There are increasing legal pressures and persecutions of Christians in Asia, on top of existing laws such as the one in Russia that bans open air preaching. Malaysia has become the latest country to legally ban conversion to Christianity, although the ban does not apply if a Muslim Sharia court consents. Such laws already exist in India where 13 Pentecostals were sentenced to 6 months in prison for converting in Madhya Pradesh; and the laws were used as an excuse by Hindu radicals to beat up pastors and vandalise churches in three incidents in one month in Karnataka state, where elections are forthcoming. Tajikistan has passed a “human rights” law that allows the state to restrict any religious activity and forces religious organisations to report their activities to the State. The family of a young Pakistani Christian man, who was apparently tortured by the Federal Investigation Agency in Punjab to the extent that he attempted suicide by leaping from a fourth floor window, are in hiding while lawmakers and politicians are demanding an independent investigation. And in North Korea, 80 people were publicly executed with machine guns in seven cities for infractions including theft of food and owning Bibles.
There is some good news from India – the President has launched a programme to teach the survivors of human trafficking new life skills. The three-month programme will “build aptitude and ability” and “provide sustainable opportunities”. The programme was launched on International Women’s Day.
Also, the Winter Olympics in South Korea have proved to be a magnet for Christian missionaries with over 3,000 gathering (including 1,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses), far more than for previous Olympic games. The United Christian Churches of Korea, a coalition of 144 local congregations, helped foreign mission groups to arrange housing and ministry sites and to learn about Korean culture.
Well-known televangelist Benny Hinn, a Palestinian Christian by birth, has surprised many by apparently renouncing the ‘prosperity’ gospel that he has long preached. "We get attacked for teaching prosperity,” he said; “well, it's in the Bible, but I think some have gone to the extreme with it, sadly. I think I'm as guilty as others." He continued, "What is prosperity? No lack. Did Elijah the prophet have a car? No. He did not even have a bicycle. But he had no lack. What about the Lord? Did Jesus drive a car or live in a mansion? No. He had no lack. How about the apostles? No lack. No lack among them. [That is different from] abundance and palatial homes and cars and bank accounts."
Various new laws have been passed by US states which weigh for or against Christian beliefs. Florida has declared pornography to be a public health risk, based on research showing links between pornography use, mental illness and dangerous sexual behaviour. Iowa’s Senate has passed a law banning abortions on unborn babies with beating hearts (i.e. around 6 weeks’ gestation), though the lower chamber must also pass it and the Governor sign it to become law. Oregon, in contrast, has passed a bill allowing healthcare givers to starve mentally ill patients (including those with dementia and Alzheimer’s) to death.
An evangelical Christian professor from Texas Tech University was warmly welcomed to speak at a United Nations climate change summit in oil-rich Alberta recently. Katherine Hayhoe says her Christianity fuels her dedication to climate science; “it exacerbates poverty and hunger and disease and civil conflicts and refugee crises,” she argued. Her experience of debating the issue with sceptical fellow Christians (including her husband) has led her to conclude that scepticism is “'not because they really have a problem with the science … It's because they have a problem with the perceived solutions of taxes, government legislation, and loss of personal liberty.”
Famous atheist Richard Dawkins has called for humans to eat lab-grown meat to resolve the world food crisis – including lab-grown human meat. “We must overcome our taboo against cannibalism,” he tweeted.
In the Sunday Times’ annual survey of Best Companies, the top prize in the Not-For-Profit sector went to a Christian charity, the Message Trust, which demonstrates Christian faith in schools, prisons and tough communities. Its leader, Andy Hawthorne, also won the prize for Best Leader for the second year in succession.
In film news, Disney released “A Wrinkle in Time” this week. The film writer deliberately left out the Bible references in the original book because she wanted the film to be “inclusive” and because “we have progressed as a society”. The film took $33 million on its opening weekend, which is slightly better than the average for all films but was not good enough to remove “Black Panther” from being the most popular film for the 4th successive week.
Also in film news, British film actor Taylor James, who appeared in films such as Mamma Mia and Descendants, has reported that he had a vision some years ago that he should grow out his hair and maintain a certain physical appearance. He then had a conversation with a friend who “has a special ability to connect predictions” who told James that he would “go home and lead his people.” Three years later James auditioned for the lead role in the Biblical epic ‘Samson’, which was filming in South Africa where he was raised and required a man who would ‘lead his people’. The film ‘Samson’, starring James, will be released in the UK in late May.
And finally, a UK bishop has offered “ten commandments for robots” to limit the uses of artificial intelligence, especially relating to data protection, ethics and criminal subversion. Stephen Croft, who is Bishop of Oxford, sits on the House of Lords select committee on AI. His commandments included “The primary purpose of AI should be to enhance and augment, rather than replace, human labour and creativity” and “Governments should ensure that the best research and application of AI is directed towards the most urgent problems facing humanity.” He urged Christians to “think seriously about these questions and engage in the debate.”
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