A church in Vermont has been getting widespread attention online for its parody of the 1984 Lee Greenwood patriotic song “God Bless the USA,” presenting a more critical view of the United States.

First United Methodist Church of Burlington used a version with different lyrics for their worship service on the Sunday before Independence Day, titled “God Forgive the USA.”

Penned by FUMC’s Music Minister Adam Hall, the song references past wrongs in American history, such as the treatment of Native Americans and African-Americans, as well issues with the current child separation policy issue.

Posted to their Facebook page on Sunday, as of Thursday afternoon “God Forgive the USA” had more than 43,000 views, over 850 shares, and more than a hundred comments.

On their YouTube page, the video is by far their…

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on January 23, 2018, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) issued an order that business owners in Ankawa would be charged a fee when renewing their license. This order was not applied until June 2018. 

Ankawa is a predominately Christian neighborhood in Erbil whose residents report increasing pressure from Muslims relocating to Ankawa. One Christian resident told ICC, “It was not allowed for Muslims to come and have a house in Ankawa, but now it is a preferable area for Muslims and there are a lot of Muslims who have connections and they are getting permissions.”  

This history has contributed to the concerns of Christians that the new tax is being levied against them with ill intentions. Ankawa Today published a statement reading,“For those who doubted the presence of a high tax (jizya) that is exclusively imposed by the Kurdish government on the people of Ankawa and not the other Kurdish towns, it is also worth mentioning that the same tax is being applied gradually on Semel (another Christian majority town near Dohuk), which is clearly discriminatory against Christians… A simple example is the Kurdish town of Baharka which is just next to Ankawa and does not differ from it (administratively speaking) and has no such tax agency office.”

“This tax is unfair because there are no services presented by the…

An actor best known for his role in Den of Thieves is filming a pro-life movie about the controversial Roe v. Wade decision, but he’s not getting a ton of help from his Hollywood friends.

Nick Loeb is co-directing and starring in the film, which held shoots in and around New Orleans in June, according to The Hollywood Reporter.   

One crew member quit before she even started, writing in an email, “I have been doing research on the movie trying to figure out who is producing and what the gist of the story is, and I finally found it, and so I am withdrawing from this project. I am a staunch pro-abortion feminist activist, and I will not be party to such horrible propaganda.”

The film also stars Jon Voight (Woodlawn, Transformers), Robert Davi (Die Hard) and Stacey Dash (Clueless). Loeb is co-directing it with Cathy Allyn.

Loeb said one woman approached him during shooting and asked, “Are you the director?”

“When I told her I was, she told me to go f–k myself,” Loeb told The Hollywood Reporter. “Then she threw her headset on the ground and walked off. I found out later she was our electrician.”

The movie’s director also quit, forcing Loeb and Allyn to co-direct it.

It is being filmed at the right time for it to get attention, with the nation embroiled in a debate over Roe and the next Supreme Court justice, Loeb said.

“But even without that…

Judge Raymond Kethledge of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit is the best choice for a Supreme Court spot, Hugh Hewitt writes in a column for The Washington Post.

Hewitt, conservative author and radio host, says Kethledge has “stood strongly with free exercise rights.”

The nomination would mean President Donald Trump is keeping one of his most touted campaign promises.

“Kethledge has been faithful for more than a decade to the originalist approach,” Hewitt writes. “White House staffers will have read every word of Kethledge’s many writings, and they will conclude: Gorsuch 2.0.”

Kethledge is 51.

“Married 25 years and a man of faith, he’s also an avid hunter and fisherman, a not insignificant detail in these matters,” Hewitt writes.

According to reports, Trump is expected to announce his nomination on July 9.

“If Trump wants to pay back the people who elected him in 2016, putting a midwesterner on the highest bench is one way to do it,” HotAir.com says.

According to Bloomberg: “Kethledge has impressed those within the White House, the people close to the process said. He was considered for the last Supreme Court vacancy, but didn’t meet with Trump then. On Monday, Trump expressed strongly favorable opinions about him, triggering talk that he’s not a candidate to be ignored.”

The other candidates for the…

Pastor Art Azurdia of Trinity Church in Portland, Oregon, has been removed from his position after he admitted to having several “sexually immoral” relationships.

“On Sunday, June 24, the elders of Trinity Church of Portland received an accusation that Art Azurdia has been in a sexually immoral relationship with a woman from outside of Trinity Church. The elders of Trinity Church, after an initial investigation, confronted Art with the accusation,” read a statement on the church’s website posted on Monday.

“Art admitted to the immorality. He also admitted to a previous sexually immoral relationship. Based on these facts and the biblical qualifications required of an elder (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1), the elders have removed Art Azurdia as Senior Minister of Word and Worship at Trinity Church, as an elder, and from all pastoral ministry at Trinity Church,” it added.

“We grieve the shame this brings to the Gospel and the sorrow it brings to God’s people.”

Azurdia, who is married and has two children, is an author and has been a speaker at various national and international conferences. He’s also associate professor of Pastoral…