Christian News Bulletin

GIDEONS ‘FLOOD’ SYDNEY New Life reports that Gideons International has begun a three‐year cam‐ paign to ‘flood Sydney’ with 500,000 copies of the Bible. The ‘Sydney For Eternity’ campaign is the largest Bible distribution Australian Gideons have undertaken. TOBACCO-FREE COMMUNITIES? According to Assist News, residents of a community in northern India have pledged to help make it tobacco-free following a health awareness drive by Gospel for Asia. Carrying placards and handing out advisory leaflets about the dangers of smoking, GFA teams visited villages recently as part of a ‘World No Tobacco Day’ initiative. RELIGION AND THE CENSUS The latest Australian census figures show that ‘60% of people say they identify with some religion and for more than 50%, that's Christianity.’ The Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, recently told SBS news: “This means that religion is important to a lot of people and so there is quite properly a religious perspective on the topics of importance in our society.”

FIRST AFRICA STUDY BIBLE RELEASED The Christian Post has reported on the launch of the Africa Study Bible in Chicago earlier this year. This is the first-ever study Bible developed exclusively by African scholars and ministers containing thousands of study notes by 350 contributors from over 50 countries. GOING TO CHURCH IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH According to christianheadlines.com, a new study shows that church attendance is good for your health; those who attend services experience less stress and enjoy longer lives. Vanderbilt University professor and Baptist minister Marino Bruce said, “We found in our study that attending church is actually good for your health, particularly for those who are between the ages of 40 and 65.” According to the research, middle-aged adults who attend a church, synagogue, mosque, or other house of worship reduce their mortality rate by 55%. The research suggests that there is a connection between spiritual health and biological outcomes. HYMN WRITER AWARDED AN OBE Charisma News reports that Nashville-based music artist Keith Getty was honoured last month as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The award, which commemorates Getty's contribution to "Music and Modern Hymn Writing," marks the first time that the award has been given to an individual involved in the world of contemporary church music.

COPTIC CHRISTIANS ATTACKED IN EGYPT The New York Times has reported on a savage attack carried out in Egypt on Coptic Christians. At least 29 people were killed, several with a single shot to the head, according to the Egyptian authorities and relatives of the victims, several of whom were children. The attack, which took place in Minya Province, 120 miles south of Cairo, was a coldblooded escalation of sectarian violence targeting minority Christians that has left more than 100 people dead since December and shaken the country’s government. UK’S PM GOES TO CHURCH Premier reports that British Prime Minister Theresa May remarked on the growth and energy of a church in north London during a recent visit. Eleven days before the 2017 General Election, she joined Sunday worship and a question and answer session with the senior pastor of Jesus House. A note posted afterwards on Mrs May's Twitter page read: "Fantastic to meet members of the congregation @jesushouseuk, one of the most lively growing churches in the UK." ONLINE SURVEY OF YOUTH VIEWS Young people across Australia are being called to share their views about life, faith, and their experience of Church through an online survey published by the Australian Catholic Bishops. The survey seeks to capture the opinions and perspectives of young people as part of a national consultation process that will inform an international conversation in Rome next year.

CHURCHES URGED TO PRAY New Life newspaper reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is inviting Christians around the world to pray as one for people to know Jesus Christ. The Thy Kingdom Come Wave Of Prayer is gaining momentum as churches across the world signal their support. The hope is to see at least 80% of churches taking part. CHURCH IS GROWING IN NORTH KOREA North Korea is the number one country for most severe persecution of Christians, according to Open Doors 2017 World Watch List. But despite the extreme persecution Christians face there, the church is growing. A recent defector from that country states that, "The one thing that the North Korean regime fears the most, and is afraid of, is the spreading of the Gospel." BONO SPEAKS OF GOD’S LOVE In a Christian Post article, legendary rocker Bono from the band U2 says it was God's love and Christ's victory over death that helped him after his mother died when he was a teenager. In part 5 of a video series with David Taylor, a theology and culture professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, the U2 frontman discusses mortality and his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

AHOK SENTENCED TO PRISON Despite earlier news reports to the contrary, the Guardian reports that Jakarta’s Christian former governor, known as Ahok, “has been sentenced to two years in prison after a trial that was widely seen as a measure of religious pluralism in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.” US VICE PRESIDENT SUPPORTS PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS Earlier this month, US Vice President Mike Pence told persecuted Christians around the world that "we stand by you". Pence spoke at day two of the first ever World Summit in Defence of Persecuted Christians where more than 600 persecuted Christians, advocates and church leaders were in attendance. FAITH AND BELIEF IN AUSTRALIA As reported in Eternity Magazine, three in four Aussies say that they are turned off investigating religion when they hear celebrities or public figures talk about their Christian faith. Stories of miraculous healing are also significant turn offs. The results are part of the new Faith and Belief in Australia report. But sounding a note of hope, the greatest attraction to investigating spirituality and religion is seeing people live out a genuine faith.

CHRISTIANS FLEE IRAQ As many as 1.5 million Christians, or close to 75 per cent of all followers of Christ in Iraq, have fled the country since 2003, according to an Iraqi Christian lawmaker quoted in The Christian Post. "The number of Christians living in the country now stands at between 500,000 and 850,000," Josef Sleve told a news agency recently. "This means that over the past 14 years, some 1.5 million Christians have emigrated to other countries." CHINESE FLOCK TO CHRISTIANITY CBN Christian World News reports that forty-one years after China’s Cultural Revolution snuffed out all forms of religious expression, hundreds of millions of Chinese people are flocking to Christianity. Author Ian Johnson believes what’s transpiring in China is nothing short of ‘one of the world’s great spiritual revivals’ and says the world better take note because the impact of this ‘spiritual transformation’ could have significant global implications. HOLLYWOOD ACTOR DEFENDS MARRIAGE Today, it is rare to find a Hollywood actor who is willing to speak publicly about the vital role God and faith play in their lives. Matthew McConaughey recently discussed his views on marriage in an interview with GQ. McConaughey and his wife Camila believe that traditional marriage is worth defending and openly share their pro-marriage views and devotion to the Bible.

AHOK CLEARED OF BLASPHEMY CHARGES As reported by CBN, the Christian governor of Jakarta is free from charges of blasphemy against the Koran. At a recent court appearance, Indonesian prosecutors decided to end their trial against Basuki Purnama, also known as Ahok. The decision came just one day after he lost his gubernatorial bid against the former minister of education. The politically motivated blasphemy charges came during the campaign when Ahok told Muslims they could vote for him even though he is a Christian. Ahok has continually stated that his life is in God's hands. ‘THE CASE FOR CHRIST’ The Case For Christ is the first film from Pure Flix studios to receive more positive than negative ratings from the critics. The film tells the compelling true story of atheist journalist Lee Strobel who sets out to prove that Christianity isn’t true, but finds that such a task is more than he bargained for. COPTIC CHRISTIAN FORGIVES KILLERS Premier reports that a TV host has been left stunned after an Egyptian Coptic Christian woman said she forgives the suicide bombers who killed 45 people celebrating Palm Sunday at church. Samira Fahmi's husband was one of those who lost their lives in the Islamic State terror attack that targeted two churches. According to a translation provided by The Bible Society she said: "Believe me I am not angry. "I ask the Lord to forgive them and let them try to think. "If they think, they will know that we didn't do anything wrong to them."

THE SEARCH FOR CHRIST’S FAMILY The Christian Post states that researchers and religious scholars have reportedly embarked on a "groundbreaking" search to see if any living descendants of Jesus Christ's family can be found. Experts are analyzing the famous Shroud of Turin for DNA samples. And The Daily Mail has reported that scientists will also be investigating the supposed bones of John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, which were discovered in Bulgaria in 2010. CHRISTIAN CONVERTS IN EUROPE New Life reports that Christianity is making a comeback in Europe due to Muslim conversions, according to Matthew Kaemingk, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminar. He says that many parts of Europe are becoming more secular, and in some areas churches are losing congregations. But an increasing number of Muslims, many of them refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are converting to Christianity. POPE CALLS FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION The Pope made numerous appeals recently to world leaders to make gestures of peace and reconciliation. In his homily at a Mass before 70,000 people in St. Peter's Square, the Pope called for the spirit of hope and mercy to continue. "Let us ask for the grace of never closing the doors of reconciliation and pardon, but rather of knowing how to go beyond evil and differences, opening every possible pathway of hope," he said.

EASTER BACK IN THE HUNT According to The Christian Post, Christians in the U.K., including Prime Minister Theresa May, spoke out in outrage against the National Trust's decision to remove "Easter" from its egg hunt campaign. The Church of England compared the decision to "spitting on the grave" of John Cadbury, the founder of the chocolate company. The controversy arose after the National Trust presented its new logo for the nation's annual egg hunt for children and families, which initially did not include references to Easter. After the National Trust Twitter account was overloaded with social media messages from angry users asking how to cancel their membership, it then changed the event's name to "Join the Cadbury Egg Hunts this Easter," The Telegraph reported. THE CASE FOR CHRIST Author Lee Strobel, a former atheist and journalist who attempted to prove that Jesus did not resurrect from the dead, has told news outlets that nonbelievers who see the upcoming film The Case for Christ will witness real evidence for God. POPE MENTIONS HIS OWN MORTALITY The New Zealand Herald reports that Pope Francis urged young people to lead the church's future even as he voiced doubts that he'd be around much longer to see it. The 80-year-old pope referred to his own mortality twice in the span of a few minutes during a vigil service to rally enthusiasm for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day, to be held in Panama in 2019.

NEW VESSEL FOR YWAM New Life reports that Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Medical Ships have acquired a new vessel, a 65-metre supply ship for their work in Papua New Guinea. To be renamed the MV YWAM Liberty, the ship will be the fourth to be deployed by the organisation into PNG. CONVERTS IN ECUADOR As reported in Inspire Magazine, about a third of the Waodani tribe, who killed five young missionaries in 1956, have been baptised, and meet weekly for Bible study and prayer. Sixty years after MAF pilot Nate Saint and four friends were speared to death in the Ecuadorian rainforest by the Auca Indians – renowned for their violence – the story continues. CHURCH GROWING IN CUBA Cuba's churches may still be restricted, but that's not stopping a spiritual revival in the communist nation, according to church leaders. The Council of Churches of Cuba estimates that about 25,000 evangelical and other Protestant houses of worship are flourishing across the country.