News

I think that with the right attitude going in, the following resolutions can help to get the New Year off to a positive start.

What’s the "fiscal cliff" that's been so much in the news lately? We should take a closer look, or, come January, we may be asking ourselves "What happened?" when our taxes go up a couple of thousand dollars and the economy heads into another recession -- as some are predicting.

Christmas Eve attacks by suspected Islamic extremists in northern Nigeria’s Borno state – already reeling from the slaughter of at least 10 Christians earlier this month – took the lives of six people at a Baptist church, as gunmen killed six others in Yobe state the same night.

As the international community and the Nigerian government continue to discuss how to confront the Islamist group Boko Haram, Christians in Nigeria continue to live in fear. Until confronted, Boko Haram, along with its al Qaeda affiliates, will continue persecuting Christians in Nigeria with impunity.

"The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them" (Isaiah 9:2). Those words from the prophet Isaiah told of the coming Prince of Peace, and of the light and life He would bring.

As American Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of the Son of God with family and friends, safe from the threat of physical persecution and ensconced in our national cocoon of religious liberty and security, let us not fail to “remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body [of Christ]” (Hebrews 13:3).

Here are the stories the editors of ReligionToday.com believe most affected Christians around the world during the past 12 months.

"We are not celebrating Christmas like before," says a church leader from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. "We will have services in church and invite church people to come and bring their friends. The focus will be on children more than anyone else because they need to feel some joy."

Foes of the federal contraception mandate are cheering a Dec. 18 appeals court decision requiring the Obama administration to devise exemptions to the new rule for two Christian colleges.

Perhaps because they're so visible, religious billboards and transit ads have a way of becoming ground zero in the culture wars.

A new study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows that while Christians and Muslims make up the two largest groups, those with no religious affiliation -- including atheists and agnostics -- are now the third-largest "religious" group in the world.

Earlier this month, two gay couples held "wedding" ceremonies at the U.S. Military Academy, raising concerns chaplains who refuse to participate might be punished.

I know many of you are wondering how and what to share with your children about this tragedy. Based on my experience as a counselor, as a mother, and as someone who's lived through something similar to what Newtown is just beginning to absorb, here are a few tips for you to ponder.

Our most heartfelt and sincere prayers go out to the families and victims of the Connecticut tragedy. May our loving God be with every single one of them and grant the comfort only He can provide.

Even in the face of such a tragedy, Christians must speak. We will have to speak in public about this evil, and we will have to speak in private about this horrible crime. How should Christians think and pray in the aftermath of such a colossal crime?

A teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., reflecting on the carnage and tragedy of one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, asked the question for the world: “Who would do this to our poor little babies?”

I am thankful for the lessons I have learned from persecuted Christians, especially on their observance of Christmas. They return to the true heart of the Christmas message: God sending his Son into the world to be born, die for our sins and return to His heavenly home. No Christmas trees, mall visits, substituting "holiday" for "Christmas."

So, the Supreme Court is going to weigh in on so-called same-sex marriage. What does that mean for the country and for the church?

In the waning days of Newsweek as a print magazine, the editors decided to take on the New Testament. Readers should note carefully that it is Newsweek, and not the New Testament, that is going out of print.

Unfortunately, the U.S. State Department has not held Saudi Arabia to its 2006 pledge to reform Saudi textbooks within two years. In October, seven current and former heads of major U.S. publishing houses issued an appeal to the government of Saudi Arabia to stop publishing hate-filled textbooks.