The Rev. Billy Graham was released from hospital Tuesday after spending six days recovering from pneumonia, his second bout with the lung infection in the past seven months.

Doctors decided to let the 93-year-old evangelist go home after he responded well to antibiotics and physical therapy to increase his strength, said Nancy Lindell, a spokeswoman for Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C.

Graham said he was grateful for the thoughts and prayers from around the world, according to a statement released by the hospital.

“I also appreciated the wonderful treatment I received here from such caring doctors and nurses, and feel I have made some new friends,” Graham said. “But I am especially looking forward to seeing my home decorated for Christmas and spending the holidays with members of my family.”

Graham was admitted Nov. 30 after suffering from congestion, a cough and slight fever. He was diagnosed with pneumonia.

He spent five days at the hospital with the same ailment in May. In October 2008, Graham was hospitalized after he tripped and fell over one of his dogs. Earlier that same year, he had elective surgery on a shunt that controls excess fluid on his brain. The shunt was first installed in 2000 and drains fluid through a small tube, relieving excess pressure that can cause symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease.

Graham has also suffered from prostate cancer and was hospitalized in 2007 for nearly two weeks after experiencing intestinal bleeding. His wife, Ruth Bell Graham, died in June 2007.

The evangelist has led a worldwide ministry that packed stadiums with believers and has counseled every U.S. president since Harry Truman. He published his most recent book, “Nearing Home,” last month and plans to continue writing his next book, which he said will summarize his six decades of work.

Graham rarely appears in public now. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is run by Graham’s son, Franklin.

Doctors used the six-day hospital stay for routine tests on Graham that he had already scheduled. They sent him home with orders to continue his therapy to increase his strength and mobility.

“We are gratified that he has had a good response to treatment and we’re committed to good home care to continue his improvement,” said Dr. Lucian Rice, Graham’s personal physician.

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A Christian human rights group is seeking justice on behalf of an Ethiopian Christian evangelist who was beaten to death and his pregnant wife who was injured and left unconscious by a group of Muslim attackers.

International Christian Concern asked government officials in Ethiopia to arrest and prosecute the murderers of Abraham Abera. The group of men also beat and injured Abera’s pregnant wife, Birtukan, whom they left unconscious on the road, OneNewsNow said.

Birtukan, who was hospitalized, said when she regained consciousness that she knew two of the assailants, OneNewsNow said. The incident occurred in south-central Worabe, an Ethiopian village with a 97 percent Muslim-majority population, according to Worthy News.

Jonathan Racho, ICC regional manager of Africa, said it is possible that the attackers will not face prosecution. He told OneNewsNow, “Most of the local officials in the area are Muslims, and we are afraid that they may not bring any charges against the attackers.”

Racho also expressed concern about growing radicalization of Muslims in the area. “Most of the time, the moderate Muslims in Ethiopia are more violent, and they entice them to kill Christians [and] destroy churches. In Ethiopia, we have seen the recent radicalization of the Muslims,” OneNewsNow reported.

Lured from home

The incident occurred when a group of Muslims lured Abera and his wife Birtukan away from Kale Hiwot Church, which is both the ministry and home of the Christians. Abera was told that a friend of theirs was ill and needed help badly, Worthy News said.

Once Abera and Birtukan were out of range of the church, the men began to beat the male evangelist to death with rods. They told the couple that the Christian population is growing in the area, and because of this, believers will be destroyed, OneNewsNow said.

When Birtukan tried to intervene they attacked her and inflicted her with an acute head injury which rendered her unconscious on the street. She was left alone on the road, Worthy News reported.

Others found Birtukan and brought her to a hospital in Butajira, a nearby town. When she regained consciousness she recalled the details of the attack and said she could identify two of the assailants, OneNewsNow reported.

Birtukan recalled being told by the attackers, “You [Christians] are growing in number in our area. You are spreading your message [the gospel]. We will destroy you,” according to Worthy News.

Birtukan also sustained injuries to her midsection. However, she was told by hospital medics that her baby will survive, according to Worthy News.

A Christian leader (unidentified) told Worthy News, “Christians in Worabe and its surrounding areas are persecuted at the hands of Muslim radicals, and the local government officials, who are Muslims, don’t protect Christians. We urge the higher government authorities [state and federal officials] to intervene and protect us.”

Racho of the ICC told Worthy News, “The brutal killing of Evangelist Abraham and the beating of his wife, Birtukan, is deeply troubling. We urge the federal government authorities to investigate this latest attack as well as reports of persecution against Christians in the Silte zone, [where Worabe is located].”

Racho also is asking Christians around the world to contact the Ethiopian embassy within their vicinity and to urge officials to prosecute the assailants and render justice for Abera and Birtukan, according to OneNewsNow.

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An evangelical pastor in Pakistan is recovering slowly from wounds he received after Muslim extremists set him on fire in Punjab last month, because they were angry at him for preaching the gospel.

Pastor Wilson Augustine, 26, was going from door to door in his neighborhood on the outskirts of Saraghoda handing out pamphlets, BosNewsLife said. Six Muslim brothers from Village 96-NB read the pamphlet and became enraged at a portion that spoke of Jesus’ resurrection.

They told Augustine that the pamphlet insulted the prophet Muhammad and ordered him to leave the village, threatening “dire consequences” if he continued to preach in the area, BosNewsLife reported.

Augustine left, but went to neighboring villages to evangelize, then preached in a small church. That night, as he waited at the bus stop to go home, men on three motorcycles flashed their headlights into his eyes and roared their engines, BosNewsLife said.

Augustine recognized their voices as the six brothers who threatened him earlier that day. They assaulted him with belts and clubs, doused him in liquid, lit a match and set him aflame, BosNewsLife reported.

Augustine’s body was found by Christians the next day among the bushes, where he fell unconscious. He was swathed in dried blood and his clothes were shred. They took him to the burn unit of a hospital, BosNewsLife reported. He was released after four days and continues to recover.

Police hesitate to file a report

When Augustine’s father reported the attack to the police, they hesitated to file a report saying the father of the six attackers was a powerful and wealthy man, BosNewsLife said.

The police only filed the case after local church leaders and a politician exerted pressure on the registrar, BosNewsLife reported. However, they would not place the names of the six men on the report, saying Augustine may have mistaken their identities as it was dark.

Similar attacks have occurred in Punjab in the past against Christians. Earlier this year Arshed Masih was burned to death by Muslim extremists in front of a police station. Afterwards, the police raped Masih’s wife, Martha, BosNewsLife reported.

The attacks drew international condemnation, even as rights groups continue to call on the Pakistani government to protect the rights of Christians in the country, BosNewsLife said.

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An evangelist peacefully passed out Bibles in the Twin Cities Pride Festival in Minneapolis without incident, the Associated Press said.

Brian Johnson of Hayward, Wis., handed out Bibles in the weekend Twin Cities Pride Festival after U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ruled in his favor against festival organizers, the AP said.

The organizers wanted a temporary restraining order against Johnson. However, Tunheim said Loring Park, where the festival was held, is a public forum and upheld Johnson’s free-speech rights, the AP said.

A Pride organizer said they will try to legally bar Johnson, who for several years kept a booth in the festival, from attending future Pride events. Last year Johnson’s application for a booth was denied, the AP said.

Last Saturday Johnson handed out Bibles during the event with no untoward incident. An organizer said that he was ignored by most of those who came, the AP said.

The Twin Cities Pride Festival culminated in a parade on Sunday where nearly half a million people attended, many with their young children, Kare11 said.

Johnson’s attorney, Nathan Kellum of the Alliance Defense Fund said that while Johnson does not perceive himself to be an anti-gay activist, he does see himself as an evangelist, the AP said.

Tunheim suggested during his ruling that Twin Cities Pride could assign “free speech zones” for those who would like to hand out flyers or exhibit signs in the festival, the AP said.

However, both Pride festival organizers and Johnson felt that the arrangement would be unsuitable. Johnson said that a neutral zone would hinder him from reaching those whom he was targeting, the AP said.

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President Barack Obama made a pilgrimage to pray with Billy Graham, the American preacher who harnessed the media and made Christian evangelism a global phenomenon, recently.

Evangelist Billy Graham in 1966. Graham has met with every U.S. president since Harry Truman.

Obama rode in his motorcade to Graham’s mountainside log cabin in Montreat, which is near Asheville, N.C., upon the conclusion of his North Carolina vacation with his wife, Michele, and friends.

It was Obama’s first meeting with the ailing evangelist who has counseled commanders in chief since Dwight Eisenhower.

This makes Obama, 48, the 12th president of the United States to meet with the 91-year-old Graham.

He is also the first head of state to call on the famed evangelist, who is ailing, at the latter’s mountaintop home.

The visit lasted about 30 minutes and included aides and advisers to both men.  Obama had a private prayer and conversation with Billy Graham.

Graham gave Obama two Bibles, one for him and one for the first lady, according to the Associated Press.

The AP report said the older Graham and Obama did most of the talking. They reminisced about their roots in Chicago, where Graham attended college  and began some of his ministry in the region.

Obama moved to Chicago after college and began his political career there.  They also talked about golf.

When the president got ready to leave, the two ended in prayer, according to the AP. The elder Graham prayed for the nation and asked God to give Obama wisdom in his decisions.

The president prayerfully thanked God for Billy Graham’s life, Franklin Graham told the AP.

Obama confided, like other presidents before him, how lonely, demanding and humbling the presidency can be, according to Larry Ross, presidential spokesman.

“That is a discussion that Mr. Graham has had with previous presidents who realize not only the demands but the loneliness of the job. And they’re humbled by that,” Ross said.

“The only way one can do [the job] properly is to draw on spiritual resources,” the AP reported.

The president also spoke to Graham’s son Franklin, also an evangelist.  The Army cancelled an appearance of the younger Graham to pray at the Pentagon for National Prayer Day a few days before.

Billy Graham has met with every president since Harry Truman.  Eisenhower once mused about recruiting Graham as a speechwriter, and the two often read the Bible together.  John F. Kennedy played golf with Graham in Palm Beach.

Graham ministered many times to Lyndon Johnson.  With Nixon, Graham conducted regular worship in the White House.

Gerald Ford played golf with him, Graham visited the Carters in the White House, and with Reagan they had a relationship that spanned 50 years.

George H. Bush vacationed with Graham half a dozen times, and Graham counseled Bill and Hillary in the White House. George W. Bush credits Graham for his spiritual rebirth.

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