Texas College Party Shooting Leaves 2 Dead, 12 Injured

Texas College Party Shooting Leaves 2 Dead, 12 Injured



An off-campus college party descended into chaos Saturday night when a gunman opened fire on patrons, killing two and injuring a further twelve people.


According to the Associated Press, police believe that the gunman was targeting one person, but that others may have been shot at random. In the pandemonium following the gunfire, the suspect managed to evade capture – he has still yet to be located.


The shooting took place at a Halloween party attended by several students from Texas A&M University-Commerce, though it was not thought to be a school-sanctioned event.


Mom Kimberly Wilson said her daughter was at the party when gunshots rang out and she managed to flee the scene. “She’s angry, hurt, upset. She’s going through that whole emotional thing,” Wilson, an Afghanistan war vet, told AP. “When you’ve not been trained to deal with something like that — it just throws you off.”


In a statement, University President and CEO Mark Rudin noted that counseling services were available to all enrolled students at the university’s counseling center. He also urged people to stop speculating on details, adding that there was “a tremendous amount of misinformation” surrounding the incident.


Shockingly, on Sunday night, police reported that gunfire had erupted at a vigil for the victims, held just 24 hours after the murders. There were no injuries recorded, but…

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Vietnamese priest sheds light on Essex lorry deaths

Fr Anthony Dang Huu Nam, a Catholic priest in Nghe An province, says the victims are from a rural village called Yen Thanh.

He claimed to have heard that those found dead in Essex were part of a group of more than 100 people travelling to Europe.

 

He told the BBC: “According to a few sources that have told me, in this case they were many people, more than 100 were on their way to a new life, but 39 died.

“A few families confirmed the deaths of their relatives who are the victims of this tragic journey.”

Fr Anthony, who has among those who have led efforts to gather contact details for all the families involved in the tragedy, led prayers all day on Saturday for the situation.

“The whole district is covered in sorrow,” he told Reuters news agency. “This is a catastrophe for our community.”

Experts have said Vietnamese families are paying smugglers large sums of money to help transport relatives into Europe via Russia.

Bernie Gravett, a former Metropolitan police officer who now advises the EU on human trafficking, said migrants from Vietnam often enter Europe via a different route to people coming from China – the country of origin police previously identified for the container victims.

He told BBC Breakfast: “The Chinese would generally come down through Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, across through Turkey and then up what we call the Balkan…

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Christian Comedian John Crist Announces Netflix Comedy Special

Christian Comedian John Crist Announces Netflix Comedy Special



Christian comedian John Crist will release a Netflix special, “I Ain’t Prayin’ For That,” on Thanksgiving.


Crist told The Tennessean that Christian comedy “has gotten a bad rap in the past because it’s very passive, and it’s not honest.”


“It’s like knock-knock jokes type humor,” he said. “What we’re bringing to the table is another level of honesty, and maybe transparency, that I think does make some people uncomfortable.”


Crist’s comedy points to nuances and quirks in the Christian church, but he said he doesn’t joke about core Christian beliefs.


“There’s nothing funny to me about Jesus on the cross or the Virgin Mary, things that are very at the center of our belief system,” he said. “But if your pastor is dressed like he’s on ‘MTV Cribs,’ I’m gonna make fun of that. I worked in a church last week that had ‘Pastors Only’ parking spots, which in my estimation, is, I think, 100 percent everything that Jesus as a person was against.”


Crist’s first gig was at a Chili’s restaurant in 2009. He gained popularity through his online videos, including “Millennial International,” “Every Parent at Disney” and “7 Signs You Grew Up Christian.”


“There’s so much healing that takes place every night at our show,” Crist said in an interview earlier this year.


“Last year, a mom told me, ‘I’ve got…

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Pope Francis thanks Amazon bishops after talks on married priests request

In his homily on Sunday at a Mass to conclude weeks of discussions at the Vatican on the needs of the Amazon’s faithful, Francis did not mention the bishops’ vote to press the Vatican to allow married men to become priests in special circumstances.

A day earlier, Francis told bishops he would draw his conclusions in a document he hoped to write by the end of the year.

 

Allowing married men to be ordained in remote Amazon areas that are facing severe shortage of priests would chip away at the Catholic Church’s nearly millennium-old teaching upholding priestly celibacy.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

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Supreme Court Rejects Case of Christian Student Forced to Write Islamic Prayer

Supreme Court Rejects Case of Christian Student Forced to Write Islamic Prayer



The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up the case of a Christian high school student who claims her constitutional rights were violated when she was forced to write on a worksheet, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” 


The justices, without comment, refused Oct. 15 to hear an appeal of the case from the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had ruled the teacher at La Plata High School in Charles County, Md., did not violate the free speech or religious rights of the student, Caleigh Wood. She was in the 11th grade at the time and refused to complete the assignment. She received a failing grade. 


“The Supreme Court has recognized the secular value of studying religion on a comparative basis,” the Fourth Circuit ruled in February.


The Thomas More Law Center represented the student. 


Wood and her classmates viewed PowerPoint slides, one of which stated, “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian.” They also were told to fill out a worksheet about the “Five Pillars” of Islam. It was on that worksheet that students were required to write, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” The profession of faith is called the Shahada.


Thomas More alleged that the assignment violated the Establishment Clause by “impermissibly endors[ing] and advanc[ing] the…

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Gospel artist Kirk Franklin to boycott Dove awards and TBN after comments about racial injustice were cut

Kirk Franklin is a Texan gospel artist who led the choir The Family and has released solo albums.

On Monday, he posted a video on Instagram explaining why he would be boycotting the Christian music event, the Dove Awards, and the Christian TV channel Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) until tangible plans are put in place to “protect and champion diversity”. 

Franklin said: “Today, I feel like quitting and I am heartbroken that I even have to share this with you.”

 

He explained how he won the award for best gospel artist at the Dove Awards in 2016, the Christian version of the Grammys, but that some of his acceptance speech was edited out on television. 

He said: “For so long, the terms ‘Christian’ and ‘Gospel’ for many were codewords for ‘black’ and ‘white’, which history may teach us was a set up for this unfortunate place we find ourselves in today.

“During that awards speech I felt the responsibility, as a Christian and a man of colour, to address the civil unrest at that time that was plaguing our country.”

He was referring to the killings of two black men by police officers; Philando Castile and Walter Scott.

During the speech, he called on the audience to speak out and there was a standing ovation as he prayed.

Although, this speech is available on the Dove Awards youtube channel, Franklin said it was edited when TBN aired the awards.

After he rose the issue in…

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Burger King Taunts Chick-fil-A with ‘Open on Sunday’ Tweet, Faces Backlash

Burger King Taunts Chick-fil-A with ‘Open on Sunday’ Tweet, Faces Backlash



Burger King is the latest restaurant chain to tease Chick-fil-A for being closed on Sundays and to face the wrath of Chick-fil-A’s customers.


Burger King posted a simple message on its Twitter account Friday that was immediately taken as a reference to Chick-fil-A and even to Kanye’s new Chick-fil-A-themed song, Closed on Sunday, which was released the same day. 


“open on sunday,” the Burger King tweet read. 


Chick-fil-A’s restaurants have been closed on Sundays since founder Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in 1946.


“Having worked seven days a week in restaurants open 24 hours, Truett saw the importance of closing on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest and worship if they choose – a practice we uphold today,” Chick-fil-A’s website says. 


The top comments on Burger King’s Twitter feed were from Chick-fil-A fans.


“And Chick-fil-a still out sells Burger King with a 6 day week @BurgerKing,” one person wrote


“I would rather have a glass of water for lunch on Sunday and wait for chick fil a to open Monday than eat at a burger king,” another wrote

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Christian charity uses fencing to tackle knife crime

The eXceL Project (XLP) works with thousands of disadvantaged young people across nine London boroughs to help provide them with positive future prospects and lead them away from crime.

In partnership with British Fencing and London Youth, XLP have started running inner-city fencing classes to help promote respect and good sportsmanship among young people vulnerable to knife crime.

 

Sports Project Manager Steven Ekpenyong told Premier the sport encourages unexpected positive values despite its perceived violent nature.

“Because it can be closely linked with knife crime and what people perceive as the motion that takes place I think for a lot of the young people that was the initial catch.

“They think this a little bit like you’re stabbing someone but then when you start to explain the rules to them, it’s not about trying to stab someone or hurt the other person – it’s about how do you respectfully gain a point and respect the other person in the process?”

He went on to say the sport models a humility and discipline that is often lacking in other sports, an element which has helped teach young people how to resolve conflict and work together.

“I’m seeing young people that don’t usually talk to each other going off and trying to understand the rules together. The respect level at the session was totally incredible to see.”

Mr Ekpenyong said a lot of young people can…

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Selena Gomez Opens Up about How God Has Gotten Her Through Difficult Times

Selena Gomez Opens Up about How God Has Gotten Her Through Difficult Times



Singer Selena Gomez, who just released a new single this week, took to Twitter Tuesday not to promote her latest project, but to share about her faith in Jesus. 


“Literally just laying down and thanking Jesus,” she posted before going on to reference a difficult season without shedding light on the circumstances.


“Where my father has taken me and placing me is exactly where I am meant to be,” she added. “He said to me ‘Selena hold on, I hurt when you hurt. I cry when you cry but I will NEVER, EVER leave your side. Work with me, walk with me and watch how I do it.’ He always surprises me and I re-fall in love with Him every single time.”


In 2014, the singer-actress acknowledged she had lupus and has sought treatment for anxiety and depression. Three years later she received a kidney transplant. Gomez also had numerous high-profile break-ups with on-again-off-again boyfriend Justin Bieber, who married Hailey Baldwin in a civil ceremony 13 months ago, but just held a public wedding last month. As Christian Headlines reported, Bieber shared about his own relationship with Jesus in a Sept. 2 post on Instagram.


“We have the greatest healer of all and his name is Jesus Christ,” Bieber posted at the time. “And he really heals. This is it. It’s time that we…

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The Darkness singer apologises for knives on album cover but not for portraying Jesus

The album called ‘Easter is Cancelled’ was released on 4th October. It reached number 10 in the UK album chart and is the band’s sixth album.

The Darkness are a British band, famous for guitar riffs and the songs ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ and ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells Ring)’.

 

 

In a recent interview with Sky News, Hawkins was asked whether the cover glamorised carrying knives while there is a stabbing epidemic in the UK.

Hawkins replied: “What we were trying to do was interfere with biblical iconography and the sources we studied to assemble that image was from hundreds of years ago.

“We didn’t recognise that it might be insensitive in the current climate. We saw it as something as escapism in talking about an imagined scenario from an alternate reality, and if we have offended anybody, all we can do is apologise.”

Regarding the fact that he is breaking free from a cross, he said: “I play Jesus. Yes, that’s controversial, but then again Willem Defoe has played Jesus, no one gives him a hard time. We are not denying the existence of Jesus Christ.”

Willem Dafoe played Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ, a 1988 film.

The other members of the band are depicted as women with halos fighting off Roman soldiers and one appears to be Salome, holding John the Baptist’s head. 

 

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. 

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