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Weekly Brief is your 1-minute smart and fast report to keep you informed of important Bible-related trends, statistics, articles, and pivotal happenings on the Web and at Bible Gateway. Forward to your friends and share with your followers to encourage them to subscribe.


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The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest to Be a Christian

 

According to Open Doors' 2017 World Watch List, North Korea remains the most dangerous place to be a Christian (for 14 straight years), followed by Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan in the top five. Approximately 215 million Christians experience high, very high, or extreme persecution. The annual list examines pressures faced by Christians in five spheres of life (private, family, community, national, and church), plus levels of religiously motivated violence, in order to rank the top 50 countries where "Christians face the most persecution."

Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, I Am N: An Interview with Cole Richards and Jason Peters and see resources on the topic of Christian Persecution in the Bible Gateway Store, where you'll enjoy low prices every day.


Bible References Make Very Weak Passwords

 

“john316” is not a good choice for keeping your computer account safe. It’s the most common Bible verse used as a password, according to a new analysis of a list of 32 million passwords leaked in a 2009 data breach.

 


See more Bible-related articles in this week's Bible News Roundup.
See previous editions of Bible News Roundup and Weekly Brief.

 
 

Humor: Top 10 Signs You May Not Be Reading Your Bible Enough

 

10) The preacher announces the sermon is from Genesis . . . and you check the Table of Contents.
9) You think Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob may have had a few hit songs during the 60s....


 

Paul Behaving Badly: An Interview with E. Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien

 

The apostle Paul was kind of a jerk. He was arrogant and stubborn. He called his opponents derogatory, racist names. He legitimized slavery and silenced women. He was a moralistic, homophobic killjoy who imposed his narrow religious views on others. Or was he? Bible Gateway interviewed E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien about their book, Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk? (IVP Books, 2016).

Browse the Pauline Studies section in the Bible Gateway Store.


 

Making Sense of the Bible: An Interview with David Whitehead

 

The Bible can seem like an intimidating book, but it may be easier to understand than you think. Bible Gateway interviewed pastor David Whitehead about his book, Making Sense of the Bible: How to Connect with God Through His Word (Bethany House, 2014).


Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Free Email Devotional To Help You Discuss Race, Racism, and the Bible

 

Is the Bible relevant to modern discussions about race and ethnicity? Can God's Word bring healing to a culture wounded by racial division and tension? This 2-week free email devotional—based on passages from the NKJV Modern Life Study Bible—explores what the Bible has to say about race and identity.


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Bible Scholar and Theologian John Sailhamer Dies at 70

 

John Herbert Sailhamer, an evangelical Old Testament scholar, died Jan. 9, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease and Lewy Body Dementia. The author of more than 15 books and various articles and essays, his writing centered on reading the Bible—the Pentateuch in particular—as a unified, coherent whole. Dr. Sailhamer's book The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition, and Interpretation (IVP Academic, 2009), was called his magnum opus and was listed among Amazon.com's top 100 sellers.


Start Each Day of This New Year with Free Email Devotionals from Bible Gateway

 

How can we live out every day what we read in the Bible? Our Living His Word weekly devotional will help you. It's drawn from the Easy-to-Read Bible.

Browse the New Year section in the Bible Gateway Store, where you'll enjoy low prices every day.


You Can Still Resolve to Regularly Read the Bible in 2017

 

If your understanding of the Bible isn't where you want it to be, select a Bible Gateway reading plan that will help you make opening God's Word a regular part of your life in the New Year!


Bible Spotlight: Darby Translation

 

This feature in Weekly Brief is intended to help you become aware of the plethora of Bible versions available for you to freely read on Bible Gateway.
This week:


An Exegetical Reading of the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11)

 

In this excerpt from Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: John, Edward W. Klink III explores Christ's miracle at the wedding in Cana and says, “Jesus, the faithful Son and true bridegroom, is making preparations for his bride, the Church."


ChurchSource Pastor to Pastor: At Home In Exile

 

In his book At Home in Exile: Finding Jesus among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors. (Zondervan, 2016), Russell Jeung says: "This Asian view of salvation—that God rescues me from both my guilt and my shame—has revived my worship, such that I often weep upon taking Communion. I love singing about how God has brought me out of darkness and hiding into his marvelous light."


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