TikTok Reinstates Anti-Abortion Group Live Action’s Account After ‘Human Error’ Led to Ban

Anti-abortion group Live Action had its TikTok account reinstated on Friday — only hours after the account was kicked off for violating the popular app’s community guidelines. The removal had been a mistake, a TikTok spokesperson told TheWrap.

“TikTok is a platform for creative expression that welcomes diversity of users and viewpoints,” the spokesperson said. “Following a review, we have determined that there we no violations of our community guidelines and the issue was the result of a human error by a moderator. We apologize for the mistake and have reactivated the account.”

Earlier on Friday, Live Action’s account was purged after posting a 15-second clip showing a a young woman opting to “be pro-life and and help save babies” rather than “be pro-abortion.” The clip then cut to a few different baby pictures as well as written testimonials from women who thanked the organization for helping them decide against abortion. According to Live Action, TikTok took this clip down and the group appealed to have it reinstated within an hour; TikTok then banned the group’s account entirely, saying it was removed “due to multiple community guidelines violations.”

According to a Live Action representative, TikTok did not explain how the group had violated its rules.

TikTok’s community guidelines can be found here.

SOURCE: TheWrap, Sean Burch

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Christian Churchgoers Widely Mixed on Satisfaction with Sermons, Pew Study Reports

Christian Churchgoers Widely Mixed on Satisfaction with Sermons, Pew Study Reports


Sermons are a distinctive feature of worship services among most of the various traditions of Christian churches. And while many churchgoers consider sermons a major element of the worship experience, satisfaction with sermons is widely mixed, Pew Research Center says in a report posted Jan 28 on its Fact Tank page.

In reporting on two related recent studies, Pew says, “there are differences by religious tradition in how satisfied churchgoers are with what they hear from the pulpit – as well as in the length and content of those sermons.”

In its 2019 opinion survey of 6,364 U.S. adults, Pew said that 90% of respondents who attend church services “at least a few times a year are satisfied with the sermons they hear.” Protestants, Pew reported, “are somewhat more satisfied than Catholics” with the sermons they hear.

In breaking down opinions of sermons, Pew said its survey found that 61 percent of evangelical Protestants (six-in-ten) say they are “very satisfied” with the messages. That’s almost double the 32 percent of evangelical respondents who said they are “somewhat satisfied,” according to Pew’s report.

Almost a third – 32 percent – of Catholic respondents, indicated they are “very satisfied” with sermons, which are formally referred to as the “homily” in the Catholic Mass, as well as in the worship traditions of Anglican, Lutheran,…

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US Declares Emergency Due to Virus, New Entry Restrictions in Effect Sunday

The United States on Friday declared a public health emergency because of a new virus that first struck in China, has now spread to other nations.

The growing coronavirus threat is leading the US government to warn Americans against any travel to China. The White House will temporarily bar entry to nationals who pose a transmission risk, and three major airlines have stopped service to the Chinese mainland. The new restrictions begin Sunday afternoon.

“The risk of infection for Americans remains low and with these and our previous actions we are working to keep the risk low,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said.

The travel warning came when the State Department raised its China travel advisory to a red level four — one day after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a public health emergency.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a tweet called the travel advisory necessary due to the spread of the novel coronavirus and the emergency designation by WHO.

.@StateDept is increasing the #China Travel Advisory to Level 4 – Do Not Travel. This is due to the spread of the novel #coronavirus throughout China & the @WHO determination that the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. https://t.co/BIIUdavoP0

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 31, 2020

“Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems and which are ill-prepared to deal with it,” said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Also on Friday, US air carriers Delta, American and United Airlines announced the suspension of travel to the Chinese mainland, following the lead of other international airlines.

Meanwhile, the city of Wuhan, which is considered as ground zero for the disease, is a ghost town.

Numbers of the infected are climbing with about 10,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide, and more than 200 deaths related to the illness. On Thursday, the US reported its sixth case, and the first involving person to person transmission.   

Hundreds of Americans flying on a US government chartered plane earlier this week from China to California are now in a CDC mandated 14-day quarantine.

“It’s just like a movie, it’s just like a movie,” said American evacuee Jarred Evans.  “You have to survive. And the movies are fake, but this is real life and you have to take it very serious and you have to take care of your body.” 

Stocks took a tumble after the US airlines announced they would halt service to China.  The Down Industrial Average plunged more than 600 points by the closing bell on Friday.  The latest evidence that the coronavirus is causing not only a major health concern but an economic one as well.

Source CBN

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Sesame Street to Feature Actor Billy Porter Wearing a Dress

Sesame Street to Feature Actor Billy Porter Wearing a Dress


Sesame Street said Thursday that Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Porter will appear in an upcoming episode of the popular series while – apparently – wearing a dress.

Sesame Street posted photos of Porter on social media with celebratory taglines. 

“An iconic day with an iconic person. Thanks for visiting Sesame Street, @theebillyporter! #Season51,” the series’ official Twitter account said in a message. 

“Billy Porter bringing those fierce vibes to Sesame Street,” the series’ official Facebook page said in a post.

The appearance by Porter, who is gay, likely would have gone unnoticed by most if not for the pictures accompanying the social media messages. Sesame Street’s Twitter and Facebook accounts each showed Porter wearing his famous tuxedo dress, or gown, on set with the characters. 

Porter – an actor and Broadway performer – is known for wearing women’s clothes.   

Sesame Street did not disclose whether his choice of clothes is discussed on the show. 

The posts sparked a social media debate. 

“Soooo amazing!!!!!!!! Thank you, Billy Porter!! if I had seen someone like you on TV when I was that age, coming out would have been so much easier and happier,” one person wrote on…

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49ers Studied Biblical Themes of Hope and Trust During Season, Chaplain Says

49ers Studied Biblical Themes of Hope and Trust During Season, Chaplain Says


San Francisco’s ability to embrace an attitude of selflessness was the key to the 49ers’ drive to the Super Bowl, according to team chaplain Earl Smith, who also says that theme was mirrored in the team’s Bible studies over the past year.

The 49ers will face Kansas City Sunday in Super Bowl 54. 

Smith told Sports Spectrum the 49ers’ season reminded him of the selflessness exhibited by the NBA’s Golden State Warriors when they won their championship in 2015. Both teams played as “one unit,” he said.  

“[The 49er players] were happy for each other, and it wasn’t just a personal happiness, but there was a joy among the guys, the coaches, the administration, and for me, that’s really what it was about,” Smith said. “… These guys are just one. They’re not selfish. They really want each other to do well. And I was really proud to see that. I was really happy and blessed that I could see that materialize on the field.”

The players, Smith said, studied “hope, trust and accountability” during Bible studies with him during the season. 

“We spent like a month – a series – on each of those things,” he told Sports Spectrum. 

They also studied the Lord’s Prayer and the theme of what “the Lord is.”

“Because if you look at David’s story, he continuously talked about who the Lord was to him – in so many different ways beyond just being the Good…

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Pressured by LGBT Activists, Third UK Venue Bars Franklin Graham from Preaching the Gospel

A third venue in the United Kingdom has canceled an appearance by evangelist Franklin Graham, bowing to pressure from LGBTQ activists and their allies. 

Glasgow’s Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Hydro dropped Graham’s booking at the order of its principal shareholder, the Glasgow City Council, according to the Glasgow Times.

Susan Aitken, Scottish National Party councilwoman, and the local leader told the newspaper that allowing Graham to speak might break the UK’s hate speech laws.

“The reporting of the ways in which Mr. Graham expresses his views makes clear that this is not simply about offense or disagreement. Neither is it a debate about free speech,” Aiken said. 

“How he expresses his views could, I believe, fundamentally breach the council’s statutory equalities duties,” she continued. 

The newspaper reported much of the anger directed at Graham from those in the UK comes from his past comments about gay rights, Islam and his support for President Donald Trump. 

As CBN News reported, earlier this week the UK cities of Sheffield and Liverpool canceled their contracts with Graham, 67, the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization. 

While one venue Liverpool has denied Franklin Graham access, the BGEA tells CBN News a Liverpool outreach will still take place at a different venue that’s still to be determined.

Graham’s eight-day tour of the UK was scheduled to start in Glasgow in May.

Pauline Gallagher of Catholic Family Voice told LifeSiteNews that she was “saddened” that the Protestant evangelical had been barred from her city.

“I am saddened beyond words that Billy Graham’s son has been banned from speaking in Glasgow,” Gallagher said. “The dividing line is not between religious and LGBT. It is between reasonable and unreasonable people.”

Graham has responded to what he considers is the continued effort to bar him from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the UK.

“For some time I have been planning to come and preach the Gospel in eight cities across the UK in 2020,” he told Newsweek magazine. “Hundreds of churches are working with the Graham Tour UK and praying for these events.”

“Some people have said I am going to bring hateful speech to the UK, but this couldn’t be further from the truth,” he asserted. “I’m coming to the UK to speak about God’s love through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world – He came to save it. The Gospel is timeless, and Bible-believing Christians in the UK have proclaimed it for centuries.”

Graham said he believed that he and other evangelicals were being “discriminated against because of our religious beliefs.”

“Cancelling venue contracts based on the demands of one very vocal group, without consideration for the views and rights of the Christians who contracted for the venue, including the views of thousands of other Christians who support it and who would be negatively impacted, does far more to harm and divide society than simply letting the events go on as planned,” he said.

“It should be noted that Christians are protected under the Equality Act of 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998 against unlawful discrimination and have the right to freely exercise and manifest our religious beliefs,” he said. “It is our hope that venues will allow contracts to remain unchanged.”

The evangelist said he wanted to “invite everyone to come and hear for themselves the Gospel message that I will share from God’s Word. All are absolutely welcome, regardless of their beliefs or background.”

CBN News has reached out to the BGEA for comment on the latest cancellation and Graham’s UK tour.  We will update this story with their comments as soon as we hear back.

Source CBN

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Trump Admin Expands Travel Ban Against Six Countries Due to Security Concerns

President Trump on Friday signed the authorization for an expanded travel ban against six countries who have failed to comply with a minimum standard of travel security protocols since 2017.

The countries mentioned in the ban are: Burma, Eritrea, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan.  Sudan and Tanzania are also included, though at a lower level of sanctions.

The move came after years of negotiations with countries around the world to try and raise the standards for international travel, said Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) who serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security. 

“The Department of State and Department of Homeland Security have been working closely with international partners that have flights originating out of many countries with their final destination in the United States,” Higgins said. “There is a minimum standard of security based on three phases of compliance.” 

The three requirements are:

The move is borne out of the Trump administration’s original travel restrictions, which were incorrectly referred to as a “Muslim ban” by many on the left. But Higgins clarified the new restrictions have nothing to do with the religious beliefs of the countries in question.

“The goal of US policy,” he said, “And the president’s true wish is that nobody would be added to the travel ban list. They’ve been trying to get everyone up to the standard for almost 3 years. Every nation knows this is coming. They’ve had ample opportunity to comply.”

There will reportedly be a six-week grace period before the new ban will go into full effect, in order to give travelers time to work out necessary arrangements.

“The goal is to get people off the list by getting them to comply,” Higgins noted. “There is an “offramp” process to get removed from the list. But we must ensure there is a minimum level of security procedures in place because it is our main obligation to protect the homeland and the people of America.”

Source CBN

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Kathie Lee Gifford Says Christians Should Be Studying From the Original Hebrew and Greek Texts of the Bible

Christians are not fully engaging God’s power unless they discover the “truth of His word” by studying directly from the Greek and Hebrew texts, TV host Kathie Lee Gifford said Friday on the red carpet at the 28th annual Movieguide Awards.

“We have not been taught the truth. And we wonder why we have no power in our lives. We’re quoting Scripture that isn’t true,” she declared in a video interview embedded on The Christian Post.

“If we’re not quoting what it actually says in the Greek, actually says in the Hebrew, then we’re not speaking the word and the word is everything.”

The comments were made when the reporter asked Gifford about her 2018 book, The Rock, The Road, and The Rabbi, which chronicles the intersection of Gifford’s desire to delve deeper into the Scriptures with her “life-changing” visits to the Holy Land.

“I believe that when we start actually quoting the Scripture, properly, learning it properly, then we can apply it properly,” the Emmy Award-winning TV host said. “Imagine the power that’s going to erupt in our lives because we’re doing what God said to do. Speak the truth in a spirit of love.”

While on the carpet at Avalon Theater in Hollywood, Gifford also talked about a “modern oratorio” she recently directed, and her plans for three more.

The God Who Sees was shot in Israel and is based on a song Gifford co-wrote with Grammy-nominated artist Nicole C. Mullen, who is featured in short film. It recounts the “stories of Hagar, Ruth and David during their wilderness experiences, and ending with Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem at the tomb of the Risen Savior, Jesus.”

Upcoming oratorios include The God of the How and When and The God of His Word, which will star Christian recording artist Danny Gokey. The fourth offering, slated to be 30 minutes long, will be called The God of the Other Side. All of them will be filmed in Israel, where Gifford is headed in March.

Source: Christian Headlines

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3,000-Year-Old Jar Might Confirm That Biblical Site Was Israelite City

A nearly 3,000-year-old jar bearing the name of an Israelite man might help confirm that a city mentioned in the Old Testament was indeed an Israelite city.

Archaeologists with Azusa Pacific University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem unearthed a jar with the inscription “lbnayo,” meaning “belonging to Benaiyo.” The latter means “Yahweh has built” and is the equivalent of a biblical name, “Benaiah,” that is found a dozen times in the Old Testament. The man referenced on the jar lived around the 9th century B.C., which would have been around the time of King Ahab.

Significantly the inscription was found in Tel Abel Beth Maacah, an archaeological site in northern Israel that has been the source of debate over whether the location mentioned in the Bible was an Israelite city or an Aramaean city, according to the Biblical Archaeology Society’s website.

But the jar’s inscription with an Israelite name “indicates that the site may have indeed been an Israelite city at this time,” according to an Azusa Pacific news release.

Abel Beth Maacah (alternative spelling: Maakah) is mentioned in 2 Samuel 20. When the city was under siege, a “wise woman” came out of the city and told the commander of the army, “We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”

Source: Christian Headlines

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Forced into Payment Settlement, Christians Acquitted of 2015 Murders in Pakistan

Forced into Payment Settlement, Christians Acquitted of 2015 Murders in Pakistan


LAHORE, Pakistan, January 31, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Maintaining their innocence, 39 Christians accused of killing two Muslims after 2015 church bombings in Pakistan reached an agreement to pay victim families in exchange for acquittal this week, sources said.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday (Jan. 29), acquitted all 39 Christians and one Muslim accused in the killings that took place after Taliban suicide bombers attacked two churches in March 2015, killing at least 15 civilians and two policemen and wounding more than 70 others in the Youhanabad area of Lahore.

“The five years that I spent in jail cannot be described in words – there were times when I had lost hope of seeing my family,” Irfan Bashir Masih, one of the acquitted, told Morning Star News. “I was not even present at the scene when the two Muslim youths were burned alive, yet I was involved in the case by the police like many other innocent people of my locality.”

He said that the acquittals in the “false case” had reinforced his faith in Christ.

“I belong to a very poor family and had no hope of being with them again,” he said. “I am happy that I’m back with my family and look forward to starting my life afresh.”

Masih confirmed media reports that a public prosecutor had offered the accused freedom if they converted to Islam. In May 2017 Lahore Deputy District Public…

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