South Korea’s Protests Are Bringing Some Christian Families Closer (January 22, 2025, Christianity Today) (Subscription required)
Protests have erupted across Seoul in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol’s ill-fated martial law attempt. Almost every city in the country, from Daejeon to Busan to Jeju, held protests on its streets, outside their city halls, or in front of the Republican Party’s buildings. Differing opinions on Yoon’s impeachment are driving kin apart. But a few parents and children are finding more common ground.
Persecution Continues in Saudi Arabia Despite Claims of Reform (October 1, 2024, Persecution.org - International Christian Concern)
Long an indispensable player on the international stage because of its vast oil and gas reserves, Saudi Arabia has historically felt little need to abide by international human rights norms or even to pretend that it cared. Little has changed in the Islamic theocracy since its modern founding in 1930. However, various eras have brought varying levels of focus on the enforcement of Islamic law on Christians and other non-Muslims.
The publication of two new Bible editions in the local language in the Jubilee Year (January 23, 2025, Fides News Agency)
Founding faith on the Word of God: with this spirit the Christian community of Sarawak, the region on the island of Malaysian Borneo, celebrates the launch and publication of two new Bible editions in the Bahasa Malaysia language, in the Jubilee year: the "Alkitab Kudus Malaysia" and the "Alkitab Berita Baik Edisi Studi".
2 House Church Pastors Shot in Vietnam’s Central Highlands (December 16, 2024, Persecution.org - International Christian Concern)
Reports have surfaced of two independent house pastors being shot in different parts of Vietnam’s Central Highlands in recent months.
Charity reports on secret worship in parts of Ukraine (January 10, 2025, Church Times)
Christians are being forced to worship in secret in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia, as persecution of those who are not members of the Moscow-affiliated Orthodox Church intensifies
How are Christians persecuted in Qatar? (June 13, 2024, Open Doors UK)
Qatar is increasingly using advanced technology to monitor both citizens and immigrants. Believers from a Muslim background usually keep their faith secret. Anybody suspected of being a Christian, particularly a Qatari or someone from a Muslim-majority country, can face discrimination, harassment and police monitoring.
John C. H. Wu on the Incarnation of the Word of God (January 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
The Christian life is lived in real, concrete situations: the union of the transcendent and the immanent, flesh and spirit. It is at times easy for us, especially those (often in the Western world) inclined to think about theological questions in the abstract, to forget that in authentic Christianity we find the union of flesh and spirit.3 The physical world of persons and things is not separate from the spiritual world, it is the spiritual world!
Story of a Christian Fraudster (January 20, 2025, China Partnership)
This is one wife’s plea to the world to recognize that her husband is a good man, innocent of the charges he faces. We share this personal testimony because it is the real-world portrait of the experience published on our blog last week: because his church accepts tithes and offerings, a serious believer and church leader has been charged with theft and deception.
A Time to Pray (January 17, 2025, ChinaSource)
My heart aches as I reflect on the devastation caused by the wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area. Images and videos of the loss of exquisite buildings—churches, senior residences, and even the grand homes of celebrities—all burned to ashes flooded social media. I live fifty miles away, yet the strong Santa Ana winds seem to carry the scent of smoke through the arid, dry air, making it almost tangible. As I watched these moving scenes unfold, I felt both great grief and a strong call to action.
A Joint Statement from Chinese Christians: Against Persecution on Charges of Fraud (January 16, 2025, China Partnership)
There’s no question that, over the last few years, particularly since 2018 and the implementation of the “new religious regulations,” persecution in China has become more intense. One of the main forms this persecution has taken are charges of “fraud” against house church leaders because their unregistered churches accept tithes and offerings. Covenant Home Church is the case profiled in this joint statement, and is a good example of what is happening to believers who are facing these types of charges.