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

Church of England parishes consider first step to break away over sexuality

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The Telegraph reports:

Church of England - Canterbury CathedralA group of parishes is preparing what could be the first step towards a formal split in the Church of England over issues such as homosexuality, with the creation of a new “shadow synod” vowing to uphold traditional teaching.

Representatives of almost a dozen congregations in the Home Counties are due to gather in a church hall in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, later this week for the first session of what they say could eventually develop into an alternative Anglican church in England.

Organisers, drawn from the conservative evangelical wing of Anglicanism, say they have no immediate plans to break away – but are setting up the “embryonic” structures that could be used to do so if the established church moves further in what they see as a liberal direction.

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Assemblies of God Leader Dr. George Wood Joins New Age Sympathizer Leonard Sweet at Luther 2017 (Another Step Toward Rome?)

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From Berean Research:

George WoodDr. George Wood caught flack when he and Oral Roberts University President Billy Wilson co-chaired the ecumenical gathering Empowered21 Global Congress .  Many well-known New Apostolic Reformation/Dominionists (NAR) leaders were featured at the event. For those unfamiliar with the NAR, check out our White Paper on this dangerous cult.  In a nutshell, the NAR teaches that God is restoring the lost offices of church governance, namely the offices of prophet and apostle.  Among the speakers at E21 were self-proclaimed NAR “Prophetess to the Nations” Cindy Jacobs and “apostle” Bill Johnson of Bethel “Church” in Redding CA.  We reported on E21 here, here, here,here and here.   Now we learn from Lighthouse Trails that Dr. Wood will share a platform with Emergent Church theologian Leonard Sweet.

Berean Research cautions:

“You may decide to share this on your social media accounts and find that there are some who will become over-the-top defensive and willing to overlook what is a continuing pattern of red flags with Assemblies of God Supt. George O. Wood.  I myself have landed in hot water with angry pastors simply by sharing reports of Mr. Wood’s ecumaniacalism with Mormons a few years back.

Folks may ask, “Is it a crime to appear on stage with someone?” Guilt by association doesn’t mean much, unless there is a continuing pattern, and unless it’s more of an affiliation than a simple six-degrees-of-separation appearance.  In this case, consider that Leonard Sweet is the conference organizer. And no, Wood never did share the Gospel with the young Mormon students.”

Now on to the article:

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The disappearing “middleground” and the coming conflict

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Christian PersecutionDenny Burk, Professor of Biblical Studies at Boyce College, tells us that “David Gushee has written a column for Religion News Service arguing that the “middleground” is disappearing on LGBT rights.”

Before we get to Burk’s excellent piece, readers should know that David Gushee is a “progressive evangelical” who serves on Sojourners’ board of directors.  Sojourners founder, Jim Wallis, is one of President Obama’s “spiritual advisers.”  Wallis insists that he’s an evangelical Christian even though he has abandoned the biblical gospel for the “social gospel.”  According to Wikipedia:

As a Christian ethicist, Gushee has periodically been out spoken about current controversial societal topics. His positions on such issues as climate change, torture, and LGBT rights have often put him into conflict with his traditional evangelical constituency.

Many evangelicals believe that because of his support of left-wing causes, Gushee is not a true evangelical. For one thing, he “agrees with the sexual revolutionaries that traditional Christians are guilty of invidious discrimination.”

Keeping in mind Gushee’s background, let’s hear what Professor Burk has to say on what he sees as the inescapable persecution of Christians who stand fast for the Truth. Burk informs us that the very liberal Gushee wrote the following warning intended for Bible believing Christians:

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Team Obama’s new low in the name of “trans rights”

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New York Post reports:

Transgender7One of the top guardians of American freedoms just entered the fight against the Obama administration’s insane excesses in the name of “trans rights.”

The Department of Health and Human Services recently issued rules telling doctors they can’t decline to perform gender-reassignment surgery on kids if it’s recommended by a “mental health professional.” Refusal could be a career-ender.

How crazy is the rule? Well, for starters, most trans teens identify differently later in life — yet reassignment surgery is often irreversible, and even less-radical procedures can be harmful, as HHS’ own medical experts note.

Not to mention that the Hippocratic Oath (and basic human conscience) enjoins doctors from doing procedures they believe harmful to their patients.

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Mark Driscoll: Worship God with Your Wallet to Put Content on My Website

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Warren Throckmorton of Patheos fills us in on what disgraced “pastor” Mark Driscoll is up to these days. Throckmorton demonstrates how Driscoll plans to “monetize his sermons.” He writes:

Mark DriscollYesterday, Mark Driscoll continued his Jonah sermon series at The Trinity Church in Scottsdale AZ. The series is interesting and has provides some additional tidbits of information for those interested in the implosion of Mars Hill Church. I will get to that in future posts. For now, I want to point out a new innovation for The Trinity Church, or at least it seems different than how Mars Hill did it.

Yesterday, Driscoll exhorted his new flock to “worship God with our wallet, we’ll give unto the Lord so that the message of Jesus goes forth.” Watch:

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Obama’s Transgender Video: Cops Must Ignore Local Laws, Science

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According to Warner Todd Huston of Breitbart, the DOJ is training law enforcement officers “to suppress their power of observation, forget what they learned about biology, and ignore local laws that exclude men from women’s public bathrooms.” He writes:

TransgenderBarack Obama’s Department of Justice has issued a transgender training video directing police to automatically accept claims by people that they have switched their sex, and to ignore local laws regarding sexual privacy in public bathrooms. The 12-minute video presents a dramatized situation where a woman calls the police after she sees a transgender man enter a public women’s restroom. The transgender man then tells the police officer “I was in the restroom but I’m a woman.”

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Target is discounting everything to win shoppers back amid boycott

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Target seems to be getting desperate in their effort to win shoppers back.  As previously reported, a large number of people have chosen to boycott the superstore because transgender men are allowed to share women’s restrooms and fitting rooms. What was Target’s solution?  To spend $20 million to add single-stall restrooms — but the restrooms are for those who are uncomfortable sharing a restroom with someone of the opposite sex. Now management has decided to discount everything in the store to win boycotters back.  What we learn from all this is that boycotting can make a difference. Business Insider has the story:

Target StoreTarget is launching a first-of-its-kind one-day sale to try and boost back-to-school shopper traffic amid a boycott over its bathroom policy.

The retailer is offering a 10% discount on everything in its stores and online on Sunday. Target is calling the event #TargetRunDay.

It marks the first time Target has ever offered a 10% discount both in stores and on its website.

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A Moment For Discernment In Books

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Bud Ahlheim of Pulpit & Pen addresses the list of bestselling “Christian” books. Ahlheim reminds us that “authentic believers must inject biblically-commanded discernment into every area of life. And in no area is it more demanded, perhaps, than the reading of so-called “Christian” books.”  He writes:

Now whatI haven’t looked at the “Christian Bestsellers” list, as compiled by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, in quite some time. I made the mistake of doing so this morning.

You can find the list HERE. Just be warned, if you practice discernment (as you should, 1 Thessalonians 5:21) and have concern for the right handling of God’s Word, you may need to brace yourself for the onset of righteously indignant angst. It’s that bad.

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Consumers in 17 States Face Double-Digit Rate Hikes Under Obamacare

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The Daily Signal reports:

Barack Obama applauds ObamacareConsumers in 19 states will see increases to their health insurance rates, most in the double digits, for 2017, according to publicly available data filed with state insurance regulators.

Since June, insurance companies have been submitting proposed rate requests to state departments of insurance for the 2017 plan year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also has to approve rates for insurers selling on Obamacare’s exchanges.

States are now in the process of reviewing those requests and ultimately deciding whether to approve or alter the insurers’ proposals for next year.

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New Concerns Arise About Mental Health Of College Students

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According to CBS Boston:

Mental HealthNew concerns arise about the mental health of students on college campuses all across the country.

Dr. Gene Beresin, a psychiatrist and Executive Director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital, says 50% to 60% of college students have a psychiatric disorder.

“What I’m including in that is the use of substances, anxiety, depression, problems with relationships, break-ups, academic problems, learning disabilities, attentional problems,” says Dr. Beresin. “If you add them all up 50% doesn’t seem that high.”

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From a Course on Miley Cyrus to ‘Identity-Based Housing,’ Examples of Lunacy on College Campuses

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The Daily Signal has a piece by economist Walter Williams informing us that our hard earned tax dollars have been paying for some ludicrous courses as you can see from the headline.  Williams writes:

Georgetown University offers “Philosophy and Star Trek”

As the fall semester begins, parents, students, taxpayers, and donors should be made aware of official college practices that should disgust us all.

Hampshire College will offer some of its students what the school euphemistically calls “identity-based housing.” That’s segregated housing for students who—because of their race, culture, gender, or sexual orientation—have “historically experienced oppression.”

I’d bet the rent money that Hampshire College will not offer Jewish, Irish, Polish, Chinese, or Catholic students segregated housing. Because there is no group of people who have not faced oppression, Hampshire College is guilty of religious and ethnic discrimination in its housing segregation policy.

University of Connecticut administrators think more black men will graduate if they spend more time together. According to Campus Reform, they are building a new residence hall to facilitate just that.

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Southern Baptist Convention Allowing Women in the Pulpits?

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According to Jeff Maples of Pulpit & Pen, Steven Furtick’s wife, Holly, has taken to the Elevation Church stage to “twist Scripture, and lead people to a rightful misunderstanding of God’s Word.”  Maples writes:

Twist KnotFor God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. – 1 Corinthians 14:33-35

I’m not sure what’s so difficult to understand about this passage. I didn’t write it. The Apostle Paul wrote it. Historically, Southern Baptists believe that all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16)–that is, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So if you have a problem with it, take it up with your Creator.

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University of New Mexico Chancellor Admits Brains of Aborted Babies Dissected During “Summer Workshop”

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Christian News Network reports:

Baby in the wombA chancellor at the University of New Mexico was recently recorded acknowledging that a staff member acquired the brains of aborted babies to use for dissection at a high school summer camp.

New Mexico Alliance for Life recently uploaded a short video in which Dr. Paul Roth, the chancellor of the University of New Mexico (UNM) Health Sciences Center and dean of the School of Medicine, is asked about the matter.

“Can I please ask you to say what you said before regarding the workshop with human fetal remains with high school students?” Marcie May with New Mexico Alliance for Life asks in the footage.

“Yes, we had a faculty member who obtained some tissue, and during one of these summer workshops dissected, I think, one or two fetal brains,” Roth replies, nodding.

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Asking the Right Questions about Intersex Athletes — Part 2

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We recently posted part 1 of a piece by Professor Denny Burk where he tackled the intersex condition called 5-ARD that affects male sexual development.  At the Olympic games an athlete with the testosterone level of a man competed as a woman and won the gold medal in the 800m. In part 2 Burk explains how Christians can deal with sexual development issues biblically and with compassion.  He writes:

XY chromosomesYesterday, we looked at a controversy about an Olympic athlete who is reported to suffer from an intersex condition. Today, we acknowledge that from a Christian perspective, there are larger issues for us to consider than the male and female divisions of Olympic competition. Cases like this one raise questions about the givenness of the male-female binary. Christians have always affirmed the teaching of Genesis 1:27, which says

“And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Jesus himself reaffirmed the givenness of this binary in his remarks on divorce in Matthew 19:4. This distinction between male and female underlies the very fabric of biblical anthropology. It is no small point to the Christian faith.

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Are We Living in the Last Days?

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Listen to how Dr. R.C. Sproul answers this question:

Jesus ReturnWe have to be careful not to be guilty of what Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for—what I call the Red Sky Syndrome. If you recall, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they had an ability to predict the weather. They could look at the sky, and if it was red at night, they would say, “Sailor’s delight.” And if it was red in the morning, they would say, “Sailors take warning.” But they missed the signs of the times, and they missed the first advent of Christ. They missed the coming of the Messiah right in their midst in spite of the fact that a host of biblical prophecies heralded the appearance of Jesus on the scene—and Jesus rebuked them for it.

When somebody asks me, “Are we in the last days?” I suspect what they mean by that is, “Are we near the last chapter of history prior to the coming of Jesus Christ?” I can’t say yes or no. So I will say, “Yes, and I don’t know.” The sense in which I say yes is this: We have been in the last days since the first advent of Christ. And so the Scriptures tell us that we are to be living in the spirit of diligence and of vigilance from the time that Jesus departed this planet in clouds of glory until he returns. But when people ask me, “Are we living in the last days?” I suspect what they mean by that is, “Are we living in the last minutes of the last hour of the last day?” Do I think that the return of Jesus is close; is it on the horizon?

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Poll: Americans giving up on God, miracles

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According to the Washington Examiner:

No GodHalf of Americans who have left their church no longer believe in God, leading a surge of nearly one quarter of the nation who have no affiliation with any religion, according to a new survey.

Pew Research Center said Wednesday that 49 percent of what they term “nones” left their church and religion because they “don’t believe.” Another 20 percent said they don’t like organized religion. Other reasons included “common sense” and a lack of believe in miracles.

The survey is the latest from Pew that demonstrates a growing trend in America: More and more people are junking religion and many are giving up on God.

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Almost Everything the Media Tell You About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Is Wrong

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Transgender As previously reported, the American College of Pediatricians recently released a statement titled “Gender Dysphoria in Children” by Dr. Paul R. McHugh who is said to be the “most important American psychiatrist of the last half-century.”  Dr. McHugh “urges educators and legislators to reject all policies that condition children to accept as normal a life of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex. Facts – not ideology – determine reality.”

We learn from Ryan T. Anderson of The Daily Signal that Dr. McHugh teamed up with Dr. Lawrence S. Mayer, an epidemiologist trained in psychiatry, to co-author a report that was published in the journal The New Atlantis.  Their report claims that “a combination of biological, environmental, and experiential factors likely shape how individuals experience and express themselves when it comes to sex and gender.” According to Anderson, the report “challenges the leading narratives that the media has pushed regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.”  Moreover,

the 143-page report discusses over 200 peer-reviewed studies in the biological, psychological, and social sciences, painstakingly documenting what scientific research shows and does not show about sexuality and gender.

The major takeaway, as the editor of the journal explains, is that “some of the most frequently heard claims about sexuality and gender are not supported by scientific evidence.”

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Texas Judge Blocks Obama Admin’s Policy Allowing Male Students in Girls’ Restrooms

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Christian News Network reports:

Transgender bathroom 2A federal judge has placed a preliminary injunction on a controversial directive from the Obama administration that required public school districts to allow male students who identify as female to use the girls’ restroom and vice versa.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor determined that the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice had not followed the proper channels in issuing the nationwide guidance, and suggested that the departments’ interpretation of federal law was incorrect.

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USA Today: Rio Police Lying About Ryan Lochte Gas Station Encounter

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Breitbart reports:

In an extensive investigation featuring an eyewitness interview, observance of multiple surveillance camera videos, and an on-location visit, USA Today has found significant evidence that American Olympic champion Ryan Lochte was robbed at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, and police lied about him and three other U.S. swimmers vandalizing a bathroom.

In the narrative of events that all parties agree on, Lochte and teammates James Feigen, Gunnar Bentz, and Jack Conger were detained at a gas station last week at gunpoint after an attendant caught them urinating behind the station. The men were en route back to the Olympic Village from a party to which they were invited by Brazilian swimmer Thiago Silva. All four are described as extremely inebriated, and were only allowed to leave the station after handing over cash to the station attendant and two law enforcement officers.

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Asking the Right Questions about Intersex Athletes

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In part 1 of this 2 part series Denny Burk, Professor of Biblical Studies at Boyce College, tackles the intersex condition called 5-ARD that affects male sexual development.  If you missed the headlines, an intersex athlete competed against females in the 2016 Olympic games and won a gold medal.  Burk writes:

Olympic medalAs the Olympics wound up last week, there were numerous reports about an Olympic runner whose sex was a point of controversy. It is reported that this athlete has an intersex condition called 5-ARD and has the testosterone level of a man. The athlete competed as a woman and won the gold medal in the 800m by a jaw-dropping margin of victory. The athlete not only looks like a man but also competes like one.

Even though the athlete’s name is in the news, I hesitate to mention it here. The reports I’ve read say that the athlete has never discussed the topic publicly, and it appears that news stories about the athlete’s intersex condition and testosterone levels have been the result of leaks and not the result of the athlete’s willing disclosure. So I will focus here on the issues raised by this controversy and not on this particular athlete.

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“The Darwinian View is False”: Ph.D. Biologist Dismantles Evolution in New Book

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Christian News Network reports:

Evolution 2An accomplished molecular biologist with more than two decades of research experience has come out with a new book in which he describes crippling weaknesses in the theory of evolution and argues instead that life must have been invented by God.

Dr. Douglas Axe is a credentialed scientist who earned a Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology and held a number of research positions at the University of Cambridge. The author of numerous scientific papers, Axe currently serves as director of Biologic Institute—a non-profit organization committed to researching biology and the origin of life.

Axe says he first became interested in evolution while working on his Ph.D. in California, so at Cambridge he extensively studied DNA and proteins.

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GOP Must Dump Jesus or Risk Irrelevance in “Post-Christian America”

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Breitbart reports what a popular left-wing blog is saying about the 2016 election:

AntichristSalon Magazine has accused the Republican Party of being out of touch with “post-Christian America,” warning the GOP that if it doesn’t renege on its alliance with Christianity, it will soon become irrelevant.

Ted Cruz’s failure to get the GOP nomination, Matthew Sheffield proclaims in Salon, “is a perfect window into trends that will set the pace of American politics for decades to come: Americans are moving away from Christianity, including people most likely to vote Republican.”

To back up his claims, Sheffield cites the 2014 Pew Research study finding that 23 percent of Americans say they’re “unaffiliated” with any religious tradition, up from 20 percent just three years earlier.

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Your Berean Battle Plan: Remember

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Wolf 5In this series Cameron Buettel of Grace to You lays out a detailed biblical battle plan to help the serious Christian emerge victorious in the war for truth.  In part 2 he reminds us that “when it comes to biblical role models for discerning truth from error, the Bereans are the benchmark. The Jews in Berea needed to be able to distinguish the truth of apostolic preaching from the pseudo-spiritual lies competing for their attention. God’s Word was their measuring stick for truth because they carefully examined it on a daily basis (Acts 17:11). ”  He goes on to say:

Not only should we not be surprised when false teachers appear in the church; we ought to have anticipated and prepared for the reality of it. When an absolutely reliable source tells us terrorists are coming, it then behooves us to find out who they are and expose them before they do their damage.

The question readers need to ask themselves is: Are you a modern-day Berean?

Now to part 2 of Buettel’s series:

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Evangelical Lutherans Overwhelmingly Vote to Approve Declaration of Unity With Roman Catholics

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Christian News Network has the story:

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted overwhelmingly last week to approve a declaration of unity with the Roman Catholic Church in an endeavor to “enumerate the many points of agreement between Lutherans and Catholics”—a move that some state is contrary to biblical Christianity.

The “Declaration on the Way” was approved 931-9 during the denominational assembly at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. According to an official press release by the ELCA, members stood and applauded following the vote.

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Check out Research Paper on Roman Catholicism