Wednesday, February 12, 2014
It is a fact well known to certain Episcopalians—both those who have left the Episcopal Church (USA) and those who have remained—that ECUSA and its dioceses have followed a pattern of suing any church that chooses to leave for another Anglican jurisdiction. But the full extent of the litigation that has ensued is not well known at all, either in the wider Church, or among the provinces of the Anglican Communion.
Your Curmudgeon proposes to do what he can to rectify this situation, by publishing an annual update on this site of the current status of all past and present cases in which ECUSA or any of its dioceses has been or is involved, from 2000 to date. Feel free to link to this post, to email links to it to other Episcopalians, and to send it to your Bishop -- and feel free to post any updates or corrections in the comments. In another update to be posted in the next few days, I will published a revised total for all of the money spent by ECUSA and its Dioceses to date on prosecuting all of these lawsuits (and, in the case of the second group below, defending them).
The lawsuits initiated by ECUSA and its dioceses to date are first listed below, followed by a list of the seven cases begun by a diocese or parish against the Episcopal Church (or a diocese). The listing endeavors to be as complete as I can make it. The first 83 cases, generally grouped by the State in which they each originated, are the legal actions filed since 2000 (of which I am aware) where the Episcopal Church (USA) and/or one of its dioceses played the role of plaintiff—the party who initiates a case in court by filing a complaint to seize the assets and real property of any church choosing to leave ECUSA. Please note that wherever possible the actual citation of any published decision in the case has been given. Also, please note the dates for the later cases, which demonstrate the acceleration of litigation by ECUSA and its dioceses in defiant rejection of the Primates’ call for a moratorium on litigation at the Dar es Salaam meeting... the rest
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
"Breeders"- film on surrogate pregnancy; IRS continues to target conservatives; Mohler on missions...more
Rethinking the Contraceptive Mandate
...The moral of the story should be clear. It is not possible to deviate in part from the classical liberal principles of freedom of association and hope that the resulting confusion will be ironed out down the road. The key defect in the central premise leads to indefensible distinctions and to second-best solutions, all of which should be rejected out of hand. In this context, religious liberty is lost by the imposition of an employer mandate. The entire mandate should be struck down root and branch.
The Plight of Christians in Pakistan
...Over the past years, persons of smaller religious minorities have been targeted by killing them through improvised bombs, setting their localities/villages on fire, target killing, framing in blasphemy cases, intimidation, forced marriages, forced conversions etc. the list can go on expanding. Even the lawyers, persons and NGO's who proceed on behalf of the victims are targeted, manhandled and persecuted...
Central VA congregation worships nude
Pastor Allen Parker says it's not about the clothes, or lack thereof. He says it's about baring his soul to Christ and leading his flock down that path of righteousness, no matter what they're wearing.
Breeders: Surrogacy and the Commodification of Human Life ...Some women who want children but can’t have any are today embracing new medical technologies to fill the void in their lives. But increasingly, as an important new film tells us, many couples are going too far.
The film is entitled “Breeders,” and it was produced by the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. In it, Jennifer Lahl, who wrote and directed the film, gives viewers an unsentimental, behind-the-scenes view of surrogate pregnancy.
In a surrogate pregnancy, a couple that cannot have children on their own pays a woman to carry their child to term.
Promoters of surrogacy tout the practice as a “win-win”: infertile couples get the child they’ve always wanted and the surrogate gets money she needs.
But as Lahl’s film shows us, surrogacy has it losers as well... Metaxas
Aging America heading for disaster
To really understand what’s going on with the American economy, don’t look at the headlines. Don’t look at the unemployment rate or the trade balance or the deficit. Don’t even look at what’s happening today at all: Look at what happened 46 years ago.
And what happened then? Fewer Americas were being born, points out Harry S. Dent Jr. in “The Demographic Cliff: How to Survive and Prosper During the Great Deflation of 2014-2019” (Portfolio)...
IRS Targets Conservative Groups, Again
The Internal Revenue Service caused an uproar last year when they targeted Tea Party groups. Now it seems they're doing it again.
Albert Mohler: Christian Missions in the Third Millennium
...Today, the Christian church faces new challenges. Without exaggeration, we can point to the twenty-first century as a new era in Christian missions, and recognize it as a vast new opportunity.
Looking at Christian missions today, we may be seeing the birth of a new missiological movement. This new era in missions will build upon the accomplishments of the last 200 years, but it must also be adapted to the new realities of our world context.
The most important dimension of any vision for world missions is a passion to glorify God. From beginning to end, the Bible declares that God is glorifying Himself in the salvation of sinners, and that He desires to be worshipped among all the peoples of the earth. The impulse of the missionary conviction is drawn from the assurance that God saves sinners, and that He is glorifying Himself by creating a new people through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have the glad opportunity to glorify God by declaring the Gospel to all the peoples of the earth...
Hobby Lobby to Supreme Court: Protect Us From $1.3M in Fines a Day Over Obamacare
Hobby Lobby, the family-owned arts and crafts business that has been the most high-profile plaintiff against Obamacare, asked the U.S. Supreme Court today to protect it from being forced to violate their deeply held religious beliefs or be forced to pay severe fines.
The brief filed today at the Supreme Court is in preparation for oral arguments on March 25, 2014 before the nation’s highest court.
The written brief filed today at the Supreme Court, calls a federal mandate to provide objectionable drugs and devices “one of the most straightforward violations … this Court is likely to see” of a 1993 law preserving the free exercise of faith...
Obama’s Uncle: My Father Was Muslim, My Mother Was Muslim, My WHOLE FAMILY Is Muslim
Obama: 'I Can Do Whatever I Want'
The comment came around the time the White House announced it would be delaying the Obamacare mandate for some businesses unilaterally.
...The moral of the story should be clear. It is not possible to deviate in part from the classical liberal principles of freedom of association and hope that the resulting confusion will be ironed out down the road. The key defect in the central premise leads to indefensible distinctions and to second-best solutions, all of which should be rejected out of hand. In this context, religious liberty is lost by the imposition of an employer mandate. The entire mandate should be struck down root and branch.
The Plight of Christians in Pakistan
...Over the past years, persons of smaller religious minorities have been targeted by killing them through improvised bombs, setting their localities/villages on fire, target killing, framing in blasphemy cases, intimidation, forced marriages, forced conversions etc. the list can go on expanding. Even the lawyers, persons and NGO's who proceed on behalf of the victims are targeted, manhandled and persecuted...
Central VA congregation worships nude
Pastor Allen Parker says it's not about the clothes, or lack thereof. He says it's about baring his soul to Christ and leading his flock down that path of righteousness, no matter what they're wearing.
Breeders: Surrogacy and the Commodification of Human Life ...Some women who want children but can’t have any are today embracing new medical technologies to fill the void in their lives. But increasingly, as an important new film tells us, many couples are going too far.
The film is entitled “Breeders,” and it was produced by the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. In it, Jennifer Lahl, who wrote and directed the film, gives viewers an unsentimental, behind-the-scenes view of surrogate pregnancy.
In a surrogate pregnancy, a couple that cannot have children on their own pays a woman to carry their child to term.
Promoters of surrogacy tout the practice as a “win-win”: infertile couples get the child they’ve always wanted and the surrogate gets money she needs.
But as Lahl’s film shows us, surrogacy has it losers as well... Metaxas
Aging America heading for disaster
To really understand what’s going on with the American economy, don’t look at the headlines. Don’t look at the unemployment rate or the trade balance or the deficit. Don’t even look at what’s happening today at all: Look at what happened 46 years ago.
And what happened then? Fewer Americas were being born, points out Harry S. Dent Jr. in “The Demographic Cliff: How to Survive and Prosper During the Great Deflation of 2014-2019” (Portfolio)...
IRS Targets Conservative Groups, Again
The Internal Revenue Service caused an uproar last year when they targeted Tea Party groups. Now it seems they're doing it again.
Quietly over Thanksgiving, the IRS announced new rules that critics say would allow the agency to continue its tough targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups.
The rules appear aimed at silencing conservative organizations before the next crucial elections...
Poof: A Scandal Disappears: The press has decided that the IRS’s targeting of conservatives is not newsworthy
Poof: A Scandal Disappears: The press has decided that the IRS’s targeting of conservatives is not newsworthy
Albert Mohler: Christian Missions in the Third Millennium
...Today, the Christian church faces new challenges. Without exaggeration, we can point to the twenty-first century as a new era in Christian missions, and recognize it as a vast new opportunity.
Looking at Christian missions today, we may be seeing the birth of a new missiological movement. This new era in missions will build upon the accomplishments of the last 200 years, but it must also be adapted to the new realities of our world context.
The most important dimension of any vision for world missions is a passion to glorify God. From beginning to end, the Bible declares that God is glorifying Himself in the salvation of sinners, and that He desires to be worshipped among all the peoples of the earth. The impulse of the missionary conviction is drawn from the assurance that God saves sinners, and that He is glorifying Himself by creating a new people through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have the glad opportunity to glorify God by declaring the Gospel to all the peoples of the earth...
Hobby Lobby to Supreme Court: Protect Us From $1.3M in Fines a Day Over Obamacare
Hobby Lobby, the family-owned arts and crafts business that has been the most high-profile plaintiff against Obamacare, asked the U.S. Supreme Court today to protect it from being forced to violate their deeply held religious beliefs or be forced to pay severe fines.
The brief filed today at the Supreme Court is in preparation for oral arguments on March 25, 2014 before the nation’s highest court.
The written brief filed today at the Supreme Court, calls a federal mandate to provide objectionable drugs and devices “one of the most straightforward violations … this Court is likely to see” of a 1993 law preserving the free exercise of faith...
Obama’s Uncle: My Father Was Muslim, My Mother Was Muslim, My WHOLE FAMILY Is Muslim
Obama: 'I Can Do Whatever I Want'
The comment came around the time the White House announced it would be delaying the Obamacare mandate for some businesses unilaterally.
Shirley Temple Black 1928-2014
By Aljean Harmetz
February 11, 2014
Shirley Temple Black, who as a dimpled, precocious and determined little girl in the 1930s sang and tap-danced her way to a height of Hollywood stardom and worldwide fame that no other child has reached, died on Monday night at her home in Woodside, Calif. She was 85.
Her publicist, Cheryl Kagan, confirmed her death.
Ms. Black returned to the spotlight in the 1960s in the surprising new role of diplomat, but in the popular imagination she would always be America’s darling of the Depression years, when in 23 motion pictures her sparkling personality and sunny optimism lifted spirits and made her famous. From 1935 to 1939 she was the most popular movie star in America, with Clark Gable a distant second. She received more mail than Greta Garbo and was photographed more often than President Franklin D. Roosevelt... the rest
NPR: Shirley Temple Dies; Childhood Movie Star Became Diplomat
BBC: Hollywood star Shirley Temple dies
Shirley Temple - At the Codfish Ball (1936)
(That's Buddy Ebsen of Beverly Hillbillies fame dancing with her)
February 11, 2014
Shirley Temple Black, who as a dimpled, precocious and determined little girl in the 1930s sang and tap-danced her way to a height of Hollywood stardom and worldwide fame that no other child has reached, died on Monday night at her home in Woodside, Calif. She was 85.
Her publicist, Cheryl Kagan, confirmed her death.
Ms. Black returned to the spotlight in the 1960s in the surprising new role of diplomat, but in the popular imagination she would always be America’s darling of the Depression years, when in 23 motion pictures her sparkling personality and sunny optimism lifted spirits and made her famous. From 1935 to 1939 she was the most popular movie star in America, with Clark Gable a distant second. She received more mail than Greta Garbo and was photographed more often than President Franklin D. Roosevelt... the rest
NPR: Shirley Temple Dies; Childhood Movie Star Became Diplomat
BBC: Hollywood star Shirley Temple dies
Shirley Temple - At the Codfish Ball (1936)
(That's Buddy Ebsen of Beverly Hillbillies fame dancing with her)
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Anglican Unscripted Episode 91
Feb 8, 2014
Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Every Week Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe.
Story Index
00:00 The New Oxford Movement
15:44 Elephant Politics
21:42 AS Haley on South Carolina
31:00 The perfect answer for Immigration
39:35 Closing and Bloopers
Story Index
00:00 The New Oxford Movement
15:44 Elephant Politics
21:42 AS Haley on South Carolina
31:00 The perfect answer for Immigration
39:35 Closing and Bloopers
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Mohler on the Ham-Nye Debate; Congregational Prayer; Obamacare vs. Jobs...more
New York City public school kids getting new Muslim, Lunar New Year holidays
Mayor de Blasio said Monday that he’d move forward with closing schools for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two Muslim holy days, and for Lunar New Year. But he was hesitant regarding Hindu festival Diwali...
Bill Nye’s Reasonable Man—The Central Worldview Clash of the Ham-Nye Debate
...In this light, the debate proved both sides right on one central point: If you agreed with Bill Nye you would agree with his reading of the evidence. The same was equally true for those who entered the room agreeing with Ken Ham; they would agree with his interpretation of the evidence.
That’s because the argument was never really about ice rods and sediment layers. It was about the most basic of all intellectual presuppositions: How do we know anything at all? On what basis do we grant intellectual authority? Is the universe self-contained and self-explanatory? Is there a Creator, and can we know him?
On those questions, Ham and Nye were separated by infinite intellectual space. They shared the stage, but they do not live in the same intellectual world. Nye is truly committed to a materialistic and naturalistic worldview. Ham is an evangelical Christian committed to the authority of the Bible. The clash of ultimate worldview questions was vividly displayed for all to see...
CALL TO PRAYER: Guided congregational prayer
When I became pastor of my second church, I was the youngest pastor the church had ever called to the role. Several older deacons told me that for more than 40 years the church had experienced undercurrents of conflict, most often between the pastor and the deacons or between the pastor and a staff member. We began to strategize ways to bring the congregation together.
We established the following nine priorities that were placed on each week's mid-week prayer memo, a practice we followed for more than 20 years. I share them in hopes they will trigger ideas for use in your church as well...
NBC: All Visitors to Sochi Olympics Immediately Hacked
..."As tourists and families of athletes arrive in Sochi, if they haven't been warned, and if they fire up their phones at baggage claim, it's probably too late to save the integrity of their electronics and everything inside them. Visitors to Russia can expect to be hacked. And as Richard Engel found out upon his arrival there, it's not a matter of if, but when," reports NBC's Brian Williams.
Engel says, "The State Department warns that travelers should have no expectation of privacy. Even in their hotel rooms. And as we found out, you are especially exposed as soon as you try and communicate with anything."...
Health-care law will prompt over 2 million to quit jobs or cut hours, a CBO report says
More than 2 million Americans who would otherwise rely on a job for health insurance will quit working, reduce their hours or stop looking for employment because of new health benefits available under the Affordable Care Act, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday.
The findings from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revived a fierce debate about the impact President Obama’s signature health-care program will have on the U.S. economy...
California: Obamacare Turning Cancer Patients Away
The Los Angeles Times reports that once Obamacare customers navigate the confusing websites and pay the (often higher) premiums, they face a new problem: many doctors do not accept Obamacare insurance policies. It tells the story of a cancer patient who was turned away at the oncologist's office, and was only seen by a doctor once state regulators came to her rescue. Her story is not alone: millions will face the same problem...
Mayor de Blasio said Monday that he’d move forward with closing schools for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two Muslim holy days, and for Lunar New Year. But he was hesitant regarding Hindu festival Diwali...
Bill Nye’s Reasonable Man—The Central Worldview Clash of the Ham-Nye Debate
...In this light, the debate proved both sides right on one central point: If you agreed with Bill Nye you would agree with his reading of the evidence. The same was equally true for those who entered the room agreeing with Ken Ham; they would agree with his interpretation of the evidence.
That’s because the argument was never really about ice rods and sediment layers. It was about the most basic of all intellectual presuppositions: How do we know anything at all? On what basis do we grant intellectual authority? Is the universe self-contained and self-explanatory? Is there a Creator, and can we know him?
On those questions, Ham and Nye were separated by infinite intellectual space. They shared the stage, but they do not live in the same intellectual world. Nye is truly committed to a materialistic and naturalistic worldview. Ham is an evangelical Christian committed to the authority of the Bible. The clash of ultimate worldview questions was vividly displayed for all to see...
CALL TO PRAYER: Guided congregational prayer
When I became pastor of my second church, I was the youngest pastor the church had ever called to the role. Several older deacons told me that for more than 40 years the church had experienced undercurrents of conflict, most often between the pastor and the deacons or between the pastor and a staff member. We began to strategize ways to bring the congregation together.
We established the following nine priorities that were placed on each week's mid-week prayer memo, a practice we followed for more than 20 years. I share them in hopes they will trigger ideas for use in your church as well...
NBC: All Visitors to Sochi Olympics Immediately Hacked
..."As tourists and families of athletes arrive in Sochi, if they haven't been warned, and if they fire up their phones at baggage claim, it's probably too late to save the integrity of their electronics and everything inside them. Visitors to Russia can expect to be hacked. And as Richard Engel found out upon his arrival there, it's not a matter of if, but when," reports NBC's Brian Williams.
Engel says, "The State Department warns that travelers should have no expectation of privacy. Even in their hotel rooms. And as we found out, you are especially exposed as soon as you try and communicate with anything."...
Health-care law will prompt over 2 million to quit jobs or cut hours, a CBO report says
More than 2 million Americans who would otherwise rely on a job for health insurance will quit working, reduce their hours or stop looking for employment because of new health benefits available under the Affordable Care Act, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday.
The findings from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revived a fierce debate about the impact President Obama’s signature health-care program will have on the U.S. economy...
California: Obamacare Turning Cancer Patients Away
The Los Angeles Times reports that once Obamacare customers navigate the confusing websites and pay the (often higher) premiums, they face a new problem: many doctors do not accept Obamacare insurance policies. It tells the story of a cancer patient who was turned away at the oncologist's office, and was only seen by a doctor once state regulators came to her rescue. Her story is not alone: millions will face the same problem...
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Common Core Promoter 'Children Belong to All of Us,'; Christians attacked in Nigeria; Mohler on the 'New American Religion'....more
The most and least religious states in the US
Albert Mohler: The New American Religion: The Rise of Sports and the Decline of the Church
...The relationship between sports and religion in America has always been close, and it has often been awkward. The “muscular Christianity” of a century ago has given way to a more recent phenomenon: the massive growth of involvement in sports at the expense of church activities and involvements. About fifteen years ago, the late John Cardinal O’Connor, then the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, lamented the fact that Little League Baseball was taking his altar boys away on Sundays.
“Why is it religion that must always accommodate?” asked the Archbishop. “Why must Little League and soccer league games be scheduled on Sunday mornings? Why create that conflict for kids or for their parents? Sports are generally considered good for kids. Church is good for kids.”
The Archbishop blamed secularization for this invasion of Sunday: “This is the constant erosion, the constant secularization of our culture, that I strongly believe to be a serious mistake.”
So the cardinal took on Little League and the youth soccer league in New York City. And he lost. Nevertheless, he was right about the problem. The massive rise of sports within the culture is a sign and symptom of the secularization of the larger society...
‘Duck Dynasty’ Publishes Church Curriculum Based on Show Themes
The Robertsons of A&E’s Duck Dynasty are wading into churches with their new curriculum, Faith Commander: Living Five Values From the Parables of Jesus, reports Charisma News. The five-week course will include a book and DVD with Robertson family stories and will focus on five themes in the parables of Jesus: faith, forgiveness, obedience, prayer and kindness...
The Most Damaging Attitude in Our Churches
It was an attitude I learned in Church, and I used to believe it was a strength.
I thought I was simply a critical thinker, full of constructive insights. My husband and I shared a “gift for reflection” and spun many conversations around what we considered to be compelling observations about what the Church and other people were doing wrong and what they could do better. Never mind the fact that our tips were not actually being presented to those we believed would benefit from them. At least we saw the problems, right?
But with time, the satisfaction of hearing ourselves talk began to fade and a nauseating feeling settled in its place. No matter how positive a light we tried to cast it in, we were filling up on bitterness and tasting the result.
Subtly, without even realizing it, we had become cynics. And the toxic effect could be felt in our marriage, our relationships and our ability to communicate Christ’s love for the world...
Christians flee attacks in Nigeria’s northeast
YOLA, Nigeria — Before the usher could finish warning worshippers of the gunmen approaching, the attackers were storming into the church, locking the main door, exploding homemade bombs and firing into the congregation.
The shooting continued as some people scrambled to escape out of windows and through the back door of the sacristy.
Some had their throats slit in last Sunday’s attack on St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Wada Chakawa village in northeast Nigeria...
Going On 30, Living With Mom And Dad
...Some notable data on 26(ish)-year-olds in the U.S.: Thirteen percent "reported they were neither working for pay nor taking postsecondary courses." Of those who had enrolled in college, 60.2 percent reported they had taken out student loans. Forty percent had been unemployed for one or more months since January 2009; 20.6 percent owned/paid mortgage on their current residence. Money was a source of anxiety, which is understandable since 53.8 percent made less than $25,000 from employment in 2011...
'Children Belong to All of Us,' Common Core Promoter Says
"The children belong to all of us," Paul Reville, an education professor at Harvard and former Massachusetts secretary of Education, said Friday in explaining why states should adopt the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
"What we're doing at the national level ... is what a lot of our states thought made sense individually. Why should some towns in cities or states have no standards or low standards and others have extremely high standards when the children belong to all of us and would move. And the same logic applies to the nation," he said, making the case for national standards.
His comment regarding children is similar to a controversial statement by MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry in April. In an ad for MSNBC, she said, "We have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities."...
Albert Mohler: The New American Religion: The Rise of Sports and the Decline of the Church
...The relationship between sports and religion in America has always been close, and it has often been awkward. The “muscular Christianity” of a century ago has given way to a more recent phenomenon: the massive growth of involvement in sports at the expense of church activities and involvements. About fifteen years ago, the late John Cardinal O’Connor, then the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, lamented the fact that Little League Baseball was taking his altar boys away on Sundays.
“Why is it religion that must always accommodate?” asked the Archbishop. “Why must Little League and soccer league games be scheduled on Sunday mornings? Why create that conflict for kids or for their parents? Sports are generally considered good for kids. Church is good for kids.”
The Archbishop blamed secularization for this invasion of Sunday: “This is the constant erosion, the constant secularization of our culture, that I strongly believe to be a serious mistake.”
So the cardinal took on Little League and the youth soccer league in New York City. And he lost. Nevertheless, he was right about the problem. The massive rise of sports within the culture is a sign and symptom of the secularization of the larger society...
‘Duck Dynasty’ Publishes Church Curriculum Based on Show Themes
The Robertsons of A&E’s Duck Dynasty are wading into churches with their new curriculum, Faith Commander: Living Five Values From the Parables of Jesus, reports Charisma News. The five-week course will include a book and DVD with Robertson family stories and will focus on five themes in the parables of Jesus: faith, forgiveness, obedience, prayer and kindness...
The Most Damaging Attitude in Our Churches
It was an attitude I learned in Church, and I used to believe it was a strength.
I thought I was simply a critical thinker, full of constructive insights. My husband and I shared a “gift for reflection” and spun many conversations around what we considered to be compelling observations about what the Church and other people were doing wrong and what they could do better. Never mind the fact that our tips were not actually being presented to those we believed would benefit from them. At least we saw the problems, right?
But with time, the satisfaction of hearing ourselves talk began to fade and a nauseating feeling settled in its place. No matter how positive a light we tried to cast it in, we were filling up on bitterness and tasting the result.
Subtly, without even realizing it, we had become cynics. And the toxic effect could be felt in our marriage, our relationships and our ability to communicate Christ’s love for the world...
Christians flee attacks in Nigeria’s northeast
YOLA, Nigeria — Before the usher could finish warning worshippers of the gunmen approaching, the attackers were storming into the church, locking the main door, exploding homemade bombs and firing into the congregation.
The shooting continued as some people scrambled to escape out of windows and through the back door of the sacristy.
Some had their throats slit in last Sunday’s attack on St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Wada Chakawa village in northeast Nigeria...
Going On 30, Living With Mom And Dad
...Some notable data on 26(ish)-year-olds in the U.S.: Thirteen percent "reported they were neither working for pay nor taking postsecondary courses." Of those who had enrolled in college, 60.2 percent reported they had taken out student loans. Forty percent had been unemployed for one or more months since January 2009; 20.6 percent owned/paid mortgage on their current residence. Money was a source of anxiety, which is understandable since 53.8 percent made less than $25,000 from employment in 2011...
'Children Belong to All of Us,' Common Core Promoter Says
"The children belong to all of us," Paul Reville, an education professor at Harvard and former Massachusetts secretary of Education, said Friday in explaining why states should adopt the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
"What we're doing at the national level ... is what a lot of our states thought made sense individually. Why should some towns in cities or states have no standards or low standards and others have extremely high standards when the children belong to all of us and would move. And the same logic applies to the nation," he said, making the case for national standards.
His comment regarding children is similar to a controversial statement by MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry in April. In an ad for MSNBC, she said, "We have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities."...
Anglican Unscripted Episode 90
Feb 3, 2014
Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Every Week Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe.
Story Index 00:00 Noodle Wars 06:50 Bishops of Jersey Shore15:00 AS Haley the Weatherman20:13 Anglican Coattails to Canterbury28:40 Closing and Bloopers
Story Index 00:00 Noodle Wars 06:50 Bishops of Jersey Shore15:00 AS Haley the Weatherman20:13 Anglican Coattails to Canterbury28:40 Closing and Bloopers
Monday, February 3, 2014
Who Owns the Children; Military Chaplains Speak Up; Back to (Divinity) School...more
Searches resume in Indonesia after Mount Sinabung eruptions kill 15
Search and recovery teams on Monday resumed their perilous task of looking for victims from the recent volcanic eruptions of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung.
The death toll currently stands at 15 after plumes of ash spewed more than a mile into the sky Saturday and descended in superheated clouds.
Scalding ash up to 700 degrees in temperature raced down the slope in just two to three minutes, engulfing Sukameriah, a village close to the volcano's crater...
Liberalism’s Biggest Lie: If You Like Your Morality, You Can Keep Your Morality
The unchecked progress of sexual liberalism means that we cannot say what kind of moral culture our children will inhabit as adults or, accordingly, what kind of moral culture will form our grandchildren. No responsible person can support such a movement.
Back to (Divinity) School
Seminaries report an enrollment surge among the middle-aged eager to start a second career...Students under 30 still make up the largest age cohort in seminaries, according to the Association of Theological Schools. But older students are growing in representation among 74,000 or so students pursuing a seminary degree from an institution associated with the agency that accredits graduate schools of theology. The percentage of students over 50 enrolled in a seminary rose to about 21% in 2011 from 12% in 1995. The percentage of students under 30 has hovered at around 30% during the same period...
Military Chaplains Speak Up on Marriage and Homosexuality in the Military
Abortion rate drops to lowest level since Roe
That’s the good news, but the question is why. The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute released its findings last week, showing that the abortion rate has dropped 13% since 2008, and is now only slightly higher than it was after the Supreme Court declared abortion to be a doctor‘s right...
Nancy Pelosi to receive Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood I'm sure she deserves it.
Who Owns the Children?
...Attorney Michael Farris founded the HSDLA, which is also helping the Romeike family, says: “The Obama administration is basically saying there is no right to home school anywhere.”
In reference to German restrictions of homeschooling, Farris adds: “That means they don’t want to have significant numbers of people who think differently than what the government thinks….It’s an incredibly dangerous assertion that people can’t think in a way that the government doesn’t approve of.”
Who made home-schooling illegal in Germany? “Der Fuhrer” in 1938. But the law is still on the books and is still being enforced...
Joni Eareckson Tada’s Song 'Alone Yet Not Alone' Disqualified from Oscars ...According to Variety, the decision was prompted by the discovery that songwriter Bruce Broughton had emailed members of the branch to make them aware of his submission during the nominations voting period...
Amazon Publishing Introduces Christian Imprint
Online superstore Amazon will sell Christian books under a new imprint, Waterfall Press, NPR reports. Although Amazon got its start selling books, it has been getting into the publishing business as well, with imprints for genres like science fiction, romance, mystery, and now, Christian books.
In an interview with NPR, Win Bassett, writer and seminarian at the Yale Divinity School, says that Christian publishing is a $1.4 billion market, with many major publishing companies having Christian imprints...
Jan 18, 2014
Leading up to the Seattle Seahawks 2014 playoff run, Pastor Mark Driscoll sat down with a few of the players and one of the coaches to talk about their faith in Jesus Christ and how it intersects with life on and off the football field.
In this video (part one in a forthcoming series), Russell Okung, Chris Maragos, coach Rocky Seto, and Russell Wilson answer the question: "Who is Jesus?"
Search and recovery teams on Monday resumed their perilous task of looking for victims from the recent volcanic eruptions of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung.
The death toll currently stands at 15 after plumes of ash spewed more than a mile into the sky Saturday and descended in superheated clouds.
Scalding ash up to 700 degrees in temperature raced down the slope in just two to three minutes, engulfing Sukameriah, a village close to the volcano's crater...
Liberalism’s Biggest Lie: If You Like Your Morality, You Can Keep Your Morality
The unchecked progress of sexual liberalism means that we cannot say what kind of moral culture our children will inhabit as adults or, accordingly, what kind of moral culture will form our grandchildren. No responsible person can support such a movement.
Back to (Divinity) School
Seminaries report an enrollment surge among the middle-aged eager to start a second career...Students under 30 still make up the largest age cohort in seminaries, according to the Association of Theological Schools. But older students are growing in representation among 74,000 or so students pursuing a seminary degree from an institution associated with the agency that accredits graduate schools of theology. The percentage of students over 50 enrolled in a seminary rose to about 21% in 2011 from 12% in 1995. The percentage of students under 30 has hovered at around 30% during the same period...
Military Chaplains Speak Up on Marriage and Homosexuality in the Military
Abortion rate drops to lowest level since Roe
That’s the good news, but the question is why. The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute released its findings last week, showing that the abortion rate has dropped 13% since 2008, and is now only slightly higher than it was after the Supreme Court declared abortion to be a doctor‘s right...
Nancy Pelosi to receive Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood I'm sure she deserves it.
Who Owns the Children?
...Attorney Michael Farris founded the HSDLA, which is also helping the Romeike family, says: “The Obama administration is basically saying there is no right to home school anywhere.”
In reference to German restrictions of homeschooling, Farris adds: “That means they don’t want to have significant numbers of people who think differently than what the government thinks….It’s an incredibly dangerous assertion that people can’t think in a way that the government doesn’t approve of.”
Who made home-schooling illegal in Germany? “Der Fuhrer” in 1938. But the law is still on the books and is still being enforced...
Joni Eareckson Tada’s Song 'Alone Yet Not Alone' Disqualified from Oscars ...According to Variety, the decision was prompted by the discovery that songwriter Bruce Broughton had emailed members of the branch to make them aware of his submission during the nominations voting period...
Amazon Publishing Introduces Christian Imprint
Online superstore Amazon will sell Christian books under a new imprint, Waterfall Press, NPR reports. Although Amazon got its start selling books, it has been getting into the publishing business as well, with imprints for genres like science fiction, romance, mystery, and now, Christian books.
In an interview with NPR, Win Bassett, writer and seminarian at the Yale Divinity School, says that Christian publishing is a $1.4 billion market, with many major publishing companies having Christian imprints...
Jan 18, 2014
Leading up to the Seattle Seahawks 2014 playoff run, Pastor Mark Driscoll sat down with a few of the players and one of the coaches to talk about their faith in Jesus Christ and how it intersects with life on and off the football field.
In this video (part one in a forthcoming series), Russell Okung, Chris Maragos, coach Rocky Seto, and Russell Wilson answer the question: "Who is Jesus?"
Anglicanism Alive and Well
Brian Miller
February 3, 2014
Anglicans have never been very showy people. There was once that G.K. Chesterton fellow, but he eventually moved on. Not that Anglicans don’t talk about their faith or excel in their given fields. If it weren’t for Anglicans, Anglo-American culture as we know it simply would not exist. However, it remains a curious fact that most famous Anglicans are not necessarily famous for being Anglicans. Edmund Burke, and even the theologian Richard Hooker, are remembered as great political thinkers. John Donne, Samuel Johnson, W.H. Auden, T.S. Eliot, and countless others are remembered as poets. Even great Anglicans who are remembered primarily for their Christian works are hardly ever remembered as Anglicans per se. The Wesley brothers and George Whitfield are remembered as evangelicals. C.S. Lewis, depending on which circles you run in (and I run in both), is either a great evangelical or an almost Catholic. Similarly, it is often taken for granted that the works of men like John Henry Newman and G.K. Chesterton are all “Catholic Works” when the reality is decades of their writings were produced while they remained members of the Church of England.
It sometimes seems that Anglicans, at least in America, are like something out of a fairy-tale. We read about them occasionally, but when pressed we would have a hard time saying who they are and what exactly they have done for Christianity. It doesn’t help matters that much ink has been spilled, including by myself, about the demise of the Church and its never ending controversies. But this is really only half the picture. Conservative Anglicans are ever present, and influentially so, in our current public discourse. the rest
February 3, 2014
Anglicans have never been very showy people. There was once that G.K. Chesterton fellow, but he eventually moved on. Not that Anglicans don’t talk about their faith or excel in their given fields. If it weren’t for Anglicans, Anglo-American culture as we know it simply would not exist. However, it remains a curious fact that most famous Anglicans are not necessarily famous for being Anglicans. Edmund Burke, and even the theologian Richard Hooker, are remembered as great political thinkers. John Donne, Samuel Johnson, W.H. Auden, T.S. Eliot, and countless others are remembered as poets. Even great Anglicans who are remembered primarily for their Christian works are hardly ever remembered as Anglicans per se. The Wesley brothers and George Whitfield are remembered as evangelicals. C.S. Lewis, depending on which circles you run in (and I run in both), is either a great evangelical or an almost Catholic. Similarly, it is often taken for granted that the works of men like John Henry Newman and G.K. Chesterton are all “Catholic Works” when the reality is decades of their writings were produced while they remained members of the Church of England.
It sometimes seems that Anglicans, at least in America, are like something out of a fairy-tale. We read about them occasionally, but when pressed we would have a hard time saying who they are and what exactly they have done for Christianity. It doesn’t help matters that much ink has been spilled, including by myself, about the demise of the Church and its never ending controversies. But this is really only half the picture. Conservative Anglicans are ever present, and influentially so, in our current public discourse. the rest
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Faith is not a pathetic sentiment...
God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee." The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvellous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power. ...Oswald Chambers image
Canon Phil Ashey: The Bishops Have Spoken
Posted February 1, 2014
The Bishops of the Church of England have spoken. In response to the Pilling Report recommendation that clergy and Parochial Church Councils (PCC’s) may “publicly mark” a civil partnership within the church, the bishops wrote:
Uganda archbishop responds to Welby on anti-gay laws
The head of the Anglican Church in Uganda has given a critical response to a letter from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York warning that gays and lesbians should not be victimized...
ACNA catechism unveiled
The Anglican Church in North America is pleased to announce the release of To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism produced by the provincial Catechesis Task force.
Led by the Rev. Dr J.I. Packer, the Task Force has developed a unique and powerful resource for helping inquirers come to an understanding of the Christian faith, and for helping disciples deepen their relationship with God. Written in a “Question and Answer” format, this Catechism, in the words of Packer, “is designed as a resource manual for the renewal of Anglican catechetical practice. It presents the essential building blocks of classic catechetical instruction: the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue). To these is added an initial section especially intended for those with no prior knowledge of the Gospel; as such, this catechism attempts to be a missional means by which God may bring about both conversion to Christ and formation in Christ.”...
To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism
The Bishops of the Church of England have spoken. In response to the Pilling Report recommendation that clergy and Parochial Church Councils (PCC’s) may “publicly mark” a civil partnership within the church, the bishops wrote:
“We accept the recommendation of the Pilling Report that the subject of sexuality, with its history of deeply entrenched views, would best be addressed by facilitated conversations, ecumenically, across the Anglican Communion and at national and diocesan level and that this should continue to involve profound reflection on the interpretation and application of Scripture. These conversations should set the discussion of sexuality within the wider context of human flourishing…”The bishops also stated:
“…we are clear that the Church of England’s pastoral and liturgical practice remains unchanged during this process of facilitated conversation.Does this mean that there won’t be any blessings of gay couples in the Church of England? Does this represent the bishops decisively rejecting these unbiblical innovations (pending facilitated conversations)? In all likelihood, no. I’m reminded of the saying, “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Remember, the leadership of The Episcopal Church here in North America made exactly the same commitment with regards to the “official” teaching on marriage while at the same time permitting such blessings to take place–unofficially–in increasing numbers until there was no turning back. Traditional bishops in the Church of England ought to consider this and ask themselves: is there any reason whatsoever that the same will not happen in the Church of England? the rest here
“No change to the Church of England’s teaching on marriage is proposed or envisaged. The House of Bishops will be meeting next month to consider its approach when same sex marriage becomes lawful in England in March…”
Uganda archbishop responds to Welby on anti-gay laws
The head of the Anglican Church in Uganda has given a critical response to a letter from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York warning that gays and lesbians should not be victimized...
ACNA catechism unveiled
The Anglican Church in North America is pleased to announce the release of To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism produced by the provincial Catechesis Task force.
Led by the Rev. Dr J.I. Packer, the Task Force has developed a unique and powerful resource for helping inquirers come to an understanding of the Christian faith, and for helping disciples deepen their relationship with God. Written in a “Question and Answer” format, this Catechism, in the words of Packer, “is designed as a resource manual for the renewal of Anglican catechetical practice. It presents the essential building blocks of classic catechetical instruction: the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue). To these is added an initial section especially intended for those with no prior knowledge of the Gospel; as such, this catechism attempts to be a missional means by which God may bring about both conversion to Christ and formation in Christ.”...
To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Message from GAFCON Chairman Archbishop Eliud Wabukala
To the Faithful of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and friends from Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Here in Nairobi we are preparing with great anticipation for our second Global Anglican Future Conference, GAFCON 2013, and this is the first of what I intend to be monthly pastoral messages as we move forward together in the unfolding purposes of God.
I am confident that this great gathering of over 1,300 delegates will touch the lives of you all, whether or not you are able to be present, and will be a decisive moment in a movement which will shape the future of the Anglican Communion for generations to come.
The reason I have such confidence is not simply because of the commitment and energy that is going into the planning of this great occasion, but above all because God is faithful. At the heart of our gathering will be the Lord Jesus’ Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and as we commit ourselves wholeheartedly to that purpose, we can trust in the promise that comes with the command, the promise of his presence ‘to the end of the age’ (v20).
Here in Kenya, we know the reality of this promise because we are a nation which has benefited profoundly from the East African Revival. The fires of revival spread spontaneously through East Africa in the 1930’s at a time when many of the churches were cold and formal, deeply shaping what it means to be a Christian and an Anglican here today... the rest
Gafcon archbishop chastises a pusillanimous Church of England
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Here in Nairobi we are preparing with great anticipation for our second Global Anglican Future Conference, GAFCON 2013, and this is the first of what I intend to be monthly pastoral messages as we move forward together in the unfolding purposes of God.
I am confident that this great gathering of over 1,300 delegates will touch the lives of you all, whether or not you are able to be present, and will be a decisive moment in a movement which will shape the future of the Anglican Communion for generations to come.
The reason I have such confidence is not simply because of the commitment and energy that is going into the planning of this great occasion, but above all because God is faithful. At the heart of our gathering will be the Lord Jesus’ Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and as we commit ourselves wholeheartedly to that purpose, we can trust in the promise that comes with the command, the promise of his presence ‘to the end of the age’ (v20).
Here in Kenya, we know the reality of this promise because we are a nation which has benefited profoundly from the East African Revival. The fires of revival spread spontaneously through East Africa in the 1930’s at a time when many of the churches were cold and formal, deeply shaping what it means to be a Christian and an Anglican here today... the rest
Gafcon archbishop chastises a pusillanimous Church of England
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
When the knowledge of God doesn't exist anymore...
...Chuck Smith image
A.S. Haley: Mere Anglicanism Conference: a Report
January 28, 2014
...All in all, this was one of the most satisfying and remarkable experiences of my life. To be in the midst of such intellects, to be able to interact with them and respond to their insights, all the while enjoying the company of kindred souls and friends whom I had previously known only at a distance, was a great blessing, for which I am deeply grateful to the Conference’s organizers and facilitators. This was not just “Mere” Anglicanism; this was Anglicanism at Its Top-level Best, for the Questioning Faithful. I have to believe that the clergy who attended came away with a multitude of facts and arguments with which to disarm skeptics and to strengthen their own pastoral abilities, while the lay attendees gained no less for their daily forays into the secular world...
Full report here
...All in all, this was one of the most satisfying and remarkable experiences of my life. To be in the midst of such intellects, to be able to interact with them and respond to their insights, all the while enjoying the company of kindred souls and friends whom I had previously known only at a distance, was a great blessing, for which I am deeply grateful to the Conference’s organizers and facilitators. This was not just “Mere” Anglicanism; this was Anglicanism at Its Top-level Best, for the Questioning Faithful. I have to believe that the clergy who attended came away with a multitude of facts and arguments with which to disarm skeptics and to strengthen their own pastoral abilities, while the lay attendees gained no less for their daily forays into the secular world...
Full report here
National Defense Authorization Act; 5 Really Bad Reasons To Leave Your Church; Christ Called Me Off the Minaret; Secret abortion fees...more
Worldview Responses to the 2014 Grammys
Entertainment award shows aren't known as wellsprings of class and restraint, but after this year's particularly distasteful Grammys, we've assembled a crack team of worldview thinkers to offer perspective on what this means for our culture, and suggest ways families and churches can process the award show millions will be talking about for weeks to come...
Russia to set up pregnancy centers as it seeks to decrease abortion rates
Population loss through abortions in the 1960s to 1980s cost Russia more than double the number of lives it had lost in the First World War, the Civil War and the Second World War combined.
Although during the last five years, the number of abortions in the country has decreased, it has not yet made much impact on Russia’s population growth. To address the issue, the Health Ministry plans to focus on setting up crisis centers for pregnant women and providing them with psychological help.
During the Soviet Union, abortion statistics were classified information. When they were revealed in the 1980s, it transpired that the country was one of the world's leaders in terms of the number of pregnancy terminations...
5 Really Bad Reasons To Leave Your Church
Let’s be honest, while there are some good reasons for leaving a church, there are a lot more bad ones. As a pastor, I hear some of them every now and then as people walk out the door. As a church planter, I hear them constantly as people walk in the door.
If you’re thinking about looking for a new church home, please don’t use one of these five reasons to make the jump...
Christ Called Me Off the Minaret
...After three years of investigating the origins of Christianity, I concluded that the case for Christianity was strong—that the Bible could be trusted and that Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, and claimed to be God.
Then David challenged me to study Islam as critically as I had studied Christianity. I had learned about Muhammad from imams and my parents, not from the historical sources themselves. When I finally read the sources, I found that Muhammad was not the man I had thought. Violence and sensuality dripped from the pages of his earliest biographies, the life stories of the man I revered as the holiest in history.
Shocked by what I learned, I began to lean on the Qur'an as my defense. But when I turned an eye there, that foundation crumbled just as quickly. I relied on its miraculous knowledge and perfect preservation as a sign that it was inspired by God, but both beliefs faltered.
Overwhelmed and confused by the evidence for Christianity and the weakness of the Islamic case, I began seeking Allah for help. Or was he Jesus? I didn't know any longer. I needed to hear from God himself who he was. Thankfully, growing up in a Muslim community, I had seen others implore Allah for guidance. The way that Muslims expect to hear from God is through dreams and visions...
Jan 14, 2014
Congress grants Obama 'free rein for martial law'
America officially became a police state on Dec. 19, 2013, according to critics of the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill was fast-tracked through the U.S. Senate, with no time for discussion or amendments, while most Americans were distracted by the scandal surrounding A&E’s troubles with “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson. Eighty-five of 100 senators votedto renew President Obama’s power to seize U.S. citizens, strip them of due process and hold them indefinitely in military facilities, denying them of their fundamental right to due process. The new version of the NDAA had already been quietly passed by the House of Representatives. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges filed a lawsuit in 2012 against the Obama administration to challenge the legality of an earlier version of the NDAA. Now, several of the nation’s most-respected legal teams are asking the Supreme Court to take up the Hedges case challenging the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA because without review, the framework is in place for a police state. Sections of the bill are written so broadly that critics say they could encompass journalists who report on terror-related issues, such as Hedges, for supporting enemy forces...
Michigan Passes Law Nullifying NDAA Indefinite Detention
On December 26, 2013, President Barack Obama took time off from his Hawaiian holiday to sign the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2014 into law. On that same day, a state governor denied the president the power to exercise many of the powers granted to him in the NDAA within the sovereign borders of the governor’s state.
Just after 4:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan signed Senate Bill No. 94, nullifying sections 1021 of the 2012 version of the NDAA. “It is important to recall that indefinite detention first appeared in section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA, which provided warrant for indefinite detention of U.S. citizens,” said Snyder.
Islamic Extremists in Nigeria Attack Christians at Sunday Worship Every Week in January
Fulani herdsmen raid villages in broad daylight; Boko Haram continues onslaught...
Secret abortion fees hidden in Obamacare premiums
Insurance companies working under the Obamacare umbrella have secretly added a surcharge to cover the cost of abortions, an apparent violation of federal law that forbids the practice, congressional leaders charge.
Consumers signing up for insurance in an Obamacare exchange won’t find a single sentence telling them that they will pay at least $1 a month to fund abortions...
Upsurge in gay people slows war on HIV in Kenya
...However, as Kenya hopes to move towards zero HIV infections from 100,000 annually, the gains made in the sector are being threatened by an upsurge in the number of gay people.
The practice is fast gaining currency in the country with more young people embracing it as it appears cool and trendy.
Gay shops, restaurants and nightclubs are being set up in the East African nation, attracting tens of young women and men into the practice that is largely viewed Western...
Entertainment award shows aren't known as wellsprings of class and restraint, but after this year's particularly distasteful Grammys, we've assembled a crack team of worldview thinkers to offer perspective on what this means for our culture, and suggest ways families and churches can process the award show millions will be talking about for weeks to come...
Russia to set up pregnancy centers as it seeks to decrease abortion rates
Population loss through abortions in the 1960s to 1980s cost Russia more than double the number of lives it had lost in the First World War, the Civil War and the Second World War combined.
Although during the last five years, the number of abortions in the country has decreased, it has not yet made much impact on Russia’s population growth. To address the issue, the Health Ministry plans to focus on setting up crisis centers for pregnant women and providing them with psychological help.
During the Soviet Union, abortion statistics were classified information. When they were revealed in the 1980s, it transpired that the country was one of the world's leaders in terms of the number of pregnancy terminations...
5 Really Bad Reasons To Leave Your Church
Let’s be honest, while there are some good reasons for leaving a church, there are a lot more bad ones. As a pastor, I hear some of them every now and then as people walk out the door. As a church planter, I hear them constantly as people walk in the door.
If you’re thinking about looking for a new church home, please don’t use one of these five reasons to make the jump...
Christ Called Me Off the Minaret
...After three years of investigating the origins of Christianity, I concluded that the case for Christianity was strong—that the Bible could be trusted and that Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, and claimed to be God.
Then David challenged me to study Islam as critically as I had studied Christianity. I had learned about Muhammad from imams and my parents, not from the historical sources themselves. When I finally read the sources, I found that Muhammad was not the man I had thought. Violence and sensuality dripped from the pages of his earliest biographies, the life stories of the man I revered as the holiest in history.
Shocked by what I learned, I began to lean on the Qur'an as my defense. But when I turned an eye there, that foundation crumbled just as quickly. I relied on its miraculous knowledge and perfect preservation as a sign that it was inspired by God, but both beliefs faltered.
Overwhelmed and confused by the evidence for Christianity and the weakness of the Islamic case, I began seeking Allah for help. Or was he Jesus? I didn't know any longer. I needed to hear from God himself who he was. Thankfully, growing up in a Muslim community, I had seen others implore Allah for guidance. The way that Muslims expect to hear from God is through dreams and visions...
Jan 14, 2014
Congress grants Obama 'free rein for martial law'
America officially became a police state on Dec. 19, 2013, according to critics of the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill was fast-tracked through the U.S. Senate, with no time for discussion or amendments, while most Americans were distracted by the scandal surrounding A&E’s troubles with “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson. Eighty-five of 100 senators votedto renew President Obama’s power to seize U.S. citizens, strip them of due process and hold them indefinitely in military facilities, denying them of their fundamental right to due process. The new version of the NDAA had already been quietly passed by the House of Representatives. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges filed a lawsuit in 2012 against the Obama administration to challenge the legality of an earlier version of the NDAA. Now, several of the nation’s most-respected legal teams are asking the Supreme Court to take up the Hedges case challenging the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA because without review, the framework is in place for a police state. Sections of the bill are written so broadly that critics say they could encompass journalists who report on terror-related issues, such as Hedges, for supporting enemy forces...
Michigan Passes Law Nullifying NDAA Indefinite Detention
On December 26, 2013, President Barack Obama took time off from his Hawaiian holiday to sign the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2014 into law. On that same day, a state governor denied the president the power to exercise many of the powers granted to him in the NDAA within the sovereign borders of the governor’s state.
Just after 4:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan signed Senate Bill No. 94, nullifying sections 1021 of the 2012 version of the NDAA. “It is important to recall that indefinite detention first appeared in section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA, which provided warrant for indefinite detention of U.S. citizens,” said Snyder.
Islamic Extremists in Nigeria Attack Christians at Sunday Worship Every Week in January
Fulani herdsmen raid villages in broad daylight; Boko Haram continues onslaught...
Secret abortion fees hidden in Obamacare premiums
Insurance companies working under the Obamacare umbrella have secretly added a surcharge to cover the cost of abortions, an apparent violation of federal law that forbids the practice, congressional leaders charge.
Consumers signing up for insurance in an Obamacare exchange won’t find a single sentence telling them that they will pay at least $1 a month to fund abortions...
Upsurge in gay people slows war on HIV in Kenya
...However, as Kenya hopes to move towards zero HIV infections from 100,000 annually, the gains made in the sector are being threatened by an upsurge in the number of gay people.
The practice is fast gaining currency in the country with more young people embracing it as it appears cool and trendy.
Gay shops, restaurants and nightclubs are being set up in the East African nation, attracting tens of young women and men into the practice that is largely viewed Western...
So what is happening with Anglican gay marriage?
January 28, 2014
By George Conger
Wire service reporting takes a special skill that not all writers posses. In less than 300 words, for most stories, a reporter must present the relevant facts and sufficient context to allow a reader to understand the story, while also be entertaining and interesting.
A problem arises when a wire service story substitutes news for analysis or opinion. While some stories are labeled news analysis or opinion — and as such it is proper to load a story with the author’s views of what should be rather than what is — when a news story substitutes opinion for journalism we have a problem.
An item from the Religion News Service that came across my desk yesterday illustrates this peril. In a story entitled “Church of England’s bishops defer gay marriage decision” that came in at a little under 300 words, RNS devotes only half of the story to reporting on what happened at the meeting of the Church of England’s House of Bishops and what they said and the balance to what RNS thinks we should think about the story.
And RNS neglects to mention the most news worthy portions of the report — that the bishops are hopelessly divided over the issue of homosexuality... the rest
Statement from the College of Bishops on the Pilling Report
By George Conger
Wire service reporting takes a special skill that not all writers posses. In less than 300 words, for most stories, a reporter must present the relevant facts and sufficient context to allow a reader to understand the story, while also be entertaining and interesting.
A problem arises when a wire service story substitutes news for analysis or opinion. While some stories are labeled news analysis or opinion — and as such it is proper to load a story with the author’s views of what should be rather than what is — when a news story substitutes opinion for journalism we have a problem.
An item from the Religion News Service that came across my desk yesterday illustrates this peril. In a story entitled “Church of England’s bishops defer gay marriage decision” that came in at a little under 300 words, RNS devotes only half of the story to reporting on what happened at the meeting of the Church of England’s House of Bishops and what they said and the balance to what RNS thinks we should think about the story.
And RNS neglects to mention the most news worthy portions of the report — that the bishops are hopelessly divided over the issue of homosexuality... the rest
Statement from the College of Bishops on the Pilling Report
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
-Jeremiah 1:5 image
March for Life 2014 Washington DC
January 22, 2014
March For Life Testimonies
Babies Aborted in NYC in 1 Yr Would Fill Super Bowl Stadium
Abortionists terminated the lives 83,750 babies in New York City in 2010, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest "Abortion Surveillance" report, which was published on Nov. 29, 2013. That is more than enough people to sell out MetLife Stadium, the site of this year’s Super Bowl, which is located in East Rutherford, N.J., and is home to both the New York Jets and the New York Giants. According to its official website, MetLife has a capacity of 82,500...
Hundreds of thousands march for end of abortion in Washington on Roe anniversary (PHOTOS)
Pope Francis tweet supports, prays for US pro-life march
Pope Francis sent a tweet offering support for the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., praying that all human life would be valued.
“I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable,” he told his 3.5 million English-speaking Twitter followers Jan. 22.
The Pope sent the same message in Spanish to his Spanish-speaking Twitter followers, who number over 4.5 million.
United States Lost 56 Million Lives through Abortions Since 1973’s Roe Vs Wade
...The exact number of abortions reported to have been conducted after the ruling of January 22, 1973 is 56,662,169...
Obama: Abortion means everyone gets to “fulfill their dreams”
“Everyone”? Well, not exactly, but only if you think for more than a few seconds about human biology and the consequences of abortion. The White House put out this statement today hailing Roe v Wade on its 41st anniversary...
Cuomo the Intolerant
...Last Friday, in a public-radio interview, New York governor Andrew Cuomo offered the sort of potted analysis of the national Republican party one would expect from an MSNBC talk show. But he went a bit further. After nodding to the fact that, historically, the New York state Republican party has been the most ideologically gelded of the breed (it is the birthplace of Rockefeller Republicanism, after all), Cuomo proclaimed that “extreme conservatives” have “no place in the state of New York.”
Who are extreme conservatives? People who are “right-to-life, pro–assault weapon, anti-gay.”...
What’s Really Outrageous About Cuomo’s Abortion Remarks
Anglican Bishops March For Life
March For Life Testimonies
Babies Aborted in NYC in 1 Yr Would Fill Super Bowl Stadium
Abortionists terminated the lives 83,750 babies in New York City in 2010, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest "Abortion Surveillance" report, which was published on Nov. 29, 2013. That is more than enough people to sell out MetLife Stadium, the site of this year’s Super Bowl, which is located in East Rutherford, N.J., and is home to both the New York Jets and the New York Giants. According to its official website, MetLife has a capacity of 82,500...
Hundreds of thousands march for end of abortion in Washington on Roe anniversary (PHOTOS)
Pope Francis tweet supports, prays for US pro-life march
Pope Francis sent a tweet offering support for the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., praying that all human life would be valued.
“I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable,” he told his 3.5 million English-speaking Twitter followers Jan. 22.
The Pope sent the same message in Spanish to his Spanish-speaking Twitter followers, who number over 4.5 million.
United States Lost 56 Million Lives through Abortions Since 1973’s Roe Vs Wade
...The exact number of abortions reported to have been conducted after the ruling of January 22, 1973 is 56,662,169...
Obama: Abortion means everyone gets to “fulfill their dreams”
“Everyone”? Well, not exactly, but only if you think for more than a few seconds about human biology and the consequences of abortion. The White House put out this statement today hailing Roe v Wade on its 41st anniversary...
Cuomo the Intolerant
...Last Friday, in a public-radio interview, New York governor Andrew Cuomo offered the sort of potted analysis of the national Republican party one would expect from an MSNBC talk show. But he went a bit further. After nodding to the fact that, historically, the New York state Republican party has been the most ideologically gelded of the breed (it is the birthplace of Rockefeller Republicanism, after all), Cuomo proclaimed that “extreme conservatives” have “no place in the state of New York.”
Who are extreme conservatives? People who are “right-to-life, pro–assault weapon, anti-gay.”...
What’s Really Outrageous About Cuomo’s Abortion Remarks
Albert Mohler: Abortion and the American Conscience
America has been at war over abortion for the last four decades and more. When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, the court’s majority attempted to put an end to the abortion question. To the contrary, that decision both enlarged and revealed the great moral divide that runs through the center of our culture.
Most Americans seem completely unaware of the actual contours of the abortion debate as it emerged in the early 1970s. In 1973, the primary opposition to abortion on demand came from the Roman Catholic Church. Evangelicals — representative of the larger American culture — were largely out of the debate. At that time, a majority of evangelicals seemed to see abortion as a largely Catholic issue. It took the shock of Roe v. Wade and the reality of abortion on demand to awaken the Evangelical conscience.
Roe v. Wade was championed as one of the great victories achieved by the feminist movement. The leaders of that movement claimed — and continue to claim — that the availability of abortion on demand is necessary in order for women to be equal with men with respect to the absence of pregnancy as an obstacle to career advancement. Furthermore, the moral logic of Roe v. Wade was a thunderous affirmation of the ideal of personal autonomy that had already taken hold of the American mind. As the decision made all too clear, rights talk had displaced what had been seen as the higher concern of right versus wrong. the rest image
Monday, January 20, 2014
Waiting on God prepares for greater blessing...
Pastor's Response to NY Governor Andrew Cuomo
Jan 19, 2014
This week Governor Andew Cuomo said that extreme conservatives who are pro-life are not welcome in the state of new york. Pastor Jeremy Lundmark responded in a message entitled "Should We Care About Babies Being Murdered."
Full Sermon Link is here: http://youtu.be/lzeFwOvcE_Q
Full Sermon Link is here: http://youtu.be/lzeFwOvcE_Q
The reality of the demonic
Gavin Ashenden
As the Church of England debates whether or not it should be specific about rejecting the devil at baptism I joined the debate by writing an article for the Church Times.
I wrote to try to convince people that the devil existed.
At one level, ‘professionally’ one might say, that a rather stupid thing to do.
It is not the position that a theologically sophisticated person ought to take; let alone someone who has for a while earned a living and developed a reputation for teaching in a university founded on intellectual competence. So why risk a sneer or two from clever people who are sure that something they have never experienced cannot exist? Because in the summer of 2008 I experienced several direct and overwhelming assaults that were demonic. The worst one I won’t write about here. It lasted three nights and I thought in the middle of it, that it might drive me mad. Of course I suspected a nervous breakdown. But nervous breakdown don’t start at 1.05 a.m. and end about 5.05 am, switching on and off. And anyway, it wasn’t one.
Another one, which I will write a little about here, happened when I went to a small weekly mass in an ancient Church perched on a small volcanic hill with sheer sides in S.W.France. It was the Chapel of St Michael in Le Puy en Velais.
I had gone there to pray before hosting a visit to the Cathedral at Chichester of Vassula Ryden who was going to speak about the True Life in God Messages. I had invited nearly 400 Anglican and 400 Catholic priests to come and hear about the unity to which God was urgently calling the Church.
Mass was only celebrated there once a week. One of the Cathedral clergy used to be dragged in on a rota to do it. I met the celebrant at the steps. I looked closely at his eyes – as I do with most priests. They were clear and good. I could expect a good mass. But what happened was totally outside the boundaries of my expectations and my experience. the rest at Anglican Ink image
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The Bible's Many gods
...The drift of these passages is that the gods—which are sometimes regarded in the Hebrew Bible as fallen angels and arguably are the genesis of Paul’s “principalities and powers”—are condemned to death not simply because of their failure to rule with justice, but more importantly, for their rebellion against their Maker, Yahweh. Their unjust rule of the nations was simply one of many expressions of their rebellion, which was the principal reason for Yahweh’s discipline.
Christians later came to see these two stories in the prophets as allusions to Satan’s fall from grace. Once created as God’s most gifted and beautiful supernatural being, Satan abused his authority and then led a rebellion against Yahweh. God punished him by limiting his authority on earth; he is still the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) but his authority is checked by God’s sovereign purposes, and his final destruction is decreed.
N. T. Wright calls this “creational monotheism,” which means that Yahweh rules over a cosmos thick with not only good angels but also fallen angels masquerading as the true God. Wright insists that “we have very few examples of ‘pure’ monotheism anywhere, including in the Hebrew Bible." ...First Things
Joni Erikson-Tada sings Alone Yet Not Alone; Cuomo says pro-lifers have no place in NY; Global Cooling...more
All hell breaks loose over Christian Oscar nod
...Instead, mainstream-media Oscar watchers across the nation have blasted the Academy for choosing the hymn-like testament to God’s presence over hits by pop artists like Jay-Z and Taylor Swift...The song and the singer are just beautiful! -PD
Peyton Manning’s Christian Faith
...Any fan of Peyton Manning or the NFL generally knows that Manning is the consummate professional. He treats the fans, media personnel, teammates, and opponents with respect. He works as hard—and probably harder—at his craft than any other player in the league. And he produces one fun, family-friendly commercial after another, showing his sense of humor and a humble assessment of his own importance. But what many fans of Manning and the NFL may not be aware of is Manning’s Christian faith. In the excerpt below from Peyton’s book Manning, which he co-wrote with his father Archie Manning in 2001, the record-setting quarterback gives a rare description of his faith and its importance to him. The description is a rare one, not because Peyton’s faith is an insignificant part of his life, but because, as Peyton explains in the excerpt, he has intentionally chosen to speak more by his actions than by his words...
Appeals court rules NYC anti-pregnancy center law largely unconstitutional
“Pro-life pregnancy centers, which offer free help and hope to women and their preborn children, shouldn’t be punished by political allies of the abortion industry,” said attorney Matt Bowman of Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented a number of CPCs in the case, including Slattery’s. “The appeals court rightly affirmed that the city cannot force pregnancy centers to communicate some city-crafted messages that encourage women to go elsewhere, but the court left one provision in place that still does that. Because this type of compelled speech is not constitutional, we are considering our options for appeal regarding the remaining provision of New York City’s ordinance.”
Andrew Cuomo Puts Up a ‘Catholics Need Not Reside’ Sign in New York
...This is an outrageous intolerance from a governor looking toward his political future in the Democratic party, securing his good graces with the abortion industry who his party – and all too many politicians – are content to serve. This is the same intolerance and culture-war-waging that Catholics who oppose abortion and assisted suicide, and who support traditional marriage, are accused of waging...
Cuomo: Pro-life people have “no place in the state of New York”
Forty-eight percent of Americans and all priests and nuns are no longer welcome in the Empire State, according to its governor...
Rise in Bird Flu Cases in China Stokes Worry Before Peak Travel Time
...China is disclosing a steadily growing number of cases of H7N9 bird flu, including four more cases announced on Friday, reviving concerns among health experts that the disease may be spreading and could pose a further threat as the world’s largest annual human migration begins ahead of Chinese New Year.
Mainland China has confirmed 14 cases this week alone, including the four announced on Friday, and seven on Thursday...
Do we face a disastrous century due to global cooling?
...Global warming alarmists have been claiming for decade that increases in carbon dioxide emissions associated with human activity will produce disastrous climate events. Certainly if carbon dioxide emissions were the only factor affecting climate, increases in those emissions would indeed produce global warming. Inconveniently for this theory, world temperatures have not increased in the last 15 years. But surely there are other things that affect climate, including variations in solar activity—sunspots. And as Bjorn Lomberg has often written, global cooling would be much more dangerous to human beings than global warming. Parker’s 697-page book (no, I haven’t read the whole thing) is an account of the political and demographic disasters in a global cooling century. Something to think about the next time you hear warnings of the inevitable disasters coming thanks to global warming.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
March for Life Syracuse 2014
Some scenes from the annual Syracuse March for Life yesterday (January 18th). I believe this Syracuse event has happened annually since the Roe V. Wade decision in 1973.
(Photos by Raymond Dague)
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Rev. Canon Phil Ashey: What should we do when Christians disagree – really
January 17, 2014
I am writing in response to an article published today by the Anglican Communion’s news office “What should we do when Christians disagree?” by the Rev. Dr. Phil Groves, facilitator of the Continuing Indaba Project. In the article, Groves writes that when Christians disagree, “when disunity appears, facilitated conversations are the Biblical way forwards.”
With all due respect, his analysis misses the mark by a longshot.
First, he cites the disagreement between Euodia and Syntyche in Philippians 4:2-3 as the Biblical paradigm for all disagreement within the Church. But what about differences over Christian doctrine itself? In his landmark study Conciliarism: A History of Decision making in the Church (Cambridge University Press, 2013, pp. 56-60) Paul Valliere notes meticulously the doctrinal disagreements that gave rise to the Councils of the Early Church. Disagreements over doctrine often present themselves first as disciplinary issues– such as how do you deal with the “re-baptism” of people who vacillated or apostasized in the face of persecution (Council of Carthage, 256 AD), or how do you respond to public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions and the consecration as bishop of a person living in such a union? (Anglican Communion, 2003).
Groves seems to have forgotten his history. The crisis in the Anglican Communion since at least 2003 has been and continues to be over the very definition of the Gospel. Disagreements and innovations in the Communion have been described, time and again, as a crisis of Gospel truth. This is exactly what 1358 bishops, other clergy and lay delegates to GAFCON 2013 re-asserted unanimously in the Nairobi Communique (26 October 2013):
“In 2008, the first GAFCON was convened in order to counter a false gospel which was spreading throughout the Communion. This false gospel questioned the uniqueness of Christ and his substitutionary death, despite the Bible’s clear revelation that he is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). It undermined the authority of God’s Word written. It sought to mask sinful behaviour with the language of human rights. It promoted homosexual practice as consistent with holiness, despite the fact that the Bible clearly identifies it as sinful. A crisis point was reached in 2003 when a man in an active same-sex relationship was consecrated bishop in the USA. In the years that followed, there were repeated attempts to resolve the crisis within the Communion, none of which succeeded. To the contrary, the situation worsened with further defiance.” the rest
I am writing in response to an article published today by the Anglican Communion’s news office “What should we do when Christians disagree?” by the Rev. Dr. Phil Groves, facilitator of the Continuing Indaba Project. In the article, Groves writes that when Christians disagree, “when disunity appears, facilitated conversations are the Biblical way forwards.”
With all due respect, his analysis misses the mark by a longshot.
First, he cites the disagreement between Euodia and Syntyche in Philippians 4:2-3 as the Biblical paradigm for all disagreement within the Church. But what about differences over Christian doctrine itself? In his landmark study Conciliarism: A History of Decision making in the Church (Cambridge University Press, 2013, pp. 56-60) Paul Valliere notes meticulously the doctrinal disagreements that gave rise to the Councils of the Early Church. Disagreements over doctrine often present themselves first as disciplinary issues– such as how do you deal with the “re-baptism” of people who vacillated or apostasized in the face of persecution (Council of Carthage, 256 AD), or how do you respond to public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions and the consecration as bishop of a person living in such a union? (Anglican Communion, 2003).
Groves seems to have forgotten his history. The crisis in the Anglican Communion since at least 2003 has been and continues to be over the very definition of the Gospel. Disagreements and innovations in the Communion have been described, time and again, as a crisis of Gospel truth. This is exactly what 1358 bishops, other clergy and lay delegates to GAFCON 2013 re-asserted unanimously in the Nairobi Communique (26 October 2013):
“In 2008, the first GAFCON was convened in order to counter a false gospel which was spreading throughout the Communion. This false gospel questioned the uniqueness of Christ and his substitutionary death, despite the Bible’s clear revelation that he is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). It undermined the authority of God’s Word written. It sought to mask sinful behaviour with the language of human rights. It promoted homosexual practice as consistent with holiness, despite the fact that the Bible clearly identifies it as sinful. A crisis point was reached in 2003 when a man in an active same-sex relationship was consecrated bishop in the USA. In the years that followed, there were repeated attempts to resolve the crisis within the Communion, none of which succeeded. To the contrary, the situation worsened with further defiance.” the rest
This is the heart of the new religion of reconciliation: facilitated conversations (Indaba) that can have only two possible results: eventual acceptance of the innovations, or a never- ending process of facilitated conversations, until all resistance is vanquished.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Bishop Julian Dobbs Appointed To Lead CANA
January 17, 2014
The Most Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh, Primate of all Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in consultation with the Most Rev. Robert Duncan, Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, has appointed the Rt. Rev. Julian M. Dobbs as Missionary Bishop of CANA.
The Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) is a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America, a missionary jurisdiction of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), and consists of congregations under diocesan structures. Bishop Dobbs will remain in his current role as Bishop of the CANA East Diocese while taking on the additional responsibilities of providing oversight and leadership to CANA’s overall ministry.
Archbishop Duncan commented: “I was officially notified by Archbishop Nicholas Okoh of this appointment earlier today. I am delighted this appointment has been made. Bishop Julian already serves as a member of my Archbishop’s Cabinet, and has previously served on the Provincial Executive Committee, to which he was elected by Provincial Council. He is a great leader and will continue the process by which CANA is fully integrated into the Anglican Church in North America, at the same time that CANA’s important place as a missionary work of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) is strengthened.”
Bishop Dobbs and his wife Brenda, have made their home in Northern Virginia since 2006. He was elected and consecrated as bishop by the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in 2011, and is a member of the College of Bishops in Nigeria and also the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) where he is a member of the Archbishop’s Cabinet and the Governance Task Force and has also served on the Executive Committee.
Archbishop Okoh said, “On behalf of the Archbishops, Bishops, clergy and numerous members of the laity, including those in CANA, I commend [Bishop Julian Dobbs and his wife] to the prayers of the church for a fruitful ministry, dedication to God and loyalty to Him and His Church authorities.”
Registrar Abraham Yisa, Chairman of CANA’s Board of Trustees said, “We thank God for this appointment. We thank the Primate and the house of bishops of our church. Please let us commend the new Missionary Bishop, his wife and children to God’s care and keeping. I congratulate Bishop Dobbs on behalf of CANA Board of Trustees and all CANA congregations. Here
Rejoicing!!! -PD
Thursday, January 16, 2014
God thinks his choice is so important...
Jonah teaches us that this storm, whose physical causes are the same as those of all other storms, is there only for Jonah and because of Jonah. It has other effects. It sweeps the coasts, disperses fish, causes ships to founder. But its purpose is to smash inflexible Jonah. Thus the elements and many men, especially the sailors, are engaged in the adventure of Jonah with him and because of him. One sees here the weight and seriousness of vocation. God thinks his choice is so important, and takes the one elected so seriously, that he brings nature into play to see that this man fulfills his vocation. ...Jacques Ellul image
Hiring Professors Who Want To Teach; Common Core Sexualizes American School Children; PP Won't let Lawmakers See Their Curriculum...more
President Obama: “I’ve got a pen…”
We have a Constitution.
Archbishop Chaput to Lead 3,000 Philadelphians in D.C. March for Life
Small, New University Does Something Radical -- Only Hires Professors Who Want To Teach And Only Admits Students Who Want To Learn
...But just because much of our higher education system is now a poor value for students who really want to study, we shouldn’t think that worthwhile schools have disappeared. In fact, just a few years ago, a new, very small university was created — t he University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) – that does just what a college is supposed to do.
While online education is getting most of the attention these days when the subject of change in higher education comes up, UMR shows that the old-fashioned professor-facing-students-in-a-classroom model can be reworked so that it gives serious students a true education at reasonable cost...
Common Core Sexualizes American School Children
Newburgh New York school district yanked a ninth grade book considered by teachers to be “pornographic.” An Arizona mother launched an avalanche of protest that forced Arizona schools to pull an eleventh grade book that portrays teens in a sado-masochistic relationship. A Catholic school superintendent admits there were two first grade books about families—that included pictures of homosexual pairs—listed on the Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative website, a resource for Catholic schools nationwide. These “family” books—The Family Book and Who’s in a Family—were removed from the website after parental protest.
Across the nation, in public and Catholic schools, parents and teachers have found sexually inappropriate materials in the exemplars recommended by Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In some cases the offending material is removed. In others, parents are offered “opt out” choices for their children. However, the question that looms large is, why has so much disturbing material been systematically built into the CCSS recommended texts? Should a small cadre of unelected ideologues have nationwide power to decide that American first graders should be exposed to homosexual “families,” or, that ninth graders be given pornography in the guise of literature? These questions and the examples outlined below shout for parental scrutiny and a return to local control of school districts...
Planned Parenthood Denies Lawmakers’ Request to See Its Graphic Sex Ed Curriculum
...After parents told state representative Bob McDermott about Pono Choices—the program that teaches middle school students about same sex relationships and oral and anal sex—McDermott attempted to get copies of the entire curriculum from the state department of education, but incredibly, his request was denied. He then approached the University of Hawaii, which received, in partnership with Planned Parenthood, almost a million dollars in a teen pregnancy prevention grant to develop and implement the program. The state legislator was once again turned down. He was instead invited to review the curriculum under supervision, which he declined...
Six-Year-Old Girl Rebuked by Teacher: 'No Talking About Bible in School'
Brynn Williams was interrupted and rebuked by her teacher at an elementary school in Temecula, California last month while giving a speech for a school assignment on Christmas family traditions about her family's celebration of Jesus Christ's birth...
We have a Constitution.
Archbishop Chaput to Lead 3,000 Philadelphians in D.C. March for Life
Small, New University Does Something Radical -- Only Hires Professors Who Want To Teach And Only Admits Students Who Want To Learn
...But just because much of our higher education system is now a poor value for students who really want to study, we shouldn’t think that worthwhile schools have disappeared. In fact, just a few years ago, a new, very small university was created — t he University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) – that does just what a college is supposed to do.
While online education is getting most of the attention these days when the subject of change in higher education comes up, UMR shows that the old-fashioned professor-facing-students-in-a-classroom model can be reworked so that it gives serious students a true education at reasonable cost...
Common Core Sexualizes American School Children
Newburgh New York school district yanked a ninth grade book considered by teachers to be “pornographic.” An Arizona mother launched an avalanche of protest that forced Arizona schools to pull an eleventh grade book that portrays teens in a sado-masochistic relationship. A Catholic school superintendent admits there were two first grade books about families—that included pictures of homosexual pairs—listed on the Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative website, a resource for Catholic schools nationwide. These “family” books—The Family Book and Who’s in a Family—were removed from the website after parental protest.
Across the nation, in public and Catholic schools, parents and teachers have found sexually inappropriate materials in the exemplars recommended by Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In some cases the offending material is removed. In others, parents are offered “opt out” choices for their children. However, the question that looms large is, why has so much disturbing material been systematically built into the CCSS recommended texts? Should a small cadre of unelected ideologues have nationwide power to decide that American first graders should be exposed to homosexual “families,” or, that ninth graders be given pornography in the guise of literature? These questions and the examples outlined below shout for parental scrutiny and a return to local control of school districts...
Planned Parenthood Denies Lawmakers’ Request to See Its Graphic Sex Ed Curriculum
...After parents told state representative Bob McDermott about Pono Choices—the program that teaches middle school students about same sex relationships and oral and anal sex—McDermott attempted to get copies of the entire curriculum from the state department of education, but incredibly, his request was denied. He then approached the University of Hawaii, which received, in partnership with Planned Parenthood, almost a million dollars in a teen pregnancy prevention grant to develop and implement the program. The state legislator was once again turned down. He was instead invited to review the curriculum under supervision, which he declined...
Six-Year-Old Girl Rebuked by Teacher: 'No Talking About Bible in School'
Brynn Williams was interrupted and rebuked by her teacher at an elementary school in Temecula, California last month while giving a speech for a school assignment on Christmas family traditions about her family's celebration of Jesus Christ's birth...
TEC denied again by Judge in attempt to seize Diocese of SC identity
15 Jan 2014
Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck issued a sharply worded ruling today that rebuffed efforts by The Episcopal Church to sidestep a South Carolina Circuit Court injunction preventing the denomination from seizing the identity and symbols of the Diocese of South Carolina.
In his ruling, Judge Houck said, “It appears Bishop [Charles G.] vonRosenberg is using the motion to express his disagreement with the Court’s ruling and to ‘rehash’ previously presented arguments. … As such, Bishop vonRosenberg’s motion is improper and reconsideration is not justified.”
Bishop vonRosenberg had asked Judge Houck to effectively overturn a state court injunction preventing him and his followers from claiming to be the Diocese of South Carolina.
“We are grateful Judge Houck saw through The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) efforts to distract from the real issues in this case,” said Jim Lewis, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese. “Their attempt to claim violation of trademark rights was little more than a stalling tactic.
“It’s understandable that TECSC wants to postpone the adjudication of the actual issues involved, but we’re confident the courts will not be distracted,” Lewis said. “Sadly, all the legal shenanigans simply add to the tens of millions of dollars the denomination has spent on legal bills aimed at bullying disaffected members to remain with TEC.” the rest
Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck issued a sharply worded ruling today that rebuffed efforts by The Episcopal Church to sidestep a South Carolina Circuit Court injunction preventing the denomination from seizing the identity and symbols of the Diocese of South Carolina.
In his ruling, Judge Houck said, “It appears Bishop [Charles G.] vonRosenberg is using the motion to express his disagreement with the Court’s ruling and to ‘rehash’ previously presented arguments. … As such, Bishop vonRosenberg’s motion is improper and reconsideration is not justified.”
Bishop vonRosenberg had asked Judge Houck to effectively overturn a state court injunction preventing him and his followers from claiming to be the Diocese of South Carolina.
“We are grateful Judge Houck saw through The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) efforts to distract from the real issues in this case,” said Jim Lewis, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese. “Their attempt to claim violation of trademark rights was little more than a stalling tactic.
“It’s understandable that TECSC wants to postpone the adjudication of the actual issues involved, but we’re confident the courts will not be distracted,” Lewis said. “Sadly, all the legal shenanigans simply add to the tens of millions of dollars the denomination has spent on legal bills aimed at bullying disaffected members to remain with TEC.” the rest
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
A.S. Haley: San Joaquin Trial Concludes; Judge Sets Briefing Schedule
January 15, 2014
The trial in the case of Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin vs. Schofield finished in Fresno Superior Court on Monday, with the videotaped testimony of Bishop John-David Schofield played in a courtroom packed with both his admirers and his opponents. (Bishop Schofield passed away at his home last October, but his testimony had been preserved in 2011 in anticipation of the trial.)
At the conclusion of his testimony, both sides rested—the plaintiffs declined to put on any rebuttal evidence—and the court then put questions to counsel in lieu of closing arguments. Judge Donald Black began by asking the plaintiffs point-blank: “Can you show me just where in the Episcopal Church’s Constitution and Canons it says that a member diocese may not amend its constitution so as to remove its accession clause?”
(The former Diocese of San Joaquin, under the leadership of then-Bishop Schofield, had voted on December 8, 2007 to amend its constitution and canons to replace language acceding to ECUSA’s constitution with language that affiliated the Diocese with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. Since then, the Diocese has called itself “the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin.” However, when the newly formed rump Episcopal diocese brought this lawsuit in April 2008, it did not join the Anglican Diocese as a defendant, but only its bishop and its subsidiary property-holding entities.)
The plaintiffs’ counsel, of course, could point to no such language, because it does not exist. And with that one question, Judge Black put his finger on the crux of the case.
The Anglican parties contend that their 2007 amendments to disaffiliate from ECUSA were fully proper and valid under California secular law, as well as not contrary to any language in ECUSA’s governing documents. the rest
The trial in the case of Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin vs. Schofield finished in Fresno Superior Court on Monday, with the videotaped testimony of Bishop John-David Schofield played in a courtroom packed with both his admirers and his opponents. (Bishop Schofield passed away at his home last October, but his testimony had been preserved in 2011 in anticipation of the trial.)
At the conclusion of his testimony, both sides rested—the plaintiffs declined to put on any rebuttal evidence—and the court then put questions to counsel in lieu of closing arguments. Judge Donald Black began by asking the plaintiffs point-blank: “Can you show me just where in the Episcopal Church’s Constitution and Canons it says that a member diocese may not amend its constitution so as to remove its accession clause?”
(The former Diocese of San Joaquin, under the leadership of then-Bishop Schofield, had voted on December 8, 2007 to amend its constitution and canons to replace language acceding to ECUSA’s constitution with language that affiliated the Diocese with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. Since then, the Diocese has called itself “the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin.” However, when the newly formed rump Episcopal diocese brought this lawsuit in April 2008, it did not join the Anglican Diocese as a defendant, but only its bishop and its subsidiary property-holding entities.)
The plaintiffs’ counsel, of course, could point to no such language, because it does not exist. And with that one question, Judge Black put his finger on the crux of the case.
The Anglican parties contend that their 2007 amendments to disaffiliate from ECUSA were fully proper and valid under California secular law, as well as not contrary to any language in ECUSA’s governing documents. the rest
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