Wednesday, November 25, 2009

25 November 2009

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] European Union President-Elect Touts World Government as Key to Solving Environmental and Financial Problems
[2] Church of Scotland Moderator Presents Eco-Congregation Scotland Certificate to St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen, Scotland on 22 November 2009
[3] Church of Scotland Minister Praises Swiss Assisted Suicide Group
[4] Concerned Women for America Condemn Six Senators that Expressed Opposition to Health Care Bill, then Voted to Proceed on 21 November 2009
[5] ProlifeProfiles.com Exposes Sarah Palin’s “Shocking to the Conscience” Record on Pro-Life Issues
[6] Michigan Teenager Sues Abortionist Claimed to have Forced Abortion after Teen Viewed Ultrasound and Opted Not to Abort
[7] Knoxville, Tennessee, Hospital Attempts to Deny Food and Medical Care to Nine-Month Old Baby
[8] McGill University Student Body Council Suspends Campus Rights of Choose Life Pro-Life Club
[9] Alliance Defense Fund Demands 14th Murder Charge be Files against Ford Hood Jihad Mass Murderer U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan for Killing Unborn Child
[10] Vermont Judge Awards Sole Custody of Virginia Mother’s Daughter to Mother’s Former Lesbian Partner
[11] Pakistani Movies-on-CD Shop Bombed by Muslim Terrorists because Shop Sold Christian Materials
[12] English Religious Rights Barrister Warns that Christian Foundations of are being Eroded by Legal System Using U.K. Anti-Christian Legal Precedents
[13] Live Nativity Scene at U.S. Supreme Court Calls Attention to Hostility toward Public Expression of Faith
[14] 170,000 Copies of Darwin’s Origin of the Species Given Away on College Campuses on 18 November 2009
[15] Darwin's Racists - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Published in Order to Add Balance to 24 November 2009 150th Anniversary of Origin of the Species Publication
[16] Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Delivers Letter to U.S. President Expressing Concern about China-Related Issues
[17] Luzerne County, Pennsylvania to Tax Closed Churches
[18] John Calvin Magyar Reformed Church in Perth Amboy, New Jersey for Sale Due to Dwindling Hungarian Congregation

[19] British University Professor’s Study Shows Cursing Provides Pain Relief


[1] European Union President-Elect Touts World Government as Key to Solving Environmental and Financial Problems

European Union (EU) President-Elect and current Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, who will assume EU office in January 2010, in a 19 November 2009 speech before the European Parliament, said that the establishment of the G20 nations in 2009 makes global governance a reality, and that “greater security and justice” can be had in the areas of environment, energy, the financial crisis, and the climate crisis, “which threatens our very survival.”

Rompuy touted the upcoming Copenhagen Conference as the beginning of the “global management of our planet.”

+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398

+ YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@youtube.com

+ European Parliament, 2, rue Mercier, L-2985 Luxembourg,
352-4300-24031, Fax : 352-43-55-78, idea@europarl.europa.eu


[2] Church of Scotland Moderator Presents Eco-Congregation Scotland Certificate to St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen, Scotland on 22 November 2009

Church of Scotland (COS) Moderator of the General Assembly the Right Rev. Bill Hewitt, on 22 November 2009, presented an Eco-Congregation Scotland certificate to St. Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen, Scotland.

St. Machar’s Minister Alan Falconer commented: “We are thrilled to be receiving this award from the moderator. As a congregation we are concerned about the implications of climate change, not just in Scotland but across the world, because of the threat it poses to the poor. I would urge other churches across the north-east to get involved in the Eco-Congregation Scotland network and to start reducing their carbon footprint too.”

The 2009 General Assembly of the COS passed a resolution instructing every COS congregation to reduce their carbon footprint by five percent during the first year of the program.

COS Climate Change Officer Adrian Shaw has published the document “Many Heavens, One Earth,” which reviews the 2-4 November 2009 Celebration of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the United Nations Development Programme, held at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, where more than 200 delegates from worldwide faith groups gathered, “to celebrate the contribution that faiths can make to caring for the earth.”

Shaw described key conclusions and lessons from the meeting, including that: “Care for the earth is a common duty for all faith groups,” and that: “In the immediate future (November 2009) all faith groups should take action to lobby governments to agree a climate change deal in Copenhagen in December 2009.”

+ Press and Journal, Lang Stracht, Mastrick, Aberdeen AB15 6DF, Scotland, 01224-343311, pj.newsdesk@ajl.co.uk

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722

+ United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya, 254-020-762- 3084, Fax: 254-020-762-3692, nick.nuttall@unep.org


[3] Church of Scotland Minister Praises Swiss Assisted Suicide Group

Retired Church of Scotland (COS) minister the Rev. Dr. John Cameron, in an upcoming issue of the COS magazine Life and Work, praises the Swiss assisted suicide group Dignatas for providing a “much needed service” for those that want to “die as they have lived.”

The Church of Scotland is officially opposed to the legislation currently before the Scottish Parliament, the “End of Life Choices Bill,” designed to legalize assisted suicide in Scotland.

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722

+ Dignatas, Postfach 9 - CH 8127 Forch, Switzerland, 44-980-4459, dignitas@dignitas.ch


[4] Concerned Women for America Condemn Six Senators that Expressed Opposition to Health Care Bill, then Voted to Proceed on 21 November 2009

Commenting on the votes of six U.S. senators who had previously expressed opposition to the Health Care Bill, but voted for the bill to proceed on 21 November 2009, Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America commented:

“[Six Democrat Senators] say they oppose the bill yet at the most crucial time when only one Democrat senator could have changed or killed the bill, they supported it. They are on record as voting for a bill that will fund abortion, penalize married couples, ration health care, tax people for failing to have 'acceptable' health insurance, prompt doctors to leave the profession and cause millions of Americans to lose their health coverage. Only last year the Senate ensured that federal funds did not pay for abortions through the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Eight Democrat senators who supported that amendment voted today for a health care take-over that will fund abortion….Harry Reid's bill will impose a new tax penalty on married couples who jointly make [US]$250,000 annually. People who 'shack up' can earn up to [US]$200,000 each before being taxed. People with health insurance that is deemed 'unacceptable' by a government agent could be fined. It will leave 24 million without insurance, cause 5 million to lose their employer coverage and cut Medicare by [US]$464.6 million. This is not compassionate, it's heartlessly dictatorial. People may have insurance, but they won't get the health care they need."

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Concerned Women for America, 1015 Fifteenth Street Northwest, Suite 1100, Washington DC 20005, 202-488-7000, Fax: 202-488-0806

+ United States Senate, Washington DC 20510, 202-224-3121, ahazen@aoc.gov


[5] ProlifeProfiles.com Exposes Sarah Palin’s “Shocking to the Conscience” Record on Pro-Life Issues

American Right To Life’s (ARL) ProlifeProfiles.com website publishes profiles of the actual record on pro-life issues for public figures, and describes the documented pro-life facts on former Alaska Governor and Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin as being “shocking to the conscience.”

Palin’s at least twenty-seven areas of questionable behavior documented by ARL that belie Palin’s self-described pro-life credentials include:

-- Palin in 2009 appointed a Planned Parenthood board member to the Alaska Supreme Court;
-- Palin argues that chemical abortifacients that kill the youngest children should be legal;
-- Palin indicates support for public funding to kill some unborn children;
-- Palin allows her name to be used in ads promoting grisly government-funded embryonic stem cell "research"; and,
-- Palin undermines the God-given right to life by promoting evolution while officially opposing creation.

Within 24 hours of the launch of ProlifeProfiles.com, Palin's political action committee removed their own glowing news report of the governor's appointment of an unrepentant Planned Parenthood board member to the Alaska Supreme Court.

+ American Right To Life, 1535 Grant Street #303, Denver, Colorado 80203, 303-753-9341, office@AmericanRTL.org

+ Palin PAC, Post Office Box 2011, Lynnwood, Washington 98036, palinpac@comcast.net


[6] Michigan Teenager Sues Abortionist Claimed to have Forced Abortion after Teen Viewed Ultrasound and Opted Not to Abort

Genesee County, Michigan, teenager Caitlin Bruce in 2008 was six months pregnant when she went to the Feminine Health Care Clinic in Flint, Michigan, to have an abortion performed by Dr. Abraham Hodari.

Bruce claims that an assistant performing an ultrasound at the beginning of the procedure turned the ultrasound monitor toward Bruce and showed Bruce the heartbeat of her unborn child. Bruce says that she then told the doctor she had changed her mind and did not want the abortion, whereupon Dr. Hoderi told an assistant to hold Bruce down, which the assistant did by putting his weight on Bruce’s chest and covered Bruce’s mouth with his hand to muffle her screams to stop the abortion. Dr. Hoderi then performed the abortion.

Bruce has filed a civil suit against Dr. Hoderi, of which Dr. Hoderi denies any wrongdoing.

Operation Rescue reports that Hoderi has put his abortion clinics up for sale along with his expensive classic car collection, and has filed for a hasty divorce from his wife of 29 years, leading area pro-life activists to believe that the liquidation of assets may be a precursor to Dr. Hoderi fleeing the U.S.

Operation Rescue additionally reports that Hodari has a long history of abortion-related misconduct, as Hoderi has been involved in at least four abortion-related maternal deaths, Hoderi was convicted of illegally dumping private medical records, and Hoderi has boasted that abortionists have a "license to lie."

+ ABC-12, 2302 Lapeer Road, Flint, Michigan 48503, 989-790-3854, Fax: 989-790-9664, abc12news@abc.com

+ Operation Rescue, Post Office Box 782888, Wichita, Kansas 67278, 800-705-1175, Fax: 916-244-2636, info@operationrescue.org

+ Feminine Health Care Clinic, 2032 South Saginaw Street, Flint, Michigan 48503, 810-232-8071


[7] Knoxville, Tennessee, Hospital Attempts to Deny Food and Medical Care to Nine-Month Old Baby

Nine-month-old Gabriel Palmer was born with a club foot and a restricted airway, but flourished when Gabriel’s mother Catherine Palmer took him home, even though he requires continuing physical therapy, oxygen therapy, medication, and regular doctor visits.

Gabriel suffered breathing problems early in November 2009, and with the unavailability that day of Gabriel’s regular doctors, Catherine Palmer took Gabriel to the emergency room at the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH) in Knoxville, Tennessee. After treatment by ETCH, Gabriel went into shock, developed pulmonary vascular disease, and was connected to a respirator.

After several days, ETCH began to withhold medical care from Gabriel, and on 13 November 2009, the head of the ETCH Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Dr. Kevin Brinkman, told Catherine Palmer that further care for Gabriel was “futile,” and that Gabriel was to be disconnected from the respirator and denied food and medicine. Gabriel was then denied being bathed, denied skin cream for his chapped skin, denied physical therapy, and Gabriel’s diaper changes were reduced.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed a lawsuit and a request for a temporary restraining order against ETCH on 23 November 2009, and the ETCH ethical panel then decided not to withhold care from Gabriel. ADF then withdrew their restraining order request.

+ American Family Association, Post Office Drawer 2440, Tupelo, Mississippi 38803, 662-844-5036

+ Lifenews.com, news@lifenews.com

+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025

+ East Tennessee Children's Hospital, 2018 Clinch Avenue, Knoxville, Tennessee 37901, 865-541-8000, Contact Page


[8] McGill University Student Body Council Suspends Campus Rights of Choose Life Pro-Life Club

The student body council of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on 12 November 2009, suspended the campus rights of Choose Life, a pro-life student organization, citing graphic brochures distributed by Choose Life, brochures using “questionable statistics from questionable sources,” and Choose Life’s presenting a fall 2009 speaker that compared abortion to genocide and the Holocaust. The speech was disrupted when pro-abortion students stormed the speech venue.

Choose Life cannot meet on campus nor receive council funding while on suspension, and are required to meet with the council to discuss how Choose Life should behave in order to “promote respect” for all McGill students. If unsuccessful, Choose Life faces permanent revocation of the club’s official university status.

+ Lifenews.com, news@lifenews.com

+ McGill University, 845 Sherbrooke Street, West Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2T5, 514-398-4455, info.uro@mcgill.ca


[9] Alliance Defense Fund Demands 14th Murder Charge be Files against Ford Hood Jihad Mass Murderer U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan for Killing Unborn Child

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is demanding that the U.S. Army file a 14th murder charge against Ford Hood Jihad mass murderer U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan for the death of the three months in-utero child of U.S. Army Private Francheska Velez; the mother being killed along with her unborn child in Hasan’s Muslim terrorist attack.

Article 119a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice makes it a crime to kill “a child, who is in utero” at the time of the crime.

+ Examiner.com, 555 17th Street, Suite 700, Denver, Colorado 80202, contactus@examiner.com

+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025


[10] Vermont Judge Awards Sole Custody of Virginia Mother’s Daughter to Mother’s Former Lesbian Partner

Rutland, Vermont, Family Court Superior Court Judge William Cohen, on 20 November 2009, awarded sole custody beginning 1 January 2010 of seven-year-old Isabella Miller to Janet Jenkins, the former lesbian partner of Isabella’s biological mother Lisa Miller, who with Isabella resides in Virginia. Lisa Miller split with Jenkins in 2003, moved with daughter Isabella to Virginia, became a Christian, and renounced her former lesbian lifestyle. Jenkins has been pursuing visitation rights with Isabella that Lisa Miller has denied to Jenkins.

The Millers are represented by Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel, who is fighting the custody order in the Vermont Supreme Court and in the Virginia Court of Appeals, who commented: "We're certainly not happy with the order. I think Lisa is devastated that the court would grant custody to Jenkins — a person who Isabella doesn't know. The only person known to her is her mother. We will ask the court to stay enforcement while the appeal moves forward. It's premature to set dates while the appeal is pending."

+ Rutland Herald, 27 Wales Street, Rutland, Vermont 05702, 800-776-5512, letters@rutlandherald.com

+ Liberty Counsel, Post Office Box 540774, Orlando, Florida 32854, 800-671-1776, Liberty@LC.org


[11] Pakistani Movies-on-CD Shop Bombed by Muslim Terrorists because Shop Sold Christian Materials

A movies-on-CD shop in the Kas town area of the Upper Dir District of
Pakistan was bombed by Muslim terrorists on 11 November 2009 because the shop sold the ‘Jesus Film’ and other Christian materials. The shop owner injured in the blast remained in critical condition as of 23 November 2009.

+ Religion News Blog, Contact Form

+ The Jesus Film Project, 100 Lake Hart Drive, Orlando, Florida 32832, 407-826-2300, Fax: 407-826-2375, Contact Page


[12] English Religious Rights Barrister Warns that Christian Foundations of are being Eroded by Legal System Using U.K. Anti-Christian Legal Precedents

During a November 2009 speech on Capitol Hill (U.S. Capitol) and at a Washington DC press conference, English religious rights barrister Paul Diamond of The Christian Legal Centre (TCLC) warned that the Christian foundations of the U.S. will be eroded if the U.S. legal system and U.S. politicians continue to 'import' anti-Christian legal precedents from the United Kingdom (UK).

Barrister-at-Law and Executive Director of TCLC, Andrea Williams, commented: “"For some time the situation in the UK has been getting worse. But what we are seeing now is a legislative shift that threatens nothing less than the banning of Christian expression and the right to hold a conscientious moral position. Our pro-bono caseload is growing alarmingly as ordinary Christians fall foul of the new legal culture. America must take note of what is happening here in the [UK]. It is a solemn, but important task to be able to bring this vital message and witness to the devastation being wrought upon Christians and the Christian faith in Great Britain today….On the burning question of the current radical attack on basic Christian liberties, we here are a canary in the mine. In that sense I hope that our experience on this side of the Atlantic, and the almost unbelievable cases which I will bring to America's attention, will concentrate minds and provide a vital warning of how quickly a culture and centuries-old religious rights and freedoms can be lost. Christian faith in the UK is becoming a bar to office and the same could happen very soon in the United States. I hope the case studies I am bringing from Great Britain will illustrate the terrible threat this and similar moves now pose to Christians and all freedom-loving Americans."

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Christian Legal Centre Limited, Post Office Box 655, Hayward Heath, West Sussex RH16 9AT, England, 07712 591164, info@christianlegalcentre.com


[13] Live Nativity Scene at U.S. Supreme Court Calls Attention to Hostility toward Public Expression of Faith

Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital and the Christian Defense Coalition, on 19 November 2009, staged a nativity scene with live actors on a public sidewalk in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington DC, in order to call attention to the growing hostility toward public expressions of faith, especially during the Christmas season.

President of Faith and Action the Rev. Rob Schenck commented: "The traditional creche, portraying Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child, along with the angels, shepherds and Wise Men, remind us all of what Christmas is all about. We like to refer to this effort as keeping Christ Mass in the nation's Capitol."

Reformed Presbyterian pastor and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney added: "Sadly, we are seeing an erosion and hostility toward public expressions of faith in the public square. This is especially true during the Christmas Season. The Nativity Project and Operation Nativity are reminders that our Constitution provides freedom 'of' religion not freedom 'from' religion. By encouraging people of faith to publicly display Nativity Scenes across the nation, we are not only encouraging people to embrace our religious liberty and First Amendment freedoms but we are loudly proclaiming the powerful message of Christmas. That timeless message needs to be heard now more than ever. That message is the Christ Child has come to bring 'peace on earth and goodwill toward man.' Our hope and prayer is that thousands will display this powerful message on their front lawns and in front of public buildings all across America during the Christmas Season."

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital, 109 Second Avenue Northeast, Washington DC 20002, 202-546-8329, Fax: 202-546-6864, Info@FaithAndAction.org

+ Christian Defense Coalition, Post Office Box 77168, Washington DC 20013, 202-547-1735, ChristianDefense@gmail.com

+ The Nativity Project, Post Office Box 892, Harvard, Illinois 60033, natvproj@owc.net


[14] 170,000 Copies of Darwin’s Origin of the Species Given Away on College Campuses on 18 November 2009

Living Waters Publications on 18 November 2009 gave away at 100 top U.S. universities, 170,000 copies of a special version of Darwin’s Origin of the Species, containing an introduction by Ray Comfort, author of You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence But You Can't Make Him Think, Nothing Created Everything, God Doesn't Believe in Atheists, and Evolution -- the Fairy Tale For Grownups.

The book giveaway was moved up a day after the Secular Student Association attempted to mobilize to disrupt the originally scheduled 19 November 2009 giveaway. Atheist Richard Dawkins, who mocks Comfort as the ‘Banana Man’ in lectures and interviews, has recommended that book recipients tear out Comfort’s introduction. Dawkins, who has publically called Comfort an ‘ignorant fool,’ has avoided debating Comfort by asking for US$100,000 before Dawkins will debate.

+ Living Waters Publications, 9818 Arkansas Street, Bellflower, California 90706, 562-207-9300, 562-207-9313, email@livingwaters.com

+ Secular Student Alliance, Post Office Box 2371, Columbus, Ohio 43216, 614-441-9588, Fax: 877-842-9474, ssa@secularstudents.org


[15] Darwin's Racists - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Published in Order to Add Balance to 24 November 2009 150th Anniversary of Origin of the Species Publication

The newly released book, Darwin's Racists - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, focuses on God the Creator. In addition to the worldwide debate on creation vs. evolution, Darwin's Racists also addresses rising national and global strife as Social Darwinism targets race, class, and disability, pitting the "fit" against the "unfit," from health care, to abortion, to seniors. Darwin's Racists also gives balance to the upcoming 24 November 2009 worldwide celebration of the 150th anniversary of the release of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, which denies God as the Creator and attacks the faith.

The full title of Darwin’s now-150 year-old book is:
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. [emphasis - Ed.]

+ Virtual Book Worm, Post Office Box 9949, College Station, Texas 77842, 877-376-4955, Fax: 877-376-4955, info@virtualbookworm.com

+ Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@google.com


[16] Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Delivers Letter to U.S. President Expressing Concern about China-Related Issues

Representatives of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan traveled to Washington DC in early November 2009 to deliver an open letter to U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama ahead of Obama’s 15-18 November 2009 trip to China, expressing concern about the pro-China leanings of Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou, the thousands of Chinese missiles pointed at Taiwan, and about U.S. aloofness concerning the safety and future of Taiwan.

+ Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, 334 Youth Road, Tainan City, 70144 Taiwan, 886-6-235-6277, Fax: 886-6-237-8882, enews@pctpress.org


[17] Luzerne County, Pennsylvania to Tax Closed Churches

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, will begin taxing closed churches and associated property beginning in 2010.

The Episcopal Church (TEC) Diocese of Scranton (Pennsylvania) is in the process of closing several schools and forty-five churches in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and will be significantly impacted by the change in tax policy.

Examples of closed church facilities include the Transfiguration School in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which is assessed at US$1.166 million, translating into a tax assessment of US$17,589 based on 2009 tax rates, and Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which is assessed at US$689,600, translating into a tax assessment of US$10,401 based on 2009 tax rates.

+ VirtueOnline, 1236 Waterford Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380

+ Episcopal Church Center 815 Second Avenue New York, New York 10017, 800-334-7626, cdawkins@episcopalchurch.org

+ Director of Assessments, Luzerne County Courthouse, 200 North River Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 18711, 570-825-1869,


[18] John Calvin Magyar Reformed Church in Perth Amboy, New Jersey for Sale Due to Dwindling Hungarian Congregation

The John Calvin Magyar Reformed Church in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, has been placed on the market for an asking price of US$750,000, due to a dwindling number of Hungarians in the congregation and the high cost of maintaining the church.

The congregation voted earlier in 2009 to merge with the Hungarian Reformed Church in Woodbridge, New Jersey; both churches being served by the Rev. Stefan Torok who commented: “It's a very, very painful decision. This is where members found their spiritual home for 80 years."

+ MyCentralNewJersey.com, 35 Kennedy Boulevard, East Brunswick, New Jersey 08816, 732-246-5500, shidlay@mycentraljersey.com

+ Calvin Synod, C/O Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop, 7319 Tapper Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46324, 219-931-4321, kkludwig@aol.com


[19] British University Professor’s Study Shows Cursing Provides Pain Relief

A study conducted by Richard Stephens, Ph.D., lecturer in psychology and director of the master’s degree program in psychological research methods at Keele University in Staffordshire, England, shows that cursing provides pain relief. Subjects plunged their hand into icy water, then repeated a curse word or a neutral control word. Subjects repeating the curse word were found to have reduced pain and significantly faster heart rates.

Westminster Shorter Catechism Question Fifty-Five is: “What is forbidden in the third commandment?”, and the answer is “The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God maketh himself known.”

Westminster Shorter Catechism Question Fifty-Six is: “What is the reason annexed to the third commandment?”, and the answer is: “The reason annexed to the third commandment is, that however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.”

Dr. Stephens’ study did not include investigation into whether pain relief is better than God’s righteous judgment or vice versa.

+ Bottom Line Publications, 281 Tresser Boulevard, 8th Floor, Stamford, Connecticut 06901, 203-973-5900, Fax: 203-967-3086, Contact Page

+ Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics, ewalsh@reformed.org

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

18 November 2009


Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] F.B.I. Estimates 200 of 2000 Mosques in U.S. Preach Jihad (Holy War) and Extremism
[2] Federal Judge Orders South Carolina Not to Issue Christian License Plate
[3] Maine Churches Threatened with Loss of Tax Exemption for Supporting 3 November 2009 Vote to Overturn Legislative Marriage Redefinition
[4] U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Review Denial of First Amendment Rights to High School Valedictorian
[5] Hungary’s Foreign Ministry Summonses Ukraine Ambassador after Ukraine’s Education Ministry Orders No Hungarian Language Textbooks for 10th Graders in 100 Ethnic Hungarian Schools in Western Ukraine
[6] Roman Pontiff Scheduled to Meet with Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland during September 2009 Visit
[7] National Library of Scotland Displays 1692 Order from Major Robert Duncanson to Robert Campbell to Kill McDonald Clan at Glencoe
[8] Church of Scotland Minister Faces Expulsion for Not Living in Manse
[9] 2009 Medical Studies Link Abortion Link Abortion and Breast Cancer
[10] PCUSA San Francisco Presbytery Approves Ordination of Openly Homosexual Minister
[11] Ten Percent of U.S. Protestant Churches Pastored by Women
[12] Christ's First Presbyterian Church of Hempstead, New York, Celebrates 365th Anniversary
[13] PCUSA Investment Committee Recommends Strong Denouncement of Caterpillar Corporation for Sales to Israel
[14] November 2009 byFaith Magazine Article “An Anniversary to Mourn: Assessing 40 Years of No-Fault Divorce” is Published


[1] F.B.I. Estimates 200 of 2000 Mosques in U.S. Preach Jihad (Holy War) and Extremism

Newsmax columnist Ronald Kessler reports in a 10 November 2009 article that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that 200 out of the 2000 Islamic mosques in the U.S. preach Jihad, or Holy War against non-Muslims, and Islamic extremism.

Referring to the Fort Hood Jihad massacre of fourteen persons (including one unborn child whose mother was killed) by U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, M.D., Kessler writes: “Given his association with a pro-al-Qaida imam in northern Virginia and his preoccupation with radical Islamic Web sites, it’s clear that the radical element of Islam influenced Hasan,” and then adds:

“…[T]hose who condemn Muslims in general because of the actions of Hasan and others like him are engaging in prejudice that has no place in America. Indeed, such stereotyping sets back the war on terror, because we need moderate Muslims on our side. The problem is not the Quran, which is no more incendiary than some passages in the Bible….The problem is the radical element that uses the Quran as an excuse to engage in terrorism and the failure of many moderate Muslims to condemn the extremists.”

Kessler’s assessment displays ignorance of both the Bible and of passages in the Quran such as:

Surah 8:60: “Prepare for them whatever force and cavalry ye are able of gathering to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies, of Allah, and your enemies;”

Surah 4:56: “Those who have disbelieved our signs, we shall roast them in fire. Whenever their skins are cooked to a turn, we shall substitute new skins for them that they may feel the punishment. Verily, Allah is sublime and wise;”

Surah 47:4: “Therefore, when ye meet the unbelievers, smite at their necks and when ye have caused a bloodbath among them, bind a bond firmly on them;”
Surah 4:89: “They but wish ye should reject faith, as they do and thus be on the same footing as they, so take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah. But if they turn renegades, seize them and kill them wherever ye find them and take no friends or helpers from their ranks;” and,

Surah 8:39: “Fight them until there is no dissension and the religion is entirely Allah’s.”



+ Newsmax, Post Office Box 20989, West Palm Beach, Florida 33416, 561-686-1165, Fax: 561-686-3350

+ Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover Building, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20535, 202-324-3000

+ Geert Wilders, Partig Vor De Vrigheid, Contact Form

+ University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, 213-740-2311, Contact Page


[2] Federal Judge Orders South Carolina Not to Issue Christian License Plate

Federal District Court for the District of South Carolina Judge Cameron Currie has ordered the state of South Carolina Not to issue a Christian-themed license plate featuring a cross with a stained glass window in the background with “I Believe” written across the top. Currie ruled that the plate violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which the judge says enshrines the separation of church and state.

Currie additionally condemned South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer for helping to pass legislation creating the license plate, for defending implementation of the license plate in the lawsuit brought against South Carolina by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and thus “…embroil[ing] the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation."

+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398

+ Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 518 C Street Northeast, Washington DC 20002, 202-466-3234, Fax: 202-466-2587, americansunited@au.org


[3] Maine Churches Threatened with Loss of Tax Exemption for Supporting 3 November 2009 Vote to Overturn Legislative Marriage Redefinition

Churches in Maine that supported efforts resulting in voters on 3 November 2009 overturning the state law passed earlier in 2009 that redefined marriage are now targets of an active campaign by those in favor of sustaining the new law to report the churches to the Internal Revenue Service for supposed violations of the churches’ tax exempt status.

The Alliance Defense Fund is offering free legal assistance to any churches that become IRS targets as a result of what the ADF calls “baseless scare tactics.”

+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025

+ Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20224, 202-622-5164, Fax: 202-622-8653


[4] U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Review Denial of First Amendment Rights to High School Valedictorian

The Supreme Court of the United States on 16 November 2009 refused without further explanation to hear the appeal of 2006 Foothill High School, Henderson, Nevada, valedictorian Brittany McComb, whose microphone was cut off when she began to discuss her Christian faith during her valedictory speech.

McComb subsequently filed a First Amendment suit against the school with the U.S. District Court for Nevada, which refused to dismiss the charges after a motion by the school district, ruling that the lawsuit raised substantial claims of infringement of McComb's right of free speech. The school district appealed the U.S. District Court of Nevada ruling to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California, which overturned the previous ruling, dismissed the case, and held that McComb had no right to give her speech, which it deemed to be "proselytizing." The same federal appeals court ruled several years ago that the words “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance were unconstitutional.

John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, which represents McComb commented: "This is a sad day for the cause of freedom. When the Supreme Court cannot clear their calendar to hear a case of this magnitude, then our freedoms are in jeopardy. Such censorship and discrimination should not be permitted in America."

+ The Rutherford Institute, Post Office Box 7482, Charlottesville, Virginia 22906, 434-978-3888, Fax: 434-978-1789, staff@rutherford.org

+ Supreme Court of the United States, One First Street Northeast, Washington DC 20543, 202-479-3000


[5] Hungary’s Foreign Ministry Summonses Ukraine Ambassador after Ukraine’s Education Ministry Orders No Hungarian Language Textbooks for 10th Graders in 100 Ethnic Hungarian Schools in Western Ukraine

The Foreign Ministry of Hungary on 14 November 2009 summoned Ukraine’s Ambassador to Hungary to explain why no textbooks in the Hungarian language had been ordered for 10th grade students in 100 ethnic Hungarian schools in the western Ukraine.

The European Parliament states that Ukraine Ministerial Decrees Number 461 (2008) and 1033 (2009) reinforce the use of the Ukrainian language in schools and decree that graduation exams must be taken only in the Ukrainian language, thus endangering the existing Hungarian language educational system in the western Ukraine that serves 150,000 ethnic Hungarian residents.

+ Politics.hu, 36-30-370-3561, editors@politics.hu

+ European Parliament, 2, rue Mercier, L-2985 Luxembourg,
352-4300-24031, Fax : 352-43-55-78, idea@europarl.europa.eu


[6] Roman Pontiff Scheduled to Meet with Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland during September 2009 Visit

The Daily Record for 15 November 2009 reports that Roman pontiff Pope Benedict XVI in September 2010 will visit England for three days followed by one day in Scotland, where the pontiff is scheduled to meet the then-on-holiday Queen Elizabeth II and will conduct an outdoor Roman mass, possibly at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland.

Scots Secretary Jim Murphy commented on 14 November 2009: "This is a fantastic honour and an enormous responsibility. A papal visit would be a historic event and I am delighted that [U.K. Prime Minister] Gordon Brown has asked me to work on this. We have already been inundated with invites for places for the Pope to visit and people to meet. I know that across Britain, people of all faiths would give the Pope a wonderful welcome. It is for the Vatican to announce any details but it would be a visit to remember for a very long time."

+ The Daily Record, 67 Hope Street, Glasgow, Scotland, 0141-309-3251, reporters@dailyrecord.co.uk

+ The Vatican


[7] National Library of Scotland Displays 1692 Order from Major Robert Duncanson to Robert Campbell to Kill McDonald Clan at Glencoe

The National Library of Scotland has opened a new display of literary and historical artifacts including the handwritten order of Major Robert Duncanson to Robert Campbell telling Campbell, “"…to fall upon the rebels...and put all to the sword under seventy," triggering the murder of thirty-eight members of the McDonald Clan at Glencoe, Scotland, and the subsequent death from exposure of forty of the McDonald family members burned out of their homes during the murders.

The incident traces its beginnings to the August 1691 offer of pardon by King William III to the Scots Highland Clans that had fought against the King or had raided their neighbors, with a deadline to sign the agreement by 1 January 1692 under pain of death. The McDonald Clan Chief who lived in Glencoe reluctantly agreed to sign the agreement, but mistakenly went to Inverlochy in Fort William, Scotland, instead of Inveraray near Oban, Scotland. The clan chief reached Inveraray on 6 January 1692, unaware that a force under Robert Campbell had been assembled to kill the McDonald Clan. The force arrived in Glencoe, and were quartered and entertained by the Campbells for ten days before the trap was sprung and the initial thirty-eight were killed.

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620

+ National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EW,
Scotland, 131-623-3700, Fax: 131-623-3701, enquiries@nls.uk


[8] Church of Scotland Minister Faces Expulsion for Not Living in Manse

Pastor John Munro and his wife Lillian lived in Edinburgh, Scotland’s, Fairmilehead Parish Church of Scotland (COS) manse for five years before using inherited money to buy a home 500 yards away from the manse, into which Mr. and Mrs. Munro moved while the pastor continued to work in the manse each day, using the manse as the church office. An assistant minister continues to live in the manse. Mrs. Munro did not like living in the manse, so the Munros bought the nearby house for their residence.

On 13 November 2009, the pastor was tried before the COS Commission of Assembly for refusing the order of the Edinburgh Presbytery to move back into the manse, and the presbytery’s position was upheld by a vote of sixty-four to five. The Edinburgh Presbytery is now expected to issue an ultimatum to the pastor to move back into the manse or face suspension and possible expulsion from the ministry.

Pastor Munro points out that the presbytery regulation in question requires that the minister “occupy” the manse, and Munro maintains that he meets the requirement, and that if the requirement was to “live” in the manse, that the word “live” should be used in the regulation in place of “occupy.”

The clerk of Edinburgh Presbytery, the Rev. George Whyte, commented: "We are pleased the commission upheld our stance and we look forward to taking the matter forward in a way that is caring to all parties."

+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722

+ Edinburgh Presbytery, 10/1 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AA, Scotland, 131 225 9137, Edinburgh@cofscotland.org.uk

+ The Lewis Carroll Society, 50 Lauderdale Mansions, Lauderdale Road, London W9 1NE, England, Contact Page


[9] 2009 Medical Studies Link Abortion Link Abortion and Breast Cancer

Two 2009 medical studies show statistically significant links between having an abortion and later developing breast cancer. Chinese Researcher Peng Xing and his colleagues in a northeast China study found a seventeen percent increased breast cancer risk for all subtypes combined among women that had induced abortions. A Turkish study earlier in 2009 showed a sixty-six percent increase in the risk of getting breast cancer for women that had abortions. Both studies show that, when honest research is conducted outside the control of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and other western governmental agencies or organizations tethered to abortion ideology and politics, the truth emerges that abortion raises the risk of contacting breast cancer.

Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, comments: "The Chinese and the Turkish studies are relevant considering the debate over government-funded abortion through healthcare reform. Government-funded abortion means more dead American women from breast cancer."

+ Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, Post Office Box 957133,
Hoffman Estates, Illinois 60195, 847-421-4000, response@abortionbreastcancer.com

+ National Cancer Institute, 6116 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, 800-422-6237, cancergovstaff@mail.nih.gov


[10] PCUSA San Francisco Presbytery Approves Ordination of Openly Homosexual Minister

The Presbytery of San Francisco of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), on 10 November 2009, and in defiance of the PCUSA's G-6.0106b ordination standard requiring church officers to practice "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and woman or chastity in singleness," voted 156-138 to approve the openly homosexual Lisa Larges for ordination as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament, and voted 157-144 to approve Larges’ call to serve as the Minister Coordinator of the advocacy and ministry organization, That All May Freely Serve, an organization working for the ordination of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender candidates in the PCUSA.

On 11 November 2009, the Rev. Mary Holder Naegeli announced that enough signatures were collected on 10 November 2009 to request a Stay of Enforcement while a remedial complaint is filed with the Synod of the Pacific Permanent Judicial Commission.

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

+ Synod of the Pacific, 200 Kentucky Street, Suite B, Petaluma, California 94952, 800-754-0669, Fax: 707-765-4467, rob@synodpacific.org

+ Presbytery of San Francisco, 2024 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, California 94704, 510-849-4393, Fax: 510-849-4398, krunyeon@sfpby.org


[11] Ten Percent of U.S. Protestant Churches Pastored by Women

Writing in a 15 November 2009 article in The Birmingham (Alabama) News titled “More Protestant Flocks are Led by Female Pastors,” Greg Garrison reports that in 1999, women were senior pastors in five percent of U.S. Protestant churches, and that in 2009, ten percent of U.S. Protestant churches have women for senior pastors, fifty-eight percent of these in mainline denominations.

Gardendale (Alabama) Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) pastor Elizabeth Goodrich, who expects to give birth around 6 January 2009, comments: “I feel profoundly called to this work. "I discovered in seminary I love to preach."

Overcometh House of Praise Baptist Church (Birmingham, Alabama) pastor the Rev. Patricia A. Collins explains: "For a long time it was taught to us that women couldn't be pastors. Some of the teaching of the Bible was misquoted. With a better understanding of the Scriptures, people are understanding God is no respecter of persons….God chooses whom he wants to get his work done. People are becoming more open."

+ The Birmingham News, 2201 Fourth Avenue North, Birmingham, Alabama 35203, 205-325-4444

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005


[12] Christ's First Presbyterian Church of Hempstead, New York, Celebrates 365th Anniversary

Christ's First Presbyterian Church (CFPC) (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) of Hempstead, New York, celebrated its 365th anniversary with a gala held 15 November 2009.

CFPC began as a twenty square feet sanctuary that was barricaded to protect against attacks from Native Americans. CFPC currently has about sixty-five members, more than half from Latin America, and the rest from Africa, Asia, and the U.S.

+ Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Road, Melville, New York 11747, 631-843-3783, publisher@newsday.com

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005


[13] PCUSA Investment Committee Recommends Strong Denouncement of Caterpillar Corporation for Sales to Israel

The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment has issued a draft statement with a strong denouncement of Caterpillar Corporation (CC) because CC equipment sold to Israel has been “…used…for clearly non-peaceful purposes.” The statement denounces CC for their “continued profit-making from non-peaceful uses of a number of its products” and call upon the company to “take affirmative steps to end its complicity in the violation of human rights,” the committee says have occurred during the Gaza and Lebanon wars, and in the bulldozing of Palestinian homes during the building of houses, roads, and barriers in Palestinian lands.

A spokesman for CC said the corporation has “compassion for all persons affected by the political strife in the Middle East” and supports a peaceful resolution. “The vast majority of the three million Caterpillar products in operation around the world are playing a positive role in advancing global economic development and standards of living. Understandably, Caterpillar cannot monitor the use of every piece of its equipment around the world. However, …we do not condone the illegal or immoral use of any Caterpillar equipment.”

+ The Courier-Journal, 525 West Broadway, Post Office Box 740031, Louisville, Kentucky, 40201-7431, 502-582-4011, publisher@courier-journal.com

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

+ Caterpillar Incorporated, 100 North East Adams Street, Peoria, Illinois 61629, 309-675-1000, Contact Page


[14] November 2009 byFaith Magazine Article “An Anniversary to Mourn: Assessing 40 Years of No-Fault Divorce” is Published

The November 2009 edition of byFaith Magazine includes an article by former president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy and ordained Presbyterian Church in America minister Jim Tonkowich titled “An Anniversary to Mourn: Assessing 40 Years of No-Fault Divorce,” which reviews the effects of forty years of no-fault divorce laws; the first of which signed into law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan of California in September 1969.

+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org

+ Institute on Religion and Democracy, 1023 15th Street Northwest, Suite 601, Washington DC 20005-2601, 202-682-4131, Fax: 202-682-4136, info@theird.org

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

11 November 2009

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Today is Armistice Day, Veterans Day, Remembrance Day, Poppy Day 2009
[2] Christian Minister Asks - Was Fort Hood Massacre a Hate Crime?
[3] Revolution Muslim Website Sends Fort Hood Jihad Mass Murderer Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan a “Get Well Soon” Blog Message
[4] ABC News Reports that U.S. Intelligence Agencies Knew Months Ago that Fort Hood Jihad Mass Murderer was Trying to Contact Al Qaeda
[5] Egyptian Police Arrest Christian Copt for Praying for Stroke Victim at Victim’s Home
[6] REC Sends Letter to REC and WARC South Africa, Clarifying Status of NHKA before REC’s and WARC’s 2010 Merger
[7] Wanganui, New Zealand, Mayor Echoes Eugenicist Margaret Sanger, Advocates Paying “Appalling Underclass” Not to Breed
[8] New Zealand Study Links Abortion with Anxiety and Depression
[9] Christian Defense Coalition Declares Exclusion of Abortion Coverage from House Health Care Bill signaling the "beginning of the end" for Abortion in America
[10] Concerned Women for America Condemns U.S. House of Representatives for Health Care Takeover
[11] Newly-Sworn-In New York Congressman Breaks Several Campaign Promises during First Twenty-Four Hours in Office
[12] California School Board Aims for Students to Get Abortions and other “Health Care” without Parents’ Knowledge
[13] Hope College Professor Characterizes the RCA as Suffering “The Mournful Sounds of Implosion”
[14] Bayly Blog Writer Analyzes the Common Christian College Dilemma between Academic Freedom and Scriptural Fidelity
[15] Canadian Reformed Churches Post on the Internet the Final Draft of Proposed Revisions to the Psalms of the Anglo-Genevan Psalter and the Hymn Section of the Book of Praise


[1] Today is Armistice Day, Veterans Day, Remembrance Day, Poppy Day 2009

11 November 2009 marks the 91st anniversary of the signing of the Armistice between the allies and Germany, ending World War I hostilities. This holiday is known as Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day or Poppy Day in Canada, and in Great Britain, is celebrated on the Sunday closest to 11 November as Remembrance Sunday.

On this Veterans Day 2009, the Christian Observer salutes Mr. Frank Buckles of Charles Town, West Virginia, 108, who is the last known surviving U.S. veteran of World War I. Mr. Buckles enlisted at sixteen years old, and served in France in the Army of the United States (AUS) as an ambulance driver, and after the war escorted captured prisoners home to Germany.

As a merchant seaman in the Philippines in 1941 when the Japanese invaded, Frank Buckles spent World War II in the Los Baños prison camp before being rescued in a 1945 raid by paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division of the U.S. Army.

The editor’s paternal grandfather served in the AUS Corps of Engineers in World War I France, where he was seriously injured in a poison gas attack. He was later in life confined full-time to a Veterans Administration hospital due to the long-term effects of his war injuries, and died at age 72 in 1968.

The editor rejoices with Mr. Buckles and his family for his long and healthy life, and salutes Mr. Buckles, the last living link to the generation that fought the misnamed “War to End All Wars.”

+ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20420, 202-273-5400

+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org


[2] Christian Minister Asks - Was Fort Hood Massacre a Hate Crime?

Pastor Rick Scarborough of Vision Action America on 6 November 2009 commented on Nidal Malik Hasan, MD, charged in the 5 November 2009 murders of thirteen people at the U.S. Army installation Fort Hood,
Texas, saying: "We know that Dr. Hasan is a devout Muslim who once told a fellow officer that 'Muslims have a right to stand up against the U.S. military.' Clearly, [the 5 November 2009] rampage was not motivated by love. Given Hasan's worldview, it's probable that he was motivated in part by an animus toward Christians and Jews. Assuming that murder charges are brought against him, will Hasan also be charged with a hate crime?"

Commenting on the absurdity of hate crimes laws, Scarborough said: "If convicted, Hasan could face life in prison or the death penalty. Fanatics are not deterred by the prospect of an additional penalty for hating," and predicted that the expansion of the federal Hate-Crimes statute, signed into law by President Obama recently, will not prevent crimes like the Fort Hood shootings, but will instead be used to silence dissent, commenting: "Gay activists will use it against preachers who present the Biblical view of homosexuality. Muslim groups will use it against those who speak the verifiable truth about Islam. The federal Hate Crimes Law doesn't target crime, but free speech."

Scarborough berated the double standard where Hasan was kept in the U.S. Army after a poor fitness report because of Hasan’s Muslim proselytizing of patients, verses what would have happened to a Christian doctor that witnessed to his patients.

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Vision Action America, Post Office Box 630850, Nacogdoches, Texas 75963, 936-559-0822, info@visionamericaaction.us


[3] Revolution Muslim Website Sends Fort Hood Jihad Mass Murderer Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan a “Get Well Soon” Blog Message

Revolution Muslim website Amir and Chief Executive Officer Yousef al-Khattab in a 7 November 2009 article titled, “An Officer & a Gentleman,” displays a picture of Fort Hood jihad mass murderer Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan and says: “An officer and a gentleman was injured while partaking in a preemptive
(as opposed to a [sic] USA's "Preventive War"(aka war crimes)) attack. Get Well Soon Major Nidal[.] We Love You[.] We do NOT denounce this officer's actions, we do however apologize for the following acts committed by our country[U.S.]:

-- Bay [Gulf] of Tonkin
-- The East Timor Massacre by USA Supported Suharto
-- 1902 Samar Massacre in the Philippines by the USMC
-- 1,000,000 Dead Iraqis
-- Afghani[s] & Pakistanis Killed by the USA
-- Starvation of Africa & Rape of it's [sic] Resources by the USA
-- Support of the Brutal "Israeli" Occupation Entity
-- Etc. Etc.

Every day is Fort Hood for the world community due to USA policies and & [sic] their tyrant totalitarian puppet regimes. Rest assure [sic] the slain terrorists at Fort Hood are in the eternal hellfire and it is not to [sic] late for YOU to change your policies.”

Al-Khattab’s letter-style closing was: “Sharing a Smile with The International Community,”

+ Revolution Muslim, 718-312-8203, revolutionmuslim@gmail.com


[4] ABC News Reports that U.S. Intelligence Agencies Knew Months Ago that Fort Hood Jihad Mass Murderer was Trying to Contact Al Qaeda

A 9 November 2009 ABC News article reports that U.S. intelligence agencies knew months ago that Fort Hood jihad mass murderer U.S. Army Maj. Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with al Qaeda.

The article says that Hasan attended the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, in 2001 when 11 September 2001 hijackers Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour attended the same mosque.

The article further reports that Hasan, in San Diego, California, made contact with two of the 11 September 2001 hijackers who were in the group that subsequently destroyed the two World Trade Center towers in New York City, crashed an airplane into the Pentagon, and crashed a plane into the ground in Pennsylvania when the passengers moved to thwart the hijackers plan to crash into the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

+ ABC News, 7 West 66th Street, New York, New York 10023, Contact Page

+ Newsmax, Post Office Box 20989, West Palm Beach, Florida 33416, 561-686-1165, Fax: 561-686-3350


[5] Egyptian Police Arrest Christian Copt for Praying for Stroke Victim at Victim’s Home

Egyptian State Security police, on 24 October 2009, arrested Christian Copt Pastor Elia Shafik for praying "without a license," after Maurice Salama Sharkawy had invited the pastor to his home to conduct the sacrament of the 'Anointing of the Sick' for his sick father, who had suffered a stroke. Sharkawy and several of his cousins attending the prayers were handcuffed, taken to jail, interrogated, and accused of carrying out "religious rites without a license" and "causing sectarian sedation" for inviting a Christian Coptic priest into their village.

The police raided the home prayer meeting after Muslim neighbors complained to the village mayor.

+ Assyrian International News Agency


[6] REC Sends Letter to REC and WARC South Africa, Clarifying Status of NHKA before REC’s and WARC’s 2010 Merger

The Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) has sent a letter to the South African branches of the REC and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), concerning and clarifying the status of the [Dutch] Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NHKA) related to the union of the REC and the WARC scheduled for the summer of 2010 at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The primary issue addressed in the letter was the concern that
the NHKA has not repudiated apartheid as theological heresy, and would
attend the REC/WARC union meeting in 2010 as a member of the REC since 2005.

+Reformed Ecumenical Council, 2050 Breton Road Southeast, Suite 102, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, 616-949-2910, rvh@recweb.org

+ World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 150 route de Ferney, Post Office Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6240, Fax: 41-22-791-6505, warc@warc.ch

+ Dutch Reformed Church of Africa (Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika), c/o Monsignor J.F. Viljoen, 012-332-8885, Fax: 012-322-7909, kobus@nhk.co.za

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org

+ Calvin College 3201 Burton Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, 616-526-6000


[7] Wanganui, New Zealand, Mayor Echoes Eugenicist Margaret Sanger, Advocates Paying “Appalling Underclass” Not to Breed

Wanganui, New Zealand mayor Michael Laws has proposed dealing with New Zealand’s child abuse problem by financially compensating what Laws calls the “appalling underclass” not to breed, commenting: “…there is a group within our society who give their children no hope nor opportunity from the moment that they are born….these ‘parents’ are known to authorities...and yet the authorities can only intervene after children have been harmed…[I]t would be far better for this appalling underclass to be offered financial inducements not to have children, given the toxic environment that they would provide for any child in their care."

Laws garnered headlines in September 2009 by refusing to honor the late Tongan King Tupou IV, who died in Auckland, New Zealand, on 10 September 2009, calling the king a “brown slug” that lived as an aristocrat in a country where non-aristocratic citizens live in poverty.

+ News Digital Media, Level 23, 175 Liverpool Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 61-2-9288-3000, newsroom@news.com.au

+ The New Zealand Herald, Post Office Box 32, Auckland, New Zealand, 09-379-5050, Fax: 09-373-6421, Contact Page


[8] New Zealand Study Links Abortion with Anxiety and Depression

A New Zealand study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry links abortion with subsequent anxiety and depression, and questions whether abortions can be justified for mental health reasons.

Janet Morana, co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign (SNMAC), the world's largest network of individuals harmed by abortion, comments: "Science has for years been supporting what we already know from the public testimonies and the private devastation of post-abortive women. This study is one more rock on a mountain of evidence that when a woman terminates a life she has been nurturing, she cannot anesthetize her soul."

SNMAC co-founder Georgette Forney comments: "The New Zealand study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, in its own words calls into question whether abortions can be justified for mental health reasons. It's ironic that this study comes out as leaders in Congress try to expand access to abortion in the name of health care. In effect, pro-abortion politicians are seeking to cover a procedure that will only lead to more costly mental health care services down the road."

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Silent No More Awareness Campaign , c/o Georgette Forney, Anglicans for Life, 405 Frederick Avenue, Sewickley, Pennsylvania 15143, 412-749-0455, Georgette@SilentNoMoreAwareness.org

+ British Journal of Psychiatry,17 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PG, England, 20-7235-2351, Fax: 20-7245-1231, onlinejournals@rcpsych.ac.uk


[9] Christian Defense Coalition Declares Exclusion of Abortion Coverage from House Health Care Bill signaling the "beginning of the end" for Abortion in America

Reacting to the U.S. House of Representatives on 7 November 2009 passing the Health Care Bill minus provisions for government funding of abortion, Christian Defense Coalition Director and Reformed Presbyterian pastor the Rev. Pat Mahoney commented:

"This historic vote in the United States House of Representatives signals the beginning of the end for 'Roe v. Wade.' President Obama made taxpayer funded abortions a key part of his presidential campaign and it was strongly supported by Speaker Pelosi and House leadership. Pro-choice groups spent millions of dollars to have taxpayer funded abortions included in healthcare legislation to no avail. It is important to note that taxpayer funded abortions were excluded from the healthcare bill because of the votes of Democrats in the House, not conservative Republicans. This vote shows what recent national polls have demonstrated, and that is -- America is turning away from abortion and embracing human rights and a culture of life. The pro-life community must now passionately and prayerfully work to ensure that taxpayer funded abortions are not a part of the Senate bill or any final vote on healthcare. The House got it right. Abortion is Not healthcare."

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Christian Defense Coalition, Post Office Box 77168, Washington DC 20013, 202-547-1735, ChristianDefense@gmail.com


[10] Concerned Women for America Condemns U.S. House of Representatives for Health Care Takeover

Commenting on the 7 November 2009 passage of the Pelosi Health Care Bill by the U.S. House of Representatives, Concerned Women for America (CWA) President Wendy Wright said:

"This monstrous bill will ration and deny health care, pay for coercive 'end of life planning.' create multiple bureaucracies that will control Americans' health care, penalize Americans for not buying a product, fine Americans if a government agent decides their health care plan is not 'government approved,' and may force Americans to buy government mandated insurance that funds objectionable procedures. Although an amendment passed to bar federal funding of abortion, Democrat leaders refused to guarantee that it will be in the final bill. The vote on the amendment may have been a ruse to gain pro-life Democrats vote for the bill. This bill will erode the best health care system in the world. In exchange for insurance, we'll lose access to proper health care. We'll lose health care providers who will leave the profession. CWA will fight to protect Americans from this government orchestrated destruction of America's health care system as it now goes to the Senate.”

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Concerned Women for America, 1015 Fifteenth Street Northwest, Suite 1100, Washington DC 20005, 202-488-7000, Fax: 202-488-0806


[11] Newly-Sworn-In New York Congressman Breaks Several Campaign Promises during First Twenty-Four Hours in Office

A 6 November 2009 article by writer Nathan Barker in The Gouverneur Times documents how newly-sworn-in Congressman Bill Owens (23rd District, New York) broke several campaign promises during Owens’ first twenty-four hours in office.

Barker writes that Owens campaigned against several specifics aspects of the health care bill being debated in Congress, including the public option, reducing Medicare benefits, taxing health care benefits, increasing taxes on the middle class in any way, and providing benefits for illegal aliens; yet Owens voted his first full day in office for the Health Care Bill containing all of these provisions. Barker did point out that Owens changed his position on the public option in a 30 October 2009 debate, four days before the election.

Barker concludes: “The mixed-up mess that was the 23rd Congressional District Special Election was a close race between Democrat Bill Owens and Conservative Doug Hoffman. Many feel that it was unlikely Mr. Owens would have won those crucial few thousand votes if the voting public was aware of his intent with regard to the Health Care bill. The majority of residents in this district do not support the Health Reform bill as it is now written and many feel like they've become victims of a fraud perpetrated by their chosen candidate. Breaking campaign promises is not unusual for politicians...it's a cliche. This is almost certainly a record though. Mr. Owens broke no less than four promises in his first twenty-four hours in office.”

+ The Gouverneur Times, Gouverneur, New York, 315-750-4042, Fax: 315-222-7350, copyeditor@gouverneurtimes.com

+ Congressman Bill Owens, 2366 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC 20515, 202-225-4611, Fax: 202-226-0621, Contact Form


[12] California School Board Aims for Students to Get Abortions and other “Health Care” without Parents’ Knowledge

The school board of San Juan Unified, near San Francisco, California, has held an initial hearing to quietly revise the district’s student absence policy to make clear that parents will not be notified if their children in grades seven through twelve leave school to get “confidential medical services,” such as abortions, contraceptives, and drug abuse counseling.

Pacific Justice Institute President Brad Dacus lives in the San Juan Unified School District, and commented, “It is wrong for a school district to hide students’ medical needs from their parents, who are morally and legally responsible for them. Fortunately for parents and voters, there is still a small window of time to contact the San Juan school board and oppose this proposal before it becomes official district policy.”

+ Pacific Justice Institute, Post Office Box 276600, Sacramento, California 95827, 916-857-6900 Fax: 916-857-6902, pji@pacificjustice.org

+ San Juan District Office, 3738 Walnut Avenue, Carmichael, California 95608, 916-971-7700, boardmembers@sanjuan.edu



[13] Hope College Professor Characterizes the RCA as Suffering “The Mournful Sounds of Implosion”

In the November 2009 issue of Perspectives, “A Journal of Reformed Thought,” published by the Reformed Church in America (RCA), Hope College Professor of Sociology Donald A. Luidens writes in an essay called “The Mournful Sounds of Implosion,” about what Professor Luidens considers to be the ongoing collapse of the RCA denomination.

Professor Luidens presents six items of concern for consideration, including Identity Dissolution, Ideological Messiness, Theological Muddiness, Numerological Numbness, Congregational Particularism, and Financial Failures, concluding:

“A great deal of energy and a lot of human and financial resources are being expended in an effort to preserve the life of the RCA….[M]any of us have an abiding love for all that this ship of faith has borne over the centuries. But it is time to begin to think of what is coming in its wake….
[T]here are patterns beyond our individual control that are compressing the RCA in ways which spell its impending demise. The denominational craft has carried us far, but its time is up. It has sprung debilitating leaks which can no longer be plugged. It is time to look for a new vehicle, or collation of vehicles, to move the church faithfully and compellingly into the 21st century.”

+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org

+ Hope College, Holland, Michigan 49423, 616-395-7780, Fax: 616-395-7111, bultmanj@hope.edu


[14] Bayly Blog Writer Analyzes the Common Christian College Dilemma between Academic Freedom and Scriptural Fidelity

Bayly Blog writer Tim Bayly, in a 4 November 2009 article titled “Christianity Left Behind…,” discusses the current dilemmas being faced by several Christian Colleges including Calvin College and Wheaton College between scriptural fidelity and the culture “…moving toward the normalization of sodomy…,” the result of which “…is the silencing of Scripture's denunciation of sodomy as an abomination before the Lord.” Bayly points out that this cultural shift has only happened after “…abominations such as fornication, unbiblical divorce and remarriage, and adultery have already been normalized….”

Bayly continues: “There's no conviction of sin going on--none at all. Instead, we're busy balancing compassion and doctrine….[T]he denial of Scripture formerly reserved for mainline liberals has made much progress among evangelicals. Most evangelicals are liberals, now, although they're lulled to sleep by weekly rest stops in pews where they hear reassuring talk of being "born again" and having "a personal relationship with Jesus." There's no doctrine, though; no membership and submission to elders, no fencing the Lord's Table, no preaching, no repentance; and thus, no Christian faith.”

Bayly reviews the ongoing discussions, procedures, and controversies in evangelical denominations and their affiliated institutions of higher education, focusing upon Calvin College faculty’s formal objection to the trustee’s earlier reminder of the prohibition of advocacy for homosexuality and same-sex marriage, concluding:

“Yes, yes; always more discussion. No firings. No terminations. No repudiation of tenure. Only more discussions. While our precious children are being led to Hell--the place where discussions of abominations have no end.”

+ Bayly Blog, tbbayly@gmail.com

+ Calvin College 3201 Burton Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, 616-526-6000

+ Wheaton College, 501 College Avenue, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, 630- 752-5000, Duane.Litfin@wheaton.edu


[15] Canadian Reformed Churches Post on the Internet the Final Draft of Proposed Revisions to the Psalms of the Anglo-Genevan Psalter and the Hymn Section of the Book of Praise

The Standing Committee for the Publication of the Book of Praise of the Canadian Reformed Churches (CARC) has posted a summary of the final draft of proposed revisions to the Psalms of the Anglo-Genevan Psalter and the hymn section of the Book of Praise on the Internet at http://bookofpraise.ca/.

The full report, which will soon be made available to the CARC churches, will be presented to General Synod Burlington [Ontario, Canada], 2010.

Presbyterians Week for 1 July 2009, in the article “[6] Free Reformed Churches of Australia Conduct Synod Legana 2009 in Legana, Tasmania, 15-24 June 2009,” reported that:
“The [Free Reformed Churches of Australia Synod Legana 2009] voted to examine revisions being made to the CARC Book of Praise, especially the completely revised Psalter and those of the twenty-eight proposed additional hymns to be adopted by the CARC Synod 2010.”

+ Canadian Reformed Churches, comments@canrc.org

+ Free Reformed Churches of Australia, c/o Post Office Box 526,
Armadale, Western Australia 6992, Australia