Just the facts.

Obama administration engaged in secret talks to pay Iran nearly $2 billion

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Fox News reports:

The Obama administration has spent three years engaged in secret talks with Iran that resulted in the payment of nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds to the Islamic Republic, with more payouts likely to come in the future, according to a recent letter issued by the State Department and obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon.

The administration’s disclosure came in response to an inquiry launched in January by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.), who was seeking further information about the Obama administration’s payment of $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds to Iran, which many viewed as a “ransom payment” for Iran’s release that month of several U.S. hostages.

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College of Pediatricians Calls Transgender Ideology “Child Abuse”

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According to Breitbart:

The American College of Pediatricians warns educators and legislators that “a life of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex” is dangerous for children.

In a strongly worded statement issued today, the professional association of pediatricians says “a person’s belief that he or she is something they are not is, at best, a sign of confused thinking.” It describes such thinking as problem that exists in the mind and not the body and “it should be treated as such.”

The college of pediatricians is joining a heated debate that increasingly pits concerned parents against school teachers, administrators, legislators, and transsexual advocates who are pushing the trans agenda in grade-schools, city governments, state governments, and the federal government.

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Captured Paris Attack Suspect Reportedly Planned New Acts in Brussels

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Christian News Network reports:

The top suspect in last year’s Paris attacks told investigators after he was captured that he was planning new operations from Brussels and possibly had access to several weapons, Belgium’s foreign minister said Sunday.

Salah Abdeslam had claimed that “he was ready to restart something from Brussels, and it’s maybe the reality,” Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said.

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Candace Cameron Bure Blasts Fuller House Critics as “Ridiculous,” Posts Lustful Kiss From Show

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According to Christian News Network some of Bure’s fans are not on board with her new show.  One fan commented: “I’m a little disappointed with the show.  There are sexual references, immodest clothing, and you even said a curse word. It makes me sad.”:

Unrepentant talk show host and actress Candace Cameron Bure is taking issue with “negativity” and “religious debates” from her fans who are flooding her social media pages with concern about the content in “Fuller House”—a restart of the 80’s show “Full House”—which features immodesty, lesbian kissing, sexual and alcoholic references and other controversial content. Days after calling for an end, she posted a photograph of a scene where she jumps on a man who is not her husband and passionately kisses him.

“This is getting ridiculous!!” she fumed last Saturday, next to a cartoon of an annoyed Cameron Bure saying “c’mon.” “STOP having religious debates about me and my family on my comments thread after EVERY single photo I post when they have nothing to do with the picture!”

Cameron Bure instructed fans to ignore negative comments and to take the talk elsewhere.

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Scalia’s death a blow to Obamacare contraception challengers

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Reuters reports:

Christian groups asking the U.S. Supreme Court to exempt them from the requirement to provide insurance covering contraception under President Barack Obama’s healthcare law face an uphill battle following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last month.

The remaining eight justices will consider seven related cases on whether nonprofit groups that oppose the requirement on religious grounds can object under a U.S. law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to a compromise version of the requirement offered by the Obama administration.

Among those mounting objections are the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns that runs care homes for the elderly.

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Salt Lake Tribune–“Cruz in Utah: Glenn Beck Says He’s Fulfillment of Mormon Prophecy”

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The headline appeared over at Breitbart followed by:

Lee Davidson wrote the following article in the Salt Lake Tribune bout Republican candidate Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) rallies today in Utah:

Cruz also basked in the praise of two big-name Mormons: former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and conservative talk show host Glenn Beck.

[…]

Beck, a Mormon and conservative radio talk show host, said he always vows to be the worst enemy of politicians who do not keep promises. “I don’t have any friends in Washington except these two,” he said about Cruz and Lee. He added they are the first politicians he has even endorsed.

Beck said that he, like many Mormons, believe in a prophecy that the Constitution will hang by a thread in the last days. He said he believes that now is that time, and people like Lee and Cruz will save it.

Read the rest here.

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Read our research paper on Mormonism

Billy Graham’s Grandson Tullian Tchividjian Fired by Willow Creek After Confessing Another Affair

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According to Christian News Network the affair “occurred before the last affair he confessed—and before he discovered that his wife was in a relationship with another man.”

Photo credit: Twitter

Photo credit: Twitter

Just over six months after hiring him as the Director of Ministry Development following his resignation as lead pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church upon admission of an affair, Florida’s Willow Creek Church has fired Tullian Tchividjian, the grandson of Billy Graham, as he has now confessed to a second inappropriate relationship.

As previously reported, Tchividjian, 43, the son of Virginia Graham, took over the pulpit of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 2009 following the passing of founder D. James Kennedy. However, the selection divided the congregation, as some approved and others disapproved of his leadership. Several months after he accepted the job, Kennedy’s daughter and others began calling for his removal.

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St. Patrick not “a closet Baptist”

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According to Baptist Press:

Saint Patrick's Day

In William Cathcart’s “Baptist Encyclopedia,” a catalog of Baptist doctrines, organizations and individuals, there is a surprising entry under the letter P: “Patrick, Saint, the Apostle of Ireland.”

However,

Two contemporary Baptist historians told Baptist Press that Patrick was not, in fact, a nascent Baptist, but those who sought to claim him as one rightly noted the error of associating him with the modern Roman Catholic Church.

 

“There is a romance about [Patrick],” said Michael Haykin a Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor who has written a book about Patrick. “During the 19th century, with the rise of Landmarkism, there was a desire to claim as many people as Baptists as possible. In some respects, Patrick falls easily into that [classification]. He was almost definitely baptizing people by immersion. But he was almost definitely not a congregationalist — which we would view as central to being a Baptist.”

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Gay Rights Groups Urge NCAA to End Ties to Colleges Requesting Title IX Waiver

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Inside Higher Ed reports on the LGBT’s push to defund any religious-based institution that refuses to join the moral revolution and stands against the radical LGBT agenda:

In a letter sent to the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Wednesday, more than 80 lesbian, gay and transgender organizations urged the NCAA to “divest from all religious-based institutions” that discriminate against transgender students. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education extended Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination on campuses, to include transgender students. ,,,

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Growing Number of Major U.S. Corporations Embracing Eastern Meditation Practices

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From Berean Research:

America is up to its eyeballs in Eastern mysticism.  What does the Lord God have to say about adopting pagan practices?  Plenty:

When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this.”  Leviticus 18:1-1

In other words, God’s people are not to involve themselves in any Americanized version of Eastern mysticism.  Period.

Garrett Haley, who penned the piece I’m posting here, quotes from a blog post titled “The Subtle Body—Should Christians Practice Yoga?” by Albert Mohler of Southern Baptist theological Seminary:

There is nothing wrong with physical exercise, and yoga positions in themselves are not the main issue.  But these positions are teaching postures with a spiritual purpose.

Mohler concludes:

Christians who practice yoga are embracing, or at minimum flirting with, a spiritual practice that threatens to transform their own spiritual lives into a “post-Christian, spiritually polyglot” reality.  Should any Christian willingly risk that?”

Now to Garrett Haley’s report:

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Coke joins coalition fighting for LGBT equality

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Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:

Coca ColaCoca-Cola is a member of the newly formed Business Coalition for the Equality Act, a group of 60 prominent employers that are officially backing the Human Rights Campaign’s efforts to add federal protections for the LGBT community.

Coke joins other notable giants such as Apple, Nike, Target, Google, Amazon, Best Buy and Coke’s beverage industry rival Pepsi in the coalition. HRC said coalition members represent 4.2 million employees, have combined revenue of $1.9 trillion and have operations in all 50 states.

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Jerry Falwell Jr. Compares Donald Trump to King David, Talks About Watching Elton John Together on Private Jet

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According to Christian News Network:

With presidential campaigning in full force, Jerry Falwell Jr., president of what heralds itself as the world’s largest Christian university, is defending and cozying up to the lead contender on the Republican ticket, recently recalling to the university newspaper how he and Trump watched an Elton John concert together on the billionaire’s private jet—a man whose sins he dismissed by comparison to God’s appointment of King David.

As previously reported, Falwell has repeatedly sought to assure the American people of the mud-slinging, foul-mouthed candidate’s Christianity, pointing to the candidate’s good deeds as being the “fruit” that Jesus spoke of that characterizes a man who is born again.

“I’ve seen his generosity to strangers, to his employees, his warm relationship with his children,” he said on CNN’s “Legal View With Ashleigh Banfield” last month. “I’m convinced he’s a Christian. I believe he has faith in Jesus Christ.”

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Utah Senate Approves Bill Requiring Abortionists to Give Anesthesia to Babies Being Murdered

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According to Christian News Network:

Baby in the womb Senators in Utah have approved a bill that would require abortionists in the state to give anesthesia to unborn babies so they cannot feel pain as they are murdered.

“Let’s call it what it is: It is killing babies, and if we’re going to kill that baby, we ought to have the humanity to protect them from pain,” bill author Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said on the Senate floor.

On Friday, the Senate voted 19-5 in favor of Bramble’s bill, S.B. 234, which applies to babies five months in gestation or older.

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Palin Cancels Trump Event After Husband in “Serious” Snow Machine Crash

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According to NBC News:

Sarah and Todd PalinSarah Palin canceled a campaign stop for Donald Trump in Florida on Monday after her husband Todd was injured in a snowmobile crash in Alaska.

A source told NBC News that Todd Palin was in “a very serious” crash Sunday night and is currently hospitalized in intensive care.

In a brief unplanned appearance before Trump’s afternoon event in Tampa, Palin referenced the “little wreck” and thanked audience members for their prayers.

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Mark Driscoll will resurrect his ministry with Easter Sunday “gathering” in Arizona

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As previously reported, disgraced “pastor” Mark Driscoll recently had a RICO law suit filed against him alleging that while he was the CEO of Mars Hill Church in Seattle he “engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity so deeply embedded, pervasive and continuous, that it was effectively institutionalized as a business practice, thereby corrupting the very mission Plaintiffs and other donors believed they were supporting.” With this in mind, we have an update on the Driscoll saga from the Seattle Times: 

Ex-Mars Hill Church senior pastor Mark Driscoll, relocated in Arizona, will launch the first “gathering” of his new Trinity Church on Easter Sunday at the Glass and Garden Drive-In Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The newly launched Driscoll congregation has signed a rental contract for the 50-year-old church, which opened on Easter Sunday in 1966.  The official launch of the church has not yet been announced.

The resurrection of Driscoll’s ministry at Easter comes less than two weeks after four former members of his now-defunct Mars Hill Church filed a racketeering suit against Driscoll and a top aide.

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Southern Baptist Pastor Calls Cult Member an Intelligent, Committed Christian

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Pulpit & Pen has the story:

This isn’t about politics. In fact, I’m disgustingly tired and bored with politics. At this point, I really couldn’t care any less who wins the upcoming presidential election, because all the candidates are losers.

However, it’s a major problem when a pastor who purports to hold to the orthodox view of the Christian faith continues to show absolute disregard for biblical truth while leading a political crusade in the name of Jesus that calls into question everything the Scriptures teach about Christianity.

Now, we all know how pro-life Donald Trump is. He understands the sanctity of human life–how all human life is created in the image of God, including the unborn. We all know that Donald Trump is a repentant sinner, who understands that the Gospel is the necessary solution to the problem of sin in America today.

Wait, wait, wait!

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Jesuit Georgetown University Elects First Muslim Student Association President

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Breitbart reports:

The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) has elected the first Muslim student to serve as its president at the school which brands itself as America’s “oldest Catholic and Jesuit institute of higher learning.

Enushe Khan joined the board of the university Muslim Student Association (MSA) soon after arriving at Georgetown, and served as chair of Interfaith and Service for five semesters, reports The Hoya – the school’s oldest and largest student newspaper.

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“Pathological” Ben Carson Endorses Trump: “There is a Lot More Alignment Spiritually Than I Ever Thought”

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According to Christian News Network:

Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, a Seventh-Day Adventist who denies eternal punishment, endorsed billionaire business mogul Donald Trump, who identifies a Presbyterian, on Friday morning.

“I have found in talking with [Donald Trump] that … there is a lot more alignment philosophically and spiritually then I ever thought that there was,” he said at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. “That actually surprised me more than anything.”

Carson, who praised the candidate’s “guts” and “energy,” said that he has discovered that there are two sides to Trump.

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Wounded Warrior Project’s top execs reportedly fired amid lavish spending scandal

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Fox News reports:

DEVELOPING STORY: The two top executives of the Wounded Warrior Project — among the largest veterans charities in the country — were fired Thursday after an investigation into accusations of lavish spending on parties, hotel and travel, CBS News reported.

Wounded Warrior Project’s CEO, Steven Nardizzi, and COO, Al Giordano, were fired by the charity’s board amid criticisms about how it spends more than $800 million raised in donations in the past four years, CBS News reported.

The charity’s board of directors made their decision after a meeting in New York City, where they received preliminary results of a financial and policy audit, sources told CBS News.

The charity came under fire after an earlier CBS News investigation in January revealed large amounts of spending on administration, meetings, and travel.

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Texas Superintendents Vote to Require Athletes to Show Birth Certificates to Prove Gender

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According to Christian News Network:

School district superintendents in Texas recently voted to require student athletes to provide proof of their gender by submitting a copy of their birth certificate.

The new policy, passed by a 586-32 vote, ensures that boys do not play on girls’ teams and girls do not play on boys’ teams.

“Member schools may not permit boys to try out for or participate under the jr. high school or high school athletic plans designated for girls’ teams,” the policy reads, noting the same for girls. “Member schools that offer cross country, golf, swimming, tennis, track and field and/or wrestling individual athletic plans may not permit mixed plans for boys and girls.”

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Boston Catholics demanding the name of “St. Patrick” be removed from upcoming “St. Patrick’s Day Parade.”

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MassResistance reports:

The Boston-based Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, in conjunction with MassResistance, is calling on people of faith everywhere to demand that organizers of the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade remove the name “St. Patrick” from its title.

This will be the second year that two openly homosexual groups, OUTVETS and Boston Pride, with their “gay” banners and other distinctive mannerisms (men dancing together, etc), will be part of it. (OUTVETS is a contrived “gay veterans” group created by employees of the Mayor of Boston specifically for the purpose of getting into the parade.)

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Administration Official: “Our Streets Are Flooded With Heroin” With Much of It “Coming From Mexico”

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According to CNSNews:

An official with the Obama administration said on Tuesday that the “streets are flooded with heroin” in the United States and much of it “is coming from Mexico.”

Mary Lou Leary, deputy director of State, Local and Tribal Affairs for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), spoke at the National League of Cities Conference in Washington, D.C. During a confence-workshop on heroin addiction and prevention, CNSNews.com asked Leary about the need to address border security and drug cartels to combat the opioid crisis.

“I think there’s another issue I’m sure that the chief really appreciates and that is, ‘Where is this heroin coming from?’” Leary said, noting fellow panelist, Pittsburgh Chief of Police Cameron McLay, who spoke about law enforcement’s role battling heroin.

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Language proves God’s existence, prof says

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Baptist Press reports:

Evidence for the existence of God is, quite literally, on the tip of your tongue, says Southern Baptist professor Jeremy Lyon.

Lyon, associate professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Ga., and John Baumgardner, a geophysicist who teaches at Southern California Seminary in El Cajon, Calif., argue the existence of language points to the existence of God.

Because language is not comprised merely of physical matter, it must have a source that is separate from the physical universe, Lyon and Baumgardner wrote in an article for the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS) titled “A Linguistic Argument for God’s Existence.” That source, they asserted, can only be God.

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New York Mayor Signs Order to Allow Use of City Restrooms, Locker Rooms Based on “Gender Identity”

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According to Christian News Network:

The Democratic mayor of New York City has signed an executive order that allows those of the opposite sex to use city-owned restroom facilities and locker rooms in accordance with their “gender identity.”

The order applies to parks, pool areas, playgrounds, recreation centers, office buildings and other city-owned facilities, and allows persons to use the desired restrooms without having to first show identification or any medical documentation.

“Today’s order makes it clear that New York City fully supports the right of every New Yorker to use the single-sex facility consistent with their gender identity,” Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “New York City is the birthplace of the fight for LGBT rights, and we continue to lead in that fight so every New Yorker can live with dignity.”

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Queen Elizabeth Calls Jesus Christ “the King She Serves” in 90th Birthday Book

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According to Fox News:

Queen ElizabethBritain’s Queen Elizabeth II reflects on Jesus’ central role in her life in a new book ahead of her 90th birthday, calling Christ “the King she serves” in the title.

“I have been — and remain — very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for his steadfast love,” the British monarch writes in the foreword to The Servant Queen and the King She Serves, which is to be released in April.

“I have indeed seen His faithfulness,” she adds.

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