Author: Christian Feed

Wearing our Christianity is a solution to the problem of polarisation in our society. When we identify ourselves first as Christians rather than as members of this or that political party or as liberal or conservative, then our primary mode of action will be to treat others with the kindness of Jesus Christ.

Oct 10, 2020

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10a; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20;
Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

This week the church will celebrate the feast of St Ignatius of Antioch. Who was St Ignatius of Antioch? Usually, when people hear the name St Ignatius, they think of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits in the sixteenth century.  Ignatius of Antioch lived about 1,500 years before this. He was, therefore, one of the early Fathers of the Christian Church. He was bishop of Antioch in Syria, the largest Roman city outside of Rome. Antioch became one of the early centres of Christianity after the Christians were driven there from Jerusalem.  In fact, you might remember
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YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia accused Azerbaijan on Thursday of shelling a historic cathedral in the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, where nearly two weeks of heavy fighting has killed hundreds of people.

The Holy Savior Cathedral, also known as the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, had its dome pierced by a shell that also damaged the interior.

Media reports said some children were inside the cathedral in the town of Shusha at the time of the shelling, and although they were not wounded, they suffered from stress after the attack.

Hours later, the cathedral came under more shelling that wounded two Russian journalists, one of whom was hospitalized in grave condition, according to Armenian officials.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry denounced the shelling as a “monstrous crime and a challenge to the civilized humankind,” warning Azerbaijan that targeting religious sites amounts to a war crime.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied attacking the cathedral, saying its army “doesn’t target historical, cultural and, especially, religious buildings and monuments.”

Image: AP Photo

Men carry out furniture from the Holy Savior Cathedral damaged by shelling during a military conflict, in Shushi, outside Stepanakert,
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Amaka Nwoke stood in front of St. Bernadine Catholic Church in Oyo, in Nigeria’s southwest region, holding a placard that read: “Stop killings in Nigeria.”

Nwoke, 24, had joined hundreds of Christians in the region to protest the growing killings and abductions happening across Nigerian Christian communities.

“Every day, when I turn on the TV or on social media, I see killings and violence, targeted at Christians,” Nwoke told me by phone. “I’m scared,” she said. “These killings and abductions are so much and, on the increase, even in communities you thought were safe and could not be penetrated have been attacked.”

Insecurity still remains one of Nigeria’s biggest challenges, according to the Institute for Security Studies. Across Nigeria, millions of Christians are living in fear because of the growing attacks by armed men or cattle herders from the Fulani ethnic group.

Abductions and killings by the cattle herders are frequent and random in Nigeria, and Christian ethnic groups are the main victims. The herders are Muslims who make regular journeys with their cattle to pastures down south—an area mostly dominated by Christians.

Cattle grazing often destroys crops, causing friction between the herders and local farmers. And since the herders are Muslims, it reignites the religious tension between them and Christians.

Under President Donald Trump, who depends on political support from white evangelicals, the United States has taken a renewed interest in religious freedom issues worldwide—with a specific focus on persecuted Christians.

On June 2, Trump released an executive order on
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Both the denomination which held the late Ravi Zacharias’ ministry credentials and the ministry organization he founded have opened investigations after more allegations of sexual misconduct by the apologist were recently brought forward.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) had previously investigated claims that Zacharias sought out sexually explicit photos from a Canadian woman he met through his ministry. The woman, Lori Anne Thompson, also claimed the two engaged in phone sex. Zacharias had admitted they had a correspondence but denied the other claims. The CMA had clear Zacharias in 2017 of any wrongdoing.

Three women have recently come forward and told Christianity Today that Zacharias sexually harassed them at a spa he owned in Atlanta, Georgia.

The women allege that “Zacharias touched them inappropriately, exposed himself,” and inappropriately touched himself in their presence over a five-year period. They say that Zacharias had originally made them feel cared for, asking about their lives, and getting to know them. However, they say, once he had gained their trust he began to act inappropriately. 

The women told CT they did not come forward earlier for a variety of reasons, such as being confused and feeling they had done something wrong. They also did not want to be seen as trying to bring down a Christian leader. The women say they are not seeking any money.

Last week the CMA sent a letter to workers saying that it is opening an investigation once again, according to Christianity Today.

Terry Smith, vice president
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Ed, my old neighbour in Saskatchewan, thinks that too many Christians can be judgmental and unloving. I believe that sometimes we all do things with good motives, but end up hurting instead of helping others.

That happened to me yesterday. I went for a Sunday walk around our neighbourhood, which includes an area known as the Historical Downtown of Chilliwack called Five Corners. I think it is a charming part of our city, but some others see it as a place for the homeless and drug addicts to congregate. Sometimes you will find some of those folks in the seating area around the large clock tower there. Mostly it is an empty area for a pleasant walk. Yesterday one homeless man was resting there, and a young man was walking there, like myself.

Two men with Bibles came upon us with confrontation on their minds. They concentrated on the young man and the homeless man, asking them if they believed in God. I heard the homeless man say, “Sure, I do.”  I continued walking along Wellington Street, feeling I had left the two interrogators behind me. They did not talk long
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While national attention has been focused on the West Coast battle between pastor John MacArthur and Los Angeles County over public health restrictions, a new challenge has emerged on the East Coast by another prominent Calvinist pastor, Mark Dever. Only this time, the stated reasons for the challenge are more explicitly theological.

Nationwide, houses of worship have fought public health restrictions on large indoor gatherings of people meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, although the vast majority of Christian churches have abided by local regulations.

Mark Dever

Now, Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C., has filed a lawsuit against the District’s public health restrictions limiting indoor gatherings to 100 people or fewer. Rather than focusing their argument almost exclusively in legal terms, as MacArthur and his Grace Community Church have done, D.C. pastor Mark Dever says the restrictions are an affront to his congregation’s theological beliefs.

The D.C. situation

Capitol Hill Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist congregation situated only a few blocks from the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The church has a membership of around 1,000. Dever has served as pastor there since 1994 and is the president of 9Marks, a parachurch organization that advocates for particular “biblical church” practices. He is a prominent teacher of Calvinistic theology and a local church ecclesiology that requires elder-led governance.

On Sept. 22, Capitol Hill Baptist Church filed suit against the District of Columbia, grounding its petition on
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