Back to MAIN Page    Archives for DECEMBER 2009    // Update for December 30th-31st, 2009 Christmas Day Terrorist Plot Exposes Need for Change in U.S. Policy The UK Sun is reporting that there are at least five groups of five British-born terrorists that have been training in Yemen similar to the recent terrorist who tried to blow up a Christmas day Northwest airlines flight using explosives in his underwear. This report indicates that the al Qaeda cells in Britain are alive and well and are patiently training for multiple attacks. The article also claimed that these 25 terrorists were educated at universities, studying engineering and computer science. But the most interesting revelation is that the Sun reports these terrorists were "radicalized" in British mosques. MORE Am. Thinker: It's Hard To Explain Away This Attack Besides the fact itself, a bright spot can be found in Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's arrest. This is the opportunity to again rebut the canard that such terrorism is motivated by anti-Islamic discrimination or the desperate poor. Following the 9/11 attacks, committed mostly by an assortment of reasonably well-educated bourgeois Arab Islamists acting on direct orders from al-Qaeda, this tired leftist trope was beaten back. Like some of the 9/11 terrorists, Abdul- mutalleb is a man of wealth and privilege, and he appears to have acted directly for an al-Qaeda offshoot in Yemen. MORE Comedy Club, Church Clash in TX Dan French was telling a joke about being bald when strains of gospel music flooded the comedy club where he was performing. "Am I being heckled by God?" he asked the audience at the Capitol City Comedy Club. The music was coming from Fresh Oil Family Fellowship, a boisterous nondenominational congregation that occupies the adjacent storefront in a strip mall here. The comedy club complained about the noise; the landlord asked Fresh Oil to leave the building by the end of the year. But Bishop Nathan Thomas, the founder and leader of the Pentecostal-charismatic church, isn't going without a fight.   MORE Am. Thinker: Obama's Second Major Terror  Failure in Two Months Luck was with us on Northwest flight 253. Dumb luck. This terror attack could easily have been averted but for the Aloha, baby! attitude of the Obumblers regarding domestic terrorism. At Fort Hood last month, a couple of cops finally brought down an Islamofascist killer after he murdered twelve soldiers and left 30 wounded on the tarmac. On Flight 253 to Detroit it happened to be an alert Dutch filmmaker who jumped the would-be bomber when his pants started to burn. MORE North Korea: American Detained for Illegal Entry North Korea said Tuesday that it has detained an American who illegally entered the country, leading many to speculate that the detainee is Korean-American Christian activist Robert Park, who reportedly entered the reclusive country on Christmas Day to call for the release of prisoners. Through the state-run Korea Central News Agency, North Korea announced that it had taken into custody a man who entered the country from China on Christmas Eve. The news agency said the American is “now under investigation by a relevant organ.” No further description of the detainee was provided.  MORE Christian Witnessing a No-No On College Campus Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is appealing a decision to permit a bad speech policy to stand while a lawsuit against Georgia Southern University proceeds. In March of last year, Benjamin Bloedorn visited the campus to distribute tracts and talk about his faith with students in a free-speech area of the school. ADF attorney Nate Kellum picks up the story.MORE Poll: More Than Half of Americans Say Health Reform Is Not Worth Increasing the Deficit A Quinnipiac University poll found that fewer Americans approve of how the president is handling the health care issue and fewer believe health care reform is important enough to warrant increasing the deficit.MORE Catholic Hospitals’ Pro-Abortion Money Trail The New York Times dropped coal in Catholic pro-life stockings on Christmas Day with an article reporting a split on abortion between the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference and the Catholic Health Association, which represents about 600 Catholic hospitals.  MORE Baptist Children's Home Faces Challenge A Kentucky Baptist children's home plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a ruling from a lower court that provides legitimacy to a taxpayer challenge of the state funding that is provided to the organization.MORE Malaysia High Court Delays Ruling on 'Allah' Case Malaysia’s high court has reportedly postponed a decision on whether the government of the predominantly Muslim country can bar Christian groups from referring to God as “Allah.”MORE Attorney: Hasan's 'Religious Rights' Prohibited One of the nation's foremost critics of Islam says it's absolutely reprehensible that the lead attorney for the man charged in the murderous rampage at Fort Hood last month is trying to paint his client as a victim.MORE Pastor Chuck Smith Hospitalized After 'Mini Stroke' Southern California megachurch pastor Chuck Smith was taken to the hospital over the weekend after having what doctors described as a “mini stroke.  MORE Church Members Praying for Missionary Who Entered No. Korea An Arizona church is holding prayer vigils for Robert Park, a Korean-American missionary who is believed to be under arrest in North Korea. MORE Mexico City Opens Arms to Same-Sex 'Marriage' Many Mexico City residents are upset after the local assembly voted approval of homosexual "marriage."  MORE Study: Home-Schooled Children Excel as Adults Despite what many might believe, a vast majority of home-schooled children say they have plenty of opportunities for socialization with other children and, as adults, come to excel in all measured areas of adult life, according to a new study.  MORE Turkish Court Seeks to Link Murder of Christians to 'Cage Plan' Malatya’s Third Criminal Court took further steps to connect the murders of three Christians in southeastern Turkey to a Turkish military plan to destabilize the pro-Islamic government.  MORE Is the Middle East About to Go Apocalyptic? While world leaders met in Copenhagen for the United Nations 2009 Climate Change Conference, Damascus, about five- hundred prophetically minded Christian’s fellowshipped at the annual 2009 Pre-Trib Rapture conference in Dallas, hosted by Dr. Tim Lahaye and Dr. Thomas Ice. The revived Roman Empire, trend toward Globalism, coming Mideast War, abs- ence of America in Bible prophecy, and soon return of Jesus Christ weighed heavy on our hearts and minds at the conference. Although not all Christians worldwide agree as to when or whether Jesus Christ comes to take millions of believers out of this world, many of them are troubled by the rapidly developing dangerous events in the Middle East. MORE Many Dutch Prepare For 2012 Apocalypse Thousands of people in the Netherlands say they expect the world to end in 2012, and many say they are taking precautions to prepare for the apocalypse. The Dutch-language de Volkskrant newspaper said it spoke to thousands of believers in the impending end of civilization, and while theories on the supposed catastrophe varied, most tied the 2012 date to the end of the Mayan calendar, Radio Netherlands reported Monday. De Volkskrant said many of those interviewed are stocking up on emergency supplies, including life rafts and other equipment.  MORE Vermont Judge Favors Lesbian In  Child Custody Battle The birth mother of a 7-year-old Virginia girl must transfer custody of the child to the woman's former lesbian partner, a Vermont judge ruled, adding that it seems the woman has "disappeared" with her daughter. Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen ordered Lisa Miller of Winchester, Va., to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins of Fair Haven at 1 p.m. Friday at the Virginia home of Jenkins' parents. But in the Dec. 22 order denying Miller's request to delay the transfer of Isabella, Cohen wrote: "It appears that Ms. Miller has ceased contact with attorneys and disappeared with the child." MORE First Case of Highly Resistant TB Seen in US It started with a cough, a cool-season hack that refused to go away. Then came the fevers. They bathed and chilled the skinny frame of Oswaldo Juarez, a 19-year-old Peruvian visiting to study English. His lungs clattered, his chest tightened and he ached with every gasp. During a wheezing fit at 4 a.m., he ran to the bathroom sink and spewed a mouthful of blood. I’m dying, he told himself, “because when you cough blood, it’s something really bad.” It was really bad, and not just for him. Doctors say Juarez’s incessant hack was a sign of the first case of a contagious, aggressive, especially drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.  MORE // Update for December 28th-29th, 2009 Failed Christmas Attack Raises New Security Concerns U.S. counterterrorism officials are scrambling to assess a potential new threat from an explosive mixture that evaded detection aboard a Detroit-bound airliner but failed to bring down the plane. Multiple law enforcement officials said the suspected attacker — identified as a Nigerian man named Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab — claimed to have acted on instructions from al-Qaida to detonate the explosive device over U.S. soil. The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. MORE U.S. Knew of Airliner Attack Suspect The Nigerian man charged with trying to destroy a jetliner came to the attention of U.S. intelligence in November when his father warned the U.S. embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, that his son might have terrorist sympathies. But while his name was on a list of suspected terrorists, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was allowed to board a flight for the United States. MORE Obama & First Family Celebrate a Secular Christmas President Obama and his family celebrated Christmas in Hawaii on Friday, but with their own twists. The president and his wife, Michelle, started their day at 6:40 a.m. by going to the gym -- a feat unimaginable to most parents of young children eager to open presents on Christmas morning -- and returned more than an hour later. The first couple did not swap presents, aides said. And the Obamas did not attend church services, instead spending the day at the oceanfront home...  MORE Christian Missionary Takes On North Korea An American Christian missionary slipped into isolated North Korea on Christmas Day, shouting that he brought God's love and carrying a letter urging leader Kim Jong Il to step down and free all political prisoners, an activist said Saturday. Robert Park, 28, crossed a poorly guarded stretch of the frozen Tumen River that separates North Korea from China, according to a member of the Seoul-based group Pax Koreana, which promotes human rights in the North. Two other activists apparently watched and filmed the entry. MORE Jack Kelley: Messianic Prophecy in the Old Testament In the time after their sin and expulsion from the Garden, Adam and Eve must have felt incredible despair. They had experienced life both before and after the curse, the only ones to do so, and had first hand knowledge of the difference. And what a difference it was. Even the part of it we can relate to had to have been devastating.  For example suppose that one day you were the resident manager of the world’s richest and most luxurious estate, with all of its comforts and privileges, and the next you were a poor hardscrabble farmer, at the opposite end of the economic and social structure.  MORE Ten Commandment Projects Thwart ACLU In Minnesota When ACLU officials bullied Duluth, Minn., into removing its Ten Commandments display, it looked like another victory in the organization's ongoing crusade to make America a secular nation. Imagine the ACLU's chagrin, however, when the single memorial soon was replaced by four new ones at various locations -- and each larger than the original. The Project Moses group that provided those new monuments -- as well as hundreds more like them on display throughout the nation -- erects its engraved marble Ten Commandments... MORE Columbian Official Bans Christianity; Arrests 28 A Columbian governor banned Christianity on a reservation for indigenous people and has imprisoned 28 of the natives for refusing to renounce their Christian faith. Among those detained are two infants, both less than a year old, reported International Christian Concern last week. ICC said it has learned that the indigenous Christians have been imprisoned since October, and among those detained is a six-month-old infant. MORE Rescue Missions Serve Thousands Over Christmas Over 200 faith-based ministries affiliated with the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions (AGRM) served the homeless and the needy this Christmas as they have done in past years. MORE Pope in Good Shape 2 Days After Christmas Scare Pope Benedict XVI appeared in good shape on Saturday as he addressed the faithful two days after a woman knocked him down at the start of Christmas Eve Mass. MORE North Carolina School Rethinks Action Against Pro-Life Student Officials at Randleman High School in Randleman, N.C., have reversed course in action taken against Brianna Caldwell.  Caldwell participated in the Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity this fall by wearing a T-shirt with the word "abortion" crossed out on the front. MORE Christian Gives His Life Saving Others From 'Muslim' Martyr ...In the midst of the rubble from the explosion lay two martyrs. A so-called Muslim “martyr” had maliciously murdered others. Meanwhile, a Christian martyr had laid down his life for his brethren. A Christian died to save Muslims from a fellow Muslim. MORE County Official Rescinds Order to Remove Angels, Stars from Gov't Trees An order to remove angels and stars from Christmas trees in all government buildings in one California county has been rescinded following the uproar that ensued over the decision. MORE India's Christians Observe Peaceful Christmas There were no reports of violence in Kandhamal district, Orissa state, during Christmas. Christians peacefully celebrated the birth of Jesus with prayers and midnight services.   MORE South Sees New Power Via Census Eight states, including six in the South and Southwest, would gain seats in the House of Representatives if apportionment were done today rather than after the 2010 Census.  MORE T.D. Jakes: 2010 Will Be a Year of Double Portion Dallas megachurch pastor and entrepreneur T.D. Jakes usually doesn't make declarations or predictions for the new year. But the year 2010 is different. MORE China General Chi Says United States Would Be 'Easily Defeated' From 1993 to 2003, Chi Haotian was the Minister of National Defense (read: “of world aggression”) of the People’s Republic of China (read: “of the Post-1949 slave-state of China”). He is now 80 years old, and since 2004 he has been vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of China. In 2005, his speech was reprinted by The Epoch Times, an independent Chinese newspaper, published abroad. His speech details the annihilation of the West and talks about world domination... The first target will be the United States as the most powerful of the free (and hence enemy) countries, whereupon all the other enemy countries will be easier targets. MORE Accused Abortionist Killer Barred from Using 'Necessity Defense' The man accused of killing late-term abortionist George Tiller won’t be allowed to use the “necessity defense” when he goes on trial next month, a district judge in Wichita, Kan., ruled this week. While Judge Warren Wilbert said he would “leave the door open” for Scott Roeder to present evidence and arguments showing that his slaying of Tiller was done out of belief that he was saving the lives of fetuses, he will not allow Roeder to claim that he broke the law to prevent a greater harm.  MORE George Will Op-Ed:  Catholic Church's Bigger Tent Could Spring Leaks ....2009's most intriguing development in Christianity: the Vatican's enticement of disaffected Anglicans. Rome is saying to individuals, and perhaps to entire parishes and even dioceses: "Come on over." It is trolling with rules, recently written, that will enable Anglicans-become-Catholics to retain some of their liturgy. The church will accept some already married priests, and perhaps married seminarians, but not bishops.MORE /// Update for December 26th-27th, 2009 Time: No Church at Christmas for the First Family ...But there's one common Christmas practice not on the First Family's schedule: a visit to Christmas Eve church services. Church, in fact, has been a surprisingly tough issue for the Obamas. They resigned their membership with Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago in 2008 after Obama renounced the church's controversial former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. And while the First Family intended to find a local church to attend when they moved to Washington, concerns about crowds and displacing regular worshippers has prevented them from finding a new religious home during their first year here.  MORE Oral Roberts Lauded at Memorial For decades, Oral Roberts deftly used television to become one of the nation's most recognized and influential preachers. Last week, that same medium was used to broadcast the memorial service for the godfather of TV evangelism to tens of millions of homes across the world...The event was part spectacle, carried live by the Inspiration Network and its international counterpart, which can reach about 140 million homes.  The guest list was a who's who of TV evangelists - most of whom tie their success to Mr. Roberts - and some arrived in the six stretch limousines, two Jaguars, Cadillacs and a Mercedes Benz parked curbside.    MORE Albert Mohler: The Real Legacy of Oral Roberts The death of Oral Roberts marks a significant milestone in the history of American Christianity. His life, spanning from 1918 to 2009, represents 91 years and almost a century of American religious history...In reality, most Americans probably know of Oral Roberts through a combination of his intended and unintended media exposure. Roberts frequently attracted controversy. Most famously, he became known for claiming to receive a vision of a 900 foot Jesus instructing them to build the City of Faith and, when hard times hit his empire, telling his followers that if a sufficient amount of gifts was not received within a specified amount of time, God would end his life. MORE AP: Many Turn To Bible for Money Wisdom During Downturn A Hummer, a 1957 hot rod, a comfortable house in a gated community — if Bob Vigliotti wanted something, he bought it. Cash or credit didn't matter. As a successful commercial real estate developer from Naples, Fla., he could afford it. Until he couldn't. In 2007, the budding economic downturn claimed one of his major projects. For two years, Vigliotti, 58, battled depression as he bled $1 million cash. But Vigliotti said just when he thought there were no answers, he found them in the Bible: debt reduction, simpler living and, most of all, faith that God would provide what he needed.  MORE Nowhere To Run From The New World Government There is scope for debate – and innumerable newspaper quizzes – about who was the most influential public figure of the year, or which the most significant event. But there can be little doubt which word won the prize for most important adjective. 2009 was the year in which “global” swept the rest of the political lexicon into obscurity. There were “global crises” & “global chall- enges”, the only possible resolution was in “global solutions” & “global agreements”. MORE Salvation Army Major Shot In Front of Children Arkansas police are looking for two men who shot and killed a Salvation Army major in front of his three young children on Christmas Eve outside the organization's community center in North Little Rock. Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper says two men accosted Philip Wise and his children — ages, 4, 6 and 8 — about 4 p.m. Thursday.   MORE Priest Wins $100,000 for Church In Poker Game A South Carolina priest missed the $1 million top prize in a poker tournament to be televised this weekend but he won $100,000 for his church and he hopes his participation gives viewers a “fun twist” on their perceptions of the priesthood.  MORE Former U.K. Bishop Nazir-Ali: Don't Underestimate Islam A Pakistan-born church leader in the United Kingdom is urging the international community not to “abandon” terrorist-plagued countries nor underestimate Islam’s “capacity for disruption and destruction and its desire to remake the world in its own image.”   MORE Pope Calls for Peace Amid Concern Over His Safety Pope Benedict called on the world to abandon violence and vengeance on Christmas Day and showed no sign of strain after a woman lunged at him, forcing him to the ground, on Christmas Eve.   MORE Vatican To Review Security After Papal Knock-Down The Vatican will review security procedures after a woman jumped a barrier and rushed at Pope Benedict XVI for the second time in two years, this time managing to knock him down before being pulled away by guards, the Vatican spokesman said Friday.  MORE Vast Religious Gap Between US and Europe With 89 percent of the population religious and 62 percent highly so, the United States is the most religious nation in the industrialized world, according to an international survey released this week.   MORE Furor Erupts Over Atheist Display At State Capitol A conservative activist and Illinois comptroller candidate was escorted from the Illinois State Capitol building Wednesday when he tried to remove a sign put up by an atheist group.  MORE No Time For Christmas For U.S. Troops In Afghan East Instead of celebrating Christmas Eve with his family back in Dallas, Texas, Krepcho's unit on Thursday fired mortars at enemy positions in the tense Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan.    MORE Congress Raises Debt Ceiling to $12.4 Trillion The Senate voted Thursday to raise the ceiling on the government debt to $12.4 trillion, a massive increase over the current limit and a problem Obama has promised to address next year.   MORE Grand Jury: Deadly Force Against Ga. Pastor 'Legally Justified' The officers involved in a botched drug bust that left a young Baptist pastor dead should not face criminal charges, according to a Georgia county grand jury.  MORE Fort Hood Shooter Asked About Killing Americans in 2008  Nidal Hasan, the US soldier who killed 13 people at an attack on Fort Hood military base last month, sought advice about murdering US troops in 2008, a Yemeni imam told Al-Jazeera on Wednesday.  MORE Rasmussen Poll Says Just 29% Believe  U.S. Heading on Right Course Just 29 percent of U.S. voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, the lowest level measured since early February, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.The percentage of voters who felt the country is heading in the right direction remained in the narrow range of 31 percent to 35 percent from July to early November. For the previous three weeks, however, confidence in the country’s current course has held steady at 30 percent.   MORE Barna Group Offers Year In Review Perspective of Christianity in America Based on his company’s interviews with thousands of people during the year, researcher George Barna synthesized the findings across numerous studies and summarized four themes that emerged from his research regarding religion in 2009. Theme 1: Increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity...Theme 2: Faith in the American context is now individual and customized. Americans are comfortable with an altered spiritual experience as long as they can participate in the shaping of that faith experience...Theme 3: Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the U.S...   MORE Iraqi Christians Face Bombs, Attacks in Run-Up to Christmas  The deadly Christmas Eve ambush of a Christian bus driver in Iraq Thursday and a bombing earlier this week targeting a 1,200-year-old church are driving Iraq's few remaining Christians quietly underground in the hours before the holy day begins. Christmas has bumped into Shiite Islam's most mournful ceremony this year, forcing Iraqi Christians to shutter their homes and hide the signs of their celebration. MORE Am. Thinker: Christmas is Not Negotiable Until I was 12, I thought that no one would mess with Christmas. Why would anyone do such a thing?...But then I learned that "Christmas" was persecuted in many countries of that region, including in the land of its genesis. Indeed, the oldest Christian communities of the world, stretching from Egypt to Iran, were among the most suppressed. Christmas in Syria and Iraq was tightly regulated by the ruling regimes: Santa had to be a Baathist. In Iran, the Khomeinists banned decorations in the streets...In Saudi Arabia, Christmas was forbidden by law, and in Sudan, African celebrations of the event were decimated by the militias of Khartoum.  MORE /// Update for December 23rd-24th, 2009 Zogby: 39 Percent Not in Mood for Christmas Thirty-nine percent of Americans are less "in the mood" to celebrate the holidays this season than they were last year, nearly twice as many as say they are more in the mood (21 percent), a new Zogby Interactive poll shows. Another 40 percent say there is no difference in their mood to celebrate the holidays this year compared to last year. No matter what their mood, holiday shopping is on the agenda, and many Americans are choosing debit over credit to fund their gift-giving this year.   MORE White House Christmas Ornament Troubles Christians A recent report that an ornament adorned with the face of a Chinese communist leader is hanging on a Christmas tree in the White House has troubled some Christians. BigGovern- ment.com released photos revealing a Mao Zedong ornament reportedly on the tree in the Blue Room. Other pictured ornaments depict transvestite Hedda Lettuce and Mount Rushmore with President Obama's head added to it.   MORE Nazareth Dwelling Discovery May Shed Light on Boyhood of Jesus Israeli archaeologists today unveiled what could be the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus – a find that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period of Jesus's boyhood, according to the New Testament. The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres. It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means, said archaeologist...   MORE UK Priest Advises Poor In Congregation to Shoplift Poor people who are desperate for cash have been advised to go forth and shoplift from major stores - by an Anglican priest. The Rev Tim Jones said in his Sunday sermon that stealing from successful shops was preferable to burglary, robbery or prostitution. He told parishioners it would not break the eighth commandment 'thou shalt not steal' because it 'is permissible for those who are in desperate situations to take food that they might not starve'.  MORE John McArthur Blasts TBN as Ungodly Influence ...Recently, while recovering from knee-replacement surgery, I decided to sample some of the current fare on TBN... it left me outraged and frustrated—and eager to challenge the misperceptions in the minds of millions of unbelievers who see these false teachers masquerading as ministers of Christ on TBN. I'm outraged at the brazen way so many false teachers twist the message of Scripture in Jesus' name. And I'm frustrated because I'm certain that if these charlatans were not receiving a large proportion of their financial support from sincere believers (and silent acquiescence from Christian leaders who surely know better), they would have no platform for their shenanigans....  MORE Abortion Remains A Key Obstacle to Final Passage of Health Care Bill Twice now, abortion was almost a deal-breaker. This time, it was a deal-maker. But of the hundreds of deals cut to keep health care legislation alive, the hardest to retain may be the Senate's abortion compromise -- achieved after 13 hours of negotiation. The volatile issue remains the biggest threat to getting a history- making bill to President Barack Obama.  MORE NY Times: Hollywood Shows Its True Religion in New Movie 'Avatar' It’s fitting that James Cameron’s “Avatar” arrived in theaters at Christmastime. Like the holiday season itself, the science fiction epic is a crass embodiment of capitalistic excess wrapped around a deeply felt religious message. It’s at once the blockbuster to end all blockbusters, and the Gospel According to James. But not the Christian Gospel. Instead, “Avatar” is Cameron’s long apologia for pantheism — a faith that equates God with Nature, and calls humanity into religious communion with the natural world.  MORE Federal Same-Sex Benefits Would Cost Taxpayers $898 Million Over Next Decade Taxpayers will pay almost $900 million over the next 10 years to extend federal employee benefits to homosexual couples, according to an analysis of "domestic partners" legislation by the Congressional Budget Office. However, supporters of the bill say the costs will be offset in other areas.   MORE Stupak: White House Pressuring Me to Keep Quiet on Abortion Language in Senate Health Bill Michigan congressman Bart Stupak, a pro-life Democrat, said the White House and the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives have been pressuring him not to speak out on so-called "compromise language" regarding taxpayer-funding of health plans that cover abortion in the  Senate's health care bill. MORE Oral Roberts Memorial a Stage for 'Seed Faith' Message The stage for the "seed faith" message was set when TV evangelist Pat Robertson ascended the steps at the Oral Roberts memorial service Monday to give the opening prayer.    MORE A New Kind of Multi-Site Church Two multi-site churches in southern California are calling each other family. They're in different locations and of different denominations, but they consider themselves "one church."    MORE Unemployment Funds Going ‘Absolutely Broke’ According to federal projections, 40 state programs will go broke within two years and need $90 billion in loans to keep issuing the benefit checks. MORE Parents Forgive Hit-and-Run Killer for Son's Death The parents of an 11-year-old boy, who was knocked down and killed by a woman driving while she was high on cannabis, say they forgive their son’s killer. MORE Constitutional Amendment on Marriage Filed in NM Senate A proposal to ban same-sex “marriage” via constitutional amendment has been filed in the New Mexico legislature.    MORE Uganda Pastors Chide Rick Warren; Defend Anti-Gay Bill Pastors in Uganda recently chided evangelical pastor Rick Warren after he urged them to speak out against the country's Anti-Homosexuality bill. MORE Sen. Nelson 'betrayed' pro-lifers back home Some Nebraskans are upset with Senator Ben Nelson over his change of heart on healthcare reform.    MORE Judge rejects 'necessity defense' in abortion case A judge ruled Tuesday that Kansas law doesn't allow a so-called "necessity defense" in the trial of a man charged with killing one of the nation's few late-term abortion providers.    MORE Pastor seeks to 'take back what the devil stole' Television pastor Rod Parsley says his ministry is under its greatest financial attack in 30 years.    MORE N.Y. School Dist. Reverses Ban on Christmas A New York school district is bringing Christmas back to its schools after reversing an earlier decision to ban Christmas programs from school events. In its latest move, the East Syracuse-Minoa School District decided to incorporate both Christian and Jewish songs into a holiday musical and permit teachers to welcome Santa into the classroom.   MORE Majority in US Opposed to Gay Marriage A newly released Angus Reid poll shows that the majority of Americans are opposed to same-sex “marriage.” In the poll 1,001 respondents were asked, “Do you favor or oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally?” Forty-six percent of respondents said that they were opposed to same-sex “marriage,” while only 43% said they are in favor. Ten percent said they are not sure. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.   MORE Religion Shaping Mountain-top Removal Debate in Appalachia Coal Country On a crisp morning at Jenny Wiley State Park in Floyd County, beneath Appalachian mountains wreathed in mist, dozens of religious leaders gathered to decry a mining practice they see an as affront to both God and nature. “Mountaintop- removal mining blasts away our souls, blasts away our communities, the souls of the workers who are doing the work and our cultural and natural heritage,” said the Rev. Robin Blakeman, a minister and environmental activist. MORE Nation's Most 'Religious Population' Is In Mississippi Mississippi is home to the "most religious” population, according to an analysis of polling data from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. Not only does the Magnolia state have the largest percent of people who say religion is very important in their lives (82 percent), it also has the highest percentage of people who say they attend religious services at least once a week (60 percent), who say they pray at least once a day (77 percent), and who.. MORE Pakistani Muslims Gun Down Christian Friend A group of Muslims shot their Christian friend dead this month on the outskirts of this town after saying they would spare his life only if he recanted his faith, according to the young man’s father. The friends of Patras Masih, who died from gunshot wounds on Dec. 3 in Karol village, Punjab Province, issued the ultimatum to him after accusing him of the murder of their friend Anees Mahammad. An autopsy reported showed Mahammad died from toxic alcohol earlier that day.  MORE // Update for December 21st-22nd, 2009 Abortion Coverage Battle On Health Bill Continues A Senate compromise toughening abortion restrictions drew criticism from activists on both sides of the issue Saturday, prolonging rather than settling the controversy as Democrats try and complete work on President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul.  MORE American Thinker: Abolishing Marriage in D.C. The liberal newspapers are hailing the passage of a counterfeit marriage bill by the District of Columbia City Council as a breakthrough for what they call "marriage equality." It's not. It's abolishing marriage...If love and commitment make a marriage, why can't brothers and sisters marry? Or fathers and daughters?   MORE Hugo Chavez Says Socialism is Path to Saving the Planet Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, addressed the climate summit in Copenhagen on Thursday.  He took aim at the U.S. and capitalism in particular as the reason for the world's ills. He cited Karl Marx and called capitalism the "ghost" walking in the halls of the summit. "Socialism, this is the direction, this is the path to save the planet," he said, "I don't have the least doubt." Chavez received thunderous applause for the statement. MORE Albert Mohler: Whatever Happened to Shame? Ellen Goodman is morally troubled. The liberal columnist for The Boston Globe surveys the moral landscape and laments "there's no shame in the game."...I share Ellen Goodman's concern about the disappearance of shame, but I do not believe that a secular understanding of morality can sustain a stable structure of shame. Cultural norms are changing before our eyes. The shame that matters is the shame that led Adam and Eve to fashion aprons out of fig leaves and hide from God in the Gardenr.  MORE Research Reveals Sharp Decline in Faith in Britain New research from the National Center for Social Research paints a bleak picture of declining faith in Britain. The survey of more than 4,000 people across Britain found that the number of people describing themselves as Christian has dropped in the last 25 years from 66 percent to 50 percent. The national center said the drop was due largely to the steady decline in numbers belonging to the Church of England, with only 23 percent of those surveyed describing themselves as Anglican today in comparison to 40 percent in 1983.... MORE Global Warming Science? No, Global Warming Scam How do you create a Global Warming panic when the weather isn’t cooperating? Here are a few tricks that the scammers are using to explain away the recent cooling trend, as revealed by the hacked e-mails of the world’s leading advocates of man-made Global Warming.   MORE Religion Newswriters Pick 2009 Top Stories President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world last June has been named the top religion story of 2009 in a survey of journalists who cover the beat. Obama's speech in Cairo quoted the Quran, the Gospel of Matthew and the Jewish Talmud. MORE Israel Expects High Christmas Turnout in Bethlehem The global economic crisis doesn't appear to have dampened the Christmas spirit in the town of Jesus' birth. Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Mesezhnikov says he's expecting about 70,000 tourists to head to Bethlehem this week. That's on par with last year's level, despite a worldwide slowdown in tourism. MORE Europe Warns Of Massive Cap-and-Trade Fraud The top cops in Europe say carbon-trading is an organized crime scheme that has robbed the continent of $7.4 billion -- a massive fraud that lawmakers say should send a "red flag" to the U.S.    MORE Evangelical Pastor Evaluates Oral Roberts' Legacy A public memorial service for evangelist Oral Roberts has been scheduled for Monday. Considering Roberts' wide influence, one evangelical says, "Roberts' legacy needs to be evaluated soberly, honestly, and carefully, under the stark light of Scripture." MORE Tomb Discovery Fuels Doubt that Turin Shroud Is Jesus' The recent discovery of a piece of burial cloth from the first century has added to the controversy surrounding the Shroud of Turin, which many believe is the cloth used to wrap the body of Jesus after his death.MORE World's Smallest Surviving Newborn Could Go Home Soon  Born Aug. 5 to 16-year-old Jamesha Harbin after 21 to 24 weeks of gestation, Oliviyanna weighed only 9.1 ounces -- possibly making her the world's smallest surviving baby.  MORE Silent Night Removed From School Concert After Complaint When a parent complained in the fall that putting "Silent Night" on a school’s holiday program was focusing too much on a single religion, Principal Mark Finch scratched the carol.  MORE Religious Restrictions in Nearly a Third of Countries A new report has found that nearly a third of the world's countries have stiff restrictions on religious practice, either because of government policies and laws or hostile acts by individuals or groups.  MORE Book Questions Evangelical Influence in Sports World ...The influence of Christianity in locker rooms can be traced to people such as baseball pioneer Branch Rickey, the executive who brought Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. MORE New Paper Links UN Promotion of "Safe" Abortion to Deaths A recent submission to the UN provides evidence of the potentially fatal consequences of "safe" abortion promoted by UN agencies...  MORE Most Americans Say God Exists; Fewer Are 'Absolutely Certain' Though eight in ten Americans say they believe in God, only about three in five say they are "absolutely certain" God exists, a new poll shows. A poll by Harris Interactive of over 2,000 adults found that 59 percent of Americans are "absolutely certain" and 15 percent are "somewhat certain" that there is a God.  MORE Christmas Display Showing Jesus Murdering Santa Under Fire in California  A California neighborhood reportedly is up in arms after a resident decorated his lawn with a depiction of Jesus shooting Santa Claus. The controversial Christmas display shows Jesus pointing a double-barrel shotgun at Santa's dead body as Rudolph lays sprawled across the hood of a pickup truck nearby, WNCT reported. MORE Canada: Christian Groups Can Hire Only Christians Only if Purpose is to Spread Faith Lawyers for the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), presenting their case before a three-judge panel hearing the appeal by Christian Horizons against an OHRC ruling, are arguing that faith-based groups may only use a provincial human rights code exemption allowing them to discriminate when hiring if their objective is spreading their faith.   MORE Hamas: All Islamist Groups Will Unite With Iran if Israel Attacks  Hamas leader Khaled Meshal warned on Tuesday that Islamist militant groups would back Iran if the Islamic Republic was attacked by Israel, Iranian state television reported. "All Islamist militant groups will form a united front with Iran against Israel if it attacks Iran," Meshal told a news conference. MORE /// Update for December 19th-20th, 2009 Blizzard Dumps Snow On Copenhagen As Leaders Battle Global Warming World leaders flying into Copenhagen today to discuss a solution to global warming will first face freezing weather as a blizzard dumped 10 centimeters (4 inches) of snow on the Danish capital overnight. “Temperatures will stay low at least the next three days,” Henning Gisseloe, an official at Denmark’s Meteorological Institute, said today by telephone, forecasting more snow in coming days. “There’s a good chance of a white Christmas.”  MORE Lowell Ponte Op-Ed: Taxpayers Will Pay Big For  Phony Global Warming Like Tiger Woods, President Barack Obama arrived Friday for the finale of the Copenhagen climate gathering eager to give cold cash to get hot love. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday rolled out a carpet of greenbacks for Mr. Obama's beatification. She told delegates that the United States was prepared to join with other rich nations to provide $100 billion every year in what amounts to reparations to poor countries to atone for our purported damage to Earth's climate. MORE Scott Aniol: The Profound Simplicity of “Away in a Manger” Christmas: the one time of the year that most churches actually sing good hymns! Some of our traditional Christmas hymns really are quite profound, the queen of them all being “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.” Yet some Christmas hymns are far from perfect. Others have addressed the problems with some of these hymns. One hymn that often gets marginalized is “Away in a Manger.” Usually critics target the line “No crying he makes,” insisting that such a phrase belittles the humanity of the Christ child.  MORE Graham, Osteen React to Oral Roberts' Death Prominent Christian leaders across the nation responded to the death of Charismatic evangelist Oral Roberts by heaping praises on him, describing Roberts as “a man of God” and “a great hero of faith.” “Oral Roberts was a man of God, and a great friend in ministry,” said Billy Graham in a statement Tuesday. “I loved him as a brother.”    MORE Albert Mohler: Tiger Woods... Lessons Not to Be Missed The travail of Tiger Woods entered a new chapter over the weekend as Accenture, a global consulting firm, severed all ties with the world's most famous golfer. In doing so, Accenture became the first of Woods's major sponsors to end its relationship with him. It is not likely to be the last. Tiger Woods's fall from public favor happened with breathtaking speed. In a matter of days, a minor vehicle accident in the middle of the night mushroomed into both private and public catastrophe. Even as Woods and his famously protective handlers sought to avoid or limit the controversy...  MORE Majority of Americans Celebrate Christmas as Religious Holiday About two thirds of Americans celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, a new survey reveals. Meanwhile, 20 percent celebrate the event as a secular holiday, according to Rasmussen Reports. Among those who celebrate Christmas, 72 percent say Jesus was born to a virgin and 81 percent believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to die for our sins. Christians believe Christmas is one of the most important days of the year because it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and those who celebrate Christmas overwhelmingly agree with the central tenets of the Christian faith associated with the holiday, the survey says. MORE Holdout Sen. Nelson Rejects Abortion Compromise A Democrat whose vote could be crucial said an attempted Senate compromise on abortion is unsatisfactory, raising doubts about whether the chamber can pass health care overhaul by Christmas.   MORE House Votes To Increase Debt Limit In an end-of-session nail-biter vote, the House passed a short-term increase of the debt limit Wednesday, setting the stage for a February showdown on deficit spending.   MORE New Zealand Church's Joseph and Mary Billboard Stirs Debate A billboard at a New Zealand church depicting a downcast Joseph lying beside Mary in bed and the heading "God is a hard act to follow" provoked more than the intended reconsideration of the meaning of Christmas.  MORE Theology Group Reflects on Impact of Prosperity Gospel The growing prevalence of the prosperity gospel around the world, and particularly in Africa, has prompted a group of theologians to release a statement of concern and a call for further reflection.   MORE Islamic Mosque Built At NYC Ground Zero A new Islamic mosque will open its doors just steps from Ground Zero, and its leading imam, who conducts sensitivity training sessions for the FBI, has reportedly blamed Christians for starting mass attacks on civilians. MORE NC Councilman Finds Belief System 'Irrelevant' to Politics The debate over an atheist political officeholder continues in North Carolina. Cecil Bothwell, an atheist who also refers to himself as a "post-theist," won a city council seat in Asheville, NC, and...  MORE Flight 1549 - passengers turned to prayer Survivors of the ill-fated flight that crash-landed on the Hudson River earlier this year tell their stories of fear, courage, and hope in the book titled Miracle on the Hudson.    MORE Eritrea Frees 30 Evangelical Christian Women Thirty elderly Christian women who were arrested by Eritrean authorities earlier this month have been released, a Christian persecution watchdog announced Wednesday.   MORE San Francisco challenged on 'Catholic bashing' A decision concerning a lawsuit filed against San Francisco for bashing Catholics will be reached within the next few months.  MORE Malaysia High Court to Rule on Christian 'Allah' Case Dec. 30 Malaysia’s high court has set Dec. 30 as the date that it will rule on a case contesting whether the government of the predominantly Muslim country can bar Christian groups from referring to God as “Allah.” MORE New Revelations In Climate-Gate Scandal New revelations have come to light casting yet more doubt on the UN backed science data being used to buttress man-made global warming claims. The Russian media is reporting that the Hadley/CRU, whose e-mails were hacked last month, deliberately distorted the climate of 1/8 of the planet. MORE Franklin Graham Speaks Truth About Islam A messianic Jewish leader is pleased that evangelist Franklin Graham continues to tell the truth about Islam and won't buckle to the demands of the Council on American Islamic Relations.. Recently Graham was asked about comments he made in 2001 when he referred to Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion." ... He replied that "true Islam cannot be practiced in this country. You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they've committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries," he explained. "I don't agree with the teachings of Islam, and I find it to be a very violent religion."   MORE Two-Thirds of Global Population Live in Religiously Restrictive Countries Two out of three people in the world live in countries with high levels of restrictions on religion, a new Pew Research Center report found. Sixty-four nations out of 198 countries and territories – about one-third of the countries in the world – analyzed have high or very high restrictions on religion. Though a minority of countries are restrictive, these countries have large populations. That translates to nearly 70 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people living in countries with... MORE Chris Anderson: Is God Still Working? There is a shocking lack of confidence in the Gospel of Jesus Christ today. To borrow a phrase from Romans 1:16, it seems that many are “ashamed” of it, or at least doubtful as to whether it is indeed the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” This Gospel doubting can be seen in at least two ways. Some doubt the Gospel and therefore supplement or replace it. There is no question that the church is embar- rassingly pragmatic in our day. Pragmatism is essentially the idea that success justifies strategy—that the end justifies the means. “If it works, do it,” we are told.  MORE American Thinker: The Battleground Poll and the Battle for America Good news for conservatives in the latest Battleground Poll. The political implications are profound, if the already-energized conservative base takes even more initiative.  MORE // Update for December 16th-17th, 2009 Evangelist Oral Roberts Dies in Calif. at Age 91 Evangelist Oral Roberts, who rose from tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar organization and an Oklahoma university bearing his name, has died. He was 91. His spokesman A. Larry Ross said by phone from Carrollton, Texas, that Roberts died Tuesday of complications from pneumonia in Newport Beach, Calif. Roberts was hospitalized after a fall on Saturday. He had survived two heart attacks in the 1990s and a broken hip in 2006.  MORE Press Release After the Death of Oral Roberts ...“Oral Roberts was the greatest man of God I’ve ever known,” Richard Roberts said. “A modern-day apostle of the healing ministry, an author, educator, evangelist, prophet, and innovator, he was the only man of his generation to build a worldwide ministry, an accredited university, and a medical school...“His name is synonymous with miracles. He came along when many in Christendom did not believe in the power of God and His goodness. Oral Roberts was known for sayings such as ‘God Is a Good God,’ ‘Expect a Miracle,’ ‘Release Your Faith,’ and ‘Plant Your Seed for a Harvest.’   MORE Mysteries of the Star of Bethlehem The star of Bethlehem has always intrigued people. What was it? Could it have been a comet or a meteor or a super-nova? What about a special alignment of planets? The longevity of the star rules out a comet or a meteor. The star had to appear each night for several months in order to lead the magi all the way from Persia in the Far East. The possibility of a super-nova or a planetary alignment is ruled out by...  MORE 'Islam Is a Dangerous Religion,' Most Pastors Say Two-thirds of Protestant pastors believe Islam is a dangerous religion, according to survey results just released by LifeWay Research. While opinions vary widely based on factors such as denominational affiliation and political ideology, the survey of more than 1,000 Protestant pastors found 45 percent strongly agree with the statement “I believe Islam is a dangerous religion,” and 21 percent agree somewhat.  MORE Critics Say Atheist City Councilman Unworthy of Seat Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell believes in ending the death penalty, conserving water and reforming government -- but he doesn't believe in God. His political opponents say that's a sin that makes him unworthy of serving in office, and they've got the North Carolina Constitution on their side. Bothwell's detractors are threatening to take the city to court...   MORE Netanyahu Must Decide Whether To Strike Iran The moment is fast approaching when Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, may have to make the most difficult decision of his career — whether to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities and risk triggering a conflagration that could spread across the Middle East. Israeli experts believe the point of no return may be only six months away when Iran’s nuclear programme will have — if it has not already — metastasised into a multitude of smaller, difficult-to-trace facilities in deserts and mountains, while its main reactor at Bushehr will have come online and bombing it would send a radioactive cloud over the Gulf nations. Mr Netanyahu has consistently called Iran the most serious threat Israel faces. President Ahmad- inejad of Iran has called for Israel to be obliterated and his Revolutionary Guards supply training, money and weapons to both Hezbollah in Lebanon, on Israel’s northern border...  MORE Mass. Boy Sent Home For Drawing Of Crucifixion A Taunton Mass. father is furious his eight-year-old son was sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological evaluation after he drew a stick-figure picture of a crucifixion. It started on December 2, when the boy's second-grade teacher at the Maxham Elementary School asked the class to sketch something that reminded them of Christmas.  MORE 800,000 Doses Of Kids' Swine Flu Vaccine Recalled Health officials are recalling hundreds of thousands of doses of swine flu vaccine after tests indicated they may not be potent enough to protect against the virus.  MORE Are Evangelicals Abandoning Israel? A Christian columnist is lamenting what he calls a "steady erosion" of support for Israel among evangelical leaders.  MORE Unprecedented Christmas Gathering Held in Vietnam On Friday evening (Dec. 11), history was made in communist Vietnam.Christian sources reported that some 40,000 people gathered in a hastily constructed venue in Ho Chi Minh City to worship God, celebrate Christmas, and hear a gospel message...   MORE Doctors Call Planned Parenthood Out on Lies New undercover video footage by a pro-life advocacy group exposes staff at a Planned Parenthood clinic providing false information to a woman seeking abortion. MORE Church-Targeted Blasts Kill 4, Injure Dozens in Mosul A series of bombs that appeared to target two churches and a high-traffic neighborhood in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul detonated Tuesday, killing four people and wounding as many as 40.  MORE Nativity Battle Falls in Athiest Favor Atheists claim the victory in a case against a nativity display in Arkansas. MORE Custody Battle a Stage for Homosexual Agenda? The clash in a Vermont-versus-Virginia lesbian custody case has found its way back into court.   MORE Council Votes to Allow Gay Couples to Wed in D.C. The Washington D.C. City Council voted Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage in the District. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has promised to sign the bill. MORE Faith Leaders Defend Families Facing Foreclosure Faith leaders met with the White House Monday to call for reform in regulating the expected multi-billion dollar bonuses to bank executives this month as millions of families, whose tax dollars kept banks alive, face losing their homes.    MORE American Thinker: The Shocking Lesson from the Climate Scandal President Obama's complete lack of concern for the fraudulent science associated with global warming is contrasted by the common sense of Sarah Palin. The gutsy Alaskan suggested that Obama ought to hold his horses on the whole climate change thing until the real verdict is in. Of course, the smartest man in the world will have none of that. MORE American Thinker: Radical Feminism's Attack on Manhood in America Over the years, radical feminism has been attempting to demonize any display of testosterone. The slightest aggressive behavior is taken to the ultimate extreme and used to portray males as abusers. Their goal clearly is to wimpify maleness. When I was serving on the board of our local YMCA, a national touring team of Christian strongmen/ bodybuilders wanted to make a presentation to our youths. Through various exciting, well-choreographed displays of strength (chopping through cinder blocks wit...  MORE The "Falling Away" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Q. Please elaborate on the “falling away” mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Who falls away – the true Church or the world? Or is this a reference to the Rapture?  A. The verse in question defines several of the precursors of the “day of the Lord” mentioned in the previous verse: “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come the falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,” 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The Thessalonian believers were concerned that the “day of the Lord,” the Tribulation, was at hand.   MORE Israel: Iran Nearing Atomic Bomb Capability Israel's military intelligence chief says Iran is close to a "technological breakthrough" that would enable it to build nuclear weapons. Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin says Iran has enough nuclear material for a warhead and is close to being able to build one. He doesn't specify the new technology or say when he expects Iran to reach such a capability. MORE /// Update for December 14th-15th, 2009 Treasury Official: Nation's Liability GrowingTo Unmanageable Levels  A former State Department official is warning that U.S. national debt is growing to unmanageable levels, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports.  C. Fred Bergsten, former assistant secretary of international affairs for the Treasury, sounded the alarm that dollar deficits may not be funded for long by foreign nations, including China, in the Nov./Dec. 2009 issue of the Council on Foreign Relations "Foreign Affairs" magazine.  MORE USA: Homegrown Muslim Terror Is Rising Threat  The Obama administration, grappling with a spate of recent Islamic terrorism cases on U.S. soil, has concluded that the country confronts a rising threat from homegrown extremism. Anti- terrorism officials and experts see signs of accelerated radicalization among American Muslims, driven by a wave of English-language online propaganda and reflected in aspiring fighters' trips to hot spots such as Pakistan and Somalia.  MORE The Frightening Rise Of Christian Persecution There is a widely quoted statistic that more Christians died for their faith in the 20th century than in the 19 centuries leading up to it.  But as bad as the 20th century was, the 21st century is starting to make that look like a Sunday picnic.  In every corner of the globe, Christians are being shot, burned, hanged, tortured and even stuffed into metal shipping containers.  Christian clergy are being marked for assassination around the world, hundreds of churches are being burned  along with scores of homes and businesses owned by Christians. MORE Mainline Protestant Churches Face Rockier Future  Mainline Protestant churches seem to have weathered the past decade better than many people have assumed, but the future is raising serious challenges to continued stability, said a Christian pollster. George Barna analyzed data for The Barna Group's latest report examining mainline denominations. Weekend attendance at mainline churches has remained relatively stable, ranging from 89 to 100, over the past decade but the report suggests that they may be "on the precipice of a period of decline."  MORE C.M. Patton: How My Passion for Ministry Almost Ended My Marriage ...My passion for theology, truth, and changing the world was rising every day. Dreams were big, but they were about to get a lot bigger.... I knew what I was called to do. I was supposed to go overseas. I was supposed to be a missionary! When I got home, Kristie attempted to probe for the passion and the source of my excitement....I explained to her how much of a famine for the Gospel existed in other parts of the world. Then, when the time was just right, I gave her the “good” news: “We are going to be missionaries!!!” MORE Importance of Dead Sea Scrolls In 1947, Bedouin goat herders were searching the cliffs along the Dead Sea for (supposedly) a lost goat and came upon a cave containing ancient jars filled with manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts made their way to scholars, spurring a great archaeological race. Eleven caves produced some 825 manuscripts and thousands of scroll fragments... MORE Ohio Teacher Testifies in Hearing Over Dismissal A middle school teacher who was fired last year for allegedly teaching his Christian beliefs in the classroom gave his testimony on Thursday. John Freshwater, former science teacher at Mount Vernon Middle School in Ohio, said he never tried to indoctrinate or proselytize any student. The school board dismissed Freshwater on accusations that he taught creationism and discredited evolution, ignored orders to remove his Bible from the classroom, and burned the...  MORE Dad Barred From Taking His Jewish Baby To Church A father has been hit with an unusual restraining order: Keep his daughter away from any religion that is not Jewish.  MORE Hundreds Of Bosses Flee UK Over 50% Tax Britain’s financiers and entrepreneurs are quitting the UK at a rate of 10 a week to avoid the new 50% taxes, deepening a £178 billion black hole in the public finances and leaving voters with higher taxes.   MORE David Limbaugh: Obama Reducing the Debt? Dream On Two recent news stories illustrate, more clearly than ever, the Obama Democrats' contempt for the free market and individual economic liberty. If given the chance, they will expand government and spend as much of our money as they can get away with.  MORE Christianity Today: Muslim Followers of Jesus? Can one be a Muslim and a follower of Jesus? Tens of thousands believe so...Joseph Cumming describes the furious debate their example has fueled. The question of following Jesus while remaining within a practicing community of Muslims has great importance in regions where the two faiths contend.  MORE Christian Woman from Sudan Flees Muslim Family A Sudanese woman who fled to Egypt after converting from Islam to Christianity is living in secluded isolation as her angry family members try to track her down.  MORE Houston Becomes Largest U.S.City with Gay Mayor Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker after a hotly contested runoff. MORE The San Diego 'Cross Case' - Play It Again... San Diego residents are awaiting a court's decision on the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial -- a situation they've found themselves in several times over the years.  MORE Appeals Court Hears Lisa Miller Case as Custody Transfer Looms Wednesday, Liberty Counsel lawyers appeared in court to defend Lisa Miller. Last month a Vermont court ordered the custody of Miller's biological daughter transferred to her former lesbian lover. MORE Obamas Want Non-Religious Christmas: Social Secretary Says The Obamas were planning a "non-religious Christmas" and intended not to put the traditional White House créche scene on display. White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers reportedly told a meeting of former secretaries that the Obamas did not intend to put the manger scene on display - a suggestion that was greeted by an "audible gasp" from her audience.  The White House confirmed that there had been discussion about making Christmas more "inclusive." MORE 'Anti-religious bigotry' in nation's capital Washington, DC, is just one step away from legalizing homosexual "marriage." MORE Israel Approves 'Biometric Law' The Knesset plenum approved Monday evening the 'Biometric Law' in the final readings.  The purpose of the law is the creation of a biometric database that would hold the fingerprints and facial photos of all of the country's citizens.  MORE UK Government Treats Religious Believers as 'Oddballs,' Says Anglican Leader The Archbishop of Canterbury has accused the U.K. government of treating religion as an “eccentricity” and believers as “oddities.”  In an interview with The Telegraph, Dr. Rowan Williams said politicians with a faith should be more open about their religious convictions and defend faith publicly as something normal and ordinary. “I think part of establishing their human credentials is saying ‘This is where my motivation is coming from, what gets me up in the morning..."  MORE Germany Jails Eight Christian Fathers for Removing Children from Sex-Ed Class At least eight Russo-German families in Salzkotten, Germany, have suffered heavy fines and now their fathers have been sentenced to prison, because they have refused to send their elementary school-age children to mandatory sexual education classes. The International Human Rights Group...reports that in addition to refusing to allow their children to attend sex-ed classes, the families also resisted theatre production of  how to engage in sexual intercourse.   MORE Modern Youth Ministry 'Unbiblical,' Ministry Leader Claims Scott T. Brown, an advocate of church reformation and the strengthening of families, claims that modern youth ministry is "indisputably unbiblical."  Addressing Christian leaders and families at a conference on the Sufficiency of Scripture on Friday, Brown, director of the National Center for Family- Integrated Churches, asserted that the "philosophy and practice of comprehensive, age-segregated, programmatic youth ministry" is "contrary to the ministry patterns of Christ."  MORE Turkey To Israel: Crossover To Bomb Iran & We Will Respond Like An Earthquake  Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stated that if Israel crossed over into Turkey’s airspace in order to bomb Iran then their answer to Israel shall be like that of an “earthquake“.  Erdogan’s response was due to a question, in an interview with Lebanese newspaper “Al Safir”, over information indicating that Israel had violated Turkish airspace in the process of spying against Iran. MORE /// Update for December 12th-13th, 2009 Democrats Ready to Lift Debt Ceiling To $14 Trillion In a bold but risky year-end strategy, Democrats are preparing to raise the federal debt ceiling by as much as $1.8 trillion before New Year’s rather than have to face the issue again prior to the 2010 elections. “We’ve incurred this debt. We have to pay our bills,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told POLITICO Wednesday.   MORE USA Today: Federal Salaries Explode The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data. Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months — and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.   MORE Sharper Iron: The 'Hope' of Hell? While some “cultural” Christians and others recoil at any notion of divine wrath—after all, God is love—the more Biblically literate understand the proper place of God’s retributive justice in the grand scheme of things. Most Christians understand how a doctrine of divine retribution serves as a warning to those who are unsaved, but it would appear that a far fewer number comprehend that the idea of divine retribution—which encompasses, among other things, a belief in Hell— affords the believer with considerable hope and comfort. At the very least, they seem unwilling to express that understanding. MORE R.C Sproul: Why I Didn't Sign Manhattan Declaration On November 20, 2009, a document called the Manhattan Declaration was presented to the public by a coalition of cobelligerents...As anyone familiar with my ministry will know, I share the document’s concern for defending the unborn, defining heterosexual marriage biblically, and preserving a proper relationship between church and state. However, when the document was sent to me and my signature was requested a few weeks ago, I declined to sign it.  MORE Palin Cites Scripture as Source of Strength Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says she relies on her faith in God, and that her strength comes from scripture as she faces daily challenges. Palin and her family recently visited Billy Graham and his son Franklin at the elder Graham's home in North Carolina. During the visit, Palin sat for an interview with producers from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association where she spoke of her favorite scripture found in 2 Timothy.  MORE The Cradle and the Cross Another Christmas season is here. Why December 25, since it's unlikely that Jesus was born at this time of year? The Roman Church simply took the Saturnalia, a licentious celebration of the winter solstice dedicated to Saturn, and Christianized it in order to convert pagan Rome. The actual effect was to paganize official Christianity. For example, statues of Isis and Horus were renamed Mary and Jesus so that pagans could continue their idolatry under Christian names. Pagan customs involving vestments, candles... MORE Parents Take Action Against Christmas Restrictions  In Public Schools Parents in New York and Oregon recently voiced their disagreement with school officials who banned Christmas trees and Santa Claus displays because the decorations supposedly promotion Christianity. In the East Syracuse-Minoa School District in New York, parents received a letter dated Dec. 3 that announced an upcoming special holiday program. The letter noted that the program seeks to respect the diverse heritage and beliefs of families and therefore will restrict “programs that involve singular traditions” to occur outside of regular school hours. MORE Fast-Growing Christian Churches Crushed in China The communist government in China is determined to rein in the rapid spread of Christianity, with a crackdown in recent months that church leaders call the harshest in years.   MORE Poll: Fewer Americans Give Clergy High Honesty, Ethics Ratings Only half of Americans rate the honesty and ethics of clergy as very high or high, a new Gallup poll reveals.   MORE Chuck Colson Op-Ed: Why You Think the Way You Do Christianity has been the most powerful force in shaping Western civilization. The problem is, most Christians don’t know about it. But I’ve got a solution. MORE Obama's Opt For PC "Season's Greetings" Cards President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have chosen an elegant greeting card that announces to recipients "Season's Greetings" instead of the traditional "Merry Christmas".   MORE Somali Christian Flees Refugee Camp Under Death Threat Somali Christian Mohamud Muridi Saidi last month fled a refugee camp near Kenya’s border with Sudan after Muslims threatened to kill him.   MORE Jimmy Carter Rails Against Religious Discriminaton of Women Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter had strong words for religious groups that do not allow the same opportunities to women as men during his address at the Parliament of the World’s Religions...  MORE Journalist Argues Same-Sex 'Marriage,' Loses Job A journalist in Maine has been fired from a publication after 19 years for replying to a homosexual activist's e-mail.   MORE Marriage Penalty Hidden in Health Care Reform A closer look at premium payments in both the House and Senate health care bills shows higher premiums that might discourage couples tying the knot. MORE OK For WWII Hero to Display the Flag The American Legion is praising the decision of a Virginia homeowners association to drop its legal action against a 90-year-old World War II hero who refused its order to take down a flagpole he had erected on his property.  MORE Plnd Parenthood With Safe School Czar's "Fistgate" Scandals Planned Parenthood, was a collaborator in the sex-education scandal now known as "Fistgate" that has enmeshed Obama's "Safe School Czar" Kevin Jennings in recent days.   MORE NASA Stonewalling Stokes Fears Climategate Will Spread to US Climategate may be just the tip of the global-warming iceberg, according to experts. The next weather-science scandal may erupt right here in the United States. MORE Megachurch Touts New, Biblically Faithful Televangelism Effort An Orlando megachurch pastor launched a new television ministry to present hope and biblical truths to a world where he believes narcissism, secular ideas and bad theology are prevalent.    MORE Mt. Soledad Memorial Cross Goes Back to Court The 20-year court battle over the constitutionality of the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial continued Thursday as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments.   MORE North Korean Christians Seek Prayers Amid '100 Days of Combat' Prayers are being sought for Christians in North Korea as the country goes through “100 days of combat” just days after “150 days of combat.”  MORE New Poll Reveals How Churchgoers Mix Eastern, New Age Beliefs Though the United States is an overwhelmingly Christian country, significant minorities profess belief in a variety of Eastern or New Age beliefs, as revealed in a new poll by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. According to the poll, 22 percent of Christians, for example, say they believe in reincarnation – that people will be reborn in this world again and again. Twenty-three percent, meanwhile, believe in astrology. And 15 percent have consulted a fortuneteller or a psychic.  MORE Judge Clears U.K. Couple of Charges in Muslim 'Abuse' Case After a “very difficult” nine-month battle, U.K. Christian hotel owners Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang were found not guilty of using "threatening, abusive or insulting words" that were "religiously aggravated." The Vogelenzangs had been accused by a Muslim guest at their hotel in Aintree, Liverpool, of making offensive comments about Islam but District Judge Richard Clancy ruled Wednesday that the evidence against them was “inconsistent.” MORE American Thinker: Obama Aims to Impose a Solution on Israel President Obama has surrounded himself with a host of vehemently anti-Israel advisers including Lee Hamilton, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Samantha Power, Susan Rice, and Gen. Jones, many of whom advocate imposing a solution on Israel. So it was no surprise that Obama started his term of office by attacking Israel, America's best and most steadfast ally, and demanding a complete settlement-freeze east of the green line, including Jerusalem.  MORE Albert Mohler: Amazing Article on Abortion in New York Magazine Week by week, New York magazine offers insight into the culture and consciousness of the nation's trendy population in Manhattan. This magazine, combined with The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, and The New Yorker, provides constant insight into the thinking of the New York elites. The magazine recently featured a major article on abortion, and it just might be the most important article on this issue in recent history. In "The Abortion Distortion -- Just How Pro-choice is America, Really?," writer Jennifer Senior offers an incredibly insightful and important essay on the moral status of abortion in the American mind.   MORE Global-Warming Data Sets ‘Simply Made Up’ Criminal charges are being pursued in what is being dubbed as “ClimateGate.” It all started when an alleged whistleblower from the UK’s Hadley Centre leaked e-mails detailing how temperature data was being forged to prove alleged “manmade global warming.” Lord Christopher Monckton, a noted “climate skeptic,” says the actions were criminal and should be prosecuted.“The Hadley-CRU temperature data set is simply a joke. It has no scientific data whatsoever,” he asserts. “It’s simply made up; it’s just nonsense. Christopher Monckton notes that the information was available under the UK’s Freedom of Information Act, and accuses the Hadley Centre of conspiring with the U of East Anglia’s Climate...   MORE /// Update for December 9th-10th, 2009 Obama: U.S. Must Spend Itself Out of Recession President Barack Obama called for a major new burst of federal spending Tuesday, aiming to jolt the wobbly economy into a stronger recovery and reduce painfully persistent double-digit unemployment. Despite Republican criticism concerning record federal deficits, Obama said the U.S. must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" as long as so many...  MORE UK Implements Big Brother Controls  When George Orwell wrote 1984, he probably never imagined that society would actually become that oppressive. Yet in some nations of the world it has. In fact, in nations such as the U.K., "Big Brother" controls have now been implemented that are so bizarre that Orwell could not have possibly envisioned them during the time in which he lived. The most intimate and personal details of the lives of millions of people in the U.K. are tightly monitored and controlled by a technocracy that would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago.    MORE Twilight Series: Mormon Vampires in Garden of Eden ...All three books paint the Mormon faith as inherently bloodthirsty, violent, secretive, and abusive to women and non-believers. The  Twilight novels, especially  Breaking Dawn, can be understood as a response to the challenge they posed to Mormon believers like Mrs. Meyer. In brief, Meyer was inspired to write works in which she addresses and resolves in archetypal story the criticisms being made of Mormonism by atheists and non-believing gentiles.  MORE Church of England Bishop Slams Christmas Carols as 'Nonsense' A leading Church of England bishop has slammed a number of the world's favorite Christmas carols, saying some have "nonsense" words that are embarrassing and others reek of "Victorian behavior control." Bishop Nick Baines of Croydon said "all sorts of fantasies have grown up around Christmas" that leave many people thinking of the celebration as "nothing more than some sort of fairy story."  MORE Pastor Acquitted of Hate Crime Charge in Canada A Canadian judge last week exonerated a former pastor who was charged of committing a hate crime for sending a letter to a local newspaper criticizing homosexuality. Judge E.C. Wilson overturned a 2008 ruling by the Alberta Human Rights Commission that ordered former Alberta pastor Stephen Boissoin to stop all public criticisms of homosexuality and to pay the plaintiff $5,000 in damages, according to The Canadian Press. MORE Israeli Intel Says Iran Now Has Know-How to Build Nuclear Weapons Three dangerous developments this week in the epicenter.  First, “Iran now has the technical capability to build a nuclear bomb and the only thing separating it from the bomb is the decision to go ahead and build one..."  MORE America's Debt: A Hopeless Situation Concern over America 's national debt has seen a sharp rise. According to a recent Rasmussen Report, 42 percent of Americans now say that cutting the deficit should be the president's first important priority. I've had dozens of news articles forwarded to me in the past week that focus on this subject. Some folks are predicting total chaos will come to the financial markets. MORE Evangelicals Push Back Against Global Warming Doom  A group of evangelicals, comprised of scientists, economists and theologians, said the mainstream view of pending catastrophe caused by climate change is exaggerated. They made the claim at an event Thursday just days ahead of a key U.N.-sponsored climate change conference in Copenhagen. MORE U.S. Could Lose AAA Rating Credit rating agency Moody's said Tuesday that the United States, along with 16 other countries, could lose their Triple-A credit rating if fiscal deficits and heavy debts are not effectively managed.  MORE Study Confirms Low Mortality For Swine Flu  Flu  One of the most systematic looks yet at the swine flu pandemic confirms that it is at worst only a little more serious than an average flu season and could well be a good deal milder.  MORE Some Senators Believe Newborns Are Not ‘Human Beings’ Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma says he believes some of his colleagues share the view expressed by White House science adviser John Holdren that human fetuses do not become "human beings" until sometime after they are born. MORE Tea Party gaining political traction A new poll finds that the Tea Party is currently more popular with unaffiliated voters than the Republican Party.  MORE Will Episcopal Church welcome lesbian bishop? A California lesbian has won an initial vote to become an Episcopal bishop, and the leader of the Anglican Communion is encouraging bishops to give their vote a second thought.   MORE Lutheran Bishop Tackles Questions on Pro-Gay Actions Thousands of people logged on to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's first-ever online town hall forum to hear the denomination's head tackle some tough questions.  MORE Eritrea Arrests 30 Evangelical Christian Women The Eritrean government arrested 30 elderly, Christian women this past weekend, a Christian persecution watchdog reported Monday.  MORE Scripture v. opinion - which gets last word? The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's presiding bishop is gaining negative attention over a recent statement.  MORE Republican Party Blasts Sen. Reid Over ‘Slavery’ Comment The head of the Republican Party says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) "wandered far out of bounds" when he compared Republicans to those who opposed the abolition of slavery.  MORE Sowell Op-Ed: Jobs – or Snow Jobs? President Obama keeps talking about the jobs his administration is "creating," but there are more people unemployed now than before he took office. How can there be more unemployment after so many jobs have been "created"? Let's go back to square one. What does it take to create a job? It takes wealth to pay someone who is hired, not to mention additional wealth to buy the material that...  MORE High Court Agrees to Hear Christian Student Club's Case The U.S. Supreme Court said it will decide whether a public university can refuse to recognize a religious student group because the group requires its leaders to share its religious beliefs. The justices agreed Monday to intervene in the case of  Christian Legal Society Chapter of University of California, Hastings College of the Law v. Mary Kay Kane, et al., which was first filed in 2004 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. MORE Mozart May Boost Preemies' Growth  The sounds of Mozart might help slow premature infants' metabolism, potentially helping them to put on needed weight, a study published Monday suggests. Most research into the so-called "Mozart effect" has focused on whether listening to the composer can boost a person's IQ. A 1993 study of 36 college students found that listening to a Mozart sonata appeared to temporarily boost performance on a test of spatial- temporal reasoning -- measured by participants'... . MORE UN Officials Bribed to Inflate Swine Flu Scare World Health Organization scientists are suspected of accepting secret bribes from vaccine manufacturers to influence the U.N. organization's H1N1 pandemic declaration, according to Danish and Swedish newspapers. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical profits from swine-flu related drugs have soared – with earnings between $10 billion and $15 billion in 2009, investment bank JP Morgan estimates. MORE /// Update for December 7th-8th , 2009 The Manhattan Declaration and Mainstream Values The recently released Manhattan Declaration, a nearly five-thousand-word document, explains how throughout history, Christians have steadfastly, persistently held to certain fundamental truths of their faith...In recent years, the left has launched a campaign to convince the public that those beliefs are some sort of unsavory extremism, a newly-minted product of "right-wing values." Nothing could be farther from the truth...   MORE Judge: Parents Are Bigots for Opposing 'Gay' Lessons A judge has attacked parents, suggesting they are bigots for seeking to opt-out their elementary-age children from a mandatory controversial pro-homosexual curriculum, according to a non-profit law firm. The parents were represented in California's Alameda Superior Court by Pacific Justice Institute. On Dec. 1, Judge Frank Roesch denied a motion to allow them to have their children excused from the lessons.  MORE Europe Moves to Divide Jerusalem! Led by Sweden, there are reports that 27 member states of the European union are prepared to recognize a portion of Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian State. This unprecedented campaign has united Israel’s political parties as never before. Even Prime Minister Netanyahu’s bitter rival, Tzipi Livni, has condemned this action.  MORE RaptureAlert: Microchip Coming? Bible prophecy foretells a time coming in the prophetic future when the prophesied Antichrist is going to cause "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads..." (Rev.13:16-17) All of us familiar with bible prophecy know what that verse refers to, namely the mark of the beast, but do we fully realize that right now, buried within a Democratic party-endorsed bill that most of us overwhelmingly stand in opposition to, the precursor to the mark of the beast, at the very least, may be lurking, largely unseen by the public?   MORE Turkey's Newfound Sovereignty May Threaten Israel and the Middle East, Says Expert While America has been absorbed by the Afghan election imbroglio, a less-noticed event slid into place in the Middle East. It is less dramatic than President Hamid Karzai's near removal; but this event tilts the strategic balance: Turkey finally shrugged off its United States straight-jacket; stared past any beckoning European Union membership; and has fixed its eyes toward its former Ottoman Asian and Middle Eastern neighbors. This "release" of Turkish policy towards a new direction - if successful - can be as significant as the destruction of Iraq and the implosion of Soviet power was, 20 years ago, in "releasing" Iran to emerge as one of the pre-eminent powers in the region.  MORE Santorum: Conservatives Must Battle 'Toxic Tide' of Pop Culture More than Politics Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum last night urged leaders of the conservative movement to turn their resources towards countering the deluge of liberal pop culture, a front he considers more critical in the long-term than specific political battles. "I will assure you that the vast majority of the American public has very little idea what is going on in the halls of Congress right now, as far as who's speaking on the floor of the Senate," said Santorum at the 2009 Paul Weyrich Awards Dinner Thursday evening.  "But I can tell you millions are watching TV shows tonight ... hundreds of millions, and we are absent from those screens."  MORE Senate Amendment Renews Abortion Debate in Health Bill A health care bill amendment that the Senate passed Thursday has pro-life groups fretting that the door is again open to the federal funding of abortion. MORE Episcopal Church: No Sign of Repentance The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles elected a lesbian as assistant bishop Saturday, the second openly gay bishop in the global Anglican fellowship, which is already deeply fractured over the first.  MORE BBC: UK Climate Code May Be Scrapped One of the first victims of the Climategate scandal may by the very com- puter code that supposed to track global temperature records.   MORE 50,000 U.S. Children May Miss Christmas Christmas is only weeks away but 50,000 children whose parents are behind bars may miss their only chance at celebrating Christmas. Prison Fellowship is trusting in the generosity of Americans to help fill the need.  MORE The Battle for Truth in Bible Translation The Gospel of Luke records that, as he was dying on the cross, Jesus showed his boundless mercy by praying for his killers this way: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Not so fast, say contributors to the Conservative Bible Project.  MORE Christians Must Present God as a Good God, Says Evangelical The most important role for Christians today is not to rehabilitate the church, but rather to help people realize again that the God Christians serve is a good God, said the head of the Evangelical Alliance.  MORE Birmingham Pastor Joins Race for City Mayor Moviegoers know Jody Trautwein as the smiling Alabama pastor who tries to talk Sacha Baron Cohen's character out of being gay in the movie "Bruno." Trautwein is now auditioning for another role: Mayor of Birmingham.  MORE George Washington Letter Smashes Auction Record A letter written by the first US President, George Washington, has sold at auction for $3.2 million. The sale, at Christie's in New York, was a record for a letter written by Washington.  MORE Thousands Celebrate Life of Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty An estimated 12,000 people gathered this week for the memorial service of a megachurch pastor who succumbed to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma just one month after he was diagnosed.  MORE Michigan Abortion Facility Advertizes Abortion as "Sacred Work" Northland "Family Planning Centers" of Michigan are now advertising their services with a video calling abortion "sacred work."   MORE Gay House Members Say Gay-Friendly Bills Are On the Way! Two of Congress's three openly gay members say the U.S. House is poised to pass bills to provide health coverage for the same-sex partners of gay federal workers and to protect all gay employees from job discrimination. U.S. Reps. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jared Polis of Colorado spoke to an international conference of gay politicians in San Francisco on Saturday. The Democrats say they expect a domestic partner benefits bill to come up for a vote by the end of the year and the employment bill to reach the floor early in 2010. MORE Day 15: Media Still Silent On ClimateGate For the fourteenth straight day, the three broadcast networks have failed to report on the great and growing ClimateGate scandal on their weekday morning or evening news programs.  How to explain this? Perhaps it is that ABC, NBC and CBS have not yet heard of the story, despite two weeks of non-stop reporting on and discussion of ClimateGate in a whole host of media outlets. MORE Grace Thru Faith Weblog: The Anti-Christ and Mr. Obama Since the election I’ve been asked a number of times to comment on the likelihood that Mr. Obama could be the anti-Christ. Let me begin by saying that having been elected President he’s Mr. Obama now, not just Obama. As for him being the anti-Christ I’ve discouraged that thought because I don’t believe it’s time for the anti-Christ to be revealed yet. But apart from that there’s no Biblical reason I can find that would absolutely disqualify him. And based on the things we know about the anti-Christ there’s a fit in several important places. The anti-Christ will burst on the scene quickly... MORE 'Jesus Christ' Reports for Jury Duty in Alabama Jesus Christ was called for jury duty this week in Jefferson County, but was sent home for being disruptive. Court officials were skeptical at first when on Monday a potential juror submitted a name change form with "Jesus Christ" on it. But the 59-year-old Birmingham woman, who previously went by Dorothy Lola Killingworth, assured the presiding judge that was her name. MORE /// Update for December 5th-6th, 2009 United Nations: Forget Science, Climate Change Should Be A Religion According to newly revealed doccuments authored two years ago, the United Nations believes environmentalism should be regarded on the same level with religion “as the only compelling, value-based narrative available to humanity.” That’s right. This global body is urging the world to take the ‘crisis’  of global warming on faith. Not suprisingly, Al Gore concurs.MORE 2012 Predictions Pique Interest In Bible Prophecy Dene McGriff wants to make sense out of the last days - the end of times. He has turned to the Bible. Others have turned to ancient calendars, prophecies and even movies. All see the same message: The end is near. McGriff, a retired Carmichael, Calif., businessman, runs a Web site called Tribulation Network, which is devoted to Bible prophecies about the end of the world as we know it.  "People are looking for answers; there's a lot of anxiety right now," said McGriff, 67. They have browsed for answers in an array of books on the subject, with titles such as ...  MORE Chuck Colson: Global Warming as Religion Religious freedom is one of the most difficult and vexing issues of our day-whether the subject is Muslim schoolgirls in France or Christian photographers in New Mexico  And that’s before government starts calling just about any sincerely held belief a “religion.” In July 2008, Tim Nicholson was let go from his job at a property management firm. According to Nicholson, his dismissal was due to his beliefs about man-made global warming. MORE EU says Churches Must Lift Ban On Employing Gays The government is being forced by the European commission to rip up controversial exemptions that allow church bodies to refuse to employ homosexual staff. It has emerged that the commission wrote to the government last week raising concerns that the UK had incorrectly implemented an EU directive prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of a person's sexual orientation. MORE Nuclear Weapons in the Bible? Throughout the Scriptures, terrible times are forecast for the end of this present age. Isaiah describes the earth "empty and wasted" (Isaiah 24:1). In the book of Revelation we read of an "hour of trial" which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 3:10). The Lord Jesus, in the gospel of Matthew, warns us of a "great tribulation" which shall threaten the survival of all life on earth (Matthew 24:21,22). The apostle Paul speaks of sudden destruction that shall come just when men are saying "peace and safety" (1 Thessalonians 5:3).   MORE McCain Urges Seniors to Abandon AARP Sen. John McCain is urging senior citizens to cut up their AARP membership cards and mail the pieces back to the organization, claiming AARP has betrayed them. Citing AARP's past opposition to proposed cuts in Medicare, McCain expressed dismay Thursday that the senior group has suddenly changed its position to support $460 billion in cuts to the program proposed by Democrats to help pay for health care legislation.   MORE NY traditional marriage supporters celebrate A bill that would have allowed same-sex "marriage" was rejected Wednesday by New York lawmakers, a stunning outcome for advocates in a state that was the site of one of the homosexual rights movement's defining moments four decades ago, and a huge victory for opponents who said it could influence votes elsewhere.  MORE Rick Warren Biography Uncovers Rocky Marriage, Depression A new unauthorized biography of "America's pastor" Rick Warren uncovers a marriage with an unconventional beginning and a time of depression that later gave Warren the strength to become who he is today.   MORE Democrats Trying To Criminalize Citizen Journalism An amendment to a bill currently being considered by the Senate would deny ordinary citizens doing vital investigations in the public interest the same legal protections as professional journalists.   MORE Rapture tracker watching and waiting online Some see the signs in natural disasters or political news, others in apocalyptic visions at the movie theatre. Whatever the inspiration, a growing online community is devoted to tracking the imminent arrival of the Rapture. MORE Church leaders refuse to 'compromise their conscience' More than 150,000 thousand people have signed the Manhattan Declaration, a document released by evangelical, orthodox and Catholic leaders to take a strong stand on the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty. MORE Anglicans Eye Episcopal Bishop Elections in LA The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles will elect two suffragan bishops during is Diocesan Convention this weekend and will be voting from a pool of six candidates that include two openly gay ministers.   MORE Another 5 Chinese Megachurch Leaders Sentenced Another five leaders of the Chinese megachurch whose pastor was recently sentenced to prison have been ordered to be re-educated through labor camps, a U.S. human rights group reported.   MORE Christian Counselor Loses Case on Gay Sex Therapy A Christian marriage counselor in the United Kingdom who refused to offer sex therapy to a gay couple lost his appeal case.  MORE Gay Activists Denigrate Santa The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is sponsoring a benefit performance of the off-Broadway comedy "Santa Claus is Coming Out" next week.   MORE Embryonic stem-cell funding - an incentive to kill Dr. David Prentice says President Obama's decision to lift restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell research is wasting lives and taxpayer dollars when all resources should be going towards adult stem cells.   MORE Texas Megachurch Pastor to Have Brain Tumor Removed The lead pastor of a Texas multisite church will undergo surgery Friday to remove a tumor located in the frontal lobe of his brain.   MORE Family Group Releases Study on Effects of Pornography Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council released on Wednesday a new study detailing the effects of pornography on marriages, children and individuals. MORE N.Y. Gay Marriage Bill Defeated Handily A bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York failed by a surprisingly wide margin Wednesday, chalking up another big win for traditional marriage advocates. Church gay marriage supporters had hoped for the legislation to pass by a narrow margin, the State Senate voted 38-24 against the bill, sponsored by Thomas Duane, the state Legislature's first openly gay member. To pass, the New York measure needed 32 votes.   MORE Rabbinical Prophecy Suggests Third Temple Will Begin In 2010  If the 18th-century rabbinic authority the Vilna Gaon was right, on March 16, 2010, construction will begin on the third Temple.  His projection states that the Hurva Synagoge in Jerusalem, which was built during his day, would be destroyed and rebuilt twice, and that when the Hurva was completed for the third time, construction on the Third Temple would begin. The Hurva Synagogue was first destroyed shortly after its initial construction when Muslims demanding the return of loans tore it down.   MORE American Thinker:  Global Warming's New Clothes ...I can almost excuse the politicians and the speculators who promoted AGW.  Like Anderson's emperor, they invested in a tool that would advance their self interest. Representative democracies are supposed to have checks and balances to help keep such self-interest within reasonable bounds. In addition to the way the researchers themselves violated scientific standards, the actions of our journalists and educators who jumped on the AGW bandwagon made matters worse.  People in these positions are supposed to promote healthy skepticism.   MORE NJ Inmate Wins Appeal of Preaching Ban A prison inmate banned from preaching at the New Jersey State Prison won back that right in a settlement negotiated between the state Attorney General and the American Civil Liberties Union working in his behalf. Howard N. Thompson Jr., a Pentecostal minister convicted of murder in 1985 and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison, had preached behind bars regularly for years until corrections officers in 2007 prohibited preaching by inmates. MORE American Thinker: It's that Silly, Politically Correct Holiday Season It happens every year at this time: the battles of political correctness. When a community puts up a Christmas tree, one of two things happens. Either there is a battle to take it down totally, or someone fights to get a Menorah, Kwanzaa candles, or a symbol of some other religion's holiday placed right next to it. Then Fox News follows by running stories about the latest battle in the "war against Christmas," and the ACLU starts suing any town whose mayor ever went to a church, mosque, and/or synagogue.   MORE Update for December 2nd-3rd, 2009 Jan Markell: Foundations Being Destroyed: What Can the Righteous Do? A controversy has broken out between two sides over a serious issue. It concerns The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience, which has been in the works for months and released just prior to Thanksgiving. Allow me to present the case the signers are making for this Declaration and then share concerns that others have who will not sign it. If I may, allow me to report and you decide. MORE Seven Stories Barack Obama Does Not Want Told Presidential politics is about storytelling. Presented with a vivid storyline, voters naturally tend to fit every new event or piece of information into a picture that is already neatly framed in their minds...A year into his presidency, however, Obama’s gift for controlling his image shows signs of faltering. As Washington returns to work from the Thanksgiving holiday, there are several anti-Obama storylines gaining momentum. The Obama White House argues that all of these storylines are inaccurate or unfair.  MORE Document Reveals U.N.'s Goal of Dominating In Environmental Talks  Environmentalism should be regarded on the same level with religion "as the only compelling, value-based narrative available to humanity," according to a paper written two years ago to influence the future strategy of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the world's would-be environmental watchdog. The purpose of the paper: to argue for a new and unprecedented effort to move environmental concerns to "the center of political and economic decision-making" around the world...   MORE Supreme Court Turns Away 2nd Religious Graduation Speech Case The Supreme Court for the second time in as many weeks refused to hear the case of a high school valedictorian who spoke about their faith in a graduation speech. The high court said Monday that it would not hear the appeal of Erica Corder, who was forced to apologize for her 2006 speech at the Lewis-Palmer High School commencement in Monument, Colo. MORE Atheist Group Takes ‘Godless Holiday’ Campaign Nationwide The American Humanist Association is expanding its “Godless Holiday” advertising campaign to five major American cities this Christmas -- taking its message of a holiday season without religion nationwide for the first time. The ads read: “No God -- no problem! Be good for goodness’ sake. Humanism is the idea that you can be good without a belief in God” and feature several people in red and white Santa hats.  MORE Millions of Families Will Pay $2,100 More in Annual Health Insurance Premiums Under Senate Bill A government analysis of the Senate health care bill found that many people buying their own family health insurance policies on government-run exchanges will see their premiums increase by up to 13 percent in 2016, the year in which the Senate bill takes full effect.MORE CBO: Senate Health Bill Would Increase Premiums for Some The Senate's health care reform package would drive up insurance premiums for people not covered through their jobs but taxpayer-footed subsidies would help bring those costs down for some.MORE Poll: 71% Angry at Federal Government Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters nationwide say they’re at least somewhat angry about the current policies of the federal government. That figure includes 46% who are Very Angry.MORE U.S. To Stop Counting New Missiles In Russia The U.S. is about to lose a key arms-control tool from the closing days of the Cold War -- the right to station American observers in Russia to count the long-range missiles leaving its assembly line.  MORE Rick Warren Views Unemployment, Orphans as Gov't Priorities While Rick Warren made it clear that his role is that of a pastor and not a politician, the Southern California preacher offered a glimpse Sunday of the kind of statesman he might be if God had shaped him to take on the position and what his top priorities would be. MORE Mass. Bishop Gives Green Light to Wed Same-Sex Couples Episcopal clergy in eastern Massachusetts are now allowed to solemnize marriages for "all eligible couples," including gay and lesbian couples. MORE More Americans on Food Stamps Under Obama More than 36 million Americans — one of every eight adults and one of every four children — rely on food stamps in order to eat, and those numbers will likely grow. MORE 117 U.S. Troops Died in Afghanistan While Obama Pondered Reinforcements One hundred and seventeen U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan between August 30 when Gen. Stanley McChrystal first reported reinforcements were needed, and today, when President Obama is set to announce he will send 34,000 additional troops. MORE Library policy unfair toward religion The Alliance Defense Fund has filed suit against a Florida library over its anti-religion policy.MORE Egyptian Christians Refuse to Open Stores After Muslim Riot Egyptian Christian shop owners in the eastern town of Farshoot where a Muslim riot recently occurred refused to reopen their stores until the government compensated them for damages.MORE Latin America's 1st Gay Marriage Halted Latin America's first same-sex marriage, set to be held in Argentina on Tuesday, appeared derailed after a judge filed an injunction to stop the union until the issue can be reviewed further. MORE Twilight Series is a 'Moral Vacuum,' Says Vatican Official The latest installment in the vampire movie series “Twilight” is a “deviant moral vacuum,” according to the Vatican. In “New Moon,” British actor Robert Pattinson returns as the blood-sucking vampire Edward Cullence, whose personal relationship with human teenager Bella Swan has captivated young adults around the world. MORE American Thinker: Why Scientists Lie... ...and What to Do about It The recent revelations of misrepresentation by CRU scientists about research on climate change should come as no surprise. Scientists, like all human beings, are sometimes tempted to lie or cheat, and occasionally they succumb to those temptations. ...Scientists are worthless if their data and reasoning cannot be trusted entirely. They have in effect signed a contract with society, pledging honesty and objectivity. When a scientist is caught in a lie, it should rarely, if ever, be forgiven or forgotten.  MORE E-Mails Reveal Character of Gobal Warming Alarmists  A policy analyst says the leaked "ClimateGate" e-mails give a glimpse into the character of climate alarmists. The e-mails were released by an alleged whistleblower within the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit. Climate change skeptics are referring to the incident as"ClimateGate" because they believe the information, which includes sought after computer codes used in climate models, provides evidence that data was manipulated and forged in order  to exaggerate alleged "manmade global warming." MORE Sandra Bullock: A Blessing To Meet and Portray a Real Christian Actress Sandra Bullock says meeting Leigh Anne Tuohy, who she portrays in The Blind Side, showed her there really are some Christians who "walk the walk." The film, which opened the week before Thanksgiving, presents the true story of the Tuohys -- a well-off white family in Tennessee -- who welcome a homeless black youth into their home and then adopt him as their son. MORE Lawmakers Probe Climate Emails Congressional Republicans have started investigating climate scientists whose hacked emails suggest they tried to squelch dissenting views about global warming. An aide to Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said investigators are studying the documents, which unknown hackers stole last week from the computer of a prominent British climate- research center. MORE Palin Hits #1 on N.Y. Times Best-Seller List  Sarah Palin's memoir "Going Rogue: An American Life" has shot to the top spot on the New York Times list of best-selling hardcover nonfiction books in its first week on the list. Palin's book replaces the previous week's top seller, tennis champion Andre Agassi's autobiography "Open." "Going Rogue" report- edly sold 700,000 copies in the first week after its release. The book came out on Nov. 17 with a first printing of 1.5 million copies, and three days later the publisher announced that the printing would be increased to 2.5 million. MORE // /

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