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

NYC Requires Businesses to Replace “Men,” “Women” Single-Stall Restroom Signs With Unisex Wording

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According to Christian News Network:

Transgender bathroom signCity council members in New York City voted on Tuesday to require businesses to remove signs reading “men” and “women” outside single-stall restrooms to further the city’s policies on transgender restroom use.

The move was passed 47-2 and is expected to be signed by Mayor Bill De Blasio, who signed an executive order in March that allows men who identify as women and vice versa to use city-owned restroom facilities and locker rooms in accordance with their preferred identity.

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We Did It! Britain’s Independence Day Is Here!

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Breitbart reports:

No I can’t believe it either.

Nor, I imagine, will anyone at Glastonbury festival — where I now am, surrounded by 100,000 muddy, rain-drenched hippies pinching themselves in appalled disbelief and hoping it’s just the drugs that have messed with their heads, not reality they’re experiencing right now.

I only wrote this piece as a stop gap. Just in case the polls were wrong and the markets were wrong. But I did so more in vain hope than expectation. How can the pollsters have got it so awry? They were quoting 8 to 1 against Brexit yesterday, for goodness sake.

Actually, I do have my suspicions as to the likely answer.

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Does Greg Laurie’s Harvest Crusades Produce False Converts?

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From Berean Research:

In a  piece over at Pulpit & Pen, Jeremy Roten tackles the “false convert” issue.  Many people believe that by saying the “sinner’s prayer” or simply raising their hand during a church service to indicate they wish to have Christ in their life or going forward during a Billy Graham or Greg Laurie crusade means they’re born again (regenerate…saved).  In other words, doing these sorts of things means a person can say with certainty, “I’m a Christian.”  But do such methods save a person from going to hell?  Or have we been sold a bill of goods by well-meaning evangelists, pastors, church leaders, teachers and friends? Sadly, we have.  Thus, the visible Church has become rife with false converts. You ask, “how is this possible?” Jeremy Roten offers an explanation for what has been going on in Christendom…

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Obama administration refuses to stop California from forcing churches to pay for abortion

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According to Live Action News:

Alliance Defending Freedom and New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith are calling out the Obama Administration for its latest rationale against protecting the conscience rights of pro-life Americans.

For almost two years, California has forced churches and religious organizations to cover abortions in their health insurance plans. Several of the affected groups have filed complaints with the Health and Human Service Department’s Office of Civil Rights, arguing that the state was violating the Weldon Amendment, annual appropriations language forbidding discrimination against entities that choose not to participate in abortion.

However, on Tuesday OCR Director Jocelyn Samuels responded to the complaints with a letter declaring her office found no violation of the Weldon Amendment and “is closing this matter without further action.”

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Obama’s Amnesty Plan Blocked by Supreme Court

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Breitbart reports:

 

Supreme Court buildingThe justices’ one-sentence opinion on Thursday effectively kills the plan for the duration of Obama’s presidency.

A tie vote sets no national precedent but leaves in place the ruling by the lower court. In this case, the federal appeals court in New Orleans said the Obama administration lacked the authority to shield up to 4 million immigrants from deportation and make them eligible for work permits without approval from Congress.

Texas led 26 Republican-dominated states in challenging the program Obama announced in November 2014. Congressional Republicans also backed the states’ lawsuit.

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Jerry Falwell Jr. Defends “Christian” Trump, Criticizes “Hypocrites” Concerned About Playboy Cover

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Christian News Network reports:

Jerry Falwell Jr.Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University, which heralds itself as the world’s largest Christian university and carries the motto “Training Champions for Christ,” defended his photograph with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday near a framed copy of Trump on the cover of Playboy magazine.

The March 1990 Playboy cover is displayed in Trump’s Manhattan office along with other magazine covers featuring the billionaire business mogul, and shows Trump standing next to model Brandi Brandt, who is partially wrapped in what appears to be a towel.

On Tuesday, while attending an event with nearly 1,000 evangelical leaders, Falwell had a picture taken with Trump along with his wife Becki. He posted the photograph on his Twitter page, writing, “Honored to introduce @realDonaldTrump at religious leader summit in NYC today! He did incredible job!”

But followers soon noticed the framed Playboy cover over Becki’s shoulder and quickly expressed concern.

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New Study Shows ’90s Era Condoms Programs Increased Teen Fertility Rates

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According to Michael J. New of National Review distributing condoms to teens increased sexual activity:

A new study by a pair of Notre Dame economists received some media attention this week. It found that school districts that instituted condom distribution programs in the early 1990s saw significant increases in the teen-fertility rate. This study fills an important gap in the existing research on contraceptive programs. There has been a considerable amount of academic research on Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) and oral contraceptives. However, there has been almost no academic research on high-school condom-distribution programs.

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Trump Is Surrounding Himself With Evangelical Pastors

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Actually, Trump has surrounded himself with false teachers and Christian leaders who have zero clout with most evangelicals.  Among the cloutless leaders are James Dobson and Richard Land.  Not many in the Christian community hold these men in high esteem anymore.  The list also includes two high-profile she-wolves: Paula White and Gloria Copeland. Emma Green of The Atlantic has the story.

Donald Trump and Pala WhiteJames Dobson. Richard Land. Ralph Reed. The ’90s are back in Trumpland, and the old-guard religious right is making its return. After Trump spoke at a meeting of more than 1,000 evangelicals and some Catholics on Tuesday, his campaign announced his appointment of an “evangelical executive advisory board” to lead a larger “Faith and Cultural Advisory Committee” that will be announced later in June.

The list reads like a who’s who of conservative Christian leaders. Ronnie Floyd just ended his term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jerry Falwell Jr. heads Liberty University. Reed and Dobson each founded highly influential Christian lobbying groups—the Faith and Freedom Coalition and Focus on the Family, respectively. Many of these figures are household-names among Christian families in America, having either started or inherited empire-sized talk-radio networks and organizations.

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Trump Support “End of Christian Right”

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According to NewsMax:

One of the nation’s influential Christian evangelical leaders said Tuesday that the meeting Donald Trump held with evangelical leaders in New York marks “the end of the Christian right.”

“While I don’t question the motives of those who are trekking to the Tower, I strongly dissent from the wisdom of their chosen path,” Michael Farris, chancellor of Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va., wrote in an op-ed in The Christian Post.

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You Can’t Be Lesbian Or Gay If Britain Leaves The EU, Corbyn Suggests

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Breitbart reports:

People should vote to stay in the European Union (EU) because it lets them be gay and lesbian, the leader of the Labour Party has suggested.

Speaking on a Sky News question and answer session on Monday evening, Jeremy Corbyn praised the European Convention of Human Rights, which the EU and Britain have incorporated into their own law, and suggested basic rights would be under threat if Britain votes Leave.

“Our right to free speech, our right to express ourselves, our right to be lesbian, be gay, be straight, but ever you want to be, it is very important,” he said.

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Will Genetic Advances Make Sex Obsolete?

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NPR’s Health News has the story:

Human embryoStanford law professor and bioethicist Hank Greely predicts that in the future most people in developed countries won’t have sex to make babies. Instead they’ll choose to control their child’s genetics by making embryos in a lab.

On KQED’s Forum program, Michael Krasny spoke with Greely about his new book, The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction. Greely highlights the ethical and legal questions that might arise in the future’s reproductive paradigm.

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Loretta Lynch: “Islam,” “ISIS” to be Scrubbed from Orlando 911 Tapes

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According to Breitbart:

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch revealed Sunday that the government will release the transcripts of the 911 calls made by the Orlando terrorist during the attack last Sunday — scrubbed of any references to Islam or the Islamic State (ISIS).

She told Chuck Todd on NBC News’ Meet the Press that the “FBI is releasing a partial [printed] transcript of the killer’s calls with law enforcement, from inside the club,” but added: “What we’re not going to do is further proclaim this man’s pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups, and further his propaganda.”

Todd responded, incredulously: “We’re not going to hear him talk about those things?”

Lynch added: “We will hear him talk about some of those things, but we are not going to hear him make his assertions of allegiance and that.”

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I Wish I Had Been Told About These Risks Before I Had Gender Surgery

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According to former transgender Walt Heyer, “Research studies from 2013 and 2009 looking for a ‘transgender gene’ showed not a smidgeon of abnormality in the genetic make-up that causes someone to be transgender.”  In a piece over at The Daily Signal Heyer lays out some of the serious problems facing those who are transgender persons:

TransgenderismFor instance, a 2016 study comparing 20 Lebanese transgender participants to 20 control subjects reported that transgender individuals suffer from more psychiatric pathologies compared to the general population. More than 50 percent had active suicidal thoughts and 45 percent had had a major depressive episode.

While it may not be politically correct to link psychological disorders with the transgender population, the researchers see the evidence that a link exists. As a former transgender person, I wish the guy who approved me for gender surgery would have told me about the risks.

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Trump: “I Will Be Asking God for Forgiveness, but Hopefully I Won’t Have to Be Asking for Much”

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Christian News Network reports:

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump recently stated that he hopes he won’t have to seek forgiveness for much from God when it was again noted that despite his claims to be a Christian, he admits he doesn’t think about the need for personal forgiveness and repentance.

He was interviewed by conservative talk show host and author Cal Thomas about a variety of issues, from Trump’s opinion on entitlement programs, to education, to his first executive orders if elected as president. He was also asked about his failure to admit that he needs forgiveness.

“Every president has called upon God at some point. Lincoln spoke of not being able to hold the office of the presidency without spending time on his knees. You have confessed that you are a Christian,” Thomas told the presumptive Republican nominee.

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Ellen DeGeneres: Transgender Stingray in Disney’s “Finding Dory”

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According to Breitbart:

Dory

Photo credit: Big Planet Watch.

Disney/Pixar’s upcoming film Finding Dory features a transgender stingray who transitions to become “Sting-Rhonda,” the film’s star Ellen DeGeneres revealed in an interview.

The sequel to the 2003 smash hit Finding Nemo has already fueled speculation that it will be the first Disney film to feature a lesbian couple, but Degeneres, who voices the titular blue fang fish, told USA Today in an interview that the film will feature a “trans sting.”

“There’s a stingray that’s becoming sting-Rhonda, so there’s a trans sting in the movie,” DeGeneres said.

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Rights groups silent as Clinton Foundation takes millions from countries that imprison gays

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Fox News reports:

The Clinton Foundation has accepted millions from Middle Eastern and other foreign governments that criminalize homosexuality – but prominent gay rights groups in America have stayed silent on the apparent disconnect between Hillary Clinton’s rhetoric and the donations.

“Unquestionably, they’re not standing up for their principles,” said Human Rights Foundation President Thor Halvorssen.

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CIA Director: Fewer Foreign Fighters Are Traveling to Syria, But U.S. Efforts Have Not Reduced ISIL’s Global Reach

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CNSNews reports:

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that U.S. efforts have not reduced the “terrorism capability and global reach” of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach,” Brennan said in his written testimony.

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Orlando Massacre Shows We Must Stop Teaching Children to Hate America

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Mike Gonzalez of The Daily Signal wonders how a person born and raised in America can turn into a terrorist bent on executing his fellow countrymen.  Gonzalez makes the point that  Americans need to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. He writes:

Despite signs everywhere that the Orlando massacre has failed to bring the country together, there seems to be a growing consensus on at least one point—considering a return to E Pluribus Unum.

This is a national debate that conservatives have long demanded and should relish having.

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CIA Director: Islamic State Attempting to Infiltrate the West Through Refugee Flows

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Breitbart reports:

Immigration 2Thursday at a hearing on CIA intelligence activities, CIA Director John Brennan said ISIS is attempting infiltrate operatives into the West through “refugee flows, smuggling routes and legitimate methods of travel.”

Brennan said, “Unfortunately, despite all of our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the groups terrorism capability and global reach. The resources needed for terrorism are modest. The group would have to suffer even heaver loses on territory, manpower and money for the terrorist capacity to decline significantly. Moreover the groups foreign branches and global networks can help preserve the capacity for terrorism regardless of events in Iraq and Syria. In fact, as the pressure mounts on ISIL we judge it will intensify it’s global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda.”

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Homosexuality, Islam and Christianity

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Bill Muehlenberg of Culture Watch examines how Islam, Judaism and Christianity view homosexuality. Do all three of these monotheistic religions affirm death for homosexuals?  According to Muehlenberg,

Homosexuality is condemned in all three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. While there are some similarities found on this issue in all three, there are also some major differences. Here I wish to focus on just one aspect of this: homosexuality and the death penalty.

In short, Judaism and Islam both call for the death penalty on this, while New Testament Christianity does not. But this needs to be much more fully explained. Part of the reason I raise this issue here is because the enemies of Christianity love to abuse and misuse all this.

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Crazed Abortionist Confronts Pro-Life Man With Scissors, Declares “Love” for Killing Babies

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Christian News Network reports:

In an incident that some are calling “demonic,” a viral online video shows a California abortionist confronting a man last week with scissors while declaring his love for killing babies and his refusal to turn to Christ.

The confrontation took place at Family Planning Associates in San Diego on Saturday as Zephaniah Mel stood outside of the facility preaching the gospel and calling those inside to repent.

“You’ve got to repent, sir, from murdering babies,” Mel states calmly as he sees abortionist Robert Santella, 72, step outside.

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Ronnie “Ezekiel” Floyd Stands In For An Absent Benny Hinn in SBC Prayer Festival

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Bud Ahlheim of Pulpit & Pen examines what he deems are some of the problems with the Southern Baptist Convention.  He believes the SBC “has set aside the sound teaching of Biblical truth.  That it is “seeking the touchy-feely warm fuzzies that seem to soothe the unrepentant soul. Rather than edifying the believer, the SBC pursues ecstatic entertainment to appeal to goats.”  He writes:

Pastor Ronnie Floyd, president, Southern Baptist Convention. Photo courtesy Pulpit & Pen

Pastor Ronnie Floyd, president, Southern Baptist Convention. Photo courtesy Pulpit & Pen

If you web wander over to the Baptist Press today (June 15) – today being the day after Ronnie Floyd’s 2016 National Call to Prayer for Spiritual Leadership, Revived Churches Nationwide, and Global Awakening – you will find numerous stories about the Southern Baptist Convention’s second day of business.

There was, of course, the vote for a new president which, according to the Christian Post, could be a turning point for the convention as it determines “whether Millennial Reformed Theology Represents The Future” for the denomination. The vote, if you don’t know, lacked the necessary majority.   It has gone to a runoff with consideration of the issue carried over to today’s business.

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Common Core Does Not Prepare Students for College, New Report Finds

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According to The Daily Signal:

A recently released report confirms what Common Core critics have suspected all along: Common Core State Standards do not adequately prepare students for college-level work.

The ACT report finds many concerning shortcomings in the Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by most states. Notably, the report reveals:

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