(By William Doino Jr., First Things). Two years after its release, this still photo, taken from an ISIS propaganda video, remains as haunting as ever: a long line of Christian Coptic men in orange jump suits, forced to kneel and await execution simply for being Christian and refusing to renounce their religious beliefs. Even as the…
(By Samuel Smith, Christian Post). A new film produced by Roma Downey highlights at least a dozen first-hand accounts of how Christians are being brutally killed, raped, beaten and imprisoned for their faith in the birthplace of Christianity. On May 23, the film “Faithkeepers” will be screened by churches nationwide in hopes that it will increase…
When it comes to the massacres of Middle East Christians, Westerners are as silent as Egypt’s churches this Easter Sunday (By Nicole Foy, The Observer). As Holy Week comes to an end, there have been many reasons for Christians to be confused, concerned, or frustrated over the last year. But this past Holy Week, for the…
“Everywhere militants were blowing up Christians … the message to these ‘infidels’: You don’t belong in Iraq. Leave, pay the penalty to stay, or be ready to die.” By Carey Lodge, Christian Today. Journalist and editor of WORLD magazine, Mindy Belz, has reported on the ground in the Middle East for more than a decade….
Institutional Anti-Semitism becomes to apparent to ignore. By Joseph Puder, FrontPage Magazine. The Presbyterian Church (USA) assembled in Portland, Oregon for its 222 General Assembly, lasting from June 18-25. Once again, latent anti-Semitism in the form of controversial resolutions on divestment from Israel became a major issue in the proceedings. Delegates from 171 PCUSA presbyteries,…
Juliana Taimoorazy, an Assyrian Christian and Founding President of the Iraqi Christians Relief Council, joined The Reconnect on Tuesday to update us on the situation in the Middle East and the persecuted Church. Why should we care? Earlier this year, the Obama Administration finally recognized the fact that ISIS is committing genocide through crucifixion, beheading,…
By Alan F.H. Wisdom Two years after the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly ordered denominational divestment from three corporations doing business with Israel, the 2016 assembly will receive proposals for further measures directed against the Jewish state. Two overtures from local presbyteries would protest Israel’s presence in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank by targeting corporations…
By Ahmed Aboulenein and Omar Fahmy, Reuters. Soad Thabet’s house no longer has a door. Inside, its walls are blackened with soot and a television lies shattered on the floor. The remains of a red nightgown stand out among the ashes. Thabet, 70, describes being dragged outside by Muslim villagers and stripped naked in the…
The Islamic State Can’t Stop Christ So They Destroy Those Who Reflect His Image By Faith J. H. McDonnell, Patheos. They hate the Image reflected in the mirrors. But even they, with their knives and guns and bombs, and their crucifixions and abductions, and their rape and enslavement, and their marking of houses with threats, forcing thousands to flee, are powerless…
By Kelly Shellnut, Christianity Today. Kenneth E. Bailey, the scholar who introduced evangelicals to Middle Eastern culture and history, died Monday at age 85. Bailey gave Western readers “the eyes to see” the deeper significance of Jesus’ life and stories by placing them in the cultural context of the Middle East, publishing books like Jesus…