Bill Muehlenberg, an apologist, ethicist and author, responds to the recent revelation by so-called Christian worship artist Vicky Beeching that she’s a lesbian. Beeching says she feels certain that God loves her just the way she is.
UK worship artist whose songs are sung in American churches comes out as lesbian
LifeWay stops selling Mark Driscoll’s books at 180 Christian stores
According to Christianity Today:
LifeWay Christian Resources, which bills itself as “one of the world’s largest providers of Christian products and services,” has pulled Mark Driscoll’s books from its website and more than 180 stores nationwide.
The action by the publishing arm of America’s largest Protestant denomination, the nearly 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), comes one day after Matt Chandler’s Acts 29 church planting network removed membership from Mars Hill churches and their popular pastor. Driscoll has authored 15 books and amassed a following of 13,000 weekly worshipers at 15 locations in five states.
Obama makes video appearance at Ohio’s ‘gay games’
Christian News Network reports:
Barack Obama made an video appearance at the international Gay Games on Saturday, the world’s largest homosexual sporting event, founded in 1982 in San Francisco.
“Welcome to the 2014 Gay Games,” he opened. “And to the thousands of athletes, coaches, family and spectators from around the world, welcome to Ohio and the United States of America.”
City rescinds decision to cancel Chick-fil-A sponsored event following outcry
According to Christian News Network:
Two months after a small Canadian town canceled a Chick-fil-A sponsored event due to concerns over the owners’ ‘criminal’ Christian beliefs, the town’s city council has officially rescinded their initial decision and reaffirmed the rights of men and women of all faiths to use their city’s facilities.
Homosexual man fired from children’s ministry for introducing boyfriend to kids
According to Christian News Network:
Homosexual advocates are outraged that a Christian children’s ministry in Texas fired an employee after he introduced his boyfriend to a group of children under his care.
Children’s Home of Lubbock is a non-profit west Texas ministry founded in 1954 and sponsored by Broadway Church of Christ in Lubbock. According to the church’s website, the children’s home is committed to bringing “hope, healing, a sense of worth and value to the lives of fatherless, abused, and neglected children.”
Camp teaches kids how to defend evolution against creation ‘bullying’
Christian News Network reports:
A Unitarian organization in Missouri hosted an evolution camp for kids earlier this month, during which the kids were taught how to defend evolutionary theory from critics, including Christians.
According to a report from the Springfield News-Leader, the First Unitarian Universalist “Church” of Springfield sponsored an evolution camp this month for about 30 children. The camp, which took place July 7–11, was designed for youth between the ages of 5 and 11.
Bishop Tony Palmer, who urged Catholics and charismatics to unite, dies in motorcycle crash
Stand Up For The Truth is reporting on the tragic death of Anglican Episcopal Bishop Tony Palmer who was a close confidant of Pope Francis:
The last time we heard from Charismatic Bishop Tony Palmer, he was coordinating a meeting between Pope Francis and Palmer’s guru Kenneth Copeland. Today Palmer was killed in a motorcycle crash.
Obama refuses to add religious exemption to homosexual employment mandate
Women bishops approved by Church of England
Sky News writes:
The Church of England has voted to allow women bishops for first time in its history.
The decision, taken by the General Synod in York, reverses a previous rejection in 2012.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, said: “Today is the completion of what was begun over 20 years ago with the ordination of women as priests.
“I am delighted with today’s result. Today marks the start of a great adventure.”
The issue over whether women should be allowed to become bishops has caused internal division since the Synod approved female priests in 1992.
Pope Francis: ‘about 2%’ of Catholic clergy paedophiles
The BBC reports:
Pope Francis has been quoted as saying that reliable data indicates that “about 2%” of clergy in the Catholic Church are paedophiles.
The Pope said that abuse of children was like “leprosy” infecting the Church, according to the Italian La Repubblica newspaper.
He vowed to “confront it with the severity it demands”.
But a Vatican spokesman said the quotes in the newspaper did not correspond to Pope Francis’s exact words.
The Vatican taps French financier to head its bank in wake of 97% drop in profit
According to the Financial Post:
Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, the former head of Invesco Ltd.’s European business, was named president of the Vatican Bank as Pope Francis continues his reorganization of the Catholic Church’s scandal-tainted financial operations.
Franssu replaces Ernst von Freyberg, who was appointed by Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI, at the head of the Institute for Religious Works, or IOR, as the bank is known.
Senators propose bill to reverse Hobby Lobby decision and reinstate abortion pill mandate
Christian bakery in Ireland may face legal action for refusing to bake ‘gay’ Bert and Ernie cake
According to Christian News Network:
A Christian bakery in Northern Ireland may face legal action after it recently refused to bake a Bert and Ernie cake bearing the phrase “Support gay marriage.”
In May of this year, Ashers Baking Company in Newtonabbey—founded by Christians and named after Genesis 49:20—was approached by a same-sex “marriage” supporter to bake the cake, which also was to feature 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.
Pope begs for forgiveness at meeting with Catholics sexually abused by clergy
According to an AP report posted by Fox News:
Pope Francis begged forgiveness Monday from the victims of clergy sex abuse as he held his first meeting with several abuse survivors – but another victim called the gathering nothing more than “a PR event.”
The Vatican quoted Francis as expressing personal “sorrow” in his homily at a private Mass with six victims for the “sins and grave crimes” of clerical sex abuse against them.
Francis pledged “not to tolerate harm done to a minor by any individual, whether a cleric or not,” and promised that bishops “will be held accountable.”
Chilling implications? Largest bank asks workers if they support homosexuality
According to Christian News Network:
The largest bank in the United States now allegedly requires its employees to state whether or not they are supporters of the homosexual lifestyle.
JPMorgan Chase, headquartered in New York City, is the United States’ largest bank, with total assets of over $2.5 trillion. The bank has overtly supported homosexuality for several years, appearing in several “gay pride” events and even offering a number of special benefits to bank employees who identify as “LGBT.”
Vancouver schools’ new LGBTTQ+ policy includes gender-free pronouns xe, xem and xyr
CNS News reports:
The Vancouver (British Columbia) Board of Education has approved a sweeping new policy for accommodating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, queer, questioning and “all sexual and gender identities,” including the creation of three pronouns, replacing masculine and feminine with xe, xem and xyr (pronounced ze, zem and zur).
Two spirit is an Aboriginal term which means having both feminine and masculine spirits. It’s not limited to gender expression or sexuality, but encompasses them both while incorporating a spiritual element. It’s a standalone identity, not an Aboriginal term for gay lesbian.
A ‘gay’ hamburger? Burger King selling ‘The Proud Whopper’ to celebrate sin
Christian News Network reports:
Burger King has come out of the closet in full support of the homosexual lifestyle, and is now even naming a hamburger to prove just how ‘proud’ it is of the sin.
The fast food chain is launching what it is calling “The Proud Whopper,” which is enclosed in a rainbow-colored wrapper with the inscription: “We are all the same inside.”
The burger in its colorful packaging will be sold through July 3 at one Burger King restaurant located in San Francisco, a city known for its celebration and promotion of homosexuality and where sexually-transmitted diseases well exceed the national average.
Eight black pastors whose net worth is 200 times greater than people in their local communities
One prominent pastor cited by the Atlanta Blackstar is prosperity preacher T.D. Jakes. Jakes’ net worth is reportedly 18 million, which is in stark contrast to the $57,000 average median annual income earned by the people who live in the community where he pastors. According to article, Jakes resides in a 1.7 million mansion in suburban Dallas.
Apostate pastor’s pro-homosexual sermon earns him special trip to White House
Christian News Network reports:
An apostate former Southern Baptist pastor, who endorsed homosexuality in a recent sermon, has been invited to attend a ‘gay pride’ reception at the White House with President Obama.
As previously reported, Danny Cortez leads New Heart Community Church in southern California. Earlier this year, Cortez surprised his Baptist congregation by declaring that he has accepted a pro-homosexual position.
“This is a huge step for a Southern Baptist church!!” Cortez ecstatically wrote in a letter to a Patheos blogger. “So now, we will accept the LGBT community even though they may be in a relationship. We will choose to remain the body of Christ and not cast judgment.”
World Vision undertaking internal reform after support of homosexuality?
Christian News Network reports:
World Vision tested its boundaries three months ago when it announced it would allow its employees to be in so-called homosexual ‘marriages’. The policy, however, was short-lived; the relief group reversed it within 48 hours after supporters threatened to pull donations.
In the past, World Vision has requested that it be known as a Christian humanitarian organization, not necessarily an evangelical one, because many on staff are not from an evangelical background. But now, in the wake of the controversy, the board of the $1 billion relief group appears to be showing signs of wanting to reform.
Most telling: World Vision is asking board members to formally affirm a statement that marriage is between a man and a woman. And new appointments to the World Vision board include some well-known names from the evangelical community.
Meriam Ibrahim re-arrested in Sudan just day after being freed
According to Stand Up For The Truth:
A mother who was freed from death row for refusing to renounce Christianity has been re-arrested just a day later while trying to leave Sudan, her lawyer told NBC News on Tuesday. Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was “very happy” after an appeals court on Monday overturned a death sentence imposed because she married a Christian man and was alleged to have turned her back on Islam. But lawyer Elshareef Ali Mohammed said a group of 50 security force personnel arrested her during an angry confrontation at the airport in the capital Khartoum on Tuesday.
Bad news for the big bang: secular scientists claim universe shouldn’t exist
Christian News Network reports:
Nearly two years after the highly-publicized discovery of the elusive ‘God Particle,’ scientists have determined that the current Big Bang model cannot account for the existence of the universe.
As previously reported, scientists in Europe announced in 2012 that they had detected the Higgs boson, then confirmed their findings last year. The Higgs boson, also known as “the God particle,” was widely heralded as a key to understanding the origins of the universe.
However, in a major setback to the secular Big Bang theory, scientists with King’s College in London announced this month that Higgs boson physics cannot account for the universe’s existence. The scientists came to this conclusion after modeling the hypothetical conditions of the universe immediately after the Big Bang.
Final goal of gay ‘marriage’ is to destroy the institution of marriage
According to CNSNews.com:
Congressional Representative Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) said he agreed that the ultimate goal of homosexual “marriage” is to destroy the institution of marriage altogether by diminishing it to whatever type of contract people sign on to and, at the same time, denying the natural right of children to be raised by a mother and a father.
Huelskamp also said the gay “marriage” issue is no longer one of just “tolerance” for same-sex couples, but enforcement by the government to make all Americans, regardless of their religious or moral beliefs, accept gay “marriage” and gay adoption.
Is the ‘gay gene’ a myth? Scientists say homosexuality impossible to determine by DNA
Christian News Network reports:
The results of a comprehensive scientific study released earlier this year suggest that homosexuality cannot be directly traced to a ‘gay gene,’ but is instead dependent on a variety of factors, including environmental and social influences.
Pro-homosexual activists have long claimed that homosexuality and abnormal “sexual orientations” are primarily caused by genetic factors. They argue that individuals with a hereditary “gay gene” are predisposed toward same-sex attractions and thus unable to appreciate traditional marriages.