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Open Heaven 28 August 2019 – Youths, Beware
The post Open Heaven 28 August 2019 – Youths, Beware appeared first on Flatimes.
Atheists Can Be Banned from Delivering Invocation Prayers, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court pointed to precedent and the Founding Fathers in ruling Friday that atheists can be barred from delivering official invocations.
The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, upheld the policy of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, which requires that the person who prays must be “a member of a regularly established church or religious organization.” The policy further says the prayer’s purpose is “to seek divine intervention” in the work and lives of House members.
It was the second such decision this year by an appeals court. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April ruled the chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives could bar atheists from praying.
The Pennsylvania lawsuit was brought on behalf of a group of secular humanists, Unitarian Universalists and freethinkers who don’t believe in a higher power and wanted the opportunity to pray before the Pennsylvania House. Most, if not all, could be labeled as “atheists.”
The plaintiffs argued the policy of excluding atheists and nontheists violates the Establishment, Free Speech, Free Exercise, and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The Third Circuit overturned a lower court decision that had sided with the atheists.
Judge Thomas L. Ambro wrote Friday’s majority opinion, ruling that “only theistic prayer can satisfy all the…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
Disciples of Christ on Track to Lose Half of Membership
The Disciples of Christ is on track to lose about half their membershipwithin a decade, according to a report from the Institute on Religion and Democracy.
The report says the Disciples of Christ, also known as the Christian Church, had a membership decline by 7 percent.
The church had 411,000 members in 2017. In 2018, that number dropped to 382,000.
A spokesperson for the Disciples of Christ Church was unavailable to comment on the report.
The report said that worship attendance for the church also fell. In 2017, there were about 139,000 counted attending worship. That number was 124,000 in 2018.
The report also showed that the number of baptisms also fell, going from 4,300 in 2017 to 3,700 in 2018.
“At the current rate, the denomination will shrink by another 50 percent within a decade,” said Jeff Walton, author of the group’s report. “This annual rate of decline exceeds that of the Presbyterian Church (USA) which reported a nearly 5 percent membership drop for the year 2018 and held the distinction of ‘fastest declining’ for much of the decade.”
“The denomination is aging out, shown in a steep decline in baptisms,” he added. “A universalist theology appears to be sapping the evangelistic vigor of clergy.”
More Disciples of Christ members say they want more than just sermons from church leadership, Walton said.
“On a more anecdotal level,…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
Americans less likely to value religion than parents
In a poll conducted in August of 1,000 people, 48 per cent said religion was ‘very important’ to them personally, a 14 per cent decrease from the 62 per cent who said it was very important to them in a 1998 poll.
The number of people who felt it was ‘somewhat important’ remained the same at 27 per cent across 21 years.
67 per cent of those over 55 cited religion or belief in God as very important, but only 30 percent of Americans aged 18 to 38 said that was very important.
The importance of having kids decreased from 59 percent to 43 per cent since the 90s.
Wall Street Journal reporter Chad Day said: “The values that Americans say define the national character are changing, as younger generations rate patriotism, religion and having children as less important to them than did young people two decades ago.”
The survey also asked about how responders felt about the economy, race relations and how they voted in the 2016 Presidential election.
“Generational differences on personal values were most pronounced among Democrats. In fact, the views of Democrats over age 50 were more in line with those of younger Republicans than with younger members of their own party,” Day said.
There were similarities though, with hard work remaining the most important value among both generations, with over…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Top Apologists Reach out to Hillsong’s Marty Sampson: ‘Doubting Is Normal’
A pair of high-profile Christian apologists are reaching out on their internet platforms to Hillsong’s Marty Sampson, offering him resources and urging Christians to assist the popular singer, who said in August he is “losing” his faith.
Apologist and author William Lane Craig devoted his Aug. 26 podcast to Sampson in an episode titled, “A Musician Struggles With His Faith.” Craig answered Sampson’s questions about the Christian faith and named books he said could benefit the singer/songwriter.
“Now is not the time for condemnation and criticism. Now is the time to say, ‘Here are some resources that can help you in your search, and I’ll come alongside you and help you as I can,’” said Craig, who is research professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and professor of philosophy at Houston Baptist University, and founder of Reasonable Faith ministry.
Similarly, apologist and author Mike Licona and his wife, Debbie, recorded a YouTube video for Sampson and other doubters of the Christian faith. They, too, named books and resources.
“The questions Marty and others are asking … are difficult questions, and they’re deserving of thoughtful, reasonable answers,” said Mike Licona, associate professor in theology at Houston Baptist University and the president of Risen Jesus ministry. “And the answers are there. I’ve…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
Church in dispute over renowned preacher’s burial
George Whitefield, one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement, was laid to rest beneath the pulpit of The Old South Presbyterian Church, Massachusetts after he passed away in the parsonage – the church house provided for clergy members – in 1770.
The Gloucestershire born preacher started the Newburyport church in 1746 during the Great Awakening – a Christian revival that impacted British colonies in the 1730s and 40s.
His funeral was held in London, where another founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, delivered the sermon at Whitefield’s personal request.
According to the Times, Whitefield’s great-great-niece, Vicki Kenderdine, has accused the Old South Presbyterian Church of “claiming his body as their own property” and ignoring her grandfather’s wishes to be buried alongside his wife in Britain.
She is hoping to raise £41,000 to fly his body back to Gloucester.
Rev Sara Singleton of the Old South Presbyterian Church said that funeral directors had attempted to exhume the remains last year, but the church refused to give them authorisation.
There have been a number of campaigns to send Whitefield’s body back to his home country but the church has maintained that it was Whitefield’s desire to be buried there in 1770.
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
4 Christians in Burkina Faso Executed by Islamic Extremists for Wearing Crosses
Islamic terrorists are continuing to kill Christians in northeastern Burkina Faso.
According to CBN News, Aid to the Church in Need reports in a June 27 attack, four Christians in the village of Bani were killed for wearing crosses.
Bishop Laurent Birfuoré Dabiré of the Diocese of Dori in the northeast of Burkina Faso said the Islamists forced everyone in the village to lie face down on the ground.
“Then they searched them,” he said. “Four people were wearing crucifixes. So they killed them because they were Christians.
“After murdering them, the Islamists warned all the other villagers that if they did not convert to Islam, they too, would be killed.”
The killing of the four men was the fifth attack against Christians this year in that area of Burkina Faso. Twenty Christians have been killed this year.
“If the world continues to do nothing, the result will be the elimination of the Christian presence in this area and quite possibly, in future, from the entire country.”
The bishop also added that the terrorists have weapons that are not made in Africa.
“They have rifles, machine guns and so much ammunition, more than the Burkina Faso army has at its disposal,” he said. “When they come to the village they shoot for hours. Who is supplying them with these resources? If they were not getting this support from outside, they…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
Mixed reactions to talk of Welby in cross-party discussions about Brexit
On Monday, it was reported that there had been talks about Justin Welby chairing a group of 100 MPs from across the political spectrum to discuss the next steps regarding Britian exiting the European Union.
This has not been confirmed by Lambeth Palace.
The citizen’s assembly would, according to The Times, convene at Coventry Cathedral and try to make recommendations to parliament.
Some have said Archbishop Justin should stay out of politics altogether, others are simply criticising the fact that this assembly would be formed to stop a no-deal Brexit, meaning it would look like the head of the Church of England is enforcing an agenda rather than trying to help everyone in the country.
Sir Gerald Howarth, former Conservative MP, Brexiteer and Christian, told Premier: “This is a very sensitive political issue and I know the Archbishop reasonably well, he’s a very intelligent man, but I think that he is treading on very thin ice here if he’s going to get involved in this very tortuous business.
“People just want out, they want us to get on with it. The people, having had a vote on the matter, don’t need a citizen’s assembly, they had the largest democratic vote this country’s ever experienced with 17.4 million people voting to leave the European Union after a very, very long public debate where all the issues, all the dangers, all potential dangers were well…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
