Talk Show Host Michael Brown on How to Handle Contradictions in the Bible

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Talk Show Host Michael Brown on How to Handle Contradictions in the Bible

Christian refugees (Photo: Reuters/Pascal Rossignol)

Christian Post Report – Christian migrants from Eritrea and Ethiopia pray and read the bible before Sunday mass at the makeshift church in “The New Jungle” near Calais, France, August 2, 2015. Some 3,000 migrants live around the tunnel entrance in a makeshift camp known as “The Jungle”, making the northern French port one of the frontlines in Europe’s wider migrant crisis.

There are what appear to be contradictions, some irreconcilable, in the Bible, but there are ways to handle them in an honest way, says Michael Brown, a Messianic Jewish apologist and host of the talk radio show “The Line of Fire.”

“First thing, don’t stick your head in the sand as if they don’t exist,” says Brown, the president of FIRE School of Ministry, in the latest episode of his show, “How Do We Explain Bible Contradictions?”

“Second thing, don’t pull your hair out as if it’s the end of the world,” Brown suggests.

We should look to see if there’s a textual or manuscript issue, he says.

“Could it be that a predominant number of manuscripts repeat a wrong number or an error that easily crept in, and other manuscripts indicate that that’s not the original text. … Sometimes, the contradictions disappear just like that,” he explains.

Another way to look at it is, he adds, “sometimes there’s an overall harmony even if the details we can’t quite bring together.”

“You often find this when people give an eyewitness account of what happened at an accident in a street corner, and they are all in different places,” Brown says, explaining that it’s all accurate but also a little different because of the perspective of the witnesses. Similarly, “the overall picture is the same” in the Bible, he adds.

Then, there are time when an apparent contradiction is simply a matter of rounding off numbers, Brown goes on to say. For example, “there’s a New Testament account that, one says, this is on the six days, another says on the eighth day, talking about the same thing.” The number days could depend on whether you include the day you’re counting something on and the day something happened.

We also have to see why the editors have put these apparent contradictions side by side, he adds.

Then there are some accounts, he continues, “where I can’t reconcile” because the contradiction seems really blatant, but that is a “tiny, tiny minority of the overall apparent contradictions.”

“How I handle those personally? I let them sit with tension,” he says.

“I believe them both. And when we get more information, we’ll be able to resolve them the way we’ve resolved the rest, because I have an overall confidence in the authority of the Scripture, I have overall confidence in the reliability of the Scripture, not just by faith but by decades of academic study.”

He concludes by saying, “Right now, we can live with that minor tension.”

Source : Christian Post

Thailand Bans Relief Groups From Visiting Pakistani Christian Asylum Seekers Held in Brutal Detention Centers

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Thailand Bans Relief Groups From Visiting Pakistani Christian Asylum Seekers Held in Brutal Detention Centers

Pakistani refugees (Photo: Reuters/Damir Sagolj)

Christian Post Report – Pakistani refugees in Thailand in this undated photo.

Thailand has blocked the entry of humanitarian agencies into brutal detention centers, where Pakistani Christians who have fled religious persecution in their own country are being kept, after a BBC report revealed the mistreatment of asylum seekers in this Southeast Asian country.

Family members and humanitarian agencies are no longer allowed to visit Pakistani Christian detainees — some of whom are expecting mothers, old people, disabled and with severe health condition requiring regular medical attention — who have been lodged in “brutal immigration detention centres,” says the British Pakistani Christian Association in an online petition.

Days before Easter Sunday, more than 20 family members and humanitarian workers sought to provide food for malnourished detainees but they were not allowed access to the detention centers, the petition says.

“I was informed that, despite having a familial connection to a Pakistani Christian detainee, I would not be permitted entry to the IDC,” a family member, Wilson Chowdhry, is quoted as saying.

Authorities insist a Thai church give a letter of authority to all visitors, and if anyone is found to be a journalist then that church would be investigated or even suspended, according to the petition, which calls the action “a shameless act of retaliation for [BBC] revealing … the inhuman treatment of already persecuted Christians.”

“The men are semi-naked. Unaware we are BBC journalists, they tell us it’s the only way to keep cool in the overcrowded cells they’re kept in,” the British media outlet reported last month. “The women cradle their children and babies. Many complain their children are suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting because of poor sanitation and dirty drinking water.”

For the Christians in the detention centers, a visit by a caring humanitarian worker is “a real morale booster,” it says, adding that “the suffering detainees are forced to live in squalid, cramped conditions” wherein some of them are having to sleep standing up due to lack of space.

“The health and morale of detainees in Thailand has reached a nadir with some inmates seriously considering suicide,” says Chowdhry.

Two detainees with treatable and curable illnesses have died in the detention centers this year, according to the petition.

Most of the detainees are converts from Islam and would face death if they are deported to Pakistan.

Thailand is not a signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention, and can “legally” arrest anyone without a valid visa or a work permit.

While Thailand has allowed the UNHCR to step in and investigate the credibility of those claiming to flee persecution, many of the families seeking asylum say they’ve been waiting for years to be assessed by the U.N. and they have no access to work, education or healthcare, BBC said, adding that the Thai immigration police have lost patience with the U.N.’s failure to process asylum cases in good time.

In a statement to BBC, the UNHCR admitted its struggle, saying, “Amid the context of today’s acute global humanitarian funding crunch, it is correct that at present we are facing long delays in the processing of asylum claims with funding for Thailand at only a third of the level needed. … Better and more humane management of the situation must be found in accordance with international legal norms.”

Source : Christian Post

‘Terrorists Are Coming to Kill Us:’ Pakistani Christians Lament Easter Killings, Bury Their Children

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‘Terrorists Are Coming to Kill Us:’ Pakistani Christians Lament Easter Killings, Bury Their Children

Pakistani Christians (Photo: Mohsin Raza/Reuters)

Christian Post Report – Family members mourn as they gather near the body of a relative, who was killed in a blast outside a public park on Sunday, during funeral in Lahore, Pakistan, March 28, 2016.

Pakistani Christian families are burying their deceased children and other family members following the deadly suicide bomb attack on Easter Sunday at a park in Lahore, which killed close to 72 people, mostly women and children.

Christian pastors, along with parents of the victims, have accused the central government of not doing enough to protect Christians from radical terror that continues to take the lives of innocent victims.

“The government has proved it cannot keep people safe so the army should take over security,” said Pastor Shakil Anjum of the Children’s Chapel, according to the Guardian. “They have strengthened security at our churches but now terrorists are coming to public spaces to kill us.”

The attack was carried out at a family fair at the park celebrating Easter, with Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ur-Ahrar claiming responsibility.

The Islamic militants said they had specifically targeted Christians, and warned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that more attacks are to follow.

“Let Nawaz Sharif know that this war has now come to the threshold of his home,” Jamaat-ur-Ahrar spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said, according to Reuters. “The winners of this war will, God willing, be the righteous mujahideen.”

On Monday, Sharif vowed that the Pakistani army will hunt down the terrorists and bring justice for the victims.

“I am here to renew a pledge that we are keeping count of every drop of blood of our martyrs. This account is being settled, and we will not rest until it is paid,” he said.

Military authorities also said they were preparing to launch a new counter-terrorism crackdown in Punjab, aimed at finding the terrorists and their facilitators.

Some parents of the murdered children, however, such as Pervez Masih, father of 9-year-old Waqar who was killed in the suicide blast, have also questioned the government’s capability of protecting minority Christians.

“At the church we have security, but in these public places the government has provided nothing,” Masih told the Guardian after burying his child.

Masih was only one of multitudes of parents who laid their children to rest Monday at the Youhanabad cemetery.

One survivor, 35-year-old driver Nadeem Gul, who was hit by shrapnel in the bomb blast but whose two sons escaped unharmed, said Christians are repeatedly being targeted on holy days in the country.

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

The Associated Press pointed out that there are only 2.5 million Christians in the predominantly Muslim country of 180 million, and are often one of the most vulnerable populations.

“It is very fearful living in your own country … when you are attacked by fanatics in your own home,” said another pastor, the Rev. Riaz Arif of Lahore.

AP also included a long list of deadly attacks against Christians in the past few years in Pakistan, including the multiple suicide bombings in Peshawar in 2013 that killed 85 Christians; riots in Gorja, eastern Punjab in 2009 where six Christians wee killed and at least 60 homes were torched; and the assassination of prominent Christian politicians, such as the 2011 killing of Shahbaz Bhatti in Islamabad.

Source : Christian Post

Reba McEntire Credits God, Christian Faith for Getting Her Through Rocky Divorce

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Reba McEntire Credits God, Christian Faith for Getting Her Through Rocky Divorce

Reba McEntire (Photo: Reuters/Mike Stone)

Christian Post Report – Singer Reba McEntire poses backstage with her Milestone Award at the 50th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Arlington, Texas, April 19, 2015.

Country music star Reba McEntire credits God and her Christian faith for getting her through a two-year split from her husband and subsequent divorce she says she never wanted.

“I prayed every day [for God] to help me have the strength to move one foot in front of the other to continue on with what I’m supposed to be doing and why He put me on this Earth in the first place,” McEntire told CMT’s Cody Alan during an interview earlier this month.

“The divorce was not my idea,” she explained. “I didn’t want it in any shape, form or fashion. It was really hard to make the adjustment when someone’s not happy. I just want everybody to be happy in their lives because our lives are too short to be miserable. I just thought it was the best thing to take my marbles and go play somewhere else, is what Daddy used to always say.”

While the reason for the couple’s divorce is not publicly known, McEntire’s said some of what her former husband, who was also her manager, did was unforgettable.

The CMA winner revealed to Parade magazine interview last week that she questioned God’s plan throughout her two year split wirh her ex-husband.

“I have a long list and so many questions for God. Why did this happen? And how did you allow that?” she questioned. “Over the last two years I’ve been going through a divorce. God’s way is the best way. And it seems to me that Narvel is happier and I’m in a really good state of mind. It’s taken me this time to pull through why and how. And there’s been a lot between us and I believe that to forgive is easier than forget.”

“I can never forget some of what he did,” she continued. “But going on with life is what’s really important. And my faith helped me with that. I think about what God wants me to do. I focus on that. Faith is really important. It keeps me sane and it keeps me hopeful.”

McEntire signed a new deal with Nash Icon Records and is gearing up to release her first new album in five years, titled Love Somebody.

Source : Christian Post

Shopkeeper Killed by Fellow Muslim for Wishing Christians ‘Happy Easter’ on Facebook

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Shopkeeper Killed by Fellow Muslim for Wishing Christians ‘Happy Easter’ on Facebook

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Asad Shah” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Asad Shah” name=”jpg” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/95380/asad-shah.jpg” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: Facebook/Christian Post Report – Asad Shah)

Christian Post Report – Asad Shah

A Muslim shopkeeper in Scotland is believed to have been stabbed to death by a fellow Muslim just hours after he posted a message on Facebook wishing Christians a happy Easter.

Christian Post Report – Asad Shah, 40, a member of the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam, was found badly wounded near his shop in the Shawlands area of Glasgow Thursday night and was later pronounced dead after he arrived at nearby Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

The fatal incident occurred just hours after the statement “Good Friday and very happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation x!” was posted to a Facebook account that British media say belongs to the Pakistani-born Shah.

“Lets Follow the Real Footstep of Beloved Holy JESUS CHIRST (PBUH) And Get the Real Success in Both Worlds,” the Facebook post also stated.

BBC reports that local police have arrested an unnamed 32-year-old Sunni Muslim they believe was involved in the attack. The police also believe the killing was religiously motivated.

“A full investigation is under way to establish the full circumstances surrounding the death which is being treated as religiously prejudiced,” a police spokeswoman stated.

A family friend the Shah’s named Mohammad Faisal, who claims to have witnessed the incident, told the Daily Mail that a bearded man wearing a religious robe entered the shop and spoke to Shah in his native language before ultimately stabbing him in the head with a kitchen knife.

Faisal explained that Shah’s brother, who was working next door when the stabbing happened, rushed to see the commotion and when he came out, he saw the suspect laughing while sitting on top of Shah’s chest.

“The brother dragged Mr. Shah away but the guy continued attacking with the blade,” Faisal said. “They struggled up to the bus stop where Asad collapsed.”

Faisal believes that the attack was a result of the Facebook post.

“It was just a clear-cut revenge attack. For posting messages about peace, messages about greeting fellow Christians and Jews,” he said. “That man must not have been too happy about what he was doing, what he was preaching. It was a well-planned attack. He must have been an extremist.”

“He went straight for the head,” Faisal added. “He got stomped on the head as well. His brother suffered a slash down his shoulder area because he attacked him with a knife as well.”

Another eyewitness who was driving by at the time and chose to remain anonymous, told the Daily Record that she saw two perpetrators involved in the attack.

“One was stamping on his head,” she explained. “There was a pool of blood on the ground. It was horrific.”

A GoFundMe online crowdfunding page has been set up by a group of Shawland residents who got to know Shah as a kind peaceful man. The proceeds will go toward Shah’s family.

In just over three days, the equivalent of over $116,000 dollars have been raised as of Monday afternoon.

“We are scared for our lives,” Shah’s brother was quoted as saying. “The police have told us to be careful about what we say and we do not want to give our names to protect our security.”

“Mr. Shah was a popular, well respected and much loved member of our commuity [sic] and his death has devastated many,” the donation page explains. “He was a warm and friendy [sic] man and he always went out of his way to make time to talk to you — he was more than just our local shopkeeper. He was a friend to many.”

Following the murder, a floral tribute was placed at the scene of his murder and hundreds of people, including local politicians, took part in a vigil Friday night.

“It was very respectful. There were a lot of people clearly very upset. There were a lot of tears and lots and lots of flowers, Eildon Dyer, an organizer of the Vigil, told BBC. “Everybody has said he was the nicest man. He was clearly much-loved. Everybody had nice stories to tell about him and warm stories. It’s just very, very sad.”

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

‘Billy Graham of the Next Generation’ Calls on 1 Million Americans to Unite in Prayer in Washington This Summer

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‘Billy Graham of the Next Generation’ Calls on 1 Million Americans to Unite in Prayer in Washington This Summer

Washington Monument (Photo: Reuters/Richard Clement)

Christian Post Report – People shout slogans in front of the Reflecting Pool near the Washington Monument at the “One Nation Working Together” rally in Washington, D.C., October 2, 2010.

A Minnesota-based evangelist is calling on 1 million Americans to gather in the nation’s capital this summer to pray, worship and “stand for Jesus” and “catalytic change” at Together 2016.

Nick Hall, the founder of PULSE, a prayer and evangelism movement to empower the church and awaken the culture to Jesus, is calling on Americans to unite on the National Mall on July 16 to offer prayer that God will change the hearts of a divided America.

“What would it look like, on one day, to rally the entire nation together, not around what we’re against — and that’s often what we get known for — but rallying people around what we’re for, and around the change that Jesus offers?” Hall asked Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” Easter Sunday.

Hall said the nation is on the precipice of monumental change and emphasized that change is often ushered in by significant gatherings like Together 2016.

“Moments of historic change [are] often marked by historic gatherings, and so, for us, we really believe that this is a time to shift the nation back to what matters,” said Hall, citing other “defining moments of faith” as the women’s suffrage and Civil Rights movements.

Regarding the increasing division of the nation during contentious presidential elections, Hall added that while it’s easy to be critical and negative during election cycles, people really long to come together. “We can still unite, regardless of our differences, and we really believe that Jesus is the one that can bring us together.”

Hall sits on the leadership team of the National Association of Evangelicals and on the student advisory team for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He’s even been dubbed by some as the “Billy Graham of the next generation,” and admires the famed evangelist’s ability to bring people together.

“Billy Graham is obviously a hero of many people. I think the way that he brought people together, the way that he always talks about hope and life, and kept the message on something that could unite. And so, obviously anybody’s going to be humbled and honored to even be mentioned in the same breath as somebody like Billy Graham,” he told Fox News.

“There has to be a leader that rises above, and we think Jesus is that leader. Regardless of, really, religion or background, Jesus offers us an example of friendship, of leadership, of character, of integrity,” Hall continued. “And as people of faith, we believe that His spirit comes and can empower us to be the generation that we’re supposed to be. Through prayer, through getting in scriptures, through talking about His life and what He did, we believe that change can happen in every level of society.”

Several faith and thought leaders will be attending Together 2016, including Francis Chan, Pastor Ronnie Floyd, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez and evangelist Luis Palau. Christian performers Michael W. Smith, Lecrae, Hillsong United, Kirk Franklin, Kari Jobe, Tasha Cobbs, Casting Crowns, Crowder, Andy Mineo and Trip Lee will also be on hand.

To learn more about this event, visit: Reset2016.com.

Follow me on Twitter: @kevindonporter

Source : Christian Post

David Cameron Calls on Britons to ‘Stand Together and Defend Christian Values’ After Brussels, Pakistan Attacks

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David Cameron Calls on Britons to ‘Stand Together and Defend Christian Values’ After Brussels, Pakistan Attacks

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (Photo: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth)

Christian Post Report – Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron leaves Number 10 Downing Street to meet with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, May 8, 2015.

Prime Minister David Cameron focused his Easter Sunday message on the importance of being proud of one’s Christian faith, especially following the Brussels terror attacks that killed 35 last week.

Speaking in a pre-recorded video message, the prime minister described Great Britain as a “Christian country with Christian values,” adding that citizens must “all stand together and defend them,” in his Easter message released Sunday.

Cameron added that when “terrorists try to destroy our way of life as they have tried to do again so despicably in Brussels — we must stand together and show that we will never be cowed by terror.”

“We must show that in this struggle of our generation we will defeat the pernicious ideology that is the root cause of this terrorism by standing up proudly for our values and our way of life,” the prime minister continued.

Cameron added that these values include “responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion and pride in working for the common good and honouring the social obligations we have to one another, to our families and our communities.”

“These are values we treasure. They are Christian values and they should give us the confidence to say yes, we are a Christian country and we are proud of it,” the country’s leader added.

Cameron’s comments come after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium, on March 22 that left 35 dead and over 300 injured.

The attacks involved the detonation of three bombs, including two at the Brussels airport and one at the Brussel’s metro station.

Several other leaders incorporated the recent terror attacks into their Easter messages, including Pope Francis and the Most Rev. Justin Welby.

Speaking from St. Peter’s Square in Rome Sunday, Francis said Christians must work to use “weapons of love” to fight against “blind and brutal violence,” as seen in the recent Brussels attacks.

Along with the Belgium attacks, Francis also referenced recent acts of terror in Iraq, Cameroon, Turkey, Chad, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast, NBC News reports.

“May [Jesus] draw us closer on this Easter feast to the victims of terrorism, that blind and brutal form of violence which continues to shed blood in different parts of the world,” Francis told the audience.

In an address at Canterbury Cathedral on Easter Sunday, the Most Rev. Justin Welby told congregants they must not give into terrorism-fueled fear, even though recent attacks may “[cause] us to act fearfully, to see a world in which fear triumphs.”

Welby added that the message on Easter Sunday, as seen through Jesus’ death and resurrection, is one of hope.

“On Easter day hope decisively overcame fear,” the religious leader said.

Welby added that although fear is a natural human reaction, Christians should always look forward to hope.

“Easter proclaims to us in flesh and blood that fear and death and terror are not the last words,” he said, adding that while “terror speaks of a world at war with itself … God has spoken life, hope and purpose.”

“Jesus Christ reaches out not in exclusion but in embrace; this is the feast of the victory of God, and we celebrate in the midst of darkness, by our worship and praise shining an unquenchable light,” Welby added.

Source : Christian Post

Female Arab Journalist Asks Muslim in Middle East: What if Christians Were Suicide Bombers?

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Female Arab Journalist Asks Muslim in Middle East: What if Christians Were Suicide Bombers?

Journalist Nadine Al-Budair (Photo: Facebook/MEMRI/Nadine Al-Budair)

Christian Post Report – Journalist Nadine Al-Budair claims Islam must shed its intolerant image, disavow those who practice terrorism, and apologize to the rest of the world for the death brought by radical jihadists.

A female Arab journalist who lives in Qatar has penned a bold article that asks Muslims in the Middle East how they would respond if Christian suicide bombers struck their public markets, collapsed their tall buildings or tried to force Muslims to convert to Christianity.

Liberal Saudi journalist Nadine Al-Budair writes in Kuwait’s Al-Rai newspaper that Arab countries have refused to address the problem of terrorism and have yet to create a climate that matches the liberal, humanitarian climate of the West. She asked Muslims to consider what their world would be like if Christians the world over had responded to Muslims the way terrorists have spread radical Islam.

“Imagine a Western youth coming here and carrying out a suicide mission in one of our public squares in the name of the Cross. Imagine that two skyscrapers had collapsed in some Arab capital, and that an extremist Christian group, donning millennium-old garb, had emerged to take responsibility for the event, while stressing its determination to revive Christian teachings or some Christian rulings, according to its understanding, to live like in the time [of Jesus] and his disciples, and to implement certain edicts of Christian scholars,” Al-Budair writes in a translation of the editorial provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

FOR FULL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE TO READ IN CHRISTIAN EXAMINER

Source : Christian Post

Joel Osteen Says He’s Not Cheating People by Not Preaching About Hell

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Joel Osteen Says He’s Not Cheating People by Not Preaching About Hell

Joel Osteen (Photo: Reuters)

Christian Post Report – Joel Osteen.

Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen says he isn’t cheating anyone by not talking about Hell and repentance, insisting that people feel guilty enough already, and he wants to lift up believers instead of bringing them down.

When asked in an Easter Sunday interview by CBS News’ “Sunday Morning” program “Do you feel like you’re cheating people by not telling them about the Hell part? Or repentance part?” Osteen answered: “No, I really don’t, because it’s a different approach.”

He continued: “You know, it’s not hellfire and brimstone. But I say most people are beaten down enough by life. They already feel guilty enough. They’re not doing what they should, raising their kids — we can all find reasons. So I want them to come to Lakewood or our meetings and be lifted up, to say, ‘You know what? I may not be perfect, but I’m moving forward. I’m doing better.’ And I think that motivates you to do better.”

Osteen, who leads one of the largest megachurches in the U.S., also rejected suggestions that one has to be “poor and broke and defeated to show that you’re humble,” and noted that his father, John Osteen, came from humble beginnings, before he founded Lakewood.

“You know, my dad was very, very poor,” the pastor said. “No milk, no food, no heating in the winter. And you know what? He stepped up. And he had a big dream for his life. And look what he’s done for us. And so my whole thing is, you don’t have to stay there. You gotta believe that you can rise higher.”

Osteen also revealed that his ministry spends as much money supporting missionaries, TV evangelizing efforts, and paying staff as it earns.

“In just big broad terms, $30 million goes to the TV effort. What’s left, it’s paying staff, it’s supporting missionaries and missions’ work, it’s just the organization of making it go. So if we bring in, you know, $90 million this year, we will spend $90 million,” he explained.

Osteen has on numerous occasions denied that he peaches a “watered-down” version of the Gospel, stating in a February 2012 message that for many years religion has pushed down people, and people have been told that they can’t measure up to God.

“My goal is to make God good and let them know, hey, I tell them all the time, God’s smiling down on you right now. You’re his child. He’s got a great plan for your life. You can overcome mistakes, and to me, that draws people to God,” the Texas megachurch pastor said at the time.

Osteen continues his “Night of Hope” events across America, and hosted his latest sermon in Newark, New Jersey, last week.

Some attendees praised Osteen’s messages for focusing on the basics, which they said is sometimes what people need.

“And I think that some people have the ability to deliver the basic principles that’s needed for Christianity, and Pastor Osteen definitely can deliver that,” one attendee told CBS.

Source : Christian Post

Judge Orders Father to Stop Taking 9-Y-O Son to Church or Lose Visitation Rights

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Judge Orders Father to Stop Taking 9-Y-O Son to Church or Lose Visitation Rights

Pakistani Christians (Photo: Reuters/Athar Hussain)

Christian Post Report – A Pakistani Christian woman attends mass along with others on Christmas day at St Andrew’s Church in Karachi, December 25, 2013.

A judge in England has barred a father from taking his 9-year-old son to a Christian church because the boy’s Muslim mother fears an opposing worldview will “confuse” the child’s faith.

The Daily Mail reports that the boy’s father, who cannot be named for legal reasons and lives in Derby County, was born to Pakistani-born parents inside the U.K. and was raised in a strict Muslim household being taught that Christians were “heartless and immoral.”

As a non-practicing Muslim, the man and his wife got married in 2003 and led what can be described as a Western lifestyle. But after the woman’s father died, she began to become more adherent to conservative Muslim principles after her mother told her that her father was going to Hell because he did not adhere to the strict guidelines of the Muslim faith.

According the father, the mother began shunning their Christian friends. She began wearing a hijab and started attending a madrassa.

In 2013, the woman left her husband and took their son with her. After finalizing a divorce last year, the father only gets to see his son every other weekend as the child lives with his mother.

Having been brought up in a strict Muslim household, the father reportedly fears that his son is being brainwashed with misguided thoughts and wants his son to be exposed to other religious views in order for him to have a balanced life.

“I was taught that Christians were heartless and immoral, that only Muslims have a peaceful faith and all others are evil,” the father told the MailOnline. “It was only when I began mixing with Christians that I learned this was nonsense.”

The father developed a relationship with a local Christian church that had embraced him after his divorce.

“They run many activities my son enjoys so I go to the church and would like to take my son,” the father asserted.

The boy’s mother, however, turned to the Derby County Court in an appeal to prohibit the father from taking their son to the church. She insisted that her son could “become confused” if he was exposed to other religions.

In a ruling earlier this month, District Judge Williscroft ruled that the father could not take his son to the church and told the father that he could lose visitation rights with his son if he takes his son to the church, the leisure center the church runs or any other religious gathering.

The order also states that his father can only feed his son Halal food and must reassure the child that he is “an ordinary Muslim boy following Muslim rules,” according to the Daily Mail.

“This judge is simply scared of being branded Islamophobic,” the father argued. “I want my son to have a balanced life in which he is exposed to different faiths and can make up his own mind about which, if any, religion he follows.”

“My son is being indoctrinated and the only way I can show him other things is to take him to other places,” the father added. “If I don’t show him other types of life he will become just like a dumb sheep. I want him to see and learn about different cultures.”

The father also claimed that his son was already starting to believe that he is a “bad man” because he is not a devout Muslim.

“This is nothing short of brainwashing him,” the father stressed. “Already he is telling me that I have a black heart, that I am a bad man, because I am not a practising Muslim. I am heartbroken that I have to keep him away from activities with local children.”

The father appealed Williscroft’s decision to the high court in hopes to have the order overturned.

“He is being fed the same lies I was as a child and I want better for him,” the father asserted. “This judge was so busy being politically correct that she has ignored the influence of myself as a loving father. I am terrified that he will stop wanting to see me because of his indoctrination.”

Many Christian leaders are backing the father and stating that the judge’s ruling only shows that the court is “pandering to Islam.”

“This is a form of judicial bullying,” Barrister Andrea Williams, of the Christian Legal Centre and a member of the Church of England General Synod, told the Daily Mail. “The wife is using the law to coerce and silence a father’s right to determine his son’s religious experience. This chimes generally with what we see with the judicial system acting as if it is afraid of upsetting Islam and therefore showing a willingness to suppress the Christian faith and punishing those who practise it.”

Williams argued that a British judge would never tell a Muslim mother not to take her son to a mosque.

“This would not have happened the other way around. If a Christian parent was trying to deny a child access to a mosque, there would be a huge outcry and claims of Islamophobia,” she added.

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

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