American Hostages of 5 Years are Freed by Taliban

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American Hostages of 5 Years are Freed by Taliban

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American Hostages of 5 Years are Freed by Taliban


An American woman, her Canadian husband and their three children were rescued on Wednesday after five years in captivity with the Taliban.


Caitlan Coleman, 31, and her husband, Joshua Boyle, 34, were abducted while hiking in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province in 2012.


They were rescued in an exchange between Pakistani military and U.S. commandos on Wednesday in a secret operation.


According to counterterrorism officials, U.S. special operations forces had considered a raid to rescue the family, but the family was moved to another location before being rescued.


“They’re in Pakistan and they are safe,” an official told ABC News.


“We should all celebrate that they are out of the hands of the Taliban. We have secured their release,” the official said.


In a video filmed by the captors and sent to the Coleman families last January, the film shows the couple’s 4-year-old son sitting on his father’s lap. Caitlan is shown with their second child, still an infant at the time. Since the video, a third child has been born.


Boyle says in the video that the conditions of their captivity had improved.


Caitlan added: “I would also like to say to my father specifically, that I think you would like to know that my time in—married, and my time as a mother, and my time in prison that I’ve become more of a Belle than an Ariel.”


Also Wednesday, President Donald Trump made a mention to the rescue when he spoke to a crowd in Pennsylvania.


“America is being respected again. Something happened today, where a country that totally disrespected us called with some very, very important news,” Trump said. “And one of my generals came in, they said, ‘You know, I have to tell you, a year ago they would’ve never done that.’ It was a great sign of respect. You’ll probably be hearing about it over the next few days. But this is a country that did not respect us. This is a country that respects us now. The world is starting to respect us again, believe me.”


 


Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/cyano66


Publication date: October 12, 2017


 


 


 


 

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Doctors Describe Dangers of Puberty Blockers Used on Children That LGBT Activists Don’t Tell

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(Screengrab: Facebook/Heritage Foundation)Dr. Michelle Cretella, the president of the conservative American College of Pediatricians, speaks during a panel discussion at the Heritage Foundation office in Washington, D.C. on October 11, 2017. She is joined by Dr. Allen Josephson of the University of Louisville, Heritage Foundation senior fellow Ryan Anderson and Paul Hruz, a professor of pediatrics, endocrinology, cell biology and physiology at the Washington University School of Medicine.

WASHINGTON — Many children and families struggling with gender dysphoria are not receiving the facts about the permanent consequences associated with “experimental” puberty-blocking and sex-reassignment treatments, nor are they being told that justification for such treatments are not backed by strong scientific evidence, doctors warned Wednesday.

“Much of what is being done here can be considered experimental treatment,” Paul Hruz, a St. Louis-based doctor who is a professor of pediatrics, endocrinology, cell biology and physiology at the Washington University School of Medicine, said during a panel discussion on transgender medicine hosted by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.

“But that is not how the public is hearing about this and [not] what the patients themselves and the families who are dealing with this issue are being presented with.”

Hruz, who co-authored the June report published in The New Atlantis titled Growing Pains: Problems With Puberty Suppression in Treating Gender Dysphoria, and Dr. Michelle Cretella, the president of the conservative American College of Pediatricians, joined Dr. Allen Josephson of the University of Louisville and Heritage Foundation senior fellow Ryan Anderson to discuss the dangers and long-term consequences linked to the use of hormone therapy and puberty suppression treatments on children.

Although a number of mainstream medical societies and organizations have been  recommending over the last decade that children who suffer from gender dysphoria be given a puberty-blocking drug and later be treated with cross-sex hormones before potential sex reassignment surgeries, Hruz said that “the evidence behind this new treatment paradigm is slim to none.”

“If you are going to take a standard approach to a treatment condition of any sort — not just gender issues, and make that drastic of a change — one would expect that there was a landmark study that was done, a randomized, controlled trial or a series of very important findings that consistently showed that this is a good idea,” Hruz argued. “The reality is there is no science to back this drastic change.”

“What I am saying to you is widely acknowledged by the experts that are putting this forward. I was just at an International Endocrine meeting last month and the new International Endocrine Society guidelines were being presented and the question was asked: ‘What evidence is there that long-term we are doing good for these individuals?'” Hruz explained. “These are the people that put forward these treatment guidelines. The answer was: ‘We have no evidence.'”

Hruz argued that the most reliable evidence about pubertal blockade or hormone therapy only highlights the “complications of therapy.”

As children are beginning to identify as transgender at ages as young as 2 years old, Hruz criticized experts who advocate putting children through a process of pubertal suppression and present it to parents as a “safe and reversible form of intervention.”

“Repeatedly by the experts, this is presented as safe and fully reversible form of intervention. Yet, there is no clear study that was done in this population,” he said. “It is an off-label use of the medication and to make the claim when you have no data is really an injustice not only for our medical profession but for our entire society.”

Hruz highlighted potential difficulties associated with pubertal blockade.

“The claim that it is fully reversible is self-contradictory because what you are doing when you do a pubertal blockade is you are interrupting a normal developmental process,” he explained. “Even if five, six or seven years later you stop that intervention, you cannot go back in time. You have already altered that development. It is incorrect and totally false to say that it is reversible.”

Follow Samuel Smith on Twitter: @IamSamSmith
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American Pastor Held Hostage Pens Tear-Inducing Song of Praise

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American Pastor Held Hostage Pens Tear-Inducing Song of Praise

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Pastor Andrew Brunson.
Pastor Andrew Brunson. (World Watch Monitor)

Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

American pastor Andrew Brunson has served one year as a prisoner in Turkey. Charges against him are unclear, and recently Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed publicly that Brunson is being held as a political hostage.

Brunson is one of an estimated 50,000 “suspected” public servants, academics, journalists and rights activists jailed in a 15-month crackdown by Turkey in its attempt to identify and punish the so-called Fethullah Terror Organization (FETO) it accuses of infiltrating the country’s armed forces and government. President Erdoğan hopes the US will extradite exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of orchestrating the attempted coup.

Brunson, who has lived and worked in church-related ministries in Turkey for 23 years, was recently visited in prison by a delegation from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). They said he was confined to a cell 24 hours a day and has lost more than 50 pounds since being imprisoned.

“The government of Turkey has fabricated charges against Pastor Brunson, largely based on a purported ‘secret testimony’,” said USCIRF Vice Chairwoman Kristina Arriaga, after visiting Brunson, almost a year to the day since his incarceration. “He should be released immediately.”

Brunson reportedly told Arriaga: “I wish to thank everyone who is advocating and praying for me. Knowing that I am not forgotten is important to me.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator James Lankford wrote: “If this is how Turkey treats an American like Brunson, other Americans should hesitate before taking their business to Turkey. It is not worth the risk. Congress has provided the executive branch with sanction authority for use against government officials who are responsible for routine and egregious human rights violations, especially religious freedom. It is time for the United States government to use these authorities to secure the release of Americans unjustly detained around the world, including Brunson.”

During his imprisonment, Brunson has written a song of worship, which his wife has given permission to be published:

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Kenya’s Presidential Race Takes Pages from the Bible

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Kenya’s Presidential Race Takes Pages from the Bible

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Kenya’s Presidential Race Takes Pages from the Bible


Religion has long figured prominently into Kenyan politics. But the great lengths presidential candidates and their supporters have gone to connect themselves to the Bible and its heroes in the lead-up to this month’s presidential election have disturbed many religious leaders and scholars.


Supporters of President Uhuru Kenyatta, the 56-year-old incumbent from the Jubilee Party and a Roman Catholic, compare him to David, as in the slayer of Goliath. They point out that he likes music and is left-handed, as many believe the biblical David to have been.


Kenyatta’s challenger, Raila Odinga — an Anglican who leads the opposition National Super Alliance — has referred to himself as Joshua, the Israelite who succeeded Moses and delivered the people of Israel to the Promised Land.


Politicians are trying to use this religious imagery to give force and legitimacy to their campaigns, but no one should be fooled, said the Rev. Wilybard Lagho, the Mombasa Roman Catholic archdiocese vicar general.


“They want their supporters to believe this is a divine call, which is not. I think they are manipulating their supporters.”


Electoral politics in Kenya — which is 80 percent Christian — have been particularly tumultuous lately, and the candidates may find it worthwhile to promise deliverance from the chaos.


The Supreme Court annulled the presidential election held on Aug. 7 — which had been  called for Kenyatta — over voting irregularities. The new national election is slated for Oct. 26. On Tuesday (Oct. 10), Odinga, 72, announced he was boycotting the new elections.


Before he announced the boycott, Odinga had warned his supporters of the difficult journey to “Canaan.”


“Many will fall by the wayside. Many will fall for the good things in pharaoh’s backyard and forget that we leaving Egypt to Canaan,” he said at a news conference in Nairobi on Monday.


He told his supporters that voting for the ruling party meant remaining in “Egypt” under bondage of poverty, corruption and ethnicity.


In May, Odinga, carrying a Bible, visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where he donned a kippah — the skullcap worn by Jews to show respect for God. Then he posted on Twitter: “The site is sacred to all three Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Islam and Christianity — and to me it is a very strong symbol of strength and unity.”


Some Odinga supporters have branded minibuses, cars and bicycles “Canaan Express.”


“When they use these names of the Bible heroes, it bring peace to the people since religion is for peace,” said Julia Oganda, 48, a Nairobi businesswoman. “We are going to Canaan,” she chanted during a short interview.


Joshua Bosire, 30, who attends a Seventh-day Adventist church in Nairobi, also appreciates Odinga’s references to Joshua and Canaan. “I think he has a point. People are struggling. Corruption has increased, we are seeing more strike by workers, and the economy is not doing well.”


Kenyatta, for his part, has been kneeling on church pews and receiving blessings from church leaders.


Early this year, in central Kenya, Kenyatta’s short prayer for rain was followed by a heavy downpour. His supporters praised him as a prophet.


Many scholars and religious leaders in Kenya reject the candidates and their supporters’ reliance on biblical imagery.


Religion and politics should not be mixed this way, said Jesse Mugambi, a professor of philosophy and religious studies at the University of Nairobi. “The objectives of the two discourses are very different. This is worrying and misleading.”


“But the abuse of religion is common across the world and Kenya is not the first,” he added.


Abdullah Kheir, a religious scholar at Umma Muslim University in the coastal city of Mombasa, said politicians are using what works. “They know Kenya is a religious country and religion is one of the easiest ways to reach the people,” Kheir said.


 


Courtesy: Religion News Service


Photo: Voters queue to vote on Aug. 8 at a polling station at an Anglican church in the Dagoretti area in Nairobi, Kenya.


Photo courtesy: Fredrick Nzwili


Publication date: October 12, 2017

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Cancer App Can Help Improve Patients’ Outcome

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REUTERS/National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health/HandoutCancer cells are seen in this undated handout image.

A cancer diagnosis can be the most devastating and disorienting experience for anyone. Aside from the physiological aspect of the disease, there’s also the psychological toll on a patient.

In addition to dealing with their new reality, patients often find it hard to keep track of everything. Things like medications, doctor’s appointments, and keeping family and friends informed are often hard to manage which is why a slew of cancer apps have slowly made their way to smartphones, but do they work?

According to one doctor, they do. In an interview with CBS2, Dr. Max Gomez reports that cancer apps can actually improve a patient’s outcome.

Cancer can cause depression and anxiety causing patients to compromise their ability to organize. Additionally, chemotherapy and radiation often bring side effects can impair their thinking among others. These apps seek to remedy these improving the patient’s quality of life as well as the effectiveness of treatment.

One such app is Living With which just launched with a splash in Times Square. The app serves as a digital assistant to patients helping them keep up with the daunting task of keeping up with their all-important support system.

Cynthia Lalaran, who was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer two years ago, said that the hardest part to manage was logistics and scheduling and the number of appointments. But after learning the ins and outs of Living With, she’s slowly becoming more organized equipped with all the information she needs when she goes to see her doctor.

Living With isn’t the only cancer app out there. There are also a number of similar highly-rated apps available on the App Store and the best part is most of them are free.

According to Dr. Gomez, one thing to look for in these apps is the ability to track their emotional state, like anxiety, pain, depression, even anger and denial. These can make a difference when they let their doctors know about these, Dr. Gomez said.

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Train to be named after Christian theologian

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Train to be named after Christian theologian

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The Bristol Post asked locals to nominate ‘100 Great Westerners’ and the team at The New Room, also known as the John Wesley chapel, put forward John Wesley. Along with 50 others, his name was chosen at a celebratory dinner on Wednesday evening.

John Wesley was a pastor and theologian in the 1700s who became a Christian after he heard someone reading Paul’s letter to the Romans. He founded the Methodist Church and was the brother of hymn-writer Charles Wesley.

Premier spoke to David Worthington, the Manager of The New Room, the oldest Methodist building in the world. He nominated John Wesley’s name and said: “we thought that it was appropriate to at the very least put John’s name forward and we were obviously delighted when we heard last night that the judges agreed with the nomination and have said that his name has been chosen be attached to one of the trains which will be rolling out in the next few years”.

He was an itinerant preacher for much of his a life, probably one of the most well-travelled men of the 18th century, so we thought that although he pre-dates Brunel by about 100 years we though a train was a good thing to have his name on.” 

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2 Biblical Reasons Why Christians Should Not Drink Alcohol — Charisma News

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2 Biblical Reasons Why Christians Should Not Drink Alcohol — Charisma News

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    Ten Ways to Fund a Church Replant – Revitalize & Replant #004

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    Ten Ways to Fund a Church Replant – Revitalize & Replant #004

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    SUBSCRIBE TODAY: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play

    Funds are often tight in dying churches. So when you’re replanting, how do you come up with the funds needed to turn things around? Today, we discuss 10 simple ways.

    Today’s Listener Question:

    FROM JUAN

    I came to my church about 6 months ago as the bi-vo pastor at a church in an economically depressed area. I guess you could call it a replant or revitalization effort. Anyway, God has shown us favor, and we’ve grown from just under 40 to more than 60 over the past few months. But we are starting to have budget problems now. I think I know what needs to be done to keep the momentum going, but the funds to match the vision just aren’t there right now. How can I find more funds to continue the work God is doing here?

    Episode Highlights:

    • “When financially squeezed, you have to determine where good dollars are going and where they’re being wasted.”
    • “Success is not making people in a church happy. It’s making disciples and reaching your community.”
    • Churches often spend a lot of money on things that don’t accomplish much.
    • Growth in giving nearly always lags behind growth in church attendance.
    • “The widow didn’t designate her mite.”
    • Funding follows vision.

    The ten keys to funding a church replant that we cover in this episode are:

    1. Adjust the existing budget
    2. Review every contract and commitment
    3. Expect losses
    4. Deal with designated funds
    5. Develop ministry partners
    6. Raise personal support
    7. Propose new priorities
    8. Launch multiple giving venues
    9. Cast the vision repeatedly
    10. Trust God

    Resources mentioned in this episode include:

    Revitalize & Replant is sponsored by the North American Mission Board and ChurchReplanters.com. More than 10% of churches in North America are at risk of closing and the North American Mission Board is committed to reversing this trend by decreasing the death rate of existing churches while simultaneously increasing the birth rate of new churches. To learn more about what it means to become a replanting pastor or to explore resources for replanting and revitalization in your own church, visit ChurchReplanters.com.

    Submit Your Question:

    Do you have a question about church revitalization or replanting for us to use on the podcast? Visit the podcast page to submit your question. If we use it on the show, you’ll get a copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Reclaiming Glory.

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    Death Toll from California Wildfires Reaches 23

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    Death Toll from California Wildfires Reaches 23

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    Death Toll from California Wildfires Reaches 23


    Wildfires continue to cause destruction in California’s wine region. The death toll from the fires is also rising.


    According to ABC News, 23 people have now lost their lives in the blazes. Additionally, thousands of homes, businesses, and properties have been destroyed.


    At least 8,000 firefighters are working to battle the 22 wildfires which have already burned through 170,000 acres of land. At least 20,000 residents have been forced to evacuate.


    California’s Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in three counties: Napa, Sonoma, and Yuba.


    “Life is more important than property,” Sonoma County Sheriff Robert Giordano said at a press conference Tuesday, warning people that it is better to wait for the fires to be put out than to go back home to assess the damage prematurely.


    Giordano added that he believes the wildfires will be “one of the worst natural disasters in California history.”


    California resources are stretching thin, so federal reinforcements, as well as firefighters, medical personnel, and other officials have come from neighboring states to assist in the effort to get the wildfires under control.


    Firefighters are facing an uphill battle as winds are only strengthening the blazes and the weather forecast predicts they could grow even stronger by the weekend.


     


    Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstockphotos.com


    Publication date: October 12, 2017

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    Willow Creek’s Satellite Church Set to Launch Worship at Larger Campus

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    Willow Creek’s Satellite Church Set to Launch Worship at Larger Campus

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    (Photo: Paul Halco)Worship held at the Crystal Lake campus of Willow Creek Community Church.

    A satellite congregation of the Chicago, Illinois-based Willow Creek Community Church will be moving into a new 193,000-square-foot facility later this month.

    Willow Crystal Lake, which has an average weekly worship attendance of about 4,000, will hold its first worship services at the former site for Oak Industries the evening of Saturday, Oct. 21 and then Sunday, Oct. 22.

    Willow Crystal Lake Lead Pastor Marcus Bieschke told The Christian Post that while some megachurches were gearing for more autonomy in the near future, Willow Creek would continue to function as a unit.

    Expand | Collapse
    (Screenshot: Willow Creek Community Church)Pastor Bill Hybels speaks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his sermon at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, on January 18, 2015.

    “For 15 years, Willow Creek has been a multisite church. Today, we have eight locations across Chicagoland,” explained Bieschke.

    “Our congregations collaborate on key global issues while also leveraging the local congregations to meet the unique needs of their communities. As we have grown in this model, we have confirmed time and again that we are better together.”

    Founded in 1975 by Bill Hybels, over the span of four decades Willow Creek has gone from holding its first worship service in a movie theater to having eight church campuses, which boast approximately 25,000 regular attendees.

    In 2015, Willow Creek’s Crystal Lake congregation decided to search for a new site, as they had outgrown their 56,000-square-foot facility.

    In April 2016, the Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 to allow Willow Creek Community Church to open a new campus at a former Oak Industries site.

    Elizabeth Maxwell, a city planner for Crystal Lake, told CP in an interview last year that Willow Creek “will be improving an underused manufacturing building that has been on the market for nearly 30 years.”

    “They will have space within their building that is open to the general public such as a café, meeting areas, and other programs. They also illustrate significant exterior improvements to make a large gathering and community space,” said Maxwell.

    “Also, with the church services an additional 1,600 people will be coming to this spot and they have a great opportunity to patronize the Downtown businesses.”

    In advance of the first worship services, Willow Crystal Lake is holding an open house for the new facility on Oct. 19.

    “We’ll gather in our new auditorium for one final time as a team before we welcome hundreds of new people! We’re going to give our Guest Experience and Promiseland Teams an opportunity to do a rehearsal for the big day,” noted the church.

    “Full Promiseland programming will be provided so that you can experience the check-in process and your kids can acclimate to their new rooms. We will also take some time to thank God for His favor and ask Him to bless the days to come.”

    Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter or Facebook

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