Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July, 2015

The Only True Life

By T.M. Moore - Posted at The Fellowship of Ailbe Eternal life - not what you do, but Whom you know. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” - John 17.3 Wherefore we beseech Thee that we may know the thing we love, since we pray for nothing other than Thyself to be given to us; for Thou art our all, our life, our light, our salvation, our food, our drink, our God. - Columbanus, Sermon XIII, Irish, 7th century[1] A certain amount of confusion exists among the followers of Christ these days as to the nature of eternal life. Every believer agrees eternal life is a good thing, but just what eternal life consists of is not alike clear to all. Some consider that eternal life means going to heaven when they die. Considering the alternative, this is of course a very good thing. Others would say it’s that glorious sense of having the burden of guilt lifted off their backs, together with the knowledge they are f

Tennesseans await ruling on physician-assisted suicide

By Lonnie Wilkey - Posted at Baptist Press: NASHVILLE (BP) -- The issue of physician-assisted suicide or death with dignity has surfaced in Tennessee. Earlier this year the Tennessee General Assembly failed to act on a bill which would have allowed doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs when requested by terminally ill patients. In May, however, well-known Tennessee lawyer and politician John Jay Hooker filed a lawsuit challenging state law that makes it a felony to assist in a suicide, according to a report in The Tennessean on July 10. The Associate Press reported that the 84-year-old former candidate for governor of Tennessee has terminal cancer. Read more here...

What Does It Mean To Believe In The Sanctity Of Life?

Posted at Revival and Reformation: The phrase “sanctity of life” reflects the belief that, because people are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), human life has an inherently sacred attribute that should be protected and respected at all times. While God gave humanity the authority to kill and eat other forms of life (Genesis 9:3), the murdering of other human beings is expressly forbidden, with the penalty being death (Genesis 9:6). Humanity was created in God’s image, but sin has corrupted that image. There is nothing inherently sacred in fallen man. The sanctity of human life is not due to the fact that we are such wonderful and good beings. The only reason the sanctity of life applies to humanity is the fact that God created us in His image and set us apart from all other forms of life. Although that image has indeed been marred by sin, His image is still present in humanity. We are like God, and that likeness means that human life is always to be treated with dignity and respect.

Liberal Clergy Praise Planned Parenthood ‘Doing God’s Work’

By Jeffrey Walton - Posted at Juicy Ecumenism.com: Image from Juicy Ecumenism.com A group of liberal clergy who advise the largest abortion provider in the United States have praised employees of the organization for “doing God’s work.” “As faith leaders committed to justice, honesty, and liberty, we are troubled by the decades-long campaign of harassment against Planned Parenthood and those they serve,” the clergy statement reads. “Our faiths demand care for those marginalized by poverty and other oppressions. Faith leaders have supported Planned Parenthood for nearly 100 years because of our shared goals: every person — regardless of income, race, or religion — deserves access to safe, affordable, high-quality health care.” The statement does not mention abortion, instead portraying Planned Parenthood as an indispensable provider of “high-quality care” that “does the best of what religious traditions do.” Read more here...

10 Quick, Important Developments On The Planned Parenthood Scandal

By Mollie Hemingway - Posted at The Federalist: The abortion provider says its web site was attacked. But was it really? Cecile Richards/ Planned Parenthood Whether or not the story generates major media attention, the Center for Medical Progress’ expose of Planned Parenthood’s participation in the harvesting and sale of fetal organs continues to feature major updates. Here are 10 of them. 1) Injunction On Release Of Potential Upcoming Video Late Wednesday, the Los Angeles Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order against the Center for Medical Progress, the pro-life group whose undercover journalism has produced three videos showing Planned Parenthood officials engaged in the practice of harvesting of organs from unborn children killed by abortions. Under the terms of the order, the non-profit organization is banned from releasing video of a May lunch attended by three StemExpress officials . The complaint alleges multiple infractions by the Center for Medical Progress, inc

ILLINOIS HOUSE MEMBERS CALL FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD INVESTIGATION

Posted at Illinois Review: SPRINGFIELD - A group of Republican House members and one Downstate Democrat are calling for an investigation into Illinois' Planned Parenthood clinics after three undercover videos emerged with Planned Parenthood officials in California and Colorado were recorded in conversations about selling specimens from abortions. One Democrat - Jerry Costello II - signed onto HR 671 with 31 GOP House members, including Rep. Jeanne M Ives, Patricia R. Bellock, Barbara Wheeler, Mark Batinick, Thomas Morrison, Margo McDermed, Terri Bryant, Keith Wheeler, Robert W. Pritchard, David Reis, John D. Cavaletto, Brian W. Stewart, Tom Demmer, Reginald Phillips, Randy Frese, Donald L. Moffitt, Ron Sandack, Dwight Kay, Charles E. Meier, Joe Sosnowski, David Harris, David McSweeney, Steven Andersson, Tim Butler, Dan Brady, Norine Hammond, John M. Cabello, Adam Brown, C.D. Davidsmeyer, Jerry F. Costello, II, Grant Wehrli and Sheri L Jesiel. Read more here...

4th Video: Planned Parenthood VP Says Fetuses May Come Out Intact, Agrees Payments Specific to the Specimen

Nine Reasons Why Discerning Women Are Leaving the Church

By Michelle Lesley - Posted at The Pulpit & Pen: Earlier this week, Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay, pubished a blog article entitled “ Six Reasons Why Women May Be Leaving Your Church. ” Although I am not particularly a fan of Dr. Rainer (due to his allowing heretical materials to be sold at LifeWay ), I thought this article was a good one, and I agreed with several of the issues he raised, especially, that these issues need to be addressed by church leadership. As a ministry wife and someone in the field of women’s ministry myself, I, too, have noticed women leaving the church. Not just women in general, but a certain subset of church-attending ladies: discerning women. While Scripture is pretty clear that we can expect women (and men) who are false converts to eventually fall away from the gathering of believers, why are godly, genuinely regenerated women who love Christ, His word, and His church, leaving their local churches? Read more here...

How the Media Are Promoting Polyamory. The New “Marriage Equality”?

By Marsha West - Posted at Berean Research: Down, down, down the slippery slope America slides. We’re traveling at warp speed and at the rate we’re going we’ll hit rock bottom sooner than we anticipated. So brace yourselves, brethren. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. In this piece, Ryan T. Anderson, columnist for The Daily Signal , tackles the subject of polyamory. We knew that the High Court’s decision to legalize same-sex “marriage” would change everything. And it has. Ever heard of a “throuple”? No? Well, you’re about to. Picture courtesy of The Daily Signal  ABC News is mainstreaming the practice of polyamory—that is, group marriage—with a story titled, “Two Moms, One Dad, Two Babies Make One Big Happy Polyamorous Family.” The video (which you should watch at your own discretion, it includes discussions of three-way sex) profiles a self-described “triad” or “throuple”—a three-person couple. It discusses their desire for marriage equality. Read more here...

WHAT ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEACHING YOUR KIDS ABOUT MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY?

Posted at Wintery Knight: National Education Association This article from the radically leftist Washington Post unapologetically praises public school teachers for pushing their vision of sex and marriage onto children as young as four years old. It says: As young children develop their understanding of the world, they tend to rely heavily on binaries. If we understand the binaries a child is working within, we can encourage that child to think of counterexamples or introduce counterexamples ourselves into the conversation. These provide useful stumbling blocks that encourage them to expand their thinking. […]As the year unfolded, my students continued to play at themes of love and marriage. The conversations expanded and both kids and I were able to introduce new and different stumbling blocks: One can be in love and not get married, not all married people are moms or dads, and not all moms and dads are married. The conversations shifted based on what information the kids had inter

Third Video: 'Human Capital - Episode 1: Planned Parenthood's Black Market in Baby Parts'

Sin is the Only Bad Word Left

Posted at Your Mom Has A Blog: A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about a celebrity that went viral. Hundreds of thousands of people read it, and several hundred chimed in to let me know how much they loved or, more often, despised what I had said about the situation. I got plenty of hate mail of all kinds over the post, but I’ll never forget what one woman said to me in the comments section: People like you are the reason that I literally hate Christians. My reaction to the whole dust up was complete disbelief that people cared so much what one inconsequential girl in west Texas said about the content of a movie. I felt like the most loathed person in America for a couple of weeks–all because I had dared to utter the word sin in the same sentence as the name of a well-loved actor. Since that time I have learned that this word never goes over well. In fact, using the word is just about the biggest–well, sin–that a person can commit in our culture. Abortion isn’t sin….it

Kenyan President Publicly Rejects President Obama’s Gay Rights Message

By Chuck Ross - Posted at The Daily Caller: Image from Wikipedia In a rare public display, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta strongly disagreed with President Obama’s call for the African nation to prioritize gay rights, saying it is currently a “non-issue.” Obama arrived in Kenya Friday, his first visit to his ancestral homeland since becoming president. While the visit was mostly intended to focus on trade issues and terrorism, Obama has said he planned to deliver a “blunt message” on the issue of gay rights in Kenya. That message was delivered — and then swatted down by Kenyatta — during a joint Q&A session in Nairobi held Saturday. Read more here...

Banned Parenthood? Pro-lifers say video scandal should get abortion provider expelled from public schools

By Perry Chiaramonte - Posted at FOX News.com: Christian Pro-Life News Editor's Note: Folks, if your local school district is still allowing Planned Parenthood materials and representatives to teach your children about sex, you need to make your opposition known to the school board and pull your children out of the God-forsaken public schools. - AW The hidden camera scandal engulfing Planned Parenthood should be enough to get the organization kicked out of public schools, where it is the nation's leading provider of sex ed lessons, say pro-life groups that have long suspected the nonprofit of steering youngsters toward its abortion services. The national organization is reeling after a group called the Center for Medical Progress released a second video showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing prices for tissue from aborted fetuses. The cringe-inducing videos have prompted calls from some Republicans to cut federal funding to the organization, but its critics have long

DEMOCRATS’ “EQUALITY ACT” WILL THREATEN RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN ALL 50 STATES

Posted at Wintry Knight: First, let’s get the news from the left-leaning U.S. News and World Report . It says: Hoping to harness the momentum generated by the Supreme Court’s landmark decision legalizing gay marriage, congressional Democrats on Thursday unveiled sweeping legislation that would extend additional rights to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The Equality Act – introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in the upper chamber and Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., in the House – seeks to expand the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s protections against racial and sex-based discrimination to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. […]The measure would prohibit discrimination against LGBT persons in categories ranging from employment and housing to education and jury service, and would broaden where discrimination would be illegal in a “public accommodation” to include everything from shopping centers and banks to trave

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION REFUSES FOIA REQUESTS ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Posted at Wintery Knight: This story from the Federalist explains how the Obama administration responded to Freedom of Information Act requests for all communication, payments, etc. to Dr. Deborah Nucotola of Planned Parenthood. Excerpt: Earlier this week, Mary Hasson broke the news here at the Federalist that federal funds went to Planned Parenthood’s salad-munching, wine-sipping, organ-harvesting Dr. Deborah Nucatola for advice on “healthy baby” births. Hasson requested all communications and documents relevant to any payments to or compensation of fees, consultant fees, reimbursements, etc. to Deborah Nucatola, MD, a Planned Parenthood employee. And she requested that the documents be sent as soon as possible. ... Read more here...

Confident Joy in a Cruel World

By Rev. Colin Mercer - Posted at thinkGospel.com: "How can we be happy or confident in a cruel world? One answer to that question involves the Christian remembering that though the world is against him, God is for him." There are many Christians who are persecuted because of their faith in Christ. Some are overlooked for promotion at work because they profess salvation. Others are despised and belittled by unsaved family members because they know and love the Lord. Many are ostracized by friends because they live differently and avoid the sins of this world. And in many cases across the world some are imprisoned and even put to death because of their loyalty to the Lord. Persecution in one form or another is common against the people of God. It is a reality. Read more here...

Christian Normal

By T. M. Moore - Posted at The Fellowship of Ailbe: "If we follow Jesus only as far as is convenient, or only so long as our comfort is not disturbed, then would we dare to consider that to be a cross-bearing, Law-keeping, Kingdom-proclaiming life? Such a life is not the normal Christian life, but sub-normal, and perhaps not truly Christian at all." What is "normal" for the Christian life? “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” - Matthew 16.24 ...this is the truth of the gospel, that the true disciples of Christ crucified should follow Him with the cross. - Columbanus, Letter to His Disciples, Irish, 7th century[1] What should we expect as the “normal road” of following Jesus? I mean the “normal” Christian life, what we look forward to our lives being like every day as we walk the path with Jesus. What should we expect? The phrase, “from glory to glory” comes to mind (2 Cor. 3.12-18). Jes

KY Forbids Pastors Calling Homosexuality 'Sinful'

Posted at Culture News: Attorneys for Pastor David Wells are demanding that the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) drop the religious test on volunteer counselors issued by the Warren County Regional Juvenile Detention Center that censors use of the Bible regarding sexual sin. Wells was recently dismissed by the State because he refused to sign an agreement denouncing God's Word. "Many juveniles are in DJJ custody because of sexual crimes. Pastor Wells must be able to discuss what the Bible says about matters of sexuality with the juveniles he is trying to help. . . . DJJ 912 equates the teaching of biblical morality with ‘derogatory,’ ‘biased” and ‘hateful’ speech." -- Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel (representing David Wells) Read more here...

Is Planned Parenthood to Blame for Mass Shootings?

By J.D. Hall - Posted at The Pulpit & Pen: Planned Parenthood made news this month for selling parts of aborted babies, essentially being guilty of trafficking human organs. Many are outraged, and should be. The undercover videos released were stomach churning, as profit motivation became the clear reason for Planned Parenthood’s black market trade of flesh. How could this happen, we wonder. All the while, we have our income tax taken to subsidize this organization. Another tragedy has fallen upon us. In a string of public shootings (and it was neither the first nor the last), Dylann Roof walked into a church in Charleston South Carolina and began to systematically abort people. One of those murdered in cold blood was politician, Clementa Pinckney, who used his political power to fight for the “right” of parents to kill their children because they don’t want them around. The problem is that our post-modern culture thinks a baby is only a live human being if the mother wants him or

Stupid or Sinister? Seven Ways to Tell the Difference Between Spiritual Dullards and Deviants

By J.D. Hall - Posted at the Pulpit & Pen: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” – Matthew 10:16 Rick Warren is a harmless teddy bear. He truly doesn’t understand why people have a problem with him. He’s just not the sharpest guy, but God has really used him. Theologically, maybe he needs some more training…but his heart is in the right place. Beth Moore doesn’t mean that God really spoke to her when she said, “God told me.” It’s just an expression. Yes, she should know better than to say that. But she’s harmless. She just needs more discipleship. Karen Swallow Prior has some terrible methodology, but let’s be honest. She probably hasn’t had anyone explain to her why the It Gets Better campaign is not a good thing. She probably doesn’t understand the LGBT agenda or why they love her so much. She’s got good intentions, but just needs someone to come explain why all of this is a very, very bad idea. A

Does What We Mean By God Matter?

By Rev. Benjamin P. Glaser - Posted at Mountains and Magnolias: Christians know the names, “Heavenly Father”, “Jesus Christ”, and “Holy Spirit”, use them regularly in conversation, and more or less have a passing familiarity with what they represent. Or at least they think they do. In this short article I want to ask the question do we really know what they mean, scripturally. Do we properly understand their place in relation to ourselves and how our grasp of who God is affects our knowledge of Him? A good number of the problems the Church faces in our day can find their start in losing sight of the immensity of God and His Holiness. His Otherness. To put it bluntly God is God and humans are not. When the church turns God into a comfortable grandfather or a deified version of Santa Claus and casts off, intentionally or not, the sacredness of God we greatly err. Read more here...

Illinois UCC Seminary Distributes Condoms That Talk of Christ's Second Coming

By Bethany Blankley - Posted at Charisma News: Much false teaching and false representation of Christianity exists in America today. One recent example is the distribution of free condoms by Chicago Theological Seminary , an affiliate of the United Church of Christ (UCC). At last week's 2015 Wild Goose Festival attendees received condom packages designed with a colored image of a rainbow flame, an LGBT variation of the UCC's logo. Printed above the flame were instructions: "Chicago Theological Seminary, Take Two (For the second coming!)" The text blatantly suggests Jesus Christ's second coming relates to one needing two condoms for multiple partners. Image from:  http://wildgoosefestival.org/festival-2014/about/ In other words, a "Christian" seminary is likening the Second Coming of Christ to gay sex. Read more here...

PLANNED PARENTHOOD VIDEOS STIR IL'S JAN SCHAKOWSKY TO CALL FOR DOJ INVESTIGATION - OF THE VIDEOGRAPHERS

Posted at Illinois Review: WASHINGTON - National Public Radio is reporting Thursday afternoon that Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky has been disturbed by the undercover videos that reveal Planned Parenthood officials' interest in getting a good price for body parts taken from aborted babies. Indeed, the pro-abortion federal lawmaker is so upset, she and three of her colleagues have called on the Department of Justice to initiate an investigation - of the undercover videographers with the Center for Medical Progress. The letter is HERE . Read more here...

Planned Parenthood Pulls Names of Corporate Donors After Coca-Cola, Ford and Xerox Object

By Chelsea Scism - Posted at the Daily Signal: Representatives from Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Co. and Xerox say they’ve asked Planned Parenthood to remove their names as corporate donors to the embattled organization. The move follows a Daily Signal report revealing the names of 41 companies that Planned Parenthood listed as donors. That list, which was featured on Planned Parenthood’s website , has since been removed. We Asked Companies About Their Donations to Planned Parenthood. Here’s How They Responded. This latest development comes in the wake of two undercover videos that showed Planned Parenthood executives talking about the sale of fetal body parts. Planned Parenthood is facing both federal and state investigations—and the possibility of losing taxpayer funding. Read more here...

Obama DOJ Plans To Investigate…The Group That Busted Planned Parenthood

Posted at The Federalist: (Shutterstock image) Instead of investigating whether Planned Parenthood illegally trafficked baby body parts, Obama's DOJ is targeting the group behind the undercover videos The U.S. Department of Justice announced plans to investigate the group that produced undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood employees admitting that they harvest and sell organs ripped from the bodies aborted babies. Politico reported the news of the coming DOJ investigation earlier today: JUSTICE TO PROBE CENTER FOR MEDICAL PROGRESS — While congressional committees investigate Planned Parenthood’s practices, the Justice Department agreed to look into whether the group that released the sting videos obtained the footage legally. In response to a request by House Democrats, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Wednesday afternoon that Justice would “review all of the information and determine what the appropriate steps moving forward would be.” Planned Parenthood has staunchly

Abstinence Redefined…Really?

Posted at Expose Sex Ed Now!: Read more here Most parents, faith leaders, taxpayers, and school board members have no idea what is in the sex programs offered in their schools. They just believe and rubber stamp whatever the SexPerts tell them. This must end. We can no longer hide our heads in the sand or pretend to live in Mayberry. Planned Parenthood , the largest provider of sex education in America, and their National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education must stop transforming generations into their own image. Making Proud Choices! , is a vile sex program targeting 11-14 year old minors. SexPerts and their disciples across the nation will say and do anything to get these programs into schools. No amount of editing, adapting, or renaming programs changes the intent, which is to groom kids for the sex. Read more here...

Cause and Effect: How The Judgment of God Results in Disaster- Or, How Jeremiah is Closer to Pat Robertson than Joel Osteen

By Dr. Jim West - Posted at ZWINGLIUS REDIVIVUS: The Prophet Jeremiah - Image from  http://christianimagesource.com/ One of the more interesting aspects of Jeremiah’s preaching is his clear belief that God is the direct cause of disaster. For instance, in Jeremiah 6:1ff we find “Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem! Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem; For evil looks down from the north, And a great destruction. “The comely and dainty one, the daughter of Zion, I will cut off. “Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, They will pitch their tents around her, They will pasture each in his place. “Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us attack at noon. Woe to us, for the day declines, For the shadows of the evening lengthen! “Arise, and let us attack by night And destroy her palaces!” Disaster in the form of an enemy from the north is coming. Why? Not simply because the people of the north are expanding sout

Federal court strikes down N. Dakota’s Heartbeat Bill

By Ben Johnson - Posted at LifeSiteNews.com: BISMARCK, ND, July 22, 2015 ( LifeSiteNews ) – A federal appeals court has struck down the nation's most protective pro-life law, a North Dakota measure that would bar abortions after a baby's heartbeat could be detected. The law, which Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple signed into law in March 2013 , would have prohibited abortionists from performing most abortions after six weeks. The U.S. Supreme Court prohibits any state from unduly burdening women seeking abortions before the point of viability, which it defined at 24 weeks gestation in the 1992 Casey decision. A state expert, OB/GYN Dr. Jerry Obritsch, had argued before the court that viability began much earlier due to scientific advancements, which some consider controversial. Read more here...

Where Does the Journey End?

By James Faris - Posted at Gentle Reformation: "Indiana schild" by Andreas Faessler  In April, when Indiana Governor Mike Pence and legislators called for a “fix” to the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act to exempt discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, Scott McCorkle, a LGBT activist said, “Today is a positive first step, but it is a first step in a larger discussion [to] acknowledge the importance of equal rights for all, and I am excited about what will come in the next step of our journey.” Indiana seems poised to consider the next step in providing protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Both democrats and republicans claim to be hard at work crafting legislation for the next legislative session which begins in January. The discussion of an anti-discrimination law is heating up at a federal level. But the Hoosier State may well be first in the spotlight this coming winter, and

Ashley Madison: Your Sin Will Find You Out

By Bill Muehlenberg - Posted at Culture Watch: What an utterly gross betrayal of trust! You mean having your Internet secrets publicly exposed by hackers? No, I mean breaking your marriage vows and cheating on your spouse. But we have both now happening big time, and it is a perfectly stunning example of Numbers 32:23: “you may be sure that your sin will find you out”. Caught! People think they can sneak around committing all kinds of sins, and actually think they can get away with it. Sorry, but it does not work that way. What you sow you will reap. If you cheat on your spouse, sooner or later it will catch up with you. And it seems that 38 million people just learned this the hard way. I refer to a hacking scandal on top of a marriage cheating scandal. One absolutely despicable company makes a profit by busting up marriages. I refer to the lowlife profiteers at Ashley Madison, whose motto is, “Life Is Short. Have An Affair”. Read more here...

Video gambling license given to felon

From ILCAAAP : Gambling Alert - Video gambling license given to felon The Chicago Tribune reported the Illinois Gaming Board approved a license for a man who admitted in federal court he installed illegal terminal in west suburban taverns and then falsified tax documents so he and the bar owners could hide the income. The board also licensed a man previously charged with felony syndicated gambling for allegedly working with his father to install illegal video gambling machines in McHenry County bars, the Tribune reported. Read more From Chicagoist: To date, the Gaming Board has issued 7,000 licenses to operate video gambling machines in the state. Fewer than 400 applicants have been denied a license. To his credit, former Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe said, "Is it possible to drop the ball? Absolutely." He blamed those mistakes on poor funding: "I do think it's important that we were never fully funded to have all the people that we were supposed to have. And I

Is Jesus a libertarian? A friendly response to Jason Peirce

By Pastor Shawn Mathis An interesting article was brought to my attention. The article, 4 Examples of Jesus Christ’s Libertarianism , made many surprising claims. And I want to focus on two of them: Satan owns the governments of this world. Jesus did not command obedience to the governments of this world. For his first claim, the offered explanation of Luke 4 presents a curious view of the Devil: the governments of this world “belong to the devil. The state then, is a primary mechanism and means by which the devil can achieve his ends.” His evidence offered is that Christ did not deny the claim of the Devil. Yet, in two of the other temptations, the Devil said “If you are the Son of God. . .”, and Christ never verbally corrected the Devil in those instances. Does this mean that Jesus is conceding to the Devil’s insinuation that Christ may not be the Son of God? No. Silence is not the same thing as acquiescence. Further, Satan had already lied in the other temptations

'Invisible' Abortions Soar Among Teens — Plan B

Posted at Culture News: Today, the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that use of the "morning-after pill" (Plan B) to counteract pregnancy has increased rapidly among teens since being sold in stores over the counter like candy. The warning label on this drug indicates that pregnancy may be precluded by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg, thus causing an abortion that is typically invisible to the mother. Read more here...

Asia Bibi's last chance for freedom

Posted at World Watch Monitor: Asia Bibi with her two daughters, before her sentencing in November 2010. CLAAS Pakistani Christian Aasiya Noreen (known as Asia Bibi) has been allowed to take her appeal against her death penalty for blasphemy to Pakistan's Supreme Court in the capital, Islamabad. Until the Supreme Court reaches its final decision, Noreen cannot be executed. Commentators today have praised the Supreme Court for its courage to hear the appeal in the face of strong public sentiment against anyone seen to denigrate Islam, with some calling it a “historic day for Pakistan”. Her lawyer, Saiful Malook, appeared in front of three Supreme Court judges at the first hearing today (22 July) in Lahore. After her appeal in Lahore's High Court was unsuccessful in October 2014, this is now the last chance for them to appeal that her conviction should never have been allowed, due to inadmissible evidence. While her previous appeal at the High Court in Lahore was

Hope in the Wake of Planned Parenthood

By Jordan Standridge - Posted at The Cripplegate: I just finished watching a second video put out by the Center for Medical Progress that–as unbelievable as this sounds–is more damning than the first. It’s impossible to watch a video like this and not cry or feel anger. Someone talking with excitement about selling baby body parts shows the callousness of humanity reaching new depths. Yet these videos made me have sympathy for a group of victims I had never thought of before–namely mothers who have had an abortion. Many of these women were pushed into this situation. They bought the lie–that the life inside of them didn’t matter, at least not as much as their own lives do. They allowed the workers at Planned Parenthood to tell them that abortion was what was right, that there is nothing wrong with it, and that the “thing” inside of them was just a clump of cells. They were led to believe by the counselors there that they had to do what was right for them, and not for their baby. And t

Wheaton’s “Celibate Gay” Counselor Resigns

From ChristianHeadlines.com: Julie Rodgers, a counselor at the evangelical Wheaton College who described herself as a celibate gay Christian, resigned her position at the Christian school located near Chicago on Monday. In a post on her personal blog, Rodgers said her views on same-sex relationships have changed. “It seems like a good time to share some of the ways my thinking on how to best love and support sexual minorities has evolved through the years,” Rodgers wrote. “Though I’ve been slow to admit it to myself, I’ve quietly supported same-sex relationships for a while now.” Read more here...

‘I Want a Lamborghini': Second Expose’ Released After Planned Parenthood Denies Selling Baby Organs

By Heather Clark - Posted at Christian News Network: WASHINGTON — Days after the president of Planned Parenthood released a video statement denying that the organization makes any profit from selling the organs of aborted babies, a second undercover video has been released showing another top director joking that she would like enough to buy a Lamborghini. “I want to be really clear: The allegation that Planned Parenthood profits in any way from tissue donation is not true,” Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards claimed in a video on Thursday, emphasizing the word “any.” But on Tuesday, The Center for Medical Progress released a second undercover video, this time with abortionist Mary Gatter, the president of Planned Parenthood’s Medical Directors Council. The Center for Medical Progress again posed as a fetal tissue procurement company, and asked Gatter what kind of compensation she would expect for intact organs. Read more here...

Slavery, Nazism...Abortion? Is There Really Any Difference?

Posted at Revival and Reformation: I read something the other day and it bothered me. I read a discussion between two people talking about a group of people whom one of them believed to be non-persons, and the other believed they were persons deserving of rights. The group of people were regarded as animals or worse. They had no rights. They were considered property. They were treated as possessions. This group of people, by law were killed when the owner decided he or she had had enough with them, or they were considered an inconvenience. The law said that murdering these people was okay, and the law even said (between the lines, of course), that these people were doing society a favor by killing them. Read more here...

The Media Used To Do Abortion Stings, Not Slam Undercover Work

By D.C. McAllister - Posted at The Federalist: Instead of looking into the substance of the story, the media have gone after the undercover journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood’s trafficking in human flesh. After the release of a shocking video by the Center for Medical Progress that shows an abortion doctor talking about harvesting and selling baby parts, the mainstream media refused to cover the story . No surprise there. They also blacked out the grisly realities of Kermit Gosnell , an abortion doctor who severed babies’ necks and drowned them in toilets. What the media in our country used to do—investigate and expose the truth—has been left to groups like the nonprofit Center for Medical Progress (CMP) . Through the Human Capital project, these citizen journalists are undergoing extensive sting operations to document how Planned Parenthood sells body parts of aborted babies—a worthy undertaking considering the seriousness of the practice, the ethical questions swirling around

Ray Comfort: Losing the Next Generation and “Homosexual unions are not marriage...”

From the July 20, 2015 Living Waters Newsletter : Christian Examiner: Do you fear we’re losing the next generation on this issue? Ray Comfort: We’ve lost them. They’re gone. Homosexuality in the early 1960s was a criminal activity in all 50 states. How this has changed in the past 40 years to the point where it’s glorified, it’s celebrated. However, where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. There’s nothing too hard for God. The Gospel transforms the human heart. We’re past the “sign-the-petition” stage. When you look at all the big companies such as Nike and Microsoft and Apple and Target—all these companies that are supporting homosexuality, I believe we’re even past the boycotting stage. What are we going to boycott next—oxygen? We’ve got to go back and say, “What did the church do in the book of Acts?” They didn’t have their hope in politics, in signing petitions, in boycotting. Their hope was in the Gospel, because if you want a nation to be righteous, you don’t do it

Planned Parenthood’s “baby parts” scandal underscores the need for Personhood

By Jay Rogers - Posted at The Forerunner: Millions of abortions is just statistics, a single murder of a Person is a tragedy! "The outcry over this has been monumental. However, in my support of Personhood, I have been torn that over one million preborn babies are slaughtered each year, while the selling of the body parts is what has led to the outcry of horror and disgust..." You may have already seen the latest scandal involving tax-funded Planned Parenthood flouting federal law by selling body parts of aborted babies — including hearts, lungs and livers — for medical research. A YouTube video has gone viral and millions of people have already seen and heard undercover footage of Planned Parenthood’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Deborah Nucatola, as she callously munches salad and sips red wine over an executive lunch with pro-life activists posing as peddlers of fetal organs. Read more here...

Franklin Graham: Planned Parenthood Must Go & Politicians Respond

By Michael F. Haverluck - Posted at One News Now: Franklin Graham says America will pay for Planned Parenthood’s selling of aborted body parts, arguing its abortionists have no conscience and should be shut down. In response to a posted undercover video-gone-viral depicting Planned Parenthood Federation of America Senior Director of Medical Services Dr. Deborah Nucatola stating over lunch how her government-subsidized organization sells the body parts of aborted preborn children, the younger Graham came down hard on the abortion group. "The people who perform it have no conscience, so I'm not at all surprised that they would be selling organs, tissue and body parts from babies," said Billy Graham Evangelistic Association President Franklin Graham. "Planned Parenthood should be put out of business — they've done enough damage." Read more here...

Fetish Celebration and Baby Organ Harvesting Go Hand in Hand: Both Represent Social Decay

By Stella Morabito: The media and Hollywood do little but feed and cultivate attitudes of self-absorption. Academics also foster self-absorption in their college students who now can’t read literary classics because the content is too “triggering” for their tender emotions. We should ask: How on earth can people have real relationships or establish any kind of true community if everyone is so obsessed with their own delicate sensibilities? The answer is: we can’t. Healthy personal relationships need a foundation of common reality and common language through which people can communicate. Most of all, they need a common belief that there is inherent worth and dignity in all human beings, not just themselves. So as more folks sink deeper into believing life is all about them, they are more liable to end up like Bruce Jenner: obsessed by the urge to project an imagined persona everywhere and eager to suck up whatever oxygen might be in any given room. Or like abortionists who m

Ideas For Reporters Struggling To Cover Planned Parenthood

By Mollie Hemingway - Posted at The Federalist: "Compare, for instance, what happened in the last month with coverage of Confederate flags. The controversy over the flag arose after the man charged in the Charleston church shooting was pictured with a Confederate flag. Coverage was media-led and media-stoked..." Many years ago I interviewed for a reporting job covering government waste, fraud and mismanagement. The interview went well and my future employers mentioned that they’d had trouble keeping the position filled as many reporters had trouble coming up with story ideas. They wondered if that would be a problem. I thought they were joking, so I chuckled. But they were entirely serious. I thought of that when looking at media coverage of the Planned Parenthood scandal . The media seem to be really struggling to come up with any story ideas for how to cover this story. A few reporters wrote an initial story on the undercover video that caught the senior director

White House backs Planned Parenthood's explanation for shocking abortion video

By Susan Crabtree - Posted at The Washington Examiner: President Obama's top spokesman indicated that the White House is taking Planned Parenthood at its word when the group says it follows all ethical and legal guidelines when it comes to abortion, even after a video was released indicating the group may be violating the law by profiting from donated fetal tissue from abortions. The Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group, secretly filmed a senior director of Planned Parenthood talking about the sale of body parts of aborted embryos. That director at one point indicated that it's possible to profit from these exchanges, an act that is against the law. Read more here...

Obama's Gay Agenda Trumps Congress—Employment/ENDA

Posted at Culture News: This week, President Obama's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discovered groundbreaking new "gay rights" under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by reinterpreting "sex discrimination" provisions to enact a de facto Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that Congress, including Democrats, has refused to pass for decades. Thus as quickly as activist courts can carry out this Obama precedent, virtually every sexual deviancy will be guaranteed in the workplace, including a cross-dressing man who suddenly shows up in a dress, could not be fired, not even from a Christian school. "President Obama 'will have accomplished what more than 40 years of legislative advocacy in Congress could not: full protection of gay men and lesbians from job discrimination throughout the United States.'" -- Dale Carpenter, Distinguished University Teaching Professor and Earl R. Larson Professor of Civil Rights &am

No Nest on 73rd Street

By James Faris - Posted at Gentle Reformation: "It’s August 6th 1975. You walk toward the bus stop. Your neighbors are waiting there. It’s all so familiar. All at once you step on something soft. Even through your shoe you have the sense of something unusual, something marked by a special “give”. Instinct pulls your foot away in an awkward little movement. You look down and see a tiny naked body. A bird you think, fallen from its nest. But…there is no nest on 73rd Street. No bird so big. It is rubber, then…a model…a joke. Yes, it’s a joke, and you bend to see it. Because you must, and it is no joke. It is a baby, and dead. You cover your mouth, your eyes. You are fixed. Horror has found its chink and crawled in, and you will never be the same as you were. Others come and you hear them speak with strangely altered voices. “Look,” they say. “It’s a baby.” “Here’s another!” And another! Yes, it’s true! There are more of these…little carcasses upon the street.

Abortion Video Leads to Claims of Modern Day Grave Robbing

By Bob Smietana - Posted at Christianity Today: "Planned Parenthood's unconscionable acts are recorded and proven. But it will take a lot of pressure to bring consequences to bear,” said Katie Short, Life Legal's vice-president for legal affairs in a statement. “After these revelations, the first thing every public official should be asked is why a penny of taxpayer money is going to fund any part of Planned Parenthood's work." In the summer of 2014, two actors, posing as representatives of an organ donation firm, sat down with Deborah Nucatola, senior director of medical services at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The two-hour conversation was covertly recorded by a group called the Center for Medical Progress. Over white wine and salad, they discussed the details of fetal tissue and organ donations—the cost and the gruesome specifics of how specific tissues are collected. Read more here...

Georgia: GOVERNOR DEAL ORDERS A STATE REVIEW OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD

By Christy Riggins - Posted at Z Politics: Governor Nathan Deal has ordered a state review of Planned Parenthood clinics after a recent video made shocking revelations that the organization may be selling fetal organs and body parts. As noted in a press release from Governor’s office, the Governor wants to ensure that such acts are not occurring in Georgia. Read more here...

Ohio and Louisiana 'scrutinize Planned Parenthood future closely'

By Charlie Butts - Posted at One News Now: At least two states scrutinize Planned Parenthood future closely The troubled New Orleans Planned Parenthood is facing a state probe and could find its opening date delayed or perhaps cancelled. And Ohio is taking a look at the abortion giant to determine whether it ought to retain its status as a nonprofit organization there. Promptly after release of an undercover video of a Planned Parenthood executive describing the sale of tissue and organs of aborted children, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was moved to take action, as Benjamin Clapper of the Louisiana Pro-Life Federation tells OneNewsNow. “Governor Jindal sees possibly illegal activities both in the sale of fetal remains and the partial-birth abortions that would be performed by Planned Parenthood in order to extract these organs and fetal body parts,” he says. Read more here...

Missouri Republicans: video suggests Planned Parenthood violations in St. Louis

By Mike Lear - Posted at MissouriNet.com: Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Kurt Schaefer Elected Missouri Republicans say a hidden camera video does show Planned Parenthood’s director of medical research discussing harvesting organs after abortions, and selling them. That director also tells two people posing as potential buyers to consider the organization’s facility in St. Louis as a potential supplier. “They do [second trimester abortions], they have a very extensive collaboration with all kinds of research, and they have a really dynamic medical director,” Dr. Deborah Nucatola says about St. Louis in the video. “I think that’s definitely worth your while. Just thinking of the map and if there was some place that was untapped, I would say St. Louis.” State Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) has written a letter to Attorney General Chris Koster (D), saying the Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis should be investigated. Read more here...

#ChattanoogaShooting in Perspective: Human Depravity and Naive Gun Free Zone

By Slimjim - Posted at The Domain for Truth: My heart goes out to the loved ones of the four Marines who were killed yesterday during the Chattanooga Shooting. I imagine Liberals and Democrats would want to take advantage of this unfortunate incident to cry for more gun control such as restriction on more weapons that could be purchased and also more areas that are legally gun free zone. While I do think most gun-control activists are sincere I think many are mistaken at a fundamental level of understanding human nature. One wonders if they understand the extent of man’s depravity. I think “Gun Free Zone” that is not enforced with people who are armed is quite a naive concept... Read more here...