Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Mother With Cancer Sacrifices Her Life for Unborn Baby
- Nigerian Christians Say Church Bombings are Declaration of War
- Churchgoers Down on Obama
- Girl Scouts Book Refers Readers to Liberal Group to Clear Up 'Media Misinformation'
Mother With Cancer Sacrifices Her Life for Unborn Baby
When one teenage girl found out she was pregnant, she decided to forego chemotherapy treatment for brain and spine tumors so she could carry her baby to term and give birth -- a decision that ultimately led to her death, LifeNews.com reports. Jenni Lake's baby boy was born Nov. 9, a month before her 18th birthday, and she passed away just 12 days later. "She told the nurse: 'I'm done, I did what I was supposed to. My baby is going to get here safe,'" said Diana Phillips, Jenni's mother. Jenni's family said she had always wanted to be a mother, and even in the final weeks of her pregnancy, as she grew weaker, she never showed regret for her decision. Though she lost her vision as the cancer took its course, as her son was placed beside her one last time, her final words were, "I can kind of see him."
Nigerian Christians Say Church Bombings are Declaration of War
Christian leaders in Nigeria have accused Muslims of making a "declaration of war" after a series of recent attacks, including the Christmas Day church bombings that left more than 40 dead, The Guardian reports. Nigeria is divided into a mostly Muslim north and mostly Christian south, and the militant Islamist group Boko Haram has been stepping up its acts of terror in recent months. On Wednesday, Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Nigeria's president that Christians had become victims of Islamic jihad. "It is considered as a declaration of war on Christians and Nigeria as an entity," he said. He criticized Muslim leaders and the government for failing to intervene and said Christians would be left with "no other option than to respond appropriately if there are any further attacks on our members, churches and property." Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, promised to do more to combat the threat of Islamists and hinted at a restructuring of his national security team.
Churchgoers Down on Obama
A new national telephone survey shows that opinions about President Obama are sharply divided along lines of faith and church attendance, according to Rasmussen Reports. Among people who rarely or never attend church, Obama has a job-approval rating of 58 percent, but among those who attend services every week or nearly every week, he has just 38 percent approval. Among those who attend more than one service a week, his approval is even lower at 31 percent.
Girl Scouts Book Refers Readers to Liberal Group to Clear Up 'Media Misinformation'
A 2010 book published by the Girl Scouts, designed for middle-school-age girls to gain insight into how to process and understand the media, seems at first glance like a useful resource. However, the book, titled MEdia, refers young readers to the extreme-left-wing, George-Soros-funded Media Matters for America as one of the primary sources for clearing up media misinformation and verifying facts, The Blaze reports. Considering Media Matters' less-than-objective views, some questions were raised by concerned parents as to why the book's authors would include it as a sole source to debunk media lies. After the controversy was brought to the attention of the Girl Scouts, spokesperson Michelle Tompkins said the organization was reprinting the book this month, but had no further comment about which groups, if any, would replace Media Matters as a reference in the new version. Meanwhile, the book remains on the shelves at bookstores across the U.S.
Publication date: December 30, 2011
