Christian charity condemns Govt inaction as 22,000 youngsters set to sleep rough this Christmas

The number is comparable to the capacity of a sold-out gig at The O2 arena in London.

Centrepoint collated the data after talking to local councils about the number of 16 to 25-year-olds at risk of not having a roof over their heads this winter.

Mark Brennan, London Catalyst team leader for Christian homeless charity Housing Justice told Premier one of the problems comes down to a lack of housing.

  

He says the Government has continually failed to provide solutions for the country’s growing homeless population.

“There’s been plenty of lip service – all kinds of declarations and promises have been made that just haven’t come through, which is obviously tragic.”

He went on to say that although the issue of “conspicuous rough sleepers” needs to be addressed, this is just the “tip of the iceberg”.

“The bigger issue is that below the waterline is hidden homelessness,” Brennan said.

“If you look at documents and reports like the homelessness monitor, for example, they claim about 3 million people in England are hidden homeless,” he continued.

“These are people that might have a roof over their head sporadically but they haven’t got a home. They haven’t got the support network behind them in order to sustain the accommodation.”

Figures from Centrepoint found that 33 per cent of homeless young people have spent the night in a park, 27 per cent have slept in a tent and 10 per…

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Appeals Court Overturns Ban on Prayer before Florida High School Football Games

Appeals Court Overturns Ban on Prayer before Florida High School Football Games



An appeals court has overturned a legal ruling which banned a Christian school from hosting prayers before a football game.


Back in 2015, Cambridge Christian School in Tampa, Florida was ordered to cease praying over a loudspeaker at the start of its state championship game against University Christian School of Jacksonville. As a result of the order, Cambridge launched a lawsuit against the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA).


In a unanimous decision issued Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit slapped down the previous ruling by the district court that banned the school from praying, noting that the lower court was “too quick to dismiss all of Cambridge Christian’s claims out of hand.”


“Taking the complaint in a light most favorable to the plaintiff, as we must at this stage in the proceedings, the schools’ claims for relief under the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses have been adequately and plausibly pled,” wrote Eleventh Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus in his decision, according to the Christian Post.


“And while we agree with the district court that the loudspeaker was a nonpublic forum, we conclude that Cambridge Christian has plausibly alleged that it was arbitrarily and haphazardly denied access to the forum in violation of the First Amendment.”


The conservative law firm representing the…

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Famed atheist YouTube host admits he likes Jesus and is open to the Christian faith

Filmed in front of 1,000 people at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa in California the debate is the latest episode to be released as part of The Big Conversation debate series and also featured Oxford Professor of Mathematics, Dr John Lennox. Rubin’s comments may come as a surprise to his many social media followers who have heard him state that he was an atheist.

 

“I’d had a series of atheists on [my show] in a row, and then people online just kept saying that I was an atheist. And then I just said it one day… it didn’t mean anything to me one way or another.” However, he went on to describe how he changed his mind recently following a period of reflection saying, “One of the thoughts that I kept having was that: I’m not an atheist. I did this live stream where I said that I just don’t like the word atheist – it doesn’t fit what I believe… I got a lot of hate for that one, because the atheists, they don’t like a converted person either.”

 

The host of The Rubin Report says he has been impacted by his friendship with well-known Canadian psychologist Jordan B. Peterson and that his writings were the catalyst for his beliefs to begin to shift. He commented “I’m a better person today than I was before I started this journey with Jordan, and that doesn’t mean I subscribe to the Church of Jordan Peterson –it’s just that this guy has…

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John MacArthur Speaks Out on Women Preachers after Beth Moore Controversy

John MacArthur Speaks Out on Women Preachers after Beth Moore Controversy



Over the weekend, John MacArthur continued his commentary on women preachers in the aftermath of publicly criticizing author and speaker Beth Moore. 


“I do not like to give short answers. I don’t like to get put in a position to do that, because I feel like that just escalates confusion, so I want to take the opportunity to address the issue of women preachers this morning and to give you a more thorough answer from the Word of God on this very, very important subject,” he said from the pulpit of Grace Community Church in California, according to the Christian Post.


The controversy surrounding him and Beth Moore occurred while he answered questions during a celebration of his 50-year preaching career. The author replied “Go home” when asked about Beth Moore. He continued: “Just because you have the skill to sell jewelry on the TV sales channel doesn’t mean you should be preaching. There are people who have certain hawking skills, natural abilities to sell, they have energy and personality and all of that. That doesn’t qualify you to preach.”


On Sunday, MacArthur continued the conversation.


“Women are to maintain submission to men in all churches in all times,” he said. “Women pastors and women preachers are the most obvious evidence of churches rebelling against the Bible…Women who pastor and women who preach in the church are a disgrace…

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Church of Scotland minister suspended after Jeremy Corbyn incident, anti-gay tweets

The Church received complaints about Rev Richard Cameron’s social media use on Wednesday.

He tweeted in September that “homosexual behaviour is a sin” and “allowing children to change their gender is wicked”.

 

He also tweeted: “Christ has the power to help and change anyone. Obviously many gays hate this because want to carry on in their perversion.”

On top of that, the minister shared a series of controversial views on Islam, describing terrorism as “a problem Islam needs to deal with”, a full face veil as “oppressive and unBritish” and the prophet Muhammad as “a violent man”.

The Labour Party pointed out the tweets after Rev Cameron branded Jeremy Corbyn a “terrorist sympathiser” as he was entering the Heart of Scotstoun community centre in Glasgow on Wednesday.

The Church of Scotland rebuked the minster for his statements and said it would be reviewing complaints about the his comments.

In an update on Friday, a Church spokesperson said Rev Cameron has been suspended.

“In accordance with our procedures Rev Richard Cameron has been administratively suspended,” the spokesperson said.

“This is to allow us to carry out an enquiry in relation to the incident which took place earlier this week and the subsequent complaints about his social media use.”

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Local council may force Ed Sheeran to open his proposed private church to the public

It’s been reported Sheeran planned to use the proposed church building as a private venue for friends and family wanting to hold weddings and christenings there.

However, according to The Daily Mail, his local parish council has said the building would need to be accessible to the public for at least three years before it’s licensed and stated that the 28-year-old’s current plans are illegal.

 

Dennington Parish Council Clerk Lydia Kirk said: “The applicant’s statement of need describes the use of the ancillary building as a potential venue for marriages, christenings etc. for family and close friends.

“The parish council notes that additional licenses would be required under the Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005 which would require the licensed premises to be accessible and available for public use for a period of three years.

“As such, this proposed use would be out-with the scope of the current application which is for a private use ancillary building only.”

The Daily Mail reports the proposed church would have a “sweeping boat-shaped feel with a leaf-shaped roof and a cone rather than a spire”.  The building would also have stained glass windows and a chapel with a 48 ft round tower.

Donald Insall Associates,  Sheeran’s planning agent for the project, said: “It would address an important need for a private…

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Christian freedom fighter released from detainment

Camagüey state authorities summoned Ricardo Fernandez Izaguirre on Tuesday and held him incommunicado for 29 hours.

Izaguirre’s wife, Yusleysi Gil Mauricio asked about the charges against him and was reportedly “threatened and insulted” by three state agents, and told her husband would be “judged for being a counter-revolutionary”.

Police refused to give any further information relating to Izaguirres’ detainment or well-being after family had heard nothing about his case since he was taken into custody.

 

Speaking to religious freedom charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) upon his release, he explained that he was held in a windowless cell that was “too small and uncomfortable for someone of my size.”

Izaguirres’ glasses were taken away from him and he was consistently transferred between his “intensely hot cell and an extremely cold interrogation room.”

According to CSW, he was repeatedly threatened by various officials, including a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major throughout his interrogation.

Izaguirre, who has documented over 60 violations of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) this year, was previously detained for four days in July, after meeting with members of the Ladies in White movement – who have been forcibly detained and prevented from attending church services and other religious activities by state authorities.

The Cuban government has ramped up…

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Court rules atheist can have ‘I’m God’ license

According to court documents in a federal court in the state of Kentucky, Ben Hart, who identifies as an atheist, applied for the license plate in 2016 but was denied.

Back then, the state transportation department said the request went against its anti-discrimination guidelines.

After getting legal support from the Kentucky American Civil Liberties Union and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Hart challenged the decision in U.S. District Court in Frankfort and won.

A judge ruled that “vanity plates” are considered private speech which is protected by the US First Amendment.

The judge ruled that the state of Kentucky has violated Hart’s rights by rejecting his request for the license plate.

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Why do we hiccup? Some surprising unsolved mysteries and the bias against religion

The humble hiccup has been one of science’s enduring mysteries. People from before birth to old age get hiccups from time to time. So do cats and rats. No one knows why or how to stop them.

In fact, an internist performed a five-year study involving fifty-four hospital patients with hiccups, attempting a wide range of treatments. None proved effective. 

Now a study led by University College London may have solved the mystery. Researchers monitoring thirteen newborn babies found that hiccupping triggered a large wave of brain signals that could aid their development. This brain activity might help babies learn to monitor their breathing muscles, leading to the ability to control their breathing voluntarily. 

However, hiccups have no known advantage for adults. Why, then, do we persist in them? 

It’s still a mystery. 

Is a recession coming? 

In other news, more than half of the world’s wealthiest investors are preparing for a drop in financial markets before the end of 2020, according to UBS Global Wealth Management. Investors are worried about the 2020 presidential election and the trade dispute between the US and China. 

In a survey of more than 3,400 high-net-worth individuals, more than 79 percent think markets are moving toward a period of higher volatility. About 55 percent of respondents expect a “significant drop” in the markets over the next fourteen months. 

However, the study was conducted between August and October following a volatile third quarter. Recent signs are already pointing to a firming US economy in the fourth quarter. A strong US labor market, robust consumer spending, an improving housing sector, and optimism on trade talks with China have combined with better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and a supportive interest-rate policy from the Federal Reserve. 

So, will the financial markets see a significant drop in the near future? 

It’s still a mystery. 

The “spiritual…

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Turkey’s president vows to rebuild Syrian churches destroyed in conflict

Mr Erdogan made the statement during a press conference with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

It comes after Mr Erdogan launched an operation last month to attack Kurdish fighters in the battle against Islamic State, due to the US pulling troops from the region.

 

The Turkish government claims the Kurdish fighters are terrorists themselves. The conflict has caused several thousand Syrians to be displaced. They have also been accused of targeting innocent civilians.

A reporter asked the Turkish president during the press briefing: “With the — what you’re calling a realignment along the northern Syria border, a lot of Christians in that region are feeling very vulnerable.  Groups on the ground are saying that attacks on Christians have increased under this new policy.  And that they’re not feeling safe any longer.  Can you guarantee that the Turkish government will also protect Christians in that region? “

President Erdogan replied: “On the contrary, Keldani, Yazidi, and Christian minorities is an area where we’re especially sensitive about, and we have certain, different plans — whether it be the ones remaining on the side of Syria — whose sanctuaries have been destroyed, whose churches had been destroyed — will see their sanctuaries getting revived and their churches will be reconstructed so that they can go back and…

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