Vatican Document Makes Dramatic Tone Shift Over Homosexuals

10/13/2014 Philip Pullella/Reuters

In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said on Monday that homosexuals had “gifts and qualities to offer” and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognize positive aspects of same-sex couples.

The document, prepared after a week of discussions at an assembly of 200 bishops on the family, said the Roman Church should challenge itself to find “a fraternal space” for homosexuals without compromising Catholic doctrine on family and matrimony.

While the text did not signal any change in the Church’s condemnation of homosexual acts or its opposition to gay marriage, it used language that was less judgmental and more compassionate than past Vatican statements under previous popes.

The document will be the basis for discussion for the second and final week of the assembly, known as a synod, which was called by Pope Francis and focuses on the theme of the family.

It will also serve for further reflection among Catholics around the world ahead of another, definitive synod next year.

“Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community: Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a further space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home,” said the document, known by its Latin name “relatio.”

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Why Do Liberals Have Trouble Understanding the Pure Evil of Jihad?

By David French , CP Guest Contributor – August 8, 2014

When I came home from Iraq in 2008, friends frequently asked me what I learned “most” from the experience. That’s a tough question to answer, and it depends greatly on context. I learned many things about my faith, my family, and my country, but if the question relates to the war itself, I’d tend to say something like this: “I learned the enemy is more evil than you can imagine, and I learned that a deployment is more difficult than you can imagine.” But while the deployment was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, the chance to play a very small part (surrounded by a band of brothers) to fight this extraordinary evil made it the most meaningful year of my life.

Since I’ve returned — and it’s been almost six years — I haven’t stopped talking about the nature of the jihadist enemy. I share the stories as much as I can (when the context is appropriate), yet I continue to be discouraged by how few Americans — and especially how few of my friends on the left — truly understand (or even try to understand) what the world faces. So they react in outrage when Israel strikes at Hamas, use the collapse in Iraq to once again score political points against President Bush, and use words like “irresponsible” to describe actions like launching rockets at civilians while hiding behind civilian human shields.

Why is this the case? Why can’t so many liberals understand the pure evil of Islamic jihad? I can think of three reasons:

First, they’re often in the grip of a strange kind of moral relativism. I say “strange” because it’s not true moral relativism. Actions of domestic political opponents are condemned in the strongest possible terms, and the history of Christianity is treated as if it is nothing less than one long story of war, rape, and conquest. That’s not relativism; that’s judgmental in the extreme. The relativism emerges when evaluating other cultures, where even dark deeds are excused by “culture” or “colonialism” and regions in the grips of the worst kinds of pathologies are hailed for their rich and glorious traditions.

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How to Stay 50 Miles Away From a Moral Failure

– Lee Grady – 8th October 2014

Last week, late-night comics joked about the fact that yet another Christian broadcaster had gone down in flames because of a moral failure. This time it was Rory Alec, the British founder of GOD TV, who announced on Oct. 2 that he was stepping down from the network he co-founded in 1995 and putting his wife, Wendy, in charge.

Despite the giddy reaction from secular pundits, this is no laughing matter. When the world looks at us they think we are just a bunch of greedy hypocrites who can’t keep our pants zipped. The embarrassment that started in the 1980s with Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart continues today. We are now experiencing an epidemic of sexual failure in the church that threatens to discredit us.

Wendy Alec has promised to explain the details of her husband’s resignation in a statement this week, and the least we can do for our fallen brother is pray for his restoration. But beyond that, I’m also eager to help Christians who might be tempted to think that the failure of yet another high-profile minister means it’s impossible to stay sexually pure in a world full of temptation.

The truth is: Jesus can keep you from falling if you trust Him and use biblical common sense. Here’s the most honest advice I could give any sincere believer, male or female, who wants to avoid becoming a statistic in this struggle.

1. Maintain an intimate relationship with God. I can offer a 100 percent guarantee that no man or woman who prays regularly, worships God intimately, reads the Bible consistently and knows God’s grace personally will fall into sexual sin. When we are full of God’s Spirit, His fire will keep us far away from the edge of moral failure. It’s only when a person loses his first love for Jesus that he drifts toward sinful desires.

2. Never get in a sexually compromising situation with a person who is not your spouse. It’s never wise to play next to the edge of a cliff. Yet Christians today seem to think it’s spiritual to flirt, literally, with danger. The Bible says: “Flee from youthful lusts” (2 Tim. 2:22). “Flee” does not mean linger, loiter or dawdle, nor does it mean wink to see if you get a wink back. It means run for your life!

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Tonight’s Blood Moon-Lunar Eclipse: Second in 2014-2015 “Tetrad” of Four

Aimee Herd : Oct 7, 2014 : EarthSky.org

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” –Luke 25-28

In the early morning hours before sunrise on October 8th, there will be another lunar eclipse in the northern hemisphere; turning the full moon to “blood”-red in color as it passes through the shadow of Earth.

The total eclipse will last about an hour, with a partial eclipse going in and coming out—each taking about an hour—so the entire process of the lunar eclipse will last about 3 1/3 hours.

Who will see it?

That all depends on where you are! According to an EarthSky.org report:

North and South America, the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, Australia and eastern Asia are in a good position worldwide to watch the total eclipse of the moon on October 8. If you live in the Americas or Hawaii, the total eclipse happens before sunrise October 8. In the world’s eastern hemisphere, the total eclipse happens after sunset October 8.

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Netanyahu Invokes Biblical Prophecy During UN Address

By Lea Speyer September 30, 2014

“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.” (Isaiah 62:1)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the UN General Assembly, September 29, 2014. (Photo: Avi Ohayon/ GPO)

(Click here to see how Netanyahu invokes Biblical prophecy in past UN addresses.)

http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/22270/see-netanyahu-biblical-prophecy-past-un-speeches/#FooJhWhqAT2idCTU.97

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Monday, warning the international community of the growing threat of militant Islam.

The prime minister jumped right in to tackling the issue of the increasing visibility and violence wrought by Islamist terrorists across the globe.

“Our hopes and the world’s hope for peace are in danger. Because everywhere we look, militant Islam is on the march,” Netanyahu said. “It’s not militants. It’s not Islam. It’s militant Islam.”

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Muslims Turn away from Islamism

by Daniel Pipes – Jul 15, 2014

The Pew Research Center, a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, has the means to sample opinion with unique frequency and on a major scale. It has used its funds to track Muslim attitudes toward Islamism in general, toward specific terrorist groups in particular, and also suicide bombing over the past decade . The most recent study, “Concerns about Islamic Extremism on the Rise in Middle East,” released on July 1, conducted among 14,244 respondents in 14 countries between April 10 to May 25, 2014, holds much interest. Pew summarized the overall results:

As well-publicized bouts of violence, from civil war to suicide bombings, plague the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, concern about Islamic extremism is high among countries with substantial Muslim populations. … And in the Middle East, concern is growing. Lebanese, Tunisians, Egyptians, Jordanians and Turks are all more worried about the extremist threat than they were a year ago. Meanwhile, publics hold very negative opinions of well-known extremist groups, such as al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah.

In my reading, the survey makes two major points and also offers some lesser tidbits of interest: :

(1) The better Muslims know Islamism, the more they reject it. This theme pervades the poll numbers when compared over time. As Islamism has surged over the past decade, Muslim support for it has decreased nearly across the board, with the last year showing a particularly dramatic reduction.

Comment: Whether the issue be Islamism in general, views on Hezbollah, Hamas, or on suicide bombings, Muslim support is substantially reduced, confirming my thesis, first offered a year ago, that Islamism has peaked and is in decline.

(2) The three Palestinian populations of the West Bank, Gaza, and Israeli Arabs differ in many ways:

Of all Muslim groups polled, West Bankers and Gazans have the most favorable view of Al-Qaeda, at 26 percent; extrapolating from the incomplete data Pew offers, it appears that only about 6 percent of Israeli Arabs favor Al-Qaeda, a substantial difference.

Similarly,Palestinians support suicide bombing more than any other group in the Middle East, with Gazans oddly much higher (62 percent) than West Bankers (36 percent). Israeli Arabs again favor this tactic in much lower numbers (16 percent). (more…)

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4 Ingredients in the Recipe for Revival

11th July 2014 Daniel K. Norris

Not being able to use the oven as an 8-year-old, I became quite skilled at cooking meals for myself in the microwave oven. Nearly every morning I would make a full breakfast complete with scrambled eggs, bacon and grits buttered to southern perfection. My mom was amused by her little chef and let me enjoy my little space of independence—even if it meant a little extra work for her cleaning up my messes.

One day I found a recipe for microwaved chocolate cake. For this preteen kid I might as well have discovered gold. I was incredibly anxious to try this one afternoon after school. I could already taste the sweet warm soft cake in my mouth with a tall glass of milk. When I arrived home that day I dropped my bags and headed straight for the kitchen and began rummaging through the cupboards looking for the ingredients. 

The recipe called for cocoa powder (sweetened). We only had unsweetened but I figured cocoa is cocoa so what difference does it make? Next I needed baking powder. To this day I’m not sure I can tell the difference between a box of baking soda and baking powder. They look the same, so I put a little baking soda in. I couldn’t reach the sugar, but salt looks a lot like sugar and it was conveniently sitting on the table. 

I mixed everything up, with the rest of the ingredients and popped it into the microwave, punched in 10 minutes and went to pour my milk as I waited for my fresh cake to come straight out of the (microwave) oven.

You can imagine my expectation quickly became disappointment as I put in my spoon and took a big bite.  It was awful!  It tasted like a mouthful of dirt.  That afternoon I learned a valuable lesson—change the recipe, change the outcome!

Thirty years later I hunger for something different. Not for a natural meal that can be prepared in an earthly kitchen, but for a supernatural move than only comes from the fires of a heavenly altar in answer to fervent prayers. Our nation is in desperate need of such a move. No doubt, the days have grown dark and continue to grow darker. The only hope we have is found in revival! 

Thankfully God has provided us a recipe for revival within his word. Like a family recipe passed down from generation to generation it is a favorite passage of scripture that is often quoted in times prayer. But I wonder… is it possible we are guilty of changing that recipe and thus changing the outcome? Are we trying to rush what requires time and patience? Are we substituting our ideas for his proven ingredients?

The late revivalist, Leonard Ravenhill said often, “We will live without revival, as long as we are content to remain without it.”

I see a divine discontent coming back to the body of Christ and hear fresh calls for revival. If we want to see God’s results then we must return to God’s ways. To truly experience revival, we must look to the pattern the Lord gave us in 2 Chronicles 7:14 and throw the following on to the fires of his altar. (more…)

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From being tortured in an Egyptian Prison to launching ‘The Way TV’ in California

June 14, 2014 – By Dan Wooding – Founder of ASSIST Ministries

BEVERLY HILLS, CA (ANS) — When Joseph Nasrallah was locked up in prison cell in Egypt, he could never have dreamed that one day, he would move to America, and launch “The Way TV,” an Arabic Christian satellite network that is reaching the Middle East, and his homeland of Egypt, with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I met up with Nasrallah at the Beverly Hills Hilton on June 1, 2014, where he was attending Pat Boone’s 80th Birthday “Celebrity Roast,” and he was certainly a most unlikely guest with many Hollywood stars attending like Larry King, Jon Voight, Billy Davis Jr., and his wife, Marilyn McCoo, Susan Stafford, Wink Martindale, and many others.

The sparkling gathering was to benefit Ryan’s Reach, a charity set up in honor of Pat and Shirley Boone’s grandson, Ryan Corbin, who was making an amazing recovery and even attended the event. His mother, Lindy Boone Michaelis, helped to set up the group to help others with similar Traumatic Brain Injuries to Ryan. For more information, please go to www.ryansreach.com.

As the camera light bulbs popped on the nearby Red Carpet, I found a quiet spot and asked Joseph about the time he was imprisoned in a stark Egyptian cell, and also about his early life.

“I started as a singer and composer in Egypt,” he began. “I have cut ten albums up to now, and then the ‘media dream’ came to me when I was in jail in Egypt.” (more…)

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The Plight of the Muslim: the Great Cost of Following Christ

 7/11/2014 Rob Hoskins

It’s amazing to me how the Internet is heightening our awareness of what is going on in the world to a whole new level. Things all around the globe that have been cloaked in obscurity for hundreds of years are now coming to light, many of them taking center stage in mainstream media. Take for instance the case of Meriam Ibrahim, a Sudanese woman who had been sentenced to death for her Christian faith widely covered in media, like the May 16 CNN news report below. The struggle between Islam and Christianity has been going on for a very long time. Both faiths are “exclusive and expansionary”, often causing them to clash.

Little do we, as Westerners, know that to be Muslim and choose Christianity in some nations and contexts means giving up everything. There is a vast difference of interpretation between how I read this verse and the meaning it holds for a born Muslim who has chosen to follow Christ and is counting the cost of that decision: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

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10 Characteristics Of Religious Church Systems Jesus Warns Us Against

August 26, 2014 | Joseph Mattera

Every church and/or organization has a corporate culture with norms, rules and expectations that pressure participants to conform. Some cultures are good and some bad.

That being said, there are particular attributes that characterize false religions or become the norm during religious decline in a true faith such as Christianity.

The Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Micah and Amos decried religious ritual that was without true righteousness, humility and love for neighbor (Is. 1:10-17; 58; Amos 5:21-24; Mic. 6:8). The line of prophets arose starting in the 8th century B.C. primarily because Israel had a tendency to focus more on adhering to the temple ritual worship of the Levitical system than the ethical lifestyle required by the Law of Moses as found in the Ten Commandments. For this, the prophets pronounced judgment upon the nation, and God dispersed the people and, on two occasions, let enemies destroy their temple.

We have the same issue in today’s church, irrespective of the denomination or expression of the body of Christ.

The following are 10 of the characteristics of false religious systems as taught by Jesus in Matthew 23:

1. There are onerous rules and regulations some call legalism (Matt. 23:1-3).

In the contemporary church, there are numerous man-made traditions and requirements that never arose from the Word, which have become an unnecessary burden upon believers. For example, in many Pentecostal churches the emphasis is on outward holiness related to attire, makeup, the cutting of hair, jewelry and other regulations. I have spoken to numerous young people who stopped attending church because these regulations made them feel weird in front of their unchurched friends. Fundamentalists in the past forbade any form of entertainment, including watching movies, listening to the radio, watching television, etc. These are legalistic efforts to bring holiness that have resulted in numerous churches losing their next generation.

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Message to President Obama from a former Muslim / Geert Wilders: “War Has Been Declared against Us” – A Speech in the Netherlands Parliament

Dear friends & family in Christ,

1) You may click the following video link (8 minutes) to understand what the Koran says about the barbaric activities of the Islamic State (ISIS) murderers, directed to President Obama by a former Muslim, now a Christian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=QxzOVSMUrGM&app=desktop

2) We’re forwarding you the following outstanding speech made by Dutch MP Geert Wilders in the Netherlands Parliament in regard to Islamic fundamentalism spreading throughout Europe, the West and the entire World.

Geert Wilders: “War Has Been Declared against Us” – A Speech in the Netherlands Parliament

“During the past ten years and two days, the ostrich cabinets did nothing. Every warning was ignored. They lied to the people.

Do not prevent jihadists from leaving our country. Let them leave. I am prepared to go to Schiphol [airport] to wave them goodbye. But let them never come back.

Madam Speaker, war has been declared against us.

Madam Speaker, actually I was expecting flowers from you. I am celebrating an anniversary these days. Exactly ten years and two days ago, I left a party whose name I cannot immediately remember. During these ten years and two days. I have been much criticized. Most importantly for always saying the same thing.
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RUAP Media Release: STOP COUNTER CULTURES IN BRITAIN and embrace our way of life and freedoms says PM David Cameron

Dear friends & family in Christ,

We’re posting the following RUAP media release for your prayer and action.

Please contact PM Tony Abbott and your local MPs to make your voice heard.

http://saltshakers.org.au/take-action/parliamentmps

General Immediate Media Release 2nd September

STOP COUNTER CULTURES IN BRITAIN, and embrace our way of life and freedoms, says PM David Cameron

In his statement PM David Cameron also said that Britain has been fighting Islamic terrorism for decades. While all people are welcome to Britain to enjoy our freedoms and values, we cannot accept a counter culture and way of life.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, recently stated that ‘Multiculturalism’ has brought us honour killings and Sharia law in Britain.

Today from his office in Hallam, the RUAP National President Daniel Nalliah stated, “Unfortunately, it might be a bit too late for Britain. The good book called the bible states, ‘What you sow is what you reap.’ Well, Great Britain sowed the seeds of Multiculturalism, and today they are reaping a counter culture called Islam.  True Islam has no respect for any other culture or religion, and does not, and will not, accept Western Democracy, Freedom of Speech or our way of life.

Our slogan at Rise Up Australia Party is to Keep Australia Australian. I was very encouraged recently to hear PM Tony Abbott using another term called ‘Team Australia’. The bottom line is that if people immigrate to our country Australia, then they need to integrate into the Australian way of life and culture. If they are not prepared to do this then they need to go back to where they came from. Adhering to Australian values is not an option or a choice, it is a duty to all who live in Australia.

Many ask me, ‘Is it too late to turn the ship around in Australia?’ I believe we can turn it around if we act quickly and intelligently now. When I say now, it means now, not tomorrow. It is that urgent.

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More media reports from the World Congress of Families Conference organised by Endeavour Forum and held at CTFM in Melbourne

Dear friends & family in Christ, Further to the report we sent over the weekend about The World Congress of Families organised by Endeavour Forum and held at Catch The…

Continue ReadingMore media reports from the World Congress of Families Conference organised by Endeavour Forum and held at CTFM in Melbourne

US Woman Converted to Islam, Tried to Join ISIS, Plotted to Attack Church over Pro-Israel Views

July 3, 2014 by Daniel Greenfield

When so-called Lone Wolf Muslim terrorists are busted by the feds, CAIR and other Muslim groups invariably claim entrapment, arguing that they would have done nothing if they hadn’t been led on by law enforcement.

With Shannon Maureen Conley, the Feds tried to do everything possible to dissuade her from becoming a Muslim terrorist and it didn’t work.

FBI agents tried more than once to discourage a 19-year-old suburban Denver woman who said she was intent on waging jihad in the Middle East before arresting her in April as she boarded a flight she hoped would ultimately get her to Syria.

Shannon Maureen Conley had told agents that she wanted to use her American military training from the U.S. Army Explorers to start a holy war overseas, even though she knew that it was illegal.

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Reinhard Bonnke Searching for People Who ‘Pray and Weep for the Salvation of America’

5/29/2014 Jennifer LeClaire – Charisma News

Few of us know what we want to be at the age of 9, but evangelist Reinhard Bonnke is one of the exceptions. The German evangelist, who has preached in front of crowds exceeding 1.6 million in Africa, says it was at that tender age that he got his calling to be a missionary.

Now, after 35 years and preaching in front of more than 74 million people, Bonnke is bringing his message, “American Shall be Saved,” to the United States. His gospel crusade will bring his message from the Lord to Miami, Greensboro, Long Island, Houston, and Pittsburgh.

“Evangelism must always lead into the church,” Bonnke says. “This is a central truth I have practiced everywhere. I, the evangelist, bring my nets and borrow the boats of the local churches. Together we will cast our nets into the human ocean and pull them in to be emptied on the beach. My promise to you is not to take a single fish but to leave them all with the local churches. Then I will dry and mend my nets and move to the next place.”

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