Christian News Network reports:
During the National Prayer Breakfast held in Washington on Thursday, Barack Obama spoke against violence committed in the name of religion, and stated that Christians have been just as guilty as Muslims and other terror groups of this crime.
“It’s not unique to one group or one religion,” he said. “There is a tendency in us—a sinful tendency—that can pervert and distort our faith.”
According to Christian News Network:
In an article published by the faith site Patheos on Wednesday, one of the original co-founders of the popular Christian band Newsboys revealed that he has since renounced Christianity and now identifies as an atheist.
“I always felt uncomfortable with the strict rules imposed by Christianity,” George Perdikis, who co-founded the group in 1985, wrote in the guest post. “All I wanted to do was create and play rock and roll … and yet most of the attention I received was focused on how well I maintained the impossible standards of religion. I wanted my life to be measured by my music, not by my ability to resist temptation.”
Live Action News reports that Pampers released a new ad in January entitled A Newborn Journey of Firsts:
Pampers has been known in the past for its beautiful, visually stirring ads that broadcast a pro-life message. A previous ad called babies miracles who “deserve protection” and referred to a baby on an ultrasound screen as a “he” instead of an “it.”
This time, Pampers’s ad — which has already received over 860,000 views on YouTube — opens as a mother lovingly caresses her pregnant belly. The scene switches to an incredible ultrasound where a baby is moving in the womb and, as Pampers puts it, is giving her “first hello.”
According to the Christian News Network:
A Christian theology professor says that it was the fear of man, not God that led a Tennessee megachurch minister to announce full acceptance of homosexuals in his congregation, including the allowance of those involved in sexual sin to serve in leadership roles and to “marry.”
“If you fear man, God will become small to you,” wrote Owen Strachan, Assistant Professor of Christian Theology and Church History at Boyce College in Louisville, Ky. in a post on Friday. “The approval of fellow sinners will matter more to you than obeying God by the witness of His word.”
Stand Up For The Truth reveals that Steve McSwain, an influential leader who has the ear of Christian leaders, political leaders and leaders of other religions, recently commented that “the church must ‘repent’ of how we have handled homosexual Christians.” McSwain also made the following heretical statement in a piece he wrote:
Today, I realize that what Jesus was really saying is this: “I am the way,” as in, “I know the way.” “I’ve discovered it” which, by implication means, “you can, too.”
Millions are going to perish in 2015, says Stephen John. And, while this is going on, the dying world will be keeping an eye on professing Christians. What will they see? Will they see superficial, self-absorbed “Christians” having a hand in the spiritual demise of the lost, or will they see believers actually doing what they are supposed to do – pointing to the Truth, to the only One who can bring eternal life to those dying?
Christian News Network reports:
While speaking on the last day to his trip to India, Barack Obama urged acceptance of religious pluralism in the nation, adding on a personal note that sometimes his profession of Christianity is questioned and that he is instead thought to be a Muslim.
“Our nations are strongest when we see that we are all God’s children—all equal in His eyes and worthy of His love,” he stated to approximately 2,000 youth gathered at the Siri Fort auditorium.
The slogan “black lives matter” excludes the unborn says Washington Times columnist Kenneth Blackwell. He wonders if the civil rights leaders really care when a black life is lost, or whether they simply exploit situations for political gain. Blackwell writes:
Today, on the somber anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, it’s time for black leaders to face up to the real danger threatening black lives in America. It isn’t the police. According to an anti-police brutality organization, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, 313 blacks were killed by “police, security guards and vigilantes” in 2013. It isn’t even black criminals, who, as Rudy Giuliani famously pointed out on “Meet the Press,” are responsible for 93 percent of violent deaths among blacks. Sources estimate that between 6,000 and 8,000 blacks are murdered each year.
Breitbart reports:
Inspectors have labelled pupils at a Christian school bigots and forced it to close after a young boy gave the wrong answer when asked what a Muslim was. Teachers at the school say he referenced terrorism in his answer, but argued that one child’s throwaway answer was no ground for closing the whole school.
Christian News Network reports:
The U.S. Army has ordered the removal of a sandwich board outside of an Arizona recruiting office because it included the phrase “On a mission for God and country.”
The sign, which has been posted outside of the recruiting office since at least last October, was removed on Friday following complaints. A photo of the sandwich board had been proliferated online, drawing ire from atheists and church-state separation advocates.
USA Today reports:
Pope Francis, after a visit to the largest Catholic nation in Asia, says Catholics may have a moral responsibility to limit the number of their children and need not reproduce “like rabbits.”
But the pope also reaffirmed the church’s ban on artificial means of birth control and said Catholics should practice “responsible parenting.”
Stand Up For The Truth reports:
On January 21st, about 30 of contemporary Christian music’s best-known singers from the last four decades will be joining New Age sympathizer and devout Roman Catholic Roma Downey for a special live online concert called “We Will Stand.” The concert is being presented by CCM United and has a motto of “One Message, Many Voices.’” According to an article titled “We Are United: The Story Behind ‘The Greatest Night In Contemporary Christian Music,’” there could be over a million viewers with a potential reach globally of 40 million.
In 2011 Rick Warren, who is the pastor of a megachurch in California and the author of the popular “Purpose-Driven” books chose to enter into a partnership with a man who is steeped in New Age/New Thought spirituality. Warren elicited the aid of Dr. Mehmet Oz to come up with a health and fitness plan for his church. Marsha West has learned that a recent study by the British Medical Journal showed that “Half of Dr. Oz’s health advice is bad.”
Christian News Network reports:
A federal judge in South Dakota has struck down the state’s voter-approved marriage amendment which enshrines marriages as being solely between a man and a woman, opining that the law is unconstitutional because it excludes homosexuals from having the same opportunity.
According to Christian News Network:
Concerns are being raised after Duke University’s student paper announced this week that the Muslim call to prayer will be broadcast from university’s bell tower each Friday.
“Members of the Duke Muslim Students Association will chant a weekly call-to-prayer from the Duke Chapel bell tower beginning Friday, Jan. 16,” Duke Today outlined in a report on Tuesday. “The chant, called the ‘adhan,’ announces the start of the group’s jummah prayer service, which takes place in the chapel basement each Friday at 1 p.m.”
Christianity.com’s Ryan Hoselton penned a refreshing story about a pastor who’s attracted to members of the same-sex yet he chose to wed a woman. Pastor Allan Edwards says he believes that the center of Christianity is the Bible. After completing a thorough study of the scriptures, he concluded that practicing homosexuality is a sin. Thus, he couldn’t simultaneously follow the Bible and his same-sex attraction.
According to Christian Headlines:
An Irish priest has made international headlines for his announcement that he is gay during a Mass service.
Christian Today reports Father Martin Dolan of the Church of St. Nicholas of Myra was urging parishioners to support gay marriage in the upcoming Irish referendum when he said, “I’m gay myself.” The announcement was reportedly met with a standing ovation from the congregation.
Christian News Network reports:
A prominent Southern Baptist leader is speaking out against what he views as Newsweek’s recent “hit piece” against Christians after its December cover story took aim at evangelical Christianity and the inerrancy of the Scriptures.
Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote an article this week expressing disappointment in Newsweek for its decision to run “The Bible: So Misunderstood It’s a Sin” as it cover story to conclude 2014.