skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Christian Observer News for January 2013
[2] Church of England Decides to Allow Homosexual Bishops in Civil Partnerships that Promise to Remain Celibate
[3] Anglican Groups Respond to Church of England Decision to Allow Homosexual Bishops that Promise to Remain Celibate
[4] Calvin College Professor Wins 2012–2013 Nicholas Rescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy
[5] PCA Mission to North America Seeks Church Planters
[6] Zelltenreich Reformed Church 2013 Conference Scheduled 8-9 February 2013
[7] Headlines from Christian Concern
[8] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[9] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[10] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[11] The Religion of Peace
---
[1] Christian Observer News for January 2013
On Saturday, 4 September 1813, Volume 1 Number 1of The Religious Remembrancer was published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the heading “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Romans 6:23]. In 1840, Amasa Converse, who had published the Visitor and Telegraph newspaper in Richmond, Virginia for the prior twelve years, began publication of Christian Observer as a merger of fourteen other publications including The Religious Remembrancer. The Christian Observer thus celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2013, and D.V., will during the year republish some of the historical highlights of the past 200 years from the Christian Observer family of publications.
At the beginning of this bicentennial celebration year, the Christian Observer editor is honored to announce the appointment of three new Contributing Editors to the Christian Observer.
Mr. David Clark Brand is the author of Profile of the Last Puritan: Jonathan Edwards, Self-Love and the Dawn of the Beatific, part of the American Academy of Religion Academy Series. Mr. Brand is a retired pastor and educator with missionary experience in Korea and Arizona.
For the past eleven months, the Christian Observer has published a series of articles by Mr. Brand under the series title “Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” [Romans 3:3 Geneva Bible], which explores the effects upon the church of the change in meaning of the Greek word pistis from faith to faithfulness by the English Revised Version Committee that began meeting in February 1870. The January 2013 installment is titled “Zwingli and the Kicker (Part I)”.
T.M. Moore serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet). Additionally, Mr. Moore is the editor of the Worldview Church.
Beginning with Reformation Day 31 October 2008 and every day since then, Mr. Moore has written a daily devotional for the Christian Observer titled In the Gates, which is a series on the Law of God.
Since May 2012, Chattanooga, Tennessee blog ‘Nooganomics’ author David Tulis has graciously allowed the Christian Observer and Presbyterians Week to republish several of his blog articles that shine a biblical and covenantal light upon current events in Chattanooga, the U.S., and the rest of the world. Mr. Tulis is a deacon at Brainerd Hills Presbyterian Church (PCA). Mr. Tulis’ article for the January 2013 Christian Observer is titled “One-Word Explanation Why Christianity Will Defeat Other Total Systems: Grace”.
Again, the Christian Observer is honored to have these three fellow servants of Jesus Christ recognized in this way for their significant and continuing contributions.
Long-time Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro’s January 2013 article is titled “Human Violence Is from the Inside Out”, which in light of the recent Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, discusses the current societal tendency to blame external factors and inanimate objects for acts of violence rather than the fallen, depraved human heart in each of us that sins against God and man.
Additionally, the January 2013 Christian Observer includes weekly Sabbath School Lessons by Assistant Editor Dr. Robert LaMay, who has faithfully provided these lessons to the Christian Observer since the 1990’s.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] Church of England Decides to Allow Homosexual Bishops in Civil Partnerships that Promise to Remain Celibate
An 8 January 2013 The Scotsman article by Shân Ross titled “Church of England Decides to Allow Gay Bishops” reports that the Church of England has decided to allow to become bishops homosexuals in civil partnerships that promise to remain celibate.
Conservative evangelical Anglicans say they will fight the policy change at the General Synod level, and may bring in bishops from overseas in order to not serve under a homosexual bishop.
+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620
+ Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, Westminster, SW1P 3AZ, England, 44-0-20-7898-1000
[3] Anglican Groups Respond to Church of England Decision to Allow Homosexual Bishops that Promise to Remain Celibate
Dr. Philip Giddings (Convenor) and Canon Dr. Chris Sugden (Secretary) of
Anglican Mainstream on 4 January 2013 issued the following statement:
“As made clear in the Ordinal, Bishops of the Church of England promise both to fashion their own life and that of their household according to the way of Christ and to be guardians of the Church's doctrine. Given the ambiguous nature of civil partnerships, it would not be credible for a person in such a partnership to make such promises. Most people assume that civil partnerships are sexual relationships. It is casuistical to claim that they are not. This is presumably why many clergy in such partnerships refuse to "give assurances" to their bishops that theirs is a "non-sexual" relationship. Since a decision to move from the current position would be a grave departure from the Church's doctrine and discipline it should be made by Bishops in Synod not by Bishops alone. Otherwise it looks too much like salami-slicing away at the Church’s teaching. A bishop known to be in a civil partnership could hardly be a focus of unity nor be a bishop for the whole church. Such an appointment would be a very divisive move both within the Church of England and in the wider Anglican Communion.”
Chairman of the Church of England Evangelical Council the Venerable Michael Lawson on 4 January 2013 issued the following statement:
“HAS THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS REALLY REMOVED THE BAR TO GAY BISHOPS?
“At the very least, the House of Bishops’ “Statement Regarding Clergy in a Civil Partnership as Candidates for the Episcopate”, will spread confusion and at worst will be taken as an effort to conform to the spirit of the age. By its timing, the Bishops appear stung by the national reaction of outrage to the rejection by General Synod of legislation to legalise the consecration of women as Bishops. If by this statement they are trying to mend fences with the general populace, showing they are truly in touch with the mind of the nation, they are profoundly out of touch with the reality of civil partnerships, most of which are seen as a focus for sexual activity, not simply an arrangement for tax purposes.
“Some bishops are known to be lax about questioning civil-partnership clergy about their sex lives. Yet the Bishop of Norwich has reported that the House of Bishops believes it would be unjust to exclude from consideration for the episcopate anyone seeking to live fully in conformity with the Church's teaching on sexual ethics or other areas of personal life and discipline. As an argument, it has some merit. But the fact is this is not a justice issue, it is an issue of example setting to the nation. It is no surprise the BBC reported the statement as “Church removes bar to gay bishops”. That’s all most people will hear, even though under the media breath there is reference to the requirement of celibacy and traditional teaching.
“The church has a poor record already on that kind of discipline. And while some Bishops are known to duck the question, the watching world may well conclude that same sex relationships are simply OK for followers of Jesus Christ. What will happen if same sex marriage is finally approved? Will the House of Bishops have another meeting to approve the next step: bishops married into same sex partnerships? Will anybody then believe there can be gay marriage without gay sex. Christians are supposed to be different and follow the teaching of Christ. The House of Bishops knows that, but on the face of the present statement they appear more concerned to avoid criticism from the watching world than to be faithful to scripture, and wise in the timing and content of its public pronouncements.”
Archbishop, Anglican Church of Kenya and Chairman, GAFCON Primates Council the Most Rev. Dr. Eliud Wabukala on 6 January 2013 issued the following statement:
“As we enter the season of Epiphany we rejoice in the splendour of the light that has dawned upon us in the appearance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Yet it is a great sadness that before the New Year has hardly begun, the life of the Anglican Communion has yet again been clouded by compromise with the secular preoccupations of the West.
“The decision by the Church of England’s House of Bishops, just announced, that clergy in Civil Partnerships can be eligible to serve as bishops will create further confusion about Anglican moral teaching and make restoring unity to the Communion an even greater challenge.
“The provisions of the U.K.’s Civil Partnership legislation mimic marriage for same sex couples and are clearly designed on the assumption that such couples are sexually active. While it is true that the House of Bishops require bishops with Civil Partners to be celibate, this proviso is clearly unworkable. It is common knowledge that active homosexuality on the part of Church of England clergy is invariably overlooked and in such circumstances it is very difficult to imagine anyone being brought to book.
“However, the heart of the matter is not enforceability, but that bishops have a particular responsibility to be examples of godly living. It cannot be right that they are able to enter into legally recognised relationships which institutionalise and condone behaviour that is completely contrary to the clear and historic teaching of Scripture, as reaffirmed for Anglicans by the 1998 Lambeth Conference in its Resolution 1.10.
“The weight of this moral teaching cannot be supported by a flimsy proviso. In his teaching about marriage, Jesus reaffirms that marriage is the coming together of a man and a woman in accordance with the pattern of creation itself when he says ‘from the beginning of creation God made them male and female’ (Mark 10:6). For the health and well being of both church and society we must promote this great God given gift of marriage without compromise and ambiguity.”
+ Anglican Mainstream, 21 High Street, Eynsham OX29 4HE, England, 44- 0-1865-883388, office@anglican-mainstream.net
+ Church of England Evangelical Council, Contact Page
+ Anglican Church of Kenya, Post Office Box 40502 – 00100, Nairobi, Kenya, 254-020-2718001, Fax: 254-020-2711782, info@ackenya.org
+ GAFCON, Post Office Box Q190, QVB Post Office, Sydney, New South Wales 1230, Australia, editor@gafcon.org
+ Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, Westminster, SW1P 3AZ, England, 44-0-20-7898-1000
[4] Calvin College Professor Wins 2012–2013 Nicholas Rescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy
Calvin College professor emeritus of philosophy Alvin Plantinga has been named winner of the 2012–2013 Nicholas Rescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy.
Created in 2010 by the University of Pittsburgh and named for a member of that institution’s philosophy faculty, the prize recognizes a lifetime of achievement in systematic philosophy, according to a profile of Plantinga written by Myrna Anderson and published recently by Calvin College communications.
The Rescher Prize (which comes with a $25,000 award and a medallion) is the latest in a series of honors for the author of, among other works, God and Other Minds, The Nature of Necessity and Warranted Christian Belief.
Plantinga graduated Calvin in 1954 and moved on to The University of Michigan, where he earned a master’s in philosophy and then to Yale, where he earned his PhD. His first teaching job was at Wayne State University.
One of the first things Plantinga came up with was the free-will defense, an answer to those who argued that a benevolent, all-knowing God could not co-exist with an evil world. He argued that God, though all-knowing and all-loving, could create creatures with free will that would allow them to choose evil.
+ 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
[5] PCA Mission to North America Seeks Church Planters
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)’s Mission to North America (MNA)’s Church Planter Recruiting ministry is seeking PCA pastors to launch new church plants around the country. There are, the ministry reports, dozens of groups looking for a church planter in their communities. Additionally, dozens of communities have been identified as target locations for future church planting.
For more information on church-planting needs, contact Alan Foster at afoster@pcanet.org or 678-232-8049.
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
+ Mission to North America, 1700 N. Brown Road, Suite 101, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825 -1200, Fax: 678-825-1201, mna@pcanet.org
[6] Zelltenreich Reformed Church 2013 Conference Scheduled 8-9 February 2013
Zeltenreich Reformed Church (United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA)) of New Holland, Pennsylvania has scheduled its 2013 conference for 8-9 February 2013.
The featured speaker is Dr. Timothy Z. Witmer, professor of practical theology and coordinator of the practical theology department at Westminster Theological Seminary, and senior minister of Crossroads Community Church in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.
The conference theme is “Turning Your Marriage Right-Side Up”, and includes the following sessions:
-- Session I (Friday, 8 February - 7:30 p.m.): ‘How to be Strangers’
-- Session II (Saturday, 9 February - 9:00 a.m.): ‘How to Frustrate Your
Wife’
-- Session III (Saturday, 9 February - 11:00 a.m.): ‘How to Make a Stubborn
Husband’
Registration is scheduled for Friday, 8 October at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, 9 October at 8:30 a.m. Advance purchase tickets are US$10 or US$12 at the door. Conference information is available at:
http://www.covreformedchurch.com/wordpress/news/zeltenreich-reformed-church-2013-conference/
+ United Reformed Churches in North America, c/o the Rev. Bradd Nymeyer, 227 1st Avenue Southeast, Sioux Center, Iowa 51250, 712-722-1965, statedclerk@urcna.org
[7] Headlines from Christian Concern
Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:
-- Employment Appeals Tribunal Rules Employer Justified in Refusing Christian Employee’s Request to Not Work on Sundays
-- IVF Treatment in U.K. Has Resulted in the Loss of Nearly 3 Million Embryos
-- Christian Doctors Say Stop Financial Rewards for Using Liverpool Care Pathway End-of-Life Protocol
-- U.K. Girl Guides Consider Removal of Pledge of Love for God in Girl Guide Promise
+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page
[8] Headlines from The Christian Institute
Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:
-- High Court Judge Attacks Government Homosexual Marriage Plans
-- Nine and Ten-Year-Old Children in British Colombia Elementary School Shown Video of Bikini-Clad Drag Queens by Homosexual Teacher
-- U.K among Worst Nations for Family Breakdown
+ 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
[9] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
-- Gay Teacher Suspended after Showing Fourth Graders Homosexually-Charged Christmas Video
-- Planned Parenthood Video Promotes Sadomasochism as ‘Adventure’ and ‘Fun’
-- Renting Wombs: the New 'Biological Colonialism'
-- British Court Asked to Allow Forced Abortion of Mentally Disabled Woman’s Baby
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[10] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- NDAA Signed Into Law by Obama Includes Indefinite Detention Provisions for American Citizens
-- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Buys 200,000 More Rounds of Ammunition for Nine-Month Total Purchase of 1.8 Billion Rounds
-- White House Wins Fight to Keep Drone Killings of Americans Secret
-- Federal Judge Rules Texas School Can Force Teenager to Wear Locator Chip
-- Annapolis, Maryland Trolley Tour Company Ends Wedding-Related Service to Avoid Gay ‘Marriage’ Lawsuits
-- Russia Adoption Ban a Death Sentence for Special-Needs Kids
-- ObamaCare to Fund Planned Parenthood K-12 Sex Ed
-- Maryland School Suspends Six-Year-Old Boy for Making Gun Gesture, Saying ‘Pow’
-- Federal Judge Rules that “Thicket of Laws” Allows President to Kill American Citizens Secretly
-- Kyrsten Sinema Will Serve as ‘First Openly Bisexual Member’ of U.S. Congress
-- Obama Administration: We Can and Will Force Christians to Act against Their Faith
-- Obama’s EPA Says No Law Can Stop It from Conducting Poisonous Experiments on Americans
-- National Cathedral in Washington DC Schedules First Homosexual Wedding
-- England Considering Ban on Kitchen Knives
-- Assisted Suicide in Washington, Oregon Leads to Elder Abuse
-- Police Kicked out of Belleville, Illinois Denny’s for Being Armed
-- Obama Blasts Chaplains' Conscience Protections
-- Arguments Begin in Case of Springfield, Massachusetts Minister Accused of ‘Crimes against Humanity’ for Homosexuality Remarks
-- Bank of America Freezes Gun Manufacturer’s Deposits: “You Should Not Be Selling Guns”
-- Planned Parenthood Murders 333,964 Unborn in 2012 through Surgical Abortion – Average One Every Ninety-Four Seconds
-- Dash Cam Video Shows Seattle Police Officer Punching Man in Face
+ Huffington Post, 560 Broadway, New York, New York 10012, 212-245-7844, info@huffingtonpost.com
+ Infowars.com, Post Office Box 19549, Austin, Texas 78760, 512-291-5750, writers@infowars.com
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
+ Thomson Reuters, 3 Times Square New York, New York 10036, 646-223-4000, general.info@thomsonreuters.com
+ Family Policy Network, Post Office Box 1199, Forest, Virginia 24551, 434-485-5084
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
+ The Heartland Institute, One South Wacker Drive #2740, Chicago, Illinois 60606, 312-377-4000, Fax: 312-377-5000, think@heartland.org
+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ Associated Press, 450 West 33rd Street, New York, New York 10001, 212-621-1500, info@ap.org
+ Last Resistance, Contact Page
+ CBS St. Louis, 1220 Olive Street, 3rd Floor, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, 314-621-2345, Fax: 314-588-1234, kmox@kmox.com
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ The Liberty Crier
[11] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Iran Scientists Working with Russia and North Korea to Develop Biological Weapons and Supply to Islamic Terrorists in Other Countries
-- 2012 Global Jihad Body Count 11,267 Dead in 2,459 Barbaric Terror Attacks
-- Islamic Gangs in France Burn 1200 Automobiles in New Year’s Eve Rioting
-- Saudi Muslim Preacher Issues Fatwa Allowing Jihadis to Rape Syrian Women
-- In Protest of Female Education In Pakistan, Muslims Massacre Five Women Teachers Travelling to Primary School
-- Arabs in Venice, Italy City Center Beat Unconscious American Jewish Student
-- Al Jazeera Acquires Gore's Current TV "Al Jazeera America"
-- Afghani Muslim Honor Kills Wife during Prison Visit
-- Populist Islamic Scholar Vows to Turn Islamabad, Pakistan into World’s Biggest ‘Tahrir Square’
-- Study Reveals Ordinary Muslims in Indonesia Violating Rights of Christians
-- U.S. Born Terrorist Anwar al-Aulaqi, Assassinated by a U.S. Drone in Yemen on 30 September 2011, Bought Air Tickets for 9/11 Muslim Terrorists - FBI Knew But He Was Invited to Pentagon Anyway to Dine and Preach
-- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Salutes Hitler's Mufti and Murdering Jihadis in Anniversary Address
-- Muslims Bomb Church and Orphanage in Indonesia
-- Trial Set for Portland, Oregon Muslim in Christmas Tree-Lighting Bomb Plot "to Detonate an 1,800-Pound Bomb"
-- More Evidence of 'Death Panels' in Obamacare: Rationing Concerns Based on Age, Race, Ethnicity
-- Netanyahu: Golan Security Fence to be Built as Global Jihadists Replace Syrian Army across Northern Border
-- Jihadists Call for Major Terror Attacks against France in Response to Publication of Muhammad Comic Book
-- Jihadists Call for Damascus to Be Ruled by Islam and Call for Khilafah [Caliphate] in a Massive Protest
-- Obama releases Hundreds of Jihadists in Afghanistan
-- Palestinian Authority Declares it Is Now ‘the State of Palestine’
-- Sharia Government of Lhokseumawe, Indonesia to Ban Women "Straddling Motorbikes"
-- Egyptian Magazine Exposes Muslim Brotherhood Infiltration of Obama Administration
-- Secret Canadian Security Report Says Devout Muslims 'Radicalizing' Canadians at ‘a Large Number of Venues’
-- Saudi Islamic Police Detain Dozens for "Plotting to Celebrate Christmas"
-- Al-Jazeera Purchase of Current TV Has Negative Potential in American Media
-- Al-Jazeera seen as Using Al Gore to Bolster Network’s Legitimacy in United States
-- Alan Dershowitz Says Obama’s Nomination of Hagel for Secretary of Defense May Encourage Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions
-- Moderate Egyptian Muslims Vow to Recapture Spain
-- Women Beaten up in France for Her Western Lifestyle, Attackers Tell Her to Wear Veil
-- Iran's Nuclear Bomb Program Complete
-- Institute on Religion and Democracy and the Hudson Institute Premiere New Film about Genocide in the Sudan
-- Christian Teacher Has Throat Cut in Mosul, Iraq, Plunging City in Fear Again
-- Car Bomb Kills Christian University Student in Mosul, Iraq
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ The Algemeiner Journal, Post Office Box 250746, Brooklyn, New York 11225, 718-771-0400, Fax: 718-771-0308, Contact Page
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Post Office Box 1192, Jerusalem, 91010, Israel, 972-2-539-9700, 972-2-539-9701, Contact Page
+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com
+ 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
+ Assyrian International News Agency
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] As the 40 Year Memorial of Roe v. Wade Approaches, the Failure of America's Mega Churches to Publicly Confront Ending Abortion is Extremely Troubling
[2] Bulletin: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to Filibuster for Prayer as We Approach the Fiscal Cliff
[3] Hobby Lobby and the Obama Abortifacient Mandate - “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.”
[4] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[5] The Religion of Peace
---
[1] As the 40 Year Memorial of Roe v. Wade Approaches, the Failure of America's Mega Churches to Publicly Confront Ending Abortion is Extremely Troubling
A glance at the websites of America's largest churches reveal no mention of ending abortion or listing abortion with other social justice and pressing human rights issues.
Issues like; providing clean water, human trafficking, fighting poverty, urban ministry, affordable housing and mentoring are mentioned, but working to end abortion is never addressed.
With 55,000,000 innocent lives lost and the lives of women diminished and bruised through abortion, it is shameful and disturbing that the most influential evangelical churches in America are not publicly addressing the greatest human rights and social justice issue of our time.
The failure of America's mega churches to prophetically confront the violence of abortion in a public way does not bode well for ending abortion in our nation.
Reformed Presbyterian minister and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition the Rev. Patrick Mahoney states:
"Over the past thirty-six years of ordained ministry, I have worked tirelessly on issues of human rights and social justice. Whether that has been; establishing emergency shelters for the homeless along with food pantries and soup kitchens, racial reconciliation, affordable housing, shipping medical supplies to emerging nations, establishing medical clinics for impoverished people and establishing homes for women dealing with domestic violence.
"However, without question, the greatest issue of social justice and human rights facing our nation today is that of ending the horror of abortion.
"Therefore, it is extremely troubling and disturbing that America's mega churches are not publicly and prophetically confronting the violence of abortion, its diminishing of women and the tragic loss of 55,000,000 innocent children from our communities.
"It is inexcusable and shameful to exclude ending abortion from other social justice and human rights issues such as providing clean drinking water, fighting poverty, homelessness and human trafficking.
"Sadly, the silence of America's largest churches on the issue of abortion will add years to the struggle toward providing a society which treats every person with dignity and respect and bringing an end to the violence of abortion.
"My hope and prayer is that as our nation marks the 40th Memorial of Roe v. Wade, America's mega churches will embrace the heart of Christ for justice and human rights and speak up with passion and purpose about ending this senseless violence against our children.
"Simply stated, living with integrity and purpose and standing against violence and injustice is far more important that large buildings, programs and attendance."
+ 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
[2] Bulletin: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to Filibuster for Prayer as We Approach the Fiscal Cliff
By Michael Anthony Milton, Ph.D., Chancellor/CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary
Oh if only there were a Jimmy Stewart, a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” congressman who would interrupt the “Fiscal Cliff” negotiations and cry out with the passion of an unadulterated patriotism. The cynics called it political naïveté; but the Washington power-brokers could not kill the dreams of a young Senator. He could not be bought.
What would happen if a Mr. Smith came to Washington today?
[Enter the Senate; read the following words as if you were in the balcony; read the words of a Mr. Smith if he came back, read with your mind's eye seeing a young Jimmy Stewart, and your mind's ear listening to his Western Pennsylvania, down-home accent and stuttering passion articulating the power of nobility robed in simplicity]
“Mr. President I, I, …I want to speak. No, I, …well, I,…I have to speak! I’m not much of one either. But I got one question, one question: have we forgotten how we got here? I mean have we forgotten that these blessings we have enjoyed come from, well, from God? Yes from God. God gave them to us. Well, Sir, I move we ‘stand down’ for prayer; maybe, just read from the Psalm appointed for this Sunday after Christmas: [flips through Bible nervously, points at the passage with his index finger of one hand as he holds the floppy, black, old Bible with the other]; just hold on, wait a minute, I’ll find it…here it is:
‘Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.’—Psalm 20:7.’
Did you hear that? Now where is our trust? I think we give the answer on our money and now we need that trust more than ever, FOR our money. Now if we pause to pray and humble ourselves before God, throw ourselves face-down on these hallowed floors, I’m sure the Lord is bound to hear us. ‘Lord knows that would be a sight to see! But it’s time to see it! Okay—I hear your snickering. Go ‘head. Well, I’m not as naive as some of you back-room-deal-cutting-art-of-compromise-lifelong politicians think I am. I know your games! Well, this is not a game, ladies and gentlemen. No Sir-ee! This is our country. Good, honest folks have sent us here to do the business of the People. And we’ve come to this—what do they call it?—a ‘Fiscal Cliff?’ Well America has been to the precipice of such cliffs before! This is not the first time we’ve been pinned against the wall. Remember Jamestown? Remember Valley Forge? Remember the dark days when brother fought against brother and we saw no way out? Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember when the world cowered under a Soviet evil that we were told was inevitable? Well Ronald Reagan didn’t buy it. They laughed at him and his view of America. Maybe you’re laughing at me. I just happen to believe that there is a way through this for the good. In fact, I think it is defining! This is about whether we will seek wisdom from outside these halls and seek the throne of …God. Yes, there I said it again! Yes, God! Remember Him? Do you think that maybe our Pilgrim forefathers turned to Him? Or Rangers on D-Day? Do you think Mr. Lincoln prayed over the anguish of sending boys to fight other American boys? They were all living on the cliffs of their day! And they all acknowledged that they didn’t have all the answers. But they had one Answer. And look at what He gave us, and will give again, when we just admit that we have come to the end of our rope. Folks, all we have to do is cry out, ‘Lord, we’ve left you out of this. And we sure have messed things up. But would you have mercy on us Lord? Now more than ever, we need you.’
So, how ’bout it fellas? I’m not leaving this floor until we recess and pray. I call upon the President to do the same… I ain’t leaving here ’till we pray! I just ain’t leaving!”
[Mr. Smith collapses. Blogs send the news around the world in seconds. A YouTube video of Mr. Smith goes viral. Pressure mounts. Congress and the President set aside a day of prayer. A breakthrough comes. A budget is passed. The fiscal cliff becomes a mountaintop of prayer. Other agencies, desperate to deal with the challenges in diplomacy, military, and education, each call for days of prayer. Families are inspired by such leadership. A nation bows on a day ordered by the President to be a day of fasting and prayer. Churches are filled. Revival breaks out—the likes of which have not been seen since the First Great Awakening]
[Cut to reality]
This is a dream, you say. Okay. I admit it. it is. Yet that is how our nation came to be. In the darkest hour, a light breaks through. Winthrops’s shining city on a hill. Reagan’s “City on a Hill.”
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Majority Leader: We tried the rest. Let’s stop for one day and seek God.
Okay. Now, who will play the part of Mr. Smith?
-----
Michael Anthony Milton (Ph.D., University of Wales) serves as the chancellor/CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary (one of the largest accredited seminaries in the country), a U.S. Army chaplain and the James M. Baird Jr. chair of pastoral theology at RTS/Charlotte. He is an author, songwriter, singer, ordained minister, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., and he previously served as the president of RTS/Charlotte. Dr. Milton also hosts a national Bible teaching television program, Faith for Living, broadcast on the NRB Television Network, and a radio program broadcast on several stations in the southeast. For 16 years he served in the business world and has also served as a top-secret Navy linguist.
+ Reformed Theological Seminary, 2101 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28226, 704-366-5066, Fax: 704-366-9295
[3] Hobby Lobby and the Obama Abortifacient Mandate - “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.”
On 1 January 2013, Hobby Lobby, a family-owned Christian business, began defying the Obama Administration mandate that employer-provided health insurance include coverage for abortifacient and birth control drugs, thus risking fines of US$1.3 million per day. The following articles from the past week provide further information about this Christian company and their hearkening unto what is right in the site of God:
-- Obama Administration: We Can and Will Force Christians to Act against Their Faith
-- Attorney for Hobby Lobby Says Corporation Will Not Offer Abortifacient Morning-After Pill
-- Hobby Lobby to Defy Obamacare Mandate
-- Hobby Lobby: Go Ahead and Fine Us, We Won’t Comply with ‘Morning-After’ Mandate
-- Hobby Lobby Will Defy Obama HHS Mandate, Risk Millions in Fines
-- Is Hobby Lobby’s Stand Really “Civil Disobedience”?
+ Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., 7707 South West 44th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73179, 405-745-1100, Contact Page
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
[4] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- Infanticide: 40 Years of Child Murder on the Altar of Sanger
-- The Nazi Roots of U.S. Gun-Control Laws
-- In Defense of the Second Amendment
-- Free Condoms for Students at Twenty-Two Philadelphia, Pennsylvania High Schools
-- Indefinite Military Detention of U.S. Citizens to Be Signed into Law by Obama
-- Obama Signs Off On Five More Years of Warrantless Wiretapping
-- Obama Walks U.S. towards Socialism/Communism
-- San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy Pepper Sprays, Detains Man with Down Syndrome
-- Report: US$91 Million Spent on Secret NSA Tests Probing Domestic Computer Systems
-- Austrian Professor Says Global Warming “Deniers” Should Be Executed
-- CNN’s Piers Morgan: Both the Bible and U.S. Constitution Are ‘Inherently Flawed’ and Need to Be Amended
-- United States Department of Agriculture Awards Researchers US$1.3 Million Grant to Study ‘Christmas Tree Rot’
-- Census in Nepal Reportedly Labels 2.3 Million Christians as Hindus
-- Push for New Pro-Abortion Law in Ireland Built on a Lie
-- A Festive Mood in Maine as Same-Sex Marriage Becomes Legal
-- Sentimentalizing Serial Murder
-- Obama’s Deadly Plan for the Death Tax
+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ Gary North, gnorth@poetworld.net
+ The Liberty Crier
+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com
+ Political Outcast
+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com
+ The Leadership Institute, 1101 North Highland Street, Arlington, Virginia 22201, 703-247-2000, Contact Page
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, 212- 556-1234, executive-editor@nytimes.com
+ Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, New York 10017, 212-599-7000, Fax: 212-599-3494, hmartone@manhattan-institute.org
[5] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Obama Commits Treason by Arming Egypt’s Anti-American Dictatorship
-- Iran: Pastor Nadarkhani Jailed Again
-- 2012: Boko Haram's Bloodiest Year
-- Muslim Extremist Groups Continue to Grow Violent toward Christians in Indonesia
-- Muslims Open Fire on Midnight Mass at Nigerian Church: Kill Pastor, Six Worshippers and Set Church Ablaze
-- Christmas in Indonesia: Savage Muslim Mob Pelts Christian Worshippers with Rotten Eggs, Bags of Urine and Excrement
-- Gunmen Kill at Least Six Christians in Yobe, Nigeria
-- Is Texas’ CSCOPE Curriculum Pro-Islam and Anti-Christian?
-- Twelve Christians Killed in Christmas Bloodshed in Nigeria
-- Hamas and Hezbollah Freed Morsi from Egyptian Prison and Slaughtered Protestors during Revolution
-- 'Violence against Women Law' Is Not Islamic Says Afghani Hajj Deputy Minister
-- Norwegian Parents Outraged at Islamization of Christmas
-- Muslim Doctor Whose Nebraska Clinic Infected Dozens with Hepatitis, Killing Some, Blames "Anti-Muslim Sentiment," Applies for Reinstatement
-- Muslims in Germany Attack Indian Student, Cut Off His Tongue for Refusing to Convert to Islam
-- Islamists’ Harsh Justice Is on the Rise in North Mali
-- Plight of Syrian Christians Intensifies
-- The Sharia Threat to America
-- Syrian Jihadist Group Threatens United States
-- Extremism on the Rise in Zanzibar
-- Minorities, Particularly Christians, Are ‘Deliberately Sidelined in Pakistan’
-- Sudan Arrests Coptic Priests for Baptizing Woman Who Left Islam
-- Devout Muslims in Nigeria Tie Up Fifteen Women and Children before Slitting Throats while Ululating "Allah Akbar"
-- Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to Charge Sharia Opponents with Treason
-- British Man Detained for 'Trying to Join [Muslim] Terror Group in Africa'
-- Muslims in Nigeria Murder Twenty-Two in Jihad Attacks, Force Christians to Convert to Islam on Pain of Death
-- Muslims in Libya Bomb Church, Murder Two
-- Al Qaeda Offers Gold Bounty for the Head of U.S. Ambassador in Yemen, UK£15,000 for Any American Soldier
-- Syrian Jihadists Behead Christian and Feed Him to the Dogs as Fears Grow over Islamist Atrocities
-- New Egyptian Constitution Betrays Coptic Christians
-- Fifty Christians Temporarily Arrested in Christmas Raid
-- Popular and Ailing Pastor Imprisoned in Iran
+ Last Resistance, Contact Page
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ 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
+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, 212- 556-1234, executive-editor@nytimes.com
+ The Financial Times Ltd., Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL, England, 44-0-207-775-6248, help@ft.com
+ The Herald, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland G2 3QB, 0141- 302-7000, Fax: 0141-302-7117, On-lineEditor@theherald.co.uk
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
---
[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
