Christian Persecution Rising as Jihad Infiltrates U.S.

 Christian Persecution Rising as Jihad Infiltrates U.S.

Liberty Sentinel by Alex Newman  

Oct 15, 2026

In a new episode of the Stand Up For The Truth Podcast, host Mary welcomes back journalist and author Alex Newman to discuss mounting legal and cultural pressures on Christian faith and parental rights. The conversation centers on a high-profile Maine custody case in which the state’s highest court upheld an order giving an atheist father sole authority over his 13-year-old daughter’s religious upbringing. The ruling effectively bars the Christian mother from taking her daughter to Calvary Chapel Greater Portland, reading the Bible with her, or exposing her to related teachings—citing alleged psychological harm from church messages (including end-times topics)—while framing the decision as necessary for successful co-parenting.

Newman and the host also examine a proposed California mandate that would require churches to provide “anti-hate speech training” for employees, viewing it as further government encroachment on religious institutions. They address a September Lifeway Research poll showing that while many Christians feel able to defend a Biblical worldview, roughly one-third (and about half of Zoomers) say portions of the Bible can be considered obsolete as culture shifts—prompting discussion of Romans 12:2 and the call not to conform to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.

The episode closes with election-year notes on a Michigan U.S. Senate candidate who has labeled efforts to ban Sharia law as “white supremacy,” raising questions of inconsistent standards: would similar restrictions apply if the Maine daughter were Muslim and attending a mosque? The discussion underscores Newman’s broader theme of keeping the faith amid selective legal and cultural double standards.

"I've Seen What Happens When a Nation Rejects God"

 

Republicans worry that evangelicals sitting the midterms out could cost them in key races

A church steeple in Brandon, Florida, on ...


Conservative leaders are sounding the alarm that more needs to be done in the final weeks before the midterm elections to educate and mobilize White evangelicals, a critical voting bloc in the president’s coalition. Republicans fear if they stay home, that could hand victories to Democrats in key races across the country with control of Congress at stake.

“I am not aware of any party machine that is at work right now to turn out evangelical voters,” one conservative evangelical pastor in Texas told CNN on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the risks for Republicans in the election. “Maybe they are assuming they are going to show up, but that is a dangerous assumption.”

There’s little evidence national Republicans are doing much through their campaign committees to specifically target and mobilize the evangelical vote. Instead, grassroots mobilization is falling largely to individual churches and groups like the Faith and Freedom Coalition, which announced a get-out-the-vote operation aimed at turning out “drop-off voters” — evangelicals who vote in presidential elections but don’t always show up in the midterms.

At the same time, Democrats are mounting their own efforts to win over White Christian voters, making the argument that their party and priorities are aligned with faith-based values and recruiting candidates, including pastors, whose religion is a key part of their identity.

Turning out the White evangelical vote will be critical to Republicans’ success in key races across the South, from Texas to Georgia to Kansas and even places like South Carolina, where the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, is facing off against Democrat Annie Andrews, who has mounted a more competitive campaign than Republicans expected.

In 2016, 2020 and 2024, roughly 8 in 10 White evangelicals cast ballots for President Donald Trump nationally. While they make up only 13% of the country’s population, they vote in such large numbers that they often account for roughly 20% of the electorate in any given election, according to the Public Religion Research Institute.

“The evangelical vote is Trump’s strongest coalition. Thirty-eight percent of his voters were White evangelicals. [Republicans] cannot win — I don’t care where you are in the country — without the evangelical vote,” said Ryan Burge, a professor at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis.

But at a moment when gas and grocery prices are high, the president’s approval rating is underwater, and enthusiasm among Republicans is tepid, the 2026 election could be a critical test of whether White evangelicals still have enough faith in the GOP to turn out in full force on Election Day.

How Celtic Christianity Connected to East & West | The Untold Story - Part 8

 

Did Celtic Christians Keep the 7th Day Sabbath?

I Google(d) the following question:  Did Celtic Christians Keep the 7th Day Sabbath?

And Google AI (Super Intelligence) responded:

AI Overview

Yes, historical records indicate that early Celtic Christians in Ireland and Scotland observed Saturday as a day of rest.  Facebook 

Historical Evidence of Celtic Sabbath-Keeping

• The Day of Rest: Several 19th- and 20th-century historians note that early Celtic monastic communities abstained from labor on Saturday, treating it in a sabbatical manner.   Whole Gospel Ministries

• Queen Margaret's Influence: In the 11th century, Queen Margaret of Scotland worked to reform the Scottish church and opposed the local custom where people rested on Saturday ("the Sabbath") and performed their ordinary work on Sunday ("the Lord's day"). https://www.facebook.com/reel/1377568557646563

• aPrimary Sources: Historians like W. T. Skene in Celtic Scotland and A. C. Flick in The Rise of the Medieval Church recorded that the Celts kept Saturday as a day of rest, while also holding special religious services on Sunday. Facebook +1 https://www.facebook.com/AmazingFacts/posts/st-patrick-and-the-sabbathst-patrick-worshipped-god-on-the-seventh-day-sabbath-i/1357720269722405/

If you'd like, I can share more about:

The differences between the early Celtic Church and the Roman Catholic Church

How Sunday observance eventually replaced Saturday traditions in the region

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When freedom of religion is not

Indian Christians protesting the Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill also known as the Anti-Conversion Bill makes provisions for the prohibition of unlawful conversion from one religion to another by force, allurement, or by any fraudulent means with punishments ranging between a minimum of three years and a maximum of 10 years along with monetary penalties. Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

A devastating wave is crashing over South Asia, wreaking havoc on those who choose to follow a faith other than the majority. It is a wave of anti-Christian sentiment. So-called “Freedom of Religion” and “Anti-Blasphemy” laws fuel it, generating a powerful undercurrent of distrust and disdain toward Christians.

They suppress one of the most basic human rights: the right to worship without government interference. India and Pakistan stand out as countries where this hostility results in unsubstantiated accusations, unjust arrests, and violence.

Sovereign states almost universally agree on protecting an individual’s right to choose their faith.

Sovereign states almost universally agree on protecting an individual’s right to choose their faith and peacefully practice and share it as they see fit. In fact, 175 of the 193 United Nations members are parties to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

This instrument, designed by the UN to protect citizens from the treacherous waves of religious persecution, includes India and Pakistan among its bound members. Still, religious freedom violations persist in South Asia.

Six pastors and one Christian have recently been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

Thirteen of India’s 28 states have “Freedom of Religion” laws. Under Madhya Pradesh’s state “Freedom of Religion” law, six pastors and one Christian have recently been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. The pastors attended a child’s birthday party hosted by a Christian family. An uninvited neighbor showed up intoxicated and began to cause a commotion, inciting over 100 people to rage against the Christian family.

A guest called police to restore order. The neighbor consequently filed charges against the pastors. The charges led to convictions, despite testimony from the party host disputing any wrongdoing.

In Pakistan, anti-Christian sentiment has recently resulted in a large mob trapping between 10 and 15 Christian families in their homes.

In Pakistan, anti-Christian sentiment has recently resulted in a large mob trapping between 10 and 15 Christian families in their homes after an anonymous package containing a burned Quran was mailed to a shopkeeper, alleging that a Christian had desecrated the Quran. The accused and his family had to be evacuated with the aid of an armored police escort.

We applaud the government for stepping in to help. Still, one has to wonder whether it would have been necessary if the government had reformed the laws that fuel anti-Christian sentiment and, in doing so, rescued the country as a whole.

As Christians, we stand against conversion by coercion, fraud or force.

Following Jesus is a choice that each person must make on their own. As Christians, we stand against conversion by coercion, fraud or force. We believe that governments have an obligation to protect their citizens from all manner of exploitation, even religious exploitation. Laws protecting people from coercion, force and fraud are one thing. Laws that prohibit people from hearing about or choosing another religion are a completely different matter.

One enforces human rights; the other violates them. Ironically, the so-called “Freedom of Religion” laws place people in bondage by restricting their free speech and their ability to proclaim and live out their faith freely.

City accused of RELIGIOUS BIAS

America’s Greatest Freedom Is Under Attack...And Most Christians Don’t See the Danger

The Chief Cornerstone

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22.

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'March for Jesus' will bring Christians to the streets of Buenos Aires

By Lizzie Sotola 

Aug 15, 2026 08:49 EDT 

Thousands of Christians gather near Argentina's National Congress in Buenos Aires for a day of prayer, worship and public proclamation of faith during a previous March for Jesus rally. March for Jesus

Christians from churches across Argentina will march through central Buenos Aires on Monday, Aug. 17, joining a public day of prayer, worship and proclamation called "March for Jesus."

The march begins at 1 p.m. at Avenida de Mayo and Perú Street and sets off at 2 p.m. toward Plaza de los Dos Congresos, where the main event will take place.

The date coincides with Argentina's national holiday commemorating the "Passing into Immortality" of Gen. José de San Martín.

The program will include praise, worship and prayer for Argentina and its authorities. Musicians and representatives from various faith communities will also participate.

Organizers have described the event as a public expression of evangelical unity and an opportunity to bring a message of faith, peace and hope to the city's streets. They expect a large turnout, with believers attending from across the country.

The Buenos Aires march follows a recent gathering in Rosario. On Nov. 18, 2024, a large crowd of Christians gathered at the Monumento Nacional a la Bandera (National Flag Memorial) for a collective day of worship and prayer.

"March for Jesus" traces its roots to London in 1987, where it grew out of a collaboration between Youth With A Mission, Pioneer and Ichthus Christian Fellowship.

Persecution of Egyptian Christians Continues in Series of Recent Incidents

Coptic Christians in worship at a Palm Sunday service in Cairo, Egypt on April 5, 2026. (Ahmad Hasaballah / Getty Images)

 

By Ben Zeisloft August 8, 2026 at 6:00am


A recent series of attacks on Christians prompted attention from believers around the world, as well as a response from the U.S. State Department.

Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek, a Muslim who became a Christian, has especially provoked concern around the world due to his imprisonment, per Fox News.

Raymond Ibrahim, a historian who writes frequently on the Islamic world, noted that Abdelrazek “endured years of harassment, detention, and abuse” after becoming a Christian in 2016.

“On April 13, prosecutors referred him to a terrorism court, while his lawyers were denied access to the case file,” Ibrahim wrote.

“He remains imprisoned, with advocates reporting torture, physical abuse, denial of adequate medical care, and repeated postponements of his trial.”

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights meanwhile highlighted reports of an Islamic mob besieging a church in Upper Egypt.

The mob, which was reportedly throwing stones, injured Christians and damaged a priest’s car.

Rev. Matta Roushdy, a priest at the Virgin Mary and St. Abanoub Coptic Orthodox Church, was attacked days later.

Open Doors said of the incident that “these types of attacks are usually committed by members of radical Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Oppressed Christians in Algeria go underground

By Morning Star News Aug 4, 2026

 

Sealing of Tafath church in Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria on Oct. 16, 2019. Morning-Star News

Following Algeria’s closure of nearly all evangelical churches in waves of repression that began in 2017, Christians have been forced underground in what they describe as an internal exile, sources said.

Christians in the 99-percent Muslim country gather discreetly in homes, garages or under olive trees, isolating many who are deprived of regular spiritual guidance. Some turn to the internet and social media, where heresies proliferate, thus fostering internal divisions, the spread of false teaching and the rise of conflicts.

Despite such challenges, some Christians express gratitude to God, viewing this period as a spiritual cleansing to build stronger and more mature churches.

“Believers maintain fraternal bonds within small family groups,” said one Christian community leader. “We celebrate Holy Communion and baptisms privately, and dedicate significant resources to charitable aid, in accordance with biblical commandments.”

One church leader continues to serve by visiting families in various villages to offer moral and spiritual support. Like all pastors mentioned in this story, his name cannot be published for security reasons.

“The situation is undeniably difficult because we are deprived of fellowship,” he said. “But God’s work must not stop. We desperately lack Bibles and Christian books, as customs officials systematically confiscate them even when friends bring them from the West.”

Along with blocked book imports, police searches and confiscated equipment, Christians have increasingly been shut out of regular fellowship since authorities effectively left the evangelical umbrella group, the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA), without legal status. When the EPA re-applied for legal status in August 2014 and July 2015 following implementation of the 2012 Law on Associations No. 12-06, authorities withheld mandatory registration receipts, leaving the umbrella group in a legal limbo that provided the pretext for forced closures of most affiliated churches from 2017 to 2019.

Since Law 12-06 blocks the official registration of the EPA, security forces have sealed shut 46 of the group’s affiliated 47 churches, leaving only a church headquarters in Algiers operational thanks to the presence there of some foreigners and diplomats.

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Should Christians Keep the Sabbath or Sunday?

 

MLB warns players against writing Bible verses on their hats during Pride month

 

Giants’ Pride hat controversy: Tolerance does not apply to Christians

Opinion

By Matt Sieger

Published June 15, 2026.

The San Francisco Giants held their annual Pride Night last week to honor the LGBTQ+ community. The celebration included 10 gay couples renewing their wedding vows and a drag queen standing along the first base line.

Four Christian ballplayers on the Giants chose to make a statement about their faith. While all the other players wore a “Pride” hat (a Giants hat with a rainbow patch attached), one pitcher, Sam Hentges, wore his regular Giants cap without the rainbow.

Three other Giants pitchers — Landon Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker — wore the Pride hat, but cited Bible verses next to the rainbow logo.

A Giants logo is displayed over a heart with various LGBTQ colors at Oracle Park.

Hentges added: “It’s just something that I feel like I was forced to support when I don’t morally support it. There wasn’t hatred behind it. I think that’s kind of something that’s misinterpreted. I don’t hate the LGBTQ community.”