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CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

Oregon Shooting: ‘Are you a Christian?’ gunman asks students before opening fire

October 2, 2015ChristianToday.com reports: “The gunman who opened fire at a community college in Roseburg, Oregon, on Thursday, asked students if they were Christian and then shot them.

 

Christians from across the country have responded to the event.

 

The father of Anastasia Boylan, 18, who was shot by Chris Harper Mercer and survived by ‘playing dead’, shared his daughter’s account of the shooting:

 

‘He was able to stand there and start asking people one by one what their religion was.

 

‘’Are you a Christian?’ he would ask them, and ‘if you are a Christian then stand up’ and they would stand up. He’d say ‘because you are a Christian you’re going to see God in about one second’ and then he shot and killed them. And he kept going down the line doing this to people.’…” (Dr. Ben Carson opposes a Muslim for America’s next president believing such a person could not promote America’s Constitution and laws. You see this allegation happening wherever Islam takes over a nation. As in America, Canada, Germany, France and England where Islam is already promoting Sharia Law. See the next four reports.)


 

One Christian is martyred every five minutes, persecution watchdog reports

September 23, 2015ChristianToday.com reports: “A Christian persecution watchdog has released statistics suggesting a Christian is martyred for their faith every five minutes.

 

Christian Freedom International has found that more than 200 million followers are facing persecution in 105 countries. This makes Christianity the most persecuted religion in the world.

 

The report has found that more Christians have been martyred in the 20th and 21st centuries than during the previous 19 combined.

 

Opens Doors has released a global map showing the distribution of Christian persecution around the world.

 

North Korea is at the top of the list, followed by Somalia and Iraq. Most of the 50 countries listed are either in the Middle East or Africa…”


 

Christian in prison for praying dies after being denied medication

September 24, 2015ChristianToday.com reports: “A Christian man who was jailed for praying has died in Laos after he was denied vital medication.

 

Tiang Kwentianthong was imprisoned along with four others after praying for healing for an elderly woman, according to a human rights group. Tiang, who suffered from severe diabetes, died shortly after being released because his condition was ignored by officials.

 

‘During his imprisonment in Savannakhet provincial prison, Mr Tiang requested permission to be treated for his worsening diabetic condition but the prison officials denied his request,’ a statement from the Human Rights Watcher for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF) read.

 

The married father of six was arrested in June 2014 in Saisomboon village in the Savannakhet province of Laos. He was found guilty of conducting treatment without medical authorisation after praying for the healing of an elderly woman.

 

In deciding the case, the People’s Court of Savannakhet province equated healing prayer with medical treatment, which requires medical authorization from the Ministry of Health. As a result Tiang and four other Christians were convicted of violating medical law…”

 

 

Iran: American pastor Saeed Abedini tortured in prison

September 25, 2015ChristianToday.com reports: “Imprisoned pastor Saeed Abedini was reportedly tortured and interrogated in Iran’s notorious Rajai Shahr prison this week, where he is being held on charges of undermining national security.

 

According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) which is supporting Iranian-born Abedini, the pastor told members of his family yesterday that he had been abused both physically and verbally during interrogation. He said a taser gun was used on his head, and he was threatened with new criminal charges.

 

Iranian intelligence officers have now apparently claimed that Abedini is connected to anti-government groups and has taken action against the Iranian government. The pastor denies the allegations.

 

Abedini began developing home church communities for Christian converts, who are forbidden from gathering in Iran’s public churches, more than a decade ago. He was first arrested in 2009, but was later released after pledging to stop formally organising house churches in the Musilm-led country.

 

He was arrested for a second time upon returning to Iran in 2012 to help build a state-run, secular orphanage and was held without charges until January 2013, when he received his eight-year sentence. There are now concerns that this sentence will be extended…”


 

China: Christian lawyer ‘tortured in prison’ kidnapped again

September 25, 2015ChristianToday.com reports: “Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been ‘kidnapped’ by Chinese officials after speaking out about his alleged torture in prison, according to China Aid.

 

Sources told the Texas-based organisation that Public Security Bureau officers arrived at the lawyer’s home in Shaanxi province at 1pm on Thursday, ‘and began frantically searching for Gao.’ He had previously told China Aid that he expected to be detained again after giving an interview this week that detailed horrific torture at the hands of Chinese authorities.

 

Speaking out for the first time in five years, 51-year-old Gao told AP that he was tortured three times while in prison, and forced to live in a seven metre square confinement cell for three years. A Communist propaganda message was broadcast constantly for 68 weeks. ‘Those who persecuted me have used every means possible over the past nine years to break my spirit,’ he said. ‘Life in prison was absolutely terrible on a physical level… When I was tortured for the first time I was afraid, really afraid. But the second time I was not, because it’s a matter of perception. Why was I not afraid? Because I knew that fear would not help, but cause more oppression and cruelty.’…”