Most Americans support life imprisonment over the death penalty, according to a Gallup poll released Nov. 24, revealing a shift in the majority opinion on this issue for the first time in 34 years.
Christians
Christian Leaders in Egypt Reflect on Persecution of Coptic Minority
Two bishops, one Catholic, the other Orthodox, have remarkably different takes on how Christians are being treated in what is considered to be one of the hotbeds of Christian persecution in Egypt.
Victims of Christian Persecution Remembered at ‘Night of Witness’ Service
A chalice from a Catholic parish in Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq, scarred by bullets from Islamic State militants was a mute witness at a vespers service for Christian martyrs.
Murder of Syrian Politician Highlights Risk for Minorities
When Hevrin Khalaf, a young Syrian politician and advocate on behalf of women and religious and ethnic minorities in Kurdistan, was murdered by a Turkish-backed fringe group on Saturday amid Turkey’s new offensive in Syria, her death sparked outcry from around the world.
Turkish Planes Bomb Syria, Causing Panic Among Christians, Others
Turkish warplanes have begun attacking northeastern Syria, causing widespread panic among Christian and other religious communities caught up in the aerial bombardments.
Nigerian Bishop Outlines Violence Against Christians
Violence in Nigeria, long a staple in the northern part of the country, is increasing in the Christian-majority south, according to Auxiliary Bishop Ernest Obodo of the Diocese of Enugu, which is located in the southeastern region of Nigeria.
Despite New Law, Some Churches in Egypt Forced to Close
More than 1,100 Christian churches in Egypt that had been built without approval before have been made legal during the past three years, but at least 22 churches have been shut down because of security reasons.
Anti-Christian Carnage in Nigeria Could Be Global Security Nightmare
Back in the late 1970s, James Wuye was a young Nigerian who converted to Catholicism and later joined the Assemblies of God Pentecostal church amid his country’s first wave of sectarian violence.
Christians of Mosul, Iraq, Still Displaced
The self-declared caliphate of the Islamic State (ISIS), whose territory once spanned parts of Iraq and Syria, has been extinguished, but the group’s influence is very much alive. In Mosul, Iraq, a city that’s about 250 miles north of Baghdad, two years after the defeat of ISIS, it is still impossible for Christians to return to their homes because it remains unsafe for them.
Astronauts Had ‘Space’ for God
I didn’t realize there was a moon-landing Bible verse until my pastor mentioned it a few weeks ago. It seems that while returning from the historic first landing on the moon 50 years ago, astronaut Buzz Aldrin took part in a TV broadcast the night before splashing down.