(ANALYSIS) In a troubled country where violence and rigging win elections and the resultant political leadership promotes lawlessness, corruption and general misrule, a compromised church leadership stands accused of siding with the oppressors, a charge that these “men of God” deny.
Read MoreThe damage from the earthquake that struck Morocco on Sept. 8, 2023, is still being assessed. Moroccans are grappling not just with the loss of thousands of lives, but also with the widespread destruction of their cultural heritage and historical sites. Among them is a 12th-century mosque in the village of Tinmel, about 4 miles from the epicenter of the quake that flattened many of the villages in the Atlas Mountains.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It was an attack that not only exposed Kenya’s lackluster security in public places — but changed the way Kenya’s churches handled worship services. For the first time ever, churchgoers were subjected to metal detectors, sniffer dogs and armed policemen camped outside buildings while services went on.
Read MoreOnly 35% of Israelis, a new report found, think “a way can be found for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully.” The latest Pew Research Center survey, which was conducted in March and April of this year, represents a decline of nine percentage points since 2017 and 15 points since 2013.
Read MoreA Christian group that has called the seaside town of Ocean Grove in New Jersey home for over 150 years is in a battle with state officials over beach access on Sundays. The town has kept its beach closed on Sundays from 9 a.m to noon — a total of 45 hours a year — each summer so that residents can attend church services. But New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection has issued a violation letter stating the town is disobeying the law by cutting off access to the ocean.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The small Armenian Christian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh — locally known as Artsakh — has long been part of historical Armenia. Since December 2022, Artsakh has been under siege by neighboring Azerbaijan, and the world has largely ignored a prolonged assault on that peaceful community of 120,000 souls.
Read MoreThe Upper West Manhattan Church of Christ worships God in rented space at Hostelling International’s Victorian-style building at the corner of West 103rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The 25-year-old congregation began meeting in a small karate studio in 1998 — in the community that, four decades earlier, inspired the Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim musical “West Side Story.”
Read MoreChicago, like many American urban centers, has a troubled jail. Inmates and advocates have drawn attention to violence, overcrowding, a lack of access to hygiene products, a lack of medical services and other issues beleaguering Chicago's Cook County Jail. These circumstances make it difficult for inmates to maintain their physical and mental health, let alone nourish their spiritual needs.
Read More(ESSAY) Growing up in an assimilated Jewish home, I was ignorant of the most fundamental observances of Judaism’s holy days, I didn’t even know what an etrog was. It takes considerable learning to appreciate the holy fruit is a fair value at $55. I’ve been engaging in that self-education, one mitzvah at a time, for a few decades.
Read MoreIn Poland, a country in which 84% percent of the population identifies as Catholic, according to the country’s National Statistical Office, “offending religious feelings” by “publicly outraging an object of religious worship or a place dedicated to the public celebration of religious rites” is a criminal offense under Article 196 of the Polish Penal Code.
Read MoreUnited Auto Workers President Shawn Fain may have the power to cripple assembly lines — but he’s also not afraid to invoke a higher authority throughout the negotiating process. In fact, Fain has increasingly mixed his Christian beliefs with his labor rhetoric over the past few weeks.
Read MoreA new memoir by another child of Jim Bob Duggar contains some stunning revelations about the former “19 Kids and Counting” TV family. According to Jill Duggar Dillard, the fourth-eldest Duggar sibling, her parents treated her worse for exposing their verbal abuse and control than they treated her brother Josh for his pedophilia.
Read MoreNorth Point Community Church, led by pastor Andy Stanley, is hosting the Unconditional Conference, which is billed as a “premier event for Christian parents with LGBTQ+ children, ministry leaders and health care professionals.” The conference is being held Sept. 28 and 29 at the suburban Atlanta church.
Read MoreSince his death in 1994, the gay Yale historian’s significance has continued to rise, both in academic and wider cultural circles. So it is not surprising that a documentary entitled “Not A Tame Lion” has been produced about his life and impact by filmmakers Craig Bettendorf and Kai Morgan.
Read More(EXPLAINER) A day after Azerbaijan launched a military assault against ethnic Armenians in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, they halted their offensive on Wednesday following a ceasefire. Despite the temporary end to the hostilities, Christians in the region remain at risk following three decades of war.
Read More(EXPLAINER) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused “agents of the government of India” of carrying out the assassination of a Sikh leader in British Columbia. Trudeau’s comments, which took place before the House of Commons on Monday, pointed the finger for the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar at India’s government “in no uncertain terms” based on intelligence reports.
Read MoreThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ furtive investment strategy ultimately resulted in it being fined by the SEC earlier this year. The move likely stemmed from a deeply rooted belief that by keeping a low profile and minimizing how much it shared about its inner workings, the church could avoid criticism from hostile outside forces looking to attack it.
Read MoreA massive earthquake struck Morocco the night of Sept. 8, killing some 2,800 people and destroying many old buildings and mud brick homes. Over the next few days, “DONATE” buttons were added to websites of numerous ministries seeking donations to aid victims.
Read MoreIn the serene landscapes of Punjab’s Barnala district in the northern part of India, the melodious Muslim call to prayer resounds throughout the day. While communal tensions and clashes occasionally make headlines, a different narrative unfolds in the villages of Kutba Bamaniya and beyond. Amid this backdrop, a pre-partition mosque stands tall as a symbol of history, resilience and a shared commitment to coexistence.
Read MoreChurches of Christ in Accra, Ghana, are growing at such a rate that their members will account for 10% of the city’s population … in 1,273 years. That number may come as a shock to Western Christians who routinely hear reports of hundreds, even thousands of baptisms from evangelists in Africa — especially Ghana, considered to be an epicenter of Churches of Christ on the continent.
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