| February 04, 2022 | | Presented by Edifi |
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| | Big business and the Uyghur genocide in China | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Friday, February 4, and we're here with part 2 of The Christian Post's special series on China, highlights from the 70th annual National Prayer Breakfast, and more. | As human rights abuses continue to come to light in the midst of the 2022 Olympic Games in China, part 2 of The Christian Post's series on these abuses looks at how money talks and the ways that business is driving the Uyghur genocide in China. On December 23, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into law. However, the legislation—which passed with strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate—was reportedly contested by major companies such as Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola. And, when it comes to business, policy, and human rights, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading.Also of Interest ...China accuses churches of inciting Hong Kong protests, threatens to restrict religious freedomThe Supreme Court, equality, equity and the rule of law |
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| National Prayer Breakfast speaker: Do not govern with 'fear and anger' | | President Joe Biden took to the 70th annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., to stress the need for more political civility in the United States. Keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson, the founder and director of the Equal Justice Initiative, also used the opportunity to discuss attitudes and governance. In addressing President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and members of Congress attending the event, he called for people of faith to “embrace one another, to affirm each other’s humanity, to affirm each other’s dignity," also stating that "when people allow themselves to be governed by fear and anger, they start tolerating things they should never tolerate” and “start accepting things they should never accept.” | | Texas pastor allegedly killed by daughter during prayer session | | Pastor Gloria Jordan, the former leader of First Pentecostal Church in Wichita Falls, Texas, whose death authorities initially ruled to be natural causes, is now believed to have been killed by her daughter during a prayer session. Several days after Jordan died, a family friend raised concerns about the nature of her death, wihch led to a follow-up investigation and an autopsy. Upon interviewing the only other person who was at home with Pastor Jordan and 41-year-old daughter, Gloria Ann Jordan, at the time of her death, the witness revealed that the daughter had pushed her mother back into a chair until it fell over and then stood over her mother's body and sat on her chest even as the pastor yelled that she could not breathe. The witness indicated she tried to help, but the daughter sat on her until she stopped breathing. |
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| Black history as American history | | Ken Blackwell, Chairman of the Center For Election Integrity at the America First Policy Institute, discusses why he believes that America's story is being re-written through "insidious propaganda" that is using tactics like critical race theory and the ripping down of historical statues to write inaccuracies that suggest that "Black history is somehow distinct from, or in opposition to, 'American history' itself, rather than an integral part of it." Quoting Frederick Douglass' infamous "What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?," Blackwell writes, "Rather than berate America’s founders, Douglass went on to call them 'brave men,' 'statesmen, patriots, and heroes.' He urged his audience to 'honor their memory' because 'they seized upon eternal principles.'” | | Comparing Christian good works to religious dead works | | There is a distinct difference between doing good works to gain God's acceptance versus doing these good deeds because Jesus died on the cross, saved one's soul, and is their personal Savior, writes Pastor Dan Delzell. "You may be a religious person, but are you a Christian? Are you trusting in your religious deeds to save your soul, or are you relying upon the blood Jesus shed for you on the cross?" he asks. |
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| Pastor talks losing faith after father's death, says pain 'blinds' believers | | Pastor Michael Phillips of the T.D. Jakes Foundation, recently discussed turning back to God after walking away following the tragic loss of his father. During the sermon at Potters' House in Dallas, Phillips explained how pain that is undealt with "blocks the precision of what God created," and how trauma and loss cause some people to shut God out. “God set you in motion already. … To deal with the pain … you got to go into weeping mode,” Phillips said. “Baby, you got to cry that out … Get all of that out of your system. If you don’t go through weeping mode, you’ll try to fix the situation and control the circumstance and rebuke the suffering.” | | Are angels working undercover? | | During his sermon Sunday, Pastor Greg Laurie of the multi-site Harvest Christian Fellowship based in Riverside, Calif., said that angels are "actively involved" in each Christian's life. On the topic of whether or not people have guardian angels, his response was a firm "maybe." |
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