What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Luke 16:1-13 And he said also unto his disciples, “There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused ...

A Palestinian civil defense team on Thursday called on the United Nations to investigate what it said were war crimes at a Gaza hospital, saying nearly 400 bodies were recovered from mass graves after Israeli soldiers departed the complex."There are cases of field execution of some patients while undergoing surgeries and wearing surgical gowns at the Nasser Medical Complex," the civil defense forces said at a press conference, without presenting any evidence.Palestinian authorities have this week reported finding hundreds of bodies in mass graves at Nasser hospital, the main medical facility in central Gaza, after Israeli troops pulled out of the city of Khan Younis.Bodies were also reported to have been found at the Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which was targeted in an Israeli special forces operation.UN rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday he was "horrified" by the destruction of the Nasser and Al Shifa medical facilities and by the reports of the mass graves, according to a spokesperson.The Israeli military said claims by Palestinian authorities that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had buried the bodies were "baseless and unfounded."It said forces searching for Israeli hostages had examined bodies previously buried by Palestinians near Nasser hospital and had returned them after they had been examined."The examination was conducted in a careful manner and exclusively in places where intelligence indicated the possible presence of hostages. The examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased," it said in a statement.Israel has denied killing those found in the graves and has released footage they say shows Palestinians digging these graves before the IDF operation.The Palestinian Civil Defense Team accused Israel of burying a number of bodies in the Nasser complex in plastic bags at a depth of 3 meters (10 ft), where they quickly decomposed concealing evidence of its "crimes," including torture, it said.The office of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague is investigating both sides in the Israeli-Gaza war, including the events of October 7 and their aftermath.Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has said his team is "actively investigating any crimes allegedly committed" in Gaza and that "those who are in breach of the law will be held accountable."

A federal judge on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's bid to throw out a $83.3 million defamation verdict in favor of the writer E. Jean Carroll, who said the former US president defamed her after she accused him of raping her decades ago.US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said Trump was not entitled to a new trial, or judgment as a matter of law.

A Nevada pastor who was indicted a year ago on multiple charges of sexual assault and child abuse of a family member and two women he called his “God daughters” accepted a plea deal Monday to avoid a criminal conviction of the allegations in court.

James River Church Pastor John Lindell accused Pastor Mark Driscoll of attempting to overthrow him as the leader of his church and dividing his family and congregation by unfairly attacking a performance by a professional sword swallower and admitted male stripper at the Stronger Men's Conference in Missouri.

Interview with leader of new evangelical alliance describes his escape from Khartoum and the pressure to pick a side.Overlooked by crises in Gaza and Ukraine, Sudan has now endured one year of civil war. Nearly 16,000 people have been killed, with 8.2 million fleeing from their homes—including 4 million children. Both figures are global highs for internal displacement.The United Nations stated that the “world’s worst hunger crisis” is looming, warning that one-third of Sudan’s 49 million people suffer acute food insecurity and 222,000 children could die of starvation within weeks. Yet an international emergency response plan, endorsed by UN agencies including the Cindy McCain-led World Food Program, is only six percent funded.Sudanese Christians feel like “no one cares.”Five years earlier, they had great hope. In 2019 a popular revolution overthrew longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir, wanted for war crimes against his people. The new civilian government repealed the law of apostasy, removed Islamist elements from the bureaucracy, and implemented other democratic reforms. But in 2021 the general of the army, in cooperation with the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—a government-aligned paramilitary group accused of the atrocities in Darfur—deposed the prime minister.Continuing negotiations with civilian leaders demanded a merger of the two armed forces, but neither general could agree on terms. And while it is not clear who fired the first shot, last year on April 15 the conflict exploded in the capital of Khartoum. Much of the North African nation is now a war zone.Yet somehow, an evangelical alliance has formed and joined two regional bodies.Rafat Samir, secretary general of the Sudan Evangelical Alliance, witnessed the outbreak of violence firsthand. Now ...Continue reading...