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Archives for SEPTEMBER 2009

Update from Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Key European Union Treaty
Faces Big Test
The decades-old dream of creating an integrated European Union with clout to match that of the United States faces a critical test this week, with the fate of a key treaty in the hands of Irish voters and Czech judges. On Friday, Ireland will hold its second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, a document that would create what effectively would be an E.U. president and foreign minister. The treaty also lays the groundwork for a common defense policy, which critics warn could have implications for the transatlantic relationship. Until ratified by all 27 E.U. member states, the treaty cannot take effect anywhere. Ireland has been the only country to hold a referendum; the others all sought parliamentary endorsement instead, despite strong support in some countries for citizens to be given their say in referendums. MORE

Poll: Support for Obamacare Plunges to All-Time Low
Only 41 percent of voters now support President Barack Obama and the Democrats' healthcare reform proposal — down from 44 percent two weeks ago and the lowest level of support yet measured by Rasmussen Reports. Rasmussen's nationwide telephone survey also found that 56 percent of voters are now opposed to the plan. Just 33 percent of senior citizens favor the plan, while 59 percent are opposed. Other findings of the poll: (1) 46 percent of respondents believe the reform plan will likely pass and become law this year, but 47 percent think it will likely not pass, including 15 percent who say it is not at all likely to pass. (2) While 23 percent of voters "strongly favor" the legislative effort to reform healthcare, 43 percent are "strongly opposed." (3) 24 percent of respondents say the quality of healthcare will improve if the plan passes, and 55 percent say it will get worse. MORE

Dozens of Pastors Challenge IRS Rules
Dozens of pastors around the nation are challenging an Internal Revenue Service rule that anti-Christian activists often invoke when they want to silence the message of churches, according to the Alliance Defense Fund. The organization has announced that more than 80 preachers are taking part in its second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday this weekend. The pastors will preach Sunday sermons related to biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates or current government officials, exercising their constitutional right to free religious expression, the ADF said. They will do so despite a "problematic" IRS rule that activists use when they want to silence the message of Christians, the ADF said. MORE

Commentary: Europe Turning to the Political Right
José Manuel Barroso, a 53-year-old former Portuguese prime minister, was re-elected president of the European Union Commission last week. The success of this center-right leader was no surprise. MORE

Muslim Capitol Hill Rally Falls Short of Attendance Goal
Around 3,000 people gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol on Friday for a Muslim prayer service that organizers had hoped would draw around 50,000. MORE

Muslims Blame Christians for Low Numbers
Organizers of Friday's "Islam on Capitol Hill" event blame opposition by some Christian groups for a much smaller turnout than they anticipated. MORE

Palin Finishes Memoir, 'Going Rogue,' Out Nov. 17
Sarah Palin (PAY'-lin) has finished her memoir just four months after the book deal was announced. Her publisher says the release date has been moved up from the spring to Nov. 17. MORE

Conservative ELCA Groups Consider Reaction to Gay Heresy
Conservative members of the nation's largest Lutheran denomination voted Saturday to spend the next year deciding whether to split from the church after it liberalized its stance on homosexual clergy. MORE

Social Security Strained By Early Retirements
Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next two years. MORE

Will Saudis Let Israel Bomb Iran Nuclear Site?
Intelligence chief Sir John Scarlett has been told that Saudi Arabia is ready to allow Israel to bomb Iran's new nuclear site. MORE

Birth Control Pill Creator Regrets Population Decline
The chemist who led to the invention of the birth control pill says he regrets the demographic catastrophe that has resulted from people using the contraceptive device to separate... MORE

Conservative Black Pastors Endorse Obama's Health Care Plan
A group of pro-life black pastors are showing their support for President Obama’s health care plan, though conservative public policy experts note that such a plan remains nowhere in sight. MORE

Marvin Olasky Op-Ed: Remarkable Providence
Journalists love the unusual "Man bites dog" stories. So how should reporters have reacted to a Minneapolis surprise last month? MORE

Oral Roberts University Inaugurates 3rd President
Oral Roberts University inaugurated its new president Friday during a ceremony attended by over 4,000 students, faculty, staff, and alumni, with community leaders and friends. MORE

Indiana Planned Parenthood Centers Closing Their Doors
Several Indiana Planned Parenthood clinics are shutting down after losing state funds. MORE

Motive Sought for Slaying of Church Worker in Bangladesh
Authorities are investigating possible motives for the vicious killing of a church worker by students at Dhaka University. MORE

Iran Test-Fires Long-Range Missile – Puts Israel Within Reach
Iran test-fires one of its longest-range missiles, capable of carrying a warhead, state TV reports, putting Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf within reach. Iran state television says the Revolutionary Guard has fired one of the longest-range missiles in its arsenal in a third round of tests meant to demonstrate the country’s preparedness for an attack. MORE

Egyptian Paper: Coins Found Bearing
Name of Joseph
Egyptian coins carrying the name of Joseph, the biblical patriarch whose arrival in Egypt as a slave eventually provided salvation for his family during decades of drought across the Middle East, have been discovered in a cache of antique items shelved in boxes in a museum, according to a new report. The report from the Middle East Media Research Institute said the coins with Joseph's name and image were found in a pile of unsorted artifacts that had been stored at the Museum of Egypt. MORE

US May Face Financial Armageddon If China, Japan Don’t Buy Debt
The US is too dependent on Japan and China buying up the country’s debt and could face severe economic problems if that stops, Tiger Management founder and chairman Julian Robertson told CNBC. “It’s almost Armageddon if the Japanese and Chinese don’t buy our debt,” Robertson said in an interview. “I don’t know where we could get the money. I think we’ve let ourselves get in a terrible situation and I think we ought to try and get out of it.” MORE

Jewish Tourists Attacked in
Temple Mount Clashes
The Palestinian Authority was behind violent clashes on the Temple Mount today that left 24 people wounded hours before the start of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, according to both Israeli security sources and a source inside the PA. Earlier today, clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian worshipers erupted at the Temple Mount and at several sites throughout Jerusalem's Old City. MORE

WorldMag Commentary: Celebrity Pastor Worship
Anyone aware of the alarming state of American evangelical- ism’s celebrity-driven church culture would not have to try hard to draw parallels with the church in Corinth. The “big name” pastors, as we sometimes call them, thanks to the Christian conference circuit, book publishing, the internet, and so on, tempt many evangelicals to cannibalize each other in the spirit of following “Paul” or “Apollos.” In today’s terms, these could be men like John Piper, Tim Keller, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, Mark Driscoll, Rob Bell, R.C. Sproul, Tony Evans, or whomever people would rather download and listen to instead of their own pastor. MORE

Update from Weekend , September 26th-27th, 2009

FBI: Terror Suspect Planned to Detonate 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' Across U.S.
Terror suspect Najibullah Zazi plotted for more than a year to detonate homemade bombs in the United States, had recently bought bomb-making supplies from beauty supply stores and was looking for "urgent" help in the past two weeks to make explosives, an indictment charged Thursday. Zazi, arrested in Denver last weekend on a count of lying to terrorism investigators, was charged in New York with using conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. He arrived in a Denver courtroom late Thursday morning for a hearing on whether he should remain in federal custody. MORE

Obama Goes After Israel In Speech
In declaring that it is time for Middle East peace "without preconditions," President Obama used his speech to the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday to fire a warning at Israel that "America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements." Obama's stark declaration, which drew applause, was coupled with a call for Palestinians to end their "incitement of Israel." But it was the use of the U.N. forum to carry the settlement message to Israel that drew the most enthusiastic response on the floor -- and incredulous reaction outside its walls. Obama just put Israel "on the chopping block," said former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton. Obama said he met Tuesday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu... MORE

Obama's Speeches-- Obama Mentions Self Nearly 1,200 Times!
In mythology, Narcissus was the guy who fell in love with his own reflection. In 2009, he’s the president of the United States. Instead of adoring his own image, Obama loves to hear himself talk – about himself. In just 41 speeches so far this year, not including this week's big speech at the United Nations, Obama has talked about himself nearly 1,200 times – 1,198 to be exact. (That breaks down to 1,121 “I”s and just 77 “me”s.) And that just includes 34 weekly addresses and his seven major speeches. Count the hundreds of other public speeches and he’d be off the charts. And if you needed any more confirmation, there was this past Sunday’s Obama- palooza on the network talking head shows. Obama pulled a presidential first, going back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back on five different networks. MORE

Ahmadinejad Ignores Nuclear Dispute, Rails Against Israel and U.S. at United Nations
Largely upstaged by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's earlier diatribe, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fifth annual address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday evening was a relatively low-key affair, punctuated by religious terminology and his trademark attacks against the U.S. and Israel. MORE

Christian Leaders Call for U.S. Sanctions to Prevent Iran from Completing Nuclear Program
Leaders representing over 28 million evangelicals, Roman Catholics, and other Christians are calling for urgent action by Congress and key world leaders to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. MORE

ORU Clears Off Over $50M in Debt; Paves Way for New President
Oral Roberts University has resolved all of its long-term debt, according to an announcement Wednesday, just two days before the historically charismatic school inaugurates its third president. MORE

89% Say Media Helped Elect, Promote Obama
A new survey from the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute shows that 89.3% of Americans believe the national media played a sizable role in helping to elect President Obama. MORE

Dust Turns Sydney Sky Red, Alarms Residents
Sydney Australia residents have woken to a red haze unlike anything seen before by residents or weather experts, as the sun struggles to pierce a thick blanket of dust cloaking the city this morning. MORE

National Religious Broadcasters Marks 65-Year Milestone
On Monday, the nation's largest association of Christian media professionals marked 65 years since the face of religious broadcasting was forever changed? MORE

Wisc. Schools Reject Pro-Life Newspaper Ad
Some Wisconsin universities are rejecting a pro-life publication. MORE

Chuck Colson Denounces Therapeutic Church Model
The church has fallen into a therapeutic model, says one prominent evangelical. MORE

ABC to Probe 'The Ten Commandments' in New Series
ABC will be launching a new special series Thursday that will examine how the Ten Commandments are being applied in todays world. MORE

Transgender Vt. Teen Wants Genderless Bathrooms
A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state's middle and high schools to offer genderless bathrooms. MORE

U.S. Pushes For New Economic World Order at G20 Summit
The United States will urge world leaders this week to launch a new push in November to rebalance the world economy, but there are doubts national governments will bow to external advice. A document outlining the U.S. position ahead of the September 24-25 Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh said exporters, which include China, Germany and Japan, should consume more, while debtors like the United States ought to boost savings. MORE

One Quarter of Americans Could Claim ‘No Religion’ in 20 Years
If current trends continue, a quarter of Americans are likely to claim “no religion” in 20 years, according to a survey out today by Trinity College. Americans who identify with no religious tradition currently comprise 15 percent of the country, representing the fastest growing segment of the national religious landscape. While the numbers portend a dramatic change for the American religious scene—”religious nones” accounted for just 8 percent of the population in 1990—the United States is not poised adopt the anti-religious posture of much of secularized Europe. MORE

Obama's Policies Would Redistribute Nearly $1 Trillion in Wealth Every Year
By 2012, nearly $1 trillion from the top 30 percent of American families will be redistributed among the bottom 70 percent if Obama’s proposals on taxes, health care, and climate change become law, according to the Tax Foundation. “Even if none of Obama’s policies becomes law, the extent of income redistribution is remarkable,” Scott Hodge, president of the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, said. “The top-earning 40 percent of families will transfer $826 billion to the bottom 60 percent in 2012.” MORE

Obama Shuns Dalai Lama
Two years ago in October, the Dalai Lama became the 146th recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, with President George W. Bush seated beside him at the award ceremony.
But this October, President Barack Obama will shun the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate when he makes his scheduled visit to the U.S.Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett recently traveled to Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama's place of exile in India, to deliver the message that the Tibetan monk will not be welcomed at the White House. MORE

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Update from Wednesday, September 23th, 2009

USA Today: Biggest U.S. Churches Are 'Contemporary, Evangelical'
Two new reports on the size and strength of American congregations present contrasting pictures of church life today. The October issue of Outreach magazine is all about growth. It lists the 100 largest U.S. churches, based on attendance statistics gathered by LifeWay Research, Nashville. Leading the list, as in 2008, is Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, Houston; 43,500 attend weekend worship. Lakewood could almost swallow the second and third place megachurches in one gulp. But the newest trend in church growth is exemplified by the No. 2 ranked church's cross-country reach. Lifechurch. tv transmits pastor Craig Groeschel's worship services from the church's studio home in Edmond, Okla., to 13 locations, reaching 26,776... MORE

Albert Mohler: Will Babies with Down Syndrome Just Disappear?
The development of prenatal diagnostic technologies presents a constellation of moral issues -- with the diagnosis of Down syndrome front and center. Over the past several years, a marked decrease in the number of babies born with Down syndrome has been both observed and widely reported. This decrease can be traced directly to the decision to abort after prenatal diagnosis.As Science Daily reports, a new leading article to be published in Archives of Disease in Childhood points to developments in the near future that will likely increase the diagnosis of Down syndrome [DS] during pregnancy. "New tests expected to be introduced next year will offer a simple blood test that poses no risk to the fetus and delivers a definitive diagnosis of one of more of the genetic variants of Down syndrome -- trisomy 21, translocation, or mosaicism." MORE

Obama’s New Claim That 30 Million 'Cannot' Get Health Insurance Not Supported by Census Bureau
President Barack Obama, in his Sept. 9 speech to Congress, unveiled a new statistic, saying that 30 million Americans "cannot" get health insurance. The new number has received prime billing in Obama's renewed push to save his floundering health care initiative. MORE

Parents of Runaway Convert File Complaint against Fla. Pastors
The father of the runaway teen convert filed a criminal complaint Monday against the Orlando pastors who sheltered his daughter for more than two weeks before she was taken into state custody. MORE

Israel feeling abandoned by U.S.?
The head of a messianic Jewish ministry says he senses a real uneasiness among the Israeli people since Barack Obama became president of the United States. MORE

U.S. To Push For New Economic World Order
The United States will urge world leaders this week to launch a new push in November to rebalance the world economy. MORE

Pakistan Grants Bail to Muslims Accused of Anti-Christian Attacks
Thirteen Pakistani Muslims accused of anti-Christian attacks in the eastern city of Gojra were granted bail, reported a Christian human rights group. MORE

48% Say No to Abortion in Healthcare: Poll
According to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey released Thursday, almost half of all Americans want President Obama's health care overhaul to explicitly exclude abortion-providing health care plans from using taxpayer dollars, while only about a third want no abortion requirements. MORE

Authors Document Explosion of Multi-Site Churches
Multi-site churches are in nearly every major U.S. city and state. Almost one in ten Protestant worshippers attend a multi-site church in the United States or Canada. MORE

60,000 Pray In Times Square – Media Doesn’t Cover It
You can see most anything at Times Square in Manhattan. But 60,000 people praying? That’s an unusual site in the heart of Broadway. Yet, that’s just what happened there yesterday for one hour – from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in a Christian rally called Prayer in the Square. Event organizers from Time Square Church had expected some 15,000. But their expectations were far exceeded at the third event of its kind in the last three years. Despite the magnitude of the event, no major media covered it – even in the center of the media world on a slow news day. MORE

American Thinker: Killing Granny
A virulent moral blindness has seized hold of a substantial slice of America's educated elite. Convinced they know better, they argue for a shallow, illogical, and horrifying vision of people as disposable. I was wrong last week when I declared that Newsweek's cover showing a baby next to a headline declaring that we're all born racist was evidence that the mainstream media had hit bottom and destroyed itself. It was intellectual arrogance on my part that led me to underestimate the determination of Newsweek's editors to find new deeper bottoms to hit. MORE

Sharper Iron: The Meaning of "Fundamentalism"
In 1920 Curtis Lee Laws, editor of the Northern Baptist paper The Watchman-Examiner, coined the word “Fundamentalists” to describe those “who still cling to the great fundamentals and who mean to do battle royal” against theological liberalism. Laws’ definition of Fundamentalism was essentially theological, concerned with preserving orthodox doctrine. Yet within sixty years Fundamentalism had become a word to describe religious extremism of every kind. MORE

Update from Monday, September 21st, 2009

Dismay in Europe as Obama Ditches Missile Defense
President Obama dismayed America’s allies in Europe and angered his political opponents at home today when he formally ditched plans to set up a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. The project had been close to the heart of Mr Obama’s predecessor, President Bush, who had argued before leaving office in January that it was needed to defend against long-range ballistic missile attacks from rogue states such as Iran and North Korea. But it had hobbled relations with Russia, which considered it both a security threat and an unnecessary political provocation in its own backyard. At a White House appearance, Mr Obama confirmed that the defense shield, involving a radar... MORE

Values Voters Pick Huckabee as Candidate for 2012
Though President Obama has yet to complete his first year in office, social conservatives have already eyed Mike Huckabee as a possible presidential contender in the 2012 race. The former governor of Arkansas was the top pick of attendees at the Values Voter Summit in Washington with a double digit lead over the next closest contender, Mitt Romney. Results from the straw poll, released Saturday, showed Huckabee having 28 percent of the votes while former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won 12.40 percent. Close behind Romney were Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (12.23 percent), former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (12.06 percent), and Indiana Congressmen Mike Pence (11.89 percent) in an essentially four-way tie for second place. MORE

MOLLIE ZIEGLER HEMINGWAY, WALL ST. JOURNAL
Faith-Based Double Standards
...Now that Mr. Bush is gone, however, no one seems particularly worried about the entanglement of the federal government with religious organizations. A recent study sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that President Obama's "faith-based initiative has so far generated little of the contentious press coverage associated with Bush's effort." According to Pew, the media ran nearly seven times as much coverage of President Bush's faith-based initiative during his first six months in office as President Obama's....The stories on Mr. Obama's initiative were buried deeper in the paper and focused on procedure. Few, if any, stories questioned whether the current president would use his office to advance a religious agenda, a major theme of coverage during the Bush administration. MORE

Number of Female Senior Pastors in Protestant Churches Doubles in Past Decade
After decades of no growth in the ranks of female senior pastors serving in Protestant churches, a new Barna study that has tracked the ratio of male-to-female pastors indicates that women have made substantial gains in the past ten years. MORE

Scalia: Supreme Court Should Recognize US Religious Heritage
Justice Antonin Scalia has defended the Supreme Court's accommodation of religion in the public sphere in recent rulings, saying the founding fathers would want it that way. MORE

Carrie Prejean Electrifies Conservative Base
Former Miss California Carrie Prejean, who got the crowd more excited than established politicians featured earlier, shared that she was raised by parents who taught her to fear God and respect everyone. MORE

Ex-Homosexual Preacher Sparks Debate
An evangelist has stirred up controversy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a series of lectures about how he changed from being a homosexual teenager to a straight born-again Christian and happily married father. MORE

Congress Expanding ‘Gay’ Protections In Classrooms
A new proposal in Congress would allow public school students to be disciplined for “bullying” for “perceiving” a slight over someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and in one case where such a program already has been implemented, it is being used to exclude parents from any input in what their children are taught about homosexuality...MORE

England: Nurse Faces Firing For Refusing to Take Off Her Cross
Shirley Chaplin, a committed Christian, has been told by her employers that she must hide or remove the cross or remain out of the hospital wards. Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital told her that she cannot wear the one-inch tall silver cross openly around her neck, because it breaches their uniform policy and poses a risk to patients. MORE

Huckabee: Obama Making 'Big Mistake' in Middle East
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has issued another strong defense of Israel and condemned the moral equivalency that the Obama administration has attempted to draw between Jewish settlement activity and Palestinian terrorism.MORE

Obama And ACORN: The Ties That Bind
The following is a timeline outlining some of the purported connections between President Obama and ACORN through the years. MORE

Report: Sharp Rise in Religious Liberty Violations in Cuba
Pressure on religious leaders in Cuba has increased significantly over the past year, according to a new report... MORE

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Disgruntled Values Voters Urged to Take Back America
Political-minded values voters from across the nation joined conservative lawmakers Friday to vent about the current state of the country and to coordinate efforts to challenge what they believe are dangerous or immoral policies. As expected, health care reform dominated the opening day of the Values Voter Summit, which was organized by Family Research Council Action and co-sponsored by Focus on the Family Action. But besides health care, speakers also addressed issues such as President Obama’s green jobs czar, the ACORN scandal, the Wall Street bailout... MORE

Over 50 Groups Call for End to Hiring Protections For Faith-Based Groups
Nearly 60 groups are pressing the Obama administration to put an end to a Bush-era policy that allowed federally-funded faith-based groups to hire only fellow believers. In a letter sent Thursday, the 58 groups – which include the ACLU, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Human Rights Campaign – asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., to direct the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to review and ultimately withdraw a 2007 memorandum that they say "threatens crucial religious freedom protections." MORE

Christianity Today Reports on Liberty Univ. Since the Death of Jerry Falwell
....The financial turning point for the Lynchburg, Virginia, university came in 1997, when Falwell received a multimillion dollar infusion from insurance titan Arthur L. Williams Jr. Ten years later, in May 2007, Falwell, 73, collapsed at his desk and died, with the school's turnaround under way but incomplete. Now, two years later, under the leadership of Falwell's two sons, Jerry Jr. and Jonathan, LU and Thomas Road Baptist Church have visibly improved. And their leaders are nothing like their father or each other. MORE

Satan-Loving Teen Lights Calif. Church Fire
A 15-year-old girl who allegedly worships Satan was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of lighting a fire at her Orangevale church. The blaze occurred at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at the corner of Hazel and Cherry avenues. Christian Pebbles of Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said the teen made it clear why she started the blaze, which damaged church pews."She hates the church and worships the devil," Pebbles said. "That's the reason why." MORE

Update from Monday, September 21st, 2009

Obama And ACORN: The Ties That Bind
The following is a timeline outlining some of the purported connections between President Obama and ACORN through the years. MORE

Report: Sharp Rise in Religious Liberty Violations in Cuba
Pressure on religious leaders in Cuba has increased significantly over the past year, according to a new report... MORE

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Update from Friday, September 18th, 2009

Study: Religious Beliefs 'Strongly Predict' Teen Birth Rates
A new study is suggesting a “strong” link between the religiosity of a state’s residents and the teen birth rate there. Though only half of the states listed among the ten most conservatively religious also appear in the list of ten states with the highest teen birth rates, researchers behind the latest study say increased religiosity in residents of states in the U.S. strongly predicted a higher teen birth rate. “With data aggregated at the state level, conservative religious beliefs strongly predict U.S. teen birth rates, in a relationship that does not appear to be the result of confounding by income or abortion rates,” researchers reported in the summary... MORE

THE EMERGING CHURCH: THE 21ST CENTURY FACE OF NEW EVANGELICALISM
by David Cloud of Way of Life Ministries The emerging church is simply the twenty-first century face of New Evangelicalism. Andy Crouch calls the emerging church “post-evangelicalism.”...The intimate association between New Evangelicalism and the emerging church is witnessed by Christianity Today. This magazine was founded by Billy Graham and his friends in 1956 as a mouthpiece for the New Evangelical movement. Today it is a mouthpiece for the emerging church. A section of their web site, called “The Emergence of Emergent,” is dedicated to it, and they have published many positive articles dealing with it... The emerging church is the natural progression of New Evangelicalism. Let’s go back a half century and consider some of its history. MORE

Chinese Megachurch Demolished;
Congregants Badly Beaten
A megachurch in eastern China was recently demolished by reportedly 400 people in police suits, a human rights group reported Tuesday. Before dawn last Sunday, the mob raided the “Good News Cloth Shoes Factory,” which also serves as the site for the Fushan Church. Men tore at the building’s foundation with shovels as bulldozers worked to level other buildings on the site, according to ChinaAid Association. Meanwhile, dozens of church members sleeping at the construction site of the new church building were suddenly attacked with bricks and other objects. Several members were severely injured and were sent to the emergency room, and some members were unconscious. Over 100 people were injured by the attack, according to the church’s Web site. MORE

Obama's Missile Defense Plan = Appeasement
A senior Army strategist and Pentagon advisor says he's very skeptical about President Obama's announcement that he is shelving plans to build long-range intercontinental ballistic missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. MORE

War On Homeschoolers Spreading?
The desperate situation of a 7-year-old homeschooled child who was nabbed by Swedish police from an airliner as his family was departing on a move to India and has been kept in custody for weeks is drawing international attention, with officials for the U.S.-based Home School Legal Defense Association now pressing authorities for help. MORE

Fla. Bishop to Authorize Blessing of Same-Sex Unions
Episcopal Bishop Leo Frade intends to allow clergy in the Diocese of Southeast Florida to bless the unions of same-sex couples. The authorization will only apply to gay and lesbian couples who have been legally married, he says. MORE

Ordination of Sex Offender a Concern
Controversy surrounds a new minister at a Germantown, Kentucky, church. MORE

Church of 'American Idol' Winner Kris Allen Tops List of Fastest-Growing Churches
The church of 2009 "American Idol" winner Kris Allen has been named the Fastest-Growing Church in America, based on this year’s annual report by Outreach magazine and LifeWay Research on the 100 fastest-growing U.S. churches. MORE

Congressman ‘Intrigued’ by Idea that Congress Could Weigh in on Homosexual Marriage in D.C.
Should Congress, rather than the Washington, D.C. , City Council, decide whether the nation's capital can create same-sex marriage? CNSNews.com asked several lawmakers. MORE

UK Think Tank Says US Power Is Fading
A weakened United States could start retreating from the world stage without help from its allies abroad, an international strategic affairs think tank said Tuesday. MORE

Another Textbook Battle In TX - Christmas Tossed?
The Texas State Board of Education is gearing up for another curriculum battle -- this time involving replacing the recognition of Christmas with a Hindu holiday. MORE

Opposition to Health Care Reform Plan Hits 56%
% 56% of voters nationwide now oppose the health care reform proposed by Obama and his Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition yet measured. MORE

Prison boycotts Christian book program for inmates
A Christian group is crying foul over their books being banned in Virginia prisons. MORE

66% Of Eastern Europe Disapprove Of Obama
Czechs feel betrayed, Poles irked, Romanians slighted. Ask them who's to blame, and the answer may come as a surprise: President Barack Obama. MORE

Python "Nightmare": New Giant Species Invading Florida
Already squeezed by the invasion of the giant Burmese python, Florida now faces what one scientist calls one of the U.S. state's "worst nightmares. MORE

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Israeli Expert: U.S. Trivializing Iranian Threat
Western nations are not taking seriously enough Iran's development of a missile system that could deliver nuclear weapons and reach most of Europe, an Israeli expert on Iranian missile systems said. Iran's missiles are more advanced than they are perceived to be in the West, Uzi Rubin, former head of Israel's Missile Defense Organization told CBN News in a recent interview. There's a "certain degree of complacency" in the West," he said. MORE

ANCIENT CITY STREET FROM JESUS' TIME DISCOVERED IN JERUSALEM
A street recently uncovered in the capital's City of David was, metaphorically, "the last seam of independent Jews in Jerusalem," Uri Goldflam of Shalhevet Education and Consulting said on Wednesday. The street connects the Jews who lost their Second Commonwealth independence in 70 CE, and the Jewish people today, Goldflam said. "The symbolism... After Jews hid beneath the stairs from the Romans, and now as a free people, Jews can again walk above the street. After 2,000 years, the steps are not silent anymore." The one-to-two-meter wide section of a stepped street believed to be Jerusalem's central thoroughfare during the Second Temple period was uncovered at the Shiloah Pool excavation in the City of David. MORE

Palestinians: A State Within 2 Years With Obama’s Support
Following meeting with Mitchell in Ramallah, senior Palestinian officials say US committed to peace deal within two years. According to them, former President Bill Clinton’s plan again put on table. US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice on Wednesday. Senior Palestinian officials who met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after his meeting with the American statesman told... MORE

After Nat'l Day of Prayer Snub, How Will Obama Greet Muslims on Capitol Hill?
A political activist and former GOP presidential candidate says he wonders whether President Barack Obama -- who essentially spurned Christians on the National Day of Prayer -- will give a special greeting to a Muslim gathering scheduled later this month on Capitol Hill. The event, called "Islam on Capitol Hill 2009," will take place on Friday, September 25. It is being promoted as a day of Islamic unity "to express and illustrate the wonderful diversity of Islam." MORE

Pensacola, Florida School Officials Found
Not Guilty for Praying
A Florida principal and athletic director will not face criminal charges for their prayer at a school-related event, a judge ruled Thursday. Principal Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman were facing penalty after they prayed at a fundraiser with private donors for the Pace High School athletic program near Pensacola, Fla. No students were present. Judge M. Case Rodgers found the men not guilty, saying the prayer was spontaneous & not intended to break any laws. MORE

Update from Wednesday , September 16th, 2009

Many U.K. Families are Not Told When Doctors Deny Loved Ones Treatment
According to a new report, more than a quarter of U.K. families are not told when their loved ones are taken off of life support, reports the Daily Mail. Researchers from the Royal College of Physicians and the Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute in Liverpool conducted an audit of 4,000 patients put on the Liverpool Care Pathway, the end-of-life care plan that has brought 'slow' euthanasia into Britain through the back door. The Pathway, approved by the National Health Service (NHS), allows doctors to deny "treatment," including food and water, to patients they deem incurable and put them in continuous deep sedation until they die. MORE

Mystery Surrounds Hijacking of Russian Ship
Russia has retrieved its Arctic Sea shipping vessel that was hijacked and charged the offenders. The story doesn’t end there, though, as reports continue to surface alleging the “hijacking” were Israeli operatives sent to intercept missiles headed to Iran.. Other reports indicate the Russians staged their own hijacking after being notified of the ship’s contents by Israel. Regardless of who the hijackers were, they have thwarted a shipment of weapons that would have raised the stakes in the region for Israel and possibly even provoked military conflict. On July 24, the Arctic Sea was hijacked by eight individuals while it was in the Baltic Sea, headed for Algeria carrying less than $2 million worth of timber. MORE

AMERICAN THINKER:
Can Israel Make Peace with the Palestinians?
Ambassador Alon Pinkas served as Israel's Consul General in New York from 2000 to 2004, capping a two decade career in Israel's foreign ministry, including work for prime ministers from both Labor and Likud governments. I had the privilege of interviewing Ambassador Pinkas when he visited Chicago this week. As opinion polls in Israel suggest that Israelis believe President Obama is not a friend of Israel (4% of Israelis in a recent survey consider him to be pro-Israel), Ambassador Pinkas and other Israelis are visiting various American cities to emphasize the strength and importance of the US Israeli relationship... Israelis were spoiled a bit by what they perceived as an emotional tie between both Bill Clinton and Israel and George Bush and Israel, a connection that seems missing with Obama. Obama has made it clear that he thinks that the perception that the US stands with Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians was a major reason that the peace process was unsuccessful in recent decades. Obama's conclusion, expressed in a meeting... MORE

The More They Learn About ObamaCare, the Less They Like It
A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted in the three days following President Barack Obama's speech to Congress about his health care plan found that 54% say the more the hear about the plan, the less they like it. MORE

Follow-Up to 'Purpose Driven Life' to Hit Shelves in November
Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren will be releasing the follow-up to his bestselling book, The Purpose-Driven Life with a new book on... MORE

Obama's Denials of Abortion Coverage 'Laughable'
A leading pro-life activist in Washington says President Obama is not telling the whole truth when he promises taxpayers they will not be forced to fund abortions under his healthcare plan. MORE

Recession 'Very Likely Over,' Federal Reserve Chairman Says
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the worst recession since the 1930s is probably over. MORE

Fla: No 'Credible' Signs of Threat to Runaway Teen Convert
In a report released Monday, Florida investigators said they found no "credible" evidence that the father of a teen Christian-to-Muslim convert threatened to kill her. MORE

Concerns Rise as New Pakistan Church Attacked
A rights group raised concern Monday that vigilante attacks were increasing against religious minorities in Pakistan when another church was damaged, weeks after a mob killed seven Christians. MORE

'Creation' Producer Blames Evolution Flap for U.S. Flop
The producer of a new film that tells the “true story” of 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin believes a distributor in the United States has not yet been found because of the divide that exists in America over the theory of evolution. MORE

In Maine, Gay Marriage TV Ad War Begins
Supporters of an effort to overturn Maine's "gay marriage" law launched their first television ad Tuesday and in it warned that if the law isn't reversed, church organizations could lose their tax-exempt status and "gay marriage" could be taught in public schools. MORE

Bush: Obama Has No Clue
President George W. Bush's former speechwriter Matt Latimer reveals that Bush considered Barack Obama unfit for the White House and predicted that vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin would be a disaster for the GOP. MORE

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'See You At the Pole' Set for Sept. 23
More than 3 million teenagers in 20 countries are expected to participate Sept. 23 in the 19th annual "See You At the Pole" school prayer rally. This year's event also marks the 10th anniversary of the massacre at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, when a gunman sprayed bullets across a sanctuary where students were gathered for a rally celebrating that morning's See You At the Pole rally, held that year on Sept. 15. Four teens attending the rally were among the seven people killed by the gunman. MORE

Brain Wired To Believe In God From Birth
Humans are programed to believe in God because it gives them a better chance of survival, researchers claim.A study into the way children’s brains develop suggests that during the process of evolution those with religious tendencies began to benefit from their beliefs – possibly by working in groups to ensure the future of their community. The findings of Bruce Hood, professor of developmental psychology at Bristol University, suggest that magical and supernatural beliefs are hardwired into our brains from birth, and that religions are therefore tapping into a powerful psychological force. MORE

Al Mohler: A Tale of Two Atheists
The Wall Street Journal may be an unusual venue for theological debate, but this past weekend's edition featured just that -- a theological debate of sorts. The "of sorts" is a necessary qualifier in this instance, because The Wall Street Journal's debate was not, as advertised, a debate between an atheist and a believer. Instead, it was a debate between two different species of atheists. MORE

Dems Focus On Homosexual Agenda
Democrats are currently undertaking two major efforts in Congress to enact key parts of the political agenda of homosexual activists. Today liberal Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) plans to introduce a bill that would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The bill, which already has 69 co-sponsors, would create federal recognition of same-sex "marriages." However, openly homosexual Congressman Barney Frank is warning fellow Democrats that passing the bill in this legislative session is... MORE

Update from Wednesday , September 16th, 2009

Recession 'Very Likely Over,' Federal Reserve Chairman Says
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the worst recession since the 1930s is probably over. MORE

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Update from Monday Morning, September 14th, 2009

Pro-Abortion Groups Mum on Abortion Protester’s Shooting
Reaction to the shooting death of a 63-year-old disabled man who was gunned down as he held up a sign protesting abortion near a high school in Owosso, Mich., on Friday came swiftly as pro-life groups across the nation offered eulogies about an individual they said was passionate about the fate of unborn children. Known as “the sign man,” Pouillon, who had leg braces and required oxygen, was a pro-life activist for many years and well-known by other pro-life advocates around the country. “He was just a kind, gentle man who loved life and endeavored to save other people’s lives,” Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, told the Associated Press. But Jim Pouillon’s passing was not marked by the Obama administration, Planned Parenthood or NARAL... MORE

American Thinker: Ted Kennedy's
Final Attempt at Salvation
by Frank S. Rosenbloom, M.D. The passing of Senator Edward Kennedy was truly the end of an era. He had been extolled as the "lion of the Senate." Understandably, given the impact of his life, the news media were filled with stories about Kennedy, his family, his trials and tribu- lations and his contributions. I was most surprised to read that a month before his death Senator Kennedy had written a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, which was delivered to him by President Obama. As a practicing Catholic, I took great interest in Kennedy's thoughts about his Catholicism at the end of his life... I felt saddened upon reading the letter, realizing that this man was facing his death not as a lion, but as a fearful lost sheep who was about to meet his maker and knew that his prospects for salvation, according to the teachings of his Church, were not good. MORE

DeMint: ‘Americans Are Awake, They’re Informed, And They’re Outraged’
Speaking before a massive crowd of cheering protestors attending the “Taxpayer March on Washington” at the West front of the U.S. Capitol today, Sen. Jim DeMint (R.-S.C.) issued a challenge to President Barack Obama and Congress. “I think you all know that the president has warned us that if we disagree with him, he is going to call us out,” said DeMint. “Okay, Mr. President, we are out. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Waterloo.” DeMint was alluding to a remark he made in July during a conference call with people involved in the “tea party” protests that were then being organized around the country. “If we are able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo,” DeMint said on that call. “It will break him.” Later in his speech, DeMint said that Obama and Congress need to start listening to the country and understand that “Americans are awake, they’re informed, and they’re outraged.” MORE

Thousands March In D.C. to Protest Obama Spending
Tens of thousands of protesters fed up with government spending marched to the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, showing their disdain for the president's health care plan with slogans such as "Obamacare makes me sick" and "I'm not your ATM." MORE

Eight Years After Terror Attacks, Threat Remains
Eight years after the terror attacks on the U.S., al-Qaeda is mutating into an increasingly unstructured but no less dangerous entity, according to experts monitoring the organization. MORE

Schools Should Teach Christianity's Role in U.S. History, Say Evangelicals
Teaching the importance of Christianity in U.S. history is common sense, asserted several evangelical leaders in defending a new Texas law that requires public schools to incorporate Bible literacy into the curriculum. Americans can disagree on a personal level with what Christianity claims to be true, wrote Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, but they “cannot question” the “central importance” of those Christian truths to the men who help founded the nation. MORE

Yale Ripped for Kowtowing to Islamic Extremism
Gary Bauer and John Bolton both agree with recent criticism of Yale University for publishing a book about how cartoons of the prophet Muhammad caused outrage across the Muslim world -- without including the actual cartoons themselves. MORE

Obama Adviser: High Unemployment For Years
The president’s chief economic adviser warned Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate could stay "unacceptably high" for years to come. MORE

UK 'You're Not Intelligent Enough To Marry', Bride Told
Social workers banned a young woman from her own wedding in an extraordinary row over whether she is bright enough to get married. MORE

New Baptist Leader Hopes to Move Ahead in Unity
After winning the presidency by a landslide, the Rev. Julius R. Scruggs says he hopes to move his Baptist convention forward as a united body. MORE

Muslims: Support for Suicide Bombings, Bin Laden Still High
A new survey gauging Muslim attitudes indicates that backing for suicide bombings against civilians remains significant in some Islamic countries, a finding that challenges the assertion that Muslims supporting terrorism constitute a "tiny minority." MORE

Wedgwood Baptist Church Members Remember Attack
Jeff Laster has a noteworthy anniversary coming up Tuesday, but he's not planning to celebrate. Laster, 44, was the first person Larry Gene Ashbrook shot on Sept. 15, 1999, when Ashbrook walked into Wedgwood Baptist Church and opened fire at a Wednesday night youth service. Before turning the gun on himself, Ashbrook killed seven people and wounded seven others. MORE

20,000 Church Leaders Log On for Motivational Messages
"We're supposed to be revolutionaries. And that's odd that that sounds odd in this world but it's because the church has embraced the status quo instead of embracing what Jesus Christ brought into this world which was revolution." MORE

Pastor Says Christians Should Mark Jewish Feast of Trumpets
While some evangelical leaders and politicians are urging Christians to commemorate the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, one pastor is calling on believers to join with Jews around the world next Friday in observing Rosh Hoshana – or the Feast of Trumpets. Mark Biltz, who specializes in teaching the Hebrew roots of Christianity, says the biblical feasts in the fall and spring calendar are not just, as commonly believed, "Jewish holidays." "These are not Jewish holidays, they are the Lord's holidays," explains Biltz. "As gentiles we are also joining in the wakeup call for all Jews to return to the Torah and to Hashem," says Biltz. MORE

Money Ramifications of Same-Sex 'Marriage'
The state of New York has not yet enacted bills to legalize homosexual "marriage," but the pressure to do so continues. The New York Bar Association's House of Delegates has endorsed homosexual marriage and recognition of same-gender marriages that are legal in other states. Frank Russo of the American Family Association of New York opposes it on the grounds of God's Word, that homosexual conduct is an abomination to God. Russo contends those who endorse same-sex marriage do not really consider other consequences. MORE

Phil Johnson: The Demise of Evangelicalism
Why "Neo-Evangelicalism" Was a Mistake
...You hardly ever hear anyone (except fundamentalists) talk about neo-evangelicalism these days, but the fact is that neo-evangelicalism completely overwhelmed and command- eered the entire evangelical movement, and that is the primary reason the movement itself is no longer truly evangelical. Face it: the evangelical movement that our grandparents and great-grandparents knew is dead. Evangelical principles live on here and there, but the label has been appropriated by people who have no right to it. It has been bartered away by those who promised to be the movement's guardians and mouth- pieces—Christianity Today and the National Association of evangelicals being among the chief culprits. MORE

What Is the Role of the Pastor's Wife?
...The pastor’s wife is certainly a rare species with a very peculiar calling. She is one flesh with the pastor. And if he is worthy of the title, this means she is one flesh with a difficult man. If she is worthy of her calling, it also means she has laid down the “normal life” on the altar and slit its throat in sacrifice to God. The pastor’s wife will often keep her husband’s long hours, shoulder his pressures, feel his disappointments, and suffer his defeats—often as profoundly and as deeply as he does. She will be thrust into the role of chief analyst of both his sermons and his administrative innovations. She may well be called upon to catch grammatical errors and to sniff out inconsistencies in his letters to the church, to befriend that woman in the assembly others prefer to avoid and to brain- storm solutions to problems no one else can solve. She is often the single human agent of God who can accurately evaluate her husband from God’s perspective—the single voice that helps him navigate safely through the beclouding opinions of those, on the one hand, who see not a single weakness in him; and those, on the other hand, who cannot bring themselves to admit he has a single redeeming quality. MORE

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Update from Friday Morning, September 11th, 2009

Mohler: Why Moralism Is Not the Gospel, And Why So Many Christians Think It Is
One of the most amazing statements by the Apostle Paul is his indictment of the Galatian Christians for abandoning the Gospel. "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel," Paul declared. As he stated so emphatically, the Galatians had failed in the crucial test of discerning the authentic Gospel from its counter- feits. His words could not be more clear: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary..."MORE

Religious Groups Face Financial Crisis as Donations Diminish
...With donations slowing, religious groups across the theological spectrum are reporting millions of dollars in reduced income that is resulting in staff layoffs and program cuts. Jewish and Christian seminaries also are feeling the pinch. Eight seminaries for the nation's largest Lutheran denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, are undergoing staff reductions and budget cuts...Meanwhile, 69 long-term foreign missionaries and 350 short-term missionaries for the Southern Baptist Convention will remain home this year because of reduced giving by local congregations to the denomination's cooperative program. Southern Baptist officials also report.... MORE

Fashion Photographer 'Captures' Jesus In 21st Century
A veteran fashion photographer who is used to having his works featured in Vogue, GQ and Elle, will release his most “rewarding” collection – “Journeys with the Messiah” – on Friday, the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Michael Belk...says he hopes his “Journeys With the Messiah” collection will help people who are anxious and looking for answers to find peace by knowing there is someone to turn to. The photos are a retelling of the stories of 1st-century Jesus to a 21st-century audience. Included in the collection are photos of Jesus with Nazis, prostitutes, Ferraris and motorcycles, as well as Wall Street executives and high rollers that creatively address modern-day social problems such as genocide, materialism, addiction, poverty, and hypocrisy. MORE

Obama: Now is Time to Deliver on Health Care
President Barack Obama tried to make it clear Wednesday where he stands on the issue of health care as Congress struggles to revamp the nation's health care system. MORE

Operation Rescue to Obama: 'You Lie'
Obama's statement that abortions will not be paid for with federal money is a bold-faced deception. MORE

Kentucky Church to Ordain Registered Sex Offender
A church in Louisville, Ky., plans to ordain a registered sex offender this coming Sunday though they won’t allow him to have unsupervised contact with children. MORE

Fla. Churches Boycott Pepsi Products Over 'Anti-Family' Efforts
A number of churches in Florida are boycotting Pepsi products to send a message to companies involved in “anti-family” activities. MORE

Religious Song Banned From Graduation
The Rutherford Institute is taking another school free-speech case to the Supreme Court. MORE

American Congregations Show Some Signs of Vitality
A new report on America's congregations confirms what many already know – that churches are struggling and facing decline. But analysts say there is hope amid the negative trends. MORE

Health Experts Call Obesity A Threat to National Security
Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona said the U.S. has reached a "tipping point," at which obesity "now impacts every aspect of our society, including the future of our health system" -- as well as national and global security. MORE

Obama's Oratorical 'Gift' Has Stopped Giving
President Obama's healthcare address to Congress displayed the oratorical gift he once revealed to Harry Reid. But the gift has stopped giving. In an updated version of his biography, Senator Reid tells of a conversation he once had with then Senator Obama about a speech Obama delivered on President Bush's war policy. Reid said to Obama, "That speech was phenomenal, Barack." Obama replied, "I have a gift, Harry." On the campaign trail, Obama's "gift" was his strong suit. His go-to skill. The one that swooned crowds and evoked emotional dedication from his followers. After eight years of a president who was mediocre, at best, in verbal communication... MORE

The Power and Importance of New Media
On Meet the Press this past Sunday, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman railed against internet news sources, referring to them as an "open sewer of untreated, unfiltered information." He continued to mock new media, suggesting that the American public is incapable of deciphering between facts, fiction and opinion, when he said that modems should have a warning label from the surgeon general that reads "judgment not included." What Mr. Friedman cannot understand is that web-based information sources like blogs, wikis and vlogs (video blogs) are the new beat reporters and investigative journalists of our time. MORE

AP: Preacher Says God Wanted Him to Hijack Mexican Jet
Mexican investigators are evaluating a Bolivian pastor who hijacked a jetliner for possible mental illness, and trying to figure out how he managed to slip through Cancun Airport security with a fake bomb in his luggage. Jose Flores, 44, pulled out the device, which he later described as a "a juice can ... with some little lights I attached," as the airplane was approaching Mexico City Wednesday afternoon. Flores told authorities that Wednesday's date - 9-9-09 - is the satanic number 666 turned upside down. Speaking to reporters after he was detained, Flores smilingly told them: "Christ is coming soon." He said he had received divine revelation that an enormous earthquake would soon strike Mexico... MORE

Washington Post: Many Women Targeted Sexually By Faith Leaders, Survey Says
One in every 33 women who attend worship services regularly has been the target of sexual advances by a religious leader, a survey released Wednesday says. The study, by Baylor University researchers, found that the problem is so pervasive that it almost certainly involves a wide range of denominations, religious traditions and leaders. "It certainly is prevalent, and clearly the problem is more than simply a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers," said Diana Garland, dean of Baylor's School of Social Work, who co-authored the study. It found that more than two-thirds of the offenders were married to someone else at the time of the advance. MORE

AP Analysis: Obama Uses Iffy Math on Pledge to Avoid Adding to the Deficit
President Barack Obama used only-in-Washington accounting Wednesday when he promised to overhaul the nation's health care system without adding "one dime" to the deficit. By conventional arithmetic, Democratic plans would drive up the deficit by billions of dollars. The president's speech to Congress contained a variety of oversimplifications and omissions in laying out what he wants to do about health insurance. MORE

'Anti-American Counterculturists' Found Among Obama's Czars
An Iowa congressman says he's pleased that President Barack Obama's so-called "green jobs" czar has resigned -- but it's just a start, he adds. Even before "green jobs" czar Van Jones resigned over the weekend, Steve King (R-Iowa) had called for his dismissal, saying that Jones is completely out of touch with mainstream America. "I think that it's good for the country that someone of that kind of political stance, someone who has pretty aggressively played the race card -- a self-avowed communist -- someone who has perpetrated a false economy and argued that we can have these green jobs [has stepped down]," King says. MORE

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Update from Monday Evening, September 7th, 2009

'I Hate Obama' Pastor Draws Protesters Outside Church
An Arizona pastor who delivered the “Why I Hate Barack Obama” sermon was confronted by about 100 protesters Sunday outside his church near Phoenix. Protesters at the so-called “Love Rally” denounced Pastor Steven L. Anderson’s sermon – which called on parishioners to pray for the president’s death – as hate speech. “It’s hard to believe we could have someone of a religious nature wishing our president was dead,” said protester William Crumb to KNXV-TV in Phoenix.Another protester, Larry Crane, said, “I’m just disgusted with this man who claims to be a minister of the Lord preaching hate toward the president.” MORE

AMERICAN THINKER
ObamaCare: Establishing God's Kingdom on Earth
An interesting reason for the "natural born" provision of the U.S. Constitution is that the founders thought it might be important for the sitting president to understand and defend the basic principles of American freedom. The universal health care push illustrates the far left's ignorance of our constitutional system better than anything imaginable. The President and every one of the ultra lefties in Congress may as well have been born in the former Soviet Union and dandled on the knee of Joseph Stalin. Their poison Ivy League educations have so indoctrinated their minds that, not only do they sing from the same sheet, but they fail to appreciate the harm they wish to inflict upon the country. MORE

Op-Ed: 10 Reasons Why Obama's Agenda Will Fail
by Janet Porter -The communists are coming out of the woodwork, and people are starting to notice. Obama told us to judge him by those with whom he surrounds himself. And America is beginning to do that. MORE

Obama Asks Senate To Increase Debt Ceiling
The Senate must move legislation to raise the federal debt limit beyond $12.1 trillion by mid-October, a move viewed as necessary despite protests about the record levels of red ink. MORE

Kentucky Coach Baptizes Students on School Field Trip
A mother is angry about a trip led by the head football coach at Breckinridge County High School. The coach took about 20 players on a school bus late last month to his church, where nearly half of them — including her son — were baptized. MORE

Minn. Man Charged With Killing Toddler at Church
One man has been charged with murder and another with assault in a baseball bat attack at a western Minnesota church that left a 14-month-old girl dead. MORE

Yale Yanks Muslim Cartoons
Yale University has removed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad from an upcoming book about how they caused outrage across the Muslim world, drawing criticism from prominent alumni and a national group of university professors. MORE

Researchers Transform Fat Cells into Stem Cells
Researchers at Stanford University have transformed ordinary fat cells into embryonic-like stem cells, according to a paper published in the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences. MORE

Text Of Obama's Speech To Schools
White House transcript of Obama's speech to school kids amid criticism of his message to students. MORE

Surgeon General Post Unfilled as Obama Pushes Health Care Reform and Swine Flu Concerns Grow
As President Barack Obama welcomes Congress back to Washington with a joint address on his health care reform agenda and federal officials advise the public on preventing the spread of the N1H1 virus, the U.S. Surgeon General post remains unfilled. MORE

AP Dishonors Fallen Marine, family
An organization that supports American troops and their families is appalled that The Associated Press published the photograph of a dying U.S. Marine in Afghanistan, against the wishes of his family. M ORE

Church Leaders Abuzz About Virtual Conference
Some 6,000 people have registered for an unconventional conference that features about 75 speakers and their 9 minutes of wisdom.MORE

Victory at an abortion clinic
While efforts continue to close the Nebraska clinic of late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart, pro-life counselors have scored a victory. MORE

PepsiCo Supports Gay Pride Group
PepsiCo was instrumental in forming Chicago's "Citywide Pride," a coalition of companies partnering during Pride Month (June) to celebrate diversity in the workplace. MORE

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UN Wants New Global Currency To Replace Dollar
The dollar should be replaced with a global currency, the United Nations has said, proposing the biggest overhaul of the world's monetary system since the Second World War. In a radical report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said the system of currencies and capital rules which binds the world economy is not working properly, and was largely responsible for the financial and economic crises.
It added that the present system, under which the dollar acts as the world's reserve currency , should be subject to a wholesale reconsideration. MORE

Obama Administration Moves to Downplay 9/11
The Obama administration and its progressive allies have launched a secret initiative to "rebrand" the events of 9/11, conservatives warn, turning it into a more Democratic-friendly day of national service and discarding the "Patriot Day" memorials promoted by the Bush administration. Instead, they say, the memorial will focus on community volunteerism and green initiatives. Planting gardens, picking up litter, and cleaning up parks are few of the activities that the Obama administration proudly hails as part of "the first September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance." "The Obama White House is behind a cynical, coldly calculated political effort to erase the meaning of the 9/11 terrorist attacks from the American psyche and convert Sept. 11 into a day... MORE

Obama & Education -Less Talk, More Action
A policy analyst with the Independent Women's Forum says President Barack Obama needs to follow today's educational speech with some action. But The Cato Institute says the president has no authority to be involved in education. Presi- dent Obama told students at Wakefield High in a Washington suburb, and children watching on TV at schools nationwide, that "every single one of you has something to offer." He says all the support from teachers and parents will not matter if students do not fulfill their responsibilities. MORE

Administration’s Suggestions for Teachers: Read Books about Obama, Post Obama Quotes on Classroom Walls
The “corrected” lesson plans the U.S. Department of Education is suggesting that schools around the country use to turn President Obama’s speech to students today into a “teachable moment” still call for teachers to read books about Obama and to post quotations from Obama in large print on classroom walls. The Department of Education created two “menus of classroom activities” for use with the president’s speech. One is designed to guide Pre-K through 6th grade teachers, and the other is designed to guide 7th through 12th grade teachers. MORE

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Update from Thursday Evening, September 3rd, 2009

Churches to Feature Pro-Union Guest Speakers This Sunday
Representatives of "Big Labor" will be filling church pulpits this weekend to preach government-run healthcare and other liberal political priorities. The AFL-CIO is cosponsoring a program over Labor Day weekend called "Labor in the Pulpits," in which union stewards will serve as guest speakers at churches and discuss their social justice goals. Those goals include addressing "the injustices facing low-wage workers" and lobbying for a government-run healthcare plan. More than 1,000 churches are expected to take part in the program. Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee, says he finds it quite ironic that the AFL-CIO will be preaching from pulpits about justice for workers. MORE

Phoenix Pastor Tells Church He Prays for Obama's Death
A Phoenix-area pastor has started to draw protesters to his congregation after he delivered a sermon titled, "Why I Hate Barack Obama," and told his parishioners that he prays for President Obama's death. Pastor Steven Anderson stood by his sermon in an interview with MyFOX Phoenix, which reports that the pastor continues to encourage his parishioners to join him in praying for the president's death. "I hope that God strikes Barack Obama with brain cancer so he can die like Ted Kennedy and I hope it happens today," he told MyFOXPhoenix on Sunday. He called his message "spiritual warfare" and said he does not condone killing. But a small crowd of protesters gathered around his church Sunday, calling Anderson's words "incomprehensible." And reports that the sermon led to death threats against the pastor. MORE

Israeli Archaeologists Find Ancient Fortification
Archaeologists digging in Jerusalem have uncovered a 3,700-year-old wall that is the oldest example of massive fortifications ever found in the city, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Wednesday. The 26-foot-high wall is believed to have been part of a protected passage built by ancient Canaanites from a hilltop fortress to a nearby spring that was the city's only water source and vulnerable to marauders. The discovery marks the first time archaeologists have found such massive construction from before the time of Herod, the ruler behind numerous monumental projects in the city 2,000 years ago, and shows that Jerusalem of the Middle Bronze Age had a powerful population capable of complex building projects, said Ronny Reich, director of the excavation and an archaeology professor... MORE

Ancient Ruins of Church in Saudi Arabia Kept Hidden
Much of the world knows Petra, the ancient ruin in modern-day Jordan that is celebrated... But far fewer know Madain Saleh, a similarly spectacular treasure built by the same civilization...That's because it's in Saudi Arabia, where conservatives are deeply hostile to pagan, Jewish and Christian sites that predate the founding of Islam in the 7th century. MORE

Update of Popular 'NIV' Bible due in 2011
The scholars and publishers behind the world's leading English language evangelical Bible announced Tuesday that they would publish a updated translation in 2011. MORE

Funeral Coverage Unearths Media's Liberal Tilt
Media Research Center says the mainstream media's recent coverage of Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral was a celebration of big-government activism and a promotion of the liberal agenda. MORE

Health Care Bill Gives Obama New Power
A new "Health Choices Commissioner" would have broad powers in governing insurance exchange programs as proposed in the health care reform legislation being considered in the House of Rep... MORE

Graham Plans to Continue with Evangelistic Rock Concerts
Following a successful inaugural tour this summer, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is planning to make their new Rock the River tour an annual event to reach out to Americas youth. MORE

Detroit-Area Church Campaigns with 'Satan' Signs
Metro South Church in Trenton, Mich., is the latest church to grab the attention of the local community and media outlets through a marketing campaign that includes signs signed by Satan. MORE

Traditional Values Group Sues Holiday Inn
A pro-family group is suing an Illinois hotel for discrimination. MORE

CBO: Health Bill Will Hike Medicare Drug Coverage Premiums
If the health-care reform bill under consideration in the House of Representatives becomes law, seniors will pay Medicare prescription drug program premiums that are 20-percent higher than they would be under current law, says the Congressional Budget Office. MORE

Catholics Urged to Unite Against 'ObamaCare'
A leading pro-life group is claiming a victory in its confrontation with Catholic groups it said "divorced themselves" from church teaching in the healthcare reform debate. MORE

Hamas Complains, So School Will Not Teach Holocaust
The United Nations' refugee agency for Palestinians does not intend to include the Holocaust in the curriculum at schools it runs in the Gaza Strip, a U.N. spokesman said following criticism by Hamas about the purported plan. MORE

Chinese Christian Jailed for Helping N. Korean Refugees
A Chinese Christian woman who aided North Korean refugees in their escape to South Korea was sentenced to ten years in prison, her family recently was notified. MORE

Slain Baptist Pastor in Georgia Not Involved In Drug Dealing
Authorities in northeast Georgia now admit that a Baptist pastor shot and killed by drug agents on Tuesday was not involved in drug dealing. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said a passenger in Jonathan Paul Ayers' car was under investigation, but the pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia was not a target in the probe. The shooting occurred after Ayers, 28, dropped the woman off at a store in downtown Toccoa. MORE

American Thinker: Teddy Kennedy's Very Quiet Catholicism
Like a big lump of clay, Teddy Kennedy is being worked and reworked into an immortal. The mainstream media and other liberal apologists are seeing to the handiwork. They even want us to believe that Kennedy was squared with his Catholicism. But how could he be? He was unapologetically pro-abortion. Time magazine gave it go, though. It published an article last week about Kennedy's "quiet Catholic faith." MORE

Runaway Teen's Attorney Claims Parents' Mosque Has Terrorist Ties
An attorney representing a runaway teen girl who converted to Christianity from Islam filed court documents Monday claiming that the parents' mosque has ties to terrorists. Noor Islamic Cultural Center in the suburb of Columbus, Ohio, had invited extremists to speak and support a scholar who has ties to the Palestinian Islamic terrorist group Hamas, the attorney’s memo said. MORE

Are Terminally Ill Brits Being Killed by Docs?
A group of British physicians specializing in palliative and end of life care has sounded the alarm that some terminally ill patients are being killed under an ethics protocol recently approved by the country's health care rationing body. Patients in Britain are being misdiagnosed as "close to death" and sedated and dehydrated to death the doctors said in a letter to the Daily Telegraph this week. MORE

Slaying Details of Oklahoma Pastor Shocking
Police found the mutilated body of the Rev. Carol Daniels in a "crucifix position” behind her church altar last Sunday, The Oklahoman learned from sources close to the investigation. Sources confirmed that Daniels’ bloodied corpse appeared to have been left in the form of a cross with both arms outstretched to the sides. Sources also said investigators were disturbed by two other facts at the crime scene: • The killer took Daniels’ clothes, perhaps to hide... MORE

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