Christian leaders in Iraq don’t believe the prime minister

Christian leaders in Iraq don’t believe the prime minister

VERBATIM:  Ali al-Zaidi is calling all believers who fled the country during the ISIS years to come back.  Local clergymen say — maybe not yet.  They point out that security concerns — which drove Christians out of Iraq — still haven’t been addressed.  ISIS is gone but the Christian minority is still being persecuted by Iraq’s huge Muslim majority and the government isn’t doing much to address the problem.  One Christian leader says until safety returns, believers WON’T.  MH REPORTING

Atheists go after prayer

Atheists go after prayer

VERBATIM:   The Freedom From Religion Foundation is campaigning against prayer walks which a number of public schools across the country have established to promote unity and bless students as a new academic year begins.  Threatening letters from the Foundation have convinced school systems in Georgia and Oklahoma to stop promoting local prayer walks.  The Foundation spends most of its time trying to scour any vestiges of Christianity from the public square.  MH REPORTING

Planned Parenthood is directing the legal war on life

Planned Parenthood is directing the legal war on life

VERBATIM:  According to a piece in the Daily Caller, right after the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, officials with the nation’s largest abortion business contacted attorneys general in blue states.  Planned Parenthood provided them with a 14 point plan for using the law to protect and promote abortion in their states.  The Daily Caller reports that the AG’s have gone ahead and applied much of the Planned Parenthood blueprint, including working to amend state constitutions.  MH REPORTING

A lot of Californians are taking their own lives

A lot of Californians are taking their own lives

VERBATIM:  In the past five years the number of people taking advantage of assisted-suicide in then state has soared150%.  Other states which have legalized the practice are also reporting a surge.  In Canada, where lawmakers continue to expand the groups of people who are eligible, the numbers are skyrocketing.  Pro-lifers and disability advocates warn that a so-called “right to die” can very quickly become a duty to die for the old, sick and disabled.  MH REPORTING

The Barna Group has some advice for pastors

The Barna Group has some advice for pastors

VERBATIM:  The Christian research organization has been doing a careful study of who Christians trust the most and it has concluded that smaller is better.  Polls indicate that believers are a lot more likely to have faith in local pastors than in celebrity mega-church leaders.  Barna tells clergymen to “Prioritize neighborhood engagement, personal relationships, and tangible community impact. Focus on being integrity, more than visibility.”  MH REPORTING

Is your church multigenerational?

Is your church multigenerational?

VERBATIM:  According to a new poll from LifeWay Research, 78% of America’s Protestant pastors say YES, their congregation includes active members from all generations.  91% of the folks in the Pew agree.  The survey also finds that the larger a church is, the more likely that its pastor reports that it is multi-generational.  Younger clergymen are also more likely to tell LIfeWay that their congregation has good representation across all age groups.  MH REPORTING

Persecution is on the rise

Persecution is on the rise

VERBATIM:  International Christian Concern has released its 2026 report and it finds that religious freedom is under siege in a lot of places.  The report states that “Governments are increasingly tightening their grip on religious expression while transnational repression, displacement, and systemic discrimination continue to impact vulnerable communities. At the same time, Western technologies and markets are being leveraged to enable or sustain persecution”  MH REPORTING

Teenagers see a disconnect between their faith and the world

Teenagers see a disconnect between their faith and the world

VERBATIM:  If you were a Christian adolescent in America 100 years ago you probably would have seen aspects of your faith being supported in the culture generally.  That’s not the case now.  A new poll from the Barna Group finds 44% of Christian teens feel their beliefs are in conflict with modern culture and 51% say their faith is pretty much something they just keep to themselves.  Barna says the more faithful the teenager, the bigger this problem becomes.  MH REPORTING

Another look at religious persecution around the globe

Another look at religious persecution around the globe

VERBATIM:  Many are killed, beaten or jailed for their faith.  But how many are forced into exile?  The Pew Research Center has been adding up the number of people who have been driven from their homes because of their religious beliefs.  In 2023, 58 countries saw some amount of displacement caused by persecution.  It was the worst in the Middle East and North Africa where 60% of countries saw displacements.  44% in the Asia-Pacific region.  MH REPORTING

Massachusetts goes all-in on transgenderism

Massachusetts goes all-in on transgenderism

VERBATIM:  The Trump administration says Medicaid will no longer pay for sex-change operations and other so-called “gender care” for children.  This has prompted Democratic Governor Maura Healy to announce that Massachusetts will cover those procedures with state dollars adding that “residents must have access to the life-saving gender-affirming health care they need and deserve.”  Experts estimate that the effort will cost the state millions.  MH REPORTING

A prisoner sues Indiana

A prisoner sues Indiana

VERBATIM:  The male inmate is living as a female and wants the state to foot the bill for a sex change operation.  But Indiana has a law against that and now the man is going to court in hopes of overturning it.  He is arguing that to deny him a taxpayer funded sex-change operation would violate the constitutional injunction against cruel and unusual punishment.  A number of states are passing laws designed to eliminate such surgeries from the list of approved medical care for prisoners.  MH REPORTING

Americans grapple with transgenderism

Americans grapple with transgenderism

VERBATIM:  A recent Pew Research Center study highlights a kind of schizophrenia on the issue amongst some liberals.  According to the poll, 33% of people who believe that it is possible for an individual to change his or her gender — also feel VERY uncomfortable with men playing sports against women.  Another 29% of these people say they are somewhat uncomfortable with males in female sports, suggesting support for transgenderism on the left is softer than advertised.  MH REPORTING

A lot of Americans turn to scripture in times of trouble

A lot of Americans turn to scripture in times of trouble

Congressmen issue a warning about assisted suicide

Congressmen issue a warning about assisted suicide

Latinos are moving away from religion

Latinos are moving away from religion

VERBATIM:  According to an Axios review of numbers from the Public Religion Research Institute, the percentage of Hispanic Americans identifying as religiously unaffiliated has risen steadily from 18% in 2013 to 23% in 2025.  Among Catholic Latinos, the declines have been historic. The share of Latino adults identifying as Catholic plummeted from 67% in 2010 to 43% in 2022.  The number of Protestant Hispanics has stayed about level.  MH REPORTING

Should kids be banned from social media?

Should kids be banned from social media?

VERBATIM:  The Pew Research Center has been asking American adults and 56% if they say YES — they would support a ban on social media for anyone under the age of 16.  21% oppose a ban and the rest of respondents can’t make up their minds.  The Pew poll also finds that strong support for keeping children off social media exists amongst men and women, young and old, parents and the childless, and both Republicans and Democrats.  MH REPORTING

Cohabitation is becoming the norm in this country

Cohabitation is becoming the norm in this country

VERBATIM:  The Pew Research Center reports that 77% of all American adults in their 30’s or 40’s have lived together with a romantic partner without the benefit of marriage.  37% have done this more than once.  And the percentages hold remarkably steady across various racial groups and education cohorts.  Cohabitation has simply become normalized across the nation.  Pew also reports that most cohabiting relationships last about 18 months.  MH REPORTING

Is your church welcoming to disabled people?

Is your church welcoming to disabled people?

Top tennis stars talk about transgenderism

Top tennis stars talk about transgenderism

Congress addresses Title Nine

Congress addresses Title Nine

The landmark 1972 law bars discrimination based on sex, but lately transgender people have been trying to use it to allow males into female restrooms, locker rooms and onto female sports teams.  Now Republicans in Congress are moving to address the problem, advancing a bill that would clearly define male and female for purposes of interpreting Title Nine.  The legislation has reached the House floor — if passed it would go next to the Senate.

Finally, some good news from Iran

Finally, some good news from Iran

VERBATIM:  Despite some of the worst persecution in the world, the underground church in that country is growing by leaps and bounds.  A new report from International Christian Concern reveals that there are more believers in Iran now than there were before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which brought with it an unprecedented wave of persecution.  ICC says “Some estimates point to a million or more Iranian converts to Christianity.  These converts come from all sectors of society.”  MH REPORTING

A new report on family from a British organization

A new report on family from a British organization

VERBATIM:  The Centre for Social Justice says marriage is good for kids.  It has released a study indicating that family stability is greatly enhanced when moms and dads marry because those who do are a lot less likely to split up than those who just live together.  The CSJ points out that when parents break up, their children suffer in a number of ways — emotionally, financially and physically.  Marriage seems to be a pretty good antidote.  MH REPORTING

A liberal group has some advice for Democrats

A liberal group has some advice for Democrats

VERBATIM:  With the midterm elections looming, the Center for American Progress has issued a statement encouraging politicians to steer clear of social issues.  Specifically, the CAP is arguing that lawmakers have no right to ban men from using women’s restrooms or locker rooms, nor should they prevent them from playing on women’s sports or bar children from getting sex change operations.  Some political analysts say that’s about the worst advice the Democrats could possibly be given.  MH REPORTING

Israel is making preparations for a big Christian event

Israel is making preparations for a big Christian event

VERBATIM:  2030 is considered to be the 2,000th anniversary of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and Israel’s Foreign Ministry says it’s laying the groundwork now for a major celebration.  Thousands of Christians visit the Jordan every year and the government expects a huge surge in 2030.  Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says he will seek to “deepen dialogue with churches and Christian leaders worldwide and prepare for the arrival of the pilgrims.”  MH REPORTING