Freedom of religion?

May 4, 2021 by Andrew Symes

A selection of recent articles on the persecuted church worldwide:

Has Global Religious Freedom Seen Its Best Days? by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, The Gospel Coalition

Death toll escalates among Nigerian Christians, by Sebastian Millbank, The Tablet

Suspected jihadists kill 15 Christians at baptism, by Jennifer Lee, Christian Today. “Burkina Faso, once seen as a harmonious nation of religious tolerance, has been infiltrated by jihadist and militia groups known to commit grave acts of violence and human rights violations,” International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

China’s open season on Christians (with the blessing of the West), by Karen Harradine, The Conservative Woman

Biden recognises atrocities against Armenian Christians as genocide, from Premier

Eritrea releases 14 Christians after four years in prison [but many hundreds more remain incarcerated under one of the most repressive regimes in the world], from Barnabas Fund

Government asked about progress in supporting persecuted Christians around the world, by Cara Bentley, Premier

“Hatred, Enmity, Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide”: The Persecution of Christians, March 2021, by Raymond Ibrahim, Gatestone Institute

North Korean Christians endure another year of worship to country’s ‘living god’ on founder’s birthday, from Premier

Bishop Azad Marshall (Lahore) demands fair probe into blasphemy charge against Faisalabad nurses, from Pakistan Today

And some recent examples of less serious but nevertheless concerning restrictions on Christianity in the West:

School chaplain Bernard Randall:

Sermon which cost school chaplain his job, from Christian Concern

Fury as ‘pointless’ Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby turns his back on chaplain, by Mark Hookham and Brendan Carlin, Mail on Sunday

Letter in Church Times (May 21) about Dr Bernard Randall from the Ven Norman Russell: “What needs to be added to LLF resources is a biblical analysis of Critical Theory with respect to gender and identity.”

By sacking its Chaplain, Trent College, Nottingham, rejects fundamental British values, by Archbishop Cranmer

Does the Church of England deserve to survive? by Ian Paul, Psephizo

Street preaching: Pastor John Sherwood:

Quick, hide your Bibles! by Lois McLatchie, The Critic: “…police in Uxbridge forcefully handcuffed, arrested, and detained a 71-year-old grandfather. Phew. He might have offended someone… local authorities reached the bottom of the barrel on what they could censor him for: the apparent use of “abusive words” that is likely to cause “harassment, alarm or distress”, under the infamous Public Order Act.

Why are the police handcuffing street preachers? by Paul Coleman, spiked

This disgraceful arrest: Sign the petition to clear Pastor Sherwood, from The Conservative Woman

We don’t need to be street preachers, or like their message, to be disturbed by this by Stephen Kneale

The arrest of another Christian street preacher could prove costly for the Met, by Julian Mann, Christian Today

Marched off to the cells for preaching God’s word, by Peter Simpson, The Conservative Woman

Finland: Päivi Räsänen

Christian MP faces 6 years in prison for tweeting Bible verses on marriage, sexuality, by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post

Finland Persecutes Christian Lawmaker, by Rod Dreher, The American Conservative

Law professors condemn Finland’s prosecution of Christian MP over sexuality views, from Christian Today

European Evangelical Alliance sends letter to Finnish government expressing “dismay” over Päivi Räsänen case, from Evangelical Focus

An open letter to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on the prosecution of Dr Päivi Räsänen. By Martin Davie: “Dear Archbishop Justin and Archbishop Stephen, I am writing to you about the case of the Finnish Christian member of Parliament Dr Päivi Räsänen who is being prosecuted by the authorities in Finland for publicly upholding traditional Christian teaching on sexual ethics…”

and the follow up:

“Why the silence, Archbishops?” by Martin Davie

also:

Church sues multimillion pound Trust for religious discrimination [organisation in Scotland bans church from using their building], from The Christian Institute

Social media promises equality and diversity – except for Christians, by David Robertson, Christian Today