A selection of the week's happenings for your prayers.
Society & Politics
- Compulsory LGBTQ+ education approved: On Wednesday the House of Commons passed controversial legislation making pro-LGBTQ+ teaching compulsory for primary-age children from 2020, with reduced parental rights of withdrawal. Read more here. This comes as parental protests against LGBTQ+ education continue at one Birmingham school, while a Christian mother from Croydon is suing her son’s primary school for forcing pupils to celebrate LGBTQ+. Read more here.
- Religious marriages at all-time low: Less than a quarter of British marriages are held in places of worship, new statistics reveal. The overall number of marriages is down due to co-habitation, but the rise in popularity of non-religious ceremonies has hit church weddings particularly hard. Read more here.
- Labour adopts controversial Islamophobia definition: In the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque massacre, many British groups including the Labour Party have affirmed their support for Muslims by adopting the definition of Islamophobia created by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims. However, the definition’s serious flaws are prompting concern. Read more here and here.
- Glasgow pro-life students win affiliation right: After initially being declined the right to affiliate themselves with the university Student Union, Glasgow Students for Life has succeeded in getting the university to change its decision. Read more here.
World Scene
- EU upholds conviction of Austrian who criticised Muhammad: A woman who described Muhammad as a paedophile while speaking at an Austrian Freedom Party event ten years ago was later fined for ‘disparaging’ Islam’s ‘prophet’. Her appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, lodged in 2012, has now been dismissed. Read more here.
- Christian adoption agencies under fire in Michigan: A legal settlement means that adoption and foster agencies in the state will no longer be able to refuse to place a child with an LGBTQ+ couple on religious grounds. The move may put Christian services out of business. Read more here and here.
- New Zealand shooting used to advance Islamic agenda: A number of solidarity events following the Christchurch mosque massacre are causing concern, including the broadcast of the Muslim call to prayer on national radio and television, and Muslim prayers in New Zealand’s Parliament (Christian prayers were recently banned). Read more here.
Israel & Middle East
- Trump signs proclamation recognising Golan as Israeli: The US President has formally recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Read more here. The EU and UN have criticised the move.
- Israel targets Iran in Syria: Strategic attacks thought to be Israeli were carried out this week on Iranian weapons caches near Aleppo. Read more here. Israel is increasingly isolated in its fight against Iranian entrenchment in Syria. Also this week, flash floods across Iran have killed at least 21 and wounded hundreds. Read more here.
- Tensions between Israel and Gaza remain high: After a Gazan rocket destroyed a home north of Tel Aviv on Monday, injuring seven Israeli civilians including two children, Israel retaliated with airstrikes on Hamas properties. Read more here. It is thought that Iran ordered the initial rocket attack. Egypt has been called in as a mediator to try to negotiate a ceasefire, ahead of the ‘March of Return’s one-year anniversary this weekend (29-30 March) and impending Israeli elections (9 April). Read more here.
Recommended Sources
At Prophecy Today UK we are aware that the world is moving very quickly and it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments – especially when the material circulated by our mainstream media is increasingly far from reality and definitely not devoted to a biblical perspective!
Though we are not a news service, we want to help keep you informed by passing on updates and reports as we are led. This will be a selective, not an exhaustive, round-up, which we hope will be helpful for your prayers. Click here to browse our News archive.
We recommend the following news services for regular updates from a Christian perspective:
- Christian Concern (UK)
- Christian Institute (UK)
- JNN News (Barry and Batya Segal, Israel)
- Worthy News (Israel)
- Family Watch International
- Barnabas Fund
- Kehila News (Israel)
For regular news briefings about Israel, the Jewish News Syndicate is also recommended.
