Contending For the Faith
Oklahoma Battles Group over Statue of Satan
May 4, 2014 — Breitbart.com reports: “A battle will soon be held in Oklahoma over a statue of Satan that a group wants to erect near the monument of the Ten Commandments on the Statehouse lawn in Oklahoma City. A group called the Satanic Temple, backed by the ACLU, is insisting that its nearly-completed statue should stand near the monument, while a spokesman for the governor bluntly said that setting up the Satanic statue on the grounds will never happen.
According to Lucien Graves, spokesman for the Satanic Temple, the sculptor working in New York has not been identified, but has been commissioned by the Satanic Temple, which has raised more than $20,000 for the project. Greaves boasted, ‘We’re really coming along fast.’
The bronze statue will represent the Baphomet, or Sabbatic Goat, which has been commonly thought to represent Satan for hundreds of years. To make matters more disturbing, the statue has a smiling child on each knee…” (Sorry to disappoint you Pope Francis. All atheists will burn in Hell if they carry out their blasphemous anti-Christ deeds. You have stated: “I will meet you atheists in Heaven.” – True only if they repent of their hatred for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And if they don’t, all who are mentioned in Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 as fools because they say “…there is no God. [They are] corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity…” Such unbelievers will suffer forever in “The Lake of Fire” – Revelation 21:8.)
The Middle East War on Christians
April 17, 2014 — The Wall Street Journal reports: “This week, as Jews celebrate the Passover holiday, they are commemorating the Bible’s Exodus story describing a series of plagues inflicted on ancient Egypt that freed the Israelites, allowing them to make their way to the Holy Land. But over the past century, another exodus, driven by a plague of persecution, has swept across the Middle East and is emptying the region of its Christian population. The persecution is especially virulent today.
The Middle East may be the birthplace of three monotheistic religions, but some Arab nations appear bent on making it the burial ground for one of them…
In the rubble of Syrian cities like Aleppo and Damascus, Christians who refused to convert to Islam have been kidnapped, shot and beheaded by Islamist opposition fighters. In Egypt, mobs of Muslim Brotherhood members burn Coptic Christian churches in the same way they once obliterated Jewish synagogues. And in Iraq, terrorists deliberately target Christian worshippers…” (These Islamic murderers will never see the inside of Heaven. Allah’s promises for suicide bombers, plus all the holy and righteous men of Islam is that they will enjoy 72 virgins for all eternity. My Bible says lust practicing humans will experience suffering in Gehenna, the Lake of Fire, forever – Revelation 20:14, 15.)
War on Christians: The Politics of Persecution
April 22, 2014 — Breitbart.com reports: “In Nigeria, 234 Christian schoolgirls abducted; a Jesuit priest shot in the head outside his house in Homs, Syria; a young Christian woman dragged from her car in Egypt and beaten to death… These are some of the latest stories of Christians being hunted, tortured, or executed at the hands of Islamists.
Stories such as these are increasingly finding their way into the American media, and Americans are showing a growing concern for the persecuted church, but policymakers seem slow to respond. Not only is the United States government virtually silent on the issue of the worsening plight of Christians globally, but in three countries where Christians are currently most under siege – Syria, Egypt, and Nigeria – U.S. policy is actually exacerbating the situation…
Persecution of Christians is on an upward trajectory that runs parallel to the Islamist awakening and has accelerated under the so-called ‘Arab Spring.’ Yet it has not made it to the top-ten list of priorities for American policymakers, which is ironic, given that our nation was founded on the principle of religious freedom. Reports from North Africa and the Middle East attest to the fact that at least one side of this conflict sees it as a religious war…” (Why have 15 million Christians been slaughtered by Muslim killers in the past 25 years? It’s because of “The Offense of the Cross” – Galatians 6:12. Oh how Muslims hate the Jesus of Christianity. However, their “Prophet Jesus”, appointed by Muhammad, will put to death all Jews and Christians who won’t become Muslims. Imam Kabbani who head’s up America’s Muslims informs the world that their fake Jesus will be Islam’s executioner. Rick Warren, called America’s Pastor, spoke at two Muslim conventions arranged by the aforementioned Muslim cleric. How sad when apostate pastors try to unite Christianity and Islam.)
Former archbishop of Canterbury: We are a post-Christian nation
April 27, 2014 — The Telegraph.co.uk reports: “Britain is now a ‘post-Christian’ country, the former archbishop of Canterbury has declared, as research suggests that the majority of Anglicans and Roman Catholics now feel afraid to express their beliefs.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Lord Williams of Oystermouth says Britain is no longer ‘a nation of believers’ and that a further decline in the sway of the Church is likely in the years ahead.
While the country is not populated exclusively by atheists, the former archbishop warns that the era of regular and widespread worship is over.
His stark assessment comes after David Cameron ignited a national debate over the place of religion in British public life. The Prime Minister urged Christians to be ‘more evangelical’ about their faith and claimed that Britain should be a more confidently Christian country.
His remarks, in the run-up to Easter, provoked a furious response from atheist and secular groups, and prompted a succession of senior politicians to give their views, culminating in Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, calling for the disestablishment of the Church of England…”
Young Christian man killed in Pakistan for not converting to Islam
April 23, 2014 — ChristianToday.com reports: “A young man named only as Haroon, 22, has reportedly been shot and killed for his faith by a Muslim co-worker in Pakistan.
According to a news release from the advocacy group the Center for Legal Aid and Settlement in the UK (CLAAS), Haroon had recently started work in Lahore as a road sweeper, where he worked alongside Muslim security guard Umer Farooq.
Farooq mocked Haroon’s Christian faith on a daily basis and tried to persuade him to convert to Islam. He told Haroon he was good looking, and should embrace Islam…
Harroon refused to convert, saying he was a follower of Jesus Christ. Farooq then shot Haroon, with a bullet hitting him the head, killing him on the spot. He later started shouting that Haroon had attempted suicide…” (This headline is happening hundreds of times per week in Muslim nations. It’s convert or die in most Islamic countries.)
Rate of Christian girls abducted and attacked on the rise in Egypt
April 18, 2014 — Fox News reports: “Young Christian women are facing a greater risk of being kidnapped by extremists, tortured, and even forced to convert to Islam since the Arab Spring ended in 2011.
This year already has seen a spike in the incidents, according to a report by the non-profit advocacy group International Christian Concern. It has been estimated by the ICC and other watchdog groups in the region that there have been 500 reported cases of young women being attacked by Muslim men since 2011, but unreported cases could send the figure much higher.
The girls are often assaulted, raped, kidnapped, forced to change their faith and sometimes killed, the ICC said. Making matter worse, nothing is being done by local authorities to prevent it in provinces across Egypt, according to officials from both the ICC and the Clarion Project, a US-based non-profit think tank and advocacy group.
‘Not only are they turning a blind eye, they are often compliant,’ Issac Six, a spokesman for the ICC told FoxNews.com, citing one incident in which a father was assaulted by an officer for asking too many questions about efforts to have his abducted daughter returned…” (These lust ridden abductors sell these precious young ladies for $12.00 each. Isn’t it strange that they need virgins ahead of schedule, and can’t wait for the 72 virgins promised for all suicide bombers and holy and righteous Muslims? Here’s what God’s Words says about all sexual deviants – “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” – I Corinthians 6:9, 10.)
Atheist targets troops’ role in prayer gathering
April 28, 2014 — WND.com reports: “Thousands of Christians are donning the full armor of God – and the military stands with them – as they unite in one voice to fight a spiritual battle for America and her sovereignty.
Ann Graham Lotz, the National Day of Prayer honorary chairman, composed a prayer especially for the event, which will be broadcast live May 1 from 9 a.m. Eastern to 12 noon.
It reads, ‘In times of uncertainty, You are the rock on which we stand. In our weakness, You are our Strength. In our grief, You are our Comfort. In our despair, You are our Hope. In our confusion, You are our Wisdom. In time of terrorism, You are our Shield. In time of war, You are our Peace.’
The National Day of Prayer activities include speeches and gatherings of many faiths every year, but the 2014 event is already facing opposition.
Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, recently sent a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel asking that the Department of Defense distance itself from next month’s observance in Washington. Weinstein said military participation in the event would suggest government endorsement of Christianity.
‘The planned participation by uniformed U.S. military personnel in this private fundamentalist Christian religious event, run by a non-federal entity, is an unequivocally clear violation of [a] plethora of DoD regulations and instructions,’ the letter stated. ‘The U.S. military absolutely cannot endorse these searingly sectarian events by its public participation in them.’…” (Here is the believer’s prophetical position at this moment in history – “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,[Christ’s return] except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” — II Thessalonians 2:3; and the Lord Jesus Christ also said in Luke 18:8 “…when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” The obvious answer “No”.)
Major Christian conference ‘pushing mysticism’
May 5, 2014 — WND.com reports: “A major Christian church-leadership organization, which brought thousands of pastors and church workers together in Carrollton, Texas, this week, succeeded in raising eyebrows from some of the attendees – over so-called ‘contemplative spirituality.’
The event, called ‘Catalyst Dallas,’ was sponsored by Atlanta-based Catalyst, and featured speakers Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv, filmmaker Ryan Leak, corporate management expert Patrick Lencioni and author Jen Hatmaker, among many others.
During a workshop Tuesday afternoon, contemplative proponent Phileena Heuertz led the audience in a ‘centering prayer,’ which detractors argue opens the door to altered states of consciousness. A common theme throughout Catalyst Dallas was references to mystics Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating and Henri Nouwen.
Warren Smith, a writer specializing in the New Age movement, notes that mainstream Christian leaders have been promoting such mysticism for decades:
‘[Robert H.] Schuller had Nouwen as a special guest on the Hour of Power television program in 1992. After Nouwen appeared on that program ‘his reputation [among Protestants] blossomed dramatically.’’…” (The New Age movement is loaded with demonic spirits. Shirley MacLaine was controlled by ‘Lazarus’ and J.Z. Knight by ‘Ramtha’. Dr. Schuchman was controlled by a demonic spirit calling himself ‘Jesus’ and this occultist spirit spewed out blasphemous statements against the Cross. Oprah Winfrey promoted this trash, through a book called “A Course in Miracles” throughout the nation on TV. Rick Warren and his hero Robert H. Schuller also meddled in this occultist mess. – I John 2:18 – 22. Warren Smith who wrote 4 books on the New Age Movement implicated these two men numerous times.)