Just the facts.

Mary at heart of next World Youth Day gathering

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According to Catholic News Agency the veneration of Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, continues to grow.  The apostate Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary, who is in heaven, acts as a mediator for the Church. Scripture teaches otherwise. According to Hebrews 5:5, 6 the only One who acts as a mediator between man and God is Jesus Christ who alone is the high priest.  We learn in Hebrews 9:14-15, 10-14 that the blood of Jesus is the only acceptable sacrifice for the sins of mankind.  1 Timothy 2:5–6 confirms this: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

truth-false-2On Tuesday the Vatican announced the themes for the next three World Youth Day encounters, which are focused on Mary and form the basis of a spiritual journey culminating in the next global encounter in Panama in 2019.

A Nov. 22 Vatican communique revealed that the themes for 2017 and 2018 diocesan-level events as well as the international gathering in 2019 will all be taken from Chapter 1 of the Gospel of Luke, centering on Mary in the scene of the Annunciation and her Magnificat, spoken after her cousin Elizabeth’s declaration that “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

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See our Research Paper on the Roman Catholic Church

Tullian Tchividjian Emerges From Scandal With New Wife, Preaches Sermon on God’s Redemption

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Christian Post, a site we do not recommend, has the latest on disgraced pastor Tullian Tchividjian. Last year we reported that after admitting to an adulterous relationship he was asked to resign from his pulpit at Coral Ridge Presbyterian in South Florida. Shortly thereafter, Tchividjian was hired by Willow Creek Presbyterian as Director of Ministry Development.  We then reported that he was immediately fired from that job when affair #2 came to light six months later.  We also let our readers know that in August of this year Tchividjian remarried.  CP has provided photos of the couple’s wedding celebration along with an excerpt from the sermon he gave.

Following are biblical qualifications for a pastor:

For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. – Titus 1:7-8

tullian-tchividjian-3Tullian Tchividjian, the Rev. Billy Graham’s grandson who lost his church and wife last summer to an adultery scandal, has re-emerged with a new wife and a redeeming message about God’s “magnificent intervention.”

In the sermon that also appeared to quietly address his last misstep, Tchividjian recalled a time when he got caught cutting school by his psychologist father as a teenager.

Tchividjian’s remarriage was first confirmed in a Facebook post on Saturday by his new wife, Stacie, as she highlighted a sermon he delivered at the non-denominational Spring Hills Community Church in Santa Rosa, California.”What an honor it was to be invited to Spring Hills Community Church and sincerely welcomed by such a loving staff and congregation! Our time in Santa Rosa was too short, but SO wonderful … Tullian Tchividjian (my amazing Hubby!) delivered an authentic, powerful message,” she wrote in part.While he did not comment on his remarriage, Tchividjian highlighted the same sermon on his Facebook page on Saturday about an hour after his new wife posted it.”Very grateful to our friends at Spring Hills Community Church for the invitation to come and speak a few weeks ago,” Tchividjian wrote of the Oct. 31, sermon.

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Top Vatican Cardinal: Not Even A Pope Can Change Divine Law on Communion

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CNSNews reports:

Pope FrancisAs Catholic Church leaders, including Pope Francis, battle over whether divorced and remarried couples may receive Communion — although the couples are objectively in a state of serious sin, i.e., adultery — Cardinal Robert Sarah, head of the Vatican office dealing with Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said the Church’s teaching on mortal sin and Communion cannot change and that even a Pope cannot seek to circumvent or alter this divine law.

The dispute over Communion for divorced and remarried Catholic couples stems from Pope Francis’s letter Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), which grew out of the meeting of bishops (synod) in 2014 and 2015, and was released as a document by the Pope in March 2016.

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Woman Who Wants to Be Man Has Eggs Frozen Before Hormone Therapy: ‘I’m Meant to Be a Father’

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Christian News Network reports:

TransgenderA refugee woman who wants to transition to a man recently had her eggs frozen prior to beginning hormonal therapy treatments as she plans on converting to a male, marrying a woman someday and having the woman carry her preserved eggs. “I need to do this to be happy,” the woman, who only been identified with the name “Renee” (not her real name), told CBSLA.

She moved to the United States six months ago in her quest to become a man, but is aware that in taking hormonal treatments, she may never be able to carry children for the rest of her life.

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Redefinition of marriage rejected in Mexico

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According to The Christian Institute:

MarriageProposals to legalise same-sex marriage across Mexico have been struck down.

President Enrique Pena Nieto’s plans for nationwide legalisation were rejected by 19 votes to 8 in the Lower House of Congress.

Same-sex marriage is currently allowed in Mexico City and several other states, but the President had called for it to be legalised nationwide.

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Why Screens and Sleep Don’t Mix

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According to Healthzette:

digital-devicesThe average American now owns four digital devices — a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop or a desktop, and a TV. We spend more than 60 hours a week consuming information or entertainment on these devices, and most households have three TVs or more.

And get this: Seventeen percent of parents say they allow their children four years old and younger to have a television in their room.

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Alito Quotes Bob Dylan on Religious Freedom: ‘It’s Not Dark Yet, But It’s Getting There’

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CNSNews reports:

justice-alitoSupreme Court Justice Samuel Alito opened the national convention of the Federalist Society in Washington, D.C., Thursday with a moving tribute to the late Justice Antonin Scalia but also warned of “unprecedented challenges to our constitutional structure” and that freedom of religion is in “greater danger.”

“Freedom of religion is in greater danger,” Alito cautioned, saying “I am reminded of a song by the latest recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature: it’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.”

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War On Cash Intensifies: Citibank To Stop Accepting Cash At Some Branches

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ZeroHedge reports:

moneyLess than a week after India’s surprise move to scrap its highest denomination cash notes, another front in the War on Cash has intensified down under in Australia.

Yesterday, banking giant UBS proposed that eliminating Australia’s $100 and $50 bills would be “good for the economy and good for the banks.”

(How convenient that a bank would propose something that’s good for banks!)

This isn’t the first time that the financial establishment has pushed for a cashless society in Australia (or anywhere else).

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Yes, You’re Right, Colleges Are Liberal Bubbles. Here’s the Data.

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According to The Chronicle of Higher Education:

Child blowing bubblesCampuses tend to be viewed as enclaves of liberalism — bubbles or oases, depending on your view, set apart from the rest of America.

In the counties that are home to public flagship universities, only nine favored Donald J. Trump over Hillary Clinton, according to a Chronicle analysis of voting data. In the 49 counties included in the analysis, Mrs. Clinton beat Mr. Trump, on average, by about 18 percentage points. In counties with a public flagship, the percentage of voters favoring Mrs. Clinton was 11 points, on average, higher than her statewide percentage.

Alaska was excluded from the analysis because it does not have county-level election data from the 2016 presidential election. Some states have more than one campus that serves a flagship role; to keep the analysis simple, we selected only one from each of the other 49 states.

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Hillsong’s Carl Lentz Clarifies Answer to Oprah if Only Christians Can Be in Relationship With God

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Christian News Network has the story:

love-2Hipster Hillsong NYC leader Carl Lentz recently clarified his response to talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who had asked Lentz on her “Super Soul Sunday” program if only Christians can be in relationship with God.

“Do you believe that only Christians can be in a relationship with God?” Winfrey asked in a program that aired on Oct. 16.

“No,” Lentz replied. “I believe that when Jesus said that ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’—the way I read that, Jesus said that He is the road marker, He is the map.”

“So, I think that God loves people so much that whether they accept or reject Him, He’s still gracious, and He’s still moving, and He’s still giving you massive red blinking lights, for chances to take a right turn where maybe you’d take a left,” he continued. “But I believe God loves people, and that’s what this whole gospel is based on—it’s love. You take the love out of it, we’ve got a moral book.”

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Netanyahu: Looking Forward To Working With Trump On Twin Interests Of Peace, Security

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Breitbart reports:

benjamin-netanyahuPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is looking forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump on “the twin interests of peace and security.” “I, for one, find great encouragement in the fact that there’s this continuity of friendship,” Netanyahu said.

In a satellite address to the Jewish Federations of North America’s annual General Assembly in Washington on Tuesday, Netanyahu urged President Barack Obama to continue America’s “longstanding policy” of supporting direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and not pursue other avenues. Israel is concerned that Obama will use his final days in office to push for a UN Security Council resolution that will impose a two-state solution to the conflict.

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Conservative cardinals challenge Pope over teachings on family

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According to Reuters:

Pope FrancisFour conservative Roman Catholic cardinals on Monday made a rare public challenge to Pope Francis over some of his teachings in a major document on the family, accusing him of sowing confusion on important moral issues.

The cardinals – two Germans, an Italian, and an American – said they had gone public with their letter to the pope because he had not responded.

The pope has clashed before with conservatives who worry he is weakening Roman Catholic rules on moral issues such as homosexuality and divorce while focusing on social problems such as climate change and economic inequality.

At issue are some of the teachings in a 260-page treatise called “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Love), a cornerstone document of Francis’ attempt to make the 1.2 billion-member Church more inclusive and less condemning.

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See our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

Scientists Discover Musical Complexity in Birds That ‘Utterly Defies Evolutionary Predictions’

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Christian News Network reports:

bird-robinScientists have found that many birds exhibit strikingly human-like musical principles in their songs—a revelation that may be difficult for evolutionists to explain.

In a paper published in “Royal Society Open Science,” an international team of researchers share their findings from a thorough analysis of bird songs. The scientists focused on the singing performances of Australian pied butcherbirds, whose songs are so complex and skillful that even composers have taken notice.

“Their songs are ideal for studying regularity across levels of song structure because song units (notes, phrases) are both complex and easy to identify,” the scientists wrote in their report. “Butcherbird vocalizations can be similar in sound to a piping flute, a cornet or an organ and also have inspired composers (such as Olivier Messiaen), who have referred to timbre, contour, gesture, rhythm, repetition, scales and formal structure as meaningful parameters of butcherbird vocalizations.”

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One Third of Households Victimized by Violent Crime in Past Year

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According to Breitbart:

crimeNearly one-third of U.S. households (29 percent) contain a family member victimized by violent crime in the last year, according to Gallup. The survey reveals that Americans’ “direct experience” with crime is at a 16-year high.

Seventeen percent said they or someone in their home had money or property stolen, while 14 percent said they had property, including their home or vehicle, vandalized. Another five percent said they had their car broken into and four percent said they or someone in their household had a car stolen from them.

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Professor on Ultrasound Requirement for Abortion: ‘Could Be Compared to a State-sanctioned Rape’

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According to CNSNews:

ultrasoundA law professor from University of California Irvine said on Friday that the requirement by some states that women have a transvaginal ultrasound before getting an abortion can be compared to “state-sanctioned rape.”

“The broad scope of the kinds of efforts that have been taken to undermine woman’s reproductive health are really quite expansive, right? The vaginal ultrasounds that are really like, could be compared to a state-sanctioned rape,” said Prof. Michele Goodwin at a symposium at Georgetown University Law Center, which focused on the pro-abortion movement.

The event, “Dismantling Reproductive Injustices; The Hyde Amendment and Criminalization of Self-Induced Abortion,” featured Goodwin and other pro-abortion advocates who seek abortion-on-demand and taxpayer-funded abortion through federal health programs.

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Trump repeats vow to build border wall, but admits ‘there could be some fencing’

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In a television interview, President-elect Trump said of “Crooked Hillary” and her husband, “I don’t want to hurt them, I don’t want to hurt them.  They’re, they’re good people. I don’t want to hurt them.” It would appear that he may not be interested in appointing a special prosecutor to probe Mrs. Clinton’s “situation.”  According to Andrew C. McCarthy in a piece over at National Review, “A prosecution of Clinton would provoke Democratic outrage, which means media outrage, which, in turn, means Republican panic.”

Fox News has the “60 Minutes” interview:

donald-trump-6President-elect Donald Trump, in his first television interview since his surprise election victory, repeated his vows to build a wall across America’s southern border, deport criminal illegal aliens, and repeal and replace ObamaCare.

But Trump also appeared to back off from commiting to build a solid wall, telling CBS’ “60 Minutes” the barrier might look more like a fence in spots.

“Certain areas, a wall is more appropriate,” Trump told interviewer Lesley Stahl. “I’m very good at this, it’s called construction.”

Trump emphasized that securing the border is his very first immigration priority, but he also promised to deport people living in the country illegally who had committed crimes beyond their immigration offenses.

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Five-Month-Old Girl Wows World After Spending 17 Years as Frozen Embryo

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Christian News Network reports:

Human embryoA five-month-old baby girl is wowing the world as her adoptive par ents are sharing the story of how their Snowflake baby was a frozen embryo for 17 years before her birth.

Elizabeth and Marty Wilson turned to Nightlight Christian Adoptions a few years ago after having difficulty conceiving again following the birth of their first child. The organization, established in 1997, runs the “Snowflake Adoption Program” to provide a means for remaining embryos from IVF procedures to be utilized instead of destroyed.

“Over 1,100 families have donated their remaining embryos through Snowflakes (sometimes referred to as leftover, excess, unused embryos)– allowing them to choose the family for their embryo gift,” Nighlight outlines on its website.

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Scenes from the liberal meltdown

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New York Post Editorial Board reports:

trump-protestorsDays after Donald Trump stunned the world by winning the presidency, liberal America remains in the throes of a massive mental and emotional meltdown.

Anti-Trump protests have spread to more cities and continue to turn violent. In Portland Thursday night, rioters stoned police and vandalized businesses and cars.

Anyone expressing support for Trump has become the target of unrestrained venom: There are calls to boycott New Balance — its sneakers have been publicly burned — because an official said Trump would be better on trade issues.

Meanwhile, the CEO of Grubhub, the online food-delivery service, demanded that employees who agree with Trump resign, because “you have no place here.” (He had to retreat: His lawyers read him the First Amendment and noted that political discrimination also violates California law.)

This is just vicious stuff. But for pure pathos crossing into the absurd, we turn (as usual) to the college campus. Consider:

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Chelsea Clinton being groomed to run for Congress

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According to New York Post:

chelsea-clintonWhile some pundits are declaring the Clinton political dynasty dead, sources tell us that it is far from over. Chelsea Clinton is being groomed for the New York seat held by Rep. Nita Lowey.

Chelsea could run for the seat in NYC’s 17th Congressional District once Lowey, a respected, 79-year-old career politician with nearly 30 years in office, decides to retire, we have exclusively learned.

Lowey’s district includes parts of Rockland and Westchester counties and, conveniently, Chappaqua, the Clinton family home base.

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What the future of marijuana legalization could look like under President Trump

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Washington Post reports:

MarijuanaAmericans wake up this morning to find a drug policy landscape radically altered from yesterday. California, Massachusetts and Nevada have legalized recreational marijuana, while voters in a handful of Southern and deeply conservative states embraced medical marijuana with open arms.

Regardless of how a still-contested legalization vote turns out in Maine, more than 1 in 5 Americans now live in states where the recreational use of marijuana is, or soon will be, legal.

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US military successfully tests electrical brain stimulation to enhance staff skills

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According to The Guardian scientists are using soldiers for medical experiments to increase brain efficiency. The long-term medical effects are unknown:

brainUS military scientists have used electrical brain stimulators to enhance mental skills of staff, in research that aims to boost the performance of air crews, drone operators and others in the armed forces’ most demanding roles.

The successful tests of the devices pave the way for servicemen and women to be wired up at critical times of duty, so that electrical pulses can be beamed into their brains to improve their effectiveness in high pressure situations.

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Pot, Guns, and the Minimum Wage: Some Ballot Questions That Matter

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The Daily Signal fills us in on state ballot initiatives:

Marijuana 2In addition to casting their votes for president Tuesday, millions of Americans had the chance to weigh in on ballot questions in their respective states.

The measures range from legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, on the ballot in nine states, to increases in the minimum wage—on the ballot in four.

Voters in Colorado faced controversial proposals to create a single-payer system of health care and legalize physician-assisted suicide, while Massachusetts voters considered a measure to lift a cap on the number of charter schools in the state.

Here are some highlights of votes across the country on such ballot initiatives, in unofficial and sometimes incomplete results:

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“I’m Shutting Down” — Celebrities React to Election Result

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CNSNews has a few of the celebrity tweets, which includes this tweet by Rolling Stone Mick Jagger: “Just was watching the news… maybe they’ll ask me to sing ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ at the inauguration, ha!” And this from Material Girl Madonna: “A New Fire Is Lit. We never give up.  We never give in.”

Several entertainers threatened to move to Canada and other countries if Donald Trump won the election. One wonders if they’re in the process of preparing for the move. Waaah!

Entertainment Weekly is reporting on the reactions many celebrities had to the November 8 presidential election, which resulted in Donald Trump becoming the next President of the United States.

While most entertainers in the EW story expressed sadness and disbelief over the result, others were supportive of President-elect Trump.

Some examples:

Actress Lindsay Lohan: “Retweet if you want a recount.”

Actress Dana Delany: “How do you explain to young girls in tears at Hillary HQ that women voted for Trump and misogyny is the way of the world? I won’t. It’s not.”

Author Stephen King: “No more book recommendations, politics, or amusing dog pictures for the immediate future. I’m shutting down.”

Actress Christina Applegate: “I went to sleep early. Woke up to this. To my fellow humans outside of the US. We don’t want this. And we are heartbroken.”

Actress Rashida Jones: “I want to quit life.”

Actress Kirstie Alley: “CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT TRUMP! @realDonaldTrump against all odds…against the establishment and even against most of the GOP…U did it!”

Actor Dean Cain: “Lots of hyperbole by my friends in Hollywood during this election. Are you gonna back up your words now? Just asking…?”

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Christian Couple Denied Adoption of Foster Children Over Opposition to Homosexual Parenting

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According to Christian News Network:

family-4A Christian couple in the U.K. has reportedly been denied their request to adopt two foster children in their care after they told social workers that the juveniles needed a mother and a father, and not two daddies.

According to reports, the couple, which has not been identified, has been looking after the children since early 2016 and has sought to adopt the youth themselves. They had initially been turned down because their house was too small.

When they were later told by a social worker that two men had expressed interest, the couple “expressed a degree of shock and asked if this was a ‘joke.’” They also said that it would be hard to explain the concept to one of the children who had said he was “waiting for a new mummy.”

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Chilean Feminists Amplify Heartbeat of Their Unborn Children in Pro-Life March of Pregnant Women

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Christian News Network has the report and the must watch video:

baby-in-womb-heartbeat

Members of a Chilean feminist group recently amplified the heartbeat of their unborn children in a pro-life march in the nation’s capital.

The women were a part of the group Reivindica, which decided to utilize the International Day of Non-Violence as an opportunity to be a voice for the unborn. It organized the march as part of its La Voz Del Corazon project, or Voice of the Heart.

“We cannot consider the idea of naturalizing abortion as ‘progress,’” said President Rosario Vidal in a statement. “Women are moved by love, because we love a child—and not just a thing—from the womb, and we love women who have gone through pregnancies in highly adverse situations.”

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