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Daily Archives: July 19, 2023

(BBC) Kenya Azimio demonstrations: Two dead in Kenya anti-government protests

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Kendall Harmon

Two people were killed on Wednesday in clashes between police and protesters in the Kenyan city of Kisimu.

Tear gas has also been fired in the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa at those protesting over the high cost of living.

Several people were injured after being shot as police battled protesters.

Kenya has closed schools in the country’s two main cities as a three-day opposition protest kicked off with demonstrators confronting police.

Many businesses have remained shut over fears of looting, with people scared of getting caught in violent clashes.

Read it all.

Posted in Kenya, Violence

(Church Times) Nigerian Christians ‘under relentless attack’

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Kendall Harmon

Attacks on Christian communities in parts of Nigeria are now relentless, as men, women, and children are killed and churches are burned, the Director of Mission Operations in the Anglican diocese of Jos, the Ven. Mark Mukan, has reported.

He spoke at Holy Trinity, Eastbourne, on a “Day of the Christian Martyr” event last month. It was part of “Out of the Ashes”: a three-month campaign of events in the UK organised by the charity Release International to highlight the suffering of Christians in Nigeria (News, 9 June).

Archdeacon Mukan described a campaign of murder and arson, with houses, churches, hospitals, and farmland “burned to ashes”, in the north-east of Nigeria.

Many of the Christians in the north — most of whom belong to the Church of the Brethren — had been killed or displaced, including at least eight of their pastors, he said, and the denomination had been almost wiped out.

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Posted in Church of Nigeria, Nigeria, Parish Ministry, Terrorism, Violence

(CSM) Computer-generated prayer? How AI is changing faith.

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Kendall Harmon

Some religious leaders have embraced ChatGPT as part of their efforts to engage with communities in innovative ways. In Germany, a Lutheran church recently offered a service created mostly by an AI chatbot. People packed the pews to listen to the experimental service, which was led by an avatar on a screen above the altar.

Religious organizations and leaders in the United States have utilized the emerging technology to a lesser degree. Rabbi Yonatan Dahlen, at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Michigan, says some of his Christian counterparts have used it for correspondence, marketing, and social media content.

At the same time, many spiritual leaders are wary of AI and believe it has limitations. Mr. Dahlen says he once tried using ChatGPT to write a D’var Torah, a short teaching about a passage of the Torah. He feels that a good D’var Torah comes from vulnerability and human experience. “AI can’t do that,” Mr. Dahlen says.

Dayal Gauranga is the executive director of Manhattan’s Bhakti Center, which represents Hinduism’s tradition of Bhakti Yoga. “What makes something powerful is when there’s a lived experience of something,” he says. “You’re not going to get that just by generating a message about it.”

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Posted in Religion & Culture, Science & Technology

(CT) Indian Politicians Promised Relief for Persecuted Christians. So Far, So Good.

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Kendall Harmon

As recently as 2021, the southern India state of Karnataka recorded more than 30 cases of violence against Christians and their property. As recently as 2022, its government used a legislative loophole to pass an anticonversion law.

But this month, Christians are rejoicing after a newly elected state government has announced a significant financial investment in the community and promised to repeal the anticonversion law.

“There is evident change in the approach of the government,” said Atul Aghamkar, the national director of the Evangelical Fellowship of India’s National Center for Urban Transformation, based out of Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka. “That will make a big difference.”

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Posted in India, Religious Freedom / Persecution

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Saint Macrina

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Kendall Harmon

Merciful God, who didst call thy servant Macrina to reveal in her life and her teaching the riches of thy grace and truth: Mercifully grant that we, following her example, may seek after thy wisdom and live according to her way; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Posted in Church History, Spirituality/Prayer

A Prayer to begin the day from Henry Alford

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Kendall Harmon

O Lord Jesus Christ, into whose death we have been baptized: Grant, we beseech thee, that like as thou wast raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we may walk in newness of life; that having been planted in the likeness of thy death, we may be also in the likeness of thy resurrection; for the glory of thy holy name.

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Bible Readings

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Kendall Harmon

Now when day came, there was no small stir among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And when Herod had sought for him and could not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesare’a, and remained there. Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and they came to him in a body, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and made an oration to them. And the people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he did not give God the glory; and he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, bringing with them John whose other name was Mark.

–Acts 12:18-25

Posted in Theology: Scripture