Christian Heritage News

By Bill Muehlenberger - Posted at Culture Watch: Finally a win for freedom of conscience and religion: While she has been getting a lot of attention lately, I first wrote about the brave European politician and Christian champion Päivi Räsänen back in 2019. In that piece I referred to her as “the Finnish Israel Folau” because she was taking a strong and principled stand for biblical truth, even while serving in a hostile, secular parliament. I quoted news reports about her at the time stating her ‘crime’: “A Christian member of Finland’s parliament is under investigation after she cited the New Testament on social media to voice her objection to the Lutheran church’s participation in an LGBT pride event.” billmuehlenberg.com/2019/09/16/quoting-from-the-bible-will-get-you-into-trouble/ As she said in an interview back then (which I also featured in my article): We are living at a time when the effect of Christian culture on society is narrowing. Although many Finns still belong to Chris

 By Linda Harvey - Posted at Mission America: There are times when many of us would really love to say, “We told you so.” Despite the mocking and scorn over the years, it turns out there actually is a “gay” agenda directed toward children-- depraved and aggressive-- and it’s now more obvious than ever. The Florida Parental Rights Bill (HB 1557) reveals the crass, exploitative underbelly of “gay” activism and is a threat to the prize target of many wayward adults—vulnerable children. This important bill recently signed by Governor Ron DeSantis protects children in kindergarten through third grade from homosexual and gender deviance indoctrination in lessons, books and so on. It also prohibits schools from withholding physical/mental health information from a parent. The law makes perfect sense and my hope is that we can pass many such bills in other states. I wish lawmakers had extended it to all grade levels, but perhaps that seemed an unreachable goal. Yet the measure is a good start

During the 16th century, early evangelical preacher Ulrich Zwingli led the Reformation of the city of Zurich, Switzerland, and he defended Christian liberty – even when it came to eating sausages during the season of Lent.  By Ben Hawkins - Posted at The Pathway: ZURICH, Switzerland – By 1523, the Protestant revolt against the medieval Catholic church had taken hold across Europe, and evangelicals (that is, early Protestants) in the Swiss city of Basel celebrated Ash Wednesday like never before. In “nine great heaps,” they piled together wooden religious sculptures from across the city, deriding them as “idols” of the medieval Catholic church. And there, according to a report decades later by the English evangelical John Foxe, “all the stocks and idols … were burnt to ashes before the great church door.” In jest, Foxe (author of his famous Book of Martyrs ) added, that day at least was “a right Ash Wednesday of God’s own making.” Foxe’s comment about the hurly-burly of that 1523 Ash We

 By Elizabeth Prata - Posted at The End Time: I am a former journalist. I was an investigative reporter and also a features writer for both weeklies and daily newspapers for ten years. I got out of journalism and went back to education in 2010, but the profession of journalistic integrity still speaks strongly to my heart. It is the Fourth Estate and foundational to a strong democracy. There are unscrupulous writers who call themselves journalists. They use their bully pulpit, whether it’s the newsprint or screens of their online media outlets, to damage and destroy. Some do it evilly well. They delight to damage a lot of people and besmirch reputations and they do it with dastardly conviction. Some years ago, one such muckraker got me into journalism. I did it so I could combat their negativity with credible and decent writing that edified and informed, not harmed. Theodore Roosevelt used the word “muck-raker” in a speech he gave regarding yellow journalism, a newspaper practice that

 By Eric Davis - Posted at The Cripplegate: "...A woman is a grown female human being who is made in the image of God. A woman is the non-male gender (despite the debate, evidence is lacking to substantiate the claim from Scripture that sex and gender are different). A woman possesses non-male sexual anatomy and physiology. A woman is that gender which is hardwired for pregnancy and childbirth (some woman may not be able to get pregnant, but they still carry the anatomy and physiology for it). A woman carries the XX chromosomes. No man has ever, nor will ever, menstruate, get pregnant, or give birth. And those who insist otherwise know that they are lying." “Can you provide a definition for the word, ‘woman’?” This was the question posed by Senator Marsha Blackburn to judge Ketanji Brown Jackson recently at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing. What an odd question to ask at a confirmation. One would, perhaps, expect questions on complexities of the law and the United Sta

 By Michael Foust - Posted at Christian Headlines: An American missionary who became a well-known pastor in a major Ukrainian city has been kidnapped by Russian soldiers from his home. Dmitry Bodyu , the pastor of Word of Life Church in Melitopol, was taken by eight to 10 Russian soldiers Saturday, his wife Helen told NBC News . He is 50. “They came in, took our phones, [electronics and] took him somewhere – I don’t know where,” his wife said. His daughter, Esther Bodyu-Ogawa, told NBC News the Russians asked if he was American. They also took his passport. Read more... UPDATE 3.38.2022:  American Pastor Allegedly Kidnapped by Russian Forces Has Been Freed, Family Says   (NBC DFW)

By Denny Burk The video at the bottom of this post is queued up to an extraordinary exchange that occurred at yesterday’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Senator Marsha Blackburn asks Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson if she can define what a woman is. Here’s a transcript of what they said, and you’re not going to believe it. Blackburn: Do you agree with Justice Ginsburg that there are physical differences between men and women that are enduring? Jackson: Um, Senator. Respectfully, I’m not familiar with that particular quote or case, so it’s hard for me to comment as to whether… Blackburn: Okay… Do you interpret Justice Ginsburg’s meaning of “men” and “women” as male and female? Jackson: Again, because I don’t know the case, I don’t know how I’d interpret it. I need to read the whole… Blackburn: Okay. Can you provide a definition for the word woman? Jackson: Can I provide a definition? No. Blackburn: Yeah. Jackson: I can’t. Blackburn: You can’t? Jackson: Mm. Not

 By Jonathan Howe - Posted at Baptist Press: CAPE CORAL, Fla. (BP) – Founders Ministries President Tom Ascol announced his intention to run for SBC president Tuesday (March 22) in a story published at the Daily Wire, a conservative news site conceived and founded by political commentators Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing. The nomination was also announced through a post at the Founders Ministries website. Ascol becomes the second announced candidate for the office. Florida pastor Willy Rice was announced as a candidate last month a day after current SBC President Ed Litton announced he would not seek a second term. Ascol has pastored Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral since 1986. Prior to his time at Grace, he served as a pastor and associate pastor of various churches in Texas. “I love the SBC and am grateful for all the wonderful things God has done in and through the Convention,” Ascol told Baptist Press in a phone interview. “I believe we are in need of a course correction so that

By Valery Zadorozhnyy - Posted at Tabletalk Magazine: Published March 17, 2022 Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am currently in Odessa, where all is still relatively well. Air raid alarms rarely sound. A couple of minutes ago, I heard shots from the sea. A rocket hit a house not far from the house where my mother is, but thankfully it did not explode. You may know what is happening in other cities from the news. My wife and children have gone to Poland, so I’m not worried. What of other Ukrainian Christians? What is the state of the church in Ukraine currently? There are some pastors and churches that are under fire in Kyiv every day and need the prayers of God’s people. There is the pastor of the Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church in Kyiv, Pastor Ivan Bespalov, with his family. Another Reformed pastor in Kyiv, Pastor Sergey Nakul, reported that his young son recently asked, “Dad, if Putin kills us, will we go to heaven?” “Yes, son, of course we will go to heaven.” Due to the chaos, I think

 By Samuel Sey - Posted at Slow to Write:  Most conservatives support Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Bill”. However, many of these supposed conservatives apparently support the bill for the wrong reasons. Many conservatives do not care about protecting children from LGBTQ indoctrination, they only care about protecting children from leftist indoctrination. Most “conservatives” today are heading toward the same direction as liberals and leftists—they’re simply progressing at a slower speed. Christless conservatives hate leftism, not sin. We Christians shouldn’t forget that. They are generally our political allies, but they are not our philosophical allies. Jesus said: “Whoever is not with me is against me.” ( Matthew 12:30 ) That applies to conservatives too. Leftists aren’t the only people who are against Jesus. Christless conservatives are against Jesus too. Therefore, Christless conservatives have more in common with leftists than they have with Christians. So although leftists

 By Robert Morrison - Posted at Providence: The recent attack by Russian forces on a maternity hospital in Mukachevo, Ukraine, killing three and injuring 17, has blackened Russia’s reputation around the world. Some are quoting Sergei Lavrov, Moscow’s foreign minister, who claimed there were Nazis in there. It shows the increasing brutality of the Kremlin’s assault on Free Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky jabbed at Moscow, “Is Russia afraid of maternity hospitals? Were pregnant women going to fire at [Russian city of] Rostov?” Much is made of President Zelensky’s career as a television comic. But for centuries in such oppressed countries only comedians could tell the truth. Zelensky pointedly asked, “What kind of country is this, Russia?” Now is the time for us to show Russia what kind of country America is. We can show the Russians and the world by sending our naval hospitals USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy to Odessa. We can provide humanitarian help the Ukrainians desperately need

 By Pastor Andrew Webb - Posted at Building Old School Churches: Recently I shared a request from ARP NEWS for prayer and donations to help the refugees who are fleeing the war in Ukraine . Earlier I had shared a prayer request asking for prayer for the people of Ukraine and had added my own request for people to please also pray for the Evangelical Reformed Seminary of Ukraine and their teachers, families, and students. Apparently, these two requests were too much for one of my Reformed Christian Facebook friends who sent me a message demanding to know why the ARP and I were praying for and supporting the Ukrainians who are, according to him, abortion loving, “Globohomos” instead of the Russians whom he characterized as a Christian nation under a Christian leader who had outlawed abortion and homosexuality. I wrote the following answer to him but was unable to send it as he blocked me soon after sending his message. Since I’m finding that there are many other Reformed Christians on F

 By Elizabeth Prata - Posted at The End Time: I know what hack reporting is. I know all too well how people with a platform can manipulate public perception under the guise of “journalism”. I know how easily they may turn from good intentions at some point in the past, but once they get a taste of blood in the water, they begin use their platform as a bully pulpit. I know because it happened to me. Twenty four years ago, when I was living with my husband on a lake, we wanted to remove two 100 foot pine trees that were leaning dangerously over our cabin. Our town had ordinances regarding the shoreline, so the lake wouldn’t get polluted by clearing of trees and resulting soil and fertilizer runoff into the water. Tree roots held onto the soil, which kept the waters purer. Yet, ordinance writers had placed clauses for the allowable removal of trees if they posed a danger to people, homes, or power lines. We had an arborist come and assess the two trees we wanted to take down, and he profe

 By Al Baker - Posted at Forget None of His Benefits: “Put all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander away from you, along with all malice.” -Ephesians 4:31 Richard Cameron, the Lion of the Covenant, the powerful Scottish Covenanter preacher of the 17th century, along with so many other preachers, was driven from his pulpit by Charles II of England. Cameron and many like him took their congregations to the fields and forests in Scotland to continue their pulpit ministries. In 1670 Charles made such public gatherings and preaching a capital offense, and he sent his army into Scotland to hunt down the Covenanter preachers. Richard knew his days were numbered and while preaching one day to his congregation Charles’ army disrupted the service, arresting Cameron. Before being executed before the eyes of his congregation, Richard Cameron prayed, asking the Lord to “spare the green and take the ripe.” His head and hands were severed from his body and taken to a prison in Glasgow where Alan

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon - Posted at Sermon Audio/Daily Checkbook:  "And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace" — Jeremiah 29:7 The principle involved in this text would suggest to all of us who are the LORD's strangers and foreigners that we should be desirous to promote the peace and prosperity of the people among whom we dwell. Specially should our nation and our city be blest by our constant intercession. An earnest prayer for your country and other countries is well becoming in the mouth of every believer. Eagerly let us pray for the great boon of peace, both at home and abroad. If strife should cause bloodshed in our streets, or if foreign battle should slay our brave soldiers, we should all bewail the calamity; let us therefore pray for peace and diligently promote those principles by which the classes at home and the races abroad may be bound t

By Thomas F. Booher - Posted at The Tulip Driven Life: Luke 6:27-36 – Love Your Enemies – Sermon Outline Intro: How do we love those who hate us? Jesus teaches His disciples how to do so. Need: Jesus is speaking to His disciples in the context of persecution they will face for faithfulness. Theme: Christ’s kingdom ethic of love and mercy. I. Treat even your enemies as you want others to treat you. (27-31) A. Recall the Context of Jesus words, spoken to His disciples/apostles and the crowds who “hear”. 1. Christ is preparing His 12 apostles to take the Gospel, healing and teaching even as He has done. 2. Jesus has told them they are blessed by God when they are hated and reviled, now He is going to tell them how they should respond when hated and reviled and persecuted. 3. But He says this to all who hear, and so this application is more general/broad/true for each of us. 4. Should we return insult for insult, escalating the

 By Al Baker - Posted at Forget None of His Benefits: “Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only such a word that is good for edification, according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”  – Ephesians 4:29 In January, 1932, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany and within seven years had plunged the world into the most horrible war yet, a war which would eventually kill 100 million people. One of the most powerful tools Hitler used to bring such death was his public speeches in which he preached an intense nationalism, Aryan supremacy, and anti-Semitism. By late May, 1940, the Nazi’s had overrun Belgium and the Netherlands and were well on their way to conquering France as well. By that time England had had enough of Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement policies and appointed Winston Churchill as Prime Minister. By late June, less than one month after taking office, Churchill gave three of his most famous speeches—his blood, toil

 By Leo Endel - Posted at Baptist Press: "Evil has its day, but evil is never completely unrestrained. God keeps evil men on a short leash; in this world or the next, they will ultimately be held accountable. He will bring justice to the strongman whose dark heart leads to death and mayhem." The Motherland Monument stands 203 feet tall and weighs more than 560 tons. It’s part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine and is meant to memorialize the heroes of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) after World War II. For decades it has been an object of contention. Some Ukrainians have wanted the statue removed because it glorifies the Soviet Union and its Russian origins. They no longer wish to be identified with Russia; they desire to be a part of Western Europe. Today, this monument looks like an early invader or saboteur standing ready to welcome the Russian invaders. What was built to memorialize a horrible war now points to a prophetic reversal: victory fo

 By Dewey Roberts - Posted at Vanguard Presbytery : One of my favorite pastimes is to read spy stories. It is a fascination that began during my teenage years as I would read various articles in The Reader’s Digest about Soviet espionage and the dangers it posed for the freedom of America. That is probably also where my lifelong interest in Russia began. When I was commissioned as an officer in the US Army in 1987, those interests were increased a dozen fold. The Soviet Union was the great perceived enemy of freedom for the US and most of our war planning was a preparation for a conflict someday with that nation. That brings us to today. Russia is in the news again after being mostly a sleeping bear since the fall of communism in 1990-1991. But warring nations never really know how to live in peacetime. And, as the motto in the Army says, ‘old soldiers never die.’ Recently, I have been reading Scott Anderson’s, The Quiet Americans , about four World War II veterans—Michael Burke, Edwa

 By Bill Muehlenberg - Posted at CultureWatch: We are in desperate need of some mental and moral clarity on the Ukraine conflict: One quite good thing that has developed over the past two years is that so many folks have woken up to the fact that the mainstream media is not always reliable, and that our politicians are not always telling us the truth. Some of us had known this all along of course, but the way the media and most governments ran with the Covid issue made this even more clear. But if one extreme was rightly to be avoided (fully trusting the state and the media about things like Covid), the other extreme is also to be avoided (trusting no one, questioning everything to the nth degree, and throwing away our critical faculties). Sadly I see the latter now happening big time concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Just because the Rona alarmists tried to claim that everything we believe is just a big conspiracy theory does NOT mean there are no actual conspiracy theories

‘Miracle from God’ needed, Ukrainian Baptist leader, Southwestern alum, says  By Ashley Allen - Posted at Baptist Press: LVIV, Ukraine (BP)—“We need a miracle from God,” Yaroslav Pyzh, president of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine, said from his western Ukraine home in a Zoom interview with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s news staff on the evening of Feb. 26. As he prays for the miracle, Pyzh is marshaling the people and resources of his school to help refugees of the war. Pyzh, a 2012 Doctor of Philosophy graduate of Southwestern Seminary, has served as president of the Ukrainian seminary since 2013. Lviv is 600 miles west of the capital city of Kyiv, where Russian forces have been trying to capture the nation’s capital since invading the country in the early morning hours of Feb. 24. Many Ukrainians have been fleeing the country through the western Ukrainian city, which is approximately 40-miles from the shared border with Poland. Initially, Pyz