Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Muslim Extremists in Nigeria Kill Christians in Two States
- Christians Outraged as BBC Drops B.C./A.D. Dating Method
- India Missionary Attacked With Swords, Left for Dead
- Dead Sea Scrolls Now Available Online
Muslim Extremists in Nigeria Kill Christians in Two States
Nigerian Muslim extremists killed five Christians in the state of Niger on Thursday and three Christians in the state of Kaduna last week, including a 13-year-old girl, Compass Direct News reports. In Niger, militant Muslims went to shops owned by Christians at a market, ordering them to recite verses from the Quran. If the Christians were unable to recite the verses, the gunmen shot and killed them. In Kaduna, about 15 Muslims armed with guns and machetes attacked a Christian community around midnight and stormed three houses, killing three and wounding eight.
Christians Outraged as BBC Drops B.C./A.D. Dating Method
British Christians are outraged after the state-funded British Broadcasting Corporation decided to replace the terms B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini, or Year of the Lord) in historical date references with B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era), Religion News Service reports. In an official statement, BBC said since it was "committed to impartiality, it is appropriate that we use terms that do not offend or alienate non-Christians." The announcement drew immediate reactions from angry listeners and readers, who jammed BBC's phone lines. "These changes are unnecessary," said retired Anglican bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, "and they don't actually achieve what the BBC wants them to achieve. Whether you use Common Era or Anno Domini, the date is still the same and the reference point is still the birth of Jesus Christ."
India Missionary Attacked With Swords, Left for Dead
A group of anti-Christians attacked a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary in India as he was riding his bicycle down a narrow road to the house of a church member the evening of September 23, ASSIST News Service reports. Pastor Bashuda pulled over to the side of the road to let a car pass, but the car stopped and five men overtook him and attacked him with swords. Thinking he was dead, they left him on the side of the road and drove off. Thirty minutes later, Bashuda was discovered by a bicyclist, who rushed back to Bashuda's village for help. Bashuda remains hospitalized in critical condition. "Once again we see persecution on the uprise," said K.P. Yohannan, president and founder of Gospel for Asia.
Dead Sea Scrolls Now Available Online
Five of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which have been stored for decades at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, are now available in digital form to anyone with an internet connection, according to Religion News Service. The website allows online visitors to examine the scrolls in ultra-high-resolution detail with the help of a magnifying feature. Pages for each scroll also contain brief videos and explanatory notes. Dating from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D., the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves near the Dead Sea.
Publication date: September 29, 2011
