Nov. 7, 2019: Screen time affects brains, Jaci Velasquez, Swiss church approves gay marriage
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019:
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Study shows excessive screen time changes brains of kids
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A new study by the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center revealed that excessive screen time among children changes parts of their brains.
Researchers conducted the study on 47 children ages 3 to 5 and found that spending too much time on digital devices led to lower structural integrity of white matter in the brain. This affects such skills as organization, literacy skills and processing speed such as the ability to name objects rapidly.
The average screen time among the children was a little over two hours a day.
Dr. John Hutton, who authored the study, noted that the brain develops the most rapidly in the first five years and too much screen time could be replacing other activities that would help with development.
— Jaci Velasquez gets candid about how son’s autism tested faith
Multi-platinum recording artist Jaci Velasquez has a new book out titled When God Rescripts Your Life and in it, she opens up about the difficulties of early fame, a failed marriage and questioning God when she found out her son had autism.
When her oldest son, Zealand, was diagnosed with autism in 2013, she said she felt “so angry” with God especially considering she and her husband had been making Christian music and ministering to others about God.
After six months of being angry, she felt God calling her to fight for her child. Today, she is a spokesperson for autism advocacy and has used her talents to fundraise and spread awareness about a disorder that affects 1 in 59 children.
— Mormon family massacre update
Mexican authorities have arrested a suspect in the massacre of nine family members who are part of a Mormon community. The suspect was found in the town of Agua Prieta with two hostages and in possession of four assault rifles and ammunition.
The killings took place Monday morning when three women and their 14 children, who have dual U.S. and Mexico citizenship, were traveling near the border in Mexico. They were shot at and one of the three vehicles was torched, leaving six of the children dead.
Mexican officials say gunmen, suspected to be members of a drug cartel, might have mistaken the family’s vehicles for those of a rival gang.
— Swiss Protestant Church network approves same-sex marriage
The Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches voted during a nationwide assembly this week to allow same-sex marriages.
The delegates also voted in favor of recommending that member churches respect the freedom of conscience of pastors and allow individual pastors to make their own decisions whether or not they will officiate same-sex weddings.
The move comes months after the federation’s assembly of delegates adopted an official position stating that one cannot choose their sexual orientation and that “God wants us the way we were created.”
— China changes Bible characters to ancient Chinese
The official magazine of China’s state-sanctioned church has been depicting Jesus and other figures in the Bibles as Chinese.
A 70-year-old Christian from the province of Qinghai told Bitter Winter the Communist government “has always talked about de-Westernization” and “doesn’t allow Chinese people to believe in the God of foreigners.”
Christians in the country are concerned that the government is using traditional Chinese culture to “replace the Bible and distort biblical teachings.”
This comes after President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping ordered in 2016 the sinicization of all religions to ensure they are loyal to the officially atheistic party.
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