Breaking Christian News on The Gospel Herald

Chinese officials have barred a prominent human rights lawyer from pleading innocent on behalf of a Christian woman detained for holding an "illegal" church service as crackdowns on religious belief continue to intensify.

U.S. District Court officials for the Northern District of Ohio on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit against the federal government that demanded the removal of the national motto, "In God We Trust," from U.S. currency. The plaintiffs, which are a "group of atheists, humanists, and religious persons who find the use of God's name on currency to be sinful," claim this national motto on currency breaches their rights to free exercise, free speech and equal protection. Attorneys from the largest U.S. legal organization dedicated to defending religious freedom for all Americans stepped into the case as well.

Tennessee wildfires caused a lot of destruction, but one Dollywood employee who was cleaning up debris at the theme park discovered a burnt but surviving page of the Bible that he said left him speechless. Isaac McCord said a torn piece of paper, charred around the edges, caught his eye. It was a page from the Book of Joel from the King James Bible, a part of which references how a fire would devour the wilderness.

Leaders of religious congregations, including churches and synagogues, now are declaring themselves "sanctuaries" for immigrants fleeing deportation based on President-elect Donald Trump's threats to crackdown. These steps are being taken after New York, Chicago and Seattle mayors declared their cities "sanctuaries," as well as students, professors and alumni at elite universities, including Harvard, Yale and Brown, signed petitions asking their schools to protect undocumented students from any executive order.

Christian converts Yaser Mosibzadeh, Saheb Fadayaee, and Mohammed Reza Omidi are due to be flogged in public for partaking of communion wine, a grave and blasphemous misconduct under Iran's Sharia law.

We do know that the authority that is in place over us is there because God had allowed it. How then have Christian leaders reacted to Donald Trump’s victory in the recent elections?

Amid the division and unrest seen across the U.S. following Donald Trump's poll-defying win, a diverse group of Christian leaders are calling for unity - and urging believers of all backgrounds to join them.

An actuality that most people are increasingly (and, often willfully) ignorant of today is the fact that America began with the collective ambition of effectuating a "city upon a hill" vision. This goal was the dream of our Puritan founders; the proclamation of the Gospel and the freedom to interpret it privately as common citizens was the primary motivation for our establishment. Ensuing liberty was consequently inevitable as responsible men and women recognized that freedom was not an absence of laws, but rather an upholding of God's Law. One such, namely: the sanctity of the marriage covenant.

Graham acknowledged the fact that while the candidate selections may not exactly appeal to Christians---indeed, may require "holding their noses"---Christians hold the responsibility nonetheless to vote-in "biblical values."

A young couple who converted from Islam to Christianity have shared how their faith remains unshaken despite ongoing persecution.

The Scriptural charge to married women is biblically specified: to be "keepers at home," and "lovers of husbands and children." In turn and elsewhere, we are prescribed the added purpose of women---whatever their marital status---the divine commission of becoming "graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace (Psalm 144:12)

Born and died this month, the valued apologist is remembered by his words of keen relevance in relation to the Christian life.

"Is it not the great end of religion, and, in particular, the glory of Christianity, to extinguish the malignant passions; to curb the violence, to control the appetites, and to smooth the asperities of man; to make us compassionate and kind, and forgiving one to another; to make us good husbands, good fathers, good friends; and to render us active and useful in the discharge of the relative social and civil duties?"~ William Wilberforce

In response to journalist, Pope Francis denies female priesthood in favor of traditional role of women.

The symbiotic relationship between familial degeneration and the philosophy of statism. As of 2011, a whopping 47.6% of all households consist of homes headed by mothers. The fact of absentee fathers and the devastating effects on children in association with spiritual, emotional, and social troubles is hardly an obscurity anymore. What is less often known or acknowledged, however, is the philosophical and subsequent outcome of the degeneration of what Ronald Reagan so famously labeled the cornerstone of society: the family.

The Smithsonian Institute's first curator of religion in more than a century is the son of a priest and a nun. Peter Manseau is a scholar who is trying to remind Americans of the nation's diverse religious history, including the messy and splendor infusions. "You can't tell the story of America," he said, "without the role of religion in it."

Prayer during classroom time, along with organized prayer groups, will be allowed in the Montgomery Township Public School District in Somerset County, New Jersey, following school board members' approval of revisions this month to the school district policy about religion in public schools. The policy recognizes students are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and by the New Jersey State Constitution, both of which ban the establishment of religion in the schools. It also acknowledges religion is a personal matter.

A prominent house church pastor in China's central Guizhou province is awaiting prosecution after being arrested and charged with "divulging state secrets" amid an ongoing crackdown on Christians in the country.

Congregants of a suburban Chicago megachurch initiated a "love" campaign to counter ugly presidential campaign rhetoric as well as concerning cultural developments. Pastor Steve Carter of the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., said the initiative also in response to racism and recent world events, including wars in the Middle East.

Roma Downey's remake of the iconic movie "Ben-Hur" was altered after a controversy in Malaysia, resulting in all the scenes depicting Jesus Christ being cut from the version shown in that country to avoid breaking Islamic laws.

Pope Francis named 17 new cardinals Sunday, and three of them were American conservatives, including Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich and Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin. Some people are taking the move as a sign the pontiff values pastors focused more on mercy than morals. Thirteen of the new cardinals, including all the Americans, are under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a future conclave to elect Francis' successor, the key job of a cardinal.

Catholic experts warned new rules governing religion in China could hamper the church's work severely by curbing their foreign contacts and imposing heavy penalties for unauthorized activity.

World Communion Sunday is celebrated by several Christian denominations with an offering during the first Sunday of October each year. It is a time about being in communion with Christians all over the world, who are pressing toward the goal of serving God in life-changing ministries.

Israeli archaeologists stated Friday they have evidence the biblical King Hezekiah indeed destroyed the high places and idols in Israel as described in the Bible, evidence that officials said highlights Israel's past connection to the local land and helps draw the country's boundaries. The Bible in II Kings 18:4 states Hezekiah, the twelfth king of Judea, "removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.

Following Monday evening's first presidential debate between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump, evangelist Franklin Graham on Tuesday morning issued a challenge to politicians who proclaim they are fighting for children's rights. "You can't say you've spent your life standing up for children when you support killing them in the womb," Graham stated on his Facebook page. Regarding abortion, both current presidential candidates have supported pro-choice stances.