July 19, 2019: More Asia Bibis, Lion King opens, Syrian Christian killed
Friday, July 19, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— 200 Asia Bibis imprisoned
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The son of a Pakistani governor, who was assassinated in 2011 because of his support for imprisoned Christian mother Asia Bibi, revealed that hundreds of people are currently jailed in his country for blasphemy.
Shaan Taseer spoke at the U.S. State Department’s second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom on Wednesday. He warned that though Asia Bibi was finally freed after eight years on death row, there are “200 Asia Bibis” in prison. And that’s only counting the reported cases.
He said, “Unfortunately, Asia Bibi was the poster girl and we stand the risk of losing our poster girl and letting the world think that the issue is over. The issue is not over.”
— ‘The Lion King’ opens in theaters
The much anticipated live-action remake of the animated classic “The Lion King” opened in theaters on Thursday.
The new version comes 25 years after the original became one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, earning nearly a billion dollars at the box office.
The photorealistic film is faithful, for the most part, to the 1994 classic, including its themes of sacrificial love, integrity and honor.
It is expected to debut this weekend with $150 million in the U.S.
— Muslim extremists rape, torture Syrian Christian woman before stoning her to death
A Christian woman was found dead outside her village in Syria on July 9 and an autopsy report revealed that she was tortured and raped for nine hours before being stoned to death.
The victim was identified as 60-year-old Suzan Der Kirkour, a gardener and Arabic teacher, whose village is located near a jihadist stronghold.
The perpetrators are believed to be members of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group, formerly affiliated with al Qaeda.
The ongoing Syrian civil war – now in its ninth year – has forced the majority of the country’s Christians to flee.
— Netflix removes suicide scene from ’13 Reasons Why’
After much criticism, Netflix removed one of its most graphic scenes from season one of “13 Reasons Why.”
It’s been two years since the controversial show’s premiere and now with the third season coming up later this summer, Netflix decided to pull a scene that showcases in graphic detail the main character’s suicide.
The move comes amid much outcry over the show that critics say romanticizes suicide.
The National Institutes of Health funded a study in April which revealed 28.9% increase in teen suicide after the debut of “13 Reasons Why” in 2017.
— Professor sues university after being fired over speech opposing puberty-blocking drugs
Professor Allan M. Josephson was fired by the University of Louisville after he spoke publicly in opposition to medicalizing gender dysphoric youth with puberty-blocking drugs and hormones.
Josephson is now suing the school.
Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the psychiatrist and arguing for his free speech rights.
Josephson had spoken at a panel in 2017, after which he was demoted, subjected to “fairly hostile work-environment situations” and then let go last month.
He expressed concern with how quickly the medicalization of gender has taken off and called it a “travesty” that many doctors are going along with it.
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