Today’s Headlines:

SRI LANKAN POLICE ORDER CHRISTIANS TO STOP MEETING IN VILLAGE

CHINESE AUTHORITIES ARREST 210 HOUSE CHURCH MEMBERS IN CRACKDOWN

BIBLE SOCIETY SETS UP OFFICE IN IRAQ DESPITE DAILY DANGERS

NEW ‘MILITARY BIBLE’ FROM IBS GIVES SOLDIERS ROADMAP TO CHRIST

POLL: MOST U.S. RESIDENTS REJECT MORAL ABSOLUTES, BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

Today’s Top Stories:

SRI LANKAN POLICE ORDER CHRISTIANS TO STOP MEETING IN VILLAGE

On Sunday, Aug. 7, 12 Christians from the Foursquare Gospel Church in Horana, a village in Sri Lanka’s Kalutara district, met for worship despite threats by a mob the previous week. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka reported that about 50 Buddhists disrupted the service, demanding that the Christians leave and not return. The pastor called the police, and both sides were asked to report to the police station. Mob members claimed that the Christians had no right to worship in the village which is almost entirely Buddhist. Although the police inspector acknowledged the Christians’ right to worship, he ordered them to stop meeting immediately since their services were “disturbing the peace.” They were further told they could not meet anywhere else. (Voice of the Martyrs)

CHINESE AUTHORITIES ARREST 210 HOUSE CHURCH MEMBERS IN CRACKDOWN

The China Aid Association (CAA) reported that more than 210 house church pastors and believers have been arrested in China’s Hubei, Hebei and Henan provinces since July. Two American tourists in China were also mistreated after being arrested in Hubei province on Tuesday, Aug. 2, and a house church in Shanghai was ordered to be shut down. The two Americans were released after a seven-hour interrogation, but 10 of the 41 believers who were arrested at the house church they were attending remain in prison. On Friday, July 22, approximately 100 Christian students were arrested in the town of Wanzhuang in Hebei province while they were attending a vocational Bible school organized by their Christian parents. After being interrogated for hours, they were released and ordered not to gather again. On Friday, July 1, approximately 70 house church believers were arrested in the village of Zhaolou in Henan province. “That church was performing baptisms for 60 new believers at the home of a host family,” stated a CAA news release. “Ten of them, including Pastor Wang Baode, were sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention.” The others were released after paying a fine the equivalent of US$35. CAA also reported that local authorities ordered the closure of a 400-member, 16-year-old house church in Shanghai’s Minhang district on Tuesday, July 26, for holding an “illegal religious gathering.” Police threatened “severe administrative punishment” for any church leaders who refuse to comply with the order. (Assist News Service)

BIBLE SOCIETY SETS UP OFFICE IN IRAQ DESPITE DAILY DANGERS

Amid daily turmoil and terrorist attacks, solid steps have been taken to establish a Bible Society office in Iraq. In little more than a year, a task force has managed to set up an office in Baghdad and started the process of registering the Bible Society as a non-profit organization. Plans are already under way for a “Year of the Bible,” a series of Bible seminars and workshops for Christians and church leaders. A Lebanese Christian music and drama team is expected to return to Iraq with the program, “Just for Kids.” The United Bible Societies (UBS) reported that sporadic explosions continue to be part of daily life in Baghdad. Churches, Christian organizations and individuals are among the primary targets. Yet the three members of the UBS team under the leadership of Nabil Omeish, formerly of the Bible Society in Jordan, has set up a Bible center in rented and renovated premises. It is in a Christian residential district of Baghdad and comprises offices, a showroom, warehouse and guestroom. A van, donated by another charity, provides the means of delivering the Scriptures. (Assist News Service/IDEA)

* HCJB World Radio, in cooperation with FEBA Radio, broadcasts weekly Christian programs to Iran and Iraq via shortwave in the Luri language. There are less than 100 known believers among the 4 million Luri speakers in the two countries.

NEW ‘MILITARY BIBLE’ FROM IBS GIVES SOLDIERS ROADMAP TO CHRIST

The International Bible Society (IBS) is producing a new military Bible that fits into the cargo pocket of a soldiers’ uniforms, says Chuck Adams of IBS. “These new military camouflage Bibles now come with 38 pages of notes, helps, maps, website addresses for further references, an order of worship, hymns, prayers, Bible-reading guides, plan of salvation, and we’ve never done that before in our military editions,” he said. The new Bible also suggests readings for topical questions. “Then it gives a Scripture reference and a page number,” Adams said. “We think this is going to intensify the spiritual experience for our military personnel who are believers, and we also think it’s going to be a tremendous evangelism tool.” (Mission Network News)

POLL: MOST U.S. RESIDENTS REJECT MORAL ABSOLUTES, BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

Barely one-third of Americans believe in absolute standards of right and wrong, and far fewer hold to a biblical worldview, a new poll says. The poll, conducted by the Barna Group, a Christian research organization, shows that only 35 percent of Americans believe in absolute standards of morality-that is, they believe that right and wrong do not change with time or circumstances. Thirty-two percent of Americans say that morality depends on the situation and the circumstance while 33 percent say they do not know if morality is absolute or relative. The poll involved interviews with 1,002 adults in July. Moral relativity is often reflected in such statements as “that might be true for you, but it’s not true for me” and “who are you to judge?” Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans consider themselves to be “Christians,” but just 5 percent hold to a biblical worldview-believing such things as the Bible as the source of truth, salvation by grace alone, and the sovereignty of God over the universe. (Religion Today/Baptist Press)