Cross-Shaped World War I Monument Ruled Unconstitutional
A judge has ruled that a cross-shaped World War I monument in Maryland is unconstitutional because it “has the primary effect of endorsing religion and excessively entangles the government in religion.”
According to The Huffington Post, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled 2-1 that the Peace Cross, which has been on display since 1925, should be taken down due to its alleged endorsement of religion.
“The Latin cross is the core symbol of Christianity,” Judge Stephanie D. Thacker wrote in the decision. “And here, it is 40 feet tall; prominently displayed in the center of one of the busiest intersections in Prince George’s County, Maryland; and maintained with thousands of dollars in government funds. Therefore, we hold that the purported war memorial breaches the ‘wall of separation between Church and State.’”
Those who support the cross monument say they will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Many argue that the monument represents history and the “valor,” “endurance,” “courage,” and “devotion” of serviceman rather than explicitly endorsing religion.
The Peace Cross was erected to honor 49 men from the area who gave their lives serving their country in World War I.
Introducing native plants is another way congregations can help boost butterflies, bees and moth populations, Arocha UK said.
A fresh call by the Christian conservation charity for more to consider joining their ‘eco churches’ initiative was prompted after a new study concluded flying insect populations have been “decimated” in Germany.
Conservation director, Andy Lester told Premier: “It is serious; many places are reporting insect losses of over 70 per cent in the last 20 years.
“Those are catastrophic declines and, if they are to continue, then we are in real difficulty.”
Research published in the Public Library of Science ONE journal reported a decline of more than three-quarters in the biomass of flying insects over a 27 year period.
Lead researcher, Dr Caspar Hallmann from Radboud University in The Netherlands, said: “Since 1989, in 63 nature reserves in Germany the total biomass of flying insects has decreased by more than 75 per cent.
“This decrease has long been suspected but has turned out to be more severe than previously thought.”
Under the ‘eco churches’ initiative, churches commit to praying about environmental issues and preaching on the care of God’s earth in sermons, Bible study groups and youth groups.
Biologist at the University of Sussex, Dave Goulson said the findings are extremely worrying for everyone, explaining: “Three quarters of the crops we grow depend upon pollenating insects.
“They’re food for umpteen other organisms so, if we lose the insects, we’d lose of our birds.”
Click here to listen to Premier’s Alex Williams speaking with Arocha UK’s Andy Lester:
VidAngel has been engaged in a protracted legal battle with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros, New Line Cinema, Marvel and Turner Entertainment. (HolgersFotografie/Pixabay)
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VidAngel, the market-leading entertainment platform empowering users to filter language, nudity, violence and other content from movies and TV series on Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO—using modern streaming platforms such as iOS, Android and ROKU—launched its new platform in June 2017. VidAngel has also added to its recent success with original content from VidAngel Studios, which launched in January 2017.
VidAngel has been engaged in a protracted legal battle with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros, New Line Cinema, Marvel and Turner Entertainment. These seven Hollywood studios are seeking to eliminate filtering and choice, arguing that the 2005 Family Movie Act—a law that expressly permits filtering in the home—does not apply to modern devices and should remain legal only for outdated technology. In response, VidAngel has mounted a robust legal defense. Today’s filing represents another legal step to protect the future of filtering.
Neal Harmon, VidAngel CEO, has issued the following statement:
We have filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11. It’s an important step to protect our company—as well as its creditors, investors and customers—from the plaintiffs’ efforts to deny families their legal right to watch filtered content on modern devices. It also gives us breathing room to reorganize our business around the new streaming platform, promote and perfect the new technology and seek a legal determination that the new system is fully legal and not subject to the preliminary injunction entered in California.
It’s important for our fans to know that VidAngel will continue to offer our filtering service, and to add new content and new customers during the reorganization process. We are also actively hiring additional engineers to further accelerate the continued development of VidAngel. Our original series, Dry Bar Comedy, is exploding and has had over 16 million minutes viewed in the last seven days. Our customers can filter movies on Amazon, Netflix and HBO on Amazon, and we still have millions in the bank to fight this all the way.
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(Photo: The Christian Post/Leonardo Blair)International evangelist, Morris Cerullo inside his suite at the New York Hilton Midtown Manhattan Hotel on Wednesday, December 14, 2016.
International Pentecostal televangelist Morris Cerullo was granted approval Tuesday to build a $131 million religious-themed resort and conference center following a vote by the San Diego City Council.
Cerullo’s World Evangelism website revealed that the Legacy International Project has been backed by the council after the project’s environmental impact report and development permit were approved in a 7-2 vote.
The project will be built over the 18-acre site of the former Mission Valley Resort, and will reportedly include a new 127-room hotel and restaurant. It will also host a replica of Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, and will screen biblical films at a domed theater.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful vote to cause us to rejoice that San Diego finally can greet people with their desires that make San Diego a better city,” said Teresa Cerullo, wife of the televangelist.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that members of the LGBT community spoke out against the building plan, but said their concerns were based solely on a potential increase in traffic.
Morris Cerullo World Evangelism maintained, however, that traffic caused by people visiting the Legacy Center would not exceed permitted limits, and would not contribute to a significant impact on traffic in the area.
Councilman Scott Sherman, whose district includes Mission Valley, spoke about potential concerns with the religious nature of the project: “We can’t take into consideration a lot of this ancillary discussion about religion and values.
“We should not be using that as a benchmark for whether it’s allowed. What’s important is whether it meets guidelines set forth by the city, and I believe it does,” Sherman added.
“We have property rights and it’s very important we don’t abridge those property rights, especially when it comes to matters of religious organizations.”
Councilwoman Barbara Bry said that she still has concerns about the traffic, though she also voted in favor of the development.
“We are not allowed to address what we like or do not like on this site,” she said. “I know it will upset many people close to me, but my job is to look at what we are allowed to decide on.”
Project Manager Jim Penner said that people’s concerns will disappear once the center opens in 2019.
“Everyone comes to a point in life where they’re influenced by past experiences but once they come and walk through the center after it is finished, they will see it as a place of welcome, and any concerns they had will evaporate fairly quickly,” Penner said.
“We now have the opportunity to be able to prove it to them but before it’s built, it’s hard to give them that experience.”
Cerullo’s ministry spread around the world following major international preaching missions he organized. He has met some controversy, and was indicted for failing to report his total income for over three years in the 1990s, though charges in the case were dismissed.
Cerullo, 86, told The Christian Post in an interview in December that he has battled serious health issues, but has recovered after being bedridden for nearly eight months in 2016.
The televangelist told CP that it was God’s healing that restored him after vasculitis, a family of uncommon diseases that feature inflammation of the blood vessels with no known cause, left him unable to move.
“This is probably the greatest miracle I’ve ever seen in my life. You know I’ve seen thousands and thousands of people miraculously cured but nothing like this. I was given up by the doctors. I was paralyzed, they had me in a wheelchair for maybe seven, eight months this year,” Cerullo said at the time.
The All Faiths Network, which is open to people of every faith and belief, has written an open letter requesting representatives from groups, communities, interfaith organisations, and business groups to add their signatures to the petition.
The charity’s concerns were echoed by 29 Parliamentarians from 14 countries of the Council of Europe who, on 13th October, signed a statement about religious freedom in Russia.
The declaration highlighted that, despite the Russian Constitution guaranteeing every citizen the right to freedom of religion or belief, Russian authorities “continue to foster an atmosphere of intolerance, discrimination and persecution against religious minorities throughout the entire Federation”.
It went on to say: “Evangelicals, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Presbyterians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Scientologists and others have been targeted, with some of their members sentenced to pre-trial imprisonment based on the 2002 Extremist law, while in reality being held for simply engaging in peaceful religious beliefs and activities.”
Earlier this year, the country’s Supreme Court heeded a request by the government to recognise the Jehovah’s Witnesses movement as “extremist”.
According to the Interfax news agency, Justice Ministry lawyer Svetlana Borisova said in court that the Jehovah’s Witnesses “pose a threat to the rights of the citizens, public order and public security”.
The open letter addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of religion or Belief, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other officials also called for the international community to send a message to the Russian authorities to immediately release members from the Scientology group.
Senator Marco Rubio is unapologetically vocal about his faith.
Rubio discussed his faith, among other critical issues, with Faith Nation hosts David Brody and Jenna Brower on Capitol Hill.
“Faith is the single biggest influence on my life, and it’s a positive influence.”
In addition to his faith, the senator revealed his conviction towards family values.
“The most important institution in the society is the family … When you are raising a child, you are raising a future taxpayer who’s going to help fund Medicare and Social Security. Our tax code should take that into account.”
Rubio was optimistic about the administration’s assistance with Puerto Rico, despite adverse remarks from San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto.
“I don’t have any questions about the Trump administration’s commitment to Puerto Rico. But it’s going to be a long road, and I think everyone needs to understand that.”
Referring to his faith again, some have criticized Senator Rubio for tweeting Bible verses in the morning, a habit he unapologetically favors.
“I’ll continue to do it … if they don’t like it, they don’t have to follow me.”
Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, all rights reserved.
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The Surface Book 2 is slated to arrive on November 16.
Microsoft has declared that its upcoming Surface Book 2 is much better than Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro in more ways than one. While the upcoming Microsoft laptop-tablet hybrid has a lot to offer, it is said that one thing that obviously sets it apart from its Apple counterpart is its screen.
In a press briefing last week in line with the upcoming release of the Surface Book 2, Microsoft’s corporate VP of devices Panos Panay declared that the Surface Book 2 is more powerful than Apple’s MacBook Pro, and part of the reason for which is due to the Surface Book 2’s higher screen resolution.
“That includes the fact that (Microsoft’s laptops) are both delivering more than 30% pixels in both (13-inch and 15-inch models),” Panay said.
Tech pundits opine that the 13-inch Surface Book 2 is, indeed, an obvious winner in terms of the graphics processor department when compared to the MacBook Pro, thanks to its Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050.
After all, the 13-inch MacBook Pro does not even come with its own Discrete graphics as it only counts on the built-in Intel graphics chips. As the Discrete graphics is a big deal for people who play games, render video, or run any kind of virtual reality, the 13-inch Surface Book 2, indeed, has an upper hand over the MacBook Pro of the same size.
However, it is apparent that the advantage of the 13-inch Surface Book 2 over its MacBook counterpart is not confined to the graphics department alone. While the latest version of the tablet-laptop hybrid packing a dual-core chip that matches that of its Apple counterpart, its battery can last for 17 hours, or 7 hours longer than that of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
On the whole, the 13-inch MacBook Pro beats the 13-inch MacBook Pro in many aspects. Despite this, though, its price tag only begins at $1,499, or $300 cheaper than the $1,799 starting price of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The Surface Book 2 hits the store shelves on Nov. 16.
The patient, in her 70s, is said to be in a “minimally conscious state”, and is in receipt of clinically-assisted nutrition and hydration on an acute hospital ward following a fall last year.
The Court of Protection has heard the woman, who can only be identified as Mrs P, will not regain the mental capacity to make decisions about her health and had not given an advance directive – a living will – as to what she wanted if she was ever incapacitated.
The woman’s two daughters and her partner all believe it would not be in Mrs P’s best interests to continue with the treatment and she should be provided with palliative care.
The court has heard Mrs P was “fiercely independent”, very active in her retirement and whose minimal requirement would be the ability to read and converse.
But one of her three sisters said she believed in the sanctity of life and viewed the withdrawal of feeding from her sibling as a form of “legalised killing”.
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust has applied to the court to continue providing clinical treatment to Mrs P who would be transferred to a nursing home. It submits there is not “sufficient certainty” of Mrs P’s wishes and feelings to prevail over the presumption in favour of preserving life.
On Wednesday, a friend of Mrs P for more than 40 years said: “(Mrs P) was a very proud and discreet person. Lying there helpless, I feel she would be mortified to be just lying there.
“She was just so determined and full of energy. She did so much for the community. I just think for her to live like that, she could not do it. It was not her.”
Two of Mrs P’s grandsons also gave evidence at the hearing in support of withdrawing treatment. Mrs P’s youngest daughter told the court that she would be “horrified” about her present situation.
She said: “She would hate it. The indignity of not being able to move, to go to the toilet, to keep herself clean. “She would refuse almost all physical assistance.
“She couldn’t be seen as weak, frail and unable to do things. That was not who she was.”
The court has heard the life expectancy of patients in Mrs P’s position was, on average, five years if the artificial feed was maintained.
The case was adjourned as Mr Justice Hayden said he would deliver his judgment on a date to be fixed next week.
Fire ravaged this home in Santa Rosa. (Phil Hotsenpiller)
The brevity of life and uncertainty that we face as human beings was at the forefront of my thoughts last week when my wife texted me, saying she was evacuating Anaheim Hills Church. One week, later the fire in my neighborhood, known as the Canyon 2 Fire, had consumed 9,000 acres and destroyed 25 structures. The Santa Rosa Fire has consumed 36,000 acres, destroyed nearly 6,000 structures and caused a reported 34 deaths.
I knew in my heart that we had to do something for Santa Rosa; it was time for action. Our fire, by comparison, was minor to that which struck Santa Rosa. A few days after evacuating, we were back in our home, and our church were unharmed. But we saw many people, including our own church members, who came home to nothing but ashes. The idea came to launch a campaign called “Fire to Fire” that would collect clothes, gift cards and survival backpacks and take them to our sister city. In addition, we launched the California Wildfire Fund for people outside our community and state to make monetary contributions to victims.
We also partnered with Danny and Erin Williamson, a family in our community who lost their home, to collect items that to be sent to Santa Rosa. We put this fund together in a matter of days, and so far, the outpouring of love from the community has been amazing.
Earlier in the week, we flew to Sacramento and then drove to Santa Rosa to discover how we could best partner with those who had lost everything.
As we drove into Coffey Park, a community in Santa Rosa severely damaged by the fire, I was ill-prepared for what I saw. It looked like a war zone. The first thing I spotted was a U.S. Army Hummer and a military checkpoint complete with barricades. The soldiers took their job seriously and were determined to prevent any unauthorized activity or entrance. The air was filled with the sound of military helicopters that circled the area and sent a clear signal that this is a state of emergency.
Many of the homeowners had constructed makeshift signs that stated, “We’re home, and we’re armed! Any non-residents seen past this point are considered a threat.”
My immediate visceral response was that this was different from anything I had previously experienced in America.
Fear, loss and the unknown were now the order of the day. Everything normal had been stripped away. Experts tell us that episodic or experience and picture-based memories are the most persistent in our long-term memory, therefore the hardest to overcome.
I would agree with that statement, but beyond donations and supplies, there is another way we can help bring about deep-level healing and help victims create fresh “pictures” and memories. This can come in a variety of ways; your caring face handing someone a gift card, offering a hug, prayer or labor digging through the ashes of a home, help to create hope and paint new pictures that will be cherished for many years.
While there is a lot of pain and sadness, the good news is we have each other and an amazing, loving God who will provide for us every step of the way as we rebuild. Even in all of the pain, his love and goodness shine through the people that help create these new, positive memories.
For more information or to donate to the California Wildfire Fund, visit influencechurch.org.
Phil Hotsenpiller is widely considered an expert in the field of end-time prophecy. He has been interviewed by The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, The Telegraph, The Blaze and The History Channel on the subject of Armageddon and the post-apocalyptic world. Phil is the founder and senior pastor of Influence Church in Orange County, California.
His new book, One Nation Without Law, is available now through major online retailers and bookstores nationwide. In One Nation without Law, Phil warns against the emerging trend of lawlessness in America and around the world. He looks at the history of unruliness going back to slavery, the treatment of Native Americans, the protest movement of the 1960s and more recent incidents including police-involved shootings and terrorist attacks. He links this research to interpret the uprising of unruliness and the role it plays in our nation now as well as the end times. For more information, visit PhilHotsenpiller.com.
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According to International Christian Concern, 300 people are said by witnesses to have attacked members of the Bastar for Christ Movement Church in the Jaripara village, leaving nine members of the congregation injured and two in hospital.
A local pastor told the charity: “The attack on Jaripara’s Christians is inhuman and highly condemnable.
“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.”
The church was also damaged and furniture was set on fire.
It is not the first attack on Christians in recent times in the country – there has been an escalation of violence since the election of the Hindu Nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (the BJP, ‘Indian People’s Party’) in 2014.
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