AP

CHRISTIANS KILLED DURING 2024 CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS.
NIGERIA: A horrific event took place at the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), 22 miles from the Nigerian city of Jos, when14 people were slain by armed men. According to persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC), entire families were callously killed, including a 1-year-old baby and a pregnant woman.
The situation in Nigeria remains dangerous for Christians. Overall, more than 16,000 Christians were reportedly killed in Nigeria between 2019 and 2023 based on data by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa. Persecution trackers have extensively documented the severity of the issue. Open Doors’ World Watch List 2024 placed Nigeria in the sixth spot in its rankings of nations where anti-Christian persecution and discrimination are the worst. A line from a press release announcing the results read, “More than 82% of Christians killed across the globe for faith reasons were in Nigeria.”

PAKISTAN: Three Christians were shot and wounded in a Christmas Day gun attack on the home of a pastor and televangelist in Lahore, Pakistan, sources said. Following a Christmas Eve confrontation in which Pastor Shahzad Siddique tried to stop Muslims from harassing guests, more than a dozen gunmen the next day opened fire on Christians at a gathering outside his home in Lahore’s Maryam Colony, said Siddique, a Pentecostal preacher on satellite television channel Praise TV: “I had just returned home from my church and was resting when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire outside my house.”
Two of the three injured male church members were out of danger, but the third Christian remained in serious condition with a wounded abdomen. Police have arrested five suspects and were raiding sites to apprehend other assailants, he said. Joseph Jansen of the rights group Voice for Justice termed the attack on Pastor Siddique’s home as “deeply troubling and unacceptable”. Jansen said. “The government of Pakistan must act decisively to hold accountable those inciting such hatred and attacking individuals and places of worship.” Jansen expressed concern over a persistent culture of impunity in Pakistan that leaves religious minorities in constant fear of violence.

PUBERTY BLOCKERS FOR TRANS YOUTHS ARE BANNED INDEFINITELY.
UNITED KINGDOM  – The British government has banned indefinitely the use of puberty blockers for children under the age of 18 because they pose “an unacceptable safety risk’’. The ban will apply to England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and also makes it an offence for doctors outside of the United Kingdom to prescribe the blockers for British children suffering gender dysphoria.  Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the ban following the investigations by an independent body made up of leading clinicians and epidemiologists which advises on medicine safety. “After thoroughly examining all the available evidence, they have concluded that prescribing puberty blockers to children for the purposes of gender dysphoria in the current prescribing environment represents, and I quote, ‘an unacceptable safety risk’.”
There are those who claim that this decision was discriminatory, but the decision was widely lauded among prominent gender-critical voices. Feminist campaigner Helen Joyce hailed the move as another step towards puberty blockers being relegated to “a shameful chapter of history”, in which parents and health professionals were emotionally blackmailed into harming children in the name of ‘progress’.
However, the Health Secretary went on to announce that the British National Health Scheme (NHS) would be soon conducting a medical trial involving puberty blockers. In response, the Family Education Trust said the trial is morally wrong. “We will not stop pointing out that using vulnerable children as guinea pigs for drugs that are already known to cause irreversible harm is morally wrong.” Christian Concern, the UK organization that provides legal support to Christians who face prosecution for their Christian beliefs and lifestyle has stated:”Christians must continue to oppose all use of puberty blockers for the purpose of facilitating deception as to a child’s sex. It is good enough for every child that we are all created male or female. Healthcare should be fitting with this reality and not allow any loopholes to oppose it.”
The answer in this whole issue is not puberty blockers and invasive surgery, but the Church being serious about proclaiming the Gospel and standing firm on Biblical truths. As Andrew Walker writes in his article ‘The Christian Response to Gender Dysphoria’: “ Our desires, perceptions, and bodies all testify to the disorder of a sin-ravaged creation. The good news for people (suffering from gender dysphoria), as for each one of us, is that the broken bodies we live in all need redemption (Rom. 8:18–25). And in Jesus Christ, all things are promised to be made new (Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:5). While Christianity doesn’t guarantee total relief in this life, it does guarantee future resurrection from our desires, perceptions, and bodies that are subject to decay and death (1 Cor. 15:50–56). Because our biological sex doesn’t lie, and because our minds are susceptible to confusion, repentance and sanctification for the dysphoric individual involves the long work of bringing their perceived gender identity back into conformity with their biological sex. A person may never fully arrive at peace, but putting on the new self, remade in Jesus Christ, means embracing and trusting God’s authority over every facet of our existence (Col. 3:1–11).” [Sources: Christian Post, Christian Concern Website and The Gospel Coalition]

DISCOVERY SHINES LIGHT ON CHRISTIANITY IN EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE
Investigators have discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old silver amulet attached to a necklace around the neck of a skeleton buried in Frankfurt, Germany, possibly highlighting the early presence of Christianity in the Roman Empire. At just 1.4 inches long, the amulet contains an ultra-thin sheet of silver foil tightly rolled up. Using CT scan technology to create a 3D rendering of the amulet, the silver sheet reads: “ (In the name?) of Saint Titus. Holy, holy, holy! In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God! The Lord of the world resists with [strengths?] all attacks (?)/setbacks(?). The God(?) grants entry to well-being. May this means of salvation(?) protect the man who surrenders himself to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, since before Jesus Christ every knee bows: those in heaven, those on earth and those under the earth, and every tongue confesses (Jesus Christ).”
Tine Rassalle, a biblical archeologist states: “The discovery of this amulet in Germany suggests that Christian ideas had already begun to penetrate areas far from Christianity’s early centres of growth.” The discovery is certainly noteworthy, as the practice of Christianity in the early Roman Empire — during the reign of Emperor Nero, who persecuted Christians — was not safe. Even more fascinating is the fact that the necklace mentions no other faiths; it is exclusively Christian. Rassalle said, “What makes this particular example remarkable is that it is written entirely in Latin and exclusively invokes Jesus Christ and the Christian God.” The amulet also featured specific Christian phrases — like “Holy, holy, holy,” which was not known in Christendom until the fourth century — as well as a quote from the Apostle Paul’s biblical book of Philippians.  [Source: NBN News]

 – compiled by Guido Kettniss