Late Saturday, the official Facebook account of Billy Graham remembered 37 years ago when Billy Graham came to China, his wife Ruth's birthplace, the first time. "On April 12, 1988, what seemed impossible became a reality when Billy Graham and his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, stepped foot in China together," the account wrote.
Traditional churches in China tend to serve a context where poverty and need are typical and the desire for communal support and directive leadership is welcome. China's large upwardly mobile and independent population doesn't need what these traditional churches are offering. A different gospel approach and new forms of church must emerge to meet different needs in rapidly changing urban contexts.
For decades the global missions community has talked about deeper collaboration with local ministry leaders as partners. But self-perception can misread reality. The post-COVID political shifts in China are a reality check, according to a long-term expatriate living through changes that are shattering the illusion that he knew better than the locals about how to advance the gospel in a foreign context. It is a new era for missions, demanding a new depth of humility.
The rise of Artificial General Intelligence is now unstoppable. It is not an overstatement to say that it is transforming life on earth as humans know it. No sphere of human interaction is immune, least of all the religious sector. Now, more than ever, we need to be spiritually discerning about AI/AGI use in our faith walk. Let us take care not put our trust in something that has neither heart nor soul.
India’s famed Emperor Ashoka was an ancient convert from Hinduism to Buddhism. He demonstrated that a person is NOT forced by others to convert from one religion to another. Today, “religious conversions are forced,” is the flawed premise of all anti-conversion laws of India. Who could have forced mighty Emperor Ashoka to change his religion? The Emperor’s famous religious conversion was his choice.
Less than a week after a prominent Indian Punjabi preacher was sentenced to life in prison for rape, another Christian pastor in Punjab has been accused of raping a young woman and forcing her to undergo a botched abortion that allegedly led to her death, according to Indian media reports.
Three evangelical alliances are urging believers worldwide to join an online prayer event Saturday for the people of Myanmar, following two powerful earthquakes that killed thousands and left many more injured or missing.
Theological education in Asia is gaining strength as local institutions increasingly take ownership of training future leaders, according to Dr. Theresa Lua, general secretary of the Asia Theological Association (ATA). Lua spoke to Christian Daily International about Asian educators' efforts to contextualize curriculum, strengthen church partnerships, adapt to online learning and maintain biblical grounding in an evolving world.
Days after a Christian’s throat was slit in Pakistan over a false blasphemy allegation arising out of refusal to renounce his faith, a Hindu was shot dead after he refused to convert to Islam, sources said.
Gunmen robbing a Catholic last week in Pakistan decided to tie him up and gang-rape his wife after learning the couple’s faith, sources said.
Christians are among hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees that Pakistan was to begin forcibly repatriating on Tuesday (April 1) to Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban has asserted they will kill any Christian, sources said.
Fulani herdsmen last week killed a Christian farmer and wounded three others in Bauchi state, Nigeria, sources said.
