The Christian Persecution Thread

[Bezukhov]

Chick-fil-A Banned From San Antonio Airport for Supporting Christian Groups Written by Michael Tennant

https://www.thenewamerican.com/cultu...ristian-groups

They're serious about this.

Man Arrested While Attempting To Smuggle Chick-Fil-A Sandwich Into San Antonio Airport
Satire

https://babylonbee.com/news/man-arre...ntonio-airport

[Lenno]

Stacey Abrams: Georgia Heartbeat Bill To Protect Babies Is ‘Evil’ And ‘Bad For Business’

You still lost.
From Free Beacon:

Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams called a bill protecting the lives of unborn babies after a heartbeat is detected in the womb “evil,” “abominable,” and “bad for business” during an appearance on MSNBC’s AM Joy on Sunday.
MSNBC anchor Joy Reid inquired about the bill, calling it appalling and asking about a proposed Hollywood boycott of Georgia over it. Gov. Brian Kemp (R.) has not signed the bill but is expected to soon, although Reid said it was “signed.”
“This fetal heartbeat bill that was just signed: People are pretty appalled by the fact that he just signed what is, I think, the most restrictive anti-abortion bill in the country, so you have some folks that are talking boycott and are saying Hollywood should boycott the state of Georgia,” Reid said. “Films—we know The Walking Dead is shot down there—there are lots of television programs and movies that are shot in Atlanta. What do you make of these calls to boycott the state of Georgia?”
“I think it’s a call to action and a call to attention,” Abrams replied. “I do not actually support a boycott of our state. I think you re-victimize women in particular when you take away the jobs that have come to the state. However, I think it’s very shortsighted of our business community and our political leadership to not recognize that these jobs can go elsewhere.”
Keep reading…

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[Spike n Ree]

https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA19D21&f=WU19D06

'Something Serious Is Happening in That Dark Place'

April 09, 2019

Imagine being thousands of miles from home and thrown into jail on phony charges. You're an American, but worse in the eyes of these authorities -- you're a Christian. For U.S. pastor David Lin, who's been behind bars in China for 10 years, the situation is a dire one. But now, for the first time, his family is speaking out about the man who left for the mission field and his hope -- under this administration -- of finding freedom.

"I was preaching the gospel -- maximum security people started to investigate me, they forged documents. I didn't do anything wrong." That was Pastor Lin's own account to his family back home in the U.S. He'd come to China with the vision to build a church, after being converted to Christ in the U.S. But in 2006, when he formally applied for a license with the hostile communist government, he aroused suspicion. A few months later, Chinese officials came to his home base and put him under house arrest. Within months, he was falsely accused of contract fraud, given a show trial, and sentenced to life in prison.

For his daughter, Alice, the thought of never seeing her father again was unfathomable. Monday, on "Washington Watch," she told me that her family found some peace knowing that David felt this was part of God's plan. "His last message to us [was]... "Don't worry. God knows what he's doing. It is God's wish that I am here. There are many people inside who need to hear God's word, please don't worry but only pray for me. I will be back in the U.S. soon."

"Soon" never came. Now, despite his powerful ministry inside the prison, Alice thinks something has changed. In December, she talks about a scare the family got when her dad reached out to her family to contact the Embassy and have his Bible translations removed. They obliged, sending home a box with not only the translations but "his Bible and all the cards and pictures and letters that we have ever sent him over the years... It is like a man in the desert sending home his only bottle of water. When my mom opened that box, she was hysterical. She knew that there was something wrong. We don't know what's happening exactly, but we know that something serious is happening in that dark place." For the last several years, the Lin family hasn't spoken out for fear that things would be worse for him. But now, the hostility is so intense they have no choice.

And the last several months have only added to the anxiety. "He's been reaching out to us at an increased frequency which is very unusual. And he has had this this... urgency in his voice. It's the first time he's ever asked us to reach out for help." There's a growing concern that things are getting worse. "My father has missed a lot," she said wistfully. "You know 10 years is a long time. My father has missed my brother's graduation. He missed my wedding. I couldn't have a ceremony actually because my father wasn't here to walk me down the aisle. I am still waiting for him to come home. He missed the birth of his grandson. His only grandson. He celebrated his 60^th birthday alone. My mother has been operating as if she is a widow for the last 12 years." It's time, as Alice said, to bring him home.

At the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, my fellow commissioners and I are trying to do exactly that. To raise more awareness on his case, USCIRF's Kristina Arriaga and I have formally adopted Pastor Lin as part of our Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. Together, we hope to work with the Trump administration to bring the necessary pressure on China for his release. "We call on Chinese authorities to provide Pastor David Lin with any medical attention that he needs and allow him to return home to the United States. The Chinese government has committed a grave injustice against this man who now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. We are especially concerned about the possibility that Pastor Lin is being targeted in prison because of his faith."

Until he's free, the most important thing any of us can do is pray. "Pray for his safety," Alice told our listeners. "Pray that the Lord continues to keep him under His mighty wings. Pray that he can come home soon." As you do, sign our prayer petition on Pastor Lin's behalf. I know from visiting with Pastor Andrew Brunson -- and ultimately escorting him back to the U.S. -- how encouraging it is for these men and women of God to see the names of thousands of you pleading their case before the Lord.

[vector7]

China Offers Thousands of Dollars to Anyone Who Will Report Christians, 'Illegal' Churches to Government

By Leah Marieann Klett (news@gospelherald.com ) Apr 09, 2019 01:39 PM EDT Comment


China's total Christian population is now thought to number anywhere between 25 million and 100 million people Photo: GETTY Getty Images

China has upped its persecution of Christians, with Communist Party officials in Guangzhou offering a hefty reward to those who can provide information about underground churches, secret Christians, and others involved in "illegal" religious activity.

Guangzhou's Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs recently announced on its website that it would pay up to 10,000 Chinese yuan (around $1,500) for information leading to the arrest of Christian and other religious leaders, the Epoch Times reports. Smaller rewards are offered for information about churches and other religious meeting places built or used without permission from authorities

The regulation, called "Incentives to Motivate the Masses to Report on Illegal Religious Activities," will provide clues and assistance to "relevant government departments" for tracking down "illegal religious groups or members."

Guangzhou authorities characterized "illegal activities" as establishing places of religious worship without government approval; holding religious activities in non-religious institutions or locations; accepting religious donations; organizing Chinese citizens to go abroad for religious activities such as seminars, meetings, or worship without approval; or providing religious education without approval.

Bob Fu, founder of the persecution watchdog China Aid, told Voice of America the new regulations will significantly increase the persecution of Christians in the officially atheist country.

"Inciting people to report on others with monetary incentives, which is beyond the bottom line of morality, only appeared during the Cultural Revolution, when children would report their parents, a wife would report her husband, and colleagues would report one another," Fu said.

The new regulations come just weeks after Xu Xiaohong, chairman of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which oversees Protestant Christianity in China, warned that anti-China forces were using Christianity to subvert state power.

"[We] must recognize that Chinese churches are surnamed 'China', not 'the West,'" he told delegates to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. "The actions by anti-China forces that attempt to affect our social stability or even subvert the regime of our country are doomed to fail."

Persecution of Christians in China has ramped up since 2016, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced the government's policy of reducing Western influence on religion and making it "more Chinese," a process dubbed sinicization.

Recently, Chinese authorities arrested just over 40 Christians worshiping in homes after the closure of Chengdu's Early Rain Covenant Church. Their arrests came after over 160 more arrests of church members were made last year.

China ranks as the 27th worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA's World Watch List.

In March, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, during a speech given to faith leaders in Taylors, South Carolina, criticized China for its continued persecution of Chinese Christians in the past 20 years.

"As many of you know, Chinese authorities have banned the sale of Christian Bibles; they've destroyed thousands of crosses and other Church symbols, and they have jailed Christian pastors," Pence said.

He added that the U.S. administration would work toward holding China accountable for its abuses. "As we work toward a more free and fair trading relationship with China, our administration will continue to stand strong with people of faith in China. And we will work to convince China to lift the heavy hand of government from the church," he said.

[Pastor Guest]

Baptist Pastor Says Bank of America Shut Down All Of His Church's Bank Accounts - Information Liberation

"This morning, I found out that Bank of America shut down all of our bank accounts froze our accounts without notice and we can't even get our money out," Anderson said on YouTube. "We can't even walk into the bank and withdraw our money they just froze everything, shut everything down."

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=60066

[Lenno]

“Submit to Islam”: South Carolina Church Vandalized With Islamic-Themed Graffiti

Paul Joseph Watson - April 16, 2019 -

[Lenno]

Baptist Pastor Says Bank of America Shut Down All Of His Church's Bank Accounts - Information Liberation

James O’Keefe Strikes Again: Project Veritas Exposes Chase Bank’s “Debanking” Policies of Pro-Trump Activists (Video)


http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=60066

[Lenno]

A Pact between Factions of Christendom?

https://orthosphere.wordpress.com/20...f-christendom/

[Lenno]

Ohio Church Apologizes For Letting Kids Spit On And Kick Pastor As Part Of Easter Lesson…


Via Ohio.com:

A Pataskala, Ohio, church has posted an apology video after students attending a youth gathering there put up videos of children slapping, spitting and cutting a pastor.
The incident took place Monday night at an “after school hangout” at Impact City Church, where high and middle school students spend time doing such things as listening to a short gospel message, lead pastor Justin Ross said.
Ross said in the video on the church’s Facebook page that it was meant to help students learn about Easter and the crucifixion. While at the gathering, Ross said he did not lead it. Associate pastor Jaddeus Dempsey, 37, did, he said. Dempsey sat next to Ross in the apology video.
″(Jaddeus) chose to use an illustration to explain a very important topic about the crucifixion but the illustration went too far and it was inappropriate,” Ross said.
Keep reading…

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[Lenno]

France’s Yellow Vest Protesters Return To The Streets Enraged By Billions Pledged To Rebuild Notre Dame


Via Fox News:

Yellow Vest protestors in Paris battled police during violent clashes Saturday — newly enraged at the more than billion dollars that have been pledged to rebuild fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral, overshadowing their anti-wealth cause.
Black-hooded demonstrators set fire to trash cans, scooters and a car and pelted police with rocks to draw attention anew to their 23rd weekend of protest.
Many protesters are frustrated that the international effort to help Notre Dame has drawn more attention than their five-month-old Yellow Vest movement against wealth inequality, The Associated Press reported.
Many protesters were deeply saddened by the fire at a national monument. But many are angry at the $1 billion in Notre Dame donations that poured in from tycoons while their own demands remain largely unmet and they struggle to make ends meet.
Keep reading…

and 400 christians murdered by bombs in churches