Christian Web News - Thousands of Christians living in relief camps in Orissa were among the first to vote in India's national elections. India's four-week-long election kicked off April 16 in Orissa, India, where thousands of families were left homeless after violence last fall.
Some Christian leaders had expressed concern that the thousands of people displaced by the violence would be denied the right to vote. Indian election commissioner S.Y. Quereshi told BBC news that the first phase of the election was conducted in this area so that the security forces could concentrate all their efforts in one area.
A reported 3,000 Christians in relief camps in Kandhamal, Orissa, voted on April 16. Voting will also take place on April 23 and 30 and May 7 and 13.
Gospel for Asia President K.P. Yohannan said Christians are praying that the elections will bring significant changes to the country, especially to the battered state of Orissa. He believes the Indian people are ready to send a message to their government.
"I think they're going to hear the voice of the people that they're not in favor of this kind of abuse and hurting the minorities, especially the Christians," Yohannan said. "This election is going to bring some positive changes to the state of Orissa, and we're praying for that."
Despite the security precautions, rebel groups made their mark on the first day of voting. Seventeen people were killed in reported attacks by Maoist rebels.
About 60 percent of India's 714 million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots during the elections. Final results will be released May 16.
Indians are voting for a new prime minister and new representatives for its main governing body, the Lok Sabha (also called the House of People). Lok Sabha representatives serve five-year terms, and then the body is dissolved. All new representatives are then chosen by the people. The Lok Sabha, established in 2004, has 543 members from 37 political parties. The parties with the most representatives include the Indian National Congress Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India.
The Congress Party claims to have a national vision and says it will fight for a secular, democratic and socially just country. India's current prime minister, Manmohan Singh, is from the Congress Party. The party has 141 representatives in the current Lok Sabha.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the Hindu Nationalist Party also says it wants a secular, democratic society. Party members also promote an ideology that seeks to preserve the Hindu heritage of India. The BJP has 141 seats.
The Communist Party has 42 members in the Lok Sabha.
The numerous political parties represented in the Lok Sabha lead to a fragmentation of power. Once their legislative terms begin, the parties will get together and form coalitions in order to maintain a majority voting bloc.
India is the largest democracy in the world. The new Lok Sabha that Indian voters elect will be in place by June 2.
Christian Web News - A Prayer Vigil is scheduled on Sunday, May 16th, to honor the lives of Steven Ocean and Tite Sufra, two courageous young black men who were shot to death while sharing the Gospel on the streets of Boynton Beach, Florida on January 30th.
Christian Web News - Chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team were on the ground in Port-au-Prince less than 24 hours after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook the country of Haiti on Jan. 12.
Christian Web News - So many people across our nation, young people especially, are Biblically illiterate. Confusion and intimidation of the Bible's length and complexity causes many people to give up on reading the Bible altogether.
Christian Web News - According to advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF), within the next 24 hours, officials in southern Laos plan to burn temporary shelters built by expelled Christians unless they deny their faith.
Christian Web News - Fortunately, the nation's first “hate speech” bill has been killed by the Massachusetts Senate. The Joint Education Committee's Martha Walz and Robert O'Leary added the provision to an anti-bullying bill. Had it passed, it would have punished any criticism of homosexuality with a term in jail or a fine.
Christian Web News - On Wednesday, Republican senators said that House members who vote for the Senate-passed health care bill would “own it,” and that nothing would be changed through reconciliation. Which includes prohibiting federal (taxpayer) funds from being used to pay for abortions.
Christian Web News - On Sunday, on the streets of multiple cities in Spain, tens of thousands of people protested a new law that would allow abortion on demand.
Christian Web News - On Tuesday, a European court ordered Turkey to remove the religious affiliation section from citizens’ identification cards, calling the practice a violation of human rights.
Christian Web News - SBC International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin is making a strong case for change within his denomination as he gets ready to walk away from the command of its missions arm following 17 years of service.
Christian Web News - Parents are being urged by a national coalition of organizations committed to preserving parental rights in public education, restoring academic integrity to public education, and removing partisan political protests from the classroom to call their children out of school on the Day of Silence if their school is permitting students to refuse to speak in class.
Christian Web News - A new survey found that not even half of churchgoers in America plan on inviting non-churchgoers to Easter worship service this year.
Rev 13:16-18 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Christian Web News - At a time when greed and corruption seem to run rampant and morals seem nonexistent, many people wonder where to look for role models.
For the millions of junior high, high school and college students heading back to school, the idea of returning to the classroom may be met with mixed emotions.
Christian Web News - Jesus has a way of getting right to the point, doesn't He? There was certainly no mincing of words, He came right out and said, "why are you fearful?" and then went on to say, "O you of little faith." You don't have to read between the lines to see what He was saying, they had little faith.
Christian Web News - Galatians 3:13-14. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree''), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Christian Web News - SBC International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin is making a strong case for change within his denomination as he gets ready to walk away from the command of its missions arm following 17 years of service.
Christian Web News - Parents are being urged by a national coalition of organizations committed to preserving parental rights in public education, restoring academic integrity to public education, and removing partisan political protests from the classroom to call their children out of school on the Day of Silence if their school is permitting students to refuse to speak in class.
Christian Web News - A new survey found that not even half of churchgoers in America plan on inviting non-churchgoers to Easter worship service this year.
Rev 13:16-18 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. 
