Christian author Randy Alcorn is refuting the idea that people will have no recollection of their earthly life when they reach Heaven.

In a post titled “Let Go of Life About Heaven” on Desiring God’s website, Alcorn addressed eight myths people believe about the afterlife, The Christian Post reports.

Alcorn rejected the notion that people will not remember their former life upon reaching Heaven noting that that belief is more akin to Hinduism than Christianity.

“You will be you in heaven”: Alcorn wrote. “Who else would you be? Since we’ll give an account of our lives on earth, we must remain us, and our memories will have to be better, not worse.”

He also argued that “Scripture gives no indication of a memory wipe causing us not to recognize family and friends.”

“In fact,” he continued, “if we wouldn’t know our loved ones, the comfort of an afterlife reunion, taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, would be no comfort at all.”

Alcorn also asserted that since Christ identified Himself to his disciples following his death and resurrection, he illustrated that memory will be present in Heaven.

“He proclaimed, ‘It is I myself’ (Luke 24:39). When Thomas said, ‘My Lord and my God,’ he knew he was speaking to the same Jesus he’d lived with for years,” Alcorn said.

Several other myths Alcorn debunks in his list include the ideas that we will spend heaven in the…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Informal evangelical Christian advisers to President Donald Trump have long championed religious freedom as a key issue that should be embraced by the administration, often arguing passionately against government infringement on religious activities.

That’s why some have framed the president’s recent (June 1) photo-op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, in which he held aloft a Bible for cameras, as an expression of support for religious freedom.

“(Trump) walked FOR the protection of the right of peaceful protest,” Johnnie Moore, who helped organize the Trump campaign’s evangelical advisory board in 2016 and now serves as a commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, said in an email to Religion News Service. “He walked AGAINST the violent anarchists and looters who were disrupting those peaceful protests and dishonoring the memory of George Floyd.”

Other evangelical supporters of the president such as Franklin Graham and Texas pastor Robert Jeffress have also praised Trump’s walk to St. John’s, calling it an “important statement” and “absolutely correct.”

Moore and others have less to say about what happened before the president’s visit to the church — when police working with the federal government forced hundreds of demonstrators away from Lafayette Square and expelled clergy…

The Trump Department of Justice has sided with a Catholic foster care agency in a major religious liberty case that could resolve the conflict between governments and faith-based adoption agencies that won’t place children in same-sex homes due to religious beliefs.

The case began in 2018 when the Philadelphia Inquirer published a story saying Catholic Social Services – which had a foster care contract with the city – does not place children in same-sex homes. The city subsequently terminated the contract, asserting the agency’s policy violated a city law prohibiting contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Catholic Social Services then sued. Although lower courts ruled against the agency, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the case and is expected to hear oral arguments this fall.

The Justice Department, in a brief to the high court this month, said Philadelphia has “displayed hostility toward religion” and violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Further, the city authorizes some exemptions to its policy it doesn’t offer to religious organizations, the brief says.

“In short, the City’s actions and words reflected ‘animosity to religion or distrust of its practices,’” the Justice Department brief says.

Catholic Social Services “adheres to the belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.” Because of…

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday applauded the nationwide protests against racial injustice while criticizing Democratic leaders for a “double standard” that has kept churches in some areas closed.

“I have no criticism for the millions of Americans who peacefully demonstrated in recent days. Their cause is beyond righteous,” said McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. “It is the inconsistency from leaders that has been baffling.”

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio drew McConnell’s frustration.

“It’s becoming clear to many Americans … that our national life during this pandemic has slid toward a double standard,” McConnell said. “For weeks state and local leaders put normal American life totally on ice and asked citizens to prioritize fighting the virus. For weeks, the mainstream media heaped scorn on any small citizen protest, outdoor gathering, or even the suggestion that other important values might require a reappraisal of certain restrictions.

“A month ago, small protest demonstrations were widely condemned as reckless and selfish. Now, massive rallies, that fill entire cities, are not just praised, but in fact are called especially brave, because of the exact same health risks that brought condemnation when the cause was different.”

McConnell said he…

The creator of VeggieTales, Phil Vischer, reposted to his blog this week a podcast episode from 2017 that explained how white privilege gave him opportunities that black and brown people do not have.

“Way back in the 1930s the federal government decided that white families should be encouraged to own homes, and black families should not. Seventy years of policies encouraging and underwriting white homeownership, and discouraging black homeownership have led to a profoundly inequitable America,” he said, according to the Christian Post.

The 53-year-old filmmaker went on to explain the success his family achieved despite difficult odds. After his parents divorced, Vischer and his siblings struggled on a single-parent income.

“[Racism in America] has me examining how I tell my story, and I am more convinced than ever that how we tell our stories matters. I have benefitted from racial injustice,” he said. “After marrying a tradesman, my mother got her doctorate at age 50 and became a college professor. My brother ended up at Harvard Law and is now dean of a law school in Minnesota. My sister has a doctorate and teaches in NYC. And I am a filmmaker of moderate renown.”

“Did we work hard? Yes, I guess so. But lots of people work hard and don’t have nearly as much to show for it. So what is the missing factor? The factor that may be even more important than the hard…

An atheist group is claiming victory after a Georgia school district pledged not to allow outside groups like the Gideons to distribute religious materials in the classroom.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation, which represents atheists, agnostics and skeptics, sent a letter to Effingham County Schools in Springfield, Ga., last December alleging that two schools – Ebenezer Elementary and Marlow Elementary – had allowed the Gideons to “enter classrooms, preach to students about the significance of the bible, and distribute Bibles to students.” The allegations were made on behalf of “multiple” parents of students, according to the letter. 

“It is our understanding that every child was given a bible, but they were told that they could return it to the teacher if they don’t want it,” the letter, dated Dec. 13, said. “… Courts have uniformly held that the distribution of bibles to students at public schools during instruction time is prohibited.”

The district had “egregiously violated” the rights of its students, the letter said.

Attorney James D. Kreyenbuhl, representing the school district, responded May 29 and said the matter had been resolved. 

“Although I disagree with your characterization of the School District’s handling of this matter or that any students’ rights were ‘egregiously violated,’ the Board of Education has authorized me to assure that…

The street in Minneapolis where George Floyd died in police-custody has become a place of baptism and prayer.

According to CBN News, people have posted images and videos of Christians gathering near the site, worshiping and praying.

Joel Bomberger, a preacher with Circuit Riders, posted a photo of a baptism “right at the corner of where George Floyd was killed,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Floyd was a black man who died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin detained him and pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes. Floyd fell unconscious and later died.

Bomberger said people have been impacted by the prayers and worship in the city.

“A team of our Circuit Riders went to Minneapolis to hold open-air preaching of Jesus and healing calls at the intersection where George Floyd was killed,” Bomberger said. “There are too many testimonies to recount!! They were able to preach to thousands and saw hundreds responding to the Gospel of Jesus!!”

He also reports, “Dozens and dozens of people healed, filled with hope, changed, and born again by the power of Jesus this weekend in Minneapolis!”

“Just got a text that a deaf ear was just opened by the power of Jesus! Praise God!” Bomberger said.

Other ministries, including Youth With a Mission and Worldwide Outreach for Christ, have been holding daily services at the Minneapolis site.

“We’re going from pain and hatred to healing…

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson is speaking out against those wanting to “defund the police” in light of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

According to the Daily Wire, Carson argued that largely low-income communities are under police protection, and that those wanting to defund the police must see that it would negatively impact the communities that the police are protecting.

“Well, it’s low-income communities where the police are needed the most,” said Carson on Tuesday at a Senate Committee Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

“Places where there’s a lot of criminal activity, obviously you need to police,” he added.

“So, as usual, when people make decisions when they’re emotional, and they’re angry. They don’t think it through, and that’s what this [is]. It will go away when people have time to think it through and realize how irrational it is.”

Advocates of the “defund the police” movement are urging that the funds geared towards law enforcement be shifted over to social service programs as communities would benefit from it.

While the importance of social programs is acknowledged by Carson, he found it unwise to view them as a primary defense against crime.

“Social programs are important,” Carson said. “And they’re part of the entire system, but…