Christian Florist Who Refused Flowers for Gay Wedding Reject a Saving Deal Saying It’s an Act of Betrayal

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Christian Florist Who Refused Flowers for Gay Wedding Reject a Saving Deal Saying It’s an Act of Betrayal

Christian Post report– After a judge ruled last week that Washington florist and Christian grandmother Barronelle Stutzman violated the law when she refused to provide arrangements for a same-sex wedding, Stutzman rejected a tempting settlement offer that would have spared her from losing her home and business, because it would have forced her to turn her back on God.

As Stutzman was found guilty of violating Washington’s non-discrimination law last Wednesday for declining to service the wedding of Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed in 2013 due to her Christian belief of marriage, Stutzman runs the risk of losing not only her business but her house and life savings once a summary judgement is reached.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson offered the 70-year-old Stutzman, the owner of Arlene’s flowers, a settlement on Thursday that would have spared Stutzman the high, bankrupting legal costs that she could incur as a result of the summary judgement.

he settlement offer would have required Stutzman to pay just $2,001 in fines and legal costs. However, the settlement also would have required Stutzman go against her religious beliefs and agree service gay wedding requests.

“I am prepared to settle this matter for a penalty of $2,000 under the Consumer Protection Act, a $1 payment for costs and fees, an agreement not to discriminate in the future, and an end to further litigation,” Ferguson said in a statement.

The next day, Stutzman sent a letter to Ferguson rejecting his settlement and stating that the settlement would have required her to betray Jesus Christ, much like Judas did.

“Washington’s constitution guarantees us ‘freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment.’ I cannot sell that precious freedom,” Stutzman’s letter asserts. “You are asking me to walk in the way of a well-known betrayer, one who sold something of infinite worth for 30 pieces of silver. That is something I will not do.”

Stutzman’s letter added that Ferguson continues to prove that he does not understand the true meaning of “freedom.”

“Your offer reveals that you don’t really understand me or what this conflict is all about. It’s about freedom, not money,” Stutzman wrote. “I certainly don’t relish the idea of losing my business, my home, and everything else that your lawsuit threatens to take from my family, but my freedom to honor God in doing what I do best is more important.”

Although Stutzman has been portrayed by some media outlets as being an intolerable bigot for refusing to serve a gay wedding, Stutzman served Robert Ingersoll for over 9 years before he asked her to provide floral arrangements for his gay wedding. Even though Stutzman had built a great relationship with Ingersoll, she could not in good faith put her full heart into making floral arrangements for Ingersoll’s wedding and thought it would be best to decline to Ingersoll’s request.

After much social media uproar, Ferguson’s office filed a lawsuit against Stutzman, although no official complaint was filed against her. After the state filed a lawsuit, the couple filed a lawsuit with backing from the American Civil Liberties Union.

“I pray that you reconsider your position. I kindly served Rob for nearly a decade and would gladly continue to do so. I truly want the best for my friend,” Stutzman’s letter stated. “I’ve also employed and served many members of the LGBT community, and will continue to do so regardless of what happens with this case. You chose to attack my faith and pursue this not simply as a matter of law, but to threaten my very means of working, eating and having a home.

“If you are serious about clarifying the law, then I urge you to drop your claims against my home, business, and other assets and pursue the legal claims through the appeal process,” Stutzman added.

Stutzman further added that the state’s laws present a double standard when it comes to protecting citizens’ differing beliefs on marriage.

“Our state would be a better place if we respected each other’s differences, and our leaders protected the freedom to have those differences,” Stutzman wrote. “Since 2012, same-sex couples all over the state have been free to act on their beliefs about marriage, but because I follow the Bible’s teaching that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, I am no longer free to act on my beliefs.”

Source: Christian Post

 

Britian Becomes First in the World to Introduce Three-parent IVF Procedure

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Britian Becomes First in the World to Introduce Three-parent IVF Procedure

Christian Today report– Britain will become the first nation to legalise a “three-parent” IVF technique which doctors say can prevent some inherited incurable diseases but which critics – including Churches – fear will effectively lead to “designer babies”.

After more than three hours of debate, lawmakers in the House of Lords voted on Tuesday for a change in the law to allow the treatments, echoing a positive vote in the lower house earlier this month.

The treatment, called mitochondrial transfer, is known as “three-parent” in vitro fertilisation (IVF) because the babies, born from genetically modified embryos, would have DNA from a mother, a father and from a female donor.

Although the techniques are still at the research stage in laboratories in Britain and the United States, experts say that now legal hurdles have been overcome, Britain’s first three-parent baby could be born as early as 2016.

Mitochondrial transfer involves intervening in the fertilisation process to remove faulty mitochondrial DNA, which can cause inherited conditions such as heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders, blindness and muscular dystrophy.

Mitochondria act as tiny energy-generating batteries inside cells, and around 1 in 6,000 babies around the world are born with serious mitochondrial disorders.

Responding to the vote, Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust medical charity, commended lawmakers for a “considered and compassionate decision”.

“Families who know what it is like to care for a child with a devastating disease are the people best placed to decide whether mitochondrial donation is the right option,” he said.

Mark Downs, chief executive of the Society of Biology, hailed “a great day for UK science” and said the landmark decision “will ensure mothers who carry faulty mitochondria can have healthy children free from the devastating conditions”.

But Marcy Darnovsky, director of the campaign group The Centre for Genetics and Society, called the move a “historic mistake” which turns children into biological experiments and will “forever alter the human germline”.

“The techniques … are relatively crude and will not in and of themselves create so-called designer babies,” she said.

“However, they will result in children with DNA from three different people in every cell of their bodies, which will impact a large range of traits in unknowable ways and introduce genetic changes that will be passed down to future generations.”

Source: Christian Today

University of Virginia Student Plans Prayer Vigil to End Sexual Violence

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University of Virginia Student Plans Prayer Vigil to End Sexual Violence

Christian Today report– University of Virginia (UVa) Christian student organisation Seek His Face is planning a 72-hour prayer vigil and campus prayer meeting this week to end sexual violence.

More than 30 student ministries and organisations are expected to participate in the intercession from February 26-28.

UVa has been under investigation for years by the Education Department over their handling of sexual violence cases. The campus’ history drew national attention when Rolling Stone published an article in December about an alleged gang rape at a fraternity party.

A female student alleged that she was attacked at a frat house as part of an initiation ritual, and was dissuaded from reporting the crime by her friends. Many facts of the case were not verified by the magazine, and were found to be untrue after other news outlets investigated.

However, the presidents of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) banned their sororities from participating in events during Boys’ Bid Night earlier this month.

The fraternity ritual marks the end of rush week, and is one of the biggest party nights on college campuses. At UVa, the night had been linked to binge drinking and allegations of sexual assault.

Traditionally, sororities party with their brother fraternities on bid night, but NPC sorors were forced to abstain.

Seek His Face hopes the prayer vigil will alleviate the problems on campus, and encourages both students and community members to participate. A prayer meeting will be held on February 28 at 7 pm at Ern Commons, 714 Alderman Road.

Source: Christian Today

France: Muslim Leaders Boycott Jewish Event After Being Blamed for “All” Violent Crimes

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France: Muslim Leaders Boycott Jewish Event After Being Blamed for “All” Violent Crimes

Christian Today report– Muslim leaders boycotted a Jewish community event in France after the head of the organisation behind the event said Muslims were responsible for “all” violent crime in France.

The President of France François Hollande used his speech at the event to set out his plan to fight antisemitism.

The annual dinner was organised by the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (CRIF), an umbrella organisation for Jewish community groups.

Shortly before the event, the council’s president Roger Cukierman told the French radio station Europe 1: “All violence, and we must say this, all violent acts today are committed by young Muslims. Of course, that’s a small minority of the Muslim community and the Muslims are the first victims.”

This led the French Muslim Council to boycott the event, which came amid mounting inter religious tensions in France.

There has been an increase in vandalism on mosques following the Charlie Hebdo murders and the shootings in a kosher supermarket. There has also been a rise in antisemitic attacks in France, including on hundreds of graves at Jewish cemeteries.

Mr Cukierman told the 700 guests at the dinner that he hoped relations will be “rapidly re-established” with Muslim leaders in France.

President Hollande called for “faster and more effective sanctions” against racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia. His government will unveil a new plan to fight hate crimes next month.

Source: Christian Today

 

Six Dead After Young Girl Carries Out Suicide Bombing in Nigeria

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Six Dead After Young Girl Carries Out Suicide Bombing in Nigeria

Christian Post report– A young girl thought to be only 7 years old has killed herself and five other people in the town of Potiskum in northeast Nigeria, following a suicide bombing blamed on terror group Boko Haram.

So far, five people were killed with the girl while 19 others have been taken to hospital for injuries,” revealed Buba Lawan, described as a local vigilante leader in an article for AFP.

Boko Haram has been aiming to capture more towns in Nigeria, and has employed suicide bombings on a number of occasions.

Over 13,000 people are believed to have been killed since the first attacks started in 2009.

Security guards and vigilantes noted that they had tried to prevent the girl from entering the market on Sunday, where the attack was carried out.

“We sent her back four times, because given her age, she did not have anything to do in the market,” Lawan said.

“When we were screening people, she bent and tried to pass under the ropes, some distance from our view. That was when the explosives went off.”

He added that “we have barred women from entering the market to prevent further attacks.”

The suicide bombing follows news that 158 women and children that had been kidnapped in northeastern Nigeria in December have been reunited with their families. BBC News pointed out that the details of how they were released or managed to get away from the militants are not clear, but they were handed over to the state authorities for counseling and rehabilitation.

The group of girls is different from the 200 schoolgirls kidnapped from the boarding school in Chibok in Borno state in April 2014, however, an incident which sparked international outrage.

Boko Haram has used a number of the young women it has kidnapped in its bomb attacks on Nigerian towns.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has meanwhile admitted that Nigeria has been largely unprepared in the fight against the Islamic extremists.

“Probably at the beginning, we, and I mean myself and the team, we underrated the capacity of Boko Haram,” Jonathan told the local ThisDay newspaper.

He promised, however, that his military will manage to defeat Boko Haram, and said that it has recently acquired more arms and ammunition to accomplish the mission.

Source: Christian Post

American Christian Missionary Rev Phyllis Sortor Kidnapped in Nigeria

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American Christian Missionary Rev Phyllis Sortor Kidnapped in Nigeria

Christian Today report– An American woman working as a Christian missionary in Nigeria has been kidnapped.

Rev Phyllis Sortor, a misisonary with the Free Methodist Church, was taken away by masked gunmen in the central Nigerian town of Emiworo, Kogi state, at around 10am (9am GMT) according to Kogi state police spokesman Sola Collins Adebayo, quoted by AFP.

“Early this morning we received a report that Rev Phyllis Sortor, our missionary in Nigeria, was abducted from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi State, Nigeria by several persons,” the Free Methodist Church said on its website.

In the same statement, Bishop David Kendall urged prayer.

“The US Embassy has been notified, and the State Department and the FBI are working with local authorities to find and rescue her. We are calling on the US church to join together in prayer for Phyllis’ safety and speedy release,” he said.

Nigeria is one of the world’s worst country’s for kidnapping, a major criminal enterprise that makes millions of dollars a year.

Criminal gangs have kidnapped scores of expatriates in southern and central Nigeria over the years. Central Kogi state has also had low level activity by Islamist militants linked to insurgent group Boko Haram, security sources say.

A US State Department official said authorities had heard the reports but could not make further comments in the interest of privacy.

According to the Free Methodist World Missions website, Sortor works through leadership development and International Child Care Ministries (ICCM). “She is financial administrator of Hope Academy and the Hope extension school at Ikot Ntuk,” the site reads. “A special friendship with a clan of nomadic Fulani has given Phyllis the opportunity to open additional schools for Fulani children and their parents. Phyllis teaches at the modular Bible school and Wesley Evangelical School of Theology (WEST) and supports Community Health Evangelism and area women’s literacy.”

In her latest newsletter, dated January 20, 2015, Sortor writes of the ‘joy’ of a new school opening in Enugu. “We have worked long and hard on this school, and are so thrilled that yesterday, January 19th, 2015, we were able to open our doors for the first time!” she writes.

“We began with 82 children, 58 of whom are Muslim, Fulani kids from one near-by camp! (There is a second camp preparing to send their children as well!) We have two excellent, Hausa-speaking teachers for these Fulani kids! The Fulani parents are wonderfully cooperative – sending food and water with their kids, organizing a Parent-Teacher Association – giving us Fulani security guards for the school! We have 6 teachers altogether; a tutor/chaplain, bursar, driver and ‘mother’s helper’. All are wonderful Christian people who I know, with God’s help, will make this school great!”

Source: Christian Today

The 16 Most Dangerous Places for Female Travellers

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The 16 Most Dangerous Places for Female Travellers

Metro report– Some countries many holiday makers long for have dark records of foreign women being harassed and sometimes even abused on the streets.

Exotic locations such as India, Moscow and Colombia were all included on the list of locations with the most unsafe transport systems for women created by YouGov.

However London and New York both featured in the top 16 as well.

Experts say that while people expect these attitudes towards women in countries such as India, holiday makers travelling to places such as Morocco and Turkey should also exercise caution.

(Picture: Getty)
(Picture: Getty)

India has seen a high number of rapes and sexual assaults directed towards women in the past few years, however social outcry has forced the government to attempt to turn the country into a safer pace for women.

Although attitudes towards women are getting better in Europe and North America, females are still regularly abused in the form of cat calling and curb crawling in places such as Paris, London and New York.

Julie Kreutzer, co-owner of website the International Women’s Travel Center, told MailOnline: ‘I’m truly appalled at how unsafe and how unfriendly some places are. You can’t even enter some countries if you’re a woman, yet most travel websites just skirt around the issue and prefer to focus on what lipstick a woman should wear.’

Many travel guides such as Lonely Planet contain sections on safety for female travellers, however Ms Kreutzer says these statistics show that ‘women are not welcome everywhere’.

However other travel bloggers say the worst case scenarios are always reported on, and that potential travellers should not be put off visiting a country because of this.

The full list of most unsafe cities for women to travel in is:

1. Bogota, Colombia
2. Mexico City
3. Lima, Peru
4. New Delhi
5. Jakarta, Indonesia
6. Buenos Aires, Argentina
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8. Bangkok
9. Moscow
10. Manila, Philippines
11. Paris
12. Seoul, South Korea
13. London
14. Beijing
15. Tokyo
16. New York

Source: Metro

 

Teenage Pregnancies Rate Falls

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Teenage Pregnancies Rate Falls

BBC report– Office for National Statistics data show the under-18 conception rate is now 24.5 per thousand women compared with 27.9 per thousand the year before.

This is a drop of 13%. Pregnancies in under-16s also fell.

At the same time, however, the conception rate among women over 35 has been rising.

Historically the UK has had one of the highest teenage pregnancy and abortion rates in Western Europe.

In recent years the government put a series of strategies in place in an attempt to get these figures down.

But the sexual health charity the FPA says there is no room for complacency.

Harry Walker, a spokesman for the charity, said: “We are no doubt still seeing the lasting effects of the government’s 10-year teenage pregnancy strategy.

“But the danger with getting good news year on year is that people start to take their eye off the ball and forget that the figures we are seeing today are the result of a complex series of actions over a number of years by professionals at a national and local level.

“Any complacency now and we will see a knock-on effect in years to come.”

The charity says the UK is still lagging behind other countries in Western Europe.

According to their records in 2012 the UK had lower teenage pregnancy rates than only Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia of the 28 countries of the European Union.

Source: BBC

 

Islamic State kidnap 90 Assyrian Christians From Christian Villages in Syria

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Islamic State kidnap 90 Assyrian Christians From Christian Villages in Syria

Christian Today report– Islamic State militants in north-eastern Syria have abducted at least 90 Assyrian Christians, a monitor that tracks violence in the region said today.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), IS jihadists undertook dawn raids in a number of villages inhabited by the ancient Christian minority near Tel Hmar, south of the Khabour river, on 23 February.

Sources told SOHR that they heard militants over wireless devices confirming that they had detained “56 crusaders” from the village of Tal Shamiram. Dozens of Assyrian people were also reportedly abducted from the village of Tal Hermez.

SOHR’s network of sources also said that two people were executed by militants for “dealing with Kurds” in the nearby village of Ghibsh.

The reports have been confirmed by campaign group A Demand for Action (ADFA), which is working to protect and support Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs in Iraq and Syria.

IS militants attacked the villages at around 5am on Monday, displacing an estimated 3,000 people, the group has confirmed. Those kidnapped were mostly women and children, while the men were taken to the Abd al-Aziz mountains. The women and children are now believed to be being kept in Tal Shamiram, guarded by IS militants who are demanding a prisoner exchange with Kurdish fighters. They have threatened to kill the captured men if the swap does not go through.

A journalist in Khabour told ADFA that a church had been burnt down in the village of Qabr Shamiye, and around 500 families have been forced to take refuge with relatives in cities such as Hassakah and Qamishli. Iraqi activist Steven Nabil tweeted that one of the oldest churches in Syria has also been destroyed in Tel Hurmiz, along with the Mar Bisho church in Tel Shamiran and the church in Tel Baloua.

ADFA says it has called the mobile phones of those taken hostage, but IS militants answered them and “told us that we should not call any longer since we cannot do anything about their situation”.

The attack follows the murder of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by IS militants in Libya earlier this month.

Source: Christan Today

Christian Publisher Cancelled Gay Author Book Because of His Homosexual Lifestyle

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Christian Publisher Cancelled Gay Author Book Because of His Homosexual Lifestyle

Christian Today report– A leading Christian publisher has cancelled a book deal with a young writer after he came out as gay.

Brandan Robertson’s book ‘Nomad: Not-So-Religious Thoughts On Faith, Doubt, and the Journey In Between’ was scheduled for publication in October. However, he revealed in a Time magazine article last month that he was gay and refused to sign Destiny Image’s statement of faith on homosexuality, which includes the statements: “Destiny Image accepts the Holy Scriptures as the infallible word of God and answers all questions concerning life and godliness. We do not condone, encourage, or accept the homosexual lifestyle. Destiny Image renounces this lifestyle as ungodly and completely contrary to the Kingdom of God.”

On Friday he was told by the publishers that his book had been pulled. Asked why, chief executive Don Nori told Time: “There is nothing significant to report. We did not reject or refuse. As with all books, a publisher decides what is financially viable. We released the book back to the author with our sincere prayers for his success. This occurrence happens every season.”

Robertson, who lives in Washington DC, wrote on his Revangelical blog yesterday that he had received an email from the publisher a few hours after he had submitted his manuscript referring to “concerns” from book buyers: “As soon as I read those words, a knot formed in my stomach. My heart began to race. I have received emails like this before from leaders at my Bible College and churches I had been a part of. I immediately knew that the problem was going to be with my support of LGBTQ equality and inclusion in the Church.”

He was told that the publisher had tried to sell the book to a number of Christian distributors and had been told that because of of his identification with the LGBTQ Christian community, they had refused to buy it.

Robertson, who identifies himself an an evangelical, wrote: “There is a major problem within Evangelical Christianity. And that problem is that many leaders within Evangelicalism have decided that the Gospel is not truly good news for everyone. For LGBTQ people, the Gospel is not that you are loved, forgiven, and accepted just as you are. Instead, the message is ‘get straight’, be celibate, or be damned. For LGBTQ allies, the Gospel isn’t about grace; it’s about theological conformity. If you disagree on this one issue, the unforgivable sin, you are literally banned. From church, from school, from publishing, from heaven.”

British commentator and former worship leader Vicky Beeching, who came out last year, and is currently in Washington meeting publishers about her own book, said: “Brandan is a new friend of mine. His story hits close to home and will make me very cautious about ensuring I sign with [a publisher] who fully endorses my orientation.

“I am so saddened by the way he’s been treated. To have your creative work set against your LGB or T identity is crushing and I know the feeling well. When I wrote worship songs for…EMI’s Christian division, I always felt that sense of pain – either I could continue to have my songs published by the biggest Christian song publisher, or I could speak up about my gay identity. But not both. It’s especially unfair because, in both Brandan’s case and mine, neither his book or my songs were ‘about being gay’. They were simply just words about spirituality, yet those words suddenly become undesirable in the light of the author’s newly announced sexual orientation.

“Situations like Brandan’s highlight the ongoing struggle for many of us LGBT evangelicals – that coming out is still a costly choice, especially if your livelihood or creative outlet is controlled by conservative churches or Christian companies.”

The issue of homosexuality polarises Christians in the US and opposition to it is regarded by many as a criterion of orthodoxy. Former megachurch pastor Rob Bell is regarded by many evangelicals as having put himself outside the evangelical fold by his public advocacy on a recent Oprah Winfrey show of the need for the Church to recognise same-sex marriage.

Among Destiny Image’s other authors are popular pastors T D Jakes and Bill Johnson.

Source:  Christian Today

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