Rick Warren, Russell Moore, N. T. Wright State their Stands on Marriage

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Rick Warren, Russell Moore, N. T. Wright State their Stands on Marriage

“There is always a danger in being the 28th speaker in a conference,” said Rick Warren during his speech today at Pope Francis’s marriage conference. “What’s left to say?”

Apparently plenty, as Warren’s speech—which he said he wrote from scratch the night before after yesterday’s speakers covered his previously prepared main points—was “probably the first time ever the synod hall resembled a revivalist meeting,” tweeted David Quinn, an Irish Catholic columnist. The Saddleback Church senior pastor reportedly received a standing ovation following his remarks defending marriage between a man and a woman.

“As Christians we seem to be known more for what we’re against than what we’re for. I want to change that,” said Warren. According to his prepared remarks obtained by CT, he explored why Hebrews 13:4 commands that “marriage is to be honored by everyone” and laid out an “action plan” for conference attendees. In true evangelical form, his eight steps are in mostly alphabetical order:

Affirm the authority of God’s word
Believe what Jesus taught about marriage
Celebrate healthy marriages
Develop small group courses to support marriage
Engage every media to promote marriage
Face attackers with joy and winsomeness
Give people confidence
Teach the purposes of marriage

“It is a myth that we must give up biblical truth on sexuality and marriage in order to evangelize,” said Warren in his conclusion, which noted how Saddleback recently baptized its 40,000th adult convert. “In the end we must be merciful to the fallen, show grace to struggling, and be patient with the doubting. But when God’s Word is clear we must not—and we cannot—back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide from the truth.”

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission, also addressed the conference, acknowledging that the gathered audience came from different—and potentially warring—countries and represented a variety of faiths.

“But all of us in this room share at least one thing in common,” said Moore. “We recognize that marriage and family is a matter of public importance, not just of our various theological and ecclesial distinctive communities, since marriage is embedded in the creation order and is the means of human flourishing, not just the arena of individual human desires and appetites…Read More

Source and Original Content by Christian Today

Homosexuality Debate: Tragedy, Tradition, and Opportunity

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Homosexuality Debate: Tragedy, Tradition, and Opportunity

As 2014 comes to a close, many believe the question of the legal, public status of gay marriage has been effectively settled—even before the Supreme Court finally pronounces on the matter. Fierce battles over religious freedom will continue, but already about 60 percent of all Americans now live in states where gay marriage is legal. In those states, and perhaps soon in the entire country, the public policy issue is largely settled at least for a generation or two.

But the change in public policy need not—and should not—settle the issue for the church. Instead all of us are being compelled to examine our beliefs and practices. This is a good thing. We deeply need a new approach to our neighbors and our churches’ own members, especially those who live with a same-sex attraction or orientation. To find this will require acknowledging the tragedy of our recent history, the continuity of Christian teaching, and the opportunity for a new kind of ministry.

The Tragedy

We must start with the tragedy that evangelical Christians who long to be biblical are widely perceived as hostile to gays. And it is largely our own fault. Many of us have actually been homophobic. Most of us tolerated gay bashers. Many of us were largely silent when bigots in the society battered or even killed gay people. Very often, we did not deal sensitively and lovingly with young people in our churches struggling with their sexual orientation. Instead of taking the lead in ministering to people with AIDS, some of our leaders even opposed government funding for research to discover medicine to help them.

At times, we even had the gall to blame gay people for the tragic collapse of marriage in our society, ignoring the obvious fact that the main problem by far is that many of the 95 percent of the people who are heterosexual do not keep their marriage vows. In fact, self-described evangelicals get divorced at higher rates than Catholics and Mainline Protestants! We have frequently failed to distinguish gay orientation from gay sexual activity—even though if any of us were judged by the persistent inclinations of our hearts, on sexual matters or otherwise, none of us could stand.

If the devil had designed a strategy to discredit the historic Christian position on sexuality, he could not have done much better than what the evangelical community has actually done in the last several decades.

Some believe that the track record of evangelicals is so bad that we should just remain silent on this issue. But that would mean abandoning our submission to what finally I believe is clear biblical teaching. It would mean forgetting the nearly unanimous teaching of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians over two millennia. And it would mean failing to listen to the vast majority of contemporary Christians (who now live in the global South).

Biblical Consistency

The primary biblical case against homosexual practice is not the few texts that explicitly mention it. Rather, it is the fact that again and again the Bible affirms the goodness and beauty of sexual intercourse—and everywhere, without exception, the norm is sexual intercourse between a man and a woman committed to each other for life. Although this is familiar ground, and less and less contested even by those who advocate for a revision of Christian ethics, it is important to state just how strongly and consistently the Bible speaks to the goodness of marriage between a man and a woman, and equally consistently to the immorality of sexual acts (heterosexual and homosexual) that do not honor that bond…Read More

Source and Original Content by Christianity Today

French Atheist Becomes a Theologian

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French Atheist Becomes a Theologian

If French atheists rarely become evangelical Christians, how much rarer it is for one to become an evangelical Christian theologian. So what happened? One might argue that with 66 million French people, I’m just a fluke, an anomaly. I am inclined to see it as the work of a God who says, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy” (Rom. 9:15). Hearing the facts may help you decide for yourself.

I grew up in a wonderfully loving family in France, near Paris. We were Catholic, a religious expression that seemed to arise more out of tradition and perhaps superstition than conviction. As soon as I was old enough to tell my parents I didn’t believe any of it, I stopped going to Mass. I pursued my own happiness on all fronts, benefiting from my parents’ loving dedication. It allowed me to do well at school, learn to play the piano, and get involved in many sports. I studied math, physics, and engineering in college, graduated from a respected engineering school, and landed a job as a computer scientist in finance. On the sports front, after I grew to be 6 feet 4 inches and discovered I could jump 3 feet high, I ended up playing volleyball in a national league, traveling the country every weekend for the games.

An important part of young male French atheist ideals consisted of female conquests. Here, I was starting to have enough success to satisfy the raunchy standards of the volleyball locker room. All in all, I was pretty happy with my life. And in a thoroughly secular culture, the chances of ever hearing the gospel—let alone believing it—were incredibly slim.
New Life Goal

When I was in my mid-20s, my brother and I vacationed in the Caribbean. One day, returning from the beach, we decided to hitchhike home. A car pulled over. Two young women visiting from America were lost and needed directions to their hotel. Incidentally, it was right next to our house, so they gave us a ride.

They were attractive enough that my radar went off immediately, and we started flirting. The one I was interested in happened to mention she believed in God—by my standards an intellectual suicide. She also said she believed that sex belongs in marriage—an even more problematic belief than theism, if that were possible. Nevertheless, once the vacation ended, I returned to Paris, she to New York, and we started dating.

My new goal in life was to disabuse my girlfriend of her beliefs so that we could be together without antiquated notions of God—or sex—standing in the way. I started thinking: What good reason was there to think God exists, and what good reason was there to think atheism was true? This step was important, because my own unbelief rested comfortably on the fact that the smart people around me didn’t believe in God either. It was more a reasonable life assumption than the conclusion of a solid argument. But of course, if I was going to refute Christianity, I first needed to know what it claimed. So I picked up a Bible.

At the same time, I figured there was at least one experiment I could carry out. I thought, If any of this is true, then the God who exists presumably cares greatly about this project of mine. So I started to pray into the air: “If there is a God, then here I am. I’m looking into this. Why don’t you go ahead and reveal yourself to me? I’m open.” I wasn’t, but I figured that if God existed, that wouldn’t stop him…Read More

Source and Original Content by Christianity Today

After Facebook Appeal, French Man with Down’s Syndrome Receives 3,000 Birthday Cards

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After Facebook Appeal, French Man with Down’s Syndrome Receives 3,000 Birthday Cards

A French man with Down’s syndrome has received 30,000 birthday cards from around the world after a Facebook appeal from his mother.The postal service reportedly had to use a lorry to deliver the mountain of envelopes and parcels sent to Manuel Parisseaux in Calais, which the family have had to store in a neighbour’s garage.

His mother, Jacqueline, decided to do something special to mark his 30th birthday and on 3 November, posted a Facebook status on her husband’s page.According to local paper La Voix du Nord, it read: “I have a request to make to all my Facebook friends – my son Manuel is going to turn 30 years old on November 22 and he loves to receive postcards.

“He has Down’s syndrome. I’m writing to ask you to take a couple minutes to send him a little card and to pass this information on to your friends so the chain doesn’t get broken.”I thank you all in advance for your gesture, which will make my Manu so happy.”

The post went viral, sparking automated efforts by Facebook to shut down Lucien Parisseaux’s account believing it was an advertising scam.Mrs Parisseaux had to create a new page under her maiden name for the appeal to continue and a trickle of cards soon turned into a flood.

On Saturday alone, her son’s birthday, 3,000 cards arrived along with chocolate, cakes and small presents from countries including Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, the US and Australia.“We would never have imagined the impact that a simple internet message could have in a few days, “ Mrs Parisseaux told La Voix du Nord.

“We are surprised by this outpouring of generosity and messages of support and kindness. The world is not indifferent after all.”

La-poste

Source and Original Content by The Independent

Casting Crowns Beats Hillsong United at 2014 AMA’s

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Casting Crowns Beats Hillsong United at 2014 AMA’s

Casting Crowns earned recognition at the American Music Awards after winning the award for Favorite Artist: Contemporary Inspirational on Sunday.

The fan-voted award marked Casting Crown’s third AMA, which was presented to the Christian rock group during a live broadcast on ABC Network television at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater. Other nominees in the Contemporary Inspirational category included the Newsboys and Hillsong UNITED.

In addition to the AMA’s honor, Casting Crowns continues to dominate the Christian as well as secular song charts. Their current album “Thrive” was number one on the Billboard Contemporary Christian Albums Chart and ranked number six on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.

Furthermore, Casting Crowns is currently on the fall leg of its 2014-15 Thrive Tour, which includes a sold out performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. The highly successful tour has seen nine sellout dates so far, and the band will perform at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall on Jan. 24 as part of a full weekend with fans.

The AMA, Grammy and Dove Award-winning group consists of Mark Hall, Melodee Devevo, Brian Scoggin, Megan Garrett, Juan Devevo, Chris Huffman and Josh Mix, who have been recording and touring for more than 10 years. In addition to three AMA awards, Casting Crowns has been honored with a Grammy for its 2005 album “Lifesong,” 17 GMA Dove Awards and two Billboard Awards.

Meanwhile, the 2014 AMA’s also saw wins for Luke Bryan, One Direction, Katy Perry, Sam Smith, Carrie Underwood, Beyonce, John Legend and many more. Upon winning Favorite Male Country Artist, Bryan thanked everyone from God to his tour bus driver.

“Thank you AMAs, thanks for having me out here,” the singer said during his acceptance speech. “It’s amazing to be here in L.A. watching all this music. I want to thank God above for letting me tour night in and night out on the road. I want to thank the fans … Want to thank all my management, my booking agent Jay Williams, I always forget ya. All my guys on the road, my band, my crew, my bus driver…” he said in conclusion.

Source and Original Content by Christian Post

Pastor Gets ‘Death Threats,’ for Allowing Members to Dance to Secular Music in Church

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Pastor Gets ‘Death Threats,’ for Allowing Members to Dance to Secular Music in Church

An event that was supposed to be a lighthearted celebration of how Christian lives have changed through music at the 138-year-old The House of Hope Atlanta (Greater Travelers Rest) church in Decatur, Georgia, led by Senior Pastor Dr. E. Dewey Smith Jr. has triggered a barrage of criticism and even death threats for the use of secular music by popular entertainers such as Chris Brown and Lil Jon in the sanctuary.

The frenzied reactions to the celebrations first started after short clips of the event began circulating on social media.

Among those sharing one of the clips from the event was popular televangelist and singer Juanita Bynum who noted “THIS IS WHY WE HAVE TO PRAY!!!!!!” in a post along with the clip on her Facebook page last Monday. The post has since been liked nearly 1,800 times and the clip itself has been shared more than 26,000 times with many people criticizing the portion of the celebration depicted in the video.

n a 44-minute YouTube video of the entire event as well as a strong follow-up response to critics on his church’s Facebook page after the event, however, Pastor Smith explained the church has held the event annually for the last seven years and it was meant to be “fun.” The criticisms are also not new.

“A few years ago we started an annual tradition at our church that we would celebrate every generation for our church anniversary. Our church is a church that believes in the Lord but we also believe laughter is like medicine and that if you’re a child of God you can have a good time. All the time you don’t want to be deep,” Smith said ahead of the dancing at the event in the YouTube video.

“Some people so deep you shouldn’t listen to that in the sanctuary, just listen to it in your car. You shouldn’t dance like that in the church ’cause it’s a sin. It’s ok, you can cuss at home just don’t cuss in the church,” Smith threw back acknowledging his critics.

“We compartmentalize God and live so many different kinds of lives … people don’t want to be real. So if that’s you God bless you pray for us. But the rest of us, we’re gonna have a good time and enjoy the Lord ’cause we know that the letter killeth but it’s the Spirit that gives life and he came that I might have life,” Smith continued before kicking off the event with music for the oldest generation in the church…Read More

Source and Original Content by Christian Post

US Pastor Suffers Concussion After Fainting in a Parking Lot at Daughter’s Wedding

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US Pastor Suffers Concussion After Fainting in a Parking Lot at Daughter’s Wedding

Florida Megachurch Pastor Jay Dennis consulted with doctors Monday after fainting in a parking lot and suffering a concussion following his daughter’s wedding on Friday.

The senior pastor had just concluded taking pictures with his daughter and the bridal party when he passed out. He struck the pavement with such force that the he suffered a concussion. The fall also drove his glasses into his forehead creating a gash just above his left eye that required 12 stitches, a staff member at the First Baptist Church at the Mall informed the Christian Post

Dennis’ fall was reported caused by dehydration and other undiagnosed conditions. The fall also agitated a previous back injury, reported Florida paper The Ledger. Church staff told CP there should be more news about his health after his doctor visit Monday .

Dennis leads over 9,000 members at his Florida church. He is also an anti-pornography advocate who recently delivered remarks Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation’s Summit 2014. He is also a past president of the Florida Baptist Convention.

First Baptist Church at the Mall Associate Lead Pastor Darrin Brown told The Ledger via email that church is requesting prayers for Dennis’ health.

“Please pray for him that God will give him strength, wisdom, rest and discernment as he heals over the next few days and seeks a specific plan from the doctors,” Brown wrote the paper.

Source and Original Content by Christian Post

Pastor Saeed Abedini’s Fate Hangs Uncertain

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Pastor Saeed Abedini’s Fate Hangs Uncertain

The fate of Pastor Saeed Abedini continues hanging in the balance following the extension of negotiations between Iran and several nations, including the U.S., on a nuclear deal. The American Center for Law and Justice noted that Abedini has not been “completely abandoned” yet by the Obama administration, and it remains critical that Iran be pressured for his release.

“The American people were heard and Iran was not rewarded with a nuclear deal while it continues to imprison and torment a U.S. citizen. Yet Pastor Saeed is not free,” wrote Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ.

“Second, the reports indicate that there will be no lull in the negotiations; they will continue as soon as next month. That means now continues to be a critical time to pressure Iran to release Pastor Saeed.”

CNN reported that a new deadline for a political framework has been set for March 1, 2015, and a final deadline for an agreement for July 1st. The original deadline for the deal was set for Monday.

Iran has been looking for a deal to ease restrictions on its nuclear program, which it insists will not be used for creating nuclear weapons. The new deadline will allow the Iranian government another seven months to reach an agreement with western officials.

“We have had to conclude it is not possible to get to an agreement by the deadline that was set for today and therefore we will extend the JPOA to June 30, 2015,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told reporters, according to Reuters.

The Joint Plan of Action had been agreed to between Iran and the P5+1 countries in 2013 in Geneva. With that, Tehran would limit its higher level uranium enrichment in exchange for easing some economic sanctions that had been imposed on the country.

Hammond suggested that “significant progress” had been achieved in talks with Iran, and that there is now a clear target to reach an agreement before the next deadline comes to pass.

The ACLJ, which represents Abedini’s wife and two children in the U.S., has been calling on President Barack Obama to continue pressing Iran for the pastor’s release.

The pastor, an American citizen, has been imprisoned in Iran for over two years since his arrest in 2012. The Iranian court sentenced him to eight years in prison, and the ACLJ argues that Abedini is being punished for his Christian faith…Read More

Source and Original Content by Christian Post

Family Decides Myles Munroe, Wife to Get Closed Casket National Memorial

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Family Decides Myles Munroe, Wife to Get Closed Casket National Memorial

There will be no open casket viewing of the bodies of renowned pastor and motivational speaker Myles Munroe and his wife, Ruth, at a national memorial planned for the couple in the Bahamas next Wednesday.

The lives of the Munroes, who died along with seven others in a fiery jet crash in the Bahamas on Sunday, Nov. 9, will be celebrated during a five-hour event at Thomas Robinson Stadium in the Bahamas.

Kevin Harris, spokesman for the Bahamas Faith Ministries founded by Munroe, told The Christian Post Monday that while there will be speeches, music and singing among a number of activities, fans of the Munroes will not be allowed to view the bodies out of respect for the family. He said the family made the decision not to have an open casket after they had identified the bodies.

“They were IDed by all the family members, and all the family have confirmed that there will be a closed casket ceremony,” said Harris.

The bodies of the renowned evangelical pastor and his wife, along with three of seven others, including senior vice president and fellowship pastor of Bahamas Faith Ministries Richard Pinder, and pilots Captain Stanley Thurston and First Officer Frahkan Cooper, who died with them on Nov. 9 were returned home to family and friends in the island’s capital of New Providence Monday in preparation for multiple memorials and funerals.

Cooper was buried last Friday while the remains of Diego Santiago, another victim, was cremated by his family, according to Harris.

Harris further explained that Munroe’s children, who will attend the national memorial for their mother and father, have also committed to attending the memorial services for all the victims of the crash.

Source and Original Content by Christian Post

Update Ferguson Shooting: No Indictment for Officer, Violence Erupts

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Update Ferguson Shooting: No Indictment for Officer, Violence Erupts

Violence flared again in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson on Monday, with gunshots heard and tear gas fired, after a Missouri grand jury decided not to indict a white police officer over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in August. Angry crowds took to the streets around the Ferguson police department after the grand jury determined there was no probable cause to charge officer Darren Wilson with any crime for the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

St Louis police reported heavy automatic gunfire late on Monday in the area near where Brown was shot and killed on August 9. The Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary flight restrictions for the city.

Protests were also staged in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, Seattle and Oakland over a case that has highlighted long-standing racial tensions not just in predominantly black Ferguson but across the United States.

“They determined that no probable cause exists to file any charge against officer Wilson,” St Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch told reporters in Clayton, Missouri, the St Louis suburb where the grand jury met.

Wilson could have faced charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to first-degree murder, McCulloch said.

Storefront windows were smashed near the Ferguson Police Department, and at least one police cruiser and another vehicle on the street were set on fire. Gunshots were heard and police responded with volleys of tear gas and flash-bang canisters.

Brown’s family said through their attorneys they were “profoundly disappointed” by the grand jury’s finding.

“While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change,” the family said in a statement…Read More

Source and Original Content by Christian Today

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