EXCERPT: Germany, one of the few countries with diplomatic ties with Iran, has asked Iran to stay the execution of a pastor who refused to re-convert to Islam. http://www.microfinancemonitor.com/2011/09/30/germany-eu-demand-iran-to-free-pastor-nadarkhani/
Category: Current Events
Religious leaders line up in support of Supreme Court case – The Courier-Journal
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving whether churches can “discriminate” when making employment decisions about employees who are not clergy. EXCERPT: [Many religious groups] support the right of religious groups to hire and fire teachers who could be construed as “ministers” on grounds that would be otherwise discriminatory, whether due…
Iran Upholds Christian Pastor’s Apostasy Conviction: Execution as Early as Wednesday | American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ
EXCERPT: Just days after Iran released two Americans accused of spying in Iran, an Iranian court has upheld the apostasy conviction and execution sentence of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. The 11th branch of Iran’s Gilan Provincial Court has determined that Pastor Nadarkhani has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ. Iran’s…
Paradoxical Christian? I’m a Bible-believing Christian Who Passionately Supports Church State Separation
By Steve Allred – I have some friends who tell me that I don’t make sense when it comes to my position on separation of church and state. You see, some would call me a “fundamentalist” Christian. For example, I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and try to live my…
Article18: Germany — Pope Benedict XVI Addresses Legislators; Chancellor Merkel Calls for Global Religious Tolerance
By Martin Surridge – Like many of the other countries profiled in this blog, Germany has had a problematic, yet fundamentally important religious history. Home to both the Holocaust and the Protestant Reformation, Germany provided Europe with the impetus to take giant strides forward in the name of religious freedom, but also inflicted terrible losses…
Rick Perry and the perils of sectarian religion in 2012 – Figuring Faith – The Washington Post
EXCERPT: [T]his year the GOP presidential primary has also been infused, most prominently by Texas Governor Rick Perry, with examples of sectarian religiosity that trades in the more provincial coin of white evangelical Christianity. While the advantages of speaking in such specific language in some settings are clear, overplaying a sectarian hand now may hurt…
State department cites religious freedom violations (Associated Baptist Press)
EXCERPT: Suzan Johnson Cook, an ordained Baptist minister recently sworn in as United States ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said the report outlining the state of religious liberty in 198 countries revealed key trends in how many governments and societies repress religion. Too often, she said, governments violate religious freedom both through intentional restriction and…
OC Couple Threatened With $500-Per-Meeting Fines For Home Bible Study « CBS Los Angeles
EXCERPT: An Orange County couple has been ordered to stop holding a Bible study in their home on the grounds that the meeting violates a city ordinance as a “church” and not as a private gathering. Homeowners Chuck and Stephanie Fromm, of San Juan Capistrano, were fined $300 earlier this month for holding what city…
Two-story Cross has Neighbors Fuming (LA Daily News)
EXCERPT: “It was her faith that led the petite 72-year-old to erect a 24-foot cross on the front lawn of her West Hills home. But the monument has infuriated some of the neighbors, who complain the symbol is an eyesore that is attracting lookie-loos to their quiet cul-de-sac and hurting their property values. “While residents…
North Dakota Catholic Conference says ‘Sunday law’ Benefits All People (EWTN News)
NOTE: This is in reference to a law that has been on the books in North Dakota for many years. In the past, it banned business all on Sunday. In 1991, the law was changed to restrict business only until noon on Sunday. This is not a “new” Sunday blue law. This article is interesting…