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June 5, 2019: Tiananmen Square, Southern Baptists, poll on what's morally acceptable

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.

— Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.

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In remembrance of the estimated thousands of students who died as they called for democracy and freedom, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on China to uphold and respect human rights.

Both he and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom called out the Chinese government for its ongoing abuses, including the detainment of Uighur Muslims and its raiding of house churches.

— The Southern Baptist Convention, which is the largest Protestant church body in the U.S., will be holding its annual meeting next week in Birmingham, Alabama. And one of the major issues it will be taking up this year is sexual abuse.

The SBC will consider changes, including creating a new committee, that will provide “a clearer process for responding to abuse,” the convention’s president, J.D. Greear, said.

The goal is to make SBC churches, which are autonomous, safe.

Earlier this year, the Houston Chronicle published an investigative report that found over 700 victims of alleged sexual abuse by 380 Southern Baptist leaders and volunteers since 1998.

— The parents of a 5-year-old boy, who was thrown from a third-floor balcony at Mall of America, have forgiven their son’s assailant.

Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda was sentenced to 19 years in prison on Monday. He had pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder last month after choosing 5-year-old Landen Hoffman at random and throwing him over the railing at the Minnesota mall.

Landen’s father called the act “evil and selfish” but said he chose to forgive him “because God wants me to.”

Landen has been recovering from the 40-foot fall and doctors say it’s a miracle that he did not suffer brain damage or any life-threatening injuries.

— Regional bodies of The United Methodist Church are passing resolutions to resist the denomination’s reaffirmed stance against same-sex marriage and noncelibate gay clergy.

After UMC delegates approved what is called the Traditional Plan early this year, United Methodists in Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan and Maryland have moved to defy the denomination’s rules.

The debate over homosexuality has been ongoing for years. With the Traditional Plan in place, many pro-LGBT churches have been meeting to discuss resistance tactics or leaving to form a new body altogether.

— There’s a new Gallup poll on what Americans today find morally acceptable.

On divorce, 77 percent of Americans said it was morally acceptable. That’s up from 59 percent in 2001.

When it comes to sex between unmarried men and women, 71 percent find it morally acceptable. Back in 2001, just a little over half (53 percent) said the same.

Around 3 in 5 Americans said having a baby outside of marriage, embryonic stem cell research, same-sex relations and the death penalty are morally acceptable.

Issues that Americans were more likely to find morally wrong include abortion, pornography, suicide and extramarital affairs.

To read more stories from a Christian perspective, visit christianpost.com.

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