Easter is coming again

Easter is coming again

VERBATIM:  For the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians THIS is Holy Week with Easter to be celebrated on Sunday, the 12th.   That’s because the Orthodox Church continues to use the Julian calendar to plan its holidays, putting it behind the Gregorian calendar which the rest of the world’s Christian began using about 400 years ago.  Most Orthodox Christians live in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe and in Greece.  MH REPORTING

Views on morality have a lot to do with age

Views on morality have a lot to do with age

Christians in Iraq are still having trouble

Christians in Iraq are still having trouble

VERBATIM:  According to a new analysis by England’s  All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, Iraqi believers still face violent persecution and repression, years after ISIS was finally expelled from the country.  Christians living in the Kurdistan region are doing pretty well, but elsewhere in the country they are still being victimized by their Muslim neighbors.  Christians make up just about three percent of Iraq’s population.  MH REPORTING

People of the world are asked about homosexuality

People of the world are asked about homosexuality

VERBATIM:  The Pew Research Center poll focuses on the MORALITY of that lifestyle.  Nigeria checks in as the country where the largest number of people believe that being gay is NOT morally acceptable — 96%.  Other nations that have similar feelings include Indonesia and Turkey.  At the OTHER end of the spectrum is Sweden, where 94% think that homosexualty IS morally acceptable.  In the U.S., 60% of respondents see no problem with being gay.  MH REPORTING

A dubious honor for Mark Zuckerberg

A dubious honor for Mark Zuckerberg

VERBATIM:  Every year the National Center on Sexual Exploitation puts out its Dirty Dozen list — 12 companies it blames for contributing to exploitation.  This year the list contains 11 companies and one MAN.  Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has been named personally by the NCSE because “Under his leadership, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp have become breeding grounds for child sexual abuse, grooming, sextortion, and sex trafficking.”  MH REPORTING

An unusual decision by the Washington Post

An unusual decision by the Washington Post

VERBATIM:  The newspaper, long a bastion of liberal thought, has published an editorial criticizing the supreme court of Finland for denying the religious freedom of a member of its parliament.  Pavi Rassanen has been fined for quoting the Bible on homosexuality and the Post calls the decision a farce, adding “It’s not a crime to publish unpopular religious views”.  The paper goes on to urge Americans to cherish their First Amendment rights.  MH REPORTING

Kansas passes a law to protect pro-life pregnancy centers

Kansas passes a law to protect pro-life pregnancy centers

VERBATIM:  The measure bars any state or local government from forcing a pro-life clinic to offer or perform abortions, offer abortion drugs, counsel for abortion, refer for abortion or promote abortion in any way.”  The bill was vetoed by Kansas’ Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, but the legislature quickly moved the override and did so by wide margins.  Republicans accuse Kelly of being pro-choice, unless a woman chooses to keep her unborn baby.  MH REPORTING

Latin American voters see a role for religion in government

Latin American voters see a role for religion in government

VERBATIM:  There are looming presidential elections in Brazil, Colombia and Peru and a new poll from the Pew Research Center indicates that in each of those nations, about two-thirds of voters say they want a president who will defend their religious beliefs.  A similar percentage in each country also say they believe the Bible should be the basis for their laws and even half of non-religious people tell Pew that they feel the same way.  MH REPORTING

A leading poll-taker looks at America in its 250th birthday year

A leading poll-taker looks at America in its 250th birthday year

VERBATIM:  The Pew Research Center is marking the country’s big anniversary by compiling a vast data profile of how we have changed since the last big celebration — the bicentennial 50 years ago.  Pew reports that, amongst other things “The American family has witnessed substantial changes. Americans marry and have children at later ages than they once did, and fewer are doing these things at all. Also, a smaller share of children live with two married parents.”  MH REPORTING

Holy Week is ramping up

VERBATIM:  A lot of churches will start the weekend events with services for Maundy Thursday, which commemorate the last supper, the washing of the feet and Jesus’ instruction that “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you”.  Next is Good Friday, marking Christ’s crucifixion and then comes Easter Sunday — the most important date on the Christian calendar — when billions around the world will celebrate the resurrection.  MH REPORTING

The Pew Research Center takes a look at gay marriage worldwide

The Pew Research Center takes a look at gay marriage worldwide

VERBATIM:  It was 25 years ago this week that The Netherlands became the first nation on earth to make it legal for people of the same sex to enter into a legal marriage.  Since that day, nearly 40 countries have followed suit — including the United States.  Still, gay marriage is largely unheard of in large swatches of the globe including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and in Africa.  The practice is mostly confined to Western Europe and the Americas.  MH REPORTING

Canada is advancing a new hate crimes law

Canada is advancing a new hate crimes law

VERBATIM:  The House of Commons has passed legislation that critics warn will criminalize quoting the Bible on issues such as homosexuality.  Pastor David Cooke tells LifeSiteNews “Christians will almost certainly face an entirely new level of hostility, as the door swings open to actual persecution under a cloak of supposed legality.  The bill now goes to the Canadian Senate, which is expected to approve it.  MH REPORTING

The abortion rate is soaring in the United Kingdom

The abortion rate is soaring in the United Kingdom

VERBATIM:  According to the latest government statistics, there were just about 300,000 abortions in the U.K. in 2023 — the last year for which all the numbers are in.  Consider that there were only about 600,000 live births in the country during the same period and the problem pro-life advocates are trying to highlight comes into sharp focus.  Meanwhile, the British government is moving to decriminalize abortion up to the moment of birth.  MH REPORTING

Connecticut may crackdown on homeschoolers

Connecticut may crackdown on homeschoolers

VERBATIM:  Democratic lawmakers are working on a bill that would make it tougher for parents to teach their children at home, adding new requirements that critics say are burdensome.  If the legislation is passed, homeschool families will have to submit their curriculums to local public school officials for approval and will have to fill out a lot more paperwork every year.  Most homeschoolers are Christians but many other people are also adopting the practice these days.  MH REPORTING.

The battle over transgenderism in the federal government is going to court

The battle over transgenderism in the federal government is going to court

VERBATIM:  A man who is living as a woman is suing to prevent the Trump administration from barring him — and others like him — from women’s restrooms and locker rooms in government buildings.  Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal group, has filed a friend of the court brief against the plaintiff, saying “Women deserve privacy, safety, and dignity when they come to work. Our laws and legal system should reflect reality, not deny it.”  MH REPORTING

Christians are preparing to celebrate Palm Sunday

Christians are preparing to celebrate Palm Sunday

VERBATIM:  Believers the world over will kick-off Holy Week with services celebrating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Those celebrations will be low-key in Israel due to the war with Iran — the annual Palm Sunday parade in Jerusalem has been cancelled for safety reasons.  Holy Week is the run-up to Easter Sunday — April 5th this year.  Some churches will mark Maundy Thursday and most will hold services on Good Friday before the big event.  MH REPORTING

Massachusetts is becoming a national hub for abortion

Massachusetts is becoming a national hub for abortion

VERBATIM:  State official report that nearly 50,000 abortions took place in or through the state in 2024 — more than double the roughly 24,000 that were carried out in 2023.  And about half of those 50,000 abortions took place in pro-life states thanks to abortion pills that clinics in Massachusetts are mailing out.  Attorneys general in several states have begun filing lawsuits against providers in other states who send abortion drugs in contravention of local laws.  MH REPORTING

Most religious Americans don’t have any problem with gambling

Most religious Americans don’t have any problem with gambling

VERBATIM:  If any demographic group was liable to oppose betting for moral reasons you might think it would be people of faith.  But a new poll from the Pew Research Center reveals that just 35% of Protestants think gambling is morally wrong.  25% of Catholics agree as do 25% of Jewish Americans.  Amongst atheists, agnostics and people of no-particular faith, even fewer see any moral concerns about betting.  MH REPORTING

A new study asks clergymen about technology

A new study asks clergymen about technology

VERBATIM:  It comes from the Barna Group and it finds that 95% of America’s church leaders believe that digital tools and online platforms open new opportunities for ministries.  79% also think that innovations in high tech will positively shape the future of the church.  Many congregations have adopted digital tools and Barna says “The next question is: How can the technology they already use help them fulfill their mission more faithfully and effectively?”  MH REPORTING

Men and women have different moral codes

Men and women have different moral codes

VERBATIM:  A new poll from the Pew Research Center indicates that men are a lot more likely than women to feel that getting a divorce is IMMORAL.  Men are also considerably more likely to believe abortion to be morally wrong.  On the other hand, 58% of women say viewing pornography is immoral compared to just 47% of men.  Women are also more convinced that the death penalty is immoral — 36% to 31%.  MHN REPORTING

Missouri pro-lifers take heart from a new poll

Missouri pro-lifers take heart from a new poll

VERBATIM:  The survey from YouGov and St. Louis University finds that 47% of voters support an amendment to the state constitution that would ban abortion with first trimester exceptions.  40% oppose it and 12% haven’t decided.  Missouri has been flip-flopping on abortion the last several years.  First the legislature passed a ban.  Then voters approved an amendment enshrining the procedure.  This fall they will get a chance to decide again.  MH REPORTING

What do Americans consider immoral?

What do Americans consider immoral?

Wisconsin enacts a rare pro-life law

Wisconsin enacts a rare pro-life law

VERBATIM:  Democratic Governor Tony Evers has signed a measure that makes it easier for a woman with a crisis pregnancy to have the child and then give him up for adoption.  The new law expands Wisconsin’s Safe Haven Act from 72 hours after birth to 30 days.  The statute allows a woman who doesn’t feel she can care for her child to give him up to the authorities at a wide variety of locations with no questions asked.  All 50 states have similar laws.  MH REPORTING

A victory for religious freedom in Illinois

A victory for religious freedom in Illinois

VERBATIM:  Alliance Defending Freedom has settled a lawsuit with the Chicago Board of Education over its refusal to allow students at Moody Bible Institute to fulfill the student-teaching part of their degree program at public schools.  ADF spokesman Jeremiah Galus says “we’re pleased to reach this favorable outcome that will allow Moody students to participate in the Chicago Public Schools’ intern program. We’re hopeful other public officials will take note.”  MH REPORTING