Christian Heritage News

From Columbia Christians for Life : A DAY OF INFAMY November 29, 2022  The United States Senate has just shaken its puny fist in the face of Almighty God and passed HR 8404, the DIS-Respect for Marriage Act, federally codifying protection of sodomite and lesbian "marriage" [sic]. Yea - 61, Nay - 36  https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8404   God is not mocked. Whatever a man, or woman, or city, or state, or nation sows, that they will also reap.  May God be pleased to raise up a generation of faithful and obedient Christians to one day, hopefully soon, rescind this abominable piece of wicked, sinful, unrighteous, immoral, unholy legislation !  Matthew 16:18, KJV Psalm 110:1, KJV US Senate Roll Call Vote on Passage of HR 8404 DIS - Respect for Marriage Act 61 Yeas (including 12 Republicans) 36 Nays 3 Not Voting (including 2 Republicans)  https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1172/vote_117_2_00362.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ See also:

By Milton Quintanilla - Posted at Christian Headlines: Published November 23, 2022 Over 200 congregations in North Carolina have announced their departure from the United Methodist Church over the denomination's ongoing debate over homosexuality. On Saturday, during a special session of the UMC North Carolina Conference, delegates voted 957-165 in favor of the disaffiliation of 249 churches from the mainline denomination. The number of departing congregations represents about 32 percent of the regional body's churches and about 22 percent of its membership, The North Carolina Conference reports. Continue here...

 By Wes Bredenhof Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women , Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher. Bloomington: Bethany House, 2020. Softcover, 301 pages. Jesus & Gender: Living as Sisters & Brothers in Christ, Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher. Bellingham: Kirkdale Press, 2022. Hardcover, 282 pages. In October 2021 I attended our biannual pastors’ conference in Western Australia. A talk by two pastors’ wives was the highlight. Amanda Poppe and Kristen Alkema spoke about domestic abuse in the church. They shared real-life stories of CanRC and FRCA women who’d been raped by their husbands, physically battered, psychologically controlled or manipulated, and emotionally beaten down. It was eye-opening and deeply disturbing. After this conference, I read Darby Strickland’s book Is It Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and Helping Victims . Amanda, Kristen, and Darby convinced me we have to do better in our churches with how we view women and how

Sargent’s "Landing of the Pilgrims" Source:  Pilgrim Hall Museum - About the Pilgrims  Posted at Pilgrim Hall Museum: The 17th-century Pilgrims are known through the writings and artifacts they left behind. There is much more to their history, however, than the 17th-century facts. There is also the "Pilgrim Story." That "Story" is the celebration of a few selected moments which have fixed the Pilgrims firmly in America's collective memory. This Pilgrim Story has grown and evolved over time. As each succeeding generation looked to the past for inspiration and guidance, certain key elements of the 17th-century Pilgrims were emphasized. The attention focused on these key elements has sometimes obscured other parts of the Pilgrim Story, changing the perception of the Pilgrim experience. Often, these later interpretations of the 17th-century Pilgrims tell us less about the Pilgrims than about the emotional and political needs of the era in which the i

 By Michael Foust - Posted at Christian Headlines: A coalition of Republican senators is urging their colleagues to filibuster a same-sex marriage bill until an amendment is added protecting religious liberty. The Nov. 17 letter from U.S. Sen. Mike Lee and 20 other GOP senators asserts that as written, the Respect for Marriage Act would lead to “more litigation” against institutions and individuals who believe marriage should be defined as the union of one man, one woman. Lee is the sponsor of the religious liberty amendment, which was first covered in The Daily Signal. “The undersigned ask that you oppose cloture on the Respect for Marriage Act unless the Lee amendment is added to the bill,” the letter says. “The free exercise of religion is absolutely essential to the health of our Republic. We must have the courage to protect it.” Continue here... 

 By Jon Payne - Posted at Gospel Reformation: It’s official. Greg Johnson and his congregation have voted to leave the Presbyterian Church in America. [1] It’s a sad departure, especially for a church that has been affiliated with the PCA since 1980. Arguably, however, it’s not only a sad departure. It’s a needful one. The historic Memorial Presbyterian Church, located in St. Louis, MO, is departing the PCA under an ominous cloud of ecclesiastical controversy. [2] The last four years have been plagued with serious concerns, objections, and complaints over Johnson and Memorial PCA’s theological views and ministries. As a result, admonishment and scrutiny have come from within the PCA, as well as the wider Reformed and Evangelical community. The following are some reasons why: Revoice In 2018 Memorial PCA hosted Revoice, a conference ministry dedicated to “supporting, encouraging, and empowering gay, lesbian, same-sex-attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can flourish while obse

 By Tom Strode - Posted at Baptist Press: Published November 16, 2022 WASHINGTON (BP)—The U.S. Senate took the first and an apparently decisive step Wednesday (Nov. 16) toward codifying same-sex marriage into law with the aid of more than one-fifth of Republicans in the chamber. Senators voted 62-37 to invoke cloture, as the procedural move is known, and thereby bring up for a final vote the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA). All 50 Democrats and 12 Republicans voted in favor of the motion, which needed 60 votes to succeed. The bill would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and require federal and state recognition of same-sex marriages considered legal in the jurisdiction where they took place. The Senate is expected to vote soon to approve passage of the RMA, which will require only a majority and will serve as a watershed, congressional redefinition of the institution of marriage if enacted. The House of Representatives approved the RMA in July, when 47 GOP members joined al

 By Hamid Hatami - Posted at TableTalk Magazine: Since September, the nation of Iran has been in a state of turmoil and pain. Iranian men and women, young and old, are in the streets crying for justice, freedom, and liberty from the dictatorship of the Islamic regime with one resounding slogan: “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi,” which means “Woman, Life, Freedom.” They have been motivated by sadness, anger, and grief. It is not the first time that Iranians have taken to the streets since revolution began in 1979. The current protests, however, are unlike any previous because they are not limited to a specific group or social class. Anti-regime protests have erupted in more than one hundred cities of all thirty-one provinces of Iran. These protests began in response to the death of twenty-two-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish girl who died in the custody of morality police after being detained for an alleged violation of improperly covering her hair. Over the course of the protests, revolutionary guard

 By Tom Strode - Posted at Baptist Press: Published November 14, 2022 NASHVILLE (BP) – Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has included increased violence against religious leaders and widespread attacks on religious sites, according to a recently issued report. The Ukrainian-based Institute for Religious Freedom (IRF) reported at least 270 houses of worship, religious educational institutions and sacred sites such as cemeteries were either destroyed or damaged during the first five months after Russia began its assault in late February. The report covers the military aggression ordered by President Vladimir Putin through July 15 and analyzes the state of religious freedom in Crimea since Russia invaded and took over the Ukrainian region in 2014. Russia’s attacks on religious liberty “have become crueler” since its Feb. 24 invasion that has included the subsequent annexation of eastern regions of Ukraine, the report said. “If previously priests [in] the occupied territories only re

 By Dewey Dovel - Posted at Covenant Confessions: Growing up in the buckle of the Bible belt, I was always led to believe that the United States of America was “founded as a Christian nation.” While this misconception was rectified during my study of American history in high school, [1] the past ten years since graduation have revealed to me that many people in the South embrace this faulty conviction (especially in rural parts of Texas). Nevertheless, despite the competing opinions that exist regarding Christianity’s relationship to the founding of the United States, it seems inconceivable to identify twenty-first century America as anything remotely close to Christian. The legislating of gay marriage, [2] the promotion of drag queens at children’s birthday parties, [3] the prevalence of increasing racial hostilities, [4] and the disintegration of the nuclear family [5] are but a few alarming testimonies of rampant debauchery in America. If ever there was a time that the United S

 By Dr. R. Scott Clark - Posted at The Heidelblog: Carl Trueman’s two volumes on Modernity, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (2020) and Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists redefined identity and sparked the sexual revolution (2021) are essential for understanding what is happening around us. As he notes, what we are experiencing now has been a long time coming. I point my students to the death of René Descartes (1596–1650) as a convenient turning point. Descartes was a Christian who sought to defend the faith not by beginning with God or divine authority but by beginning with the human self. His argument may be very roughly boiled down to the sentence, “I am doubting, therefore I exist.” The subject of the verb in the sentence is I. Before Descartes and the rise of Modernity, the subject of the verb had been God, as in, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In Genesis 1 , God is the subject of the verb. He is sovereign. He is speaking. He is defin

By Henry Anderson - Posted at The Cripplegate: Our God reigns. That is a monumental and paramount truth. It is a reality that changes everything. When you wake up in the morning, you do not wake up to a world that is void of purpose. No, our God reigns. When you go throughout your day, there are no accidental conversations or interactions. Why? Our God reigns. When you go to bed at night after a day full of turmoil in seeing sin paraded in the country on the news, in hearing sin praised in your workspace, in knowing the sin that you’ve committed yourself, you do not go to bed to bed without hope… no, again, our God reigns. How that reality alters a Christian’s perspective on everything that takes place in this world: when there’s a tragedy and a famous individual, or a young child dies, when there is political upheaval that is taking place and confusion is in the water, when a virus runs the world over with lockdown policies in tow, when the stock market is a roller coaster, when the

 By Al Baker - Posted at Forget None of His Benefits: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the 28th President of the United States (1913-1921) was reared in a Presbyterian home. Wilson was five years old when the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America met at First Presbyterian Church, Augusta, Georgia in December, 1861 where his father served as pastor. Wilson grew up with the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms and no doubt as a child had memorized Question and Answer 18 of the Shorter Catechism: Q. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell? A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called Origin

 By Diana Chandler - Posted at Baptist Press: “I never thought, in all my dreams, that I live through war. I never thought that God is preparing me for what I’m going through right now” NASHVILLE (BP) – Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary (UBTS) President Yaroslav “Slavik” Pyzh and his wife Nadia don’t stay in airport hotels when traveling outside the war-torn country. Jets signal danger. “The first four days, as soon as we hear the sound of a jet, we will be looking for cover, instinctively. I mean it’s not like a logical thing,’’ he told Baptist Press Nov. 5 during their latest trip to the United States. “Because in Ukraine if you hear the sound of jet, you’re looking for cover. And here you have jets all the time, planes flying back and forth. “In Ukraine, the only plane that we have is military jets.” Pyzh, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary alumnus, is in the U.S. thanking Southern Baptists and others for support that has allowed UBTS to provide humanitarian aid alongs

 By Pastor Kyle Borg - Posted at Gentle Reformation: Published November 7, 2022 The parable of the dishonest manager is a singularly peculiar parable from Jesus. In it a rich man is given a report that his manager was wasting his possessions. Fearful of what might be the manager summoned his master’s debtors and reduced their bills. When the rich man learns of this he does not condemn but commends the dishonest manger for his shrewdness. Jesus concluded the parable saying: “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8). It’s not the dishonesty that is approved in this manager but it’s his understanding of the situation and his ability to respond with foresight, quickness, and wisdom. Jesus uses the parable to argue from the lesser to the greater. As the sons of this world are so cautious and careful to provide for themselves how much more should the sons of the kingdom. Jesus is actually saying that this world can t

By Milton Quintanilla - Posted at Christian Headlines: Published November 3, 2022 A Tennessee congregation voted to leave the United Methodist Church on Sunday due to the denomination's longstanding schism on homosexuality. On Sunday, Christ Church Memphis voted to disaffiliate from the UMC after a final tally of 941 voted in favor of leaving, while 101 opposed and one abstained. Miles Stevens, director of communications for Christ Church Memphis, told The Christian Post that the vote was prompted by "decades of failed efforts to reconcile firmly held foundational but oppositional beliefs among member churches within the UMC." "We believe that disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church is the best path forward for Christ Church as we seek to proliferate the Gospel and make disciples," Stevens said. He also noted that the church's next steps are "yet to be determined" and that the congregation still has to receive the final approval of the v

 By Ryan Biese - Posted at Mid the Pines : A trendy new "Jesus marketing" campaign seeks to rebrand a familiar figure. “They are wanting to know more about a Jesus who is a false Jesus,” said the Reverend Tom Buck in reference to the new HeGetsUs campaign which ChristianityToday describes as a campaign to “ make Jesus the ‘biggest brand in your city. ” The HeGetsUs campaign aims not to get people to “go to church,” but rather invite people to “ consider the story of a man who created a radical love movement that continues to impact the world thousands of years later .” As they explain on their website : He Gets Us is a movement to reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible and his confounding love and forgiveness. We believe his words, example, and life have relevance in our lives today and offer hope for a better future. They seem to believe the public “image” of Jesus needs to be rehabilitated for the 21st Century. They realized a problem according to Jason Vandergrou

 By Al Baker - Posted at Forget None of His Benefits: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . . God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” -Genesis 1:1,27 James Woodrow, the uncle of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States (1913-1921), was born in Carlisle, England in 1828 to Scottish Presbyterian parents. A few years later he immigrated with his parents to the United States. Five weeks after arriving in New York City, James’ mother died from an illness she contracted on board the ship to America. Woodrow’s father served as a missionary to Canada and then later as a pastor in Ohio. James was a brilliant student who received a PhD summa cum laude from Heidelberg University, and was offered a full professorship there. Woodrow declined it because he loved the South and returned there to teach at several academies in Alabama. He also taught natural science at Oglethorpe University, at that time

By insanitybytes22 - Posted at  See, there's this thing called biology… "With no shame at all, with no self awareness, with a complete inability to empathize, Wilson offers mockery, the analogy of a husband standing on the sidelines while his wife is being attacked saying, 'Guys, guys! This is simply unacceptable. I disapprove of this kind of behavior in the strongest possible terms. Honey, honey . . . thoughts and prayers!'” For those who don’t know, Pastor Wilson likes to do a series called “No Quarter November,” where he sets something on fire like a sofa or a truck, and proceeds to take the filter off and speak plainly. It’s an entertaining marketing ploy involving giving away some of his books. So right out of the gate we have, “Like Dead Flies on a Window Sill.” There are a great many things I am in complete agreement with. I also enjoy Francis Schaeffer. I have little or no loyalty to Big Eva. The last couple of years have indeed exposed a great many boils of

 By Tom Strode - Posted at Baptist Press: BREMERTON, Wash. (BP) – A high school football coach whose right to pray at midfield following games was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court after he was removed from his job is to be reinstated by next spring. In a 6-3 opinion in June, the high court ruled Joseph Kennedy did not violate the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion with his post-game prayers. Instead, the justices decided the Bremerton (Wash.) School District actually violated his First Amendment rights by removing him as a coach because of its concerns his practice infringed on the Establishment Clause. In a joint filing Oct. 25 in state court, lawyers for Kennedy and the school district said the coach “is to be reinstated to his previous position as assistant coach of the Bremerton High School football team on or before March 15, 2023,” ABC News reported the next day. Jeremy Dys – senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, which is representing Kennedy – co