Religion Today Daily Headlines - October 2, 2012

Religion Today Daily Headlines - October 2, 2012

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

 

Christians Bombed, Burned Out in Kenya and Tanzania

Kenyan police are investigating a deadly attack on a church in the capital city of Nairobi, CBN News reports. One child was killed and at least three seriously wounded when an explosive device was set off in a Sunday school class full of children. "We heard a blast from outside on the side of the nursery school and people started stampeding and scampering all over," said Jackson Mwangi, who was worshipping in the church when the bomb went off. "The kids who were injured ... the congregation started taking them to the hospital." Police believe the Somali Muslim group al Shabaab is behind the attack; churches in Kenya have been a target of al Shabaab since Kenyan forces moved into Somalia last year to fight the militants. Meanwhile, just south of Kenya in Tanzania, Christians are also under attack: Voice of the Martyrs reports radical Muslims burned six houses and several cars belonging to a pastor and other Christians, as well as burning alive 60 pigs that belonged to Christians.

U.S. Embassy Warns Female Missionaries in Egypt

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo has posted a warning on its website for American citizens living in Egypt, particularly female missionaries, CBN News reports. Officials cautioned on the embassy's website that the government had "credible information suggesting terrorist interest in targeting U.S. female missionaries in Egypt" and warned Americans to "exercise vigilance, taking necessary precautions to maintain their personal security." The embassy in Egypt has been the scene of fevered anti-American demonstrations in recent weeks, and the climate has also deteriorated for Egyptian Christians, as a Coptic priest claimed Friday that a group of Christian families had fled their town in the northern Sinai after threats from Islamists.

Swing Voters Dismayed by Obama's Abortion Record

The Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) released poll data Sept. 26 showing that 54 percent of swing voters say they're less likely to vote for President Obama after learning he opposes laws protecting babies who are born alive in abortion clinics, WORLD News Service reports. The poll, conducted by the polling company inc./WomenTrend, shows 69 percent of swing voters also reject the new federal mandate requiring business owners to cover contraceptives and potential abortion-inducing drugs under their insurance plans. "We are really encouraged by the results," SBA List communications director Mallory Quigley told CitizenLink. "We're going to use [them] to educate voters leading up to the election." The data indicates that once people learn about Obama's history regarding taxpayer funding of abortions, they are most likely to turn away from him, she said. That information could prove critical in a tight race: The Committee of Justice predicts that should Obama be re-elected, he will likely be able to appoint at least one replacement for a retiring conservative justice on the U.S. Supreme Court -- potentially tipping the balance of its makeup to the far left.

California Governor Signs Law Banning Sex Orientation Therapy for Teens

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Saturday a bill banning what is known as "reparative" or "conversion" therapy for minors -- a controversial therapy used to help those struggling with same-sex attractions combat their unwanted desires, the Christian Post reports. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, says no mental health professional will able to provide to anyone under the age of 18 therapy that seeks "to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex" -- regardless of the "willingness of a patient" or a "patient's parent." Mental health providers who violate the law will be subject to discipline by whatever group regulates and licenses them. The organization Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, who opposed the bill and called it unconstitutional, wrote in an open letter in August to the bill's author, Sen. Ted Lieu: "As parents of gays and ex-gays, we are ashamed of your willingness to take action against parents, children, and the family in order to support gay activists. California is not a socialist state and our children do not belong to the government, subject to the ideology of the state over the objections of their parents."

Religion Today Daily Headlines - October 2, 2012