These articles were first published in our December edition of the newspaper, click here for more.
Authorities have closed more than 60 schools to protect children and teaching staff from continuing suicide bomb attacks by Boko Haram.
The Islamist militants have been carrying out at least three attacks a week since January, according to the Cameroon military. Most are perpetrated by suicide bombers, mainly women and children. In two months, 13 schools were torched, 200 people were held to ransom and an unknown number of civilians abducted, the military reported.
The government has proposed controversial legislation banning so-called conversion therapy.
Under Bill C-6, a person could be imprisoned for up to five years for ‘knowingly’ causing a child to undergo ‘conversion therapy’. The legislation seeks to ban a range of practices deemed non-affirming towards those experiencing same-sex attraction or gender confusion, including banning people stopping children from taking puberty blockers. The Bill’s language has been labelled ‘ambiguous’ by bishops.
100 licences were granted in October as registration of churches resumed after a five month Covid break.
The new batch is made up of 45 churches and 55 affiliated service buildings. The Cabinet-affiliated committee, headed by Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli, last met in May when it granted 70 licences.
A pastor and Bible translator killed in the easternmost region of Papua in September was likely tortured by a military officer who then shot him dead, a report has revealed.
The report’s fact-finding team believed the military tortured Yeremia Zanambani, hoping to extract information on stolen military weapons. The pastor, who was known for translating the Bible into Papua’s Moni dialect, was later found by his wife lying face down with gunshot wounds and his left arm nearly severed.
On 14 October a Christian convert received 80 lashes for drinking Communion wine. He had previously been flogged in 2012 for the same offence. (en October 2016)
Two of his fellow house-church members were also been sentenced to flogging. Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi continues serving his two years of internal exile for house-church activities, which authorities termed ‘acting against national security’. For that charge Omidi also served two years in prison, reduced from the original sentence of ten years.
Four Christians remain in jail four months after they were arrested for planning a Christian funeral, which was deemed by local authorities to violate traditional customs.
‘They were detained because they came here to perform ceremonies that don’t conform with Lao culture, which creates unrest and divides community solidarity,’ said a local official. The detained Christians are the breadwinners of their families and their wives and children now face hardships.
A 27-year-old American missionary, Philip Walton, was abducted by six gunmen carrying AK-47s at 2am on 27 October
The six men stormed Walton’s home, demanded money, and tied up his wife, young daughter, and brother, before loading him onto their motorbikes and vanishing. Local authorities believe that the assailants were from the Fulani ethnic tribe and fled into the neighbouring country of Nigeria, where they have been terrorising Christians for years.
Protests against police brutality in Nigeria, that grew into generalised unrest over poor government, have taken on a religious dimension with attacks on Christians and church buildings.
Various groups took advantage of the chaos, and Christian leaders led prayer walks of thousands of Christians in appeals for peace. Christians praying inside the Dunamis Christian Centre were attacked by suspected Muslim antagonists. Five church leaders were assaulted in the attack.
Islamic extremists have attacked a predominantly Christian village near Chibok on 1 November, killing 12 Christians and kidnapping women and children.
The assailants arrived with automatic weapons on six gun-trucks and three heavy-duty vehicles and shot anyone in sight. They also burned down houses and looted food. The shootings and looting, which lasted about two hours, ended with the abductions. A church pastor was among those killed.
An abducted pastor who was widely reported as having been released from captivity, is still being held by militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province terrorist group.
A spokesman from a peace foundation said: ‘The rumours of Polycarp Zongo’s release are either an online lie, misunderstanding, or an attempt by the Khalifah Army to see how interested Christians are in Zongo’s return’. Zongo was kidnapped along with two Christian women as they travelled from his church to attend a conference. There is no word on the fate of the abducted women.
On 2 November, Pakistan’s High Court ordered that a 13-year-old Christian girl be removed from the custody of her Muslim abductor, who had pressurised her to convert to Islam before forcing her into marriage.
The Sindh court ordered police and local agencies to place teenager Arzoo Raja in a safe shelter, away from Azhar Ali, who is in his 40s and is already married with children.
A Sri Lankan pastor has been forced to shut down his church and end his ministry work after being detained by police and threatened by Buddhist monks.
The October closure came after five years of intimidation that culminated in him being ordered to a police station where he faced further threats not only to himself but against his parishioners. The monks showed Daniel they had acquired a list of people who attended his church and demanded he close his ministry.
A seven-year-old boy has been assaulted resulting in a three-day hospital stay. He is the son of a Christian convert of eight years.
The father had just finished a Bible study when Muslims sent boys about 13 years old to assault his son. The boy suffered a swollen and injured face as well as a knife wound. He lost lots of blood and was taken for medical treatment by other secret believers.
A Christian couple detained for being ‘apostates and evangelists spreading Christianity’ have been arrested after Christian material was found in their home, in the majority Muslim country.
The police colonel threatened that ‘whoever dares to spread Christianity in this region should be fully aware that they won’t escape the hand of the law enforcement officers and that the spread of Christianity will not be allowed and is considered blasphemy’.
Two evangelical medical groups, along with the Spanish Evangelical Alliance, have published a document with health recommendations for churches.
It emphasises the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and encourages Christians to exercise their trust in God and His sovereignty over every situation. ‘Fortunately, we know that God, our Father, is the Lord of the universe. Everything is under His control and nothing goes unnoticed. The Scriptures show us where our trust and security as believers lies’, it stresses in the introduction.
Lawyers for a schoolgirl have filed a federal lawsuit against her Mississippi school after administrators prohibited her from wearing a face mask with the words ‘Jesus Loves Me’ written on it.
After she was banned from wearing it, the school prohibited the wearing of masks that were religious or political. The school had been contacted multiple times by the parent before she decided to file against the school.
The number of divorces has decreased, and more couples are reporting that they are ‘doing better’ during the Covid crisis, it was reported in the Autumn.
The reason behind the increased happiness was not explored in the report. However, there is ‘evidence of an increase in men helping out at home and with the children, and people working together on their homes’, suggested speakers from Breakpoint. The feeling of ‘we’re in this together’ may contribute to the decreased divorce rates.
The International Council (IC) of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has appointed Dr Thomas Schirrmacher as the next Secretary General/CEO.
Bringing many years of experience serving in various roles in the WEA, Dr Schirrmacher was recommended by the Search Committee from among more than a dozen candidates, and unanimously affirmed by the IC. He will take up the role in March 2021.