CHRISTIAN NEWS NETWORK

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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Key takeaways from the Jeff Sessions Senate hearing
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
Southern Baptists decry alt-right white supremacy
(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.
MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-refugee-iraq-tells-american-church-dont-politicize-refugee-crisis-share-gospel-188550/?utm_source=newsletter


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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After release from North Korea, Otto Warmbier reported dead
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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
“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?'”
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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.
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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.
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Ex-Muslim Christian Writers: Calling Islamic Terror 'New Normal' Is What Radical Muslims Want
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BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP REPORTER
Jun 6, 2017 | 9:35 AM
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Prominent ex-Muslim writers who are now Christians are urging the West to spurn the idea that Islamic terror attacks are the "new normal," a phrase they say emboldens the terrorists to continue rampaging.
ISIS claims the attack on London Bridge last Saturday.
In a Sunday essay titled "Accept Islamic Terror As The New Normal?" for the Gatestone Institute, Nonie Darwish, author of Wholly Different: Why I Chose Biblical Values Over Islamic Values, explained that this language must not be used because it signals a submissive yielding to them, and certain Islamic doctrines depend on conquered peoples acting in this way.
Terrorism, she noted, is not just used on non-Muslims and the West but is a mechanism to keep "moderate," peaceful Muslims in line.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/ex-muslim-christian-islamic-terror-new-normal-radical-186531/#UhvGP5kqweRVIqD7.99

United Methodist Church Conference Ordains First 'Nonbinary Trans' Provisional Deacon
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BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 6, 2017 | 12:34 PM
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A regional body of the United Methodist Church has ordained a transgender individual who does not identify as male or female to the position of provisional deacon.
(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/M BARCLAY)
M Barclay, a transgender United Methodist Church activist, who was born Mary Ann Kaiser.
The Northern Illinois Conference commissioned M Barclay, who serves as director of communications for the pro-LGBT advocacy group Reconciling Ministries Network, as a provisional deacon on Sunday.
"For so long, I've longed to be a pastoral presence in the world — and certainly you can do that without a collar — but we have ordination for a reason, and part of that is that I can publicly identify as a pastor now," stated Barclay, as reported by United Methodist News Service.
(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/UNITED METHODIST GENERAL CONFERENCE)
Delegates pray before a plenary session at the United Methodist Church's 2016 General Conference in Portland, Oregon.
"I know it's not particularly common in The United Methodist Church, but I intend to wear a collar every single day because for a person like me to navigate society in a collar provides some profound and urgently needed pastoral opportunities, particularly for queer and trans people.
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Supreme Court Declines Petition of Marine Convicted for Keeping Bible Verse on Desk
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BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jun 5, 2017 | 4:00 PM
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The United States Supreme Court has declined to review the case of former Lance Cpl. Monifa Sterling, who claims that she was unfairly convicted at court-martial and discharged from the Marines after she refused to remove cutouts of a paraphrased Bible verse from her work station.
(PHOTO: LIBERTY INSTITUTE)
Former Lance Cpl. Monifa Sterling and the scripture Isaiah 54:17, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper," that partly led to her 'bad conduct' discharge frim the U.S. Marine Corps.
On Monday, the Supreme Court officially declined Sterling's petition for review of her case, which was filed last December after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington ruled against her last August."
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How to Talk to Kids About Sexuality: It's Not Just About Sex, Christian Author Says
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BY SHERYL LYNN , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 5, 2017 | 5:05 PM
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A list of don't do's, purity pledges and one talk about the birds and the bees are simply not going to cut it when it comes to preparing children as they face increasingly complex sexuality issues today, a Christian author argued.
"I think what our parents did is probably not at all up to equipping us for what we need to be doing with our kids," said Dr. Julie Slattery, co-founder of Authentic Intimacy, during the online Parenting Teens Summit last week.
"The conversation about sexuality … has expanded. It's no longer this idea of either you wait or you don't wait for marriage. Now, the average even 12- to 13-year-old is addressing issues like what does it mean to be a boy or a girl? How do I know if I'm homosexual or heterosexual … or pansexual?"
Rather than relying on the old model, parents need to adopt a new concept — what Slattery calls "sexual discipleship."
This entails an ongoing conversation starting from the early years of a child. Each talk doesn't necessarily have to be about sex but what parents should do is set a context and build a foundation based on what the Bible says.
You can start teaching your 1- or 2-year-old that mom and dad have a bed and bedroom that's theirs and their privacy needs to be respected, explained Slattery, author of 25 Questions You're Afraid to Ask About Love, Sex, and Intimacy. You can also talk to your toddler about why mom and dad hug and kiss each other.
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Pastor Reports 100,000 New Converts to Christ Per Year Despite Ongoing Crackdown in China
BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 7, 2017 | 7:19 AM
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The growth of the Christian faith in China continues its remarkable rise, with one pastor reporting as many as 100,000 new followers of Christ per year, despite the worsening human rights abuses and crackdown by communist authorities.
Chinese believers express their faith during a church service.
The Rev. Erik Burklin of China Partner, which trains Chinese Christian leaders, said that God is in the business of "changing lives" and "building His Church."
"Like Jesus said to Peter, 'On this rock I will build my church.' When He said that, He said, 'I will build my church.' Not, 'You Christians build my church,' but, 'I will,'" Burklin told Mission Network News.
He talked of surprising developments, such as a person with the central government donating close to $7.3 million for a new chapel at Union Theological Seminary in the city of Nanjing.
"I was just scratching my head, thinking to myself, 'How in the world is it possible that in China, where Communism still runs the country, a person in the Central Government would donate so that a local school — in this case, the national seminary in China — can finish constructing their chapel?' It's unbelievable," Burklin stated.
Moreover, the Chinese continue coming to Jesus on a growing basis.
"Then we met with leaders for dinner that night, and we asked the pastors there, 'How many baptisms did you have last year? How many new converts did you have in your city?' he then gave us an overview of what God is doing in their whole province. He was proceeding to explain to us that they have up to 100,000 new believers on the average every year. ... That's unheard of," Burklin described.
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Genocide of Christians in Middle East 'Must' and 'Will End,' Says VP Pence at National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
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BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP REPORTER
Jun 6, 2017 | 4:15 PM
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WASHINGTON — The persecution of Christians in the Middle East carried out by the Islamic State is a "genocide" the depletion of Christianity from its ancient homeland "must" and "will" end, according to Vice President Mike Pence.
Vice President Mike Pence assures persecuted Christians, 'We're with you. We stand with you.'
Speaking before approximately 1,300 guests of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast at the Marriott Marquis Hotel Tuesday, Pence praised the contributions Catholics in the United States have made to American life before segueing into the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East, many of whom are Catholic.
(PHOTO: COURTESY OF LIFESITENEWS)
Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington
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Christian Fighter Does Mixed Martial Arts Bouts to Help Congo People
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BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 6, 2017 | 4:06 PM
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A Mixed Martial Arts fighter who became a Christian about six years ago is using his skills as a professional fighter to help an impoverished Congo-based tribe.


(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/FIGHT FOR THE FORGOTTEN)
Christian MMA fighter Justin Wren pictured with members of the Mbuti Pygmy people of the Congo.
Justin Wren, an MMA fighter whose record currently stands at 13 wins and 2 losses, explained at the 2017 Parenting Teens Summit on Tuesday that he uses his bouts to help fund and spread awareness for charity, specifically those benefitting the Pygmy people of Congo.
Wren emphasized that unlike the bouts he fought before becoming a Christian, now that he uses his earnings to help better the lives of others in the Congo, there is greater meaning to the sport he has always enjoyed.
When I win, I get to give the win money, the bonus to drill more wells. And if I don't win, then I don't get that. So there is a lot more pressure," said Wren.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-fighter-does-mixed-martial-arts-bouts-to-help-congo-people-186688/#SwBQIIqaq4iEpE5q.99
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Barna Study Reveals America's Most 'Churched' and 'Unchurched' Cities
BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jun 6, 2017 | 4:04 PM
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As trends show that church attendance is decreasing in the United States, the evangelical polling organization Barna Group recently released data revealing which of America's cities are the most "churched," "unchurched," "dechurched" and "post-Christian."
(PHOTO: REUTERS/SETH WENIG)
Churchgoers sing praises during the third service of the morning at Christ Church in Montclair, New Jersey, on September 4, 2005. The church, which holds five services every Sunday to accommodate the interest of their more then 5,000 members, is planning to build a larger facility in nearby Rockaway Township despite resistance from residents and the local government.
Using data compiled through telephone and online interviews with 76,505 randomly sampled adults over a seven-year period that ended in April 2016, Barna claims that it was able to break down American cities, metropolitan areas and its respondents into three different metrics related to church attendance.
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Senator Bernie Sanders Attacks Trump Appointee for Christian Views
BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 8, 2017 | 9:17 AM
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Vermont Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently attacked a Trump administration appointee because he wrote a blog post expressing his belief that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ.
REUTERS/JIM YOUNG
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders delivers a speech at a campaign event in Chicago, Illinois, September 28, 2015.
During a Senate Budget Committee nomination hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Sanders critically questioned Russell Vought, Trump's nominee for deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
At issue was a blog post that Vought wrote in defense of his alma mater, Wheaton College, in which he said that Muslims "stand condemned" for not believing in Jesus Christ.
"In the piece that I referred to that you wrote for the publication called Resurgent. You wrote, 'Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned.' Do you believe that that statement is Islamophobic?" asked Sanders.
Vought responded that he did not consider the statement bigoted in nature, noting that he is a Christian and was stating his belief in "the centrality of Jesus Christ for salvation."
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Tri-Faith Initiative: Christian, Jewish, Muslim Congregations to Share Worship Home in Nebraska
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BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 8, 2017 | 9:24 AM
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A church, synagogue, and mosque will share the same property in Nebraska as part of a "Tri-Faith Initiative" meant to promote acceptance among the three monotheistic religions.
(PHOTO: COURTESY RICK MACINNES)
A groundbreaking for the Countryside Community Church worship space, held Monday, June 5, 2017. Countryside will be relocating its church to a space of land in Omaha, Nebraska that will also include a synagogue and a mosque.
Temple Israel, the American Muslim Institute and Countryside Community Church are relocating their congregations to a 35-acre property in Omaha.
Countryside Church held its official groundbreaking for its new facility on Monday, with about 250 people in attendance. The church's future building is scheduled to open in late 2018.
Rick MacInnes, chair of the Countryside Church's Relocation Committee, explained to The Christian Post that each of the three congregations will have the property as their "worship home."
A groundbreaking for the Countryside Community Church worship space, held Monday, June 5, 2017. Countryside will be relocating its church to a space of land in Omaha, Nebraska that will also include a synagogue and a mosque.
"The Temple sold their former synagogue to the Omaha Conservatory of Music and Countryside Community Church (CCC) has sold [our property] to another church — Coram Deo Church Community, who will occupy when CCC vacates," noted MacInnes.
Affiliated with the liberal mainline denomination the United Church of Christ, Countryside is "a fully inclusive, open and affirming Christian community" in which "all are welcome," MacInnes described.
MacInnes also told CP that he hoped the attendees for the groundbreaking saw that "we are putting our hearts into building bridges of love, acceptance, respect and trust."
"We cannot only work together, but live together. We hope to continually look for opportunities to understand differences and yet build on commonalities of the three Abrahamic faiths," he added.
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Wonder Woman as Jesus? Christ Themes Prominent, Reviewers Say
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BY JEANNIE LAW , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Jun 7, 2017 | 5:57 PM
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After 75 years in the making, "Wonder Woman" hit theaters last weekend, soaring at the box office. And although the action-packed film put DC back on the superhero map, some are saying it's the movie's Christ-like themes that are touching the heartstrings of many.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/110049/590-590-49-31/wonder-woman.jpg
Facebook/Wonder Woman MovieIt is predicted that "Wonder Woman" will be summer 2017's biggest blockbuster.
Since 2008, both Marvel and DC Comics have released 19 action-packed films focused around the Avengers and Justice League but until this weekend not one of them was centralized around a female lead. The 2017 "Wonder Woman" blockbuster brought more than $233 million in earnings worldwide, putting to rest the prior arguments that a superhero film focused on a female lead would not prevail.
On top of dominating as a female protagonist, some reviewers are saying Wonder Woman, aka Diana, played by Gal Gadot, has a mission that closely resembles the mission of Jesus Christ.
"'Wonder Woman' movie was a Sunday movie,'" writer M. Hudson said in an extensive review for TheFederalist.com.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/111059/295-212/wonder-woman.jpg
Facebook/Wonder WomanBecause of the impressive box-office showing of "Wonder Woman," fans are already anticipating the confirmation of "Wonder Woman 2."
He revealed that in his home, on Sundays he only allows his children to view "approved media." So upon hearing that DC entertainment released a film fitting to their Christian standard, the kids were ecstatic.
"The Wonder Woman movie is the story of Christ, and it is obvious from Director Patty Jenkins' decisions that this was planned. The movie is wrapped up in faux Greek mythology, true, but there's no mistaking the Christology here," Hudson describes. "To make sure you're getting the message, the cinematographer practically hits you over the head with it in shots such as Diana descending slowly to the ground in the attitude of the cross."
The author claims that the fact that Diana had to leave her paradisiacal homeland to seek out and defeat the evil one — Ares — and "bring peace to mankind" is a direct comparison to Christ. Jesus was sent from Heaven to earth to save mankind from sin, bringing freedom to all.
"Diana knows a greater truth. Man may not deserve redemption, but they are redeemable," he defends. "Her love and belief empower Diana."
An article in Crosswalk.com echoes Hudson's argument and says "'Wonder Woman' is a call for Christian love."
"For Christians, Wonder Woman shouldn't be a tinderbox of gender ideology or complementarian debate. Rather, it should serve as an example of the love God has called us to show our neighbor. We don't need super-strength to be a hero. We only need to remember that with faith and courage, we can do wonders," the blog says.
Gracy Olmstead at TheFederalist.com stayed away from the faith argument in her review but agreed that the film's "Christological and mythological roots" are worth exploring with children who see the film.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/wonder-woman-as-jesus-christ-themes-prominent-reviewers-say-186885/#UkHheAMckLZrEDIG.99

House Passes Bill That Would Fund Christian Relief Efforts for ISIS Genocide Victims
BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
Jun 7, 2017 | 5:29 PM
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Bipartisan legislation that would authorize U.S. government funds to be given to relief groups directly providing assistance to displaced Iraqi and Syrian Christians unanimously passed through the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/84828/590-396/img.jpg
(Photo: Open Doors USA)Iraqi refugees receiving Open Doors packets in 2014.
The Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act, which was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., in January, would authorize the Department of Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide support to organizations, groups and entities, including faith-based ones, that are assisting religious minority groups who were forced to flee from their homes because of the rise of the Islamic State three years ago.
It would also authorize federal support for entities that are conducting criminal investigations on militants who have engaged in genocidal efforts, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Iraq and Syria. The bill seeks to order the State Department to encourage foreign governments to identify and prosecute perpetrators of such crimes.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/house-passes-bill-that-would-fund-christian-relief-efforts-for-isis-genocide-victims-186872/#vdpZYxW3CjwSxqo7.99

Gunmen Attack Coptic Christians in Egypt on Way to Prayer, Kill 26
BY REUTERS ,
May 26, 2017 | 7:27 AM
Masked gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians in southern Egypt on Friday, killing 26 people and wounding 26 others as they were driving to a monastery, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.
Christian woman lights a candle at Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church before Pope Francis is scheduled to visit, in Cairo, Egypt April 23, 2017. Picture taken April 23, 2017.
The group was traveling in two buses and a small truck in Minya province, which is home to a sizable Christian minority, the sources said.
Provincial governor Essam al-Bedaiwy said earlier that 23 people had been killed and 25 wounded.

Eyewitnesses said the Copts were attacked as they were going to pray at the monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor in the western part of the province.

They said masked men stopped the vehicles on a road leading to the monastery and opened fire.

Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million, have been the subject of a series of deadly attacks in recent months.

About 70 have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December.

Those attacks were claimed by Islamic State. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's attack.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/gunmen-attack-coptic-christians-in-egypt-on-way-to-prayer-kill-26-185224/#y8IEVR7IFYK3eGhl.99


Manchester Suicide Bombing: Salman Abedi Likely Did Not Act Alone
Image: Data:image/Gif;Base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs%3D 
BY REUTERS ,
May 24, 2017 | 7:13 AM
VIDEO
Terror in Europe: Timeline of deadliest attacks in 2017
The Manchester suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a pop concert venue packed with children likely did not act alone, a minister said on Wednesday.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/110025/590-386/london-bombing.jpg
(Photo: REUTERS/Neil Hall)Armed police officers stand on duty outside St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Britain, May 24, 2017.
The official threat level in Britain was raised late on Tuesday for the first time in a decade to its highest level, "critical," meaning an attack could be imminent.

Interior minister Amber Rudd said up to 3,800 soldiers would be deployed on Britain's streets, taking on guard duties at places like Buckingham Palace and Downing Street to free up police to focus on patrols and investigatory work.

Police have named British-born Salman Abedi, 22, as the perpetrator of the bombing at the Manchester Arena indoor venue at the end of Monday's concert by U.S. pop singer Ariana Grande, attended by thousands of children and teenagers.

The identities of Abedi's victims were becoming known little by little. They included an eight-year-old girl, several teenage girls and a 28-year-old man.
A Polish couple who had come to collect their daughters after the concert also died, Poland's foreign minister said. The daughters were safe.

"It seems likely, possible, that he (Abedi) wasn't doing this on his own," Rudd told BBC radio. She also said Abedi had been known to security services before the bombing.

Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency response committee at her Downing Street office.

Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994 to parents of Libyan origin, according to U.S. sources citing British contacts.

Asked about reports that Abedi had recently returned from Libya, Rudd said she believed that had now been confirmed.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said British investigators had told French authorities Abedi had probably traveled to Syria as well and that he had "proven links" to the Islamic State militant group.

image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/110026/295-197/manchester-bombing.jpg

(Photo: REUTERS/Jon Super)Flowers and messages of condolence are left for the victims of the Manchester Arena attack in central Manchester, Britain May 23, 2017.
France, which has repeatedly been hit by devastating militant attacks since 2015, extended emergency powers in the wake of the Manchester bombing.

Britain has a national election coming up on June 8 but all campaigning has been suspended since the bombing. Coverage of the attack and its aftermath has pushed out political news from the British media.

It was the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London's transport network.

The Manchester bombing also left 64 people wounded, of whom 20 were receiving critical care for highly traumatic injuries to major organs and to limbs, a health official said.

WASHINGTON REBUKED OVER LEAKS

As Collomb was speaking in France, Rudd was asked by the BBC about the fact that information about Abedi, including his name, had come out from the United States and whether she would look again at information sharing with other countries.

"Yes, quite frankly. I mean the British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise, so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that should not happen again."

Asked whether the U.S. leaks had compromised the investigation, she said: "I wouldn't go that far but I can say that they are perfectly clear about the situation and that it shouldn't happen again."

The British parliament, which is usually open to tourists, said it would close to the public with immediate effect due to the increased security threat and the closure would last until the advice changed.

Attacks in cities including Paris, Nice, Brussels, St Petersburg, Berlin and London have shocked Europeans already anxious over security challenges from mass immigration and pockets of domestic Islamic radicalism.

Islamic State, now being driven from territories in Syria and Iraq by Western-backed armed forces, claimed responsibility for the Manchester attack, but there appeared to be contradictions in its account of the operation.

The militant group has repeatedly called for attacks on Western countries as retaliation for their involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/manchester-suicide-bombing-salman-abedi-likely-did-not-act-alone-184886/#q9B7W2oEw44rFiG3.99

North Korea's Persecution of Christians 'on Par With Nero's Rome,' Expert Says
BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
May 25, 2017 | 8:28 AM
Fullscreen
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WASHINGTON — Christians in North Korea are facing persecution that is likely "on par" with the level of persecution that the Early Christian Church faced under Roman emperor Nero, a prominent human rights activist said during a Capitol Hill briefing Wednesday.

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(Photo: REUTERS/Damir Sagolj)A soldier walks on the bank of the river in central Pyongyang, North Korea April 16, 2017.
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Convened by the religious freedom advocacy group International Christian Concern, activists and a North Korean defector extensively detailed the grave human rights abuses Christians and all others who live under the rule of the Communist Kim regime endure, and urged lawmakers to support a resolution to re-authorize the North Korean Human Act of 2004.

In addition to speeches from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., during a morning introduction at the Rayburn Office Building, human rights advocates with years of experience in dealing with North Korea outlined how the Kim regime has nearly wiped out Christianity in the closed-off, isolated nation.

"As the tragedy of Korean separation continues after almost seven decades, one remembers ... that the northern half of the Korean Peninsula was once of the cradle of the Korean Presbyterian Church," Greg Scarlatoiu, the executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea who has led in the publication of at least 24 reports and books on the Kim regime's human rights abuses, said during a panel discussion with other human rights experts.

"Prior to the Communist takeover, the capital city of Pyongyang used to be known as the 'Jerusalem of the East,'" he continued. "In North Korea, Christianity was once a way of life with two churches on the same street corner [being] a common sight."
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/110047/295-197/greg-scarlatoiu.jpg
(Photo: The Christian Post/Samuel Smith)Greg Scarlatoiu, the executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, speaks during the International Christian Concern's annual policy day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on May 24, 2017.
Scarlatoiu explained that it was in 1946 when the Provisional People's Committee for North Korea forced the closure of churches with congregations that did not meet a predetermined required number of people.

"The committee began to forbid Protestant and Catholic in-house assemblies and made Sunday a work day and Monday a rest day. And, this was just the beginning," he added. "Under the pretext that the sound of religious songs disturbed public life, the same committee asked churches to relocate. Communist Party agitators were inserted into Christian communities and church assemblies. They began criticizing the sermons as being unprogressive."

It was in 1962 that then-leader Kim Il-sung told the regime's security agency that "we cannot move toward a common society with religious people," Scarlatoiu said.

"That is why we have to put on trial and punish those who hold positions of decon or higher in Protestant or Catholic churches," Scarlatoiu quoted Kim as telling his government officials at the time.

Scarlatoiu explained that in 1948, about one-quarter of the North Korean population was of some religious belief. But statistical data today shows that number is now below 1 percent.

"Even that number is doctored," he said.

Over the years, the Kim regime has killed hundreds of thousands of its own people under Kim Il Sung, his son, Kim Jong Il, and his grandson, Kim Jong Un.

"Our colleagues in South Korea have thoroughly documented cases of religious persecution. Organizations such as Database Center for North Korean Human Rights and the Korean Institution for National Unification [have] interviewed thousands of defectors who brought testimony of extremely severe religious persecution," Scarlatoiu said. "Like other Communist leaders, as mentioned earlier, Kim Il-sung and the Kim regime has rejected religion as the 'opium of the people.'"

North Korean society is split up into social classes in which every single North Korean resident is classified according to their political risk to the Kim regime.

According to Liberty in North Korea, about 27 percent of the North Korean population is assigned to the "hostile class" — the lowest class, which consists of political dissidents of the Communist regime, religious citizens, capitalists and their descendants.

The class scheme impacts just about everything in a person's life — occupational opportunities, education opportunities, food supply, healthcare and love life.

"One can confidently say that it is the Kim family regime that has taken religious persecution, in particular the persecution of Christians, to a level, perhaps, on par with Nero's Rome as well as the Assyrian, Greek and Armenian genocide of World War I or the Yazidi genocide today," Scarlatoiu continued.

For the past 15 years, North Korea has ranked as the top persecutor of Christians by Open Doors USA. Although there are state-run churches in North Korea, Scarlatoiu asserted that they are run by government officials disguised as pastors and priests.

Real Christian worship, or religious worship, is illegal and can lead to arrest, torture and even execution.

Despite the lack of access to North Korea, there are believed to be at least 120,000 people who are being tortured, beaten and forced to do hard labor in North Korean prison camps. In 2014, the United Nations reported that hundreds of thousands of prisoners have died in North Korean gulags in the last 50 years.

image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/110046/295-197/t-kumar.jpg

(Photo: The Christian Post/Samuel Smith)T. Kumar (L), director for international advocacy at Amnesty International, speaks during the International Christian Concern's annual policy day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on May 24, 2017. Kumar was flanked by Joshua Stanton (R), the founder of One Free Korea.
"For generations, [people are in these camps]. They were not charged or convicted through a fair trial. Most of them, if not all, are guilty by association. That means that one family member may be in the wrong [class] category ... and the extended family members are in prisoned," T. Kumar, the director for international advocacy at Amnesty International USA, said during the panel. "Abuses inside these camps are extremely disturbing — ranging from rape to torture to execution to starvation."

In a report detailing the systemic human rights abuses in North Korea, the U.N. stated that the Kim regime's human rights violations are so egregious and widespread that North Korea "does not have any parallel in the contemporary world."

"I have never seen a country this closed and difficult to get access," Kumar said. "It's a completely isolated country. I was thinking which country to compare. There is no country to compare."

In the western corridor of North Korea, in three provinces of North Korea, there are at least 60,000 underground Christians.

As we tackle this conundrum of North Korea with nuclear weapons and long-range missiles and abysmal human rights violations ... I think the time has come to look at the small but growing underground church of North Korea also as a tremendous potential agent of changes.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/north-koreas-persecution-christians-on-par-neros-rome-expert-says-184931/#lc9lsF7r2Z8fKDEd.99



Obama Admin. Illegally Spied on Americans, Court Docs Reveal; MSM Silent
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Despite the fact that a report released Wednesday unearthed how the National Security Agency under President Barack Obama routinely violated the privacy rights of Americans, the three major left-leaning broadcast news networks neglected to shed light on the issue during their evening broadcasts.

image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/68656/img.jpg

(Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the National Security Agency from the Justice Department in Washington January 17, 2014.
According to a Circa News report, previously top-secret documents have revealed that Obama's NSA engaged in "some of the most serious constitutional abuses to date by the U.S. intelligence community."

Circa reports that the documents show that over 5 percent of searches seeking upstream internet data on the NSA's section 702 database "violated the safeguards Obama and his intelligence chiefs vowed to follow in 2011."

It wasn't until Oct. 26 of last year, just two weeks before President Donald Trump was elected, that the Obama administration disclosed the violation issue at a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court hearing.
According to court documents dated April 26, 2017, the court scolded administration officials, telling them that their failure to disclose these violations showed an "institutional lack of candor." The court also considered it a "very serious Fourth Amendment issue."

Even though former National Security Adviser Susan Rice tried to reason that the activities were lawful because of minimization rule changes made by Obama, the court found Rice's claim to be wrong.

"Since 2011, NSA's minimization procedures have prohibited use of U.S.-person identifiers to query the results of upstream Internet collections under Section 702," the unsealed court ruling declared. "The Oct. 26, 2016 notice informed the court that NSA analysts had been conducting such queries in violation of that prohibition, with much greater frequency than had been previously disclosed to the Court."

The violations were so severe that even the left-leaning American Civil Liberties expressed concern.

"I think what this emphasizes is the shocking lack of oversight of these programs," Circa quoted ACLU's legislative counsel, Neema Singh Guliani, as saying. "You have these problems going on for years that only come to the attention of the court late in the game and then it takes additional years to change its practices."

"I think it does call into question all those defenses that we kept hearing, that we always have a robust oversight structure and we have culture of adherence to privacy standards," she continued. "And the headline now is they actually haven't been in compliance for years and the FISA court itself says in its opinion is that the NSA suffers from a culture of a lack of candor."

Despite the fact that revelation drew concern from the ACLU, which tends to be liberal on most issues, the Media Research Center's NewsBusters blog pointed out that neither ABC, CBS or NBC covered the news on their evening programs.

The MRC piece praised Fox News' Bret Baier for covering the issue near the top of his "Special Report" program.

"On the day President Obama visited Los Angeles last October to yuk it up with Jimmy Kimmel, lawyers for the National Security Agency were quietly informing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that NSA had systematically violated the rights of countless Americans," Fox's chief Washington correspondent James Rosen said on the program.

"Declassified documents, first obtained by the news site Circa, show the FISA court sharply rebuked the administration," Rosen added.

Rosen quoted a section of the court's opinion: "'With greater frequency than previously disclosed to the court, NSA analysts had used U.S. person identifiers to query the results of internet 'upstream' collection, even though NSA's Section 702 minimization procedures prohibited such queries.'"

In a April 28 statement, the NSA announced that it suspended the type of searches responsible for violating the section 702 rules and also deleted data on Americans that was collected previously.

"NSA will no longer collect certain internet communications that merely mention a foreign intelligence target," the statement reads. "Instead, NSA will limit such collection to internet communications that are sent directly to or from a foreign target."

"Even though NSA does not have the ability at this time to stop collecting 'about' information without losing some other important data, the Agency will stop the practice to reduce the chance that it would acquire communications of U.S. persons or others who are not in direct contact with a foreign intelligence target," the statement continued.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/obama-illegally-spied-americans-court-msm-silent-mainstream-media-fisa-185080/#FGwWzOLI5Ro9kigx.99

‘I Came…to Graduate, Not Go to Church’: High School Seniors Demand Apology After Superintendent’s God Comments
MAY 17, 2017
A group of recent high school graduates are demanding an apology after their school superintendent reportedly invoked prayer, the Bible and his “savior” during a commencement speech over the weekend. A group of former students at Willard High School in Willard, Missouri, are taking aim at district Superintendent Kent Medlin, claiming that he simply went too far in sharing elements of his faith with the students and families who gathered for Saturday’s graduation

ceremony, the Springfield News-Leader reported. Some of the graduates spoke out to media after the fact and explained their frustration with the reportedly religious sentiments that were expressed by Medlin, who is set to retire next month. At least four students reached out to the media and threatened to file a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union. “I came there to graduate, not go to church,” senior Preston Schaeffer told the News-Leader. “It kind of ruined the rest of my night.” 
READ MORE http://www.faithwire.com/2017/05/16/i-came-to-graduate-not-go-to-church-high-school-seniors-demand-apology-after-superintendents-alleged-god-comments/


Trump Pushed for Release of American Pastor During Meeting With Turkey President, Source Says
MAY 17, 2017
President Donald Trump made imprisoned American pastor Andrew Brunson a topic of discussion during his meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, a source with inside knowledge of the discussions told The Christian Post. Trump met face-to-face with Erdogan for the first time at the White House on Tuesday. Even though Brunson’s name was not mentioned in the public remarks issued by the presidents, the source told CP that Trump and

Vice President Mike Pence brought up the plight of the North Carolina pastor at least three times in different meetings with the Turkish president throughout the day. Brunson, who has served in Turkey for the last 23 years, was arrested on trumped-up terrorism charges and jailed last October. Earlier this year, he met with U.S. Embassy officials while in prison and called on Trump to fight for his release. Additionally, Brunson’s wife, Norine, met with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he traveled to Ankara in March. 
READ MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-pushed-for-release-of-american-pastor-during-meeting-with-turkey-president-source-says-183740/


Upcoming Total Solar Eclipse Brings End Times Speculation
MAY 17, 2017
A total solar eclipse will be visible in the U.S. on August 21, 2017. Some are speculating that this may be a sign of the end times and Christ’s return. According to eclipse2017.org, “No human action can disrupt the incessant dance of the cosmos, and the Moon’s shadow will not wait on you if you’re not ready. Like a mindless juggernaut, it plows its way through space toward a collision course with Earth. As predicted by the astronomers decades in advance, the shadow arrives with perfect
accuracy, and touches down in the north Pacific Ocean at 16:48:33 UT*, at local sunrise. (At that spot, the Sun will actually rise while totally eclipsed. This is a sight few people—even veteran eclipse chasers—have seen, and from what we hear, it is quite uncanny.)” The eclipse will be visible in 14 states, as well as in parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. This will be the first solar eclipse visible in the U.S. in 26 years. Although, if you want to see it, you will have to be prepared, as it will only last a couple minutes. 
READ MORE http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/upcoming-total-solar-eclipse-brings-end-times-speculation.html


More than 1,600 Accept Jesus in Texas Revival
MAY 16, 2017
Christian revival is sweeping across North Central Texas, specifically the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Through a movement called “reviveTX,” more than 350 churches are involved in sharing the Gospel with people in the DFW Metroplex for 50 days — from Easter to Pentecost. The ministry is seeing amazing results. The nonprofit organization behind the revival,
“Time to Revive,” says since reviveTX began in mid-April, more than 1,600 people have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Participants are ministering to residents in 10 regions of the DFW Metroplex. Kyle Martin, the founder of Time to Revive, told CBN News that volunteers are equipped and trained to share their faith. 
FULL REPORT http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2017/may/more-than-1-600-accept-christ-in-texas-revival

The Undeniable Sign Of Christ’s Return
MAY 16, 2017
The signs of the Second Coming are all around us. When His disciples asked Jesus to describe the signs, He gave them several. The Jewish people back in possession of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)…  the Gospel preached throughout the world (Matthew 24:14)… the arrival of the exponential curve (Matthew 24:3-8)… and more.  The Old Testament prophets also pointed to a number of signs. An increase in travel and knowledge (Daniel 12:4)… the rise of a united Europe (Daniel 2:42)… the rise of the Gog of Magog alliance (Ezekiel 38-39)… and more.
Today, all these signs are either present or in the process of being fulfilled. Yet for 1,800+ years, none of these signs were present. Think about that. None of the signs. But today? Today, they’re all around us.  Nevertheless, most of the world remains ignorant of the soon return of Jesus Christ. While I can understand why some people might overlook some of these signs, I don’t understand how they could miss one sign in particular.  It’s a clear and unmistakable sign. I believe in and of itself, it not only shows the return of Jesus is near – I believe it proves the existence of God beyond all doubt. So what is this sign? 
CONTINUE http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1240


School Rebukes Worker for Saying ‘I’ll Pray for You’
MAY 16, 2017
A school worker in Augusta, Maine, was ordered to stop using religious phrases like “I will pray for you” and “You were in my prayers” because such language is not allowed inside a public school building—even in private conversations with coworkers. The Augusta School Department launched an investigation of Toni Richardson after they alleged she “imposed some strong religious/spiritual belief system” toward a co-worker.

Now, imposing your religion on someone is a serious allegation. Was Ms. Richardson forcing her co-worker to convert to Christianity? Did she attempt to baptize him against his will? It turned out to be nothing of the sort. According to an official memorandum from the school district, Ms. Richardson had told a colleague that she was going to pray for him. It just so happens that Ms. Richardson and the colleague attended the same church.
 READ MORE http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/american-dispatch/64928-school-rebukes-worker-for-saying-i-ll-pray-for-you

Satanic Church Openly Celebrates as Christians Hide for Their Lives
MAY 16, 2017
The Satanic Church of Russia celebrated their one-year anniversary by cheering the Jehovah’s Witness ban. Russia banned the cult in April, claiming their tactics were “extremist.” It’s just the latest crackdown on religious-affiliated groups in the former soviet country. “We consider it necessary to speak out against missionary activity,” Satanic Church leader
Oleg Sataninsky tells Russian news site 66.ru as reported by The Moscow Times. “The Jehovah’s Witnesses had an extreme approach. We oppose indoctrination and religious propaganda.” After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia failed to have strong religious freedom protection. According to Newsweek, anti-extremism laws came into effect in 2002, following Russia’s second war in Chechnya and the 9/11 attacks in the United States. 
READ MORE http://www.charismanews.com/world/64926-satanic-church-openly-celebrates-as-christians-hide-for-their-lives

North Korea-US End Times Bible Prophecy, Nuclear Destruction Fears: Should Christians Despair?
MAY 16, 2017
With the recent escalation of tensions between the United States and North Korea, discussions have stirred about how it fits into biblical prophecy and whether these developments should be a cause for concern about the End Times. Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, expressed his concerns earlier in May over America being potentially destroyed in a nuclear war with North Korea, given that both countries are missing from the events
prophesied in Revelation, the final book of the Bible. Some theologians, however, such as Dr. Samuel Lamerson, professor of New Testament and president of Florida’s Knox Theological Seminary, told The Christian Post on Monday that such fears are unfounded. “I don’t see any reason to despair because one cannot find the U.S. in the book of Revelation,” Lamerson told CP. “Biblical prophecy is often very difficult to understand. In many cases one needs the fulfillment in order to understand the prophecy. 
READ MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/north-korea-us-end-times-bible-prophecy-nuclear-destruction-fears-christians-despair-183709/
 
FALLING AWAY: More Americans Now Believe Bible Is a Book of Fables, Not Literal Word of God
MAY 16, 2017
More Americans now believe that the Bible is a book of fables and history than those who believe it’s the literal Word of God, a Gallup poll released Monday has found, and even fewer than a third of Christians say it’s to be taken literally. “Over the past three decades, Americans’ view of the Bible as the literal Word of God has been declining, while their view that the Bible is a collection of fables, myths and history recorded by man has been increasing,” Gallup observed about the poll,
which was conducted of 1,011 American adults between May 3–7, with the margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Among all sampled Americans, fewer than one in four, of 24 percent in total, said the Bible is “the actual Word of God, and is to be taken literally, word for word.” A slightly higher 26 percent said that the Bible is “a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.” 
READ MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/americans-believe-bible-book-of-fables-not-literal-word-of-god-gallup-183718/

Trump praised for expanding protections for Unborn
MAY 16, 2017
Some of America’s biggest pro-life organizations are praising the Trump administration for a huge expansion in protections for the unborn worldwide through an order Monday that amplified the Mexico City policy. The policy, which Trump reinstated just about as soon as he became president, banned the expenditure of U.S. tax funds for international programs that provide abortion. It had been eliminated by President Obama. On Monday, the State Department
confirmed a new ban on U.S. funding for organizations that perform or promote abortion overseas as a method of family planning. The new policy states: “The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) calls for legal protection for children before birth as well as after birth. In keeping with this obligation, the United States does not consider abortion an acceptable element of family planning programs and will no longer contribute to those of which it is a part. 
READ MORE http://www.wnd.com/2017/05/trump-praised-for-expanding-protections-for-unborn/?cat_orig=health


 Top Private School Brings in Skirts for Boys Amidst ‘Surge’ in ‘Trans Children’
MAY 16, 2017
One of Britain’s top private schools is bringing in ‘gender-neutral’ uniforms that would allow boys to wear skirts, as teachers report growing numbers of children ‘questioning their gender identity’. The move by Highgate School in north London comes as activist pupils at schools across the country are demanding ‘gender-neutral’ bathroom facilities, a ban
on terms they deem ‘sexist’, and for teachers to use gender-neutral pronouns such as “they”. “This generation is really questioning being binary in the way we look at things,” headteacher Adam Pettitt told The Sunday Times. Separate uniforms for boys and girls will be scrapped under the plans, and pupils at the £6,790 per term secondary school are being consulted on a mix-and-match dress code. 
READ MORE http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/05/15/top-school-skirts-boys-trans-children/


5 Reasons Some Christians Believe the Biblical End Times Are Upon Us
MAY 16, 2017
Our culture has become increasingly captivated by apocalyptic themes and storylines, with a plethora of popular TV shows and feature films embracing zombies, plagues and other terrifying end of days scenarios. But the idea of a future Armageddon-like scenario isn’t merely reserved for fictional entertainment plots, as the concept is deeply embedded in Christian theology, impacting the way believers have read and interpreted biblical scripture over the past two millennia.
In fact, many contemporary theologians and pastors believe they’re observing numerous signs in the current culture that mirror the supposedly prophetic contents of scriptures in Old and New Testament books like Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation. What has convinced these theologians and pastors that the end times could be ramping up? That’s a question I covered in-depth in my book, “The Armageddon Code,” through interviews with about 20 of the most prevalent eschatology experts. READ MORE http://www.faithwire.com/2017/02/02/5-reasons-some-christians-believe-the-biblical-end-times-are-upon-us/


Widow of Tortured Missionary to Forgives Muslims Who Killed Him
MAY 16, 2017
The wife of a murdered Christian missionary who made headlines when she declared that she had forgiven her husband’s murderers just days after his death says the reason why she was able to forgive so quickly is because Jesus had told her to do so.In an interview with The Christian Post last week, Susanne Geske recalled the emptiness she felt in the moments and days following the death of her husband. Tilmann Geske, a German missionary, was killed along with two Turkish
converts from Islam in a massacre at a Bible publishing house in Malatya, Turkey, on April 18, 2007. “It was just like empty,” the mother of three said, describing the feeling in her heart in the days after her husband’s death. Speaking with CP while attending the first-ever World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Geske detailed what happened in the hours and days after learning of her husband’s passing. 
READ MORE http://endtimeheadlines.org/2017/05/widow-tortured-missionary-forgives-muslims-killed/

FALLING AWAY: Christian Pastor in Bible Belt Admits to Personally Worshiping Allah
MAY 16, 2017
A former church has been taken over and converted to a mosque in a rural North Carolina county, and a group of Christian pastors took part in the conversion ceremony in an effort to “show mutual respect” for their Muslim neighbors. Crosses have been removed from the former church’s facade and steeple, and mosque leader Ali Muhammad turned them over to the group of pastors. “What they were attempting to do is honor our tradition and so they wanted to turn the
crosses over to us,” said the Rev. Jim Melnyk, pastor of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Smithfield, a small town in Johnston County about 45 minutes south of Raleigh. “They were reaching out to us, and we were reaching out to them.” Melnyk said he was joined by pastors from the United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ and three different Baptist congregations at Saturday’s ceremony, which marked the official conversion of a former Pentecostal church into a mosque. One lay person from the local Presbyterian Church was also present for the “celebration.”
 FULL REPORT http://www.wnd.com/2017/05/allah-takes-over-church-in-heart-of-u-s-bible-belt/

Orthodox Priest Warns Europe will Turn Muslim in 30 years and Russia in 50
MAY 16, 2017
A Russian Orthodox priest says the West better get ready for Islam’s conquest. “There is very little time left until the death of the entire Christian Civilization,” claims Dmitri Smirnov, chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Matters and the Protection of Motherhood and Childhood. “Several decades, perhaps 30 years, well, maybe in Russia it will last
50, no longer,” the priest reportedly told Russia’s Soyuz TV channel. Smirnov says Islam will eventually sweep the continent because Muslims are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to advance their own values. “The modern Muslim is willing to die for his faith,” Smirnov said. “He wraps himself with dynamite and blows himself up wherever his mullah orders him. He is prepared to sacrifice himself. He is labeled a terrorist. But his goal is not to terrify the world.”
 READ MORE http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2017/may/orthodox-priest-warns-europe-will-turn-muslim-in-30-years-russia-in-50

'Bible Answer Man' Hank Hanegraaff Cancer Update: I Have Tumors Throughout My Entire Body
BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
May 16, 2017 | 1:04 PM
(Photo: BIBLE ANSWER MAN FACEBOOK VIDEO SCREENCAP)Hank Hanegraaff in a video blog posted on May 15, 2017.
Still, the Christian Research Institute president and chairman said that he remains optimistic, and recalled how one Christian woman with the same condition told him she felt intimately closer to Christ like never before.
Hanegraaff, who earlier in May said that he has mantle cell lymphoma, a rare form of cancer that will require aggressive chemotherapy, explained that he was traveling in a car in New York, when he received a call from his doctor.
"He told me that I had tumors throughout my entire body. He started talking about tumors in my neck, under my arm pits, in my lungs, in my stomach. The more he talked, the more vacant I felt. At the time I had no frame of reference whatsoever what it meant," the "Bible Answer Man" said in a Facebook video on Monday.
"It hit me with the force of a sledgehammer — how could that be possible, when I got my physical a month ago" and such tumors were not discussed, he asked.
"Now the reality is really setting in for me."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/bible-answer-man-hank-hanegraaff-cancer-update-i-have-tumors-throughout-my-entire-body-183721/#JmldFDK91G6CL8wt.99

Christians Are Jumping to 'Shameful Conclusions' About Bible Answer Man's Conversion to Orthodoxy, Says Daughter of
New Roma Downey Film Documents Persecution of Christians in Middle East
The daughter of the Christian Research Institute's founder considers its president, "Bible Answer Man" Hank Hanegraaff, a brother in Christ despite theological objections from fellow Christians following his conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/108856/590-332/hank-hanegraaff.jpg
(Photo: Facebook/Bible Answer Man )Hank Hanegraaff in a video blog posted on May 5, 2017.
In a recent statement she sent to The Christian Post, Cindee Martin, daughter of Walter Martin, who in 1960 founded CRI as a conservative Protestant countercult apologetics ministry, said that she and her husband still believe Hanegraaff is a sincere Christian. The Martins belong to the Reformed tradition.
"My father, Dr. Walter Martin, taught that the Catholic Church has the Essential 'Core' doctrine of Christianity. He didn't agree with some of the teaching added by the Church and warned against it," Cindee Martin said in the statement to CP.
Her father considered an American Jesuit priest, Mitch Pacwa, to be a Christian, even though he debated doctrinal issues with him a few times on apologist John Ankerberg's radio program.
"Given the fact that the Eastern Orthodox Church is very similar in ways to the Catholic Church — and holds to the essential Core doctrine of Christianity — I believe Dr. Martin would view this Church the same way," she continued.
"He would never declare that someone had 'left the faith,' in either of these churches, if the person professed faith in Jesus Christ demonstrated by the fruit of their life."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-are-jumping-to-shameful-conclusions-about-bible-answer-mans-conversion-to-orthodoxy-says-daughter-of-cri-founder-183616/#PJzeEyFZDpJFHCzb.99


Christians Slam 'Demonic' Practice of Turning Frozen Embryo Children Into Jewelry for Parents
BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
May 15, 2017 | 11:46 AM
New Roma Downey Film Documents Persecution of Christians in Middle East
Pro-life Christians have slammed an Australian company's controversial practice of turning frozen embryo children into jewelry for parents, with some arguing that it is "demonic."
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/108863/590-294/embryo-jewelry.jpg
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/108863/590-294/embryo-jewelry.jpg
(PHOTO; FACEBOOK/BABY BEE HUMMINGBIRDS)These are some of the embryo jewelry pieces being sold by Baby Bee Hummingbirds.
Abigail Dodds, a mother of five, argued that "God designed embryos to live inside a mother's womb for protection and growth."
"They are not supposed to be incinerated and hung round a mother's neck, no matter how close to the heart they hang. How do we love embryos? By allowing them to keep living and growing," she wrote.
Earlier in May, the Australian Kid Spot website highlighted the story of a mother who turned to Baby Bee Hummingbirds, the company that has been transforming embryos into keepsake jewelry.
The mother, Belinda Stafford, who along with her husband underwent a six-year IVF process for their three children, explained that she wanted her remaining embryos close to her heart, instead of disposing them.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-slam-demonic-practice-of-turning-frozen-embryo-children-into-jewelry-for-parents-183612/#k48tWM6oZtsCEwbB.99


Ravi Zacharias: Millennials Have 'Burned Themselves Out' Sexually, Are Hungering for Real Jesus 
BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP REPORTER
May 15, 2017 | 10:09 AM
New Roma Downey Film Documents Persecution of Christians in Middle East
WASHINGTON – Millennials are rejecting what they think Christ is — a religious form devoid of the power to touch the soul, according to acclaimed Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. Unfettered sexual expression has filled the void but has left them empty, he said.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/109139/590-393/ravi-zacharias.jpg
(Photo: Courtesy of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)Ravi Zacharias speaks at the World Summit In Defense of Persecuted Christians at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2017
In a speech Friday afternoon at the first-ever World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians, sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, before 600 advocates for the persecuted church and victims of persecution, the apologist exhorted those in attendance to dispense with a comfortable, "tepid Christianity" as a "scorching paganism" rises in the West. He recounted that today he is inspired to meet even 12- and 13-year-olds who tell him that they want to do what he does, vigorously defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Following his remarks, Zacharias told The Christian Post in a sit-down interview that he and his colleagues were speaking at a state university in Michigan when a student stood up during Q&A and said that he used to be a Christian for 18 years but then walked away from his faith.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/ravi-zacharias-millennials-have-burned-themselves-out-sexually-are-hungering-for-real-jesus-183506/#aCidbZrfPvysGfWO.99


Dramatic Fall of Christianity in UK Continues: 26 Christians Abandon Faith for Every One New Convert
New Roma Downey Film Documents Persecution of Christians in Middle East
A new study has found that the United Kingdom's nonreligious population is now bigger than its combined Christian one, with 26 believers abandoning the faith for every atheist or agnostic who decides to become a Christian.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/109179/590-403/big-ben-london.jpg
(Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay)The Big Ben clock tower is seen through a window in London, Britain, April 26, 2017.
The Benedict XVI Center for Religion and Society, launched by St. Mary's University in Twickenham, released its May study based on data from the latest British Social Attitudes survey and European Social Survey, with key findings revealing the nation's growing secularization.
The researchers noted that 24.3 million people, or 48.6 percent of the British adult population, identified as "nones" in 2015 and they are predominantly young, white and male.
The nones were found to have different faith backgrounds — 38 percent of people who now say they have no religion were brought up as nones, while 25 percent were brought up as Anglicans, 25 percent as Other Christians, and 11 percent as Catholics, before leaving the faith.
"For every one person brought up with No religion who has become a Christian, twenty-six people brought up as Christians now identify as Nones," the study noted as a key trend.
"It is no secret that a large proportion of the British population consider themselves to have no religion," wrote Stephen Bullivant, professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion and director of the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society at St. Mary's University.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/dramatic-fall-of-christianity-in-uk-continues-26-christians-abandon-faith-for-every-one-new-convert-183598/#y7rumZMbSyzOCIHa.99


Trump to 50,000 at Liberty Commencement: 'In America We Don't Worship Government, We Worship God'
BY ANUGRAH KUMAR , CHRISTIAN POST CONTRIBUTOR
May 14, 2017 | 9:07 AM
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Apple just became the first US company to surpass $800B value
Delivering the commencement address at Liberty University Saturday, President Donald Trump told the graduating class that "in America, we don't worship government, we worship God," and promised to protect their religious freedom. He also encouraged them to never give up, but to embrace being an outsider to change the world.
President Donald Trump delivering the commencement address at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, May 13, 2017.
"As long as I am your president, no one is ever going to stop you from practicing your faith," Trump said at the evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia, before a crowd of about 50,000 people.
"America has always been the land of dreams because America is a nation of true believers," the president continued. "When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, they prayed. When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, they invoked our Creator four times. Because in America, we don't worship government, we worship God."
Trump added that for the same reason elected officials in the U.S. put their hands on the Bible and say, "So help me God," while taking the oath of office. "It is why our currency proudly declares, 'In God we trust,' and it's why we proudly proclaim that we are one nation under God every time we say the pledge of allegiance."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-50000-liberty-commencement-america-we-dont-worship-government-we-worship-god-183487/#hcYRsClg9G7vAVk0.99

CHRISTIAN NEWS NETWORK
Carman Issues Urgent Prayer Alert Before Biopsy Returns
MAY 15, 2017
Carman Licciardello called all his “ninja prayer warriors” to intercede ahead of his biopsy results. The hit Christian musician recently had a tumor removed and expects the results on Tuesday. “Anyway, they got the tumor out. Doc said it went deeper than expected into my muscles (a few extra stitches) not much pain but today I’m ‘really sore.’ I will know on

May 16th about the biopsy but I expect, with all these Ninja prayer warriors, there will be nothing there,” Carman says on Facebook. Carman found the tumor in April days ahead of recording his testimony in studio. “After 40 years, I think I know a well-timed attack when I see one. I’m about to go into the studio and start recording a song about my cancer healing testimony but I needed a routine check up first,” Carman said at the time. 
READ MORE http://www.charismanews.com/culture/64908-carman-issues-urgent-prayer-alert-before-biopsy-returns

Christians in India Forced to Convert Back to Hinduism
MAY 15, 2017
A number of Christians in tribal villages in India have reportedly been punished with severe financial penalties for choosing to attend church on Easter last month, with some being forced to reconvert back to Hinduism. International Christian Concern, which reports on the stories of persecuted Christians, shared on Saturday that believers in the Junwani village of Chhattisgarh were heavily targeted. Christians were fined $312, or almost four to five months’ wages, if they were found to have attended a church service to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
ICC said that 15 Christian families were forced to reconvert back to Hinduism by village elders so that they can be accepted back into society. One man from the families in question, Shivaram Tekam, explained that the Christians had to give livestock, money, and other gifts to the village deity during the reconversion ceremony. Tekam explained that he will continue trying to follow Jesus Christ in his heart, however. 
FULL REPORT http://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-in-india-forced-to-convert-back-to-hinduism-they-cannot-take-jesus-from-my-heart-183579/  

China Could Become the Largest Christian Nation by 2030s
MAY 15, 2017
The rapid spread of Christianity in China is well documented, but few would have imagined the communist country might one day become the most populous Christian nation on the planet. In fact, the country is said to be on track to having the largest Christian population in the world by 2030, according to Rodney Pennington who studies church growth for
Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF). “We are overjoyed with what the Lord has already done in China,” said Pennington in an interview with The Christian Post. “But that doesn’t mean the task is finished.” “While 200 million Chinese believers by the year 2030 may seem ambitious, it certainly gives us a strong goal to pray toward,” he added. He believes China could become a major player in the global church one day, but a lot has to happen before then. 
READ MORE http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2017/may/china-could-become-the-biggest-christian-nation-by-2030s


Mysterious flashes of light from Earth captured by NASA satellite…
MAY 15, 2017
One million miles from Earth, a NASA camera is capturing unexpected flashes of light reflecting off our planet. The homeward-facing instrument on NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, launched in 2015, caught hundreds of these flashes over the span of a year. NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) instrument aboard DSCOVR is taking almost-hourly images of the sunlit planet from its spot between Earth and the sun. In a new study,
scientists deciphered the tiny cause to the big reflections: high-altitude, horizontally oriented ice crystals. “The source of the flashes is definitely not on the ground,” said Alexander Marshak, DSCOVR deputy project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of the new study in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. “It’s definitely ice, and most likely solar reflection off of horizontally oriented particles.” FULL REPORT https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/05/15/mysterious-flashes-of-light-from-earth-captured-by-nasa-satellite/
Economist Uses Laws of Math and Science to Make the Case that God Must Exist
MAY 15, 2017
In a new article for The Conversation, economist-turned-professor Robert H. Nelson uses laws of math, science, and the human condition to make the case that God must exist. While statistics show people’s belief in God is on the decline, Nelson, a public policy professor at the University of Maryland, believes the “probability for the existence of a supernatural god” is actually on the rise.
An economist by trade, Nelson has been interested in the intersection of things like “physics, the philosophy of human consciousness, evolutionary biology, mathematics, the history of religion, and theology” since the 1990s, penning the 2015 book God? Very Probably: Five Rational Ways to Think about the Question of a God. In looking at those disciplines, he has determined that God likely exists. 
READ MORE  http://www.faithwire.com/2017/05/15/economist-uses-laws-of-math-and-science-to-make-the-case-that-god-must-exist/

US Christians Risking Their Lives to Teach in North Korea
MAY 13, 2017
The recent arrest of two American citizens working in North Korea has brought attention to the curious case of Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), an American-founded, evangelical-affiliated school in the capital city of the world’s most notorious dictatorship. It’s hard to think of a less likely place for American Christians to teach than North Korea, a country the United States has not had diplomatic ties with for over 60 years and where religious freedom does not exist.
Kim Hak Song and Kim Sang Duk, both Christians and professors teaching at PUST, the only private university in North Korea, were detained last month on charges of “hostile” acts or intent against the North Korean government—the same allegation that kept Youth With a Mission missionary Kenneth Bae in prison for more than two years, longer than any other American arrested in the country. (Bae was finally released, in ailing health, in 2014.) 
READ MORE http://endtimeheadlines.org/2017/05/us-christians-risking-lives-teach-north-korea/


Islamic Ideology Flourishes Because Christians Deny Biblical Orthodoxy, Pastor Warns
MAY 13, 2017
One of the most important keys to Islamic ideology’s success in spreading all over the world is a vacuum of Christianity created by Christians who abandon the inerrant teachings of the Gospel, Egyptian-born pastor and author Dr. Michael Youssef believes. Youssef, senior pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta and president of the global Christian media ministry Leading the Way, spoke with The Christian Post on Thursday while attending the first-ever Summit in
Defense of Persecuted Christians hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association this week in Washington, D.C. Youssef, who recently released the book The Barbarians Are Here: Preventing the Collapse of Western Civilization in Times of Terrorism, told CP that even though he has written dozens of books on the subject, this book was something he waited over 20 years to write. But as he witnessed more and more Christians being killed and persecuted at rates in which the world has never seen, and more and more born-again Christians denying biblical truths, Youssef explained that he couldn’t wait any longer. 
READ MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/islamic-ideology-flourishes-because-christians-deny-biblical-orthodoxy-pastor-warns-183307/

Muslim Cleric Calls on FIFA to Ban Christian Players From Making the Sign of the Cross
MAY 14, 2017
A Muslim scholar from Saudi Arabia has called on FIFA, the international governing body of football, to forbid players from making the religious sign of the cross every time they enter the pitch or score a goal. Mohammed al Arefe urged FIFA to prohibit players from making the sign of the cross on their chest, stomach, shoulder or any part of their body, MailOnline reported.
The Muslim cleric, who has 17.5 million followers on Twitter, posted his plea to FIFA on the social media site. “I’ve seen video clips of athletes, soccer players running, shooting and when they win they make the symbol of the cross on their chests and my question is if FIFA’s rules forbid this,” wrote al Arefe. His post received many reactions from football fans of various religions. Many criticized his proposal and called it divisive. 
READ MORE http://www.christianpost.com/news/muslim-cleric-calls-on-fifa-to-ban-christian-players-from-making-the-sign-of-the-cross-183432/#d0Fa35Qq2IzKpyzz.99

Alabama Senate Approves Proposal That Would Allow Display of Ten Commandments on Public Property
MAY 14, 2017
The Alabama Senate has approved a bill that would place on the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed on public property. The measure put forth by Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, requires the Decalogue to be a part of a broader display that includes other historical pieces.
“The proposed amendment would propose a constitutional amendment which would provide that property belonging to the state may be used to display the Ten Commandments and that the right to display the Ten Commandments on property owned or administrated by a public school or public body is not restrained or abridged,” S.B. 139 reads. 
READ MORE  http://christiannews.net/2017/05/14/alabama-senate-approves-proposal-that-would-allow-display-of-ten-commandments-on-public-property/


Kentucky Christian Business Owner Scores a Big Win for Religious Liberty
MAY 13, 2017
People of faith not only have a right to freely express their beliefs, but the government can’t force them to express ideas that are contrary to their deeply held beliefs. That’s what the Kentucky Court of Appeals decided Friday in the case of a Lexington printer who declined an order that would have forced him to promote a message in conflict with his Christian beliefs. This is the second time Blaine Adamson, owner of Hands On Originals, has successfully defended his rights against the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission.
In 2012, Adamson declined to print shirts with a message promoting the Lexington Pride Festival, an event that the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization hosted. Although he declined to print the shirts because of the message that would have been on them, he nevertheless offered to refer the GLSO to another printer who would have made the shirts. Unsatisfied, the GLSO filed a complaint with the commission—despite eventually receiving the shirts for free from another printer.
 READ MORE http://www.charismanews.com/politics/press-releases/64872-kentucky-christian-business-owner-scores-a-big-win-for-religious-liberty


Photo Taken Just Moments After Fatal Car Accident is Providing Grieving Family With Peace
MAY 15, 2017
A photo taken at the scene of a tragic car crash that killed two young moms and a 9-month-old baby last month is bringing hope and peace to the families of the victims. The fatal accident unfolded on April 25 in Hall County, Georgia, when Hannah Simmons, 23, her baby girl A’lannah and a friend named Lauren Bureau, 28, lost control of their vehicle and hit another car, Today.com reported.
In the midst of that tragedy, a woman named Anisa Gannon, who was on her way to work and was caught in the resulting traffic, decided to take a photo of the scene to prove that she was caught in the middle of a traffic scenario that was beyond her control. It was later, though, when Gannon’s aunt, Tara Noble, looked at that photo, that she noticed something curious — a beam of light seemingly extending from the sky to the roadway where the emergency workers were trying to help the victims. 
FULL STORY http://www.faithwire.com/2017/05/15/chills-covered-my-body-photo-taken-just-moments-after-fatal-car-accident-is-providing-grieving-family-with-peace/

‘God, I’m Not Ready to Go’: Jim Gaffigan’s Wife Says Brain Tumor Drew Her to God
MAY 13, 2017
Comedian Jim Gaffigan’s wife, Jeannie, has revealed that she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and successfully underwent surgery last month to remove the mass. Now, just weeks after Jeannie’s surgery, she’s speaking out to say that her life has changed for the better and that the entire medical ordeal has actually been “a miracle.” “There’s just going to be so much to come out of this for me,”
the 47-year-old comedy writer told People, explaining that she had a nine-hour surgery on April 18 to remove the tumor, which had wrapped itself around her brain stem. “All of this is a miracle.”Doctors believe they have corrected the issue, with Jeannie saying that the entire experience has brought her closer to her Christian faith. She affirmed that she has absolutely no doubt that “supernatural powers” guided her and her family through the ordeal. 
READ MORE http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/entertainment/2017/may/lsquo-god-i-rsquo-m-not-ready-to-go-rsquo-comedian-jim-gaffigan-rsquo-s-wife-says-brain-tumor-brought-her-closer-to-god

Jesus Delivers Hindu Woman From Demon Who Killed Her Sister
MAY 13, 2017
Pushpa and her husband Vijay [name changed] both came from a Hindu background. They worshipped numerous gods and entertained many spirits, which compounded a series of traumatic events that began in 2000, when they invited Pushpa’s sister to come and live with them. “My sister was possessed with an evil spirit,” Pushpa recounted to Biglife.
Shortly after her sister arrived, Pushpa was startled when an evil spirit spoke through her sister’s mouth, saying, “I am going to kill your sister and come live inside of you.” Within a short time, that is exactly what happened, according to Pushpa’s account. “The evil spirit tormented me for 11 years. It was like hell on earth. My body would become very cold, and I would get a shooting pain in my stomach. Even worse, I would lose total control of my body and begin to beat my children,” she recounted. 
READ MORE http://www.charismanews.com/world/64864-jesus-delivers-hindu-woman-from-demon-who-killed-her-sister


Undercover Agents Reveal Registered Church to Be “Sex Club”
MAY 13, 2017
Undercover inspectors have determined that a building registered as a church was being operated as a sex club. WTVF-TV reports that the city of Nashville has filed a complaint against the owners for “maintaining a public nuisance by permitting acts of lewd conduct” and violating a state law banning sex clubs from operating within 1,000 feet of a school.
The longtime downtown swingers club underwent a conversion in 2015 when it relocated to a run-down office park in the community of Madison, calling itself a church because the new location is near the back of the private Goodpasture Christian School. 
FULL REPORThttp://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/05/13/undercover-agents-find-registered-church-to-be-sex-club.html

MASS DECEPTION: Pope Francis: I’m going to Fatima to entrust the eternal fate of mankind to Mary
MAY 15, 2017
Mary is the “best of Mothers” who faithfully keeps the candle of hope burning in the darkness, Pope Francis said today, as he invited Christians to pray as he journeys to Fatima to “entrust to Our Lady the temporal and eternal fate of mankind.” Continuing his series on Christian hope, at the Wednesday general audience, the pope turned to Mary, Mother of Hope.
Our Lady’s experience of motherhood models that of so many mothers in our world, the pope told an estimated 15,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Hers is a witness of courage in accepting her vocation and welcoming the new life entrusted to her. “Still in the flower of youth … she responds with courage, even though she did not know the fate that awaited her,” he said. Hers is also a witness of quiet yet trusting obedience to God’s will amid the trials of life. “Mary appears in the Gospels as a silent woman,  
READ MORE https://aleteia.org/2017/05/10/pope-francis-im-going-to-fatima-to-entrust-the-eternal-fate-of-mankind-to-mary/

Cashless Sweden Forcing Churches To Go Mobile Apps For Tithes and Offerings
MAY 15, 2017
A growing number of Swedish parishes have started taking donations via mobile apps. Uppsala’s 13th-century cathedral also accepts credit cards. The churches’ drive to keep up with the times is the latest sign of Sweden’s rapid shift to a world without notes and coins. Most of the country’s bank branches have stopped handling cash; some shops and museums now
only accept plastic; and even Stockholm’s homeless have started accepting cards as payment for their magazine. Go to a flea market, and the seller is more likely to ask to be paid via Sweden’s popular Swish app than with cash. “Fifteen years ago I would withdraw my entire salary and put it in my wallet, so I knew how much I had left, but these days I never really carry cash,” said Lasse Svard, the acting vicar at the parish of Jarna-Vardinge, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Stockholm. Swedes’ aversion to cash is increasingly showing up in money supply data. 
READ MORE https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-14/in-cashless-sweden-even-god-now-takes-collection-via-an-app

6 Warning Signs of Spiritual Danger
MAY 15, 2017
(By J.Lee Grady) A desperate friend recently contacted me because he was worried that his son might be under the influence of a Christian ministry with questionable doctrines. The leader of the ministry preaches that any church that doesn’t experience regular healings isn’t following the true Jesus—and he suggests that only his small congregation has an inside track with God. Thankfully, my friend’s son discerned something was off track.
Satan loves to pull Christians into unhealthy extremes. And immature Christian leaders sometimes allow youthful pride, greed or insecurity to suck them into toxic spirituality. The result is always a trail of wounded people. In my years of ministry, I’ve learned there are several clear signs that a ministry has veered away from the truth and into deception. Here are the most obvious:
1. Lack of spiritual accountability. Healthy leaders know they need to surround themselves with mentors and advisers who can question them if they step out of line. Proverbs 11:14 says: “In the multitude of counselors there is safety.” But if you are following a teacher, prophet or apostle who has not submitted himself to any form of accountability, you are asking for trouble. Never align yourself with a Lone Ranger, no matter how fiery his sermons are. He will likely lead you off a cliff. CONTINUE http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/27612-6-warning-signs-of-spiritual-danger



SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: The Sun Will Disappear For An Hour And a Half on Aug 21st
MAY 15, 2017
Where will you be on August 21? Hopefully near a window. You wouldn’t want to miss out on a solar eclipse! The astronomical event happens when the moon passes in between the sun and the Earth, blocking the sun for a little over an hour. The solar eclipse will be viewable for cities that fall in the horizontal path of totality from 9:06 a.m. in Oregon all the way to 4:06 p.m. Eastern time in South Carolina on August 21.
The eclipse will only be viewable for about an hour and a half in each city. Cities outside of the totality path will see a partial eclipse. There hasn’t been one to stretch across the entire country since 1918. Before you plan your eclipse party, make sure you know what time the eclipse will be visible to your region. For those who live in one of the cities listed below, here are the times the total solar eclipse will be visible according to NASA’s website. 
FULL REPORT SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: The Sun Will Disappear For An Hour And a Half on Aug 21st


MAY 15, 2017
Where will you be on August 21? Hopefully near a window. You wouldn’t want to miss out on a solar eclipse! The astronomical event happens when the moon passes in between the sun and the Earth, blocking the sun for a little over an hour. The solar eclipse will be viewable for cities that fall in the horizontal path of totality from 9:06 a.m. in Oregon all the way to 4:06 p.m. Eastern time in South Carolina on August 21.
The eclipse will only be viewable for about an hour and a half in each city. Cities outside of the totality path will see a partial eclipse. There hasn’t been one to stretch across the entire country since 1918. Before you plan your eclipse party, make sure you know what time the eclipse will be visible to your region. For those who live in one of the cities listed below, here are the times the total solar eclipse will be visible according to NASA’s website. 
FULL REPORT http://www.9news.com/news/the-sun-will-completely-disappear-in-100-days/439516155

Pence: Trump Prays for Persecuted Christians, Says ISIS Will Be Destroyed
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence reiterated the support of President Donald Trump for persecuted Christians around the world, noting that both he and the president pray for them and that the Islamic State terror group will be destroyed "at its source."
VIDEO http://www.christianpost.com/news/pence-trump-prays-persecuted-christians-isis-destroyed-183297/?utm_source=newsletter
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(Photo: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)More than 600 victims and advocates from 130 countries gathered in Washington D.C. for the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians, May 10, 2017.
Before 600 victims of persecution and advocates for the persecuted church at the Mayflower Hotel for the first ever World Summit In Defense Persecuted Christians sponsored by evangelist Franklin Graham, Pence, who is a devout Christian, called President Trump a "champion" of religious freedom. Pence's presence at the summit, he said, signifies the president's "tangible commitment to reaffirm America's role as a beacon of hope and light and liberty, to inspire the world."
America was, is, and will always be a shining city on a hill, he continued, where people throughout our history have been able to practice their faith openly and freely, he said.
Pence made a point to laud those in attendance who have themselves endured persecution.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/pence-trump-prays-persecuted-christians-isis-destroyed-183297



Feminist Professor Pilloried by Fellow Leftists for Transracial, Transgender Comparison
A feminist philosopher who wrote in a scholarly journal that people should be able to change their race just like they can change gender faced a fierce backlash from fellow feminists and now fears being blacklisted.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/106636/590-332/harvard-university.jpg
(Photo: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi)A student stands in the entranceway of a building at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 16, 2012.
In late March Rhodes College philosophy professor Rebecca Tuvel published an article in the feminst philosophy journal Hypatia titled "In Defense of Transracialism" where she reached the conclusion that "[c]onsiderations that support transgenderism seem to apply equally to transracialism," and so society "should also accept transracial individuals' decisions to change races."
In the article she explores the question as to whether people are more willing to embrace "transgender," individuals like Caitlyn Jenner, while dismissing those who identify as "transracial," such as former NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal who made news in 2015 after it was revealed that she is a white women who identifies as black. Other feminist philosophers, like the University of Tennessee's Nora Berenstain, were outraged.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/feminist-professor-pilloried-fellow-leftists-transracial-transgender-comparison-tuvel-183192/#ri2OFcVbFfrQArwW.99

http://www.christianpost.com/news/josh-mcdowell-prepare-your-kids-to-face-porns-dangers-by-age-5-183051/?utm_source=newsletter
Josh McDowell: Prepare Your Kids to Face Porn's Dangers by Age 5
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BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP REPORTER
May 9, 2017 | 1:24 PM
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WASHINGTON — An esteemed Christian apologist is using his platform and influence to combat the pornography scourge and is warning parents to prepare their kids to face its dangers by the time they are five years old.
Josh McDowell speaks at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2017.
Gathered before a crowd of 30 pastors and ministry leaders at the office of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation Wednesday, best-selling author Josh McDowell exhorted everyone to tackle this issue head-on.
McDowell, 77, who is himself a sexual abuse survivor, recounted that about eight or nine years ago he felt as though there was a mysterious destructive phenomenon going on in culture that was fundamentally altering the belief systems of young people. He could not quite put his finger on what it was but it was affecting their relationships with their parents, the church, and with God. The phenomenon, he would determine, is "pervasive Internet pornography" and as an apologist for the Christian faith, he felt compelled to speak to this.
"Very seldom am I surprised by the research," McDowell said.
Porn sites produce enormous amounts of new data each day.
He found out that if one were to print out the data from just one site alone — he did not name it — it produced enough pornographic materials to fill the Empire State Building every single day for a year.
And parents, particularly homeschooling Christian parents, are delusional if they think they can somehow completely protect their children from porn. The sad reality is that they will see it and they are seeing at alarmingly young ages.
"I always tell [parents], by five years old you'd better have your child prepared," McDowell said.
He noted that he was at first unsure of the popular phrase "Fight the New Drug"
Pornography. He was wary but upon studying how pornography affects people physiologically, he agreed. Porn's effect on the brain is like cocaine and heroin together.
"Cocaine is a stimulant, you shoot it up, and it stimulates you," McDowell said. By contrast, "heroin is an opiate, which means it brings you down."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/josh-mcdowell-prepare-your-kids-to-face-porns-dangers-by-age-5-183051/#f28k2WztSRFeGzLZ.99


Greg Laurie Details White House Dinner With Evangelicals, Trump Breaking Protocol
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BY SAMUEL SMITH , CP REPORTER
May 8, 2017 | 6:14 PM
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President Donald Trump may have broken protocol by taking a large group of evangelical leaders up to the second floor of the White House for a tour after they gathered for dinner last Wednesday, evangelist Greg Laurie says. The tour took place before the signing of an executive order on religious freedom the next morning.
(PHOTO: FACEBOOK / GREG LAURIE)
Evangelical leaders Greg Laurie (blue tie), Ronnie Floyd (pink tie), Jack Graham (green tie) and James Dobson (yellow tie) pose for a picture as they attend a private dinner with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and cabinet officials at the White House in Washington, D.C. on May 3, 2017.
Laurie, senior pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, was one of dozens of faith leaders invited to a private dinner with the president and his cabinet members at the White House the night before Trump signed last Thursday's executive order promoting free speech and religious liberty and the National Day of Prayer proclamation.
The California pastor joined evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham, James Dobson, Robert Jeffress, Jack Graham, Richard Land and other members of Trump's evangelical advisory board in dining with the president, vice president and his administration officials. Greg Laurie Details White House Dinner With Evangelicals, Trump Breaking Protocol
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Pastors: Rapper Kendrick Lamar Gets It, Why Don't You?
BY MICHAEL BROWN , CP OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
May 9, 2017 | 12:11 PM
The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of The Christian Post or its editors.
VIDEO
You know we're in trouble when a secular rapper urges pastors to get back to preaching that the Lord is a jealous God of "discipline and obedience." As a recent article declared, "Chart-Topping Rapper Kendrick Lamar Is Preaching More Spiritual Truth Than Most of the Dead Churches In America." So sad, but so true.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/107861/590-426/kendrick-lamar-performs-a-medley-of-songs-at-the-58th-grammy-awards-in-los-angeles-california-on-feb-15-2016.jpg
Reuters/Mario AnzuoniKendrick Lamar performs a medley of songs at the 58th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California on Feb. 15, 2016.
Lamar is a 29-year-old, Grammy Award-winning rapper, and his lyrics are typical, hardcore rap: filled with biting content, packed with protest, laced with profanity. Suffice it to say that he is not a pristine pure, born-again, Christian rapper. Yet he sees a gaping hole in many churches today, and it mirrors his experience as a boy.
He continued, "After being heavily in my studies these past few years, I've finally figured out why I left those services feeling spiritually unsatisfied as a child. I discovered more truth. But simple truth. Our God is a loving God. Yes. He's a merciful God. Yes. But he's even more so a God of DISCIPLE. OBEDIENCE. A JEALOUS God. . . ."
And in words that mirror the words of Paul in Romans 11:22, which urge us to consider both the goodness and severity of God, he wrote, "So in conclusion, I feel it's my calling to share the joy of God, but with exclamation, more so, the FEAR OF GOD. The balance. Knowing the power in what he can build, and also what he can destroy. At any given moment."
How ironic that a worldly rapper is more concerned to balance out his message than many a preacher in America. How ironic that someone whom the churches would damn in a moment (in fact, "Damn" is the name of his latest project) sees the imbalance in so many of our contemporary churches.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/pastors-rapper-kendrick-lamar-gets-it-why-dont-you-183048/#R3VyHgXX73T5mGdV.99

Hollywood Icon Steve McQueen Came to Christ Before Death; Pastor Greg Laurie Reveals Details in Book
BY JEANNIE LAW , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
May 9, 2017 | 4:55 PM
Internationally renowned evangelist Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Ministries is revealing the salvation story of legendary actor Steve McQueen in his newest book, Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon, which will be followed by a documentary film.
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/108875/greg-laurie-steve-mcqueen.png
image: http://d.christianpost.com/full/108875/greg-laurie-steve-mcqueen.png
(Photo: SundariPR)Pastor Greg Laurie to release book and movie on the life and salvation of American icon Steve McQueen, May 2017.
Steve McQueen, which hits shelves June 13, follows the life of the No.1 movie star of his time. Also known as the "King of Cool, McQueen is now immortalized in pop culture through his hit movies "The Magnificent Seven," "The Great Escape," and "Bullitt."

It was McQueen's legendary car chases and death-defying stunts that drew many fans, including Pastor Laurie.

"That story was so fascinating to so many because the mystique of Steve McQueen continues to this day," said Laurie in a statement shared with The Christian Post. "Steve McQueen wasn't cool because he drove the Bullitt car. The Bullitt car was cool because Steve McQueen drove it."

"Notwithstanding all his fame and wealth, a colossal vacuum lived rent-free in his heart, a yawning chasm. A lot of people do not know about McQueen's hardscrabble beginnings. He was born into the home of an alcoholic mother and a father that left him early in life, he found himself on the wrong side of the law more than once. McQueen chased after every pleasure this planet had to offer."

The Conversion of Steve McQueen (VIDEO 9.5mins) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20iQXTjs0hw
The book journeys through McQueen's childhood, his colossal success and his relentless pursuit for purpose outside of Hollywood, which ultimately led to his conversion to Christianity shortly before his early death from malignant mesothelioma.
McQueen's rough life initially led him to search for purpose in Hollywood. He had the best and fastest cars money could buy, multiple women, including two divorces, and eventually found himself in his own battle with drug and alcohol abuse, a fact well-known throughout the media.

What many do not know, however, is that before his death in 1980 at age 50, McQueen came to faith in Jesus Christ.

"In a significant turn toward the end of his life, ironically, just before he found out that he had cancer and while still the top movie star on earth, Steve did something that showed me that he really was 'the coolest of them all.' He put his faith in God and became a believer in Jesus Christ," said Laurie, who has an exact replica of McQueen's 1967 Bullitt Mustang. 

"In many ways, our lives ran in parallel. I don't mean to suggest I am on McQueen's level of 'cool' in any way, but we both had troubled early years, fathers that left home, we were both raised by a single mother and we both got into more than a little trouble. Our stories diverge around the age of twenty, when I came to faith in Jesus and McQueen went to Hollywood. Ironically they came back together again when he became a Christian. That's the life-changing story we uncover through this amazing journey, and it's a story McQueen, in his own words, worried he'd never be able to share with the world. Now, almost forty years after his step into heaven, he'll finally get the chance."

Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon was co-authored with Marshall Terrill (the acclaimed expert on all things Steve McQueen). Together, Laurie and Terrill traveled the country interviewing many of those who knew McQueen best and were with him in his last days.

This venture is also now in production as a documentary film about McQueen.

The film is being directed by filmmaker Jon Erwin ("Moms' Night Out," "Woodlawn," "October Baby") and includes on-camera interviews with many of the same people mentioned in the book with a special appearance by an avid Steve McQueen fan — Hollywood megastar Mel Gibson. The film is scheduled for a September release.

For more information on the film and to pre-order the book, Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon, visit Laurie's site.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/hollywood-icon-steve-mcqueen-came-to-christ-before-death-pastor-greg-laurie-reveals-details-in-book-183066/#pPHAEyHpRUrXJ5IJ.99

Children Must Be Taught Transgenderism, Homosexuality Starting in Nursery School, Teachers Say
An organization of teachers in the U.K. has argued that homosexuality and transgenderism should be taught to young children starting in nursery school.
Members of the National Union of Teachers group voted for a measure at a conference in Cardiff to "campaign to ensure a comprehensive age-appropriate content including promotion of LGBT+ matters for all schools from nursery throughout all phases of state education," The Evening Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

Annette Pryce, a NUT executive member from Buckinghamshire, claimed that the U.K. government hasn't been doing enough to promote inclusion.

"Those generations of young LGBT people who have been failed by the system are still not told explicitly in the law that their lives are important too," Pryce said.

"The NUT ... needs to ensure that SRE is inclusive to LGBT young people now and forever."

Education Secretary Justine Greening announced back in March that age appropriate sex and relationships guidance is to be made compulsory for all children, though it allowed parents and faith schools to opt out of the new rules.

U.K. ministers have been facing "mounting pressure" to respond to concerns that children are not being educated about online porn, cyber bullying and sexting, the Telegraph said.

Conservatives, such as Andrea Williams, chief executive at Christian Concern, have warned that teaching statutory sex education to 4-year-olds can be "devastating" and risks "robbing them of their innocence," however.

"Children [age 4] should not be introduced to this. Schools need to be safe places where the innocence of children is protected," Williams said in February.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/children-must-be-taught-transgenderism-homosexuality-nursury-school-uk-teachers-say-181006/#6BWJLFCEt1RqWU20.99


The Shack' Cover Artist Renounces Book for Leading People Astray: 'I Have Deep Regrets
BY CHARITY GIBSON , CP CONTRIBUTOR
Apr 19, 2017 | 3:40 PM
Dave Aldrich, the graphic artist behind the controversial best-selling novel "The Shack," recently said he has "deep regrets" for promoting a book that leads to apostasy.
"Over 10 years ago, I was captivated by the story and felt honored to be part of the graphic creation of the book. I was so drawn into it, wanting to know the God it portrayed," the Aldrich Design artist posted to social media on April 4. "The Shack's story wonderfully painted this picture to me of an incredibly knowable and loving God, one full of forgiveness, but without being judgmental."
Aldrich's sentiments, however, were short lived and with the release of the film he felt he had to say something.
"I have deep regrets now of not just being involved with it but also in promoting it. The movie release of 'The Shack' has brought all this back to my mind and I felt the need to apologize to all who I may have led astray by my promoting the book," he added.
Aldrich said that reading the novel led him to other authors such as Rob Bell and Brian McLaren, who "started out on the straight and narrow, having solid biblical beliefs, but strayed off into apostasy land." He confessed that he found himself almost accepting universalist beliefs because of his lack of discernment.
After breaking his silence several people reached out to Aldrich in appreciation for his transparency.
Aldrich also admitted that he initially credited The Shack for portraying God as non-judgmental and all-loving, but his feelings changed when he realized the danger of that one-sided portrayal of God, adding that it doesn't show Him as a judge of sin.
The film's synopsis says the cinematic journey will take viewers on a "father's uplifting spiritual journey."
"After suffering a family tragedy, Mack Phillips [Sam Worthington] spirals into a deep depression causing him to question his innermost beliefs. Facing a crisis of faith, he receives a mysterious letter urging him to go to an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Despite his doubts, Mack journeys to the shack and encounters an enigmatic trio of strangers led by a woman named Papa [Octavia Spencer]. Through this meeting, Mack finds important truths that will transform his understanding of his tragedy and change his life forever."
Although Young and Shack supporters argue that the book and film are fictional and just imagery, Aldrich believes — based on the statements of its author — that the work is trying to pass as theology.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-shack-cover-artist-praised-renouncing-book-i-have-deep-regrets-180895/#yMsLPMr2dSAM6P36.99

US Ends Funding for UN Population Fund Over Complicity in Chinese Forced Abortions
By Heather Clark on April 5, 20171 Comment
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Feng Jianmei looks at her baby girl after Chinese officials forcibly aborted the child.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has ended government funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) over concerns about its complicity in China’s one-child/two-child policy—an accusation that the organization denies.
According to reports, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker received a letter this week from the U.S. State Department advising him of the development.
“This determination was made based on the fact that China’s family planning policies still involve the use of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization, and UNFPA partners on family planning activities with the Chinese government agency responsible for these coercive policies,” the letter read.
The Associated Press reports that the $32.5 million that had previously been earmarked for UNFPA will instead be funneled to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which works to lower maternal mortality rates and reduce gender-based violence in foreign countries.
After China announced in 2015 that it was changing its one-child population control policy to two-child, New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith denounced the UNFPA as being partially responsible for the deaths of the unborn.
“For the past 35 years the Chinese government has wasted precious human potential and sanctioned state-sponsored violence against women and children–enabled by pro-abortion groups globally and the United Nations Population Fund,” he said. “No one should applaud China’s announced ‘two-child’ policy; instead we should be insisting they abolish intrusive and abusive birth restrictions forever.”
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/04/05/us-ends-funding-for-un-population-fund-over-complicity-in-chinese-forced-abortions/


California AG Who Charged Man Behind Undercover Videos Received Campaign Donations From Planned Parenthood
By Heather Clark on April 1, 201727 Comments
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California attorney general who charged the pro-life investigator behind the 2014-2015 undercover Planned Parenthood videos with 15 felonies this week had previously been praised by the abortion and contraception giant and received campaign donations from the organization for many of his House re-election bids.
Democratic Congressman Xavier Becerra had been appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to replace former Attorney General Kamala Harris after she was elected in November to serve in the Senate. Following his appointment, Planned Parenthood released a statement praising Becerra for his abortion advocacy.
“Rep. Becerra is a long-time champion for women’s reproductive rights and health,” said President Cecile Richards. “As a former California deputy attorney general, he understands the importance of a woman’s right to access the full range of health care, including safe, legal abortion.”
‘MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/04/01/california-ag-who-charged-man-behind-undercover-videos-received-donations-from-planned-parenthood/

South Carolina Lawmakers Considering Bill Declaring Unborn as Protected Persons
By Heather Clark on April 4,
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lawmakers in South Carolina are currently considering a bill that would declare that the unborn have protection as persons.
Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant recently introduced S. 217, also known as the Personhood Act of South Carolina. It simply recognizes that both the federal and state Constitutions acknowledge God as being the Creator of life and the bestower of liberty.
“The General Assembly acknowledges that all persons are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” it reads in part. “The General Assembly acknowledges that personhood is God-given, as all men are created in the image of God.”
“The rights guaranteed by Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution of this State, that no person shall be deprived of life without due process of law nor denied the equal protection of the laws, vest at fertilization for each born and preborn human being,” the bill continues.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/04/04/south-carolina-lawmakers-considering-bill-declaring-unborn-as-protected-persons/

Please Help Me’: American Pastor Imprisoned in Turkey Pleads for Trump’s Intervention
By Heather Clark on April 3, 20173 Comments
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An American pastor who has been imprisoned in Turkey since last October is pleading for President Trump and his administration to work more fervently for his release.
“I plead with my government—with the Trump administration—to fight for me. I ask the State Department to impose sanctions. I appeal to President Trump: Please help me. Let the Turkish government know that you will not cooperate with them in any way until they release me,” Andrew Munson wrote in a statement released by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). “Please do not leave me here in prison.”
As previously reported, Brunson and his wife Norine, who have been living in Turkey for over 20 years, were detained in Izmir in October. They were accused of having “membership in an armed terrorist organization,” specifically Fetullah Gulen, which is believed to have instigated a military coup against the government in July. Brunson leads Protestant Resurrection Church in the city.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/04/03/please-help-me-american-pastor-imprisoned-in-turkey-pleads-for-trumps-intervention/

Indiana Senate Passes Bill Protecting Religious Expression in Public Schools
By Heather Clark on April 3,
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indiana Senate has passed a bill meant to protect religious expression in public schools.
H.B. 1024 passed 44-5 on Thursday despite opposition from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“House Bill 1024 only puts prayer back into schools. It does not mandate or force students to participate in it,” said sponsor Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapolis. “It is giving Hoosiers the ability to express their faith without fearing discrimination.”
“It also brings clarification to the First Amendment, which allows people to practice their faith. However, it restricts you from forcing your faith on others,” he said.
The bill passed the passed the House 83-12 last month, and went on to clear a Senate Committee 8-2 weeks later.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/04/03/indiana-senate-passes-bill-protecting-religious-expression-in-public-schools/

Junk Science’? Biblical Creation Group Included on List of Disreputable Websites
By Garrett Haley on April 3, 2017983 Comments
A prominent Creation science group is pushing back after their website was included on a widely-shared list of allegedly untrustworthy sources and described as “junk science.”
After “fake news” became a subject of national discussion during the 2016 presidential election, Melissa Zimdars, an assistant professor of communication at Merrimack College, compiled an online document that lists disreputable websites and news sources.
Originally created as a resource for her students, Zimdars’s document lists hundreds of “false, misleading, clickbait-y, and satirical” websites.
“Obviously, fake news is a major problem,” Zimdars wrote in a column for The Washington Post. “We need to make sure people have the tools to detect it, and we need to understand why people may purposefully share news they know to be fake—maybe they’re being malicious, they think it’s funny or it aligns with what they want to be true. And we definitely need to find ways to discourage the production of non-comedy, non-satire fake news.”
Zimdars’s document has since been widely shared on social media sites and spotlighted by numerous news outlets. Harvard University published a link to the list on their library’s “Fake News, Misinformation, and Propoganda” page, along with an infographic warning students not to get “taken in” by fake news.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/04/03/junk-science-biblical-creation-group-included-on-list-of-disreputable-websites/

Appeals Court Rules ‘Sexual Orientation’ Applies as Sex Discrimination Under Civil Rights Act
By Heather Clark on April 6, 201786 Comments
Photo Credit: George Hodan
CHICAGO — A federal appeals court has ruled that “sexual orientation” can fall under the interpretation of sex discrimination in the federal Civil Rights Act, a decision that the dissenting judges found to be a stretch.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals concluded 8-3 on Tuesday that while Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1967—which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex or national origin”—does not include the term “sexual orientation,” the existing inclusion of “sex” can apply because the discrimination surrounds a person’s actions not being normative for their sex.
“The logic of the Supreme Court’s decisions, as well as the common-sense reality that it is actually impossible to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation without discriminating on the basis of sex, persuade us that the time has come to overrule our previous cases,” the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals wrote.
“We [therefore] hold only that a person who alleges that she experienced employment discrimination on the basis of her sexual orientation has put forth a case of sex discrimination for Title VII purposes,” it concluded.
MORE http://christiannews.net/2017/04/06/appeals-court-rules-sexual-orientation-same-as-sex-discrimination-under-civil-rights-act/

http://christiannews.net/2017/03/27/teen-who-threw-newborn-out-window-wont-do-jail-time-must-delete-facebook-due-to-uproar-over-crime/
Teen Who Threw Newborn Out Window Won’t Do Jail Time, Must Delete Facebook Due to Uproar Over Crime
By Heather Clark on March 27, 201713 Comments
OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska teenager who threw her newborn baby out the window won’t be spending any time behind bars, but instead has been ordered to therapy, community service and probation, and must delete her Facebook account due to outrage from thousands upset over the girl’s crime.
Antonia Lopez, 16, gave birth in the middle of the night on September 30, and after throwing the child out of her second-story bedroom window, told her mother what she had done.
Her mother, “distraught and frantic,” then called 911. Both Lopez and her baby were transported to Creighton University Medical Center, but the child was pronounced dead upon arrival. The baby was determined to be between 25 and 28 weeks gestation.
Lopez allegedly told police that she didn’t know she was pregnant and therefore panicked, but her boyfriend disputed the assertion and said that he had urged Lopez to tell her mother about the pregnancy and see a doctor. He advised that she texted him at 2 a.m. the morning she gave birth, “It was a girl by the the way,” and requested help to hide the baby.
Lopez was soon arrested and charged with one count of felony child abuse resulting in death. She faced up to 20 years in prison for the crime.
However, last month, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine agreed to move Lopez’ case from district court to juvenile court since she only had a prior theft charge on her record. He opined the the best course of action for the teen would be rehabilitation.
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Virginia Governor Vetoes Bill Prohibiting Punishment of Those Who Believe in Biblical Marriage
By Heather Clark on March 28, 2017188 Comments
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Photo Credit: Steve Bott
RICHMOND, Va. — The Democratic governor of Virginia has vetoed a religious freedom bill which would have prohibited the government from punishing those who believe in biblical marriage and conduct their public lives in accordance with that conviction.
“Although couched as a ‘religious freedom’ bill, this legislation is nothing more than an attempt to stigmatize,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe asserted in a statement on Thursday in rejecting S.B. 2314 and H.B. 2025.
“No person shall be required to participate in the solemnization of any marriage, or subject to any penalty by the Commonwealth, or its political subdivisions or representatives or agents, notwithstanding any other provision of law, solely on account of such person’s belief, speech, or action in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman,” the vetoed legislation read.
http://christiannews.net/2017/03/28/virginia-governor-vetoes-bill-prohibiting-punishment-of-those-who-believe-in-biblical-marriage/


Man Who Identifies as Woman Dominates Female Weightlifting Competition
By Garrett Haley on March 27, 201732 Comments
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Photo Credit: New Zealand Herald
MELBOURNE – A 39-year-old man who identifies as a woman dominated a women’s weightlifting competition in Australia last week, becoming the first “transgender” person from New Zealand to compete in the games.
Gavin Hubbard of New Zealand describes himself as a female. Although he spent over 30 years living as man and competed in national men’s weightlifting competitions, he decided when he was in his mid-30’s to begin identifying as a female. He is now 39 and goes by the name Laurel.
http://christiannews.net/2017/03/27/man-who-identifies-as-woman-dominates-female-weightlifting-competition/


Crazed Indiana Man Yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ Arrested After Strangling Thrift Store Employee
By Heather Clark on March 31, 20175 Comments
MUNCIE, Ind. — An Indiana man broke a police officer’s hand during a scuffle as he was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly strangled a thrift store employee who sought to intervene as he went berserk in his quest to convert those present to Islam. Reports state that he repeatedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” as he fought being taken into custody by police.
Khalid Sulaiman Bilal, 24, of Saudi Arabia faces charges of battery with injury, disorderly conduct, strangulation, battery with injury to police, intimidation and resisting law enforcement. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is now investigating the incident.
According to Fox 59 News, Bilal entered the Muncie Goodwill store claiming to be Muhammad and seeking to convert those present to Islam.
He first went after a male employee, grabbing him by the collar, according to witness Chasity Fraley, who had been shopping with her three children.
“We moved to a different aisle … so I could take my kids away from the situation because they got very scared at that point, and then I heard him say, ‘I’m going to kill everyone in here,'” she told WISH-TV.
But then, after a female worker tried to intervene and calm Bilal down, he began strangling and assaulting her.
“He violently grabbed her around the neck and just was punching and whatever he could to her,” Fraley recalled. “A bunch of employees came out to keep him away from customers.”
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When police arrived, Bilal resisted arrest, breaking the hand of one officer and kicking the other. Reports state that he repeatedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” throughout the ordeal, which means “Allah is greater.” He was tased at least twice during the tussle.
http://christiannews.net/2017/03/31/crazed-indiana-man-yelling-allahu-akbar-arrested-after-strangling-thrift-store-employee/

Laughing Planned Parenthood Abortionist: It ‘Takes More Force’ to Dismember Some Babies
By Heather Clark on March 30, 201726 Comments
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LOS ANGELES — Newly-released undercover footage from the Center for Medical Progress captures a Planned Parenthood abortionist laughing about how much force is required to dismember babies when chemical agents aren’t used, and joking that she first thought she needed to go to the gym just to get in shape to perform a dilation and evacuation procedure.
“Research shows that Dig (short for Digoxin) doesn’t make the procedure easier in someone who is well trained, but I have to tell you anecdotally my biceps appreciate when the Dig works [to kill the baby],” DeShawn Taylor of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles stated, flexing her arm and giggling.
“It does not take me any longer to complete the procedure, but it takes more force,” she explained. “I remember when I was a fellow and I was training, I was like, ‘Oh, I have to hit the gym for this. I need to hit the gym.'”
http://christiannews.net/2017/03/30/laughing-planned-parenthood-abortionist-it-takes-more-force-to-dismember-some-babies/


Tennessee Couple Arrested After Allegedly Seeking to Sell Baby on Craigslist
By Heather Clark on March 29, 2017No Comment
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GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee couple has been arrested after allegedly seeking to sell their infant son for $3,000 on Craigslist.
John David Cain, 26 and Deanna Greer, 37, were arraigned on Monday at the Greene County General Sessions Court on charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect after they handed off the baby to an undercover investigator on Friday.
According to reports, a Craigslist user contacted the Elizabethton Police Department after seeing the post, which advertised “a 5-month-old baby for sale.” The police then alerted the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations.
An undercover agent consequently contacted the couple and was advised of an asking price of $3,000. The two parties arranged to meet up at the local Dollar General store, at which time the baby was handed over to the agent once he paid for the child in cash.
Tennessee Couple Arrested After Allegedly Seeking to Sell Baby on Craigslist
By Heather Clark on March 29, 2017No Comment
383 8 Share1 1 397

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee couple has been arrested after allegedly seeking to sell their infant son for $3,000 on Craigslist.
John David Cain, 26 and Deanna Greer, 37, were arraigned on Monday at the Greene County General Sessions Court on charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect after they handed off the baby to an undercover investigator on Friday.
According to reports, a Craigslist user contacted the Elizabethton Police Department after seeing the post, which advertised “a 5-month-old baby for sale.” The police then alerted the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations.
An undercover agent consequently contacted the couple and was advised of an asking price of $3,000. The two parties arranged to meet up at the local Dollar General store, at which time the baby was handed over to the agent once he paid for the child in cash.
http://christiannews.net/2017/03/29/tennessee-couple-arrested-after-allegedly-seeking-to-sell-baby-on-craigslist/


Student Groups at Christian-Identified University Seeking Softer Policies on Homosexuality
By Heather Clark on March 25, 2017124 Comments
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WAYNE, Pa. — Two student groups at a Christian-identified university in Pennsylvania are asking that the school soften its policies on homosexuality, including removing language in its student handbook that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.
Members of Eastern University’s “gay-straight alliance” club known as Refuge, as well as its Political Activism Club (PAC), teamed up to host “LGBT Solidarity Week” on campus March 13-17. Prior to the event, the groups also sent correspondence to the university board to ask that changes be made to the student handbook in accordance with recommendations from the Human Sexuality Task Force.
“This movement would like to advocate for changes that it does not feel are controversial, so as to make Eastern a more inclusive place for LGBT+ students,” a post on the Oddysey website reads.
The groups have requested, among other changes, that the university remove “homosexual conduct” from its citations of prohibited “moral turpitude” in the faculty handbook.
http://christiannews.net/2017/03/25/student-groups-at-christian-identified-university-seeking-softer-policies-on-homosexuality/

Montana House Advances Bill That Would Ban Sharia Law in State
By Heather Clark on March 26, 201714 Comments
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HELENA, Mont. — The Montana House of Representatives has advanced a bill that would ban Sharia law in the state.
Senate Bill 97, sponsored by Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, passed mainly along party lines on Monday 56-44. While it does not specifically mention Sharia law, it was often the focus of discussion during debate.
“If you go back and listen to the testimony of the proponents of this bill in both the House and Senate, the legislative intent is crystal clear that it targets one religion,” Rep. Ellie Hill Smith, D-Missoula, said. “That this was a Shariah law bill. It’s what every proponent had talked about.”
“It is the public policy of this state to protect its citizens from the application of foreign law when the application of foreign law will violate a right guaranteed by the Montana constitution or the United States constitution, including but not limited to due process, freedom of religion, speech, or press, and any right of privacy or marriage as specifically defined by the constitution and the laws of this state,” the bill reads in part.
However, Republicans disagree that the legislation singles out Muslims and took offense at assertions that the bill is xenophobic.
“We’ve heard a lot of discussion about this being a religious law. I just don’t read it that way,” said Rep. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton. “We are born with rights and government exists to protect those rights. We’re given those rights as individuals and that’s what makes us better than other countries that are based on collective rights.”
Residents who support the measure made similar remarks.
http://christiannews.net/2017/03/26/montana-house-advances-bill-that-would-ban-sharia-law-in-state/