Senator Cory Booker Asks Judicial Nominee if LGBT Relationships Are a ‘Sin’
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who has announced a 2020 run for president, questioned a Trump judicial nominee this week over the nominee’s opinion on same-sex marriage.
Booker asked judicial nominee Neomi Rao if she thinks gay relationships are “immoral.” Rao is nominated for the D.C. appellate court judgeship previously held by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Rao currently serves as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. She told Booker his question was irrelevant.
Booker responded: “I think that [it is] relevant, your opinion if you think that African-American relationships are immoral, do you think gay relationships are immoral? Do you personally believe that gay relationships are immoral?”
Rao said she did not think gay relationships were immoral, but Booker then asked if she thought gay relationships were a “sin.”
“Senator, my personal views on any of these subjects are things that I would put to one side and I would faithfully follow [the precedence of the Supreme Court],” she answered.
Booker also asked her about a 2013 opinion where she criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of United States v. Windsor, which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
“In that particular article, what I was saying is…
Pope Francis Acknowledges Sexual Abuse of Nuns by Priests, Bishops
Pope Francis has acknowledged for the first time the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops, saying he is committed to making the changes to stop it.
The pope made the comments to reporters during a plane ride from Abu Dhabi to Rome. A reporter had asked him about an article in a Vatican magazine about the abuse of nuns.
“It is true … there have been priests and even bishops who have done this,” Francis said, according to Reuters. “I think it is still going on because something does not stop just because you have become aware of it.
“We have been working on this for a long time. We have suspended some priests because of this. … I can’t say ‘this does not happen in my house.’ It is true. Do we have to do more? Yes. Are we willing? Yes.”
The pope further said that the Vatican was shutting down a female religious order involved in the abuse scandal, according to Reuters.
Last year, the Associated Press discovered cases of nuns having been sexually abused in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia. Nuns often were hesitant to report the crimes out of fear of retaliation and partially due to their “ingrained” subservient status within the church, AP said.
Reuters reports that in recent months, however, more nuns have been speaking out about the abuse that they have experienced from priests and bishops. Reportedly, a representative to…
Grand Canyon University Re-Invites Ben Shapiro to Campus after Calling Him Divisive
Grand Canyon University re-invited Ben Shapiro on Tuesday to speak on their campus.
Earlier this week, the Christian college was under fire after news broke that they disinvited conservative speaker Ben Shapiro from speaking at the school.
As Christian Headlines previously reported, the school issued a statement noting that they believed that Ben Shapiro was too divisive to speak on their campus. The statement read, “We believe in many of the things that Ben Shapiro speaks about and stands for, including his support for ideals that grow out of traditional Judeo-Christian values and his belief in a free market economy. Our decision to cancel Shapiro’s speaking engagement is not a reflection of his ideologies or the values he represents, but rather a desire to focus on opportunities that bring people together.”
On Tuesday, however, the college rescinded their decision to cancel his appearance. In a new statement by the Arizona-based Christian school shared that the invitation was initially rescinded because the national chapter of the student organization planning the speaking engagement, preemptively announced Shapiro’s appearance. According to the statement, the GCU chapter of Young America’s Foundation worked closely with their national chapter to secure Shapiro for a speaking gig at their school. The students submitted a proposal to the school, and…
This comes as US President Donald Trump announced in his State of the Union Speech on Tuesday that he will be meeting the secretive state’s leader this month about the country’s nuclear weapons programme.
Trump told the media that he raised human rights abuses in private with Kim Jong-un during their historic summit in June 2018 and it was hoped by many that this would result in Christians there being treated better.
However, local sources have told Open Doors that there are many signs that persecution is actually getting worse.
They claim there has been an increased number of arrests and abductions of South Korean and Chinese Korean Christians and missionaries in China.
They said border control has been tightened, harsher punishments have been introduced for North Korean citizens who are repatriated from China, and there has been an increased effort by the North Korean government to eliminate Christian evangelism.
Joo Eun, a North Korean who now lives in South Korea, told the charity: “One day the food distribution simply stopped. We didn’t receive anything anymore.
“The government gave us the advice to go into the mountains, pluck grass and make soup with some salt. It tasted really awful, very bitter.”
Open Doors’ underground workers smuggle food to help keep 60,000 North Korean Christians alive each month, along…
Trump Blasts Abortion: All Children ‘Made in the Holy Image of God’
President Trump criticized supporters of late-term abortion and urged Congress to pass a fetal pain law Tuesday in what were some of the most candid comments about the issue ever given in a State of the Union address.
The remarks came immediately after both sides of the aisle applauded Trump for including in his budget “a plan for nationwide paid family leave,” which he said gave “every new parent” the chance “to bond with their newborn child.”
Trump then pivoted to abortion.
“There could be no greater contrast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our nation saw in recent days,” Trump said. “Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth.
“These are living, feeling, beautiful babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world. And then, we had the case of the governor of Virginia where he stated he would execute a baby after birth. To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb.”
Pro-lifers in the chamber rose to their feet, while pro-choicers — including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat — remained…
Open Heaven 7 February 2019 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – A Victim of Envy?
Topic: A Victim of Envy? (Open Heaven 7 February 2019)
Memorise: “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?”- Proverbs 27:4
Read: Genesis 37:3-11 (KJV)
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
Bible in One Year: Luke 23-24, Isaiah 34
Open Heaven 7 February 2019 Thursday MESSAGE:
In the course of my life, I have come to realize that it pays to accept the validity of God’s word and live by the wisdom it contains. When the word of God says “Wrath is cruel and danger is outrageous” the wise will receive word and run away from anger and any form of cruelty. The truth is, a lot of anger is borne out of envy. According to today’s Bible reading, Joseph’s brothers envied him, and when you consider the consequences of the anger that resulted from this, you will agree that what Jesus says in Matthew 5:21-22a:
“21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:”
Joseph became a victim of his brothers’ envy, and he would have lost his life but for God’s intervention. Nevertheless, he was separated from his loving father for a good number of years and suffered as a result of the malicious allegations of Potiphar’s wife. He would not have been subjected to slavery, blackmail and imprisonment if his brothers had not envied him. No wonder Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:36:
“And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”
Beloved, are you a victim of envy from members of your household? The Lord will deliver you today in Jesus’ Name.
One important lesson to learn from Joseph’s experience is that the love which Jacob openly lavished on him above his brothers was enough to generate envy. This was then compounded by the fact that Joseph naively shared the dreams of his future elevation over his brothers with them. Joseph could have kept his dreams to himself and nothing would have stopped him from fulfilling his destiny because it was of the Lord. Speaking of this truth, the Holy Spirit says in Psalm 33:11:
“The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”
You must therefore be careful who you share your visions, dreams and aspirations with because the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Your unguarded statements can draw devastating envy to your doorstep, hence the need to be circumspect in what you share with others. May you not fall victim to the envy of your enemies in Jesus’ Name.
Open Heaven 7 February 2019 Thursday Action Point:
Think of the things you do that attract avoidable envy from the people around you and stop doing them.
Open Heaven 7 February 2019 Thursday Hymn 13: I Am A Victor
1. Yes, I know I am a victor For the Bible tells me so God made me more than a conqueror Much stronger than all my foes
CHORUS
Jesus loves me and I love Him
Together we rule the world
Christ with me I will overcome
By His Blood, His Name, His Word
2. Yes, I know I am a victor Stronger than demons I am To Satan I am a terror I am free, o yes, I am
3. Yes, I know I am a victor Stronger than lack, poverty All my needs Jesus provides for I have life abundantly
4. Yes, I know I am a victor Barrenness no more indeed Fruitful is the God I live for All my dreams shall be fulfilled
5. Yes, I know I am a victor By His strength I shall succeed No more loss and no more failure Glory to glory proceed
6. Yes, I know I am a victor No more sorrow, no despair Jesus Christ is my own Succour Tomorrow is joy and cheer
7. Yes, I know I am a victor Very soon I’ll reign with Him His promise is my sure anchor He’s coming to take me home
8. Jesus loves me and I love Him We rule this world together As He is so right now I am Hear me shout Halleluyah
9. Jesus loves me Halleluyah Hear me shout Halleluyah Halleluyah, Halleluyah Glory be to God on high
Open Heaven 7 February 2019 Thursday Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven 7 February 2019 Thursday Daily Devotional.
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People groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Nigeria have asked for the Bible in their vernacular.
Wycliffe Associates, an international Bible translation organisation, say they have received requests to launch Bible translation projects from 619 language groups worldwide.
“When they hear that the entire New Testament can now be translated in just months, they’re astonished, and they plead for a chance,” said Bruce Smith, President and CEO of Wycliffe Associates.
A translation method known as MAST (Mobilised Assistance Supporting Translation) significantly reduces translation time by training people on the ground translating in their mother-tongue, computer tablets with translation software and high-speed printing.
Translations have sometimes taken 25 to 30 years but since 2014, when the MAST workshops started in South Africa, more than 1,250 Bible translation projects have started.
“Word keeps spreading from one language group to another about the tools, technology, and training,” said Smith.
The tablets they use are also designed to make sure the work remains discreet for those who could face persecution, sometimes even death, if it was discovered that they were producing a Bible in their own language.
Wycliffe Associates has distributed 5,485 tablets in 67 countries and the compact, high-speed printing systems are…
5. Big Things Are Happening with the U.S. in the International Sphere
The President mentioned several things happening on the global stage during the SOTU. Trump mentioned a new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The trade agreement known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement which Donald trump labeled a “historic trade blunder” and a “catastrophe.” Donald Trump proposed that the USMCA will be “bringing back our manufacturing jobs, expanding American agriculture, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring that more cars are proudly stamped with the four beautiful words: made in the USA.”
President Trump also asked the members of Congress to pass the “United States Reciprocal Trade Act, so that if another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the same product that they sell to us.”
Sticking with trade, the President mentions that a new tariff was recently imposed on China. A tariff has been placed on $250 billion dollars on Chinese goods, which has resulted in the U.S. and China working on a new trade agreement.
In terms of international diplomacy, the President noted that he will be meeting again with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un this month and the U.S. continues to push for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Topic: Good Works Prepared [Our Daily Bread 7 February 2019 Devotional]
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 1–3; Matthew 24:1–28
For we are . . . created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10
Today’s Scripture & Insight: Ephesians 2:6-10
When a burly stranger approached my wife and me on a street abroad, we shrunk back in fear. Our holiday had been going badly; we had been yelled at, cheated, and extorted from several times. Were we going to be shaken down again? To our surprise, the man just wanted to show us where to get the best view of his city. Then he gave us a chocolate bar, smiled, and left. That little gesture made our day—and saved the whole trip. It made us grateful—both to the man and to God for cheering us up.
What had made the man reach out to two strangers? Had he gone around with a chocolate bar the entire day, looking to bless someone with it?
It’s amazing how the smallest action can bring the biggest smile—and possibly direct someone to God. The Bible stresses the importance of doing good works (James 2:17, 24). If that sounds challenging, we have the assurance that God not only enables us to do these works, but has even “prepared [them] in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
Perhaps God has arranged for us to “bump into” someone who needs a word of encouragement today or has given us an opportunity to offer someone a helping hand. All we have to do is respond in obedience.
Today’s Reflection Who can you pray for or help today? Who might God be putting in your path?
The security forces received intel that people were seeking buyers for the ancient 34-page manuscript written on leather with gold-encrusted motifs, the city of Diyarbakir governor’s office confirmed.
Security forces said six people were detained in connection with the incident after being caught trying to sell the Holy book.
No further details of the ancient Bible have been provided.
Turkey regularly carries out anti-smuggling operations in a bid to stop the illegal sale of historical objects and to protect the country’s rich cultural heritage.
Turkey is home to 3,000 ancient cities from 42 civilisations.
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