Christian Slam 'Obnoxious' Curriculum Change In Schools That Force Islamic Studies

 

 The Christian Association of Nigeria has slammed what it called an "obnoxious" recent change to the curriculum at secondary schools, which essentially eliminated Christian education classes and replaced them with Islamic Arabic Studies.

 

CAN Chairman Dr. Samson Ayokunle pointed out last week that the new curriculum removes Christian Religious Knowledge and relegates it to themes in civic education, while pupils will be given a choice to study either Islamic Arabic Studies or French.

 

As French teachers are "more or less non-existent in secondary schools," Christian and other students will have no choice but to settle for Islamic Arabic Studies, Ayokunle said, as reported by This Day Live.
CAN met with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja last week, Daily Post reported, expressed its concerns.

"We are here to point your attention to a time-bomb, obnoxious, divisive and ungodly secondary school curriculum that the Federal Ministry of Education is introducing into our schools and of which we had earlier complained to the Presidency," CAN declared.

"As prophets to the nation, we demand a complete withdraw[al] and ban of this curriculum. If allowed to be implemented, it would lead us to a godless nation with violence and all forms of ungodliness as the order of the day," the organization warned.

The Christian organization said that the curriculum was the "brain-child of Nigerian Educational Research Council," and said that it will not do anyone any good.

CAN warned that despite promises from the government, Christians, who make up roughly half the population in the country, continue suffering numerous attacks at the hands of Islamic radicals, both from the Boko Haram terrorist group and the separate Fulani herdsmen.

Premium Times Nigeria reported in February that close to 100,000 people, both Muslims and Christians, have been killed by Boko Haram since 2009 in its ongoing quest to eradicate Christianity from the country, which has also displaced over two million citizens.

While the Nigerian army has been reporting gains made against the Islamic radicals over the past year, the Fulani herdsmen extremists have in turn been increasing their attacks.

"Killing and maiming of farmers continue in Benue, Enugu, Abraka in Delta State just to mention a few," CAN said of the Fulani attacks.

"The most painful thing is that we are seeing their victims without the seriousness from the law enforcement agents to arrest and successfully prosecute the murderous herdsmen. This has encouraged them to continue in their killing and kidnapping spree with reckless abandon."

CAN raised other issues as well, such as the high rate of unemployment among youths, and called on the government to create an investment friendly environment that would allow millions of Nigerian youths to find jobs.

After More Than 20 Years as Conservative Leader, Paul Williams Comes Out as Transwoman

Paul Williams, who led the conservative church planting organization Orchard Group for 20 years, has publicly come out as a transgender woman named Paula Stone Williams.

Williams began his work with Orchard Group in 1979 and became the president and chairman of the group in 1989, driven by a "simple statement of faith."

"These convictions have been passed down by each generation of leaders. While this is certainly not an exhaustive list, we continue to affirm the following: The inspiration and authority of the whole Bible (Old and New Testament) as the revelation of God by the Holy Spirit," the organization declares in part on their website.

Behind closed doors, however, Paul was beginning to embrace a different life as Paula.
Paul's 40-year-old son, Jonathan Williams, pastor of Forefront Brooklyn, a new church started with help from Orchard Group, told The New York Times that his father told him in December 2012, a year before he retired, that he wanted to live life as a woman.

"She said transgender," Jonathan said, referring to his father.

"I was relieved for a split second, not really knowing or understanding what it was," he further explained. "This was before Caitlyn Jenner or 'Transparent.' Then within minutes, going: 'Oh, wait a second — wait a second. This is a way bigger deal. I would rather you be gay or be splitting up from Mom.' It was this weird wave of emotion. We had a church Christmas party that night, so I get this information and I have to go to the church Christmas party and pretend everything's O.K. I drank too much and did my best to put on a happy face, but it was pretty brutal."

It was also a difficult secret to keep, Jonathan explained.

"I couldn't say anything to anyone," he told The Times. "Here I am going, 'Let's be authentic, let's be a community that loves one another,' and I'm not being authentic. I'm not telling people what's going on in my life.

"I'd be upstairs crying before church. Like, this is miserable. My dad was my hero, and my dad's not my dad any longer. I'd stop crying and come down and I'd preach and be really glad and say hi to everybody, and then I'd get home and go to sleep. My wife would be like, 'You're super depressed,' and I'd go, 'I know, I'm super depressed, I don't know what to do about this.' I got counseling about three months after I found out. And I went to him for three, four years dealing with it."

When Paul Williams told his secret to Orchard Group in 2013, they demanded that he resign immediately.
In early 2014, Orchard Group said in a short announcement that Paul had "retired quietly" in 2013.
"Paul Williams gave vital leadership to Orchard Group for decades, including serving as President from 1989 until 2009 .... On December 31, 2013, Paul retired quietly from Orchard Group. The Orchard Group board, staff and extended church planting family wish Paul and Cathy (his wife) God's best as they step into the future," the announcement said.

On Friday, after The New York Times profile about his father's transition was published, Jonathan appeared more settled and supportive.

"I rarely talk about my dad's transition publicly but decided it's time to share this story. I'd be lying if I said that the past couple of years have been easy. Even though it's been a tough process for my family I choose to stand on the side of love and acceptance for my father and so many others," Jonathan wrote on his Facebook page.

As Paula, the former conservative leader says he is going public with his story at this time because he wants to save at-risk Christian transgender teenagers.

"Lives are at stake," Paula stated this month.

"I will never forget the transgender teen who talked with me after I spoke at my first public event, a PFLAG conference in Boulder. The boy's name was Nicholas, and we realized we had been in court on the same day, when our names were legally changed. His parents were incredibly supportive, unlike the parents of Leelah Alcorn, who ended her life on the very same day Nicholas and I changed our names. Leelah's unsupportive parents attended a church that taught them not to accept their daughter's gender. It cost them their daughter," Paula said.

"Transgender teens with unsupportive parents have a suicide rate 13 times higher than their peers. They are the most at risk group in the nation. Most of those unsupportive parents are Evangelicals.

"I have been in personal contact with thousands of LGBTQ individuals and their families from seven countries on four continents. Almost without exception these souls are Christians who have been ostracized from their churches and/or families. They always ask the same painful question, 'What do I do now?' I feel the weight of the responsibility. In my previous work, I hoped to save people from spiritual suffering. In my current work, I hope to save people from dying."

Paula went on to state: "I do not care about their (evangelicals') brand of orthodoxy."

"I have no interest in debating it. It is of little interest to me. However, I do care about their orthopraxy, how they practice the Christian faith. I find it lacking. I find any religion lacking that leads with judgment instead of leading with acceptance and love."

When asked to comment on Paula going public, Brent Storms, who became president of Orchard Group after Paul Williams stepped down, declined commenting on Monday.

"We declined multiple requests from The NY Times to comment regarding their recent article. We intend to continue to do so with future requests, as well," he said.

Actor Hill Harper Says God Told Him to Adopt a Child, Now Calls Son His 'Biggest Blessing'

Hill Harper thought he would be married before having children, but the Christian actor believes God recently told him to adopt a son.

This week, the actor who's gearing up to star in the film "An Interview With God," spoke to People magazine about becoming a father to an 18-month-old baby boy he recently adopted and named Pierce Hill Harper. The 51-year-old actor and best-selling author said he initially only planned to have a child after marriage.

However, things changed when a friend convinced him to consider adoption. Looking back, Harper believes God told him to pursue adoption.

"For years, I always wanted to be a parent. I thought, you know, you get married, you have kids," Harper told People. "I really felt like it was God telling me to do it and I'm so glad that He chose me, and [Pierce's mom]."

When he decided to look into adoption, Harper contacted an adoption attorney who directed him toward a woman who was looking for adoptive parents. Although the initial thought of adoption scared him, Harper said becoming a father was the best decision of his life.

"I was so scared I think because it was such a huge decision. But looking back now, all the fears I had were ridiculously small compared to the joy of having him in my life and having the opportunity to be a father," he told People. "[Adopting Pierce] was the greatest decision I've ever made and I've never been happier."
In an interview with "Good Morning America" on Friday, Harper also spoke about the blessing of fatherhood.

"It's the biggest blessing of my life," Harper said. "The biggest role, and certainly the biggest blessing."
Aside from acting in films like "All Eyez on Me" and hit television shows like "Homeland," Harper visits various churches and faith-based conferences throughout the country as a motivational speaker. Last year, the Harvard Law School alum who has authored books like Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones, served as a keynote speaker for Bishop T.D. Jakes' Texas Offender Reentry Initiative graduation ceremony.

The program created by Jakes has given thousands of ex-convicts the tools to become better integrated into society. As the keynote speaker trying to motivate graduates of Jakes' initiative known by the acronym T.O.R.I, Harper urged those graduating from the program to put God first.

"I will not allow fear to stop me from making the choices that I know I can make. Instead, I will act with my heart, with courage, with energy, with a plan," Hill told the audience to repeat. "Put God first. I will win in my life and in so doing, give others permission to win as well!"

Evangelical Groups to Trump: Don't Deport Iraqi Christians

A group of evangelical Christian organizations and others have sent a letter to the Trump administration in protest of the potential deportation of Iraqi Christians from the United States.

Evangelical leaders, including Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference President Samuel Rodriguez, and National Association for Evangelicals President Leith Anderson, signed a Monday letter from the Evangelical Immigration Table to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

"We write urgently and with grave concern that Christians will be removed from the United States to face potential persecution, and even death, in the Middle East," reads the letter.

"Recent reports ... indicate that a number of these Chaldean Christians face an immediate threat of deportation back to Iraq, a country where, as a result of their faith, they are likely to face oppression, persecution, and possibly even death at the hands of extremists."

(Photo: Reuters/Tom Mihalek)A demonstrator holds a sign to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning refugees and immigrants from seven primarily Muslim countries from entering the United States during a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. February 4, 2017

The letter went on to appeal to President Donald Trump's recent efforts to advance religious liberty at home and abroad.

"To that end, we would ask that the Administration exercise the discretion available under law to defer the deportation of Chaldeans who pose no threat to U.S. public safety to Iraq until such time as the situation in Iraq stabilizes and its government proves willing and capable of protecting the rights of religious minorities," continued the letter.

"We would urge you to take the same approach to any individual, regardless of whether they share our Christian faith or not, who does not pose a threat to the safety of Americans and for whom deportation would be likely to result in persecution, torture, or death."

Other signatories of the letter were Shirley V. Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; Scott Arbeiter, president of World Relief; Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent Emerita of The Wesleyan Church; and Hyepin Im, president & CEO of Korean Churches for Community Development.

The Evangelical Immigration Table is a diverse coalition of evangelical groups and leaders who seek to advance a biblically-centered immigration reform plan.

Last week Reuters reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had arrested and were planning to deport about 200 Iraqi Christians, mostly living in the Detroit area.

"The actions came as part of the Trump administration's push to increase immigration enforcement and make countries, which have resisted in the past, take back nationals ordered deported from the United States," reported Reuters.

"The overwhelming majority of those arrested had criminal convictions for crimes including murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, weapons violations and other offenses ..."
Aside from the letter, Moore also tweeted his objection to the plan to deport the Iraqi Christians, stating on the social media site Twitter that it is " wrong, wrong, wrong" and a "death sentence" to those expected to be deported.

Criticism also came from at least one evangelical supporter of President Trump — the Rev. Franklin Graham, head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

"I find it very disturbing what I have read about Chaldean Christians being rounded up by U.S. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for possible deportation. I would encourage the president to have someone investigate these cases thoroughly," Graham said on Facebook last week.

"I understand a policy of deporting people who are here illegally and have broken the law. I don't know all of the details, but I would encourage our president to give great consideration to the threat to lives of Christians in countries like Iraq."

Woman Claims Televangelist Juanita Bynum's Cousin Abandoned Marriage After She Got Cancer

A woman who said she waited all her life to marry then took the plunge after controversial televangelist Juanita Bynum introduced her first cousin to the woman as her "God sent" husband is now crying foul after the preacher's cousin allegedly abandoned her in January while she was going through treatment for cancer.

In a Facebook Live video last Friday, Mikko Dooley, a famous hairdresser and educator from Chicago, Illinois, revealed her heartbreak, alleging that she was attacked by Bynum's social media supporters known as "bumblebees" and family members for going public about her experience with the televangelist.

"I got Janice Bynum (televangelist's sister) calling me 2, 3 o'clock in the morning. I got her daughter attacking me online all day. I got people from the church in New York that want to attack me. I got people that's wishing death on me and telling me 'you don't touch the anointed, you don't touch the prophetess.' No!" Dooley said. "The prophetess shouldn't have touched Ms. Mikko."

"If you knew the teacher of your child's grade was a rapist would you allow that child to go to the school? See a lot of us are just too quiet and don't want to tell the truth and a lot of us are afraid to hear the truth and a lot of us are going to feel disheartened and a lot of us are going to feel hurt when we hear stories of people being human. I'm not afraid of Dr. Juanita Bynum. I'm not afraid of the crew," she added.

According to blogger Demajio, Dooley explained to him that "Juanita Bynum presented her cousin to Mikko to marry and said that God sent him to her!"

"I'm married to this lady's cousin, I haven't heard from this man since January 29th. The whole family ... believes in God. But where was my husband when I had cancer. Where was my husband when I had cancer? Where was my husband when I had to go through surgery? He was flown outta here January 29th and I haven't heard from him or seen from him since. So when some of y'all talk you don't know the story behind the story. You don't know what's really going on," Dooley lamented Friday.

It is unclear when exactly Dooley got married to Bynum's cousin but she was not happy that the marital bliss she waited to experience her whole life has turned into a nightmare.

"I waited my whole life to get married and I thought I was following God's word. That's my bad ... It was my fault to allow all of this buffoonery to come into my life. I should have known better but it happens to the best of us," she added while showing her wedding ring.

The Christian Post reached out to Juanita Bynum's ministries in both Georgia and New York for comment on Monday but both ministries were not accepting calls at the time they were contacted. In a video posted by Bynum on YouTube in January, the televangelist featured Dooley's story on her show but no reference was made to a deeper connection.

Dooley, who has more than 34,000 followers on Facebook, explained to Demajio that she met Bynum after suffering a hack on her bank account and other personal issues.

"Once Juanita Bynum saw her influence and her audience she took advantage of that. She took advantage of that in a great way! She got in touch with her and flew Mikko out to where she was at a conference," the blogger noted.

Bynum quickly presented her cousin for marriage and used Mikko's social media platform to promote her books until people started contacting her about paying for books and not receiving the product.
"Mikko began to get inboxes asking can you get in touch with Dr. Bynum because I have not received my book," Demajio noted.

Dooley said she was a big believer in Bynum's ministry but now that she has seen it at work from the inside she wants to warn her unsuspecting followers.

"I came from nothing when I met this lady (Bynum). I had faith as a mustard seed that God was going to come through and do His thing in my life. I had a woman of God that was told by God to help me through this transition but instead I was taken advantage of. And in society, we would hurt the victim and praise the victimizer," she lamented.

"Where have we gone wrong, see I come from a church where when the pastor doesn't preach right and he doesn't lead his people, it's time for the body of Christ to get up and allow that pastor to step down. ... they need to be accountable for their actions," she said.

"It just so happen that God put me in a place because you see, while y'all were praying to get a word from Dr. Juanita Bynum, there were people praying because they said 'something don't look right with her.' What's going on? People in my inbox saying, Mikko, I'm praying for you sister, I was woken up in the middle of my night. The Holy Spirit spoke to me. People are praying for things to be revealed. It just so happened that God put me on the inside," she explained.

Young Christian Girl Forced to Pray Muslim Prayer, Told to Forget Jesus to Pass Class in Philippines

A young Christian schoolgirl in the Philippines recalled how teachers forced her to pray a Muslim prayer in order to pass a class, and ignored her explanations that she now prays to Jesus instead.

Persecution watchdog group Open Doors USA said on Wednesday that the Christian girl, Jen-Jen, had been attending a Vocational Bible School in the southernmost region of the Philippines, where she learned Bible stories and listened to the pastor's teachings on salvation and Christ.

At her regular school, however, she described how authority figures looked down on her faith and forced her to go against it.

"Although she performed well in nearly every subject, for instance, Jen-Jen encountered pressure in Arabic class where the teacher required students to memorize a Muslim prayer in order to pass," Open Doors reported.

"Despite being uncomfortable, Jen-Jen learned the words of the prayer to recite to the teacher. But rather than asking Jen-Jen to say the words in an oral test, the teacher later announced students would be required to go to a mosque and pray the prayer aloud."]

The schoolgirl and another Christian classmate told the teacher that they now pray to Jesus instead, and therefore can not pray in a mosque. But the teacher ignored the request and told them to turn away from Christ.

"You must comply or else you will fail in this subject. You should revert to your Islamic faith," the teacher reportedly said.

Jen-Jen was then forced to complete the long walk to the mosque while wearing a traditional Muslim dress and veil covering, despite burning up with a fever.

The schoolgirl got so sick, however, that she lost consciousness and blacked out. Even as she came back to, the teacher refused to excuse her from listening to the entirety of the Muslim imam's message.

"Since the day at the Mosque, Jen-Jen has been pressured to conform to many other Muslim practices, such as fasting during the month of Ramadan. In addition to requirements from the school staff, other students have also teased and bullied Jen-Jen because of her faith, sometimes bombarding her as she walked to and from school and pushing her or insulting her," Open Doors added.

Jen-Jen, who is now in eighth grade, still does not speak ill of her Muslim teachers and classmates, however, and she continues to attend church, with the goal of one day becoming a teacher herself.

"I want to help children like me. I want to show them the love of Jesus that I experienced. Also, I want to help my people read and write so that they will also read the Bible for themselves," the girl said.

While the Philippines is not listed on Open Door's World Watch List of countries where Christians face high persecution, and even though Muslims make up only five percent of the Catholic-majority nation, there are certain areas where Christians themselves are a minority.

The southern regions in the country have recently found themselves plagued by Islamic terror, with Islamic State affiliates occupying the Muslim majority city of Marawi.

The Filipino army has said that it is advancing in its campaign to liberate the city. Reports have emerged of local Muslims risking their own lives to save their Christian neighbors.

Norodin Alonto Lucman, former vice governor of a Muslim self-ruled area within the city, revealed that he hid 71 Christians in his home and led 144 people "through downtown streets held by self-styled ISIL fighters and strewn with rotting corpses."

Akiolu In Court Again, Battles Suit To Dethrone Him

Oluwatosin Omojuyigbe

The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, on Tuesday at the resumed hearing of a suit challenging his title as the Oba of Lagos, insisted before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, that he is the bona fide monarch of Lagos.

Akiolu noted that his being capped as Oba during his coronation by a representative of the Eletuedibo Family was not illegal despite that the ceremony was not overseen by Chief Eletuedibo, who personally caps Obas of Lagos.

“Contrary to claims that in the history of Lagos, no Oba has been capped by any person other than Chief Eletuedibo, Oba Adeniji Adele was capped by Chief Gafir who was a member of the family.

“It was one of the members of Eletuedibo family that capped me,” Akiolu said.

Akiolu’s title is being challenged in a suit filed by Prince Sammy Adebiyi and Prince Rasheed Modile, asking for an order of the court to declare null and void the appointment and installation of Akiolu as the Oba of Lagos.

The claimants noted that under the Oba of Lagos State Customary Law, only two ruling houses, Akinsemoyin and Ologunkutere, were entitled to present candidates for enthronement as the Oba of Lagos.

They were, however, contending that it was not the turn of the Ologunkutere to produce the Oba after the demise of Oba Adeyinka Oyekan II.

They argued that since it was the Ologunkutere Ruling House which produced Oyekan, it was the turn of the Akinsemoyin Ruling House to produce his successor.

Akiolu is said to have hailed from a branch of the Ologunkutere Ruling House.

Joined as respondents in the suit were the Governor of Lagos State, the Attorney General of Lagos State, Prince Babatunde Akitoye and Chief Junaid Eko.

While being cross-examined on Tuesday by the claimant’s counsel, Mr. Babatunde Fashanu (SAN), Akiolu reasserted that age-long customs and traditions were followed in his selection as an Oba.

 Responding to claims that he was elected less than 90 days after the demise of Oyekan which was contrary to customs, Akiolu insisted that such rule was non-existent.

“There have been 21 Obas of Lagos before the late Oba Oyekan, in the Lagos State selection of Obas, there is no 90-day rule.

“By the grace of God, I am a lawyer, I am duty-bound to speak the truth, I have a duty to assist the court.

“The 90-day rule does not exist in the selection of Obas,” he said.

Akiolu also disputed the claims of Adebiyi and Modile that he was not a descendant of Oba Ologunkutere.

“Oba Ologunkutere had five children, one of which was Akiolu, Akintoye was the last child and Akiolu and Olufusi were the older children.

“Akintoye was three months old when Oba Ologunkutere died, I don’t know how old Akiolu was when his father died.

“By the grace of God, I am a direct descendant of Akiolu Ologunkutere,” he said.

When asked by Fashanu to state in order of seniority, the children of Oba Ologunkutere, Akiolu said, “I don’t know, I don’t work at the births and deaths registry.

“What is important is that Akiolu is the child of Ologunkutere.

“There have been three members of the Akiolu family who ran for the Oba of Lagos including one known as Baba Ita-Ado, I can’t remember when he ran and I cannot tell lies.

“All Lagos princes, who have no curse placed on them, are entitled to run for the kingship, it is however the prerogative of the kingmakers to choose who will be king.

“Many are called, few are chosen,” he said.

Akiolu added, “The claimants had wanted to meet me somewhere to sign a document regarding the succession but I refused.

“It is not an individual’s chair; it belongs to the past, present and future.

“All human beings should not hate one another, we are equal in the eyes of God but not equal in our love for God,” Akiolu said.

Justice Samuel Candide-Johnson adjourned till July 5, 6, 2017, for continuation of trial.

 
PUNCH.