
Poor Christian brothers charged with blasphemy in Pakistan
Two Christian brothers in Pakistan were arrested and charged with blasphemy on Tuesday (Aug. 27) after they were accused of desecrating pages of the Quran, sources said.

Two Christian brothers in Pakistan were arrested and charged with blasphemy on Tuesday (Aug. 27) after they were accused of desecrating pages of the Quran, sources said.
When God calls us out from our homes, we go as strangers to lands that are strange to us. Yet, God goes ahead of us and stays with us, challenging us to always trust in him. Here is the experience of one young woman who has been challenged to use her gifts for the sake of the gospel and a better world.
After a miraculous healing and turning to Jesus, an Indian family has faced persistent persecution. Recently it became so fierce they were forced to flee. Nevertheless, a powerful witness to faith in Christ remains in their village that we pray will one day bear much fruit. Here is their first-hand story.
As new Christians (especially if you're non-Western) we are too often taught that our ethnic identity should be ignored or even suppressed in favor of a spiritual identity. Our teachers ignore the fact that Evangelical Christianity is heavily interpreted through a Western lens. Non-Westerners will flourish in Christ if they are encouraged to embrace the redeemed benefits of their unique ethnicity, because that is part of them being a gift from God as a blessing to the Church and the world.
As the younger generation challenges the status quo in Nepal, local churches find their voice, offering hope, and stability in uncertain times. A young Nepali believer, Surendra Bajracharya, writes that this is an opportunity for the church, especially its younger members, to respond to God’s calling and reach out to their peers beyond the church walls—young people burdened with broken dreams in a trembling nation.

Muslim athlete Arshad Nadeem who won a javelin gold medal at the Paris Olympics for a world record-breaking throw has received a hero’s welcome, sponsorships and significant financial rewards from the government. Three remarkable sisters who have etched their names in history by consistently winning gold medals for Pakistan in the sport of powerlifting, however, have watched the happenings with mixed feelings.

A Muslim in Pakistan who kidnapped and raped a mentally handicapped Christian woman who died from her injuries two days after her release is pressuring her family to drop charges, sources said.

Europeans are least likely to say that religion is very important in their lives, compared to other parts of the world, and only 42 percent of Americans claim that religion is personally crucial to them. Other parts of the world responded more affirmingly on the importance of religion, specifically within sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The picture was less clear in South and Southeast Asia, compared to the polarized views in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite attempts by the Pakistani government and Islamist groups to thwart protest rallies and marches, Christians in several cities came out in large numbers to mark National Minorities Day on Aug. 11, demanding an end to religious intolerance and abuse of blasphemy laws.

A Muslim mob in Pakistan on Wednesday (Aug. 7) attacked and tried to kill a Christian mother accused of blasphemy, sources said.

Authorities in Turkmenistan have threatened a church pastor with prison and pressured his non-Christian relatives to urge him to stop practicing his faith, according to rights group Forum 18.