Florida County Backtracks From Fines Against Open Homes Fellowship

Orlando, FL – After Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the Orange County Code Enforcement Board, the county dropped more than $50,000 in fees, property liens, and a notice of foreclosure levied against the non-profit Open Homes Fellowship, a Christian ministry with a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. Now, the organization will pay just $325. Open Homes has served the local community for 25 years and operates a Christian, nine-month program that has higher success rates against drug and alcohol relapse than do comparable secular programs. An Open Homes Fellowship rehabilitation residence was damaged by fire. Despite the best efforts of Open Homes and of volunteer workers, construction related to the fire damage lasted longer than the initial two month deadline and six month extension granted by the county, resulting in excessive fines against the charitable organization.

When Open Homes decided to rebuild, the board granted it just two months to finish all the necessary repairs, which unavoidably included finding money and volunteers for the non-profit’s unexpected repair project. Open Homes attended a hearing and was granted another six months, with the standard fine of $150 per day accruing thereafter. When it became apparent that they would not be finished on time, they attended the next board meeting and showed good progress. The board instructed Open Homes to finish repairs by “early next year” and that, once “all the appropriate permits are filed, more than likely we’ll come back, and I’m sure that a reasonable settlement will be made at that time.” Repairs were finished in Spring 2013 after Open Homes spent nearly $25,000 in materials and approximately $70,000 in donated labor. Open Homes was then assessed a $50,400 fine and served with a foreclosure notice from the county.

Liberty Counsel pointed out that in a similar case in the same neighborhood, the board had waived about $1 million in fines that accrued over an eight-year period. However, with Open Homes, Orange County submitted notice of foreclosure less than two years after the fire and while Open Homes was still within the most recent timeframe given by the board. Apparently, Open Homes was caught in the middle of a conflict between the board and the building inspection department. Several years ago Liberty Counsel filed suit against Orange Country when officials tried to revoke Open Homes’ license to operate. Liberty Counsel won that case and the County had to pay more than $50,000.

“Government boards and officials at all levels need to fairly apply the law, ” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. Charles Camorata, Director of Open Homes said, “It is so wonderful to have Liberty Counsel in our corner.”

Liberty Counsel is an international non-profit litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

Courtesy of http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14102&AlertID=1604

Pentagon May Court Martial Soldiers Who Share Christian Faith

The Pentagon has released a statement confirming that soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their faith: “Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense…Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis…”.

The statement, released to Fox News, follows a Breitbart News report on Obama administration Pentagon appointees meeting with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein to develop court-martial procedures to punish Christians in the military who express or share their faith.

(From our earlier report: Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and says Christians–including chaplains–sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military are guilty of “treason,” and of committing an act of “spiritual rape” as serious a crime as “sexual assault.” He also asserted that Christians sharing their faith in the military are “enemies of the Constitution.”)

Being convicted in a court martial means that a soldier has committed a crime under federal military law. Punishment for a court martial can include imprisonment and being dishonorably discharged from the military.

So President Barack Obama’s civilian appointees who lead the Pentagon are confirming that the military will make it a crime–possibly resulting in imprisonment–for those in uniform to share their faith. This would include chaplains—military officers who are ordained clergymen of their faith (mostly Christian pastors or priests, or Jewish rabbis)–whose duty since the founding of the U.S. military under George Washington is to teach their faith and minister to the spiritual needs of troops who come to them for counsel, instruction, or comfort.

This regulation would severely limit expressions of faith in the military, even on a one-to-one basis between close friends. It could also effectively abolish the position of chaplain in the military, as it would not allow chaplains (or any service members, for that matter), to say anything about their faith that others say led them to think they were being encouraged to make faith part of their life. It’s difficult to imagine how a member of the clergy could give spiritual counseling without saying anything that might be perceived in that fashion.

In response to the Pentagon’s plans, retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who is now executive vice president of the Family Research Council (FRC), said on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning:

It’s a matter of what do they mean by “proselytizing.” …I think they’ve got their defintions a little confused. If you’re talking about coercion that’s one thing, but if you’re talking about the free exercise of our faith as individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, especially for the chaplains, they I think the worst thing we can do is stop the ability for a soldier to be able to exercise his faith.”

FRC has launched a petition here which has already collected over 30,000 signatures, calling on Secretary Hagel is stop working with Weinstein and his anti-Christian organization to develop military policy regarding religious faith.

**UPDATE**

The FRC petition has now exceeded more than 40,000 signatures at the time of this update.

Breitbart News legal columnist Ken Klukowski is senior fellow for religious liberty with the Family Research Council and on faculty at Liberty University School of Law. 

Courtesy of http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/05/01/Breaking-Pentagon-Confirms-Will-Court-Martial-Soldiers-Who-Share-Christian-Faith

Atheist Group Loses Lawsuit Challenging Prayers at Florida City Commission Meetings

Lakeland, Florida – A Florida atheist group has lost their court challenge surrounding prayers that are offered during Lakeland’s City Commission meetings.

Atheists of Florida had filed a lawsuit against the City of Lakeland and its mayor, Gow Field, in 2010, contending that the prayers that preceded each meeting violated the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. The organization states that it sat in on a meeting in March 2010 and complained that the prayer was clearly Christian. It requested that the City have a moment of silence instead.

In its lawsuit, the group noted that prayers at the meetings include phrases such as “in the name of Jesus Christ,” “our Savior,” “the King of kings” and “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

A month after filing in district court, officials opened up the prayers to all religions in an effort to end the dispute. However, a year later, Atheists of Florida stated that it was not yet satisfied as the prayers were still predominantly Christian. One Muslim and two Jews had reportedly participated in a year’s time.

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit against the City, and Atheists of Florida appealed to the 11th Circuit. This week, the court upheld the ruling of the lower court, stating that the prayers — according to the new policy — were not unconstitutional.

“The selection procedures of the invocational speakers invited to deliver an invocation at Lakeland City Commission’s meetings pursuant to policies and practices initiated informally in March 2010, which were codified with the passage of Resolution 4848 in August 2010, do not support the AOF’s contention that Lakeland attempted to exploit the prayer opportunity to proselytize or advance or disparage any one faith or belief,” wrote Judge Arthur Alarcon on behalf of the panel. “Nor do those policies and practices have the effect of affiliating the Lakeland City Commission with any discrete faith or belief.”

“Accordingly, we are persuaded that the district court did not err in granting Lakeland’s motion for summary judgment with regard to Lakeland’s policies and practices for the selection of speakers since March 2010 and codified in Resolution 4848,” he concluded.

The judges advised, however, that they lacked jurisdiction to decide Atheists of Florida’s contention that the prayers were unlawful prior to the new policy.

“For the same reasons, the district court lacked jurisdiction, and we vacate that portion of the district court’s judgment addressing the merits of AOF’s challenge to the pre-March 2010 prayer practice and remand for the district court to dismiss that portion of the challenge as moot,” Alcaron wrote.

“We were elated to hear the news earlier today on the court’s ruling,” stated Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields following the decision. “I believe very strongly that this was a very important message to make: That the Constitution applies to those that want to exercise their right to offer an invocation for heavenly guidance for their elected officials.”

The Lakeland City Commission has been opening its meetings with prayer since 1951.

Courtesy of http://christiannews.net/2013/03/28/atheist-group-loses-lawsuit-challenging-prayers-at-florida-city-commission-meetings/

Muslim Mobs Destroy Christian Town in Pakistan

Hundreds of Christians in Lahore, Pakistan had their homes burnt down and later clashed with police who provided no protection after a dispute in which a Christian man was accused of blasphemy of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The rampant persecution against Christians in Muslim nations continues to be inflamed with little government help on the way.
Joseph Colony, an area of Lahore, where the attack took place has been ravaged by the destruction from the mob of angry Muslims who burnt down homes and businesses while the authorities told local police to let the angered Muslims “let them vent their grief and anger.”

According to reports:

Shahid Imran, a Muslim barber in Joseph Colony in the Badami Bagh area, on Friday (March 8) accused his Christian neighbor, 26-year-old Sawan Masih, of blaspheming Muhammad. Imran alleged that Masih, who runs a small billiards business, had “ridiculed” Islam’s prophet by saying that Jesus was the greatest prophet ever.
Soon after, crowds of armed Muslims began gathering in the area of about 200 Christian families, mostly sanitation workers, demanding that Masih be handed over to them. They besieged his house and started pelting it with stones, damaging the windows and door. Masih had fled the area as soon as news reached him about Imran’s accusation. (source).

 Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code calls for death or life imprisonment for those accused of blaspheming Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. These laws have emboldened the Muslim communities to attack those with vigilante or mob violence against those who are suspected of speaking out against Islam. And such was the case in Joseph Colony, where the angry mob rushed to Masih’s home. Efforts to calm the crowd were futile. Soon police arrested Imran’s father in hopes that would ease tensions but soon they were accused of being “blasphemers.” While he was taken into custody the crowd went on the attack.

The police stood by idly while homes, stores and churches were destroyed.

Despite a heavy police presence in Joseph Colony, the crowd started to destroy property. prompting the order from the local government to “let them vent their anger.” Approximately 170 homes, 18 shops and several churches were burned down and destroyed. Many of the homes were looted before being destroyed by the rioters.
“I have been robbed of all of my life’s savings,” Yousuf Masih said, standing close to his burned house.
Area resident Haroon Masih wept as he described how the raiders broke the locks of his door and stole the dowries of his four daughters that he had been gathering for several years.

“They made off with everything valuable I had and then simply set the house on fire,” he said. “My new rickshaw was also burnt to ashes.” Residents also showed Morning Star News gas pipelines that had been sawed off to ensure maximum spread of fires.

Jesus Christ prophesied that all Christians should expect to be despised, rejected and hated in the world.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. – John 15-18:21.

Double Standard Imposed

Families in Joseph Colony returned to destroyed homes. All because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

In response to the destruction of the Christian neighborhood, approximately Several hundred Christian protestors blocked a highway, demanding that the police take some action to stop the destruction. According to police officials, they uprooted a fence and burned an electric generator. Rather than letting them “vent their frustration” police responded by using tear gas on the crowd and arresting 150 protestors.

The government has offered 200,000 rupees ($2,000US) as compensation to each family, which was immediately rejected by the people of Joseph Colony:

“It is like poison to us,” they screamed as Christian Senator Kamran Michael and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah visited the area late Saturday night amid heavy security.

The crowd shouted slogans against Michael and the Punjab government, believing Islamic leaders would have heeded them and holding them responsible for doing nothing to stop the violence. The two officials were forced to leave the area after just a few minutes.

The Punjab government later raised the compensation amount to 500,000 rupees, and the checks were handed out to victims. (source).

Pray for the Christians in Pakistan who suffered this horrific attack and for others who may be in danger as well. It is difficult for some living in certain parts of the world to grasp a reality where just being known as a Christian literally puts your home, family and life in jeopardy. But this is the reality for millions of Christians worldwide today. Pray for the failure of their persecutors and for the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to lead them to repentance.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.- Romans 8:35-37.

Courtesy of http://beginningandend.com/muslim-mobs-destroy-christian-town-in-pakistan/

Real Bullies: The Homosexuality Is Normal Movement

Think of us as crew members on the starship Enterprise of the Star Trek TV show, boldly going where no one has gone before. Folks, this is what it feels like challenging the Homosexuality Is Normal Movement. It is extremely dangerous.

Homosexual activists attempt to humiliate and politically destroy anyone who dares even criticize their agenda. Meanwhile, the MSM (mainstream media) casts us who believe marriage should remain between one man and one woman as the aggressors, as hate-filled villains.

Have the Homosexuality Is Normal Movement stolen our kids? Despicably, while we were not looking, homosexual activists sneaked their agenda in the back doors of our elementary schools, indoctrinating our kids early. Unquestionably, lack of access to your child for indoctrination contributes to the Left’s hatred for home schools and their relentless attempts to close them down.

Here is another example of homosexual activists’ in-your-face, aggressive indoctrination of our kids. A Massachusetts charter school, grades 7-12, will host a production of the play “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told,” a retelling of the biblical story of Genesis with gay characters. Keep in mind, folks, that American schools have a cow when a kid brings a Bible or wears a t-shirt with religious, patriotic, or U.S. Military images. And yet, this school gleefully hosts a play which blasphemes Christianity while promoting homosexuality.

Our forty-year-old son and twenty-year-old granddaughter support homosexual marriage. Their attitude is What’s the big deal? It is only fair that gays be allowed to marry. America’s youths are parroting the liberals’ argument that opposition to same-sex marriage is discriminatory and bigoted. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, support for gay marriage is at 65 percent among those 18 to 29 years old. The gay marriage approval rating is probably even higher among high school kids.

A twenty-something-year-old Christian youth pastor picked me up from the airport in California. Justifying his support of same-sex marriage, he said, “God does not care who we love.” Wow, I could hardly believe my ears. This young man, who claimed to be a minister of God, chose to ignore the Bible and spout the liberal pop-culture spin.

From cooking shows to home improvement and everything in between, it has become difficult to watch TV without the Homosexuality Is Normal agenda being forced down your throat. If you do not believe that these people are outrageously aggressive, listen to this. The Green Street United Methodist Church will not perform heterosexual marriages until gays can marry.

Folks, I have dear friends and beloved relatives who are homosexual. I am loving and kind to their mates. My 85-year-old dad has been a Christian pastor over 50 years. Dad said he loves the homosexuals in his life, but they know where he stands on this topic, which is the biblical view.

Dad’s tolerance is not enough to please the aggressive Homosexuality Is Normal Movement bullying America today. They seek to politically bend Dad’s arm behind his back, forcing him to declare homosexuality normal, against his faith.

My point is, homosexual activists are extremely aggressive while portraying themselves as innocent victims of an intolerant society. In reality, we who believe in traditional values are the ones being bullied. The MSM gang vilifies anyone who dares to stand up for traditional marriage. Come hell or high water, they are going to make us embrace homosexuality as being normal by severely punishing those who refuse to comply.

And will someone please tell me why homosexual activists are so hell-bent on forcing Christian institutions to betray their faith by embracing the homosexual agenda? Homosexual activists have sued the Boy Scouts of America and launched a war on the Catholic Church.

No one is opposing homosexuals doing their own thing. Rather than aggressively trying to infiltrate the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Church, why not form their own Fabulous Scouts of America and the Church of If It Feels Good, Do It and leave Christian institutions be?

Christian institutions are simply saying you cannot come into our house and force us to change the rules – especially when those rules come from God. And what is the MSM’s response to Christian institutions defending their religious freedom? The MSM campaigns to brand the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church intolerant haters. We are living in crazy, insidious, evil times, folks.

The Homosexuality Is Normal Movement takes no prisoners – not even new Pope Francis. They have already begun finding fault with him because he is against gay marriage and gay adoption.

Question: will homosexual activists get away with branding the pope a hater?

The Homosexuality Is Normal Movement is not made up of passive, well-meaning victims simply seeking tolerance and their place in the sun. They are relentless, viscious, and hell-bent on forcing all of us, particularly Christians, to say their behavior is normal.
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/03/real_bullies_the_homosexuality_is_normal_movement.html#ixzz2ObVYHdl4
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

Religious Free Speech Victory at Sinclair Community College in Ohio

March 12, 2013 — Sinclair Community College (SCC), of Dayton, OH, agreed to settle a federal lawsuit brought by the Thomas More Society and Ohio attorneys Curt C. Hartman, Christopher P. Finney, and Bradley M. Gibson, in response to actions by the college to prohibit students from distributing literature and displaying signage on campus.

“We are pleased that Sinclair Community College decided to join with its students to promote free speech instead of silencing or trying to control the content of their speech,” said Peter Breen, executive director and legal counsel of the Thomas More Society. “At its core, the university campus provides a place for students to debate and grapple with ideas, including ideas that may not be popular in certain quarters. Freedom of expression is an absolutely fundamental value in a democratic, self-governing society and indispensable to the educational process.”

The case was filed last summer in U.S. District Court, on the heels of a “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” rally opposing the U.S. Health and Human Services conscience-oppressing abortifacient-sterilization mandate. The rally had been organized and sponsored by members of the student body of the Dayton-based school.

Sinclair’s campus police forbade student-generated signage during that rally, and the lawsuit by the Thomas More Society and Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) alleged that the campus police had continued to engage in systematic censorship of free speech as at previous student-led rallies. The suit also alleged that students had been barred from distributing informational brochures to their classmates.

The lawsuit alleged that police stated the practice of disallowing signs and brochures was supposedly intended to comply with a school policy barring “disruptive behavior,” even though censoring the content of signs or brochures was nowhere addressed in the actual wording of the policy cited. It is fundamental First Amendment law that the content of free speech, no matter how “offensive” it may be to certain onlookers, deserves the very highest degree of legal protection, despite the fact that some of those hearing or seeing the speakers’ message may be “disruptive” and seek to impose their “hecklers’ veto” against the speakers. Here, the police — as is all too common — were the sole folks within hearing or sight of the pro-life messages displayed on the “offensive” signs who sought to enforce their own “hecklers’ veto.” In every such case, the Thomas More Society will hasten to support the right of pro-life speakers to have their “say,” loud and clear, in America’s public forums!

As a result of the lawsuit, SCC has adopted a new policy recognizing and allowing for the exercise of broader First Amendment Rights of students and groups hosting expressive activities on campus. The college also agreed to pay $9,000 to cover the plaintiffs’ costs and attorneys’ fees.

Thomas More Society recognizes and applauds the fine legal work provided by lead attorneys Chris Finney and Brad Gibson of the law firm of Finney, Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson Co., L.P.A., based in Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, and Curt C. Hartman, of Amelia, OH, which led to this very positive result. In addition, the Thomas More Society appreciates the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education for writing to SCC President Steven Lee Johnson last year, asking Sinclair Community College to disavow the censorship of TVC’s event by the SCC police and to promise never to enforce such a ban against signs in the future.

A copy of the settlement letter can be found here.

Courtesy of https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/news/

Missouri Atheist Group Says It Will Take Part in St. Patrick’s Day Parade Despite Ban

An atheist organization in Missouri banned from taking part in a citywide St. Patrick’s Day Parade has stated that it will participate despite the ban.

According to Fox 4 of Kansas City, the leader of the Kansas City Atheist Coalition announced earlier this week that his organization would hold an event along the parade route titled “Ask an Atheist.”

“We want to help people understand that atheism is not a negative worldview,” said Josh Hyde, vice president of the KCAC, in a statement.

“As atheists, we believe it is up to us – not a deity – to make the world a better place, which is why we do volunteer work, raise money for charity and work to promote equality and human rights.”

Last month, the KCAC submitted an application to be part of the city’s annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, set to be held Sunday.

However, the application was rejected. Sarah Hargreaves, a member of the KCAC, told Fox 4 that the rejection was “discrimination.”

“The idea that they are presenting now that this is a very Catholic event and they were celebrating the patron saint and his Christian legacy, I think makes for a good response but I don’t think that’s their reason,” said Hargreaves.

“I think people on the parade committee are personally offended by atheists in a similar way that there are people in this country that are offended at the existence of people who are gay.”

Organized by a group of private volunteers since the 1970s, Kansas City’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is listed on its website as a nonprofit 501C3 corporation.

In addition to the parade, festivities included in the celebration include a Gaelic Mass at Redemptorist Catholic Church and a food drive. Fr. Patrick Tobin will be this year’s Grand Marshall.

Erin Kiekbusch of the parade board of directors forwarded a statement to The Christian Post from the 2013 Parade Co-Chairs Sharon Bundy and Anne McKeown.

“Kansas City’s parade celebrates the Feast Day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and the Christian teachings and beliefs that he lived and suffered for. The Atheist Coalition’s published mission is to advance godlessness through activism,” reads the statement.

“[Its] stated intent regarding the 2013 parade was to carry banners with phrases such as ‘positively godless’ and ‘morals without mythology.’ It was with respect for the legacy of St. Patrick that the parade committee turned down the Atheist Coalition’s application to participate in this year’s procession.”

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/missouri-atheist-group-says-it-will-take-part-in-st-patricks-day-parade-despite-ban-91982/#2clzsT10wFhSc0D7.99

School Forces First Grader to Remove “God” From Poem

A North Carolina elementary school forced a first grade student to change a poem she had written for her grandfather for a Veteran’s Day Event because a line contained the name of God in it.
The student, who attends West Marion Elementary School was selected to read the poem as part of a special school event. Her poem was a tribute to her grandfather, a Vietnam war veteran. The line that caused the controversy said: “He prayed to God for peace, he prayed to God for strength.” (source).

According to reports, a parent of another student of the school became aware of the line in the poem and complained to school officials about the religious language.

“We had one parent concerned with the use of the word ‘God’ in this program,” school employee Chris Greene explained during a recent Board of Education meeting. “This parent did not want the word ‘God’ mentioned anywhere in the program.”

As a result, school officials to the student to remove the line from the poem.

“We wanted to make sure we were upholding the school district’s responsibility of separation of church and state from the Establishment Clause,” Superintendent Gerri Martin, who made the decision along with the principal and vice principal, told the Hickory Record.

“As a principal of a public school, I must put aside my personal religious beliefs and follow the law,” added West Marion Elementary principal Desarae Kirkpatrick, “which upholds that we have freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but that we, as public schools, cannot endorse one single religion over another.” (source).

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal advocacy group that works all over the United States defending Christians in issue of religious liberty, issued a letter to the school informing that they violated the student’s rights in their actions:

“America’s public schools should encourage, not restrict, the constitutionally protected freedom of students to express their faith,” said Matt Sharp, legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, in a statement. “Students should not be censored when speaking about their faith or honoring those who valiantly served to protect our freedoms. … The censorship of this young student’s poem about her grandfathers is repugnant to the First Amendment rights of all students and sends an impermissible message of hostility towards religion.” (source).

In their letter, the Alliance Defending Freedom informed them that if they did not change their policy and allow religious speech of this manner, they would pursue legal action.

Continue in prayer for this school, the student and the ADF for a resolution that allows free expression, even if it is in reference to the God of the Bible. Parts of society, especially the public school system have become so hostile to God that even a reference to the name “God” in a poem results in censorship. This attitude of enmity with The Lord is all prophesied in the Bible. Jesus Christ said:

Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. – John 15:20-21.

Christians will continue to see the world increase its hostility to the faith. And the response should be to continue to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and pray for revival in the hearts and minds of the unsaved world to see the light and truth of Jesus Christ, who does not just give a soldier strength, He gives eternal life to all who will believe on Him. It is sin that has caused such a gulf between humanity and God. And the only remedy to have peace, forgiveness and reconciliation with God is faith in Jesus Christ who died for the sins of the world so that there would be a chance for forgiveness and eternal life.

This is the message Christians need to continue to proclaim and it is a blessing that a first grader has set such a fine example.

Courtesy of:

http://beginningandend.com/school-forces-first-grader-to-remove-god-from-poem/

The Queen James Bible and ‘Homophobic’ Interpretations

In case you haven’t heard the news, there is a new edition of the King James Bible that rewrites eight key verses that speak against homosexual practice. It’s called the Queen James Bible (I kid you not), and the editors state that, “We edited those eight verses in a way that makes homophobic interpretations impossible.”

Yes, you can now practice homosexuality and read your Bible without feeling condemned, although you still have to deal with the hundreds of verses affirming only heterosexual marriage and family (including one of the Ten Commandments that says, “Honor your father and mother” rather than, “Honor your father and father”).

And then there are the thousands of verses that assume the importance of male-female gender distinctions, beginning with the first chapter of the Bible, which states, “God created man in His own image … male and female He created them”(Gen. 1:27). But why quibble?

On the genuinely positive side, it is good see a hunger for the Scriptures in the LGBT community, and the editors boast that the Queen James Bible (QJB) “is the perfect Bible for ceremony, study, sermon, gift-giving or simply to put on display in the home or church.”

On the totally negative side, to the extent professing LGBT Christians believe this translation to be accurate, they are deceiving themselves. And that would be tragic.

Take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of a Christian struggling with homosexuality. You want to follow Jesus and obey the Scriptures, but you find yourself attracted to the same sex, through no conscious choice of your own. You pray for God to change you and often cry yourself to sleep, only to wake up the next morning with the same unwanted attractions.

You wonder if God hates you and has singled you out for condemnation: God, why won’t you change me and make me normal?

You hit rock bottom and are considering suicide when someone tells you that your homosexuality is a gift, that God made you this way, and that preachers are misinterpreting the Bible when they say you can’t be a practicing homosexual and a Christian at the same time. Then they hand you your very own copy of the QJB, and voila, all those negative verses are gone.

Can you imagine how tempting it would be to embrace this new “revelation”?

So, Leviticus 18:22 doesn’t say, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination” (King James Version). It really says, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind in the temple of Molech: it is an abomination” (QJB; Molech was a pagan idol).

And Paul didn’t actually write that “men who practice homosexuality” will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9; ESV). What he really said was that neither “morally weak, nor promiscuous” people will inherit God’s kingdom (QJB).

The problem, of course, is that the original Hebrew of Leviticus and the original Greek of 1 Corinthians do not say what the QJB says. Not a chance.

The editors have simply changed the Bible to fit their sexuality, opening up a Pandora’s Box of potential mistranslation. It would be like changing “Thou shalt not commit adultery” into “Thou shalt not commit adultery unless you are deeply in love and willing to divorce your spouse to marry your adulterous partner.”

Interestingly, the QJB editors recognize the difficulty of translating the Hebrew word to’evah in Leviticus 18:22 with something less than “abomination.” But they bypass this difficulty by claiming that the abomination was not a man having sex with another man. Rather, it was only an abomination for two men to have sex if they did it as an act of pagan worship in the temple of an idol.

Really? Well, the very next verse (Lev. 18:23) condemns bestiality, calling it “perversion” (tevel). Using the same logic, would the QJB editors argue that bestiality is only wrong if carried out in an idolatrous temple?

In point of fact, all of Leviticus 18 deals with forbidden sexual unions (according to Leviticus 18:24-30, these practices were wrong for both pagan nations and Israel), with only one reference to the practice of sacrificing children to idols (Lev. 18:21). And there is not a hint in the chapter that adultery or incest or bestiality or homosexual practice are condemned only if committed in a pagan temple. Strikingly, even though all of these practices are called to’evot, abominations, in Leviticus 18:26-29, only homosexual practice is singled out as a to’evah, abomination, within the chapter.

Other reviews have exposed additional, serious errors in this new mistranslation of the sacred Scriptures, but, to sum things up, we can say that the Queen James Bible accomplishes the exact opposite of what it sets out to do: It provides eloquent testimony that the Bible and homosexual practice are incompatible.

Does Jesus love the homosexual? Unequivocally yes. Does he affirm homosexuality? Unequivocally no. The Bible (as in the real deal, not the QJB) tells me so.

Michael Brown is the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience.

Courtesy of http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/35014-the-queen-james-bible-and-homophobic-interpretations

IRS SURRENDERS: TIME FOR CHURCHES TO GET ‘POLITICAL’

The jig is up. The news is out. Pastors across America have called the left’s bluff. The empty words “separation of church and state” – a phrase found nowhere in the U.S. Constitution – have lost their sting.

Yes, “separation” still applies, but only insofar as it requires the state to remain separate from the church. That is to say, that government not interfere with the free exercise of either speech or religion.

For decades, hard-left anti-theist groups like the ACLU, People for the American Way (PFAW) and Barry Lynn’s Americans United (AU) have employed a cynical disinformation scheme intended to intimidate clergy into silence on issues of morality, culture and Christian civic involvement – issues that are not political so much as they have been politicized, issues that are inherently “religious.”

AU, for instance, recently sent 60,000 letters to churches across the nation warning pastors, priests and rabbis that “If the IRS determines that your house of worship has engaged in unlawful intervention, it can revoke the institution’s tax-exempt status.”

That’s a lie.

Despite hundreds of thousands of threatening letters sent by these liberal outfits (and as many complaints filed with the IRS) not a single church has ever lost tax-exemption for socio-political activity – zip, zero, nada. Not even for endorsing candidates from the pulpit. The left has cried wolf far too many times. No one will come running. Especially not the IRS.

That’s because churches, unlike other nonprofit organizations, don’t need a letter of tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Service. Churches are constitutionally tax-exempt simply by virtue of existence. It’s automatic. The only way the IRS could revoke a church’s tax-exempt status would be to disband the church, which, obviously, the government has no authority to do. It’s simple. Pastors, if you get a letter from the ACLU, PFAW or AU, I suggest a singular use for it: bird-cage liner.

Keeping all this in mind, something I’ve long expected has finally occurred. A little over a week ago, the IRS ran up the white flag. That bureaucratic bully we all love to hate announced that, for the indefinite future, it is “holding any potential church audits in abeyance,” for violating its arbitrary “no politicking” rule.

This rule stems from the blatantly unconstitutional “Johnson Amendment,” which, in 1954, was introduced by then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson. At the time, Johnson was facing opposition from Christians and anti-Communists. He pushed the rule through in an effort to muzzle them.

Unfortunately, his scheme has achieved much success. That is, until now. I suspect the realization that it lacks constitutional authority to yank any church’s tax exemption for “politicking” has prompted the IRS to finally lay down its arms.

But there’s a back story. Since 2008, the Christian legal organizationAlliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has spearheaded a First Amendment exercise called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” Since then, thousands of pastors across America have boldly exercised their guaranteed constitutional rights by addressing “political” issues from the pulpit. This has included directly endorsing candidates. These pastors have dared the IRS to come after them and, not surprisingly, the IRS has balked.

Essentially, the goal was twofold. First, it was hoped that if the IRS tried, somehow, to revoke a church’s tax-exempt status, that church could sue and, once and for all, have the Johnson Amendment ruled unconstitutional.

The second possibility was that, rather than having the “no politicking” rule completely thrown out, the IRS would choose, instead, the path of least resistance – that it would simply do nothing. It has chosen door No. 2. Not only has the IRS done nothing, it has, at least for now, completely thrown in the towel.

The next step is to repeal the toothless Johnson Amendment. This will do away with any residual confusion. A Republican-led Congress and a President Romney could do just that.

Indeed, the staggering gravity of Tuesday’s election has weighed heavily on the hearts of spiritual leaders who, hitherto, have remained completely apolitical. Obama’s unprecedented attacks on life, freedom, faith and family have prompted the Rev. Billy Graham, for instance, to run full-page advertisements in newspapers across the country, urging voters to choose candidates who support biblical values of life, natural marriage, and religious liberty.

People are taking notice.

“This is unprecedented for the world’s best-known evangelist,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Billy Graham has always steered clear of politics. In reality, Billy Graham has merely raised his prophetic voice like any preacher should when biblical and moral values are placed in jeopardy by politicians.”

John MacArthur, a well-known pastor and author who, over the years, has spoken out against Christian political advocacy, has also had a dramatic change of heart. “I was amazed that one of the historic parties in the U.S. adopted the sins of Romans 1 as their platform,” MacArthur said of the DNC in a recent Sunday morning sermon. “This is a new day in our country. Parties that used to differ on economics, now differ dramatically on issues that invade the realm of God’s law and morality.”

”I am beginning to see more and more pastors waking up and realizing that biblical and moral issues are under attack and they have no choice but to speak,” noted Staver. “This isn’t politics; it is biblical and moral issues that have been politicized.”

In 1980, Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell, along with other venerable Christian leaders, was central to placing Ronald Reagan in the White House. Today’s socio-political stage is strikingly similar. Pastors are poised to do the same thing for Mitt Romney.

At the time, Falwell gave a rousing call to arms: “What is wrong in America today?” he asked. “We preachers – and there are 340,000 of us who pastor churches – we hold the nation in our hand. And I say this to every preacher: We are going to stand accountable before God if we do not stand up and be counted.”

 

Pastors, stand up and be counted. The IRS muzzle has been removed. The choice is clear.

You know what to do.

Now go and do it.

Courtesy of http://www.wnd.com/2012/11/irs-surrenders-time-for-churches-to-get-political/