Exploring Germany’s Refugee Crisis: Cologne Sex Attacks to Vetting System (Interview)

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Exploring Germany’s Refugee Crisis: Cologne Sex Attacks to Vetting System (Interview)
After 500 women were sexually assaulted and raped in Cologne and other German cities on New Year’s Eve, one European expert suggests that while the refugee vetting system reveals the idea of a “Fortress Europe” is an illusion, this is no time for hysterics. Stefani Weiss, director and expert on European politics at Bertelsmann Stiftung, an independent, nonprofit German foundation, told The Christian Post in a phone interview this week that Germany is facing significant challenges due to the ongoing refugee crisis, but said that with the help of other European States, the situation can still be stabilized.”The important thing is not to become hysterical. As painful as the incident in Cologne is, this is not a picture of daily life and security in Germany,” Weiss told CP.

“There is deterioration, there are ghettos, but this is still something we could improve with more proactive means, with preventative means, with more police around, and with a better judicial system that really is able to take a hold on those criminals and place them before a judge,” she added.

“There has to be a European solution,” she continued. “The member states need to accept that this is a European problem, and that it needs a European solution. We have to be more aware of the risks which might be involved regarding our security and safety, but we shouldn’t put refugees and criminals into one basket.”

The refugee debate escalated in Germany in January following the mass attacks on women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, when large gangs of young men, many of whom of North African and Arab appearance, robbed and carried out sexual assaults on women who were out on the streets.

Cologne chief of police Wolfgang Albers resigned from his post after police failed to immediately report on the attacks, while thousands of protesters marched in the far-right PEGIDA movement in the following days against Germany’s welcome of refugees, holding signs such as “Rapefugees not welcome,” and clashing with police.

Weiss said that what happened in Cologne is a failure on the part of police, but said there is no reason to suspect there was a direct attempt to cover up what happened.

“There was a tendency not to play into the hands of xenophobes, but I think it was also mishandled and mismanaged within the police,” she said.

She noted that people’s fears appear to be escalating tensions surrounding the refugee crisis, but that does not mean there was necessarily a directive to suppress information.

The Bertelsmann Stiftung director argued that the crime wave was a public relations blow for those who “do not see this in black and white categories” and want to argue that, “OK, there are problems — some of these problems with North African men are long standing. But there is no reason to muddle this with the actual refugee crisis, where men and women and children are trying to seek shelter and protection from these kind of abuses.”

Weiss admitted that the situation is still very emotional, but said that she disagrees with attempts to portray the crisis as “the end of Europe as we know it,” arguing that for people who are xenophobic, the attacks in Cologne was like “water on the mills.”

Source : Christian Post

The whole of Christendom wants to fix the date of Easter, except this town in UK

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The whole of Christendom wants to fix the date of Easter, except this town in UK

Sunset over the iconic Whitby Abbey. The Synod of Whitby when the British Church came into line with Rome.

Moves by the world’s major Churches to agree a common date of Easter, setting aside centuries of division, have been widely welcomed – but not in the small Yorkshire town of Whitby.

The town was the site of the crucial Synod of Whitby in AD 664, which saw the influential Kingdom of Northumbria fall into line with Roman practice on issues including the style of monks’ tonsures and the date of Easter. They had originally been converted by missionaries sent from Rome under Gregory the Great, but had adopted the ways of Irish monks from the abbey at Iona. The distinctions were regarded as a mark of the disunity of the Church and the decision of the Synod was to bring England into the mainstream of continental Christianity.

The move to standardise the date, still observed differently in the Western Churches, the Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Churches, might please most people, but to some Whitby residents it’s seen as a betrayal of their town’s past.

According to the Whitby Gazette, Councillor Joe Plant said: “The procedure has been in place for centuries – why change it? It would be disrespectful to Whitby.




“The Abbey and the Synod of 664 are synonymous with Whitby and we have many pilgrims to the town as a result. There have been no problems with Easter being a movable feast. It is possible to work out the date for decades ahead through The Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer.

“If it isn’t broken why go about trying to change it?”

The Bishop of Whitby, Rt Rev Paul Ferguson, said talks would have to be held with the Vatican on the Archbishop’s suggestion. “I think there will be quite a debate about in the town and I look forward to seeing how the debate unfolds.”

Town Mayor of Whitby, Councillor Heather Coughlan, said she is baffled by the Archbishop’s move. “Whitby jealously guards its history and heritage of which the Synod and Captain James Cook are a major part.

“I don’t think it necessary to interfere with something which has worked well for 1,400 years and I’m sure the people of Whitby will take the same view.

“It sounds more like a suggestion from an office manager than the Church.”

Nearly 2,000 Children referred for ‘Deradicalisation’ in the UK

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Nearly 2,000 Children referred for ‘Deradicalisation’ in the UK

Christian Today reports – Nearly 2,000 children have been referred to the UK government’s deradicalisation scheme, according to the BBC.

The statistics from the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) show 1,839 children under the age of 15 were referred to the “Channel” scheme from January 2012 to December 2015. The programme is designed to lead people away from extremism.

Out of this figure, 415 were under the age of 10.

The numbers, which were obtained by a freedom of information request, show referrals are rising each year.

The government says the programme, which is part of a wider anti-terrorism strategy, has been successful in deradicalising participants. However one parent told the BBC that the scheme stigmatises Muslims.

“A teacher’s job is to teach children and not to spy on children,” said Ifhat Shaheen. Her son was taken to one side in class after mentioning the word “eco-terrorists” and asked if he was affiliated with ISIS.

“Schools are meant to be a safe place where you can have open dialogue and discussion,” she said.

“It’s really heart-breaking to hear that young Muslim children are being criminalised in this way for the wrong reasons and an overreaction. It stigmatises Muslims.”  … Read more

Love has no Culture, Boundaries, Race and Religion

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Love has no Culture, Boundaries, Race and Religion

Love has no culture, boundaries, race and religion. It is pure and beautiful like the moon’s reflection on a quiet lake.

– Credit : Profissão Mundo

We enjoyed watching this video, so we thought to share it with you,

Watch, Learn and be Blessed

Rick Warren at GC2 Refugee Summit: ‘If We’re Not Helping, I Doubt Our Christianity’

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Rick Warren at GC2 Refugee Summit: ‘If We’re Not Helping, I Doubt Our Christianity’
A number of Christian church leaders, including Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren, spoke out about the vital need for believers to follow Jesus’ footsteps and help refugees at the GC2 Summit at Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, on Wednesday.

The conference featured a number of sessions focused on the ongoing refugee crisis that is gripping the world, most notably with the millions of people in Syria and the surrounding region fleeing civil war and seeking refuge in Western nations. Evangelical pastors spoke alongside relief groups, such as World Vision and World Relief, about the urgent need for the Church in America to get involved and help in meaningful ways.

Rick Warren focused his message to the audience at Naperville, alongside all those watching via live stream, on the life and mission of Jesus Christ, and urged believers to care about the things that Jesus cared about.

“Jesus loves the Church, and he loves the world,” Warren said.

The Saddleback pastor also pointed out that Christ was indifferent to things such as personal danger, politics, and even religious traditions — “He valued relationships much more than rules,” he added.

“Jesus never got angry at irreligious people. He only got mad at people who should know better. All of the woes in Matthew 23 and Luke 11 are for religious people. And that’s why the common people and the street people loved Jesus. The only people who had a problem with Jesus were the religious ones. When Jesus saw people taking advantage of the poor, he got angry,” the pastor continued.

He said that Christ also got angry when people did nothing to help others, and when the need of children went unmet.

“The largest refugee crisis in our lifetime right now is going on, and people are ignoring it. Actually, they are closing down the borders. I have been to some of the largest refugee camps in the world, but have never seen anything like this,” Warren said about the main topic of the conference.

He then talked about Saddleback’s efforts throughout the years to send help to refugee camps, and said that people are currently without water, with no sanitation, and no food.

“Why must we care about these refugees? Why must we care about foreigners? Why must we care about immigrants? What the Bible sometimes calls aliens, foreigners, strangers in the land? Because God commands it. All throughout Scripture, God says you are to treat people who are out of their country kindly,” he continued.

The pastor pointed out that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were refugees, and did not return to Israel until King Herod died:

“God commands it all throughout Scripture — ‘You must take care of the foreigner, for so were you.’ And love demands it. The Bible says that ‘to him that knows to do good, and does it not — it is sin.’ That’s why for the past 15 years Saddleback has sent over 26,000 members around the world.”

Warren explained that to fulfill the Great Commission, people have to “love what Jesus loves, we have to be indifferent to what Jesus is indifferent to, and we have to be angry at the things Jesus gets angry about. And we have to sacrifice for what Jesus sacrificed.”

Source : Christian Post

Christian Couple Who Lost Adopted Sons to Gov’t Gets Case Reopened

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Christian Couple Who Lost Adopted Sons to Gov’t Gets Case Reopened

Christian Post Report – A blurred photo of the adopted brothers removed from the home of the Christian couple in the UK.

A Christian couple in the U.K. who had their two adopted sons removed from their care by government officials in 2014, due to abuse allegations, were allowed to appeal the decision Tuesday after it was revealed portions of the allegations against them were fabricated.

A release from the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting the couple’s case, said the adoptive parents, given the aliases John and Mary Brown to protect their identity, legally adopted the boys in 2013. The boys, identified by the aliases Dan and Tom, had been living with the couple since 2010.

Mary, who is reportedly in her early 60s, wanted to help the older boy and his brother because she had learned he suffered harm prior to knowing him. They boys were still in primary (elementary) school at the time they moved in with the couple.

Although the boys had behavioral issues due to their traumatic past, Mary, a former teacher, and her husband were trained to deal with them.

Tom, the older brother, according to the release, had issues with going to school and was worried about taking a required exam because he was struggling academically. One morning in May 2014 as Mary was driving the boys school for Tom to take his SATs tests he reached for the steering wheel and Mary pushed him back.

When Tom got to school, according to the release, he linked the incident with fabrications in an account of what happened in the car to new school officials. The officials called the police and social workers who took them from their adoptive parents instantly. The boys are now living separately but their adoptive parents have been fighting for 20 months to get them back.

“Inside, you feel grey — every day. … I didn’t wash their bed sheets for several weeks, because I could still smell them,” said Mary.

The Browns charge that social workers did not have an appreciation for their Christian parenting methods and at a hearing last January a judge took the opinions of the social workers as truth.

“We have been unable to expose the gross injustice in this case because of the secrecy surrounding the family courts. This case is the tip of the iceberg. These wonderful parents have been greatly disrespected. The state seemed not to treat them as parents because they were adoptive parents. The objective evidence of the boys’ progress over years seems to have been dismissed. Such a flimsy rationale for the removal of children from a loving home is appalling,” said Andrea Williams, the Christian Legal Centre’s chief executive.

Watch the video below to hear from the adoptive parents.

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

Is Christian Morality Becoming Illegal?

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Is Christian Morality Becoming Illegal?
Christian Post Report – For two-hundred-plus years, Western culture (especially America) has been shaped by the Judeo-Christian worldview. Not all citizens of the West were orthodox Christians nor were Western nation-states theocracies. Yet, the contours of the social and intellectual life of Western culture were largely moralistic and spiritual.

In the last one hundred years things have changed. The West is largely secular and at times anti-religion, especially anti-Judeo-Christian. How did this happen? The process is interesting and revealing.

Source : Christian Post

When a Pastor Leaves His Calling

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When a Pastor Leaves His Calling
Christian Post Report – I had no idea he was a former pastor.

He emailed me on a business matter. I noticed his email said nothing about his ministry, so I asked about his ministry in my response.

“I am out of the pastorate,” he responded. “And I have no plans to ever go back.”

From my perspective, this man would have been one of the least likely to leave the pastorate. Not only did he leave, he is adamant he will not return.

LifeWay Research recently released a study about pastors who left the pastorate before they were retirement age. You can read more about the study here, but I want us to look at six key issues from the study that are vitally important.

Source : Christian Post

Pastor William McDowell Says Holy Spirit Helped Create New Album, ‘Sounds of Revival’ (Interview)

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Pastor William McDowell Says Holy Spirit Helped Create New Album, ‘Sounds of Revival’ (Interview)

Christian Post Report – William McDowell’s fourth album, Sounds Of Revival, is in stores January 22, 2016.

With access to well known producers in the Christian music industry, Pastor William McDowell is bypassing the industry standard and relying on the Holy Spirit to create his new album.

The 39-year-old gospel music recording artist known for songs like “I Give Myself Away,” crafted much of the music on his latest album, Sounds of Revival, while worshiping on multiple stages around the world.

“We did a lot of what I call worship exploration. We explore what I call pregnant moments, which means moments in a service where it’s clear that God is doing something in the room,” McDowell told The Christian Post. “If we have a piece of something we always recognize that every piece of something is part of a greater whole, so we explore those moments to find out what the greater statement is. We explore a lot of moments on stages across the world and those songs were birthed in those moments.”

All of the songs on Sounds of Revival are special to McDowell, but tracks like “I Don’t Mind Waiting” and “Send the Rain” serve as evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence when recording his latest album live at Bethany Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“Both of those songs were birthed in worship, both of those songs were birthed onstage,” the singer-songwriter revealed. “Both of those songs were birthed in front of other people watching, because God was saying something and doing something in the moment and those songs were birthed out of that.”

Other than fellow gospel music singer Travis Greene, McDowell looked beyond many of his well known peers and friends in the gospel music industry to feature up-and-coming singers on his fourth album. Sounds of Revival features his church’s worship leaders Jose Garrafa and Trinity Anderson along with Taylor Poole who also travels with him to perform.

Garrafa, McDowell’s best friend, created the song “Reveal” during a worship service and helped McDowell write the rest of the track, making it a special one for the pastor. For the Grammy-nominated singer and lead pastor of Deeper Fellowship Church in Orlando, Florida, it was important to mentor the next new wave of gospel singers by including them in his latest project.

“I know I could have gotten a lot of my well known good friends and they are anointed. But this is a specific intentionality to introduce the world to a group of people that I’ve been directly pouring into,” McDowell said about the three singers he calls family. “I’m literally reproducing whatever it is I have in them so that it lives beyond me, because no person can do this forever. While we have the opportunity we need to pour into others and raise a platform for others.”

Still, raising that platform and creating new music to help lead others in worship around the world is not easy for the Ohio raised musician who got his start in the church playing drums at the age of 13.

As a husband and father of three children with another one on the way, McDowell said he is presented with challenges when trying to record new music.

His first album, As We Worship was recorded after McDowell took a year of solitude to hear from God and another year to respond. He wasn’t married at the time, however, which has proven to present new challenges with each new record.

While recording his second album Arise, McDowell was married with one child, and married with two children when recording his following release, Withholding Nothing. During the recording process for his latest album, McDowell had to find time to devote to being a husband and father of three children.

“Anyone who is married with children understands that solitude and alone time are precious. So it’s easy for me to say with As We Worship that I spent the year alone with God, listening,” he said. “I don’t have that luxury today. So what faith helps you overcome is that God has the ability to speak to you in every moment that you give Him, in every moment that you get away with Him.”

More than overcome those challenges, McDowell was able to utilize them to foster growth in his faith.

“Really, it’s compressed time where as I grow in my faith, as I grow in my knowledge of the Word, as I grow in my relationship with Him, I’m able to find access to the secret place quicker because I have to,” he said.

That growth is evident in Sounds of Revival, a soundtrack for McDowell’s personal worship experience that he hopes will spark a global revival. McDowell’s previous hits, such as “I Give Myself Away,” “Withholding Nothing,” and “I Won’t Go Back” can still be heard in worship services throughout the world, but he is motivated to give the masses new songs to describe God.

“The motivation in doing worship, and particularly songwriting in worship, is the pursuit of trying to describe an indescribable God. Worship is directly tied to revelation,” McDowell told CP. “As God continues to reveal more of His character and more of His attributes, it causes more worship, so it’s a never ending fascination with God and His presence. We’ll spend the rest of our lives trying to come up with the words to match what we feel inside.”

Before Sounds of Revival is released on Jan. 22, McDowell is giving people a glimpse of his worship experience with a free stream of the Sounds of Revival DVD for 24 hours until midnight Friday, Jan. 22.

To stream McDowell’s DVD or get more information about his album, please visit: http://www.williammcdowellmusic.com/.

Source : Christian Post