Newsmax reports:
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order on religious liberties designed to ease a ban on political activity by churches and other tax-exempt institutions.
Trump’s executive order also mandates regulatory relief to religious employers that object to contraception, such as Little Sisters of the Poor.
According to a new study, what people want in a church is changing. Blogger, author and book reviewer Tim Challies expresses his concern that pastors will give their congregants what they want but “they will do so not on the basis of biblical convictions, but on the basis of pragmatism.” In other words, pragmatism or “whatever works” to get people to come to church, will be what drives preachers to adopt what appears to be a hot new trend in the visible Church. Challies writes:
According to a new study by Gallup, the hottest thing at church today is not the worship and not the pastor. It’s not the smoke and lights and it’s not the hip and relevant youth programs. It’s not even the organic, fair trade coffee at the cafe. The hottest thing at church today is the preaching. Not only is it the preaching, but a very specific form of it—preaching based on the Bible. And just like that, decades of church growth bunkum is thrown under the bus. As Christianity Today says, “Despite a new wave of contemporary church buzzwords like relational, relevant, and intentional, people who show up on Sundays are looking for the same thing that has long anchored most services: preaching centered on the Bible.” Praise God.
Katie Nations of LifeZette has the story:
Imagine carrying a child knowing she will be born only to die almost immediately.
That’s exactly what Royce and Keri Young of Oklahoma chose to do for their daughter, Eva. The Youngs’ unborn daughter was diagnosed with anencephaly when Keri Young was 19 weeks pregnant. The unborn baby had no brain.
Rather than terminating the pregnancy, which would have been heartbreaking but, to some, understandable — Royce and Keri Young chose life. They saw the opportunity to give others a chance through organ donation. They embraced the opportunity to allow their Eva — a name that means “giver of life” — to grow to term.
NBC News reports:
Drinking 32 ounces of energy drink is associated with potentially harmful changes in blood pressure and heart function that are beyond those seen with caffeine alone, according to a new study.
There are more than 500 energy drink products on the market, and their increased popularity is matched by a significant rise in energy drink-associated emergency department visits and deaths.
Manufacturers and fans of these products claim they are as safe as caffeine, but there is little evidence to support that claim.
Those of us who dearly love Reformation Theology often use the acronym “T.U.L.I.P.” to represent the five points. I will be posting a 5 part series on the 5 points. One of my favorite books about this is The Doctrines of Grace by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken. I will use this book extensively in this series along with others by R.C. Sproul, John Owen, and Martin Luther. However, my primary source will be The Bible.
The “T” in our acronym stands for “Total Depravity.” The name for this point is unfortunate. While what it implies is true, it also lends a definition to this point that gives many people the wrong idea about what we are saying when unregenerate Man is totally depraved. That makes it sound like all outside of Christ are monsters. In a spiritual sense that is true, but in our experience in this world, some people are better than others. There are horrible criminals to be sure, but there are also very charitable people who do good works who would be insulted if you called them Christian.
According to Burk Parsons of Ligonier Ministries, those who are truly Reformed will find it impossible “to remain a ‘closet Calvinist,'” and “impossible to remain Reformed without anyone knowing it—it will inevitably come out.” Parsons states his reason for saying this in a piece he wrote for Tabletalk magazine. He writes:
When we come to grasp Reformed theology, it’s not only our understanding of salvation that changes, but our understanding of everything. It’s for this reason that when people wrestle through the rudimentary doctrines of Reformed theology and come to comprehend them, they often feel like they have been converted a second time. In fact, as many have admitted to me, the reality is that some have been converted for the very first time. It was through their examination of Reformed theology that they came face-to-face with the stark reality of their radical corruption and deadness in sin, God’s unconditional election of His own and condemnation of others, Christ’s actual accomplishment of redemption for His people, the Holy Spirit’s effectual grace, the reason they persevere by God’s preserving grace, and God’s covenantal way of working in all of history for His glory. When people realize that ultimately, they didn’t choose God, but He chose them, they naturally come to a point of humble admission of the amazing grace of God toward them. … It’s only then, when we recognize what wretches we really are, that we can truly sing “Amazing Grace.” And that is precisely what Reformed theology does: it transforms us from the inside out and leads us to sing—it leads us to worship our sovereign and triune, gracious, and loving God in all of life, not just on Sundays but every day and in all of life. Reformed theology isn’t just a badge we wear when being Reformed is popular and cool, it’s a theology that we live and breathe, confess, and defend even when it’s under attack.
Avery Foley of Answers in Genesis has the report:
Despite the growing number of religiously unaffiliated people, over 70% of Americans still claim to be Christians. Yet only 46% of US adults would say they have a biblical worldview. But do almost half of Americans really possess a biblical framework through which they view the world?
Survey: Do You Think and Act Biblically?
The American Culture and Faith Institute (ACFI) recently conducted nationwide surveys of over 6,000 people to determine how many Americans have a biblical worldview—that is, how many Americans use the Bible as their filter for reality, to determine right from wrong, and to shape their beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Research shows that nearly half of Americans believe they have a biblical worldview, but, not surprisingly, this in-depth ACFI study showed that a substantially smaller number than 46% actually hold to basic biblical beliefs and practice what God’s Word teaches.
Newsmax reports:
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh drilled down on Vice President Mike Pence over budget bill concessions to Democrats on funding for a border wall, sanctuary cities, and Planned Parenthood.
When Pence called into Limbaugh’s daily show Tuesday to defend the $1 trillion budget deal, Limbaugh scolded the vice president, saying: “You guys were sent there to drain the swamp.”
“If I’m the Democrats, $21 billion, $15 billion for defense that was not originally authorized — that’s a small price to pay for continuing to fund refugee resettlement, continuing to fund Planned Parenthood, continuing to fund sanctuary cities, continuing to fund the [Environmental Protection Agency], and not build the wall,” Limbaugh said.
He railed President Donald Trump’s agenda is virtually ignored in the funding deal.
Christian News reports:
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a pastor’s appeal challenging California’s ban on “conversion therapy” and counseling youth to resist romantic desires toward the same sex.
The nine justices did not comment in rejecting the case, which has been battled in the court system for the past five years.
As previously reported, in 2012, as the ban was being contemplated in the legislature, Gov. Jerry Brown remarked that he hoped reparative therapy would be forever heaved into “the dustbin of quackery.” The bill’s author, Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu of Torrance, claimed that counseling and therapy aimed at helping youth turn from the homosexual lifestyle is the equivalent of “psychological child abuse.”
Breitbart reports:
A bill under consideration in California would place a third gender option on state documents — which, if it passes would make California the first state in the country to do so.
The effort, however, is not being pushed by the “transgender movement,” but rather by people who are biologically neither male nor female — or, alternatively, both.
According to a report by Sacramento’s local CBS affiliate (CBS13), it all started last year in New York: “Sara Kelly Keenan made international headlines last year when New York City issued her the first ever birth certificate with an ‘intersex’ classification in the gender field, instead of male or female.
Lighthouse Trails has this lead in followed by a letter from someone who is concerned about the direction AWANA has taken, i.e. getting youngsters involved in unbiblical Spiritual Formation:
Today, the church is “reaping the fruit” of nearly 40 years of Spiritual Formation influence (since Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline was released in 1978). Lighthouse Trails has warned its readers on a number of occasions about the direction AWANA children’s club is going with regard to contemplative spirituality (i.e., Spiritual Formation) (see links below). In the following letter to the editor, you can see that AWANA is now teaching children to “listen to God” (the goal in contemplative prayer).
We thought AWANA clubs was to teach children the Word of God through memorization. Since when did they take it upon themselves to teach children to listen to God voice? If you have children or grandchildren who participate in AWANA, we strongly urge you to examine all AWANA literature and teaching tools carefully as well as discuss your concerns with your children’s AWANA leaders and make sure they understand the dangers of contemplative spirituality.
The big emphasis in today’s church is, “Hear God’s Voice!” It’s all about feel-good and mystical experiences. What a tragedy the focus isn’t on “Know God’s Word.”
Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
Check out CRN’s Research Paper on Spiritual Formation
According Sarah Knapton of The Telegraph, there are hundreds of people who have paid big bucks to have their brains frozen upon death in the hope of being transplanted into a donor body in the future. “The head transplant gives us the first insight into whether there is an afterlife, a heaven, a hearafter,” says Professor Sergio Canavero, Director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, the group that will soon attempt the first human head resurrection. Knapton writes:
People who have had their brains cryogenically frozen could be ‘woken up’ within three years, a pioneering Italian surgeon has claimed.
Professor Sergio Canavero, Director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, is aiming to carry out the first human head transplant within 10 months and then wants to begin trials on brain transplants.
If the procedures are successful, he believes that frozen brains could be thawed and inserted into a donor body.
According to Daily News:
The first openly lesbian bishop in the United Methodist Church can stay on the job for now, but she is subject to a disciplinary review that could lead to her removal, the top church court ruled Friday.
Bishop Karen Oliveto’s civil marriage to another woman violates church law that bars clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals,” the Judicial Council said. However, a decision over whether she can remain in the position must come from a separate disciplinary process, the court ruled.
Johnathan Leeman of Ligonier Ministries suggests seven reasons the Christian’s growth should be centered on listening to God’s Word in the context of the local church. He writes:
If spiritual life comes through the Word of God (Isa. 55:10–11; Rom. 10:17; James 1:21; 1 Peter 1:23), why not skip church with all its hassles and just devote yourself to studying the Bible? Think of the time you would save, not to mention the relational trouble.
Or, better, why not download the three best podcast preachers every week and listen to them? Chances are that they are better preachers than old Pastor Bob down the street anyway. Can I get an “Amen”?
I suspect most Christians would have a vague sense that there is something wrong with this counsel. But the fact that we expect so little from our preachers in terms of biblical exposition, the fact that precious few seconds are devoted to actually reading the Bible in our weekly gatherings, the fact that we give scarcely a thought to not staying up late Saturday night so that we’re not drifting off in the middle of Sunday’s sermon all suggest that we don’t really apprehend the tight link between listening to the Word in church and our individual and corporate growth as Christians.
The Verge reports:
Inside what look like oversized ziplock bags strewn with tubes of blood and fluid, eight fetal lambs continued to develop — much like they would have inside their mothers. Over four weeks, their lungs and brains grew, they sprouted wool, opened their eyes, wriggled around, and learned to swallow, according to a new study that takes the first step toward an artificial womb. One day, this device could help to bring premature human babies to term outside the uterus — but right now, it has only been tested on sheep.
Christian News reports:
Photo: Kelsey Lucas/Visualsey/The Daily Signal
A new video released this week by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) captures a Planned Parenthood abortionist, known for her “I want a Lamborghini” jesting in a previous recording discussing payment for baby body parts, now telling a prospective buyer that “$50 is on the low end.”
The footage features Mary Gatter, the president of Planned Parenthood’s Medical Directors Council, speaking with David Daleiden, who posed as a representative from a biotech company. The two note that Planned Parenthood previously worked with the procurement company Novogenix.
“What kind of volume do you need?” Gatter asks.
“How far in gestation do you go to?” Daleiden inquires in return.
“We only go up to 16 weeks (4 months). And you know, we only do 20 cases a week, so it’s not a big volume,” Gatter replies.
Your wrath lies hard upon me, and You have afflicted me with all Your waves. (Psalm 88:7)
I have often marveled at the strange comfort persons offer you when they say, “Ah, there are others who suffer more than you do.” Am I a demon, then? Am I expected to rejoice at the news of other people’s miseries? Far otherwise! I am pained to think there should be sharper smarts than mine, and my sympathy increases my own woe! I can conceive of a fiend in torment finding solace in the belief that others are tortured with a yet fiercer flame, but surely such diabolical comfort should not be offered to Christians!
It shows our deep depravity of heart, that we can extract comfort out of the miseries of others, and yet I am afraid we rightly judge human nature when we offer it water from that putrid well! There is, however, a form of comfort akin to it, but of far more legitimate origin—a consolation honorable and Divine. There was ONE upon whom God’s Wrath pressed very sorely. There was ONE who was, in truth, afflicted with all God’s waves! That One is our Brother, a Man like ourselves, the dearest lover of our souls, and because He has known and suffered all this, He can sympathize with us this morning, in whatever tribulation may beat upon us!
Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley weighs in on the recent controversy that arose when the announcement came that the president of evangelical apologetics ministry Christian Research Institute (CRI), founded by the late Dr. Walter Martin, had been chrismated into the apostate Greek Orthodox Church. Lesley writes:
Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man. If you hadn’t heard of him before, you probably have by now. President of the Christian Research Institute, author of over twenty books, and host of the popular Bible Answer Man radio call in show, Hanegraaff has been highly regarded in the field of apologetics for years.
Until recently, that is, when he publicly announced that he had been chrismated into the Greek Orthodox church he had been attending for about two years.
Why? Because the Greek Orthodox church holds many beliefs which conflict with Scripture in much the same way, and on some of the same issues, the Roman Catholic church’s beliefs conflict with Scripture.
Breitbart has the video:
On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” columnist Charles Krauthammer weighed in on the cancellation of Ann Coulter’s Berkeley speech by stating, “we’re reaching a situation where thugs are threatening violence. Basically, fascist gangs can shut down free speech.”
Krauthammer said, “[T]he danger here is, that we’re reaching a situation where thugs are threatening violence. Basically, fascist gangs can shut down free speech.”
Researcher Barry Bowen informs us that the Federal Government is showing a new willingness to investigate religious fraud, starting with Word of Faith prosperity preacher Benny Hinn. Here’s Bowen’s report:
For two straight days IRS investigators and postal inspectors have been carting away boxes of possible evidence of fraud from televangelist Benny Hinn’s headquarters in Grapevine, Texas.
Local Dallas media have pounced on the news story with reporters tweeting the latest sparse details.
Dallas Morning News: IRS investigators search televangelist Benny Hinn’s offices in Grapevine WFAA: IRS raids televangelist Benny Hinn’s office in Grapevine
Here are five points worth thinking about regarding the Hinn story.
The IRS is showing a new willingness to investigate religious financial fraud.
The IRS and other federal agencies rarely investigated religious fraud during the Obama administration. In fact, the last time a televangelist was prosecuted by the IRS occurred during George W. Bush’s presidency. Mac Hammond’s case was thrown out by the courts in November 2008 and the Obama administration failed to adopt new guidelines for church audits or to investigate numerous allegations of fraud uncovered by religious watchdog Trinity Foundation.
Dr. Manny Alvarez warns that going without dairy is a really big deal. “According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation,” says Dr. Manny, “osteoporosis affects over 200 million women across the globe, and the foundation expects this number to increase over 200 percent during the next 30 years. LifeZette has the story:
Women are expert multi-taskers, so it should come as no surprise that some manage to squeeze the latest health craze into their daily routine. However, not having time to carefully research the pros and cons of these trends could be dangerous. Take, for example, the decision to live dairy-free.
Dairy-free diets have turned into a familiar fad in the United States. One survey by the National Osteoporosis Society found that one-fifth of young adults under age 25 have removed or trimmed their dairy intake. Over half of these young adults claim to have a dairy intolerance, but only 24 percent have actually confirmed it with a doctor.
According to Steve McConkey, president of 4 Winds Christian Athletics, Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner neglected to tell Fox News host Tucker Carlson during an interview that hormones do not reverse the size of bone and muscles which gives male athletes a clear advantage over female athletes. “So a retired 6-10 NBA male player can play women’s basketball at the Olympics without a reduction in size, only a year of hormone therapy,” says McConkey. Following is an excerpt of the interview from a piece he penned for Canada Free Press:
Carlson: “A transgender woman just won a major weightlifting title. Some people said, well, this is someone who has a massive physical advantage over the other entrants in that contest. It seemed like a real thing to me.”
Jenner: “The Olympic Committee is way ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to dealing with identifying transgender issues in competing. Back when I was competing in the 70s, all the women had saliva tests to make sure their in their DNA they were female. We had the East German women and the Soviet women and all that kind of stuff. Well, since then, there has been a lot of gender non-conforming. We don’t quite know where they fit into the athletic world. And the Olympic Committee has done 20 years of studies on issues of hormone levels of whether you need gender confirmation surgery, what can you do as a trans person to be able to compete as your authentic self. And they’ve come up with guidelines. If you meet those guidelines, you can compete. And obviously this woman did.”
Carlson: “Do you think it’s fair?”
Jenner: “Yes, I think it’s totally fair. If the Olympic Committee thinks it’s fair, I’m fine with it. Yes, because there’s no big advantage.”
Christian News reports:
Photo credit: Baptist News
Over 50 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed a letter urging President Trump to issue an executive order protecting the religious liberty rights of Americans nationwide.
“We write to express our encouragement and support for prompt executive action ensuring religious liberty protections for all Americans and look forward to working with you on complementary legislation,” the letter, signed by 51 Congressmen and women, reads.
As previously reported, in late January, the outlet The Nation claimed that it had obtained a copy of a draft executive order that allegedly protects faith-based entities “when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with federal, state or local governments.”
Byron York of Washington Examiner evaluates Donald Trump’s successes and failures in his first 100 days in office:
Of course Donald Trump over-promised for his first 100 days. What presidential candidate hasn’t?
During last year’s campaign, Trump spoke frequently of all the things he would do almost immediately upon entering the Oval Office. He’d repeal Obamacare, reform the tax code, destroy ISIS, build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, fix the nation’s roads and bridges, take care of veterans, deport criminal illegal immigrants, and much, much more.
By the last weeks of the campaign, Trump actually dialed back some of his promises. On October 22, he traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to announce his “Contract with the American Voter,” which formalized his pledges for the first 100 days.
“Technocrats build because they can, not because it is wise to do so.” — Technocracy News
According to TechCrunch:
Today at F8, Facebook revealed it has a team of 60 engineers working on building a brain-computer interface that will let you type with just your mind without invasive implants. The team plans to use optical imaging to scan your brain a hundred times per second to detect you speaking silently in your head, and translate it into text.
Regina Dugan, the head of Facebook’s R&D division Building 8, explained to conference attendees that the goal is to eventually allow people to type at 100 words per minute, 5X faster than typing on a phone, with just your mind.
