isabel ong
@isabelong.bsky.social
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asia editor at christianity today
Happy new year! Don't miss our editors' picks of stories about the vibrant global church in 2025
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/12/glob...
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15 Stories About the Vibrant Global Church in 2025 - Christianity Today
A doctor caring for Congo rape victims, pastors shepherding a Ukrainian youth group in wartime, and leaders serving faithfully in Christian-minority Japan.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/12/global-church-africa-asia-middle-east-latin-america-europe-oceania-2025/
4 days ago
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Meet Lu Xiaomin, a prolific hymn writer with no formal music training who is a household name in Chinese Christian communities
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/12/lu-x...
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The Chinese Christian Behind 2,000 Hymns - Christianity Today
Lü Xiaomin never received formal music training. But her worship songs have made her a household name in China’s churches.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/12/lu-xiaomin-canaan-hymns-china-church-worship-songs/
25 days ago
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Indian Christmas traditions are delectable--and also inspiring. Read how Christian believers open their homes to people of other faiths amid rising persecution
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/12/indi...
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Celebrating Christmas with Hot Chai and Crispy Murukku - Christianity Today
Amid rising persecution, Indian Christians share Jesus’ love with friends and neighbors through delectable dishes.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/12/india-christmas-food-hospitality-gospel-persecution/
about 1 month ago
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As we begin Advent, here's a piece I wrote a few years ago
@christianitytoday.com
on popular misconceptions about this season that Majority World Christians often encounter:
www.christianitytoday.com/2022/11/adve...
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3 Popular Misconceptions About Advent - Christianity Today
Christian leaders from Brazil, Colombia, France, and the Philippines weigh in on mistaken beliefs about the season.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2022/11/advent-misconception-history-christmas/
about 1 month ago
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How do Bible verses talking about prayer as incense shape and inform our understanding of this spiritual practice? Prayer is "a sacred entreaty to God that rises toward him with the fullness of what we carry," Bohye Kim writes
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/pray...
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Our Prayers Don’t Disappear into Thin Air - Christianity Today
Why Scripture talks of our entreaties to God as rising like incense.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/prayer-incense-bible-old-testament-psalm-revelation-trust-faith/
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
isabel ong
kate shellnutt
about 2 months ago
The evangelical theologian who founded Regent College didn't halt ministry as he aged—he just moved it into the nursing home.
@christianitytoday.com
profiles Jim Houston, who turns 103 today:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/jim-...
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What Do a 103-Year-Old Theologian’s Prayers Sound Like? - Christianity Today
Jim Houston’s scholarship centered on communion with God. His life in a Canadian care home continues to reflect this pursuit.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/jim-houston-regent-college-books-spiritual-theology-profile/
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British-born Canadian evangelical Jim Houston turns 103 today. For this
@christianitytoday.com
story, I got to ask him questions like: What will you say to Jesus when you get to meet him? What do you want to share with CT readers?
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/jim-...
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What Do a 103-Year-Old Theologian’s Prayers Sound Like? - Christianity Today
Jim Houston’s scholarship centered on communion with God. His life in a Canadian care home continues to reflect this pursuit.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/jim-houston-regent-college-books-spiritual-theology-profile/
about 2 months ago
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"Reorienting a church’s musical culture toward grassroots songwriting and local eclecticism could be one sign of our upside-down kingdom." --
@kkramermcginnis.bsky.social
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/god-...
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God Loves Our Middling Worship Music - Christianity Today
Songwriting might be the community-building project your church needs right now.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/god-loves-our-middling-worship-music-church-songwriting/
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
isabel ong
Christianity Today
about 2 months ago
The Christianity Today Board of Directors has unanimously elected Dr. Nicole Massie Martin as its next President and CEO. Read more:
chrst.today/3LLtTER
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The high court concluded that Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh’s kidnappers acted in a “sophisticated manner” that suggested institutional involvement and ordered the state to reopen the investigation. New on
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/mala...
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Malaysian Court Vindicates Family of Abducted Pastor - Christianity Today
A judge finds authorities complicit in Raymond Koh’s disappearance, granting millions in damages and ordering a new investigation.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/malaysia-pastor-raymond-koh-abduction-susanna-liew-lawsuit-court/
2 months ago
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Adoption fraud in South Korea is a “state-driven act—an actual crime,” Kim Do-hyun of Christian nonprofit KoRoot said. “These false records erased the truth of [a person’s] birth and enabled abuse, alienation, and despair." More in
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/sout...
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‘Every Adoptee’s Worst Nightmare’ - Christianity Today
The horrifying history of adoption fraud in South Korea has spurred Christians to finally care for orphans in their own country.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/south-korea-adoption-fraud-korean-adoptee-church-stigma/
2 months ago
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Spoke to folks in/from Peru and Nigeria for this story out today
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/bibl...
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Bible Reading Is Up Among Young Adults - Christianity Today
Millennial readership has increased; zoomers read less than other generations but are on a steady upward trajectory.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/bible-reading-is-up-among-gen-z-millennials/
2 months ago
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NEW: In interviews with
@christianitytoday.com
, adoptees and advocates from South Korea grieved the recent adoption-fraud findings, which have spurred Christians in the country to reevaluate the church’s role in adoption.
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/sout...
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‘Every Adoptee’s Worst Nightmare’ - Christianity Today
The horrifying history of adoption fraud in South Korea has spurred Christians to finally care for orphans in their own country.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/south-korea-adoption-fraud-korean-adoptee-church-stigma/
2 months ago
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I first pitched this story idea to my colleague Kara Bettis Carvalho in 2023. This month, I finally put words to my experience of miscarriage, shame, and how Eli and Hannah's conversation in Scripture can shape ours
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/ther...
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There’s No Shame in Talking About Pregnancy Loss - Christianity Today
Eli and Hannah’s conversation in 1 Samuel holds wisdom for Christians on how to care for people who have lost babies or experience infertility.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/theres-no-shame-in-talking-about-pregnancy-loss/
3 months ago
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You can now read and share
@christianitytoday.com
's story on China detaining Zion Church's pastor Jin "Ezra" Mingri in Chinese (simplified & traditional), Spanish, and French. Chinese:
zh.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/ezra...
zh-tw.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/ezra...
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中国政府拘捕具影响力的家庭教会牧师 - 《今日基督教》简体中文 | Christianity Today | 今日基督教
锡安教会的金明日牧师,以及数十位教会领袖在一次有组织的全国性突袭中被捕。
https://zh.christianitytoday.com/2025/10/ezra-jin-zion-house-church-china-detain-zh-hans/
3 months ago
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On October 8, Singapore hanged Pannir Selvam Pranthaman. More
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/sing...
3 months ago
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In honor of International Translation Day yesterday: Check out
@christianitytoday.com
's multilingual efforts in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, French, Indonesian, and more!
christianitytoday.com/translations/
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CT Translations - Christianity Today
Christianity Today provides thoughtful, biblical perspectives on theology, church, ministry, and culture on the official site of Christianity Today Magazine.
https://christianitytoday.com/translations/
3 months ago
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Yoichi Fujiyabu has spent three decades sharing God’s love to people who want to end their lives. From Kazusa Okaya in Shirahama, Japan:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/japa...
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The Pastor Who Rescues People from Japan’s ‘Suicide Cliff’ - Christianity Today
Yoichi Fujiyabu has spent three decades sharing God’s love with people who want to end their lives.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/japan-suicide-shirahama-church-mental-health/
3 months ago
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Out on
@christianitytoday.com
this month: A personal essay by writer Ann Harikeerthan on growing up at a leprosy hospital in Vellore, India, and what that taught her about communal healing and restoration:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/lepr...
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What I Learned Living Among Leprosy - Christianity Today
My 16 years at a rural hospital in India showed me what healing and restoration in Christian community look like.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/leprosy-stigma-bible-jesus-india-community-healing-restoration/
3 months ago
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“The largest obstacle to evangelism in Japan may be a deeply internalized identity of ‘Japaneseness,’ which is inevitably entangled with a Shinto worldview,” evangelical scholar Yoichi Yamaguchi says. More
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shin...
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Missions and Evangelism in a Shinto-influenced Culture - Christianity Today
"We must avoid both excessive fear and uncritical sentimentalism of Shinto," evangelical scholar Yoichi Yamaguchi argues.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shinto-shintoism-japan-missions-evangelism-gospel-culture/
4 months ago
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Although institutional Shinto is declining, Japanese people still have a Shinto-influenced worldview which makes it difficult for them to ascribe to Christianity’s exclusive claims, says evangelical scholar Yoichi Yamaguchi
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shin...
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Christianity and Shinto - Christianity Today
Japanese believers must be wary of falling into syncretism again, evangelical scholar Yoichi Yamaguchi warns.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shinto-shintoism-japan-evangelical-faith-god/
4 months ago
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Can Shinto be considered Japan's "national religion"? How did Christians in Japan respond to State Shinto, which revered the emperor as a supreme being? Find out more
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shin...
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Shinto’s Historical and Contemporary Influences on Japanese Society - Christianity Today
Evangelical scholar Yoichi Yamaguchi shares how Shinto influenced the development of emperor worship and the ways Christians responded.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shinto-shintoism-japan-society-history-emperor-worship/
4 months ago
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“One defining characteristic of Shinto is its emphasis on ritual purity and harmony with nature. But this notion of purification differs considerably from the Christian concept of holiness before God.”
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shin...
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Shinto’s Key Teachings - Christianity Today
Evangelical scholar Yoichi Yamaguchi explains why Japan's indigenous religion lacks a transcendent notion of God.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shinto-shintoism-japan-teachings-kami-animism/
4 months ago
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NEW
@christianitytoday.com
: Kazusa Okaya interviews Japanese evangelical scholar Yoichi Yamaguchi on the nature of Shinto, its development in Japan, its interactions with Christianity, and its implications for evangelism in the country.
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shin...
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What Christians Should Know About Shinto - Christianity Today
Evangelical scholar Yoichi Yamaguchi on the indigenous religion's key teachings, its historical development, and ways to evangelize effectively in Japan.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/shinto-shintoism-japan-religion-culture-faith/
4 months ago
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"Women are grieving real children whom they carried in their bodies, and we address them as if they have merely lost an aspiration. But God does not view preborn babies this way." -- Brittany Lee Allen
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I Lost Three Babies in a Year. No One Knew What to Say. - Christianity Today
Christian misconceptions around miscarriage are not new, but need to change.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/pregnancy-miscarriage-language-prolife/
5 months ago
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Encouraging to see 3 Asia stories trending
@christianitytoday.com
! Links in thread
5 months ago
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Just me popping up to talk about having a baby face, ageism, and leadership in Asian Christian ministry settings:
www.instagram.com/reel/DNa1d1p...
5 months ago
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Editing this piece made me think I should start hand-copying Scripture too. I’ll probably begin with the Psalms. What about you?
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/chin...
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China’s Quiet Revival, One Handwritten Bible Verse at a Time - Christianity Today
A church sought 1,200 participants when it launched a Scripture-copying initiative. Millions of believers across the country responded.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/china-christian-bible-revival-church-spiritual-discipline/
5 months ago
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On Korea's 80th Liberation Day, Ahrum Yoo reflects on widespread portrayals of Japan as Korea’s brutal oppressor and how she grew to view Japan through the lens of another biblical story
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/japa...
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Learning to Forgive the Country That Oppressed Mine - Christianity Today
On Korea’s 80th Liberation Day, I exhort fellow evangelicals to view Korea and Japan’s relationship through one of Jesus’ parables.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/japan-korea-history-forgiveness-bible-exodus-parable-prodigal-son/
5 months ago
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"I am intrigued by our modern-day penchant for making monsters and demons safe—or cute or attractive or morally ambiguous—and how this might be creating a sense of spiritual ambivalence." My reflection on "KPop Demon Hunters," "Demon Slayer," Labubu:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/labu...
5 months ago
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Labubu, ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘Demon Slayer’: We humanize these otherworldly creatures because we’re spiritually ambivalent. My latest
@christianitytoday.com
:
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We’re Not Afraid of Monsters and Demons Anymore - Christianity Today
Labubu, ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘Demon Slayer’: We humanize these otherworldly creatures because we’re spiritually ambivalent.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/08/labubu-kpop-demon-hunters-demon-slayer/
5 months ago
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"MAID now accounts for about one in 20 deaths in Canada—more than Alzheimer’s and diabetes combined"
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Canada Is Killing Itself
The country gave its citizens the right to die. Doctors are struggling to keep up with demand.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/09/canada-euthanasia-demand-maid-policy/683562/
5 months ago
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Singapore turns 60 on Aug 9. The prophetic call for the country to be an Antioch of Asia has helped and also hindered mission efforts, said the Singaporean Christian leaders I interviewed in my
@christianitytoday.com
report last year:
www.christianitytoday.com/2024/09/sing...
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The ‘Antioch of Asia’? - Christianity Today
Christian leaders in Singapore wrestle with a prophetic charge and diminishing cross-cultural evangelism.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/09/singapore-antioch-asia-billy-graham-mission-lausanne/
5 months ago
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"In this passage, knowing Jesus comes not by way of word but by way of smell. Fragrance, rather than doctrinal revelation, becomes the medium of recognition." -- Bohye Kim
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To Know Christ, Use Your Sense of Smell - Christianity Today
Mary pouring nard on Jesus’ feet isn’t only about extravagant worship.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/mary-jesus-feet-nard-scent-small-presence-john-bible/
5 months ago
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Anyone else partial to cozy fiction lately? I shared some recent reads in
@christianitytoday.com
's Weekend newsletter, which you can subscribe to here:
pages.christianitytoday.com/ct-weekly
5 months ago
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Had a great time talking with The Sola Network's Aaron Lee about my work as
@christianitytoday.com
's East Asia editor!
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Telling East Asia's Stories at Christianity Today: An Interview with Isabel Ong - SOLA Network
Aaron Lee interviews Isabel Ong, East Asia editor at Christianity Today. They talk about presenting Asian stories to a majority culture, her research and writing process, and what she hopes her reader...
https://sola.network/article/telling-east-asias-stories-at-christianity-today-an-interview-with-isabel-ong/
5 months ago
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One thing I love about my job is the opportunity to publish pieces that wrestle with aspects of Chinese culture from a Christian perspective. Here are some stories I recommend
@christianitytoday.com
(see thread):
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Chinese Christians Have Conflicted Feelings About ‘Saving Face’ - Christianity Today
Though a significant part of their culture, not all feel like it best honors how God wants conflict dealt with.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/05/chinese-culture-saving-losing-face-christianity/
5 months ago
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reposted by
isabel ong
Christianity Today
5 months ago
Jesus’s presence lingers in those who love him, “a fragrance that emerges not through ritual smoke but through lives thoroughly shaped by the enduring imprint of knowing him.”
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To Know Christ, Use Your Sense of Smell - Christianity Today
Mary pouring nard on Jesus’ feet isn’t only about extravagant worship.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/mary-jesus-feet-nard-scent-small-presence-john-bible/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=article
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Anyone else spending summer weekends at the beach or at a lake? This
@christianitytoday.com
piece offers a deeper understanding of the sea in Scripture:
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The Raging Sea Is More Than a Symbol of Chaos - Christianity Today
The Bible's favorite metaphor to remind you that you're not in control.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/04/raging-sea-jesus-storm-bible-chaos-god/
6 months ago
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South Korea recently detained six Americans for attempting to send rice and Bibles to North Korea. Christian nonprofits and groups in South Korea worry that the incident will hamper efforts to reach the reclusive country. On
@christianitytoday.com
:
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Christian Groups Perplexed, Wary After Korea Bible Incident - Christianity Today
South Korea detained six Americans trying to send rice and Bibles by sea to North Korea.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/americans-detained-north-korea-south-korea-bottles-balloons-politics/
6 months ago
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reposted by
isabel ong
kate shellnutt
6 months ago
In Anchorage, a hymn-singing hiker shares God's creatures through game-camera footage.
@christianitytoday.com
reports from Alaska:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/sing...
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Singing Hymns to Scare The Bears - Christianity Today
On the outskirts of Anchorage, a Southern Baptist retired science education professor captures creation on her cameras.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/singing-hymns-to-warn-the-bears-donna-gail-shaw-anchorage/
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We have a small and dedicated team
@christianitytoday.com
covering the Asia region. Read our latest pieces about India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, and more:
www.christianitytoday.com/topics/asia/
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Asia Articles - Christianity Today
Explore in-depth articles, news, and Christian perspectives connected to Asia. Stay informed with trusted insights from Christianity Today.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/topics/asia/
6 months ago
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A recent interview with Singapore pastor Kong Hee, who was convicted of fraud years ago, brought out issues of repentance and prosperity-gospel teachings among Chinese Christians. My report for
@christianitytoday.com
:
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Singapore Megachurch Pastor Criticized for Lack of Repentance - Christianity Today
An interview with Kong Hee, who was convicted of fraud years ago, sparked controversy among Chinese Christians.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/06/singapore-megachurch-pastor-kong-hee-city-harvest-repentance-sin-fraud-jail/
6 months ago
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160 years ago, Hudson Taylor founded China Inland Misison (CIM), now OMF. Read how his wish for a 'thousand lives' for China's millions has become a reality:
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Hudson Taylor’s Wish for a ‘Thousand Lives’ for China’s Millions Has Become a Reality - Christianity Today
The legacy of Hudson Taylor and his China Inland Mission is still inspiring new generations of Christians in China and beyond.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/12/hudson-taylor-legacy-china-inland-mission/
7 months ago
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“We must stop using Scripture to justify our political opinions. The Bible is not a partisan weapon," says one Korean evangelical amid deepening political polarization in the country. NEW on
@christianitytoday.com
:
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Evangelical Fault Lines Revealed in South Korean Election - Christianity Today
Some Christians are troubled by politicians’ anti-Communist rhetoric. Others are preoccupied with it.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/06/south-korea-election-evangelicals-church-politics-communism/
7 months ago
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Today, in light of Walter Brueggemann's death, my colleague
@stefanimcdade.bsky.social
and I talked about our favorite poems from his book AWED TO HEAVEN, ROOTED IN EARTH.
7 months ago
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reposted by
isabel ong
kate shellnutt
7 months ago
From a lovely liturgy written for CT by my colleague
@ecmaya.bsky.social
💟
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Dragon Boat Festival is happening this weekend. Chinese Christians may regard dragons negatively because of how they are depicted in Scripture. Here's what biblical scholars have to say about it
@christianitytoday.com
:
www.christianitytoday.com/2023/06/drag...
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Imagine Dragons More Biblically - Christianity Today
The Chinese boat festival reminds us that Revelation’s serpent transcends Western and Eastern cultural concepts, say Asian biblical scholars.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/06/dragon-boat-festival-chinese-christian-bible-revelation/
7 months ago
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Gen Z headlines from my colleagues for this recent piece: It’s Giving Baby Face POV: You have a baby face
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I Have a Baby Face. It Shouldn’t Discount My Leadership. - Christianity Today
Ageism persists in majority-Asian churches. But Scripture exhorts us to transform how we speak and act toward young pastors and leaders.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/05/youth-leadership-asian-church-pastors/
7 months ago
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One of the most frequent comments I've received as a pastor's wife: "You look so young!" I wrote about it
@christianitytoday.com
for AAPI Heritage Month:
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I Have a Baby Face. It Shouldn’t Discount My Leadership. - Christianity Today
Ageism persists in majority-Asian churches. But Scripture exhorts us to transform how we speak and act toward young pastors and leaders.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/05/youth-leadership-asian-church-pastors/
8 months ago
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