Christians in Nigeria are demanding more government protection from militant Muslims even as thousands have been slaughtered in recent attacks, largely in central and northern Nigeria.

A number of human rights groups also want help and intervention from the United Nations and the U.S., CBN News said. Last July 26, according to Continental News, 12 Christians were killed, three of them pastors, who died from beheading at the hands of the militant Islamic Boko Haram.

Boko Haram has also launched attacks on military bases. The violence, according to Continental News, started in Baruchi state in northeastern Nigeria, then spread out to the states of Kano in the northwest, Yobe in the north and Borno in the northeast.

Continental News reported that in the series of attacks churches were set afire and a number of Christians along with people of other faiths were abducted. Christians were also threatened with genocide if they did not convert to Islam.

The three pastors, Sabo Yukubu, Sylvester Akpan and George Orji were killed through decapitation as the extremists shouted “Allah Akbar.” They did this upon the order of the militant group’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf, whom authorities later killed, Continental News said.

Worst attack in years

CBN News said the worst attack in recent years took place on March 7 when militants attacked the village Dogo Nashawa at night, and massacred villagers while they were sleeping.

The victims were either hacked to death or burned alive in their homes, including children. Some 500 Christians were murdered in this way. CBN News said the militants wielded AK-47 rifles.

According to CBN News, in the past only bows, arrows and machetes were wielded by extremists, and the use of high powered weapons indicated a new level of war.

Last October, a Christian village was also attacked in the middle of the night and the assailants also had high powered weapons. Six people were killed and 21 houses were burned, CBN News said.

At the same time, no one has been prosecuted for thousands of deaths linked to terrorists, CBN noted.

CBN News said Central Nigeria is where the most recent attacks occurred, including the Plateau state which is a key battleground. Twelve of Nigeria’s northern states are under Shariah law.

Central Nigeria is a strategic area and poses a barrier to the rest of the country where extremists hope to impose Shariah law, CBN News said. Nigeria is also crucial as a nation because it is a strategically located country that can serve as a jumping point to spread Islam throughout Africa.

Several Christians launched recently a petition protesting Apple’s decision to remove an iPhone app from its store because it expresses the Christian stand on homosexuality and abortion.

The app in question, The Manhattan Declaration, enables Apple users to append their name to an ecumenical document that expresses support for the sanctity of life, religious liberty and traditional marriage, The Christian Post said.

Prior to its removal, over 478,000 people signed their names to support the Manhattan Declaration, CBN News said. However, the app was removed after some 7,700 members of Change.org asked that it be taken out.

The liberal organization, in an email that they sent to Apple, said the app contained “hateful and divisive language.” Apple, in compliance, took the Declaration out in late November during Thanksgiving, the Baptist Press said.

The Manhattan Declaration, penned by Chuck Colson, Timothy George and Robert George in 2009, is one of over 200,000 software programs in the app store. The 4,700 word statement was signed by 150 evangelical, Southern Baptist, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic leaders, Baptist Press said.

The Declaration says, “[W]e will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act, nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s,” Baptist Press reported.

The Baptist Press noted that some beliefs in the Declaration are discussed on the floors of some legislatures, and dozens if not hundreds of apps use the word “gay” including “gay travel” and “gay news.”

Concern was expressed that although only owners of iPhones and iPads are affected for now, other Christian apps in the iTunes store may be similarly removed in the future, Baptist Press said.

Petition

A petition asking Apple to reinstate the Manhattan Declaration app has been signed by over 35,000 people. The petition states that the Manhattan Declaration, “in a civil, reasoned, and respectful way, promotes the sanctity of every human life, traditional marriage, and religious freedom,” the Baptist Press said.

Colson noted that when the app was first released in October it got a 4+ rating by Apple, which is the rate required to ensure that there is no objectionable material, The Christian Post said.

In a statement on its website Apple said, “We removed the Manhattan Declaration app from the App Store because it violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people,” CBN News reported.

However the Christian petition notes, “Despite the claims of some, the Manhattan Declaration does not promote hate or homophobia. It is not anti-gay. Rather, it proclaims that all human beings are loved by God and are worthy of respect. Civil discourse is a hallmark of a civilized and free society. Disagreement is not hate,” the Baptist Press reported.

The gypsy people are being viewed as fertile ground for ministry, with potential to make great strides in spreading Christianity in Europe.

Gypsies are largely populated in Romania and Bulgaria. However in their own countries they face harsh discrimination that has lasted through centuries, causing many of them to migrate to other countries in Europe, Christianity Today said.

But in other European countries things are no better. Recently, France evicted thousands of gypsies and sent them back to imminent poverty in their own land. In Romania, many gypsies have no birth certificates and no marriage licenses, CBN News said.

Beni Lup, an attorney and regional director of Walk Thru the Bible Ministries told Christianity Today that the emerging vastness of Christian witness among the gypsy population, however, can be a significant source of change in a continent that had long rejected them.

The fact that they are mobile also poses possibilities for Christian gypsies to evangelize wherever they are. Lup said, “I think the Romani witness that is emerging—as it gets written down [and] people understand what is going on—[will be seen as] a moment in world religion,” Christianity Today reported.

Europeans have long viewed gypsies as thieves and deceivers, Lup said. Many gypsies as they turn to Jesus become hopeful that their testimony will affect others, even as their own lives change, according to Christianity Today.

No upward mobility in Romania

Kevin Hoy, founder of The Smile Foundation, has worked in Romania for a decade. He said the ethnic group has no chance of upward mobility even after living in their country for up to 20 years, CBN News reported.

Some 500 gypsies for example live in the village of Salard, one of Romania’s poorest neighborhoods where homes are made of mud bricks that crumble easily. Hoy attributes their situation to prejudice just as much as lack of education opportunities, CBN News said.

And yet such seeming hopelessness has led many gypsies to turn to Jesus. In 2009 the “Toflea miracle” occurred, where 500 gypsies—the largest baptism in Romanian history—took place, CBN News said.

The following year hundreds more from the village turned to Christ, CBN News said.

Hoy’s first project in Romania was in Tileagd village where he helped to set up a school, a neighborhood store and a church where many gypsies received Jesus, CBN News said.

Preaching without words

Hoy says in Romania the gospel is best shared without talking. He told CBN News, “In an educated society preaching the word is fundamental. But many of the people we are dealing with here are uneducated. We could talk to them all day long and they would not be able to grasp what we are trying to say. Practical evidence of God’s love is what the people need.”

Gypsies are usually Orthodox or Catholic, depending on which country they are born in. However, they don’t practice their faith. Pentecostals and evangelicals are making great inroads as a result, Christianity Today said.

Thomas Acton of the University of Greenwich in the U.K. specializes in Romani studies. He told Christianity Today that gypsies have “nativized” the gospel. “It’s not a foreign ideology; it’s the gospel that has taken on Romani colors. When you hear [a] Romani translation of the Bible, it sounds like it was written yesterday.”

China blocked recently over 230 Chinese Christian delegates from joining a major evangelical conference that is slated to be held in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Chinese delegates were expecting to attend the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, also called Cape Town 2010, which is slated for Oct. 16-25. However, the Chinese government leveled pressure on the delegates so they could not leave, CBN News said.

A number of delegates who went to the airport were blocked, and their visas and passports were confiscated. One delegate has been detained, and four delegates are being confined in their homes, according to NPR.

One church in Changsha, Hunan was told they could no longer meet because of Lausanne, and church members were threatened with arrest. Over the past months, officials had warned most of the invited pastors to shun the conference, which they said was anti-China, NPR reported.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu, in a statement to NPR said the organizers of Lausanne did not send an official invitation to Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the official China church, which is controlled by the state.

Ma accused the organizers of secretly communicating with China’s private churches. In the NPR statement he said, “This act has openly challenged China’s principle of an independent, autonomous, self-governing church. It is a flagrant interference in China’s religious affairs.”

Doug Birdsall, executive chair of Lausanne, expressed to CBN News deep sadness about the situation in China adding, “Probably it (the China group) was the most thoroughly carefully selected group in all the world. We were looking forward to featuring what God has been doing among them in their country for the last 40 years. But they are not going to be there, and so we are just praying and trusting God’s sovereignty that whether they are here or not here that God will speak to them and through them and that they will be a blessing to the global church.”

Abraham Liu Guan, a church elder, told NPR in a phone interview that authorities had ordered him not to speak to them. He said, “The border defense people said they’d received a notice from the State Administration for Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security. It said our participation in this meeting threatened state security, and they should not let us pass customs.”

Fan Yafeng, a leader of the Chinese Christian Legal Defense Association, also said authorities warned him not to speak to foreign media about Lausanne. By then, however, he had already spoken to another NPR, Christian Newswire said.

Fan said that persecution of house church Christians who were invited to the congress has increased. In his case, 20 police officers are restraining him from leaving home, Christian Newswire said.

Christianity outside the official government church has been booming in China, with believers worshiping openly as authorities often turned a blind eye (see http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/07/china%E2%80%99s-christians-increase-amid-spiritual-vacuum-13035).

Just the fact that China’s underground Christians could meet, select delegates and raise over $1 million for their travel costs was unthinkable a decade ago. However, Beijing seems to be disturbed with Christianity’s tremendous growth in China, NPR said.

Rev. Ezra Jin of Beijing’s Zion Church told NPR the current wave of persecution will not affect the larger trend. “I think Lausanne could play a positive role for Chinese Christians. For a short time there might be pressure, or there might be a price to pay. But that will pass quickly.”

However, there is concern that this may just be the start of a new wave of persecution against underground churches in China. If so, this would clearly dispute the claim of Beijing that religious freedom is permitted in China, NPR reported.

A group of Christian leaders came together recently at Washington D.C. to discuss a phenomenon occurring in American life in the 21^st century–America’s distancing itself from its Christian foundation.

At the conference, “Being a Christian in a Post-Christian Culture,” held last Sept. 17-18 by Ligonier Ministries, Christian leaders were able to analyze what others call the “anti-Christian” phenomenon that is taking place, CBN News said.

Author and speaker R.C. Sproul Jr., said at the conference that there is no contradiction in being proud of both your Christianity and of being an American, CBN News reported.

Sproul told CBN News, “It was very easy for Christians to confuse their faith in Christ with what it meant to be an American. But as the American culture sinks deeper and deeper into unbelief, the Christian is much better equipped to say ‘that’s not us.’”

Robert Godfrey, Westminster Seminary California president said that choosing Christ over the current decaying U.S. culture can actually make Christians into better Americans, CBN News said.

Godfrey said, “We have to understand Christ’s call upon us in order to understand how our secondary responsibility to function as faithful American citizens can be fulfilled,” according to CBN News.

Faith leaders also pointed out at the conference that the answer did not lie in educating oneself to the point of being more knowledgeable than most others. Rather, the Christian culture is won back by letting Christ into one’s heart before one can hope to bring Christ to others, CBN News reported.

Sproul noted that the bible never pinpointed stupidity as the main failure of man. Instead, the bible said “that our problem is that we’re wicked.” Sproul said the problem of wickedness in man is not resolved by reading more books, studying more or by establishing programs, CBN News said.

Instead, Sproul said, “We need to be worried and concerned about how our hearts are, and that influences and interacts with how our minds think as well,” CBN News reported.

Pastor Burk Parsons, who chose to become a minister rather than join the world of fame and fortune through an invitation to join the singing group, Backstreet Boys, said that Christians can only win souls and the hearts of society if they first surrender to Jesus Christ, CBN News said.

Parsons said that Jesus never asked Christians to plan “gimmicks and methods” to build his church.  Instead Jesus said, “I will build my church,” CBN News reported.

Parsons pointed out that Jesus promised that he would be the one to draw people to himself, and make them able to withstand anything, even death, that may come against them, CBN News said.

Corbin Bernsen, formerly of L.A. Law and currently with the USA Network’s TV show Psych, will be releasing a Christian film on DVD next month.

Bernsen, who produced, directed, wrote and acted in the faith film called “Rust,” told CBN News that the film in many ways reflects his personal journey and rediscovery of God. “Rust” will be released on October 5.

Christianbook.com says “Rust” is about a former minister, Jimmy Moore, who undergoes a crisis of faith. He goes back to his small hometown and discovers that it had just undergone an extreme tragedy. The website says the movie as a “unique story of friendship and calling,” and a “mystery that will leave you seeking the power of grace, the beauty in sacrifice, and the hope of faith renewed.”

Bernsen told CBN News that in writing “Rust” he was thinking about a midlife crisis that involved more than marriage, but focused on a parting of ways with God after having worked in ministry for one’s entire adult life.

“I wanted to create that story here with a guy who’s faced with this or a similar situation, but instead of a wife, he’s married his life to the service of God in Christ, and he needs to get on the road back to it,” Bernsen told CBN News.

In the film the main character says leaving God is “one heck of a messy divorce.” Bernsen told CBN News, “You can walk away from a wife and three kids, and I suppose you might find somebody new and create a new family and new experiences and at least have the surface appearance of ‘it’s all worked out OK.’ (But) when you walk away from God and you walk away from Christ, you’re basically uprooting the very foundations of being.”

Bernsen told CBN News that he personally started his journey back to God when his father died, and he held his ashes in a velvet bag. It was difficult for him to think of his father as just ash and bone, and so questions of heaven and of God came to mind.

He said that children have an innate notion of God and Christ, but unless they are educated about it, it remains simply a feeling. He told CBN News, “Either we forget about it over time, or we’re scared away from it.”

In “Rust” Bernsen also tackles the issue of the role that pain and suffering plays in life. Referring to the characters in the movie he told CBN News, “With that family there was a pain and a suffering, but look what came back and what James has become. What influence, because he’s restored his faith, could he have on the world? We don’t know what the plan is. We just have to have faith in the plan.”

Best selling author Peter Marshall, 70, head of Peter Marshall Ministries, passed away on Sept. 10, two days after he had experienced a heart attack while in a gym in Orleans, Massachusetts.

Marshall co-authored three best-selling books, all about U.S. History. “The Light and the Glor”y became a Christian classic and talks about God’s hand in American history. Its latest, revised edition included more information about the Lost Colony of Roanoke, George Washington’s Christian faith, the Jamestown Colony and Christian evangelical Samuel Adams, among others, his website said.

His second bestseller, “From Sea to Shining Sea” talked of the framing of the 1787 Constitution, and examines God’s work in the Second Great Awakening as pioneers came to the west, his website noted.

Marshall’s third book, “Sounding Forth the Trumpet” focuses on the years 1837 to 1860, and depicts parallels between America’s history of slavery and abortion today. This book has been cited as Marshall and Manuel’s best works, according to his website.

A Presbyterian minister, Marshall became known nationwide for his work as a preacher, teacher and writer who averred that the U.S. had lost the initial vision of its founding fathers and needs to get back on track, his website says.

Marshall, in his work as a preacher and speaker in venues throughout the country had always focused on the need to implement 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land,” according to his website.

Marshall graduated from Yale University and Princeton Theological Seminary in 1965, and had worked as a pastor in Massachusetts and Connecticut for 12 years. He focused much of his life work to restore and retain the Christian and biblical heritage of the country, CBN News said.

His father, the senior Peter Marshall, was twice Senate Chaplain. His mother, Catherine, wrote the best-selling novel Christy. Marshall leaves behind three children and three grandchildren, CBN News said.

Every Friday, certain streets in Paris are blocked with barriers to accommodate an enormous crowd of Muslims, many of them from faraway parts of the city.

They pray and worship on the public streets, protected by their own private security, CBN Paris said.

During the prayers those who live within the district cannot go outside of their homes, and those who are on their way home can’t pass through the streets during the Moslem prayer time. This is done with no authorization by the police. And although it is illegal, the local police are under orders not to interfere, according to CBN Paris.

One French citizen used a hidden camera to film the scene, which was uploaded on YouTube. As a result he has been receiving death threats, and now goes by the pseudonym, Maxime Lepante, CBN Paris reported.

Privileged treatment

Lepante told CBN Paris that Christians would never be able to get such privileged treatment because of the French Laicite`, or secularism law. This law says people can share their religion, but they must practice it either at their homes, churches, synagogues or mosques.

Lepante believes the weekly show is a power move. He told CBN Paris, “They are coming there to show that they can take over some French streets to show that they can conquer a part of the French territory.”

Is there a possibility that France may have to deal with Islamic, Sharia law somewhere in the future? As of now there are no definite statistics because in France population counts by religion are illegal. However, it is said that 10 percent of the French population is Muslim, CBN Paris reported.

However, the Muslim birthrate is far higher than that of the native French, particularly because their faith allows up to four wives, each of whom likely have children and are entitled to welfare, CBN Paris said.

Radu Stoenescu, an Islamic expert, said the issue of Islam is not so much a matter of numbers as it is a question of whether this is a mere creed or an ideology. He told CBN Paris, “The problem is the people who follow Islam; they’re somehow in a political party, which has a political agenda, which means basically implementing Sharia and building an Islamic state.”

Some ordinary French people are responding on their own towards what they perceive to be the increasing Islamization of France. They have responded with pork and wine cocktail parties in the streets and patriotic demonstrations, CBN Paris reported.

Are some French government officials in denial? Why does the local Paris police not implement Laicite` every Friday? Factions in the French government have yet to arrive at a decision regarding banning the burqa, which the French parliament will debate this month, CBN Paris said.

Jean Robin published the book, The Mosque of Notre Dame 2048 which became a bestseller in Russia, but was ignored in France. The fictional book was about France becoming an Islamic nation.

Robin said France ignored the book because it was politically incorrect, and it is only recently that it was socially acceptable to criticize Islam in France. Robin told CBN News, “We were expecting Islam to adapt to France, [but] it is France adapting to Islam.”

The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, which millions of Christians believe is where Jesus was buried and rose from the dead, is in danger of being damaged by the expansion of a Muslim cemetery which is being built above the tomb. At the same time Golgotha, which many believe is the site where Jesus was crucified, may be covered by a minaret.

Garden Tomb director Richard Meryon said a 15-foot wall is being built above the tomb by the Islamic waqf which will involve pouring down hundreds of tons of concrete to expand a Muslim cemetery, CBN News said.

Meryon is concerned that with the number of Christians who visit the Tomb daily, in case of heavy rain, snow or tremors the wall could collapse killing up to 200 pilgrims and tourists. He also said the wall lacks a city permit and breaches three district building codes, CBN News reported.

By law any new structure should be built three feet away from an existing one, unless permission is granted, something the builders never requested of Meryon. “We have been in active discussion and I am now negotiating with them,” Meryon told CBN. “I cannot allow them to build this wall until they prove to me beyond all reasonable doubt that this wall is going to be safe.”

The Muslim cemetery’s spokesman admitted they have no license, but said wall is safe. A spokesman of the mayor’s office said they will check to see if the edifice is legal so that tourists can continue to come to Jerusalem, CBN News reported.

Over 250,000 Christians come to Jerusalem to see the Garden Tomb annually, one of two sites where it is believed that Jesus was buried and later resurrected. The other site, the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is recognized by Syrian, Coptic, Abyssinian and Coptic Orthodox churches and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Garden Tomb is recognized by Protestants, Anglicans and others. Discovered in 1867, the site is consistent with biblical accounts that Jesus was crucified in Golgotha outside Jerusalem (Golgotha is beside the Garden Tomb) near a gate (the Garden Tomb is near the Damascus Gate) of the city and along a major thoroughfare, the Garden Tomb website said.

The bible also mentions a garden with a tomb inside, near the crucifixion site. The bible said the tomb, which was cut out of rock, belonged to the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea. It had a weeping chamber, burial chamber and was sealed with a rolling stone, plus a low doorway, a description that matches the Garden Tomb, according to the website.

Excavations also revealed a large cistern to irrigate a large garden, which indicated the site had belonged to a wealthy man. A wine press was also discovered that is believed to be from the late Second Temple Period, the website said.

Minaret over Golgotha

Meryon also reported diggings on top of Golgotha where many believe Jesus was crucified. “Golgotha is mentioned in John 19, where Jesus was led outside the city walls… into a place called Golgotha,” Meryon said to CBN News.

Meryon said that there has been a lot of dirt being laid above the rock of Golgotha. “I’ve known for some weeks that they were thinking of building a minaret up there,” Meryon told CBN News. “This is a very important Christian holy site, and we just want to live here in peace and provide this amazing opportunity for Christians all around the world to come here and continue to worship and be exposed to the gospel.”

Born Again, the latest album of the Newsboys, has made it to No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 200, and ranked No. 3 on CCM Soundscan for 2010.

Upon its release on July 13, Born Again landed No. 4 on Billboard’s Overall Chart in its first week with 45,311 units sold. This placed it above new releases from M.I.A. and Sting, among others. Born Again also made it to Top 4 with iTunes’ Overall Chart, CBN News said.

The album, which is the band’s 15^th release, is produced by Inpop Records. It includes seven new songs co-written by new member and Grammy winner Michael Tait formerly of dc Talk. Potential hits include ‘On Your Knees,’ ‘Way Beyond Myself’ and ‘Build us Back,’ Canadian Christianity said.

Andrew Patton, general manager of Inpop Records cited the overwhelming support of radio stations, media outlets, retail and fans as some reasons behind the album’s outstanding sales on its first week of release, CBN News said.

Patton noted, “The record-setting number of sales today reflect the dedication and hard work of Newsboys to create another groundbreaking musical creation. The amazing support of Christian radio stations, festival promoters, our hard-working Inpop staff, and our partners at EMI CMG distribution have all earned our thanks today,” CBN News said.

Newsboys has throughout its long career done very well with Grammy nominations, Dove Awards, and some 6.5 million units sold, with 26 No. 1 hit songs and five Gold albums. They are particularly known for their live, foot-stomping performances, CBN News said.