Thursday, May 31, 2012

Many Outraged Over Boy Singing "Ain't No Homos Gonna Make It To Heaven" At Church

Pint-sized preachers have been known to captivate headlines, as The Blaze has highlighted before. There’s just something about small children reciting the gospel message with fervency that captivates attention. But a video of a young boy allegedly belting out anti-gay messages at an Indiana church is creating a very different reaction — one of surprise, even disgust.

It seems the nation may have another church controversy to focus on, following outrage after Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church spoke earlier this month about putting gays in an electrified fence. Gawker has more about the newest purported anti-gay video that is making its rounds:
A place of worship identified as the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle in Greensburg, Indiana, is getting some much needed attention this morning after a video of a young congregant singing “Ain’t No Homos Gonna Make It to Heaven” began making the rounds late yesterday.
What makes this particular demonstration of intolerance so shocking is just how young this congregant is. Believing him to be no older than five, some are calling the church’s treatment of the boy out-and-out child abuse.
After the child sings that homosexuals won’t be going to heaven, the video shows the crowd cheering and applauding. A male voice can be heard yelling, “That’s my boy.” The overall reaction, it seems, was one of support for the messaging and encouragement for a small child that critics believe was too young to truly understand what he was singing. Care2.com provides the lyrics to the song:
“The Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong.
The Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong.
Romans one, twenty six and twenty seven;
Ain’t no homos gonna make it to Heaven.”

Read More from The Blaze

Jack White Of White Stripes Defends Capitalism

THE BLAZE---In an age where rock stars spend most of their time denouncing businesses and profits, it’s rare to see a talented musician not only practice free market capitalism but also defend it.

Jack White (of White Stripes fame) is displaying his fluency in basic economics via his personal record label Third Man Records [which we’re going to pretend is a reference to the Carol Reed classic].

Forbes explains:
Third Man Records, puts out limited prints of records in order to meet customer demand “to be involved in collecting rare and interesting vinyl.” There is a problem with this though. If you make something rare and valuable, the market price will be high.
White found out the hard way that if you market a product as “rare and valuable” and then artificially price it too low, people will buy that product in bulk and resell it for what people are actually willing to pay.

And that’s exactly what happened: people bought up dozens of the low-priced vinyls for practically nothing and then “flipped” them for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
This is where it gets interesting.

“Many artists in this position would complain about the greedy resellers and that would be the end of it,” Forbes’ Adam Ozimek writes.

“But White realized that 1) if customers want rare and valuable albums they will be expensive, 2) the market price will be reached no matter what they sell them for initially, and 3) if someone is going to profit it might as well be the creators,” he adds.

Instead keeping the price artificially low, White decided to auction the vinyls and let market demand dictate what people would pay for them. He soon discovered that people were willing to pay up to $300 for the privilege of owning a “rare” vinyl.

Of course, once White started doing this, people who don’t understand market demand and the idea that you pay a premium for a niche product complained that the auctions were “exploitative.”
But White isn’t backing down. His business model makes sense and he knows it:
We sell a Wanda Jackson split record for 10 bucks, the eBay flipper turns around and sells it for 300… If 300 is what it’s worth, then why doesn’t Third Man Records sell it for 300? If we sell them for more, the artist gets more, the flipper gets nothing. We’re not in the business of making flippers a living. We’re in the business of giving fans what they want.
He went on to point out that “rare and valuable” is what drives the price:
…make no mistake, we could make twenty thousand split color whatevers for you, and they’ll be worth 20 bucks, and you’ll pay 20 bucks for them, and you’ll never talk about them, desire them, hunt to find them, etc. why should ebay flippers, who are not real fans, dictate the price, make all the profit (taken from the artist and the label) and take the records out of the hands of real fans. there’s a guy who waits in a black suv down the block from third man who hires homeless people to go buy him tri colors when they are on sale. doesn’t even get out of his car. should he be charged ten bucks or two hundred? don’t be spoiled, don’t insult people who are trying to give you what you want.
Of course, as Forbes notes, the “flippers” don’t dictate price, the supply of vinyl and market demand sets price [but we’ll let that slide].

“Jack White is clearly a man who thinks like an economist. By giving the profit to the creators instead of the resellers, this gives White, Third Man, and their artists more incentive to create more albums,” Ozimek writes.
Read More From The Blaze

Want To Save Money? Let The Sun Cook Your Food!

Group Raises Over $70,000 To Help Honor Student Who Was Jailed For Missing Too Much School


A Louisiana group has raised more than $70,000 for a 17-year-old Texas honor student jailed for missing too much school because she worked two jobs to support her siblings.
Diane Tran, an 11th-grade honor student at Willis High School near Houston, was sent to jail for 24 hours last week by Judge Lanny Moriarty and ordered to pay a $100 fine for excessive truancy.

Ohio Cracks Down on Human Trafficking

New Video Game "The Calling" First Ever Video Game Based On Life Of Jesus

Journey of Jesus: The Calling — the first-ever video game based on Jesus — launches today from Lightside Games, makers of the popular Journey of Moses. Interestingly, also launching today: Diablo III, the newest installment of a game series built around battles with demonic creatures, which debuted in 1996 with the tagline: “All hell breaks loose.”

“Both games immerse the player, and you are what you eat,” Brent Dusing, CEO of Lightside games said. “While one game goes one direction, Journey of Jesus: The Calling players walk in the Messiah’s steps, in an authentic experience of Israel in Christ’s time.”

Online social gaming currently attracts 300 million players worldwide. Journey of Jesus: The Calling enters the stage with high-quality graphics, music, game play and the latest social features.

New players log on to Facebook and type Journey of Jesus: The Calling into the search bar.

Following simple registration steps, at no cost, players begin to choose paths, explore intricate and intriguing game spaces, search for items and artifacts; overcome obstacles; and brush with the era’s politics, religious landscape, history and everyday life.

Christian leaders have praise for Journey of Jesus: The Calling:

Darrell Bock, Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary: “Why would a theologian endorse a social gaming game? Because 300 Million people weekly log on to social games and because Journey of Jesus: The Calling takes players closer to the life of Christ in a fun, reflective and entertaining way.”

Pastor Jack Hayford, Jack Hayford Ministries: “I wouldn’t have thought a game could do so much to remind us that Jesus walked this earth of ours, involved himself with real people and lived with both life’s daily-ness and its dramas. Journey of Jesus: The Calling is marvelous because it’s more than a game.”

Demand for biblically based social gaming became evident in Lightside’s Journey of Moses, which launched last summer and has drawn more than 2 million players. And while hundreds of millions worldwide play social games, Journey of Jesus: The Calling is the first invitation to fun new faith conversations in the gaming world.
Read More From Oregon Faith Report

"Flamer" Cyber Weapon Virus Burning Through Computers In The Middle East



A new virus is burning through the Middle East dubbed “Flamer” and it’s said to be responsible for recent data loss in seven countries.

Here’s News12

“It’s described as the most complex cyber weapon ever created… It’s designed to turn on PC microphones to listen to people.”

The Iranian Computer Emergency Response Team says it’s comparable to two other large viruses, known as Stuxnet and Duqu, that have affected Middle Eastern databases in the past—but this time it’s on a much bigger scale.
Read More from Newsy.com

TSA Wants More Financial Support Wants Travelers To Pay More In Security Fees



The embattled Transportation Security Agency is asking for some monetary support in the form of a security fee increase for travelers. The move, like a lot of the TSA’s actions, has been much-talked about and panned in the media. WFTV explains what the TSA wants.

“Right now, air travelers are charged $2.50 per one-way flight; if the TSA gets its way, that number would double. The agency’s budget is on the chopping block and officials say boosting the fee would cover the rising cost of security.”
Read More From Newsy.com

"In God We Trust" To Be Added To City Council Chambers In Anaheim California

ANAHEIM – The City Council Chambers will soon include the phrase "In God We Trust" over the city seal, behind the council dais.

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to spend $600 to $850 to install the motto in four-inch black or brushed-gold letters.

 It is a matter of patriotism," said Councilwoman Gail Eastman, who suggested the addition. "It is on our currency ... It's part of what America means to us."

The phrase is the U.S. national motto since 1956 and was reaffirmed in 2011 by Congress, which encouraged that the phrase be displayed in public schools and government buildings.

One resident, who said he is an atheist, spoke against the plan, saying it would make him feel excluded from city government. He suggested that the city include the former U.S. motto, "e pluribis unum," Latin for "out of one many, one."

The movement to add the motto nationwide has angered some atheists and activists nationally who say it violates the principle calling for separation of church and state.

But the "In God We Trust" motto has been widely accepted in Orange County, where 16 cities have already posted the phrase in chambers, from San Clemente to Buena Park. At least 92 California cities have included the motto and 281 counties and cities nationwide, according to Anaheim staffers who researched the issue.

The Anaheim council considered several locations and letter-sizes for the motto, including on the door to the chambers and in the hallway, but decided on the most prominent location, which is also seen on the television broadcast. Other options would have cost as much as $1,350.

The motto should be added within the next month, city officials said.
Read More from The Orange County Register

Christian Ministry Challenging IRS As They Attempt To Muzzle Pastors Free Speech Behind The Pulpit

CHRISTIAN POST---Truth in Action Ministries, a Christian national media organization, has been urging members of the public to sign a petition calling for a repeal of the IRS regulation that prohibits pastors from sharing their thoughts on political candidates from the pulpit.

Current federal law gives the IRS authority to investigate and punish churches if pastors publicly endorse a political candidate for office during a church service, a restriction which Truth in Action Ministries believes violates the First Amendment right to free speech. The petition, which seeks support for a measure called H.R. 3600, wants "to restore the Free Speech and First Amendment rights of churches and exempt organizations," and is being pushed by North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones.

Dr. Jerry Newcombe, spokesperson for Truth and Action Ministries, shared with The Christian Post that the original amendment that banned all nonprofit groups from engaging in election activity was submitted in 1954 by Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, who later became president. Newcombe claimed that Johnson "sneaked in" the proposal, which was quickly voted on and became law without a hearing or public debate, and as a result now all churches across America have to abide by that rule.

The IRS website explains that the bill, known as the Johnson Amendment, "prohibits political campaign activity by charities and churches by defining a 501(c)(3) organization as one 'which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.'"

"What we are trying to say basically 'Hey, enough with this. This doesn't sit well with the First Amendment,'" Dr. Newcomb shared with CP.

"We are not saying that pastors should be partisan or supporting of a political candidate, but they certainly should be able to speak out on issues that may have political implications," he added.

The Truth in Action Ministries petition declares: "With your help today, we will defend free speech and continue proclaiming the Gospel to a nation in grave need." Statistics on how many people have signed the petition so far were not yet available.

Most recently, the IRS was asked by the atheist and agnostic Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) to investigate pastor Charles Worley from Providence Road Baptist Church in N.C., who made national headlines by suggesting that gays and lesbians should be placed behind electrified fences and left to die out.

Pastor Worley also had some strong words to say about President Obama, although he did not outright say the president's name in his remarks.
Read More From Christian Post