(digital beeping)
- [Heather] This weekon Christian World News,
a missionary is killed whiletrying to bring the gospel
to an isolated Indian tribe.
Now many are wondering ifhe did the right thing.
We learn more about thismartyr's final moments
and how his death hasimpacted the missionary world.
(digital beeping)
- [Mark] Plus tensions flare in Europe
after Russia seizes three Ukrainian ships.
See how the church could be atthe center of this gun battle
and why it could lead to an all-out war.
(digital beeping)
- [Heather] And hear how you can literally
rewrite your DNA and changeyour family's destiny.
We go inside the science of epigenetics
and share how it canshape the future of you
and your loved ones.
(intense orchestral music)
- Welcome to ChristianWorld News, I'm Mark Martin.
- And I'm Heather Sells.
We begin with a troublingtrend for the Church in China.
Senior International Correspondent
and Christian World News host
George Thomas visited China this week.
He reports growingopposition to the gospel
and anti-church activity thathas not been seen for decades.
Even though China is anofficially communist nation,
it has seen dramatic churchgrowth in recent decades.
Now the state is beginning to push back.
And George joins us now by Skype.
George tell us, how isthe government starting
to crack down on the church?
- Look, we began to seesome of the rumblings
of this crackdown probablyabout four years ago
when the local authoritiesin China's eastern province
of Hunan started to gointo churches and begin
to tear down crosses.
Initially the accusationagainst the church was
that they didn't have thenecessary building permit,
they were not meeting thevarious building codes.
And so they came in with their bulldozers
and started taking down the crosses.
Eventually it spread todestroying of churches.
But then it began to spreadin several of the other
more prominent eastern,southeastern provinces
where there is a strongChristian population.
But what we have seen Heather,in the last four years
has been an aggressive campaignby the Chinese government
to go after people of allfaiths, not just Christianity.
Muslims, Buddhists, inessence they have just
in the last 24 months theyhave released what's called
a White Paper, in essencegiving Chinese citizens
the sort of blueprint of how they can
and cannot practicetheir faith as it relates
to the rules and regulations of the state.
And what we have seenin the last four years
has been a tremendous crackdownon all peoples of faith.
- It sounds like this reallymade an impression on you,
on your just recent trip there.
What were you seeing and why now?
- Yeah, I've been visitingChina for the last 25 years
and I just came out of Beijing this week,
and it was truly alarming.
Because as someone whohad documented the growth
of religiosity in Chinafor many many decades,
to see the country in essence,
turn its back on people of faith,
specifically Christians and Muslims,
it was very very disconcerting.
And those I have spoken to,
leaders within both the Muslim community
as well as the Christian community,
they are very veryconcerned, because in essence
what the Chinese government is saying,
is that you have to lookat faith through the prism
of Communism, through the prismof the central government.
Everything should beseen through that prism.
And worship of faithabove the Communist Party,
above the government,
can get you into somevery very serious trouble.
- George, how do you think this might play
out for believers?
Practically, will itinhibit their movements,
might some of them beginto leave the country?
- Well what we have seenin recent months is that
we're not talking about the kind
of persecution the Churchendured circa 40, 50 years ago.
Back then it was very very severe.
You had pastors who wereimprisoned, tortured, killed.
In this case, what we'reseeing today is that
you've got prominent so-calledunderground churches,
the authorities comein and tell the pastor,
listen you cannot go outside of your home,
you're restricted to your home,
you cannot leave the country,you cannot leave the province
or the city that you live in.
And so the Church understands,
they have a history ofenduring persecution.
What we are seeing today is that so many
of these so-called underground churches
that flourished in the last 25 years,
pretty much since theopening of market reforms
and the ushering of economicreforms by Deng Xiaoping.
You are seeing todaythe underground church
go back literally underground.
They used to, maybe three,400 people would gather
on a Sunday morning, on a Saturday,
now that's not happening.
Those 300, 400 have broken upinto very very small groups,
they're meeting in different homes,
moving from place to place.
So they understand this kind of lifestyle
and what it means to live out their faith.
And let me make a very very clear point,
it's not just Christians.
Muslims today, for examplein Xinjiang Province
all the way in the westernhinterlands of China
where I have reported from in recent past.
They are also suffering tremendously.
The reports are, numerousWestern agencies say
that close to about a millionplus Muslims have been put
into these so-called internment camps.
Where the government is in essence trying
to brainwash these Muslimsto abandon their faith.
To not, for example, practice during the--
- Sorry G we gotta go,but thank you so much
for your report and it's a great alert.
We appreciate your time.
- You're welcome.
- In other news the reporteddeath of missionary John Chau
has drawn worldwide attention this week.
John was last seen by fishermenas he approached India's
North Sentinel Island.
He was attempting to reachthe isolated islanders
with the gospel.
Those fishermen later reportedseeing those islanders
drag a body on the beachwhich they believe is Chau's.
Across the world peoplehave attacked the missionary
for exposing the NorthSentinelese to modern disease.
His missions organization,Kansas City based All Nations
says he took preventative health measures,
and they include 13 immunizations
and quarantining himselfright before he left
for the island.
- Since he was18-years-old, he felt a call
from God to share the loveof God, the goodness of God
with the North Sentinelese.
And every decision he has madein the last eight, nine years
has been to equip him to love and to care
for the North Sentinelese.
He was extremely wellprepared in every way.
So that is why we supported him.
- Days after Chau reportedlydied at the hands of the tribe,
Indian authoritiesstill have not been able
to recover his body.
So what impact will this have
on Christian missionarywork around the world?
I recently spoke with Dr. Corne Bekker,
the Dean of the School ofDivinity at Regent University.
(digital beeping)
How should missionaries prepare to try
to reach isolated people groups.
- I'm not sure the criticism is warranted,
for a number of reasons.
Firstly, we know that Mr.Chau got all the inoculations,
vaccinations that heneeded, he was quarantined
for a little bit before he went in.
Maybe the one thing he couldhave done differently, right?
So Jesus said, when peoplego out in mission always go
in groups of two.
It would have probably beena better idea for him to go.
We also know that he did somelanguage training as well.
So when people prepare for mission,
make sure you understand the language,
make sure you understand the culture,
and make sure that you goin groups, certainly of two,
so that you can make gooddecisions and good judgements.
- Others have praised hispassion and his willingness
to follow God's call.
The unknown health risks thathe posed to the islanders,
I know you mentioned theinoculations and so forth,
but there were still unknown health risks
that he posed to them, andthe risk to his own life.
In your opinion, was he right to go
to the North Sentinel Island?
- I think it's of tremendous importance
to go to every nation that has not heard.
Unfortunately Mark, welive in culture right now
where the gospel of JesusChrist is no longer considered
as the only way, as the onlyanswer to the worlds problems.
And so I praise his passion.
And again, we don't havethe full scope of his true,
we don't know what is goingto happen in the future.
And maybe his sacrifice isgoing to be the catalyst
for these extraordinary wonderful people
to come to the Lord.
- Yeah, I've been thinkinga lot about that as well.
Now he's also beencriticized for not going
with other missionaries,you mentioned that.
And for not getting a missionary visa.
He had a tourist visa, wasthat a mistake in your view?
- I think it's importantas far as possible
to work with the governments
that we are certainly involved in,
or the country we are going to.
And so yes, I think he needed
to get a religious worker's visa.
But again, the Indiangovernment has not allowed
anybody to go to this island.
And as Christians wereally don't have a choice
in this matter.
Jesus been very clear, hesays "Go into all the world
"and share the gospel of Jesus Christ."
- Okay, well some see aparallel to Jim Elliot
and his fellow missionarieswho lost their lives
trying to reach a remotetribe in South America.
What are your thoughtson that, do you agree?
- I think there are quite anumber of differences here
but again, it's thegreat scope of history.
I would be interested tosee what's going to happen
in the next 10, 20, 30 years.
It's very clear to methat this tribe ultimately
will hear the gospel.
And what if they are ableto look back at this event
and say, somebody loved us so much
that they were willing tolay down their lives for us,
this might be the catalyst.
- Yeah that's a wonderful thought there.
Is it possible this couldactually encourage others
to follow the Lord'scommand to take the gospel
to the whole world, not justto the North Sentinelese.
- It certainly has inspired me.
And I wanted to think backon my own life and say,
what risks am I willing totake to share the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
And it's my prayer that wewill have a lot of missionaries
that will go forth.
(digital beeping)
- [Heather] Coming up a fierce standoff
between Russia and Ukraine,
which could lead to war in Europe.
See why Christianity could be
at the center of this conflict.
(intense orchestral music)
- God Almighty is a God of blessing.
He always wants to bless his people.
But how do you get that blessing?
And what principalswill unlock that secret?
- [Narrator] In Miraculous Blessings,
Pat Robertson shows youhow to open the floodgates
of God's awesome blessings in your life.
- In order to have a blessingyou've got to be blessable.
- [Narrator] Discover what the Bible has
to say about God's covenant of blessing,
the laws of blessing, andwhat are the hindrances
to the blessings of God?
- The words of Jesus,
they are as valid as the law of gravity.
And if we follow thoselaws, we will be blessed.
- [Narrator] You willsee amazing true stories
of everyday peoplewhose lives were rescued
and transformed by God'smiraculous blessings.
- But even the doctors acknowledged
that this had to be a miracle.
- [Narrator] Call1-800-700-7000, or visit cbn.com
to become a CBN partner andget Miraculous Blessings today.
- Hello I'm Terry Meeuwsen, didyou know there are more than
148 million orphans in the world today?
148 million, but it was threelittle girls that taught me
about the plight of orphans.
My husband and I spentnearly a month immersed
in the daily activitiesof the Ukrainian orphanage
as we waited to adopt three sisters.
I saw firsthand the utterloneliness, the pain of rejection,
and the overwhelming desire to be loved.
That experience changed me forever.
And out of it grew a ministry
from my heart called Orphan's Promise.
Today, we're helping orphansand vulnerable children
in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes,
they're being educated, andthey're learning life skills.
I'm asking you to joinwith me and become family
to these children.
Will you call the numberon your screen right now?
Because every child deservesa chance to be happy.
- In Eastern Europe thereare fears of renewed fighting
after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships.
Thousands have been killed as a result
of fighting between Russian separatists
and Ukrainian nationals in the east.
- It all started when Russiaannexed the Crimean Peninsula
from Ukraine in 2014.
And as Dale Hurd reports,this latest flair-up
could be part of a struggleover the Orthodox Church.
- Is the brewing crisisbetween Russian and Ukraine
the result of a turfbattle between the Russian
and Ukrainian Orthodox churches?
Some say it could be.
Vladimir Putin finallylost one, and he's angry.
And that could be whatwas behind an incident
on Sunday near Crimea.
When Russian border guards rammed into
and opened fire on threeUkrainian Navy vessels,
traveling from the BlackSea toward a Ukrainian port.
- I believe that it is actually a desire
for Putin to show who'sin control of Crimea.
- [Dale] CBN's Director forRussia and Ukraine Steve Weber
believes the Russian action
could have been Putin's angry response
to the decision by the worldwide leader
of the Orthodox Churchto take Orthodox Churches
in Ukraine away from the control
of the Russian patriarch in Moscow.
- It could be connected to what happened
just a few weeks ago,when this Bartholomew
in Istanbul, with the stroke of a pen
took 12,000, a thirdof all of the churches
under the Moscow patriarch and gave them
to the Ukrainian patriarch.
This created anger in Putin.
It's like you lostpower over all of these,
a third of his parishes.
- [Dale] Putin used Moscow's dominance
over the 300 millionperson Orthodox communion
to try to control Orthodoxbelievers in Ukraine
and boost his image as a leader.
Weber says losing the Ukrainian churches
was like kicking sand into Putin's face.
And frees Ukraine even morefrom the clutches of Moscow.
Fearing war, the Ukrainianparliament is imposed
Marshall Law for 30 days.
Something Ukraine didn't do
even when Russian annexedUkraine's Crimean Peninsula
in 2014, or sent troopsinto Eastern Ukraine.
Russia says it will send
an anti-aircraft missilesystem into Crimea.
The United States and it's allies
condemned the Russian seizureat the United Nations.
- Sunday's outrageous violation
of sovereign Ukrainianterritory is part of a pattern
of Russian behavior thatincludes the purported annexation
of Crimea and abuses againstcountless Ukrainians in Crimea.
- CBN News Senior ReporterDale Hurd joins us now.
Dale why would Vladimir Putin be so upset
about Orthodox Churcheschanging patriarchs?
- Well I think first of all
because he's used togetting what he wants.
And Russian warned the Patriarchin Turkey not to do this,
not to free the Ukrainian churches,
and they did it anyway.
This puts a big dent inPutin's whole project
to sort of rebuild Russia asthe center of the Slavic world,
and the center of the Orthodox world.
- Do you think that Putinis going to strike back
against Patriarch Bartholomew, in Turkey,
the one who defied him.
- You know there have been threats.
Before this happenedthey said, if you do it,
we're gonna take theRussian Orthodox Churches
out from under you.
And that could cut the number of churches
that this patriarch inTurkey rules, in half.
- How is the Church used asa pawn to control Ukraine?
- It's been said, and therewas always this suspicion
in the Ukraine, thatOrthodox churches that were
under the leadership of Moscow,
might be surrogates for Putin.
And would be politicallyunreliable in Ukraine.
So there was that concern as well.
- Okay Dale Hurd, our Senior Reporter,
thanks for staying on top of this.
- Thank you.
- Heather.
(digital beeping)
- [Heather] Coming up yourDNA is not your destiny.
Find out how scientists sayyou can improve your health
by turning off the bad genesand turning on the good ones.
- [Narrator] Parents,the Superbook Bible App
is a great way to get yourchild reading the Bible.
Because in today's busyworld we can use some help.
The free Superbook Bible App has fun stuff
your kids will love.
They'll have a blast learning the Bible,
playing great games.
- Did you win.
- [Narrator] Watching cool videos.
- Right, follow me.
- Discovering heroes in the Bible.
They'll have fun whilethey learn God's word.
The Superbook Kid'sBible App, available now.
- [Narrator] Life, it'smeant to be lived fully.
Jesus said it, "I came to give you life."
Life to the fullest.
Life in your family.
Life in your finances.
Life in your body, mind, and spirit.
Life in your every day.
(gentle music)
At cbn.com we're takingwhat Jesus said seriously.
(gentle music)
We're here to help you discover life.
(gentle music)
Life,
live it fully, cbn.com
- We had four jobs that didn't go right,
but we didn't waver in our faith.
- That's when God put onmy heart that we needed
to do the well.
- [Husband] Within a couple of days
we got an insurance refund check
that we had no idea was coming.
- And here we are this year,it's just booming (laughing).
- You go out and help other people
and you get rewarded for it.
- [Narrator] Get PatRobertson's latest teaching,
Miraculous Blessings.
- Scientists in the U.S. andSwitzerland have announced
an amazing revelation thatbacks the biblical story
of Adam and Eve.
Researchers say a new studyshows all modern humans
are descended from a commonfather and mother who appeared
on the scene 100 to 200,000 years ago,
after a cataclysmic eventalmost wiped out the human race.
In an interview on Fox and Friends,
Dr. Robert Jefferess,
pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas
said, "The scientists however,are still not fully embracing
"the Genesis account of creation."
- We know from theBible that we in fact do
have a common father andmother, Adam and Eve.
Who are not the resultof tadpole mutation,
but of divine creation.
And that all life is theresult not of big bang,
but of a big God.
You know it takes more faith
to believe in the evolutionist theory
of the origin of life thanthe biblical creation account.
- Hm.- And you can see
more on this story at cbnnews.com
- Well scientists havebeen studying the field
of what's called epigeneticsfor the last five to ten years.
And one of their key discoveries is
that we can turn certain genes on and off.
What's more these changes can be passed
down through generations,that's something we read about
in the Bible.
Here is Lorie Johnson with the story.
- [Lorie] Like millions ofAmericans Ashley Skidmore
joined the trend oftaking at-home DNA tests.
- All of my friends weredoing just the Ancestry test
and I just decided on a whimto throw in the health section.
- [Lorie] The results indicatedAshley inherited a gene
that often leads to lung disease.
- I took the results to my doctor
and my doctor was veryalarmed by the results,
and I had no idea what it even was.
- [Lorie] The good news,thanks to the new science
of epigenetics, there'shope for Ashley and others.
DNA is not our destiny,
because even if we inheritedsome genes we'd rather not have
epigenetics tells us,we can turn them off.
In his book, Change YourGenes, Change Your Life,
Dr. Kenneth Pelletiersays we control our genes
not the other way around.
- How we live our lives, howwe influence the expression
of our genes, that's what's critical.
So it gives us the responsibilityand gives us the power
to influence our life direction.
- [Lorie] He says bad genesare activated by bad behavior.
In Ashley's case, smokingturns on her problem gene.
- That's what makes thegene express itself.
But if you know you haveit, then you can not smoke
and you'll avoid the consequences.
- It give me hope that I can silence it,
but if I were a smoker it's basically
my life expectancy is 50 years old.
- [Lorie] Epi means on top of.
Our epigenome is likeflexible software on top
of our genome, whichis like fixed hardware.
Our behavior controls the epigenome,
which in turn controls the genes.
- We are in effect aprogrammable computer.
That's how we were made.
- [Lorie] Equally fascinating,
researcher Dr. Randy Jirtle proved
epigenetic changesdon't just stop with us.
For better or worse,these gene manipulators
can actually be passeddown to future generations.
Backing up the biblical warning
written thousands of years ago.
- You can see that,
in effect what God I think was telling us,
is that since they're nottotally erased necessarily
from generation to generation,
as they go through the egg and the sperm.
Can literally give rise toproblems in the next generation
and the following, and the following,
out to four and five generations.
- [Lorie] When Dr. Jirtlefed healthy nutrients
to pregnant mice which carried a gene
for obesity and jaundice,
her offspring were born thin and brown.
- There are thesetrans-generational changes
that take place.
- [Lorie] Dr. Pelletier believessimilar scenarios play out
in human beings.
- So the good news, ifyou make a healthy change,
it'll be transmittedthrough your generations.
If you make an unhealthy change,
it will also influencesubsequent generations.
I mean this is a wholefascinating new technology.
- [Lorie] So while we can't control
the genetic hand we're dealt.
The new science of epigenetics tells us
we can control how these genes behave.
In ourselves and our offspring.
- [Mark] To see more of LorieJohnson's medical reports
just go to our website cbnnews.com.
We'll be right back.
- [Narrator] When you give,
smiles grow bigger.
Where you care,
homes are heavier.
Where you comfort
(sweeping orchestral music)
the hurt goes away.
When we all come together to love
miracles happen.
- Hello I'm Terry Meeuwsen.
Did you know there are morethan 148 million orphans
in the world today?
148 million, but it was threelittle girls that taught me
about the plight of orphans.
My husband and I spentnearly a month immersed
in the daily activitiesof the Ukrainian Orphanage
as we waited to adopt three sisters.
I saw firsthand the utterloneliness, the pain of rejection,
and the overwhelming desire to be loved.
That experience changed me forever.
And out of it grew a ministry
from my heart called Orphan's Promise.
Today we're helping orphansand vulnerable children
in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes,
they're being educated, andthey're learning life skills.
I'm asking you to joinwith me and become family
to these children.
Will you call the numberon your screen right now?
Because every child deservesa chance to be happy.
- Hello, is this thing on?(finger tapping)
Hey kids, do you love games?- Yeah.
And do you love discovering things?
- Yeah.(squeaking)
- Well do ya?- Yeah.
- [Narrator] Then you're gonna love this.
It's the new freeSuperbook Kids Bible App.
You can play games, watchvideos, find answers
to your questions, and a whole lot more.
The new Superbook Kids Bible App.
- Yeah.- Free downloads available
on iTunes and Google Play now.
- The Trump administrationis investing $100 million
in the global war against HIV and AIDS.
- White House correspondentBen Kennedy says
the funds will help faith-based groups
fight the dreaded disease.
- A fight to combat thisepidemic with prayers,
funding, research, and treatment.
Teaming up the White House here behind me,
lawmakers, and groups around the world
to bring an end to this disease.
- Our administration is proud to partner
with faith-basedorganizations across Africa
and around the world.
- [Ben] The U.S.President's Emergency Plan
for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR,
has helped save morethan 16 million lives.
PEPFAR began 15 years agounder President George W. Bush,
funding treatment for 14 million people.
The initiative even helpedsome 2.2 million babies,
who were born HIV freeto HIV positive mothers.
- We ought not to allow ourselves
to be caught up in the numbers.
'Cause we're talking about people,
we're talking about real lives.
- We are going to win this battle.
Primarily because of the faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- [Ben] The Circle ofHope in Zambia teamed up
with PEPFAR to help more than3,000 people this year alone.
- We want to reach our wholeheartedly
so that they can enjoy a good life
and actually experience the hand of God
in their lives through PEPFAR.
- And if you want to end this pandemic,
you've got to bring thefaith-based community,
the churches, especially in Africa.
- [Ben] On Capitol HillCongressman Chris Smith
introduced a five-year, $30billion extension of PEPFAR
which had bipartisan support in the House,
and just passed the Senate Wednesday.
- It could come back with a vengeance.
Unless there's ongoingexpansion of best practices
to reach the greatest number of people.
- And do you feel like withfaith-based organizations
and with lawmakers like yourself,
we could possibly end this epidemic?
- Oh I believe that this is doable.
- Now AIDS related deathshave been cut in half
since it's peak in 2004,
and new HIV infections have declined
by nearly 50% because ofinitiatives like PEPFAR.
Ben Kennedy, CBN News, the White House.
- Thanks for joining us this week.
- Until next week,goodbye and God bless you.
(gentle music)
