Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
Navy Chaplain Ends Hunger Strike for Jesus' Name
According to a story in The Christian Post, a Navy chaplain protesting for the right to pray publicly in Jesus’ name while wearing his uniform ended his 18-day hunger strike on Saturday after he said the Navy gave him permission to do so. A Navy official said guidelines for prayer vary according to the setting and are not mandatory. Claiming a victory for religious freedom in the Navy, Chaplain James C. Klingenschmitt also participated in a public worship service on Saturday in front of the White House as a pastor and worshippers joined to sing hymns, hear a sermon and receive communion from the evangelical Episcopal priest. "Today the Navy has reluctantly obeyed the law – to grant me the religious liberty I always should’ve had," the chaplain said in a statement released through his website. However he said the battle for rights would continue. “I won't stop fighting until every chaplain has the same rights I have today," he stated.
Morality not Necessarily God-Given, Say Academics
Marc Hauser, professor of psychology and director of the Primate Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at
'Jabez' Author Quits
Prayer of Jabez author Bruce Wilkinson, who relocated to Africa from his
John Piper Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer
Reformed theologian and best-selling author John Piper will have surgery in early February to remove his prostate after announcing he has been diagnosed with cancer. In a letter to church members and supporters, Piper wrote that various tests “incline the doctor to think that it is unlikely that the cancer has spread beyond the prostate, and that it is possible with successful treatment to be cancer-free." He continued: “This news has, of course, been good for me. The most dangerous thing in the world is the sin of self-reliance and the stupor of worldliness. The news of cancer has a wonderfully blasting effect on both. I thank God for that." Piper, who spoke earlier this month to the Passion ‘06 rally in Nashville about glorifying God in suffering, gave a sermon in 1980 titled "Christ and Cancer," which is available on his Desiring God website. Other updates may appear on Between Two Worlds, the blog of Desiring God executive editor Justin Taylor.