There is a major Christian revival going in in Iran. Twenty years ago the number of Christians in the country was estimated at 2-5,000; now it is between 300 and 400 thousand. Two hundred Iranians and Afghans were recently baptised just outside the country (the penalty for being baptised as a Christian inside the country is death). A ministry leader said, “Many people are tired of iron-fist government and are ready to find the truth. Iranians are spiritual people and it is natural to look for truth in Jesus.”
Pakistan’s television regulator has banned all 11 of the Christian TV channels airing in the country and has arrested some cable operators who were broadcasting the channels. Religious TV channels are not licensed by the media regulator but the Christian channels have been operating for 25 years alongside numerous Muslim channels. There is hope that the channels will still be available through the Internet.
Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the Christian couple who have produced various faith-based programmes such as the recent film Ben Hur, are to start a faith-based TV network in the USA. “Light TV” will appear on networks in a dozen cities including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The 24-hour schedule will include ‘wholesome’ films such as Rocky and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Cliff Barrows, the music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has died at the age of 93. Barrows has been with Billy Graham since 1949, and Graham’s crusades often began with spiritual solos from George Beverley Shea backed by a choir co-ordinated by Barrows. They also recorded Graham’s radio program, The Hour of Decision, for 64 years. When Graham (who is now 98) wrote his biography, he said of Barrows: “All of that talent is not the secret of Cliff’s effectiveness. It is his humility and his willingness to be a servant, which spring from his devotional life and his daily walk with Christ.”
The legal case regarding Ashers’ bakery in Northern Ireland may continue despite the Court of Appeal finding against the bakery. The Attorney general of Northern Ireland has the right to refer cases to the UK Supreme Court, independently of the normal appeals process, and is strongly considering doing so in this case. Meanwhile the BBC;’s legal correspondent, Joshua Rozenberg, has described the judgment as “possibly influenced by the belief that gay people are discriminated against in the province” and that such a view was “not legally sound.”
Pope Francis has issued a new Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, on matters of morality, and it is causing considerable confusion with different bishops and cardinals interpreting it differently. A group of cardinals recently wrote to the pope asking him to clarify five ‘yes or no’ questions regarding the document. Francis’ reply was that “Some, as with certain responses to Amoris Laetitia, persist in seeing only white or black, when rather one ought to discern in the flow of life."
Two by-elections have been held for the Provincial Parliament of Ontario in Canada. One was won by a 19 year old homeschool graduate who campaigned on a pro-life and pro-family platform. Sam Oosterhoff received the highest vote percentage in the last five elections. The ruling Liberal party in the province are proposing a ‘radical sex curriculum’ for schools; Oosterhoff says he will “never waver in support of parents as primary educators.”
And finally, an Iowa lawmaker plans to launch a bill in January that will penalise universities if they spend state funds offering grief counselling to students upset at the Presidential election result. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican, is calling the bill the “Suck it up, buttercup” bill; it also seeks to criminalise any protest that blocks a highway. However, several universities in the state claim they are not spending any additional state funds on such counselling; and where such counselling has been offered by universities in other states, the reaction from students and faculty has sometimes been very negative.
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