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Attacks on Christians accelerated over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in the south Indian state of Karnataka, which was identified as the most unsafe place for the religious minority for the third consecutive year in 2011.With 49 cases of violence and hostility against Christians in 2011, Karnataka remained the state with the highest incidence of persecution, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s annual report, “Battered and Bruised…”

The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), which is based in Karnataka’s capital of Bengaluru and initially reported most of the incidents, also documented at least six anti-Christian attacks between Christmas Eve 2011 and New Year’s Day.

On the evening of Jan. 1, about 20 men disrupted the New Year’s Day worship service of the Blessing Youth Mission Church at the house of a believer in Hunnur village, in Jamkhandi division of Bagalkot district. Suspected Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal, the men manhandled pastor Siddu Seemanth Gunike, accusing him of forcibly and fraudulently converting Hindus. Local police intervened and rescued the pastor and other Christians.

On New Year’s Eve, more than 10 men trespassed onto the premises of the Karnataka Calvary Fellowship Church, in the Ganeshgudi area in Joida division of North Canara district, and disrupted a service of thanksgiving. Believed to be Hindu nationalists, the men forced the church to stop the service. Police arrived but only to summon the pastor, identified as P.R. Jose, to the police station the following morning. After GCIC’s intervention, however, a senior police official assured the Christians of security.

On the evening of Dec. 28, 2011, a group of men from the nationalist Hindu Sriram Sene disrupted the prayer meeting of the Divyadarsana Ministry Church at the home of a Christian, Bima Naik, in SS Layout in Davanagere city, the headquarters of the central Davanagere district. Alleging the meeting was to convert Hindus, the men tried to manhandle the Christians. Police arrived, but instead of detaining the intruders took pastor Raju Doddamani, Naik and three other Christians to the police station for interrogation. They were released late at night.

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(MNN) ― There’s a reason the state of emergency exists in Nigeria. In the wake of an ultimatum from the Boko Haram, there were two bomb blasts in northeastern Nigerian cities, authorities said Thursday.

The state of emergency gives security forces control of the areas under the declaration, and closes some of the borders with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

Boko Haram is Hausa for “Western education is a sin”. The elusive group has ties to both the Taliban and al Qaeda. Known for pushing a national Sharia law, they warned all Christians living in the North to leave or risk being killed.

Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for the Voice of the Martyrs USA says “It’s an incredible threat to religious liberty, and it’s a threat to Christians who live in that part of Nigeria.”

Many feel like they’re in a deathtrap. He explains, “For the Christians there, it’s obviously a state of fear. They have said ‘how can we leave? This is our home.’” The Boko Haram has said ‘you go to the South with the rest of the Christians. We want northern Nigeria to be all Muslim.’”

As the deadline to vacate expired, the attacks began, although there were no casualties. President Goodluck Jonathan declared the state of emergency last weekend in 15 parts of the country hard hit by violence blamed on the Boko Haram. “I don’t think it’s a surprise because Boko Haram has made a target of Christians, they’ve made a target of churches, as well as targeting the government–targeting police stations, and military establishments and recently, a United Nations building.”

Simply put, recent attacks were a warning shot across the bow. “In previous situations in northern Nigeria, there’s been a push toward Sharia law, but it was said ‘this won’t apply to the Christians. This is only for Muslims.’ Boko Haram is saying ‘we only want Muslims in northern Nigeria, and sharia law will apply to everybody.’”

Human rights activists are doubtful that the state of emergency and troops would improve the situation. Past history shows that military presence has done little to reduce violence. Nettleton agrees. “There are Christians who don’t trust the military to really be a protector for them and to insure the peace of northern Nigeria. There have been cases where the military has stood by while attacks went on. There have been other cases where people in military uniforms were a part of the attack.”

Christian leaders have demanded a stronger response to the attacks from the government and the Muslim community. According to Open Doors, more than 300 Christians were martyred last year in Nigeria, though the actual number is believed to be double or triple that number.

Since 2009 the extreme Islamic group Boko Haram has destroyed more than 50 churches and killed 10 pastors in Nigeria. “Pray for their protection. Obviously, it’s a very difficult situation. They face danger literally on a daily basis. The fact now that this ultimatum has been delivered ‘leave the area or else’ , the danger is only going to go up.”

In the meantime, Nettleton says, the good news is that the Gospel is still moving forward. “One of the significant sources of that outreach is Muslims who have come to Christ. They understand the hopelessness of Islam. They can speak to directly to those needs and to those heartfelt things because they, themselves, were Muslims.”

With all the violence though, he notes, “What does this mean for Gospel work? Obviously, it raises the stakes, it raises the danger level for Christians in that part of Nigeria, and it makes their work more difficult.”

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Watchdog groups are sounding the alarm on increasing acts of violence against Christians in India at the hands of the country’s Hindu community.
India is one of the regions closely monitored by human rights groups, due to many cases of religious persecution taking place in its recent history. The biggest act of violence against Christians took place in 2008, in a remote eastern region of India, during an event referred to as the “Orissa massacre,” in which an estimated 100 Christians were killed and some 5,600 displaced by a mob of Hindu extremists.

Local observers see a bleak outlook for 2012, given the mood in the country, as signs of renewed enmity become more and more apparent.

On Dec.18, 2011, some 2,500 protesters rallying under the banner of the Hindu nationalist movement expressed hostile attitude towards the idea of Christians celebrating Christmas, reported Mission Network News.

Violence did reportedly breakout in Karnataka, a state near Orissa, where a group of 15 Christians were attacked during Christmas celebrations at a private house by a mob of around 300 members of a Hindu nationalist organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Christians were brutalized, windows smashed and furniture damaged, according to Mission Network News (MNN).

Dave Stravers of a Michigan-based mission to India told the publication that police arrested all the Christians after they were beaten. They were then thrown in jail, he reportedly said, for a week while no action was taken against the attackers.
“This illustrates the justice problem,” Stravers told MNN. “Someone comes to beat you up, and then the police come and arrest you and accuse you of inciting that other person to violence!”

According to statistics gathered by Christians living in Orissa, local police only registered 827 cases of more than 3,500 reports of violence that took place during the “Orissa massacre.” The cases that went to court that ended with a sentence were only 68, and 412 offenders received a minimum punishment. In addition, 1,009 people were acquitted, and 304 cases are still reportedly awaiting trial.

“Justice is still a huge problem for some 56,000 Christians for whom life has changed dramatically since August 2008,” John Dayal, All India Christian Council’s (AICC) Executive Secretary, said in a recent statement, as quoted by Spero News . “Aggressors asked them to convert to Hinduism and burn a Bible as a sign. They did not do it and chose to escape. In 400 villages the Christian presence was completely cancelled, more than 5,600 homes and about 295 churches were burned, hundreds of deaths, some women, including at least one nun, were raped.”

Leading up to Christmas, more threats of attacks were made in this region, and religious leaders across the globe called for prayer for the safety of the Christian community in India (among other “dangerous” countries).

On Christmas Day 2011, an angry Hindu mob of 20 persons raided a home where several believers gathered for dinner, including a pastor, Bos News reported. The mob reportedly threatened to “kill the Christians,” according to residents.

Hindu militants twice attacked evangelical Christians around the holidays in India’s southern state of Karnataka, injuring several believers, including women and children, local Christians told BosNewsLife. Police were reportedly again reluctant to investigate the case, asking injured Christians what motivated them to convert to Christianity and reportedly siding with the attackers, according to witnesses.

In a separate incident on Dec. 28, about 10 suspected Hindu militants allegedly stormed the Hebron Full Gospel Assembly Church in the southwestern town of Haleyangadi, reportedly shouting threats and saying they would “not let the church continue at the place.”

All India Christian Council has been pressuring the Indian government since December to pass a bill meant to curb “communal violence which has plagued this country after Independence in 1947, and bring justice to the victims.” The proposed legislation is entitled the “Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence” bill, according to the organization’s website. The council is also launching a nation-wide advocacy and prayer campaign in favor of the bill, AICC said on Dec. 12.

The proposed bill seeks to secure justice for victims and bring guilty parties to justice. It maintains that minorities are denied justice because of the communal behavior of a section of religious and political extremists, and the apathy or involvement of government administrators. The legislation also aims to curb hate speech and similar actions.

Hindus are an overwhelming majority in India, where Christians are a minority at 2.3 percent. Muslims constitute 13.4 percent of the population, while Sikhs make up 1.9 percent.

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More than three-quarters of Americans identify themselves as Christian, Gallup reports. Pollsters found that 78 percent of Americans identify with Christianity. Overall, more than 82 percent of Americans have a religious identity, with this percentage breakdown:

52.5: Protestant/other Christian

23.6: Catholic

1.9: Mormon

1.6: Jewish

0.5: Muslim

2.4: Other non-Christian

15: None/atheist/agnostic

2.5: No response

The findings fit the trend of an increasing percentage of Americans who do not embrace a formal religious identity.

In 1951, 1 percent of Americans did not have a religious identity, compared to 24 percent identifying as Catholic and 68 percent claiming a non-Catholic Christian faith.

Gallup found earlier this year that 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, which suggests that a lack of religious identity is not necessarily linked to atheism.

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Bernice Hunt’s Bible was pulled from the ashes without a charred edge or a burnt page. The only damage at all was a little moisture from the fire hoses.

But it certainly isn’t the way she planned to start 2012.

Hunt tells News 12, “I ran downstairs and went to get my son and tell him FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!”

The home she lived in for twenty years caught fire and destroyed most of her belongings.

“It’s a miracle I didn’t get hurt, and my son didn’t get hurt,” Hunt says.

And that isn’t the only miracle.
A firefighter pulled her family Bible from the ashes–unscathed.

Christopher Hinton, the firefighter from McDuffie County that discovered the Bible, tells News 12, “Everything beside the Bible, and on the Bible was burnt, so i moved it. And the Bible was wet and cold.”

It was sitting on Hunt’s nightstand which was in the corner of her bedroom. All that is left of that corner now is a pile of rubble.

“I couldn’t believe what i was seeing. I mean, it was a miracle,” Hinton says.

And this Bible is something special to the family.

Hunt says, “It’s a family heirloom.”

And Hunt’s son Dellwyn who also in the house when it caught fire says, “It belonged to my dad, and he passed away about 1991.”

Life hasn’t been easy for Hunt. She lost her husband, she was diagnosed with cancer, survived open heart surgery, and now–this. But, Hunt says she has always and will always keep the faith.

“We thankful and grateful. And everything else, it’ll fall into place sooner or later,” Hunt says.

And her son says, there is only one explanation.

“Just the Lord. It’s gotta be.”

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ATLANTA – A Georgia factory worker claims in a federal lawsuit that he was fired after he refused to wear a 666 sticker he feared would doom him to eternal damnation.

Billy E. Hyatt claims he was fired from Pliant Corp., a plastics factory in northern Georgia near Dalton, after he refused to wear a sticker proclaiming that his factory had been accident-free for 666 days. That number is considered the “mark of the beast” in the Bible’s Book of Revelation describing the apocalypse.

Hyatt, who said he’s a devout Christian, had worked for the north Georgia plastics company since June 2007 and like other employees wore stickers each day that proclaimed how long the factory had gone without an accident.

But he grew nervous in early 2009 as the number of accident-free days crept into the 600s. As the company’s safety calendar approached day 666, Hyatt said he approached a manager and explained that wearing it would force him “to accept the mark of the beast and to be condemned to hell.” He said the manager assured him he wouldn’t have to wear the number.

When the day came on March 12, 2009, Hyatt sought a manager to discuss his request. He said he was told that his beliefs were “ridiculous” and that he should wear the sticker or serve a three-day suspension.

Hyatt took the three-day suspension, and was fired at a human resources meeting several days later. He then filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and his attorney Stephen Mixon said the agency granted him the right to sue the company in August.

The lawsuit, which seeks punitive damages and back pay, said the company forced him into a terrible situation: Keep his job or “abandon his religious beliefs.”

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Forty-one percent of Americans are unable to name the most influentialChristian leader in the United States while another eight percent think itmight be President Barack Obama.Not surprisingly, evangelist Billy Graham garners the highest namerecognition among Christian leaders with four out of every 10 Americans —some 19 percent — giving top recognition to the octogenarian, according toa new Barna Group study released Monday.³Billy Graham is the name mentioned most often in response to the unaidedsurvey question (a measure often described as ³top-of-mind´ awareness),´the survey finds.Pope Benedict XVI or ³the pope´ was the choice of only 9 percent of U.S.adults, perhaps due to the fact that he resides in the Vatican and not theUnited States.³Researchers place a lot weight on top-of-mind awareness measures,´explains Lynn Hanacek, Barna Group vice president of research and projectdirector. ³It is a type of unaided awareness measurement — meaning thatrespondents answer on their own with no response options presented tothem.´She says that greater importance is typically placed on such recognitionbecause it reflects the very first name that comes to mind — and typicallysuggests that the person, brand or organization has made a lastingimpression.One out of 20 people named Joel Osteen as the most significant Christianleader, while only two percent each pointed to Charles Stanley or JoyceMeyer.Various pastors, ministry leaders, authors, politicians, and other publicfigures, including Oprah Winfrey, George W. Bush, T.D. Jakes, JamesDobson, Franklin Graham and Maya Angelou each received one percentrecognition as the most influential Christian leader.³Looking at the big picture, only a limited number of individuals come tomind when Americans consider leadership of Christians on a nationalscale,´ adds Hanacek, noting that the results may have been differentsimply by asking respondents if they heard of a specific individual.While Billy Graham has more than twice the top-of-mind awareness of anyother individual, his name was barely mentioned by the youngestrespondents in the nationwide survey of 1,007 adults, ages 18 and older,according to the findings.

³In terms of national Christian leadership, there may well be a gap to be

filled. However, it is also likely that leadership may be perceived differently at this time in our society,´ the survey holds. ³If the role and relevance of

national faith leadership is waning, it suggests an opportunity for more local

and regional Christian leaders to emerge — whether in churches, ministries

or a variety of other capacities.´

Among other findings of the telephone survey conducted on Aug. 1-14:

• Evangelical Christians are more likely to name Billy Graham (35 percent),

Joyce Meyer (12 percent) and Franklin Graham (5 percent) as the most

influential Christian leader.

• No evangelicals consider Pope Benedict to hold this distinction.

• A majority of atheists and agnostics (65 percent) and non Christians (52

percent) are unable to think of anyone they would consider to be an

influential Christian leader.

• Protestants are more likely to name Billy Graham as the most significant

leader (31 percent) while Catholics are just as likely to name the pope (32

percent).

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JERUSALEM (CNN) — — In a perfect blending of 21st century advances with the cutting-edge technology of an earlier age, starting this week Internet users can, for the first time, use Google search and scanning technology to examine five manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Google and the Israel Museum unveiled the project Monday in Jerusalem with the launch of a museum website that allows users to interact with the ancient texts in a way impossible just a few years ago.

“You have the capability with high-resolution definition to look at the scrolls in a comfortable setting — to enlarge them, to magnify them, to translate them into English and to search for words, phrases or verses that you want to find on your own,” said James Snyder, director of the Israel Museum. “It really allows or your own interactive research with the material.”

Made up of 30,000 fragments from 900 manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by many historians to be one of the most important archaeological finds ever made.

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JOS, Nigeria, August 28 (CDN) — Muslim extremists with the alleged help of Nigerian army personnel killed 24 Christians this month in central Nigeria’s Plateau state, area sources said.

The attacks started Aug. 11 in Ratsa Foron village, where assaults that day and on Aug. 15 left six Christians dead; also on Aug. 15 in Heipang village, Muslim extremists killed nine members of one Christian family along with another Christian, the sources said.

“They were in army uniform. I even know some of them; they came along with the Muslims to attack us,” said a tearful Nnaji John, who lost her family in the attack. “I can swear to God Almighty that the attack was carried out with the support of the soldiers; I saw them.”

Attacks on Aug. 21 in Kwi, Loton, and Jwol villages killed six more Christians, said the sources, who added that Nigerian army soldiers participated in the assaults or at least accompanied the assailants.

In the community of Chwelnyap in Jos on Aug. 14, Muslim extremists killed two Christians and injured one woman, the area sources said.

Chollom Gyangof Chwelnyap confirmed that the Aug. 14 attack on his neighborhood was carried out with the support or tacit approval of Muslims in the army’s Special Task Force (STF), a unit designed to stop sectarian attacks.

“The attackers were the very soldiers deployed to the area to ensure protection of the people,” Gyang said. “One of the victims received a call from the STF men in the area to come out and assist, only to get gunned down by them as he stepped out from his house.”

Gyang said area residents found identification cards of Muslim soldiers, berets and other pieces of their uniforms in the villages that were attacked.

Plateau Gov. Jonah Jang called for immediate withdrawal of the Nigerian army because, he said, Muslims in the army have taken sides with Islamist assailants.

“I am convinced that the armed forces are being polluted with the religious crisis in the country,” Jang said. “Before now, the military personnel used to stay in the barracks, but today the armed forces have started taking sides in this religious crisis, and if they are not called to order it will be dangerous for the country.”

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A Shi’ite cleric affiliated with the Iranian regime has warned about the “danger” of Christianity spreading in the Islamic republic. This come amid reports of an anti-Christianity propaganda campaign and the seizure of thousands of Bibles.
According to Mohabat News, an independent Iranian Christian news agency, Ayatollah Hadi Jahangosha expressed concern about “the spread of Christianity among our youth,” citing the availability of Christian satellite television programs, books and objects.
“Everyone in society should feel responsibility in this matter and play his or her role in spreading of pure Islam and fight false and distorted cultures,” Mohabat quoted him as saying during a presentation on Mahdism – the belief in the so-called “hidden” or 12th imam, prophesied to emerge at a time of future chaos.
Last week, Mohabat reported that authorities had seized 6,500 pocket-sized Bibles in northwestern Iran. It quoted a parliamentary advisor, Majid Abhari, as telling the Mehr news agency that Christian missionaries were out to deceive Iranians, particularly the youth.
“They have begun a huge campaign by spending huge sums and false propaganda for deviating the public,” Abhari said. “The important point in this issue that should be considered by intelligence, judicial and religious agencies is that all religions are strengthening their power to confront Islam, otherwise what does this huge number of Bibles mean?”
Mohabat recalled previous incidents of Bibles being seized, including one last February, when Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and security officials in a routine inspection of a bus near the Iran-Turkey border found 600 New Testaments, which they destroyed along with confiscated alcohol in a public burning.
A similar incident in the same area last October also saw officials seize and burn Bibles, it said.
In a third incident, in June 2010, Bibles were found in a town near the border with Iraq. Mohabat said the official IRGC Web site at the time accused the U.S. in neighboring Iraq of conspiring to smuggle Bibles into Iran.
The Barnabas Fund, an organization working with Christian minorities in Islamic societies, reports that Iranian authorities have been waging an anti-Christian propaganda campaign through state media in recent weeks.
“Last month, offensive caricatures depicting Christ and Christians were published in the [IRGC mouthpiece] magazine Javan,” it said.
“False and insulting stories about Christians have also appeared in government media. One such article that was published on the website Youth Online alleged that women evangelists were going into stores, using shopping as a pretext to enter into conversation with staff, and then suggesting sexual liaisons and insulting Islam.”

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