Archaeology Discovery: Rare Artifacts From Jesus’ Time Found at Orphanage in Jerusalem

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Archaeology Discovery: Rare Artifacts From Jesus’ Time Found at Orphanage in Jerusalem

Israel (Photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

Christian Post Report – A man walks at an excavation site where an ancient road station, dating back 1,500 years and frequented by travelers between Jerusalem and the coastal plain, was exposed, near Beit Nekofa, west of Jerusalem, Israel, June 10, 2015. A statement from the IAA said the Byzantine-period road station that included a church was discovered during a salvage dig conducted while upgrading the highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Archaeologists in Israel are “astonished and surprised” after finding artifacts dating back to Jesus’ time at a local orphanage and military complex in Jerusalem.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said this week that it has found numerous rare and important artifacts, some dating back to the Second Temple period, buried deep beneath the Schneller compound in Jerusalem, which had previously served as a orphanage and later an Israeli army base.

The Schneller compound first served as an orphanage in the 1800’s, and then as an occupation area for German soldiers during World Wars I and II. It later became a base for the Israel Defense Forces.

“We were astonished and surprised by the remains we found here,” Amit Re’em with the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement this week, according to The Blaze.

Re’em added that the discoveries serve as evidence of Jerusalem’s rich archaeological history.

“This is the magic of Jerusalem. Everything is layers upon layers in one place,” the archaeologist said.

According to Fox News, excavators have made fascinating discoveries at the compound after they were ordered to do a dig before construction on residential housing in the area could begin.

One the most interesting discoveries includes a winery complete with mosaics, storage rooms, and grape presses. Archaeologists have dated the winery back 1,600 years.

A bathhouse was also discovered, complete with an internal heating system, as well as a Jewish settlement dating back to 63 B.C.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement that at the winery’s center, there “is a pit in which a press screw was anchored that aided in extracting the maximum amount of must from the grapes.”

“Eight cells were installed around the pressing surface. These were used for storing the grapes, and possibly also for blending the must with other ingredients, thereby producing different flavors of wine,” the statement added.

According to the Daily Mail, Re’em added that the bathhouse discovered at the site proves the area was inhabited during the Second Temple Period.

“Near the bathhouse we found a pit – maybe a ritual bath [Mikye] from the Second Temple Period full of ceramic and glass vessels,” Re’em said. “Everything is evidence that nearly 2000 years ago the Romans arrived in Jerusalem and after the destruction of the city in 70AD, the soldiers occupied this house and we find archaeological evidence from this period.”

Alex Wiegmann, the excavation director overseeing the Schneller compound dig, said in a statement that “Once again, Jerusalem demonstrates that wherever one turns over a stone, ancient artifacts will be found related to the city’s glorious past.”

“The archaeological finds discovered here help paint a living, vibrant and dynamic picture of Jerusalem as it was in ancient times up until the modern era,” Wiegmann added.

Jerusalem has long been a rich source for archaeological history. Earlier this month, the Israel Antiquities Authority confirmed that it had excavated a 7,000-year-old settlement in Jerusalem dating back to the Copper Age.

Along with discovering two houses at this site, archaeologists also discovered tools for harvesting grain, as well as red beads likely used for trade or jewelry.

Source : Christian Post

OWN’s ‘Fix My Life’ Spiritual Coach Iyanla Vanzant Praying for Kanye West

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OWN’s ‘Fix My Life’ Spiritual Coach Iyanla Vanzant Praying for Kanye West

Kanye West REUTERS / Andrew Kelly

Christian Post Report – Kanye West dances during his Yeezy Season 3 Collection presentation and listening party for the ‘The Life of Pablo’ album during New York Fashion Week February 11, 2016.

Iyanla Vanzant, the spiritual coach on OWN Network’s “Fix My Life,” is praying for Kanye West.

Vanzant has attempted to help people with troubling behavior like rapper DMX, former NFL player Terrell Owens and reality television star Evelyn Lozada. Now, she wants to help 38-year-old rap mogul West.

Last month the rapper publicly engaged in some volatile behavior that included tweets verbally attacking his ex-girlfriend Amber Rose and her child, speaking negatively about producer Bob Ezrin for criticizing his new album, and asking billionaires, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, for money. Vanzant thinks West needs an intervention and saw similarities in him to now deceased troubled entertainers indirectly crying out for help.

“I see something there that represents an imbalance. We’ve seen this before, we watched it with Whitney, we watched it with Michael (Jackson), we watched it with Phyllis Hyman,” Vanzant told Hip Hollywood. “We watch this over and over and we turn our face (thinking) OK somebody will deal with it. No, we need to deal with it. But, we can’t deal with it unless he’s willing.”

While West has admitted to struggling with depression in the past, his friend and Chicago rapper Rhymefest, who helped pen hits like “Jesus Walks” and “New Slaves,” recognized that counseling needed to take place.

“My brother needs help, in the form of counseling. Spiritual and mental,” Rhymefest tweeted to fans last month. “He should step away from the public and yes men and heal. I love my brother. I pray for his health not our entertainment.”

The rapper later spoke to Hip Hollywood about his comments concerning West’s spiritual well-being.

“A lot of people try and tear Kanye down, and I just don’t want to be used like that because I am a friend. I knew Kanye before he was famous, and I’ll know him when the lights go out,” he said. “I want my friend to be happy, I want him to be at peace. You know I work with a lot of young people in Chicago and the key to happiness is just being at peace.”

Rhymefest ended the conversation by saying, “I want my friend to be at peace and I congratulate him on his album, and I’m glad he’s doing well.”

Another collaborator of West’s is rapper French Montana who appeared on “Larry King Now” March 1 to deny that his fellow rapper has any issues.

“I just spoke to him yesterday. He don’t sound like he have problems,” Montana said. “I just feel like Kanye West is a genius and all the moves he do is calculated. Everything he says makes headlines. There’s a method to his madness.”

Source : Christian Post

ABC’s Biblical ‘Soap Opera’ ‘Of Kings and Prophets’ Blasted as ‘Extraordinarily Violent’, ‘Sexual’

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ABC’s Biblical ‘Soap Opera’ ‘Of Kings and Prophets’ Blasted as ‘Extraordinarily Violent’, ‘Sexual’

ABC (Photo: Screengrab/ABC/”Of Kings And Prophets”)

Christian Post Report – The ABC biblical drama “Of Kings And Prophets” premieres March 8, 2016.

ABC TV network is set to debut the risque “soap opera”-like drama “Of Kings and Prophets,” a series with graphic sex and violence said to be inspired by the Bible’s Old Testament that has prompted the Parents Television Council to issue a warning to advertisers.

“We are urging each potential sponsor of ‘Of Kings and Prophets’ to carefully weigh whether an ‘extraordinarily violent’ and ‘sexual’ broadcast TV show that has been compared to an explicit premium cable TV show is truly a good fit for their corporate image,” said PTC President Tom Winters in a statement Tuesday. “TV shows that are filled with sex and violence will only remain on the public airwaves as long as advertisers are willing to sponsor them. We urge companies to use caution when considering whether or not to advertise on this show … “

ABC execs admit that they’re intentionally pushing the limits with the new series.

“We’re going to go as far as we can,” showrunner Chris Brancato recently told The Hollywood Reporter about “Of Kings and Prophets.”

“This story is an Old Testament [story that’s] violent [and] sex-drenched. It’s one of the world’s first soap operas … You will watch a show that is tasteful but that also tells the story you can read if you want to pick up the Bible.”

In early January, ABC debated internally about how much sex and violence it would include in the broadcast version of the series, and contemplated showing two versions — one for network TV and an edgier version online, according to Variety.

One of the show’s creators, Adam Cooper, recently told Variety, “We have more leeway with online content. For instance, how much skin or sexuality we can show. I think we can show it in its pure form [with an online version], but I think we’re really talking about subtle distinctions.”

Besides the amount of sex and violence, the show’s creators, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, also considered cast diversity. The creative duo were the co-writers of Ridley Scott’s 2014 film “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” which stirred controversy due to its casting of all-white actors as Egyptians in lead roles.

“We were pretty bruised by how that came out, the criticism about whitewashing is something that matters to us very much,” Cooper told Deadline in January. When it comes to “Of Kings and Prophets,” he said, “We look for the best cast possible. We do it with an eye toward diversity, but also with finding the best cast possible.”

“Of Kings And Prophets” debuts March 8.

View a trailer for the series below:


Email me: [email protected]
Follow me on Twitter: @kevindonporter

Source : Christian Post

Muslim Nanny Who Beheaded Moscow Girl: ‘Kill My Children, I Don’t Need Them, They Don’t Read the Quran’

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Muslim Nanny Who Beheaded Moscow Girl: ‘Kill My Children, I Don’t Need Them, They Don’t Read the Quran’

Gulchekhra (Gyulchekhra) Bobokulova (Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)

Christian Post Report – Gulchekhra (Gyulchekhra) Bobokulova, a nanny suspected of murdering a child in her care, sits inside a defendants’ cage as she attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, March 2, 2016.

The Muslim nanny in Moscow who beheaded a 4-year-old girl claiming that “Allah ordered” her to do it is now saying she wanted to avenge Muslims being killed by Russian airstrikes in Syria.

“I took revenge against those who spilled blood,” 38-year-old Gulchekhra Bobokulova responded to a question outside of court, Reuters reported. “[Vladimir] Putin spilled blood, planes carried out bombings. Why are Muslims being killed? They also want to live.”

Bobokulova, who is a mother of three, also told reporters that she doesn’t need her children alive.

“You can kill them, I do not need them. They do not read the Quran,” she said, according to Newsweek, referring to the Islamic holy book.

The woman, an Uzbekistan national who was working as a nanny for a Russian family in Moscow, confessed to beheading their 4-year-old daughter and carrying her severed head around the city before she was arrested and taken into custody.

Video released of Bobokulova walking around a metro station depicts her shouting phrases such as “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and “I am a terrorist.” She is also heard saying “I hate democracy. I’m a terrorist. I’m your suicide bomber. … I’m going to die in a second” and “The end of the world is coming in a second. … I’m your death.”

The suspect is being evaluated for mental problems, Russian authorities revealed, but when asked by journalists about her motives, the nanny said she was “ordered by Allah” to carry out the crime.

Her latest comments on Russian airstrikes regard the ongoing civil war in Syria, where the Islamic State terror group has taken significant territory.

World powers, including Russia, have been carrying out airstrikes in the country aimed at terror targets, but the Putin administration has been accused by the U.S. and by monitoring groups of not just targeting IS, but also other rebel groups, in a bid to aid the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

Human rights groups, such as the Syrian Network for Human Rights, accused Russia in a report of killing at least 1,382 civilians in the month of January, which is more than the number killed by either IS or Assad’s army.

“SNHR affirms that government forces, its militias (Shabiha) and the Russian forces have violated the principles of the human rights international laws which protect the right to life,” the report states. “All evidence and eyewitnesses’ testimonies prove that more than 90 percent of the wide and individual attacks targeted civilians and civil points.”

Russia has denied wrongdoing in Syria, however, and when asked about Bobokulova’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that she has mental issues.

“You need to regard anything that such a deranged woman says accordingly,” Peskov told reporters.

Although Russian police have said they are not yet treating the case as one of terrorism, Bobokulova told reporters that she had plans to move to Syria, but couldn’t afford it. She was also asked if she wanted to join IS, to which she replied: “I don’t know. I wanted to live there.”

News reports from Uzbekistan have said that she divorced her husband in 2002 and left her family, including her three sons, back home. Bobokulova had apparently been admitted to a psychiatric ward, where she stayed for two weeks.

A man claiming to be her father told the Russian news site Gazeta that his daughter had never mentioned religion to him, and had never went to the mosque in Uzbekistan. Bobokulova’s eldest son, who is 19, was apparently detained by authorities after news of the killing in Moscow, but the family were not told why.

Source : Christian Post

Erica Campbell Talks Replacing Sister Tina in ‘Mary Mary’ Tonight

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Erica Campbell Talks Replacing Sister Tina in ‘Mary Mary’ Tonight

Erica Campbell (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Alcorn)

Christian Post Report – Erica Campbell and Warryn Campbell pose with their Grammy award for Best Gospel Song for “Go Get It” backstage at the 55th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 10, 2013.

Erica Campbell says she isn’t ready to reveal whether she’ll be replacing her sister, Tina, in their gospel music group Mary Mary, but fans will soon find out.

In a new season of their hit WEtv reality television show “Mary Mary,” fans will witness the group’s producer and Erica’s husband, Warryn Campbell, threatening to replace Tina. After pursuing solo music efforts for the past two years, the sisters are speaking about coming back together to meet contractual obligations for their original group.

When Hip Hollywood questioned Erica about replacing Tina, the former revealed why her husband had to give her sister an ultimatum.

“We were trying so hard to get her to do it and she’s just like, ‘in a moment, in a minute,’ and I was like ‘it’s so present right now,” Erica told Hip Hollywood earlier this week.

Still, she didn’t want to give away too much about what happens this season, and encouraged fans to stay tuned to find out if Tina would remain in the group.

The former Mary Mary group manager Mitchell Solarek also arrives on the scene in a trailer for the upcoming series, and pitches one of his clients to replace Tina in the award-winning music duo.

That client happens to be 18-year-old singer and former contestant on “The Voice,” Koryn Hawthorne.

While Tina tells her sister that the financial repercussions for not giving Sony their promised album would be Warryn’s problem, she refused to believe that there would be another version of the group without her.

“There’s never going to be another Mary Mary,” Tina said in a trailer for the show.

Last year, Tina told JET magazine that she refused to engage in drama on the series this season.

“I’m contractually committed, yet I want to reflect my God even with these executives and behind the scenes people,” Campbell told JET magazine. “I’m not compromising my faith by no stretch of the imagination.”

While Tina is the more outspoken of the sisters, she admits that this season was harder for her to film because of her decision to release negativity in her life.

“I’m not what TV likes. TV likes drama and I have a very big personality, [and] I think TV likes that kind of person, but, they’re looking for fear and problems,” Tina added. “I ain’t that. So it’s challenging for me at times. They’ve got to be creative when they’re taping my life and things.”

Season five of “Mary Mary” airs at 9 p.m. ET, March 3 on WEtv.

Source : Christian Post

Kierra Sheard Striving to ‘Love My Body’ After Painful Cosmetic Surgery

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Kierra Sheard Striving to ‘Love My Body’ After Painful Cosmetic Surgery

Kierra Sheard (Photo: Bet Networks)

Christian Post Report – Kierra Sheard recently debuted her fifth studio album “Graceland.”

In the midst of recovering from major cosmetic surgery, Kierra Sheard says she’s trying to heal emotionally by tackling body image issues with help from God.

The 28-year-old daughter of Grammy Award winning singer Karen Clark Sheard, of the gospel music group The Clark Sisters, admits she’s experiencing immense pain as she heals from the cosmetic surgery performed on her body. And she’s being transparent about the painful emotional journey of examining self love.

“If I was able to lose 80 pounds on my own then surely I can trample over the doubts and lack of self discipline that I am currently experiencing. I am ready for this to be over and I cannot believe that I actually have staples in my arms, all for wanting to look a certain way,” she says in her blog that was posted on Friday. “I laid on my couch last night in pain and in tears because I say I love myself but I wonder if I love my body the way I truly should.”

The daughter of Bishop J. Drew Sheard of Greater Emmanuel Institutional C.O.G.I.C. in Detroit, Michigan, has prayed about becoming more disciplined when dieting. Since her weight kept fluctuating, she questioned God’s plan after praying for control over the issue.

“I have prayed and prayed and asked God for His power and my weight just goes up and down, up and down, up and down,” she revealed. “It’s quite frustrating. It’s like … is this a curse or what?”

In the blog post titled, “Surgery Sucks and ‘My Holding Cell,'” the singer and fashion designer also gets candid about questioning what is holding her back from marriage and her career goals. The Eleven60 fashion designer says she doesn’t have the money she needs to do all that she wants to with her plus sized clothing line and she confesses to also having doubts about her music career.

“It takes too much money for all of what I want to happen, to actually happen. I am tired of saying, ‘I’ can’t do it right now’ due to budgetary limit,'” she shared. “The music career is quite frustrating. Along the journey, you war in your mind of whether or not you’re good enough and if you’re actually touching the lives that you’re called to touch.”

While healing from surgery, Sheard says she’s trying to heal emotionally by doing some self reflection on the issues troubling her heart.

“I will never reach a place of peace, if I am always wanting the next. I haven’t reached my next place yet because I haven’t learned to be thankful enough in the place that I am in,” she continues. “How will I appreciate the goodness that is following me if I am always wanting the goodness and mercy that isn’t in my reach? Something to think about.”

Sheard ended her post by encouraging others to find things they should be thankful for.

“Be thankful, give God more time, brainstorm, create, love yourself harder, have time to just think. More answers may come from just sitting there…but take your time,” she says. “I hope this encourages you to know that you are not alone and that whatever God has promised you, it will happen in His timing.”

During an interview with The Christian Post back in July about the financial constraints she encountered with her clothing line, Sheard said she is supporting her passion project with her own money, and insisted that God has been showing her His divine provision in the process.

“Honestly, I haven’t had every dollar that I needed to make this happen but I’m learning the providing side of God,” she said. “I’m not at my parents’ house anymore, so He is providing everything. Every bill that has been due, I’ve been able to cover it because God has given me money out of nowhere.”

Source : Christian Post

Christian Man Removed From UK Flight After Prayer Text Mistaken for ISIS Message

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Christian Man Removed From UK Flight After Prayer Text Mistaken for ISIS Message

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – An easyJet aircraft takes-off past Air France plane tails at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport, near Paris, September 16, 2014.” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – An easyJet aircraft takes-off past Air France plane tails at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport, near Paris, September 16, 2014.” name=”jpg” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/94551/an-easyjet-aircraft-takes-off-past-air-france-plane-tails-at-the-charles-de-gaulle-airport-near-paris-september-16-2014.jpg” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: Reuters/Christian Hartmann)

Christian Post Report – An easyJet aircraft takes-off past Air France plane tails at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport, near Paris, September 16, 2014.

A Christian man is claiming he was removed from an EasyJet flight this week for sending a text message about prayer that was mistaken for an ISIS message.

The incident occurred this week on an EasyJet flight traveling from Luton, England to Amsterdam when Laolu Opebiyi was asked to deboard the aircraft for a message he sent using WhatsApp.

Another traveler had reportedly been looking over the 40-year-old Christian’s shoulder before take-off and noticed he had sent a message regarding “prayer” in an “Isi Men” WhatsApp group.

While the group was actually a men’s Christian Bible study, the traveler evidently mistook it as belonging to the Islamic State terrorist organization.

The Guardian reports that several passengers left the plane, and then police officers also demanded that Opebiyi leave the aircraft for further questioning. He was able to catch a different flight to Amsterdam four hours later after he allowed airport security to access his phone and read his WhatsApp messages.

Opebiyi, who is originally from Nigeria, told the media outlet that he doesn’t think anyone should be judged based on their religion.

“That guy doesn’t know me and within two minutes he’s judging me,” he said. “Even if I was a Muslim, it was pretty unfair the way I was treated. I don’t think anyone, irrespective of their religion should be treated in such a way.”

“If we keep on giving into this kind of bigotry and irrational fear, I dare say that the terrorists will have achieved their aim,” the Christian man added.

Since the Islamic State terror group gained power, there have been reported cases of alleged discrimination against Muslims on airlines due to fear of a terror attack.

United Airlines issued an apology in 2015 after 31-year-old Muslim passenger Tahera Ahmad claims she was discriminated against on a flight from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C.

The incident took place on a Shuttle America flight in June lasy year, when Ahmad claims a flight attendant refused to serve her an unopened can of soda, suggesting that passengers could use the weighted can as a weapon. Shuttle America is a feeder airline for United.

Ahmad wrote in a Facebook post that she was in “tears of humiliation” by the flight attendant’s comments, especially because the employee gave the man sitting next to her an unopened bottle of beer.

United released a statement apologizing for providing Ahmad with poor customer service, but it did not address the alleged policy on open beverages.

“Ms. Ahmad was our customer and we apologize to her for what occurred on the flight,” the airline said in a press release, as reported by CNN.

“After investigating this matter, United has ensured that the flight attendant, a Shuttle America employee, will no longer serve United customers,” the company added.

Source : Christian Post

New York United Methodist Body Says It Will Ignore Church’s Rules on Gay Clergy

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New York United Methodist Body Says It Will Ignore Church’s Rules on Gay Clergy

NYAC UMC (Photo: Beth Patkus, NY Conference Archivist)

Christian Post Report – The United Methodist Church’s New York Annual Conference Center Office, located at White Plains, New York.

A regional body of the United Methodist Church announced its plans to ignore the denominational rules barring non-celibate homosexuals from ordination.

The New York Annual Conference’s Board of Ordained Ministry released a statement Tuesday noting that they will no longer consider the sexual orientation or gender identity of an ordination candidate.

“Sexual orientation and gender identity are not and will not be considered in the evaluation of candidates by the Board of Ordained Ministry,” reads the statement.

“As a whole, the BOOM has observed vital, effective ministry from clergy married to a spouse of the same sex. Quite simply, discriminating against married persons regardless of the gender of their spouse or against those who hope to be married is not the path we believe God is calling us to walk.”

United Methodist (Photo: UMNS/Paul Jeffrey)

Dozens of demonstrators demanding a more inclusive church hold vigil at the edge of the May 3 session of the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida.

The Rev. William B. Pfohl, chair of the NYAC BOOM and chief signatory of the statement, told The Christian Post that the announcement derived from a regional petition requesting an inquiry into the matter.

“We entertained this request at the May of 2015 plenary meeting, and after some discussion, tabled the items until after we had met with LGBT Clergy currently serving in the Conference,” explained Pfohl.

“That meeting took place at the BOOM Plenary retreat in November 2015 held at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Connecticut.”

The final vote on the released statement took place on Feb. 20, with a supermajority of the New York board approving the standards via secret ballot.

“The NYAC BOOM will not discriminate against candidates for ministry who are currently married or hope to be married regardless of the gender of the spouse with whom they make this sacred covenant before God,” said Pfohl to CP.

“We have not and do not intend to question any candidate about their expressions of intimacy with their spouse.”

In contrast to other Mainline Protestant denominations, the United Methodist Church maintains that homosexuality is a sin and that marriage can only be between one man and one woman.

These positions have been maintained in part because unlike other American Mainline churches the UMC is a global body, which means many of its members and leadership come from more socially conservative societies and cultures.

Regarding ordination, the UMC’s Book of Discipline prohibits homosexuals who are involved in a same-sex relationship from becoming clergy.

“While persons set apart by the Church for ordained ministry are subject to all the frailties of the human condition and the pressures of society, they are required to maintain the highest standards of holy living in the world,” reads the Discipline.

“The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Therefore self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.”

NYAC is not the only conference in the UMC that has recently announced its decision to ignore the denomination’s ordination rules regarding homosexual practice.

Last month the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Baltimore-Washington Conference announced that they recommended a married lesbian to a provisional deacon position.

Debate over the ordination measures laid out in the Discipline, and other matters pertaining to homosexuality, are expected to take place at the denomination’s General Conference this coming May.

Source : Christian Post

Wycliffe Associates Split From Umbrella Group, Cites ‘Language for Father and Son of God’

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Wycliffe Associates Split From Umbrella Group, Cites ‘Language for Father and Son of God’

Egyptian Christian (Photo: Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Christian Post Report – An Egyptian Christian reads an Arabic prayer book during Sunday mass at Saint Mary Church in the heavily populated area of Imbaba in Cairo, June 17, 2012.

One of the world’s leading Bible translation organizations announced this week that it is ending its affiliation with the Wycliffe Global Alliance, citing its opposition to the fact that other alliance-affiliated translation groups do not include familial terms to refer to the relationship between God and Christ.

Wycliffe Associates, an Orlando-based international organization formed in 1967 that had over 6,279 staff and volunteers translating the Gospel in 75 different countries in 2015, announced in a statement Tuesday that it will not renew its affiliation with the Wycliffe Global Alliance, a network of Bible translation organizations formed in 1991.

The press release explains that the decision was made by Wycliffe Associates’ board of trustees last Friday.

Among the various reasons given for Wycliffe Associates’ decision to split with the alliance is the organization’s “commitment to support only Bible translations that use literal common language for Father and Son of God.”

“The Wycliffe Global Alliance includes Bible translation agencies that do not include Father and Son of God in some translations of the Scriptures,” the statement adds.

The announcement comes after the Wycliffe Bible Translators, an unaffiliated organization, and its partner Summer Institute of Linguistics came under fire in recent years after being accused of dropping references to God as the “Father” and Christ as the “Son of God” from Arabic translations in order to avoid implying that God had sexual relations with Mary. The organizations were accused of replacing father and son with terms like “Lord” and “Messiah.”

“For Wycliffe Associates, literal translation of Father and Son of God is not negotiable,” Wycliffe Associates President Bruce Smith said in a statement.

In 2013, the World Evangelical Alliance released a list of recommendations for Bible translators. WEA recommended that translators use explanatory words or phrases in front of father and son, such as “heavenly Father” or “divine son.”

“As long as the family relationship — father and son — is explicit we have no problems with additional descriptions,” Smith told The Christian Post on Wednesday. “It’s only when those are omitted that we feel like the trinity is impacted.”

Although the father and son controversy has surrounded the Bible translation movement for the last few years, Smith told CP that Wycliffe Associates decided to end its affiliation with the Wycliffe Global Alliance now because of changes made to the alliance’s new partnership agreement.

“The specific thing that triggered it was changes in the alliance partnership agreements that, from our point of view, reduced our authority over whom we were partnering with,” Smith explained. “We just weren’t willing to accept those changes.”

As Wycliffe Associates aspires to have the Bible translated into every language in the world by the year 2025, Smith said they plans to provide “open-license Bible resources” to international church partners so that translation work can be accelerated.

“We are committed to releasing resources freely under creative commons licensing so that the Church globally has every resource they need to do high-quality translation for themselves and we are completely committed to supporting their authority over those translations in their own language,” Smith stated. “We felt like it is better for us to accomplish those goals, perhaps, outside of the umbrella of the alliance at this point.”

Representatives from Wycliffe Global Alliance could not be reached for comment by press time.

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith

Source : Christian Post

Justin Bieber’s Mother Prays Singer Will Encounter God

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Justin Bieber’s Mother Prays Singer Will Encounter God

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Pop star Justin Bieber (R) arrives with his mother Pattie Mallette at the 40th American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California November 18, 2012.” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Pop star Justin Bieber (R) arrives with his mother Pattie Mallette at the 40th American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California November 18, 2012.” name=”jpg” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/62090/pop-star-justin-bieber-r-arrives-with-his-mother-pattie-mallette-at-the-40th-american-music-awards-in-los-angeles-california-november-18-2012.jpg” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Alcorn)

Christian Post Report – Pop star Justin Bieber (R) arrives with his mother Pattie Mallette at the 40th American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California November 18, 2012.

Pattie Mallette gave birth to Justin Bieber 22 years ago, and in a birthday message to her son she asked God to give him everything she couldn’t provide.

The pop star’s mother said: “22 years ago I was 18 years old, pregnant and scared. But God,” she wrote on Twitter. “Lord encounter @justinbieber for his bday! Give him all I couldn’t in Jesus name.”

Mallette has witnessed her son go through some tough times since rising to fame at the age of 13. In 2014, Bieber had an especially tough year after he was accused of assaulting a limousine driver in Toronto, egging his neighbor’s home, was arrested for a DUI and questionable driving in Miami, and allegedly taking part in lewd acts like urinating in a prison cell.

During an interview with Billboard last year, Bieber revealed that the behavior put a wedge in the relationship he had with his mother.

“I was distant because I was ashamed. I never wanted my mom to be disappointed in me and I knew she was,” he admitted. “We spent some time not talking, so it takes time to rebuild that trust. She’s living in Hawaii now, so it’s hard, but getting better.”

Still, Bieber praised his mom, saying she’s “an amazing woman and I love her.”

It was Mallette who gave Bieber his foundation in the Christian faith at a young age, and later introduced him to his pastor and friend, Judah Smith.

“When I was 7, she wouldn’t let me listen to anything but [Pastor] Judah’s tapes falling asleep,” Bieber told Billboard.

When Bieber was going through his rebellious phase, Mallette refused to comment on her son’s behavior while she was promoting her 2013 book, Nowhere But Up.

“He wants me to continue to respect his boundaries and my relationship with him,” Mallette told Access Hollywood back in 2013. “Everybody has their own opinion and everybody wants to sensationalise everything.

“You have to sort of let them make some of their own decisions,” she added. “Me, personally, I would love to be with him all the time and to be able to ground him and deal with his problems and do all of that stuff, but at some point the parenting style changes. I hope to still be a respected voice in his ear.”

Source : Christian Post

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