It was only a very short time after Jesus’s birth over 2‚000 years ago that persecution began. As related in the second chapter of Matthew‚ King Herod sought to find the whereabouts of the newborn Jesus in order to kill him‚ fearing that he might challenge his rule one day. After Jesus and his family escaped into Egypt‚ Herod gave vent to his rage by slaughtering the children of Bethlehem. Yet Herod’s rage was in vain. He himself died soon after‚ and Jesus soon returned and began his ministry. This same pattern plays out across the world now more than ever. Governments and enemies of Christianity persecute Christians who recognize that their first allegiance is to God. But because of the faith of these Christians‚ they give witness to the enduring strength of Christ‚ and triumph. Christmas is a time to remember the persecuted‚ as Jesus and the Holy Innocents were persecuted that first Christmas. But it is also a time to give thanks to God when their witness has triumphed over their persecutors. Northern Nigeria is a place where the Church faces some of the worst persecution on earth. According to Open Doors‚ roughly 90% of all martyrs in 2022 — over 5‚000 Christians murdered for their faith — were from Nigeria. One of those martyrs was Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu‚ a Christian student at a university in Sokoto State‚ who in May 2022 was stoned to death and burnt by her Muslim classmates because of her faith in Jesus. Another Christian woman‚ Rhoda Jatau‚ faced a mob and was arrested for blasphemy after the mob accused her of sharing a video that insulted Islam because it condemned the lynching of Deborah. Rhoda sat in a jail in Bauchi State‚ Nigeria‚ for over 18 months because of the accusations. She only saw her family and lawyers at court hearings. But through her witness to the injustice of the treatment of Christians in Northern Nigeria‚ both by extremist Islamist mobs and baseless prosecutions‚ her case caused national outrage. Earlier this month‚ after enormous national outcry‚ Rhoda was finally released on bail‚ able to spend Christmas this year with her family in safety. While the charges against her are still pending‚ many within Nigeria and internationally are pushing for them to be dropped fully. Other legal victories this year within Nigeria may make it easier for Christians in the northern part of the country to practice their faith. As with many places where Christians are a religious minority‚ converts to Christianity‚ particularly from Islam‚ often find it extremely dangerous to practice their faith. Daniel Kefee* was an evangelist in Northern Nigeria who brought a young Muslim woman‚ Hafsatu*‚ to Christ. But when her family found out‚ members of her family threatened to kill her. She sought out help from Daniel‚ who found a Christian residential school that could care for her. For helping Hafsatu‚ Daniel was charged by Nigerian authorities with kidnapping. Yet Daniel and his lawyers bravely presented to the court the reality of what had happened. In an astonishing result given the region‚ the judge not only acquitted Daniel‚ but prodded the prosecutors‚ asking them‚ “should the defendant have left the girl‚ what would have happened with her?” Also this year‚ in another state in Northern Nigeria‚ a young woman named Mary Olowe* similarly converted to Christianity and faced death threats from her family. She was able to flee and filed for a restraining order against those who threatened her. Once again‚ the court issued a remarkable decision‚ granting the order and explicitly recognizing as a fundamental right Mary’s ability to change her religion from Islam to Christianity without facing any threat of violence. Even when a remedy through the courts is not possible‚ we often can see God working through the persecuted to further His kingdom. In Sudan‚ Nada and Hamouda were a married Christian couple who were baselessly charged with adultery by prosecutors after their conversions to Christianity from Islam. When Hamouda‚ the husband‚ converted after encountering the local church‚ Nada’s brother threatened the couple‚ and a Sharia court dissolved their marriage. But soon after‚ Nada returned to her husband and became a Christian as well. That is when Nada’s brother sought the police to bring charges against them. Nada and Hamouda could not remain in Sudan. Either they would be convicted and face lashes and potential exile‚ or they might be freed but hunted down by Islamists. With the help of international partners‚ they were able to flee to the United States. Now‚ they have become leaders within their local church community in the U.S.‚ sharing their stories of persecution‚ witnessing to the grace of the Gospel‚ and spending their first Christmas free and in safety. We remember the vulnerable and the persecuted at Christmas because of the vulnerability and persecution that our own Savior faced even in those first nights in Bethlehem. But let us also see how God is revealing the hope found in the Gospel and the promise of Christmas even now in these stories from just this year around the world. * * * Sean Nelson is an international human rights lawyer serving as Legal Counsel for Global Religious Freedom at ADF International. ADF International has supported the cases of Rhoda Jatau‚ Daniel Kefee*‚ Mary Olowe*‚ and Nada and Hamouda. *These names have been changed to protect these individuals’ identities.  The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has dropped the criminal case against former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler for lying about the now-infamous bathroom rape‚ The Daily Wire has learned.  Ziegler was convicted in September in a separate trial for retaliating against a teacher who cooperated with the special grand jury convened to investigate the rape coverup. He faces sentencing for that misdemeanor conviction on January 11. He was acquitted of a second charge in that trial. But the third misdemeanor charge — for the lie at the core of the Daily Wire’s October 2021 bombshell — was separated out into a trial slated for March. Prosecutors working for Attorney General Jason Miyares filed a “motion for nolle prosequi” on Wednesday that reminds the court that “Defendant Ziegler is charged with falsely publishing‚ during a livestreamed meeting of the Loudoun County School Board on June 22‚ 2021‚ his following statement: ‘To my knowledge we don’t have any record of assaults occurring in our bathrooms.’” Just three weeks prior‚ a boy wearing a skirt had brutally raped a ninth-grade girl in a girl’s bathroom‚ and Ziegler was well aware of this fact. The false statement came as the school board was attempting to pass a new policy that would allow transgender-identifying  boys to use the girls bathrooms. Ziegler had a motive to lie because it came as he attempted to dismiss parental concerns about the safety implications‚ saying they were motivated by unfounded bigotry.  With Ziegler having concealed the rape from the public‚ the school board ultimately passed the policy‚ and the rapist remained in the school‚ where he went on to sexually assault a second victim. The rapist has since been convicted of both offenses. In explaining why they were dropping the lying charge‚ prosecutors suggested that they were satisfied that Ziegler has already been convicted of a crime‚ and didn’t want to put the county through another expensive trial for the third charge‚ which was a more minor class 3 misdemeanor carrying only a $500 fine. The law Ziegler was accused of breaking by lying at a school board meeting was an unusual one: a rarely-used statute that made it a misdemeanor crime to tell a lie that was intended for publication. “The defendant has been tried and convicted by a jury of his peers for an unrelated act of retaliation against an LCPS special education teacher‚ for which he faces a maximum punishment of 12 months in jail and a $2‚500 fine‚ as well as other collateral consequences‚” the prosecutors wrote. “The trial of that case lasted 5 days and required the summoning of numerous jurors and witnesses. LCPS spent additional taxpayer funds providing attorneys to many witnesses.” The special grand jury also wrote a devastating report that advanced justice by illuminating the facts to the public‚ it said. The school board fired Ziegler as soon as the report was released. “The Commonwealth is satisfied that justice has been done in the Defendant’s cases‚ and that nolle prosequi is appropriate under these circumstances‚” prosecutors wrote.  LCPS omitted the rape from mandatory disclosures to the state‚ further evidence that it intended to conceal it. At a press conference to minimize the fallout‚ Ziegler appeared to lie again while attempting to explain away the initial false statement. He said that he thought that the question he was asked referred only to transgender sexual assaults—but for one‚ emails showed that his own administration believed the boy wearing a skirt fit that definition‚ and immediately became concerned by how the rape could affect its ability to pass the policy. Second‚ a follow-up question by the school board member made clear that her question included any kind of sexual assaults‚ but he did not change his answer at the time. Since his firing‚ Ziegler has appeared in court wearing nail polish and earrings. School spokesman Wayde Byard was acquitted of felony perjury over his role in the rape coverup‚ and the dropped charge means that the criminal fallout of the rape coverup ends with Ziegler’s conviction on a more serious charge rather than a possible acquittal on a less serious one. The rape victim is suing LCPS under Title IX in federal court‚ and could stand to win a large amount of money because LCPS’ own lawyers acknowledged in an internal report that LCPS made egregious lapses. LCPS tried to conceal the report‚ but it was made public as a result of the prosecutors’ actions. Youngkin and Miyares convened a special grand jury to investigate the rape coverup‚ and after it laid out its findings‚ Loudoun voters chose to boot the county’s prosecutor and the two school board members who ran for reelection from their offices.

A transgender sprinter‚ who formerly competed against males in high school‚ is now competing on his college’s women’s track and field team‚ and earlier this month set a school record. Sadie Schreiner‚ who formerly went by Camden Schreiner‚ is permitted to compete with and against female track and field athletes at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)‚ despite being a male. Schreiner identifies as transgender. Notably‚ Schreiner is now only referred to as “Sadie Rose” on RIT’s athletics website. “New school record‼️‚” RIT celebrated Schreiner on its track and field Instagram page last week. “Sophomore Sadie Schreiner set a new record in the 300m dash last Friday at Nazareth‚ clocking in a time of 41.80s.” The comments on the post have been turned off by the school. Rochester radio host Bob Lonsberry said Schreiner would have landed in 41st place if he were still competing against males. “This biological male finished first in the women’s 300 meter at the Nazareth Alumni Invitational with a time of 41.80 which‚ if he’d run against other biological males‚ would have had him finishing 41st‚ second from last‚ 6.4 seconds behind the winner‚” Lonsberry posted to X‚ formerly Twitter. This biological male finished first in the women's 300 meter at the Nazareth Alumni Invitational with a time of 41.80 which‚ if he'd run against other biological males‚ would have had him finishing 41st‚ second from last‚ 6.4 seconds behind the winner. pic.twitter.com/cznFUtIxqE — Bob Lonsberry (@BobLonsberry) December 15‚ 2023 Social media was lit up with reactions following Schreiner’s win against the females athletes. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “Meet Camden. A male who just broke the women’s 300m record on his college’s women’s track team. Before he pretended to be a woman‚ he competed on the men’s team in highschool where was ranked in 19th place‚” popular X account “Libs of TikTok” posted. “Why is [RIT] allowing a man to steal women’s track records.” Meet Camden. A male who just broke the women’s 300m record on his college’s women’s track team. Before he pretended to be a woman‚ he competed on the men’s team in highschool where was ranked in 19th place. Why is @RITtigers allowing a man to steal women’s track records. pic.twitter.com/U2cIfe0rj9 — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 13‚ 2023 Former collegiate swimmer-turned-advocate Riley Gaines mocked trans activists’ claim that transgender athletes almost “never” beat out female athletes‚ particularly after swapping male for female teams. “New collegiate school record in women’s 300m at [RIT] !!! Except it was set by a male‚” Gaines said. “This happens a lot for something that never happens.” New collegiate school record in women's 300m at @RITtigers !!! Except it was set by a male This happens a lot for something that never happens @RITTFXC pic.twitter.com/qDTUOyIv6P — Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) December 13‚ 2023 Gaines recently testified before Congress to aggressively defend Title IX‚ rejecting the Biden administration’s proposed rewrite of the law‚ which would effectively broaden the definition of sex to include “gender identity.” The proposed changes would rewrite Title IX in such a way that policies banning biological males who identify as trans from competing with or against females would now be in violation of law. Issuing such sex distinctions to protect girls sports‚ therefore‚ could strip a school of its funding. The rule would be applied to public K-12 schools‚ colleges‚ universities‚ and other institutions that receive federal funding. “Not only do women have to worry about losing out on opportunities and being exploited in locker rooms‚ allowing men into women’s sports also puts girls at greater risk of injury‚” Gaines said during her opening statement. “In September of last year‚ North Carolina volleyball player Payton McNabb suffered serious injury after a trans-identified male player spiked a ball at her head‚ rendering her unconscious. Payton experienced extensive trauma to her head and neck and long-term concussion symptoms. Still to this day‚ a year and three-ish months later‚ she is still partially paralyzed on her right side‚ her vision is impaired‚ and she isn’t playing college sports‚ like she had dreamed of.” Related: Sparks Fly Between Riley Gaines And Dem Rep During Hearing On Biden Proposal To Rewrite Title IX

Reportedly seeking $300‚000 in damages for loss of income

Convenient timing‚ once again

The ending broke my heart.

I gotta hear this ish

'End up in a Happy Meal'

Chrisean continued live streaming

'The school simply applies a double standard'