Candace Cameron Bure Defends Ted Cruz’s Christian Values Amid Affair Allegations on ‘The View’

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Candace Cameron Bure Defends Ted Cruz’s Christian Values Amid Affair Allegations on ‘The View’

Candace Cameron-Bure (Photo: YouTube/The View)

Christian Post Report – “The View” co-hosts Candace Cameron-Bure (center) debates with co-host Michelle Collins about a tabloid allegation against Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, New York, New York, March 28, 2016.

“The View” host and actress Candace Cameron-Bure came out of the gate swinging in defense of the Christian values of Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Monday.

Bure took umbrage with comments by “The View” co-host Michelle Collins, who said she hoped recent allegations by the National Enquirer that Cruz has had multiple affairs during his marriage to his wife, Heidi, are true because she wants to see the senator fall.

“I, for one, hope it is true … ” said Collins. “But then, more so than that, just to see and show what a hypocrite he would be — if it is true, because it’s alleged. But he’s such a guy [who is] about family values and he lives by this kind of crazy moral code. So I love to watch people like that fall.”

Bure would have none of it, immediately calling out Collins for labeling Cruz’s personal faith as crazy. “Crazy moral code?” she questioned. “He lives by Christian values from what he says he does, and that’s a ‘crazy moral code?'”

Collins acquiesced somewhat. “You have a point actually. Let’s just call it a moral code. But the point is, is that if he did cheat it would be quite satisfying.”

Bure did not relent, saying that she did not find humor in seeing others fall. “I don’t find satisfaction in seeing anybody be ruined.” The actress added that she wants to believe the best in others. “We know that not all people are good, and we don’t all make good decisions all of the time, but I always want to hope and root for people.”

Bure’s outspoken defense of Sen. Ted Cruz’s Christian values this week on the show comes amid recent criticisms from her Christian fans for not being conservative enough while on the opposite end she is also criticized for being too conservative, as previously reported by The Christian Post. Bure has expressed her frustration with being criticized from both sides and her inability to please everyone. She has demanded that people stop the negativity on her Instagram page.

In an article for Motto.time.com last week, a website for younger women looking for advice about life, Bure wrote, “I’m very outspoken about my Christian faith, and I actually face a lot of pressure from others within the faith.”

“When I was on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ for example, I was constantly hearing from people who thought that my costumes weren’t appropriate,” she said. “On ‘Fuller House,’ people were sad that my character made certain choices. Even with ‘The View,’ people say I’m not speaking up enough for conservative values and that I allow myself to get walked on. Everyone has an opinion!”

See the full exchange between Bure and Collins below:

Follow me on Twitter: @kevindonporter

Source : Christian Post

Man Claims to See Jesus’ Face in Garden Bush Easter Sunday

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Man Claims to See Jesus’ Face in Garden Bush Easter Sunday

Will You Open The Door For Jesus?

Christian Post Report – A British man who identifies as non-religious claimed to have seen the face of Jesus Christ appear in his garden bush Easter Sunday.

Michael Coughlan of Bolton, Greater Manchester, told The Mirror that he was looking out the back window in his house Sunday when he suddenly saw what he described as the face of Christ looking back at him in the shrubbery.

“I went into the room on Sunday and looked out the window and saw this face,” the father-of-four said.

“I joked about it being Jesus but in the afternoon my friend came round and said it looked more like Rick Parfitt from ‘Status Quo,'” he added.

Coughlan insisted that he had never seen such a thing before, and emphasized that he is not religious.

Jesus pancake(Screenshot: KABC)

Later in the day when he went back outside, he said the face in the bush had disappeared.

“It just looks like a normal bush when you go outside,” he said. “It’s all very strange.”

Apparitions of Jesus face’ have been reported a number of times around previous Easter weeks, including an incident in April 2014 when a Southern California restaurant owner claimed that Jesus’ face had appeared on a pancake on Good Friday.

The owner, Karen Hendrickson of the Cowgirl Café in Norco, California, said the night before she had prayed to God to look over her restaurant.

“For this to happen on Good Friday, I truly felt it was a miracle, and I’m not even a deeply religious person,” Hendrickson added.

“He’s got a mustache and a beard,” she explained about the image in the pancake. “And looks like he’s got a receding hairline here.”

In another reported case, a shopper at an Ikea store in Glasgow, Scotland, said he found an image of Christ in a bathroom stall back in June 2015.

David Simons, who works with props in the film industry, said at the time that he noticed the image of a man with eyes and a mustache appear on the wooden door of a toilet he was using in the restroom of the store.

“I think it looks like Jesus but some of my friends think it looks more like one of the tree people from ‘Lord of the Rings,'” he told the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

Source : Christian Post

‘God’s Not Dead 2’ Actress Melissa Joan Hart Says American Christians Feel Faith Trampled On

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‘God’s Not Dead 2’ Actress Melissa Joan Hart Says American Christians Feel Faith Trampled On

Melissa Joan Hart, Jesse Metcalfe (Photo: Grace Hill Media)

Christian Post Report – Melissa Joan Hart plays teacher Grace Wesley, while Jesse Metcalfe portrays her lawyer Tom Endler defending her Christian faith in “God’s Not Dead 2,” which hits theaters April 1, 2016.

“God’s Not Dead 2” actress Melissa Joan Hart said that one of the reasons American Christians are interested in the upcoming film is because they feel their faith is being trampled on.

Hart also reflected that in her early TV days she was criticized by some Christians for playing a teenage witch, but is now receiving criticism from the other end of the spectrum for playing a strong Christian woman who stands up for her faith.

“For the longest time, while I played a witch on television [on ‘Sabrina, The Teenage Witch’], the Christian community attacked me for popularizing the magic aspects on that secular TV show,” Hart said in an interview, according to Chicago Sun Times.

“Now it’s the opposite. I’m getting grief for playing the good Christian woman who is being persecuted by the outside world!”

In the movie, Hart plays a high school teacher who brings up the teachings of Jesus Christ in class, which leads to a high-profile religious freedom court case.

The actress, who is a Christian herself, noted that a lot of believers today feel persecuted for their faith, arguing that the separation of church and state in America has been taken to a new level, which she said is “far beyond the freedoms this country was founded on.”

“In the past, mainstream Christians were members of what we could call the big powerhouse religion at the time — and may have been doing a fair amount of persecuting minority religions,” Hart added.

“But now those Christians feel their faith is something that is trampled on or ignored. Now the tables have turned.”

She said that she hopes that the film, to hit theaters April 1, will “lead to a more respectful discourse on the role that religion should play in our society. It is a debate that is raging in our country.”

Some atheist voices, such as Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist blog, have criticized the film for featuring what he called “fake Christian persecution.”

Mehta wrote in November about the film’s plot: “In real life, even atheist groups wouldn’t blink over this. They sure as hell wouldn’t file a lawsuit or send a letter of complaint because the teacher wasn’t proselytizing. But for those who live in the ‘Christian persecution bubble,’ even mentioning the Bible will get them in trouble. It’s a lie they tell themselves so they can pretend to be martyrs,” he asserted.

“God’s Not Dead 2” actor and producer David A.R. White responded earlier this month to such criticism by asking atheists why they are “so offended” if they feel Christian persecution is not real.

“It’s an interesting thing, because, if it wasn’t real, why do they get so offended by it? I don’t think it would annoy people if it wasn’t true,” White told TheBlaze.

“At the end of ‘God’s Not Dead 1′ and even part two, we throw up about 50 different court cases that are dealing with similar issues right now,” he added.

Source : Christian Post

Sadie Robertson Believes ‘God’s Not Dead 2’ Will Change Lives

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Sadie Robertson Believes ‘God’s Not Dead 2’ Will Change Lives

Sadie (Photo: Instagram/legitsadierob)

Christian Post Report – “Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson honored members of the military in this Instagram photo shared on October 16, 2015.

Sadie Robertson believes “God’s Not Dead 2” will change lives.

“… Truly an amazing film. I am so honored that I got to be a part of this Gods Not Dead Movement,” Robertson, the 18-year-old “Duck Dynasty”-star-turned-author and actress wrote on Instagram. “It will encourage, and inspire all people.”

In the follow-up to the 2014 hit faith-based film, Robertson plays a student named Marlene alongside familiar faces like David A.R. White, Trisha LaFache, Benjamin Onyango, Paul Kwo and the CCM group The Newsboys from the first film. The ensemble cast this time around also features mainstream actors like “Melissa & Joey” actress Melissa Joan Hart, “Ghostbusters” cast member Erne Robertson, “Law & Order” star Fred Thompson and Robin Givens from “Head of The Class.”

In the film, a Christian teacher named Grace Wesley is being discredited because of her decision to answer one student’s question about the teachings of Jesus Christ sounding similar to those of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. After a student questioned if this was similar to Jesus preaching to love our enemies, the teacher agreed.

The exchange prompted a student to text his parents, which resulted in Wesley being reprimanded by her principal and co-workers. However the stakes are raised even higher when an anti-God civil liberties group tries to make her an example.

Robertson previously spoke to The Christian Post about the importance of her becoming involved with the film.

“I told myself in the beginning of this craziness that I would only do a movie if the part fits me exactly. If I really felt like this was going to be a good thing, going to be a good message, and the person I was playing was a lot like myself,” she revealed about her character Marlene in “God’s Not Dead 2.” It’s a message that I want to share with people about standing up for your faith, saying I’m not ashamed. I’m excited for people to see it.”

The trailer for the upcoming film takes viewers on an emotional journey when they witness the strength and fortitude of one teacher who leans on her faith to fight against something much bigger than herself.

“I would rather stand with God and be judged by the world than to stand with the world and be judged by God,” Hart’s character says in the trailer. “I’m not going to be afraid to say the name Jesus.”

Source : Christian Post

Justin Bieber Prays With Kanye West After Telling Fans Their Spiritual Energy Is Making Him ‘Unhappy’

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Justin Bieber Prays With Kanye West After Telling Fans Their Spiritual Energy Is Making Him ‘Unhappy’

Justin Bieber (Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

Christian Post Report – Singer Justin Bieber performs on NBC’s “Today” show in New York, November 18, 2015.

Justin Bieber has shared an image of himself in prayer alongside rap moguls Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs and Kanye West during his Purpose tour after he cancelled his meet-and-greet events with fans, saying they’re great people but their “spiritual energy” makes him “drained and unhappy.”

Bieber, the 22-year-old singer who is touring the country, took to Instagram to reveal that he and the rap moguls spent part of their time together to honor Jesus. “Uncle puff and Yeezy giving thanks to Jesus,” Bieber wrote Friday

But it seems Bieber has been struggling spiritually on the tour, which led to his decision to cancel all of his scheduled meet-and-greet events with fans.

“Love u guys.. I’m going to be canceling my meet and greets. I enjoy meeting such incredible people but I end up feeling so drained and filled with so much of other people’s spiritual energy that I end up so drained and unhappy … “Bieber wrote in an Instagram post last week. “Want to make people smile and happy but not at my expense and I always leave feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression. … The pressure of meeting people’s expectations of what I’m supposed to be is so much for me to handle and a lot on my shoulders.”

The Canadian crooner recently spoke about his relationship with God during a Feb. 11 interview with GQ magazine where he said: “I feel like that’s why I have a relationship with Him, because I need it. I suck by myself. Like, when I’m by myself and I feel like I have nothing to lean on? Terrible. Terrible person.”

Although he admits to doing “stupid” things, the “Sorry” singer said his actions would be worse without God.

“If I was doing this on my own, I would constantly be doing things that are, I mean, I still am doing things that are stupid, but … It just gives me some sort of hope and something to grasp onto,” Bieber continued. “A feeling of security, and a feeling of being wanted, and a feeling of being desired, and I feel like we can only get so much of that from a human.”

Bieber, who came into the public eye as a global phenomenon at only 13 years old, and by 19 he was making headlines for was previously blasted in headlines for allegedly vandalising his neighbor’s property, smoking marijuana, using racial slurs and drag racing.

But duing an interview with Complex magazine last year, the pop star said he’s now striving to be more like Jesus Christ.

“I just wanna honestly live like Jesus. Not be Jesus … I don’t want that to come across weird. He created a pretty awesome template of how to love people and how to be gracious and kind,” Bieber told Complex magazine. “If you believe it, he died for our sins. Sometimes when I don’t feel like doing something, but I know it’s right, I remember, I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t feel like going to the cross and dying so that we don’t have to feel what we should have to feel.”

Bieber has developed close bonds with the likes of Pastor Carl Lentz of Hillsong New York City and Pastor Judah Smith from The City Church in Seattle, Washington, throughout the years, but there was once a time he was a Christian uninterested in attending church.

“Christians leave such a bad taste in people’s mouths. I was like, ‘I’m not gonna go to church.’ I had these church friends and I was like, ‘You guys are cool, I like you guys, but I’m not going to church,'” Bieber said in a Complex magazine interview published in October. “Then it was the same thing of, ‘Just because you went to a weird church before doesn’t mean that this is weird.’ It doesn’t make you a Christian just by going to church.”

“Like I said, you don’t need to go to church to be a Christian. If you go to Taco Bell (fast food chain), that doesn’t make you a taco,” Bieber said. “I think that going to church is fellowship, it’s relationship, it’s what we’re here on the Earth to do, to have this connection that you feel there’s no insecurities. I think that’s where we need to be.”

Source : Christian Post

Jeremy Lin Reveals He Still Struggles Being Asian in NBA

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Jeremy Lin Reveals He Still Struggles Being Asian in NBA

Jeremy Lin (Photo: Reuters/Stringer)

Christian Post Report – Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin goes up to the basket during the 2015 NBA Global Games against Los Angeles Clippers in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, October 11, 2015.

After six seasons playing in the NBA, Jeremy Lin admits that there are still some struggles associated with being an Asian-American basketball player.

“Just the other night in Brooklyn, I was trying to leave [Barclays Center] and one of the ladies was like, ‘Hey, I need your credentials for you to pass.’ And then someone else was like, ‘Oh, he’s a player,'” the 27-year-old Charlotte Hornets point guard recalled to ESPN. “I’m used to it by now. It’s just part of being Asian in the NBA.”

For Lin, the unfortunate occurances are just a part of his life in the big leagues where Asian Americans are the minority.

“It’s one of those things where it literally happens everywhere,” Lin said. “At opposing arenas, it happens all the time.”

Lin has become more than just the face for Asians in the NBA, but also in the world. Last year, he took part in a White House public campaign called “Act To Change.” The campaign focus on the bullying of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

“For me, growing up Asian American and trying to play basketball was a bit tough at times. Sometimes people would make fun of me and just say, ‘oh you’re Yao Ming,'” the NBA player recalled in a YouTube video. “That’s not that bad but sometimes it would get worst and people would say, ‘you’re a chinese import’ or ‘go back to china’ or ‘can you see the scoreboard with your eyes.’ And then sometimes it got really ridiculous.”

Lin said people have called him other inappropriate racial terms, and the usually mild-mannered basketball player admitted to even getting upset and lashing out at times.

“I remember one time I got really upset, kind of lost control and just responded really negatively. My coach told me after the game, ‘Jeremy, when people say that to you they’re trying to get in your head,'” Lin recalled. “Honestly the best thing to do is take that negative energy and turn it into positive energy. Fuel yourself, motivate yourself with that. Don’t react in anger.”

The Christian point guard decided to share lessons he learned from being bullied and impart his wisdom on others in an article posted on the Newsela website, an online community that helps students develop their reading and comprehension skills by reading non-fiction articles.

“My lesson that I learned and if there is anything I can pass on to you guys is a lot of times bullies bully other people because of insecurities they have in themselves. Don’t let anyone else tell you who you are or what you can or can’t do,” he advised. “Definitely look inside yourself, have confidence in yourself, believe in yourself and understand what makes you such a unique and special person.Everybody has different and really cool characteristics and talents.”

According to Lin, people can become stronger after surviving being bullied.

“Never lose sight of that and just always stay positive and hopefully one day you’ll take a look back at these experiences and realize, ‘hey me getting bullied or me having to go through these experiences only made me stronger,” he said.

Source : Christian Post

Pakistani Pastor Buries 6 Victims of Lahore Easter Bombing in 1 Day

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Pakistani Pastor Buries 6 Victims of Lahore Easter Bombing in 1 Day

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  • Pakistan(Photo: Reuters/Mohsin Raza)
Family members touch a coffin of a relative, who was killed in a blast outside a public park on Sunday, during a funeral in Lahore, Pakistan, March 28, 20Christian Post Report – 16.
  • Pakistani Christians(Photo: Reuters/Mohsin Raza)
    • Family members comfort a woman mourns the death of a relative, who was killed in a blast outside a public park on Sunday, during funeral in Lahore, Pakistan, March 28, 20Christian Post Report – 16.
  • Pakistani Christians(Photo: Reuters/Mohsin Raza)
    • Family members mourn the death of a relative, who was killed in a blast that happened outside a public park on Sunday, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 28, 20Christian Post Report – 16.
  • Pakistan bomb blast(Photo: Reuters/Map)
    • Maps of Pakistan and Lahore locating a suicide bomb attack that killed dozens of people in a park on Sunday.
  • Pakistan bomb blast(Photo: Reuters/Mohsin Raza)
    • Forensic officers look for evidence at the site of a blast that happened outside a public park on Sunday, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 28, 20Christian Post Report – 16.

    In the wake of the bombing attack in Lahore Sunday that killed over 70 people, one Pakistani pastor was forced to take on the heavy responsibility of presiding over the burial services for six children and young adults Easter Monday.

    About 29 children died after a suicide bomber affiliated with a Pakistani Taliban offshoot blew himself up in front of families celebrating Easter Sunday in one of Lahore’s largest recreational parks.

    According to AFP, Pastor Shakeel Anjum from the Children’s Chapel knew a handful of the youth who perished thanks to the senseless radical violence.

    As the families mourned the following day, Anjum was tasked with having to oversee burial after burial for six bombing victims who lived within the same two blocks of the Youhanabad district in Lahore and console their grief-stricken families.

    According to The Guardian, each of the six funeral processions began outside of the Children’s Chapel with a hymn and would proceed through the streets of Youhanabad neighborhood.

    “Doing so many funerals, it’s my job, but my heart doesn’t feel good,” Anjum explained.

    One of the victims that Anjum helped bury was Mutahir Javed, a young adult in his 20s.

    “I tried to pump my son’s chest and give him CPR but he was no more,” Javed Bashir, Javed’s father, told AFP. “He died right in front of me.”

    Anjum also presided over the funeral of another young adult named Salamat Masih.

    “My son, my son, nobody should lose their sons,” his mother sobbed.

    The Pakistani Christian community, which makes up about Christian Post Report – 1.6 percent of the nation’s total population, is one of the most persecuted faith communities in the world. Christians there essentially live as second-class citizens and are regularly victimized through blasphemy laws, forced conversions and sectarian societal violence.

    As Pakistan currently ranks as the sixth worst country for Christian persecution on Open Doors USA’s World Watch list, Sunday’s attack in Lahore marks the second time in two years that the Christian community in the city has been targeted by a Taliban affiliate.

    Last March, two churches in Lahore were bombed in attacks that killed several people.

    “We need much consolation,” Anjum told AFP. “We have become tired, we are worried, have become scared.”

    “See, we pray that this country should remain safe forever,” he added. “We are Pakistanis, we love Pakistan.”

    Although an affiliate with the Pakistani Taliban took responsibility for Sunday’s suicide attack, boasting that it deliberately targeted Christians, just Christian Post Report – 14 of the 72 victims of the attack were Christians — the rest were Muslims.

    “Our Muslim brothers … those families are crying too,” Anjum said. “We are all being hit by this, Christians and Muslims also.”

    Anjum is among many other Pakistani Christian leaders who are critical of the government for not doing enough to protect religious minorities.

    “The government has proved it cannot keep people safe so the army should take over security,” Anjum told the Guardian. “They have strengthened security at our churches but now terrorists are coming to public spaces to kill us.”

    Nadeem Gul, a 35-year-old Christian father who was in the Lahore park with his children when the bomb went off but escaped unscathed, told The Guardian that Pakistani Christians have learned to “live with fear” during every religious holiday.

    “Every time there is a religious festival we Christians feel a looming sense of threat,” Gul said. “We cannot be happy on our holy occasions.”

    Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

    Source : Christian Post