoluo, a Christian whose church was shut down in early December, told The New York Times.

Gu’s congregation, Early Rain Covenant Church, was closed by Chinese officials as part of an effort to limit the impact of the country’s unregistered churches, which house an estimated 30 million Christians.

Chinese police took Bibles, closed the church’s school and seminary, and charged the pastor, Wang Yi, with “inciting subversion,” the newspaper reported. He could spend five years in prison.

Gu is a rice grower who had looked forward to the church’s Christmas festivities, which included a pageant and the singing of carols. This year, instead, he went to a Christian friend’s home on Christmas Eve and worshiped quietly. They sang songs and prayed for their fellow believers who are in jail, The Times reported. Gu also exchanged messages with friends on an app that allows encrypted communication.

One goal of the crackdown is to increase allegiance to the ruling Communist Party. President Xi Jinping and other Communists believe Christianity “promotes Western values and ideals like human rights” that “conflict with the aims of China’s authoritarian government” and Xi’s “embrace of traditional Chinese culture and Confucian teachings that emphasize obedience and order,” The Times reported.

Gu is drawing strength from Scripture. One of his favorite verses is Proverbs 4:18: “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.”

Early Rain members were asked to sign letters stating they renounced Christianity. Instead, they have chosen to worship in private.

“We have moved underground,” said Li Shuangde, a church member.

Ara-Abena Exposed the Fallen Church  

“It amazes me today to see so many Church buildings been built, so many Pastors been called, so many sermons been preached, so many prayers been prayed and yet, people cannot seem to overcome sin and their problems keep increasing every single day,  especially people who profess to be Christians…  After series of prayers, I asked God, why are all these happening? And that was when He began with me on the journey to “THE FALLEN CHURCH”

He said to me………

“I see my children gathered in churches to pray against the devil “Lucifer” and all they do is to scream “Holy Ghost Fire! ” as many times as they can, they go home tired and exhausted and yet nothing happens… You see, It’s because they don’t really know who this devil is, let alone how to overcome him. My Son, do you remember what Lucifer did in heaven some time ago?” I couldn’t answer.

“The devil is not scared because you scream Fire! Fire! Fire! , this is someone who was able to persuade and pervert one-third of my angels who were with me, do you know what angels are made of?”

Psalm 104:4 “Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire”

“My angels are made spirits and were covered in flames of fire and yet Lucifer was able to corrupt their divine nature and convert them into demons. My children on earth think they can overcome him by just screaming fire? Even those who were made with fire fell to his schemes, how much more you who are flesh and blood?”

“My Son, I will show you how to overcome the enemy so that you, my CHURCH and other Souls hungry for my salvation can be saved….”

“The strategy of the enemy will never change, in the Garden of Eden; he used what was around man to destroy what was in man. When the devil attacks your finances, it’s not because he needs your money, because Lucifer doesn’t spend money in the dark world.”

“He doesn’t attack your marriage because he wants to marry your spouse. He doesn’t attack your car because he wants a new ride. When the devil attacks any of these things, it’s because he has realized your heart is connected to them, so if he can touch them, then he can touch your heart and destroy you. The devil will always use what is around you to get what is in you.

But, Christians today are more mindful of what is around them, more than what is in them. We are more scared of losing money than losing our soul and that is why we can never overcome the devil, instead of setting your heart on fire through purity and righteousness, you are rather praying to set fire around your business, money, cars, future… I pity the Church, if the devil is able to capture your heart by making you live in sin, he has power over your physical materials…

Proverbs 4:23 says “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life”

Keeping something diligently is more like guarding it from any external influence. Unfortunately, the Church today is seriously guarding physical materials and we have sold our soul so cheap to the devil, and that’s why we don’t care living in sin and immorality. But, we are scared of not getting a marriage partner, or not making a lot of money… We scream Fire! Fire! Fire! While our heart is as cold as winter…

We have neglected the messages that prepare people for the second coming of Jesus Christ and all we talk about is how to make money and be prosperous on earth. The more the messages of Repentance, Holiness, Fear of God, Heaven and Hell are neglected the more Sin increases, and the more sin increases, the more the Churches fall before Satan…

The fallen Church will only be mindful of building an extravagant building with broken souls living in it. That is why there are Christians speaking in tongues in Church and yet addicted to all kinds of secret sins, and they will tell you “We are living under grace” as if grace is a license to sin.

“It’s a pity seeing my Church walk in deception…”

“They have believed in this deception that there was God the father who was always angry at sin, and there is Jesus the Son who also smiling at sin and says…  As long as you have your church’s membership record intact, you have a fat wallet to keep your pastor always smiling, you have a few bible verses you can memorize, a nice Voice to sing about me and a deep Voice to preach about me, you can do anything you want and live anyhow… My Church is in trouble.”

But I will still save those who want to be saved. So., go and spread this message to all men, delivering them from the venom of Sin… Tell them to be more mindful of the sins that corrupt the soul, than the witch that stole their money, because if a witch can steal your money, it’s because your soul was corrupted through sin.

A WORD TO THE CHURCH

Without Repentance, there will be no Revival and all you will be left with will be Noise making.”

July 2nd 2018

Russian Anti-Missionary Law Terribly Hits Christians

Concerns among Russian Christians that the government’s anti-terrorism legislation, adopted last year, would take away their religious freedom have been proven true.

The Yarovaya Laws, named for the lawmaker who sponsored them, ban proselytizing, preaching, and praying outside recognized religious institutions. 186 cases had been filed since enforcement began, with roughly half the charges against various Christian denominations and individuals or Christian-affiliated organizations. Officials later dismissed only about 20 percent of the cases. Punishments ranged from fines and confiscation of materials to orders for deportation.

Since July 2016, authorities have prosecuted Christian churches and individuals for announcing an upcoming service, conducting home prayer meetings, distributing religious calendars, failure to fully display a church name, and organizing a concert.

In one of the first cases against a Christian, officials in Noyabrsk charged Baptist Union Pastor Aleksei Teleus for allowing children to play on the playground outside his church, where they might overhear sermons and prayers or gain access to religious literature. Officials called it an “unsanctioned children’s camp” and fined the pastor 5,000 roubles (about $85).

Independent Baptist missionary Don Ossewaarde became the first American prosecuted under the law for holding a worship service in his home. Courts up to and including Russia’s Constitutional Court, the country’s highest, ruled against his multiple appeals.

The law’s vagueness has caused widespread confusion, attorney Mikhail Frolov told World News Service.

“Believers don’t understand what is permitted and what is forbidden,” he said. “It is possible to sentence people under this for any religious activity.”

Published September 10th

 

A True Story by a ‘Pastor’: Mermaid in the Church!!

The confession below was narrated by a Pastor in Nigeria. He died in an auto crash shortly after writing the confession. The narration below is an eye opener for everyone in the Christendom:

“My name is Chidubem Okwu . . . ., I am a pastor, but I have disappointed God and I really don’t know where to begin to tell my story.

I must tell you the truth. I can’t really say if I have a call or not. I was a Sunday school teacher in my church for 9 years at Kaduna state, Nigeria. In 1999 I was led to start a church, but from the experiences I have gathered now I cannot say I was actually led by the Holy Spirit to start that church. As at 2008, I was not making any progress both spiritually and materially.

I saw many churches which began several years after mine and they were making waves and are still making progress. At a point I did not know what to do again and after discussing with my wife I decided to approach the general overseer of a church that began 7 years after I started my ministry and explained to him that personally I was not making any headway and same with my ministry.

My ministry would grow up to 200 people and after a short period it would shrink to 50 people and sometimes it would grow to 150 and shrink to 40 people.

I approached him because the growth in his church was fast. He began the church in 2006 and by 2012 he was recording 11,000 people on a Sunday service and he was also making good money and riding great and big cars including the latest jeeps.

After listening to me, he promised to help me solve my problem. He said I needed to be empowered and that it is going to cost me some amount of money besides, I need to have a big and strong heart. Then he asked me if I have got a ‘strong heart’ and I told him that I have, as long as it is not going to involve killing a fellow human being. He asked me thrice if I have got a ‘strong heart’ and I consistently gave him the same answer.

Again he asked me if I want a single empowerment or double empowerment and I asked him which one is better and he said double empowerment is better but, it will cost me a lot of money and that after the empowerment I am going to be told how to maintain and renew the power.

This time I became afraid and I asked him if the maintenance and renewal involves any ritual, he said no that whatever the renewal and maintenance will involve are just normal things that I am already doing so I should not be afraid. He said I should go and raise three hundred and fifty thousand naira (350,000.00) which I had to borrow from my wife.

The next day I handed over the money to him, and he asked me to go and get ready that we shall be going to Lagos and Port-Harcourt. I got ready and we took flight from Abuja to Lagos state that same day.

In Lagos we lodged at the guest house of a big ministry and at 11.30p.m we went out in a private car to the Bar beach. At the Bar beach we were at the bank when he spoke some unknown language and told me that a woman was going to come out of the water and that I should do whatever she says.

As soon as he said that, there was rumbling on the surface of the water and a mermaid came out of it. The general overseer told me not to be afraid that the mermaid will not harm me.

When she came to the surface of the water, the lower part of her body was fish-like. But, my eyes were transfixed to that lower part and as she got close to me, it became human part. Then she came to me and asked me to have sex with her which I did in the presence of the general overseer.

After having sex with her, she put her hand in her vagina and made a sign of the cross on my forehead and my palm and told me that she has empowered me and that I will see the difference.

The mermaid left me, went to the general overseer and brought out a golden cross and chain from her stomach and wore it on the neck of the general overseer who gave her some money. The mermaid thanked him and went back into the sea. She spoke in English language.

When we eventually got back to the minister’s guest house, the general overseer told me that we have to go to the church of that minister, because they were having night vigil.

I was given an opportunity to minister in the church and as I raised my hands from the altar the members began to fall on themselves and some were tumbling on others and I must say I was almost embarrassed, because I never expected the manifestation of the mermaid’s power to be so soon.

After the all night service we went back to the guest house, and the general overseer asked me if I was happy with the power manifested and I said yes.

He told me that we should go to bed and take some sleep because we shall be going to Port-Harcourt that evening.

In my afternoon sleep, I saw the mermaid I had sex with at the Bar beach in my dream and she told me to constantly maintain and renew the power by having sex with a virgin once a month.

This jolted me out of my sleep. I went to the general overseer’s room to explain what I saw and heard in my dream and he said “there is no problem”.

When I asked him how to get the virgins, he promised to assist me, but I would pay for his service. Honestly, I wanted to back out, but I had no courage to say or do so.

While at the Bar beach I saw many pastors who came there with other senior pastors. It is like a tradition.

There must be a senior pastor bringing in younger pastors, and I believe each senior pastor had a particular mermaid they relate with, because, I saw up to ten mermaids attending to some other young pastors.

In the evening we were at the local airport in Lagos and took a flight to Port-Harcourt. At Port-Harcourt, we lodged in the guest house of another ministry. And at mid-night we went to a very big compound of a woman called Eze-Nwanyi, inside the compound were many houses.

We met many pastors there including first generational churches’ pastors. When it was my turn the general overseer paid some money and itemized what should be done for me.

When I went into the room, I was surprised it was a woman again and as I was full of thoughts – woman again?! I found myself on top the woman on a bed in an adjacent room. Honestly, I have not been able to recall how I found myself on that bed. I had sex with her and also sucked her breasts.

After the sexual session she made some animal cry and administered some stuff into my eyes and I began immediately to:

[A]. See into the spirit world and also

[B]. Discussed with some spirit beings.

After that she gave me bottles of olive oil which she called

(1). “Do as I say”; the members of my church will do whatever I ask them to do.

(2). “All seeing oil”; I can see deep into people’s secret.

(3). “Slaying oil”; for slaying people during prayer.

(4). “Crowd pulling oil”

(5). “Touch and follow”; which I will use to hypnotize women especially virgins, because I must have sex with virgins and married women to renew the empowerment.

She said that I can have sex and minister on the pulpit without having my bath. She bound me with oath of secrecy.

We left that same midnight and went back to the lodge and the general overseer told me to rub the touch and follow oil. We went to the vigil of the guest church and I was allowed to minister. I burst into prophesy to my own astonishment.

In the morning, two virgins were sent to the general overseer and he gave me one so we took them to the guest house and had sex with them.

What really surprised me was that the young girls never asked where we were taking them to and why we were taking them there.

When the girls left, the general overseer told me that henceforth, I have to concentrate my sermons around prosperity and stop salvation and righteousness messages. He said I should be sending tithes to him and that he know how part of the tithes will get to the woman at Port-Harcourt.

Eventually we left Port-Harcourt to Abuja and back to Kaduna. When I began my church service, things began to change. I became rich and the crowd increased.

Within one week miracles, deliverance and prosperity took over the church. The spirit of prophecy came into the church.

I have been having sex with virgin girls and married women and things have been working out fine for my family and the church for the past six years, but I have gotten to a stage in which I am no longer feeling comfortable with the whole thing.

I had dreams where I saw myself burning in hell. I had this dream of hell seven times, and in one of the dreams I woke only for the same dream to continue when I went back to bed.

I have been having sleepless nights and many nights I got raped by that same mermaid. I have lost two of my children mysteriously, but through the same pattern.

For the past three months I have not been able to get virgin girls and this had a diminishing effect to the power. I want to get out of this whole issue even if it means closing the church. I went to the general overseer and he said it was too late for me to get out.

He threatened me with mysterious death. He said it is not possible for me to turn against the mermaid and Eze-Nwanyi because they are already part of my life. I told him that I will do everything possible to get myself out of this.

Three days later, two men approached me and told me that if I love my life I should vanish from Kaduna, because they have been paid by the general overseer to eliminate me. So, I had to close the church and left the town finally after two days.

As I am writing to you now I have nothing to hold on to, but, only God Almighty.

The problem is that God seems to be very far from me no matter how much and fervent I have been calling on Him and asking for His mercies.

I am really afraid of going to meet any other person (man of God) because those who are using devilish powers are more than those who use the power of God.

For some time now I have not been sleeping at night and I also hallucinate.

…I believe time is running out for me as the attack from the marine kingdom increases.

I know I have transferred many spirits into so many people, and I don’t know what I can do so that those people can be free from these wicked and evil spirits.

It is really unfortunate that the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ has been taken over by Mermaid. The number of pastors using marine spirits is alarming, and more of them are getting initiated daily into this wicked kingdom.

Before I messed up myself spiritually, I had always wondered why members of churches follow their pastors sheepishly, but now I know better.

The marine kingdom is working day and night to overtake the church and unfortunately the church is sleeping. In the last two months I had four car crashes and I know they want to eliminate me, but God has been my helper and my only hope.

They had killed my two children and now they want me dead. I am becoming afraid of staying alone because of some bizarre spiritual appearances I see.

Some things I cannot explain had begun to move in my brain and body. Any time I start praying the movement would start and sometimes I feel the movement in my marrow.

The greatest need I have now is to be forgiven by God. If I can get His forgiveness I don’t mind dying after that because I really don’t want to go to hell.

I have been misled by the general overseer just as so many young pastors have been misled by their general overseers and senior pastors.

I regret selling my soul to marine spirits.”

Published February 19th 2017

 

 

Top 50 Countries Where Persecution of Christians is Strongest!!

This past year, for the 3^rd year in a row, persecution of Christians has hit a record high worldwide.

Open Doors have released its 2017 World Watch List (WWL) and cite increasing concerns for Asia along with the Middle East, due to both ethnic nationalism and Islamic extremism.

“The annual list examines the pressures faced by Christians in five spheres of life (private, family, community, national, and church), plus levels of religiously motivated violence, in order to rank the top 50 countries where ‘Christians face the most persecution.’”

Open Doors define persecution as “any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Christ.” It states, “Christians remain one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world. Christians throughout the world continue to risk imprisonment, loss of home and assets, torture, beheadings, rape and even death as a result of their faith.”

A report by Christianity Today lists these 10 trends in regards to the study:

• Approximately 215 million Christians experience high, very high, or extreme persecution.
• North Korea remains the most dangerous place to be a Christian (for 14 straight years).
• Islamic extremism remains the global dominant driver of persecution, responsible for initiating oppression and conflict in 35 out of the 50 countries on the 2017 list.
• Ethnic nationalism is fast becoming a major driver of persecution. “While this took an anti-establishment form in the West, in Asia it took an anti-minorities form, fueled by dramatic religious nationalism and government insecurity. It is common—and easy—for tottering governments to gain quick support by scapegoating Christians.”
• The total number of persecution incidents in the top 50 most dangerous countries increased, revealing the persecution of Christians worldwide as a rising trend.
• The most violent: Pakistan, which rose to No. 4 on the list for a level of violence “exceeding even northern Nigeria.”
• The killings of Christians in Nigeria saw an increase of more than 62 percent.
• The killings of Christians were more geographically dispersed than in most time periods studied. “Hitting closer to home, 23 Christian leaders in Mexico and four in Colombia were killed specifically for their faith,” said Open Doors of the “rare” event.
• The worst increase: Mali, which moved up the most places on the list from No. 44 to No. 32.
• Asia is a new center of concern, with persecution rising sharply in Bangladesh, Laos, and Bhutan, and Sri Lanka joining the list for the first time.​

The top 10 nations where it is most dangerous and difficult to practice the Christian faith are:

1. North Korea
2. Somalia
3.  Afghanistan
4. Pakistan
5.  Sudan
6. Syria
7.  Iraq
8. Iran
9. Yemen
10. Eritrea

Yemen was the only new country in the top 10, replacing Libya from previous years.

Over the past 25 years, only three countries have topped the list: North Korea (2002 – 2017), Saudi Arabia (1993 – 1995; 1998 – 2001), and Somalia (1996 – 1997).

The top 10 nations over the 25-year span are:

1. North Korea
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Iran
4. Somalia
5. Afghanistan
6. Maldives
7. Yemen
8. Sudan
9. Vietnam
10. China

But among all of the grim news, the report also reveals two positive trends:

1. Christians looking forward to going back to historic homes in northern Iraq

“The days of an Islamic State-run caliphate in Northern Iraq and Syria are numbered. Since an August 2016 offensive, the Islamic militants have been pushed back by a coalition of Iraqi and foreign-backed forces. Some of the towns and villages, such as Qaraqosh – which were once completely Christian – have been liberated. Iraq’s second largest city – Mosul – will soon be in the hands of Iraqi forces. Over 80,000 Christians fled their homes in 2014 and have been refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan since.”

“We can’t wait to go back,” said one, in Erbil. “But we will go back with a greater determination to keep freedom defended.”

2. ‘Exodus’ of Middle East Christians slows

“Most Christians in the Middle East may have crossed a border within the region, but the majorities have not yet left the region as a whole.

The number of Christians exiting the region has slowed. Open Doors estimate the number of Christians in the Middle East and Turkey at currently 16.5 million, including migrant and expatriate Christians in the Gulf States.”

Even among great persecution, God is still at work in our world. His Truth is being preached. Many are coming to know Him. The Gospel is spreading to all the earth.

Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

The reporter is Debbie McDaniel, Contributor to Christian Headlines.com

Published January 13th 2017

 

 

Exciting Discovery! Undeniable Evidence of Temple in Jerusalem

“Our discovery simply shows the glory that was the Temple [and] represents the first time that we can see with our own eyes the splendor of the flooring that decorated the Second Temple and its annexes 2,000 years ago.” -Dr. Gabriel Barkay
An incredible new discovery at the Temple Mount has produced the first-ever physical and archaeological evidence that the Jewish Second Temple stood on the Mount 2,000 years ago, upsetting Arab claims, increasingly endorsed by the international community, that the Temples never existed.
Archaeologists from the Temple Mount Sifting Project, salvaging artifacts from Muslim destruction at the Temple complex, have completed the restoration of ornate floor tiles which experts believe likely decorated the courtyard of the Second Jewish Temple.

The project provides visible and incontrovertible proof, backed up by ancient texts and historical context, of a Jewish Temple on the Mount.
In total, archaeological teams have uncovered approximately 600 colored stone floor tile segments, with more than 100 of them positively dated to the Herodian Second Temple period (37-4 BC).
The importance of the discovery is undeniable.
“This represents the first time that archeologists have been able to successfully restore an element from the Herodian Second Temple complex,” said Zachi Dvira, co-founder and director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project.
The Sifting Project began in the Tzurim Valley National Park in 2004 in an attempt to salvage whatever archaeological artifacts it could from destruction caused by illegal construction projects on the Temple Mount led by the Jordanian Waif that controls the Mount.
This destruction of irreplaceable archaeological artifacts is considered to be part of a larger trend of Temple denial. Denying Jewish connection to the Temple Mount began at the 2000 Camp David Summit, when the Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat insisted that “the Temple” existed near Shechem (Nablus), and not on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
This claim has been taken up in the international narrative as UNESCO passed an initiative claiming the Temple Mount as an exclusively Muslim holy site. This claim went mainstream last October when the New York Times published an article questioning whether the two Jewish Temples ever existed at all.
Breaking Israel News asked Dr. Gabriel Barkay, co-founder and director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, if this first-of-its-kind restoration was absolute proof refuting Temple denial.

“You are asking me if I have proof that water is wet,” he responded emphatically. “I don’t need to prove anything. I found facts.”

Dr. Barkay compared denial of the Jewish Temples to denying the Holocaust. “I myself am a Holocaust survivor, and I couldn’t care less about people who deny what I know to be true. For the Holocaust, we have the camps, we have the films and photographs, and we have the survivors,” he told Breaking Israel News.

“For the Temple, we have the Mishnah (Oral Law), the New Testament, we have the writings of Flavius Josephus (a 1st Century Romano-Jewish historian). We have mountains of archaeological evidence. I don’t want to relate to what is nothing less than a political misuse of history.

“There are people who approach me, especially Europeans, and ask what proof I have there was a Jewish Temple. I say that I don’t have proof and I am not interested in proof,” Dr. Barkay stated. “The fact is there was a Temple. Our discovery simply shows the glory that was the Temple.”

Speaking of proof, the tiles fit perfectly into a description of the Temple complex given by historian Josephus, who saw Temple with his own eyes. He wrote in his work “The Jewish Wars” that “the uncovered [Temple Mount courtyard] was completely paved with stones of various types and colors”.

The find also agrees with Talmudic literature about the construction of the Temple Mount which describes rows of green, blue and white marble. The tile segments, mostly imported from Rome, Asia Minor, Tunisia and Egypt, were made from polished multicolored stones cut in a variety of geometric shapes.
Another point of historical proof is that this style of flooring is consistent with floors found in contemporary works built by Herod, the builder of the Second Temple. Similar flooring has been found at Herod’s palaces in Masada, Herodian, and Jericho, among others. A key characteristic of the Herodian tiles is their size, which corresponds to the Roman foot, approximately 29.6 cm.

The restoration is proof of a theory that large expanses of the Temple Mount during the Second Temple were covered with a special type of ornate flooring called opus sectile, Latin for “cut work.” The idea was first put forward in 2007 by archaeologist Assaf Avraham, director of the Jerusalem Walls National Park. The new discovery confirms it.

“So far, we have succeeded in restoring seven potential designs of the majestic flooring that decorated the buildings of the Temple Mount,” said Frankie Snyder, a member of the Temple Mount Sifting Project’s team of researchers and an expert in the study of ancient Herodian style flooring, explaining that there were no opus sectile floors in Israel prior to the time of King Herod. “The tile segments were perfectly inlaid such that one could not even insert a sharp blade between them.”
Dr. Barkay noted that not only is the find an archaeological treasure, but a way for Jews to connect to their holiest place, which today’s generations can only imagine.

“This represents the first time that we can see with our own eyes the splendor of the flooring that decorated the Second Temple and its annexes 2,000 years ago,” said Dr. Barkay.

“Referring to the Temple that Herod built, the Talmud says that ‘Whoever has not seen Herod’s building has not seen a beautiful building in his life’. Though we have not merited seeing the Temple in its glory, with the discovery and restoration of these unique floor tiles, we are now able to have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Second Temple, even through this one distinctive characteristic.”

Reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz for Breaking Christian News

Published 16th September 2016

 

Ex-Witch: How Tattoos Relate to Occult Blood Rituals!

As old-school theologians and hipster believers debate the biblical commands not to tattoo the body, a deeper truth lurks.

Ex-witch Beth, who herself has a handful of tattoos, says one cannot ignore the similarities to occult blood rituals.

“A blood ritual is a satanic ritual that is done as a covenant or pact. There are at least two people involved in this type of ritual. The person who is shedding their own blood, and the person who is invoking a demon and its power,” Beth writes on her blog, The Other Side of Darkness.

“The person who is shedding their blood is the recipient in this transaction. They are giving their blood (life) in order to receive some sort of benefit, such as life, prosperity, fame, fortune or power. The cuts are now an open doorway for the entrance of evil spirits (demons) (that) you have granted permission. By agreeing to and participating in the shedding of your blood, you have (given) the devil a right to you. Often people who participate in a blood ritual also give over rights to future generations,” she continues.

Beth recognizes a tattooed body is not necessarily one and the same as blood rituals. Even Christians who passionately serve Jesus have tattoos to mark their faith.

But one cannot ignore the parallels between tattoos and blood rituals.

“However, you are piercing your skin with a needle between 50 to 300 times a minute. You are also shedding your blood, and you are making a choice to pierce your skin and shed your blood,” Beth writes.

“You also have to consider the person who is doing the tattoo. Where are they at religiously or spiritually? If they are another religion or hold spiritual beliefs of the New Age or occult, what does the tattoo mean to them? The one who holds the tattoo gun is the one who is shedding your blood. That is a very powerful position over you. If they are praying over you to their god or goddess, how does that affect you while you are openly submitting to them shedding your blood? Does it really matter if your tattoo is of a cross or a Bible verse in this case?”

Published 9th June 2016

 

Archaeological Discovery Challenges Islamic Roots of Saudi Arabia

 

CHINESE GOVERNMENT PERSECUTES CHRISTIANS DESTROY CHURCH CROSSES

Christian Women Funding $100M to Abortion Industry

Care Net president and CEO Roland C. Warren speaks at the Evangelicals for Life Conference in Washington D.C., on Friday Jan. 22, 2016.
Citing the Church’s moral complicity in the abortion industry due to a significant number of churchgoing women who have abortions, Care Net President and CEO Roland C. Warren called for the church to address its own abortion problem before tackling it in secular culture.
“We need to overturn Roe V. Wade in our own hearts and in our own churches, in our own pews. This is the log in our eye versus the speck in the culture’s eye. If we want to have an impact in the culture, we need to work on our house first because that would give the message. How many sermons have you heard about that? I’ve never heard one,” Warren said at the Evangelicals for Life conference in Washington D.C., Friday.
Care Net, an Evangelical Christian crisis pregnancy center, is America’s largest network of pregnancy centers. Warren said the organization conducted surveys that show that nearly four out of every 10 women were attending church at the time they had their first abortions.
“As part of the survey we talked to women in Church and one of the things that we found was that 4 out of 10 women were…going to church more than monthly at the time of their first abortion. In the church,” he stressed.
“And there’s other research that shows 65 percent of women who have abortions profess to be Catholic or Protestant. Do the math, a million abortions, 65 percent, that’s 650,000 abortions by people who check on boxes to say Catholic or Protestant,” he continued.
Warren refused to debate about whether the women were devout or cultural Christians but asserted that their abortions reflected a problem which was not being effectively addressed in the church.
“Let’s say there’s just 200,000, I’m pretty convinced that’s a good number. 200,000 Christians having abortions. The average abortion is around $500, do the math, that’s $100 million dollars that Christians are funding the abortion industry,” he said.
“We’re talking about defunding Planned Parenthood we need to defund Planned Parenthood ourselves,” he continued.
“We need to change. Imagine what $100 million a year would do for pregnancy centers, adoption care workers? …And we are giving it to people who are providing abortions at the same time we are protesting as a community,” he added.
Citing James 1:27 in the Bible, Warren explained that the Church had a very specific call to address the issue of abortion.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world,” he said quoting the scripture.
“When it was written, what was a widow? Primarily a mother without a husband. An orphan was a child without a father and today what we have is cultural-orphans and widows in our churches and our communities but the difference is instead of the husband or father being dead, he’s saying to the mother and the child, ‘you’re dead to me,'” he explained.
“And we’ve got an ability, a call to bring that man back to life. And the other piece is, when you think about abortion, the reality is, when you think about the kinds of support that these women need, and that these men need is actually the kind of support that the Church is well equipped to do. The kinds of reasons people have abortions are all linked to these types of things. I like to say life decisions need life support. Each and every one of us has an ability and opportunity to be a life ring for someone else,” he said.

Published 25th January 2016

Assyrian Christians Released by ISIS

More than 24 Christians kidnapped by Islamic State, including two children, have been set free.

The Assyrian Church of the East in Syria today secured the release of 25 Assyrians who had been held hostage since February. A Demand for Action (ADFA), a campaign group for minorities in the Middle East, confirmed the release in an email to Christian Today.

The hostages were among more than 200 people abducted from villages along the Khabour River in northern Syria. These 25 were from the villages of Tal Jazirah, Tal Shamiran and Qabar Shamia.

ISIS has now released 113 hostages in total, and negotiations are on-going to secure the release of about 100 people in their custody. ADFA told Christian Today that the Church is working “day and night to make sure all are returned to their families safely”.

In October, militants released a video showing the execution three of the hostages, and threatened to murder those still in captivity if $23 million ransom was not paid. When it became clear that the Assyrian community could not afford it, the amount was lowered to $14 million.

The freed hostages had arrived safely in the town of Tel Tamer, and were greeted by the Bishop of Syria and chairman of the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization, His Grace Mar Afram Athneil.

The Islamic State has become a threat to the world, and brisk action is required to eliminate global terrorism.

Reported by Carey Lodge of Christian Today

Published 9th December 2015

1,000 Churches in Indonesia Suffer Closure

Indonesia’s religious harmony law has closed more than 1,000 Christian churches in the country.
According to Christianity Today, Indonesia passed the law in 2006. The law requires religious minority groups to have 60 signatures of approval from Christians and 90 signatures from other faiths before building a church.

“It shows the failures of the religious harmony regulation,” Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono remarked. “It discriminates [against] minorities, thus making way for the majority, mostly Muslim hard-liners in Indonesia, to pressure the government to close down churches.”

In October, an Indonesian province saw violence after Muslims complained to officials that 10 churches there were illegally constructed. Authorities said the churches would be destroyed, but a mob arrived and burned down a church.

Another church tried to open a house of worship a few years ago, but it was accused of using false signatures, and its license was frozen.
In another case, a church earned approval from the local government to build a church, but permission was later denied. Officials shut down the temporary structure where the church had been meeting.

“We are doing more than just getting our church building,” church member Bona Sigalingging told the Global Post. “This is our attempt to keep Indonesia a country for all. Indonesia is not a country based on any one religion.”

According to a 2013 Human Rights Watch World Report, 80 percent of houses of worship in Indonesia do not have permits.
About 10 percent of Indonesia’s population is estimated to be Christian.

Reported by Veronica Neffinger of Christianheadlines

Published 16th November 2015

Toronto disapproves Annual Christian Music Festival

(Toronto)—The City of Toronto is refusing to grant a Christian group a permit to use a prominent downtown square for its annual musical festival next year, because the city has decided that singing the name of Jesus in the public venue contravenes city policy against “proselytizing.”

Voices of the Nations (VON) has been using city property since 2006 for an annual “multi denominational” event in which it celebrates Christianity through live music and dance. It has been using the Yonge-Dundas Square without issue for the past five years. This year’s August 1 event attracted 19 different performance acts, including children’s choirs and popular Christian bands, where well-known ‘praise-and-worship’ songs such as “Days Of Elijah” are performed.

When VON’s Events Coordinator Leye Oyelani contacted the Square’s Manager of Events Natalie Belman last week by phone to apply for next year’s permit, he was told that a permit would not be issued and to look for a venue elsewhere.

“I’ve already advised Peter [Paresh, Director of VON] that we’re not going to be permitting you guys this year for next year because of the proselytizing on the square, and that’s a big issue for us,” said Belman in a transcript of the October 23 conversation obtained by LifeSiteNews.

A volunteer Board of Management appointed by Toronto City Council operates the Square. Taxpayers contribute about $400,000 of the Square’s annual $2.3 million budget to help pay staff salaries and other costs.

When Oyelani asked the city official exactly who proselytized at the event, Belman responded that the “performers did.”

“If you’re praising Jesus, ‘praise the Lord,’ and ‘there’s no God like Jehovah,’ that type of thing, that’s proselytizing,” she said.

Oyelani then said that he didn’t think singing about God “would be a problem” given that it was a Christian event.

“That is a big problem,” Belman replied. “That [kind of thing], from the stage, is not acceptable.”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines proselytism as “inducing someone to convert to one’s faith.” Event organizers confirmed to LifeSiteNews that at no point during the performances did the artists induce passersby to convert to Christianity.

Belman went on to relate to Oyelani in the phone conversation that proselytizing goes against the city’s Performance & Display Policy.

While the policy states that “Performances / Displays must not advocate a specific political or religious point of view for the purpose of proselytizing” it does not prohibit singing the praises of God or mentioning the name of God.

Pete Baklinski of Breaking Christian News reported.

Published 3rd November 2015

 

 Michele Bachmann: “God Will Punish America for Planned Parenthood, Gay Marriage Just Like Sodom and Gomorrah”

The 59-year-old criticized pastors throughout the country for not educating their congregants about the biblical significance of the days in which we are living in, suggesting that “no one is fighting back against Barack Obama’s dangerous policies” that are “pointing America in severe decline.”
She said that God may soon engulf the United States with fire and brimstone just like He did the biblical towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Bachmann asserted that because of the national acceptance of gay marriage and the fact that Planned Parenthood is being allowed to mutilate aborted babies and sell their organs, tissue and limbs, God will soon cast His judgment on America.
She cited the biblical examples of how God previously judged societies, such as the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah, which according to the Bible were destroyed by fire that rained down from Heaven.
“When we raise our fist to a holy God and say that we are going to redefine marriage, we are going to be OK with paying a Planned Parenthood to cut up innocent baby parts and sell them for research, that clearly is a problem,” Bachmann stated.
“And as we have seen God render judgment in the days of Noah, in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah and so forth throughout history, what the prophets have told every generation is that there is a just God and the people must repent and turn to him.”
“So too in this day of wickedness in our own culture, we need to do the same,” Bachmann continued. “We need to repent and we need to confess because a Holy Savior is coming to save us and redeem us from this sin-sick world.”
Bachmann urged Christian pastors to discuss the End Times with their congregations.
“This is the prime season to teach a congregation about what the Bible says about the end of days,” Bachmann said. “Clearly, the world is paying attention to this issue. I think if a pastor is giving solid biblical evidences for the events that led up to the End Time, I believe that the congregation would be absolutely enthralled to understand the times that we live in.”
Bachmann further asserted that Iran believes nuclear destruction will pave the way for the Mahdi, or the Islamic messiah.

“Shiite Islam believes that the End Times, hidden imam on the twelfth imam, comes about through the apocalypse. They believe nuclear destruction brings about their culmination. I think it is vital,” Bachmann stated.

“I don’t understand why any pulpit right now wouldn’t also observe the times that we live in and explain it from a biblical perspective. We shouldn’t be walking in fear with our heads down in despair. What a biblical pastor can do is speak to people about how Jesus said the fig leaves are changing on the trees. The season is approaching.”
“I believe that too many believers in the United States right now haven’t yet heard the teaching on what is coming and unfolding before us,” Bachmann said.

“Christians all across the United States feel the pulse that something is happening. If pastors in our churches would only take this great opportunity and mark a space of time to teach what the Word of God says, not to instill fear, but to instead instill hope … that’s a positive story for believers to hear and quite honestly, we need that so that believers don’t go off the rails right now and shut their doors and shut out what God is trying to say in these days.”

Samuel Smith of Christian Post reported.

Published 1st October 2015

Ex-Muslim Woman Reveals Truth about Islam

“This so-called ISIS or el Shabab or Boko Haram, they’re not like extremists. They’re not fanatical. They’re just ‘good Muslims,’ good Muslims who follow the teachings of Islam. The prophet Mohammed, he did that. They’re doing what he did,” –Mona Walter
Mona Walter is on a mission. Her mission is for more Muslims to know what is in the Koran. She says if more Muslims knew what was in the Koran, more would leave Islam. (Screengrab via CBN News)
Walter came to Sweden from Somalia as a war refugee when she was 19. She says she was excited about joining a modern European nation with equal rights for women. But as a young Muslim woman, that was not the Sweden she encountered.
A Real Introduction to Islam

It was in Sweden that she first experienced radical Islam on a daily basis.
“I discovered Islam first in Sweden. In Somalia, you’re just a Muslim, without knowing the Koran. But then you come to Sweden and you go to mosque and there is the Koran, so you have to cover yourself and you have to be a good Muslim.”
Walter says she grew up in Somalia never having read the Koran.
“I didn’t know what I was a part of. I didn’t know who Mohammed was. I didn’t know who Allah was. So, when I found out, I was upset. I was sad and I was disappointed,” she recalled.
And it was in Sweden that Walters says she discovered Allah is a god who hates, and that Islam is not a religion of peace.
“It’s about hating and killing those who disagree with Islam. It’s about conquering. Mohammed, he was immoral. He was a bloodthirsty man. He was a terrible man, and Muslims can read that in his biography—what he did to Jews, how he raped women, how he killed people. I mean, he killed everyone who didn’t agree with him,” she explained.
Discouraged, Walter left Islam and became an atheist, until one day a family member encouraged her to read the Bible. She still remembers the first time she read Matthew 5:44, where Jesus said to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Christianity, a New Perspective

“It was very strange for me to ‘love your enemy,’ because in Islam it is ‘kill your enemy.’ ‘Kill your enemy and anyone who refuses Islam.’ But Jesus Christ was all about love and peace and forgiveness and tolerance, and for some reason, I needed that,” she said.
When she accepted Christ, Walter said she felt “so happy” and “filled with joy.”
Walter says the Lord gave her a burden for Muslims who still do not know the truth about Islam. And she began to study the Koran, and began copying verses from the Koran and handing them out on the street to Muslim women.
Rescuing Muslims with Truth

“Sometimes they listen and sometimes they become very upset, and I tell them, ‘You know your husband has a right to beat you if you don’t obey him?’ And they say ‘No, it does not say that.’ ‘Yes, it does say that.’ I thought if I tell them about Mohammed and about the Koran and about this god of Islam who hates, who kills, who discriminates against women, maybe they will have a choice and leave,” she explained.
But in politically correct Sweden, Walter has come under attack for simply repeating what is in the Koran.
“I’ve been called an ‘Islamophobe,’ and yeah [they tell me], ‘You’ve been bought’… and stuff like that, terrible things, ” she said.
“Muslims are normally good people like everyone else,” she continued. “But then when they read the Koran, then they become a killing machine.”
Walter now uses videos and speaking appearances to spread her message. And she says she won’t stop, even though her life is in danger.
Dale Hurd reported for BCN

Published September 25, 2015

Death Threats, Forced Conversions of Christians Cited in India

Prison Doors Open for South Sudan Pastors

Christian Pastors Yat Michael Ruot and Peter Yein Reith have just been released by a Sudanese judge.The Christian pastors, originally from South Sudan, were on trial because of their faith, facing possible death sentences.

After a major international outcry, including more than 220,000 who have signed our petition for their freedom at BeHeardProject.com, the pastors are now free.

Pastors Michael and Peter are eternally grateful for the prayers and voices of all those who have taken action for their freedom.

We spoke with the pastors following their release, and they asked us to share their gratefulness.

Pastor Michael said, “They released us today. We are happy. We had heard we won’t be released. But praise God!” Pastor Peter echoed his friend’s joy saying, “We are very happy now we are free because of your prayers. Thank you for all that you have done for us. God heard your prayers and we are free! With the help of Mohaned [Mustafa] and his team, they do great work for us and God uses him.”

This is a major victory in the fight against Christian persecution worldwide. The voices of hundreds of thousands of people demanding justice have been heard. The prayers of millions have been answered.

Last month, we sent an emergency legal letter to the new Minister of Justice of Sudan explaining why international human rights law and treaties agreed to by Sudan require a fair trial and the protection of Christians from religious persecution. Officials from the Minister of Justice’s office then began attending the trial, showing that the international pressure was having an important impact.

Today, the judge convicted the pastors of a lesser offense and immediately released them for time already served. The judge stated, “[T]he sentence they served in prison is enough, release them immediately and return the mobile phones and laptops” to them. Now they are free to go.

Last year we led an international advocacy campaign for the release of Christian mom Mariam Ibraheem who was on death row in Sudan for her faith. Mariam was released after a similar international outcry. Over the last several months, we’ve been working directly with Mariam Ibraheem to pressure Sudan to likewise release these two Christian pastors. Now, like Mariam, Pastors Michael and Peter are free.

We continue to pray for the pastors’ safety and are working with our contacts on the ground and our international affiliated offices in the region to ensure that they and their families are able to safely settle in a location of their choice.

Thank you for your prayers, your voice, and your support of our ongoing efforts to defend persecuted Christians worldwide.

Jordan Sekulow of ACLJ.org reported.

 

Published August 8, 2015

 

 

School District Fined $7,500 after Pastor Prays at Event

A Mississippi public school district has been fined $7,500 after a minister prayed during a district-wide honors assembly.

The U.S. Federal District Court said the Rankin County School District violated a 2013 court settlement that ordered the district to stop “proselytizing Christianity.”

Under the order, the Rankin County School District must now pay a student plaintiff $2,500 for the prayer and another $5,000 because the school district allowed Gideon International to pass out Bibles to fifth graders in October 2014.

The assembly was held in May 2014 at Brandon High School and opened with a prayer by Rev. Rob Gill. The assembly was not mandatory to attend, but honored all of the district’s students who earned higher than a 22 on their ACT tests.

But the conflict started in 2013, when the same student took the school district to court because he was forced to attend assemblies that promoted Christianity. The school district settled with the student and paid his legal fees, The Christian Post reports.

The judge ordered the district to stop “proselytizing Christianity.”

Published July 25, 2015

Massacre during Bible Study in North Carolina

Police have arrested suspected gunman Dylann Roof in a church shooting that killed nine people, including a state senator, as they gathered for prayer Wednesday evening.Church members at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, say the suspect sat down and attended part of the service before opening fire. Roof, 21, is believed to be the only shooter.

“The only reason someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is because of hate—the only reason. It is the most dastardly act that one can possibly imagine,” Mayor Riley said.

Built in 1891, Emanuel AME is one of the oldest black churches in the South. Its pastor, who is well-known for his civil rights activism, is believed to be among the dead.

Meanwhile, powerful moments are unfolding in the wake of the shooting, with members of the community gathering in prayer circles down the street from the crime scene.

Another elder reported that more than 50 pastors from all across the state have gathered in downtown Charleston to help comfort those affected by the tragedy. Burke of BCN reported.

Published June 19, 2015

 

18,000 Unborn Babies Die Each Year in U.S. from Late Term Abortions

Pro-life group leaders are joining with Sen. Lindsey Graham to introduce the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.The act would stop late abortions when unborn babies are thought to be capable of feeling pain, according to Life News.

“Abortion is the human rights issue of our time. Despite where a person comes down on the issue of life, one cannot discount that a baby can feel pain at 20 weeks or five months of pregnancy. In fact, the majority of Americans agree that abortions at 20 weeks, or when a baby feels pain, should be restricted,” said Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America.According to Congressman Trent Franks, more than 18,000 late term abortions are performed every year on healthy unborn babies in America.“These are innocent and defenseless children who can not only feel pain, but who can survive outside of the womb in most cases, and who are killed without even basic anesthesia,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 9,700 abortions were done at 18-20 weeks and 7,200 abortions were done on babies older than 21 weeks. The CDC doe not get its number from the states.

Published June 14, 2015

 

 

 

 

The life of Iraqi Christians in the midst of Persecution

(Washington, DC)—Sister Diana Momeka, OP Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, Mosul, Iraq appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee today to testify about ancient communities under attack: ISIS’ war on religious minorities. Her visit to the United States was sponsored by two Washington-area organizations, the Institute for Global Engagement and 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative. (Photo: The Christian Post/Samuel Smith)

Following her testimony, which appears below, Sister Diana noted that “The situation for my people and my country is grave, but not without hope. I believe that the international community, and especially the good people of the United States, want to see my government fulfill its responsibility to protect defend, and promote the welfare of all of its citizens. I call on all Americans to raise your voices on our behalf so that diplomacy and not genocide, social well-being and not weapons, and the desire for justice, not selfish interests determine the future for Iraq and all of her children.”

Thank you Chairman Royce and distinguished Members of the Committee, for inviting me today to share my views on Ancient Communities Under Attack: ISIS’ War on Religious Minorities. I am Sister Diana Momeka of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, Mosul, Iraq. I’d like to request that my complete testimony be entered in to the Record.

In November 2009, a bomb was detonated at our convent in Mosul. Five sisters were in the building at the time and they were lucky to have escaped unharmed. Our Prioress, Sister Maria Hanna, asked for protection from local civilian authorities but the pleas went unanswered. As such, she had no choice but to move us to Qaraqosh.

Then on June 10, 2014, the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS, invaded the Nineveh Plain, which is where Qaraqosh is located. Starting with the city of Mosul, ISIS overran one city and town after another, giving the Christians of the region three choices: 1.) convert to Islam, 2.) pay a tribute (Al-Jizya) to ISIS or 3.) leave their cities (like Mosul) with nothing more than the clothes on their back.

As this horror spread throughout the Nineveh Plain, by August 6, 2014, Nineveh was emptied of Christians, and sadly, for the first time since the seventh century AD, no church bells rang for Mass in the Plain of Nineveh.

From June 2014 forward, more than a hundred and twenty thousand (120,000+) people found themselves displaced and homeless in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, leaving behind their heritage and all they had worked for over the centuries. This uprooting, this theft of everything that the Christians owned, displaced them body and soul, stripping away their humanity and dignity.

To add insult to injury, the initiatives and actions of both the Iraqi and Kurdish governments were at best modest and slow. Apart from allowing Christians to enter their region, the Kurdish government did not offer any aid either financial or material. I understand the great strain that these events have placed on Baghdad and Erbil however, it has been almost a year and Christian Iraqi citizens are still in dire need of help. Many people spent days and weeks in the streets before they found shelter in tents, schools and halls. Thankfully, the Church in the Kurdistan region stepped forward and cared for the displaced Christians, doing her very best to handle the disaster. Church buildings were opened to accommodate the people; food and non-food items were provided to meet the immediate needs of the people; and medical health services were also provided. Moreover, the Church put out a call and many humanitarian organizations answered with aid for the thousands of people in need.

Presently, we are grateful for what has been done, with most people now sheltered in small prefabricated containers or some homes. Though better than living on the street or in an abandoned building, these small units are few in number and are crowded with three families, each with multiple people, often accommodated in one unit. This of course increases tensions and conflict, even within the same family.

There are many who say “Why don’t the Christians just leave Iraq and move to another country and be done with it?” To this question we would respond, “Why should we leave our country—what have we done?”

The Christians of Iraq are the first people of the land. You read about us in the Old Testament of the Bible. Christianity came to Iraq from the very earliest days through the preaching and witness of St Thomas and others of the Apostles and Church Elders.

While our ancestors experienced all kinds of persecution, they stayed in their land, building a culture that has served humanity for the ages. We, as Christians, do not want, or deserve to leave or be forced out of our country any more than you would want to leave or be forced out of yours.

But the current persecution that our community is facing is the most brutal in our history. Not only have we been robbed of our homes, property and land, but our heritage is being destroyed as well. ISIS has been and continues to demolish and bomb our churches, cultural artifacts and sacred places like Mar Behnam and Sara, a fourth century monastery and St. Georges Monastery in Mosul.

Uprooted and forcefully displaced, we have realized that ISIS’ plan is to evacuate the land of Christians and wipe the earth clean of any evidence that we ever existed. This is cultural and human genocide. The only Christians that remain in the Plain of Nineveh are those who are held as hostages.

The loss of the Christian Community from the Plain of Nineveh has placed the whole region on the edge of a terrible catastrophe. Christians have for centuries been the bridge that connects Eastern and Western cultures. Destroying this bridge will leave an isolated, inculturated conflict zone emptied of cultural and religious diversity. Through our presence as Christians, we’re called to be a force for good, for peace, for connection between cultures.

To restore, repair and rebuild the Christian community in Iraq, the following needs are urgent:

Liberating our homes from ISIS and helping us return.

Coordinating an effort to rebuild what was destroyed—roads, water and electrical supplies, and buildings, including our churches and monasteries.

Encouraging enterprises that contribute to the rebuilding of Iraq and inter-religious dialogue. This could be through schools, academics and pedagogical projects.

I am but one, small person—a victim myself of ISIS and all of its brutality. Coming here has been difficult for me—as a religious sister I am not comfortable with the media and so much attention. But I am here, and I am here to ask you, to implore you for the sake of our common humanity, to help us. Stand with us as we, as Christians, have stood with all the people of the world and help us. We want nothing more than to go back to our lives; we want nothing more than to go home.

Thank you and God bless you. –Sister Diana Momeka

Published May 14, 2015

 

U.S. Christian leaders ready for civil disobedience if gay marriage is legalized

Top Christian leaders, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, National Religious Broadcasters president Jerry Johnson, Pastor John Hagee, and Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse signed a a document titled, Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage.
“While there are many things we can endure, redefining marriage is so fundamental to the natural order and the common good, that this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross,” the pledge states.
Mat Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel told Todd Starnes host of Fox News that they are sending a warning to the Supreme Court and frankly any court that crosses the line on the issue of marriage. He said that once same-sex marriage is elevated to the level of protected status – it will transform the face of society and will result in the “beginning of the end of Western Civilization.”
If the supreme court should legalize this issue, then it creates a genderless relationship out of a very gender-specific relationship.The significance of father and mother established by God will be valueless to the children.
To be clear – the men and women who courageously signed this pledge did so knowing the hell storm that is about to be unleashed on them – and their families.

Published April 30, 2015

90 Assyrian Christians kidnapped by ISIS

Activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that members of ISIS have abducted 90 Assyrian Christians from villages in northeast Syria. The incidence occurred early hours of the morning near the town of Tal Tamr, where a Christian minority lives. ISIS has managed to take two villages from the Kurds on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory reports, and is the latest in a series of battles between the Kurds and ISIS, which is trying to establish an Islamic emirate, in the Levant region.
The recent help by the United States to the Kurdish forces through air strikes against ISIS had killed 14 terrorist members on Tuesday.
There is no information on where the abducted Assyrian Christian men, women and children may have been taken to.
Christians had been threatened by ISIS to pay taxes in order to survive and remain in the country while a lot of Christian churches had been destroyed in Syria.
A few weeks ago ISIS beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya, which attract international condemnation and cause the union among the 60 groups working to defeat ISIS. The U.S led coalition includes the countries of Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom, and several others.
Christians all over the world need to pray for the Syrian Christians going through though persecution for their faith in Christ Jesus.

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