Episode 476
Food Insecurity Highest in Years, Worst Religious Persecutors Globally, & Sex Too Pervasive on TV
During most of 2020, the 5 Loaves 2 Fish Food Pantry in Tracy, California provided 245 grocery boxes per week. International Christian Concern says Nigeria is the place where it’s most dangerous to be a Christian today. And, an plurality of adolescents think sex and romance are overused in television shows and would like to see more platonic friendships portrayed, an annual University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) study of 10- to 24-year-olds found.
Transcript
During most of 2020, the 5 Loaves 2 Fish Food Pantry in Tracy, California provided 245 grocery boxes per week. With no more than 10 volunteers available, the pace has slowed considerably by comparison down to 75 boxes. But rising food costs and other factors have made its presence no less needed, said director Kevin James.
Some items remain more sought after than others.
“Milk and meat seem to be the most desired and hardest to find,” said James, senior pastor of New Creation Bible Fellowship. “The families are excited when they receive them.”
Higher volume items donated include bread, canned vegetables, canned soups, oatmeal and canned fruit. All are crucial this week – the ministry’s working deadline for having enough in place to meet the expected need at Thanksgiving.
James believes the need they are seeing is reflective of a trend across the country.
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International Christian Concern says Nigeria is the place where it’s most dangerous to be a Christian today. ICC’s report points to terrorist groups in Nigeria such as Boko Haram that has been responsible for more than 38,000 deaths in the past 12 years and the enforcement of Sharia law in 12 northern states as sources of persecution.
Other nations making the top 10 are:
1. North Korea. An estimated 400,000 Christians practice their religion secretly in North Korea, ICC reported. People of faith and political prisoners who are deemed disloyal to Kim Jong Un as Supreme Leader are sentenced to prison camps where they are forced to perform hard labor.
2. India. “In 2023, violence against Christians has continued at a record pace, on track to meet or exceed 2022 when about 600 incidents took place,” the report stated.
3. Iran. Ali Khamenei, the Grand Ayatollah and Supreme Leader of Iran, operates an Islamic republic, “harshly eliminating political and religious resistance to its hardline adherence to Islam,” the report sta ted. Christians and others who are imprisoned for violating Sharia law are subject to imprisonment and torture.
4. China. Over the past two years, the Chinese government has closed more than 7,000 churches, ICC reported.
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Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs
Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
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A plurality of adolescents think sex and romance are overused in television shows and would like to see more platonic friendships portrayed, an annual University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) study of 10- to 24-year-olds found.
Particularly, 47.5 percent of adolescents ages 13-24 think sex is unnecessary for most television plots, 44.3 percent think romance is overused in media, and 51.5 percent want to see more content focused on friendships and platonic relationships, UCLA found in its 2023 Teens and Screens Report released in October.
The numbers should signal Hollywood to stop marketing “explicit sexual content to teens,” the Parents Television Council (PTC) said in response to the findings.
You can read the full piece and learn more about our daily emails at Baptist Press.com.
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