Christian Psychologist Gives Candid Advice on Sex at Arizona Megachurch

-
0
Christian Psychologist Gives Candid Advice on Sex at Arizona Megachurch

Christian Post Report – Dr. Kevin Leman speaking at Christ’s Church of the Valley.

Psychologist and family expert Dr. Kevin Leman spoke at Christ’s Church of the Valley, a non-denominational megachurch in Peoria, Arizona, on sex in marriage, as part of a series that digs into what scripture has to say about “Sex, Love & Dating.”

Dr. Leman introduced himself to the congregation as a father of five and married to the same woman for 48 years, before his recent message, which was based on his book, Sheet Music.

“Sex is about the quality of your entire love life, not just the alignment of your bodies,” reads the book description. “So if you’re willing to forge ahead for the sake of the best marriage you can imagine, this book is for you. It will expand and challenge your thinking, help you start your marriage off right, or go from humdrum to exciting if you’re already married.”

Some people think we shouldn’t be talking about sex in the church, Dr. Leman said, and praised the church’s Sr. Pastor Donald J. Wilson for starting a series on sex, love and dating. More than 22,000 people attend Christ’s Church of the Valley, which was 8th on Outreach Magazines 2015’s 100 American Megachurch Annual List.

Leman said sex is “God-ordained; it’s God’s idea,” adding that “it must be God-governed.”

He said he’s never heard a couple say, “We have a great sex life, and we want divorce … even once.”

“The pleasure that you receive in holy matrimony through sexual intercourse is God’s invention,” he added.

He recommended that Christians must read Proverbs 5:1-14, which is a warning against adultery, and said sex can be “very destructive.” But God’s laws are perfect and protect us, he added.

He read verses 15-21, which talk about the positive side of sex.

“Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well,” the passage reads. “Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths.”

There are three C’s of marriage, Dr. Leman said: covenant, connection and commitment. “You make a covenant with Almighty God; you make a covenant with your mate. You commit and connect to each other,” he said.

But, “when two people marry, it’s not two people… At least six… You marry your in-laws,” he clarified.

He said many single women complain there are no worthy men, he said, suggesting that they look for a man who loves God, look for a man who doesn’t have a temper, and look for a man who has a great relationship with his mother.

So many people marry a jerk the first time, he said, and added, a super jerk the second time.

The funniest thing God came up with was, “The two shall become one flesh,” he said jokingly, explaining that men and women are so different.

He said he and his wife are also different, but that they have had a great marriage for 48 years.

Men have 33 times more sexual thoughts in a day than a woman, he said. It takes a little more than one second for a man to get aroused, he added. “Men want to have sex in the morning, women want to have sex in June,” he said jokingly. Men need to feel needed or wanted.

Women, on the other hand, need affection, he said. Number two, communication.

Husbands need to pray with their wives audibly, and be the captains of their wives’ hearts. They should have sex ASAP, meaning as slow as possible, he said.

If you want to have good sex, obey God’s word, the psychologist told the congregation, referring to Ephesians 5:21, which says “submitting to one another.”

“You have to bring God in this seemingly secular part of life,” he said.

Dr. Leman then read 1 Corinthians 7:3-5, “Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

In conclusion, he stressed that a couple needs to give every part of their life and marriage to God. That’s good for sex, too.

Source : Christian Post

Pastor Craig Groeschel: Popular Bible Verse ‘Plans to Prosper You’ Among Most Misinterpreted

-
0
Pastor Craig Groeschel: Popular Bible Verse ‘Plans to Prosper You’ Among Most Misinterpreted

Craig Groeschel (Photo: Catalyst Conferences/Ryan Longnecker)

Christian Post Report – Pastor Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv attempted to bridge the gap between generations inside the church while speaking at Catalyst West conference held at Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif., April 19, 2012.

Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of Oklahoma megachurch Life.Church, warned listeners about misusing a popular verse from the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 29:11 reads “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”

Groeschel recently told those listening in person and watching online that the often quoted Jeremiah verse needs to be put into context.

A man on the beach is seen with Jeremiah 29:11 tattooed on his back in this June 30, 2012, photo.(Photo: Tony Alter/Flickr Creative Commons)A man on the beach is seen with Jeremiah 29:11 tattooed on his back in this June 30, 2012, photo.

After all, the verse was part of a letter the Prophet Jeremiah sent to the elders and others of the nation of Israel who were exiled after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian Empire.

“When we read this verse what we need to understand is there will be specific promises in the Bible and there will be general promises,” stated Groeschel.

“There are specific promises made to a specific group of people and there are general promises made to everybody. The truth is that Jeremiah 29:11 is a specific promise made to the Jewish exiles.”

Groeschel stressed that while the verse is meant for the elders of the Israelite exiles, there were parts of the verse that did apply to modern believers.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you.’ Does God have plans for us? Does God have a purpose for us? All day long,” continued Groeschel.

“Does God have plans to bless people? All day long. The Bible says that, [and] we interpret scripture with scripture, God is a good God who loves to give good gifts to His Children. Does God prosper people? All the time.”

Groeschel’s sermon on Jeremiah 29:11 was third in a series of messages titled “Twisted: The Most Misused Verses of the Bible.”

“The Bible is full of wisdom. People love to quote their favorite verses to encourage and inspire each other — but sometimes, those verses get taken out of context. What happens when the most important message of all gets Twisted?” read the series’ description.

Past sermons focused on 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” and Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

Back in 2013, spoken word poet Jefferson Bethke had also warned Christians about misapplying Jeremiah 29:11. In a 2013 YouTube video, Bethke stressed that “we can’t just take one verse out and kind of prostitute it out on our Facebook and our Twitter without looking at the narrative.”

“I think sometimes we take verses that God meant for a specific people for a specific time and we then wrench it out of its context and use it for (our) individual walk,” continued Bethke.

“Notice that He says ‘for I know the plans I have for you.’ I think a lot of time with this verse, we really prostitute God out, turn Him into a Santa Claus or turn Him into a genie… We make our plans and then say ‘now God do them.'”

Source : Christian Post

Church ‘Seems to Be of Little Help’ in Answering Real Life Problems, Says Pastor Tony Evans

-
0
Church ‘Seems to Be of Little Help’ in Answering Real Life Problems, Says Pastor Tony Evans

Tony Evans (Photo: Courtesy of Alli Rader)

Christian Post Report – Dallas pastor, author and syndicated radio and television host Tony Evans speaks at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s Leadership Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, March 26, 2015.

Despite an increased availability of Christian media and other resources, the Church “seems to be of little help” in providing “real answers to real problems,” says Pastor Tony Evans of the 11,000-member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship church in Dallas, Texas.

In an extended post to his more than 1 million followers on Facebook Saturday, the prominent evangelical leader lamented what he sees as the “devolution” of America as a nation and the loss of the American dream before knocking the ability of “God’s Church” to provide “real answers to real problems.”

“America is in serious trouble. From sea to shining sea we are witnessing the devolution of a nation. Regardless on which side of the political isle you sit, it is clear that things are unraveling at warp speed. The United States is quickly becoming the divided states as disunity and conflicts abound,” Evans began.

The post, which is an excerpt from his 2015 book, America: Turning a Nation to God, pointed to issues such as the breakdown of the family, racial discord, the immigration crisis and others such as the redefinition of marriage and abortion on demand.

“We are as a nation sliding south fast,” Evans emphasized.

“As people gather unofficially around the water cooler at work, or officially around government sanctioned summits, seeking to find solutions to the myriad of issues that plague us, real long term answers continue to elude us,” he continued before delivering his warning bell to the Church.

“In the midst of all of this, God’s Church seems to be of little help in giving real answers to real problems in spite of the proliferation of Christian literature, programing, and facilities. In fact, the Christian faith and its symbols are more marginalized than ever,” he continued. “The American dream is quickly becoming the American nightmare as more and more citizens become disillusioned with the direction things seem to be going.”

The Christian Post reached out to Evans Monday to elaborate on his comments about the Church’s ability to provide real answers to real problems and he explained that “far too many churches have gotten ingrown.”

“They, the church think it’s for the church. That’s not God’s purpose. God’s purpose is for the Church to exist for the world and for the advancement of His Kingdom,” Evans said.

“And when the church becomes ingrown then it does not become effective. And what we’ve done is we’ve emphasized church membership more than we’ve emphasized developing people to be public visible and verbal followers of Jesus Christ, impacting the world in which they live by being salt and light in the culture,” he explained.

“We are asking the culture to come to us when we should be preparing people to enter into the culture — every realm in the culture to represent the value system of Heaven in the chaos that is taking place in history, both individually and corporately,” he said.

Evans told CP that he has developed a three-point plan to address this devolution.

The first step, he explains, is for the Church to gather in a “solemn assembly.”

“A solemn assembly is a sacred gathering,” he said.

“Whenever there is chaos in society, God’s people come together in unity and invite God’s manifest presence back into their midst because they recognize the chaos was not merely people doing wrong things, but the exiting of God from the culture. And so God responds first to His Church as He doesn’t skip the church house to fix the White House. He will respond to His people inviting His presence back in,” he emphasized.

Churches, he noted, also need to start developing disciples instead of members.

“[Churches need to] move from an emphasis on membership to discipleship, equipping our members to represent Christ in every sphere of their lives, personally, in their families and through their churches and positively through their communities.”

The Gathering 2016 (Photo: Screen Grab via thegathering2016.com)

The final step, he explained, involves churches impacting their community through good works.

“Churches coming together in every community across the country and doing something that benefits their community like every school being adopted by the churches or every block being adopted by the churches,” Evans continued. “Providing mentoring, tutoring and family support services so that our communities are overwhelmed with the good things of the Church.”

“We don’t force people to accept our faith but we don’t hide the fact that when we are doing it, we are doing it in the name of our faith. And if we can do that we can have a positive impact in a decaying climate,” he added.

Evans said he will promote the plan at an event scheduled for Sept. 21 called The Gathering. Further details are available on a website for the event.

In the excerpt from his book, Evans suggested that the state of American society could mean that Christ’s return is imminent or America is suffering “the passive wrath of God” for rejecting Him. He further argued that if America is currently suffering God’s judgement there is usually an opportunity for revival.

“The more the true God of the Bible is marginalized the more chaotic things become. However, such judgment opens the door for revival when God’s Church, which is often an unintentional co-conspirator in the culture’s demise through its compromise with the culture, returns to Him in humility and repentance. The return of Christ is outside of our hands, but revival and its social and cultural benefits are very much in our hands,” he said.

“That is why so many of us are calling for America to turn to God in hopes that He will reverse our course, and restore our union to His definition of what a nation is to be when it operates under His rule,” he said.

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

Pastor Perry Noble Answers: Are We a Disappointment to God?

-
0
Pastor Perry Noble Answers: Are We a Disappointment to God?

pastors (Photo: Screengrab/NewSpring Church/Perry Noble)

Christian Post Report – Pastor Perry Noble talks to congregants of NewSpring Church about sin and freedom, Anderson, South Carolina, January 24, 2016.

“Is God disappointed in me” is a common question that people ask themselves once they realize that they’ve made mistakes and have not lived up to God’s standard. Pastor Perry Noble of the multi-site South Carolina-based NewSpring Church seeks to offer an answer.

Noble, who oversees a weekly congregation of 32,000, wrote in a March 29 blog post that he has heard an alarming misconception being communicated by some Christian pastors who suggest God’s followers are “nothing more than a walking disappointment to our heavenly Father.”

The pastor wrote that this sort of teaching is “messed up,” suggesting that it gives evidence as to why some people have chosen to leave the church.

“‘If all they can ever hope to accomplish is in the walking disappointment category then why even try?'” Noble questioned.

The evangelical leader goes on to ask if he would be able to maintain a healthy relationship with his 8-year-old daughter if he told her everyday she was a disappointment to him.

Such actions would cause us to label our God as “cruel and unjust,” when in reality we have the “perfect father,” Noble writes.

“What would happen if the church focused on empowering people rather than doing a drive by guilting on a Sunday?” Noble asks, adding “What would happen if the church began to talk about God’s love, how powerful it is and how it can change someone’s life!”

The megachurch pastor concludes his message by writing that he “honestly [doesn’t] think you are a walking disappointment to God – I think you are someone who Jesus died for, and in Christ you’ve got what it takes to live a life full of joy and peace that brings God glory!”

Several evangelical pastors have spoken on the topic of disappointment before, including how to deal with disappointment in life.

In a May 2014 devotional, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, focused on the feeling of disappointment and how it relates to sin.

Warren explains how someone can spend over a year planning a wedding, only to have the actual event done in a few hours.

The evangelical pastor explains that no matter how hard Christians try, they will never be able to make earth as perfect as heaven due to our sin, although they may try to achieve perfection through events, relationships, and possessions.

“This is not Heaven. Our ultimate job is to get people into the perfect place, not try to make the world a perfect place. Should we try to make the world better? Yes. Should we expect it to be perfect? No. The damage is too deep for repair,” Warren explains. “Because that damage is so deep, we get stressed out — because things don’t work right, we don’t have enough time to get everything done, things get in our way. There are delays and difficulties and dead ends and, of course, disappointments.”

Warren concludes that we feel this disappointment because “this is not Heaven. Everything on the planet is broken. Nothing works perfectly because of our sin.”

Source : Christian Post

Joel Osteen’s Mother Says Miracle Healing Is Real, Shares Family Stories in New Book, ‘If My Heart Could Talk’

-
0
Joel Osteen’s Mother Says Miracle Healing Is Real, Shares Family Stories in New Book, ‘If My Heart Could Talk’

Joel and Victoria Osteen (Photo: Courtesy of Joel Osteen Ministries)

Christian Post Report – Joel and Victoria Osteen at the Night of Hope Event in Brooklyn, New York City on Oct. 16, 2015.

Dolores “Dodie” Osteen, widow of Lakewood church founder John Osteen, and mother of famous megachurch Pastor Joel Osteen, said during an interview that healing miracles are real, pointing to her own miraculous recovery from cancer.

“I could have died when I was 48,” Osteen said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle, referring to her metastatic liver cancer.

“Now I’m 82, and I’m working for Him. I want people to know that God is a good god. He does want to answer prayers. All we have to do is have faith and hope. Sometimes life is hard, but God helps us get through,” she added.

Osteen shared in her new autobiography If My Heart Could Talk several similar miracles that she says her family has received, with her child, Lisa, somehow keeping from serious injury when a package bomb sent to the church exploded in her lap, and when Joel almost had a serious car accident on a Houston freeway.

The matriarch explained that she felt God speak to her and encourage her to turn to her faith when she was diagnosed with cancer.

“From that day on I did my best to build my faith every single day. … I did my best to live my life as if God had already healed me. I did all of the normal household chores I could, and I never stopped envisioning myself healed and whole,” Osteen said.

Osteen has opened up about her cancer experience in the past, including at a 2012 “Night of Hope” event in Washington. D.C.

She explained that before she started feeling heeled, she weighed only 89 pounds and her skin was “yellow” as could be. Another thing that helped her cope, however, was her dedication to write letters asking for forgiveness from anyone she might have offended, including her children.

“I think unforgiveness in your heart is like poison in your body,” she said back in 2012. “You might say ‘I can’t forgive,’ you can with God’s help.”

At the time she couldn’t even receive chemo treatment because doctors did not know where the primary tumor was.

“But I found the place where it was written, and I read all those Scriptures and I still read them because they are like my medication every day I take,” she said.

Pastor Joel Osteen continues holding “Night of Hope” events across America, focusing on a message of positivity. Last week, he argued that he isn’t cheating anyone by not talking about hell and repentance, insisting that people have enough things to feel guilty about.

“You know, it’s not hellfire and brimstone. But I say most people are beaten down enough by life. They already feel guilty enough. They’re not doing what they should, raising their kids — we can all find reasons,” the pastor said during an interview with CBS News’ “Sunday Morning” program. So I want them to come to Lakewood or our meetings and be lifted up, to say, ‘You know what? I may not be perfect, but I’m moving forward. I’m doing better.’ And I think that motivates you to do better.”

Source : Christian Post

Catholic Church Defends Poland Law to Ban Abortion Except in Extreme Cases

-
0
Catholic Church Defends Poland Law to Ban Abortion Except in Extreme Cases

Abortion protest (Photo: Reuters/Kuba Atys/Agencja Gazeta)

Christian Post Report – People demonstrate against the Polish government’s plan of tightening the abortion law in front of the Parliament in Warsaw, Poland April 3, 2016. Banner reads: ‘Hell of women continues’.

The Roman Catholic Church in Poland is coming out in support of a proposed law that would increase regulations on abortion in the European country to protect life from conception to death.

As Reuters reports, Poland’s abortion laws allow the termination of a pregnancy if the mother’s life is in danger, in cases of rape or incest, or if the baby would be severely deformed.

The legislation, which is being proposed by the conservative Law and Justice Party, will make unborn life protection laws even stronger, allowing termination of pregnancy only in cases where mothers face a medical emergency.

Poland’s Catholic Church, which has the most adherents in the country, has backed the proposed law, stating in an open letter read across churches Sunday that it protects human life “from conception to natural death.”

The letter reads in part: “When it comes to the life of the unborn, we can’t remain at the current compromise set out in the law,” which was adopted in 1993. The bishops added: “We call on people of goodwill, believers and nonbelievers, to act so as to fully protect the life of the unborn from a legal point of view.”

The bishops also argued that God calls for the protection of all life, pointing to one of the Ten Commandments in the Bible, which states “Thou shalt not kill.”

“Therefore, the position of Catholics in this regard is clear and unchanging,” the Catholic leaders added, noting that Pope Francis also frequently speaks out on the need to support families and protect unborn life.

Thousands of pro-choicers rallied outside parliament in Warsaw Sunday, however, chanting phrases such as “keep your hands off the uterus” and “my body, my business,” Reuters noted.

The protest was reportedly organized by the left-wing Together Party, which has slammed the proposed law by the conservative government.

Unborn life protection laws in Poland have limited abortions to around 700 to 1,800 per year in the nation of 38 million people, though feminist groups claim that between 100,000 to 150,000 women undergo illegal abortions, or terminate their pregnancy at clinics abroad.

Prime Minister Beata Szydło has backed the Catholic bishops in the national debate, advocating for a “complete ban on abortion.”

She has also said that her standpoint on abortion is her “personal opinion and not necessarily that of all members” in her party, and said they will not be required to vote on the law.

The legislation is expected to be taken up by parliament soon, as a pro-life petition is approaching the 100,000 signatures needed in order to force a vote on the issue.

Source : Christian Post

Megachurch Pastor: Why Did God Invent Tithe? Answer Is Not What You Think

-
0
Megachurch Pastor: Why Did God Invent Tithe? Answer Is Not What You Think

RobertMoriss Screenshot

Christian Post Report – Pastor Robert Morris speaking to his congregation about tithes.

In his message, Pastor Robert Morris, senior pastor at Gateway Church in Dallas, Texas, told his congregation that God has asked us to give our tithes and offerings not because He needs money to support His work, but because it gives Him an opportunity to bless us.

Malachi 3 has been misunderstood for years, “even by me,” Morris said in a recent message, titled “Don’t Rob God.”

We don’t need to read it in the “old, legalistic way,” he told the congregation, clarifying that he is not saying we rob God of money when we don’t give the tithe to God, to whom it belongs.

“I personally don’t think God needs our money,” he explained, adding, that the passage means, “Don’t rob God of an opportunity to bless you.”

He then read verse 8: “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings.”

The reason God came up with the idea of tithing is not to support the work for His kingdom, “He invented tithing for our benefit, as an opportunity to bless us,” Morris stressed.

Then he read verses 9 and 10, which state, “‘You are under a curse — your whole nation — because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'”

The pastor said the reason why the Gateway church is fed with good spiritual food is because the congregation gives their tithes.

Morris then read verses 11 and 12: “‘I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

In the passage, God doesn’t say, “for Kingdom’s sake,” but “for your sake,” he pointed out.

There are three categories of blessings in the Bible, he shared.

One, tithe.

The pastor read Joshua 6:18, “And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

Tithing is the principle of putting God first because it is the first 10 percent of your income, Morris explained, saying that bringing the first part of the income gives God an opportunity to bless us.

The tithe is consecrated when it comes to the local church, but a curse when it remain with us, the pastor stated.

Two, offerings.

The pastor quoted verse 8 again, as it mentions “tithes and offerings.”

The tithe belongs to God, but offerings do not “belong” to Him in one sense, though everything is His, Morris said, adding that the words “free will” are often used before “offerings.”

So how do we rob God by not giving offerings? That’s because we rob Him of an opportunity to bless us, he said. “That’s the only way this passage makes sense.”

Three, sacrificial offerings.

There are many examples of people giving sacrificial offerings in the Bible, including that of King David in the Old Testament and the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume in the New Testament, the pastor said.

The biggest sacrificial offering was God giving His Son Jesus for us, he added.

In conclusion, Pastor Morris read Mark 12:41-44, “Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.'”

The pastor also shared, for the first time with his congregation, that he has long been giving $100 bills to people in church and outside who might need money. Recently, when he told the congregation in a message that a “man in the church” gives money this way, without telling them that it was he himself, his daughter asked him later at the dinner table if he’s the man. Then she said she wanted to be like her dad.

That means a lot to a dad, Pastor Morris said, suggesting that that’s how God has blessed him in return.

Source : Christian Post

Muslim Man Who Died After Shielding Christians From Al-Shabab Jihadis Given Prestigious Honor in Kenya

-
0
Muslim Man Who Died After Shielding Christians From Al-Shabab Jihadis Given Prestigious Honor in Kenya

Kenya (Photo: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Christian Post Report – Kenyans attend a memorial vigil for the victims of an attack by gunmen at the Garissa University College, at the “Freedom Corner” in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, April 7, 2015. Kenyan university students marched in the capital on Tuesday to demand more security from the government after gunmen killed nearly 150 people at a campus in the eastern town of Garissa last week. A citizens group planned to hold a vigil in Nairobi’s main park later in the evening, tapping growing public frustration over security in the wake of the attack claimed by al-Shabaab radical Islamists based in neighboring Somalia.

A Muslim teacher who died from injuries sustained while defending Christians from al-Shabaab militants during a terrorist attack last December in Kenya has been honored posthumously with one of the country’s most prestigious awards.

Kenya(Photo: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (L), flanked by his Deputy William Ruto, addresses a news conference at the State House in the capital Nairobi, April 4, 2015. Kenyatta said on Saturday that those behind an attack in which al-Shabaab Islamist militants killed 148 people at a university were “deeply embedded” in Kenya, and called on Kenyan Muslims to help prevent radicalization.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded Salah Farah the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya honor after Falah was ultimately killed for standing with Christians when jihadis from the Somalia-based al Shabaab Islamic radical group stormed a bus headed for the border town of Mandera on Dec. 21, 2015.

The president announced the award during a State of the Nation address to the Kenyan parliament last week.

“He died defending people who he did not know,” Kenyatta told the lawmakers. “This is because he believed in their right to freedom of worship and he knew that every single life — irrespective of faith — is sacred.”

As the bus full of 60-plus passengers was headed from the nation’s capital of Nairobi to Mandera, militants began firing shots at the bus and forced the driver to stop the bus, which allowed the militants board the bus.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants, who are known for separating non-Muslims and Muslims during their attacks so they can kill the non-Muslims, ordered the Christians and Muslims on the bus to segregate.

Salah and a group of other Muslims refused to separate and stood in solidarity with the Christians when faced by the deadly extremists.

Farah, a father of five who was the deputy head of the Mandera township primary school, told BBC before he died that the militants told the Muslim passengers that if they were Muslims that they would be safe.

“We asked them to kill us or leave us all alone,” Farah explained.

Farah was shot during the exchange and died in January during surgery to treat his bullet wound. At least two other people are known to have died in the attack.

Before his passing, Farah told Voice of America that he thinks “people should live peacefully together.

“We are brothers,” Farah asserted. “It’s only the religion that is the difference, so I ask my brother Muslims to take care of the Christians so that the Christians also take care of us … and let us help one another and let us live together peacefully.”

During his speech to parliament, Kenyatta wanted to assure Farah’s children that their father did not die in vain.

“He is a powerful symbol of our country’s ambition to attain the full expression of secure and cohesive nationhood, and he is a costly reminder that we all have a role to play in protecting our freedoms,” Kenyatta was quoted by The Independent as saying. “I want to tell his children that their father’s sacrifice will never be forgotten — and will be long admired.”

Last April, al-Shabaab carried out one of their deadliest attacks on Kenyan soil when they stormed Garissa University College and again separated Christians from Muslims. They killed at least 148 people during that attack.

In July, the extremist group killed at least 14 quarry workers in Mandera. In 2014, al-Shabab massacred 36 non-Muslim quarry workers in Mandera.

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

Syrian Girls Sexually Exploited at Turkish Refugee Camps by Muslim Men Buying ‘Cheap Sex Slaves’

-
0
Syrian Girls Sexually Exploited at Turkish Refugee Camps by Muslim Men Buying ‘Cheap Sex Slaves’

Syrian refugees (Photo: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Christian Post Report – A Syrian woman cries as she sits on a folding bed in a former newspaper printing house used as a refugee registration centre for the German state of Hesse in Neu-Isenburg, on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, September 11, 2015.

The Gatestone Institute, a think tank based in New York, has published a report claiming that Syrian women and girls are being trafficked at refugee camps in Turkey, where they are sometimes sold to wealthy Muslim men from other nations as sex slaves.

“Although the desperate victims are their Muslim sisters and brothers, wealthy Arab states do not take in refugees. The people in this area know too well that asylum seekers would bring with them problems, both social and economic,” Gatestone said in a report, published Sunday.

“For many Muslim men such as wealthy, aging Saudis, it is easier to buy Syrian children from Turkey, Syria or Jordan as cheap sex slaves.”

The think tank compiled several other reports revealing that many of the women and girls coming from Syria to Turkey’s refugee camps, looking for eventual passage into Europe, are being forced into marriages, and are facing things such as polygamy, sexual harassment, human trafficking, prostitution, and rape.

The report noted the dangers are present not only at the Turkish camps, but everywhere the Syrian refugees are setting in, with young girls between the ages of 15 and 20 being prostituted the most.

“Women who have crossed the border illegally and arrive with no passport are at high risk of being kidnapped and sold as prostitutes or sex slaves. Criminal gangs bring refugees to towns along the border or into the local bus terminals where ‘refugee smuggling’ has become a major source of income,” the report added.

What is more, some Syrian parents are tricked into sending their daughters to what they believe is a better life in Turkey for somewhere between $700-$1,700, but as Abdulhalim Yilmaz, head of Mazlumder’s Refugee Commission pointed out, often times the girls are trafficked into polygamous marriages by Turkish men.

“Some men in Turkey take second or third Syrian wives without even officially registering them. These girls therefore have no legal status in Turkey. Economic deprivation is a major factor in this suffering, but it is also a religious and cultural phenomenon, as early marriage is allowed in the religion,” Yilmaz said.

The European Union has meanwhile reached a deal with Turkey where the Muslim majority nation will take back some of the refugees from Greece in exchange for the EU taking refugees out of Turkey and resettling them elsewhere.

Al Jazeera reported on Monday that the deal has already started being implemented, with over 200 people placed on boats by Greek police and sent back to Turkey.

Some human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have criticized the deal, however, warning that it will lead to further human rights abuses.

“This is the first day of a very difficult time for refugee rights,” Giorgos Kosmopoulos, head of Amnesty International in Greece, told The Associated Press.

“Despite the serious legal gaps and lack of adequate protection in Turkey, the EU is forging ahead with a dangerous deal. Turkey is not a safe third country for refugees. The EU and Greek authorities know this and have no excuse,” he added.

Source : Christian Post

Joey+Rory’s Last Album Remains on Top of Charts as Rory Shares Photo of Joey’s Grave for Fans

-
0
Joey+Rory’s Last Album Remains on Top of Charts as Rory Shares Photo of Joey’s Grave for Fans

JoeyFeej Screenshot, Instagram

Christian Post Report – Joey+Rory’s last album, Hymns That Are Important to Us, remains on the top of country music and Christian charts since Joey’s death last month. Rory Feek chose not to attend Sunday’s Academy of Country Music Awards and posted the first picture of Joey’s grave for their fans.

The album, which Joey called “God’s record,” took the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, as the 51st ACM awards ceremony at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas took a moment to honor Joey, who died last month after a nearly two-year battle with cancer, according to USA Today.

“Joey was more than a wonderful singer and an ACM winning artist along with her husband, Rory. She was a beloved mom, daughter, family member and friend,” Martina McBride said, according to Fox59.

“Of all of the different ways we could honor Joey, what would mean the most to Joey and her family is just for one more time, for all of her fans and all of us who love her to give her a big round of applause,” Darius Rucker was quoted as saying.

The crowd also honored Joey with a standing ovation, even as Rory stayed home with their 2-year-old daughter, Indiana.

The couple was nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year, which went to Florida Georgia Line.

On Saturday morning, Rory shared a photo of his wife’s grave on Instagram.

The picture, taken during sunrise, shows light falling on the cross at Joey’s grave on their farm while her horses stand guard at the fence. As the caption, Rory wrote, “…a bright sunrise will contradict the heavy fog that weighs you down,” lyrics from their song, “When I’m Gone.”

Rory also posted a new update on his blog, titled “Less is More.”

“Indy has not asked for her mama. Not one single time since Joey’s been gone,” he wrote. “It’s almost as if she hasn’t noticed that she’s not here. And that is so sad … and oh, so wonderful — all at the same time.”

Announcing his wife’s death last month, Rory wrote on his blog: “My wife’s greatest dream came true today. She is in Heaven. The cancer is gone, the pain has ceased and all her tears are dry. Joey is in the arms of her beloved brother Justin and using her pretty voice to sing for her Savior.”

He added: “At 2:30 this afternoon, as we were gathered around her, holding hands and praying. … My precious bride breathed her last. And a moment later took her first breath on the other side. Though this is, and has been, a time of many tears of sorrow, it has also been a time of countless tears of joy.”

After the diagnosis in 2014, Joey began seeking chemotherapy. However, her cancer returned last October, which was when they found out that the cancer had already spread to her colon. The doctors then told Rory that she only had six more weeks to live.

Source : Christian Post

1...3,2313,2323,233...3,893Page 3,232 of 3,893