Should prayer be allowed at a high school graduation? A valedictorian named Eric Workman doesn't think so, he says the prayer and the vote at Greenwood High School unconstitutionally subject religious practice to majority rule.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in our comments.

Related stories:

Valedictorian Sues to Stop High School Graduation Prayer

Greenwood High School faces suit over prayer

Yesterday Hillary Clinton shared about the recent United State Department's 2009 annual rights reports.  Since Christians are persecuted around the world, and their religious freedom is violated, I wanted you to take a few minutes to listen to Secretary of State Clinton's speech and read this article about some of the findings.

A third trend we observed is the continuing and escalating discrimination and persecution of members of vulnerable groups – often racial, religious, or ethnic minorities, but also women, members of indigenous communities, children, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups that lack the political power in their societies to defend their own interests.

On Jan. 22, two church buildings under construction in North Sumatra, Indonesia, were burned by suspected Islamic extremists, according to Compass Direct News.

“The attackers came from outside the area to burn the partially constructed buildings of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church (HKBP) and the Pentecostal Church in Sibuhuan village, Padang Lawas Residency, during daylight hours,” Rev. Lubis of the HKBP church told Compass. “Hundreds of people arrived on motorcycles and burned the empty church.” Extremists also burned an empty Pentecostal church.

Praise God none of the believers were injured in the fires. Church leaders reported that many believers in the area have fled, fearing for their safety. The Voice of the Martyrs supports and encourages Indonesian believers in a variety of ways, including through the distribution of Christian literature. Praise God for the unwavering faith of these Indonesian believers.

Earlier this week Chuck Colson from Breakpoint  offered up an interesting commentary about Gay Marriage versus Religious Freedom.  Click here to listen to this interesting commentary.

Here's part to whet your appetite...

Catholic Charities in Washington, D.C., has announced changes to its employees’ health care benefits. Normally, this wouldn’t be big news. But this story isn’t only about deductibles and co-pays—it’s about the increasingly fragile state of religious freedom in the America.

Employees were told that starting March 2, Catholic Charities would “not offer benefits to spouses of new employees or to spouses of current employees not already enrolled” in the health plan. Spouses currently covered under the plan would still be covered.

The timing of the changes wasn’t a coincidence. On March 3, same-sex “marriage” became legal in the District of Columbia. In connection with the new law, the D.C. Council insisted that, as a city contractor, Catholic Charities had to offer the same benefits to same-sex couples that it did to heterosexual ones.

In other words, Catholic Charities had to choose between church teaching and ministering to the city’s neediest residents.

...

What do you think? Should a charity that is religious in its origin have to deny its origin or religious convictions if laws violate their morality?  Please comment below.

Yesterday we posted a similar story from Compass Direct, and we pulled it because this story is more accurate from Mission Network News.  Thank you for reading our blog again today.

Pakistan (MNN) ― World Vision is mourning the brutal and senseless deaths of six of their staff members in the Mansehra District of Pakistan after an unprovoked attack by gunmen.

The international humanitarian organization confirms reports that gunmen entered its compound, threw grenades, opened fire on staff inside its office, and left the compound after letting a self-made bomb explode. The compound is located 65 kilometers north of Mansehra town.

World Vision's Dean Owen says six Pakistani staff members were killed and eight injured. "There were somewhere between 15 and 20 individuals who broke into our compound. They shot up the staff and robbed the staff of jewelry, money, computers, and phones. World Vision typically loses one staff member a year to violence; never, ever in our 60 year history have we lost six in one day."

So far, nobody has claimed responsibility, says Owen. "We really cannot speculate as to whether this was an attack because of the nature of our work, because of our faith -- we're just not really sure. But this is a devastating blow to our organization globally."

Owen says, of those who were killed in the attacks, all were Muslims. "In some countries where we work, there are no Christians to hire." So they hire Muslims to help them do the relief work--Muslims who fully understand that World Vision is a Christian organization.

All of World Vision's Pakistan work has temporarily suspended. "We will be conducting a thorough and extensive review of our security measures, and if need be, strengthen our security efforts," says Owen.

In addition to those killed, 8 employees are hospitalized with injuries. Four of them were released from the hospital, while the other 4 remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

No threatening letters were received prior to the attack. World Vision's relief and development work in Pakistan is conducted by local citizens, and local leaders have strongly condemned the attack. World Vision sees the incident not only as an attack on its own local staff, but also as an attack on the Pakistani people themselves.

All of World Vision's operations in the country have been suspended for the time being.

World Vision remembers those staff who died as dedicated people seeking to improve the lives of people affected by poverty and disasters.

Since 1992, World Vision has primarily focused on relief interventions in Pakistan. The work expanded in 2001, when the agency began collaborating with other aid groups in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab Province with emergency relief assistance and community development initiatives. After the devastating October 2005 earthquake, World Vision expanded its operations in Pakistan.

Today is the 400th day Gao Zhisheng has been missing.  And we keep bringing this story to you because we know that sometimes in our daily lives that it's easy to forget the suffering of others because we're not personally involved.

Please remember Gao in your prayers, as well as his wife and children who miss him dearly. 

Also if you haven't taken the time to sign the petition or to write a few letters to the various places we have listed on the FreeGao.com website, please take a few minutes today to do it.  Your words of encouragement and concern truly do make a difference.

Please also take some time to pray for the people who will be reading your emails and comments, that the Lord would burden their hearts to take further action.

Can you imagine the victory the Lord is going to show His people once Gao is found and free.  I look forward to the day when I can share that with you.  Please pray and tell some of your friends to help today.  Thank you!

World Vision worker says militants dragged his colleagues into room and executed them.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 10 (CDN) — Suspected Islamic militants armed with guns and grenades stormed the offices of a Christian relief and development organization in northwest Pakistan today, killing six aid workers and wounding seven others.
 
The gunmen besieged the offices of international humanitarian organization World Vision near Oghi, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Islamabad in Mansehra district of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Police and World Vision’s regional spokesman said the Pakistani staff members, including two women, were killed after up to 15 gunmen arrived in pick-up trucks and began firing.
 
“They gathered all of us in one room,” World Vision administration officer Mohammad Sajid, who was in the office at the time, told Compass. “The gunmen, some of whom had their faces covered, also snatched our mobile phones. They dragged people one by one and shifted them to an adjacent room and shot and killed them.”
 

Rienk van Velzen, World Vision’s regional communications director, said from the Netherlands that all staff members in the office were Pakistanis. He said one is missing.

PLEASE READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPASS DIRECT and please keep all involved in your prayers, so that their deaths may not be in vain.

On March 8, Pastor Ravi Chandran was brutally attacked by Hindu extremists in Mysore, Karnataka State, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.

Pastor Ravi was attacked by more than 10 extremists, who forcibly entered a believer’s home where the pastor was holding a prayer meeting. “The extremists entered the house and began abusing the pastor and the believers gathered there,” VOM contacts said. “They hit the pastor with glass bottles, as well as kicking and punching him mercilessly, after which they disappeared from the venue.” Pastor Ravi suffered severe injuries to his leg and head.

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for Pastor Ravi, his church and all believers in India. VOM assists believers in India and Christian workers like Pastor Ravi with Christian literature and Bibles. VOM has also provided motorcycles and bicycles to help Christian workers reach more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

March is social work month and, in a Christian context, I can think of no facet of ministry in our country that fits the bill more than does youth work. Youth workers and volunteers are often unsung and unheeded; having to deal with unrealistic ex...

Proverbs 30:5 says, "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him" (NIV)

Today as I was pondering what to share with you, I had the simple question "What Would You Do for a Bible?" come to mind.  I know that you may recall that old commercial what would you do for a Klondike bar, but a Klondike bar isn't nearly as valuable as a holy bible.

Would you sell all of your possessions in order to earn the money for a bible if you didn't have the money and that was the only way you could earn one?

Would you hand copy the bible so that you could have it?

Would you jump up and down and spin in circles and look like a fool on national television if you desired a bible that much?

Seriously, what would you DO for a bible if you didn't have one and you knew that it contained the true answers to life, eternity, salvation and godliness?

I have heard numbers of stories of our persecuted brothers in Christ who have done things that I'm not sure I would do.  But one story that impacted me about the length of how people who understand the value of the scriptures is how they would hand copy meticulously so they could have only ONE page of the bible. 

Most of us in America, if we're honest, wouldn't take the time to hand write out even a small book of the bible if our lives depended on it, but I bet you that if someone told us to copy something that involved a secret code to earn tons of money and the only way to find out the code, we'd do it. 

The persecuted church honestly convicts me, because I know as a Christian in America, I have free access to any and all bibles that I could ever want.  And I know that as a result I don't value the bible as highly as someone who has to pray for years, or even die for the freedom to read the bible.  How about you?

So this is why I wanted to stimulate your thinking a little bit today, and just offer a reminder about The Voice of the Martyrs Bibles Unbound program.  I've told you before that this program is my favorite and I've been apart of it every year it's been going.  And it's amazing to see how the Lord has used this simple program to minister to countless thousands over the past few years.

So if you would like to join and be a member of Bibles Unbound and find out how you can have the blessing to ship bibles in restricted nations every month, please visit the Bibles Unbound page and get started.  The rewards will last for an eternity.

March is Women's History Month. San Diego has seen its share of notable women in the Kingdom. But perhaps none of them have had such a profound effect in such a short amount of time as did Aimee Semple Mcpherson. Living from 1890 to 1944, ...

You may recall that in January I challenged you all to pick one restricted nation a month to pray for. This month I will be praying for the nation of Turkey, but you may choose from any number of the restricted nations on the Voice of the Martyrs Restricted Nations page to pray for. As we have done in the previous two months, leave us a comment who you'll be praying for and let's make a difference for the kingdom of God for those suffering in restricted nations. Amen!

Turkey DESCRIPTION Turkey has experienced political turmoil caused by the struggle between secular proponents, urban moderates and rural Islamist forces vying for government control. Talks over membership in the European Union have repeatedly faltered. There appears to be no sign that Turkey will embrace true religious freedom. In August 2007, Turkey took a step back toward a religiously controlled state when they elected as president a former proponent of political Islam.

Category: Restricted Nation
Religion: Muslim 99.64%, Christian 0.32%
Ideology: Islam
Head of State: President Abdullah Gul

Despite government claims and a constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, Christians do not enjoy freedom of religion in many areas. Politicians, police and the growing Islamist movement are hostile to anything Christian. Foreign missionaries are not given visas. The media portrays Christians as foreign government agents and spreads rumors that Christians bribe young people with money and sex. The public tends to believe these false accusations. A VOM contact has reported people throwing things at him, spitting at him and verbally abusing him for talking about Christ. He was also interrogated by the police after handing out New Testaments. On Feb. 12, 2009, a Turkish Bible Society bookstore in the city of Adana was vandalized by Muslim extremists for the second time in a week. A court trial continues for two men accused of killing two Turkish Christians and one German Christian in Malatya in 2007.

BEIJING--On Saturday, well-known Christian legal scholar Dr. Fan Yafeng planned to meet with a Spanish press reporter for dinner. He received a call earlier in the week, advising him not to attend the meeting with the foreign reporter. Refusing to be intimidated by the police, Dr. Fan made plans to attend anyway.

Before he could leave for the dinner on Saturday, Dr. Fan heard a knock on his door. The Beijing policemen confronted Dr. Fan with a notice charging him with allegedly "making noise," (due to his lack of cooperation with Chinese officials) and swiftly escorted him from his home. Two guards monitored Dr. Fan's wife in their home, as they detained him in a local police for over 9 hours to prevent his meeting with the reporter.

After his release, Dr. Fan spoke with a reporter from The Australian. "Why can't I speak out and say what I think?" he fumed. Dr. Fan further vowed, "If they stop me, I will sit to protest downstairs. If they arrest me, I will hunger-strike until they free me or I die."

This is the second time Dr. Fan yafeng has been specifically targeted by the Beijing PSB in the past six months. He was summarily dismissed from his senior researcher position at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences "for political reasons" in November, 2009.  See the article from 11/03/2010. He has further been instrumental in the legal defense work for the highly sensitive Linfen Case in Shanxi, garnering him increased attention and harassment from Chinese authorities. (Visit www.HelpLinfen.com for more information on the Linfen Case.)

ChinaAid denounces this unjust treatment of Dr. Fan Yafeng by the Beijing authorities. We call on the international community to pray for the end of persecution of Christian faithfuls, and against those who continue to speak out on the abuses by the Chinese government.

Fulani herdsmen strike Christian villages, slaying mainly ethnic Berom with machetes.

LAGOS, Nigeria, March 8 (CDN) — An uneasy calm prevailed in Plateau state, Nigeria today following the killing of hundreds of Christians early yesterday morning in three farming villages near Jos by ethnic Fulani Muslims.

The mostly ethnic Berom victims included many women and children killed with machetes by rampaging Fulani herdsmen. About 75 houses were also burned.

State Information Commissioner Gregory Yenlong confirmed that about 500 persons were killed in the attacks, which took place mainly in Dogo Nahawa, Zot and Rastat villages.

“We were woken up by gunshots in the middle of the night, and before we knew what was happening, our houses were torched and they started hacking down people” survivor Musa Gyang told media.

The assailants reportedly came on foot from a neighboring state to beat security forces that had been alerted of a possible attack on the villages but did not act beforehand.

The attack on Sunday is the latest in several religious clashes in the state in recent months that have claimed lives and property. Plateau state is a predominantly Christian state in a country almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims. The Muslim minority has been contesting ownership of some parts of the state, leading to frequent clashes.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPASS DIRECT

Spiritual abuse has always been a major concern in churches, the world over. Yet, never before, have we seen such a new willingness to share painful and destructive experiences in churches as we have seen in recent years. People want to be heard a...

For those of you who loved Glenn Penner, his wife Denita informed us on Glenn's old blog, that his memorial service was videotaped and posted online at Persecution.tv - I've posted the video here for you. Thank you all again for your prayers for the Penner family. May God bless you richly.

Fulani herdsmen strike Christian villages, slaying mainly ethnic Berom with machetes.

LAGOS, Nigeria, March 8 (CDN) — An uneasy calm prevailed in Plateau state, Nigeria today following the killing of hundreds of Christians early yesterday morning in three farming villages near Jos by ethnic Fulani Muslims.

The mostly ethnic Berom victims included many women and children killed with machetes by rampaging Fulani herdsmen. About 75 houses were also burned.

State Information Commissioner Gregory Yenlong confirmed that about 500 persons were killed in the attacks, which took place mainly in Dogo Nahawa, Zot and Rastat villages.

“We were woken up by gunshots in the middle of the night, and before we knew what was happening, our houses were torched and they started hacking down people” survivor Musa Gyang told media.

The assailants reportedly came on foot from a neighboring state to beat security forces that had been alerted of a possible attack on the villages but did not act beforehand.

The attack on Sunday is the latest in several religious clashes in the state in recent months that have claimed lives and property. Plateau state is a predominantly Christian state in a country almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims. The Muslim minority has been contesting ownership of some parts of the state, leading to frequent clashes.

Bishop Andersen Bok, national coordinator of the Plateau State Elders Christian Fellowship, along with group Secretary General Musa Pam, described the attack as yet another “jihad and provocation on Christians.”

“Dogo Nahawa is a Christian community,” the Christian leaders said in a statement. “Eyewitnesses say the Hausa Fulani Muslim militants were chanting ‘Allah Akbar,’ broke into houses, cutting human beings, including children and women with their knives and cutlasses.”

Soon after the militants besieged Dogo Nahawa, the Christian leaders said, at 1:30 a.m. they contacted the military, which is in charge of security in the state.

“But we were shocked to find out that the soldiers did not react until about 3:30 a.m., after the Muslim attackers had finished their job and left,” they stated. “We are tired of these genocides on our Christian brothers and state here that we will not let this go unchallenged.”

Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) President Ayo Oritsejafor decried the attack on the Christian community as barbaric and urged the federal government to stop the killing of innocent citizens or risk a total breakdown of law and order.

“I have just returned from a trip abroad,” he said. “While I was away, I was inundated with reports of another catastrophe in the Jigawa state capital, where several churches were burnt, and just as I was trying to settle down and collate reports from the field, I am hearing of another on Sunday morning.”

Director of Social Communications, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Osu said the Sunday killing in Jos is a major setback for the country’s effort to gain the confidence of the international community.

“Do you know that because of things like these, anywhere Nigerians travel to they are subjected to dehumanizing scrutiny?” he said. “Any act of violence at this time is totally condemned, and the government should make haste to fish out all identified perpetrators of such heinous crimes against God so that we can move forward as a people united under one umbrella.”

On Friday (March 5) the National Youth President of the PFN, Dr. Abel Damina, expressed concern over cases of clandestine killings of Christians in remote parts of Plateau state by Islamic extremists and called on the federal government to retrieve sophisticated weapons in their possession.

“Even as I speak to you now, I am receiving reports that some clandestine killings are still going on in the remote areas of Plateau State by the fundamentalists,” Damina reportedly said. “They pounce on Christians and kill them without anybody knowing much of their identity except that they are Christians.”

He added that recently he visited the governor in Jos regarding the crisis and secured photos of Christian victims.
“Young men, Christians, were going to their farm to harvest their produce and the fundamentalists pounced on them,” he said. “They were called infidels. At the last conference, we received reports with photographs of the fundamentalists using AK-47 rifles to destroy our churches. Where did they get the arms from? We have reports of truck loads of arms that had been intercepted, and we did not hear anything about them.”

This is the latest news from China Aid.

SHANXI--A symbol of strength and unity for the 50,000-member Linfen Church Network, the central church building Jindengtai (Golden Lampstand) towers over the neighboring buildings in Linfen City. The building was confiscated by the Chinese government in the aftermath of the bloody attack and destruction of Fushan Church in September, 2009. Military police continue to surround the building around the clock, with soldiers stationed inside the building to prevent church members from gathering or entering. Now devastation is about to strike again.

On March 4, 2010, an official from the Land Resources Bureau of Yaodu District, in Linfen City, informed a ChinaAid contact that the "Golden Lampstand" Church will soon be destroyed by the Chinese government. The six-story Golden Lampstand Church (Jindengtai) is worth over 10 million Yuan ($1.5 million) and has been the central meeting location for Linfen Church members for more than a decade.

Military vehicles and soldier guard Jindengtai around the clock.

The tragic news is just one more blow by the Chinese Government. After the bloody crackdown on Fushan Church, subsequent arrests by military police resulted in the indictment and trials for five Linfen pastors, resulting in severe prison sentences. Five other Linfen pastors were sentenced to two years each Re-education through Labor. All ten pastors filed appeals in January 2010. In February, the Linfen Courts formally rejected the appeals of the five prisoners. The five sentenced to Re-education through labor still await news of their appeals.

Linfen Church members are now mobilizing for fervent prayer. They call on the churches around the globe to pray and have further asked ChinaAid to express their gratitude to the international community for the care, support, and intercessory prayers given in the past few months.

ChinaAid urges the international community to contact the local authorities and protest the destruction of Jindengtai. We call on believers around the world to pray for the end of persecution against the Linfen House Church, and the restoration of their property and buildings.

Call on the Chinese authorities to protest the government demolition of Golden Lampstand Church:

Land Resources Bureau of Yaodu District, Linfen City
Tel: +86-357-201-3263

Raodu District People's Government contact:
Tel: 86-357-222-8559
E-mail: info@yaodu.gov.cn

For more ways to get involved, visit www.HelpLinfen.com

Since it is Monday, I wanted to share with you this beautiful entry from the book Extreme Devotion. I love this story because it reminds me that there is always hope when we are praying for someone who is hostile towards Christ, and it also reminds me what can happen when that soul finds Him.  God bless you all today as you serve our King.

Dear Mom and Dad,
  

 In my last letter I told you about the atheist girl, Varia. Now I am so happy to tell you the exciting news: Varia has received Christ! She is so different and is already witnessing openly to everyone.
   

When Varia first believed, she still felt guilty inside. I think she was unhappy because for so long she believed and made a point of telling others that there is no God. She felt that she needed to suffer and pay for this.

    We went together to the assembly of the godless (Communist Youth Organization meeting). Although I warned her to be reserved, it was useless. After refusing to join in the singing of the Communist hymn, Varia went forward to address the whole assembly. She courageously told everyone about accepting Christ as her Savior!

    She begged everyone to give up the way of sin and come to Christ, and the whole place was silent. When she finished speaking, she sang with her incredible voice the old hymn, “I am not ashamed to proclaim the Christ who died, to defend his commandments and the power of his cross.” I could only watch helplessly as they took her away. Today is May 9, and we haven’t heard anything about her.

    Please pray!

    Maria

The greatest enemies of Christianity are prime targets for prayer. Like Saul of Tarsus, it is possible for a former enemy to become one of the greatest spokespersons for Christ. However, without prayer, it will remain only a possibility. Instead of being afraid of them or resenting them, we should pray for those in our community, country, and throughout the world who are vehemently opposed to Christ. Whenever we pray for nonbelievers—even atheists—we can envision the changes that would happen if their energies were redirected toward Christ instead of against him. They could become the next evangelists to share a powerful testimony of God’s grace. None of our enemies are beyond God’s reach, and prayer keeps them within his grasp.

Yesterday, In and around Dogo Nahawa, in the Jos region of Nigeria, at least 500 people are dead  after members of the Islamic ethnic group Fulani raided the villages of rivals, the Christian group Belom, and murdered hundreds with ...