To Escape Abusive Marriages, Many Christians in Pakistan Convert to Islam
LAHORE, Pakistan (RNS) For a Pakistani Christian like Shameela Masih, divorcing her abusive husband meant two choices — both nearly as bad as staying in the marriage.
“I have to prove adultery allegations against him," said Masih, a 34-year-old mother of two. "The other option I have is to convert to Islam.”
London Attacker’s Mother Blames Internet for Son’s Radicalization
ROME (Reuters) The mother of the Italian-Moroccan jihadi who helped carry out a deadly attack in London last week said on Tuesday she had tried to keep her son from falling under the sway of Islamic State ideology, but the internet and his London friends changed him.
Q&A Interview with Wendell Griffen
Wendell Griffen recently made headlines as some state politicians seek to remove him from the bench. Griffen serves as pastor of New Millennium Church (a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation in Little Rock, Ark.) and as a Pulaski County circuit judge.
Midwest Churches Hit by Flooding
Record Midwest flooding in late April and early May damaged multiple Baptist churches — while even more Baptist churches became key centers of aid for their flooded communities. At least eight Baptist churches in Missouri and two in Arkansas were flooded, along with an Arkansas Baptist campground.
Religious Leaders Shocked by Attack on Ramadan and Pentecost
LONDON (RNS) Religious leaders prayed for London after another terrorist attack in Britain left seven dead and scores injured on the eve of the Christian holiday of Pentecost and during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Mich. Congressman on Climate Change: God Will ‘Take Care of It’ if It’s Real
WASHINGTON (USA Today) Michigan GOP Rep. Tim Walberg isn’t concerned about the effects of climate change — if it exists — because God will “take care of it.”
As Major Cities Crack Down on Panhandling, People of Faith Wrestle With Their Consciences
OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) Driving to his downtown clothing business, Hans Herman Thun finds it impossible to ignore the beggars.
They catch his attention with handwritten, cardboard signs such as “Homeless and hungry,” “Anything helps! God bless” and even “I’ll be honest — I could really use a beer.”
What we can learn from the Dutch on Memorial Day
DRIEBERGEN, Netherlands (RNS) Once a year in the Netherlands, joggers in the park stop running for two minutes. Bicyclists pull over to the side of the road. Television sets and radios are turned off. Parents hush their children. And in many villages and cities people congregate in public spaces for a communal ceremony.
China, Once Officially Atheist, Now Booming With Religion
DAVIS, Calif. (RNS) When Ian Johnson first went to China as a student three decades ago, he pronounced religion there “dead.”
But Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist now based in Berlin and Beijing, has witnessed a transformation, one he documents in “The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao,” published in April.
Women Bloggers Spawn an Evangelical ‘Crisis of Authority’
(RNS) When Sarah Bessey started blogging in 2005, she saw it as a way to keep in touch with friends and family.
Flash forward to 2017.