- [George] This weekon Christian World News

the Global Church united in prayer

as Christians around the world

suffer for their faith,

churches will come together

to pray and support theirpersecuted brethren.

Plus, targeting the Bible,

repressive regimes are trying to take

God's word away from his people.

How you can help believersget the scriptures

they so desperately need.

And,

I0s Atheism dead?

See why author Eric Metaxas says

Science and History

point to a divine Creator

now

more than ever.

(dramatic music)

Hello everyone, welcometo this week's edition

of Christian World News.

My colleague, WendyGriffith, is on assignment.

You know, the number of Christians

murdered for their faithjumped 60% last year.

Today, one in eightChristians around the globe

face mob violence,

state-sanctioned persecution,

imprisonment

and even death for following Jesus.

For example, in North Korea,

50,000 Christians areheld in prison camps.

For decades, the Communist regime there

has purged, pursued rather a campaign

to eradicate every trace ofChristianity from the country.

In Africa,

radical Muslim groups such as Boko Haram

attack churches, massacre believers

and kidnap Christian girls.

In Islamic nations like Iran,

Christians are forcedto worship underground

for fear of imprisonmentand brutal beatings,

and the church in the West is not immune.

In Canada, dozens of churches

have been vandalizedand burned in a series

of attacks by leftist groups,

angry over the treatmentof indigenous peoples.

This pastor has been arrested

and churches closedover alleged violations

of harsh COVID-19 restrictions.

Todd Nettleton is theCommunications Director

for the Voice of the Martyrs,

a group that serves the persecuted church,

and he joins me now for more on this.

Todd, as always, Sir, thank you so much

for coming on the broadcast.

Let's talk about a coupleof other countries.

Afghanistan, as you know is in the news

after the US

pull out.

I'm curious,

how is the church coping these days

with the Taliban back in charge?

- Well, one of the amazing things about

our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan

is how many of them made the decision

to stay in the country,

knowing the Talibanwas going to take over,

knowing what the Talibanthinks about Christians,

and particularly

Muslim converts to Christianity.

They made that amazing,bold decision to say,

if all the Christians leave,

who's gonna share the gospel?

We'll stay.

We will risk our lives.

And they are risking their lives.

You know, the situation is still

in quite a bit of flux, as far as

what is it gonna look like longterm?

One of my contacts that I did

a Voice of the Martyrsradio interviewer said,

you know, the Taliban are fighters.

They're not governors.

They're not administrators.

And so, they have taken over the country,

but now they have to figure out,

okay, what does this look like?

How do we run things, and Christians

are watching that as well to say,

okay, what does this look like

when the Taliban isrunning the court system?

When they're running the police system?

How is that going toaffect believers in Christ?

- [George] Yeah, Todd, let'sstay in the neighborhood.

In India, just this month,

a Hindu leader called

for the beheading of

Christian evangelists in that country.

What's happening?

- Well, what we see in India,

and it really is sad,

India with a historyof a secular democracy,

the democracy, the government not based

on any particular religious philosophy,

that changed when PrimeMinister Modi was elected,

and now he has been reelected.

His background is in the radicalHindu Nationalist movement,

and literally, you will hear

some of their speakers talk about,

India is Hindu soil.

If you are on Hindu soil,you should be a Hindu.

If you're not a Hindu,you should either convert

or you should go findsomeplace else to live.

That is what is coming down

on our Christian brothers and sisters,

and what we're seeing is,

because the national government

is not opposed to that,

when you have attacks,

when you have threats like you mentioned,

there's no consequence for the attackers.

There's no consequence forthe people making threats

because Prime MinisterModi and his government

actually kind of agree with them.

- [George] The International Day of Prayer

for Persecuted Christians

is coming up on Sunday,

Sunday, November 7th.

How does this help persecutedChristians around the world?

- You know, when my coworkers here

at the Voice of the Martyrs go

and visit persecuted Christians,

one of the things we ask them is

how can we help you

and furthermore, howcan American Christians,

how can Christians inthe free world help you?

The first thing they say

every time we ask that question

is pray for us,

and so, the International Day of Prayer

for Persecuted Christians you mentioned

coming up on November the 7th,

this is a direct responseto the first thing

that persecuted Christians ask us to do,

which is to pray.

- [George] November 8thto the 10th, your group,

Voice of the Martyrs is bringing a movie

to theaters nationwide

and it has a unique Christian message.

Quickly, tell us about it.

- This is the story of theVoice of the Martyrs founders,

Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand.

This is really a prequelto Tortured for Christ,

the movie which cameout several years ago.

This film, shot inRomania, where they lived,

tells the story of their early life,

their courtship,

how they met Jesus,

but then shows thepersecution that they suffered

when the Nazis controlled Romania,

and really shows their ability to forgive.

Both Richard and Sabina,

born into Jewish families,

and so the ability toforgive even the Nazis

is really an amazing,powerful example for us,

and it is shown in this great film.

- And it seems like, asyou have noted through VOM,

the persecution continuesto increase day by day

across the globe,

whether it be in North Africa,

Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa.

It's incredible.

Hey Todd, listen, stay withus for a few more minutes.

We're gonna come back to you

to talk about one very specific need

of persecuted Christians,and more importantly,

how we can help our viewers.

So stay with us there for a moment, okay,

but you know, next year,

an international lawused to punish those who

abuse people because of their faith

is expiring.

My colleague Jennifer Wishon tells us

the quest to keep iton the books is uniting

even the most Liberal andConservative lawmakers.

Take a look.

- Working to stop abusesagainst Christians

and the world's otherminorities isn't easy.

One tool that helps is the

Global Magnitsky Act, known as Glo-Mag

Which allows the US to keep actors

from enjoying many ofthe benefits of the West.

It's named for Sergei Magnitsky,

a Ukrainian lawyer tortured and killed

after exposing corruption at the Kremlin.

Passed in 2012, the act isroutinely used to punish

these international wrongdoers in posing

asset freezes,

Visa bans,

and restriction on doingbusiness with Americans.

- (indistinct) sanctionscan send a strong message

of solidarity of victims

and provide some accountability

when judicial mechanisms fail.

Advocates say that the Magnitksy list

isn't one human andreligious right abusers

want to be one.

- We know who's won the (indistinct)

between president Putin and Trump

we know that the individuals

do not want to get on that list.

They don't want to be named and shamed.

- [Jennifer] In 2017, Presidentsigned an executive order

that goes even further.

Authorizing sanctionson any foreign person

responsible or complacentin Human right abuses

or corruption.

A move, even his biggestdetractors applauded.

- [Jim] You know most of the people

listening here today proabably know

that I'm a very, very liberal democrat

They were not many things

I agree on former president Trump on.

But I did agree with his decision

executive order 13818

- [Jennifer] Now with Glo-Mag set to

expire next year.

Lawmakers want to make theMagnitsky Act permanent.

Incorporate PresidentTrump's executive order

and expand it to other countries.

- The bottom line is

(indistinct)

should be able to escape

sanctions because you're too big.

We need to be able to act with unity

in the international community

to advance the protectionof Human dignity.

- [Jennifer] Last yeareight senior officials

were sanctioned under the act.

- [Nury] For their direct participation in

surveillance,

mass detention,

and forced labor of Uyghurs

and other Turkic muslimsin the Uyghur region.

- [Jennifer] Still thesanction account for

a small percentage ofreligious free violations

occurring globally.

Something official likeTurkey want to see change

Glo-Mag sanctions wereused to pressure Turkey

to release ChristianPastor Andrew Bruntson

but the move also raised questions.

- [Nury] These sanctionsagainst Turkish Officials

help expedite (indistinct)

from arbitrary detention.

- But focusing on one victim,

not including others similarly situated

Turkish or American citizens

who are also arbitrarydetained in Turkish prisons,

raised questions about the implementation

of the sanctions programs.

- [Jennifer] Workingto advance and protect

religious freedom is a priority for the US

for a very simple reason.

- Those who violate religious freedom

is just indicative of so many other abuses

that occur in our country.

- Religious freedom isa foundational pillar

of any free and open society.

Religious freedom standsas a basic human right

alongside freedom of the press,

freedom of speech,

and right to petition one's government.

- And as the expressionof GloMag gets closer

this bipartisan group of lawmakers

and others are ready to working

to make sure it gets expanded

and made permanent.

Jennifer Wishon

CBN News.

- Thank you, Jennifer.

Christian-aid ministries continues to call

for prayer for the seventeen missionaries

held hostage in Haiti.

These sixteen Americans and one Canadian,

including five children

have now been in captivityfor more than two weeks.

The gang holding them is demanding

seventeen million dollars

one million a piece foe their release.

Meanwhile in a separate case,

a 78-year old American Pastor

who'd been kidnapped earlier this month

has been release after his ransom

was paid.

Coming Up

Taking Bible to the persecuted Church,

the crucial lifeline that's helping

struggling Christians

keep their faith.

That story in a moment.

Stay with us folks.

- [Speaker] You can experiencethe kingdom of heaven

right now.

CBN presents The Nearness of Heaven.

- We are going to be talking about people

who want the heaven,

who have encounterswith the kingdom of God.

- He let me experience what it felt like

and there's more love you can imagine.

- [Speaker] In this brandnew teaching from CBN,

you'll discover what the Bible has to say

about Heaven and our lives in Eternity.

How to know for certain

that heaven is your future home.

How seeking God's presence now

will satisfy your heart's desire

and prepare you for what's ahead.

Plus, how to experience the reality of

God's kingdom, right here, right now.

- You're gonna experience peace,

and joy

and life to the fullest.

Get this exciting newteaching from CBN today

Call 1-800-700-7000

or go to CBN.com to become

a CBN partner and receive your copy of

The Nearness of Heaven.

- Nutrition

Exercise

Essential Oils

Weight Loss

and more

It's Healthy Living with Lorie Johnson

- Talk about what's in this.

- [Speaker] Join CBN HealthReporter Lorie Johnson

to get the latest information

from today's top health experts.

- This is fantastic.

- [Speaker] Find out what you need to know

to live a healthier life.

Watch Healthy Living

Tuesday night at 8:30

on the CBN News Channel.

- Hi, Efrem Graham

and this is Studio 5.

Cruise with me as Idiscover the good things

happening with the world of Music,

Sports television,

and movies.

- The fact that Ryan Coogler was going

to be directing the film.

I knew that something special

was gonna happen.

- [Graham] We'll chat with the artists

at the forefront of entertainment.

And explore the connection

between popular culture and faith.

- I asked my Pastor.

I said,

does that mean I am suppose to be preachy?

He says you already (indistinct)

Wednesday night at 8:30

on the CBN News Channel.

- Welcome back to Christian World News.

One of the greatest needs of the

persecuted church is Bible.

Regimes that persecute Christian often

make it a crime to possess a Bible

and they often confiscate

and destroy the scriptures.

So what's been done to help

the persecute church keep

hold of the lifeline to God's word.

Todd Nettleton,

of the Voice of theMartyrs is back with me now

to talk more about this.

So Todd,

Why is the Bible targeted

and what impact

does that have on the church?

- Well the Bible, I think, is targeted

for two very significant reasons.

One is because it is used

as a tool to turn morepeople into Christians.

To get the gospel forward

giving people a Bible,

letting them read it for themselves;

letting them meet Jesus in its pages

is a wonderful evangelism tool

so government or oppressor

that don't want more people to Christian

they certainly don't want

more Bibles in their country.

The second reason is because

it strengthens the church.

We know from our brothers and sisters

who have experiencedpersecution first hand

when they were able to do it with a Bible

say a prisoner isseparated from God's word

and then receives a Bible.

It really makes such a dramatic difference

in how they're able to endure

that persecution that'snot only true for prisoners

that's true for everyone in the church

and hostage in restricted nation.

- China is really one country

that is cracking down in this area.

What can you tell us about that?

Well, I spoke this morning

with our international ministry leader

and China was the country he pointed to

when I said lets about Bibles

It is becoming much more difficult

to get Bibles into the hands of

Christians in China.

I think there're two reasons for that.

One is the governmentof President Xi Jinping

does not want Bibles to come in.

They are doing everything they can

to control the Church to stop

the Bible coming in.

To stop the Bible getting into

the hands of China's Christians.

In fact, they are working on a

new Communist partytranslation of the Bible.

The other factor in thisis surveillance technology

and just the general oppression in China.

Everyone is watched.

Everyone is observed.

The cameras follow everyone and everywhere

so how do you make asecret delivery of Bibles.

How do you run a printing press

in the middle of the night

and print extra Bibles.

It is very difficult because of

the government oppression

and because of the technology

they're using to putthat oppression in place.

- Voice of the Martyrs is working

to get Bibles into closed nations.

In fact, the pandemicactually helped you guys

do that. Tell us about that.

- This is one of myfavorite Covid stories.

We had literally printedthousands of Bible

to go into a middle Eastern country.

We got them as far as theborder of that country

and they just sort of got stuck..

They sat there

and we couldn't get our men.

We couldn't figure outwhat was going to happen

and there was the global pandemic

and guess what,

that border was suddenlya lot less observed

than it had been justa few months earlier.

And we were able to get literally

thousands of copies of the Bible into

that very closed IslamicMiddle Eastern nation.

And its a credit to the way God used Covid

to allow that to happen.

- And these days you get.. you don't need

the actual physical copy ofthe Bible in printed pages.

You can smuggle them on as E-kart

and other new technologies.

I am curious, Todd.

You have seen this happen

on a first hand basis.

But tell us what happens really quickly

when a.. when a person receives a Bible

what's their reaction

- Well typically if theyare already a believer

their hearts are overjoyed.

I've had believers inhostage, and restricted nation

tell me that they prayed for years

that they could have theirown copy of God's words.

And so when you hand then a copy

and say "This is for you"

You can take it home . Its yours.

They are absolutely overjoyed.

One of the other thing thathappens very quickly is

"Hey we need more Bibles because

my Muslim neighbor needsto hear the gospels.

My communist neighbor needsto hear the gospels as well.

Could I get a second Bible

to pass it along to them

so they know the word of Jesus as well.

- Todd, thank you so much for coming

on the broadcast. We'llhave to leave it here.

Folks, by the way if you want to know

how can you take part in the

International Day of Prayerfor the Persecuted Church.

On Sunday, November 7th.

Please, please go to our website

at CBNNEWS.com

- [Speaker] Exploringthe evidence for God.

Why author Eric Metaxas says

Is Atheism dead on arrival?

- Orphan's Promise is committed to loving

and serving children.

To helping keep families together

and creating opportunities for strong

and sustainable communitiesaround the world.

We are working in over 60countries around the world

and with your help we can even do more.

There's an old African proverb says

"If you want to run fast, run alone

but if you want to run far, run together"

At orphan's promise, we want to run far.

So we can touch as many lives of orphan

and vulnerable children as possible.

But we don't wanna go alone.

We are out to change the world

One Child,

One family,

One community at a time.

Will you join us?

- [Speaker] This is CBN News Watch.

- Thanks for joining us.

- [Speaker] Watch Breaking news,

exclusive stories and programs ,

credible news reporting.

- We show you what's happening the world

and how you can pray about it.

- [Speaker] This is CBN News Watch

because Truth Matters

Weekdays at 5

On the CBN News Channel.

- What does Jesus mean is that

Kingdom of Heaven is within you

or within your myths.

- Kingdom of God is at hand

that means you can literally

reach up and grab it.

His presence is right there with you.

If you're a save?

If you're a Christian

Jesus is dwelling in your heart.

The kingdom of God is in your myths.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

- [Speaker] The Nearnessof Heaven is available now.

- Is Atheism Dead?

That's the question bestselling author,

Eric Metaxas asks in his newest book.

Recently CBN's JennaBrowder talked with Eric

about the book's surprising conclusion.

- Is Atheism dead?

Yes says Eric Metaxas.

And not only that.

He says Science, Archeology and History

all point to a creator now more than ever.

- I have literally neverbeen as excited about a book.

- [Jenna] Bon Hoeffer,

then Amazing Grace, storyof William wilbeforce,

to Martin Luther,

bestselling author andradio host, Eric Metaxas

is out with his newest book,

Is Atheism Dead?

- I'm not really particularlytaking on Atheism

and that's the part of the book.

But I'm framing it

in the way that I do

with tittle says Is Atheism Dead?

Particularly because in 1966,

Time magazine had this infamous

cover article that said,

Is God Dead?

- [Jenna] And that got him thinking.

- [Eric] I thought.

I keep bumping into

outrageous evidence

for God.

Like really outrageous,

the kind that I had everbumped into in my life before.

- [Jenna] He points totwo specific examples.

- [Eric] One has to dowith the Biblical Sodom

which is astonishing.

- [Jenna] In roughly 1650 BC,

the city east of Jordancalled Tall el- Hammam

was destroyed by meteor.

Scientist now believe the city could be

the site of Sodom, theancient Biblical city

destroyed for its wickedness.

- [Eric] The other ishaving to do with the idea

where did Life come to begin with.

Right, we talk about evolution

but we never talk about.

Four billions years ago, new scientist say

life emerge on planetEarth as single cell.

But nobody can explainhow did that happen.

So those are things that kicked it off

and you know,

there are so many evidence from science,

besides the one that I just mentioned.

There are so manyevidence from archeology,

besides Biblical Sodom.

I thought

maybe I need to write a book

where I present a lot of evidence

that I've had theprivilege of bumping into

that other people might not know about

including the most believers.

I thought

it has piled up over the years and decades

like snow, you know, overnight

you don't hear it.

And suddenly you wake up in the morning

you don't think where did this come from

and it, you know, drifts

against the door,

you know, three feet high.

- [Jenna] Eric addresses it all.

Laying out the evidence for God.

- [Eric] We have cometo a place in Science

and History

where can now know,

before may be we couldn't.

But we can now know

that Science

is..is compatible with Christian faith

and in fact, it was Christian faith

that led to modern Science.

Tremendous irony when you think of this.

Secular narrative, wehave been dealing with

roughly since Darwin.

- [Jenna] On the contrary,

he says anymore Science,Archeology and History

simply do not support a God-less creation.

- So..So we've been living with this

kind of myth this wide

that science and scientistwere at odds with faith.

That's profoundly untrue,

And I would even go one step farther

and quote my friend John Linux,

the great mathematician whohas written on this subject.

And I quote him a lot in the book.

What he says is that

It's not just Scienceand faith are compatible.

What is incompatiblewith Science is Atheism.

That's a shock. That's a headline.

That' the main bite kind of headline.

- [Jenna] He says today in2021, the question isn't

Is God Dead? But Is Atheism Dead?

- [Eric] Science at leastpoint to a creator, God

a tremendous intelligence.

The greatest atheism of 20th century,

Anthony Flew,

Jean-Paul Sartre,

Albert Camus

all of them,

the ones who took atheismthe most seriously

eventually realized

that it was more rational to believe

in a God

than in no God.

- Eric says his bookisn't just for Christians.

He says it's anyone wrestling with

Life's biggest questions.

In Washington, Jenna Browder

CBN News.

- [Speaker] From Washington DC

- Good evening andwelcome to Faith Nation.

- [Speaker] Uncompromising stories,

interviews,

and analysis from veteran Journalists

David Brody

John Joseph

Jenna Browder

and Eric Phelps

bringing you the politicalnews that matters

- Regulation on the energy industry

we are going to havedramatic ripple of that

throughout the economy.

- [Speaker] News you can trust.

- [Chris] We are peoplewho are committed to

protecting the most weakestand the most vulnerable.

- [Speaker] Watch Faith News.

Weeknights at 6.

- [Speaker] You can experiencethe kingdom of heaven

right now.

CBN presents The Nearness of Heaven.

- We are going to be talking about people

who want the heaven,

who have encounterswith the kingdom of God.

- He let me experience what it felt like

and there's more love you can imagine.

- [Speaker] In this brandnew teaching from CBN,

you'll discover what the Bible has to say

about Heaven and our lives in Eternity.

How to know for certain

that heaven is your future home.

How seeking God's presence now

will satisfy your heart's desire

and prepare you for what's ahead.

Plus, how to experience the reality of

God's kingdom, right here, right now.

- You're gonna experience peace,

and joy

and life to the fullest.

Get this exciting newteaching from CBN today

Call 1-800-700-7000

or go to CBN.com to become

a CBN partner and receive your copy of

The Nearness of Heaven.

- As the world watches from the outside

- It's a big diplomatic tug ofwar here in the Middle East.

- Go inside the storywith Jerusalem Dateline.

- Israeli archeology aretalking about a discovery

that could change the thinking about

the temple Mount.

- Join CBN JerusalemBureau chief Chris Mitchell

and get the Biblical prospect on the event

shaping the world.

- What starts in Israel andends up going to other places.

- Watch Jerusalem Dateline

Friday night at 8:30

on the CBN News Channel.

- Israeli archeologist have uncovered

a two thousand years old gem

that contains a rarepicture of a special plant

straight out of the pages of the Bible.

Emily Jones has that andmuch more from Jerusalem.

- Welcome to Inside Israel

where we show you what is happening

in Israel and the Middle-East.

Controlling the sky isthe top priority in war

that's why Israel hosted

a multinational aerial exercise

called Blue Flags 2021.

Pilots from the US, Greece, Germany

India, France, Italy and the UK,

all gathered in the heart of the desert

to train together and show solidarity.

- This is a greatopportunity for Israel again

to show we do cooperationand why we do it.

Seven different countries come to Israel

to this beautiful land

to train together and seehow we can do things better.

- [Emily] The drill is Israel's largest

most advanced exercise

and for the first time in history

included pilots form theUnited Arab Emirates.

A reality made possiblethrough the Abrams Accords.

The Blue Flag exerciseputs Israel's friendship

on display.

And sent a warning to Iran

and other enemies in the region.

Deep underground next toJerusalem's western wall

Israelis archeologist found a precious gem

with a remarkable engraving on it.

This stone which would have been on a ring

contains an image of a dove

and the branch of a fruit tree.

- [Shukron] Once we found the seal

with the branch and the fruit

we hypothesize is that it's was

the Biblical persimmon fruit plant

as mentioned in the Bible

and in the sources of the second temple

and the Byzantine periods.

- [Emily] This Biblicalpersimmon plant is not related

to the orange persimmon fruit of today.

But it's named in the Bible as

Bomb of Gilead.

Historical sources say the fruit was used

to create incense inthe second temple period

when Jesus walked the Earth.

After almost completelysealing its borders

for year and a half,

Israel plans to open up to more tours

in November.

Israel says it's ready to welcome

fully vaccinated travelers

and those who have recovered from Covid-19

back to the Holy Land.

Earlier this year, only fully vaccinated

travelers and organizedgroups were allowed.

Israel hopes that the move will help

boosts its tourism industry

after it was hit hard by the pandemic.

For more stories like this

you can watch ourJerusalem Dateline program

at CBNNEWS.com

Back to you.

- Thank you Emily.

That's it for this week's edition

of Christian World Newsfrom all of us here.

Until next week, Goodbye

and God bless you.