Author Archives: Marsha West

About Marsha West

Marsha West is the owner and managing editor of Christian Research Network, Apprising Ministries (the late Ken Silva’s blog) and On Solid Rock Resources. She is also co-founder of Berean Research. For two decades Marsha was the owner and managing editor of Email Brigade website as well as the EMB News Report, a bi-weekly email report for conservative people of faith. For many years Marsha was a regular contributor to several blogs including CRN, RenewAmerica, News With Views and Web Commantary as well as popular websites she no longer endorses: American Family Association, Worldview Weekend, Stand Up For The Truth, The Christian Post and Christian Headlines. Although Marsha still blogs, her primary focus is CRN. Marsha also writes Research Papers (White Papers) on various topics that are published on CRN, Berean Research and On Solid Rock Resources. Visit Marsha’s other sites: On Solid Rock Resources https://www.onsolidrockresources.com/ Apprising Ministries http://apprising.org Marsha’s RenewAmerica Column http://renewamerica.com/columns/mwest Marsha’s Facebook Page http://facebook.com/marsha.west.77

A real school of witchcraft is opening this summer in an ancient British castle

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Over at AOL, Beth Sawicki informs us that if you have a wand and good humor, you can get involved in a real school of witchcraft:

While you’ll unfortunately never get the chance to roam the halls of Hogwarts with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, this is definitely the next best thing.

A real school of witchcraft is opening in the United Kingdom this summer. The Bothwell School of Witchcraft is held in a 15th century castle, Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex. Just like in Harry Potter’s world, students are sorted into four houses, compete against each other, take lessons in witchcraft, and end the term with a fabulous banquet.

The school is modeled after a “murder mystery,” an extended game where every player has a specific role and interacts with other characters. According to its website, “all you’ll need is a wand and good humour. If you’ve never experienced anything like this before, don’t worry. We cater for all backgrounds; you can get as much or as little involved as you like and we will have all you need to have a great time.”

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5 Ways Christians Should Judge

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Author, speaker and national talk show host Julie Roys asks a twofold question: Are Christians supposed to judge or not judge? And just what is the Christian standard?

Here are Julie Roys’ 5 biblically-based principles concerning judging:

It happened when I posted something to social media lamenting author Jen Hatmaker’s disastrous decision to affirm gay unions. It happened again when I criticized a Saturday Night Live writer for attacking Barron Trump, the 10-year-old son of the president. Truth is, it happens anytime I make a judgment about anything or anyone.

“Christians are not to pass judgments, only state the truths,” one person commented.

“Christ taught us to LOVE EVERYONE. Judgments are for our father in heaven, not us,” said another.

And ironically, someone even stated, “You obviously are not a Christian because Jesus told us not to judge.”

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New Jersey Boy Scouts Agree to Pay $18,000 for Excluding Girl Who Identifies as Boy

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According to Christian News:

A New Jersey branch of the Boy Scouts has agreed to pay $18,000 to the family of a nine-year-old girl who identifies as a boy after they filed a civil rights complaint for excluding the child from participating in the organization.

The Northern New Jersey Council of the Boy Scouts will also issue a written apology to Kristie Maldonado and her daughter who goes by the name Joe. The child had been a member of Cub Scout Pack 87 for approximately a month when a Boy Scout official advised that she could not continue with the program because she is a girl.

“It made me mad,” Joe told reporters. “I had a sad face, but I wasn’t crying. I’m way more angry than sad. My identity is a boy. If I was them, I would let every person in the world go in. It’s right to do.”

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Should I listen to haters who hate The Shack?

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Amy of Berean Research has been labeled a “hater” for daring to expose the heretical theology of The Shack.  In this blog post, Amy explains why she will not sit idly by while Progressive Christians (liberals) reinterpret Scripture to make it fit with what our corrupt culture deems acceptable in this day and age. To Amy, truth matters.  She writes:

Why in the world would Christians ruin a perfectly great movie with their criticisms and negativity? Finally there is a film about forgiveness that helps people think in an out-of-the-box way about God, so why can’t they just leave well enough alone?

Those are the questions you may be asking, and if you follow this link from a well-meaning friend or you saw it posted on The Shack’s fan page on Facebook, welcome!

I am one of the “haters” you’ve heard about, and I want to take a moment and explain why I do what I do.  First, let me assure you that I don’t have fangs or horns. I’m just a woman who loves God and wants to be pleasing to Him.

And I do care very much about taking Him seriously when He commands us to love one another. He wants us to tell the truth always, even if it doesn’t earn us balloons and hearts from people on the Internet. I write because I love His sheep, and do not want them to be deceived or bamboozled in any way by the lies of the enemy of our souls.

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Kenneth Copeland’s Living Legacy of Heresy

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The following was written by Costi Hinn, nephew of notorious Word of Faith wolf Benny Hinn. At one time Costi shared his uncle Benny’s heretical beliefs and participated in his “healing crusades.” But no longer. Recently Costi shared what growing up as a Hinn was like in an interview with apologist Justin Peters. In a piece he wrote for Pulpit and Pen, Costi evaluates arch heretic Kenneth Copeland’s legacy and sheds light on Copeland’s (and other charismatic celebrities) relationship with the Pope of Rome. He writes:

Kenneth Copeland is 80 years old. Only the Lord knows the number of his days or where he’ll spend eternity but it’s safe to say that Copeland will be on the home stretch sometime in the next 20 or so years.

In this post, we’ll evaluate the living legacy that Copeland has compiled thus far.

From Flat Broke to “Billionaire” on Kenneth Hagin’s Heresy

When it comes to connections, self-proclaimed billionaire preacher Kenneth Copeland has them. By “connections”, I’m not referring to the layovers he takes when he’s flying around on one of his two private planes.[1] I’m referring to the vast network of word of faith pastors and partners who share his teaching. His ministry has built its entire foundation on the belief that you can claim health and wealth by speaking it into existence by faith.

With best estimates putting his net worth around $700 million (he claims to be a billionaire – by faith), Copland has used “name it and claim it” theology to rise to the mountain peak of the word of faith movement – but he didn’t do it alone. He has stood on the shoulders of heretical giants. Before his rise to prominence, Copeland cut his teeth in the lower ranks of the word of faith movement by learning from Kenneth Hagin, who copied E.W. Kenyon, then doing it better than either of them ever did. Kenneth Hagin Jr. explains how a young Oral Roberts University graduate came to become the best in the game:

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53 U.S. Companies Join Legal Brief Asking Supreme Court to Allow Girl in Boys’ Restroom

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Christian News reports:

53 U.S. companies have signed on to a legal brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of a Virginia girl who identifies as a boy and wants to use the boys’ restroom at school.

“The [school district’s] policy discriminates against transgender children and violates their privacy. The policy forces children to use restrooms according to their ‘biological gender.’ This mandate targets transgender individuals in particular because they are the only people for whom ‘biological gender’ fails to correspond with gender identity—indeed, this disparity is a defining aspect of being transgender,” the brief reads in part.

“The policy places transgender youth—and only transgender youth—in the humiliating and painful position of having to publicly deny and disclaim their gender identity,” it asserts.

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The Gender Identity Crisis for Today’s Kids

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In a piece over at LifeZette Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician, declares: “When bathroom use at school is up for grabs, so are the psyches of immature children — shame on those with an agenda.”  Dr. Meeker explains why all children are confused by the bathroom controversy:

It’s been almost a year since I wrote about the issue of transgender students and bathrooms in schools, and it is time to revisit the subject.

One week ago, the Trump administration rescinded federal policies put in place by the Obama administration that allowed transgender students in public schools to use bathrooms and facilities that correspond with their declared gender identity. It is now an issue that will be dealt with on a state-by-state basis.

Writing as a pediatrician, not a political spokesperson, who has treated thousands of children over the past 30 years, it is imperative that we consider the emotional and physical health of every child when we make decisions that affect all of those children.

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Jiminy Cricket! Disney Goes Gay

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Todd Starnes, host of Fox News and Commentary, informs us that Disney XD shows two males kissing plus two females sharing an intimate moment. He writes:

Disney just broadcast their very first gay cartoon kiss.

The smooch happened during the second season of “Star vs The Forces of Evil,” a cartoon broadcast on Disney XD.

An audience scene shows two guys kissing and a later scene show two ladies sharing an intimate moment.

Disney is earning accolades for diversity and inclusivity among the LGBTQIA crowd.

There’s also word the upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast will include a gay storyline – between LeFou and Gaston.

I figured it would’ve been the candlestick. But whatever.

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UK Prosecutor During Trial That Found Preachers Guilty: ‘Jesus Is Only Way to God Cannot Be Truth’

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In jolly ol’ England people are prohibited from stating diverse opinions in a public forum. So expect repercussions for agreeing to disagree with someone, especially when it comes to preaching the gospel. Christian News has  the story:

The U.K. prosecutor who presented the government’s case last week against two preachers who were found guilty today of “intentionally alarming” the public with their open-air preaching had argued before the court that the men’s speech declaring Jesus as the only way “cannot be a truth.”

“To say to someone that Jesus is the only God is not a matter of truth. To the extent that they are saying that the only way to God is through Jesus, that cannot be a truth,” prosecutor Ian Jackson declared, according to a press release issued on Tuesday by the Christian Legal Centre.

He contended that Michael Stockwell and Michael Overd had crossed the line by stating that those not following Christ are on the broad path to destruction.

“[Stockwell preached that] people were on their way to Hell because of their failure to adopt the worldview of Christianity,” Jackson told the court.

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Beauty And The Beast: ‘Gay moment’ set to make Disney history

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Sky News reports that Disney once again pushes the homosexual agenda:

 

 

The new Beauty And The Beast film is set to feature an “exclusively gay moment” in what is being called a watershed scene for Disney.

The Hollywood live-action remake, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens as the love-struck couple, comes 26 years after the studio’s classic animation.

But it is one of the sub-plots centering on the character LeFou, played by US actor Josh Gad, which is also getting attention and making headlines.

LeFou, the sidekick of the movie’s main antagonist Gaston (Luke Evans), will explore his sexuality after developing feelings for Gaston.

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For Lent, give up Lent

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Jesse Johnson of The Cripplegate gives us the lowdown on Lent.

A friend of mine was recently asked by a local youth pastor, “What’d you give up for Lent?” My friend quipped, “Lent.”

I can’t help but notice a growth in evangelicals who want to celebrate Lent by “giving something up.” I’ve heard of Christians giving up sugar, soda, Angry Birds, and Netflix (ok, I made up the last one—I’ve never heard of anyone giving up Netflix). For some evangelicals, apparently Lent is the new New Year’s. Those old resolutions were dropped by Feb 10, so time to dust them off and start over on March 1.

That is a bad idea. Here are a three reasons you should give up Lent for Lent: 

History—the idea of giving up something for Lent comes from a few factors—the growth of infant baptism, the increase of Roman Catholic traditions, and ever-changing Catholic approach to meat.

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The Terrible Message Teens Are Getting About Weed

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LifeZette reports:

Teenagers don’t think pot is a big deal. Because of that, moms and dads need a major heads-up.

The pediatrician, at the teen’s next appointment, may be having a conversation with him or her about why that’s a problem.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on Monday released the report, “Counseling Parents and Teens about Marijuana Use in the Era of Legalization of Marijuana.” It comes as voters in a growing number of states have either approved recreational or medicinal use of the drug, or are seriously looking to make that leap.

It also comes as a result of more kids smoking pot. Almost 40 percent of U.S. high school students report having tried marijuana; about 20 percent say they are current users; and almost 10 percent of teens admit to trying the drug before age 13.

Use among 12th grade students, specifically, is up 36 percent over a year ago. And parents are asking pediatricians to help answer some very tough questions.

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Humans 2.0: these geneticists want to create an artificial genome by synthesising our DNA

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According to the Technocracy News editor: The transhuman dream is to scientifically create life via genetic engineering and then apply it to themselves in hopes of achieving immortality. If it were not for their 100% funding from public sources, these scientists would be rubbing two sticks together in the woods trying to kindle a fire.

Now to the story over at Wired:

Scientists intend to have fully synthesised the genome in a living cell – which would make the material functional – within ten years, at a projected cost of $1 billion

In July 2015, 100 geneticists met at the New York Genome Center to discuss yeast. At 12 million base pairs long, it’s the largest genome scientists have tried to produce synthetically.

Andrew Hessel, a researcher with the Bio/Nano research group at software company Autodesk, was invited to speak at the event. The audience asked him which organism should be synthesised next. “I said, ‘Look around the room. You’ve got hardly anyone here and you’re doing the most sophisticated genetic engineering in the world,” Hessel recalls. “Why don’t you take a page out of history and set the bar high? Do the human genome.”

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Ideologues and Transgenderism – Frightening Stuff

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Bill Muehlenberg of Culture Watch analyzes a “lulu of a debate” between Fox News host Tucker Carlson and DNC Senior Adviser and head of the Democrats’ Trump War Room, Zac Petkanas. The discussion was on President Trump’s decision to reverse Obama’s guidelines on transgendered students.  As liberal ideologues always do, Petkanas kept changing the subject instead of answering Carlson’s questions. Muehlenberg describes how Carlson tried to move the conversation from politics to actual science. He kept asking his guest: “Name one scientist or one biologist anywhere in the world who says that your gender is simply whatever you want it to be.” But of course Petkanas could not and the reason is that there is no science behind the left’s claim that a person can change their sex just because they want to.

So with this background in mind, here’s Bill Muehlenberg’s piece:

Anyone involved in the culture wars, in political debates, or in discussing the various social and moral hot potato issues of the day, will be well aware of what it is like to have to deal with ideologues. They can be a very scary bunch indeed.

So just what is an ideologue? A quick search for a few online definitions gives us this: -an adherent of an ideology, especially one who is uncompromising and dogmatic. -an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology.

Victor Reppert, author of C. S. Lewis’s Dangerous Idea: In Defense of the Argument from Reason (IVP, 2003), once put it this way:

“An ideologue is someone who looks at everything through the ‘glasses’ of their favored viewpoint, and refuses to allow any merit in the perspective of someone who sees things from an opposing perspective. In debate or discussion an ideologue will invariably make no concessions whatsoever to the other side. Nothing that someone on the other side says has any legitimacy whatsoever.”

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Video Clip Shows IRGC Support For Terror Against America

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CNSNews reports:

As Iran’s government claimed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is widely known to be fighting terrorism in neighboring countries, a newly-emerged video clip purportedly shows an IRGC strategist threatening to unleash terror cells in the U.S., targeting nuclear missile launch facilities, among other things.

At a time when the Trump administration is considering listing the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said at the weekend U.S. efforts to sanction the organization have never benefited the U.S.

Zarif said the world at large agrees that the IRGC has extended the utmost support for neighboring countries in their fight against terrorism.

Iran is supporting Shi’a militias fighting alongside the Iraqi military against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) jihadists. The IRGC is also heavily involved, in conjunction with Tehran’s Hezbollah allies and other Shi’a fighters, in supporting the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war, where combatants include Sunni nationalists, Kurds, Salafists, and ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliated jihadists.

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Tim Keller Stepping Down as Redeemer Senior Pastor

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According to Kate Shellnutt of Christianity Today “The influential Reformed leader is moving away from his NYC pulpit as his church becomes three.” She writes:

Later this year, Redeemer Presbyterian will no longer be a multisite megachurch in Manhattan, and Tim Keller will no longer be its senior pastor.

Keller, 66, announced at all eight Sunday services today that he will be stepping down from the pulpit. The move corresponds with a decades-long plan to transition the single Presbyterian Church in America congregation—which has grown to 5,000 members since it began 28 years ago—into three particular churches.

His last day as senior pastor will be July 1.

This move does not mean retirement for Manhattan’s most popular evangelical pastor and apologist; instead, Keller will work full-time teaching in a partner program with Reformed Theological Seminary and working with Redeemer’s City to City church planting network.

“There’s a certain level of him that’s going to mourn the connection with a congregation and being their pastor,” said Kathy Keller, Tim’s wife and a staff member at Redeemer, in an interview with CT. “It’s a loss. But there’s also something very exciting that he’s going to.”

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Basic Training: The Bible Is Our Authority

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Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley challenges those who claim they’re followers of Jesus Christ to read and study the book He inspired, the inerrant Word of God.  Knowing who God is and His ways prevents believers from getting pulled into a web of deception by the sort of teachers Jesus referred to as “ravenous wolves.” Most of us have played Monopoly so we’re familiar with how the game is played as well as the rules of the game.  Well, Michelle uses that board game to illustrate her point, and we think you’ll agree that she does it brilliantly!

So – with this in mind, listen as Michelle Lesley offers some basic training principles that will help Christians grow in their faith. She writes:

The Bible. Scripture. The Good Book. It used to be so blatantly self-evident that God’s written Word was the foundation and standard for the Christian faith that it was assumed. A given. You learned, “I stand alone on the word of God- the B-I-B-L-E,” when you were three or four years old, you believed it, and you moved on.

But take a look at the Westernized version of Christianity these days. The fruit of abandoning the authority of Scripture is chilling. From the demonic tremoring and barking antics of New Apostolic Reformation “churches” to the rebellion of female “pastors” to the “gay Christian” movement to “Christian” abortion doctors, it’s clear that an astounding number of self-professed Christians and churches don’t submit to Scripture’s mandates for their beliefs and practices.

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Why I Don’t See ‘Christian’ Movies

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Pulpit & Pen has a piece by Matt Sherro that tackles what Hollywood would like us to believe are Christian films. Sherro lists just a few of the heresies taught in so-called Christian movies and books:

“Yea, hath God said…” It’s the oldest trick in the book; bring just enough of the truth to someone to obscure the lie and it is, itself, the reason “Christian movies” are so successful. permit me to digress for a moment.

I was recently having a conversation with a friend, whom we will call Eric in order to protect his privacy, and during that conversation, Eric asked if it was true that, as a rule, I will never go to see a “Christian movie” and I answered in the affirmative. The last allegedly Christian movie that I went to see in a theater was The Passion of the Christ and I probably should have saved my money but that is a different story for a different day. I want to take a few moments to explain why I do not go to see these allegedly Christian movies and why I actively discourage others from doing so as well.

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Relationship problems, not family rejection, leading cause of higher gay suicides

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LifeSite News reports:

While many assume that family rejection is the leading cause of depression among LBGTI individuals, a new study has found that in fact the problem appears to stem predominantly from the higher incidence of relationship problems among homosexuals.

Dr. Delaney Skerrett led a team of researchers from the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP) in studying suicides in Queensland. He found that a leading cause of suicide among “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex” (LGBTI) people is stress from their romantic partners.

“We tend to assume that the psychological distress LGBTI people are often going through is due to family rejection. But it seems that’s not so much the case. The conflict seems to be largely related to relationship problems, with partners,” Dr. Skerrett said.

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The Left vs. Reality

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Lee Duigon’s depiction of liberals can also be said about Progressive (liberal) Christians a.k.a Social Justice Christians. For these folks, truth matters not.  They choose not to find God’s truth in the pages of Scripture and instead hang their hat on their own personal experience — so don’t confuse them with facts. Progressives, you see, are all about “feelings.” (This also applies to those who’ve bought into the New Apostolic Reformation and Word of Faith cults.) Just like the Roman Catholic pope (as Duigon points out) Progressive Christians push a political agenda.  And like Francis, they’ll marginalize anyone who disagrees with them and even resort to violence, as you will see in Duigon’s piece over at News With Views. He writes:

Everyone’s entitled to his own opinion, Sen. Daniel Moynihan once said, long ago, but no one’s entitled to his own facts. Obviously Moynihan was talking about some planet other than ours.

It started in the universities, where all this poison hatches out, the idea that a text, any text, can only mean what the reader thinks it means. Academics liked this so much, they quickly applied it to everything. And we wound up having to say a man is a woman because he “identifies as a woman.”

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Namaste, Satan: Metal yoga class set inside Satanic Temple in Salem, Mass.

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Black Widow Yoga done with heavy metal music in the background held in a satanic temple?  Really?  Well, according to Mass Live those who wish to participate in this sort of thing will have their chance:

Metal music and yoga do not seem like two things that go together all that often. But they’re getting paired up under one roof: The Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts.

The classic is scheduled for Sunday, March 5, at 9:30 a.m.

Black Widow Yoga has pulled together the class. On its Facebook page, Black Widow Yoga describes itself as an independent yoga concept that uses metal music instead of “traditional yoga music.”

“Inspired by other non-traditional yoga classes such as Metal Yoga Bones in Brooklyn NY, Tina of Black Widow Yoga aims to challenge your understanding of what yoga means to each individual, and encourages every outsider to harness the energy within that truly connects to doomy and dark music,” its Facebook page says.

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Trial Underway in UK for Preachers Arrested for ‘Anti-Social’ Opposition to Islam, Homosexuality

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Christian News reports:

A trial is currently underway in the United Kingdom for three preachers who were arrested last July on accusations of “causing a disturbance” and engaging in “anti-social behavior” after some listeners became offended by their speech about issues such as Islam, Buddhism, homosexuality and divorce.

Michael Overd, Adrian Clark and Michael Stockwell appeared in Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and Friday as part of a four-day trial over accusations that they violated a section of the Crime and Disorder Act, which prohibits speech or behavior causing “intentional harassment, alarm or distress” that is “racially or religiously aggravated.”

Prosecutor Ian Jackson “told the court some of the statements made by the preachers may have been in the King James Bible, translated in 1611, but that did not mean they were acceptable in 2016,” according to the Daily Mail.

Video of the incident was played in court on Friday.

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What accounts for the ‘unprecedented venom’ aimed at Trump?

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In a piece entitled “Seven Days In February” columnist, noted historian and social critic Victor Davis Hanson queries: What has the often boisterous Trump done in his first month to earn calls for his death, forced removal, or resignation?

In his opinion, “Trump’s edicts are mostly common-sense and non-controversial: green-lighting the Keystone and Dakota pipelines, freezing federal hiring, resuming work on a previously approved wall along the Mexican border, prohibiting retiring federal officials from lobbying activity for five years, and pruning away regulations.”

Hanson goes on to say: Clearly in empirical terms, nothing that Trump in his first month in office has done seems to have justified calls for violence against his person or his removal from office.”

In a piece over at National Review, Victor Davis Hanson masterfully lays out what accounts for the “unprecedented venom” aimed at President Trump and his administration. He writes:

A 1964 political melodrama, Seven Days in May, envisioned a futuristic (1970s) failed military cabal that sought to sideline the president of the United States over his proposed nuclear-disarmament treaty with the Soviets. Something far less dramatic but perhaps as disturbing as Hollywood fiction played out this February.

The Teeth-Gnashing of Deep Government Currently, the political and media opponents of Donald Trump are seeking to subvert his presidency in a manner unprecedented in the recent history of American politics. The so-called resistance among EPA federal employees is trying to disrupt Trump administration reform; immigration activists promise to flood the judiciary to render executive orders inoperative.

Intelligence agencies had earlier leaked fake news briefings about the purported escapades of President-elect Trump in Moscow — stories that were quickly exposed as politically driven concoctions. Nearly one-third of House Democrats boycotted the Inauguration. Celebrities such as Ashley Judd and Madonna shouted obscenities to crowds of protesters; Madonna voiced her dreams of Trump’s death by saying she’d been thinking a lot about blowing up the White House.

But all that pushback was merely the clownish preliminary to the full-fledged assault in mid February.

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Pope suggests ‘better to be atheist than hypocritical Catholic’

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Reuters reports:

Pope Francis delivered another criticism of some members of his own Church on Thursday, suggesting it is better to be an atheist than one of “many” Catholics who he said lead a hypocritical double life.

The same could be said of evangelicals. The report continues…

In improvised comments in the sermon of his private morning Mass in his residence, he said: “It is a scandal to say one thing and do another. That is a double life.”

Evangelicals, listen up!  More…

“There are those who say ‘I am very Catholic, I always go to Mass, I belong to this and that association’,” the head of the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church said, according to a Vatican Radio transcript.

He said that some of these people should also say “‘my life is not Christian, I don’t pay my employees proper salaries, I exploit people, I do dirty business, I launder money, (I lead) a double life’.”

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See our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism