Jan. 3, 2020: Chinese pastor Wang Yi; babies' remains can't be identified; Todd Bentley declared ‘not qualified’
Friday, Dec. 3, 2020
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Trump admin condemns imprisonment of Chinese pastor Wang Yi
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The Trump administration has condemned the imprisonment of Chinese Pastor Wang Yi, head of one of China's best-known house churches, calling it another example of “Beijing's repression of Chinese Christians and members of other religious groups.”
The pastor was among dozens of church members and leaders detained by police in December 2018. On Monday, the pastor was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of inciting subversion of state power.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said the U.S. government is alarmed that the pastor was tried in secret and sentenced to prison in connection to his peaceful advocacy for religious freedom.
— Babies’ remains found in abortionist Ulrich Klopfer’s garage, car can’t be identified
The identities of more than 2,400 aborted babies' remains discovered inside the garage and a car owned by deceased abortionist Ulrich Klopfer cannot be identified based on their condition and unreliable records kept by the abortion doctor, Indiana’s Attorney General Curtis Hill said in a preliminary report released in December.
The report said the investigation into the remains discovered on properties owned by Klopfer is ongoing and plans are being made to respectfully inter the babies in keeping with state law.
Last September, the remains of 2,246 aborted babies were found inside cardboard boxes stacked from floor to ceiling inside Klopfer’s garage after he died. Soon after, investigators found an additional 165 remains in an old Mercedes-Benz he kept inside a gated lot, bringing the total to 2,411.
— Kanye West's 'Jesus Is Born' debuts on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums
Billboard announced Wednesday that after just a day-and-a-half of tracking Kanye West’s latest gospel release, Jesus Is Born, performed by his Sunday Service Choir, the music collection is at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart.
Jesus Is Born, released Christmas Day, comes second to West's own first official gospel release, Jesus Is King, which reigns as the No. 1 Top Gospel Album for nine weeks, selling 11,000 units in the first week of 2020.
— Todd Bentley declared ‘not qualified’ for leadership after review of ‘ungodly and immoral behavior’
A team of evangelical leaders including host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program, Dr. Michael Brown, declared Fresh Fire USA leader Todd Bentley “not qualified” for leadership Thursday after an investigation found allegations of “ungodly and immoral behavior” against him “credible.”
Bentley responded defiantly in a Facebook Live broadcast Thursday, arguing that he does not have a drug or sexual addiction but did admit to texting and sexting. He also noted that he stepped down from his public ministry six months ago.
— Boko Haram jihadists behead bride, bridal party days before wedding
A jihadist insurgency affiliated with Boko Haram brutally murdered a Christian bride and her bridal party days before her wedding, a spokesperson for a Catholic diocese in Nigeria has confirmed.
Father Francis Arinse, the communications director for the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri, told the Catholic News Service that every member of the bridal party was killed by Boko Haram extremists on Dec. 26 in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state just days before the wedding was to be held on New Year’s Eve.
The U.S. State Department added Nigeria to its “special watch list” in December, designating it among countries that have “severe violations of religious freedom” because of the Nigerian government’s inability to thwart an increase in violence and abductions carried out in various areas of the country.
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