Just the facts.

T.D. Jakes Comes Out for “Gay Marriage” and “LGBT Churches,” Says Position is “Evolving’”

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Christian News Network reports:

Megachurch leader and author T.D. Jakes says that homosexuals should attend congregations that affirm their lifestyle and that politics do not need to reflect biblical ethics, adding that his position on homosexuality is both “evolved and evolving.”

During an interview with the Huffington Post on Monday, Jakes was asked by a viewer if he believes that homosexuals and the black church can co-exist.

“Absolutely… I think it is going to be diverse from church to church. Every church has a different opinion on the issue and every gay person is different,” he replied. “And I think that to speak that the church—the black church, the white church or any kind of church you wanna call it—are all the same, is totally not true.”

Jakes said that he thinks homosexuals should find congregations that affirm their lifestyle.

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Historic church which produced first Southern Baptist Convention president will allow gay ordination and transgender, same-sex marriage

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Christian Examiner reports:

A new non-discrimination policy at First Baptist Church in Greenville will offer same-sex marriage ceremonies and allow membership, leadership positions, church ordinances, and ordination to openly gay and transgender individuals without telling them their lifestyles contradict biblical teaching.

“It’s going to open up a space for evangelical gay people to have a place again,” Pastor Jim Dant said of his church’s recent consensus to “not discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

First Baptist Church of Greenville has a storied history dating back to its 1831 founding when William Bullein Johnson led fundraising efforts to start the church. Johnson later served as the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention upon its organization in 1845. The church was the original home of Furman University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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Americans overwhelmingly favor religious liberty over gay rights

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According to Christian Examiner:

If faced with a choice between gay rights and religious liberty, Americans overwhelmingly would choose religious liberty, according to a new poll reported in the Washington Examiner.

The newspaper reported Americans, asked to choose theoretically between the rights of a gay couple and Christian photographer who objects to photographing a gay wedding, chose 4-to-1 (82 percent) in favor of the photographer’s right to decline the business of the gay couple.

The question was part of a survey conducted by Caddell and Associates, the polling firm founded by Pat Caddell, a former Carter administration staffer and now a FOX News contributor.

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New Hampshire Defunds Planned Parenthood

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According to Christian News Network:

Officials in the state of New Hampshire have voted to defund the abortion giant Planned Parenthood on Wednesday, canceling its $650,000 contract.

The 3-2 party line vote by the State Executive Council comes as a result of a series of videos released by the Center for Medical Progress, showing that the organization harvests the organs of aborted babies donated by their mothers, and sells them to scientific companies who pay the organization the body parts.

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Why the effort to make gay marriage sacramental won’t work

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Catholic News Agency reports:

Dissenting Catholic groups have called for gay marriage to be recognized as a sacrament, but Catholic theology has a clear priority: marriage is God’s creation – and not even the Church can change that.

Dr. John Grabowski, a professor of moral theology at Catholic University of America, said that the push for “sacramental equality” by groups such as Dignity USA shows “a lack of understanding of what the Church is and the nature of the Church and what the sacraments are.”

“’Marriage equality’ made for a good slogan, but in the Church’s understanding, marriage is not something that can be ‘redefined’; if you will, by interest groups, by government, or even by the Church itself,” he told CNA July 29.

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Hillsong Issues Press Release 8 months after Choir leader comes out

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According to Berean Research:

Hillsong NYC

When one of Hillsong New York City’s worship leaders announced he is a practicing, unrepentant homosexual, and that he is marrying his fellow church singer and boyfriend, Hillsong leadership says nothing. Until this morning. Eight months after news of one of its male members – director of Hillsong’s choir, announced to the world that he proposed to his boyfriend and also told his church leaders about his sexual practices:

“I need to be truthful with everyone. I became truthful with my church. I’m a part of Hillsong NYC. I’m one of their choir directors. I also sing on their Worship team. They’ve been amazing as well. Nothing has changed there now that I’m completely out and with Reed. He sings in the choir as well. I found that being an honest person has actually come with a lot of benefits. People are more sincere with you, and you find out a lot more about other people when you become honest.”

Today the Hillsong crisis communications team issued this press release from Brian Houston:

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“Stalk them and kill them,” Farrakhan says, calling for 10,000 volunteers to kill whites

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According to ChristianExaminer:

In a sermon reminiscent of the fiery rhetoric of an Islamic State preacher, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, now 82, said in Miami the time has come for 10,000 black volunteers to kill white Americans.

In the sermon at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Farrakhan said he was looking for “10,000 in the midst of the million … 10,000 fearless men who say death is sweeter than continued life under tyranny” to retaliate against white Americans because of their alleged oppression of black people.

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Planned Parenthood official: Abortion procedures, prices altered to meet demand

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A fifth video has surfaced. Fox News has the report:

A Planned Parenthood executive admits in an undercover video that her doctors alter abortion procedures and she manipulates prices to accommodate specific fetal tissue harvesting requests — including delivering fully intact fetuses — though doing so may violate federal law.

In the nearly 16-minute, edited video, the fifth released by Center for Medical Progress, a woman identified as Melissa Farrell, director of research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, discusses pricing for specimens — ranging from intact fetuses to tissue and organs — for outside tissue procurement companies.

“Yeah, and so if we alter our process, and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, then we can make it part of the budget, that any dissections are this, and splitting the specimens into different shipments is this,” Farrell said. “I mean it’s all just a matter of line items.”

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Teenage Girl Harvests Eggs Before “Transitioning” to Male: “Always Known I Wanted to Have Kids”

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According to CNS News:

Yahoo Parenting reported on Thursday that an 18-year-old girl who began her “transition” to male last year, took steps to ensure “he” could have a biologically-related child.

Cole Carman, who lives in San Francisco, decided that in addition to major surgery and hormone therapy she would undergo another medical procedure: having her eggs harvested.

The idea, however, came from the doctor treating Cole with hormones, according to Yahoo.

“I’ve always known I wanted to have kids of my own, so when my endocrinologist talked to me about it, it was a no-brainer,” Carman told Yahoo Parenting.

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Senate misses its ‘William Wilberforce’ moment; will not defund Planned Parenthood

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ChristianExaminer reports:

A bill to defund Planned Parenthood, the abortion provider plagued by four undercover videos showing its doctors negotiating the sale of aborted fetal body parts, stalled today after failing to receive the votes necessary for cloture, a parliamentary move to end debate and send the bill to the full Senate for consideration.

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New doping crisis to “shake the foundation” of athletics

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According to Yahoo News:

The World Anti-Doping Agency said Sunday it was “very alarmed” by new accusations of mass doping that have plunged athletics into a deep crisis.

WADA president Craig Reedie said the new claims would “shake the foundation” of athletes trying to stay clean.

German television channel ARD and Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper said they had been leaked a database belonging to athletics governing body the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) with details of 12,000 blood tests from 5,000 competitors which revealed “extraordinary” levels of doping.

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Rob Bell returns: His thoughts on creation, modern “kingdom of God”

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Former Mars Hill pastor Rob Bell, who now has his own TV show on the Oprah channel, brought his “Everything is Spiritual” tour to Grand Rapids. During his one man show, Bell offered his convoluted version of the creation story, which of course has nothing to do with what the Bible teaches on creation. No surprise there, as long ago Bell rejected the inerrancy of Scripture and embraced the view of Christianity taught by Emergent Church apostates. During the show, Bell passed on this “truth” to his audience: “You are just a pile of dust and yet you can hope and dream and feel compassion and love. You are crammed full of something called spirit. You are an exotic cocktail of dust, soul, bone and spirit.”

MLive has the report:

“In the beginning,” Rob Bell said, “was a point.” That point of energy went bang and, over some 13 billion years of “ongoing creation,” particles bonded to become more complex atoms, which bonded to become more complex molecules, which bonded to become more complex cells, which bonded to become human beings.

Now, the spiritual inertia of the universe tugs at humankind to sustain that pattern of evolution, Bell said Wednesday, July 29, at The Intersection in downtown Grand Rapids.

“What, my brothers and sisters, is pulling the whole thing forward into greater complexity and depth and unity and inclusion?” Bell asked. “The thing (Jesus) kept talking about was the ‘kingdom of God.’ This is what he was talking about.”

The founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church who moved to California three years ago, Bell came back to Grand Rapids to reprise an “Everything is Spiritual” speaking tour that he first did a decade ago. Talking about atoms rather than the biblical Adam, Bell gave a fast-paced, often comical sketch of the history of the universe, with frequent interjections of pop-culture references to music, movies and dancing Super Bowl sharks.

Dismissing secular and churchy viewpoints, Bell said humanity is hard-wired over billions of years of evolution to progress toward greater equality and unity.

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Call it “research,” not “business,” Planned Parenthood doc says in latest sting video

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Fox News has released another sting video along with this quote from Dr. Savita Ginde: “A lot of times, especially with the second [trimester fetuses], we won’t even put water, because it’s so big you can put your hand in there and pick out the parts.” Here’s the report:

A Colorado Planned Parenthood doctor stresses calling the harvesting of fetal tissue “research” and not “business” — and casually pokes around in a petri dish of aborted remains as a colleague exclaims, “Another boy!” — in the latest video released Thursday by an activist group whose hidden camera stings have imperiled the embattled nonprofit’s taxpayer funding.

The video’s release by the Center for Medical Progress comes a day after CMP was issued a restraining order preventing it from issuing any new footage of a group that worked with Planned Parenthood, StemExpress. But Thursday’s material focuses almost entirely on a woman identified as Dr. Savita Ginde, the vice president and medical director of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

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Shocking Gender Indoctrination in California

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Stand Up For The Truth reports:

Do not be surprised, but young children are being taught that they can choose to be a boy or a girl — or both. Boys, for example, should be comfortable wearing girls’ clothes and nail polish, etc. And there aren’t just two genders, there can be a range. And, of course, the school does not allow parents to opt their kids out. Redwood Heights Elementary School in Oakland, CA has hired a “gender coach” from “Gender Spectrum,” a radical gender group, to go into the classrooms. As Fox News observed, Gender Spectrum’s mission is to “create more gender-sensitive environments for kids.”

As the San Jose Mercury News reported

On Monday morning, children in Cynthia Bagby’s kindergarten class discussed whether there were, in fact, “girl colors” and “boy colors.” Some giggled when Joel Baum, the trainer from Gender Spectrum, read “My Princess Boy,” a nonfiction children’s book by Cheryl Kilodavis about her son who liked to wear dresses and a tiara. Not surprisingly, in these tough economic times the program is being paid for by the California Teachers Association (CTA).

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Court Blocks Release of Undercover Video of Company That Buys Baby Parts from Planned Parenthood

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According to Christian News Network:

A California court has blocked the release of undercover investigative videos featuring one of the companies that allegedly purchases the organs of aborted babies from Planned Parenthood.

The Los Angeles Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday banning the Center for Medical Progress from releasing undercover video footage of representatives of StemExpress, a “a multi-million dollar company that supplies human blood, tissue products, primary cells and other clinical specimens to bio-medical researchers.”

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California Drought Could Wipe Cities Off Map If Their Water Runs Out

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Because of the drought crisis in California, some people have lost everything. It’s far worse than most of us realize. According to a CBS Sacramento‘s report, one woman does dishes with bottled water. “In the days before help arrived, she didn’t use soap. She gave the leftover dishwater to her kids. Living in poverty with no running water, she may have to leave.” Wells and lakes are drying up, so families are packing up for Oregon, Illinois, Georgia — even Mexico to find work!

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Mark Driscoll Confirms Move to Phoenix, Sparks Speculation of Church Plant

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Christian Headlines reports:

Controversial pastor Mark Driscoll has reportedly announced plans to move to Phoenix Arizona. Christian Today reports the pastor confirmed his move but said there are “no concrete plans for ongoing local church ministry as of yet.”

In an email, Driscoll said church ministry, “remains a calling and desire, but my plan is not to rush into anything. Instead, caring for each member of our family, seeking the wise counsel of pastors we are walking with, and building local relationships with Christian leaders to help build churches locally and globally is our focus. Beyond that, we will see how the Lord leads.”

Still, some believe Driscoll’s move has to do with a new church planting endeavor.

Recently, Driscoll took part in Hillsong Church’s conferences in Australia and London through a videotaped interview with Hillsong founder Brian Houston. Critics protested the event, arguing that the pastor had not sought repentance for past sins against the former Mars Hill Church.

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Atheist group cries “foul” after BSA lifts ban on gays, but not its own

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ChristianExaminer reports this not so surprising story — the Boy Scouts of America are getting harassed by atheists!:

The atheist Freedom from Religion Foundation is praising the Boy Scouts of America for their new policy allowing gay adult leaders and employees in the organization, but also rebuking it for not extending the same opportunity to atheists.

In a statement issued after the BSA announced its policy shift, the Wisconsin-based group said the BSA had “cut a deal with the churches and conservative religious groups that run many packs and troops by exempting them from the deal [mandating the acceptance of homosexual leaders].”

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Boy Scouts of America end total ban on gay adults

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Seems the constant harassment coming from the powerful homosexual lobby was too much for the Scouts’ leadership. They finally caved in from the pressure. Yahoo News has the story:

The Boy Scouts of America on Monday ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.

The new policy, aimed at easing a controversy that has embroiled the Boy Scouts for years, takes effect immediately. It was approved by the BSA’s National Executive Board on a 45-12 vote during a closed-to-the-media teleconference.

“For far too long this issue has divided and distracted us,” said the BSA’s president, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “Now it’s time to unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of Scouting to be a force for good.”

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Technician details harvesting fetal parts for Planned Parenthood in latest video

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Fox News has the latest on the Planned Parenthood scandal:

Graphic video warning!

Pre-born babyA technician who said she worked for a company that partnered with Planned Parenthood to harvest fetal tissue said there’s “incentive to try and get the hard stuff ‘cause you’re going to get more money,” in the latest undercover video targeting Planned Parenthood.

“For whatever we could procure, they would get a certain percentage,” said Holly O’Donnell, identified as an ex-procurement technician for StemExpress, a Placerville, Calif., company. “The main nurse was always trying to make sure we got our specimens. No one else really cared, but the main nurse did because she knew that Planned Parenthood was getting compensated.”

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State Obamacare Exchanges Struggling With High Costs and Disappointing Enrollment

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According to CNS News:

State-run health insurance markets that offer coverage under President Barack Obama’s health law are struggling with high costs and disappointing enrollment. These challenges could lead more of them to turn over operations to the federal government or join forces with other states.

Hawaii’s marketplace, the latest cautionary tale, was awarded $205 million in federal startup grants. It has spent about $139 million and enrolled 8,200 customers for individual coverage in 2015. Unable to sustain itself, the state marketplace is turning over sign-ups to the federal HealthCare.gov for 2016.

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Musk, Hawking warn of “inevitable” killer robot arms race

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Wired reports:

A global robotic arms race “is virtually inevitable” unless a ban is imposed on autonomous weapons, Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and 1,000 academics, researchers and public figures have warned.

In an open letter presented at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aries, the Future of Life Institute signatories caution that “starting a military AI arms race is a bad idea, and should be prevented by a ban on offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control”.

Although the letter, first reported by the Guardian, notes that “we believe that AI has great potential to benefit humanity in many ways, and that the goal of the field should be to do so”, it concludes that “this technological trajectory is obvious: autonomous weapons will become the Kalashnikovs of tomorrow”.

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California AG to review group behind Planned Parenthood videos

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Fox News has this report:

California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced Friday she plans to review two undercover videos released by anti-abortion activists aimed at discrediting Planned Parenthood’s procedures for providing fetal tissue to researchers to see if any law was broken in the filming.

Harris made the announcement in a letter to four Democratic members of Congress who had requested the investigation, saying she’ll use her office’s authority to regulate charity organizations to see if the organization that made the videos violated registration or reporting requirements, or broke any other rules.

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Baphomet Statue Unveiled in Detroit to Shouts of “Hail Satan,” Satanist Men Kissing

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According to Christian News Network:

At least 100 people attended the unveiling of a Satanic statue depicting Baphomet being flanked by children on Saturday—a statue that was originally intended to be placed at the Oklahoma state capitol and now may be the subject of an effort to erect it next to a Ten Commandments monument in Arkansas.

As previously reported, the New York-based Satanic Temple had scheduled the unveiling for July 25th in Detroit, Michigan. The group says that it chose Detroit because it has a “good community” of followers, with over 200 members, billing the event as “a night of chaos, noise, and debauchery.”

“Come dance with the Devil and experience history in the making,” its invitation read.

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