A court in Algeria last week upheld a one-year prison sentence for a top church leader baselessly convicted of “illegal worshiping,” according to a legal advocacy group.

A Florida bill, the? Heartbeat Protection Act? (HPA), went into? effect? on Wednesday, which increases protections for the unborn after six-weeks, as opposed to the state�39;s previous 15-week rule. The HPA initially became law in April 2023 as part of the Florida Supreme Court�39;s decision that abortion is not a given right under the Constitution. That decision was key […]The post Florida�39;s Heartbeat Law Now Protects Babies, But We Must Stop Amendment 4 and Abortions Up to Birth appeared first on LifeNews.com.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) issued a pair of emergency? rules? this week regarding emergency medical treatments, including treatments of ectopic pregnancies, which the rules state are not abortions under the state�39;s new six-week? Heartbeat Law. The AHCA published the rules one day after the Heartbeat Protection Act took effect to combat what it stated […]The post Florida Heartbeat Law Doesn’t Limit Medical Care for Pregnant Women in Any Way appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Pro-abortion groups have become bolder and more aggressive since the? Dobbs? decision was handed down in June 2022. The latest pro-abortion messaging says it all: “Roe? was always the floor, not the ceiling.” We know that pro-abortion groups and their allies are bent on making abortion available on demand until birth so it�39;s not surprising that they have […]The post They Don�39;t Just Want Roe v. Wade, They Want Abortions Up to Birth Nationwide appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Ethan Hawke has made a movie as scandalous as one of the writer�39;s short stories.

Arizona has repealed the state�39;s near-total abortion ban after Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill into law Thursday in advance of the 2024 election and potential referendum vote that could enshrine abortion rights into its constitution.? ?

Comedian Michael Rapaport�39;s show tonight in Madison, Wisconsin has been canceled to appease Jew-haters. “This is just not okay. This […]

A Northwestern University journalism professor told protesters at an anti-Israel protest encampment that journalists�39; work isn�39;t about "objectivity," saying he teaches "relational journalism" that encourages students to open their "compassionate hearts."?

Antisemitism on American university campuses has reached critical levels. In recent weeks, anti-Israel protesters at New York City�39;s Columbia University have threatened and harassed Jewish and pro-Israel students on campus, ... Read MoreThe post Unrestrained University Antisemitism Turns Violent appeared first on The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.

Syria Says 8 Soldiers Hurt In Alleged Israeli Strike that ‘Caused Material Losses�39; Eight Syrian soldiers were wounded and material losses were caused in an alleged Israeli strike on Damascus ... Read MoreThe post News Digest — 5/3/24 appeared first on The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.

After this week�39;s UMC votes on LGBTQ issues, African Methodists should join American conservatives in the new Global Methodist denomination.That was fast. In the first General Conference since the most conservative congregations disaffiliated, the United Methodist Church liberalized its teachings on marriage, sexuality, and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy.In other mainline denominations, like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (USA), the conservative exodus has tended to come after the progressive victory. But in the UMC, the conservative American contingent is already gone, so the vote wasn’t close.With that settled, the next and perhaps final battle between American Methodists who have been on opposite sides of theological and social issues for more than half a century will concern who can win over the Africans, who have been the “main group opposing the changes in policy” on sexuality and are also the largest UMC contingent outside the United States. The breakaway conservative denomination called itself the Global Methodist Church in no small part because members hoped to remain in fellowship with churches in the Global South, where Methodism is more orthodox—and growing as Methodism in the US hasn’t in years.But the United Methodist Church has also set in motion a plan to allow regional autonomy on the very issues that broke up the denomination domestically. This would permit African churches to remain traditional in how they define marriage and—so the pitch goes—otherwise insulate themselves from the Americans’ liberal course.African Methodists have previously rejected similar proposals, likely understanding how such rules would dilute African churches’ influence over the denomination and exempt leaders of the shrinking US church from accountability ...Continue reading...

Migrant rights have been off-radar for many Panamanian Christians. But as pressures increase, some are speaking out ahead of this weekend�39;s general elections.On May 5, Panamanians will vote for a new president. The outcome of this election may have consequences for far more than its 4.4 million residents; it could change the migration reality for the hundreds of thousands of people traveling from South America, Asia, and Africa who pass through the Central American country en route to the United States.Leading in the polls is José Raúl Mulino, a candidate for Realizando Metas (Realizing Goals), a right-wing populist party founded by disgraced president Ricardo Martinelli. He has vowed to shut down the Darién Gap, a densely forested jungle area that migrants must traverse to enter Panama from the bordering country of Colombia.“We’re going to close Darién and we’re going to repatriate every one of these people, respecting their human rights,” said Raúl Mulino in April.For many Panamanians, there was no migrant crisis before 2022. After passing through the Darién gap, migrants passed through the country on government buses to the Costa Rican border. But after a shift in US migrant policy sent many back to Central America a couple years ago, hundreds have since moved to Panama City and a handful of small towns. Residents have begun to blame them for crime and for overwhelming their sanitation systems.Though evangelicals have largely been on the sidelines, many leaders say they should have done more.“The church does not see the refugee problem as their own problem,” said Panamanian missionary Robert Bruneau, a regional leader with United World Mission. “They believe it is something the state should do and are not aware of the great opportunity they have to graciously and honorably serve someone who ...Continue reading...

An ancient codex, containing perhaps the earliest complete versions of Jonah and 1 Peter, goes up for auction in June. Will it disappear?One of the oldest books in existence, which contains what is perhaps the oldest complete versions of Jonah and 1 Peter, is going up for auction in June. The sale of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex has scholars excited to talk about its uniqueness—and nervous about whether it could go into private hands and disappear.The Crosby-Schøyen Codex is a primary example of the invention of books, which coincided with the spread of Christianity, said Eugenio Donadoni, a specialist in books and manuscripts at Christie’s London, which is auctioning the codex. The growth of Christianity spurred the need to “maximize the text you can write down and transmit … around the Mediterranean,” Donadoni said.Before codices appeared in roughly the third century, scrolls “for several thousand years were the primary vehicle for transmitting literature,” said Brent Nongbri, an expert in early Christian manuscripts and a professor at the Norwegian School of Theology.Codices were a technological advancement that “that wouldn’t be surpassed until the discovery of the printing press,” Donadoni added. Donadoni just finished touring the codex for potential buyers in New York and Paris before returning it to London, where it will be auctioned on June 11. About the codex he said, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”A single scribe wrote out the texts of the codex on papyrus leaves in Sahidic Coptic somewhere between A.D. 250 and 350, according to carbon dating of the codex conducted in 2020. That means it’s likely the text was written before the late-fourth-century councils, when the canon of Scripture began to be established.“This is being used at a time when ...Continue reading...

The widespread outrage over Kristi Noem�39;s book should awaken moral responsibility—not just toward pets but for one another.This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here.Decades ago, before he was a nationally recognized face, Stephen Colbert featured a “Better Know a District” segment on his show The Colbert Report in which he would parody a far-right cable news host as he interviewed members of Congress, trying to get them in awkward situations for comedic effect.In his interview with John Yarmuth, then a congressman from Louisville, Kentucky, Colbert referenced Yarmuth’s past life as a debater on local television. He challenged Yarmuth to show his debating chops by instantly debating the opposite side of a question of Colbert’s choosing. The stance Colbert chose to take was that throwing kittens into a wood chipper was a bad thing to do—and he then pointed to Yarmuth to argue the other side—that sometimes, throwing kittens in a wood chipper is the right thing to do.The joke, of course, was that no decent human being, much less a politician seeking votes from a majority of the population, would ever want to be seen making the case for throwing kittens in a wood chipper. This past week, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem proved that, as much as the American public has shifted on all kinds of issues, there still isn’t much of a constituency in this country for “Throw Kittens in the Wood Chipper”—or, more accurately in this case, “Shoot Puppies in the Head.”In fact, many people have noted that this might be the most united that Americans of both parties and all tribes have been of late—all in expressing revulsion at Noem’s self-disclosure in her memoir that she “hated” her 14-month-old dog Cricket. When Cricket wasn’t ...Continue reading...

A lawsuit filed by Florida�39;s attorney general and three other states warns that the Biden administration�39;s Title IX rule change will force female athletes to compete against men despite the U.S. Department of Education�39;s claims that the rule does not apply to participation on athletic teams.?

A leader from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has accused the Biden administration of advancing an “ideological view of sex," condemning a forthcoming rule that could require faith-based healthcare providers to perform or provide surgical or hormonal transgender interventions.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act amid a series of anti-Israel protests springing up on college campuses throughout the country, with the bill�39;s sponsor pushing back on claims that the law will criminalize speech about the New Testament.?

The Arizona Senate has approved a bill that would repeal the state�39;s near-total abortion ban that the governor is expected to sign.

A bipartisan watchdog committee has for the first time urged the U.S. State Department to include Azerbaijan on its list of the world�39;s worst religious freedom violators as it calls on the agency to take a stronger stance against violations in several countries, including Nigeria and India.

Christians today aren�39;t the first to wonder about the parts of Jesus�39; life the Bible doesn�39;t comment on.

A New York man who was on the state�39;s most wanted list was arrested last month in Italy after being found with weapons in crowded St. Peter�39;s Square during a papal audience.

Attacks on two predominantly Christian villages in Egypt last week came after days of rising tensions, which the state�39;s security services did nothing to quell despite being notified of impending danger to Christians, according to a human rights group.

Fulani herdsmen attacked residents of a village in central Nigeria�39;s Plateau state as they slept at 2 a.m. on April 19, killing 12 Christians, sources said.

Nearly two dozen House Democrats warned Columbia University�39;s board in a recent letter that it must “act decisively” to stop the ongoing anti-Israel demonstrations one day before protestors shattered the windows of a campus building and barricaded themselves inside.

The U.S. birth rate has continued to decline, according to recently released statistics, with the reported number of babies born in 2023 being the lowest in decades.