A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – About 215 million Christians are being persecuted due to their faith, according to a report released by the Open Doors organization Wednesday. This represents 1 in 12 Christians worldwide.

The most dangerous place to be a practicing Christian is in North Korea. There is also a high level of persecution against Christians in the Palestinian Territories, the World Watch List report showed.

Released by the Open Doors organization, the list is an annual report on the global persecution of Christians ranking the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted due to their faith. Released at the beginning of each year, the list uses data from Open Doors field workers and external experts to quantify and analyze persecution worldwide. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – An island volcano in Papua New Guinea has begun spewing ash into the air, forcing the evacuation of more than 500 residents, media and non-profit groups have said.

Kadovar Island, a 365 metre tall volcanic island just north-east of PNG, was thought to be dormant until it began erupting on 5 January.

“It’s just a continuous emission of volcanic ash at the moment,” said Cheyne O’Brien, a forecaster at the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. [ Source: UK Guardian (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – A series of eight earthquakes hit the Iran-Iraq border area and rattled Baghdad on Thursday, apparent aftershocks of a temblor that struck the mountainous region in November and killed over 530 people. Four people suffered minor injuries in Iran, state television reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey said seven of the quakes struck near the Iraqi city of Mandali, 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of the Iraqi capital. Mandali is right on the border between the two nations. The eighth hit near Mehran in western Iran, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) southeast of Mandali along the sparsely populated Zagros Mountains that divide Iran and Iraq.

All the earthquakes struck within an hour of each other, beginning at 0659 GMT. Six had a preliminary magnitude of at least 5, while two registered at magnitude 4. Scientists consider earthquakes of magnitude 5 as moderate.[ Source: Time (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to renew the National Security Agency’s warrantless internet surveillance program, overcoming objections from privacy advocates and confusion prompted by morning tweets from President Donald Trump that initially questioned the spying tool.

The legislation, which passed 256-164 and split party lines, is the culmination of a years-long debate in Congress on the proper scope of U.S. intelligence collection – one fueled by the 2013 disclosures of classified surveillance secrets by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Senior Democrats in the House had urged cancellation of the vote after Trump appeared to cast doubt on the merits of the program, but Republicans forged ahead. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Palestinian Authority’s security forces revealed on Wednesday the identities of senior Hamas operatives behind efforts to rehabilitate the group’s terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria, chief among them Maher Obeid, the organization’s newly appointed military commander in the West Bank.

The terrorist cells and infrastructure built by Hamas’ military wing in Judea and Samaria were decimated by Israel during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 during the Second Intifada, targeted assassinations over the course of the previous decade and tight security cooperation between Israeli and PA security apparatuses.

However, since the mass release of terrorists within the framework of the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange in 2011, the organization has taken pains to establish a “West Bank command” to run its operations there. [ Source: Israel Hayom (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Israeli Defense Ministry on Wednesday canceled a test launch for the Arrow 3 missile defense system, citing a problem with its ground control’s data systems.

This was the second time in a month that a test of the long-range missile interceptor system had been canceled. The previous launch was called off over safety concerns pertaining to the would-be target projectile. The ministry said the launch was classified as a “no test” and was therefore not a failure.

“This has no bearing on the Arrow’s operational aspects,” said Moshe Patel, head of the Defense Ministry’s Homa Directorate, which oversees the development of missile defense systems. “Moreover, if this was an operational incident and not a test, the interceptor would have launched with no issue. If we had to intercept an Iranian threat, Arrow would have been launched.” [ Source: Algemeiner (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Two Iranian Christians were sentenced to a total of eight years in prison by a revolutionary court in December 2017, after being convicted of national security-related crimes.

Suroush Saraie and Eskandar Rezaie, who are both members of the Church of Iran denomination, each received seven year sentences for ‘creating a group that works against national security’, and an additional year for ‘propaganda against the state.’ Both men are appealing the verdict, which was handed down on 28 December 2017 by the 4th Chamber of the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz.

During the same court hearing, a Christian woman named Zahra Norouzi Kashkouli was sentenced to a year in prison for ‘being a member of a group working against the system.’ She too is appealing the sentence. [ Source: CSW (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The U.S. Air Force has sent three B-2 nuclear-capable stealth bombers to Andersen Air Force Base on the island territory of Guam.

The Department of Defense is also sending around 200 airmen from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri in support of the U.S. Pacific Command’s Bomber Assurance and Deterrence mission.

“During this short-term deployment, the B-2s will conduct local and regional training sorties and will integrate capabilities with key regional partners, ensuring bomber crews maintain a high state of readiness and crew proficiency,” U.S. Pacific Air Force explains on its website. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – In a resounding victory for pro-life Tennesseans, judges on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals have rejected the pro-abortion effort to overturn the 2014 voter passage of Amendment 1, which states: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.”

“Although the subject of abortion rights will continue to be controversial in Tennessee and across our nation, it is time for uncertainty surrounding the people’s 2014 approval and ratification of Amendment 1 to be put to rest,” wrote Senior Judge David McKeague, a 2005 appointee of George W. Bush.

Tennessee Right to Life expresses profound gratitude to the many supporters, advocates, and voters who sacrificed to see Amendment 1 placed on the ballot and passed by public vote. It was made necessary by a radical pro-abortion decision by the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2000 which wrongly declared a so-called “fundamental right to abortion” in the Tennessee Constitution thereby making enforcement of common-sense protections impossible in Tennessee. [ Source: Life News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The president and chief operating officer of Moody Bible Institute have resigned amid controversy over the theological direction of the institution and allegations of shady administration practices, the school announced Wednesday. One of the school’s provosts will also be retiring.

In an email sent to the Moody community Wednesday evening — that sources forwarded to The Christian Post — Randy Fairfax, the chair of the Moody Board of Trustees, wrote that they had “been discussing issues related to widespread concerns over the direction of Moody” and “accepted the resignations of President, Paul Nyquist; Chief Operating Officer, Steve Mogck; and the retirement of Provost, Junias Venugopal.”

“Let there be no mistake that the board of trustees holds these three men in high regard for their ethical, moral, and spiritual leadership. They are godly, honorable men to whom we entrust to the Lord and offer our deep gratitude for their years of faithful service to Christ and to Moody. However, we are unanimous in our decision that it is time for a new season of leadership.” [ Source: Christian Post (Read More…) ]