Dr Paul Allen

After a Christian charity worker who walked away from homosexuality following his conversion to Christ offered his powerful testimony on a radio show, law enforcement threatened him with possible jail time and a stiff fine for allegedly breaching his country’s law banning LGBT “conversion practices.” The Maltese government’s action against Matthew Grech, 33, is believed to be the first of its kind and is being viewed as a test case by free speech groups and Christian organizations that aim to protect the rights of former gays and lesbians to tell their stories and live freely without harassment from LGBT groups. Some of the latter assert that Christian teaching on marriage and debate surrounding LGBT lifestyles must be treated as criminal offences. Grech’s message is simple: A decade ago, he experienced a conversion to Christ, realized that sexual acts outside of male/female marriage are a “sin,” and freely chose to give up the homosexual life he had been living. If convicted, he faces

Chengdu, Sichuan Province, persecution of the church continues,  Multiple police officers appeared at the home of Elder Li Yingqiang of Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church and stopped him from attending Sunday worship. Police arrived at 8:20 am that morning and did not leave until noon. According to China Aid and Elder Li’s Facebook page, two undercover officers with several guards and uniformed police officers broke into his home, (included one uniformed officer, Director Dai of Qingyang District Caotang Road police station), Elder Li challenged the officers and asked if they had secured official paperwork to detain him. Police stressed that they did not come to enforce the law at this time but to “chat” (communicate). Even though Elder Li said that he did not want to chat, officers insisted that he talk with them. Elder Li explained to the officers why he risked returning to Chengdu and why he remains committed to the church with several hundred congregants experiencing persecution. B

This week, The New York Times is not only publishing the news, but it is also the news--standing at the centre of controversy well worth watching. As it turns out, this development serves as a parable about massive worldview changes in the United States with urgent lessons about the culture. Earlier this week, The New York Times ran an opinion piece by United States Senator Tom Cotton with the headline, “Tom Cotton: Send in the Troops.” Senator Cotton was elected to the United States Senate in 2015 after serving a term in the United States House of Representatives. Born in 1977, Thomas Bryant Cotton went to Harvard University where he earned his baccalaureate degree and then went on to graduate from Harvard Law School. After graduating from Harvard Law, Tom Cotton decided to enter the military. He could have joined as a military lawyer, but he wanted to serve in the infantry. He eventually became a captain in the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. His milita