July 20, 2019: Trump meets persecution survivors, Lauren Daigle makes history, oldest Christian letter
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Trump meets survivors of persecution
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President Donald Trump met with 27 survivors of religious persecution from all over the world at the White House Wednesday.
Among them were pastor Andrew Brunson, who was freed from prison in Turkey last year, and others whose families have been imprisoned in various countries.
They were in Washington for the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.
Trump heard each of their plights and acknowledged the persecution they endured.
— Lauren Daigle album makes Billboard history
Singer Lauren Daigle’s album, Look Up Child, made history by becoming the longest-reigning album on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart.
The title was previously held by Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown which spent 38 weeks on top of the Christian charts in 2004-05.
— Oldest Christian letter outside of Bible uncovered
The oldest Christian letter outside of the Bible was revealed this week by the University of Basel in Switzerland.
The scrap of papyrus dates back to the 230s A.D. and is believed to be older than all other Christian documentary evidence from Roman Egypt.
The letter was by a young man named Arrianus, addressed to his brother, Paulus.
What makes it distinctly Christian is how the letter concludes with “I pray that you fare well in the Lord.”
https://www.christianpost.com/news/oldest-christian-letter-outside-of-bible-uncovered.html
— Religious freedom getting worse around the world: Pew
A Pew Research Center report released this week shows that government restrictions on religion have increased across the globe and that Christians are the most-harassed religious group.
In 2017, 26% of countries had high or very high levels or restrictions on religion and 28% had high levels of social hostilities involving religion.
Believers are facing more restrictions on their practices not only in Muslim-majority countries but also in democracies, including in Europe and the Americas.
— Joshua Harris of ‘I Kissed Dating Goodbye’ separates from wife
Author Joshua Harris of I Kissed Dating Goodbye announced that he and his wife are separating.
He said “some significant changes have taken place in both of us” and that they will move forward as friends.
Harris’ best-selling 1997 book was discontinued last year after the author apologized to the public and said he no longer agrees with the book’s central idea that dating should be avoided.
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