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Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] SACS Report: Erskine Cited for TWELVE Violations - Erskine Placed on WARNING
[2] Reformed Theological Seminary Receives Reaffirmation by SACS
[3] What a Difference a Day Makes
[4] Headlines from Christian Concern
[5] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[6] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[7] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[8] The Religion of Peace
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[1] SACS Report: Erskine Cited for TWELVE Violations - Erskine Placed on WARNING
By the Rev. Dr. Charles W. Wilson, Editor, ARPTalk
Below is the evaluation of Erskine College and Seminary by [Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges] SACS (December 10, 2012).
The Commission denied reaffirmation, continued accreditation, and placed . . . on Warning: Erskine College, Due West, South Carolina [f]or twelve months for failure to comply with Core Requirement 2.5 (Institutional effectiveness), Comprehensive Standard 3.2.10 (Administrative staff evaluations), Comprehensive Standard 3.2.13 (Institution-related entities), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.1 (Institutional effectiveness: educational programs), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.2 (Institutional effectiveness: administrative support services), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.3 (Institutional effectiveness: academic and student support services), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.5 (Institutional effectiveness: community/public service), Comprehensive Standard 3.3.2 (Quality enhancement plan), Comprehensive Standard 3.5.1 (General education competencies), Comprehensive Standard 3.5.4 (Terminal degrees of faculty), Comprehensive Standard 3.7.2 (Faculty evaluation), and Comprehensive Standard 3.12.1 (Substantive change) of the Principles of Accreditation.
In other words, Erskine was audited and “failed.” SACS commissioners “denied reaffirmation, continued accreditation, and placed [Erskine] on Warning.” The full text of the report is found at this link. See pages 5 and 6 for the part relevant to Erskine. Explanations of citations are found on the SACS website.
According to e-mails and other communications from President David Norman, the items cited by SACS are rather insignificant and easily corrected by the September 2013 deadline.
There are 12 violations cited by SACS. According to individuals I have spoken with in higher education, this is a staggering indictment of Erskine’s leadership and indicative of systemic administrative failure, and the September deadline cannot be met. However, according to those I spoke with, if progress is apparent, leniency will be shown and more time granted by SACS for remediation.
The following is what will happen if Erskine fails to comply with SACS’ instructions:
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN DECEMBER 2013? The SACSCOC Board of Trustees will consider the accreditation status of Erskine College following review of a First Monitoring Report submitted by the institution addressing the standards cited above for noncompliance and the report of the Special Committee that will visit the institution in fall 2013. The Board will have the following options: (1) reaffirm accreditation and remove the institution from Warning, without an additional report or with a Fifth-Year Follow Up Report; (2) deny reaffirmation of accreditation, continue accreditation, continue Warning and request an additional report; (3) deny reaffirmation of accreditation, continue accreditation, continue Warning or place the institution on Probation, authorize a Special Committee, and request an additional report; and (4) remove the institution from membership with the Commission on Colleges. Commission staff will not speculate on what decision might be made by the Commission’s Board in December 2013. [from a publicly available document provided by SACSCOC]
As to be expected, FACEBOOK sites lit up. On the Alumni for Erskine site, Ms. AS Bowen posted the following insightful and informative comments:
Having been on almost a dozen SACS committes [sic] for 10yr and mid cycle evaluations of schools, I know for a fact that when something came up short (like the details/progress mentioned in the letter), the committee gave the school the opportunity at the time of their week long visit to produce said items. To still be in the final report as a "does not meet" indicates these things do not exist like they should.
I also know that there are volumes of instructions provided literally years in advance of this 10yr visit to aid the school in doing what needs to be done and documenting it appropriately. . . .
That is a REALLY long list. I don't know that I have ever been on a visiting committee where we indicated more -maybe 5- failure to comply statements. . . .
And while some of these standards may be a bit esoteric, there are some that are so straightforward and easy to achieve that heads should role [sic] for letting them go unmet.
Outspoken Erskine student Mr. Eric Goodwin nearly had a meltdown:
This is no more than the official recognition of what has been reality on Erskine's campus for several years now. From the administration to the students, talk is abundant and action is rare. It is the Erskine disease: bullshit to cover laziness. Some of you know it best as THRIVE, but it is everywhere: even the Euphies. At some point I guess it catches up to you - SACS finally got us.
In spite of Erskine’s longstanding and continuing conflict with the ARP Church, Erskine WAS NOT cited by SACS for a GOVERNANCE noncompliance. The 12 citations primarily involve the administration of Erskine as an educational institution. In spite of the scare tactics by the secular alums the past two years, decrying the ARP Church’s attempts to regain control over Erskine, the SACS commissioners did not note undue influence by the ARP Church as a citation.
For those of us who were present at the 2010 “Snow” Synod, who read the Moderator’s Commission’s Report, and who have been following Erskine’s rebellious decline over the past two years, we are not surprise by SACS’s “warning.” We have been predicting it. We have been expecting it.
At the 2010 “Snow” Synod, Mr. Ken Wingate, a member of and spokesman for the Moderator’s Commission and the Chairman of the SC Commission on Higher Education, warned a thorough audit by SACS would have dire consequences for Erskine. He said, “You have a problem of systemic failure as an institution due to board and administrative failure.” The response of the secular alums, the secular trustees, and the incompetent administration of then President Rand Ruble was a spin campaign of attack. They said Mr. Wingate and the other members of the Moderator’s Commission were “wrong”; they charged the Moderator’s Commissioners had “made it all up” and were “mean and "power hungry.” Are these things now being said of SACS?
I wonder what former board chairman, Mr. Scott Mitchell, who filed legal action against the General Synod is saying now? I wonder what former President Randy Ruble, a former SACS auditor, the man who appointed as Academic Dean a coach known far and wide for his work as an “Advisor for The Jump Rope Institute,” and who bears considerable responsibility for this accreditation debacle, is saying now? I wonder what former trustees David Chesnut and Parker Young and current trustee Richard Taylor who joined in filing legal action against the ARP Church are saying now? I wonder what anti-ARP Church trustees Nan Campbell, Lisa Senn, Crosland Stuart, and others are saying now? I wonder what Chairman (and ARP Elder) David Conner and trustee (and ARP Minister and former General Synod Moderator) Andy Putnam who have worked assiduously to write the ARP Church out of the bylaws are saying? I WONDER IF THEY ARE SAYING SACS IS NOW EXERCISING UNDUE INFLUENCE!?
Even more importantly, I wonder what prospective students and donors are saying right now. Erskine’s accreditation is now under a dark and ominous cloud, and will be for a number of years at least! Both student recruitment and efforts to raise needed funds for an institution already on the financial brink will undoubtedly be severely hurt.
Well, I know what I am saying: THE 2010 MODERATOR’S COMMISSION WAS RIGHT! All the warnings of the Moderator’s Commission are now checked off!
+ ARPTalk Blog, 864-882-6337, wilson6114@bellsouth.net
+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, 2 Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, 864-379-2167, norman@erskine.edu
+ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033, 404-679-4500, Fax: 404-679-4558, questions@sacscoc.org
RTS received the best possible outcome of the reaffirmation process, reaffirmation with no recommendations for improvement. This reaffirmation continues RTS’ accreditation for a 10-year period through 2022. The announcement was made this week at the SACSCOC annual conference in Dallas, Texas.
"I cannot say how thankful we are for the tremendous efforts and leadership of Mrs. Polly Stone, our director of institutional assessment, and Dr. Robert Cara, our chief academic officer," said Michael Milton, chancellor and CEO of RTS. "Polly and Bob have labored as unto the Lord in this. We view our relationship with accreditation agencies as a way to be faithful stewards of the Lord's resources entrusted to us. This approval of our seminary by SACSCOC demonstrates the strong efforts of our team, the blessings of God, and we pray, the continued trust we hope our alumni and supporters can have in RTS."
Reformed Theological Seminary is accredited by SACSCOC to award masters and doctorate degrees. RTS is also accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS).
Required every 10 years, reaffirmation of accreditation involves an intense self-study and peer review process. As part of the process, faculty and administrators from SACSCOC and ATS member schools visited the RTS campuses in spring 2012 and evaluated the seminary. This evaluation included a review of academic programs, finances, governance, faculty academic qualifications, student services, facilities, and institutional effectiveness. SACSCOC made the final decision at its December meeting this week.
+ Reformed Theological Seminary, 2101 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28226, 704-366-5066, Fax: 704-366-9295
+ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033, 404-679-4500, Fax: 404-679-4558, questions@sacscoc.org
[3] What a Difference a Day Makes
12 December 2012
One minute we were all happily contemplating how best to celebrate Christmas in a recession, and the next the whole country is up in arms over the proposed legislation announced yesterday to introduce gay marriage. Quite what can have possessed David Cameron to charge willy nilly down this particular road remains a mystery to all; not least to his own party which is now visibly breaking apart at the seams. And R.S. Harris’ highly commended book, ‘Is There a Case for Same Sex Marriage?’, which Voice for Justice UK published yesterday in association with Anglican Mainstream, is already providing compelling insight and argument helping fuel the debate!
But the question remains: why has [U.K. Prime Minister] David Cameron chosen to push an issue that will radically redefine society as we know it, and was always wanted at most by only a tiny minority of the population? After all, only around 7000 same sex couples have so far chosen to enter into a civil partnership, and not all of them will want to convert this to ‘marriage’ – in fact some are fiercely opposed to the very idea. So why, when we have so many pressing problems in the U.K. today – like a triple dip recession, an escalating nuclear arms race in the middle east, the ever present threat of terrorism, and a disintegrating political situation in Northern Ireland, to name but a few … why, in heaven’s name, are the 62 million people who make up our population being asked, at huge financial cost, to jettison the institution that has been foundational to the growth and stability of society for thousands of years? Is it really right to go down this route to satisfy a mere handful, who may or may not want it?
Can it be that Mr. Cameron is actually trying to divert our attention away from these infinitely more serious problems, which have the added distinction of being real and not manufactured? Or is he puppet to [U.K. Liberal Democrat Party leader] Nick Clegg’s skilful manipulation of the strings, performing a dance to satisfy the demands of an ailing coalition that has lost all of its other demands?
Whatever the answer, he can’t seriously believe the Church will meekly accept the gossamer thin assurances now being put forward of statutory exemption. Especially not when the likes of Peter Tatchell are already crying unfair and promising challenge in the European Court. Please, if nothing else, give us some honesty here!
R.S. Harris’s book 'Is There a Case for Same-Sex Marriage' is now available from Amazon.com as an e-book, Price UK£6.49, and is available in hard copy from Voice for Justice for UK£9.99.
+ Voice for Justice, Post Office Box 3837, Swindon SN6 9DS, England, 01793-862120, info@vfjuk.org
[4] Headlines from Christian Concern
Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:
-- U.K. MP’s and Peers Launch Campaign against Same-Sex Marriage
-- Grassroots Conservatives Quit Tory Party over Same-Sex Marriage
-- Essex, England Homosexual Couple to Sue U.K. Government over Proposed Exemption of Church of England from Performing Same-Sex Marriages
-- Lambeth Council Refuses License for Lap Dancing Club
+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page
[5] Headlines from The Christian Institute
Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:
-- Male Church of England School Teacher to Return Next Year as a Woman
-- Facebook to Offer Real Money Casino Games under New Deal
-- Scotland to Consider Presumed Consent Organ Donation Law
+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk
[6] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
-- Iowa Judge Rules Government Documents Must List Mother’s Same-Sex Spouse as Child’s 'Parent'
-- Philippines’ Anti-Life Reproductive Health Bill Passes Final Reading in House and Senate
-- The New Eugenics
-- U.S. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, D-Pennsylvania, Compares Connecticut School Massacre to Killing of Abortionists
-- Socialist Uruguay on Road to Homosexual and Transsexual 'Marriage'
-- Obama Nominates Ex-Lobbyist for Makers of 'Plan B' Abortifacient to Top Legal Spot at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
-- U.S. Congress Expected to Expand Access to Taxpayer-Funded Abortions for Military Women
-- Federal Court Forces Christian-Owned Business Hobby Lobby to Obey HHS Mandate
-- Australian Father of Seven Released from Prison after Eight Months Served for Pro-Life Activism
-- 'Black Day' as Irish Republic Government Plans to Legalize Abortion
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[7] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- Is U.S. Department of Homeland Security Giving Americans 50 Million Reasons to Think Obama Is Gearing up for a Civil War?
-- Obama Administration Asks Federal Judge to Dismiss Cases of Americans Killed by Drones
-- Paragould, Arkansas Police Chief Says Citizens Are Subject to ID Checks by SWAT Teams
-- ChinaAid Obtains Secret Central Committee Document Ordering Crackdown on Evangelism on College and University Campuses
-- Report Recommends France Legalize 'Accelerated Deaths'
-- Belgium Looks at Euthanasia for Minors, Alzheimer's Sufferers
-- Hungarian High court Annuls Law Linking Family to Heterosexual Marriage
-- Female Texas State Troopers Caught on Tape Giving Two Women Body Cavity Search during Routine Traffic Stop
-- Orchard Park, New York Police Lieutenant Sued by Family for Warrantless Forced Entry into Home
-- Planned Parenthood Video Promotes Sadomasochism
-- After Twenty-Five Minute Chase, Thirteen Cleveland, Ohio Police Officers Fire 137 Rounds Killing Two Unarmed Motorists
-- Socialists Pushing Accelerated Death and Euthanasia
-- Serial Polygamist Newt Gingrich Now Supports Gay Marriage
-- Hunger and Homelessness Continue to Surge under Obama
-- Massachusetts Taxpayers to Pay US$700,000 to Attorney of Convicted Murderer Who Demands Sex Change Surgery
-- University of North Carolina Hires Professor That Writes Pornographic Poetry about College Students
-- Pennsylvania Gunman Kills Woman in Church and Two Others before Dying in Shootout with Police
-- Homosexual Couple Attempts to Force Christian School in New Mexico to Be Pagan
+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page
+ China Aid, Post Office Box 8513, Midland, Texas 79708, 432-689-6985,
Fax: 432-686-8355, info@ChinaAid.org
+ France 24, 5, rue des Nations Unies, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, 33-1-73-01-24-24, Contact Page
+ Politics.hu, 36-30-370-3561, editors@politics.hu
+ The Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, England, 020-7938-6000, news@dailymail.co.uk
+ American Life League, Post Office Box 1350, Stafford, Virginia 22555, 540-659-4171, Fax: 540-659-2586, info@all.org
+ Political Outcast
+ Newsmax, Post Office Box 20989, West Palm Beach, Florida 33416, 561-686-1165, Fax: 561-686-3350
+ Last Resistance, Contact Page
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
[8] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Difficult Christmas for Asia Bibi and Younis Masih
-- US Soldiers Ordered Not To Criticize Radical Jihadists
-- Politically Correct Insanity Cripples the U.S. Military
-- Iranian Islamists Strategize with al-Qaida on 1Q 2013 Attacks on France and Germany
-- Muslim Thugs in Helsingborg, Sweden Savage Eighty-Seven-Year-Old Woman Who Tried To Stop Them from Beating Puppy
-- Prosecutors Say Florida Muslim Planned to Blow up New York City Landmark
-- CBS Chicago Newscaster Calls Real Quotes from Osama Bin Laden, Turkey Prime Minister, Fort Hood Jihadi, and Time Square Bomber "Mock Testimony"
-- Film Shows Obama-Supported 'Syrian Rebels' Forcing Boy to Behead Captive with Sword
-- Can Islam Reform?
-- Islamic Indoctrination in American Schools
-- Israel Indicts Suspects in Tel Aviv Bus Bombing
-- Jihadist Leaders of Obama-Backed Libyan Rebellion Fought Against U.S. in Iraq
-- Ex-Obama Official Funding Al-Qaida-Tied Rebels in Syria
-- Hezbollah Weapons Depot in Lebanon Destroyed by Israel Held Missiles Capable of Being Equipped with Chemical Warheads
-- Iran Imprisons and Abuses American Christian Pastor Saeed Abedini
-- Obama Administration Gives Immunity to Mumbai, India Massacre Masterminds and Operatives
-- Analysis of Social Media in Libya on Day of Benghazi Jihad Massacre Finds No Reference to Muhammad Video That Obama Blamed for Attack
-- Muslims Shoot Three More Polio Workers in Pakistan; Eight Dead in Forty-Eight Hours
-- Christianity 'Close to Extinction' in Middle East
-- In Egypt, 50,000 Muslims Led by Sword-Wielding Men March through Christian Areas, Shouting Egypt Is "Islamic, Islamic, Despite the Christians"
-- In London, Muslim Women Accused of Being "Witches," Beaten and Abused for Adopting Western Lifestyle
-- Tunisian Muslim Cleric Calls for "Sterilizing the Wombs of Jewish Women"
-- Islamic 'Fear Campaign' Keeps Egypt’s Christian Copts From Polls
-- Grand Ayatollah Ahmad Al Baghdadi Al Hassani Says all Christian Women May Be Raped
-- Future Looks Bleak for Egypt's Coptic Christians
-- Jihadists Slaughter Thirty-Nine in Kenya
-- In Pakistan: Muslim Mob Burns Man Alive Accused of Desecrating Qur'an
-- In New York, Three Muslims Charged with Training to Be Jihad-Martyrdom Suicide Bombers
-- Head Imam at Australia's Biggest Mosque Declares Fatwa against Christmas
-- "Moderate" Tunisian Cleric Calls for Killing All the Jews
-- Afghani Rape Victim Receives 100 Lashes
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ Examiner.com, 555 17th Street, Suite 700, Denver, Colorado 80202, contactus@examiner.com
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Post Office Box 1192, Jerusalem, 91010, Israel, 972-2-539-9700, 972-2-539-9701, Contact Page
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ The Telegraph, Victory House, Meeting House Lane, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TT, England, 0800-316-6977, telegraphenquiries@telegraph.co.uk
+ FrontPage Magazine, Post Office Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, California 91499, Contact Page
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Some Pastoral Thoughts about the Connecticut School Shooting
[2] The Interfaith Memorial Service from Hell
[3] Mass Cruelty Mystifies, but Words of Comfort Transcend Blood, Spit, Hair
[4] Same-Sex Marriage and the Scriptures
[5] The Fight to Preserve Marriage in English Law
[6] Headlines from Christian Concern
[7] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[8] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[10] The Religion of Peace
---
[1] Some Pastoral Thoughts about the Connecticut School Shooting
Andrew Webb is the pastor of Providence Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
"Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more."" (Matthew 2:16-18)
Yesterday evening my son Victor asked me “Why did my teacher burst into tears today?” The reason of course was that the nation’s hearts had been broken by the news that twenty kindergarten children had been murdered in their classroom that morning. I had occasion to speak with a principal and she was also in shock, not knowing how to respond. It just didn’t seem possible that something like this could happen in the very place where parents send their children to be nurtured and instructed. And of course it wasn’t just teachers who were dismayed. I suppose like countless other parents in America I began thinking “what if it had been my child’s school or my child?” Every sensible parent expects mishaps at school, perhaps even something as serious as a broken wrist after a fall off the playground equipment, but twenty children, all around five years old, together with teachers, counselors, and the principal murdered? It’s unthinkable. How could we bear it? How will those parents who received that unthinkable news bear it?
Inevitably the fact that it occurred just ten days from Christmas added to the pathos. So many Christmas presents already bought and wrapped that won’t be opened by those children. I even heard one commentator asking how could this possibly happen at this time of year when the world was preparing to celebrate the incarnation of the Prince of Peace? It was at that moment that I was reminded that the story of Christ’s incarnation also included the story of another massacre of young children. Matthew tells us in His Gospel account that wise men, Magi, had seen a new star and had known that it was the sign of a great event - the King of the Jews, the long awaited Messiah had been born in Israel and so they had set out to pay Him homage. Naturally, given that He was a king, they had sought him in the palace of the current ruler, a ruthless usurper by the name of Herod. They had been surprised to learn that no child had been born recently, and so they inquired where to find him. Herod, equally concerned to find the location of this child, had gathered together the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the scriptures said the Messiah would be born. “In Bethlehem” they immediately told him, for the prophet Malachi had said over 400 years ago, that the Messiah who would be the true shepherd of His people would be born in the city of his great ancestor David. Thus informed, Herod had sent the Magi off to Bethlehem to find this newborn King, and report back to Him, that he might supposedly “come and worship him also.” (Matthew 2:8)
Herod however, had no intention of worshipping Christ, the news of the birth of the long awaited King and Redeemer of Israel was not good news to him. A man who had slaughtered his own flesh and blood because he suspected they wanted his throne would stop at nothing to remove any threat to his kingship, and the wise men, divinely informed of that fact, disobeyed Herod’s instructions and did not bring back the location of Jesus and his family. When Herod discovered that he had been deceived, he realized his hopes of quickly dispatching the Messiah were over, and he devised a monstrous plan - if he couldn’t find the child he wanted dead he would kill all of the male children in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger. I think we become accustomed to reading this story and don’t really absorb the gravity of what actually happened on the day that Herod’s plan was carried out. Bethlehem, like Newton, Connecticut was a small town, and what probably happened was that one morning around dawn Herod’s soldiers suddenly invaded the homes of around 20 or 30 families and brutally slaughtered their young children as the families watched helplessly.
We rejoice that Joseph was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus before the murders ever took place, and as a result the true horror of Matthew 2:18 is often lost upon us, “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” In one horrible morning an unsuspecting town was suddenly filled from end to end with the sounds of wailing and mourning. Mothers held the lifeless bodies of their toddlers and wept inconsolably. These were their beloved sons, their little treasures, their hopes for the future. Now they are no more. They didn’t even have hope that justice would be done, for it was not a foreign enemy that had done this monstrous deed, but their own ruler, Herod. Who will give them justice? What consolation can anyone bring them?
If we learn anything from this, let us learn that the ultimate cause of the massacre in Newton, the massacre in Bethlehem, and countless other massacres in between was nothing less than the total depravity of the human heart, and let us remember that it was for this reason that Jesus was born. He was not born to provide us with an excuse for celebrating December 25th and giving one another presents, He did not enter into the world to give us traditions, He was not born of a woman, born under the law, to give us wise sayings, or even to do miracles. Jesus was born to “save His people from their sins” and to save creation from the awful effects of the fall. He was born to do away with murder and death, and to make it possible for this sin sick world in which awful things like the murder of little children happens to be cleansed of every stain of sin and replaced with the “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:12) He came that there might be a day when heartbreaking events like these might never happen again, a day when justice will be eternally done to wicked and unrepentant murderers like Herod, and a day when His redeemed people might enter into an eternity in which “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying." (Rev. 21:4a)
We are reminded by awful events like the murders in Newton of our terrible need for that work of redemption from sin and its effects to be completed, and so our hearts long for the return of Christ and a final end to sin and suffering. Today once again I have cried out in my soul saying “Come Lord Jesus!” that there might be a final end to the murder of children and all the things that cause it.
So to that end I would encourage you all to pray. I do not think I really need to tell you what to pray for, but for those who might not know where to begin, here are a few suggestions:
-- Pray for the families that are grieving inconsolably today.
-- Pray for the children, who witnessed things that no child should ever have to see.
-- Pray for the emergency workers who came face to face with the carnage caused by monstrous evil.
-- Pray for the doctors and nurses who struggled to save little ones who didn’t make it.
-- Pray for the Policemen who had to tell parents that the worst thing they could imagine had happened.
-- Pray for the morticians and do not think for a moment that their job will be easy.
-- Pray for those who have reacted to this news with rage, frustration, and hatred.
-- Pray for those who have given up hope.
-- Pray that what Adam Lanza meant for evil would be used by God for good, with men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
-- Pray that we would stop trusting in princes to provide answers to spiritual problems.
-- Pray above all for the speedy return of Christ and for a final end to the slaughter of little ones.
+ Providence Presbyterian Church, Post Office Box 8158, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311, 910-630-1215, Fax: 419-730-5385, ajwebb@providencepca.com
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[2] The Interfaith Memorial Service from Hell
By Dr. Pat McEwen and the Rev. Flip Benham
Watching the Memorial service for the twenty-six precious lives taken from us was painful to say the least, but it was far more painful to the God who made America great. Newtown cancelled Christmas so it could properly mourn. How foolish, yet typical of governmental strategy to replace God. The "Interfaith" service was an affront to Almighty God. Those claiming to be His priests barely mentioned His Name --Jesus! After all, He is the only God there is!
"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children." Hosea 4:6.
Can there be any doubt in anyone's mind today that America is in deep trouble? Blood is coursing down the corridors of our schools, workplaces, and streets and we look at each other with awkward amazement wondering what in the world has happened to us. We are being drained of every last penny of our wealth. We are losing our kids to gangs, drugs, violence, suicide, murder and every imaginable trivial pursuit. Our schools have become veritable jungles where survival of the fittest is the law of the hallway.
What happened? We violently removed the fear of Almighty God from the hearts of our children. We expelled God from school and banished Him from the schoolyard. He was replaced with metal detectors, condoms, policemen, anti-bullying policies, No-gun zones, and violence of unprecedented order. Our strategy has replaced God's Truth. We are losing our kids because we are ignoring God's Law. Our government cannot fix us!
What would Jesus say if He could have spoken at this interfaith abomination? The better question is, "What did Jesus say?" When Jesus was confronted with the mass murders of His day, along with the natural disasters occurring (Luke 13:1-9), He gave an answer to questions like, "Why did this happen?" "Where was God in all of this?" His answer, "I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will perish." Luke 13:3. His was not a message of false comfort, but a call to repentance. We are being destroyed, we are losing our freedom and our children because we have forsaken the only God there is – Jesus!
He promises to return if we will repent and call upon His Name!
+ Operation Save America, Post Office Box 740066, Dallas, Texas 75374, 704-933-3414, 704-932-3361, orn@bigplanet.com
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
[3] Mass Cruelty Mystifies, but Words of Comfort Transcend Blood, Spit, Hair
“The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died *** and every man.” — Genesis 7:20, 21
“So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth *** and the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.” — Revelation 14:20
“If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?” — Amos 3:6
“But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” — Matthew 10:33, 34
Violent and sensational sins such as a massacre of kindergarten children snuff public carping against religion. At least temporarily. Silent for now are the erudite defenders of post-modern thought.
Squeamish, they wouldn’t personally endorse an elementary school massacre. But their academic work and classroom discussion focus on destroying meaning, the certainty of text and the prospect of any fixed truth; they selflessly proclaim the interests of women, minorities, homosexuals, singles, the jobless and others who are victims of established paradigms such as Euro-centrism, patriarchalism, sexism, Christianity and the like.
While America’s intellectual elites momentarily stand aside on the question of “Why do bad things happen to good people,” they leave room for the uttering of much nonsense about the hour’s work in Newtown, Connecticut, of Adam Lanza, the gunman who killed twenty-seven people and himself Friday.
Filling the airwaves are comments from people who, in their shock, seem unable to offer much in the way of spiritual guidance. Rabbi Shaul Praver tells National Public Radio he doesn’t know why towns such as his experience “a day from hell,” as he describes it. He assures survivors they will see their loved ones in the next life. But he stops there. “I don’t know the answer to that. I never try to present a theological answer to that. *** I never liked theological answers. *** I don’t try to solve it like some kind of math equation, or something like that.” Friends of families who lost children also seem to have little of spiritual comfort and seem disconnected from the God whose name comes briefly across the lips of some. A pediatrician, David Schonfeld, says, neutrally, “I wouldn’t provide false reassurance or dismiss legitimate concerns. *** We don’t help children by telling them they shouldn’t be afraid of things that are frightening.”
Hard Hearts Hammered into Softness
Christianity offers the most satisfying explanation for such evils because it makes universal and exclusive claims about the legal and moral standard by which human conduct is measured. Christianity presupposes a sovereign God and a divine will, and an absolute moral code imposed unilaterally upon mankind by the creator God.
The exclusivist and aggressive nature of the claims of Jesus Christ places His system and worldview against every hostile claim, especially ones that would accept murderers such as Adam Lanza and rationalize his acts and demand protections and favor for his life, had he not killed himself after his rampage.
The consolation of the gospel in such bereaved towns as Newtown is that God is loving and merciful to His children, that every soul should repent of his sins and that evils such as murder are an offense to God first and the victim second. The sort of sorrow of which I speak is expressed by the prodigal son, who twice frames the matter this way, speaking to his dad: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Luke 15: 18 and 21).
The comfort to offer grieving souls in the light of any disaster is that God offers no communion with man unless man first makes peace with Him. A stupid and heedless people, the Israelites had for centuries God’s covenant that separated them from every other people and united his children to Him in exclusive alliance. The treaty was not between equals, but on terms set by God alone. God hates sin, as Matthew Henry points out in his discussion of the third chapter of Amos, but He “hates it most in those that are nearest to him; if they be but as bad as others, they shall be punished worse than others, because it is justly expected that they should be so much better than others.”
No Disaster except at God’s Merciful Hand
The scriptures make clear God judges the nations, but first His own. His love and bride in the original covenant, Israel, goes whoring after false Gods and proves reprobate. After her self-maledictory oath and God’s divorce proceedings, Israel is liquidated by one of the most horrible sieges in history, that by the Romans against Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70 (as foretold in the Apocalypse). The church today has the power of the Holy Spirit upon her, and is the bride of Christ as established in the Great Commission, a new testament. When her eyes fall tenderly upon the Baals of her day, she falls under correction, as do others who in times past were suffered to walk in their own ways.
The rabbi is right to state that kindergarten massacres affirm “the presence of evil in the world.” God’s ways are equal; ours are unequal, as Henry puts it. The evil, if we are to believe scripture’s fuller theory of it, is judgment starting at the House of God. Judgment is a payment on the account of the Lord’s people, and as the scourge strikes them, it bowls over the ungodly as well, for against them the cup of the indignation of the wrath of God is full, too.
When God speaks through Amos about the judgment of Israel, the Lord asks, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” And God proposes cause and effect. Lions don’t roar unless there is prey. A bird is not trapped unless there is a trap. The snare does not jump unless it’s tripped. If the trumpet blows, that means calamity. Cause. Effect.
The prophet is commanded to “see great tumults” in the midst of Samaria “and the oppressed within her. For they do not know to do right, says the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces” (Amos 3:9, 10). Official corruption, false imprisonment, courts that reject equity. God’s wrath is coming; it proves to be in the form of blood-thirsty Assyrians.
“[T]he evil of trouble, personal or public, is from God,” Henry notes, “and is his doing; whoever are the instruments, God is the principal agent. Out of his mouth both evil and good proceed. This consideration, that, whatever evil is in the city, the Lord has done it, should engage us patiently to bear our share in public calamities and to study to answer God’s intention in them” (italics added).
Human Sympathy, Yes; But How Far Does It Go
The families stricken in Newtown cannot be considered guilty of any special evil or sin. Christ mentions the death of eighteen people in the collapse of a tower in Siloam and asks, “[D]o you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4, 5). His point is that when terror strikes, repentance is in order. For God’s children, sin is chastised and the sinner restored. Without sorrow for sin and regeneration, the reprobate and hypocrites face only their just desserts, punishment and death in this life and the next.
School massacres are a terror upon society, driven by corrupt, huffy souls with an urge to mass destruction. They are a part of God’s providence, and part of God’s life plan for everyone involved, and for everyone watching his TV screen in fascination and horror.
The spiritual contentlessness of mouths suggests many people embracing the survivors of the massacre lack religious faith. Perhaps they don’t know how to bring it to bear, fearing to be presumptuous. Much of what grief counselors and psychologists say on TV is so much psychobabble. The survivors stand at the acme of public interest; all crave to hear them speak. How, I wonder, might they confess that God comforting them?
Christ was taken from His people by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God and was slain by wicked hands (Acts 2:23). Yet He endured these humiliations for our sakes, so that His children might have joy eternal, and comfort.
Sources:
Matthew Henry, The Matthew Henry Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: 1960) Rev. Leslie F. Church, ed. This edition is a one-volume condensation of one of the best commentators Christendom has produced.
Gene Edward Veith Jr., Postmodern Times [;] A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1994). This study is excellent, as are the other volumes in the Turning Point Christian Worldview Series.
— David Tulis, a deacon at Brainerd Hills Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is married and the father of four.
+ Nooganomics, ReaderServices@Nooganomics.com
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[4] Same-Sex Marriage and the Scriptures
The Public Questions, Religion & Morals Committee of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) have spoken out against proposals by the Scottish and U.K. governments to legalise same-sex marriage. They criticise the Prime Minister for failing to recognise that marriage is a divine institution and governments north and south of the border for wilfully rejecting the timeless moral code which God has given us in the Bible.
They point out that God made the first man and the first woman and brought them together in the first marriage, as a pattern for mankind. They stress that same-sex marriage cannot reflect the union between Christ and His church and that same-sex unions are condemned in Scripture as sinful.
They believe that the move towards same-sex marriage stems from the idea that the homosexual lifestyle is an acceptable one – a notion which has sadly gained credibility in some sections of the church.
They say that same-sex marriage is “a sham and a delusion and an affront to a holy God” and that it is shameful that any government would seek to introduce it.
+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org
[5] The Fight to Preserve Marriage in English Law
This year, the coalition government launched a home office consultation on how to re-define marriage to include homosexual relationships. In response, on 13 June Presbytery made the following submission to the Home Office and Number Ten Downing Street. Presbytery instructed its clerk to inform our sister churches of our submission in order that they might have the opportunity to lend their support to it or consider making their own response. The text is presented here as a record of what has been said to the present government. As things stand at the moment, the government has declared its intention to change the law in 2015.
The Definition of Marriage Submission to her Majesty’s Government
A Statement of the Bible’s teaching on marriage
Marriage is currently defined in English Law as ‘the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others.’ (1) At the present time, a minority is calling for the definition of marriage to be changed in the name of equality to include same sex relationships.
1. Marriage is an institution which God gave as a gift to the human race at the beginning of our history for our physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing and for the procreation of children. (2)
2. The Bible clearly teaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others, for life, until separated by death. (3) Marriage is a covenant involving the mutual exchange of solemn promises between a man and a woman before God and society as witnesses. (4) Marriage is a public institution for the benefit of society as a whole and upon which a healthy society is founded. Marriage is the only context in which sexual intimacy and union is right, and the proper sphere for the upbringing of children. (5)
3. The Law of God protects marriage. The Ten Commandments, which are a clear expression of the moral law, contain the commandment: ‘You shall not commit adultery’. This enshrines the principle that the violation of marriage is wrong. (6) The Ten Commandments are necessarily summary statements, but God has added detailed laws identifying ways in which human conduct would violate this commandment, such conduct as fornication, prostitution, and homosexual acts, as well as marital unfaithfulness. Some of these are not only breaches of the moral law but also perversions of nature. (7)
4. The scope of marriage is determined by God alone. Human governments are accountable to God and any government that enacts legislation contradicting the law of God puts itself in direct conflict with God and shows itself to be in revolt against the higher authority of God, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. (8)
5. If the government moves to redefine marriage in English Law, in order to include same sex relations within the scope of marriage, it will be acting in defiance of God’s moral authority. Such a redefinition promotes and condones wickedness; it misleads the people and harms the nation, and above all it dishonors Almighty God.
6. The Bible gives a very clear warning that God will not be mocked. God gave us marriage to be the backbone of a good and caring society. Changes to the definition of marriage will inevitably lead to a breakdown in society, whereas the preservation of marriage will be conductive to the health and wellbeing of our nation.
Notes:
(1) Hyde vs Hyde and Woodmansee (1866) LR 1 P & D 130. The judge, Lord Penzance, sought to give a definition recognized throughout ‘Christendom’. Counterfeit Marriage, (Christian Institute 2002), 10.
(2) Genesis 1-2.
(3) Matthew 19:3-9; Romans 7:2.
(4) Malachi 2:14-16.
(5) Hebrews 13:4.
(6) Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18; Matthew 5:27-32.
(7) Leviticus 18:20-24; 19:29; Galatians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Romans 1:26-29.
(8) Exodus 5:2; 14:17; Psalm 2; Psalm 96:10; Isaiah 40:21-24; Daniel 2:21; 4:1-37; 5:22-31; 6:25-27; Romans 13:1-7; Revelation 19:16.
WE THEREFORE URGE AND PETITION H.M. GOVERNMENT TO RETAIN UNALTERED THE DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales, epcew@epcew.org.uk
[6] Headlines from Christian Concern
Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:
-- U.K Government Presses Ahead with Same-Sex Marriage
-- Equal Marriage Is “Fundamentally Flawed” Says New In-Depth Study
-- House of Lords Backs Reform Affecting Free Speech
+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page
+ Anglican Mainstream, 21 High Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HE, England, 44-0-1865-883388, office@anglican-mainstream.net
[7] Headlines from The Christian Institute
Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:
-- St. George’s Tron Evicted by the Kirk over Gay Clergy Row
-- U.K. Government Ignores 500,000 People Who Said No to Gay Marriage
-- U.K. Supreme Court Volunteer Ruling Protects Churches
-- Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond Breaks Protection Promises in Gay Marriage Bill
+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk
[8] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
-- Obama Administration Turns Up the Heat on the War on Religious Freedom
-- Detroit Judge on Leave after Allegedly Pressuring Mistress to Have an Abortion
-- Uruguay on Verge of Approving Homosexual and Transsexual ‘Marriage’ Law
-- Quebec Psychologists Could Face Ethics Violation for Homosexual Reparative Therapy
-- Sweden Revokes Parental Rights of Homeschooling Family after Three Year Ordeal
-- Queen James Bible: Publisher Releases ‘Gay-Friendly’ Bible Translation
-- Maine: Notaries Must Perform Same-Sex ‘Marriages’ or Violate Human Rights Law
-- Organizers of French Traditional Marriage March Expect Crowds of up to 350,000
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- Westboro Baptist Church Celebrates Sandy Hook Massacre Deaths
-- Two Movies, Two Mass Murders
-- U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) “Pre-Crime” Agency to Search “Entire Government Databases” for “Predictive Pattern Matching”
-- General Electric Chairman and Obama Adviser Jeff Immelt Says: “State-Run Communism Works”
-- Buddhist Monks Lead Attack on Church in Sri Lanka
-- Selling American Girls: The Truth about Domestic Minor Sex-Trafficking
-- Teacher in France Asks Students to Compose Their Own Suicide Notes
-- U.S. DHS Funding Program to Eavesdrop on Bus Ride Conversations
-- New Zealand Court Rules Nude Jogging Is Legal
-- Planned Parenthood and Allies: Large Doses of Steroids ‘Extremely Safe’ for Teens
-- U.S. Government Invokes Clean Water Act in Telling New Mexico Landowner Not to Remove Trash from Dry Desert Land Twenty-Five Miles from Rio Grande River
-- University of Virginia Officials Force Students to Remove Dormitory Christmas Display
-- U.S. TSA Hired Former Cop Even After Full Disclosure of Sex Offense
-- U.S. TSA Holds Sobbing, Wheelchair-Bound Twelve-Year-Old Girl for Almost an Hour
-- North Korea's Apparent Launch Success Advances Quest to Bring the U.S. within Ballistic Missile Range
-- U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey)’s Intern, a Sex Offender, Was in U.S. Illegally
-- Democrats Pushing to Fund Abortions on U.S. Military Bases
-- Marxist Harry Belafonte Recommends Obama Imprison Conservatives
-- Police Contribute to Hindu Extremist Violence in India
-- The Persecution of Christians makes its Debut as a Topic of Discussion in the Swedish Parliament
-- Sweden Uses Nazi and Communist Tactics against Homeschooling Families
-- Obama Bypasses Congress to Mandate Black Boxes for All Cars -- Beginning in 2014
-- Transgender College Hoops Player Is First to Play as Both Man and Woman
-- Church Leaders Wounded in Attacks on Sri Lankan Churches
-- Imprisoned South China Church Leader Gong Shengliang Paralyzed by Stroke; Family's Request for Medical Parole Rejected
-- BBC Told To Put More 'Gay' Presenters On Kids TV
-- New U.S. Warrantless Spying Program Admitted
-- Shooting Not First Tragedy for Newtown
-- First Time Ever: University of Iowa Application Adds ‘Transgendered’ To Male/Female Option
-- Man Fires Fifty Shots at Crowded California Shopping Mall
-- U.S. Secretly Free Dangerous Criminals Instead of Deporting Them
-- In Wake of Sandy Hook Massacre, University of Rhode Island Professor Erik Loomis Calls for Assassination of National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre
+ Last Resistance, Contact Page
+ Nomorefakenews.com, 800-743-6179, qjrpress@gmail.com
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+ Forbes.com, 90 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10011, 212-366-8900, readers@forbes.com
+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com
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+ The Leadership Institute, 1101 North Highland Street, Arlington, Virginia 22201, 703-247-2000, Contact Page
+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 N Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page
+ Martin Bucer Seminar, Friedrichstraße 38 53111 Bonn, Deutschland, 49-4794- 962610, info@bucer.de
+ China Aid, Post Office Box 8513, Midland, Texas 79708, 432-689-6985,
Fax: 432-686-8355, info@ChinaAid.org
+ Nicene Council, Box 411, Draper, Virginia 24324, 866-735-9582, admin@nicenecouncil.com
+ Student Free Press Association, Post Office Box 1996, Woodbridge, Virginia 22195, nharden@thecollegefix.com
+ Political Outcast
[10] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Texas Teaching 'Allah is the Almighty God'
-- Iranian Death Squad in U.S. – Planning 2013 Attacks
-- Islamic Charity Seeks to Reverse Progress of Christianity in Indonesia
-- Christian Radio Programming Growing in Muslim World
-- Islam Surging in Britain As Christianity Fades
-- Alabama Muslims Arrested on Terror Charges, Plotted to Wage Jihad in Africa
-- Libyans Say Sharia Will Be Law of the Land
-- Egypt: Nine Anti-Muslim Brotherhood Protesters Shot
-- Muslims from U.K., France, Hungary, Germany, Balkans, Sweden, Chechnya, Chile Joining Jihad in Syria
-- Islamic Fascism: the Nazi Connection
-- Merry Islamic Christmas from the Episcopal Church
-- Iran Passed Nonconventional Weapons to Syria
-- Syrian Rebels 'Exclusively' America-Hating Jihadists
-- U.S. Muslims Back Morsi's Egypt Power Grab
-- Obama Officially Backs Jihadists in Syria, Slaughter of Alawite Village Follows
-- Chicago: Muslim Gets Ten Years in Prison for Jihad Plot
-- San Diego: Muslim Woman Gets Eight Years in Prison for Jihad
-- Devout Christian Murdered By Muslim Ex-Boyfriend after Row over Converting Their Daughter to Islam
-- New U.S. Army Manual Orders Soldiers Not to Criticize Taliban, Pedophilia, "Anything Related to Islam" Or "Advocate for Women's Rights"
-- Cuba’s Raul Castro Plans to Visit Iran
-- In Northern Mali, Islamists’ Attacks against Civilians Grow More Brutal
-- U.S. Dominates List of World’s ‘500 Most Influential Muslims’
-- Ivory Coast: Racial and Religious Hatred Empowered and Unleashed
-- Brutal Killing in Pakistan of Christian Missionary Healer
-- Are American Muslims Terrorizing the Constitution?
-- Moderate Indonesia: Violators of Shariah Law Caned
-- Turkish Archives Show Armenian Genocide Planning By Central Government: Scholar
-- Obama Secretly Sending Thousands of Troops Back to Iraq
-- Shiite Ayatollah Launches Fatwa: Iraqi Christians, Conversion to Islam or Death
-- Kuwait Passes Law to Execute Those Who Slander Islam and the Prophet
-- England Drops Hebrew from Officially Recognized Languages
-- Devout Muslim Group behind Attempted Railway Attack in German Capital
-- New York: Muslim Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Role in Jihad Plot to Blow up Subways
-- Muslim Leader in Nigeria Threatens To Surprise President Obama, Expresses Solidarity with Jihadi Groups, Tells Nigerian Police: Repent or Be Killed
-- Sharia law in Tulsa, Oklahoma: Federal Judge Dismisses Constitutional Claims of Tulsa Police Captain Punished for Objecting to Order Mandating Attendance at Islamic Event
-- Taliban Demand Money Not To Blow Up Church School Who Offered Prayers for Pakistani Schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai
-- Egypt Looking to Remilitarize Sinai
-- Muslim Terrorists Picking Off Targets at Girls Schools
-- Swedish Christian Worker, Shot in Pakistan, Dies in Stockholm
-- Jordanian Muslim leader, First We Take Over Damascus, Then Tel Aviv
-- France: Muslim Bus Drivers Refuse to Use Bus After it Has Been Driven by a Woman
-- Claiming to Be ‘Tea Party' Affiliate, Muslims4Liberty Fights for Islamic Causes
-- Iran Making Anthrax at Secret Plant
-- Growth of Al-Qaida in Syria Increases Chances of Chemical Weapons Attack in Europe
-- Taliban Suspected in Shooting to Death Five Female Polio Vaccine Workers in Karachi Pakistan
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+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328, Contact Page
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ 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
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ The Washington Post, 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington DC 20071, 202-334-6000, Contact Form
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ Last Resistance, Contact Page
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com
+ The Algemeiner Journal, Post Office Box 250746, Brooklyn, New York 11225, 718-771-0400, Fax: 718-771-0308, Contact Page
+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398
