Franklin Graham Says “War on Christmas Is All Over the Country”

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Franklin Graham Says “War on Christmas Is All Over the Country”

Franklin Graham went on Fox News’ Kelly File last night to talk about the country’s growing trend of taking Christ out of Christmas.

“It’s all over the country. You have the secularists and humanists who are wanting to take Jesus Christ out of His birthday and they’re wanting to deny He ever existed and take His name off everything,” Franklin Graham said.

“And that’s what’s happened. This has infiltrated now our government. Our government is now attacking Christmas. Not only attacking Christmas but the name of Christ.”

The show host Megyn Kelly cited example after example of society attacking Christmas, including a Minnesota courthouse banning red poinsettias because someone claimed it a Christian symbol and the largest school district in Maryland voting to strip religious holidays after Muslim leaders complained.

“That’s the world at which we live. I think we as Christians, not that we fight back, but that we stand up and let our voices be heard,” Franklin Graham said.

“I think it’s time that Christians write their politicians and stand up to defend their rights because if you don’t, we’ll lose them…Read More

Source and Original Content by BCNN1

Court Set to give Ruling for Catholic Midwives in Abortion Case

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Court Set to give Ruling for Catholic Midwives in Abortion Case

The UK’s highest court will say today whether two Catholic midwives have a right to reject any involvement in abortion procedures.

A health authority challenged a previous appeal at the Court of Session in Edinburgh last year which found Mary Doogan and Connie Wood are legally entitled to be conscientious objectors to the process.

Five justices have been considering the appeal by Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS.

It centres on the limits of the Abortion Act 1967, which says that “no person shall be under any duty … to participate in any treatment authorised by this Act to which he has a conscientious objection”.

But the court is deciding whether this means the Catholics can also refuse to supervise staff that is caring for women after the termination.

The health board has accepted that the women would have no role in abortions because of their faith but they want that to go further so they do not have to delegate, supervise and support staff involved in treating women who are having abortions.

Both women were working at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital when the case was first launched several years ago.

Source and Original Content by Premier Christian Radio

Stolen Church Artwork raises £23m for IS

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Stolen Church Artwork raises £23m for IS

Sales of stolen pieces of art work from churches in Iraq and Syria is the fourth largest source of income for Islamic State.

It’s estimated that the militant group makes at least £23m from the artefacts it is taking from churches as it takes control of large parts of the Middle East.

Former Deputy Director of Europol, Professor Dr Willy Bruggeman, told Premier the militants were causing ‘irreparable damage’ to Christianity in Iraq and Syria.

He said the sale of artefacts is ‘booming’ and that IS has no problem selling the pieces on.

It’s ‘part of a broader process of genocide or ethnic cleansing,’ Prof Bruggeman said, explaining that the group didn’t just want rid of the people but also any other trace of their religion.

“It’s to kill the identity of the people they are fighting, those who do not agree with Islam, archaeological objects are part of their culture so they want to destroy these objects,” he said.

He was speaking at a meeting of a cross party group of MPs who were trying to find a way to cut down on the trafficking of art work.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief was highlighting the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq.

Professor Bruggeman added that being able to sell the precious art was vital to Islamic State: “They have to buy weapons, they have to undertake organisation for the fighting units.

“So, that takes a lot of money.”

Walk of Truth is an organisation trying to stop the trafficking of artefacts.

Founder Tasoula Hadjitofi told Premier Islamic State will keep stealing the pieces until the demand stops.

“We need to bring to justice people who deliberately destruct the cultural heritage of the other.

“We need to set up a code of conduct for the auction houses and we should look at our own moral compass and decide what we should and shouldn’t buy.”

She also called for people who had bought stolen art work to return it so it can be taken back to the Middle East when the fighting is over.

Source and Original Content by Premier CHristian Radio

Church Of England Selects First Woman Bishop

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Church Of England Selects First Woman Bishop

The Church of England has chosen its first female bishop.

It’s understood a woman will take the Bishop of Stockport role just a month since canon law was changed to allow females into the top jobs.

The appointment will be made later today.

It’s unknown who the bishop will be although there are a number of favourites to take the position.

The Bishop of Stockport is a junior post, or a suffragan, within the Diocese of Chester.

That means any new bishop there will not be eligible for a place in the House of Lords, despite an expected change in the law that will see woman fast tracked.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg will announce legislation meaning female bishops will go to the front of a 10 year queue for a seat in the upper chamber.

Previously the Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd Justin Welby, said the church was starting “a completely new phase of our existence”.

Speaking after the vote, he said: “It has taken a very, very long time and the way is now open to select people for the episcopacy, to nominate them on the basis simply of our sense that they are called by God to be in that position without qualification as to their gender.”

Source and Original Content by Premier Christian Radio

Pastor Writes Heartbreaking Christmas Letter From Iranian Prison

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Pastor Writes Heartbreaking Christmas Letter From Iranian Prison

American Pastor Saeed Abedini—a U.S. citizen imprisoned for his Christian faith—has written a heartbreaking letter from his prison cell.

He talks about both the difficulty of spending Christmas trapped in a cold dark prison cell and how his faith in Christ is carrying him through this difficult time.

He writes:

These days are very cold here. My small space beside the window is without glass, making most nights unbearable to sleep. The treatment by fellow prisoners is also quite cold and at times hostile. Some of my fellow prisoners don’t like me because I am a convert and a pastor. They look at me with shame as someone who has betrayed his former religion. The guards can’t even stand the paper cross that I have made and hung next to me as a sign of my faith and in anticipation of celebrating my Savior’s birth. They have threatened me and forced me to remove it. This is the first Christmas that I am completely without my family; all of my family is presently outside of the country. These conditions have made this upcoming Christmas season very hard, cold and shattering for me. It appears that I am alone with no one left beside me.

But he also wrote what Christmas means to him in the midst of this turmoil:

Christmas means that God came so that He would enter your hearts today and transform your lives and to replace your pain with indescribable joy. …

The same way that the heat from the earth’s core melts the hard stones in itself and produces lava, the fiery love of God, Jesus Christ, through the virgin Mary’s womb came to earth on Christmas to melt the hard heart of sin and wickedness of the world and removes them from our life.

The letter was sent to a family member. It was just last week that a relative was able to visit him, the first time a family member has been able to visit him in well over a month. He remains in need of medical care, suffering from increased pain from internal injuries sustained as a result of multiple prison beatings throughout the course of more than two years in a harsh Iranian prison.

Yet even in the darkest of circumstances the light of Christ shines through. He concluded his message with this charge to everyone who reads his words: “So this Christmas let the lava-like love of Christ enter into the depth of your heart and make you fiery, ready to pay any cost in order to bring the same lava love to the cold world around you, transforming them with the true message of Christmas… Read More

Source and Original Content by Charisma News

Videdo of World’s Largest Nativity Gets Over 1.7 Million Hits in 4 Days

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Videdo of World’s Largest Nativity Gets Over 1.7 Million Hits in 4 Days

A Christmas-themed music video posted on YouTube featuring the Guinness World Record holder for largest living nativity has garnered over 1.7 million views in less than a week.

Posted by The Piano Guys on Friday, the music video features the living Nativity scene held earlier this month at Provo, Utah, that had over 1,000 participants.

Featuring a hymn fusing the two carols “Angels from the Realms of Glory” and “Angels We Have Heard On High,” the video has garnered more than 1.7 million views, over 56,000 likes, and more than 3,200 comments as of Tuesday morning.

The Christmas carol was performed by The Piano Guys, along with singer-songwriter Peter Hollens and former American Idol contestant David Archuleta.

Earlier this month, organizers gathered at the Rock Canyon Park in the city of Provo from 2 to 8 p.m. MST to break the record for largest living Nativity scene.

With a tally of 1,039 participants, the Provo display successfully broke the record previously held by Lancashire in the United Kingdom in December 2013; 898 volunteers took part for that attempt.

John Dye, one of the organizers for the Provo nativity, told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that the success of the living nativity was “nothing short of a miracle.”

“We felt in many instances that we had help from above. A week prior, the forecast was showing a 60% chance of rain — which would have been catastrophic for a production of this nature. But the shoot day was sunny and clear,” said Dye.

“It amazed us that people — on incredibly short notice — were willing to change any plans they may have previously had during this busy holiday season to stand in long lines, and be willing to come dressed up as angels and take direction for 5-7 hours in the cold to help break the record and shoot the video.”

Source and Original Content by CP

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to Release New Documentary About Louis Zamperini on Dec 25

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Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to Release New Documentary About Louis Zamperini on Dec 25

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will release a new documentary film on Dec. 25 called Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace. Zamperini is also the subject of Universal Pictures’ Unbroken, the movie based on the best-selling book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand.

Captured by Grace is a compelling, documentary-style film that chronicles Zamperini’s remarkable journey – from Olympic runner to WWII prisoner of war – all the way to his return home and encounter with Jesus Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles in 1949. The film includes recent interview footage of Zamperini sharing his complete story in his own words.

“I started to leave the tent meeting, and I felt awful guilty about my life,” Zamperini says about his experience at the 1949 Billy Graham Crusade held in a constructed tent on the corner of Washington and Hill streets in Los Angeles. “Yes, I had a lot of great times, a lot of great experience, a lot of escape from death, but I still didn’t like my life after the war. I came home alive. God kept His promise. I didn’t keep mine, and so I went forward and accepted Christ.”

“The heart of this story is when I found Christ as my Savior,” Zamperini continues. “That’s the heart of my whole life.”

Captured by Grace can be viewed online starting Dec. 25, and will be available via DVD as an offer of appreciation with any contribution to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. For more information, to watch a short trailer for the film, or preorder a copy, visit www.billygraham.org/unbroken.

Zamperini, who passed away earlier this year, visited Billy Graham in June of 2011 at his home in Montreat, N.C. At age 94, he also visited the Billy Graham Library where he signed copies of the New York Times bestseller Unbroken and greeted many WWII veterans. Up until his passing, Zamperini was an inspirational speaker and shared his life-changing testimony at several of Graham’s Crusades, including San Francisco (1958) and Los Angeles (1963).

This coming New Year’s Day, Will Graham, at the request of the City of Torrance, will represent his grandfather Billy Graham at the 126th Rose Parade on Zamperini’s hometown float. The parade’s theme for 2015 is “Inspiring Stories.” Zamperini was selected earlier this year to be the Grand Marshall of the annual event, and despite his passing, the Tournament of Roses Committee decided to use the opportunity to honor his life.

About BGEA
The BGEA proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world by every effective means available. For more information, please visit www.billygraham.org. Get news updates on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/BGEAnews.

Source and Original Content by BCNN1

Law To Impose Death Penalty on Bible Smugglers to be Imposed by Islamic Saudi Arabia Passes

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Law To Impose Death Penalty on Bible Smugglers to be Imposed by Islamic Saudi Arabia Passes

Recent reports state that officials in the Islamic country of Saudi Arabia have passed a law that may impose the death penalty on Bible smugglers and any others distributing religious materials that are not of the Muslim religion.

“[T]he new law extends to the importing of all illegal drugs and ‘all publications that have a prejudice to any other religious beliefs other than Islam,’” Paul Washer’s HeartCry Missionary Society outlines in a post on their website. “In other words, anyone who attempts to bring Bibles or gospel literature into the country will have all materials confiscated and be imprisoned and sentenced to death.”

It points to an article on the Copts Today website, which notes that “indecent materials and publications” are also included in the customs prohibition.

Reporters have attempted to obtain confirmation of the report from Saudi Arabia’s U.S. Embassy press officer in Washington, but the information has neither been confirmed or denied.

“Sometimes they don’t want to say anything (to the media),” a representative named Cecelia told WND.

The United Nations has also declined to comment on whether or not the report is accurate.

As the HeartCry Missionary Society notes in pointing to a video on Prayercast, Saudi Arabia has a long history of hostility toward Christians, as it is illegal to convert to Christianity in the country, a crime considered to be apostasy against Islam and punishable by death…Read More

Source and Original Content by CNN

International Religious Leaders urged to visit War-Torn CAR

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International Religious Leaders urged to visit War-Torn CAR

Religious leaders from around the globe are being urged to visit the Central African Republic to help curb religious based violence in the country.

Religion continues to be used as a “divisive tool” against Christians and Muslims, over a year and a half since the Séléka rebel coalition ousted President Bozizé in March 2013 and over four months after the signing of a cease-fire agreement between the two main warring factions – ex- Séléka and anti-balaka – on 23rd July in Brazzaville.

But Conservative peer, Baroness Berridge who chairs the all-party group on religious freedom believes a visit to the CAR by international religious representatives would boost the peace process.

Speaking after parliamentary discussion on the issue, she said: “The Catholic Archbishop actually accommodated the nation’s Imam in his home to keep him safe.

“But from outside with their invitation and with the assistance of the UN, bringing in global religious leaders and aid, reflecting that tripartite would just boost them [local religious leaders], I believe.”

“The population is de-facto split, so there’s much to be done now to make sure that this two years; which is all it is of a religious problem there becomes a tiny blip on the landscape.”

According to the latest figures of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 2.5 million (within a population of 4.6m) are in need of humanitarian aid, including over 430,000 IDPs and 423,000 CAR refugees in neighbouring countries.

According to the all party parliamentary group on religious freedom, the international community has struggled to respond to the enormous needs in CAR. Responses to the crisis have had to compete with other better-publicised high-level emergencies, resulting in persistent underfunding.

Only 61% of the $555m requested by the 2014 global humanitarian appeal has been made available as of 20th November.

Insecurity, poor infrastructure, limited staffing and limited and changing access make it even harder for UN agencies and NGOs to deliver humanitarian assistance where it is most needed.

The UK’s total direct contribution in humanitarian support has amounted to £18 million in 2014 (and £23 million since July 2013), additionally to funds already committed through the EU and UN, making it the third largest bilateral provider of humanitarian aid to the country.

Source and Original Content by Premier Christian Radio

Christians and Muslims in Pakistan Stand United after School Attack

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Christians and Muslims in Pakistan Stand United after School Attack

A Pakistani bishop says the church is “totally with the families of our Muslim brothers and sisters,” after the Taliban attacked a school in his province killing more than 120 people.

Most of those killed in the attack were children.

The Taliban say the attack was revenge, after Pakistani authorities killed their members.

At least six fighters entered the military-run school in the Pakistani province of Peshawar, while exams were taking place.

It’s thought the Muslim extremists fired indiscriminately.

The Anglican Bishop of Peshawar, Rt Revd Humphrey Peters, told Premier: “There’ll be three days mourning in the province… and then we have cancelled all our Christmas celebrations because it is very disturbing – very very disturbing.”

“We are totally with the families of our majority community Muslim brother and sisters. We are in solidarity with them.”

“I really can’t say it, but it’s become a conventional thing… Peshawar is so quiet now. Everyone is so sad.

“I will question the intelligence agencies. Where are they? Why can’t they pick it up? What are they there for?

“We need a lot of prayers. The church, being the marginalised and the minority and the poorest of the poor, we are worried about the security of our churches and our institutions.

“It is very very expensive to keep two or three guards. Security-wise we people are really weak.”

Source and Original Content by Premier Christian Radio

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