In UK: Overwhelming Vote of Support for a Christian’s Freedom to Share their Faith

Aimee Herd (July 10, 2012)  Source: Gary McFarlane, Caroline Petrie – ChristianConcern.com

“That this Synod express its conviction that it is the calling of Christians to order and govern our lives in accordance with the teaching of Holy Scripture, and to manifest our faith in public life as well as in private, giving expression to our beliefs in the written and spoken word, and in practical acts of service to the local community and to the nation.“

(United Kingdom)—On Sunday, July 8th the Church of England’s Parliament, the General Synod, agreed to “overwhelmingly back the right of Christians to ‘manifest their faith in the public square,'” said a report from ChristianConcern.com.

Present at the debate prior to the vote, was Nurse Caroline Petrie who had been discriminated against for offering to pray with a patient, as well as Olive Jones, a teacher who had been fired for sharing her testimony with a student.

After the debate, the Synod voted 263 to 25 to pass the following motion:

“That this Synod express its conviction that it is the calling of Christians to order and govern our lives in accordance with the teaching of Holy Scripture, and to manifest our faith in public life as well as in private, giving expression to our beliefs in the written and spoken word, and in practical acts of service to the local community and to the nation.”

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Bells Ring Out with Olympic Prayers

Peter Wooding : Jul 23, 2012 : Assist News Service

“This is an opportunity to be part of a prophetic act, a turning point which will shape the future of our nation. Let’s make a noise, talk about God, pray for peace, pray for reconciliation and commit to love God’s world and His people.” -Rev. Ian Bunce

(London, England)—Christians and churches across the UK are being encouraged to pray and make a noise and join in the nationwide mass bell ringing planned for the first day of the 2012 Games.

Ringing Bells in UK According to a More Than Gold press release to mark the opening of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the London Organizing Committee is calling for thousands of bells to be rung across our nations. The mass bell ringing on Friday 27th July will begin at 8:12am and will last for 3 minutes.

LOCOG are encouraging the tolling of “any bell, anyone, anytime.” It’s an opportunity for everyone to get involved in a special commission by the Turner Prize-winning artist and musician Martin Creed.

More Than Gold, the agency helping churches make the most of the Games, is calling on Christians and churches everywhere to join in and use this moment to ‘Stop and pray at 8:12am on Friday 27th July for God’s Kingdom to come and for a turning to come in our nations.’

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Fifty Christians Burned Alive in Pastor’s Home in Nigeria

Wednesday, Jul 18, 2012 – By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter

As the attacks on Nigeria’s Christians continued in full force this past week, a particularly grisly attack saw fifty believers burned to death at their pastor’s home, where they had fled for refuge from a terrorist attack.

A Nigerian pastor is blaming the country’s weak government on the Islamist sect …

Reports disclosed that over 100 people were killed by armed terrorists this past week, who went on a 12-village killing spree in Nigeria’s Plateau state. Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has once again taken responsibility for the assaults.

Different sources have shared various reports of the number of lost lives from last week’s assault on Christians, which have been occurring on a weekly basis for many months in Nigeria. But a story last week by the Baptist Press confirmed that about 50 members of the Church of Christ in Nigeria in the village of Maseh were burned alive after they took refuge in their pastor’s house following a terrorist raid.

“Fifty of our church members were killed in the church building where they had fled to take refuge. They were killed alongside the wife of the pastor and children,” said the Rev. Dachollom Datiri, vice president of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, in a July 11 interview.

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Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

faithfreedom.org ^ | Ali Sina Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2012 

Jihad has two strategies. One is terror and the other is deception. A group of Muslims terrorizes us and another group deceives us. The deceivers are so disguised that they can fool even the smartest among us. They openly oppose the terrorists and tell us all the things we want to hear. We believe them and think they are on our side. That is where the trap lies. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

They are all over the media and respected by even those who know Islam is a threat. Their goal is to make us believe that the real Islam is peaceful and the terrorists are a tiny misguided minority. Those of us who know Islam know better. Nothing is further from the truth. Political Islam and religious Islam are one and the same. You cannot separate stink from excrement. The violence and terror are in the Quran. They are intrinsic to Islam. No one can change that.

Those of us who know Islam know better. Nothing is further from the truth. Political Islam and religious Islam are one and the same. You cannot separate stink from excrement. The violence and terror are in the Quran. No one can change that.

You will be surprised to know who these wolves are. Today I read a message written by a certain Dr. Mohsen El-Guindy, a “moderate Muslim,” in PoliticalIslam.com El-Guindy issued a clear death threat to Ann Branhardt the woman who burned the Quran in defense of the freedom of speech, which is being shamelessly thrown under the bus by the ruling elite at the altar of political correctness.

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Josh McDowell Launches Website to Fight Porn, ‘Church’s No. 1 Threat’

By Anugrah Kumar , Christian Post Contributor, May 26, 2012

Apologist and author Josh McDowell launched Just1ClickAway.org, a new website to raise awareness about online pornography which he says is a problem big enough to cause the downfall of the church.

“The downfall of the church will not come from a lack of apologetic teaching; it will come from disintegration of the families in the church,” says a video posted on the website, which was launched this week, just in time for summer vacation when students’ media consumption significantly increases.

“The greatest threat to the cause of Christ is pervasive sexuality and pornography,” McDowell, known as an articulate speaker, said in a statement Thursday. “Today we have, by and large, lost control of the controls because an intrusive immorality is just one click away from our children. With just one keystroke on a smartphone, iPad, or laptop, a child can open up some of the worst pornography and sexually graphic content you can imagine. There’s never been such access in history. “

McDowell, who has written or co-authored 120 books since 1960, backs his claims with stunning statistics about the destructive impact of pornography on the Christian family.

More than 1 billion pornographic websites are one click away, and the average age of first-time viewers of pornography is 9 years old. About 80 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds have been exposed to hardcore porn, and the adult pornography industry reports that 20-30 percent of their traffic comes from children. More shockingly, half of all Christian families report that pornography is a problem, and 30 percent of pastors have viewed pornography in the last 30 days.

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Miracles, Signs, Wonders and Revival in Melbourne with 300+ people on Monday night / Pr Daniel and Israel trip highlights Sun 29th July at CTFM

Dear friends and family in Christ,

1) All praise, honour and glory to our reigning King of kings and LORD of lords for His Holy Spirit revival outpouring of miracles, signs and wonders in Melbourne as Pastor Robert Kayanja (Uganda) ministered the prophetic anointing, power, presence, glory and Word of the Lord to more than 300 people at CTFM Hallam last Monday night!

He arrived in Melbourne with Evangelist Vera Lim (Singapore) from Tonga for Jesus Miracle Healing Crusades (with thousands of people, including government and church leaders,) to minister at CTFM on his way to minister in Perth, then Singapore and Indonesia, before returning to his home in Uganda, Africa.

Pr Robert preached a powerfully anointed Word from God from 1 Samuel 10 that as Christians we need to prophesy the Word of God over ourselves and others to be radically changed by the Spirit of the Lord!

The altar call for healing, deliverance, salvation, miracles, more of God’s presence and power was flooded with several hundred people receiving supernatural breakthroughs from the mighty manifestation of the Holy Spirit!

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Army of Christians Takes Hollywood by Storm

Teresa Neumann : Jun 6, 2012 : Drew Zahn – World Net Daily "Not only can we support positive films, we can produce them. We can fulfill the Great Commission through…

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HOSTILITY TO CHRISTIANITY IN EUROPE

Dr. Peter Hammond  – July 2012 edition of JOY! Magazine.

The secularisation and paganisation of large sections of Europe is tragic. There are surprisingly dynamic pockets of spiritual vitality and life amidst the general atheism and heathenism, but the general picture in Europe is of spiritual decline.

Missionary Power House

In 1900, Evangelicals in Europe constituted 45% of the world’s Evangelicals. Now less than 4% of all Evangelicals in the world are in Europe. The 19th century was the greatest century of Missionary advance. It was a century of astounding inventions and of spectacular advances in technology. Many countries in Europe experienced dynamic Spiritual Revivals. Christian missionaries from Europe won whole tribes and nations to Christ, in the remotest regions of the globe. For over a thousand years, Europe had been Christendom, the heartland and stronghold of Christian civilisation. The 19th century has seen such staggering growth in numbers, productivity, power and wealth, that most would have imagined that Europe would have continued to dominate the globe for centuries to come. The optimism which had prevailed in the 19th century gave way to profound pessimism after the First World War.

Devastation

However, World War I shattered Europe. An entire generation of young men died in brutal trench warfare. 1914 marked the end of the greatest century of Christian advance and the beginning of what proved to be the worst century of persecution. The consequences of the First World War, continues to have far-reaching repercussions to this present day. Of the 60 million European soldiers who were mobilised from 1914 to 1918, over 9 million were killed, 7 million permanently disabled and 15 million seriously injured.

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Interview: T.D. Jakes on 35 Years of Ministry

By Katherine T. Phan , Christian Post Reporter, June 14, 2012

Bishop T.D. Jakes is a jack of all trades and is recognized in all of them. He is known as the senior pastor of the 30,000-member Dallas-based church, The Potter’s House, the New York Times best-selling author of Let It Go, the producer of the hit comedy “Jumping the Broom,” and the founder of a Grammy award-winning Dexterity Sounds label.

His diverse circle of friends reflects his wide-ranging career: Oprah Winfrey, President Obama, Pastor Paula White, Tyler Perry, and Chaka Khan. In the midst of it all, he still finds time to send love tweets to his wife and support relief efforts at his church.

Last week, Jakes was the guest of honor at a big celebration in Dallas to mark his 35th anniversary of ministry, 55th birthday, 30th wedding anniversary, and 15th anniversary of The Potter’s House.

I sat down with Bishop Jakes immediately following the celebration to get his reflection of the night and on his 35 years of ministry.

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Having children really does make a man more content with life

May 19th 2012 – The Economist

WILL fatherhood make me happy? That is a question many men have found themselves asking, and the scientific evidence is equivocal. A lot of studies have linked parenthood—particularly fatherhood—with lower levels of marital satisfaction and higher rates of depression than are found among non-parents.

Biologically speaking, that looks odd. Natural selection might be expected to favour the progeny of men who enjoy bringing them up. On the other hand, the countervailing pressure to have other children, by other women, may leave the man who is already encumbered by a set of offspring dissatisfied.

To investigate the matter further Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside, decided both to study the existing literature, and to conduct some experiments of her own. The results, just published in Psychological Science, suggest parenthood in general, and fatherhood in particular, really are blessings, even though the parent in question might sometimes feel they are in disguise.

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China Forced Abortion Case a ‘Crime Against Humanity,’ Says Christian Lawyer

By Ivana Kvesic , Christian Post Reporter  – World News – Friday, Jun 15, 2012

Well-known Chinese Christian lawyer Zhang Kai has spoken out against a recent forced abortion case in China that captured international attention, labeling the shocking case, in which he intends to represent the mother, a “crime against humanity.”

“The tragic Zhenping case violates the most basic conscience of mankind,” the Christian lawyer who will be representing Feng Jianmei in her case against the local government recently wrote on his blog.

“I cannot accept this kind of blatant murder in the land we that we live in. To ignore it is, I think, is to be no different than the murder. This is a crime against humanity,” Zhang added.

Feng, a 25-year-old resident of Zhenping City in China’s Shanxi Province, was seven months pregnant with her second child when she was recently beaten and forced to have her unborn daughter aborted by local family planning officials. The officials were reportedly enforcing China’s controversial one-child policy.

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Forgive and forget? Not this cat

Virginia Trioli   31-5-2012

Rehab sounds like a pretty amazing place. Amy Winehouse sang about not wanting to go there, but anybody else who finds themself drowning from the weight of the baggage they drag with them seems able to go to this place, somewhere over the rainbow, and emerge happy, free and respectable again. And why not? To live free of demons is a great thing. They pay for it with their own reputation and their own money so they have every right to own the outcome.

I am a lot less persuaded by the kind of free-of-charge, memory-free rehabilitation that seems to come to some high-profile people regardless of their missteps and controversies, such is the rush to elevate them again to the position of eminent public figure. My ABC, curiously enough, appears to be engaged in the rehabilitation of former defence minister Peter Reith, by repeated engagements of him as a talking head on this or that political issue. His justly criticised role in the notorious Children Overboard affair – the dissemination of untruths and his failure to correct them – is conveniently overlooked.

The artist formerly known at Cat Stevens is another one to currently enjoy the public pleasures of short-term memory. His new stage show, Moonshadow, based on his songs and some aspects of his life, has been cheerfully embraced by the country’s arts writers as yet another great show to premiere in an Australian city. Now known as Yusuf Islam, his music has been described as being set to reach a new generation of fans too young to remember Tea for the Tillerman. I remember that record. I remember it well. But am I the only one who also still remembers Yusuf on that notorious episode of Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals on the fatwa declared on writer Salman Rushdie by the then Ayatollah Khomeini?

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Freedom fails – Majority Vote 85-24 force Danish chuches to perform same sex marriage

Bill Muehlenberg - 11th June 2012 Here is how one report covers this ominous development: “The nation of Denmark has voted to force churches in the established Evangelical Lutheran Church…

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Pr Daniel’s radio interview regarding Australia’s 2011 Census Report on the decline of Christianity and Marriage

Dear friends and family in Christ, For those of who were unable to listen to Pr Daniel’s recent radio interview on Student Youth Network Panorama Program on 90.7FM (Melbourne area)…

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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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