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Chinese Government Cracks Down on Leading Christian Prayer App, Bans It From Download

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In China, the Bible is not safe. In fact, even Christian apps are on the chopping block.

The latest app to face the axe is Pray.com, a platform filled with faith-based content, daily Bible-reading plans, and spiritual development programs. The app, according to a press release issued this week, is being removed from the Apple App Store in mainland China.

Its removal from the App Store in the communist country falls under the purview of China’s “Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services,” which went into effect in March 2022.

According to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, an independent agency of the U.S. government monitoring human rights in China, the restrictions put in place in 2022 require a government-issued permit to post religious content and outright ban the online airing of religious ceremonies, events, and worship services.

The removal of the Pray.com app comes ahead of the National Day of Prayer on May 2.

“Since starting Pray.com, we’ve grown accustomed to positive relations with China,” said cofounder Michael Lynn. “President Xi [Jinping] has allowed for the printing of nearly 150 million Bibles per year, and [former] President [Donald] Trump ensured that Bibles were exempt from Chinese tariffs.”

Steve Gatena, founder and CEO of Pray.com, said in the press release that he and his team are “exploring alternative avenues to deliver our content and services to people in mainland China.”

“As we work on a solution,” he said, “I want to personally extend an invitation to President Xi Jinping to join us for this year’s National Day of Prayer event in Washington, D.C.”

CBN News has reached out to Pray.com and will update this story with any statements from the ministry.

The Chinese government is no stranger to censorship.

Under Xi’s regime, the Chinese Communist Party is even reportedly rewriting Scripture and calling Jesus a “sinner.”

According to The Voice of the Martyrs, a watchdog monitoring Christian persecution around the world, the CCP announced in 2019 it would begin the process of “updat[ing] the Bible to ‘keep pace with the times.’”

“The revisions will include adding ‘core socialist values’ and removing passages that do not reflect communist beliefs,” VOM said. “In a textbook for high school students released in September 2020, the authors included a passage from John 8, as revised in their new version.”

Last year, as CBN News reported, Chinese officials are testing out an app that would require citizens to pre-register before attending religious services.

“This spring, in Henan province, they rolled out an app to get approval to go to any kind of religious service,” said Todd Nettleton of VOM. “What that means is, you need to have the app on your phone.”

“You need to pre-register in order to go to a religious gathering, give the Chinese government all of your information, tell them who you are, where you live, your ID information, and so forth,” he added.
Sources:faithwire

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world news

Chinese Bible Distributor Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

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China — In April 2021, Chinese authorities arrested 10 Christians for selling and distributing Bibles in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia — an autonomous region in northern China. Just last month, a judge sentenced one of these believers to prison.

Ban Yanhong was sentenced on April 15, 2024, to five years in prison for “illegal business operations,” or illegally selling and distributing Bibles to Christians in Inner Mongolia.

Ban Yanhong’s husband, Ji Heying, claimed that authorities charged his wife because they considered her to be a key figure in the group. Five of the original 10 Christians have been released on bail but could still face prosecution for their role in the Bible distributions. The other four Christians are awaiting their trial.

Originally, the 10 Hohhot Christians purchased the Bibles legally from a church in Nanjing associated with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). TSPM churches are the only legal churches in China and are controlled by the Communist government.

In Ban’s case, prosecutors argued that even though the Bibles were initially purchased legally in Nanjing, selling and distributing them in Inner Mongolia by unregistered house church members was illegal.
Sources:persecution

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ആദ്യമായി ഇസ്രായേൽ സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി അറബ് ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വനിത

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ഹൈഫ: ചരിത്രത്തില്‍ ആദ്യമായി അറബ് ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വനിത, ഇസ്രായേലിലെ സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി തെരഞ്ഞെടുക്കപ്പെട്ടു. പ്രൊഫസർ മൗന മറൂണാണ് ഹൈഫ സർവകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി തെരഞ്ഞെടുക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നത്. ഹൈഫ സർവ്വകലാശാലയിൽ ഇതിന് മുന്‍പ് മറ്റൊരു അറബ് വംശജരായ, ക്രിസ്ത്യാനിയോ സ്ത്രീയോ റെക്ടർ സ്ഥാനം വഹിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. ഇസ്രായേലിലെ വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ സമ്പ്രദായത്തിൽ റെക്ടറാണ് സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ തലവന്‍. ഇസ്രായേൽ അക്കാദമിയിൽ എല്ലാം സാധ്യമാണ് എന്നതിൻ്റെ പ്രധാന സന്ദേശമാണ് തന്നെ തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്തിരിക്കുന്നതിലൂടെ വ്യക്തമായിരിക്കുന്നതെന്ന് മൗന പറഞ്ഞു.

മറൂൺ ജനിച്ച ഇസ്ഫിയ എന്ന ഗ്രാമത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഏകദേശം ആറ് മൈൽ അകലെ കാർമൽ പർവതത്തിലാണ് ഹൈഫ സർവ്വകലാശാല സ്ഥിതി ചെയ്യുന്നത്. 20-ാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിൻ്റെ തുടക്കത്തിൽ ലെബനോനിൽ നിന്ന് ഇവിടെയെത്തിയവരാണ് മറൂണിന്റെ കുടുംബം. അക്കാലത്ത് സ്കൂളുകൾ ഇല്ലായിരുന്നു. ഉന്നത വിദ്യാഭ്യാസത്തിലൂടെ മാത്രമേ തങ്ങളുടെ നാല് പെൺമക്കളെ ഇസ്രായേലി സമൂഹത്തിൽ സമന്വയിപ്പിക്കാൻ കഴിയൂവെന്ന് അവർ വിശ്വസിച്ചിരുന്നു. അതുകൊണ്ടാണ് പഠനം തുടരാൻ അവർ എന്നെ പ്രോത്സാഹിപ്പിച്ചതെന്ന് മൗന വെളിപ്പെടുത്തി. ഇസ്രായേലിലെ ഏറ്റവും വൈവിധ്യമാർന്നതും ഉൾക്കൊള്ളുന്നതുമായ സർവ്വകലാശാലകളിലൊന്നാണ് ഹൈഫ സർവകലാശാല. 17,000 വിദ്യാർത്ഥികളിൽ 45% അറബ് സമൂഹത്തിൽ നിന്നുള്ളവരാണ്.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം

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‘We’re Going to Light Up This World’: National Day of Prayer to Lift God’s Word to Combat Darkness

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This year’s theme for the 73rd National Day of Prayer is “Lift up the Word – Light Up the World” from the Biblical passage in 2 Samuel chapter 22. It reads in part: “O Lord, You are my lamp. The Lord Lights up My Darkness.” It is a message that organizers say is needed now more than ever.

“It seemed all we were talking about was darkness,” Kathy Branzell, President of the National Day of Prayer Task Force told CBN’s Faith Nation. “‘Oh, America’s getting darker, our schools are getting darker, my neighborhood’s getting darker.'”

Branzell explained, “While that might feel true, the truth is darkness is the absence of light. This year by lifting up the Word, we know His Word in prayer won’t return void and we’re going to light up this world.”

The annual National Day of Prayer, which was established by Congress in 1952 and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, is a call for Americans to humble themselves before Almighty God, to seek His guidance, wisdom, and blessing.

Branzell said events like the unrest and anti-semitic protests on college campuses should guide how Christians pray.

“We are praying God’s presence on those campuses. We are praying for the Holy Spirit to come in and for hatred to be diminished and for love to come in and to take over,” she said.

The hope is that the light already breaking through at some schools will spread to others.

Author and speaker Jennie Allen who has witnessed repentance, revival, and mass baptisms on several college campuses said many students are ready to hear the message of salvation.

“Gen Z is different,” Allen said in an interview on CBN News’ The PrayerLink. “They are open to God, and they want to confess their sin. They’re sick of the world and they want something different. Not all of them, but a lot of them.”

“And I think what the older Church needs to hear and believe is that it’s possible,” added Allen. “God is doing it again. He is awakening His people. And so, to pray and to pull those kids into your life and your home and disciple them because they’re hungry.”

In a nation divided by politics, race, and hot-button social issues, organizers realize that only a unified Church can pray with power. That is why the National Day of Prayer is partnering with the National Unity Weekend movement which brings churches together every June to teach on unity and serve their communities.

Bishop Derek Grier of Grace Church in Dumfries, Virginia is the founder of the group.

“If there was ever a time our nation needed unity it’s right now—particularly before we go into this election season,” Grier told CBN News. “And as the Church unites around the things that we have in common, the things that we disagree over become minor. And with that, people in our various communities can run into the church as a place of refuge.”

A refuge of light that outshines the darkness.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS

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ആദ്യമായി ഇസ്രായേൽ സർവ്വകലാശാലയുടെ റെക്ടറായി അറബ് ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വനിത

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