A team of scientists germinated a millennia-old seed from the archaeological excavation of a cave in the Judean desert. They grew it in an Israeli greenhouse, and it is now a 10-foot tree that produces a clear resin researchers say could be the biblical “balm of Gilead.” The famous balm, or tsori in Hebrew, was cultivated in oases by the Dead Sea for at least 1,000 years. It was a valuable export and frequently mentioned by ancient writers describing the region. The trees went extinct, however, sometime between the Fatimid Caliphate in the 900s and the end of the First Crusade in 1099. It is unknown today which exact tree produced the balm. This particular seed, nicknamed Sheba by the scientists, was probably left in the cave by a mouse or bird. It was recovered in 1987 and revived with a process called “resurrection genomics.”
Russia: CT and others censored
The Russian government’s efforts to keep information critical of the Ukraine invasion from its citizens has led to the censorship of multiple religious outlets, including Christianity Today. Forum 18, a human rights watch group, detailed the restrictions in an October report. CT was blocked after releasing a Russian-language article about the destruction of Ukrainian churches.
Philippines: Pastor sentenced for life
The Supreme Court upheld the sentence given to a South Korean pastor convicted of manipulating three teenagers into unpaid labor. Si Young Oh, a Presbyterian, moved to the Philippines in 2008 and took charge of a theological school in Pampanga. He recruited three 17-year-olds to the school, promising them pastoral training but requiring them to work on church construction projects. They agreed to do the work, the court found, but because they were minors, they could not legally consent. Oh was convicted of qualified trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
Getty ImagesUnited States: Another cake case dismissed
The Colorado Supreme Court dismissed another lawsuit against Christian baker Jack Phillips—12 years after he was first sued for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. Phillips won that case in 2018, when the Supreme Court ruled Colorado’s antidiscrimination law did not adequately protect his religious freedom. The attorney who sued Phillips requested another cake celebrating gender transition and a third, according to Phillips’s attorneys, depicting Satan smoking marijuana. Phillips declined these and was sued a second and then a third time. The state court rejected the last case against him in October 2024.
Anti-Protestant attacks down
The FBI reported 27 anti-Protestant hate crimes in 2023, below the 10-year average of 33 per year. Over the past decade, the largest category of anti-Protestant crime has been vandalism. Also in 2023, the FBI counted 77 hate crimes committed against Catholics and 1,832 against Jews. The total number of antisemitic crimes surged after Israel responded to Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Paraguay: Sex education gets evangelical blessing
Evangelicals in Paraguay have endorsed a national sex ed curriculum. The country had previously left the question of sex ed to local school officials but then had the second highest rate of teen pregnancy in Latin America. In 2023, more than 400 girls below the age of 15 gave birth to a child. The new national curriculum is very conservative. It says that sex is “for adults committed to each other for life,” makes no mention of same-sex couples, and warns that no birth control is 100 percent effective. The curriculum will be rolled out in 2025.
Spain: Census finds church multiplication
Evangelicals opened 96 new places to worship with fellow believers in 2024. According to the Observatorio del Pluralisimo Religiosio en España, the number of evangelical congregations has gone up 25 percent in the past decade. There is now roughly one Protestant church for every five Catholic congregations in Spain.
United Kingdom: Review – Culture enabled abuse at Soul Survivor
An independent review of the inappropriate behavior of a prominent evangelical leader found a “wholesale” failure of organizational culture, which it said enabled the leader’s physical and spiritual abuse. Staff at Soul Survivor, a popular evangelical Anglican church and music festival, were afraid to voice concerns about founder Mike Pilavachi’s relationships with young men. This included private massages and lengthy, intimate wrestling matches with interns. When staff raised concerns with trustees, they were ostracized and forced out. The Church of England hired a private firm to investigate in 2023, and more than 100 people ultimately came forward with information, including worship leader Matt Redman. The independent review found that the allegations, stretching from the 1990s to the 2010s, were remarkably consistent. Pilavachi stepped down in 2023.
Ukraine: Christians allege torture
Christian pacifists say they have been beaten by government officials who want them to fight in the war against Russia. The Ukrainian constitution guarantees the rights of conscientious objectors, but it acknowledges the objections of only a few religious groups. Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses are not given alternative service options. Nine people have been sent to prison for refusing mobilization, and another 66 are facing prosecution, including three Baptist men and one Pentecostal. A growing number of conscientious objectors say they have been held without charges and physically harmed. “They beat me with their hands and feet on the back, body, and head,” one 27-year-old wrote. “The people who beat me insisted that I renounce my belief in God. They constantly said that belief in God is delusional.” The man was released after 24 days, but police said they may still bring charges against him.
Ghana: Church pays prisoners’ fees
An Assemblies of God church paid for the release of two people held in Awutu Camp Prison. The prisoners had committed minor offenses but remained incarcerated after many years because they could not afford to pay their court fees. The church is reviewing the cases of other prisoners and may pay for more to be released in the future.
Kenya: Election goes ahead after abduction
The Pentecostal Assemblies of God Kenya has chosen a new leader after six years of infighting. The outgoing general superintendent, Patrick Lihanda, led the denomination of 4,000 congregations for two terms, but disputes over his leadership divided the Pentecostals and sent the different factions to court. Lihanda sought election a third time but was abducted in October, hours before ballots were cast. Police found his white Mercedes abandoned on the side of a road with his glasses, notebook, and Bible. Lihanda is still missing. No suspects have been named. The new general superintendent, Kenneth Adiara, promises to lead “by building on what is already there and by uniting the church through prayers.”
Angola: Wife arrested for missionary murder
Jackie Shroyer, a mother of five from Minnesota, has been accused of offering three men thousands of dollars to kill her husband. Angolan authorities say she was having “a romantic relationship” with one of the suspects who lured Beau Shroyer, 44, into a remote area and kill him. “I’m so sorry and simply do not have words to express my disbelief and sorrow,” said the couple’s pastor at a Vineyard church in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Beau Shroyer was a police officer before following a call to missions in 2021. He will be buried in the US.
This article appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Christianity Today as "Balm of Gilead grows again, maybe".
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