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Noteworthy News Notes
March 5, 2010
Two Christians
Murdered for Witnessing in Boynton Beach
“Anti-Christian hostility is getting increasingly
deadly as this week’s [February 5] tragic events demonstrate,” said Dr.
Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission.…
According to the Boynton Beach [Florida] police,
simply sharing the Word of God on the street is what brought two
ministers to the man who killed them. Tite Sufra, 24, and Stephen Ocean,
23, were shot and killed Saturday night after meeting Jeriah Woody, 18.
They [had] witnessed to Woody for fifteen minutes, when he got a phone
call and told the preachers he “had to go.” As they walked away, Woody
suddenly started walking back toward them. Sufra walked up to greet him
and was killed with a shotgun blast at point-blank range. When Ocean
ran, he was shot in the back. After he fell, Woody shot him in the head,
execution style. Woody was arrested…and is charged with two counts of
first-degree murder.
“As of today, there are no national news
organizations reporting this vicious murder of two innocent Christian
men. Why?” Cass said, “I’ll ask this: If two Muslims or two feminists or
two homosexuals were murdered, wouldn’t the media be all over it? These
were two fine young…Christian men shot…for their Christian faith, yet
the media does not seem to care.”
Cass continued: “It is an ominous sign of our times
that Christians are being shot on the streets and in our churches. Last
year Jim Pouillon was killed while holding pro-life signs in front of
his granddaughter’s Owasso, Michigan high school. Fred Winters was
murdered while preaching in his pulpit in Maryville, Illinois.
Increasingly we see Christian ministers threatened and churches
terrorized and vandalized for their stand on marriage. Now when
Christians gather for worship they must have armed security.
Anti-Christian defamation and bigotry has helped to create this violent
climate, and it must stop.”
—Christian Newswire
Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
Bring Pro-Abortion, Gay Rights Activists to Speak at Event
Already embroiled in an abortion scandal, the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB] [hosted] a lineup
of progressive leaders—including prominent pro-abortion activists—to
their “Catholic Social Gathering” in Washington, D.C., on February 7–10.
The announced USCCB “gathering” conference comes on
the heels of revelations the USCCB has longstanding ties to the
radically pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage group Center for Community
Change [CCC]. New evidence continues to emerge that the CCC is only a
small part of a larger collaboration with organizations that promote
abortion and homosexual rights agendas.
[Among the scheduled speakers] at the Social
Gathering will be:…
—Diana Hayes, professor of systematic theology at
Georgetown University and noted speaker for Call to Action, the
“Catholic” dissident group. Hayes is a homosexuality activist who wrote
a book espousing liberation theology, calls for women’s ordination and
promotes same-sex “marriage.”
—Page six of the official “Catholic Social
Gathering” program gives a schedule for the Catholic Labor Network
Gathering. USCCB executive John Carr is scheduled to join Paul Booth on
a panel discussion. Paul Booth and his wife Heather Booth (another
prominent pro-abortion activist with ties to the National Organization
for Women, who helped organize a group called “Jane” in 1965 which
helped young women obtain illegal abortions) founded the Midwest
Academy, a training institute for progressive activists.
—Christian Newswire
New Proof That
Abstinence Works
Americans have received messages for years from
so-called social scientists presenting “evidence” that abstinence
programs are ineffective, that they actually increase sexual activity
among teens. Now, a landmark study on abstinence education published in
a refereed journal, The Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, gives
solid evidence that abstinence education is effective in delaying teen
sexual activity, preventing teen pregnancy and avoiding sexually
transmitted diseases. The study, conducted by University of Pennsylvania
researchers and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, found
that two years after the program only one-third of the “abstinence-only”
groups reported having sex, compared to one-half of the “control” group.
Neither the “condom” groups nor the “abstinence and condom” education
groups revealed any impact on sexual involvement.
Penny Nance, chief executive officer of Concerned
Women for America, said, “…This evidence shines a light of truth on the
myths that are promoted by Planned Parenthood and those who benefit
financially from ‘comprehensive’ sex education programs at the expense
of the well-being of the nation’s adolescents and pre-teens.”
—Christian Newswire
Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell—Don’t Bother!
There were 7,340 words in President Obama’s State
of the Union address…—but Congress is only fixating on 32 of them. In
eight days, one simple sentence has hurled all of Congress’s legitimate
business overboard and thrown a country desperate for jobs and tax
relief into a fiery—and unnecessary—debate over homosexuality. Despite
all of the hot issues on Capitol Hill, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” somehow
shoved its way to the front of the line, generating two hearings faster
than most Democrats can say “judicial nominees.”
The Senate’s Armed Services Committee kicked things
off on [February 2] with the administration’s pro-repeal reps, Defense
Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike
Mullen. [The next day], the duo gave an encore performance to a lukewarm
audience for the House committee. On one side, the sponsor of the House
bill to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is complaining that the
Pentagon isn’t moving faster. On the other, Representatives like Duncan
Hunter (R-Calif.) were adamant. “The military is not civilian life,” he
said. Its rules don’t exist to satisfy the Left’s notion of “equality”
or “freedom of expression.” In the heat of battle, political correctness
isn’t a recipe for success—it’s an obstruction to it.
At the very least, Army Secretary John McHugh
thinks the military deserves a say. “Before the president or special
interests force a change in the policy or law, Congress deserves to see
from the services concrete, in-depth evidence that readiness concerns
require a change and that such a change would not degrade wartime
military readiness in any measurable, significant way.” The House’s
ranking Republican, Buck McDeon (Calif.), echoed that concern.…The
military is no place to return campaign favors—regardless of your social
views.
Former marine commandant General Carl E. Mundy and
1,160 of his retired flag and general officer colleagues have spoken
forcibly against it, while plenty of conservatives sit in the shadows,
afraid to take a position.…Every day, American soldiers take fire for
us. This is our turn to stand on the front lines for them.
—Family Research Council
Baptist Volunteers
in Haiti Charged With Kidnapping
A Haitian prosecutor…charged 10 members of a
Baptist volunteer team with child kidnapping and criminal association
for allegedly not following the law in attempting to transport 33
children into the Dominican Republic.
Haitian Deputy Prosecutor Jean Ferge Joseph then
handed the case to an investigative judge.…
The charges carry prison terms of up to 15 years,
the New York Times reported.
The case has garnered national and international
attention and has adoption and Christian aid agencies concerned it could
tarnish their work. The 10 volunteers maintain they are innocent. A
Haitian pastor who assisted the team told the Associated Press that the
volunteers had permission.
—Baptist Press
EDITOR’S COMMENTS: A Haitian judge has now released
all but two of these folks. It appears that they absolutely meant no
harm to anyone, but with the Haitian government in shambles and
apparently an unscrupulous “lawyer” assisting them, this thing got
totally out of hand.
Early on, the administration in Washington took a
“hands off” attitude and refused to get into it. When American citizens
need help anywhere in the world, and even more when they are there on a
humanitarian mission, it seems to us that somebody should step up the
first day to assist with resolving the matter!
Parents Prayed, Son
Died, Parents Found Guilty of Homicide
On February 2, Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Beagley were found
guilty in Oregon court of criminally negligent homicide. Members of a
group called Christ Church, they prayed for their sick son to be healed
rather than getting him medical attention. When their son died, they
were charged. When they are sentenced later in February, they could
receive as much as 18 months in prison.
—Sword Press Service
EDITOR’S COMMENTS: We believe in prayer and lots of
it. We also believe that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17). When we
have a medical solution for a malady, it is one of God’s ‘good gifts’ to
us. We should have the good sense to know that sometimes the Lord has
already provided for us even before we ask.
President Pushing
Anti-Family Social Agenda
The president made some interesting social policy
points during the question and answer portion of a Tampa [town hall
meeting on January 28]. A local student took his turn at the microphone
and essentially asked the president whether he would be as committed to
repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as he is to repealing
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The president replied, “Look, as I said last
night, my belief is, is that a basic principle in our Constitution is
that if you’re obeying the law, if you’re following the rules, that you
should be treated the same, regardless of who you are. I think that
principle applies to gay and lesbian couples.”
He continued by pumping up the Domestic Partnership
Benefits and Obligation Act (S. 1102 and H. R. 2517), which is winding
its way through Congress as we speak. Essentially, the bill would make
the same-sex partners of federal employees eligible for the same
benefits as married couples. “I think it’s the right thing to do,” the
president said, even though the legislation is a direct strike on DOMA.
“…[I]t makes sense for us to take a leadership role in ensuring that
people are treated the same. Look…regardless of your personal opinions,
the notion that somebody who’s working really hard for 30 years can’t
take their death benefits and transfer them to the person that they love
the most in the world and who has supported them all their lives, that
just doesn’t seem fair. It doesn’t seem right.”
Actually, what “doesn’t seem right” is that the
president of the United States is actively backing legislation that
disobeys DOMA and devalues marriage. Fortunately, he’s solidly in the
minority for a cultural shift on marriage.
—Family Research Council
New Budget Contains
Massive Funding of Abortion, Planned Parenthood
President Barack Obama released his FY 2011 budget
[February 1], and it contains provisions that will force Americans to
pay for abortions in the United States and promoting abortion abroad.
The budget takes advantage of Congress having overturned the ban on
abortion funding in the nation’s capital.
Obama’s FY 2010 budget contained a new policy
allowing public funding for abortion in the District of Columbia, and
Congress eventually approved overturning the Dornan amendment that had
long banned funding.…
As was the case last year, the Obama budget also
proposes overturning another ban on abortion funding—concerning the
Legal Services Corporation.
Congress has previously approved budgets that
retain a long-standing prohibition on the Legal Services Corporation [LSC],
which provides legal help for lower-income Americans, providing legal
counseling to any person or entity “that participates in any litigation
with respect to abortion.”
Page 1284 of the proposed budget Obama submitted to
Congress includes a change to that law that would result in LSC funds
going to people or groups that engage in abortion litigation.
—LifeNews.com
Ohio House Speaker
Backs Down, Will Allow Pro-Life Teen to Receive Award
After an outpouring of opposition from pro-life
advocates across the state, Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish will allow
a pro-life teen to receive an award from the legislature. Shelby County
teen Elisabeth Trisler was hoping to receive a legislative honor
routinely presented to others.
However, Budish refused to allow Trisler on the
House floor to accept a legislative resolution.
The resolution, authored by Representative John
Adams, a Republican, honors her accomplishment as the National Right to
Life Oratory Contest winner last year.…
Budish spokesman Keary McCarthy told the Cleveland
Plain Dealer newspaper…that Budish pulled the plug on the event on
February 3 after becoming uncomfortable with the “politically sensitive”
nature of the award because it was sponsored by a pro-life group. Budish,
a Democrat, has changed his mind and now hopes Trisler can come to the
legislature to receive her award.
—LifeNews.com
EDITOR’S COMMENTS: In these days, those who hold
traditional values and views must stand up and fight for their right to
a place at the table. The liberals play fair only if they must!
CBS Says Global
Warming Science Sound, Climategate Just a PR Problem
On…CBS Evening News [February 4], anchor Katie
Couric lamented the impact Climategate and other recent scandals
involving fraudulent global-warming data have had on the climate-change
debate: “Experts insist the overall conclusion remains the same, that
climate change is real, but…such errors provide ammunition to skeptics.”
In a report that followed, correspondent Mark Phillips explained the
real problem facing global-warming advocates: “The scientists may still
believe they’re winning the scientific argument, but they’re in danger
of losing the public-relations war.”
—Media Research Center
EDITOR’S COMMENTS: If the global-warming alarmists
get their way, the impact upon the budgets of our churches and our
families is going to be felt very sharply.
Tax Court Rules That
Sex Change Operations Are Tax Deductible
On February 2, the U.S. Tax Court ruled that a man
who had a so-called sex-change operation could deduct the costs of the
mutilating surgery from his taxes.
That man who had [the] surgery called himself
Rhiannon O’Donnabhain and was defended by the Gay and Lesbian Advocates
and Defenders (GLAD).…
In its ruling, the tax court stated: “The evidence
amply supports the conclusions that petitioner suffered from severe GID
[Gender Identity Disorder], that GID is a well-recognized and serious
mental disorder, and that hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery
are considered appropriate and effective treatments for GID by
psychiatrists and other mental health professionals who are
knowledgeable concerning the condition.”
—Traditional Values Coalition
Russian Journalist
Sparks Furor by Suggesting Infanticide for Disabled Newborns
A Russian journalist has sparked furor by
suggesting that newborn children who are mentally disabled should be
killed. Aleksandr Nikonov wrote an article titled “Finish Them Off, So
They Don’t Suffer,” which called “post-natal abortion” an act of mercy.
Nikonov argues that the birth of a disabled child
for many families would be an unbearable tragedy,…and that “the killing
of the newborn is in fact the same as an abortion.”
He says depriving infants who will never be able to
take care of themselves of life is “true humanism” and calls [for
giving] parents of such children a right to euthanize their newborns in
the same way the elderly are killed in euthanasia.
—LifeNews.com
EDITOR’S COMMENTS: Are you listening? The drumbeat
of such social engineers is getting louder. Peter Singer, a well-known
bioethics professor and animal-rights activist at Princeton University,
believes the next few decades will see a massive upheaval in the concept
of life and rights, with only “a [handful] of hard-core, know-nothing
religious fundamentalists still protecting life as sacrosanct” (WorldNetDaily).
Odd, isn’t it, that Dr. Singer is an animal-rights
enthusiast?
Ex-Beatle Ringo
Starr: “God Is in My Life”
Former Beatles member Ringo Starr says he’s been on
a search for God for the past five decades—though there were many years
when he “stepped off the path.”
And now, at the age of 69, he says God is in his
life.
“I feel the older I get, the more I’m learning to
handle life,” Starr told the Los Angeles Times during a recent visit to
the Grammy Museum in downtown LA.
“I think [spiritual issues] are more prominent,”
added Starr.…
And some of the conclusions he’s drawn so far from
having been on the “quest for a long time” are that “it’s all about
finding yourself” and that “God is in my life.”
—Kevin P. Donovan for ChristianPost.com
EDITOR’S COMMENTS: I often pray for the salvation
of such well-known people, and I’m happy when any one of them comes to
Christ. In this case, there does not seem to be anything to indicate
that Ringo Starr has been saved. He is acknowledging the reality of God,
but if there is anything more, it is not apparent.
High Court Urged to
Protect Faith Groups’ Right to Define Membership
At least 18 different organizations and 13 state
attorneys general are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the
constitutional rights of religious groups to set membership and
leadership criteria according to the dictates of their religious
beliefs.
More specifically, the groups and attorneys general
are asking the High Court to overturn an appeals court ruling that
backed a California law school’s decision not to recognize a Christian
student group because of the group’s refusal to allow non-Christians to
become voting members or leaders.
In its amicus brief filed at the High Court, one of
the groups, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), contended
that religious groups are constitutionally protected in following their
religious beliefs.
“Religious groups by their nature embrace religious
principles and, as a matter of organizational identity and coherence,
will normally require adherence to such principles as a criterion for
membership and certainly for leadership,” the legal group stated in the
brief—one of at least 19 that were filed by [the February 4] deadline.
“This is not ‘discrimination’ but rather part and
parcel of what defines them as religious groups,” it added.…
“It is fundamental to religious freedom that
religious groups are free to define their own mission, select their own
leaders and determine their own membership criteria,” commented ACLJ
Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow.
—ChristianPost.com
Suspected Texas
Church Arsons Now Eleven
Two more Baptist churches, less than two miles
apart, burned [the night of February 8], making a total of 11 East Texas
churches damaged or destroyed by fire since the New Year [with] seven
confirmed as arsons, authorities say.…
Investigators from the Smith County Fire Marshal’s
office and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) were at Dover Baptist Church and Clear Springs
Missionary Baptist Church in Smith County February 9 trying to determine
the cause of the fires. Because arson has been confirmed in seven other
church burnings in the region, ATF Special Agent Tom Crowley said it is
the suspected cause of the latest fire, but confirmation will take a few
days.…
Crowley, based in the ATF’s Dallas office, said the
latest fires are possibly associated with a string of church blazes set
since January 1. There have been seven confirmed arsons—three in Athens,
two in Tyler, one in Lindale and one in Wills Point. Each of the fires
was started from inside the churches, and representatives from some of
the churches reported items were stolen prior to the buildings’ being
set on fire.
An arsonist’s attack on a church in the central
Texas city of Temple is being investigated as well.
—Bonnie Pritchett for Baptist Press
EDITOR’S COMMENTS: With DNA evidence collected at
one of the fires and a tip that implicated one individual, two men have
now been arrested and charged with felony arson.
City Officials Under
Fire for Pro-Christian Comments
Two city officials in a California town are being
targeted for possible hate crimes over comments they made recently about
the Christian and Muslim faiths.
Speaking to a group of Christian ministers on
January 27, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris stated, “We are growing a
Christian community—and don’t let anybody shy away from that.” And
Councilwoman Sherry Marquez has been criticized for posting biblical
references on her Facebook site encouraging Christians to defend
themselves—along with quotes from Muslim leaders exhorting followers to
convert the world to Islam.
Now, according to the Antelope Valley Press, the
local human relations task force will convene…to discuss whether those
remarks could potentially be “hate incidents.” Darren Parker, chairman
of the task force, tells the newspaper that if the mayor’s comments are
so deemed, “a complaint will be made to the [federal] Justice
Department” and to state and county district attorneys.
In addition, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations [CAIR] has filed a federal civil rights complaint over
Parris’s comments. CAIR says the mayor violated the civil rights of
non-Christians by stating, during his annual State of the City address,
that Lancaster was “growing a Christian community.”
CAIR says the mayor should not have used his
official capacity at the event to advance a particular religion. Parris
has told a Los Angeles newspaper that [he] would “absolutely not”
apologize for his remarks.
—OneNewsNow.com
Mainline Churches
Oppose Defending America?
Mainline church groups began lobbying 40 years ago
against any defense for America against incoming missiles. And they have
continued right through today.
Even 40 years ago, United Methodist, Episcopal and
Presbyterian officials adamantly insisted that any anti-missile system
was morally wrong. How is knocking down deadly missiles with other
missiles, saving lives, wrong? Only the religious left could really make
this argument, but essentially these churchmen resented any alternative
to their blind, utopian faith in arms control. Even the famous Reinhold
Niebuhr, founder of “Christian Realism,” joined the campaign in his
declining years.…
Here’s another example of spiritual and political
blindness by church entities.…famously liberal Riverside Church…will
host a hearing on alleged U.S. war crimes. United Methodists (including
Drew Seminary), Presbyterians, Episcopalians and liberal evangelicals
will participate, among others. Expect some old fashioned
anti-Americanism at its worst.
—Mark Tooley for IRD
AFA’s Tim Wildmon
Reports PepsiCo Practices Reflect Change; AFA Suspends Boycott
When AFA called for a boycott of PepsiCo because of
its support of homosexual activist groups, I knew we were taking on a
huge task. After all, PepsiCo is a huge company. But I knew we had a lot
of friends who would stand with us.
Now, I’m glad to report to you that we are
suspending the boycott of PepsiCo. After monitoring the company for
several months, AFA is satisfied the company has withdrawn its major
financial contributions to gay activist groups.
I truly believe this is a direct result of your
willingness to become involved. In fact, more than 500,000 people signed
the Boycott PepsiCo Pledge.
AFA launched a boycott of PepsiCo after the company
made $500,000 donations to Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Parents,
Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) in 2008. Records from
PepsiCo, HRC and PFLAG indicate repeat donations did not occur in 2009.
Although a few minor issues remain, AFA will
continue to monitor PepsiCo. We feel we have made our point. Boycotts
have been a last resort for us at AFA, and the PepsiCo boycott was
started to address issues of concern to us—especially the promotion of
the homosexual agenda in the culture.
Your AFA will continue to challenge major U.S.
companies to remain neutral in the culture wars rather than to use their
resources to promote controversial issues.
—AFA Action Alert
News You May Have
Missed…
(Because the Major Media Said Little About It)
Air Force Academy Salutes Witches!
Fox News is reporting that the Air Force Academy in
Colorado is officially going to dedicate a Wiccan worship circle on
March 10. Wicca is a group of witches, Druids and other pagans.
Apparently the air force already recognizes several other distinctively
pagan philosophies, including several versions of Wiccans, shamanism,
etc.
Rabbis Oppose Policy
Change!
One thousand rabbis have signed up to oppose the
changes proposed by the president on the homosexuality policy in the
U.S. military. Christian Newswire quotes them as saying, “When Americans
are suffering economically and millions need jobs, it’s shocking that
the administration is focused on its ultra-liberal, militantly
homosexualist agenda forcing the highlighting of homosexuals and
homosexuality on an unwilling military.”
Fifty-two Million
Abortions!
LifeNews.com is reporting that the abortion count
for the past 37 years (since Roe v. Wade) now stands at 52 million plus!
That’s approximately 3,900 butchered babies every single day (weekends
included) for almost four decades. It is a barbaric, pagan, pro-death,
uncivilized practice that has been perpetrated upon our nation!
Disgusting and shameful!
Thirty-six Percent
of Americans Like Socialism!
A Fox News poll released in February shows that 36
percent of the American people have a favorable opinion of socialism.
Could we not somehow arrange for these university-brainwashed, media-fed
philosophic neophytes to spend three to six months in Cuba or Russia?
Perhaps the “laboratory” experience would be good for them!
U.S. Gives Yale
Researcher $3.9 Million in Tax Dollars to Develop “Avatar” Sex-Ed Video
Game for Kids
A division of the National Institutes of Health is
giving Dr. Lynn Fiellin, an assistant professor at the Yale School of
Medicine, $3.9 million over five years to develop a video game to teach
“sex, drug and alcohol negotiation and refusal skills” to children 9–14
years of age. The game will feature “virtual characters or avatars” that
must decide whether to engage in behaviors that put them at risk of
being infected with HIV (CNSNews.com).
International
Planned Parenthood’s Latest Sex-Ed Agenda
The Planned Parenthood Federation believes that
children as young as 10 should be given extensive sex education, going
so far as to recommend your pre-teen or tween should have an awareness
of sexual pleasure. That’s according to a new Planned Parenthood report
entitled “Stand and Deliver,” which also targets Christians and other
conservatives, accusing them of imposing sexual barriers on young
children (Christian Newswire).
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