Richard Dawkins the arch-atheist backs Michael Gove’s free Bible plan

Robin McKie, science editor guardian.co.uk, Saturday 19 May 

It sounds like one of the most unlikely alliances of recent years. Richard Dawkins, arch-atheist and scourge of the praying classes, has announced support for education secretary Michael Gove‘s plan to send free King James Bibles to every state school.

The proposal aims to help pupils learn about the Bible‘s impact “on our history, language, literature and democracy” and will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the authorised version’s publication, Gove said earlier this year. Church leaders have approved, but the plan has fallen foul of most non-believers. An online Guardian poll showed an 82% opposition, while the National Secular Society said the £375,000 proposal wasted money and favoured Christianity in multi-faith state schools. Nevertheless, several rich Tory party donors agreed to back the plan and the first Bibles were sent out last week, to the derision of secularists – with the exception of their most prominent and pugnacious recruit: Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and critic of all things clerical.

As Dawkins reveals in today’s Observer, support for the Bible plan is justified on the grounds of literary merit and he lists a range of biblical phrases which any cultivated English speaker will instantly recognise. These include “salt of the Earth”, “through a glass darkly”, and “no peace for the wicked”. Dawkins states: “A native speaker of English who has not read a word of the King James Bible is verging on the barbarian.”

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Thanking the Lord as we Celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Court Case Victory for Freedom of Speech

Dear friends and family in Christ,

This morning I woke up early and started praising and thanking the Lord as I remembered that today 22nd June 2012 marks five years since we won the court case for Freedom of Speech & Religion in Australia.

This was certainly a land mark victory, after a five year battle first in the Lower Court (VCAT) and then the Supreme Court, where the Lord gave us the victory.

I still remember the long five years in the court room with forty days of hearings and a cost of $600,000, plus several death threats, fire bombing threats to my house and office, and also the threats to abduct my children from school. It was indeed a very challenging time, but praise God with the prayers, support of my fellow Aussies and God’s amazing grace, we came out victorious.

The court case which was brought against us by the Islamic Council of Victoria on charges of vilification was a completely ridiculous case, which proved that the Religious & Racial Vilification Laws of Victoria were a bad piece of legislation.

As a result of our court case, this bad law was thrown out of all the other states, and was amended in Vic.

A few months after we won the court case in 2007, I had the opportunity of meeting with the then Prime Minister John Howard, who I greatly admire as a real statesman.

In his office in Parliament he said, “Pastor, your victory for freedom of speech will now help us all and also the future generations to come. You have also set a precedence in the judiciary system. May I take this opportunity to officially thank you on behalf of the people of Australia as Prime Minister.”

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Renewed Iranian Calls for Israel’s ‘Annihilation’

Posted by Arnold Ahlert Bio  May 22nd, 2012 

Monday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Yukiya Amano met with Fereidoun Abbasi-Davani, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), in an initial conference over Iran’s nuclear program. The Iranian Fars News Agency said the meeting represented the ”eagerness” of the UN to “further develop cooperation with Iran in various areas of nuclear applications,” and it is clear the rosiness of the state media’s characterization is not without good reason. For, while the West is banking everything on an appeasement strategy with Iran, the Islamic Republic is busy broadcasting to the world its Hitlerian intentions to annihilate Israel, daring the international community to bat an eyelash.

Renewed talks with Iran come on the heels of a speech delivered Sunday by Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran’s military chief of staff, in which he called for the “full annihilation of Israel.” Like every other Iranian pronouncement revealing the murderous nature of the current regime, it will likely be brushed aside when negotiations between Iran and P5+1, (the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain plus Germany), begin in Baghdad tomorrow. (more…)

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Gallup: Percentage of Pro-Abortion Americans Drops to Record Low

by Steven Ertelt – Washington, DC – LifeNews.com 

A new Gallup survey out today finds the percentage of Americans who identify them selves as supporting legalized abortion has dropped to a record low.

“The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as “pro-choice” is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009,” the polling firm noted. On the other hand, 51 percent of Americans call themselves pro-life, one percentage point away from the record high.

The percentage of Americans identifying themselves as pro-life has trended higher since 1995, when the partial-birth abortion debate began in earnest and ultrasound technology made it so pictures of unborn children were the first baby pictures most parents saw. Gallup has found the pro-life position significantly ahead on two occasions, once in May 2009 and again today and the number of pro-abortion Americans has steadily dropped.

 Gallup says the decline in Americans’ self-identification as “pro-choice” is seen across the three U.S. political groups — with Republicans increasingly becoming pro-life.

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Channel 7 Sunrise Program on gay marriage / Pr Daniel preaching on live CTFM Webcast this Sun 10th June

Dear friends and family in Christ,

1) Click the following link to watch an 8 min video of Australian Christian Lobby’s Jim Wallace and Gay rights activist Kerryn Phelps facing off in a live debate about the legalisation of gay marriage in Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLK8MPchz90

Thank God for the few Christians, led by Bro Peter Madden, who took their stand against more than 100+ shouting gay marriage supporters outside the Channel 7 Studio in Sydney. We also congratulate Jim Wallace from ACL for handling the debate very well.

2) Please pray for Pr Daniel who will be ministering at CTFM in Hallam this Sunday 10th June at both the 9.30am & 6.30pm services. Please note that the morning service will be broadcast live here on our website beginning at 10am (Australian Eastern Standard Time -AEST).

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Continue ReadingChannel 7 Sunrise Program on gay marriage / Pr Daniel preaching on live CTFM Webcast this Sun 10th June

Nigerian Christians Defy Fear of Bloodshed and Continue Church Worship

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter – May 4, 2012

Nigerian Christians have faced constant attacks in the form of church bombings and shootings that have left hundreds dead over the last year, but worshippers are showing courage by insisting they will continue gathering at churches no matter what.

“The Bible teach me that we should have faith in God. This is our town. This is our home. This is where we should worship so we feel very free,” expressed Amako Laraba, a mother of two from the Assemblies of God Church in Kaduna.

Militant Islamic sect Boko Haram has been waging war on the country’s Christians throughout northern Nigeria. In the city of Kano this past Sunday, 20 people were killed when terrorists believed to belong to the militant group opened fire on a fleeing crowd that had gathered for service at Beryo University.

Four other Christians, including a pastor, were shot dead on the same day in the city of Maiduguri when gunmen opened fire at worshippers leaving Church of Christ in Nigeria. (more…)

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King James Bible Sent to Every School in England in Honor of 400th Anniversary

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter – May 17, 2012

In honor of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, every state primary and secondary school in England is set to receive a copy of the holy text distributed by the Department for Education.

Close to 24,000 Bibles are being distributed all across England, with Education Secretary Michael Gove insisting that every child should have the chance to read “the most important book written in the English language.” According to The Daily Mail, the initiative was being backed by religious leaders across different religions, as well as academics, historians and cultural figures.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has reportedly shared with Grove that he supports the idea, but wanted to make sure that the project is not being funded by taxpayers’ money, in order to avoid conflicts with non-religious groups opposed to the plan. Grove has expressed that it was with the help of charity money that the project got funded.

“Thanks to the generosity of a number of charities, supported by philanthropists, we have been able to mark the 400th anniversary of its publication by making a copy available to every school in the country,” the education secretary said, according to the BBC.

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Religious Freedom, Shariah Take Center Stage During Egypt’s Presidential Debate

By Luiza Oleszczuk , Christian Post Reporter May 11, 2012

The two front-runners for the Egyptian presidency recently faced off during the country’s first televised presidential debate, with religion and Islamic law dominating the discussion.

The Islamist candidate, Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a former leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood who some fear may impose an Islamic state should he be elected, debated on Thursday Amr Moussa, the one-time Arab League chief and former foreign minister under Hosni Mubarak. Moussa, a moderate, is seen by experts as a favorable choice for Egyptians, who long for stability after more than a year of economic and political tumult and fear the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Meanwhile, Fotouh has been reaching out to Islamists, liberals and supporters of the revolution, of which he was a supporter.

After the country’s parliament was dominated by Islamist parties, the next big step in establishing a new government — after Mubarak was ousted following the Arab Spring uprising of Jan. 2011 — is choosing the new president. Egypt’s presidential elections will take place on May 23 and 24. The president will be named in June.

Among foreign policy and domestic topics, religion was a big issue to which candidates referred each other on several occasions. Following the revolution, Egypt fell shortly into chaos, which seemed to have unleashed violence against certain religious minorities in this overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim country. Most notably, multiple counts of violence against the Coptic Christian community were reported over the past year.

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Black Christians in an ‘Adulterous’ Relationship With Obama, Says Evangelical Pastor

Thursday, May 17, 2012 – by Paul Stanley , Christian Post Reporter

An influential African-American evangelical pastor says that many black Christians are in an “adulterous” relationship with President Obama over the issue of same-sex marriage and that if the issue is not addressed soon, it will negatively impact the president’s desire for a second term in November.

Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. and other community group leaders gathered in WAshington, D.C. Wednesday to announce the launch of the grassroots group, E Plubribus Unum. The group plans to rally minorities around conservative ideas during the 2012 election season.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., who is the senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Baltimore, Md., and one of the nation’s most outspoken black pastors, maintains that Obama has drawn a hard line on major theological issues such as same-sex marriage and expects black Christians to compromise their beliefs.

“Obama laid down the gauntlet on black leaders,” Jackson said. “The question we are being forced to address is ‘are you going to be black or be godly.'”

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Benny Hinn Announces Reconciliation With Ex-Wife

5/25/2012 Jennifer LeClaire  - Charisma News Benny and Suzanne Hinn may soon offer more convincing proof that God really is a God of restoration. During a “Miracle Crusade” in New…

Continue ReadingBenny Hinn Announces Reconciliation With Ex-Wife

NETANYAHU HOSTS TWO-HOUR BIBLE STUDY IN THE BOOK OF RUTH: Says “the Bible is the foundation of our existence.”

by Joel C Rosenberg’s Blog

You may recall that in December 2011, I posted a story from the Jerusalem Post that gave me fresh hope about the future of Israel. “Taking a page out of David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin’s playbook, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will begin hosting a regular Bible study group in his official residence for researchers, public officials and invited guests,” reported the Post. “Netanyahu announced the establishment of the study circle on Friday at a ceremony marking 30 days since the passing of his father-in-law, Shmuel Ben-Artzi. The study group will be named after Ben-Artzi, a noted poet and Bible teacher. Both Ben-Gurion and Begin, when they each served as prime minister, hosted regular Bible study groups. Netanyahu said he was establishing the class to perpetuate love of the Bible.”

Apparently, it took awhile to make it all happen, and since then Mr. Netanyahu also experienced the death of his own father. But on Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu, his wife, his sons, and several close friends and Jewish scholars kicked off their first home Bible study. It was scheduled to last for an hour, but went on for two — and focused on the Book of Ruth.
Today, the Post updated the story — here are some excerpts:

• “On Wednesday afternoon in Baghdad, a few thousand kilometers away from the Prime Minister’s Jerusalem Residence, the world powers known as the P5+1 — the US, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany — sat down for much anticipated talks with the Iranians about their nuclear program. At the same time, just a few hundred meters away from the Prime Minister’s Residence, 100 or so people loudly demonstrated for the rights of Ethiopian immigrants and against discrimination. And all the while, for two hours on a mild afternoon, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu — with a small black kippa on his head — sat in the covered courtyard of his home with 16 rabbis, academics, Bible scholars, archeologists and linguists, and discussed the meaning of the Book of Ruth, which will be read on Shavuot on Sunday in synagogues around the world. His wife, Sara, sat next to him, and his two sons sat on a bank of chairs set to the side.

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Continue ReadingNETANYAHU HOSTS TWO-HOUR BIBLE STUDY IN THE BOOK OF RUTH: Says “the Bible is the foundation of our existence.”

Iran’s Best Defense

Posted by Michael Widlanski on Apr 17th, 2012

As US officials again ask Iran to stop its atom bomb program, President Barack Obama seems to be working hard to shield Iran and to prevent Israel from striking at Iran’s nuclear weapons potential. US officials are believed to be behind stories about Israel readying basing and refueling options in countries near Iran, like Azerbaijan.

The Azeris quickly denied they allowed Israel to use their land., and this is a sign the Azeris are feeling pressure not to help Israel, even as Obama reportedly used the Islamist and strongly anti-Israel leader of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, to send a message to Iran that the US would be willing to accept “an Iranian civilian nuclear program.”

For Israel—and for Saudis, Jordanians and Egyptians—Iran’s  bomb is not a matter that can be indefinitely delayed in a diplomatic ping-pong match.

President Obama has been rotating his top officials on and off the diplomatic playing field to deter an attack on Iran. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey, and many others have been sent to Jerusalem to tell Israel NOT to attack Iran.

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Live Webcast of Dr Steve Ryder at CTFM / Global Day of Prayer this Pentecost Sunday 27th May

Dear friends and family in Christ,

We’re excited to announce that this Pentecost Sunday 27th May 9:30am worship service at CTFM Hallam (Melbourne) with Dr Steve Ryder will be broadcast live here on our website beginning at 10am (Australian Eastern Standard Time -AEST). If you’re watching from outside of Australia, please note that the live stream time is AEST (UTC/GMT +10). Click the following link to find out the time difference from Melbourne, Australia to your part of the world.   http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/australia/victoria/melbourne/

We would also greatly appreciate if you can promote this broadcast amongst family and friends. Dr Steve Ryder will also be ministering at 6.30pm.  Pastor Daniel will also be praying for people at both services.

Also, following is an email from James Goll regarding the Global Day of Prayer this Pentecost Sunday 27th May.

This week, I want us to pray that the Global Day of Prayer will bring new unity to the body of Christ around the world. Then this Sunday, as we celebrate Pentecost, we will join with the many millions around the world in prayer, to give thanks, ask for forgiveness for our sin, and pray for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our lands. I am including the following prayer from the Global Day of Prayer website (globaldayofprayer.com/)

Pray With One Voice – A Prayer for the World

 Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, We gather with believers all over the world, to glorify You as Creator of heaven and earth. You alone are holy and righteous. We submit to Your authority. We praise and adore You alone. Father, we honour You Lord Jesus Christ, we honour You Holy Spirit, we honour You.

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Continue ReadingLive Webcast of Dr Steve Ryder at CTFM / Global Day of Prayer this Pentecost Sunday 27th May

Franklin Graham: There is ‘No Compromise’ on Abortion, Gay Marriage

Christian Post on Friday, May 18, 2012

In an article published in the May issue of Decision Magazine, evangelist Franklin Graham says there is no room for compromise in the upcoming presidential election, especially on the topics of abortion and same-sex marriage.” I realize our nation needs constructive, wise policies for the economy, national defense, energy and a number of other key concerns. My lifetime spans 12 presidents, some liberal and some conservative. They have approached these topics with different policies. At least there is some room for sincere debate on these issues,” Graham writes in the article dated May 1.

“However, there is no place for compromise on straightforward moral issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. God has given us clear, biblical direction that we must follow and obey.”

Graham argues that to have a relationship with Jesus is to both trust him and obey him, and therefore what is stated explicitly in the Bible should be taken as the Lord’s law.

Graham begins his argument by discussing the issue of abortion, saying, “As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I believe this is a non-negotiable issue.”

“Abortion is wrong. It is the murder of unborn children, and no law of the land and no party platform can ever legitimize it,” the minister states. The second “moral flashpoint” Graham speaks on is same-sex marriage, writing, “the Bible clearly defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. There is absolutely no gray area.” (more…)

Continue ReadingFranklin Graham: There is ‘No Compromise’ on Abortion, Gay Marriage