Air Force Punishes Colonel Who Refused to Condone Same-Sex Marriage
U.S. Air Force officials have suspended a decorated officer and revoked his recommendation for promotion to brigadier general because he would not sign an unofficial document affirming a retiring subordinate’s same-sex marriage.
Col. Leland B.H. Bohannon, Air Force Inspection Agency commander at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M., signed all the requisite documents for a senior noncommissioned service member’s May retirement ceremony except for one: a letter of “spousal appreciation” for the gay serviceman’s partner. Bohannon’s Christian convictions about marriage put him at odds with the request to sign the unofficial, optional letter, and he sought counsel from his chaplain and judge advocate general. While awaiting guidance, and with the retirement ceremony days away, Bohannon asked a two-star general who did not object to sign the document instead.
But the retiring serviceman filed a complaint, alleging Bohannon discriminated against him based on his sexual orientation. An investigation substantiated the claim and found Bohannon guilty of unlawful discrimination, according to attorneys with First Liberty.
In an Oct. 5 letter to the director of the Air Force Review Boards Agency, First Liberty attorneys requested a reversal of the findings and penalties against Bohannon in order to forestall a lawsuit.
(Photo: Reuters)South African President Nelson Mandela (L) guides Pope John Paul II after they met at Johannesburg International Airport, at the start of the pope’s first official visit to the country, in this file picture taken September 16, 1995.
Christian author and theologian John Piper has suggested that a famous quote by Nelson Mandela regarding racism, which when posted by former U.S. President Barack Obama became the most popular tweet of all time, might not hold up to the teaching of Scripture.
Piper said in an article posted on Desiring God on Friday that he has several thoughts about Mandela’s quote, which Obama tweeted in August in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed after a driver plowed his car into a crowd. The former president’s tweet reportedly garnered over 4.6 million likes.
Mandela’s quote comes from his 1994 autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, where he wrote: “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Piper broke down the quote and said it’s “tricky” when it comes to how it holds up with the Bible.
The theologian pointed out that the Bible teaches that humans have a nature that is rebellious against God and are unwilling and unable to submit to God’s law and to please God.
He said that humankind’s fallen nature and sinfulness that is resistant to God is largely shaped by parents and culture.
“One form this sinfulness can take is hatred toward people who are different from us. This attitude can become bigoted and angry, wanting to create as much separation as we can. But another form our selfishness can take is a way of relating that wins the praise of others by doing helpful things for others — even others who are different from us,” Piper wrote.
“There are many vain, selfish, anti-God people who have learned to treat others with decency and respect because there are very significant advantages to living that way, especially if there’s a group of people that you care about — a group of people who praise that behavior very highly, and thus build up your ego while you treat people that way,” he added.
When it comes to the part of the quote that people “can be taught to love,” Piper argued that the Bible has a different way of explaining love.
“Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:3, ‘If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.’ So the love that the Bible cares about is not merely giving our goods to the poor or being willing to sacrifice our bodies. Love, as 2 Corinthians 8:1–2 describes, starts with being overwhelmed by being loved by God and being overwhelmed by the grace of God to us in our guilt and our lack of deserving,” Piper said.
“Then, overflowing with joy in God, we meet the needs of others and draw them into sharing our joy in God, which doesn’t just last for 80 years but for 80,000 years. This love goes out to people unlike us — in fact, especially to people not like us. Jesus says we give love to our enemies. We pour out that kind of love.”
The author explained that it is not really loving to teach people to act lovingly if it is without the love of God.
When it comes to the part where the former South African president said that “love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite,” Piper argued that that is true if love “simply means doing many beneficial things for people.”
He positioned, however, that “apart from Christ and His saving work, that natural love exists in a heart that is hostile to God, a heart that does not submit to his law.”
“Every one of us has a fundamentally self-exalting heart, which, to be sure, will do many things that benefit others. But that heart has no expression of submission to God or desire that others find their joy in God,” he continued.
The Reformed theologian said, “if love, as the Bible teaches, is far more than learned behaviors — if it is the overflow of joy in being forgiven through Jesus Christ and finding Him as our supreme treasure and desiring that others come and join us in that everlasting pleasure, even at great cost to ourselves — then love does not come naturally to the human heart.”
“It is, in fact, diametrically opposed to what we are by nature,” he added.
Christian leaders and believers have meanwhile been strongly speaking out against racism in America. Thousands of Christians took a knee in prayer on the National Mall on Columbus Day earlier this week, asking God to forgive the racial sins of the country’s past and let reconciliation and healing sweep the land.
Bishop Matthew Kukah, from the Sokoto Diocese in northern Nigeria, told Premier at an event held in the House of Lords, to highlight the number of persecuted Christian’s around the world, that politicians in the country are indirectly helping the terrorist organisation.
He said: “One of the issues that I’m personally worried about as a Christian in Nigeria, is that for the first time in our history, the minister of education and the heads of all the major educational affiliates are literally all in the hands of Muslims.
“One of the difficulties that we have in Nigeria is the very notion that governors are literally free to do as they wish in the area of education.
“There’s tones of money that has become available for education but most of the governors – especially in the north – are not interested.
“As you hear from many governors in northern Nigeria, people prefer to build mosques instead of building schools.”
Bishop Kukah’s warning came as Christian charity, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) revealed that their latest report indicated the rate of Christian persecution was on the increase.
Titled “Persecuted and Forgotten” the study looked at countries around the world where Christians are oppressed. Out of the 13 countries examined, Saudi Arabia was the only country where this persecution remained unchanged.
Bishop Kukah told Premier that Nigeria, which according to the report had got “significantly worse” at protecting Christians, poor education directly impacts terrorism.
He explained: “If you have a huge population – especially of young people, on whose shoulders the future depends, that are uneducated and if we don’t have a common narrative about what we want, about who we are, then definitely the worse that we’re seeing is Boko Haram.”
This point was echoed by Fr Salar Kajo, from the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq, who was one of four speakers at the charity’s event.
He told Premier: “After the war against Saddam (Hussein) no one took care of the schools, education or health.
“I think this creates a group like ISIS and if we will not take care today of the schools, universities, and educational levels, we will have another group.”
Listen to Bishop Matthew Kukah speaking with Premier’s Eno Adeogun:
Listen to Fr Salar Kajo speaking with Premier’s Eno Adeogun:
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Is Homeschooling Past Its Peak? Research Shows Interest Waning
A government survey released last week showed interest in homeschooling appears to have leveled off in the last five years. Education analysts pointed to the results as evidence the homeschooling “fad” had reached its peak after three decades, but homeschooling experts disputed that conclusion—and the data it’s based on.
Before he reviewed the numbers, Brian Ray with the National Home Education Research Institute expressed doubt about their accuracy. But when he drilled down to state-level data, he knew for sure the federal researchers missed something.
“I don’t think I can say there’s an obvious problem,” he said of the government data. “But what they found defies what’s on the ground in state-specific data.”
Ray collected data from 15 states that had numbers for the same five-year timeframe covered by the federal surveys. While one state saw a 3.4-percent decline in the number of homeschool students, 11 saw significant increases, ranging from 10.3 percent to 94.7 percent. One county logged a 203-percent increase in homeschoolers between 2012 and 2016. Taken together, the overall increase averaged out to 26 percent.
The state-level homeschool numbers bear out what Ray has heard anecdotally from homeschool organizations and vendors, both of whom say interest in educating children at home has continued to grow.
Although Ray didn’t do a detailed analysis of the federal survey methodology, he suggested several areas that could have compromised the homeschooling information. The survey covers multiple aspects of education, not just homeschooling, and parents who opt out of traditional schools might not have had much interest in participating. Add to that reticence among homeschoolers to draw the attention of government officials, and Ray suspects homeschoolers were underrepresented in the federal survey.
Before the government released its survey results, Ray issued his own estimates of homeschool growth. In early 2016, he put the number of homeschool students at about 2.3 million—4.5 percent of the overall school-age population—with an estimated annual growth rate of 2-8 percent.
According to figures obtained by The Times, 152 Vietnamese youngsters have gone missing from their care and foster homes since 2015, and 88 have disappeared temporarily.
This summer, 12 vanished from Rochdale.
Nola Leach Chief Executive of Christian charity CARE said this shows that the current system is inadequate in helping the most venerable members of society.
She said in statement: “Once a child is rescued from exploitation it is a complete failing of the state if they then end up missing from care, and at worst end up back in the hands of their traffickers.
“We must urgently review just how police, social workers and foster carers work together to ensure that child trafficking victims are protected and kept safe.
“The government must roll out, with haste, independent child trafficking advocates across the country.
She said advocates should provide an extra layer of safeguarding for these children.
She added: “Government trials of child trafficking advocates were been overwhelmingly positive. The advocates played a vital role in highlighting potential risks, pushing local authorities to provide safer accommodation and tracing children who have gone missing.”
James Simmonds-Read, of the Christian charity Children’s Society told The Times: “We are not creating a culture where they feel safe, so children freak out and go missing and back to the people that trafficked and abused them.”
The Home Office said it was developing an independent advocate system to help councils support young trafficking victims, and added that it had placed a duty on councils to flag up cases of children disappearing from care.
Rochdale council said there was “no similarity” between the street grooming scandal and the issues surrounding missing Vietnamese children.
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When the bullets first rang out over Mandalay Bay, Mike Dempsey knew he had to take cover fast.
He was outside by the hotel pool when suddenly he was one of the thousands fleeing for their lives after Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers nearby.
“I was right under where he was firing so that was probably the scariest part,” he told The Raleigh News & Observer. “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this incident could have happened. But unfortunately, it could happen anywhere, anytime.”
This wasn’t the first time Dempsey was running for his life in the middle of a national tragedy. Just 16 years earlier he was working inside of the World Trade Center Tower 2 when a plane struck the building.
The images of people running for their lives in Vegas was eerily similar to the ones he saw during the 9/11 attack.
“Those are images you can’t ever get over,” he said.
Miraculously, Dempsey survived both terror attacks, but the Las Vegas one brought back horrific memories.
“I was good for 48 hours and then I just tanked,” Dempsey said. “You start reliving, just little triggers and it just doesn’t go away. You start having anxiety attacks, sleepless nights.”
“One thing you don’t envision is scenarios like a plane hitting the World Trade Center. You don’t envision a shooter firing bullets onto a crowd,” he said.
Now, he says Las Vegas will never be the same for him.
“It’s my home away from home, and it feels violated,” Dempsey said. “It’s going to feel weird going back.”
It’s the same feeling he gets when he goes back to ground zero of 9/11.
“When I go back downtown now and see the Freedom Tower, it’s not the same World Trade Center that I worked in for all those years,” Dempsey said. “But there’s a new normal you have to find. And I’ve found the best way to conquer your fears is to face them.”
However, Dempsey believes God spared his life both times for a reason.
“Maybe God has a plan for me, and I can help,” he said. “Instead of being angry or upset, I’m going to try to find what the families and survivors are going to need.”
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Today’s Scripture: “He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life…” –(Proverbs 21:21, NASB)
Topic: Pursue Loyalty [Friday October 13, 2017]
Have you ever noticed that righteousness and loyalty go together? In other words, if we’re not being loyal—to our family, friends, country, job—then we aren’t going to experience God’s best. Loyal people are honorable people. When you’re loyal, you stick with someone through thick and thin. When you’re loyal, you keep your word to people—even if you get a “better” offer. Loyal people are respectful of their country and leaders. Loyal people honor their parents and defend their family. When you’re loyal, you are a person of integrity. You build trust with others. Is this an area where you can rise higher? Are you faithful in the things you’re committed to? Can you be more loyal? Don’t let the distractions of everyday life keep you from being dedicated. Look for ways to show honor to those around you. Is there something you need to set aside for the sake of a loved one? Show love by staying loyal. As Scripture promises, when you pursue loyalty and righteousness, you will find the abundant life God has planned for you!
A Prayer for Today: “Heavenly Father, thank You for the promise of life in Your Word. Show me any area where I can rise up higher by pursuing loyalty. Help me, by Your Spirit, to be more faithful and supportive to those around me. Let Your light shine through me as I pursue righteousness and loyalty today in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
California Church Providing Shelter, Necessities to Those Fleeing Wildfires
The wildfires in northern California continue to spread and cause destruction. The death toll is now at 31 people. Additionally, the fires have burned through 170,000 acres of land, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and forced 20,000 people to evacuate.
In the midst of this destruction, however, a California church is offering a place of safety. According to The Christian Post, members of the Influence Church in Anaheim Hills have not only opened the church to those in need, but have opened their own homes.
“During the evacuation, church members and staff helped neighbors move stuff out of their houses. We prayed for those that were in distress during that time. It was like chaos around here,” Pastor Phil Hotsenpiller told The Christian Post.
The church is especially close to the “Canyon Fire 2” which began on Monday. This particular fire is reportedly about 60 percent contained.
Pastor Hotsenpiller continued: “We gave out water. We offered housing. We probably had 50 of our members offer homes for people to stay in. If they didn’t want to do that, we offered to pay for their hotel. Although we didn’t have anyone take us up on the hotel, on the rooms they did.”
A coffee shop near the church also offered free coffee to those fleeing the fires.
More than 3.7 million Catholics made up just over 78.3% of the population in April 2016, compared to 84.2% in 2011 – a drop of 132,220.
Meanwhile the number of people to declare no religion, including atheists/agnostics, increased by more than 70% over the same five year period.
According to Census 2016 data released on Thursday 481,388 people stated they had no religion – compared to 204,151 in 2011.
This group made up 10.1% of the population, compared with 6% five years previously.
Other changes in the religious make-up of the country included a 28.9% increase in the number of Muslim residents.
The statistics showed there were 63,443 Muslims in Ireland in April 2016, up from 49,204 in 2011.
Almost half were living in Dublin city and suburbs.
There was also an increase in the numbers of Orthodox Christians and the Apostolic and Pentecostal population.
Members of the Church of Ireland decreased slightly as did the number of Presbyterians.
The data also showed that the Irish Traveller population had grown by just over 5% from 29,495 in 2011 to 30,987 last year.
Almost 60% of Travellers were aged under 25, compared with just 33.4% of the general population.
More than 30% of Travellers aged 15 to 29 were married, compared with 5.8% of the general population.
According to the report educational attainment among Travellers continues to lag significantly behind that of the general population and the vast majority – 80.2% – were unemployed.
In terms of ethnic composition White Irish remains the largest group, accounting for more than 80% of residents.
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