04a Faith

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Excerpt from www.christiandaily.com

In a secular society where ‘faith-based’ learning institutions are often viewed as fossils of a bygone age, education today is widely considered the rightful domain of secular governments.

Should governments even allow ‘special’ religious-based education anymore? Hasn’t religion caused so many conflicts in the past? Shouldn’t education be based on scientific facts, not ‘superstitious’ beliefs? Even believers have to ask themselves, does Christian education matter anymore?

That’s the question I have been asked to address at the Forum on Faith and Society (Forum glaube & gesellschaft) in Fribourg, Switzerland, this weekend. Over the past decade, this forum has explored the challenge of Christian witness in a pluralistic world. Former YWAM colleague Dr Walter Dürr developed the Center Faith & Society at Fribourg University to build bridges between academic theology, different expressions of Christian spirituality and the practice of the Church and social life. The forum, the centre’s annual ‘flagship’ event, convenes a wide array of faith-based movements and institutions. Speakers have included Tom Wright, Justin Welby, Miroslav Wolf and, this year, Tom Holland.

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Excerpt from www.news24.com

Olanyia Mohammed, 38, who managed to escape the massacre in his village by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in 2004 but lost 15 members of his family, points at his parents’ names etched on the memorial for the victims of the massacre in Lukodi, Uganda, 3 February 2021. The Joseph Kony-led extremist group has wantonly killed people in eastern DRC in 2024. (Sumy Sadurni/AFP)

• Pope Francis says Christians are being persecuted in the DRC.
• A DRC has legislator has claimed that 215 civilians were killed in Ituri province at the beginning of June.
• The killings have been linked to the Lord’s Resistance Army, an extremist group founded by wanted Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony.

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Excerpt from www.lifesitenews.com

(LifeSiteNews) — On this week’s two-part episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland discusses pausing to listen to the Sacred Heart, courageously being salt and light to evangelize and convert those around us, and how Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.

The bishop begins the episode with a commentary on part of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Christ calls the disciples the salt of the earth. Strickland, looking at the passage in light of the feast of St. Barnabas, notes that the saint was not one of the original apostles, but joined their number as one of their successors.

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Excerpt from cathnews.com

A group of 20 theologians concluded an evaluation of 107 synod reports from national bishops conferences and Eastern Catholic Churches following nearly two weeks of meetings in Rome. Source: CNA.

The theologians, who met from June 4 to June 14, were asked to provide an analysis of the reports, which will help Synod officials draft the Synod on Synodality’s working document, or Instrumentum Laboris, for the second session of the Synod in October. The analysis from the theologians has not been made public.

The ongoing Synod on Synodality is focused on studying various questions about how the Church should operate. Some of the questions focus on the role of women, inclusion, women deacons, and outreach to those who struggle with same-sex attraction.

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Excerpt from www.hastingstribune.com

On Religion: A new threat to Alaska’s historic Orthodox cathedral  The Hastings Tribune

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Excerpt from www.kctv5.com

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KCTV) – Faith leaders in Missouri and their legal team have vowed to continue to fight for women’s rights after a St. Louis judge denied the law violated the separation of church and state.

The legal team that represents 14 Missouri faith leaders who challenged the state’s abortion ban, announced on Friday, June 14, that it is set to discuss the next steps with its clients after an unfavorable ruling from St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser.

“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision and will be discussing next steps with our faith leader clients. Missouri’s abortion ban is a direct attack on the separation of church and state, religious freedom, and reproductive freedom,” the legal team said. “Missouri lawmakers made clear that they were imposing their personal religious beliefs on all Missourians when they enacted these laws. We remain committed to restoring abortion access in Missouri.”

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Excerpt from www.ipn.md

The Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Moldova on Thursday celebrate the Ascension of Jesus Christ, when it is 40 days since the Resurrection of the Savior. On this day, the Christians greet each other with “Christ has ascended” and respond with “He has ascended indeed”, IPN reports.

According to the canons, the church marks the moment when the Savior Jesus Christ gathered his disciples in the Mountains of Galilee, in front of everyone ascended to heaven with his body and promised them that the Holy Spirit will come on earth in ten days, an event that will be observed on Pentecost Sunday. The significance of this feast is the connection between heaven and earth, through the ascension with the body to heaven, after Christ received a body and came to earth.

Ascension Day marks the end of the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord. On this day, the Christians usually bake Easter cake, Paska and paint eggs red with which they go to church, just like on the Easter holiday. Parishioners who wish can receive holy communion on this day.

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Excerpt from www.christianlearning.com

Last month, a horrifying tornado hit Finleyville, Washington County. It was Saturday when the Crossroads Ministries also held their worship service in their church building. According to the report, around 100 people attended it. While the service was ongoing, they weren’t aware of the scary moment that was about to unfold.

In the church’s Facebook live video, the electricity suddenly went out. The worship leader and congregants suddenly realized something wrong was happening.

In an interview with WTAE-TV, the worship leader, Rhonda, recounted what unfolded after the lights went off and the Facebook Live interrupted.

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Excerpt from www.thebanner.org

Delegates to Synod 2024 unanimously approved recommendations aimed at strengthening relationships between the Christian Reformed Church in North America and churches outside North America, adopting the Global Vision Team report from the Council of Delegates.

These recommendations include the introduction of a “Vision Implementation Team.” According to Zachary King, general secretary of the CRCNA, the long-term work of that team would be “the possibility of developing an ecclesiastical body that would be the global CRC church.” The body would not be a “single global denomination,” but rather an opportunity for the CRCNA and its global denominational partners “to go deeper in partnership” with each other.

Synod is the annual general assembly of the CRCNA. It is meeting June 14-20 in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Council of Delegates is the church’s ecclesiastical board that works on behalf of synod in between meetings of synod.

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Excerpt from catholicreview.org

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Condemning the killing of Christians in Congo, Pope Francis said the sacrifices of modern martyrs are seeds that grow into examples of Christian witness for the church.

After praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square June 16, the pope referenced the “painful news” of violence in eastern Congo where over 120 people were reported to have been killed by suspected Islamist rebels in recent weeks. Local officials have said the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group affiliated to the Islamic State, were responsible for the attacks.

“Among the victims, many are Christians killed in ‘odium fidei,’” in hatred of the faith, Pope Francis said. “They are martyrs. Their sacrifice is a seed that germinates and bears fruit, and teaches us to bear witness to the Gospel with courage and consistency.”

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Excerpt from www.philstar.com

VATICAN CITY, Holy See — Pope Francis again used a vulgar term for gay men in a recent meeting with priests in Rome, one that prompted an extraordinary apology from the Catholic Church leader two weeks ago, Italian media reports said Wednesday.

Visiting the Salesian Pontifical University on Tuesday, the 87-year-old pontiff used the term “frociaggine”, a word that translates as “faggotry” in the Roman dialect of Italian.

“At the Vatican, there is an ambiance of ‘frociaggine’,” Francis said during the private meeting with around 200 priests at the school, according to the ANSA press agency.

“Gays are good boys… they are searching for the Lord. But it would be better to guide them towards a good spiritual father, towards a psychologist” instead of accepting them in seminaries, added the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

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Excerpt from www.yahoo.com

Major Christian group votes to oppose IVF, adding to national debate over the future of the procedure  Yahoo! Voices

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Excerpt from missionsbox.org

BARTLESVILLE, OK — Over the past year, The Voice of the Martyrs has creatively challenged people to call for the release of falsely imprisoned persecuted Christians in Eritrea. Through VOM digital media campaigns, millions of people have heard about the horrific treatment of persecuted Christians in Eritrea, nearly 20,000 people committed to pray, U.S. leaders responded and 13 Christian prisoners were released.

Over 5.5 million people heard about the 20-year anniversary of two Eritrean church leaders’ imprisonment through the ministry’s digital efforts this year. Social media influencers, such as Jen Bricker-Bauer, Nathan Harmon, Gabby Hall, Mark Hall, Solomon Jordan and others, used their platforms to raise awareness of persecuted Christians in Eritrea.

In 2023, VOM asked Christians to add their voice and demand the release of Eritrean prisoners through persecution.com/eritreanprisoners. There, believers committed to pray, posted on social media tagging Eritrean government leaders, and sent letters to the Eritrean embassy.

“God’s people have shown tremendous support for Pastors Haile Nayzgi and Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel,” said Todd Nettleton, VOM Vice President. “On May 23, 2004, these two Christians leaders of the Full Gospel Church of Eritrea were arrested for the ‘crime’ of being a pastor.”

 

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Excerpt from www.lifenews.com

The latest data numbers for reported abortions from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) show that doctors performed 10 abortions in January 2024 under the medical necessity exception of the Human Life Protection Act. This brings the total reported under that exception to 91 beginning since July of 2022, the month following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs.

No woman has died for lack of a life-saving exception. No doctor has faced prosecution by a DA, a lawsuit from the Attorney General, or sanction by the Texas Medical Board related to these cases.

At the same time, reported elective abortions have plummeted from thousands per month to zero, according to the same HHSC reports, as summarized here:

“Texas’ pro-life laws are saving babies’ lives from abortion and saving women’s lives in the rare and tragic cases of life-threatening pregnancy complications,” said Amy O’Donnell, Communications Director of Texas Alliance for Life. “We are pleased to see the law is protecting both women and babies as planned.”

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Excerpt from thefederalist.com

Last week, 22 senators issued a statement calling for an end to Democrats’ weaponization of the legal system, calling out “activist attorneys” and courts for targeting pro-life Americans. One particularly egregious case was that of Mark Houck, a Catholic pro-life activist arrested in 2022 and acquitted in 2023. Last month, he filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) for $4.3 million.

Houck’s arrest made national headlines when 20 heavily armed federal, state, and local law enforcement agents apprehended him on Sept. 23, 2022, at his home in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, in front of his wife and seven children. Months earlier, he had agreed to turn himself in peacefully in response to federal charges.

Houck was outside the Blackwell abortion facility in Philadelphia on Oct. 13, 2021, when he shoved a Planned Parenthood escort away from his 12-year-old son after repeated attempts to deter the man’s aggressive, verbal harassment. The incident, caught on camera, portrays Planned Parenthood volunteer Bruce Love walking down the street away from the facility’s entrance to intimidate and harass Houck and his son.

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Excerpt from www.cbn.com

News of revival from countries outside of the United States continues to travel around the world. This time, a massive gospel event in London last month saw more than 70,000 moved by the Spirit of God with many people giving their lives to Jesus Christ, experiencing healing and seeing deliverance.

Evangelist Daniel Chand, pastor of Pragma Church and founder of Walking Like Jesus Ministries (WLJM), says thousands worshipped Jesus and heard an encouraging message in Trafalgar Square in the U.K. on May 4th.

“We witnessed not only history but prophecy being (fulfilled),” he wrote. “Thousands in Trafalgar Square heard the Gospel. 70 years after Billy Graham stood in the same spot, myself along with other evangelists and pastors shared testimonies, prayed for the sick, and of course declared the greatest love story – The Gospel.”