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Christian leaders express outrage over George Floyd’s death, call police actions ‘evil’
In the bystander video that has been watched by millions around the world, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, begged for his life and cried for his mother before he visibly stopped breathing with the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer still pinned to his neck on Monday.
Many people, including several prominent Christian leaders across racial and denominational lines, are now speaking out and urging others to take a stand against racial injustice.
Miles McPherson, senior pastor of the popular Rock Church in California, noted on Twitter: “Another black man was killed on camera, this time as four police officers held him down.
“This breaks my heart! Holding a hand-cuffed man down with your knee on his neck as he shouts he can’t breathe. What will it take for this to be unacceptable to all of us.
Floyd begged as the officer kept him pinned to the pavement resting firmly on his neck minutes before he would lay motionless.
“Please! Please! Please!” Floyd said as he moaned in pain with what sounds like labored breathing. A voice from a bystander in the video could be heard begging the officer to “let him breathe, at least.”
“I’m about to die,” Floyd pleaded again.
“Relax,” the officer told him.
“I can’t breathe. My face,” he responded as the officer kept pressing into his neck and asked him, “What do you want?”
“I can’t breathe. Your knee’s in my neck. I can’t breathe, sh*t,” he said.
Floyd cried for his mother in desperation as his pleas to the officer went unheeded.
“Mama! Mama!” he cried.
Floyd then tells the officer pinning him down that he was feeling pain everywhere.
“My stomach hurt. My neck hurt. Everything hurts,” he said.
Floyd was soon begging for water.
“Water or something. Please. Please,” he said.
About a minute-and-a-half into the video, a female bystander remarked that Floyd’s nose is bleeding. A male onlooker begged the officer to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck and tries to reason with him.
“He’s human bro,” he said.
Floyd continued to scream, “I cannot breathe.”
About four minutes into the video, Floyd’s cries began to taper off. His movement on the ground became mild twitches. He gasps for air. He eventually stopped twitching. His body is motionless after just over four minutes.
Bystanders who watched this happen screamed at the officer to remove his leg from Floyd’s neck. But he refused and threatened him with mace. They demanded that Floyd’s pulse be checked.
An Asian officer, who had been keeping the bystanders at bay, told them during a back-and-forth that Floyd is “off crack right now. He probably [overdosed].”
Floyd’s limp body was eventually removed by paramedics in the video, which is about 10 minutes in length. Floyd was later pronounced dead.
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement that officers had responded to a call about a man suspected of forgery. According to the Star Tribune, police had been called after someone tried to pay with a fake $20 bill at Cup Foods.
The man was found sitting on top of a blue car and “appeared to be under the influence.”
“He was ordered to step from his car,” according to the department’s statement. “After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress.”
On Tuesday morning, without referring to the bystander video, the police updated the statement, titled “Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction.” The police said that additional information had “been made available” and that the FBI was joining the investigation.
Leaders like popular contemporary Christian musician Matthew West, who watched a part of the video, said what he witnessed was “wrong and evil on every level.”
“Sick to my stomach after watching video of police taking the life of #GeorgeFloyd I’m sure some say ‘well, you need to see the whole video,’” he wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “But context won’t change what I feel deep in my spirit right now. What I just saw is WRONG and EVIL on every level.”
Pastor Sheryl Brady of the Potter’s House of North Dallas agreed that now is a good time from all Christians to speak out against injustice and urged the faith community in a Facebook Live broadcast to take a stand.
“I know I am appalled at this. I’m tired of this and it needs to change. And I think we all need to speak up and speak out. What we saw was the actual life squeezed out of this man who was laying on the ground by an officer who put his knee and his body weight in the neck of a man who was pleading for mercy,” she said.
“Somebody says maybe we should wait until the facts come out Pastor Brady. You know what, I don’t want to wait until the facts come out. I just saw ten minutes worth and I am just so over this. It’s not fair. It’s not right. And somebody’s gotta speak up. We gotta speak up because this should not be happening.”
In a series of tweets Tuesday, international evangelist Christine Caine suggested that after watching the video of Floyd’s death, she is also beginning to change her perspective about the experience of people of color and the realities they live.
“I used to see videos like this and think to myself, ‘Let’s wait for all the details to come out.’ Now after seeing too many videos like this to name I’m beginning to wonder if my response should have been, ‘Maybe I should try to understand their pain,’” she wrote. “Sometimes we can be so blinded by our experience & reality that we invalidate someone else’s. Today our black brothers & sisters are experiencing another trauma that communicates to them that their lives aren’t valuable.”
“Centuries of reoccurring trauma takes its toll on a people group. Today I choose to lay down my truth to learn from my friends of color. If we are truly the body of Christ one pain affects us all. We aren’t just the body when it’s convenient,” Caine argued. “We are the body when it’s hurting and broken. No more than the leg can disconnect from the arm can I disconnect my pain from that of my brethren. I’d like to share what I’m learning with you. This has to change.”
The four officers involved in the incident that led to Floyd’s death were fired on Tuesday, according to an Associated Press report. Floyd’s family is calling for the officers’ arrest.
Attorney Tom Kelly told USA Today that he is representing former officer Derek Chauvin, who was said to be the officer filmed pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey apologized to the black community.
“For five minutes, we watched as a white officer pressed his knee into the neck of a black man. For five minutes,” Frey said. “When you hear someone calling for help, you are supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic human sense. What happened on Chicago and 38th this last night is simply awful. It was traumatic, and it serves as a clear reminder of just how far we have to go. To the black community, to the family, I’m so sorry.”
Sources: Christian Post
httpss://youtu.be/KwITYR8Ijuo?t=409
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കാത്തിരിപ്പ് സമയം വെട്ടിക്കുറയ്ക്കും; ഇന്ത്യക്കാർക്ക് ആശ്വാസമായി 2025-ൽ പുതിയ യുഎസ് വിസ നിയമനം
യുഎസിൽ ജോലി ചെയ്യാനും യാത്ര ചെയ്യാനും ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്ന ഇന്ത്യക്കാർക്ക് പുതുവർഷം ആശ്വാസം പകരും. 2025 ജനുവരി 1 മുതൽ, ഇന്ത്യയിലെ യുഎസ് എംബസി, നോൺ-ഇമിഗ്രൻ്റ് വിസ അപ്പോയിൻ്റ്മെൻ്റുകൾ ഷെഡ്യൂൾ ചെയ്യുന്നതിനും റീഷെഡ്യൂൾ ചെയ്യുന്നതിനുമുള്ള പുതിയ നിയന്ത്രണങ്ങൾ അവതരിപ്പിക്കും.
ഡിപ്പാർട്ട്മെൻ്റ് ഓഫ് ഹോംലാൻഡ് സെക്യൂരിറ്റി (DHS) H-1B വിസ പ്രക്രിയ നവീകരിക്കുന്നതിനുള്ള പുതിയ നിയമങ്ങൾ വെളിപ്പെടുത്തിയതിന് തൊട്ടുപിന്നാലെയാണ് ഈ പ്രഖ്യാപനം.
രണ്ട് പ്രഖ്യാപനങ്ങളും ഇന്ത്യക്കാർക്ക് അനുകൂലമാണ്, കൂടാതെ നടപടിക്രമങ്ങൾ കാര്യക്ഷമമാക്കാനും അപേക്ഷകരുടെ നീണ്ട കാത്തിരിപ്പ് സമയം കുറയ്ക്കാനും ലക്ഷ്യമിടുന്നു.
Sources:azchavattomonline.com
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ചിക്കാഗോ ലേഡീസ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പിന് പുതിയ നേതൃത്വം
ചിക്കാഗോ: ചിക്കാഗോ ലേഡീസ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പിന്റെ രണ്ടു വര്ഷത്തെ കോര്ഡിനേറ്ററായി സിസ്റ്റര് മോളി എബ്രഹാമിനേയും, ജോയിന്റ് കോര്ഡിനേറ്ററായി സിസ്റ്റര് ഗ്രേസി തോമസിനേയും തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്തു.
സിസ്റ്റര് മിനി ജോണ്സന്റെയും,സിസ്റ്റര് റോസമ്മ തോമസിന്റെയും പ്രവര്ത്തന കാലാവധി പൂര്ത്തിയായതിനെ തുടര്ന്നണ് പുതിയ ഭാരവാഹികളെ തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്തത്.ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് ഓഫ് പെന്തക്കോസ്തല് ചര്ച്ചസ് ഇന് ചിക്കാഗോയുടെ കണ്വീനര് ഡോ.വില്ലി എബ്രഹാമിന്റെ ഭാര്യയാണ് മോളി എബ്രഹാം.ഗുഡ് ഷെപ്പേര്ഡ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് ചര്ച്ചിലെ അംഗമാണ്.
ഗില്ഗാല് പെന്തക്കോസ്തല് അസംബ്ലിയിലെ സീനിയര് ശുശ്രൂഷകന് പാസ്റ്റര് സാം തോമസിന്റെ ഭാര്യയാണ് ജോയിന്റ് കണ്വീനറായ ഗ്രേസി തോമസ്.
Sources:onlinegoodnews
us news
Biblical Archaeology From the Holy Land Revealed: ‘You’re Almost Touching…History’
An Israeli entrepreneur on a mission to highlight biblical artifacts has brought his “treasures from the Holy Land” to America.
Oded Golan’s “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures From the Holy Land” experience opened Dec. 3 at Atlanta’s Pullman Yards, with hundreds of ancient artifacts surrounding the New Testament on display.
“We are bringing [a] once-in-a-lifetime experience to people to look at items that they will probably not have other opportunities to see,” Golan recently told CBN News. “The 350 items that are presented here, most of them are from the time of Christ. They were all found in the Holy Land in Israel, and they are telling the stories that are mentioned in the New Testament, but in first hand.”
He added, “You’re almost touching the history.”
Golan said some of the items are related to Jesus’ family or people living during his lifetime. These elements allow people to explore life during biblical times, seeing the behaviors and practices that unfolded during the New Testament era.
Already, audiences are loving the experience, Golan said, noting that giving a lens into the past illuminates knowledge and understanding.
“It doesn’t change faith, it doesn’t change belief, but it changed, somehow, how do you feel and how do you see the stories that are mentioned in the Bible — in the New Testament,” he said.
Golan’s story is a fascinating one, as he started collecting antiquities when he was just a child.
What started as a passion project grew into something much more — a collection he calls the “biggest and largest … in the world of biblical archaeology items.”
“When I was young, even, you know, until the age of 16, 17, I had in mind that I should be an archaeologist one day,” he said. “But … in life it was changed … but I kept archaeology as a hobby.”
And that hobby grew as he traveled all over the Holy Land and collected artifacts — relics he brings to audiences in “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures From the Holy Land.”
“In this exhibition, we present only items that came from a very short period of time,” Golan said. “We are talking about the early first century AD, the time of Jesus. A few items are from the 3rd, 4th, 5th century because this was the time when the first churches emerged — the cradle of Christianity.”
He believes audiences will be captivated regardless of their age or religious beliefs.
“It doesn’t matter what age you are, and what [religion] you are, and how strong [a] believer you are,” Golan said. “It’s fantastic.”
The entrepreneur also made international headlines in 2012 when he was on trial after being accused by the Israel Antiquities Authority of forging an inscription on the James ossuary, a stone relic believed to hold the bones of Jesus’ brother, James.
He was acquitted after a seven-year legal battle. The ossuary, which has been a source of contention, has an Aramaic line that reads, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” Proponents argue that the inscription pointed to evidence of Christ’s brother, James.
Ultimately, Golan was absolved of the most serious charges surrounding manufacturing elements of this inscription, among other serious charges. Some have since defended the authenticity of the artifact’s inscription, which would be the earliest reference to Jesus. Read more about the history of the matter.
Golan referred to this case while explaining he was in the “later stage” of his life – over the age of 50 — when he read the New Testament for the first time and started to understand it. Wanting to better comprehend the ossuary in his collection, he turned to the text for understanding.
Speaking about the James ossuary, he heralded the importance of the find, which is included in “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures From the Holy Land.” He’s hoping the collection inspires visitors to think more deeply about the past.
“You’re touching the history — almost physically,” Golan reiterated. “And that makes … a big difference compared to any other kind of exhibition. And, as I mentioned, it’s not only the artifact exhibition. It has much more than that.”
After the Atlanta run, Golan hopes to bring “Discovering the World of Jesus: Ancient Treasures From the Holy Land” to other cities across America.
Sources:faithwire
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