CHRISTIAN NEWS NETWORK

BREAKING: Trump Issues Major ‘Russia’ Statement, This Is Massive
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/trump-russia-statement/?
November 27, 2017 Ben Baker
Despite any evidence that President Trump colluded with Russia to win the election, Democrats have continued to embrace the narrative.
President Trump sent out a post on his Twitter feed discussing this issue and what the Left has habitually ignored since he took office. He stated, “Since the first day I took office, all you hear is the phony Democrat excuse for losing the election, Russia, Russia, Russia. Despite this I have the economy booming and have possibly done more than any 10-month President. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
According to Fox News, the liberal media and the Left were likely crushed when it was revealed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had issued indictments for crimes committed by Paul Manafort before, and not related to in any way, President Trump’s campaign for the presidency.

An investigation that has gone on for more than six months now has failed to yield any evidence that President Trump colluded with Russia to win the election. Yet the Left continues obsessing with the narrative, running with the idea that President Trump’s former advisor George Papadopoulos’ admission of lying to the FBI about his contact with a Russian national, is somehow proof of their claims.
But this admission of lying to the FBI shows no evidence of collusion. Communicating with someone from Russia in itself is not collusion. Nor would it even be considered collusion unless that individual was compensated by President Trump’s team to help him win the election, which didn’t happen.

President Trump’s tweet points to the idea that the Left is absolutely refusing to admit that his presidency is doing wonders for America’s once stagnate economy. Rather than give President Trump credit, they simply refuse to talk about it, preferring instead to discuss his supposed corruption. When they do discuss the economy, it’s somehow attributed to former-President Barack Obama’s efforts and nothing that President Trump has done.
The GDP, which is used to determine the health of the economy, especially small businesses, has had 3.1 percent growth with President Trump. Under President Obama, it was a weak 1.3 percent, coincidentally the same GDP growth during the Great Depression.

Jobs have increased by 1.33 million instead of the 4.59 million lost during the beginning of President Obama’s first term. A stunning difference is that many of the jobs created under President Obama were part-time positions, while many of the jobs created under President Trump are full-time positions. In fact, September saw an additional 935,000 full-time jobs, on the top four of biggest increases in US history.

Perhaps most impressive is that these gains were largely obtained without adding too much to the US debt. As of October, President Trump only added $400 billion, or two percent, to the national debt. During the same amount of time in President Obama’s first term, he added $1.3 trillion, or 12 percent.

The economy has exploded under President Trump, yet Democrats keep thumping the Trump-Russia collusion false-narrative. Are Democrats simply trying to detract from President Trump’s successes?

POLL: Is the Trump-Russia Collusion False-Narrative a Dead Issue?

Yes
No
Perhaps the reason the Left is clinging so much to the Russia collusion narrative is that they want to report on anything other than the successes President Trump has been bringing in. While they call for impeachment and justice for an alleged crime with no evidence, President Trump has been working hard to boost the economy and create jobs.

If President Trump could accomplish this much in the first ten months of his presidency, imagine what he’ll do for the US economy in an entire term, or even a second term for that matter.


BREAKING: Israel Issues Shocking War Threat, This Could Get Ugly
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/israel-issues-war-threat/
November 27, 2017 Ben Baker
With the threat of ISIS subsiding, Israel is becoming the new hostile threat in the Middle East.
According to The Jerusalem Post, an anonymous source revealed a disturbing plan by Israel. They vow to destroy any and all Iranian facilities within 40 kilometers’ of Israel’s own Golan Heights.
The discovery was made after Syrian President Bashar Assad made a surprise visit to Russia recently. During the meeting, President Assad asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to deliver a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The message, which was reportedly delivered, was that Damascus was willing to establish a demilitarized zone of about 40 kilometers on the border of Golan Heights as long as Israel agreed not to remove President Assad from power. Reportedly Prime Minister Netanyahu was willing to accept the deal, but would not be swayed from eliminating Iran and the political militants known as Hezbollah.

The interesting dilemma here is that Israel sees President Assad as an enemy by association, according to the anonymous source. President Assad is seen by Israel as a president of the Alawite community. Alawites are a minority group of Shi’ite Muslims based in Syria that has received support from Iran for many years.
The discovery was made after Syrian President Bashar Assad made a surprise visit to Russia recently. During the meeting, President Assad asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to deliver a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The message, which was reportedly delivered, was that Damascus was willing to establish a demilitarized zone of about 40 kilometers on the border of Golan Heights as long as Israel agreed not to remove President Assad from power. Reportedly Prime Minister Netanyahu was willing to accept the deal, but would not be swayed from eliminating Iran and the political militants known as Hezbollah.
The interesting dilemma here is that Israel sees President Assad as an enemy by association, according to the anonymous source. President Assad is seen by Israel as a president of the Alawite community. Alawites are a minority group of Shi’ite Muslims based in Syria that has received support from Iran for many years.
This hostile conflict between the two nations has been waging for many years. It temporarily subsided as many of the Middle Eastern nations were forced to deal with the mutual threat of ISIS which was laying claim to large swaths of territory and killing many many people of all nationalities.

But with ISIS suffering major defeats at the hands of US-led coalition forces and Russian backed forces, there exists a power vacuum that many nations are hoping to fill, once again resulting in Iran being pitted against Israel in a continuation of the conflict.

During the fighting against ISIS Israel threatened to bomb President Assad’s palace. Syria responded with threats of “dangerous repercussions” should Israel conduct strikes against Syrian positions. Though heated, none of these arguments resulted in major action.
This proxy war could also inflate into a much larger conflict given that the US has allied with Israel and Russia is backing Iran. With ISIS in the mix, both superpowers have been able to focus their efforts on a mutual enemy, but with the terrorists fleeing into the shadows they might find themselves at odds as their smaller partners go toe to toe.

Iran is trying to build a potent influence in the Middle East. Is Israel right in attempting to diminish Iran’s abilities in the region?

POLL: Should the US Aid Israel Against Iran?

Yes
No
The rich oil fields left behind by ISIS forces are also likely adding fuel to the fire as many nations could be hoping to profit from the millions of dollars in revenue these areas would bring.
It’s unclear how the US would respond to an all-out war should Russia chose to get more heavily involved in Iran’s rise to power. It would be tragic to see American forces being forced to remain in the area, not to quell a rising terrorist threat, but to help the locals settle their differences, which historically has not gone well.

ALERT: Supreme Court Issues Shock Trump Ruling, This Is Huge
October 25, 2017 Luis Miguel
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/supreme-court-shock-trump-ruling
As federal courts continue to issue rulings on President Trump’s travel ban, it is likely that the Supreme Court will eventually hear the case. For the moment, the nation’s highest court continues to deliver the President temporary-but-significant legal victories on the issue.

According to The Washington Examiner, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed Hawaii’s challenge to the 120-day refugee ban established by the President’s Executive Order, citing the expiration of the 120 days–which effectively made the case moot.

The case in question, Hawaii v. Trump, centered on the Executive Order that, among other measures, placed a halt on refugee entry for 120 days. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the State of Hawaii’s assertion that the order discriminated based on religion.

The Supreme Court sent the case back to the 9th Circuit Court and has vacated lower court rulings on the refugee ban. This comes shortly after the Supreme Court denied hearing oral arguments for a related case last month.

As Christian News Alerts noted, the Supreme Court also threw out Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project because the case’s central argument–the 90-day travel ban–expired in September.

Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor dissented from the order, vacating the lower courts’ judgments. Although America’s ultimate judicial body has now twice ruled in favor of the Trump administration, the issue is not settled definitively.

In light of the expired aspects of President Trump’s Executive Order, as well as the legal challenges to it, the White House rolled out a new travel ban with significant modifications. Most prominently, the new Executive Order makes the travel ban indefinite rather limited to 90-days, as Christian News Alerts reported.

Additionally, the new travel ban changed some of the countries on the restricted list based on those nations’ cooperation with American vetting procedures. The order now includes North Korea and Venezuela, in essence countering the unfounded claim of the Executive Order being a “Muslim ban.”

Nevertheless, the State of Hawaii has already taken legal action against the new Executive Order. CNN reported that Judge Derrick Watson of the US District Court for the District of Hawaii blocked the revised travel ban.

But the White House is remaining firm in its determination to see the Executive Order implemented. As covered by The Washington Examiner, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has lauded the President’s travel ban. “The president’s executive order is an important step to ensuring that we know who is coming into our country,” Sessions said.

The Attorney General continued: “It is a lawful, necessary … order that we are proud to defend and indeed most may not know the Supreme Court has already vacated one court’s injunction against that order and we are confident we’ll prevail as time goes by in the Supreme Court.”

The Supreme Court dismissed Hawaii’s challenge of Trump’s refugee ban. Do you agree with their decision?

POLL: Should The Supreme Court Dismissed Hawaii's Challenge To Trump's Refugee Ban Sooner?

Yes
No
Next
Accordingly, The Examiner noted that the Justice Department Tuesday asked the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision that blocked the Executive Order. Any decision by the 4th Circuit Court will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The nine justices who currently sit on that court will ultimately decide whether the President has the national security authority to determine who can enter the country — a right already granted to the Executive Branch by law.



URGENT: Trump Declares Emergency, Please Take Heed
October 27, 2017 Ben Baker
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/trump-declares-emergency-2
The opioid epidemic has been wreaking havoc in the US for many years, and has claimed many lives.

But it appears that President Trump is finally attacking the threat head-on. According to his Twitter feed, “Effective today, my administration officially declared the #OpioidCrisis a NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY under federal law.”


According to US News, the opioid epidemic affects the deaths of 91 Americans every day from overdose. More than 64,000 people lost their lives to these overdoses in 2016.

What’s interesting about this drug epidemic is that overall death via drug overdoses by teens was in decline from 2007 to 2014, before suddenly spiking and constituting the recent opioid epidemic. The biggest problem with the current opioid epidemic is the drugs used are mostly legally obtained prescription drugs that are misused — either intentionally or unintentionally.

WATCH VIDEO
According to US News, a survey conducted by the American Society of Anesthesiologists finds 30 percent of millennials felt it was okay to take opioids without a prescription. It was also revealed that 1 in 10 knew someone who had borrowed opioids from someone who obtained them through a prescription.

CNN reports that while President Trump had originally promised to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency, declaring it a national public health emergency is actually a much smarter move given the nature of the epidemic.

National emergency declarations are handled by FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is likely tapped out because of the devastating hurricanes experienced this summer. FEMA was created to deal with natural disasters and emergencies of infrastructure anyway.

Rafael Lemaitre, Obama’s former Communications Director for the White House Drug Policy, says using FEMA funding to fight the epidemic would be “a little bit like asking an engineer to bake a cake.”

Declaring it a national public health emergency, while meant to only last for 90 days, can be renewed continually by Congress, allowing for the declaration to continue so long as the problem remains unresolved. This declaration also allows federal agencies to cut the bureaucratic red tape and provide swifter relief using grant money already within their budgets.

President Trump has called for a two-pronged attack targeting both the abuse of prescription opioids and illegally obtained opioids. To fight the prescription abuse, President Trump suggested a “really tough, really big, really great” advertising campaign. This advertising campaign would spread awareness and knowledge to kids and younger adults about the opioid epidemic and hopefully curb abuse with upcoming generations.

President Trump also stressed the need to build a border wall between the US and Mexico and to enact stricter enforcement methods to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US. According to Trump, “An astonishing 90 percent of the heroin in America comes from south of the border — where we will be building a wall — which will greatly help in this problem.”

Declaring the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency has met rare bipartisan approval as both Democrats and Republican praised the move to fight the drug problem in the US.

President Trump has declared the opioid crisis a national emergency. Do you agree?

POLL: Do You Believe The Opioid Crisis Is A National Emergency?

Yes
No
Next
It seems few can argue with President Trump’s statements: “As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue. It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction. Never been this way. We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic. We can do it.”

Hopefully, his declaration will spur politicians and medical professionals to find a way to end the opioid epidemic once and for all. And perhaps they can find the catalyst for this drug abuse and begin assisting Americans that–for whatever reasons–are turning to opioids to solve their problems.



ALERT: Rosie O’Donnell Issues Shock Trump Announcement, Media Stunned
October 26, 2017 Ben Baker
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/odonnell-issues-trump-announcement
It’s been a while, but former actress Rosie O’Donnell has broken her self-imposed silence about President Trump in her most recent interview.

According to The Washington Times, O’Donnell says she’s been doing some soul searching and engaging in “a lot of therapy” recently. O’Donnell stated it’s all because she’s been struggling with President Trump’s election in November. “It was a severe shock to my entire essence and my beliefs in the order in the world,” she said.

O’Donnell alleges that seeing Mr. Trump, who she views as an abuser, become president has caused her to experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). “And to think that the man who had abused me so viciously and with impunity for over a decade was now running the country,” she declared.

She went on to claim that the shock of President Trump winning the election made her unable to do her job on the show “SMILF” since shooting began immediately after the election.

O’Donnell claims that the therapy and soul-searching have helped her “cope” with the reality of a President Trump. “I did a lot of therapy, I wasn’t in shock in anymore; as much as I am devastated, disappointed, disheartened, and depressed by the reality of it, I wasn’t in pure panic mode like I was that day and that week,” O’Donnell said.

While it’s impossible to determine the validity of another person’s emotions, many consider O’Donnell’s claims to be a little dramatic. It’s also hard to sympathize with O’Donnell given the ugly feud she’s had with President Trump; a feud that evidence refutes as being one-sided.

According to CNN, the animosity between the two started in 2006. At the time, Mr. Trump was co-owner of the Miss USA pageant and O’Donnell was co-host of The View. Mr. Trump made a controversial decision to give Miss USA Tara Conner a second chance after it was discovered she was using drugs, drinking underage, and engaging in other scandalous activities.

Mr. Trump allowed her to keep her crown if she went to rehab, saying publicly, “I’ve always been a believer in second chances. Tara is a good person. Tara has tried hard. Tara is going to be given a second chance.”

O’Donnell severely criticized the decision, lashing out at Mr. Trump’s character, saying he wasn’t a “self-made man” but a “snake-oil salesman on Little House On The Prairie.” She went on castigating Mr. Trump by claiming his business went bankrupt and by attacking his multiple marriages.

Mr. Trump obviously took offense and lashed back, thus a feud between the two was born that has lasted for over a decade.

Granted, President Trump has said some things over the years to and about O’Donnell that could be deemed as inappropriate and there is no excusing that. But O’Donnell has hardly taken the moral high ground.

USA Today reports that in June, O’Donnell sent out a tweet linking to a game called “Push Trump Off A Cliff Again!” The game allowed players to push a button sending President Trump falling to his death off a cliff.

She even sent out an odd tweet speaking to the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, with cat ears and what sounds like a helium-enhanced voice. The caption said, “we don’t #Resist #TrumpRussia.” In the video, she says, “Hi Mr. Kim Jong-un, sorry if I didn’t pronounce that right. Anyway Sir, um, our President Donald is a moron, don’t listen to him, we don’t.”


It’s understandable that liberals, like O’Donnell, are upset with having Mr. Trump as President, given his success with the economy, his rolling back Obama-era regulations, and his generally dismissive attitude towards political correctness. But to be so mentally impacted by his election to require therapy to cope with it appears a bit extreme.

Rosie O’Donnell has broken her silence. Is it just for show?

Is Rosie O'Donnell doing this for media attention?

Yes
No
Next
After all, everyone on the Right had to suffer through the presidencies of left-leaning champions. Take Former President Obama for example. Conservatives had to cope with Mr. Obama’s DOJ settlement schemes, the Uranium One scandal, having Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, botching the Iran deal, Obamacare, cultivating the rise of ISIS, Benghazi and many other tragedies and disasters.

If conservatives could persevere through eight years of President Obama’s administration, liberals — and yes, even Rosie O’Donnell — can endure having Mr. Trump as president.

WATCH: Hannity Calls For Top Official’s Resignation, Millions Furious
October 25, 2017 Frank Spear
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/hannity-calls-officials-resignation/?Sean Hannity, the host of Hannity on the Fox News Channel, recently decided to call out a key figure in the Russian collusion rumors, and this is leaving Democrats absolutely furious.
During his show, Hannity decided to call out Special Counsel Robert Mueller and demanded that he resign from his position due to “conflicts of interests.” Hannity goes on to back up his claim by explaining just how Mueller investigating the Russia scandal is a big problem for the American people who are seeking transparency in this ever-shifting story. The focus has left President Donald Trump, and now the former Obama Administration and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the cross-hairs.
The Uranium One Deal was approved by Hillary Clinton’s State Department back in 2009. This deal gave 20 percent of the United State’s uranium resources to Russia.
This all ties back to Mueller because at the time of this deal, Robert Mueller was the FBI Director and “clearly had the information” that would determine whether there were unethical or even illegal information trading hands during this time.
Hannity argued that there is clear evidence of “corruption and bribery” having taken place in the Uranium One deal. Specifically, he pointed to the fact that Russian backers were contributing to The Clinton Foundation leading up to the deal.
There was no mincing of words when Hannity stated that Mueller “should resign immediately, tonight” due to the conflict of interests in his probe into the Russia scandal. If there is a tie between Russia and Clinton’s State Department, it seems unlikely that Mueller would throw himself under the bus with everyone else involved.
That said, it is impossible to get a fair gauge of what happened if a connection is found between the Special Counsel and the people involved in the scandal.
In most cases, as in “if this were still about President Trump,” the mainstream media would be locked into overdrive at the news. Instead, the media airs video of Mrs. Clinton talking about how this is all just a big Republican conspiracy theory.
The biggest problem with Clinton’s statement is that she is willing to write off a scenario where there is clear evidence of her receiving bribes from Russians as “conspiracy,” while at the same time insisting that the Russians rigged the election — without evidence. It is a contradiction of epic proportions; pure, unbridled hypocrisy.
“There’s no way the American people can trust Robert Mueller to investigate anything Russia related,” Hannity stated. With regard to the evidence that has been exposed, he has a point.
Sean Hannity is calling for Robert Mueller’s resignation. Do you think Mueller should step down?
POLL: Should Mueller Step Down From The Special Investigation Due To Conflict Of Interest?
Yes
No
Next
Hannity went on to question whether then-Attorney General Eric Holder should be questioned by Congress about what he knew regarding this issue. His insight could be revealing as to what really happened.
It seems that every day, something comes to light that breaks this story open a little wider. The Left is in denial, despite clear evidence showing that there was some sort of cover-up taking place.
Of course, the most disturbing byproduct of this scandal is this: Russia now owns over 20 percent of US uranium and that is no laughing matter.


JUST IN: Rand Paul Makes Shock Trump Move, Media Stunned
October 25, 2017 Mark Prvulovic
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/rand-paul-trump-move/?
As one long-time anti-Trump Republican made a speech on the Senate floor — a speech that was met with applause and a standing ovation — one member chose to stand apart from the crowd.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced plans to retire from the US Senate and the end of his current term. In doing so, he made accusations against the Republican Party and the Trump presidency. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Senator who didn’t stand up and applaud Flake’s anti-Trump speech, according to one Twitter post.
Sen. Flake announced Tuesday that he planned to retire from the US Senate at the end of his term, saying that he was out of step with the Republican Party in the era of Trump’s presidency. When he finished his comments, “All stood and clapped after Flake’s speech—except @RandPaul,” tweeted Andrew Desiderio, a reporter for The Daily Beast.
This surprise announcement came after more than a year of vocal criticism of the President and where he’s been taking the GOP, ending in Flake publishing a book called Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle, that criticizes both the President’s ideology and his character.
Recent polls found that Mr. Flake was trailing behind the likely Democrat Senate nominee, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), as well as other challengers, in the primary should he have sought a second term in 2018.
Sen. Flake made his surprise announcement just minutes after President Trump left the Capitol Building. “We must never allow ourselves to lapse into thinking that this is just the way things are now. If we simply become used to this condition, thinking that it is just politics as usual, then heaven help us,” Mr. Flake said, according to The Washington Post.
“Without fear of the consequences and without consideration of the rules of what is politically safe, we must stop pretending that the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. They are not normal. Reckless, outrageous and undignified behavior has become excused as telling it like it is when it is actually reckless, outrageous and undignified,” he concluded.
These comments came hours after President Trump met with the Senators for a rare luncheon, where Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), another anti-Trump Republican, accused the President of “debasing” the country with his “untruths.”
Sen. Rand Paul was the only one who didn’t stand and applaud Mr. Flake’s surprise speech, seemingly feeling that there was no point in attacking the President just as tax reform comes to the table.
Sen. Paul has previously worked closely with Mr. Trump in his executive health care order, according to The Washington Examiner. Many aspects of the Executive Order took inspiration from Paul’s own proposals, such as allowing the purchasing of plans across state lines.
Sen. Flake gave an anti-Trump speech while announcing his retirement. Would you have applauded his speech or stayed sitting like Sen. Rand Paul?
POLL: Would You Have Stood For Sen. Flakes Speech?
Yes
No
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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who had previously attacked the President, addressed his colleagues later on. “It’s been one of the great honors of my life to have the opportunity to serve with a man of integrity and honor and decency and commitment to not only Arizona but the United States of America. I have seen Jeff Flake stand up for what he believes in, knowing full well that there would be a political price to pay.”
As for the average conservative, Trump-supporting American, it’s unlikely that Flake’s presence on the Senate floor will be missed.




ALERT: Sheriff Joe Issues Shock ‘Career’ Announcement, Millions Are Stunned
October 25, 2017 Luis Miguel
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/sheriff-joe-career-announcement/?
Joe Arpaio, the former Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, is a champion among conservatives because of his hard-line stance against illegal immigration and his decades of service in law enforcement. After receiving President Donald Trump’s first presidential pardon in August, Arpaio says he’s not ready to quietly disappear from public life.
According to The Washington Examiner, Arpaio has not ruled out a Senate bid for his home state of Arizona. The former Sheriff says he is electable and has the know-how for raising large amounts of money for a campaign.
If the popular lawman were to run, he would have a less than difficult road to the Republican nomination now that Arizona’s junior Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has announced that he will not seek re-election once his term ends in 2018, as reported by The Hill.
Sen. Flake has been a long-time supporter of increased legal immigration and amnesty for illegal immigrants. He voted for the famous “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill in the Senate and has often taken issue with President Trump’s policies and personality.
In fact, Mr. Flake used the announcement of his decision to not run again to launch a personal attack against the President, whom he described as “reckless, outrageous, and undignified.” President Trump, in turn, has offered scathing remarks against the Senator and indicated his intention to support a Republican other than the incumbent in the 2018 election.
Following the news that Mr. Flake would be ending his tenure in the Senate, the President took to Twitter to write: “The reason Flake and Corker dropped out of the Senate race is very simple, they had zero chance of being elected. Now act so hurt & wounded!”
President Trump had a friendly political relationship with Sheriff Arpaio even before the pardon. They campaigned for one another in 2016, although Arpaio ultimately lost his election amid legal charges.
Arpaio, speaking of a conversation he had with Breitbart Chairman and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon: said “I did tell him that my heart is for Donald Trump and always will be.”
The renowned sheriff said: “My heart is with the president and anything he needs or wants I will do. So we’ll have to see what his position is. It’s an open seat now.”
But Arpaio did not specifically discuss the issue of a Senate bid with Bannon, who is recruiting pro-Trump Republicans to run against incumbent establishment politicians in an effort to both pass the Trump agenda and unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
As far as the Arizona Senate seat, it appears Bannon has grown fond of Dr. Kelli Ward, a physician and former State Senator. Ward challenged Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for the Republican nomination in 2016 but lost. Now that Sen. Flake is out of the race, Ward is leading among GOP hopefuls. Whoever wins the primary will have a good chance of winning the state election in a state that generally sends Republicans to Washington.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio may run for the Senate. Would he make a good senator?
POLL: Would Sheriff Joe Make A Good Senator?
Yes
No
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A source close to Bannon says, “Ward is the candidate.” Arpaio, whose candidacy is thus far only a possibility, has not said whether he will support Ward’s candidacy. The former sheriff called her “a nice lady” who “supports some of the things I believe in, like with the illegal immigration problem.”
Republican contenders will seek to gain the endorsement of President Trump, who is popular among the state’s GOP voters.


WATCH: Rand Paul Drops Wikileaks Bombshell, People Are Stunned
October 26, 2017 Frank Spear
https://www.christiannewsalerts.com/rand-paul-drops-wikileaks-bombshell/?Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), had an interview on Fox News‘ Fox & Friends Wednesday. During the meeting, they eventually got to the topic of the Wikileaks, and things got quite interesting.
A significant chunk of the interview was spent talking about the role reversal we have seen now that the DNC seems to be caught up in multiple scandals involving Russia, despite their whining over the Trump-Russia collusion. At one point, Sen. Paul endorsed the rumor that Wikileaks received the DNC emails from a leaker and not a hacker.
“It amazes me for a year the Democrats have been whining, whining, saying they lost to the Russians,” Sen. Paul said. Now, it appears that the DNC played a part in buying the now-infamous Dossier originally released by Buzzfeed.
Furthermore, the rumors claiming that WikiLeaks leaked Clinton’s emails to another Democrat is also alive and well. Sen. Paul noted the irony during his interview.
“Everything blamed on Republicans looks like what they were responsible for,” he said. Everything we have heard up until this point seems to be circling back around, and the finger is pointed directly at Democrats.
When it comes to learning about political opponents, politicians sometimes use “opposition research.” This is a process wherein, among other things, researchers look for faults in a candidate or politician (or “dirt”) that may hurt them on the campaign trail, or threaten their active status in politics. It’s something that is very commonplace in today’s day and age.
“We’re spending millions and millions of dollars on committee investigations, special prosecutors, all because Hillary Clinton can’t admit she lost because she was a bad candidate,” Mr. Paul noted, alluding to Robert Mueller’s special counsel.
Fusion GPS, the company that conducted the “research” into President Trump, and released the dossier, was also a topic of discussion. The Washington Post stated that a GOP donor hired Fusion GPS, and then the Democrats — after the DNC took it over.
Sen. Paul said, “It might have been one of the other primary candidates.” He continued, “There were 16 of them. All I can say is it wasn’t me.”
The interview continued as Sen. Paul discussed Sen. Jeff Flake, (R-AZ), as well as his dramatic retirement speech. Sen. Paul confirmed that he has another view on President Trump, but he isn’t afraid to stand up to him.
The DNC claims of Trump-Russia collusion have been up-ended. Do you believe that the DNC has ties to Russia?
Is the DNC in bed with Russia?
Yes
No
Next
“Look, I’ve been willing to go stand toe-to-toe with the president when I disagree with him on policy but I’m willing to support the president when I agree on policy like cutting taxes. I think the president is one of the boldest people we had in the White House on cutting taxes. I will support him there. That doesn’t mean I will always support him,” the Senator confirmed.
We have an interesting view on how a sitting Senator feels about some of the rumors that the DNC may be immensely involved with Russia, the dossier on President Trump, and more. Sen. Paul is apparently not ready to rule these off as a simple conspiracy. We will have to see where it goes from here.

That Is My Race’: ‘Transracial’ German Model Undergoes Treatments to ‘Transition’ From Caucasian to Black
By Heather Clark on October 19, 201713 Comments
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A Caucasian model from Germany is raising eyebrows as she has been undergoing various treatments this year to “transition” to a black woman as she believes that is who she really is on the inside.
“Please understand me. I’m not a white woman with black skin and African hair. I’m a black woman with heart and soul,” Martina Adam wrote on Facebook in July. “Getting more and more the body of a black woman is so a wonderful and liberating feeling for me. I don’t want to offend anyone! But I’m not only outwardly a black woman; I’m also with heart and soul a black woman. I swear that by God!”
Adam, who initially underwent plastic surgery to look like model Pamela Anderson, changed her mind and decided to undergo a medical treatment earlier this year to increase her skin’s production of melanin. She also had her lips injected to appear fuller, and obtained a dark weave to look more African American.
Adam recently appeared on “The Maury Show” to talk about her belief that she is really a black woman in a white woman’s body. She wore a large necklace to the occasion that read “Black Girls Rock.”
“Martina, do you think you’re a black person?” host Maury Povich asked.
“Yes,” Adam replied, resulting in an uproar of disbelief from the audience. “But 80 percent. I have to learn a lot. I know.”
Povich explained that being black is more than just “skin deep” or hair extensions, and pointed out some of the odd statements that she had made to his producers.
“I am black, that is my race,” she said. “I can’t wait to go to Africa because I hear the food is tasty!”
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Air Force Service Members Accused of Painting Satanic Graffiti on South Carolina Church
By Heather Clark on October 16, 201752 Comments
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MAYESVILLE, S.C. — Four Air Force service members have been arrested after surveillance footage connected them to a recent act of vandalism at a historic South Carolina church.
Kayla Eilerman, 18, Clayre Savage, 18, Daveion Green, 19, and Brandon Munoz, 20, are facing charges of malicious injury to a house of worship, conspiracy and trespassing surrounding the incident, which occurred late last month. They all are stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, approximately 25 miles away.
According to reports, on Sept. 29, a member of Salem Black River Presbyterian Church in Mayesville called police after discovering that the church had been defaced with pentagrams, an upside-down cross and the word “Satan.” 20 spray-painted markings were found around the exterior of the church and two other buildings on the property. A door had also been kicked in.
Police soon released images from the church’s security footage, which led to tips from the general public.
“Several tips came in from the community, including from Shaw AFB personnel who gave us the names of possible suspects,” Ken Bell, spokesperson for the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement. “We began researching the names through various databases and social media.”
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Wyoming Man Who Identifies as Woman Convicted of Raping Girl in Residential Restroom
By Heather Clark on October 20, 2017143 Comments
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CASPER, Wy. — A Wyoming man who identifies as a woman has been convicted of sexually molesting a 10-year-old girl after luring her into the restroom.
Miguel Martinez, who also goes by Michelle, was found guilty of first-degree and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor by a 12-member jury on Wednesday.
According to reports, Martinez, a friend of the family, invited the girl into the restroom while he was visiting her apartment in March and then raped her.
He had a blood alcohol level of .218, which is almost three times the legal limit.
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Colorado Christian Baker Asked to Make Cake to ‘Celebrate the Birthday of Lucifer’
By Heather Clark on October 18, 201749 Comments
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LAKEWOOD, Co. — A Christian baker who is at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case surrounding his right to decline to fulfill orders that conflict with his religious beliefs was recently asked to make a birthday cake for Satan.
“I would like to get a quote on a birthday cake for a special event,” an email, sent to Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop on Sept. 30, read. “It is a cake that is religious in theme, and since religion is a protected class, I am hoping that you will gladly bake this cake.”
“As you see, the birthday cake in question is to celebrate the birthday of Lucifer—or as they are also known [as] Satan—who was born as Satan when he was cast from Heaven by God,” it stated, as reported by the Daily Signal.
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Air Force Colonel Punished for Declining to Sign Document Affirming Airman’s Same-Sex ‘Marriage’
By Heather Clark on October 18, 201733 Comments
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Air Force colonel was recently punished for declining to sign a document affirming a retiring subordinate’s same-sex “marriage.”
Col. Leland Bohannon, who serves at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, found himself in a predicament in May when he was handed a number of awards and certificates to sign for a master sergeant’s retirement ceremony. Among the certificates was a “certificate of spouse appreciation,” which is an optional document of recognition.
Because the master sergeant is an a homosexual relationship, Bohannon did not feel as a Christian that he should sign the certificate, as it would be a gesture of affirmation. He signed all of the other awards and certificates, and requested a religious accommodation from his superior for the spouse appreciation certificate.
The request was returned six weeks later “without action,” and in the meantime, Maj. Gen. Sami Said offered to sign the certificate instead. Bohannon agreed.
However, when the master sergeant discovered that Bohannon did not personally sign the spouse appreciation certificate, he filed an Equal Opportunity complaint, claiming that Bohannan discriminated against him.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/18/air-force-colonel-punished-for-declining-to-sign-document-affirming-airmans-same-sex-marriage/

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal of Ruling Declaring Ten Commandments Monument Unconstitutional
By Heather Clark on October 16, 201717 Comments
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a ruling out of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that declared a New Mexico Ten Commandments monument unconstitutional. Two Wiccan women who took offense at the display had filed suit against the Decalogue placement in 2012, stating that it made them feel “alienated.”
The nation’s highest court gave no reason on Monday for its decision to not to take the case.
“This is a victory for the religious liberty of people everywhere,” Peter Simonson, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, remarked in a press release. “The Supreme Court’s decision to let the rulings against the monument stand sends a strong message that the government should not be in the business of picking and choosing which sets of religious beliefs enjoy special favor in the community.”
The ACLU had represented Wiccans Jane Felix and Buford Coone of the Order of the Cauldron of the Sage in its legal challenge against the monument, which has been on display at Bloomfield City Hall since 2011. A former city council member had proposed the monument four years prior, which was then approved by city council but paid for with private money.
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‘Killer Klown’ Drag Queen Reads to Children at Michelle Obama Library for ‘LGBTQ History Month’
By Heather Clark on October 20, 2017110 Comments
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Photo Credit: Instagram/Xochi Mochi
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Concerns are being raised after a drag queen dressed as a “Killer Klown from Outer Space” recently read to children at the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library for “LGBTQ History Month.”
“I got to read to the children today and it was one of the best experiences I’ve been given as a drag queen,” wrote the entity who goes by the name Xochi Mochi following the event on Oct. 14. “It’s so important to have representation and normalize all the letters in LGBTQIA+ in everyday lives.”
Mochi, who also calls himself “dragula,” “super monster,” “sextraterrestrial” and “gaylien,” donned five long horns that protruded out of the top of his head, with white facial paint accented by dark makeup. Some found the persona to be demonic.
“Demonic teachings alive in Long Beach. I’m outraged they would allow this,” tweeted California congressional candidate Omar Navarro.
One of the many dark and Halloween-like photos on Mochi’s Instagram shows him wearing black lipstick and fang-like teeth, while standing next to his significant other, who is likewise painted up to look like a ghoul.
“I love my #SisterWife #LesbianLover #BestFriend and #SuperMonster @frankie_doom #MonsterCrushEveryDay,” Mochi wrote, also simply posting the word “Hell” as the main caption.
Another photo shows Mochi dressed in a red and black skirt and top, with a caption noting that he was dressing up for a “Demon Lolita” party.
“Of course I had to be momma Satan!” he exclaimed.
MOREhttp://christiannews.net/2017/10/20/killer-klown-drag-queen-reads-to-children-at-michelle-obama-library-for-lgbtq-history-month/

Boys Who Identify as Girls Allowed to Wear Skirts, Be Addressed as ‘Zie’ at Surrey Boarding School
By Editor on October 15, 201714 Comments
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Photo Credit: Gordon’s School
(Evening Standard) — A boarding school in Surrey will let boys who question their identity wear skirts and sleep in girls’ boarding houses.
Pupils may also request to be addressed by different names or gender-neutral pronouns such as “zie” at Gordon’s School in Woking, the Sunday Times reported.
The £15,000-per-year school, which has five boarding houses for girls and five for boys, will also allow students to use gender-neutral bathrooms.
Continue reading this story >
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/transgender-pupils-allowed-to-wear-skirts-and-be-addressed-as-zie-a3659136.html

Mentally Ill Mother Accused of Killing Toddlers in Oven
By Heather Clark on October 17, 201721 Comments
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ATLANTA, Ga. — A Georgia mother has been charged with murder after being accused of killing her two toddler boys by shutting them in a hot oven.
Lamora Williams, 24, allegedly killed her sons Ja’Karter, 1, Ke-Yaunte, 2, sometime between Thursday and Friday. According to reports, she called the boys’ father, Jameel Penn, following the incident and advised via video chat that there was something wrong.
When she panned around the room, he saw two of his children motionless on the floor, and immediately called police. Officers arrived to find the toddlers dead and with burn marks on their bodies.
“I ain’t got no soul no more,” Penn said during a vigil for the boys, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Williams’ friend, Neesa Smith, told the outlet that she received a call before Penn, as Williams advised that she “couldn’t do it anymore.” Williams had reportedly left her job a month ago to take care of the children after she couldn’t find a babysitter. Penn and Williams have four children; one was not at home that night and the other was not harmed.
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Notorious Late-Term Abortionist Opens ‘Advanced Gestation’ Abortion Facility in Maryland
By Heather Clark on October 17, 20176 Comments
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BETHESDA, Md. — A notorious late-term abortionist plans to open an “advanced gestation” abortion facility in Bethesda, Maryland on Tuesday—an announcement that has been met with opposition from pro-life groups nationwide.
Leroy Carhart will perform abortions in a suite of the Wildwood Medical Center on Georgetown Road, notes the website AbortionClinics.org.
“Offering advanced gestation abortion care starting Tuesday, October 17th!” it reads. Abortion is legal throughout all nine months of pregnancy in Maryland.
A protest and press conference is scheduled for noon as members of the Maryland Coalition for Life, Operation Rescue and others will be present to speak against the new facility.
Operation Rescue says that the location is not licensed to perform abortions, and Carhart would be operating illegally if he conducts terminations as scheduled. It filed complaints with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, as well as the Maryland Board of Physicians.
“We trust that any effort to open that Bethesda facility without a valid license will be met with swift action on the part of Maryland authorities, who are already aware of the situation,” said President Troy Newman in a statement.
Bethesda Magazine contacted AMR Commercial, a leasing agent for the building, which advised that it had received a number of calls urging that Carhart’s lease be voided.
However, representative William Montrose noted that it was another management company that leased the suite to the abortionist. He believes that an abortion facility is a “bad fit for the building” because it would generate opposition.
“Typically, with any kind of business, you don’t want any kind of distracting noise outside your door,” Montrose told the outlet.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/17/notorious-late-term-abortionist-opens-advanced-gestation-abortion-facility-in-maryland/

Former Megachurch Minister Refuses to Exclude Profanity From Social Media Post: ‘I Will Not Sanitize This’
By Heather Clark on October 10, 201743 Comments
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ANDERSON, S.C. — A former megachurch pastor who says he has been struggling with guilt since being fired last year due to problems with alcohol abuse recently refused to exclude profanity from a social media post that transparently expressed how badly he feels about his sins and the consequences of his choices. His language has generated a variety of reactions, including concern from those who note that profanity is not to proceed from the mouths of those who profess Christ.
“I know it’s harsh, but I will not sanitize this article to appease those who may be offended at the language and want a scrubbed and safe version of Christianity that simply doesn’t work for the world!” Perry Noble of NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina recently wrote on social media.
He told followers, repeating the phrase numerous times throughout the post, that he woke up one morning and thought to himself that he was a “worthless piece of [expletive].”
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Roman Catholic Dioceses Nationwide Being ‘Consecrated’ to ‘Immaculate Heart of Mary’
By Heather Clark on October 9, 2017148 Comments
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Photo Credit: Fatima Candlelight Celebration
A number of Roman Catholic dioceses nationwide—and also globally—have been consecrating themselves to the “immaculate heart of Mary” throughout 2017, a practice that evangelicals say is unbiblical and gives to the earthly mother of Jesus the devotion that should be bestowed to Christ alone.
“We are uniting ourselves to her who opens up the way for God to enter, and we are uniting our hearts to her immaculate heart, the one heart that is perfectly united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” James Johnston Jr. of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri told the National Catholic Register.
The consecrations are being conducted as 2017 marks the 100th year since the purported 1917 apparitions of Mary to child shepherds in Fatima, Portugal. The apparitions were stated to have taken place on the 13th of each month over a six-month period.
“God desires to establish in the world devotion to my immaculate heart,” Mary was quoted as stating during one of the appearances to the children. “To whomever embraces this devotion I promise salvation; these souls shall be dear to God, as flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/09/roman-catholic-dioceses-nationwide-being-consecrated-to-immaculate-heart-of-mary/

Blasphemous Minister Who Supports Polyamory Claims ‘Holy Trinity Is a Polyamorous Relationship’
By Heather Clark on October 11, 201721 Comments
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DALLAS, Texas — A blasphemous Baptist minister in Texas known for his book “The Queering of an American Evangelical” says that he supports polyamorous—or plural—relationships and believes that God Himself is polyamorous.
“The Holy Trinity is a polyamorous relationship,” Jeff Hood, who holds a doctorate with a focus in “queer theology” from Brite Divinity School and who was ordained at a church within the Southern Baptist Convention, asserted during a recent Patheos interview with Chuck McKnight.
“You can’t talk about the level of intimacy and ecstasy that these three beings are constantly experiencing without defining their relationship in such a way,” he claimed. “Their love has always been and will always be a shared phenomenon. In the Holy Trinity, love is never denied. We should spend our lives making sure that the love of polyamorous individuals is never denied and always protected. The Holy Trinity demands it.”
Hood has stated before on his website that he believes that “the disciples and Jesus were involved in some sort of polyamorous relationship.”
In August, he told Jennifer Martin of Splinter that he thinks polyamorous relationships reflect the Trinity.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/11/blasphemous-minister-who-supports-polyamory-claims-holy-trinity-is-a-polyamorous-relationship/


Attorney General Jeff Sessions Issues Govt-Wide Guidance on Federal Religious Liberty Protections
By Heather Clark on October 7, 201770 Comments
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WASHINGTON — At the instruction of President Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has released a memo to all government departments and agencies that provides guidance as to how federal laws pertaining to religious liberty protections should be interpreted.
“Religious liberty is not merely a right to personal religious beliefs or even to worship in a sacred place,” he wrote. “It also encompasses religious observance and practice. Except in the narrowest circumstances, no one should be forced to choose between living out his or her faith and complying with the law.”
Sessions then provided 20 principles pertaining to religious liberty, as well as pertinent case law on the matter. The notations included: “The free exercise of religion includes the right to act or abstain from action in accordance with one’s religious beliefs” (principle 2), “The freedom of religion extends to person and organizations” (principle 3) and “Americans do not give up their freedom of religion by participating in the marketplace, partaking of the public square or interacting with the government” (principle 4).
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/07/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-issues-govt-wide-guidance-on-federal-religious-liberty-protections/


Undocumented Teen in Custody After Crossing Border Takes Feds to Court in Effort to Obtain Abortion
By Heather Clark on October 11, 201718 Comments
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Photo Credit: Jess Lis
AUSTIN, Texas — An undocumented teenage girl who is in the United States unaccompanied by her parents is asking a court to grant her permission to obtain an abortion as officials at the immigration facility where she is being held have allegedly denied her request.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the 17-year-old, who is only being referred to as “Jane Doe” in legal documents.
It is challenging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) over policies that the organization says keep illegal immigrant youth from obtaining abortions.
According to the Associated Press, the teenager is from Central America and may be up to 14 weeks pregnant. She says she wants to abort her child, in part, because her parents had allegedly mistreated one of her siblings for becoming pregnant. She is currently in federal custody at an immigrant shelter in Texas.
“Instead of arranging for Ms. Doe’s requested medical care, Defendants forced Ms. Doe to visit an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center where she was forced to undergo an ultrasound for no medical purpose, made to reveal intimate details about herself, and was subjected to the center’s attempts to dissuade her from having an abortion,” the lawsuit reads.
“With the assistance of court-appointed guardian and attorney ad litems, Ms. Doe sought to obtain a judicial bypass of the state’s parental consent requirement. Ms. Doe had an appointment scheduled with a health center for counseling, but ORR refused to transport, or allow Ms. Doe to be transported by anyone, to the health center,” the complaint continues. “Defendants also made clear that Ms. Doe would be prohibited from obtaining the abortion itself.”
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Florida Mothers Arrested After Allegedly Overdosing on Heroin With Babies in Back Seat
By Heather Clark on October 7, 20176 Comments
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Photo Credit: Boynton Beach Police Department
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Two Florida women have been arrested on child neglect charges after they allegedly overdosed on heroin together with their infant children in their car.
The Boynton Beach Police Department posted about the matter on Friday, stating that it wanted to make the situation public “in hopes of preventing it from happening again and prompting anyone addicted to drugs to seek help.”
Kristen O’Connor, 27, of Coral Springs met June Schweinhart, 28, of Lake Worth at a drug rehabilitation program and became friends, both being pregnant at the time.
On Thursday, while out together with their babies—one month and two months old—O’Connor received a text from her drug dealer and decided to purchase $60 worth of heroin and snort it in the car.
“One of them began to overdose, so the other called 911, but then she too started convulsing,” police explained on social media. “Fortunately, there was a Good Samaritan nearby who saw all of this happening and took the phone from her to speak with dispatchers.”
Police arrived to find O’Connor unresponsive. Both women were transported to Bethesda Hospital East to be treated for overdoses, while officers took care of the babies.
“Officers brought the babies back to the police department, where they were snuggled for several hours,” the police department said. “The Department of Children and Families responded to take custody of the babies, who were eventually turned over to family members.”
O’Connor and Schweinhart were soon arrested and charged with child neglect. They were released from the Palm Beach County Jail after posting bond, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Police are seeking the dealer who sold the women the drugs.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/07/florida-mothers-arrested-after-allegedly-overdosing-on-heroin-with-babies-in-back-seat/


Federal Judge Again Rules Tax-Free Clergy Housing Allowances Violate Establishment Clause
By Heather Clark on October 7, 201735 Comments
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MADISON, Wisc. — A federal judge has again struck down a 60-year-old law that allows pastors in the nation an exemption from paying taxes on their housing allowance.
“[A]ny reasonable observer would conclude that the purpose and effect of § 107(2) is to provide financial assistance to one group of religious employees without any consideration to the secular employees who are similarly situated to ministers. Under current law, that type of provision violates the Establishment Clause,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb, appointed by Jimmy Carter.
As previously reported, the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) had first filed suit in August 2012 to challenge the 1954 “parish exemption” granted by Congress.
“In the case of a minister of the gospel, gross income does not include (1) the rental value of a home furnished to him as part of his compensation; or (2) the rental allowance paid to him as part of his compensation, to the extent used by him to rent or provide a home and to the extent such allowance does not exceed the fair rental value of the home, including furnishings and appurtenances such as a garage, plus the cost of utilities,” the pertinent statute states.
U.S. Representative Peter Mack, who introduced the legislation, was said to have introduced the law in order to reward ministers for working to fight against wickedness in the land.
“Certainly, in these times when we are being threatened by a godless and anti-religious world movement we should correct this discrimination against certain ministers of the gospel who are carrying on such a courageous fight against this foe,” he stated. “Certainly this is not too much to do for these people who are caring for our spiritual welfare.”
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Appeals Court Revives Satanic Temple Suit Seeking ‘Religious Exemption’ From Abortion Waiting Period
By Heather Clark on October 7, 201730 Comments
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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A Missouri appeals court has revived a lawsuit filed by a member of the Satanic Temple who is seeking a “religious exemption” from a state law that requires mothers to wait 72 to hours to obtain an abortion following an ultrasound and the provision of an informational booklet advising that they will be terminating the life of a human being.
“Because we believe that this case raises real and substantial constitutional claims, it is within the Missouri Supreme Court’s exclusive jurisdiction under Article V, section 3 of the Missouri Constitution, and we hereby order its transfer,” the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District wrote on Tuesday.
As previously reported, the New York-based Satanic Temple announced in 2014 its plan to use the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision to “bolster” an initiative seeking exemptions from pro-life laws that its members claim to violate their religious beliefs.
The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in June of that year that the federal government cannot force closely-held companies to obey regulations which violate the owners’ religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby has been providing birth control coverage to employees for years, but took issue with four contraceptives that it considered to be abortifacients.
The organization therefore decided that it too would seek an exemption from laws that conflict with its beliefs, such as obtaining information or counseling about abortion before ending the unborn child’s life. It states that “[t]he Satanic Temple believes that the body is inviolable, ­­subject to one’s own will alone.”
The Satanic Temple then crafted a letter for abortion-minded women to present at abortion facilities in search of exemptions and waivers from applicable abortion laws.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/07/appeals-court-revives-satanic-temple-suit-seeking-religious-exemption-from-abortion-waiting-period/


Jury Recommends Death Penalty for Oklahoma Muslim Who Beheaded Coworker
By Heather Clark on October 13, 20174 Comments
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NORMAN, Okla. — A jury has recommended the death penalty for a Muslim man who beheaded his coworker three years ago and attempted to decapitate a second woman.
The 12-person jury took approximately three hours to determine that Alton Nolen, 33, was eligible for capital punishment. Nolen had been found guilty last month of first-degree murder, as well as four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
His attorneys entered an insanity plea, but it was rejected by the jury. Some psychiatrists had testified during the two-week trial that Nolen was mentally ill, while others stated that he acted with full knowledge that his behavior was wrong.
“He did not know what he was doing was wrong. Actually, he thought what he was doing was right. Nolen is delusional in his beliefs,” defense attorney Shea Smith told jurors, according to the Norman Transcript.
“This was a decisive act not driven by a mental illness. I submit to you he would do it again in a heartbeat,” Cleveland County Assistant District Attorney Susan Caswell contrarily argued.
Recorded audio of the 2014 police questioning of Nolen was also played for jurors, during which he expressed no remorse and said that he was only doing what he believed Allah wanted.
“You know the Muslim is somebody who submits their will to Allah … Whatever he wants done, that’s what we do,” he said in 2014 following his arrest. “And you know he wants us to get the oppressors out of this place.”
Nolen told police that he acted out because he felt he was being treated differently by his coworkers since he is a follower of Islam.
“I don’t feel regret, because you know what I’ve done,” he stated. “That’s probably going to make Vaughan Foods a better place to work for a Muslim.”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/13/jury-recommends-death-penalty-for-oklahoma-muslim-who-beheaded-coworker/


Atheist Group Urges Investigation Into Coach’s Gesture to Unite Teams in Post-Game Prayer
By Garrett Haley on October 8, 201774 Comments
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BRIDGEPORT, Mich. – A national atheist activist organization has requested an investigation into what it calls a “flagrant violation of the First Amendment” after learning that coaches and players of a Michigan high school’s junior varsity football team circled up to pray with another team after a recent game.
“This conduct is unconstitutional because coaches endorse and promote their own religion when acting in their official capacities as school district employees,” the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) wrote in a recent letter to the Bridgeport Spaulding School District.
According to reports, after a junior varsity football game in Michigan between Bridgeport High School and Ogemaw Heights High School, players and coaches from both teams gathered together in the middle of the field to hear a few words from the Bridgeport head coach.
One of the attendees that day, Ashley Miller, described in a Facebook post what happened next.
“At that point, the [Bridgeport] coach talked to the kids about how it’s not just about winning but the sportsmanship, … then every player bowed their heads (including coaches) and they prayed!” she wrote. “They prayed on the football field … both teams together. This was amazing to me! I don’t know what was said, but that right there made my heart and soul smile! Kudos to the coaches and players!”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/08/atheist-group-urges-investigation-into-coachs-gesture-to-unite-teams-in-post-game-prayer/

Islamic Imam Delivers Prayer Before U.S. House Claiming God Is ‘Experienced Through Multiple Paths’
By Heather Clark on October 5, 201769 Comments
WASHINGTON — An Islamic imam delivered a prayer on Wednesday before the U.S. House of Representatives, claiming that God is simply known by “different names” and experienced through “multiple paths.”
Abdullah Antepli, the chief representative of Muslim affairs at Duke University, had been invited to deliver the invocation by Democratic Congressman David Price of North Carolina.
“The holy one, as your creation, we call you by different names, experience you through multiple paths,” Antepli began. “Our human diversity is from you. As the creator of all, you made us different. Enable us to understand, appreciate and celebrate our differences.”
“Teach and guide us to turn these differences into opportunities, richness and strength. Prevent us from turning them into sources of division, polarization, hate and bigotry,” he continued.
Antepli also asserted in his prayer that America has made progress by being pluralistic and of many religions.
“We are far from being perfect, but came a long way in creating a multi-cultural, multi-religious and pluralistic society by making in America ‘You will be judged by what you do, not by who you are’ as one of our foundational promise,” he said.
“The most compassionate one, help us to preserve our achievements in this regard,” Antepli continued. “Do not let the destructive forces of division and exclusion erode our ideals, our firm commitment to diversity and pluralism. Empower us and these legislators to further improve the culture of inclusion and welcome to all in our nation and beyond.”
He closed his prayer in “your most holy and beautiful names”—plural.
Wednesday was Antepli’s second visit to the U.S. House of Representatives, as he also delivered the invocation before lawmakers in 2010. He was later asked to participate in consultations with the U.S. Department of State under then-Secretarys of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, according to Religion News Service.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/05/islamic-imam-delivers-prayer-before-u-s-house-claiming-god-is-experienced-through-multiple-paths/


‘In Satan We Trust’: Florida Atheist Plans to Erect Six-Foot Metal Pentagram in City Park
By Garrett Haley on October 2, 2017135 Comments
Photo Credit: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
BOCA RATON, Fla. – A Florida member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation says that he plans to erect a large pentagram in a city park this December in an effort to counter Christian and Jewish displays regarding the birth of Christ.
Since 1990, a city law in Boca Raton has allowed “unattended, expressive installations, displays, exhibits and similar objects” to be displayed during the holiday season in the city’s Sanborn Park. According to a report from CBS12, a local atheist named Preston Smith plans to put up a blood-red pentagram that stands six feet tall, weighs 300 pounds and bears several captions, including “In Satan We Trust,” “I Kneel Before No Gods” and “May the Children Hail Satan.”
Smith, who was raised as a Catholic but now describes himself as an atheistic Satanist, says he likes the pentagram because it represents “the polar opposite of everything that the Church stands for.” He views Satan as a metaphor for rebellion rather than an actual being.
“Satan serves as the symbol to go against—to rebel against—Yahweh, Jesus, and Muhammad,” he said in an interview published on YouTube. “The devil, in atheistic Satanists’ point of view, promotes great things: the separation of church and state, critical thinking, equal rights, science literacy, and sexual freedom—everything organized religion opposes.”
Smith describes his pentagram as a protest against nativity scenes and other religious holiday displays.
“The reason for the pentagram is that we have to have a break on the monopoly of the nativity scenes in public spheres,” he said. “A nativity scene, which is the myth that somehow a 14-year-old girl was magically impregnated—and, you know, it’s the stuff of legends, it’s folklore. We have to break the spell of menorahs being so widespread and acceptable in the public sphere, which is just a fairy tale of one night’s worth of oil burning for, what, eight nights. So I think that’s the direction I was going in.”


Las Vegas Gunman Was a High-Stakes Gambler Who ‘Kept to Himself’ Before Massacre
By Editor on October 2, 201736 Comments
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Washington Post) — Before he opened fire late Sunday, killing at least 58 people at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip, gunman Stephen Paddock was living out his retirement as a high-stakes gambler in a quiet town outside Las Vegas.
Paddock, 64, would disappear for days at a time, frequenting casinos with his longtime girlfriend, neighbors said. Relatives also said Paddock had frequently visited Las Vegas to gamble and take in concerts.
Eric Paddock said his brother often gambled in tens of thousands of dollars. “My brother is not like you and me. He plays high-stakes video poker,” he said. “He sends me a text that says he won $250,000 at the casino.”
Continue reading this story https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/10/02/las-vegas-gunman-liked-to-gamble-listened-to-country-music-lived-quiet-retired-life-before-massacre/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.387317a2e408


Superintendent Says Bible Verse on Bench Memorializing Student Killed in Accident Must Be Removed
By Heather Clark on October 3, 201735 Comments
Photo Credit: WSET-TV/screenshot
CHARLOTTE COURT HOUSE, Va. — A school superintendent in Virginia says that a Bible verse engraved on a bench that memorializes a student who died in an ATV accident last year must be removed in order to be “legally compliant.”
The Charlotte Court House community came together following the death of Colton Osborne, a student at Randolph Henry High School known for his love of baseball, to purchase a bench in his memory and place it near the school baseball field.
“The community of Charlotte County is a very sweet and loving community, and they do frequently request to give memorials,” Superintendent Nancy Leonard told local television station WSET.
However, because the bench includes text from Philippians 4:13, which reads, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” the school board says that it is concerned that it is violating the Constitution.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/03/superintendent-says-bible-verse-on-bench-memorializing-student-killed-in-accident-must-be-removed/

North Carolina Couple Refuses to Abort Conjoined Twins: ‘To Us, It Wasn’t an Option’
By Heather Clark on October 4, 20174 Comments
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A North Carolina couple that was advised to abort after learning that their unborn twin sons were conjoined at the chest is celebrating the birth of their boys, named Isaac and Elijah.
“To us, it wasn’t an option,” Jason Kroeger told Fox 19. “There is that initial shock, and a lot goes through your head, but pretty quickly we came to the realization these are our boys, and we’ve got to do what we can do for them.”
Kroeger and his wife, Heather, learned earlier this year that they were expecting and were provided with a due date of Oct. 1. At first, it was thought that the couple was expecting just one baby.
However, during another ultrasound at the end of the first trimester, the Kroegers were informed that there were twins in Heather’s womb, which appeared to be conjoined.
It was recommended that couple obtain an abortion, but they refused.
Caring for the twins meant that the couple needed to travel to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, as other locations were not equipped to handle the situation.
On Sept. 5, the boys were born, and are stated to be doing better than expected.
“Isaac is kind of mellow and calm and Elijah is just grabbing and looking around and wanting to touch everything,” Jason Kroeger told reporters. “It’s going to be interesting seeing them grow up and seeing the different personalities between the two.”
Doctors have since determined that Isaac and Elijah will not be able to be separated because they share too many vital organs, but the twins did recently have some sort of operation, according to a GoFundMe page set up for the couple.


Judge Reluctantly Rules Pennsylvania County Can’t Include Christian Cross on Official Seal
By Heather Clark on October 3, 201744 Comments
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LEHIGH COUNTY, Pa. — A federal judge in Pennsylvania has reluctantly ruled that a county in the Commonwealth can’t include a Christian cross in its official seal.
U.S. District Judge Edward Smith, nominated to the bench by then-President Barack Obama, wrote in his ruling that he doesn’t believe that Lehigh County’s inclusion of a cross in its 73-year-old seal violates the Establishment Clause in the way that the Founding Fathers intended when they wrote the U.S. Constitution.
“Lehigh County’s seal is a passive symbol that does not coerce any citizen to practice or adhere to Christianity, and does not establish a county religion. Thus, the seal does not violate the plain text of the Establishment Clause. Nor does it establish religion in the way the drafters of the First Amendment imagined,” he stated.
However, Smith said that he felt he had to adhere to the standards of higher courts that have concluded otherwise.

Over 50 Dead in Las Vegas After Deadliest Shooting in Modern US History
By Editor on October 2, 2017189 Comments
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Photo Credit: Andy Naylor
(ABC News) — More than 50 people were killed and 400 injured when a lone gunman opened fire from a perch high up in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas Sunday night, police said, making it the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.
The “nonstop gunfire,” according to one witness, sent bystanders outside the resort on the Vegas strip ducking for cover and scrambling for their lives.
Bystanders sprang into action, caring for the wounded and at least one described someone dying in their arms.
Continue reading this story http://abcnews.go.com/US/50-dead-200-injured-las-vegas-deadliest-shooting/story?id=50223240


Indiana to Appeal After Obama Judge Strikes Down Law Banning Abortion of Down Syndrome Children
By Heather Clark on October 1, 20177 Comments
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The attorney general of Indiana says that he plans to file an appeal after a federal judge appointed to the bench by then-President Barack Obama issued a permanent injunction against a state law that bans the murder of unborn children based on a Down Syndrome diagnosis or any other disability, but stops short of ending all abortion in the state.
“By declaring unconstitutional a state law that would bar abortions based solely on race, sex or disability such as Down syndrome, a federal judge has cleared the path for genetic discrimination that once seemed like science fiction,” Attorney General Curtis Hill said in a statement.
“This state has a compelling interest in protecting the dignity of the unborn and in ensuring they are not selected for termination simply because they lack preferred physical characteristics,” he added.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/01/indiana-to-appeal-after-obama-judge-strikes-down-law-banning-abortion-of-down-syndrome-children/


U.S. Department of Justice Memo: Sex Discrimination Law ‘Does Not Refer to Gender Identity’
By Heather Clark on October 6, 20172 Comments
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WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions has issued a memo revoking a previous determination by Obama Attorney General Eric Holder that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes gender identity.
“Title VII expressly prohibits discrimination ‘because of … sex’ and several other protected traits, but it does not refer to gender identity. ‘Sex’ is ordinarily defined to mean biologically male or female,” the memo, issued on Wednesday to federal prosecutors, read.
It noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has similarly concluded in legal precedent that “[t]he critical issue, Title VII indicates, is whether members of one sex are exposed to disadvantageous terms or conditions of employment [or other employment actions] to which members of the other sex are not exposed.”
“Although Title VII bars ‘sex stereotypes’ insofar as that particular sort of ‘sex-based consideration’ causes ‘disparate treatment of men and women,’ Title VII is not properly construed to proscribe employment practices (such as sex-specific bathrooms) that take account of the sex of employees but do not impose different burdens on similarly situated members of each sex,” the memo continued.
Therefore, “Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination between men and women but does not encompass discrimination based on gender identity per se, including transgender status,” Sessions concluded.
Consequently, he withdrew the Obama administration’s determination that Title VII pertains to transgenders and advised that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will take the position that it does not unless the courts rule otherwise.
“I have determined that the best reading of Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination is that it encompasses discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status,” Holder wrote in 2014. “The most straightforward reading of Title VII is that discrimination ‘because of … sex’ includes discrimination because an employee’s gender identification is as a member of a particular sex, or because the employee is transitioning, or has transitioned, to another sex.”
Sessions noted that his revocation of Holder’s memo should not be construed as a license to mistreat those who suffer from gender dysphoria, nor does it affect the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act or the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. He vowed to continue to “vigorously” enforce such laws, including in regard to crimes against those who present themselves as “transgender.”
The DOJ says that it simply cannot read into the statute what Congress has not expressly stated in the text.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/06/u-s-department-of-justice-memo-sex-discrimination-law-does-not-refer-to-gender-identity/


Judge Rules Florida County Can’t Disallow Atheists From Delivering Invocations at Govt Meetings
By Heather Clark on October 2, 201740 Comments
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A federal judge appointed to the bench by then-President Bill Clinton has ruled that Brevard County, Florida’s board of commissioners can’t disallow atheists from delivering invocations at public commission meetings.
“By opening up its invocation practice to volunteer citizens but requiring that those citizens believe in a ‘higher power’ before they will be permitted to solemnize a board meeting, the County is violating the freedom of religious belief and conscience guaranteed by the Free Exercise Clause,” wrote U.S. District Judge John Antoon II.
He said that the county’s practice of only allowing religious residents to deliver the prayer is an “instrument” of division and is unconstitutional.
“The County defines rights and opportunities of its citizens to participate in the ceremonial pre-meeting invocation during the county board’s regular meetings based on the citizens’ religious beliefs,” Antoon wrote. “[T]he county’s policy and practice violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and … the Florida Constitution.”
As previously reported, Brevard County’s board of commissioners voted unanimously in 2014 to deny a request from David Williamson of the Central Florida Freethought Community after he sent correspondence to Chairman Mary Bolin Lewis asking that his group be added to the county’s invocation list.
The County replied that Williamson’s group did not qualify for the invocation because it is defined as a “prayer presented by members of [the] faith community.”
“The prayer is delivered during the ceremonial portion of the county’s meeting, and typically invokes guidance for the County Commission from the highest spiritual authority, a higher authority which a substantial body of Brevard constituents believe to exist,” the response from the commissioners and the county attorney outlined.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/10/02/judge-rules-florida-county-cant-disallow-atheists-from-delivering-invocations-at-govt-meetings/

Democratic Senate Candidate Running Against Roy Moore Supports Legalizing Abortion Until Birth
By Heather Clark on September 27, 201733 Comments
The Democratic candidate who is running against “Ten Commandments Judge” Roy Moore for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions told MSNBC this week that he believes women should be able to obtain abortions up until birth.
Doug Jones was asked by Chuck Todd of “Meet the Press” on Wednesday night where he draws the line when it comes to an abortion.
“What are the limitations that you believe should be in the law when it comes to an abortion?” Todd inquired.
“I am a firm believer that a woman should have the freedom to choose what happens to her own body, and I’m going to stand up for that and I’m going to make sure that continues to happen,” Jones replied.
“I want to make sure that as we go forward, people have access to contraception, [and] they have access to the abortion that they might need—if that’s what they choose to do,” he said.
As Jones did not mention any limitations, Todd interjected with an example to understand whether or not Jones is not opposed to late-term abortions.
“You wouldn’t be in favor of legislation that said ban abortion after 20 weeks, or something like that?” he asked.
“No,” Jones responded. “I’m not in favor of anything that is going to infringe on a woman’s right and her freedom to choose. That’s just the position that I’ve had for many years, [and] it’s the position I continue to have.”
He then quickly mentioned that once a baby is born, however, he would support caring for the child.
“I want to make sure that people understand that once a baby is born, I’m going to be there for that child,” Jones said. “That’s where I become a right-to-lifer.”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/27/democratic-senate-candidate-running-against-roy-moore-supports-legalizing-abortion-until-birth/



Rick Warren Hopes His Partnership With Roman Catholic Leader Will Become ‘Model’ for World
By Heather Clark on September 27, 201768 Comments
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Photo Credit: Diocese of Orange
LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Megachurch leader Rick Warren, known for his best-selling book “The Purpose-Driven Life,” said in a recent interview that he hopes his partnership with a local Roman Catholic leader to collaboratively combat social ills becomes a “model” for others around the world. His remarks have drawn disagreement from those who believe that ecumenism with those who preach another gospel is unbiblical.
The Roman Catholic site Crux published the interview, which featured both Warren and friend Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange, on Sept. 14. They were asked by interviewer and diocese Chancellor Pia de Solenni to share about how their friendship formed and developed.
Vann recalled that Warren attended his installation as the bishop of Orange and also called to congratulate him. The two continued to communicate and soon also began praying together.
“One way we stay in touch is by texting personal prayer requests to each other,” Warren explained. “When my youngest son died in April 2013, I knew Kevin was praying for me, and when his father died in November 2014, I was praying for him. Sharing pain and grief brought us closer.”
Not only did Warren and Vann pray together, but “brainstorming meetings between [their] two staffs” about the issue of mental illness—in light of Matthew Warren’s suicide—led to the formation of a joint conference and other efforts to address mental health.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/27/rick-warren-hopes-his-partnership-with-roman-catholic-leader-will-become-model-for-world/


Eight-Year-Old Bludgeoned With Hammer While Trying to Save Sister From Sexual Abuse
By Heather Clark on September 26, 201732 Comments
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An eight-year-old boy was allegedly bludgeoned to death with a hammer while trying to save his sister from being sexually abused by his mother’s ex-boyfriend.
According to reports, on Sept. 1, Elizabeth Salone, 28, asked her ex-boyfriend Deandre Chaney Jr., 23, to watch her children while she drove her brother to work at 5:30 a.m.
However, while she was gone, Chaney allegedly sexually molested Salone’s seven-year-old daughter, and her son Dante stepped in to stop him. Chaney then retrieved a hammer and began beating both of the children, with Dante taking the worst of the blows.
Salone returned home 40 minutes later, and as she heard crying, she went upstairs to see what was wrong. Chaney then struck her too with a hammer and tied her up, pouring lighter fluid on her. He then took her car keys and cell phone, and drove off in her car.
Chaney, who had been on parole and was wearing an ankle monitor, cut off his monitor, and soon took an Amtrak train headed for Utah. He was able to flee as far as Nevada and was discovered hiding in a backyard shed when taken into custody by police the following day.
Salone was able to break free and run to a neighbor’s house, where she called the police. However, her son Dante was declared brain dead at the hospital and died six days later.
“This guy beat my grandson with a hammer—down to his spine. They couldn’t save his brain,” lamented grandmother Monique Brown to Fox 40 Sacramento.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/26/eight-year-old-bludgeoned-with-hammer-while-trying-to-save-sister-from-sexual-abuse/

Muslim Man Who Beheaded Coworker Told Investigators: Allah ‘Wants Us to Get the Oppressors Out’
By Heather Clark on September 24, 201711 Comments
NORMAN, Okla. — A Muslim man from Oklahoma who beheaded his coworker three years ago after being suspended from the job told investigators that Allah “wants us to get the oppressors out,” as per recorded audio played during his trial on Wednesday.
“You know the Muslim is somebody who submits their will to Allah … Whatever he wants done, that’s what we do,” Alton Nolen, now 33, told police in 2014. “And you know he wants us to get the oppressors out of this place.”
He said that he acted out because he felt he was being treated differently by his coworkers because he is a follower of Islam.
“I don’t feel regret, because you know what I’ve done,” Nolen stated. “That’s probably going to make Vaughan Foods a better place to work for a Muslim.”
As previously reported, in Sept. 2014, days following his suspension from Vaughan Foods over alleged comments about Caucasians, Nolen entered the front office, where he encountered Colleen Huffort and began attacking her with a knife.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/24/muslim-man-who-beheaded-coworker-told-investigators-allah-wants-us-to-get-the-oppressors-out/


Crowd Recites Lord’s Prayer at Football Game After Group Complains About Loudspeaker Prayer
By Garrett Haley on September 24, 201716 Comments
SMITHS STATION, Ala. – Students, players and members of the public attending a high school football game in Alabama stood up and recited the Lord’s Prayer in unison on Friday after a secular group complained about a student-led prayer that was broadcast over the loudspeaker during a recent game.
On Aug. 31, the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent a letter to Dr. James McCoy Jr., superintendent of Lee County Schools, regarding a prayer that a student volunteered to deliver before a high school football game.
“It is our understanding that on August 25, 2017, Smiths Station High School broadcasted a prayer over the loudspeaker prior to the first football game of the season,” wrote FFRF legal fellow Christopher Line. “We understand that this prayer took place right after the national anthem.”
The group said that a concerned parent notified them about the pregame prayer.
“It is illegal for a public school to sponsor religious messages at school athletic events,” the FFRF letter contended.
Calling the prayer a “serious violation of the First Amendment,” FFRF urged McCoy to put an end to the practice.
“Not only is the district endorsing these prayers by allotting time for them at the start of games, but it is also providing the prayer-giver with the public address system needed to impose these prayers on all students and community members at games,” the correspondence stated. “Public school events must be secular to protect the freedom of conscience of all students
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/24/crowd-recites-lords-prayer-at-football-game-after-group-complains-about-loudspeaker-prayer/


Satanic Temple Wants Followers to Force Christian Bakers to Make a Cake to ‘Honor Satan’
By Heather Clark on September 29, 201737 Comments
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SALEM, Mass. — The Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple, out of its dissatisfaction with Christian-owned bakeries that decline to make cakes celebrating same-sex “weddings,” is now asking its followers to force bakers to make a cake for Satan.
The group says that it came up with the idea in light of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case soon to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“[B]ecause sexual orientation is not a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (whereas race and religion are), there is a good chance that the right to discriminate against gay couples will be affirmed as a constitutional liberty,” it wrote.
Out of the Satanic Temple’s fears that the court will likely rule in favor of the cakeshop, it has asked that those “who feel alienated or oppressed by the privileged status that religion holds over sexual orientation” contact religious bakers and order a cake to “honor Satan.”
It asserts that the bakeries will not be able to say no since religion is considered a federally-protected class.
“Because religion is a protected class, a baker may refuse service to LGBTQ people, but they may not refuse service based upon someone’s religion. If they aren’t willing to make a cake for same-sex unions, let’s have them make a cake to honor Satan instead,” spokesperson Doug Messner, who goes by the name Lucien Greaves, said in a statement on Thursday.
However, as previously reported, while the Satanic Temple contends that it is a religious group, it also notes on its website that it is “non-theistic” and does not believe in Satan or the supernatural at all, but only views the devil as a metaphor and a “symbol of the eternal rebel.”
“[W]e do not promote a belief in a personal Satan,” its FAQ section explains. “To embrace the name Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions.”
Some, therefore, consider the group as essentially an atheist effort to make a point about religion.
The Satanic Temple acknowledged to the Daily Caller this week that it is particularly upset that Christian bakers have declined to create baked goods for same-sex ceremonies because many members of the devilish group identify as homosexual.
“A lot of our membership is also homosexual as well, and I feel like there’s obvious reasons for that,” Messner said. “You know, we’re very into that kind of thing. There’s no issue of tolerance with us. And a lot of people who have grown up gay feel very alienated from traditional religion. So we have a very high population of LGBTQ community also as membership of the Satanic Temple.”
As previously reported, in 2015, during the unveiling of its Baphomet statue in Detroit, attendees shouted “Hail Satan” as two shirtless men pulled off the cloth that covered the figure and then embraced and kissed each other in front of the statue.
The group wrote in Thursday’s press release that if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of religious bakeries, the Satanic Temple will host a party for Satan in “honor” of every unsuccessful attempt to order a same-sex “wedding” cake from a Christian baker.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/29/satanic-temple-wants-followers-to-force-christian-bakers-to-make-a-cake-to-honor-satan/


Russian ‘Cannibal Couple’ in Custody After Allegedly Killing 30 People, Keeping Remains in Jars
By Heather Clark on September 29, 20171 Comment
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KRASNODAR, Russia — A couple in Russia is being held in police custody as it is believed that they have killed and eaten 30 people over the last 20 years.
According to reports, Dmitry Baksheev, 35, and his wife, Natalia Baksheeva, 42, were arrested after city workers in Krasnodar found a cell phone lying in the street that contained graphic images of dismembered body parts, as well as a photo of Baksheev posing with a human hand in his mouth.
Authorities were then able to trace the phone to the Baksheev, who used to work for a military academy. The Moscow Times reports that he first told police that he had found the body parts in a dumpster and lost his phone after taking the photos.
However, he later confessed to killing and eating the remains of at least 30 people along with his wife. During a search of their hostel on the military base, a number of jars were found that contained preserved human remains. A tutorial on cannibalism was also found at the residence.
“In the place of residence of the suspects, the investigators discovered fragments of the human body in saline solution in the dormitor … Frozen meat parts of unknown origin were seized in the kitchen,” investigators stated, according to CBS News.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/29/russian-cannibal-couple-in-custody-after-allegedly-killing-30-people-keeping-remains-in-jars/


Aussie Worker Fired for Using Profile Filter Opposing Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ on Personal Facebook Page
By Editor on September 27, 201724 Comments
(Christian Institute) — An 18-year-old Christian has lost her job after publicly sharing her opposition to same-sex marriage in Australia on Facebook.
Madeline, who was working as a contractor for Capital Kids’ Parties in Canberra, changed her Facebook profile picture to say “It’s OK to vote no,” in reference to the ongoing postal vote on legalising same-sex marriage.
Her employer, Madlin Sims, said this was “homophobic” and could not be tolerated.
Homophobic’
She said: “Today I fired a staff member who made it public knowledge that they feel ‘it’s okay to vote no’.
“Advertising your desire to vote no for SSM is, in my eyes, hate speech. Voting no is homophobic. Advertising your homophobia is hate speech.”
She added: “It’s not okay to vote no.”
Sims also claimed that Madeline’s views made her a danger to children, adding that she “could not risk her voicing those opinions to any children of ours”.
Discrimination
Madeline was not an employee of the business and so could not claim for unfair dismissal.
While she felt she had been discriminated against due to her religion, Madeline said she had no plans to take Sims to court.
In light of Madeline’s dismissal, Australian Coalition for Marriage said that ‘yes’ campaign leaders needed to be honest about the implications of same-sex marriage on free speech.
Spokeswoman Monica Doumit said that despite repeated claims to the contrary, free speech is at risk if same-sex marriage is legalised.
Punishment
She said that Madeline’s sacking indicated “an appetite on the part of ‘yes’ campaigners not only to silence, but punish, those who disagree.
“This won’t stop if the law changes. On the contrary, same-sex marriage activists will feel emboldened by the change in law”, adding “We’ve seen it happen overseas, and you would have to be very naïve to think it wouldn’t happen here.”
MORE http://www.christian.org.uk/news/aussie-worker-fired-opposition-sex-marriage/


Newborn Baby Whose Mother Sacrificed Her Life to Save Daughter Also Dies
By Heather Clark on September 23, 20177 Comments
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The newborn baby of a Michigan mother who refused recommendations that she abort her unborn child in the midst of a battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, and instead decided to forgo treatment in order to save her baby, has now died just two weeks after her mother passed into eternity.
“It is with great sadness and a absolutely broken heart that I tell you Life Lynn passed away last night,” the Cure 4 Carrie page posted to social media on Thursday. “Carrie is now rocking her baby girl. I have no explanation of why this happened, but I do know Jesus loves us and someday we will know why. The grief we feel is almost unbearable; please be praying for our family.”
As previously reported, Carrie DeKlyen, a mother of five, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme in April and was accepted for a clinic trial at the University of Michigan. However, in meeting with doctors at the facility, she was informed that she was pregnant and would need to obtain an abortion in order to proceed.
She declined.
“The doctor said, ‘If you don’t terminate this baby, Carrie, you will die,’” her husband Nick recalled to People Magazine. “But it was Carrie’s decision, and I said ‘What do you want to do?’ She said, ‘We’re keeping it.’
DeKlyen had two brain surgeries to remove the tumor, but it returned both times. In July, DeKlyen suffered a stroke and never regained consciousness. Family and friends hoped that she would stay alive long enough for her baby to be safely delivered.
On Sept. 6, doctors performed a Cesarean section on DeKlyen, delivering her daughter, named Life, at a gestation of 24 weeks, 5 days. She weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces.
At first, it was reported that the baby was doing as good as could be expected, but earlier this week, the Cure 4 Carrie page noted that Life had taken a turn for the worse and was struggling with low blood pressure and low oxygen levels. Skin-to-skin contact from her father seemed to help, but on Wednesday evening, Life died.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/23/newborn-baby-whose-mother-sacrificed-her-life-to-save-daughter-also-dies/



‘Ten Commandments Judge’ Roy Moore Wins Alabama Primary Runoff for U.S. Senate
By Heather Clark on September 26, 2017193 Comments
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, also known as the “Ten Commandments Judge,” has won the state primary runoff for the U.S. Senate, significantly defeating his opponent Luther Strange despite President Trump’s endorsement of Strange.
As of press time, with 92 percent of precincts reporting, Moore had obtained 54 percent of the vote versus 45 percent for Strange.
Strange has conceded the race, remarking in a statement, “I congratulate Roy Moore on the result this evening. May God be with him and may God continue to bless Alabama and the United States of America.”
He also thanked President Trump and Vice President Pence for their support.
Trump himself congratulated Moore upon learning the results of the race, tweeting, “Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!”
Moore, while thanking his supporters Tuesday night, also gave thanks foremost to God, noting that he never prayed to God to win, but rather asked that the Lord’s will would be done. He said that it is not good for a man to think that he won on his own, and noted that losing is sometimes good for a person.
“[T]here’s nothing too great for God. For one day every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain or hill shall be made low. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it,” Moore said, quoting from the book of Isaiah.
“We’re put here on earth for a short time, and for that short time, our duty is to serve Almighty God and serve Him in all things,” he also declared. “[W]e have to return the knowledge of God and the Constitution of the United States to the United States Congress.”
Moore lamented the division that is sweeping America, but expressed optimism that God can restore the country to its former “greatness.”
“This is a time for victory. It’s a time to remember the struggles we’ve gone through. But it’s also a time to rededicate our lives to God, and to our Constitution and to our country, [and] to our families,” he said.
Moore generated widespread support from evangelicals both statewide and nationwide, including James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse. Several former White House cabinet members also appeared at Moore’s rallies, including Sebastian Gorka, an intelligence analyst who served as an advisor to President Trump, and former Chief of Staff Steve Bannon.
As previously reported, Moore is known as the “Ten Commandments Judge” as he was ousted from the Alabama Supreme Court in 2003 following a battle over a Ten Commandments monument he had erected in the high court’s rotunda.
He was reelected by the people in 2012 as chief justice, but the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended him again last year following a trial over a memo he released in 2016, advising that his colleagues had not reversed a decision prohibiting probate judges from issuing marriage licenses to homosexuals as per the Alabama Constitution. After the suspension was upheld in April, Moore resigned and soon announced his run for U.S. Senate.
JUDGE Roy Moore FULL Victory Speech After Winning AL Senate Runoff Election 9/26/17
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ilq_XXyk_o
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Author of ‘Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus,’ Dies Following Battle With Cancer
By Editor on September 16, 20178 Comments
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(Gospel Coalition) — On Saturday, September 16, 2017, Nabeel Qureshi, age 34, entered into the joy of his master, Jesus Christ, after enduring a yearlong battle with cancer. …
As a Christian apologist with a special focus on Islam, Nabeel was often introduced as a “former Muslim.” He felt ambivalence about the label, wondering if he would be forever bound by the life he left.
“We don’t identify other Christians as ‘former adulterers,’ ‘former narcissists,” etc. I have been made a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), I strive every day to cast off the old self and to put on the new (Ephesians 4:22-24), reflecting the fact that I have been born again from above (John 3:3). I would be thrilled if I never had to talk about Islam again, focusing instead on the awe-inspiring power of God’s incarnation and resurrection!”
But, he added:  “… as long as there are Muslims, there will be Christians who need to be equipped to share the Gospel with them in compelling compassion. Until that is no longer the case, I am honored to discuss my former way of life to build up the body of Christ.” …
In February of 2014, Nabeel published his first book, “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity” (Zondervan), which landed on the New York Times bestseller list, and was awarded the Christian Book Award for both “Best New Author” and “Best Non-Fiction Book” of 2015. It has sold over a quarter of a million copies.
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California School Board Says Allowing Opt-Out of Discussions on Gender Identity Would Be ‘Discriminatory’
By Heather Clark on September 21, 2017121 Comments
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ROCKLIN, Calif. — Officials with a school board in California that recently drew controversy after a kindergarten teacher read two books to students about transgender issues stated during a meeting on Monday that allowing opt-outs of discussions on gender identity and homosexuality would be “discriminatory.”
While the Rocklin Academy School Board agreed to provide advance notice about such discussions, it asserted in a revised policy that to allow parents to opt-out their children “on the basis of characteristics of protected classes (e.g., race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, and disabilities) creates a discriminatory environment that is prohibited by law.”
In some cases, when the matter conflicts with student privacy rights, parents might not be provided with all of the details and reasoning for the lesson or discussion.
“As a result of student privacy rights, parent(s) may not be notified of all circumstances that led the school to choose a particular piece of supplemental instructional material,” the new policy reads. “For example, if the school determines that it is necessary to prevent racial harassment or bullying, it might choose to expose students to material on racial discrimination to sensitize students about the need to teach others with respect.”
The policy was approved unanimously by the board following four hours of public comment from those on both sides of the issue. The meeting attracted over 500 community members, some of whom told officials that it should be the parents, not the school, to speak to their children about such topics.
“This was alarming because it happened at such a young age and outside of the curriculum and there was no notice given,” one parent also declared.
“To teach my kid that biologically this boy was born a boy and to teach him that now he’s a girl is very confusing, and I feel that it’s a lie,” another stated.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/09/21/california-school-board-says-allowing-opt-out-of-discussions-on-gender-identity-would-be-discriminatory/

Abortionist Who Declared ‘Love’ for Killing Babies While Wielding Surgical Scissors Surrenders Medical License
By Heather Clark on August 23, 20177 Comments
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A California abortionist who was the subject of a viral video last year in which he was captured wielding surgical scissors while declaring his love for killing babies has agreed to surrender his medical license after being formally accused by the state medical board of unprofessional conduct, as well as other violations surrounding the medical mistreatment of female patients.
The Medical Board of California characterized Robert Santella’s actions as being “outrageous conduct” in its 23-page cause for discipline released on Tuesday.
“Respondent shall lose all rights and privileges as a physician and surgeon in California as of the effective date of the medical board’s decision and order,” the document reads. “Respondent shall cause to be delivered to the medical board his pocket license and, if one was issued, his wall certificate…”
As previously reported, the confrontation took place last June as abortion abolitionist Zephaniah Mel stood outside of Family Planning Associates in San Diego preaching the gospel and calling those inside to repent.
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Parents Feel ‘Betrayed’ After Teacher Reads Transgender-Themed Books to Kindergarten Class
By Heather Clark on August 22, 2017312 Comments
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ROCKLIN, Calif. — A number of parents in Rocklin, California say that they feel betrayed after a kindergarten teacher recently read two transgender-themed books to students without their prior knowledge.
“My daughter came home crying and shaking, so afraid she could turn into a boy,” one parent stated during a packed board meeting for Rocklin Academy on Monday.
According to reports, the teacher, who has not been publicly identified, read the books “I Am Jazz” and “The Red Crayon” on the second-to-last day of school before summer break. The first book is about teen reality show star Jazz Jennings—a teenage boy who identifies as a girl, and the second tells the story of a blue crayon that was mislabeled red.
No advance notice or opt-out information was provided to parents.
Therefore, when students came home and advised that they had learned about gender identity, with some confused about whether they could transition to the opposite gender, a number of parents contacted the school to express concern.
Principal Jillayne Antoon issued a letter a week later to advise what had transpired in the classroom. She outlined that a student had asked the teacher to read “I Am Jazz” to the class. According to reports, a student who was born a boy but identifies as a girl gifted the books to the teacher. It is not clear if the student who donated the books was the same kindergartener that requested that the Jazz book be read aloud.
“Please be assured that these books are age appropriate children’s books, geared for ages 4-8,” Antoon wrote to parents. “There were no additional discussions with the class about any topic in relation to these books.”
However, according to CBS News, parents say that the male student changed his clothes at some point during the class and presented himself as a girl.
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University Professor Carries Out Plot to Murder Boyfriend, Makes Donation to ‘LGBT Health Center’ While on Run
By Heather Clark on August 23, 201714 Comments
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CHICAGO — A university professor and his accomplice are facing first degree murder charges after carrying out a plot to kill the “distinguished microbiologist’s” boyfriend, and then making a charitable donation to an “LGBT health center” in the murdered man’s name while on the run.
Wyndham Lathem, 43, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University, and Andrew Warren, 56, a treasury assistant for payroll and pensions for the University of Oxford, are being held without bail after turning themselves into police following the murder of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, 26.
“For several months, [Lathem and Warren] communicated through an Internet chat room about carrying out their sexual fantasies of killing others and then themselves,” Illinois Assistant State Attorney Natosha Toller told CBS News.
Last month, Lathem bought Warren a ticket to fly from the U.K. to Chicago, and the men hatched a plot to kill Lathem’s boyfriend, Cornell-Duranleau, as well as someone of Warren’s choosing. Lathem and Warren also agreed to kill each other simultaneously as the last aspect of their plan.
“What I can tell you [is that] it was not domestic in nature, like a husband/wife or boyfriend/boyfriend or love triangle. That was not the motive,” Chicago Police Detective Cmdr. Brendan Deenihan explained during a press conference. “It was a little more dark and disturbing.”
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Pregnant Mother With Aggressive Brain Cancer Refuses Abortion, Forgoes Treatment Instead to Save Baby
By Heather Clark on August 21, 201711 Comments
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A pregnant mother with an aggressive form of brain cancer has refused recommendations that she abort her unborn child and has instead decided to forgo treatment in order to save her baby.
Carrie DeKlyen, a mother of five, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme in April and and was accepted for a clinic trial at the University of Michigan. However, in meeting with doctors at the facility, she was informed that she was pregnant and would need to obtain an abortion in order to proceed.
She declined.
“The doctor said, ‘If you don’t terminate this baby, Carrie, you will die,’” her husband Nick recalled to People Magazine. “But it was Carrie’s decision, and I said ‘What do you want to do?’ She said, ‘We’re keeping it.’”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/08/21/pregnant-mother-with-aggressive-brain-cancer-refuses-abortion-forgoes-treatment-instead-to-save-baby/

Atheist Group Calls Bible a ‘Violent, Racist Book’ in Scolding Gov. for Lamenting Bible’s Removal From Schools
By Heather Clark on August 24, 2017246 Comments
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FRANKFORT, Ky. — A prominent professing atheist organization characterized the Bible as a “violent, racist book” in scolding the governor of Kentucky over his recent remarks lamenting the ramifications of removing the Bible from public schools.
Gov. Matt Bevin appeared on the Tom Roten Morning Show on Aug. 15, where he discussed the public unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a recent bill he signed dubbed as the “Bible Literacy Bill.”
“When you go back a couple of hundred years, in most instances the only textbooks that were in our public schools were the Bible,” he said. “And so to that end to pretend, again, to scrub history and pretend that that wasn’t reality, I think is a dangerous precedent.”
“And it’s interesting, the more we’ve removed any sense of spiritual obligation or moral higher authority or absolute right and wrong, the more we’ve removed things that are biblically taught from society, the more we’ve seen the kind of mayhem that we were just discussing,” Bevin stated.
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New Mexico Public School Paints Over Scripture Mural Following Complaint
By Heather Clark on August 21, 201798 Comments
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CLOVIS, N.M. — Officials with a public school in New Mexico quickly agreed to paint over a mural featuring a Scripture citation after receiving a letter from a prominent atheist-led church-state separation group last week.
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) recently sent a letter to the Clovis Municipal School District after receiving a complaint from a parent who noticed the mural at Clovis Freshman Academy, which features a dove and anchor, and the phrase “Hope anchors the soul—Hebrews 6:19.”
The mural had reportedly been created by a former art teacher four years ago and none had complained—until now.
“The district violates the Constitution when it allows schools to display religious symbols or messages,” FFRF’s letter read. “Public schools may not advance, prefer or promote religion.”
“This religious display is particularly inappropriate given that about 35% of those born after 1981 are not religious,” it asserted. “The display alienates those nonreligious students, families, teachers and members of the public whose religious beliefs are inconsistent with the message being promoted by the school.”
The organization therefore asked that the mural be removed so as to adhere to a neutrality toward religion.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/08/21/new-mexico-public-school-paints-over-scripture-mural-following-complaint/

Hubei Christians Attacked With Fireworks, Mud
By Editor on August 20, 20171 Comment
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EZHOU, Hubei (China Aid) — After a raid chased a house church from its building out into the open on Jan. 10, authorities in China’s central Hubei province have been weekly attacking church services, firing fireworks at the Christians and drenching them with mud.
For the past eight months, officials have arrived weekly at the outdoor services of a church and assaulted the Christians gathered there. According to a man surnamed Zhang, who pastors the church, “On July 11, the government officials threw firecrackers at the [Christian] brothers and sisters who attended the gathering. A sister was hurt.”
When Christians accompanied the injured woman to the police station to negotiate, four of them were detained for five-to-seven days.
Continue reading this story >
Hubei Christians Attacked With Fireworks, Mud
By Editor on August 20, 20171 Comment
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EZHOU, Hubei (China Aid) — After a raid chased a house church from its building out into the open on Jan. 10, authorities in China’s central Hubei province have been weekly attacking church services, firing fireworks at the Christians and drenching them with mud.
For the past eight months, officials have arrived weekly at the outdoor services of a church and assaulted the Christians gathered there. According to a man surnamed Zhang, who pastors the church, “On July 11, the government officials threw firecrackers at the [Christian] brothers and sisters who attended the gathering. A sister was hurt.”
When Christians accompanied the injured woman to the police station to negotiate, four of them were detained for five-to-seven days.
Continue reading this story >Hubei Christians Attacked With Fireworks, Mud
By Editor on August 20, 20171 Comment
465 5 Share0 0 470

EZHOU, Hubei (China Aid) — After a raid chased a house church from its building out into the open on Jan. 10, authorities in China’s central Hubei province have been weekly attacking church services, firing fireworks at the Christians and drenching them with mud.
For the past eight months, officials have arrived weekly at the outdoor services of a church and assaulted the Christians gathered there. According to a man surnamed Zhang, who pastors the church, “On July 11, the government officials threw firecrackers at the [Christian] brothers and sisters who attended the gathering. A sister was hurt.”
When Christians accompanied the injured woman to the police station to negotiate, four of them were detained for five-to-seven days.
Continue reading this story >http://www.chinaaid.org/2017/08/hubei-christians-attacked-with.html
Hubei Christians attacked with fireworks, mud
Friday, August 18, 2017Mud covers a Christian woman afterauthorities hurled it at Christians gathered for a worship service.(Photo: ChinaAid)ChinaAid

Michigan Man Who Preaches Outside Abortion Facilities Sues to Stop Threats of Arrest
By Heather Clark on August 20, 20173 Comments
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Michigan man who preaches outside of abortion facilities and other locations on a regular basis has filed a federal lawsuit as he says that he has been threatened numerous times with arrest by police.
Stephen Nylen of New City Fellowship is challenging Grand Rapids’ noise ordinance, which prohibits “any noise of any kind,” but does not provide an objective standard. He also says that if anyone complains about his speech, he could be charged with breach of the peace if he declines to stop preaching.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Nylen, who regularly engages in religious speech in public forums such as public sidewalks and parks, has been repeatedly warned by city officers that, if someone dislikes his speech [and] complains to authorities about it, then he will be cited under either the noise ordinance or the breach of the peace ordinance if he does not stop speaking,” his attorney, Stephen van Stempvoort, wrote in the complaint.
While some have expressed appreciation for Nylen’s preaching, who turned to Christ while serving in Iraq, others have responded negatively. Nylen is therefore concerned that in addition to breach of the peace, he could also be cited for causing a disturbance if anyone unhappy with the message responds by shouting or honking their car horn.
“Due to the subjective, vague nature of the city’s ordinances, Mr. Nylen has not been able to obtain a clear indication of the line between permitted and not permitted conduct,’’ van Stempvoort contended.
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Appeals Court Rules Against High School Football Coach Who Lost Job for Praying on Field
By Heather Clark on August 24, 201736 Comments
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BREMERTON, Wash. — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against a Washington football coach who was put out of a job in 2015 as school district officials decided not to renew his contract in the midst of a battle over his desire to pray at the 50-yard line.
“While we ‘recognize the important role that public worship plays in many communities, as well as the sincere desire to include public prayer as part of [these] occasions,’ such activity can promote disunity along religious lines, and risks alienating valued community members from an environment that must be open and welcoming to all,” wrote Judge Milan Smith, appointed to the bench by then-President George W. Bush, on behalf of the three-judge panel.
“That is why the ‘preservation and transmission of religious beliefs and worship is a responsibility and a choice committed to the private sphere, which itself is promised freedom to pursue that mission,'” he said, quoting from the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Lee v. Weisman.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/08/24/appeals-court-rules-against-high-school-football-coach-who-lost-job-for-praying-on-field/

23 States, 24 Members of Congress Join Supreme Court Briefs in Support of Ten Commandments Monument
By Heather Clark on August 22, 20175 Comments
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WASHINGTON — Attorneys general and governors from 23 states, as well as 24 members of Congress, have filed briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving a Ten Commandments monument in New Mexico that is the subject of a lawsuit filed by two Wiccan women who took offense at the display.
“[C]ertiorari is warranted here to clarify the Establishment Clause doctrine that applies to a common manifestation of religion-influenced expression on governmental property—Ten Commandments displays,” the brief for the coalition of state officials reads. “The Ten Commandments, which ‘are regarded as a significant basis of American law and the American polity,’ are frequently displayed on public property.”
“After all, ‘[a] relentless and all-pervasive attempt to exclude religion from every aspect of public life could itself become inconsistent with the Constitution,'” it outlines, quoting from the prominent Supreme Court case of Lee v. Weisman.
23 States, 24 Members of Congress Join Supreme Court Briefs in Support of Ten Commandments Monument
By Heather Clark on August 22, 20175 Comments
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WASHINGTON — Attorneys general and governors from 23 states, as well as 24 members of Congress, have filed briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving a Ten Commandments monument in New Mexico that is the subject of a lawsuit filed by two Wiccan women who took offense at the display.
“[C]ertiorari is warranted here to clarify the Establishment Clause doctrine that applies to a common manifestation of religion-influenced expression on governmental property—Ten Commandments displays,” the brief for the coalition of state officials reads. “The Ten Commandments, which ‘are regarded as a significant basis of American law and the American polity,’ are frequently displayed on public property.”
“After all, ‘[a] relentless and all-pervasive attempt to exclude religion from every aspect of public life could itself become inconsistent with the Constitution,'” it outlines, quoting from the prominent Supreme Court case of Lee v. Weisman.RE
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/08/22/23-states-24-members-of-congress-join-supreme-court-briefs-in-support-of-ten-commandments-monument/

Hilllsong's Brian Houston Backs Biblical Marriage but Slams Christians Condemning Gays Ahead of Australia Vote
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By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 21, 2017 7:04 AM
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(PHOTO: CATALYST)
Hillsong Church Senior Pastor Brian Houston of Sydney, Australia giving remarks at Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, October 7, 2016.
Hillsong Church Senior Pastor Brian Houston has urged Christians to participate in the upcoming nationwide postal plebiscite regarding legalizing same-sex marriage in Australia.
While Houston defended marriage as a union between one man and one woman, he also slammed Christians who are quick to condemn gay people.
"I urge all Christians to be a part of the upcoming postal plebiscite on same sex marriage. Whatever your view on this issue, it is undeniably one that is important to the fabric of our social structure. Changing the definition of marriage has wide-reaching ramifications and should not be taken lightly by any society. All Australians should be a part of this process, not just a select few," Houston said in a statement posted on the Hillsong website Friday.
"For Christians, the issue is also a matter of faith and biblical teaching, something that should never be mocked or downplayed by those with opposing views," he added.
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Greg Laurie Condemns White Supremacy at SoCal Harvest: America Needs 'Spiritual Awakening' After Charlottesville
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By Brandon Showalter , CP Reporter | Aug 20, 2017 5:02 PM
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(PHOTO: HARVEST AMERICA)
Pastor Greg Laurie preaches at Harvest America at the University of Phoenix Stadium on June 11, 2017.
Pastor Greg Laurie is decrying the racial turmoil and violence that manifested in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend, urging Christians to reject every kind of prejudice and hate they see in the world.
Before a crowd of approximately 26,000 people at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, for SoCal Harvest Friday night, the lead pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, spoke of the troubling things America is facing in a message titled "A Second Change for America."
Speaking about the hatred and violence that was witnessed in Charlottesville when a white supremacist rammed his car into a crowd of protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others, Laurie said, "Our country is divided," the OC Register reported Saturday.
"For a follower of Jesus Christ, there is no place for racism, bigotry or prejudice of any kind. I see these people carrying crosses, wearing swastikas, talking about white supremacy. There is no superior race. We are all part of the human race," he said, urging all in attendance to take the "second chance" in God's forgiveness in His Son, Jesus Christ.
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Benham Brothers on Charlottesville Violence, Solar Eclipse: There Is Spiritual Darkness in America
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By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 21, 2017 10:00 AM
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(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/BENHAM BROTHERS)
David (L) and Jason (R) Benham in a Facebook video posted on August 18, 2017.
Conservative Christian brothers and activists Jason and David Benham said Monday's solar eclipse signifies spiritual darkness in America in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"It is a physical manifestation of the spiritual truth that there is darkness on this land. God is planning for deliverance," David Benham said, urging Christians to "rise above" Satan's plans.
The Benhams commented on the recent protests over a confederate statue in Charlottesville that left one dead, maintaining that racial division is not of Christ and that Satan is at play.
"We see a pattern happening, you can see it all throughout Scripture. When God plans deliverance, Satan plans destruction," Jason Benham said in a Facebook video posted on Friday.
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How Christians Can Respond When Transgender Issues Affect Your Child, Church, You
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By Leonardo Blair , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 19, 2017 9:40 AM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)
Transgender activists and supporters protest potential changes by the Trump administration in federal guidelines issued to public schools in defense of transgender student rights, near the White House in Washington, U.S. February 22, 2017.
Editor's Note: This is the final part in a Christian Post series on how Christians should respond to transgenderism. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 here and here, Part 4, and Part 5.
What should I do if my child is in a school that teaches that transgender identity is normal? How should I respond if my female friend at church becomes a transgender man? These are some of the questions that The Christian Post posed to three experts in the field as Christians seek guidance on how to respond to the issue of transgender identity in daily life.
The experts include David H. Pickup, Jeff Johnston, and Dr. Juli Slattery.
David H. Pickup is a Christian and licensed marriage and family therapist. He currently operates two private psychotherapy practices in Dallas, Texas, and Los Angeles, California. He works primarily with men dealing with unwanted same-sex attraction and uses authentic Reparative Therapy.
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Paula White Talks God Raising Up Trump, Christian Remnant on Jim Bakker Show
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By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Aug 21, 2017 6:10 PM
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Televangelist Paula White and her husband Jonathan Cain appear on an episode of the Jim Bakker Show that aired Aug. 21, 2017.
President Donald Trump's spiritual adviser, Florida televangelist Paula White, said she believes that Trump was raised up by God. She also urged Christians to stop hiding in fear even though the world hates them.
The 51-year-old White, who is senior pastor at New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Florida, and her rockstar husband, Jonathan Cain of Journey, appeared on an episode of "The Jim Bakker Show" Monday.
White, who has maintained a ministerial relationship with Trump for over 16 years and serves as Trump's closest religious adviser, stated during the nearly hour-long segment that America is in "days of transition."
White seemingly tried to compare Trump's election to the Oval Office with that of the Old Testament's story of Esther, a Jewish orphan who eventually became the queen of Persia and saved the Jews from a plot of genocide.
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YouTube Just Demonetized Hundreds of Our Videos
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By Michael Brown , CP Op-Ed Contributor | Aug 22, 2017 7:18 AM
The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of The Christian Post or its editors.
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Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He is the author of 25 books and hosts the nationally syndicated, daily talk radio show, the Line of Fire.
It all happened in the course of one night, and it happened quite suddenly.
Last Thursday night, I noticed that YouTube demonetized my interview with a former KKK Grand Dragon who is now an associate pastor in an African American church, claiming it was "Not suitable for all advertisers"? Why wouldn't it be? It was a great, positive, redemptive story, one that the whole world should hear. Why flag it?
The demonetizing of this video was the first thing that got my attention, but I thought to myself, "It's probably because it has KKK in the title."
For months now, we had noticed that almost any video we had with "Islam" in the title would get demonetized. But when we would request a review from YouTube, some of the videos would get reinstated.
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Digital Addiction, Sexualized Culture Driving Rising Teen Suicide Rates; Fight Is 'Spiritual Battle,' Some Say
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By Brandon Showalter , CP Reporter | Aug 23, 2017 7:48 AM
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Technology and a sexualized culture are driving rising suicide rates among teenagers, according to a prominent Internet safety activist and an author who focuses his ministry on equipping families about technology dangers. And this is a battle that is first and foremost a spiritual fight, they note.
A recent CDC report reveals that suicide among teen girls has reached a 40-year high, having doubled in the past 10 years, and in that same time frame the rate has risen 30 percent among teen boys.
In 2015, 524 females ages 15 to 19 and 1,537 males in that same age range ended their lives in the United States, the analysis shows.
Donna Rice Hughes, president of Internet safety advocacy group Enough is Enough, said in a phone interview Tuesday with The Christian Post that the dramatic increase is very sad but not particularly surprising given how "our culture has set up a perfect storm for the emotional, sexual, and mental and relational brokenness of our young people."
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Kindergarten Teacher Hosts 'Gender Transition' Ceremony During Class for 5-Y-O; Kids Traumatized
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By Brandon Showalter , CP Reporter | Aug 23, 2017 9:55 AM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS)
Children play in their kindergarten run by a private foundation which is not affected by the nursery caretakers' strike in Hanau, 30km south of Frankfurt, Germany, May 8, 2015.
A California public charter school is coming under fire because of a kindergarten teacher who hosted a "gender transition" ceremony during her class, traumatizing kids.
At the Sacramento-area Rocklin Academy Gateway, a kindergarten teacher held a "transition ceremony" for one of the 5-year-old boys — who is reportedly undergoing transition to become a girl. Because lessons in "gender identity" do not fall under the umbrella of sex ed, the opt-out and parental consent laws do not apply, according to local reports.
This lesson took place just days before summer break began and local parents are considering legal action. But in response to growing anger among parents, the school said that if it does not accommodate these transgender students it will be vulnerable to lawsuits.
During this particular class, the teacher read "I am Jazz" and "The Red Crayon," two children's books aimed at explaining transgenderism to kids ages 4 to 8.
"From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body," is a line in the book "I am Jazz."
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New Social Cross Website Offers Christians an Alternative to Facebook
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By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Aug 23, 2017 10:47 AM
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(PHOTO: SOCIALCROSS.ORG)
Conservative Christians who've been barred from Facebook for posting their beliefs about homosexuality and LGBT issues now have a new social media platform they can join that won't block users for defending biblical principals.
After being suspended from Facebook numerous times for posting their thoughts on LGBT issues, a group of Christian preachers have launched a social networking alternative to Facebook called SocialCross.org.
SocialCross, which works in a very similar manner to Facebook, aims to give Christians a place to engage and have conversations about the events going on in the world without fear that their accounts will be suspended or blocked.
In just three weeks since it has been launched, over 2,300 users have signed up for SocialCross.
"This is a place where we can all come together as people who believe in Christ who want to share with one another and learn from each other and do so without an environment of fear of having people report our post or Facebook blocking us for 30 days," the website's co-founder, Rich Penkoski, a West Virginia-based preacher and co-founder of the online pre-denominational ministry Warriors for Christ, told The Christian Post in an interview this week.
Penkoski explained that he and his colleagues were inspired to create their own social media platform that allows Christians to speak freely and openly after his personal Facebook page was banned for 30 days on separate occasions in July because of comments he made in online threads that were reported to Facebook administrators by LGBT Facebook users.
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Black Christian Leaders Detest Claim That Trump Is the 'Driver' of Racial Division in America
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By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Aug 15, 2017 7:19 AM
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William Allen, the former dean of James Madison College at Michigan State University, speaks at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 14, 2017.
WASHINGTON — A group of conservative black pastors and intellectual leaders on Monday defended President Donald Trump amid criticism of his initial response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend.
While some, like Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, have claimed that there is a "direct line" between the events in Charlottesville and the choices Trump made in his 2016 presidential campaign, conservative African-American clergy members, scholars and political activists decried such an argument in a Monday press conference at the National Press Club.
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He Lived as a Transgender Woman for Over 20 Years Until He Heard God Speak to Him
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By Brandon Showalter , CP Reporter | Aug 15, 2017 2:22 PM
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(PHOTO: TRANZFORMED/SCREENGRAB)
Jeffrey Johnston, former transgender woman, describes his journey in documentary "Tranzformed."
Editor's Note: This is Part 3 in a Christian Post series on how Christians should respond to transgenderism. Part 3 will look at the testimonies of two former transgender persons in separate stories. Read Part 1, Part 2 and the first testimony for Part 3.
Jeffrey Johnston, a Maine native who used to be known as "Janelle," said that when it comes to ministering to transgender people "it's all about the love of God."
Raped at age 9 by one of his father's employees, a strong sexual confusion beset a young Jeffrey and set him on a dark and troubled path toward all kinds of relational dysfunction, addiction and heartache.
He was raped for about two more years until his parents divorced and he moved out of the house with his mom and sister. He was then no longer around the man that worked for his dad, so he could no longer be violated. But the trauma and confusion intensified.
He left home at 17 and moved to Portland, Maine, where he visited a gay bar and met some transgender individuals, initially thinking that they were biologically female. As he describes in the documentary "TranZformed," he found himself having these thoughts going through his mind — believing that God had made a mistake, and that indeed he was a woman trapped in a man's body.
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Beware Mr. President: Your Need to Condemn White Supremacy Has Just Begun; They Have Declared War
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By CP Editors , | Aug 15, 2017 1:08 PM
The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of The Christian Post or its editors.
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)
U.S. President Donald Trump pauses during a statement on the deadly protests in Charlottesville, at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 14, 2017.
President Trump's specific repudiation of white supremacists 48 hours after his initial bland tweet about the Charlottesville tragedy is to be commended and distinguishes himself from former president Barack Obama, who has yet to admit that radical Islamists are at the core of the Western world's terrorism problem.
However, if the president or his advisers categorize this as a one-off course correction to yet another ill-conceived Trump tweet and move on – there will be grave consequences. Here are three reasons.
White supremacists are just getting started. The white supremacist website Daily Stormer had this to say late Saturday after blood was shed in Charlottesville: "And to everyone, know this: we are now at war. And we are not going to back down. … We are going to go bigger than Charlottesville. We are going to go huge. We are going to take over the country. … We learned a lot today. And we are going to remember what we learned. This has only just begun."
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Freed Christian Pastor Describes North Korean Labor Camp Conditions
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By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 14, 2017 1:59 PM
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KCNA/FILE PHOTO VIA REUTERS
Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim have been released by the North Korean government for humanitarian reasons.
Rev. Hyeon Soo Lim, the Christian pastor who last week was freed and returned home to Canada, revealed what he had to suffer through at the North Korean labor camp where he was held.
"During the winter, I had to dig holes that measured one meter wide and one meter deep," Lim said on Sunday upon his return to Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ontario.
"The ground was frozen. The mud was so hard that it took two days to dig one hole. It was incredibly challenging. My upper body was sweating. My fingers and toes were frostbitten," he recalled, according to The Globe and Mail.
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Christian Mom Dies While Imprisoned for Her Evangelical Faith in Eritrea
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By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Aug 15, 2017 7:55 AM
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A Christian migrant from Eritrea shows a crucifix made of wood after she attended a Sunday mass at the makeshift church in "The New Jungle" near Calais, France, August 2, 2015. Some 3,000 migrants live around the tunnel entrance in a makeshift camp known as "The Jungle", making the northern French port one of the frontlines in Europe's wider migrant crisis.
A Christian mother who was arrested earlier this year amid a crackdown on evangelical Christians in the African nation of Eritrea has died, a Christian human rights organization reported.
Fikadu Debesay, an evangelical mother of three who was arrested along with her husband in May, died last week while imprisoned at Metkel Abiet, a desert camp located between the towns of Shieb and Gahtelai in the country's Red Sea Region, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
CSW, a religious freedom advocacy organization that received United Nations accreditation earlier this year, reported that the mother was buried last Thursday in Mendefera, the capital city of Eritrea's Debub Region.
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Police Kill 5 Suspects Following Second Terror Attack in Spain; 'Evil of Radical Islam' Blamed
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By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 18, 2017 8:05 AM
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Police evacuate people after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue in central Barcelona, Spain August 17, 2017.
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Five terror suspects were killed in Cambrils, Spain, following a second attack of a car being driven into pedestrians, just hours after an earlier incident in Barcelona, which killed 13 people and injured 100 others.
As Sky News reported on Friday, the terror suspects in Cambrils were wearing fake bomb vests when they injured six people, including a police officer, with their car. All five were later killed by police, with officials indicating that a cell of at least eight individuals might have been involved.
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'No More Boys and Girls' BBC Experiment Pushes Gender-Free Classrooms
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By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 17, 2017 3:47 PM
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Trailer for an upcoming BBC2 program "No More Boys and Girls" released on August 6, 2017.
A BBC Two documentary is testing out gender-free classrooms where 7-year-old children are being taught to forget differences between boys and girls in an effort to achieve so-called "true equality between the sexes."
The documentary, titled "No More Boys and Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender-Free?" premiered on Wednesday and follows presenter Dr. Javid Abelmoneim as he leads a classroom of schoolchildren in a gender experiment.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/no-more-boys-and-girls-bbc-experiment-pushes-gender-free-classrooms-195884/?utm_source=newsletter



Guam Pastors Talk North Korea Missile Strike Concerns: There's No Panic but We're Praying
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By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 17, 2017 4:17 PM
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Local residents display a Guam flag during a peace rally at Chief Quipuha Park, on the island of Guam, a U.S. Pacific Territory, August 14, 2017.
Pastors in the American territory of Guam have spoken out about North Korea's threat of a missile strike, and said that while local residents have not fallen into a panic, they're praying for peace and for "wiser and calmer minds."
"I am worried because it is nuclear warfare we are talking about and because of the temperament of the leaders who are at the forefront," Fr. Danilo C. Bien, who leads Santa Barbara Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Agana, told The Christian Post in an email on Thursday.
"I hope and pray that wiser and calmer minds will prevail. I hope and pray that our leaders will realize that their decisions affect the welfare of millions of people, if not the whole world," he added.
The government of Kim Jong Un had warned earlier this month that it was planning on launching intermediate ballistic missiles near Guam, in response to heavy economic sanctions against North Korea
.MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/guam-pastors-talk-north-korea-missile-strike-concerns-theres-no-panic-but-were-praying-195888/?utm_source=newsletter

Greg Laurie Talks Solar Eclipse, North Korea and Robert Jeffress (Interview)
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By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Aug 13, 2017 9:59 AM
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Pastor Greg Laurie preaches at Harvest America at the University of Phoenix Stadium on June 11, 2017.
As California evangelist Greg Laurie prepares to host his 28th annual SoCal Harvest evangelism crusade in Anaheim next weekend, he says he doesn't believe there is special prophetic significance to the total solar eclipse that will occur the day after the three-day revival event.
Laurie, the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship megachurch in Riverside who regularly hosts evangelism crusades attended by thousands, will host SoCal Harvest 2017 at Angel Stadium on Aug. 18–20, a free three-night event featuring performances from some of the biggest names in Christian music and a Gospel message delivered each night by Laurie.
As the event wraps up Sunday night, a total solar eclipse is scheduled to occur the following day, which would be the first time in nearly a century that a total solar eclipse will be visible across the contiguous United States.
Some Christian leaders, such as evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, have warned that the "Great American Eclipse" could be a divine signal warning of God's possible judgement.
In discussing the upcoming SoCal Harvest crusade in an interview with The Christian Post, Laurie was asked whether or not he believes there is any significance to the upcoming eclipse.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/greg-laurie-not-attaching-prophetic-significance-american-eclipse-interview-195204/?utm_source=newsletter


Former Transgender Man Shares How She Transitioned, Then De-Transitioned
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By Brandon Showalter , CP Reporter | Aug 12, 2017 9:21 AM
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KathyGrace Duncan, formerly a transgender man, is seen here in a documentary titled "TranZformed: Finding Peace With Your God-Given Gender."
Editor's Note: This is Part 3 in a Christian Post series on how Christians should respond to transgenderism. Part 3 will look at the testimonies of two former transgender persons in separate stories. Read Part 1 and Part 2.
KathyGrace Duncan remembers first wanting to be a boy before entering kindergarten. She would often ride her tricycle and pretend to go pick up her girlfriend. The only children in her neighborhood to play with were boys and she understood her desire to be male was not normal and worked hard to keep it a secret.
When she finally told someone about her desire, she confided in another childhood friend, a boy, and he was excited.
"That brought affirmation to me that I was making the right decision, that how I felt was right," Duncan recalled in an interview with The Christian Post.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/former-transgender-man-shares-how-she-transitioned-then-de-transitioned-194633/?utm_source=newsletter


Iranian Youths Mass Converting to Christianity Despite Islamic Indoctrination, Government's Efforts
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By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 14, 2017 9:50 AM
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Demonstrators march with a banner during a protest against Iran's role in Aleppo, near the Iranian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, December 16, 2016.
The massive rise of Christianity in Iran, especially among youths, continues despite the Islamic government's efforts to suppress the faith. Even Islamic leaders admitted that more and more young people are choosing to follow Christ.
According to Mohabat News, which reports on the persecution and state of Christianity in Iran, the "exponential rate" of Christian growth has been a factor for the last couple of decades.
Now even leading Islamic seminary officials, such as Ayatollah Alavi Boroujerdi, have pointed to "accurate reports indicating that the youth are becoming Christians in Qom and attending house churches."
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has also been raising alarm over the number of Iranian youths becoming Christians, and has blamed "foreign influence" for the conversions.
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Christian Singer Aims to 'Invade' Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey's 'All the Hits Tour' With God's Love (Video)
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By Jeannie Law , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 13, 2017 4:01 PM
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Lionel Richie poses with Mariah Carey as they venture out for "All The Hits Tour," December 15, 2016.
TAMPA, Florida — Christian artist Tauren Wells​ who's the opening act for Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey's "All the Hits Tour" says his goal is to "invade the tour" with God's love.
Thousands attended the "All the Hits Tour" at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, Friday night to hear performances by Mariah Carey and Lionel Richie. Before the audience got to hear their favorite classic songs from the mainstream industry veterans, Wells, the tour's opening act, graced the stage for a half hour set to perform songs off of his new Christian album.
(PHOTO: MERGE PR)
Christian artist Tauren Wells is the opening act on Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey's 2017 "All The Hits Tour."
The former Royal Tailor frontman who has garnered two Grammy nods unapologetically showcased his faith-based tunes in the massive arena. After his set, Wells sat down with The Christian Post to discuss how it all came about and what he hopes to do as he continues to tour 22 markets across the U.S. and Canada with Richie and Carey.
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Cuban Pastor Jailed for Homeschooling Kids Told He Can Resume Work as Church Leader, but Can't Leave His House
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By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Aug 10, 2017 1:09 PM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/ENRIQUE DE LA OSA)
Worshippers carry a statue of Jesus Christ during a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession on Good Friday in Havana, April 6, 2012. Bells rang from Roman Catholic churches throughout Havana on Friday to remember the death of Jesus Christ as Cubans celebrated a holiday on Good Friday for the first time in more than half a century. The day off, granted at the request of Pope Benedict on his recent visit to the communist island, translated into quieter streets than usual, but only sparse attendance at a Mass in the city's main cathedral presided over by Cardinal Jaime Ortega.
A Cuban pastor who was jailed and later placed under house arrest because he and his wife began homeschooling their children earlier this year will now be allowed to resume his work as a church leader, a leading religious freedom watchdog group has reported.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a United Nation's accredited human rights organization, Pastor Ramon Rigal of the Church of God in Cuba made an appearance in court Tuesday where he was granted the right to resume his work for the church after he was initially barred from doing so upon his release from a correctional facility last month.
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Elevation Church Responds After Breastfeeding Mom Was Told to Leave Service
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By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Aug 9, 2017 1:35 PM
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Pastor Steven Furtick.
The multi-campus Elevation Church in North Carolina pastored by Steven Furtick has responded to a controversy that arose Sunday after a church member posted a comment on social media saying she was told to leave during service because she was breastfeeding her baby in public.
On Sunday night, a mother from South Carolina who attends services at an Elevation Church campus in the Ballantyne neighborhood of Charlotte took to Facebook to air her grievances after she was told that she had to go to the ladies room to breastfeed her child rather than doing it in the sanctuary during service.
"I just got kicked out of church for breastfeeding with a cover on and directed to the bathroom. Shame on you Elevation," mother Amanda Zilliken wrote in her Facebook post, which included a photo of the church's bathroom.
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Nabeel Qureshi Hospitalized for Nearly 3 Weeks After Tube Got Lodged in His Throat
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By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Aug 9, 2017 4:19 PM
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Nabeel Qureshi motions about how long the stent was that was dislodged in his throat during a video blog published on July 28, 2017.
Cancer-stricken apologist and author Nabeel Qureshi has been hospitalized for the better part of the last three weeks after mesh tubing that was supposed to help him eat got dislodged and stuck in his throat.
In a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon Qureshi, who was diagnosed last year with advanced-stage stomach cancer, explained that he is still in the hospital after checking into the emergency room on July 21 because of a dislodged stent in his esophagus.
"I'm still in the hospital. Day 19! Please continue to pray," Qureshi, who served with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries before he was diagnosed last summer, wrote in the social media post.
Qureshi also apologized for not updating his followers more frequently about his medical situation.
Qureshi, who is now living in Houston, Texas, with his family, announced on July 23 through his Facebook page that he was hospitalized after a dislodged stent caused was he described as the most painful experience of his life.
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Multisite Churches Are a 'Uniquely Better Approach,' Says Andy Stanley
By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 11, 2017 6:53 AM
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(PHOTO: WILLOW CREEK ASSOCIATION)
North Point Community Church founder and lead pastor Andy Stanley giving remarks at Willow Creek Community Church's Global Leadership Summit on Thursday, August 10, 2017.
RICHMOND, Va. — North Point Community Church founder and Lead Pastor Andy Stanley has stated that congregations with multiple campuses have a "uniquely better approach" to church growth.
Speaking at Willow Creek Community Church's annual Global Leadership Summit on Thursday afternoon, Stanley talked about the success of his church since its founding over 20 years ago.
His speech was one of many shown to approximately 600 sites in the United States alone, among them West End Assembly of God in Richmond, Virginia.
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Hillary Clinton's Pastor Compares Her Defeat by Trump to Death of Christ, Says She Now Wants to Preach
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By Leonardo Blair , Christian Post Reporter | Aug 11, 2017 11:00 AM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/RICK WILKING)
Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton walks off the debate stage as Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump remains at his podium after the conclusion of their third and final 2016 presidential campaign debate at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 19, 2016.
After Hillary Clinton suffered a devastating loss in the 2016 presidential race to Donald Trump, her longtime pastor — who compared her loss to the death of Christ — says she now has her eyes set on a higher calling. She wants to be a preacher and he thinks she'll be great at it.
On Aug. 15, the Rev. Dr. William S. Shillady, who currently serves as executive director of the United Methodist City Society in New York is set to release a book of the regular inspirational scriptures he sent Clinton during her failed campaign. The book is titled Strong for a Moment Like This: The Daily Devotions of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
He revealed in a recent interview with CNN how Clinton leaned on her faith to overcome her defeat by Trump and how the loss has sparked a desire in her to work for the Lord from the pulpit.
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Astrophysicist Explains How Total Solar Eclipse Is an Opportunity to Share the Gospel
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By Brandon Showalter , CP Reporter | Aug 10, 2017 3:20 PM
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Women gaze up to view a partial solar eclipse outside the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in San Diego, California, October 23, 2014.
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The upcoming total solar eclipse that will travel across the entire contiguous United States will give Christians an opportunity to point people to the God of the Bible, says Jeff Zweerink, an astrophysicist and apologist with Reason to Believe.
Amid the speculations about divine judgement and the preparations some are making for what has been nicknamed the "Great American Solar Eclipse," Zweerink says he's enthusiastic about witnessing the event.
Zweerink, who earned his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Iowa State University, and is a project scientist at UCLA and research scholar for the apologetics ministry Reasons to Believe, told The Christian Post in a phone interview that he's been anticipating the eclipse for nearly 10 years, as it will be the first total solar eclipse he has ever seen.
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Man Banned From Releasing Undercover Videos From Abortion Convention Appeals to US Supreme Court
By Heather Clark on August 6, 201722 Comments
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WASHINGTON — A pro-life activist who has been banned from releasing any further footage of undercover recordings from the 2014 and 2015 National Abortion Federation Conventions has taken his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
David Daleiden is appealing his case from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld a lower court ruling in March prohibiting Daleiden from releasing any further videos from the event, in part due to the safety risks that they could present to abortion providers.
“We are appealing to the highest court in quest of justice,” Tom Brejcha of the Thomas More Society, which is representing Daleiden in court, said in a statement on Friday. “This lawsuit was brought against Mr. Daleiden by NAF, the abortion industry’s trade group, because he dared to expose the truth about their members’ profiting from an illegal trade in the remains of human beings.”
As previously reported, the National Abortion Federation had sued Daleiden in July 2015 to stop his recorded footage from being made public, claiming that it could jeopardize the safety of its members.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/08/06/man-banned-from-releasing-undercover-videos-from-abortion-convention-appeals-to-us-supreme-court/

Disney Preschooler Animation ‘Doc McStuffins’ Features Family With ‘Two Moms’
By Heather Clark on August 10, 2017252 Comments
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A watchdog group that monitors the promotion of sin in children’s entertainment is expressing concern over a recent episode of the preschooler-geared cartoon “Doc McStuffins,” which featured an animated depiction of the lesbian moms of two children.
“Controversial topics and lifestyle choices should be left up to the parents to discuss and Disney Junior should not introduce this to young children,” said the organization One Million Moms in a blog post. “Just because an issue may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn’t make it morally correct. Disney should stick to entertaining and providing family-friendly programming instead of pushing an agenda.”
The episode, which aired this past Saturday on Disney Junior, centers on the importance of having a plan in place for emergencies. The lesbian characters, voiced by Wanda Sykes and Portia de Rossi, face an earthquake caused by a toy dragon jumping and down, and they run for safety—one with each child—in separate directions.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/08/10/disney-preschooler-animation-doc-mcstuffins-features-family-with-two-moms/

Court Rejects Lesbian’s Request to Have Christian Judge Removed From Divorce Proceedings Against Husband
By Heather Clark on August 5, 201710 Comments
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FORT PAYNE, Ala. — An appeals court in Alabama has rejected a lesbian’s request to have a judge who also serves as a pastor removed from her divorce proceedings against her husband.
Tiara Lycans desires to divorce her husband, Zachary Lycans, and wants the court to grant her custody of their child. However, she is unhappy with the judge assigned to her case, who she says has “publicly expressed belief that homosexual relationships and marriages are contrary to God’s Law.”
DeKalb Circuit Court Judge Shaunathan Bell has served as a minister at Liberty Hill Baptist Church in Fort Payne for 15 years and regularly shares Scripture and Christian-themed exhortation on the Twitter page that he shares with his wife.
“Who cares that you can quote the entire Bible, if you live like you’ve never read it,” he re-tweeted on June 13.
“The Church does not exist for you. You are the Church existing for God’s glory through His mission to reach everyone else,” Bell also re-tweeted on April 17.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/08/05/court-rejects-lesbians-request-to-have-christian-judge-removed-from-divorce-proceedings-against-husband/

Court Overturns Ruling Prohibiting Police From Using Law Against Pastor’s Preaching Outside Planned Parenthood
By Heather Clark on August 10, 20172 Comments
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Photo Credit: Donna Hebert/Facebook
PORTLAND, Maine — A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that granted a preliminary injunction to a Portland pastor who asserted that he was being unlawfully targeted by police outside of a Planned Parenthood facility for his pro-life preaching.
The Maine Civil Rights Act “is a facially content-neutral measure that targets noise for reasons that have nothing to do with any topic discussed, idea propounded or message conveyed,” Judge David Barron, appointed to the bench by then-President Barack Obama, wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Moreover, by its terms, the measure serves that significant state interest without burdening substantially more speech than necessary and while leaving open ample alternative channels of communication,” he opined.
As previously reported, Andrew March of Cell 53 Church had filed suit in November 2015 after Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, a pro-abortion Democrat, filed a civil rights lawsuit to keep Brian Ingalls from standing within 50 feet of the Monument Square Planned Parenthood facility—or any Planned Parenthood location in Maine. Ingalls is an elder at March’s church.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/08/10/court-overturns-ruling-prohibiting-police-from-using-law-against-pastors-preaching-outside-planned-parenthood/

16 Facts That Prove That America Is In Deep, Deep Trouble
News Image BY MICHAEL SNYDER/END OF THE AMERICAN DREAM AUGUST 02, 2017 
Is this the generation that is going to witness the end of America? 
If our country stays on the path that it is currently on, it is very difficult to see how we are possibly going to make it. 
Throughout human history every great society has eventually entered a period of decline, and sadly that is happening to us as well. 
My hope is that we can wake the American people up while there is still time, and that we can return to the values and the principles that this nation was originally founded upon.
Most of us don't want to look at the negative while the markets are up but this gives us a false sense of security to what is really happening in our nation. 
Below are 16 facts that prove that America is in deep, deep trouble. Many of these numbers come from my new book, and many of them seem almost too crazy to believe...
#1 When Ronald Reagan won his first election, the U.S. national debt was less than one trillion dollars. When Barack Obama entered the White House it was sitting at 10.6 trillion dollars, when the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 2010 it was about 14 trillion dollars, and now we have nearly reached the 20 trillion dollar mark. 
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1441#b6yU7mehepHpZ3lL.99

 

The Battle Over Jerusalem Has Only Just Begun
image: http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/images/recent/jerusalemoct172016.jpg
News Image BY BASSAM TAWIL/GATESTONE INSTITUTE AUGUST 02, 2017
The Palestinian "victory" celebrations that took place after Israel removed metal detectors and surveillance cameras from the entrances to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem bode badly for the future of stability and peace in the Middle East.

To the Palestinians and many Arabs and Muslims, the Israeli move is viewed as a sign of weakness. In their eyes, the removal of the security cameras and metal detectors is capitulation, pure and simple.

How do we know this? Easy: look at the Palestinian response. Rather than acknowledging the conciliatory nature of the Israeli government's decision, aimed at easing tensions and preventing bloodshed and violence, the Palestinians are demanding more.
As far as the Palestinians are concerned, the controversy over the Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount, which came after three terrorists murdered two Israeli police officers at the holy site on July 14, is part of a larger battle with Israel.
We have reached a new level in this discourse: Palestinian Authority (PA) officials are now openly admitting that it is not the metal detectors or security cameras that are at issue.
Instead, they admit, this is a battle over sovereignty on the Temple Mount and Jerusalem. For the Palestinians, the real battle is over who controls Jerusalem and its holy sites. The real battle, in their eyes, is over the Jews' right to live in their own state in the Middle East. 
Many Palestinians have still not come to terms with Israel's right to exist, and that is what this battle is really about.
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1438#60EEEGGFQ98FgrOS.99

Transgender Gives Birth - Now Womb Transplants For Men Are Next
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News Image BY PNW STAFF AUGUST 02, 2017 
Trystan Reese, a transgender man living in Portland, Oregon, has given birth to a boy with his partner of seven years, Biff Chaplow. Their son, Leo Murray Chaplow, was born July 14.
Reese, who was born female at birth, posted a video in March explaining his decision to carry a baby as a transgender man.
"I'm OK with my body being a trans body," he said. "I'm OK being a man who has a uterus and has the capacity and capability of carrying a baby."
However many transgender activists want to take the next step with womb transplants to enable anyone to have the ability to carry a baby.
Womb transplants are no longer theoretical since Dr. Mats Brannstrom of Sweden has delivered five babies from transplanted wombs, all since 2014. 
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1439#Y8Uc5SUIV5X7J5Ko.99

Christian Grandma Florist Fined for Not Working Gay Wedding Takes 'Last Stand' at Supreme Court
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 17, 2017 | 10:28 AM
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Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene's Flowers in Richland, Washington, speaks as supporters rally around her in November 2016.
Barronelle Stutzman, also known as the "Christian grandma florist," is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her appeal to reverse a Washington court's decision earlier this year that found her guilty of discrimination for refusing to provide flowers for a gay wedding.
The Associated Press reported on Sunday that lawyers for Stutzman are claiming that Washington's high court violated her First Amendment protection for artistic expression in its ruling in February.
Alliance Defending Freedom positioned in a post on Friday that Stutzman is taking her "last stand" at the Supreme Court.
"For more than four years, Barronelle has endured the litigation in this case with unwavering grace, humility, and faith — even as she faces losing everything she owns," ADF wrote.
"Now she will take her last stand before the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to preserve her religious freedom and her right not to be forced to speak a message about marriage that violates her beliefs."
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Benham Bros. Wanted to Use HGTV Show to Make 'Disciples of the Nation'
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BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jul 17, 2017 | 9:21 AM
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David (L) and Jason (R) Benham speak at the Family Research Council's Values Voters Summit in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 9, 2016.
Popular conservative Christian real estate entrepreneurs the Benham Brothers recalled Saturday how they almost promised HGTV that they would keep quiet about their Christian beliefs on political issues in an attempt save their now-canceled reality television show, which they wanted to use to make "disciples of the nation."
David and Jason Benham, whose HGTV show "Flip it Forward" was supposed to air in the fall of 2014 but was canceled after LGBT activists pressured the network over their twins' beliefs on marriage and sexuality, spoke at the annual Family Leadership Summit on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Iowa-based social conservative organization The Family Leader and its president Bob Vander Plaats.
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'Satan Takes Souls to Hell': Hundreds of Outraged Christians Hold Prayer Rally Against Satanic Monument
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 17, 2017 | 9:24 AM
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Over 100 people protest on July 15, 2017, against a Satanic memorial at Belle Plaine, Minn., holding signs reading "Satan takes souls to Hell for eternity."
Over a hundred Christians held a prayer-filled protest on Saturday in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, in opposition to a Satanic monument, warning against the celebration of Satan.
CBS Minnesota's WCCO reported on Saturday that protesters held warning signs such as "Satan takes souls to hell for eternity" and "Satan belongs in Hell, not our Veteran's Memorial Park."
The Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple's monument, known as the "bowl of wisdom," is a 23-inch by 23-inch black steel cube inscribed with inverted pentagrams, on top of which lies an upside-down soldier's helmet.
Freedom From Religion Foundation, backing the Satanic Temple, threatened to sue the city if officials did not allow the monument to be placed at the park, which also hosts a soldier praying over a grave with a Christian cross.
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Christian Refugees Outnumber Muslims in First Year Under Trump: Pew
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BY ANUGRAH KUMAR , CHRISTIAN POST CONTRIBUTOR
Jul 16, 2017 | 8:52 AM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/MUHAMMAD HAMED)
Syrian refugee Ahmad al Aboud, and his family members, walk to board their plane in Amman, Jordan in April 2016 bound for the United States.
In a clear shift from the President Barack Obama administration during which arriving Muslim refugees outnumbered Christian refugees, more Christian than Muslim refugees have been admitted to the United States under President Donald Trump, according to the Pew Research Center.
The Pew analysis, based on data from the Department of State to compare the first few months of the Trump administration to the last year of the Obama administration, reveals that 9,598 Christians emigrated to the country from Jan. 21 to June 30, compared to 7,250 Muslim refugees.
The religious composition of refugees to the U.S. has been shifting on a monthly basis as well, Pew notes.
In February, Trump's first full month in office, Muslims accounted for 50 percent of the 4,580 refugees who entered the country, and Christians made up 41 percent of arrivals. By June, Christians made up 57 percent of arrivals, while Muslims accounted for 31 percent.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-refugees-outnumber-muslims-first-year-trump-pew-192090/?utm_source=newsletter


House Rejects Ban on Transgender Surgery for Troops
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BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jul 16, 2017 | 3:42 PM
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Women in combat.
Leading conservative Christian activists are voicing their disapproval with the Republican-led House of Representatives after 24 GOP lawmakers voted against and helped sink an effort to bar federal tax dollars from being used to fund gender reassignment procedures for military service members.
Last Thursday, the House rejected an amendment proposed by by Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., to the $696 billion 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that lays out military budgets and expenditures.
(PHOTO: REUTERS/LUCY PEMONI)
Members of the 25th Infantry Division bow their heads in prayer during a deployment ceremony at Schofield Barracks, near Wahiawa, Hawaii, July 7, 2006. About 7,000 troops from Schofield will be leaving Hawaii in the next few weeks and will be deployed to Iraq. This continues the largest deployment of Hawaii-based troops since the Vietnam War.
Hartzler's amendment would have nixed the military's authority to fund hormone therapy, sex change surgeries and other treatment related to gender transition for transgender members of the military and their families. The amendment would have continued to fund mental health services related to gender dysphoria.
The measure comes after the Obama administration acted last year to end a ban on openly serving transgender service members and enacted a policy that funds costly transgender health services for members of the military who are medically diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
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False ‘Message Bible’ Creator Changes Mind on Homosexuality, Says He Would Officiate ‘Gay Wedding’  
 Jul 12, 2017 04:53 pm
  Photo Credit: Clappstar/Wikipedia Eugene Peterson, the creator of the 2002 "Message Bible" modern paraphrase, states that he has changed his mind on the issue of homosexuality and would be willing to officiate a same-sex ceremony if he were pastoring a church today. "I wouldn’t have said this 20 years ago, but now I know a lot of people who are gay and lesbian and they seem to have as good a spiritual life as I do. I think that kind of debate about lesbians and gays might be over,” he told Jonathan Merritt of Religion News Service, who published an interview with Peterson on Wednesday.
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Hobby Lobby Agrees to Forfeit Over 5,500 Artifacts, Pay $3 Million in Settlement With Department of Justice
By Heather Clark on July 9, 201725 Comments
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The popular arts and crafts chain Hobby Lobby has agreed to forfeit over 5,500 ancient artifacts and pay $3 million in a civil settlement after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint asserting that the items had been illegally shipped into the country from a dealer in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company denies any intentional wrongdoing, but regrets its trust in the dealers and shippers of the goods.
“We have accepted responsibility and learned a great deal,” said Hobby Lobby President Steve Green in a statement. “Our entire team is committed to the highest standards for investigating and acquiring these items. Our passion for the Bible continues, and we will do all that we can to support the efforts to conserve items that will help illuminate and enhance our understanding of this Great Book.”
According to reports, in 2009, Green traveled to the UAE to review a number of cuneiform tablets and other artifacts as the company had begun acquiring historical and biblical pieces for its collection. As previously reported, the Greens plan to open the Museum of the Bible in Washington in November—a 430,000-square-foot facility that will house one of the world’s largest collections of ancient biblical scrolls, codices, papyrus fragments and other historical artifacts.
However, in obtaining a cultural property attorney for advisement on purchasing these particular pieces, Hobby Lobby was allegedly warned that there existed a chance that the goods may have actually been looted from archaeological sites in Iraq.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/07/09/hobby-lobby-agrees-to-forfeit-over-5500-artifacts-pay-3-million-in-settlement-with-department-of-justice/


Church of England Overwhelmingly Votes to ‘Welcome and Affirm’ Transgenders
By Heather Clark on July 10, 201789 Comments
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Photo Credit: Hans Musil3
YORK, U.K. — The Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church, has voted overwhelmingly to “welcome and affirm” transgendered persons, and might now also offer special liturgies to mark the person’s “transition” and accept them in their new perceived identity.
According to the denomination’s website, the General Synod voted on Sunday to approve a motion that “recognizing the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call[s] on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person’s gender transition.”
An outline of the proposal explains that the materials “may be used in parish churches and chaplaincies to provide a pastoral response to the need of transgender people to be affirmed following their long, distressing, and often complex process of transition.”
The House of Bishops voted 30-2 in favor of the motion, with two abstaining, and the House of Clergy voted to approve the measure 127-28, with 16 abstentions. Similarly, in the House of Laity, 127 supported the motion versus 48 opposed, with eight abstaining from the vote.
Chris Newlands from Blackburn, Lancashire proposed the motion, stating, “I hope that we can make a powerful statement to say that we believe that trans people are cherished and loved by God, who created them, and is present through all the twists and turns of their lives.”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/07/10/church-of-england-overwhelmingly-votes-to-welcome-and-affirm-transgenders/

Florida Police Officer to Receive Letter of Reprimand for Marking ‘Transgender’ as Male on Citation
By Heather Clark on July 12, 201765 Comments
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Citizens Police Review Board has decided that a Florida police officer should receive a letter of reprimand for marking “male” on a traffic ticket when the driver identified as a woman. The board also recommended that the entire police department receive transgender sensitivity training.
According to reports, in January, Officer James Brinton pulled over a man who goes by the name Shelby Kendall (pictured) for reckless driving. Kendall had been racing his Camaro against a Mustang on a four-lane when spotted by police.
When Brinton began completing the citation with the aid of his computer, which scanned Kendall’s driver’s license and automatically filled in the identifying information, Brinton noted that the computer had marked the sex as “female.”
Thinking it was a mistake, Brinton then asked Kendall why his license was marked in such a way, and he replied that it is because he identifies as female.
“Well, for the purposes of this citation, you’re a male,” Brinton allegedly stated, and changed the citation accordingly.
Kendall soon called the internal affairs department to complain about Brinton.
“If I’ve done everything I need to do for the state of Florida to recognize me as a female, he doesn’t have a right to purposely mis-gender me,” Kendall told the Sun-Sentinel. “It was inappropriate and kind of bullying and sends a message to the transgender community.”
The matter was brought before the Citizens Police Review Board on Monday, which agreed with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department that Brinton should receive a letter of reprimand. It also concluded that the entire police department should receive training on the issue.
MOREhttp://christiannews.net/2017/07/12/florida-police-officer-to-receive-letter-of-reprimand-for-marking-transgender-as-male-on-citation/

Atheist Group Urges Fire Dept. to Remove ‘Blatantly Unconstitutional’ Cross From Fire Station Lawn
By Garrett Haley on July 10, 201762 Comments
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Photo Credit: Google Earth
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A prominent atheist group is demanding that a fire department in Georgia take down a cross that has stood outside of one of their fire stations for more than a decade.
Catoosa County Fire Department serves a district in far northwestern Georgia, just across the state line from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Outside of the department’s Fire Station 3 in Graysville stands a large cross that is visible from a nearby highway. Imagery from Google Earth shows that the cross has stood there for more than 10 years.
However, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is now demanding that the cross be taken down. In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Wisconsin-based atheist group said they sent a letter to the district’s fire chief, explaining why they believe the cross is “blatantly unconstitutional.”
“The religious significance of the Latin cross is unambiguous and indisputable,” FFRF stated. “An overwhelming majority of federal courts agree that the Latin cross universally represents the Christian religion, and only the Christian religion. And a majority of federal courts have held displays of Latin crosses on public property to be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.”
“The cross displayed at Fire Station 3 unabashedly creates the perception of government endorsement of Christianity,” it added. “It also conveys the message to the 30 percent of Americans who are not Christian, including the 23 percent who are not religious, that they aren’t ‘favored members of the political community,’ to quote the U.S. Supreme Court.”
A local resident reportedly notified the FFRF of the cross, also advising that it includes a Christian message about being saved.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/07/10/atheist-group-urges-fire-dept-to-remove-blatantly-unconstitutional-cross-from-fire-station-lawn/

Virginia KKK Rally Countered by 1,000 Protesters
By Heather Clark on July 9, 201719 Comments
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A KKK rally in Virginia was met with a swelling protest on Saturday.
An estimated 50 Klan members gathered in Charlottesville to express objection to the city council’s decision to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Lee Park, which has now been renamed Emancipation Park.
The statue has stood since 1924, but has recently become the subject of debate as some consider the display to be racist and “an emblem of white supremacy.” An injunction has currently stalled the removal until a court hearing in November.
“The liberals are taking away our heritage,” James Moore of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan told the Washington Post prior to the event. “By taking these monuments away, that’s what they’re working on. They’re trying to erase the white culture right out of the history books.”
KKK Imperial Wizard David Duke also urged his Twitter followers to attend the rally.
However, an estimated 1,000 people also turned out on Saturday to stand against the Klan.
Some KKK members wore traditional white or black garb and hoods, and held out their hands in Nazi salutes. Chants of “white power” could also be heard, according to video footage recorded by attendees, and one member held a sign claiming through the citation of Scripture that “Jews are Satan’s children.”
But members of the public also held signs such as “Racism destroys lives,” “Jesus said love your neighbor” and “Love trumps hate,” as they lined the streets surrounding the rally.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/07/09/virginia-kkk-rally-countered-by-1000-protesters/

1400-Y-O Church Discovered on UK Holy Island, Where Conversions of Pagans to Christianity Began
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 5, 2017 | 9:24 AM
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The tidal island of Lindisfarne or Holy Island in Northumberland, the U.K., in May 26, 2012.
Archaeologists have discovered an ancient seventh century church on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in the U.K., believed to be the site where monks began England's mass conversion from pagan traditions to Christianity.
"This latest discovery of a potential church building on the Heugh cements Holy Island as one of the most significant early medieval sites in Britain," said Conservation Manager Sara Rushton, according to an article in MailOnline on Tuesday.
"It is incredible to think that we have uncovered two very significant buildings associated with the early Christian foundation of the priory that provide tangible links to both St. Aidan and St. Cuthbert," she added, referring to the early Christian monks.
The church in question is believed to have been built in the same time period as a monastery in 635 A.D. The small rectangular building, where the church once stood, was apparently built just a few feet from a cliff edge.
The location is believed to be the cradle of Christianity in the North East, MailOnline noted, and it is where early Christian monks set out to convert the pagan population and share with them the Good News.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/1400-y-o-church-discovered-on-uk-holy-island-where-conversions-of-pagans-to-christianity-began-190914/?utm_source=newsletter


America's Top 10 Most Post-Christian Cities: Barna
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 12, 2017 | 9:57 AM
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Portland, Maine
The top 10 most "post-Christian" cities in America, where residents are least likely to believe in God, or say that the Bible and Jesus are perfect, have been ranked in a study by Barna Group.

Eight of the most post-Christian cities are in the Northeast with Portland-Auburn, Maine, topping the list, according to Barna's report Tuesday.

In order to qualify as "post-Christian," respondents in the cities had to meet nine or more identifying factors from a set list. The list included categories such as "Do not believe in God," "identify as atheist or agnostic," "have never made a commitment to Jesus," "have not prayed to God (in the last week)," "agree that Jesus committed sins," and "disagree the Bible is accurate," among others.

Barna explained that the type of questions it used went beyond simply asking people to check a box for whether they are Christian or not, and delved into the core of what they actually believe.
Barna included a top 100 ranking of such cities, with the top 10 listed as follows:

Portland-Auburn, ME (57 percent)
Boston, MA-Manchester, NH (56 percent)
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY (54 percent)
Providence, RI-New Bedford, MA (53 percent)
Burlington, VT-Plattsburgh, NY (53 percent)
Hartford-New Haven, CT (52 percent)
New York, NY (51 percent)
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA (50 percent)
Seattle-Tacoma (50 percent)
Buffalo, NY (50 percent)
Barna pointed out that "church attendance, religious affiliation, belief in God, prayer and Bible-reading have all been dropping for decades" in America.
"By consequence, the role of religion in public life has been slowly diminishing, and the church no longer functions with the cultural authority it held in times past," it added.

"These are unique days for the church in America as it learns what it means to flourish in a new 'Post-Christian' era."

The data was gathered from a nationwide random sample of 76,505 adults conducted over a seven-year period, ending in April 2016. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 0.4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, Barna said.

Several different surveys have attempted to measure belief in God or lack thereof in America, though most have indeed shown that there has been a decline in Americans identifying as religious over the decades.

Analysis from Gallup poll data in December 2016 showed that 21 percent of U.S. respondents to a survey did not have a formal religious identity, while only 2 to 3 percent said the same in the 1940s and 1950s.

Gallup also found that church and other religious attendance has been declining. While 73 percent of respondents said in 1937 that they were a member of a church, only 56 percent said the same in 2016.
Additionally, 72 percent of of those surveyed in 2016 said that religion is losing its influence on American life.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/americas-top-10-most-post-christian-cities-barna-191729/?utm_source=newsletter

Trump's Deportations of 1,400 Iraqis, Many Christians, Blocked by Judge Who Warns of Death by ISIS
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 12, 2017 | 10:15 AM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/REBECCA COOK)
Chaldean Christians protesting at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, Detroit, in June 2017.
A federal judge in Michigan halted the deportation of as many as 1,400 Iraqi nationals on Tuesday, warning that their lives are at stake, with Christians pleading President Donald Trump for mercy.

CBS News reported that U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith issued a 24-page opinion against the Justice Department's efforts to deport the nationals, many of whom are Christians.

The Justice Department has been seeking to deport people with criminal records, and has argued that the judge doesn't have jurisdiction in the immigration matter.

"Without a stay in place, deportations will begin immediately, which may mean a death sentence for some deportees," the court wrote, according to BuzzFeed.

"Petitioners have presented significant evidence — not contested by the Government — that many will face death."

Goldsmith also cited the treatment of Christians in Iraq since 2014 at the hands of Islamic State terror group:

"Religious minorities were particularly vulnerable to these atrocities, with Christians being given the horrific choice to 'pay a protection tax, convert to Islam, or be killed.'"
Back in June, the judge again delayed the deportations on the basis of the court needing more time to determine its jurisdiction.

Many of the relatives of the Iraqis threatened by deportation have argued that they have paid their dues to society, and warned that sending them back to the Middle East could see them killed at the hands of IS.

"We're just hopeful that people continue to pray for these that are being detained, and understanding that this is a humanitarian crisis and that the administration steps in and puts a halt to these deportations," Martin Manna of the Chaldean Community Foundation told Catholic News Agency on Monday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been rounding up Iraqi nationals, many of them from Chaldean Christian backgrounds, who had come to America legally, but had failed to complete the proper process in applying for green cards, or had committed a misdemeanor or felony in the past.

One woman threatened with deportation, whose name wasn't provided, apparently came to the U.S. as a five-year-old, and now has three children who are American citizens.

She committed misdemeanor fraud and was given a final order of removal in 1986, serving probation time and being released "on an order of supervision." Although she had been complying with the order, Manna said, she was still detained in the latest raids.

Former acting director of ICE John Sandweg said back in June that the overwhelming majority of those detained pose "little or no threat to the United States."

"The use of discretion in this case is more than appropriate. When you're talking about 30-year-old nonviolent offenses, in no way, shape or form does it make sense to remove them at this time," Sandweg said.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to stop the deportations in June, with a number of prominent Christian voices in America also speaking out.

"I find it very disturbing what I have read about Chaldean Christians being rounded up by U.S. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for possible deportation. I would encourage the president to have someone investigate these cases thoroughly," the Rev. Franklin Graham said in a Facebook post on June 16.

Top U.S. Catholic leaders also joined in condemning the arrests of the Chaldeans, and wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly:

"The fact that they have a significant risk of experiencing persecution and even possible bodily harm because of their faith is, from our moral perspective, an important factor to be weighed in the calculation to deport."

Another hearing in the case has been scheduled for Wednesday.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-deportation-iraqi-christian-blocked-judge-death-isis-191735/?utm_source=newsletter

In 30 Years People Won't Have Sex to Make Babies, Stanford Professor Says
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BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP REPORTER
Jul 4, 2017 | 1:44 PM
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Newborns in a file photo.
Within three decades sexual intercourse will no longer be necessary to conceive a child. Instead, parents will choose from a range of embryos made with their DNA in a laboratory, a Stanford professor claims.
Hank Greely, who directs Stanford Law School's Center for Law and Biosciences, believes that although the reproductive technology already exists to create life outside of the womb, over time the process will become less expensive, as Quartz reported Saturday.
When many embryos are created couples will be able to choose which ones they want and screen out the embryos that carry potential for diseases, he said.
Greely also believes that parents will one day be able to select the hair and eye color for their children, and eventually even more complex traits like intelligence.
"I don't think we're going to be able to say this embryo will get a 1550 on its two-part SAT," Greely said last week at Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado. "But, this embryo has a 60 percent chance of being in the top half, this embryo has a 13 percent chance of being in the top 10 percent — I think that's really possible."
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/30-years-people-wont-have-sex-make-babies-stanford-professor-190762/?utm_source=newsletter

Pastor Donates Life-Saving Kidney to Ailing Congregant After He Spent Years Praying for Miracle
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BY LEONARDO BLAIR , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 5, 2017 | 11:25 AM
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Pastor Basilio Montez (R) of Holy Ground Baptist Church in Cameron, Texas, and his congregant, Jesus Cerecerez (L).
A Christian man who had been praying for relief from end stage renal disease since 2015 recently got a life-saving answer from his pastor who turned out to be a matching kidney donor after God told him to give his ailing congregant one of his own organs.
End stage renal disease is the final stage of chronic kidney disease where the kidneys of those afflicted don't work well enough for them to live without dialysis or a kidney transplant.
In a narrative on fundraising website GoFundMe, Jesse Cerecerez, a longtime member of Holy Ground Baptist Church in Cameron, Texas, explained how his life changed after he was diagnosed with kidney disease.
"In April of 2015 I was diagnosed with E.S.R.D. (End Stage Renal Disease) my doctor told me that my kidneys had failed. I started dialysis treatments on May 5, 2015, and that has changed my life forever. Dialysis is a rough lifestyle to live. I felt as if all my freedoms were taken away from me. These last two years have been really hard. I take dialysis three times a week. Every day I have been praying for a miracle in my life," Cerecerez wrote.
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Why a High-Paid Businesswoman Is Leaving It All Behind to Help People Come to Christ (Interview)
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 7, 2017 | 11:09 AM
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(PHOTO: ANA MIMS)
Undated photo of Ana Mims (C) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, during a short-term missions trip.
A highly successful businesswoman who's held top positions in Fortune 500 companies worldwide says she's leaving all of her financial success and security behind in order to help the unreached hear the Good News.
"Many come to the saving knowledge of Christ through His Word, through getting their hands on His Word," Ana Mims told The Christian Post in a Skype interview on Wednesday.
Mims, who lives with her 11-year-old daughter in Singapore, told CP that she's following God's call despite initial fears and reservations in taking up a role with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the United States.
"It's one of those things in life where they pick you, and you don't pick them. I didn't actually pick Wycliffe; I think the Lord sort of did that for me," she added.
Born in Havana, Mims and her family immigrated to the U.S. as refugees on one of the Freedom Flights from Cuba, and had to break through language barriers and learn English. Although she was raised as a Roman Catholic, she said she was 18 when she gave her life to the Lord. While she was interested in getting involved in ministry work early on, she felt God was telling her back then that it wasn't the right time.
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Beth Moore Warns of Allegiance to Political Party Instead of Jesus After Trump Mean Tweets
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BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jul 3, 2017 | 7:09 AM
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(PHOTO: PASSION 2013 CONFERENCES)
Popular speaker and author Beth Moore gives a Bible study to 60,000 students about the significance and symbolism in the Lord's Supper at Passion 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday, January 9, 2013.
In the wake of controversial and insulting tweets posted by President Donald Trump last week as he feuded with liberal media outlets, popular evangelist Beth Moore took to her Twitter to warn Christians not to take sides when they should be pledging their allegiance to Christ over a political party. 
The latest wave of Twitter controversy for the president involves his feud with liberal news organizations like CNN and MSNBC — more specifically, his insulting tweets aimed at MSNBC's "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski.
On Thursday, Trump wrote in a pair of tweets: "I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came .... to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!"
Trump received widespread criticism, even from House lawmakers like Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who said that Trump's tweets don't help the cause of trying to improve "the civility of the debate."
"Please just stop. This isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office," United States Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who co-authored the 2004 book "Here We Stand!: A Call From Confessing Evangelicals For A Modern Reformation," tweeted on Thursday.Trump defied critics and posted another tweet at 9:20 a.m Saturday, calling Brzezinski "dumb as a rock."
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ISIS Wives Jealous of Sex Slaves; Husbands Buy Virgins for $10K on Apps, Rape 9-Y-O Girls
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 3, 2017 | 7:22 AM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/YOUSSEF BOUDLAL)
A displaced girl from the minority Yazidi sect, who fled the violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, stands at Nowruz refugee camp in Qamishli, northeastern Syria on the border with Kurdistan, August 16, 2014.
Seven women who lived as wives to Islamic State fighters in Syria have opened up about their husbands' barbaric practices, such as purchasing virgins on sex slave apps and raping girls as young as 9 years old.
The women were caught trying to cross the border into Turkey, and are now being held at a displacement camp for women in Northern Syria, MailOnline reported on Sunday.
The women told a journalist from Arabic TV that the extremists were paying up to $10,000 for virgin sex slaves on apps, where they also shared pictures of victimized women and girls in make-up.
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Fish Turning Transgender Due to Contraceptive Pills, Chemicals From Household Drains, Study Says
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BY ANUGRAH KUMAR , CHRISTIAN POST CONTRIBUTOR
Jul 3, 2017 | 7:52 AM
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A study by a university in the U.K. has found that contraceptive pills, cleaning products and other household items flushed down household drains are turning male fish transgender.

Male river fish are displaying feminized traits and even producing eggs, the study led by Professor Charles Tyler of the University of Exeter found, according to The Telegraph. Some fish have reduced sperm quality and display less aggressive and competitive behaviour, making them less likely to breed.

The tests involved in the study showed that as much as 20 percent of freshwater fish at 50 different sites in the U.K. had higher feminine characteristics.
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The chemicals causing these effects include contraceptive pill, cleaning agents, plastics and cosmetics. Over 200 chemicals from sewage plants have been found to have estrogen-like effects, according to the study.
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Evangelical Mommy Blogger Considers Lawsuit Over LGBT Outlet's 'Hit Piece'
BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jul 3, 2017 | 7:28 AM
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(PHOTO: ACTIVISTMOMMYOFFICIAL.COM)
Correction Appended
A conservative Christian mommy blogger is threatening legal action against the LGBT news and commentary outlet The Advocate, saying that a recent piece published on its website contained libelous claims and several falsehoods about her and her husband's stances on marriage and political issues.
The Advocate, which is a bi-monthly magazine, published commentary on its website last week that was written by guest commentator Reay Earhart. The piece is titled "The Real Housewives of Gilead." In the article, "Gilead" is a reference to the fictional theocratic Republic of Gilead depicted in The Handmaid's Tale, a 1985 novel recently adapted for television. The piece was originally published on TransAdvocate.com earlier in June.
The article claims to introduce its readers to the "the women who want to bring us back to the Dark Ages" — whether that be former Republican Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen, women who work for the Family Research Council, sexual risk avoidance education advocate Valerie Huber, pro-life advocate Charmaine Yoest or Elizabeth Johnston, an Ohio homeschooling mother of 10 whose Facebook page has amassed 160,000 followers since she began posting video blogs over a year ago.
"In social media, perhaps no one better exemplifies the Real Housewives of Gilead more than "The Activist Mommy" (a.k.a. Grace Elizabeth Johnston)," The Advocate article reads.
However, Johnston told The Christian Post that several of the claims made in the article are "lies" and accused the commentary of being nothing more than a "hit piece" on her and husband. She told CP that she is talking with her attorney about possible legal action should The Advocate fail to delete the article and issue an apology.
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This Week in Christian History: Lottie Moon, Richard Niebuhr, Thomas More
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BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 2, 2017 | 3:48 PM
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Volunteers from Second Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo., pray for their missionaries, support them through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Cooperative Program and serve alongside them. They're also working to reach an unreached people group.
Christianity is a faith with a long and detailed history, with numerous events of lasting significance occurring throughout the ages.
Each week bring the anniversaries of great milestones, horrid tragedies, amazing triumphs, and everything in between.
Here are just a few things that happened this week, July 2-8, in Church history. They include the death of an American theologian, the martyrdom of an English saint, and the sending off of one of the most influential missionaries in American Christendom.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/this-week-in-christian-history-lottie-moon-richard-niebuhr-thomas-more-190292/?utm_source=newsletter


Fourth of July Messages From 5 Christian Leaders to Americans on Independence Day
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 4, 2017 | 8:04 AM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA)
People watch fireworks during the 4th of July Independence Day celebrations at the National Mall in Washington, U.S., July 4, 2016.
As the United States celebrates 241 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Christian leaders have urged Americans to be thankful for the blessings they've received, but also warn that some of the country's freedoms are in peril.
The celebration of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" features prominently in many Fourth of July messages, with pastors urging Americans not to forget the country was founded on Christian principles.
Others, however, emphasized that there are still segments of the American population, such as unborn babies, who don't receive enough protections under the law, adding that the fight for their rights is ongoing.
Here are five of July 4th messages from notable Christians in American public life.
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Top Pediatrician Says Pushing Transgender Ideology on Kids Is 'Child Abuse'
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 4, 2017 | 9:21 AM
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(PHOTO: REUTERS/TAMI CHAPPELL)
Eight year old student Zachary Lanterman, who is home schooled, works on class work at the computer at the Pride School in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 7, 2016.
A top American Pediatrician says transgender ideology has "infiltrated" her field, and is responsible for "large scale child abuse" for what it's teaching children and parents.
"Just a few short years ago, not many could have imagined a high-profile showdown over transgender men and women's access to single-sex bathrooms in North Carolina," Michelle Cretella, M.D., president of the American College of Pediatricians, wrote in a commentary for The Daily Signal on Monday.
"But transgender ideology is not just infecting our laws. It is intruding into the lives of the most innocent among us — children — and with the apparent growing support of the professional medical community," she added.
Cretella referred to her 2016 peer reviewed article, "Gender Dysphoria in Children and Suppression of Debate," which warned that professionals who speak out against gender transition therapy for children find themselves "maligned and out of a job."
The American College of Pediatricians president said that doctors once treated gender identity issues as a mental illness, but now many in the medical community promote transgenderism as "normal."
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Nashville Megachurch Replaces Pete Wilson With 12Stone Church's Kevin Queen
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BY LEONARDO BLAIR , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jul 3, 2017 | 2:35 PM
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(PHOTO: 12STONE CHURCH)
Kevin Queen, former campus pastor at 12Stone Church in Georgia, has been named as lead pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
The multi-campus Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee, announced Sunday that Kevin Queen, pastor of 12Stone Church's Hamilton Mill campus in Georgia, will replace their founding pastor, Pete Wilson, who abruptly resigned from his post last September.
Chris Nichols, the multi-site pastor for Cross Point, announced Queen's hiring during Cross Point's 9:00 a.m. service in Nashville, according to The Tennessean.
An eight-person team of Cross Point leaders involved in Queen's hiring said his background as a multi-site church pastor combined with his conversational speaking style and humor were assets that helped him secure the job.
"When it came to the end of the process, he was without question the best combination of those gifts and those realities," Nichols told the Tennessean. "It just felt like one of us."
(PHOTO: SCREEN SHOT VIA YOUTUBE)
Pete Wilson,founder and senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee, resigned from his position on September 11, 2016.
Nichols explained that Queen is expected to start his new role in August but will move to Nashville in July.
Prior to Wilson's resignation, weekly attendance at Cross Point was about 7,500 people across all locations. Since he left, weekly attendance has dropped to 5,600 and giving fell by nearly $400,000.
Cross Point is hoping that Queen will be able to turn things around and he appears to be ready for the challenge.
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America's Fight for Independence Began With Prayer
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BY RONNIE FLOYD , CP OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Jul 4, 2017 | 7:10 AM
The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of The Christian Post or its editors.
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The air that September morning of America's First Continental Congress was fraught with anxiety and trepidation. The men who gathered had a monumental decision to make: will the colonies stand united and challenge British rule or will they disband and leave each to its own? Yet, they couldn't even decide on who should lead prayer.
Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of Pinnacle Cross Church in Rogers, Arkansas.
Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Quakers, Anabaptists and Congregationalists were all present at the assembly, and their differing traditions caused some to oppose the motion of opening the meeting in prayer. But after some consideration, a local minister from Philadelphia named Jacob Duché was found and summoned to pray.
I'll leave it to John Adams, who was present at this historic meeting and wrote to his wife Abigail in detail about it, to tell the rest:
"Accordingly the next Morning [Rev. Jacob Duché] appeared with his Clerk ... and read several Prayers, in the established Form; and then read the Collect for the seventh day of September, which was the Thirty fifth Psalm," recounted Adams to his wife.
This psalm begins, "Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation!'"
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Lesbian Woman Creates ‘LGBT Bible App’ to Promote ‘Inclusivity’ Within the Church   Jun 26, 2017 10:22 am
  Photo Credit: YouTube PHILADELPHIA – A lesbian woman who is frustrated by the lack of homosexual-friendly material available in Christian bookstores has created what she describes as “the first LGBT Bible app,” featuring resources that celebrate homosexuality and do not condemn same-sex sexual behavior as being sinful. 
“This app is for people who identify as ‘spiritual but not religious,’ progressive Christians who have had premarital sex and don’t care, who are frustrated with purity culture, who are pro-choice, pro-women, and who want to accept and embrace interfaith connections,” Crystal Cheatham told AutoStraddle.com. Cheatham, who hails from Philadelphia, describes herself as a lesbian Christian. Although she once thought that her same-sex attraction was incompatible with her belief in God, she has since decided to embrace and celebrate her lesbianism. “I’m black, I’m a lesbian, and I’m tired of feeling like my faith doesn’t matter,” Cheatham said in a press release. “Some think it’s an anomaly that a black lesbian can be a Christian, but there are many out there like me.”
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Former Longtime President of Church Planting Organization Decides to Live as Woman
By Heather Clark on June 26, 201771 Comments
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Photo Credit: Milligan College/Facebook
NEW YORK — The former longtime president of a church planting organization headquartered in New York has decided to live as a woman.
Paul Williams led the Orchard Group from 1989 to 2009, an organization that has planted churches throughout the Northeast, and especially the New York City area, since the 1940’s.
“Orchard Group has maintained the same simple statement of beliefs since our beginning in 1948,” its website reads, noting that it affirms the authority of the Scriptures and “[t]he necessity of the new birth through the Holy Spirit for entering the Kingdom of God.”
Williams also worked as a teaching pastor for two megachurches in addition to his involvement with the Orchard Group, and was a columnist for Christian Standard Magazine.
In 2012, Williams approached his son, Jonathan Williams, to divulge that he desired to live as a woman. The news took him aback.
“We had a church Christmas party that night, so I get this information and I have to go to the church Christmas party and pretend everything’s okay,” Jonathan Williams, who pastors Forefront Brooklyn, told the New York Times earlier this month. “I drank too much and did my best to put on a happy face, but it was pretty brutal.”
Paul Williams was still involved with Orchard during this time, even though not serving as president, and his son feared how the matter might affect both of their ministries.
“I’d be upstairs crying before church—like, this is miserable. My dad was my hero, and my dad’s not my dad any longer,” the younger Williams explained. “I’d stop crying and come down and I’d preach, and be really glad and say hi to everybody, and then I’d get home and go to sleep.”
“My wife would be like, ‘You’re super depressed,’ and I’d go, ‘I know I’m super depressed. I don’t know what to do about this.’ I got counseling about three months after I found out. And I went to him for three, four years dealing with it,” he outlined.
In 2013, Williams advised the Orchard Group that he had decided to live as a woman. 
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Nebraska ‘Tri-Faith Initiative’ Building Church, Synagogue, Mosque Side by Side
By Heather Clark on June 24, 2017328 Comments
OMAHA, Neb. — A groundbreaking was recently held as part of a Nebraska building project that will erect a church, synagogue and mosque side by side on the same property.
Temple Israel, the American Muslim Institute and Countryside Christian Church claim that they are being led by God to create the multi-faith location in Omaha.
“We believe that we are being led by our God to continue the journey started by Abraham and that we are all called to be a blessing to each other and our community,” the FAQ section of the Tri-Faith Initiative website outlines.
It says that the effort combines the three because of their shared Abrahamic faith and their belief that they all worship the same God.
“Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a monotheistic belief system,” the page explains. “Our traditions have many names for God and use several languages for our sacred texts, but we share a belief in the God of Abraham.”
The “Tri-Faith Initiative” has been in motion since 2006, with Countryside Christian Church being the last to break ground. It held its ceremony on June 5.
“We’ve been waiting for this moment since entering into the Tri-Faith dialogue back in October 2013. It was a true leap of faith for the congregation to vote in support of relocation back then,” leader Eric Elnes told KMTV. “To see this day come is a dream coming together.”
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U.S. Supreme Court Rules Arkansas Must Allow Lesbian ‘Spouses’ to Be Listed on Birth Certificates
By Heather Clark on June 26, 201794 Comments
  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the State of Arkansas must allow the “spouses” of lesbian women who conceive by a male sperm donor to be recognized on birth certificates even though they are not the biological parent.
“Obergefell proscribes such disparate treatment. As we explained there, a State may not ‘exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples,'” the court wrote in its 6-3 decision. “Indeed, in listing those terms and conditions—the ‘rights, benefits, and responsibilities’ to which same-sex couples, no less than opposite-sex couples, must have access—we expressly identified ‘birth and death certificates.’”
As previously reported, in 2015, six lesbians filed suit against the Arkansas Health Department’s Vital Statistics Bureau after it declined to recognize both the biological mothers and their female partners as the parents on their children’s birth certificates, which they sought to do in order to obtain insurance coverage for the children.
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‘Sesame Street’ Expresses Support for Homosexuality During ‘LGBT Pride Month’
By Heather Clark on June 30, 2017273 Comments
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The popular children’s television show “Sesame Street” recently expressed its support for “lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered” persons on its official Twitter page, generating a range of public responses, from positive to negative.
“Sesame Street is proud to support families of all shapes, sizes, and colors,” it wrote on June 23, posting a heart next to the text. It also shared a photograph of various Sesame Street characters lined up in a manner to reflect the colors of the rainbow flag.
The post has generated over 134,000 likes as of press time, and over 56,000 retweets.
It also resulted in hundreds of comments, with some applauding the children’s television broadcast for publicly supporting homosexuality, and others expressing concern about how the matter will influence children.
“Sesame Street, you just saved my soul. Thank you,” one commenter named Gloria Nieto wrote.
“This is the greatest pride message I have ever seen. Kudos @sesamestreet for teaching kids that including everybody is fun!” also wrote the user I Like Bonhoeffer.
“Are we going to get an #LGBTQ character anytime soon? Talk the talk, then walk the walk,” the user Queer Kid Stuff asked.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/30/sesame-street-expresses-support-for-homosexuality-during-lgbt-pride-month/


Pro-Family Groups Push Back After GuideStar Labels 46 American Organizations ‘Hate Groups’
By Heather Clark on June 25, 201717 Comments
Over 40 pro-family groups recently signed a letter to the charity database site GuideStar after it labeled dozens of organizations as “hate groups” based on a list compiled by the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
“The ‘hate group’ list is nothing more than a political weapon targeting people it deems to be its political enemies. The list is ad hoc, partisan, and agenda-driven,” the correspondence read.
GuideStar added a banner atop the info pages of 46 nonprofits, which reads, “This organization was flagged as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.”
Among those tagged as “hate groups” include Family Research Council, the American Family Association, Liberty Counsel, the American Freedom Defense Initiative, the Immigration Reform Law Institute, the Jewish Institute for Global Awareness and the American College of Pediatricians.
Guidestar CEO, Jacob Harold, told the Associated Press that the company decided to add the warnings as a response to the increase of “hateful rhetoric” among Americans. He said that the organization decided to utilize SPLC’s list and trust their determinations.
“[W]e are making a judgment to trust that third party,” Harold outlined. “We feel that’s quite defensible.”
However, he said that the company was also considering moving the warning to a not-so-prominent location on each page, as GuideStar can’t personally state with certainty that every organization labeled is indeed motivated by hate.
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Man Destroys Newly-Installed Ten Commandments Monument on Arkansas Capitol Grounds
By Heather Clark on June 28, 2017142 Comments

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man was arrested on Wednesday after he destroyed a Ten Commandments monument that had been installed just yesterday on the grounds of the Arkansas capitol building.
Michael Tate Reed, 32, of Van Buren was taken into custody on charges of defacing objects of public interest, criminal trespass and first-degree criminal mischief. Reed recorded himself destroying the monument under the cover of darkness, driving his car into the decalogue and yelling “freedom!”

Tate Reed
He posted the video to Facebook at approximately 5 a.m. local time. (See end of report.)
Reed identifies himself as a Christian and a “Pentecostal Jesus freak” on his Facebook page, but some of his posts are obscure and confuddled, and followers have urged him to get help in observing his mental health struggles.
“If tonight doesn’t go down like I’ve seen and been told, I promise I will go to Valley hospital and have them court order me on meds,” he wrote on Tuesday.
Reed also posted a video stating that while he believes that men should “obey the commands of God,” he is a proponent of the “separation of church and state” and feels that “[t]here’s no one religion government should support.”
He spoke of what he called “white plans,” and advised that he would need another car after he carried through his plot to destroy the monument.
“Our constitutional rights have been violated and since no one will do anything about it, I will,” he also wrote.
Reed additionally launched a GoFundMe page in an effort to raise $20,000 for a new car, but the page appears to have been taken down by the organization as of press time.
In 2014, a man by the same name smashed into Oklahoma’s Ten Commandments monument, later explaining in a letter that he struggled with mental illness and was obtaining professional help.
“Michael Tate Reed II stated in a letter that his psychotic breaks led to getting inspiration from a Dracula movie, thinking Michael Jackson’s spirit was in meat, believing he was the incarnation of an occult leader and attempting to contact Lucifer’s high priestess he called Gwyneth Paltrow,” Tulsa World outlined.
The Arkansas monument had just been installed on Tuesday, with Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, recording a video discussing why the display is both needed and legal.
“We have a beautiful Capitol grounds, but we did not have a monument that actually honored the historical moral foundation of law,” he said. “And today we have now, through the support of people all over the country, mostly from Arkansas, been able to erect this monument at zero taxpayer expense.”
He noted that the decalogue is an exact replica of the monument displayed at the Texas state capitol, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 in the case of Van Orden v. Perry.

Rapert and monument on Tuesday
Rapert also advised that the Ten Commandments are part of the architecture at the Supreme Court itself.
“[W]hen you walk into the United States Supreme Court and walk up those steps and go into there toward the inner chamber, on the lower left and the lower right of those doors, etched in those doors are the Ten Commandments,” he outlined. “[If] you open up those doors [and] you look above the head of the chief justice of the United State Supreme Court, you will see Moses.”
“So, if it’s good enough for the United States capitol, it’s good enough for the state of Arkansas,” Rapert stated.
As previously reported, Rapert proposed the placement of the Ten Commandments monument in 2015, advising that it would be funded by private money. His bill regarding the matter was approved in the House and Senate, and was subsequently signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
“The placement of the monument under this section shall not be construed to mean that the State of Arkansas favors any particular religion or denomination over others,” SB 939 read in part.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/28/man-destroys-newly-installed-ten-commandments-monument-on-arkansas-capitol-grounds/

North Carolina Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Plotting Terror Attack Against Americans
By Heather Clark on June 28, 20176 Comments
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A North Carolina man has been sentenced to life in prison for “attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries” by conspiring with a member of the barbaric Islamic group ISIS to carry out one or more terror attacks on American soil.
“[Justin] Sullivan was actively planning the mass killing of innocent people with an attack designed to inflict maximum casualties and maximum pain in the name of ISIS, a sworn enemy of our nation,” said U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose of the Western District of North Carolina in a statement on Tuesday.
“He also planned to film and send a video of his deadly attack to now-deceased Junaid Hussain, a prominent ISIS member based in Syria, and further expressed his wish to create a new branch of the so-called Islamic State in the United States,” she explained.
Rose said that the sentence mirrors the severity of the crime and serves as a deterrent to others.
According to WLOS-TV, while Sullivan did not apologize for his actions during sentencing at the federal courthouse in Asheville, he repeatedly stated that he is not a “bad person” and that “things just happened.” His defense also argued that he has mental health issues.
Sullivan’s parents sat in the room, and at times became tearful during the hearing.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Sullivan, now 21, began watching watching violent ISIS videos on the Internet in 2014 and saved the recordings. He also reportedly destroyed his parents’ religious items, declaring himself to be a supporter of ISIS.
“I don’t know if it is ISIS or what, but he is destroying Buddhas and figurines and stuff,” his father Rich Sullivan reportedly said in a 911 call, tipping off authorities. “I mean, we are scared to leave the house.”
The following year, Sullivan allegedly discussed with now-deceased ISIS recruiter Junaid Hussain plans to carry out armed attacks in North Carolina and Virginia. But, as previously reported, little did Sullivan know that one of the people had talked to about the plot was an undercover FBI agent.
According to court documents, Sullivan told the agent that it was better to support ISIS in the U.S. rather than travel overseas, and soon purchased a weapon, asking the agent to build a silencer for him. He advised that he was plotting to carry out an attack at a concert, bar or club, estimating that they could kill about 1,000 people.
In keeping in contact with Hussain, Sullivan was asked to record the attack.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/28/north-carolina-man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-plotting-terror-attack-against-americans/

Preachers Acquitted of UK ‘Crime & Disorder Act’ Charges Over Public Offense at Exclusivity of Gospel
By Heather Clark on June 29, 20176 Comments

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Photo Credit: Facebook
BRISTOL, U.K. — Two preachers who had been found guilty earlier this year of “intentionally alarming” the public with their open-air preaching have now been acquitted in a UK appeals court.
“We hope and pray that today’s ruling will be an encouragement to Christians across the nation to continue preaching the good news,” defendant Michael Overd said in a statement on Thursday.
As previously reported, Michael Overd and Michael Stockwell had been charged by British officials last July with violating the Crime and Disorder Act of 1998, in allegedly using “threatening or abusive words or behavior or disorderly behavior within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress.” The statute specifically hones in on offenses that are “religiously motivated.”
Overd and Stockwell, along with Adrian Clark and Don Karns, had been taking turns open air preaching outside of the Bristol shopping center on July 6, as well as engaging passersby in conversation and/or holding gospel signs.
Two of those involved in the evangelism effort, Stockwell and Karns, were American citizens visiting the country to share the gospel. The men allegedly preached on a variety of issues, and took questions from those who stopped to listen—questions that ranged from Islam, Buddhism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuality and other moral and religious issues.
Police stated that some became offended by the men’s preaching and/or responses to the questions, as statements reportedly included remarks such as “Allah is the greatest deceiver—that’s in the Koran,” “David Cameron is no more a Christian than my dogs” and that false religion leads men to “the gates and the very depth of Hell.”
An online video shows the moment the men were arrested.
“The purpose of mankind is to worship God and enjoy Him,” declared Overd, who was preaching at the time. “You need to obey God and obey His commands. I hated His commands once and I remember what that mind frame is—it is like banging your head against a brick wall.”
Seconds later, Overd was approached by a police officer, who ordered him to leave the area.
“Look, you are causing a disturbance now,” the officer stated. “You are not welcome.”
“Go home! Go home!” a few men nearby chanted.
The officer warned that if Overd did not stop preaching, he would be arrested.
“For God so loved the world, guys, that He gave His only begotten…” Overd declared, advising that he was not going to leave.
The officer consequently grabbed Overd by the arm while he was speaking and pulled him away. The crowd clapped and cheered enthusiastically.
“There’s a line of freedom of speech,” the officer told Overd. “[I]t’s when you’re causing a disturbance, that is, aggravating people, anti-social behavior, which you were causing.”
“How were we causing it?” Overd asked. “What did we say?”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/29/preachers-acquitted-of-uk-crime-disorder-act-charges-over-public-offense-at-exclusivity-of-gospel/

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case of Colorado Baker Ordered to Make Cakes for Same-Sex Celebrations
By Heather Clark on June 26, 201732 Comments

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and decide whether or not the government may order people of faith to use their talents for a same-sex celebration despite their belief that it would be a form of participation and thus a sin against God.
According to USA Today, “The justices … apparently decided that despite state laws barring discrimination based on sexual orientation, the merchants’ obligation to same-sex couples was not necessarily baked in the cake.”
The case will be heard this fall.
As previously reported, Dave Mullin and Charlie Craig visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado in July 2012 to look for options for their upcoming same-sex ceremony celebration. As Colorado—at the time—had a constitutional amendment enshrining marriage as being between a man and a woman, the men planned to travel to Massachusetts and then return to Colorado for a separate celebration.
However, after their arrival at the cake shop, Mullin and Craig were advised by owner Jack Phillips that he does not make cakes for same-sex ceremonies.
“My first comment was, ‘We’re getting married,’ and he just shut that down immediately,” Craig stated.
Phillips told Christian News Network that he does not make cakes for such events because of his Christian convictions.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/26/u-s-supreme-court-to-hear-case-of-colorado-baker-ordered-to-make-cakes-for-same-sex-celebrations/

States Can't Discriminate Against Churches in Secular Aid Programs, Supreme Court Rules
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BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 26, 2017 | 10:36 AM
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The United States Supreme Court has ruled that a Missouri church should not be prohibited from benefiting from a secular aid program solely because it is a church.
In a decision released Monday morning in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, the highest court in the nation concluded that Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia should not be barred from a state program meant to help repair their daycare playground, reversing a lower court decision.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/101594/295-197/supreme-court.jpg
(Photo: Reuters/Yuri Gripas/File Photo)U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, U.S., October 3, 2016.
The majority opinion was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was joined by Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas joined the majority in part. Justice Stephen Breyer authored a concurring opinion, while Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented.
"... the exclusion of Trinity Lutheran from a public benefit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious to our Constitution all the same, and cannot stand," wrote Chief Justice Roberts.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/trinity-lutheran-comer-discriminate-churches-secular-aid-supreme-court-189585/#VD3Da2WcGXV3tEUj.99


Over 1,620 People Slaughtered During Ramadan; Islamic Holy Month One of Deadliest in Modern History
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BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 26, 2017 | 7:37 AM
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Over 1,620 people were killed in Islamic terror-linked bombings, shootings, and stabbings during this year's Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to a tally by Breitbart News.


(PHOTO:REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY)
Mourners carry a coffin at the funeral of Coptic Christians who were killed in Minya, Egypt, May 26, 2017.
Breitbart published an extensive list of attacks that occurred around the world between May 27 and June 24. Most deaths reported from Syria's civil war were excluded.
While subject to being updated, the tally found triple the number of casualties compared to last year's Ramadan period, making it one of the deadliest Islamic holy months in modern history. There were 3,351 casualties, including 1,627 deaths, during this year's Ramadan. Last year, the number of casualties was 1,150 (421 deaths and 729 injuries).
Breitbart noted that most of the victims were Muslims. The Islamic State terrorist group, active in Iraq and Syria as well as other cities around the world, was responsible for much of the deadly violence.
IS-linked jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram, also stepped up their carnage during Ramadan, as Voice of America reported.
The Nigerian militants left dozens dead in suicide bomb attacks at Nigeria's border with Cameroon, and sought to infiltrate markets and mosques at the end of Ramadan.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/over-1620-people-slaughtered-during-ramadan-islamic-holy-month-one-of-deadliest-in-modern-history-189567/#JmXlWfSRmJM4eWBw.99


Charity Rating Website GuideStar Removes 46 Conservative Groups From 'Hate List'
GuideStar USA, which is one of the nation's leading sources of information about nonprofit organizations, has announced it will remove from its list of "hate groups" dozens of conservative advocacy organizations, many of which advocate for traditional marriage.
(Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid/Files)A man looks at the damage to the "Free Speech Bus," after it was attacked near the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, U.S., March 23, 2017.
"Earlier this year, in order to provide even more information to our users, we noted that 46 of the 1,676,746 active nonprofit groups we track had been flagged by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a long-standing civil rights advocacy organization," GuideStar says in a statement. "In the weeks and months since, we have heard from both supporters and critics of this decision, many of whom have presented reasonable disagreements with the way in which this information was presented."
Among the groups listed as hate groups included the Family Research Council, the Center for Security Policy, the Liberty Counsel, the American College of Pediatricians, the American Freedom Defense Initiative and the Alliance Defending Freedom.
GuideStar now says it's "driven by both our commitment to objectivity and our concerns for our staff's wellbeing" to remove the SPLC annotations from the conservative nonprofits.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/charity-website-guidestar-removes-46-conservative-groups-hate-list-189415/#5B1WTMZ6JkYK7FO2.99


This Week in Christian History: Julian the Apostate, Geronimo and John Wesley
BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 25, 2017 | 12:40 PM
A woman stands inside a church.
Christianity is a faith with a long and detailed history, with numerous events of lasting significance occurring throughout the ages.
Each week bring the anniversaries of great milestones, horrid tragedies, amazing triumphs, and everything in between.
Here are just a few things that happened this week in Church history. They include the death of an anti-Christian emperor, the first conference for an influential denomination, and the conversion of a warrior.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/this-week-in-christian-history-julian-the-apostate-geronimo-john-wesley-189282/#cQwdqwK4IhCPeAEk.99

Pakistan Expels South Korean National Accused of Spreading the Gospel
BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jun 22, 2017 | 6:01 PM
After release from North Korea, Otto Warmbier reported dead
Pakistan officials say a South Korean national who it accused of using a business visa to preach the Gospel inside the Islamic republic has been expelled from the country.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/112647/590-420/pakistan.jpg
(Photo: Reuters)
The news comes after two Chinese nationals believed to be associated with the South Korean were killed last month by Islamic militants affiliated with the Islamic State terror group.
"Investigations have revealed that the South Korean national went to Pakistan on a business visa, set up an Urdu academy in Quetta and got involved in illegal preaching activities," a Ministry of Interior official told ucanews.com this week. "We have revoked his visa and asked him to leave the country."
According to World Watch Monitor, the South Korean national is Juan Won-seo. Pakistani officials told ucanews.com that 24-year-old Lee Zingyang and 26-year-old Meng Lisi, who were abducted and killed last month, were preaching Christianity under Won-seo's guidance.
(Photo: Twitter/@usmanmasood44)Lee Zingyang and Meng Lisi of China were killed by Islamic militants affiliated with the Islamic State terror group in Pakistan in May 2017.
However, the Hindustan Times reports that South Korea has rejected Pakistan's claims that Lee and Meng, who were in the country on the premise that they were Mandarin teachers learning Urdu, were preaching Christianity. A South Korean official told the news outlet on June 14 that there is no evidence from Pakistan to backup the claim that they were proselytizing under the leadership of the South Korean.
World Watch Monitor notes that Lee and Meng were only two of a dozen Chinese nationals in Pakistan for Urdu classes but Chinese media has claimed that the school is "merely a front for conducting religious activities."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/pakistan-expels-south-korean-national-accused-spreading-gospel-189118/#yc2OIHVrQd3cwivt.99


One Dead After Man Drives Van Into People Near London Mosque; Attacker Wanted to 'Kill All Muslims' 
BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 19, 2017 | 7:01 AM
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One man has died, while another 10 have been injured following a terrorist attack near a London mosque Sunday night, where a man drove a van into a crowd of people, reportedly specifically targeting Muslims.
(PHOTO: REUTERS/NEIL HALL)
Men pray after a vehicle collided with pedestrians near a mosque in the Finsbury Park neighborhood of North London, Britain June 19, 2017.
Sky News reported on Monday morning that the 48-year-old driver has been arrested by police, after the suspect was prevented from escaping by members of the public.
One witness, identified as Abdul Rahman, revealed that the driver said "I want to kill Muslims."
BBC News quoted the same man, who relayed the driver's words as "I want to kill all Muslims."
Another witness, 24-year-old Adil Rana, described the attack, saying, "The van was driving towards us to try and basically hit us at speed.
"When he got arrested, he was taunting, saying, 'I'd do it again, I'd do it again,'" Rana said.
Metropolitan Police's deputy assistant commissioner, Neil Basu, said that the man who died was already being given first aid by the public on the pavement, before the van drove into the crowd
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Russell Moore Slams Trump Deportation 'Death Sentence' for Iraqi Christians: 'Wrong, Wrong, Wrong'
Image: Data:image/Gif;Base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs%3D

BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 19, 2017 | 10:06 AM
Key takeaways from the Jeff Sessions Senate hearing
Top Evangelical ethicist Russell Moore has joined the chorus of Christian leaders condemning the arrests of Iraqi Christians in the United States, who now face the threat of deportation.
(Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook)Chaldean-American Lavrena Kenawa cries as she thinks about her uncle who was seized Sunday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a rally outside the Mother of God Catholic Chaldean church in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., June 12, 2017.
"This is wrong, wrong, wrong. A death sentence for those we should be protecting," Moore wrote in a tweet on Saturday.
ScreenshotERLC President Russell Moore at an SBC-sponsored national conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission was referring to the recent arrests of nearly 200 Iraqi nationals by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, many of them from the Chaldean Christian community.
ICE says that many of those it took under custody have in the past committed serious crimes in America, and by law could face deportation.
"As part of ICE's efforts to process the backlog of these individuals, the agency recently arrested a number of Iraqi nationals, all of whom had criminal convictions for crimes including homicide, rape, aggravated assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, robbery, sex assault, weapons violations and other offenses," the agency said last week.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/russell-moore-slams-trump-deportation-death-sentence-iraqi-christians-188544/#GeXWRC3zrW8hIY6F.99


Trump Admin. Says Schools Can Be Investigated for Wrong Pronoun Use for Transgender Students 
BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jun 19, 2017 | 7:05 AM
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The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights has issued an internal memo explaining that refusal by public schools or teachers to refer to a transgender student by his or her preferred pronoun or name could be grounds for an investigation.
(PHOTO: REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR)
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. December 9, 2016.
It was reported Friday that the acting assistant secretary for civil rights, Candice Jackson, issued a memo on June 6 calling on the department's lawyers and investigators to consider complaints of discrimination by transgender students on a case-by-case basis.
Although Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued a joint memo in February that effectively rescinded last year's Obama administration guidance that called on schools to allow students to access bathrooms and locker rooms that are in accordance with their gender identity, the memo states that transgender students still have some valid discrimination complaints worthy of an OCR investigation.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-admin-says-schools-can-be-investigated-for-wrong-pronoun-use-for-transgender-students-188388/#phoeId56KDovrDVX.99
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-admin-says-schools-can-be-investigated-for-wrong-pronoun-use-for-transgender-students-188388/#3yQ1H8eCBlC1jFEd.99


NFL Star Ben Watson: America Is 'Reaping the Consequences of Fatherlessness'
BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jun 18, 2017 | 3:56 PM
After release from North Korea, Otto Warmbier reported dead
As America celebrates Father's Day 2017, Baltimore Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson has issued a reminder that the nation is currently suffering from the dire effects of "fatherlessness" and asserted that Satan would love nothing more than to keep dads from connecting with their children.
(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/BENJAMIN WATSON)
Benjamin Watson with his two sons, Isaiah and Juda.
Watson, a devout Christian and father of five kids who is the author of the recently released The New Dad's Playbook: Gearing Up for the Biggest Game of Your Life, took to his Facebook page on Sunday to commemorate the day by detailing one experience he had eight years ago in a mall with his firstborn daughter.
"As I sat on a bench, feeding her, a teenage girl walked up to us. She said, 'Your [sic] a good dad, I never had one. Be true to your daughter,'" Watson wrote. "As she left I felt the incredible pain in her words as well as the challenge she left me with."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/nfl-star-ben-watson-america-reaping-the-consequences-of-fatherlessness-188391/#DQH8C8Yyucai8fE0.99


Are Lady Clothes the New Trend for Men? 
BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP REPORTER
Jun 18, 2017 | 9:36 AM
Regular churchgoers are more generous
The trend of feminine and ultra-casual clothing for men has several theologians observing the influence of the "gender cult" and the decline of masculine dress, calling the church to model how men should wear clothes.
(Photo: Kickstarter)Clothes known as rompers for men, or "RompHim" featured in a May Kickstarter campaign.
A Kickstarter campaign launched in May to make a one-piece outfit known as a romper, which is traditionally worn by females, for men, garnered significant attention on the Internet. Also called a "bro-romper" or a "RompHim," the publication of the effort in a May 15 Esquire magazine article by a "decidedly anti-romper" Christine Flammia, sparked an "immediate and visceral" reaction, as noted in a subsequent article.
The Kickstarter project originally intended to raise $10,000 to make rompers. Due to such large publicity the project has now garnered over $353,000.
Esquire asked several fashion insiders why they thought there was such a strong response. Some of them thought the idea was "fun and fresh." Others called it "ridiculous."
There have been other reported lady-ish men's clothing trends. On June 2, the Fox affiliate in Houston reported on an Instragram account called sparkiebabyofficial, which has over 81,000 followers, showing the development of sheer lace shorts for men. Designer Palomo Spain recently released his menswear collection featuring skirts and dresses with ruffles, garters and virginal bridal garb.
This is not mere fashion industry silliness and the designer is indeed making an ideological statement reflecting a cultural trend, said Fay Voshell, a theologian and regular contributor at The American Thinker in a Thursday interview with The Christian Post.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/lady-clothes-new-trend-men-188352/#bqVUMDWs7LafL0sE.99


Pastor, Refugee From Iraq, Tells American Church: Don't Politicize Refugee Crisis, Share Gospel
BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP REPORTER
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(PHOTO: COURTESY OF A. LARRY ROSS)
Jalil Dawood, author of the book, "The Refugee: A Story of God's Grace and Hope on One Man's Road to Refuge."
A Texas pastor originally from Iraq is urging the Church to get out of politics amid the swirling debate about travel bans and do the work of ministering to refugees because "God is sending the nations here."
Jalil Dawood, lead pastor at Arabic Church of Dallas and founder of World Refugee Care, has just released a new book he wrote to inspire other Christians to reach out to the millions of refugees in need, both in the U.S. and overseas.
"There is a lot of misinformation about how to deal with refugees [today]," Dawood said in a recent interview with The Christian Post about his own journey of being a refugee, which he recounts in detail in The Refugee: A Story of God's Grace on One Man's Road to Refuge.
"God is sending the nations here. And God wants us to reach out to those people," he emphasized.
In 1982 in the middle of the brutal Iran-Iraq war, an 18-year-old Dawood managed to slip out of Iraq and make it to Rome with the intention of acquiring refugee status in the United States as two of his brothers had done previously.
Although he was raised in a traditional Christian family in Baghdad and was persecuted as an infidel in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, he never felt as though he had a real connection with God. Yet while in Rome, Dawood had an unexpected encounter with the Lord when he heard an American named Steve sharing the Gospel at a club where he had gone to learn English and watch movies. He ended up at a Bible study soon thereafter where, as he writes, he heard the Gospel message clearly for the first time in his life and accepted the Lord. Steve and his wife, Marilyn, ultimately discipled him and became like family to him and prayed for him when he was approved to come to the United States.
Dawood was shocked as an Iraqi to hear an American talking about God because he always considered America the most godless of places. These beliefs were reinforced by the immorality he saw in American movies and the messages he received growing up from Saddam Hussein's information propaganda machine.
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10-Y-O Survivor of ISIS Massacre: 'Every Time They Shot a Christian, They Yelled God Is Great'
BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 20, 2017 | 1:04 PM
After release from North Korea, Otto Warmbier reported dead
 image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/112411/590-415/coptic-christians.jpg
(Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)Hanaa Youssef and Mina Habib, the widow and son of a man who was killed in a militant attack against Coptic Christians last month, hold the victim"s portrait in Minya, Egypt June 8, 2017. Picture taken June 8, 2017.
A 10-year-old Egyptian schoolboy who witnessed the brutal murder of his father by Islamic State militants in Minya, where 29 Christians were slaughtered in May, says the jihadists cried out "God is great" every time they shot a follower of Jesus Christ. 
Mina Habib told Reuters in a piece published Tuesday that his father, one of the 29 believers massacred on May 26 when IS stopped three vehicles on their way to a monastery, was killed specifically for his Christian faith.
"We saw dead people, just dumped on the ground," the boy, who is now receiving therapy at a local church, said of the attack.
"They asked my father for identification then told him to recite the Muslim profession of faith. He refused, said he was Christian. They shot him and everyone else with us in the car," he said of his father, Adel.
Mina said the 15 gunmen shot Christian children dead, but he and his older brother, Marco, were spared.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/10-year-old-survivor-isis-massacre-every-time-they-shot-christian-they-yelled-god-is-great-188734/#DStcf04FxG1TMPxI.99


Archaeological Digs May Change After Invisible Inscription Traced to Before King Nebuchadnezzar Is Found 
BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 20, 2017 | 10:42 AM
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Archaeologists might start employing a new technology during excavations after the discovery of a previously invisible inscription on the back of an ancient pottery shard dating back to 600 B.C., before the destruction of Judah's Kingdom by the biblical King Nebuchadnezzar
(PHOTO: REUTERS)
Archaeologist Nafez Abed is seen with the sculptures and intricate mosaics in his workroom in this undated photo.
As Jewish News Service reported on Monday, the pottery shard had been on display at Jerusalem's Israel Museum for over 50 years, after it had been discovered at the desert fortress of Arad in 1965.
High-tech imaging allowed Tel Aviv University researchers to read a previously unseen message on the shard, which albeit seemingly unremarkable in detail, could prompt archaeologists to use new methods when analyzing biblical and other artifacts.
"The front side of the shard was thoroughly studied, and it begins with some kind of standard letter opening, with one person blessing another using the name of God, 'Y-H-W-H,'" Arie Shaus of Tel Aviv University's Department of Applied Mathematics, who studied the pottery, told JNS.org about the inscription.
Shaus noted that the use of sacred language, although a "small detail," is "interesting and important," as it sheds clues on how the modern Jewish religion and laws "are a bit different to what was practiced back then."
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/biblical-digs-invisible-inscription-traced-king-nebuchadnezzar-found-188724/?utm_source=newsletter


Christians Must Think Differently About Israel, Jews in Light of Past Atrocities: Gerald McDermott
BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP REPORTER
Jun 22, 2017 | 10:05 AM
Regular churchgoers are more generous
The majority of Christians have been wrong about Israel for most of their history, according to a leading Anglican theologian and Israel scholar.
(PHOTO: REUTERS)
An Israeli flag flies high in Tel Aviv, December 28, 2010.
For many reasons, Christians ought to think differently about the land of Israel and the Jews as God's covenant people, Gerald R. McDermott, Anglican chair at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama, explains in a new book.
In an interview with The Christian Post on Tuesday, McDermott explained that his latest work, Israel Matters: Why Christians Must Think Differently About the People and the Land, articulates why it's important for believers in Jesus to engage Israel with the utmost humility. This is necessary not only because of the geopolitical complexities present there but especially because "the Jews have been horribly wronged by Christians over the millennia."
(PHOTO: COURTESY OF GERALD MCDERMOTT)
Gerald McDermott, author of Israel Matter: Why Christians Must Think Differently About the People and the Land.
"Even before the Holocaust, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Jews were murdered over the last 1,800 years by Christians as "Christ-killers," McDermott said, noting at the time of the Holocaust Germany was the most Christianized nation in the world.
"Jews know these things and are afraid of us," he said.
The error in thinking that Jesus departed from Judaism and began a new religion furthers the distance between Christians and Jews and makes Jews into an "other," he said.
Yet in the past several decades, especially in the United States, a resurgence of what is known as Christian Zionism, the view that the land of Israel and ethnic Jews remain central to God's eternal purposes, has occurred.
McDermott did not personally subscribe to this perspective because he associated it with dispensationalism, theology that considers biblical history as divided intentionally by God into specific ages to each of which He has allotted distinctive administrative principles. This teaching was popularized in the 1800s by Anglo-Irish preacher John Nelson Darby.
But all that began to change for him upon doing further study of the Bible and history and he found that throughout the ages a minority has believed that one day, in accordance with Scripture, a massive ingathering of Jewish people to their historic homeland would take place.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-must-think-differently-about-israel-jews-gerald-mcdermott-188937/?utm_source=newsletter

Gender-Confused Kids Are Being Experimented on With Hormone Therapy: Experts
BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jun 21, 2017 | 9:27 AM
A new report written by three well-respected medical experts and scholars questions the safety and effectiveness of pressuring gender-confused children to undergo "radical" and "experimental" puberty-blocking hormone therapy even though the treatment and its side-effects haven't yet been adequately researched by the science and medical communities.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/112528/590-332/transgender.jpg
(Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri)A man holds up a sign supporting North Carolina's anti-transgender bathroom law following Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump' campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., August 18, 2016.
The new report, Growing Pains: Problems With Puberty Suppression in Treating Gender Dysphoria, was published by quarterly journal The New Atlantis on Tuesday.
It argues that while puberty suppression therapy through hormone intervention is increasingly being recommended for children with gender dysphoria and at younger ages, there is little evidence that shows that puberty suppression is "reversible, safe, or effective for treating gender dysphoria."
"Psychologists do not understand what causes gender dysphoria in children and adolescents, or how to distinguish reliably between children who will only temporarily express feelings of being the opposite sex from children whose gender dysphoria will be more persistent. Until much more is known about gender dysphoria, and until controlled clinical trials of puberty suppression are carried out, this intervention should be considered experimental," the report states. "Regardless of the good intentions of the physicians and parents, to expose young people to such treatments is to endanger them."
The report was authored by Paul Hruz, an associate professor of pediatrics, endocrinology and diabetes and associate professor of cell biology and physiology at Washington University in St. Louis; Lawrence Mayer, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine scholar in residence and professor of statistics and biostatistics at Arizona State University; and Paul McHugh, Johns Hopkins University's distinguished service professor of psychiatry.
It is a follow-up to a special report written by McHugh and Mayer last year for The New Atlantis on gender and sexuality. The scholars argued, among many other things, that studies have shown that gender dysphoria in children most often does not persist into adulthood.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/gender-confused-kids-are-being-experimented-on-with-hormone-therapy-experts-188757/#rPOJJe2ZqMkArgWD.99



Millions of Christians in 100 Countries to Sing Keith Getty Song in Global Missions Event (Interview)
BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 22, 2017 | 11:50 AM
(Photo: Kristin Barlow, courtesy of Getty Music)Keith and Kristyn Getty.
World-renowned hymn writer Keith Getty, whose song "For the Cause" is set to be sung by millions of Christians in the Global Hymn Sing missions event on June 25, says society is increasingly telling children that Christianity is "odd" and "anti-social."
Getty told The Christian Post in a phone interview ahead of the Global Hymn Sing, which thousands of churches across 100 nations are expected to take part in, that with the way Christianity is being marginalized in society, now is a vital time to preach the Gospel to the world.
"It is a common belief running through society that if you are a Christian, your faith has to be privatized," Getty told CP.
The artist, who along with his wife, Kristyn, have seen their songs hit the top of the charts in the U.K. and other places, talked about the important role of children in missions.
"I think anyone who is an adult who has children (knows that) their mission begins with their children," Getty said.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/millions-christians-100-countries-sing-keith-getty-song-global-missions-event-189101/#4a2mIpU5Bm5Dmcty.99
"We recognize the need to address our national debt and believe that Congress should approve a budget that weighs the importance of providing for critical needs and that responsibly manages the country's fiscal issues; but the most vulnerable should not carry the burden of solving this challenge," the statement asserts. "This budget proposes major cuts to programs for the poor, hungry, weak, sick, and most vulnerable."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/60-christian-leaders-condemn-trump-budget-proposal-increase-hunger-188944/#L6lGavts21atelpm.99


60 Christian Leaders Condemn Trump's Budget Proposal, Say It Could Increase Hunger
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BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jun 21, 2017 | 4:31 PM
Sixty Christian leaders from across the the theological spectrum have signed onto a statement condemning President Donald Trump's budget proposal and have expressed concern over proposed cuts to federal welfare programs that they say help the United States' "most vulnerable" people.
(PHOTO: BREAD FOR THE WORLD/JOSEPH MOLIERI)
Rev. Jim Wallis speaks as Christian leaders from a gamut of denominations gathered in a unified denouncement of President Trump's budget during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on June 21, 2017.
"We believe budgets are moral documents; they reveal our values and show our priorities, whether for families, churches, organizations, or governments," the document reads. "Budgets show who and what we view as important, and, likewise, who and what are not. We have deep moral concerns about the way this budget would impact those we are called to protect."
The statement was championed by the Circle of Protection, a coalition of Christian leaders committed to advocating for programs that help alleviate hunger and poverty. The statement explains that the group supports "responsible stewardship" that can provide "opportunity for people to thrive and invests in people who are not thriving."
"We recognize the need to address our national debt and believe that Congress should approve a budget that weighs the importance of providing for critical needs and that responsibly manages the country's fiscal issues; but the most vulnerable should not carry the burden of solving this challenge," the statement asserts. "This budget proposes major cuts to programs for the poor, hungry, weak, sick, and most vulnerable."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/60-christian-leaders-condemn-trump-budget-proposal-increase-hunger-188944/#whJix6Xt5Yrs2ECv.99

Senate Obamacare Repeal Draft Includes Planned Parenthood Defunding, Pro-Life Language
Key takeaways from the Jeff Sessions Senate hearing
The Senate version of the Obamacare repeal bill reportedly includes language to defund Planned Parenthood, a signature goal for the pro-life movement amid close Republican margins and previous statements signaling willingness to compromise to pass the bill.
U.S. Capitol is seen after the House approved a bill to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with a Republican healthcare plan in Washington, U.S., May 4, 2017.
As noted by The Washington Post Wednesday, a draft of the proposed legislation in the upper chamber indicates that the nation's largest abortion provider will be defunded, maintaining the provision in the House bill that narrowly passed on May 4.
The Senate bill was slated to be voted on next week but several Senators said Thursday they are still not yet ready to proceed as further adjustments are needed. In a joint statement obtained by The Christian Post, Republican Senators Lee, Johnson, Cruz and Paul said that while "there are provisions in this draft that represent an improvement to our current healthcare system" the bill as written does not accomplish the repeal they promised American voters.
Mallory Quigley, communications director for the Susan B. Anthony List, a political action committee that works to get pro-life women elected to Congress, expressed confidence the pro-life language in the bill will remain.
"We've said from the beginning in a coalition letter to the Senate that the two prerequisites for our support are going to be the defunding of Planned Parenthood and the inclusion of the Hyde amendment," Quigley said in a interview with CP Thursday. The Hyde amendment is a provision that was first passed in 1976 which bars the use of federal tax dollars to pay for abortions.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/senate-obamacare-repeal-draft-includes-planned-parenthood-defunding-pro-life-language-189120/#sEvAvqLFDuKDACMg.99



Faith-Based Business Owners Won't Be Forced to Serve Gay Weddings, Mississippi Appeals Court Rules
BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 23, 2017 | 11:52 AM
After release from North Korea, Otto Warmbier reported dead
A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a Mississippi law that protects people who oppose gay marriage on religious grounds from being sued.
(Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake)Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant arrives to attend B.B. King's funeral in Indianola, Mississippi, May 30, 2015.
In a unanimous decision issued Thursday, the panel concluded that the plaintiffs lacked the standing to sue the state over House Bill 1523, also called the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act, reversing a lower court's decision.
"The governor of Mississippi and the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services appeal a preliminary injunction. Because the plaintiffs do not have standing, we reverse the injunction and render a judgment of dismissal," wrote Circuit Judge Jerry Smith on behalf of the panel.
In April 2016, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed HB 1523 into law, which prohibits the state from compelling businesses and individuals from supporting or servicing gay weddings.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/faith-based-business-owners-wont-be-forced-serve-gay-weddings-mississippi-appeals-court-rules-189278/#SJu4ut2Vv16M6PjG.99


Christian Woman Ordered by Cops to Stop Praying in Her Home Loses in Court
Jun 23, 2017 | 7:31 AM
Regular churchgoers are more generous
(Photo: First Liberty Institute)Mary Anne Sause
The United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against a Kansas Catholic woman who claims that she was ordered by police to stop praying in her own home.
On Tuesday, the three-judge panel voted to uphold a judge's dismissal of Mary Anne Sause's lawsuit against two Louisburg officers, who she said demanded to be allowed into her home and wouldn't tell her why they were there. She alleged that when she began praying, the officers, who were there because of a noise complaint, ordered her to stop.
An opinion written by Judge Nancy Moritz states that the court assumes that "the defendants violated Sause's rights under the First Amendment" by repeatedly mocking her, ordering her to stop praying "so they could harass her," insisting that she reveal scars from a double mastectomy and threatening her with arrest. 
"But this assumption doesn't entitle Sause to relief. Instead, Sause must demonstrate that any reasonable officer would have known this behavior violated the First Amendment," the judge argued, citing the 2011 Supreme Court ruling in Ashcroft v. al–Kidd, which asserts that the former U.S. attorney general could not be personally sued for the jailing of a U.S. citizen after the events of September 11, 2001.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-woman-ordered-by-cops-to-stop-praying-in-her-home-loses-in-court-189121/#8rV8f41IjOFTZlv3.99

CDC Releases New Report on American Teens and Sex: Here Are 4 Things You Need to Know
BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 22, 2017 | 6:39 PM
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/76897/295-193/img.jpg
(Photo: Reuters)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Thursday regarding issues surrounding American teenagers and sexual activity.
Titled "Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use Among Teenagers in the United States, 2011–2015," the report was authored by Joyce C. Abma, Ph.D., and Gladys M. Martinez, Ph.D., of the Division of Vital Statistics.
Here are four things you need to know about the CDC report, including a trend in the rate of sexual activity, the use of emergency contraception, and racial disparities.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/cdc-report-american-teenagers-sex-4-things-you-need-to-know-189116/#uCWosE5hvRAQaZJU.99

Elementary School Principal Announces to Parents That She Is ‘Transitioning’ Into Man   Jun 12, 2017 11:58 am
BROOKLINE, Mass. — An elementary school principal in Massachusetts recently sent an email to parents to announce that she is in the process of “transitioning” into a man.
Asa Sevelius, 45, has worked as the principal of Heath School for the past three years—a public institution that serves children pre-k through the eighth grade. On Wednesday, Sevelius sent an email to parents to advise that she is undergoing treatments to become masculine.
“Dear Heath Community, I am writing to all of you to share some powerful news about me,” the correspondence read. “I am transgender.”
She told WBUR Radio that she made the announcement as she wants to “make sure that my community, as much as possible, is a part of [the transition] process.”
“I work with almost 600 kids every single day and I need them to not exist in some weird, confusing place, but to really be able to be brought along in a way that is developmentally appropriate for them and not to be surprised when changes to my body occur—my voice deepens, for example, or I’m suddenly able to have a mustache when I’m greeting them at the front door,” she explained to the outlet.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/12/elementary-school-principal-announces-to-parents-that-she-is-transitioning-into-man/


Northern Illinois United Methodist Conference Commissions Deacon Who Identifies as Neither Male or Female
By Heather Clark on June 10, 2017222 Comments
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Photo Credit: Reconciling Ministries Network
CHICAGO — The Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church has commissioned as deacon a woman who identifies as “non-binary,” only uses the letter M for a first name, and prefers the pronoun “they.”
Sally Dyck, the bishop of the conference, commissioned M. Barclay on Sunday, along with three other women approved to serve as provisional deacons.
“Pour out your Holy Spirit upon M,” Dyke said in laying hands on Barclay. “Send them now to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to announce the reign of God and to equip the Church for ministry.”
While United Methodists have ordained those who identify as “transgender” before, Barclay is the first who doesn’t wish to identify as any gender.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/10/northern-illinois-united-methodist-conference-commissions-deacon-who-identifies-as-neither-male-or-female/


Eight-Year-Old Drag Queen: If Your Parents Won’t Let You Do Drag, ‘You Need New Parents’
By Heather Clark on June 16, 2017332 Comments
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MONTREAL, Canada — A video of an eight-year-old boy who performs in drag has gone viral, with the child advising during the interview that if one’s parents will not allow them to be a drag queen, “you need new parents.”
Nemis Quinn Mélançon-Golden uses the stage name “Lactatia,” which he says was suggested by his teenage sister. Last month, Mélançon-Golden appeared at Montreal’s “Werq the World Tour,” where drag queen Bianca Del Rio told the child that he was “[expletive] adorable,” among other profanities.
Mélançon-Golden’s mother handles his makeup before shows, as he often wears lipstick, eyeliner and shadow, as well as a long wig.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/16/eight-year-old-drag-queen-if-your-parents-wont-let-you-do-drag-you-need-new-parents/


Russian Police Arrest Man Believed to Be Mastermind of ‘Blue Whale Suicide Game’
By Heather Clark on June 13, 20176 Comments
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MOSCOW — Russian police have arrested a man believed to be the mastermind behind the “Blue Whale Suicide Game,” which attracted young girls to its various activities leading up to ending one’s life.
Ilya Sidorov, 26, allegedly confessed this week to creating the social media game, which includes instructions to carry out various tasks over a 50-day period that negatively affect the person’s mental health, from drawing a blue whale on their arm and cutting themselves, to watching horror films, to depriving themselves of sleep. The player is then asked to ultimately commit suicide.
The game is believed to be responsible for scores of deaths, including that of a 13-year-old girl from Yetkul, who was instructed by Sidorov to jump under a train.
Sidorov reportedly broke down crying when being questioned by police about the matter.
“What was the final task? How does the game end?” he was asked, according to recorded video of the questioning.
“To commit suicide,” Sidorov replied.
 MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/13/russian-police-arrest-man-believed-to-be-mastermind-of-blue-whale-suicide-game/


R.C. Sproul Jr. Accepts Plea Agreement for Drunk Driving With Children in Vehicle, Sentenced to Probation
By Heather Clark on June 15, 201712 Comments
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Reformed theologian, author, speaker and former Presbyterian elder Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. recently accepted a plea agreement surrounding his November drunk driving arrest in Indiana and was sentenced to one year of probation after the initial jail sentence of 1 year and 183 days was suspended.
Public records in the case of “State of Indiana v. Robert C. Sproul” outline that on June 2, a change of plea hearing was held and a plea agreement was filed whereas Sproul pleaded guilty to a felony count of “Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated or Controlled Substance: Passenger Under 18.”
The remaining counts of endangering a person by intoxication and neglect of a dependent through endangerment, as well as operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more, were all dismissed under the agreement. The scheduled jury trial was also subsequently canceled.
MOREhttp://christiannews.net/2017/06/15/r-c-sproul-jr-accepts-plea-agreement-for-drunk-driving-with-children-in-vehicle-sentenced-to-probation/


North Korea Releases American Student Sentenced to Hard Labor After Being in Coma for Over Year
By Heather Clark on June 14, 20172 Comments
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CINCINNATI, Ohio — North Korea has released an American student who was sentenced to 15 years hard labor last year, and who has been in a coma ever since.
“We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime,” Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement. “Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March 2016. We learned of this only one week ago.”
Otto Warmbier, 22, was transported back to the United States on Tuesday and rushed to a hospital in Cincinnati. An unconfirmed report from North Korea states that Warmbier had contracted botulism following his trial, and was given a sleeping pill, but never woke up.
As previously reported, Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate, was charged with subversion and sentenced in March 2016 by the North Korean Supreme Court, which considered the theft of the banner as part of an anti-regime plot in cooperation with the U.S. government.
 MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/14/north-korea-releases-american-student-sentenced-to-hard-labor-after-being-in-coma-for-over-year/


Michigan Killer Says He Is ‘By No Means Sorry,’ But Rather ‘It Felt Great’ to Murder
By Heather Clark on June 16, 201724 Comments
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PRESQUE ISLE COUNTY, Mich. — A convicted killer in Michigan expressed no remorse on Monday as he appeared in court for sentencing, but rather said that it “felt great” to kill someone.
“I am by no means sorry about what I did,” Brenton Walker, 55, declared before those gathered at the Presque Isle County Courthouse. “Now when I was given the opportunity to follow through that I’ve known for a long time that I’m capable of doing, it felt great. I feel vindicated because of it; I’ve never felt better in my life.”
According to reports, Walker met Heather Young, 42, at a bar last July, and the two went back to his house. When Young began talking about her boyfriend, he shot her in the leg with a rifle.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/16/michigan-killer-says-he-is-by-no-means-sorry-but-rather-it-felt-great-to-murder/



Doctor Says Insurance Companies Declined to Pay for Patients’ Treatments, But Offered Assisted Suicide Coverage
By Heather Clark on June 15, 201714 Comments
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RENO, Nev. — A doctor in Nevada says that insurance companies have now twice declined to pay for patients’ life-saving treatments, but offered to cover assisted suicide.
Dr. Brian Callister, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Nevada, shared his story in a recently-released video produced by the Patients Rights Action Fund. He explained that he sought to transfer two patients out to obtain procedures that are not provided at his hospital.
On both occasions, the two separate insurance companies declined coverage. As the desired transfer locations were in states where assisted suicide is legal, the representatives presented the option.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/15/doctor-says-insurance-companies-declined-to-pay-for-patients-treatments-but-offered-assisted-suicide-coverage/


Doctor Says Insurance Companies Declined to Pay for Patients’ Treatments, But Offered Assisted Suicide Coverage
By Heather Clark on June 15, 201714 Comments
  1417  10 Share3  6  1443
RENO, Nev. — A doctor in Nevada says that insurance companies have now twice declined to pay for patients’ life-saving treatments, but offered to cover assisted suicide.
Dr. Brian Callister, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Nevada, shared his story in a recently-released video produced by the Patients Rights Action Fund. He explained that he sought to transfer two patients out to obtain procedures that are not provided at his hospital.
On both occasions, the two separate insurance companies declined coverage. As the desired transfer locations were in states where assisted suicide is legal, the representatives presented the option.
“I had two different patients and both needed life-saving procedures,” he explained. “When requesting a transfer to a center in their home states—one’s in California, one’s in Oregon—the insurance medical directors I spoke with said they would not cover the life-saving procedure that we requested, but [said], ‘Hey, by the way, have you considered assisted suicide?'”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/15/doctor-says-insurance-companies-declined-to-pay-for-patients-treatments-but-offered-assisted-suicide-coverage/


North Carolina County Approves Resolution Recognizing ‘Month of Ramadan’
By Heather Clark on June 12, 201722 Comments
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Commissioners over one county in North Carolina have approved a resolution recognizing June as the “Month of Ramadan.”
The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners adopted the resolution on Tuesday, with six in favor and three against.
“Ramadan is a sacred time that commemorates the revelation of the Quran to the prophet Mohammad, and encourages fasting, prayer, reflection, God consciousness and gratitude,” the resolution reads. “[E]ach day of fasting teaches the soul to struggle with the self, persevere, be patient and to forgive and love.”
It asserts that Islam is a part of America’s history and that Muslims should be recognized for their contributions.
“Ramadan reminds us that Islam has always been a part of America and Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country, including those made by the famous Muslim scholar Omar Ibn Said, who was enslaved and brought to the Carolinas in 1807,” the resolution states.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/12/north-carolina-county-approves-resolution-recognizing-month-of-ramadan/


University Student Sues Over Failing Grade Allegedly Tied to Complaint About Lesbianism, Profanity in Reading List
By Heather Clark on June 11, 2017492 Comments
Photo Credit: Royal Broil/Wikipedia
STEVENS POINT, Wisc. — A 59-year-old university student has sued her teacher at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for giving her a failing grade, as she believes the F is tied to her complaint about the themes of homosexuality, sex and swearing found in class reading assignments.
Donna Kikkert said that when she enrolled in the advanced creative writing poetry course at the university in 2014, she wanted to study classic poets. However, she became disappointed when Professor Patricia Dyjak rather selected material that contained contained profanity and references to sex.
“For the reading material in this course, Ms. Dyjak chose five poetry textbooks … which focused on lesbians, illicit sexual relationships, incest and frequent swearing,” her lawsuit states.
“A rational person would surmise these textbook choices to be myopically degrading and insulting to the intelligence of university students, who would have greatly benefited from a balanced study of poets, including Frost, London, Dickinson, Poe and others,” it reads.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/06/11/university-student-sues-over-failing-grade-allegedly-tied-to-complaint-about-lesbianism-profanity-in-reading-list/