Invocation. “When in the dark orchard at night / The God Creator kneeled and prayed / Life was praying with the One / Who gave life hope and prayer.” —English translation of lyrics from “Wa Habibi,” a Christian hymn of…
In survey of religious oppression across the globe, Russia, Afghanistan and China take center stage
Russia has spent recent years in diplomatic and economic hot water with the United States over its mounting human rights and religious freedom violations, including the persecution of Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Protestant Christians. But the ongoing invasion of Ukraine…
Among Syrian Christians, severe persecution yet perseverance
Editor’s note: It is exceedingly rare for BNG to run any article without a clearly identified byline for the author. What follows is a rare exception to this policy, in order to publish the current testimony of a Christian pastor…
Why Christians in the U.S. should be ‘truly frantic’
Headlines about Turkey’s October offensive in northern Syria have all but faded. But the danger is far from over for Christians trapped in the region. And the agony also remains palpable among refugees and others in North America who know…
Pray for immigrants? We need them to pray for us, minister-activist says
Religious leaders gathered at a vigil in December to declare support for Rosa Gutierrez Lopez, an El Salvadoran immigrant who had just taken sanctuary in a Maryland church to avoid deportation. Baptist minister and immigrant rights activist Julio Hernandez was…
Americans seeking self-care in age of Trump, mass shootings and nuke fears
Anyone who even casually consumes news websites or social media is confronted with an array of anger- and fear-driven reports of End Times-inducing developments. So, it may be no coincidence that new Barna research has found “that most Americans are open to investing in their mental health through counseling” and that discussions about self-care have become mainstream.
Refugees — also known as family members
As I write this Wednesday, Oct. 5, the mandatory evacuation of 1.1 million people from the coastal low country of South Carolina has begun. People seeking to escape the arrival of Matthew the Hurricane are being told to move at…
European Baptist leaders protest escalation in Syrian conflict
Leaders of the European Baptist Federation strongly condemned the recent increase in violence in Syria, as government forces and their allies push to reclaim rebel-held neighborhoods in Aleppo, once the nation’s largest city and a key battleground since fighting broke…
More Noah’s ark headlines — this time at 5th-century synagogue excavation
While Ken Ham’s “Ark Encounter” museum near Williamstown, Ky., has drawn the lion’s share of attention this summer directed toward Noah’s vessel, another representation of the ark in Israel has been wowing the archaeological world.