India's Christians Face Historical Attacks

CWN.org - This year, Christians in Orissa state experienced some of the worst persecution ever in India.
The violence began in August when a Hindu leader was murdered.

Some 4,000 Christian homes and 400 churches were destroyed in the attacks that went on for weeks.
The events triggered violence against Christians in a number of other states.
"Every single Christian denomination has been attacked-- our schools, our colleges, our orphanages," explained Richard Howell of Evangelical Fellowship, India. "Everything that Christians own...have been attacked."

NC Church Gives Hope to Soldiers

CBNNews.com - Some U.S. troops in Iraq are preparing to spend their second Christmas in a row away from home. But one North Carolina church is making sure some soldiers don't feel forgotten.
The crinkle of candy canes hitting the bottom of boxes is the sound of Christmas coming for a group of soldiers in Iraq.
"They sent a wish list and hard candy must be in short supply over there, because that was a big request," said one volunteer.
Calvary Chapel of Triad in Kernersville, North Carolina have adopted the men of HH Troop. It will be their second consecutive Christmas in Iraq.
Pastor David McGee's church is saying thank you.
"I think sometimes the folks that are overseas serving our country feel like they're forgotten," McGee said. "We wanted to encourage them, let them know somebody's praying for them.:
The apple cider, hot cocoa, and candy will give the men a taste of home.
Battalion Chaplain Ben Ellington says the gifts open doors for ministry.
"When churches send these gifts and these items it really allows me to reach into their lives in a personal way," he explained.
Even practical items, like a bottle of shampoo, can make a difference.
"So they come in for shampoo and they wind up taking a bit of the scripture and they wind up end up taking a message or something with them and then they come back and ask questions about what they've read," Ellington said. "So you'd be surprised, but Head and Shoulders has probably done a lot for the cause of Christ over here in Iraq.
Pastor McGee says the church is planting seeds that will bear fruit in the future.
"It could be years to come, but these guys will remember, not this random act of kindness, but this Godly act of generosity by demonstrating the love of the father for his children," he said.
"God is a generous God and if we're following God then we need to be a generous people," McGee continued. "The Christmas season is all about what God gave as found in John 3:16. God so loved the world that he gave."

Israelis Detain Two Messianic Jews

CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM -- Israeli authorities detained two American Messianic Jews trying to enter the country this week.
Interior ministry officials detained Jamie and Stacey Cowen at Ben Gurion Airport and held them for more than eight hours.
They were coming into the country to visit their daughters, one of whom is an Israeli citizen.
Cowen is a former president of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations in the U.S. and the couple has made many trips to Israel.
Officials said they detained the Cowens because on a previous trip to Israel, they broke a law forbidding certain kinds of evangelism.
Cowen told CBN News those charges are baseless.
"They're claiming that they have evidence that we participated in, what they call criminal missionary activity, which means seeking to convert minors or seeking to convert somebody through bribery," Cowen explained.
"To be honest, I had no idea what they were talking about and here I am now being jailed from something I didn't do," he said. "We just came as tourists. We just came to visit our children."
Israeli officials released the Cowens after they signed a document promising not to evangelize anyone while in the country.
The Cowens have made ten trips to Israel, and they have been active in social ministries, bringing more than $100,000 in aid to the country.
Cowen says this incident could be part of a larger pattern of resistance to Messianic Jews in Israel.
Jews who believe Jesus is the messiah have faced hardships here from the very beginning.
Israel is the birthplace of the Christian faith and many believers come to the country at this time of year to celebrate Jesus' birth.
CBN News visited a recreation of an ancient Jewish village to get a sense of what it was like for Mary and Joseph on that fateful night.