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

Rev. Graham: Gay Marriage, Transgenders, “Just the Beginning of a Moral Onslaught on This Nation”

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CNS News reports:

Rev. Franklin Graham urged evangelical Christians to get involved in the electioral process and “make their vote count,” adding that the 2016 race is vitally important because homosexual marriage, abortion, and now transgender laws are on the table, marking “just the beginning of a moral onslaught on the nation.”

“[T]his is ridiculous,” said Rev. Graham,” for a person to be able to wake up in the morning and say, ‘You know, I feel like I’m a woman today,’ For a man to say, ‘I feel like a woman, I’m going to go into a woman’s bathroom.’ … This is ridiculous.”

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Perceptions of Kay Arthur and Precept Ministries International

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Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley has done a stellar job of delving into the teaching of conservative evangelical Kay Arthur, who is held up as a “great Bible teacher.” Michelle begins with this clarification:

I want to be clear from the outset of this article that, while I regret that I cannot endorse Kay Arthur’s materials or conferences, I do not believe the content of her written or verbal teaching contains or promotes false doctrine, and I am not labeling her a false teacher or a heretic.

Kay Arthur might be considered, and deservedly so, one of the “founding mothers” of women’s Bible study. Kay and her husband Jack served as missionaries in Mexico for 3½ years before returning to the United States and founding Precept Ministries International in 1970. The teaching goal of Precept is to instruct Christians in the Bible “book by book, verse by verse, using the Inductive Bible Study method.” Now in her eighties, Kay is still going strong. She has written numerous books, teaches all over the world, and hosts Precepts for Life, a daily television, radio, and on-line Bible study program.

Kay seems to be a lovely person with an almost tangible passion for people to study and rightly handle the word of God. She is a fine role model for younger women, showcasing growth to godly maturity, and a solid example to older women that serving Christ is something we never retire from. Kay comports herself like a lady and exudes warmth, grace, kindness, and a sort of motherly love towards those under her teaching. She is the kind of woman I aspire to be, and I would very much like to be able to wholeheartedly endorse her.

Because of the plethora of false teachers in the women’s Bible study realm, and due to other issues in question, several readers have written to me asking if I recommend Kay Arthur as a trustworthy Bible study author and speaker. With most teachers this answer comes easily, because there is ample evidence of the teacher’s Bible twisting (or doctrinal soundness) and/or sinful (or godly) behavior. Kay’s case, however, is more complex, so I would like to address the issues which are components in whether or not I endorse a particular teacher.

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Rev. Jimmy Evans to Join Board of Mark Driscoll’s New Church

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A few days ago we reported that disgraced “pastor” Mark Driscoll is starting a new church in Phoenix AZ. Christian Post (a site we do not recommend) has more of the details of Driscoll’s new endeavor.

Jimmy Evans, founder and CEO of Marriage Today and senior elder at Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo, Texas, has joined the board of the new church being planted by former Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll in Phoenix, Arizona.

Driscoll and his wife, Grace, recently announced that they have begun work on The Trinity Church which is expected to open in the first half of 2016.

Evans revealed to the Amarillo Globe-News that he feels God wants him to help Driscoll’s effort.

“Early on in my relationship with Mark I felt the Lord was putting us together,” Evans told the publication in a report published Friday. “When Mark asked me to be on his board, I prayed about it and felt the Lord was telling me to do it.”

Also on the board of Driscoll’s new church plant are Gateway Church Senior Pastor Robert Morris, and Randal Taylor, vice president of television at Dunham+Company.

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Wheaton College hijab-wearing professor who declared “we all worship the same God” will leave

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Religion News Service has the latest on the Christian-identified Wheaton College professor who was suspended after she posted photos of herself on Facebook wearing an Islamic hijab to show solidarity with Muslims and declared, “We all worship the same God.” At the time, Wheaton officials stated that her views were inconsistent with their “doctrinal convictions.” On February 6, Wheaton president Philip Ryken notified students and faculty to let them know that the controversy has “come to a place of resolution and reconciliation. With a mutual desire for God’s blessing, we have decided to part ways.”

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For Necco, a different kind of “Sweethearts”

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The different kind of sweethearts is an 80-something newly married gay couple. In The Briefing, Albert Mohler observes that we see “the importance of the United States Supreme Court handing down its decision, legalizing by judicial fiat same-sex marriage in all 50 states. And so now we have confectioners hiring an advertising campaign feeling that they have political cover by the United States Supreme Court to feature two 80-year-old men as their sweetheart couple for 2016.”

The Boston Globe has the story:

Valentines DayThe ad for Necco Sweethearts candy, features two 80-something men on a couch, plucking conversation hearts out of a box as they discuss their 55 years together.

How a newly married gay couple from Texas became the spokesmen for an iconic New England brand involves a one-of-a-kind convergence of history, romance and candy — 150 years’ worth of tiny, heart-shaped confections.

With the anniversary approaching, the New England Confectionery Co., (Necco) based in Revere, hired Boston’s Hill Holliday to create a digital ad campaign inviting people to share their love stories.

All roads lead to Valentine’s Day for Sweethearts, and a member of Hill Holliday’s creative team, Steve Callan, quickly realized that this will be the first Valentine’s Day in history in which all couples, gay or straight, across the United States are allowed to be married.

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Trump Promises “More Forward Motion” on “Gay Equality” Under Presidency

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Christian News Network reports:

Donald Trump told a lesbian publisher in New Hampshire on Thursday that the American people will see “more forward motion” on “gay equality” under his presidency, citing it as a part of his effort to bring people together.

Trump was interviewed in Exeter by Susan O’Connell, the publisher of Bay Windows, which according to its website is “New England’s largest publication for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers.”

“I’m a lesbian,” she told Trump. “And we’ve had some great progress for the gay and lesbian community through politics, through all sorts of judicial actions and elected actions over the past 20 years.”

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False Prophet Claims Panthers Win in Super Bowl Will Usher in Third Spiritual “Great Awakening”

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Christian News Network (CNN) quoted Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith. who said jokingly: “You better not be rooting for those Denver Broncos, folks! That’s to be rooting against the Holy Spirit and His plans for the ‘greatest in-gathering’ harvest of all time.”

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the Third Spiritual “Great Awakening” for the reason that if wolves in sheep’s clothing were rated on a scale of 1-10, the highest being a 10, Rick Joyner would receive a 9.9.

CNN has the full story:

Wolf pack 5A false prophet from South Carolina is predicting that if the Carolina Panthers win the Super Bowl on Sunday, it will user in the third spiritual Great Awakening in America and possibly “the greatest in-gathering of all time.” Rick Joyner of MorningStar Ministries in Fort Mill, South Carolina explained his position on his broadcast “Prophetic Perspectives” on Tuesday, which was also posted online. He said that the first person to make the prediction was the late Bob Jones, who he also billed as a prophet.

“[Jones predicted that] when our Carolina Panthers won the Super Bowl, major revival, awakening, moves of God are going to break out in America,” Joyner said.

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Mark Driscoll rises from the ashes in Phoenix

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Mark DriscollLaura Turner, columnist for Religion News Service, reveals what’s going on with disgraced “pastor” Mark Driscoll. As previously reported, in July Driscoll confirmed his move to Phoenix, AZ but said he had no plans to start a church. Shortly thereafter he was listed as a director of The Trinity Church. In this piece, Turner reports the details of Driscoll’s new church and then she drops this bombshell:

Driscoll has left a wake of destruction so severe that the entire network of churches he founded had to shutter its doors. He has never taken full responsibility for his abusive tactics, never apologized to many of the individuals who he wronged, and doesn’t appear to have absorbed much of a lesson at all from his failings. But he’s back again, like a whack-a-mole. This is what happens when church leaders don’t take responsibility for their actions, and don’t engage in the kind of counseling they need: They simply pop up somewhere new to wreak the same havoc in a different place.

Although we don’t always agree with Laura Turner, we do agree with her that Mark Driscoll has not taken responsibility for his actions. Thus, “he should find a new job for a while; one that doesn’t involve leading anyone or taking a paycheck from a church. His family needs to heal.”

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Rob Bell, Aaron Rodgers and ‘How To Be Here’

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Berean Research shares the latest on life coach Rob Bell — another book!

Rob Bell’s new book, How to Be Here: A Guide to Creating a Life Worth Living, is going to hit the bookstores soon. And Rob will start a multi-city tour. And do the Oprah thing.

The doctrine-denying author’s latest book promises yet another round of worldly, self-focused fulfillment. Not in Christ, but in, you know, you.

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Christian clichés: The Hedge of Protection

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“The popular cliché has managed to develop a mystical quality of cosmic proportions,” says Cameron Buettel of Grace to You. According to Buettel, God may put up a “hedge of protection” but He may also remove it, as he did in Job’s case in order to put his faith to the test. “When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Jesus told the apostles to expect trials: “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name. Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives. (Luke 21:16–19)

So, with this in mind is it biblical to pray for a hedge of protection?

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Deepak Chopra Helps M.B.A.s Get in Touch With Their Spiritual Side

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Students are paying big bucks to find out “who am I”? New Age guru Deepak Chopra, spiritual guide to Oprah and Lady Gaga, ask students to “slip into their inner being” to find the truth within and let it out. The Wall Street Journal has the story:

Hindu goddessIn a classroom at Columbia Business School on a recent afternoon, roughly 65 students sat in silent meditation, eyes closed, their smartphones and laptops stashed out of sight.

At the front of the class, Deepak Chopra encouraged them to direct their analytical skills inward.

“Bring your awareness into your heart,” he instructed. “Ask, ‘who am I?’ ”

Intro to Accounting, it was not. Mr. Chopra’s course, Just Capital & Cause-Driven Marketing, invokes Hindu goddesses, features a band of urban yogis and asks students to diagram their “soul profile.” With guest lectures from chief executives and storytelling exercises, the three-day seminar aims to teach M.B.A.s how to design and market ventures that both make money and do good somehow.

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Ed Young Jr. spearheads effort to get “Christian” messages on Netflix

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The messages on Netflix people are going to hear will come from false teachers such as Ed Young Jr., Steven Furtick and Joyce Meyer, so this is really really bad news. People who are seeking truth will not hear it from those mentioned here. Christian Examiner has the report:

Netflix viewers can now get more than entertainment from their monthly subscriptions. They can find Christian teaching from the on-demand video service.

Ed Young Jr., Steven Furtick, Joyce Meyer and Andy Stanley now all have teaching series available on the entertainment venue. According to a Religious News Service article, Young spearheaded the effort.

“I believe if Jesus were on planet Earth today in the flesh he’d be on Netflix,” Young, pastor [wolf in sheep’s clothing] of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, told RNS.

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Obama Calls Upon Muslims, Christians to “Build Bridges”: “We’re All Descendants of Abraham”

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Christian News Network reports:

During his first trip to an Islamic mosque during his presidency, Barack Obama called upon Christians to “build bridges” with Muslims and vice versa, urging greater tolerance for the Islamic religion, which he contended “has always been a part of America.”

As previously reported, Obama’s visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday was to serve as a gesture to “celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life.” His 40-minute speech sought to portray Muslims as being an integral part of the fabric of the nation, and to call upon Americans to speak more positively of the Islamic religion.

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Let’s stop snuggling the wolves

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“No matter how much love and humility Bereans have, they tend to take a lot of arrows from their own when contending,” says Amy of Berean Research. She feels that well-meaning scolders are venting at the wrong people. So she provides the brethren with some food for thought:

Many times when those who stand firm in God’s Word as truth are told they have a critical spirit, it is because we have stepped on the tender toes of a teacher that is teaching the opposite of what biblical Christianity teaches. We are told that they are humble people with good hearts, and we need to stop bashing them.

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Top generals recommend women for military draft

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Christian Examiner reports:

Women may soon have to register with the Selective Service System – the military draft – if Congress alters regulations about who is eligible for call up during a time of war.

On Tuesday, the Army and Marine Corps’ highest ranking officers both said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the integration of women in the military that they favored the change, especially since the restriction on women serving in forward combat units was lifted in 2013. The military has also announced it will soon open all combat roles to women – even, presumably, special operations.

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Meet the “Harbinger Man”?

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According to Berean Research, the popular blog WND (World Net Daily) is only for those with spiritual discernment. Over the years WND has promoted false teachers such as Jonathan Cahn and sold his books. Likewise they’ve offered “The Blood Moons Prophecy” penned by word-faith teacher John Hagee and controversial Christian historian David Barton’s book on Thomas Jefferson that noted history scholars say is full of misinterpretations and errors. In fact, Barton’s scholarship was so shoddy that publisher Thomas Nelson had the books pulled from bookstores and stopped distribution for what it deemed factual issues with the text. But that hasn’t stopped WND from selling it — and now they’re offering “Harbingr Man.” BR has the full story:

Harbinger Man“There are few books that change the course of a nation. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s book, The Harbinger, is such a book.” – WND

Seriously?

WND, a ministry that promotes everything from blood moons to mystical soaking prayers, is the go-to news site for millions of Christians. It also heavily promotes author Jonathan Cahn. WND is now peddling a film titled, The Harbinger Man: The Jonathan Cahn Story, released a few months ago.

I’m just going to let the promotional copy speak for itself, with a couple of external research links from recent events:

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War Room: Buyer beware! Needs some discernment to watch

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From Berean Research:

In his commentary, Glenn E. Chatfield touches on some of War Room’s theological problems and also discusses what he feels are the movie’s positive aspects. All in all what he has to say is fair and balanced.

In my view, the Kendrick brothers certainly have good intentions in making “Christian” films. But what I find troubling is that much of their teaching on prayer is decidedly unbiblical. This presents a problem in that many who see the film lack the discernment to know that what they’re learning about prayer doesn’t line up with Scripture. This is why the movie’s critics say that those who were involved in it (producers/writers/directors/cast, etc.) have led the sheep down a very rocky path.

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British researchers get green light to genetically modify human embryos

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According to The Guardian:

Britain’s first genetically modified human embryos could be created within months, after scientists were granted permission by the fertility regulator to carry out the procedure.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regulator approved a licence application by Kathy Niakan, a stem cell scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, to perform so-called genome editing on human embryos.

The decision permits Niakan to study the embryos for 14 days for research purposes only. It does not permit them to be implanted into women. Niakan’s research is aimed at finding the genes at play in the early days of human fertilisation.

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“I’ve Changed My Mind”: Homosexual Rights Activist Now Supports Fined Christian Bakers

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Christian News Network reports:

A homosexual rights activist states that he has changed his mind and now supports the rights of a Christian bakery that was fined last year for declining to print the phrase “support gay marriage” on a cake. He says that while discrimination against people is wrong, rejecting ideas is indeed lawful.

As previously reported, in May 2014, Ashers Baking Company in Newtonabbey—named after Genesis 49:20—was approached by a same-sex “marriage” supporter to bake a cake that was to feature the phrase, as well as the logo for the homosexual advocacy group QueerSpace. According to the Belfast Telegraph, the cake was for an event in observance of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

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The Beck Lies: Mormon Leads Prayer to False God at Ted Cruz Campaign Office

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Over at Pulpit & Pen, Seth Dunn informs us that Ted Cruz is surrounded by cultists, knows it, and it doesn’t seem to bother him. To be fair, to get elected, political candidates need financial support and people’s votes. To that end, Marco Rubio, a Roman Catholic, has stated that he “fully understands Catholic doctrine” yet he would have people believe he’s an evangelical. And Donald Trump states that he’s a “Presbyterian Protestant,” that he believes in God but has never asked for forgiveness. Since the sincere Christian understands sin, repentance and forgiveness, Dunn wonders if The Donald is a true a Christian.

But this is not about Rubio and Trump; it’s about Southern Baptist presidential candidate Ted Cruz praying with a cultist. Seth Dunn begins with the following quote:

“I have prayed for the next George Washington. I believe I have found him (in Ted Cruz).” Glenn Beck

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Read our Research Paper on Mormonism

A Headache for Evolutionists? Scientists Discover “Unimaginable Complexity” in DNA

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Christian News Network reports:

DNAIn what appears to be a serious setback for evolutionists, a team of researchers from Cambridge University discovered that DNA and the way it is affected by modifications are much more complex than previously thought.

A group of scientists with the University of Cambridge recently published a report in the journal “Nature Structural and Molecular Biology,” in which they describe their findings on epigenetic modifications. Epigenetics is the study of how genes in organisms are switched on and off.

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Selfie Righteousness

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Blogger and Bible teacher Erin Benziger observes that many professing Christians are ignorantly utilizing social media for the celebration of “self.” Erin points out that while Christians may wish to appear spiritual and humble, we ultimately end up exclaiming, “Hey! Look at me! Look at how amazing I am! Look at how much more spiritual I am than you! Look at how much cuter my children are than yours; I must be more blessed! Look at how much more precious my ‘quiet time’ is!”

Erin begins her piece…

Selfies Christians truly are a unique bunch. We are in the world, but not of it. We strive to serve our Lord Jesus Christ well in the midst of a world that is hostile to Him and to His message. We know we have been called out of this world because, in reality, we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom.

And yet, we do not hide our faith. We do not silence our message. We desire that the world know we are Christians so that it may hear the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins found in Jesus Christ alone. So at times we must utilize the tools of the world in order to aid us in our mission. And this is okay, so long as the execution of the task does not subsequently result in sin or tarnish the name of Christ.

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Mass rally against gay civil unions in Italy capital

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Yahoo News reports:

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Rome’s Circus Maximus arena Saturday to protest against a civil unions bill for same-sex couples, a hot-potato issue for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s government.

But while organisers had been hoping to attract one million people and authorities had prepared for 500,000, journalists at the scene estimated the numbers to be in the tens of thousands. Official numbers were not immediately available.

“Without limits, our society will go mad!” organiser Massimo Gandolfini told the “Family Day” rally, as grandparents, parents and children held up banners reading “Wrong is wrong” in the capital’s ancient Roman chariot racing stadium.

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California Joins the Effort to Persecute, Suppress Scientific Dissent on Climate Change

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According to The Daily Signal:

Polar bearCalifornia Attorney General Kamala Harris has joined New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in trying to prosecute ExxonMobil for supposedly lying to its shareholders and the public about climate change, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Times reported that Harris is investigating what ExxonMobil “knew about global warming and what the company told investors.”

Neither Harris nor Schneiderman recognizes the outrageousness of what they are doing—which amounts censoring or restricting speech and debate on what is a contentious scientific theory. In fact, they want not just to stop anyone who questions the global warming theory from being able to speak; they want to punish them with possible civil sanctions or even criminal penalties. As I said before about Schneiderman, Harris needs a remedial lesson in the First Amendment.

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The Gaystapo Crackdown on Christianity

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Bill Muehlenbeg of Culture Watch fills us in on what’s going on in Australia, where he makes his home. He has included a must read newspaper report that gives us a glimpse of the far left’s direct assault on Christians, as well as on all religious and cultural groups “which may have any unease about the homosexual lifestyle.” No one had better defy the LGBT police! Muehlenberg warns: “The totalitarian implications of all this should be lost on none of us.”

What you’re about to read is chilling.

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