Current Events and Links

See also:
Abortion
Homosexuality
Revival

Quiz: Many Christians 'not very Christian'

Source: WND

Christianity Quiz Shows Sharp Increase in Worldly Christians - Changing the Face of Christianity

'Gay conversion' ban put on hold

Dec. 4, 2012 - The State of California has a new law that prohibits "gay conversion therapy." In the case of a student and two mental health providers, U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb issued an injunction against enforcing the law. He said that they "are likely to succeed on the merits of their … claims based on violations of their rights to freedom of speech under the First Amendment." He also said that without the injunction they would be likely to suffer irreparable harm.

Source: Sacramento Bee

Prophetic Significance of Apostasy

The Great Clarification: Fuzzy Fidelity and the Rise of the Nones

Oct. 16, 2012 - A new study from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reveals that one of five Americans is now “unaffiliated” with any church or organized faith. And one third under age 30 report themselves as unaffiliated. In that age group the number of unaffiliated has risen from about 15% to 20% in the past 5 years. They say they are comfortable with no affiliation and are not looking for a church.

Of the unaffiliated, about 13 million Americans (about 6 percent) identify as atheists or agnostics, with another 33 million (14 percent) simply claiming no affiliation.

Source: Albert Mohler - Religion Today

Multi-Partner Marriage: The Next Logical Step After Same-Sex Marriage

Oct. 2, 2012 - Allowing same-sex marriage is apparently opening the doors to even more bizarre family arrangements in Canada. The Toronto District School Board, has begun to distribute “Love has no gender” posters to students starting in grade school. The posters have hearts with various combinations of stick figures.

Some hearts contain a male and a female, some two females or two males. We expected as much. What we probably didn’t expect is that some of the hearts have threesomes: a male with two females, a female with two males.

Polygamy is not legal in Canada but multiple-partner relationships are.

Source: Religion Today

Joel Osteen's Gospel of Affirmation Without Salvation

Sept. 25, 2012 - Promoting his new book, I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life, Joel Osteen appeared on CNN's “Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien.” Theologian Albert Mohler complains that his message is one of affirmation of all people without taking the opportunity to share the message of salvation. Depak Chopra was on the same program, agreeing with Osteen. Mohler wrote,

The appearance of Osteen and Chopra together was a priceless demonstration of the fact that the New Thought positive thinking philosophy that drives them both can be grafted onto either Christianity or Eastern religion.

He says that Chopra’s New Age spirituality and Osteen’s updated version of the word-faith movement are really the same message.

Source: Albert Mohler - Religion Today

World's Largest Christian Broadcasting Network Under Lawsuit

Aug. 27, 2012 - It will take time for the courts to determine what is going on at Trinity Broadcasting Network because of a suit aginst them claiming...

"...the unlawful distribution of the TBN Companies' charitable assets to Trinity Broadcasting's directors," including Paul and Jan Crouch and other Crouch family members.

TBN has filed a counter-suit against the ex-employee making the claim.

Source: Religion Today

Up to 10 hurt in shooting near Empire State Bldg; gunman dead

Aug. 24, 2012 -

As many as 10 people have been injured in a shooting outside the Empire State Building in Manhattan, NBC News reports. The gunman, who was firing indiscriminately, is dead, the AP says.

Source: USA Today

US Church Remains in 'Coma' Despite Cataclysmic Events in Middle East, Says Watchdog

July 27, 2012 - Open Doors USA President and CEO Dr. Carl Moeller gave a sobering assessment of the church in America today. He says it is not simply in a slumber about the plight of the persecuted church in the Middle East. He warns that is in a "diabetic coma." He claimed that the church has ...

...gorged itself on the sweets of affluence, materialism, and the idolatry of worshipping the materialistic world.

"Revelation 3:4 says, "Wake up, and strengthen what remains about to die."

Source: Christian Post

Gallup: American Confidence in Religion at All-Time Low

July 13, 2012 -

The Gallup Poll released data this week showing that Americans currently have the lowest confidence in organized religion than at any other time, with Protestants proving the most trusting group while distrust among Catholics is attributed to child sex abuse scandals.

Only 44 percent of respondents registered strong confidence in religion (Protestants - 56%, Catholics - 46%, Non-Catholic or Protestant - 29%).

Source: Christian Post

Church Hopping - Religion Today

Episcopal Church becomes biggest US church to bless gay unions

July 12, 2012 - The U.S. Episcopal Church has approved a same-sex liturgy is called "The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant."

In the proposed rite, each person would make a vow to the other, exchange rings and be declared "bound to one another in a holy covenant, as long as they both shall live."

Other churches have made similar decisions. The United Church of Christ, which voted in 2005 to support full civil and religious marriage equality for same-sex couples. The U.S. Presbyterian Church already allows ministers to bless gay unions but prohibits them from solemnizing gay civil marriages.

Source: MSNBC

United Reformed Church to Allow Gay Civil Partnerships in UK Churches - Christian Post

Majority of Christians Hate Christian TV, Survey Finds

June 7, 2012 - Pastor David Wright, the Chief Executive of doerstv.com, was shocked by the response to a recent poll of his channel's more than 100,000 Facebook fans. 90 percent of the feedback to his poll was negative. Viewers said they did not like the constant begging for donations, boring programming, and Lack of integrity of Christian leaders being broadcast.

Source: Christian Post

CULTURAL IMPLOSION? CANNIBALISM, “MOMMY PORN,” GAY MARRIAGE DRIVE U.S. HEADLINES: What’s going on?

June 6, 2012 - Rosenberg says forget about the horrible economy and world conditions for a while and take an alarming look at current U.S. trends in pornography ("Fifty Shades of Grey" - wildly successful "mommmie porn" novels), cannabilism (when has there ever been a series of real-life cannabal headlines before), gay marriage, and abortion. He says,

Many Americans genuinely fear that God is preparing to remove his hand of protection and blessing from our country, or perhaps already has... God may not intend to help us turn things around and get us back on the right track.

Source: Joel C. Rosenberg

Obama, touting gay marriage stance, calls for repeal of Defense of Marriage Act

May 15, 2012 - At a fundraiser hosted by the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Leadership Council, President Obama went beyond his recent statement that same-sex couples should have the right to marry. He spoke in favor of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act which was passed in 1996.

Source: Fox

The Fastest Growing Religion In America Is Islam

May 5, 2012 - A census compiled by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies reveals that...

From the year 2000 to the year 2010, the census found that the number of Muslims living inside the United States increased from 1 million to 2.6 million - a stunning increase of 66.7 percent.

During the same time Mormons grew 45.5%, while Evangelicals grew an anemic 1.7% and mainline Protestants declined 12.8%

Source: Worldview Weekend

Andy Stanley Sermon Illustration on Homosexuality Prompts Backlash

May 4, 2012 - An illustration in a recent message by North Point Senior Pastor Andy Stanley raised more questions than it provided answers. He talked about a man who left his wife for another man. He condemned the adulterous relationship (since the man was married) and called adultery sin, but did not label homosexuality as sin. So far, Stanley has not commented on the issue.

Source: Christianity Today

Why Churches Shouldn't Push Contraceptives to Their Singles

April 26, 2012 - At a recent [Q Conference] in Washington D.C. younger evangelical leaders met to discuss current social issues. After a panel discussion on the best ways to reduce abortions in the church (tacit answer: contraception), an instant poll put the question to attendees:

In a breathtaking moment of unity, however, conference attendees affirmed that churches should advocate for contraceptives for the single people in their midst... "Do you believe churches should advocate contraception for their single twentysomethings?"

As shocking as the question is, the response was even more surprising. Seventy percent of the responders said "Yes."

Source: Christianity Today

Sex Trafficking and Our National Humiliation

April 24, 2012 - Sexual slavery is bad enough, but when American Secret Service officials participate in this world-wide scourge, it's time to call for reforms!

Critics of the Secret Service suggested that a good many of its agents adopted a motto of “wheels up, rings off,” indicating plans to visit prostitutes in their destination city. They planned their involvement with prostitutes well in advance of their arrival.

Source: Albert Mohler - Crosswalk

Palestinian Christians Focus on Peace, Not End Times Prophecy, at 'Checkpoint' Conference

Mar. 15, 2011 - A conference called "Christ at the Checkpoint" was hosted March 5-9 by the Bethlehem Bible College, an organization of Palestinian Evangelical Christians. Some 600 international and local Christians participated in discussions about the future of Palestinian Christians and the ongoing Middle East conflict. They were not interested in the Bible's prophecies about Israel's future.

The conference leaders wanted to steer the discussion away from End Times talk and encourage the evangelical community to join Palestinians in following Jesus in the prophetic pursuance of justice, peace and reconciliation.

Source: Christian Post

Truth, Half-Truths and Lies: "Christ at the Checkpoint" anti-Israel Conference - New Antisemitism

"Checked" at the Checkpoint

Mar. 15, 2012 - Jan Merkel sounds the alarm about the blatant "Replacement Theology" of most of the participants in the "Christ at the Checkpoint" conference in Bethlehem.

This crowd believes that the church is the new Israel, a theology known as Replacement Theology. It allows them to disinherit Israel and to even look past Arab terror attacks on Israel just as Germany's churches disregarded anti-Semitism 80 years ago.

Source: Olive Branch Ministries

Bethlehem Baptists not going away - OneNewsNow

The Church of Sex

Mar. 7, 2012 - Author David Kupelian warns that there is a new form of Christianity sweeping the U.S. Its main focus is sex. He notes that there are many Christian leaders and websites that seem to be preoccupied with the subject, but he complains that the most prominent example is Mark Driscoll, founding pastor of the wildly popular Seattle mega-church Mars Hill Church. Fortunately, Driscoll condemns fornication, adultery and homosexuality. But for married folks he offeres questionable messages.

Driscoll – citing his chief inspiration Solomon, who had 700 wives – promotes sex toys, imaginary sexual role-playing, cybersex, what used to be called “sodomy” (both oral and anal) and wives becoming strippers for their husbands.

Kupelian also questions the focus of Ed Young, senior pastor of Dallas-based Fellowship Church. Young recently staged “a 24-hour bed-in with his wife atop his church,” in order to publicize his just-released New York Times best-seller, “Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy With Your Spouse.”

Source: - WND

Rick Warren Builds Bridge to Muslims

Feb.23, 2012 -Rick Warren, one of America's most influential Christian leaders, and pastor of Saddleback Church, is part of an effort named King's Way that's attempting bring evangelical Christians and Muslims together.

Tom Holladay, associate senior pastor at Saddleback, said the outreach to Muslims is part of Saddleback's PEACE Plan, a wide-ranging effort to solve major world problems by mobilizing governments, businesses and faith communities.

At an interfaith dinner in December Abraham Meulenberg, a Saddleback pastor in charge of interfaith outreach, and Jihad Turk, director of religious affairs at a mosque in Los Angeles, introduced King's Way as "a path to end the 1,400 years of misunderstanding between Muslims and Christians." A document they co-authored stresses points of agreement between the two faiths, including belief in "one God." It also calls for sharing their faith with one another, but not for the purpose of conversion.

Warren has denied supporting the concept called "Chrislam," a merging of Islam and Christianity. Writing in his website for pastors, he said the rumor is "100 percent false," and that his ministry is "built on the truth that Jesus is the only way, and our inerrant Bible is our only true authority."

Source: Orange county Register

The Peace Plan - Saddleback Church

The Emerging Global 'Church' - Berit Kjos

Calvary Chapel and Purpose Driven

Roger Oakland explains why Calvary Chapel's Pastor Chuck Smith does not support Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven" movement. The first of several reasons given is Warren's disdain for prophecy as stated in "The Purpose Driven Life, " on page 286:

Jesus said, "The Good News about God's kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come." If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy.

Source: Roger Oakland - Understanding the times