‘Only God Can Do That’: How Nebraskans Are Reconciling Faith and Flooding

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‘Only God Can Do That’: How Nebraskans Are Reconciling Faith and Flooding


‘Only God Can Do That’: How Nebraskans Are Reconciling Faith and Flooding


LINCOLN, Neb. (RNS) — In the days following major midwestern floods this spring, people of faith prayed for their neighbors and got busy lending a hand. 


They also turned to their beliefs to make sense of a disaster that washed away homes and roads, leaving more than a billion dollars of damage in its wake.


For members of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, the floods came at a sacred time, when the Ponca people celebrate the arrival of spring and the new year with the first thunderclap.


Some took to Facebook to celebrate: “First thunder!”


Some gathered quietly or said quick prayers of thanks to Wakonda, or God, that winter was ending and the earth was coming back to life, according to Dwight Howe, culture director for the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.


The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska is one of four federally recognized tribes with headquarters in the state of Nebraska, according to Howe. About a third of Ponca members live in Nebraska — many of them in service areas affected by the flooding.


“It’s a holy time. It’s a powerful time. And this on top of it just sort of made it even almost supernatural,” he said.


That sacredness was underscored last month when, not long after the first thunder of the season, heavy rains fell and snow melted across the Midwest. Something called a “bomb cyclone” struck and dams broke, washing away bridges and…

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Video Games, not Chastity, to Blame for Young Men Not Having Sex, Sociologist Says

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Video Games, not Chastity, to Blame for Young Men Not Having Sex, Sociologist Says


Video Games, not Chastity, to Blame for Young Men Not Having Sex, Sociologist Says


A leading sociologist says video games – and not a sudden interest in chastity – may be to blame for a dramatic increase in the percentage of young men not having sex. 


The latest data from the General Social Survey shows that a record 23 percent of all adults have been celibate the past year, driven by changes in behavior among young people, according to The Washington Post. 


Since 2008, the percentage of men under 30 who have not had sex the past year nearly tripled, to 28 percent, The Post reported. It was a much steeper increase compared to women under 30.  


Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at the San Diego State University, says one explanation behind young male celibacy may be the uptick in young men living with their parents. Young people are delaying marriage until their 30s and 40s. Twenge blames technology, too. 


Glenn T. Stanton, a sociologist and director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family, also blames technology.  


“No one really knows for sure what is causing this, but there are educated ideas,” Stanton told Christian Headlines. “I will be bold and say I think it’s primarily, if not totally, because our online lives have totally eclipsed the real-life, human lives of young men. When you live huge portions of your day sitting in the dark playing video games, it’s going to have an effect on…

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Half of Pastors Are Concerned They Will Offend Someone If They Speak on Social Issues

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Half of Pastors Are Concerned They Will Offend Someone If They Speak on Social Issues


Half of Pastors Are Concerned They Will Offend Someone If They Speak on Social Issues


In a new report from the Barna Group, nine out of 10 Christian pastors said they feel that helping Christians form biblical beliefs about specific issues is a major part of their job.


The report found that pastors face pressure to address specific, sometimes hot button, issues. However, at the same time, pastors said they struggled with just how to address those topics, such as LGBT issues and same-sex marriage.


“The stakes are high in the public square,” the researchers wrote in their report. “The issues pastors feel most pressured to speak out on are the same ones they feel limited to speak on.”


According to the study, half of Christian pastors said they felt occasionally or frequently limited in their ability to speak out about those controversial issues.


The biggest topic clergy say they felt pressure to talk about is homosexuality. Nearly half of respondents says they feel limited in how to talk about homosexuality in their church, but at the same time some 37 percent said they felt pressure to speak about it.


“They actually feel pressured to not preach on certain topics or pressured to speak on topics that they are not ready to talk about,” said Barna Group president David Kinnaman.


The study also looked at how pastors feel about religious freedom. Some 75 percent of pastors said they believe religious freedom is becoming…

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Imam in Eastern Uganda Faces Wrath of Muslims after Putting Faith in Christ

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Imam in Eastern Uganda Faces Wrath of Muslims after Putting Faith in Christ


Imam in Eastern Uganda Faces Wrath of Muslims after Putting Faith in Christ


NAIROBI, Kenya, April 9, 2019 (Morning Star News) – Sheikh Hassan Podo, a 28-year-old imam in Kerekerene village in eastern Uganda, missed mosque prayers for three consecutive weeks and was seen entering a church building around noon on March 16.


He had kept his faith in Christ a secret for three weeks. The young Muslim who saw Podo enter the church building in Katira Sub-County, Budaka District, went straight to Podo’s parents and brothers to report him.


When Podo arrived at the house that evening, his family interrogated him about where he had spent the better part of the day.


“Without my completing answering them, my brothers immediately began surrounding me, with sticks,” Podo told Morning Star News. “It was difficult to escape. They began shouting, beating and insulting me as an ‘infidel’ and enemy of the Islamic religion.”


His wife and two children managed to escape to the home of a nearby Christian neighbor, he said.


With sticks and other blunt objects, Podo’s relatives injured his left arm from the shoulder to his fingers, said one of the area residents who found him unconscious. He also sustained a head injury.


“There was a loud cry emanating from Podo’s homestead, raising a big concern from the neighbors who arrived at the scene of attack and helped Podo to escape,” the source said. “He bled as he fled for his life….

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Christian groups attack ‘no-reason’ divorces, accuse ministers of undermining marriage

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Christian groups attack ‘no-reason’ divorces, accuse ministers of undermining marriage

Under proposed new divorce legislation unveiled by Justice Secretary David Gauke, a husband or wife only needs to declare that a relationship is irretrievably breakdown. They would not need to provide evidence.

The right of a spouse to contest a divorce would be removed. It has been used in approximately two per cent of cases.

 

Jonathan Williams from Christian Action, Research and Education (CARE) said: “The Government’s proposals to make divorce easier are incredibly misguided and will undermine marriage.

“If you make it easier to get a divorce, it is inevitable that the divorce rate will go up.

“Today, the Government is putting forward a view of marriage that prioritises individual freedom, rather than encouraging sacrifice and commitment.”

 

Under the current Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, couples seeking a divorce could seek one if one partner is shown to be at fault through adultery, desertion or unreasonable behaviour.

Alternatively, if both parties agree to divorce but blame is not apportioned, a divorce could be granted after they…

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Senator Ted Cruz Launches Investigation after Yale Law School Pulls Funding for Fellowships at Christian Law Firms

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Senator Ted Cruz Launches Investigation after Yale Law School Pulls Funding for Fellowships at Christian Law Firms


Senator Ted Cruz Launches Investigation after Yale Law School Pulls Funding for Fellowships at Christian Law Firms


After Yale Law school announced that it would stop funding students completing fellowships at companies that hold a Biblical view on marriage, Senator Ted Cruz announced that he would be launching an investigation.


According to the Christian Post, Cruz launched a discrimination investigation into Yale Law School after their recent decision appeared to target conservative and Christian groups.


As Christian Headlines previously reported, last week, a Yale Law School student writing for the Federalist revealed that the school had sent out a notice informing students that “it was extending its nondiscrimination policy to summer public interest fellowships, postgraduate public interest fellowships, and loan forgiveness for public interest careers.”


The policy change noted that “The school will no longer provide financial support for students and graduates who work at organizations that discriminate on the basis of ‘sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.’”


This meant that if a student wanted to complete their internship with a conservative law group like Alliance Defending Freedom, then they could complete it, but without financial support from the school.


Reportedly, this move came following Yale’s decision – which was prompted by a complaint from LGBT student activist group the “Outlaws”…

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Indian bishop charged with repeatedly raping nun

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Indian bishop charged with repeatedly raping nun

Bishop Franco Mulakkal has been charged with rape, illegal confinement and intimidation, said Hari Sankar, a district police chief in the southern state of Kerala, India’s Catholic heartland.

The nun who made the accusations said she went to police last year only after complaining repeatedly to church authorities.

Eventually, a group of fellow nuns launched unprecedented public protests to demand Mulakkal’s arrest.

 

 

He was arrested but released after a few weeks.

Mulakkal was the official patron of the nun’s community, the Missionaries of Jesus, and wielded immense influence over its budgets and job assignments.

The nun said the alleged rapes occurred between 2014 and 2016.

Mulakkal has denied the accusations, calling them “baseless and concocted” and saying the accusing nun was trying to pressure him to get a better job.

In February, Pope Francis for the first time publicly acknowledged the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops.

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane, Francis vowed to confront the problem.

“Should we do something more? Yes. Is there the will? Yes. But it’s a path that we have already begun,” he said.

The Mulakkal case has divided India’s Catholic community, with many people defending the bishop.

In March, the founder of the Vatican’s women’s magazine, along with the magazine’s all-female editorial board, quit their positions, saying a…

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Democratic Mayor Pete Buttigieg Attacks Mike Pence’s Faith… Again

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Democratic Mayor Pete Buttigieg Attacks Mike Pence’s Faith… Again


Democratic Mayor Pete Buttigieg Attacks Mike Pence’s Faith… Again


Pete Buttigieg, an openly gay mayor who plans to run for president but has yet to officially declare, continued his personal attacks against Vice President Mike Pence Sunday at the LGBTQ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch in Washington, D.C.


“If me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade,” Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana said. “And that’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand. That if you got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me — your quarrel, sir, is with my creator,” he added.


Pence has become a frequent target of homosexual activists for signing into law the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which offers religious and freedom of conscience protections for businesses. Critics maintain the law is a free pass to allow discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Just days after signing the law, Pence challenged the “license to discriminate” claims by tweeting out, “If I saw a restaurant owner refuse to serve a gay couple, I wouldn’t eat there anymore.”


Last month, Buttigieg declared Pence had become a “cheerleader of the porn star presidency” during a CNN town hall the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. 


At the same festival, Buzzfeed asked the mayor about former Vice President Joe Biden’s assessment that Pence was a “decent guy.” Buttigieg…

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gay presidential hopeful criticises VP in LGBT rights speech

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gay presidential hopeful criticises VP in LGBT rights speech

Buttigieg is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and the first openly gay candidate for president in US history.

Speaking at the LGBTQ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch in Washington, Buttigieg said: “If me being gay was a choice it was a choice made far, far above my pay grade.

 

“And that’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand.

“That if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

 

Christian Vice President Mike Pence’s stances on LGBT issues have faced criticism from gay rights activists.

Pence was governor of Indiana at the time Buttigieg came out as gay during his June 2015 mayoral re-election campaign, which he went on to win with 78 per cent of the vote.

Buttigieg opened up on Sunday, however about being gay and what his marriage to Chasten, a school teacher, means to him.

“When I was younger I would do anything to not be gay.

“If you had offered me a pill to make me straight I would have swallowed it before you had time to give me a sip of water.

“My marriage to Chasten has made me a better man and, yes, Mr Vice President, it has moved me closer to God.”

Buttigieg was raised Catholic but later became an Episcopalian.