By Melissa Wuske

New Version of the Bible

Want a different glimpse of the Scriptures? Try Bible Emoji: Scripture 4 Millenials [sic]. It replaces words in the King James Version with smiley faces and other icons used in text messages and social media. For example this verse from Exodus:

“I think it can be fun for those who know Scripture well, to sort of have a game reading it,” said the anonymous creator, who goes by the emoji: smiley face wearing sunglasses.

Tebow Prays for Plane Passenger

When Richard Gotti flew from Georgia to Arizona, he saw a medical issue occur on the plane. “I watched strangers from all over the world and every ethnicity come to the help of this man for over an hour! Whether it was chest compressions, starting an IV, helping breathe life into this man, or praying everyone helped! . . . I observed people praying and lifting this man up to the Lord in a way that I’ve never seen before.” One person who helped was former NFL player Tim Tebow. “He met with the family as they cried on his shoulder! I watched Tim pray with the entire section of the plane for this man. He made a stand for God in a difficult situation.”

Quiz for Christian Asylum Seekers in the UK

How many books are in the Bible? Where was Jesus born? How many chapters are in the book of John? What happened during the Last Supper? What is the date of Pentecost? These questions and more have been asked by immigration officials in the United Kingdom to determine whether Christian converts from Islam will be granted asylum. Many asylum seekers see Christian faith as an asset to their application, so the UK and other nations want to find out whether conversions are true.

The method is drawing criticism for its ineffectiveness and for not being true to the spirit of the nation’s asylum guidelines, which take a broader approach to assessing a person’s faith. “The problem with those questions is that if you are not genuine, you can learn the answers, and if you are genuine, you may not know the answers,” said Elizabeth Berridge, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom or Belief.

Mohammed, a Christian convert from Iran, was denied asylum when he was asked what color the cover of the Bible is. “I knew there were different colors,” he said. “The one I had was red. They asked me questions I was not able to answer—for example, what are the Ten Commandments. I could not name them all from memory.”

One problem is that the case workers asking the questions may not fully understand Christianity. “Why did God send Jesus to earth?” said Mark Miller, a pastor of Iranian converts in a church in northern England. “The HO [Home Office] said the answer ‘to wipe out the sins of all humans’ was wrong, and that ‘Jesus came to teach us how to behave’ was the correct answer.”

McDonald’s Robbers Surprised

Two armed men attempted to rob a McDonald’s in Besancon, France. They stormed in, fired a warning shot, and cleaned out the registers. But they were in for a surprise. The diners at the restaurant included nearly a dozen off-duty French special forces members.

“It was out of the question to use their weapons [during the robbery], as this would have created difficulties and could have placed many people’s lives in danger,” said prosecutor Edwige Roux-Morizot. But when one of the thieves tripped on the way out the door, the special forces grabbed the robbers.

Melissa Wuske is a freelance editor and writer. She and her husband, Shawn, live and minister in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Find her work online (melissaannewuske.com).