What Christians Should Know About the Balfour Declaration Controversy
On Wednesday, Palestinian Arab organizations called on Britain to apologize for the “crime of the Balfour Declaration,” a pronouncement that helped Israel become a nation and is almost 100 years old. In recent months, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has gone so far as to threaten to sue Britain over the document.
On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur J. Balfour wrote a letter expressing the British government’s support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. International support for the idea grew after World War II and the Holocaust. On May 14, 1948, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in 2,000 years.
Wednesday’s statement came after a protest by the national and Islamic forces outside the office of the British Cultural Council in the West Bank.
According to Israel National News, a member of the PLO said the Palestinian Arabs are demanding Britain recognize it made an error.
When a similar demand was made last April, no apology was issued, and a British Foreign Office spokesman described the Balfour Declaration as “an historic statement” but added Britain continued to work for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
In 2014, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks broke down.
In his book “Seven Signs of the End Times,” Christian author Mark Hitchcock says the ongoing hostilities between Israel and her neighbors are not accidents but events that set the stage for the final peace process ushered in by the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27).
Some Bible scholars believe the Bible prophesied the rebirth of Israel in the “last days” (Isaiah 66:8-9; Jeremiah 16:14-15; Jeremiah 30:1-3; Jeremiah 31:3-9; Ezekiel 36-39; Amos 9:11-15; Zechariah 10:6-10).
In Genesis 12:1-3, God promised Abram He would make him into a great nation and bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him.
Laura Lacey Johnson is an experienced radio broadcaster, television news reporter, and Bible study leader who writes regularly about news, culture, and faith at www.lauralaceyjohnson.com.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 23,000 yesterday for the first time in history, signaling a strong economy and perhaps the optimistic feelings from both corporations and consumers regarding President Donald Trump’s business-centered agenda.
According to LifeZette.com, Trump spoke Tuesday night at the Heritage Foundation, where he said impending tax reform would mean “bigger paychecks, more jobs and stronger growth.”
“Our tax plan will ensure that companies stay in America, grow in America, and hire in America,” Trump continued. “At the heart of our plan is a tax cut for everyday working Americans.”
Similarly, financial expert and nationally syndicated host Dan Celia has been communicating the importance of tax reform and the impact it will have on Americans and small business owners. On a recent “Financial Issues” program, which airs for three hours on about 640 radio stations around the country, Celia said that the Dow figures weren’t the only good economic news this week.
“The poverty rate is the lowest it’s been in 15 years,” he said on the show. “The number of people on food stamps has also declined to the lowest number in 10 years. Youth unemployment from the ages of 16 to 25 in the inner cities was at all-time high records, but this week is approaching an all-time low. For years, youth could not get a job, now with a strong economy and pro-growth policies, more of them can. I make the argument all the time that not every person who is collecting food stamps or on some sort of welfare or are unemployed want that for their life. I would venture to say that 97½ percent of them don’t want that. Now that they can get a job, they’re going back to work. That is what will help America continue on this positive trajectory of a strong economy. And once the Trump administration makes good on its commitment to tax reform, middle class Americans will be able to keep more money in their pockets, provide better for their families and improve their lives across the board.”
Celia leads Financial Issues Stewardship Ministries (FISM, www.financialissues.org) and focuses on important economic news and biblical investing during “Financial Issues,” which is also seen nationwide on NRBTV, which reaches 45 million households.
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Facebook/AndroidOfficialAndroid 8.0 Oreo is now available for OnePlus 3 and 3T devices.
The new Android 8.0 Oreo operating system update is causing some Google Pixels users to not receive their text messages. Meanwhile, the new Oreo update is now available for OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T.
Google Pixels users are now complaining about not getting text messages, Android Authority reports. Pixels users have been able to send out texts successfully. However, they no longer receive the replies of the people they previously messaged.
The complaints first came out in the product forums of Google, which 9to5google discovered. Most of the complainants are Verizon users. However, they also shared that neither Verizon Message+ or Google Message has worked in receiving their messages.
Google has yet to create a patch to fix this glitch. However, Google community manager Orrin addressed their Pixels users’ concerns.
“Thanks for all of the reports. The team is aware of this issue and working towards a fix. Some of you have mentioned that rebooting or factory resetting the device resolved the issue. Definitely try to reboot, and if you do factory reset, make sure all of your data/info is backed up,” said Orrin.
When the Android 8.0 Oreo update first came to Google Pixels devices this month, users experienced having problems with their Bluetooth function. Now, those issues are cleared, but Google is left with the problems of Google Pixels users not receiving their text messages.
Meanwhile, the Android 8.0 Oreo update is now available for OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones, the Economic Times confirmed.
Although the Oreo update was recently made available to these devices through a closed beta program, OnePlus announced that the open beta system will bring other new features to their devices.
“Through the last update, we added various OnePlus 5 features to the OnePlus 3 and 3T and will continue to offer relevant software improvements,” OnePlus said.
The Android 8.0 Oreo update will bring advanced security patches, smart-text selection, system enhancements, and other features to the OnePlus 3 and 3T devices.
Two Christians Hospitalized in Critical Condition After Brutal Assault on Church in India
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Christians attending a worship service in Jaripara village, located in the Dantewada District of India’s Chhattisgarh State, were brutally assaulted by suspected Hindu radicals on Sunday, October 15. According to witnesses, a mob of more than 300 attacked the Bastar for Christ Movement (BCM) Church and beat the congregants, leaving nine seriously injured, including two in critical condition at the government hospital in Dantewada.
According to witnesses, more than 300 people encircled the BCM Church around noon on October 15 as a worship service was being conducted. The mob then disrupted the service, dragging Christian worshipers out of the church and into the street. There, the mob ordered the Christians to renounce their faith. When the Christians refused, the mob attacked and beat the Christians with sticks and slippers. Christian women were stripped by the mob and even Christian children were not spared. The mob then vandalized the BCM Church and set fire to the church’s furniture.
As a result, many Christians were injured, including Raju Sodi and Sangetha Kartami who sustained serious injuries to the head and hands. Both Raju and Sangetha were rushed to a nearby hospital following the attack and were later transferred to the government hospital in Dantewada as their conditions were deemed critical.
“The attack on Jaripara’s Christians is inhuman and highly condemnable,” a local pastor, who wished to remain anonymous, told ICC. “These attacks are popping up on the backdrop of the state elections that are nearing. The BJP, who is in power in the state, makes it all the more easy for the Hindu radicals to carry on the hate campaign against religious minorities for the political gains.“
Local police refused to file a First Information Report (FIR) when the Christians contacted the police. According to local Christians, Hindu radicals had filed an FIR on the Christians prior to the attack. Jaripara’s Christians had to protest for more than 24 hours to have police accept their complaint about the brutal attack and it remains doubtful that local police will bring the perpetrators to justice.
Attacks on Christians and their places of worship have continued to escalate under the rule of the current BJP-led government. Anti-minority rhetoric used by BJP leaders for political expedience coupled with an atmosphere of impunity for those who attack minorities is much to blame for this escalation in violence. According to Open Doors USA, Christians in India were attacked 410 times in just the first six months of 2017. This marked a dramatic increase from the 441 attacks recorded over the entire year of 2016.
William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “Attacks on Christians and their places of worship in India are becoming an almost daily occurrence. Hindu radicals across the country seem to have been given a wide berth by local authorities to pursue their hate campaigns against Christians and other minorities. This inability or unwillingness to protect and enforce the rights of Christians must come to an end. While Article 25 of India’s constitution guarantees full religious freedom for all citizens, the lack of India’s enforcement of this freedom leaves Article 25 as just words on paper. India’s leaders must do more to confront the issue of growing religious violence. Until then, Christians across India will continue to feel like second-class citizens vulnerable to religiously motivated assault.“
(Photo: Courtesy of PCUSA)The national office for the mainline denomination Presbyterian Church (USA), located in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) and a conservative church created in response to the mainline denomination’s theological direction are working together to help facilitate a less divisive and more unifying dismissal process for congregations.
Representatives of PC(USA) and ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians met in late September for two days to discuss how to properly conduct the dismissal process for congregations seeking to leave the mainline denomination for the newer conservative group.
ECO Synod Executive the Rev. Dana S. Allin told The Christian Post in an interview on Wednesday that the talks came in response to various problems that were arising for some churches trying to seek dismissal from the PC(USA).
“I would say we agreed to do the talks because we saw the pain and damage that was occurring because of dismissal processes that were not handled well,” explained Allin.
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(Photo: FPC Haines City)The sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Haines City, Florida. In February 2017, FPC Haines City was officially granted dismissal from the Presbyterian Church (USA) Presbytery of Tampa Bay. It joined the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians.
“We wanted to be able to have these processes honor God and give witness to the world even in the midst of disagreement.”
Allin provided CP with a copy of the letter he sent out to ECO presbytery leaders, in which he explained that the two parties agreed to better communicate and work together on issues of dismissal, including a joint effort to “highly discourage civil litigation.”
“When a PC(USA) church approaches ECO and is contemplating court, we want to encourage those congregations to pursue alternative resolutions,” wrote Allin. “When PC(USA) presbyteries consider entering litigation against a church, the PC(USA) will encourage them not to do so.”
Also called the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, ECO was formed in 2012 in response to the increasingly liberal theological direction of the PC(USA).
Since then, hundreds of PC(USA) congregations have sought dismissal from the mainline denomination to join ECO.
At times, these dismissals have resulted in litigation over church property, as well as claims of mishandling the proper process of seeking dismissal.
The talks were facilitated by the World Communion of Reformed Churches, a Europe-based global body of which both the PC(USA) and ECO are member organizations.
WCRC spokesman Phil Tanis told CP that the dialogue between the two member churches was “open and honest” and had “both painful and uplifting moments.”
“We believe that both denominations took away a better understanding of the other’s perspectives and concerns. We believe there were commitments made that each denomination will work to fulfil,” said Tanis.
“We have committed to follow-up with both. As a Communion we are called to support our member churches, and we hope that we have been able to do so through this process and in the time to come.”
Speaking to members from both traditions, the Catholic News Agency reports that he said speaking about reconciliation wasn’t enough and reconciliation can only be achieved with action.
He said: “This is the journey that awaits us in the new phase of the dialogue, devoted to reconciliation: we cannot speak of prayer and charity unless together we pray and work for reconciliation and full communion.”
The pontiff however commended the value of dialogue between the two groups and said they “are no longer strangers” but rather, through their shared baptism are “members of the household of God”.
He went on to say: “We too have been freed from the slavery of estrangement and mutual suspicion.”
The members were all in Rome to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Joint International Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Commission – the first of which was held in the hill town of Ariccia in Rome on October 1967.
Citing the Second Vatican Council, the pope said that since then, both communities have striven to continue along the path of knowledge and mutual esteem through dialogue that is carried out “in a spirit of honesty and integrity” with “love for the truth, with charity and with humility”.
He added: “Now is the time to prepare ourselves, with humble hope and concrete efforts, for that full recognition that will come about, by God’s grace, when at last we will be able to join one another in the breaking of the bread.
“So let us advance together, knowing that our journey is blessed by the Lord. It began from him, and it leads to him.”
This was yet another victory for religious freedom. (lc.org)
The D.C. District Court recently dismissed the lawsuit brought by Daniel Barker, an atheist and co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), in his attempt to become a guest chaplain for an opening session of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Barker, who has publicly proclaimed his atheism but maintains ministerial credentials, applied to the House of Representatives to deliver a secular invocation in lieu of a prayer. His application was rejected, and he sued, claiming that the Supreme Court’s decision in Town of Greece v. Galloway, which had ruled permitting ministers to pray before legislative gatherings, requires his inclusion as a guest chaplain.
The D.C. District Court rejected FFRF’s claims, stating that Barker’s interpretation of the Town of Greece is flawed and does not require what he demanded. The legislative prayer practice of the House of Representatives is consistent with the decisions of the Supreme Court and the D.C Circuit, as well as the Rules of the House.
Judge Rosemary Collyer stated that Barker could not piggyback on Town of Greece to demand that the House allow a “prayer” to what or whoever he wanted: “[C]ontrary to Mr. Barker’s hopeful interpretation, Town of Greece did not reference atheists—who are, by definition, nontheists who do not believe in God or gods—but ‘any minister or layman who wished to give [a prayer].'”
House Speaker Paul Ryan was named a defendant in Barker’s suit and praised the ruling: “Since the first session of the Continental Congress, our nation’s legislature has opened with a prayer to God. Today, that tradition was upheld and the freedom to exercise religion was vindicated. The court rightfully dismissed the claims of an atheist that he had the right to deliver a secular invocation in place of the opening prayer. I am grateful that the People’s House can continue to begin its work each day as we have for centuries: taking a moment to pray to God.”
“For over 240 years, each session of the House of Representatives has opened in a prayer which seeks God’s guidance,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Daniel Barker and the Freedom From Religion Foundation attempted and failed another bullying tactic to try and erase what America is founded upon: prayer to Almighty God. Our nation’s legislature has opened with prayer since the very first session as a reflection of the faith of many people across America who also seek the Lord’s guidance in their lives.”
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Nearly two-thirds of millennial and Gen Z adults are more likely to communicate with someone via digital means than in person, according to a newly released study.
LivePerson Inc. announced on Tuesday the findings of a survey they conducted in September, which found that 65 percent of adults aged 18–34 communicated more with people digitally than in person.
“Gen Z and millennials communicate with others more digitally than in person (65 percent). This percentage is even higher in English-speaking countries, with the U.S. (73.7 percent) and U.K. (74.4 percent) relying more heavily on digital channels for communication,” noted LivePerson in a press release.
“Digging deeper, this preference for digital communications is specifically targeted at messaging. When asked if they could only keep either the phone app or messaging/SMS app on their smartphone, a majority of respondents (69.4 percent) would choose the messaging app. This percentage is also higher for those in the U.S. (73.4 percent) and U.K. (73 percent).”
The sample space for the study drew from interviews that LivePerson conducted of 4,000 18–34-year-olds across the U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia, Japan, and France, from Sept. 1–11.
The phone is the new wallet: 61.8% of global consumers ages 18–34 would choose to leave their wallet at home instead of their phone.
Digital is the new IRL (“in real life”): Globally, a majority of Gen Z and millennials (65%) communicate with each other more often digitally than in person.
The phone is now truly an extension of the self: 70.1% of Gen Z and millennials across the globe sleep with their phone within arm’s reach. And 65.5% bring their phone into the bathroom with them.
The future is 100% digital: A majority of Gen Z and millennials around the world (69.5%) can imagine a future where 100% of purchases are done digitally/online.
They also surveyed approximately 1,000 adults aged 35 and older “as a benchmark” to compare their findings among millennials and Gen Z respondents.
Rurik Bradbury, global head of communications and research at LivePerson, said in a statement Tuesday that the study showed digital devices are becoming increasingly integral to people’s everyday lives.
“We wanted to look more closely at the younger consumer audience, across different countries, and in more depth than the well-known trope that young people love their smartphones,” stated Bradbury.
“What we see in the research data is the phone truly becoming an extension of the self, and the platforms and apps within it — digital life — occupying more than their offline interactions.”
LivePerson’s recent study echoes findings from research they conducted last year, in which they found that millennials were more likely than older adults to have used phone apps and social media during a 24-hour period.
“Thirty-eight percent of millennials had used the phone app in the prior 24 hours, more than the older group,” noted the 2016 study.
“Twenty-six percent of millennials said that they used Twitter in the 24 hours prior to the survey, compared with just 14 percent of those ages 35–64.”
This trend is a source of concern for many, with one researcher writing a piece for Psychology Today published in July arguing that there is a link between this increased use and mental illness.
“Addiction to internet technologies is rampant in their generation — and there are all kinds of adverse unintended consequences that are likely to have long-term societal and personal effects on a massive scale,” noted the author.
“It is time that we take systematic measures to address issues associated with internet technology use in our youth. We need to do this for our kids — and we need to do this for our shared future.”
Though ISIS is Losing Ground, War May be Lost if Christians Can’t Return Home
A Catholic charity has said that despite victories against the Islamic State terror group, unless world leaders make a change, ISIS may still destroy the Christian population in Iraq and Syria.
“We have seen drastic reductions in the Christian populations in many nations in the Middle East. Iraq might very well have lost 80 percent of their native Christian people,” Edward Clancy, ACNUSA director of outreach, told The Christian Post in an email interview on Wednesday. “Syria might have lost 50 percent. This is compounded by the fact that Christian families have not been secure enough to have many children. The loss of population and the very low birth rate will put great pressure on the Christian communities.
“If we do not help these ancient Christian communities, ISIS might very well have lost the battles but won the war.”
Military forces have managed to take back ISIS strongholds in key cities, such as Raqqa in Syria, which was considered the group’s “capital.”
In ACN’s 2015-2017 report, “Persecuted and Forgotten?,” the group said the persecution of Christians has reached it highest levels. Still, the group said many Christian families have managed to return to their homes as forces drive out ISIS.
“Our solace is knowing that whenever Christians have faced terrible odds, great miracles have happened. Christianity has survived and endured, but we needn’t wait for miracles. We can act. We can help. We should do both.”
Middle East church leaders said they feel “forgotten” by the international community.
“They need our help. It is more than just guaranteeing property rights for returning families. The security of their communities is a major issue. It is about leaders not being afraid to say that these Christians belong in their ancestral towns and that they deserve to be supported and protected,” Clancy said.
(Screenshot: Gateway Church)Founding pastor of the 36,000-member Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, Robert Morris, tells his congregation on Saturday October 14, 2017, that America’s ongoing racism problem is fueled by “ignorant” white Christians
Robert Morris, founding pastor of the 36,000-member Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, has blamed America’s ongoing racism problem on “ignorant” white Christians and the church for not taking a stand against it by learning more about the problem, which the Bible calls evil.
“We have a problem in our country mainly because white people don’t understand it. It’s really true. And we need to take the time to walk around the issue and see what our brothers and sisters are seeing. And see what they are feeling. But we’ll never know unless we ask,” Morris said in a message he delivered to his church on Saturday. “Instead of simply arguing about a protest or demonstration or something like that, why don’t we sit down and say ‘what are you hearing? What are you seeing? What do you feel?’ And not see it as an issue or history but as people.”
His comments come as athletes in the NFL, among others, have been taking a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. The protests have divided the country along racial and political lines in recent weeks.
“I believe why we still have this problem today is because of the church,” Morris said. “I don’t believe the church has taken the stand that the church needs to take. And I want us as a church to take a stand. Now when I talk about a lack of understanding, let me show you a scripture, Hosea 4:6 says, ‘my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.'”
Morris first illustrated his sermon, called “A Lack of Understanding,” by presenting an unopened bottle of water with its label intact. He held up it up to the church and asked congregants what they see on the side they are looking at then revealed what he is seeing on the side he is looking at to reveal two different perspectives.
“But we’re looking at the same bottle, right?” he asked the congregants.
“I’ll never see what you see unless I take the time to walk around the bottle and look at it from your perspective,” he said to applause.
Morris gave three separate definitions of racism but said he believed the most prevalent manifestation of racism in America is defined as “prejudice toward another race. Prejudice is making a judgment about someone without having all the facts.”
(Photo: Instagram)Elaine Fisher, daughter of founding pastor of the 36,000-member Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, Robert Morris, got married to Ethan Fisher (pictured) in June 2010. They are shown here with their three children.
He then shared from personal experience why he felt white people need to know more about racism.
“I think we’re ignorant of the problem and the depth of it. That doesn’t mean we’re stupid. It doesn’t mean we’re rebellious or anything like that, I’m talking about white people now. It means we’re just ignorant,” he continued. “So today, I’m preaching to all the ignorant white people. So if you’re an ignorant white person just listen. And that’s me too. I’ve been learning some things for the past several years as I’ve met with pastors and friends of mine to help me understand and it has now become personal to me, not just an issue.”
Morris revealed that God first confronted him about his own prejudice when his daughter Elaine was just three. He explained that he used to host a black family in his home and one day, while his daughter was playing with the black man’s son, God asked him if it would be OK for Elaine to marry a black man.
“I said, yes Lord, it is. If he’s a godly man. If he’s a man of good character, if he loves her and if he loves you. Yes, it is OK. And the Lord said, ‘No, is it OK with you?’
“And I knew when He said that, what He was saying is ‘You still have some prejudice that I need to deal with. But I can’t deal with them if I can’t reveal them to you,'” Morris explained.
In June 2010, Elaine got married to Ethan Fisher, a black man who currently works at Gateway Church as the Young Adults pastor. They also have three children.
Morris highlighted seven reasons why the Bible condemns racism.
Racism is pure evil (Romans 12:9)
Racism is pure self-righteousness (Luke 18:11)
Racism violates the great commission (Matthew 28:19)
Racism violates the great commandment (John 13: 35)
Racism questions God’s creation (Acts 17: 26)
Racism questions God’s plan (Revelation 5:9)
Racism questions (defies) God (John 3:16)
He then showed a clip of Dr. Kenneth Ulmer, vice-chairman of The King’s University and pastor of Faith Central Bible Church, sharing a chilling encounter he had with racism when he was just 10.
(Photo: Screen shot via Gateway Church)Dr. Kenneth Ulmer vice-chairman of The King’s University and pastor of Faith Central Bible Church tells congregants at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, how his family suffered from racism when he was a boy.
“I was the only back piano student at an all-white music school in East St. Louis, Illinois. … There is a tourist attraction on the banks of the Mississippi called The Admiral. Big huge steam ship,” he began.
He explained that people would come from all over America to see the ship. One Saturday, the music school had a field trip to see the ship and he went with his parents. As they were about to board the ship with his class, however, he and his parents were told: “We don’t allow n***ers on this boat.”
“I’m almost 70 years old and I’ll never forget the look on my dad’s face. When that white man put his fingers in my dad’s face. He said ‘we don’t let n***ers on this boat. If you don’t leave boy we gonna run you in,” Ulmer told a hushed room.
“I remember it like it was yesterday. I’ve never forgotten it. And I hated white people. I’m a recovering racist,” he then quipped as his audience chuckled.
“It’s hard to hear that story,” Morrison said after the clip ended. “We’ll never understand until we walk around the other side, what some people that you work with, that live in your neighborhood, that come to our church. What they and their families have been through. And it’s time for the church to stand up and declare that racism is evil and the answer is Jesus Christ,” he said.
“Our nation needs a healing. We keep looking to Washington to solve it; they’re not going to solve it. The church is going to solve this problem,” he said before leading the church in prayer.
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