LGBT Activists Take Issue with Christian Nominee to Texas District Court
More than 35 LGBT advocacy groups are asking senators to turn down President Donald Trump’s judicial nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas because he has a “brazen contempt for LGBT people.”
According to a letter signed by 36 local and national LGBT groups, nominee Jeff Mateer “has spent his professional life denigrating and vilifying LGBT people and their families.”
Mateer has not responded to the letter’s accusations, which pointed to his past comments on the LGBT community.
Mateer, who was nominated in early September, said in a 2015 speech that transgender children were evidence of “how Satan’s plan is working and the destruction that’s going on.” He also said in the speech that same-sex marriage would lead the way to “people marrying their pets.”
In other speeches, Mateer said that there is no “right to homosexuality” and that he was disappointed that states were banning “conversion therapy.”
Conversion therapy, which tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, has since been banned in eight states. It has also been deemed unscientific by the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association.
The letter said that Mateer’s statements show “a level of cruelty and ideological fervor that (is) incompatible with judicial service.”
(Photo: Reuters/John Gress)A parishioner cries as he signs a song of worship in the 7,000-seat Willow Creek Community church during a Sunday service in South Barrington, Illinois, November 20, 2005.
A majority of churchgoing Protestant parents say their adult children are still Christians, but half of them don’t practice the tenets of the faith, a survey has found.
The Nashville-based LifeWay Research has listed the top 10 spiritual activities that aid children in their Christian walk, and found that the biggest predictor of spiritual health for young adults is whether they read the Bible regularly in their youth.
“Churchgoing parents want to pass on their faith to their kids — and to see their children make that faith their own,” said Scott McConnell, LifeWay’s executive director. “But they don’t always know how best to make that happen.”
The researchers queried parents on 40 factors that could affect a child’s moral and spiritual development, such as whether the family prayed, or if the parents are divorced, and asked parents to describe their adult children using eight observable factors, counting for one point each.
The factors included: Identifies as a Christian; Shares his or her faith with unbelievers; Is involved in church; Reads the Bible regularly; Serves in a church; Teaches others at church; Serves in the community; Supports local or foreign missions.
“Eighty-five percent identify as Christians, according to their parents, giving them at least 1 point on the 8-point spiritual health scale,” LifeWay explained of the results.
“But only 3 percent had a score of 8, the highest possible. Two-thirds had a score of 2 or less. Half had a score of 0 or 1, meaning they either don’t identify as Christians (11 percent) or they identify as Christians but have none of the other spiritual practices (39 percent).”
Parents said that the top factor that determined the spiritual health of their adult children is whether they regulary read the Bible growing up.
The study, sponsored by LifeWay Kids, used a sample of 2,000 Protestant and nondenominational Christians who have a child between the ages of 18 and 30 and who attend religious services at least once a month.
Conducted between Sept. 22 and Oct. 5, 2016, it has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. The parents gave observations of a total of 3,472 adult children.
What is more, the survey included a top 10 list of spiritual activities that helped Protestant children growing up, ranking them in order of most helpful:
Regularly attended Sunday school or small group; attended Vacation Bible School; attended youth group/youth worship as a teen; participated in church social activities; regularly attended children’s worship/church; attended church camps; regularly served at church; participated in church mission trips or projects; regularly read the Bible; regularly spent time in prayer.
Other surveys, such as one from Gallup in May, found that Americans’ trust in the Bible is declining, however.
The poll found that fewer than one in four, or 24 percent in total, said the Bible is “the actual Word of God, and is to be taken literally, word for word.”
As many as 26 percent argued, however, that the Bible is “a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.”
The most popular belief, held by 47 percent of respondents, was that the Bible is “inspired by God, not all to be taken literally.”
Despite the fact that a revised deal was later agreed upon between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – known as FARC, Colombian priest Fr John Jairo Montoya said the success of the agreement has been limited.
He said many Colombians are uncertain about how the principles of the agreement will be interpreted and implemented.
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Fr Montoya explained: “Some people don’t trust the result of this peace agreement, which shows us that our society is very divided about this peace accord. It’s very sad but it’s our reality.”
There are however positive signs of calm in the country following the National Liberation Army (ELN) – which is Colombia’s largest active rebel group – agreeing to a temporary ceasefire with the authorities – for the first time in more than 50 years.
The temporary ceasefire agreed on 1st October between the ELN and the Colombian army is seen as the most important step taken since peace talks between the two sides began in neighbouring Ecuador in February.
Fr Montoya acknowledged that the ceasefire is an important step in the peace process, but said in order for peace to reign, social inequalities need to be addressed.
He told Premier: “The economic and social rights are the forgotten issues during the war in Colombia. Now is a time to improve our economic, social, environmental rights.
“I think the peace process and the improvements of this peace agreement must affect these desires that people have – improve their rights, their rights to education, their rights of health, living expenses. I think when we turn out this case of war in Colombia, we can create better conditions for economic and social rights in Colombia.”
Officials from the Catholic Church, UN monitors, government and rebel representatives have been sent to the country to observe conditions on the ground.
The next round of talks is set to take place in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito on 23rd October.
Fr Montoya told Premier the South African nation needs our prayers.
He said: “Pray for Colombia. Pray for the victims. This war left behind more than 2,000 victims, which is awful.
“Pray people can recover from this painful moment in Colombia… pray we can achieve peace in Colombia.”
Listen to Fr John Jairo Montoya speaking with Premier’s Eno Adeogun
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One former Pussycat Doll has spoken out before about Hollywood’s abuse. But only now are the media paying attention, in the wake of Harvey Weinstein.
Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Kaya Jones of the Pussycat Dolls revealed on Twitter that the all-girls group served as a “prostitution ring” where the singers expected to “sleep with whoever.” In an interview with MRC Culture, Kaya elaborated on how she “wasn’t okay with what was going on” behind the camera and accused Hollywood of “100 percent” sexualizing women. She also advised conservative women who want to enter the industry.
From 2003 to 2004, Kaya served as one of the lead singers for the Pussycat Dolls, a popular girl group that sold more than 15 million albums and 40 million singles. A supporter of President Trump and the military, Kaya recently made headlines for her song honoring the armed forces, “What the Heart Don’t Know.”
This isn’t the first time Kaya has spoken up about the dangers of Hollywood. Back in August, she revealed on Twitter the attacks young women face in Hollywood.
“Hollywood elites push eating disorders, sex, drugs, & abortion on young women in the entertainment industry,” the artist tweeted out.
In an exclusive interview with MRC Culture following her tweet, the 33-year-old said she personally knew “people that I have been in business with, that have been affected by it, and have been asked to do things that they don’t want to do.” She also noted her “own journey” of “witnessing things that are just unacceptable.”
She stressed that Hollywood “100 percent” sexualizes women.
“Everything about what’s pushed onto young women is ‘You gotta be thin, don’t eat, wear a lot of makeup, always be put together.’ That’s not really attainable,” she continued. “It’s about being real. And at the end of the day, if you can’t get behind your narrative or what you’re projecting to your fans, you’re never really talking to them.”
When she joined the Pussycat Dolls at 18 years of age, Kaya admitted “I felt that I wasn’t normal when I said I wasn’t OK with what was going on. And it wasn’t in front of the camera.”
But she spoke up after a “crazy whacky moment” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with VH1’s Divas Live. That’s because, moments before her performance, she spied two little girls who adored her as a role model.
“I was coming through the audience—only me and one other girl, the rest of them were coming up on a riser—and they’re two little girls, and one was like 4 years old, and she went, ‘Ah!’ she said, ‘Pussycat Dolls!'” Kaya remembered.
That moment inspired her to leave the Pussycat Dolls.
“She was so excited to see us, and that was her reaction to me, and I just knew in that moment I couldn’t do it,” she continued. “Because this isn’t what I would want any little girl to be, what was being pushed on us and what I was going through in that moment and time, and what we had just endured backstage.”
The consequences to her career, she stressed, didn’t matter in the long run.
“It was a lot of the backend that I wasn’t okay with and felt there needs to be a shift and, yeah, everyone basically said I was nuts and crazy because I walked away from a very substantial amount of money,” she said. “But you know, we weren’t going to get any of the money, we were going to be cast members, and this wasn’t the narrative I felt was correct for young women.”
Ten years later, she said, “Everyone now, I think, knows who I am and maybe respects me a bit more. But it’s been going on for me for a very long time.”
According to Kaya, conservative women can go far in the entertainment industry—but at a price.
“If you’re willing to compromise your integrity, if you’re willing to not have any scruples about you when it comes to the way that you are as a human being, you’ll get really far,” Kaya admitted. “My soul wasn’t for sale, it still isn’t. You know, my morals and my integrity were never for sale.”
She particularly addressed young girls.
“It’s okay to not be popular and follow your narrative and what you need to do. Especially for young girls that don’t know what they want to be or what they want to do and they’re going through their journey of just growing up,” she said. “And you’re pushing things onto them where they don’t feel secure with who they are. They don’t feel like their lips are good enough or that their hair is good enough or their body is good enough, and this is the world that we live in. We’re pushing these things on young children.”
“But yeah, if you’re open and OK with everything that’s not the quilt and fabric of America, you’ll get very far,” she concluded. “For sure.”
Drawing from her experience, Kaya offered advice for conservative women aiming for Hollywood.
“I would say beat to your own drum, no matter what anyone says,” she encouraged. “If you feel comfortable and confident in sharing who you are, then you continue doing it.”
It’s not easy, she urged. According to the singer, being conservative today in Hollywood is “like being gay in the ’90s.”
“You know, when it was a scary time to come out,” she added. “Ellen was fired, you know, for coming out on her show. And now if we say that we love God or we say that we love country, it’s seen as this thing that’s like anti-civilization of America.”
She continued with her advice:
So I would say to young girls or young entertainers in general, don’t compromise who you are. Find your own narrative. Keep it about the work, it’s about the work, it’s about the music, or it’s about the talent. It’s not really about all the things that they make it about. If you do a good job, you’ll make money. If you do a great job, you know you’ll be remembered forever. Keep being you, because there’s only one of you. And you can be a million carbon copies of one thing, but if you do you, there’s room for everyone in this business, so don’t let anyone tell you differently. And if the door shuts on you, just kick that door down as many times as you can. Don’t take no. And don’t compromise your integrity of your heart and your mind and your spirit. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it in then end. And you’ll be happier for it in a later time because it’ll reveal why you didn’t.
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MercyMe, CeCe Winans, Reba McEntire Win at Dove Awards
The 48th annual Christian music Dove Awards took place Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2017, and many Christian artists received recognition for their musical talents.
CBN News reports that Christian singers Kari Jobe and Tasha Cobb Leonard hosted the show, which took place at the David Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Popular Christian band MercyMe was one of the evening’s top winners. The band won the award for Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for their newest album “Lifer.” The band’s frontman Bart Millard also won the award for Songwriter of the Year.
“I can’t say enough that Christian music saved my life. It means the world to us,” Millard said in his award acceptance speech.
Other artists who received recognition for their work included CeCe Winans who won multiple awards, including Gospel Artist of the Year and Contemporary Gospel/Urban Album of the Year.
“Jesus is still the answer for every problem,” Winans told the audience in her acceptance speech.
Country music star Reba McEntire, who has been outspoken about her faith, also received an award for her new album.
“It’s not mine. It’s God’s,” McEntire said. “We’ll give him all the glory. I’ll put it up on the mantle, and think of him every time I look at it.”
The body has joined the UK Council for Psychotherapy and the British Psychological Society in saying that using the practise to encourage someone to identify as a different gender (male, female, non-binary or gender fluid) is also not supported by any evidence.
In a new memorandum of understanding, they stated: “Signatory organisations agree that the practice of conversion therapy, whether in relation to sexual orientation or gender identity, is unethical and potentially harmful.
“Signatory organisations agree that neither sexual orientation nor gender identity in themselves are indicators of a mental disorder.”
The document, which is also backed by the Royal College of General Practitioners and the National Counselling Society, updates a previous memorandum issued two years ago which focused exclusively on sexual orientation.
It defines conversion therapy as any therapeutic approach assumes one gender identity is “inherently preferable to any other, and attempts to bring about a change of sexual orientation or gender identity, or seeks to supress an individual’s expression of sexual orientation or gender identity on that basis.”
The organisations stated that studies into the use of conversion therapy should be kept under regular review, and that healthcare professionals and psychological therapists are aware of the “ethical issues” relating to conversion therapy.
They added: “This position is not intended to deny, discourage or exclude those with uncertain feelings around sexuality or gender identity from seeking qualified and appropriate help.
“This document supports therapists to provide appropriately informed and ethical practice when working with a client who wishes to explore, experiences conflict with or is in distress regarding, their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
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Three people were killed and two wounded on Wednesday in a shooting at an Edgewood, Maryland, stone countertop company, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said.
A man entered Advanced Granite Solutions and opened fire with a handgun, hitting five employees. “Currently we have lost three” and the other two hit were seriously wounded, Gahler told reporters.
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Bethel Church is perhaps best known for the worship music routinely heard in churches around the world. Yet those efforts do not represent the whole of their ministry. People from all over the globe tune in to watch their worship services each week, and it’s truly difficult to overstate the positive influence they have had on the kingdom.
As with any group as large and pervasive as Bethel, however, they are not free of controversy. Much of the negative response centers on their School of Supernatural Ministry where students from a multitude of nations come to learn how to better perform the “signs and wonders” seen in the New Testament as a way of helping others come to Christ.
As Molly Hensley-Clancy described, the students like to refer to the school as a “Christian Hogwarts” in reference to the school of wizardry from the Harry Potter books, and it’s not difficult to see why. Over the course of two to three years, they are essentially taught to harness the power of the Holy Spirit in order to heal the sick and hurting, deliver prophetic messages, and generally perform miracles of every sort in the name of the Lord.
To be clear, my issue with the school is not their teaching that miracles are still possible today. The belief that such signs ended with the apostles is one borne from history rather than Scripture, and there are countless places around the globe where the signs and wonders Jesus promised continue to take place. Rather, my issue is with the general theology that Jesus promised to put such power at the beck and call of believers.
The healing power of Christ, even in New Testament times, was never simply a tool imparted by the Holy Spirit to be used whenever the believer deemed fit. Rather, it was always up to God to decide when and where his people could use such powers.
It’s why, for example, Peter and John didn’t/couldn’t heal the lame man in Acts 3 until the Spirit prompted them to do so (Acts 3:1–10). The Greek is clear that there was something special about the way that the Holy Spirit drew their gaze to the crippled beggar that day. It was fundamentally different than the countless times they had previously passed by him, including when they had been with Jesus, and he too had neglected to heal the man.
If the apostles, and even Christ himself, relied on the Father’s guidance to know when and where they could heal people and perform other signs and wonders, then the same is true of us today as well.
The students at the Bethel School are not the only ones who make this mistake, though. You and I do the same thing when we only approach God at those times where we require something of him. That too is acting as though the Lord waits to serve us rather than the other way around.
Throughout much of their history, Israel attempted to turn their relationship with God into the kind of transactional covenant that defined the religion of the nations around them. Each time, it led to pain, loss, and judgment.
I doubt the students and faculty at Bethel truly believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is theirs to command rather than available to those longing only to do as the Father commands. Still, their errors have had tragic consequences and have undermined many of the truly amazing things they have done in the community around them.
Hensley-Clancy described one instance, for example, where students came across a boy having an asthma attack and tried to heal him through the power of the Holy Spirit before someone finally called an ambulance fifteen minutes later. They then spent the next following days continuing to pray over him at the hospital and reassured his mother that God would do a miracle or even raise her son from the dead should he pass. The boy died four days later, leaving behind a grief-stricken and bitter family.
I relay that story not to condemn the Bethel students, but rather to remind us that when we act as though we are in charge in our relationship with God, the consequences can be dire and negatively impact others in a way we might never fully understand this side of heaven. On the other hand, when we follow the lead of the apostles and of Christ, placing our lives at the disposal of the Father to use and guide according to his will, there is no end to what we can accomplish for the kingdom. God has left it to us, however, to decide how we will approach our walk with him.
Who’s in charge of your relationship with the Lord today?
Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for Alachua County on Monday, in anticipation of a speech from white supremacist Richard Spencer.
Videos, podcasts, blogs and images including prayers are reaching an online audience of 1.2 million a month through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, according to the statistics from the Church of England digital project.
Reach is defined as the number of people who have seen content on social media.
During Christmas, 1.5 million were reached through the Church’s award-winning #JoyToTheWorld campaign featuring short films.
A further 2.5 million were reached during Lent, the season before Easter, through the #LiveLent 2017 project.
The digital campaign has been funded as part of the Church of England’s Renewal and Reform programme and is intended to help the Church of England become a growing church in all places and for all people.
The three-year digital transformation includes the launch of a new ‘A Church Near You’ website by the end of 2017.
In addition, a series of free training courses has been launched for churches on promoting their parishes through social media with more than half of the Church of England 42 dioceses signed up to take part so far.
William Nye, Secretary General to the General Synod, said: “At the heart of the mission of the Church of England is a commitment to proclaiming the gospel afresh in each generation.
“This year’s Statistics for Mission provide a sobering reminder of the long-term challenge we face. This challenge is likely to persist for some years ahead.
“The figures on digital impact, which we are also releasing today, show one of the ways in which we are doing that, as the online dimension of people’s lives becomes ever more significant.
“Our challenge is to join up that growing online Church life to the physical community of Church that forms the body of Christ.”
Adrian Harris, Head of Digital Communications for the Church of England said: “We saw 1.5 million reached by our 2016 #JoyToTheWorld Christmas campaign and 2.5 million with #LiveLent.
“Over the last 12 months we tripled the number of followers on Facebook and Instagram, which indicates that people want to know more of the love of Jesus Christ.”
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