M61 Facts, Stats, Syntax

Polls and Statistics

Government Restrictions on Religion

Out of 198 countries and self-administering territories:

National or local governments of 38% of the countries limit efforts by religious groups or individuals to persuade others to join their faith.

Religious groups must register with the government for various purposes in 90% of the countries.

Registration requirements resulted in major problems for, or outright discrimination against, certain faiths in 59% of the countries.

From the study “Global Restrictions on Religion,” http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1443/global-restrictions-on-religion.

Word Study

One of the names given to the Holy Spirit is “Helper,” as in John 14:16: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.”

In the original Greek text, the word for Helper is parakletos, which means one who is summoned or called to aid.

Did You Know?

There were seven major festivals in the Old Testament. The first one according to the Jewish calendar is Passover, celebrated on the 15th of the first month Nissan. It is celebrated in the spring and often referred to as Chag Ha-Aviv (alternate spelling: Hag Ha-Aviv) or Festival of Spring. The Lord’s Supper took place during a Passover meal.