Reuters shares the latest update from the deadly tornado that struck Oklahoma yesterday:
Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital in an Oklahoma town hit by a powerful tornado, and officials lowered the death toll from the storm to 24, including nine children.
It is not uncommon to hear some among the seeker-driven crowd state that if a person would only “try Jesus” for 60 days, 30 days, or some other predetermined amount of time, he would be hooked on Christianity. Yet, how does this approach compare with Scripture? Is this “test drive Jesus” the Jesus of the Bible?
Author Dallas Willard died on the morning of 8 May 2013 just two days after announcing that he was battling Stage Four cancer. He was 77.
Willard authored such books as The Spirit of the Disciplines, The Divine Conspiracy, Renovation of the Heart, and Hearing God. He also was known as a leading authority among those who teach spiritual formation, the process of apparent spiritual development through engaging in a set of behaviors, or disciplines. Advocates believe these disciplines, which often include mystical practices such as contemplative prayer, help to shape the character of the practitioner into the likeness of Christ.
In December 2012, a poorly done parody of the pop song, “Call Me Maybe” circulated throughout the blogosphere. “Ordain a Lady” was a production created by the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), which describes itself as “the world’s oldest and largest organization working solely for the ordination of women as priests, deacons, and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Catholic Church.” Some of the lyrics for the parody tune read as follows:
I had a dream as a girl, Like Therese of Lisieux, I need to give this whirl So I can lead the way.
Woman priest is my call; Women preaching for all. Don’t listen to St. Paul, ‘Cuz I can lead the way.
My ministry is growing. Excommunication? I’m still glowing. M.Div, chasuble flowing; Where you think the Church is going?
Hey, I was baptized, and this is crazy, But God just called me, so ordain a lady! Justice doesn’t look right, with only male priests, But God just called me, so ordain a lady!
Four months later, Reuters tells the story of Rosemarie Smead, “a 70-year-old Kentucky woman [who] was ordained a priest on Saturday as part of a dissident group operating outside of official Roman Catholic Church authority.” Though it has not been reported that Smead is affiliated with the aforementioned WOC, it nevertheless seems obvious that she and the group share similar goals. Continue reading
Albuquerque’s KOAT reports:
Four people were stabbed at a church in northwest Albuquerque on Sunday, police said.
Investigators said the victims were stabbed at the St. Jude Thaddeus Church about 12:15 p.m. Sunday.
Witnesses said a man, who was identified as Lawrence Capener, 24, charged the choir just after communion yelling, “fake preacher!” and began stabbing choir members.
ABC News reports:
A couple serving probation for the 2009 death of their toddler after they turned to prayer instead of a doctor could face new charges now that another son has died.
Herbert and Catherine Schaible belong to a fundamentalist Christian church that believes in faith healing. They lost their 8-month-old son, Brandon, last week after he suffered from diarrhea and breathing problems for at least a week, and stopped eating. Four years ago, another son died from bacterial pneumonia.
From Religion News Service:
When Uwe and Hannelore Romeike’s asylum case is argued Tuesday (April 23) before a panel of federal judges, their lawyers won’t talk about poverty, war, or any of the reasons most immigrants cite in their bid to stay in the U.S.
Instead, they’ll focus on a parent’s right to teach their children at home, which isn’t allowed in the Romeikes’ native Germany. There, home-schooling families face fines, jail time and even loss of custody if their children are not enrolled in a traditional school.
The Romeikes’ lawyers will also talk about their right to teach the Bible during the school day.
In his Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, J.C. Ryle opens up the Scriptures that record the life and ministry of our Lord. Reflecting upon John 15:1–5, Ryle draws an important distinction between the true and the false Christian.
Two suspects have been identified as being responsible for Monday’s tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon. One of the suspects was killed last evening in a shootout with police. The other, 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, is on the run and being hunted by police. Tsarnaev’s father even has called on his son to give himself up and surrender. The Boston area currently is on lockdown as authorities search for the fugitive bomber.
The two suspects are Chechen brothers and originally are “possibly from Dagestan, a province in Russia that borders Chechnya.” It also has been discovered they are practicing Muslims. Fox News unearths some additional details:
Four months ago, the Boston bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed yesterday in a shootout with police, uploaded to his YouTube Channel an eight-minute lecture by the radical Australian Muslim preacher Sheikh Feiz Mohammed denouncing the Harry Potter movies for glorifying and promoting paganism.
Fox News reports on the devastating explosion that occurred last evening at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas:
Police say between five to fifteen people were killed and more than 160 were injured in a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas, late Wednesday.
The explosion at West Fertilizer in downtown West — a community of roughly 2,600 residents about 20 miles north of Waco — happened around 8 p.m. and could be heard as far away as Waxahachie, a town located 45 miles north. It sent flames spiraling high into the evening sky and rained burning embers, shrapnel and debris down on frightened residents.
Christian rapper Shai Linne’s recently released album, Lyrical Theology, Pt. 1: Theology, has drawn the attention of many, and not just for its catchy beats. While each track appears to be filled with theologically rich lyrics, it was Linne’s bold willingness to “name names” in the song “Fal$e Teacher$” that led to many headlines. Calling out twelve prominent preachers, each known for his or her aberrant teaching, Linne was not afraid to denounce the erroneous and dangerous doctrines of these men and women. As previously reported, the ministry of at least one of those ‘false teachers,’ Paula White, responded to Shai Linne’s claims.
Though he currently is traveling on Clear Sight Music’s Black Out Circuit Tour, Shai Linne took the time to graciously address the open letter that was addressed to him and was penned by Paula White’s son, Bradley Knight. In his response, Linne looks biblically at three of the false teachings that permeate the ministry and preaching of Paula White. Concluding his letter, Linne writes:
This is getting long, so I’ll bring it to a close. I know you love your mother, Brad. I love mine as well. I made Fal$e Teacher$ because there are many other sons out there whose mothers have had their lives greatly damaged by the false teachings of Paula White and the others mentioned in the song. I would love to hear that Paula White has repented and renounced the many false things that she has taught. I am praying to that end. But until she does that, I must soberly maintain that the Biblical category of “False Teacher” does, in fact, apply her. And those who follow her must be warned.
This response of Shai Linne to Paula White Ministries is a letter not to be missed. Christians can learn and grow from the gracious and godly example that Linne has modeled in these few paragraphs.
Fox News reports the latest findings from the investigation into yesterday’s bomb explosions at the Boston Marathon:
Pressure cookers – possibly activated remotely by a cellphone – are believed to have been used to make the crude bombs that sent deadly shrapnel hurling into a crowd of onlookers and competitors at Monday’s Boston Marathon, experts told Fox News.
Doctors treating some of the 176 injured victims believe the explosives were packed with deadly shrapnel, including pellets, nails and sharp metallic objects – with some patients having “40 or more” such fragments embedded in their bodies.
The Illinois Family Institute notes that advocates of traditional marriage have long maintained that the “true agenda” behind those fighting for so-called homosexual marriage is not marriage equality, but rather the complete “unraveling” and eradication of marriage and traditional values from society. Finally, a homosexual activist has bluntly stated this reality:
Even knowing that there are radicals in all movements, doesn’t lessen the startling admission recently by lesbian journalist Masha Gessen. On a radio show she actually admits that homosexual activists are lying about their radical political agenda. She says that they don’t want to access the institution of marriage; they want to radically redefine and eventually eliminate it.
Two people are dead and many more are injured following two bomb explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
Police report that a ‘person of interest’ is being treated at a local hospital for severe burns and currently is being guarded by authorities. Fox News shares some of the horrific and shocking details:
The simultaneous explosions just before 3 p.m. and reports of two other unexploded devices found near the scene raised suspicions of a terrorist attack. Authorities shut down cellular service in the area in order to prevent remote detonations. Intelligence officials told The Associated Press two unexploded devices were being dismantled. Competitors and race organizers were crying as they fled the bloody chaos, while some witnesses reported seeing victims with lost limbs.
CRN extends its prayers to the victims and their families.