Christian Post Report – Self-improvement always sounds like a great thing until we actually dig in and get our hands dirty. We talk about the need for accountability, but the second we turn that scalpel inward, we flinch and fight and justify our way out.
Facing Up to Addiction
It can be messy, awful work to hear the truth about yourself. It’s never easy to hear criticism, most especially when it could be true.
The hard part is that getting better means we have to confront the ugliness inside.
This is harder than you think.
Recovery and improvement demands getting honest about all the crazy, neurotic, self-justified hang-ups that we’ve buried — and it’s extremely painful to expose how messed-up we really are. But that’s the truth about yourself.
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/addiction-3-quick-tips-to-handle-the-truth-about-yourself-154743/#MMcwWAapB3OYI4zi.99
Source : Christian Post
An Atheist Attack Backfires
Christian Post Report – Well known atheist organization, Freedom from Religion Foundation targeted a small midwestern post office in Pittsburg, Kansas, but it couldn’t imagine that the removal of one “God Bless America” poster would incite the posting of some 1,500 similar signs.
Local newspaper The Morning Sun first reported the incident in late January and just days later Jake’s Fireworks, a retail store located in the area, responded by printing 1,200 “God Bless America” yard signs and 300 similar banners, 1,500 in total. Within 45 minutes, residents snatched up all 1,500 signs.
“Obviously, we’re among the majority that didn’t agree with the decision to take the sign down (at the post office),” Jason Marietta, the store director, told the Sun.
Source : Christian Post
Canadian Education Minister Says Children Must Be Allowed to Choose Their Own Gender
Christian Post Report – A school bus is shown in this file photo.
Answers in Genesis CEO and President Ken Ham has slammed new school guidelines in Alberta, Canada, that allow children in public schools to pick their own gender identities.
“The cry of many in this generation of Americans is ‘inclusivity’ and ‘tolerance.’ It’s astonishing, the radical changes that have been made to our Western society in the name of being inclusive and tolerant (but only inclusive and tolerant of certain viewpoints — and not the biblical ones!). Of course, this is most often seen in regard to gay ‘marriage,’ homosexual behavior, and transgender issues,” Ham wrote in an AiG blog late last week.
“Well, this isn’t just happening here in America. We’re seeing this occur all across the West,” he added, linking to Alberta’s school guidelines issued by Education Minister David Eggen back in January.
As CBC News pointed out, the new rules give students the right to self-identify when it comes to their gender identity and expression.
“Some individuals may not feel included in the use of the pronouns ‘he’ or ‘she’ and may prefer alternate pronouns, such as ‘ze,’ ‘zir,’ ‘hir,’ ‘they’ or ‘them,’ or might wish to express themselves or self-identify in other ways (e.g., Mx. instead or Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss, or no prefix at all),” the guidelines read in part.
The rules further allow students to “participate on the team that reflects their gender identity and expression,” meaning that boys can play on girls teams in sports, and vice versa.
What is more, Alberta students can also choose their own restroom and change room that are “congruent with their gender identity.”
Ham argued in his blog post that although the government is trying to make students feel more comfortable, transgender lifestyles “go completely against God’s design.”
“God created male and female in His own image (Genesis 1:27). Male and female isn’t something we can switch based on our emotions or feelings — it’s the way God has designed us from the very beginning,” he said.
“The answer for all people — transgender, homosexual, or otherwise — will not be found in ‘inclusivity’ or increased ‘tolerance.’ These things may promote acceptance of all kinds of sinful behaviors, thus making it easier to live a sinful lifestyle, but ultimately, this accomplishes nothing,” he continued.
“The only answer for all people is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Ham has spoken out against similar cases in the U.S. pertaining to transgender identities, including New York City guidelines that threaten to fine employers who repeatedly use the wrong pronouns when referring to transgender people.
The Roman Catholic Church in Calgary has also denounced Alberta’s school guidelines, with Bishop Fred Henry calling them “the forceful imposition of a particular narrow-minded anti-Catholic ideology.”
Henry wrote in a statement: “Our teaching is rather simple and direct. God created beings as male and female. In doing so, he gave equal dignity to both man and woman. In his plan, men and women should respect and accept their sexual identity.”
The bishop added: “God created both the body and sex as good. Hence, we do not approach sexuality with fear or with hostility to the flesh. It is a gift of God by which men and women participate in his saving plan and respond to his call to grow in holiness.”
Source : Christian Post
400 Children Kidnapped in Mexico Go Unreported by Parents
Christian Post Report – Catholic women yell during a march for peace in Mexico City, May 31, 2015. Participants marched on Sunday to demand increased security and a stop to drug violence throughout Mexico, local media reported.
Families in Mexico have said that at least 400 children are missing due to organized crime in the country, with reports describing the Catholic Church as one of their only points of faith and hope.
“There are many cases of kidnapping. First there was talk of 50 but it seems that at least 400 have disappeared: But most of their families have not reported the kidnappings for fear,” the father of one of the missing children said, according to Fides News Agency.
Children throughout the country are being taken as victims of drug trafficking and organized crime, and parents have criticized authorities on a number of occasions for not doing enough to help bring them back to their families.
The Fides report added that His Exc. Mgr. Luis Felipe Gallardo Martín del Campo, the Bishop of Veracruz, read a list of 23 missing persons in Tierra Blanca during Mass, and noted that the Church ‘has become the only point of reference for many families in search of faith and hope.’
“Some time ago it was known that the armed gang of guerrillas in Sierra Guerrero enlisted people by force. Now the fact that drug trafficking and organized crime have entered in our society there is no control, the justice system has been destroyed, there is violence everywhere. And now the authorities do not know how to stop the problem,” the bishop said.
Del Campo admitted that the Church has also not been spared such violence, noting that there have been over five cases of priests being kidnapped and later released, while parishes face constant robberies and extortion.
Mexico has been reeling by a number of missing persons cases, most notably the investigation into the fates of 43 students who were believed to have been taken by criminal gang members back in 2014. Although the attorney general has claimed that there is proof that the students were killed by the cartel, parents have staged protests and demanded to see hard evidence before they give up hope on their children being alive.
“We don’t believe anything of what they say,” said Carmen Cruz, the father of one of the missing students. “We are not going to allow this case to be closed.”
As Pope Francis has pointed out, Mexico remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for priests as well. The Catholic community spoke out after a priest was found murdered in April with a bullet wound in his head and abandoned on a dirt road.
“United in prayer, we are indignant at the death of Father Francisco Javier Gutiérrez Díaz, of Capuchinas in Salvatierra Guanajuato. When will this end? Enough with so much blood spilled!” the office of the Archbishop of Morelia said in a statement at the time.
Source : Christian Post
Canada’s Assisted Suicide Law Puts Christian Doctors’ Conscience at Risk
Christian Post Report – Hospital beds in an undated file photo.
Canada’s Christian leaders and medical practitioners have expressed concerns to lawmakers over a proposed law on physician-assisted death, which, they say, would force them to perform legalized euthanasia.
Cardinal Thomas Collins, the archbishop of Toronto, and Larry Worthen, the executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada, testified before a parliamentary committee last week, as the federal government has until June 6 to pass a new law on euthanasia, according to The Huffington Post.
Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada lifted the ban on physician-assisted death, giving the government one year to draft the law. In January, the court gave the government a four-month extension while also instituting interim guidelines for people seeking an assisted death, which took effect Saturday.
Guidelines, however, have not been published in any province except Quebec and Ontario, according to Canada’s CBC News.
A person who seeks an assisted-death must be a “competent adult … who clearly consents to the termination of life” and who “has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.”
“We do not agree with assisted suicide and euthanasia. We think implementing them in the country is not a good path to go on, it will cause great harm,” Cardinal Collins told The Huffington Post. “What we are particularly stressing is the need, because there are very many people in our country who have profound reasons for not being able to go down that path … that their conscience rights … be protected.”
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario requires physicians who are not willing to perform euthanasia to refer the patients to other doctors, Collins pointed out.
“Where a physician declines to provide physician-assisted death for reasons of conscience or religion, the physician must do so in a manner that respects patient dignity,” the college’s interim policy states. “Physicians must not impede access to care, even if that care conflicts with their conscience or religious beliefs.”
“Well, doing it and making sure it happens are morally equivalent,” Collins said. “And we think that is just not right. There is already pressure put on people, subtle and more profound.”
“We just cannot do that and stay true to our belief,” Worthen was quoted as saying. “It is resulting in doctors’ considering moving from the province of Ontario to try to be able to practice according to their conscience.”
The Christian Medical and Dental Society, which represents about 5,000 practitioners in Canada, stated in a document in 1995: “The time of the giving of life and the termination of life should be God’s prerogative and not ours. … Suffering should always evoke compassionate care and euthanasia should not be used as a way out. Those who suffer are important members of society who should be affirmed. We believe that the courageous bearing of suffering has the utmost moral and social benefit to society and the recognition by society of that contribution affirms the individual.”
Source : Christian Post
Is Iraq Building Concrete Security Wall Around Baghdad?
Christian Post Report – People gather at the site of car bomb in New Baghdad, July 22, 2015. Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribal fighters launched an offensive on Tuesday to dislodge Islamic State militants and secure a supply route in Anbar province, police and tribal sources said. As well as the bombing in New Baghdad, two others were killed in bomb attacks in Zafaraniya, the predominantly Shiite southern district of the capital.
The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday denied reports that his country is constructing a concrete wall around the capital city of Baghdad to prevent attacks from the Islamic State terror group.
“Baghdad is the capital of all Iraqis. There can be no wall or fence to isolate it or prevent other civilians from entering it,” Al-Abadi said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The prime minister’s statement comes days after Baghdad Operations Command said preparations were on for the construction of a security barrier around the city to restrict Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which controls areas north and west of Baghdad and has launched several attacks.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, earlier said a 65-mile stretch of the 10-feet high wall and trench around the capital was under construction, according to The Associated Press.
The plan is only to re-organize checkpoints and deal with other security issues without restricting transit in and out of the city, the prime minister added in the statement.
Due to tensions between Shias and Sunnis, there are areas within Baghdad that are surrounded by concrete fences.
Meanwhile, a U.S. defense official said the estimated number of ISIS fighters has come down, according to a new intelligence assessment of the terror group in Iraq and Syria.
Quoting sources, CBS News said the amount of fighters is now estimated to be around 19,000 to 25,000, down from previous estimates which usually ranged from 20,000 to 30,000 fighters and as high as 33,000.
The reduction is mainly due to battlefield deaths, trouble recruiting, desertions and increased difficulty getting into Syria, sources said.
“The enemy now controls about 40% less territory than it did at its zenith,” Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, commander of the U.S.-led coalition, was quoted as saying in another report.
However, the estimate of the number of ISIS fighters is going up in Libya – from 2,000 to 3,000 to 5,000 fighters, according to CBS News.
ISIS is an offshoot of al Qaeda and is working to establish a caliphate in the Levant region and beyond. Christian minorities in Iraq and Syria are among the main civilian targets of the Sunni terror group.
ISIS recently razed to the ground Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery, the 1400-year-old St. Elijah’s monastery in Mosul, where U.S. troops would once worship, in an apparent attempt to erase the region’s history. The terror group destroyed the structure months after taking over the Iraqi city.
Source : Christian Post
UK Christian Charity Campaigns against Relaxed Divorce Laws
A Christian group is arguing that the UK’s current divorce laws should not be relaxed because a higher divorce rate will destroy families.
According to ChristianToday.com, The Christian Institute is against the effort to relax current divorce laws in the UK.
Taking the opposite view from The Christian Institute is Resolution, a family law company which is spearheading the effort to make divorce easier for couples.
Resolution organized a 100-lawyer march on Parliament on Wednesday (Nov. 30) to demand less stringent divorce laws.
Currently in the UK, in order to obtain a divorce, couples must have lived apart for more than two years or one party must attribute fault–such as adultery or unreasonable behavior–to the other.
Resolution argues that forcing couples to attribute fault can cause needless relationship conflict and make divorce “unnecessarily complex.”
“This often creates conflict and makes reaching a mutually acceptable agreement much more difficult,” a statement from the organisation read.
“For so many to descend on Parliament to lobby MPs and Peers shows that it is time for politicians to act, and bring an end to the blame game,” added Nigel Shepherd, national chair of Resolution.
The Christian Institute, however, argues that relaxed divorce laws would cause more families to split apart …read more
More Than 130 People Still Trapped in Quake-Hit Taiwan Tower
Christian Post Report – A soldier stands guard in front of a collapsed building after an earthquake hit Tainan, southern Taiwan, February 6, 2016.
TAINAN, Taiwan (Reuters) – Hundreds of Taiwanese rescuers swarmed over a collapsed apartment tower on Sunday, searching for more than 130 people believed trapped more than 24 hours after an earthquake toppled the 17-storey building, burying them in rubble.
Firefighters, police, soldiers and volunteers combed through the ruins, some using their hands, as temperatures dropped, watched anxiously by dozens of the victims’ family members who wore thick jackets, woollen hats and scarves.
“She’s not answering my phone calls … I am trying to hold my emotions and stay strong. I’ll do that until I find her,” said a woman surnamed Chang, 42, waiting to hear from her 24-year-old daughter who lived on the fifth floor of the complex.
“Nothing matters but to get her out. The lady living across the hallway was rescued yesterday. I know they will find her, but I have also planned for the worst. It’s been more than 20 hours now.”
A total of 132 people are still beneath the rubble of the Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building in the southern city of Tainan, said a city government official surnamed Chen, with all but about 30 of them trapped deep in the wreckage.
The building’s lower floors pancaked on top of each other in the 6.4 magnitude quake and then the whole structure toppled, raising immediate questions about the quality of materials and workmanship used in its construction in the 1990s.
At least 18 people are known to have died in the quake, which struck at about 4 a.m. on Saturday, at the beginning of a Lunar New Year holiday, including 15 found in the collapsed block, according to the latest official death toll.
Tainan Mayor William Lai told reporters that rescue efforts were difficult and it could take several hours to clear the rubble to get to where they think some of the people are buried.
“We will focus our resources on the 29 who are closest to the rescuers,” he said.
The extent of damage to the Golden Dragon Building has raised questions.
Liu Shih-chung, Tainan city government deputy secretary general, said television footage of the ruins of the commercial-residential building suggested the possibility of structural problems related to poor-quality reinforced steel and cement.
However, city officials have said it is too early to say for certain if poor construction was a factor in the collapse.
The dead taken from the collapsed apartment block on Saturday included a 10-day-old girl who was found in her dead father’s arms, media reported.
Authorities said the building had 96 apartments and 256 registered residents, though more people were inside when it collapsed.
Rescuers wearing red and yellow overalls pulled more than 240 survivors from the ruins and inserted huge supports under slabs of leaning concrete as they searched for additional survivors.
Buildings in nine other locations in the city of 2 million people had collapsed and five were left tilting at alarming angles, a government emergency centre said on Saturday.
(Additional reporting by J.R. Wu, Carol Lee and Pichi Chuang; Writing by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Ben Blanchard, Robert Birsel)
Source : Christian Post
