Friday, January 11, 2013
China's Christians, on social media, undaunted
LONDON (BP) -- Chinese Christians are sharing their faith on Weibo,
China's giant state-regulated social network -- and some are beginning
to challenge censorship by speaking out against religious persecution,
according to a report by World Watch Monitor (formerly Compass Direct
News).
When the Christian band Rainbow Come appeared on China's equivalent of "The X Factor," Christians turned to social networking to drum up votes for the band so their music could reach more Chinese, WWM recounts.
Within a few days, thousands of votes had been posted for Rainbow Come, according to China's Gospel Times, enough to propel them to a leading position in the seventh round of "Chinese Dream" on Zhejiang Television in early January. Such is the power of social networking -- even in China, which has officially banned Facebook and Twitter.
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When the Christian band Rainbow Come appeared on China's equivalent of "The X Factor," Christians turned to social networking to drum up votes for the band so their music could reach more Chinese, WWM recounts.
Within a few days, thousands of votes had been posted for Rainbow Come, according to China's Gospel Times, enough to propel them to a leading position in the seventh round of "Chinese Dream" on Zhejiang Television in early January. Such is the power of social networking -- even in China, which has officially banned Facebook and Twitter.
READ MORE
NFL PLAYOFFS: Texans linebacker Bradie James goes from 'mess' to 'message'
HOUSTON (BP) -- When Bradie James steps onto the field for the Houston
Texans' playoff matchup with New England on Sunday, plenty of his
teammates and opponents will be playing for themselves.
James knows, because he used to be one of them.
"Playing football, everything is all about who becomes a champion," James said. "In my game sometimes, it's all about who has the biggest ego, who has the biggest car or the house and this and that. I was living a worldly life. I was living for myself."
A starting linebacker for the Texans, James eventually came to a crisis of faith as he began to question why he played football. He started going to church and trying to understand where he placed his faith. He picked up a Bible and started reading.
James shares his testimony in a video on the "I am Second" website. "I am Second" is a movement that tells the stories of actors, athletes, musicians, business leaders and others who have seen the Lord transform their lives.
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James knows, because he used to be one of them.
"Playing football, everything is all about who becomes a champion," James said. "In my game sometimes, it's all about who has the biggest ego, who has the biggest car or the house and this and that. I was living a worldly life. I was living for myself."
A starting linebacker for the Texans, James eventually came to a crisis of faith as he began to question why he played football. He started going to church and trying to understand where he placed his faith. He picked up a Bible and started reading.
James shares his testimony in a video on the "I am Second" website. "I am Second" is a movement that tells the stories of actors, athletes, musicians, business leaders and others who have seen the Lord transform their lives.
READ MORE
Christians Respond to Giglio's Withdrawal: New Era of Religious Intolerance in America?
By Lillian Kwon , Christian Post Reporter
January 10, 2013|5:36 pm
Pastor Louie Giglio's withdrawal from President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony has left Christians lamenting over what they see as a new era of religious intolerance.
More specifically, anyone who holds the view that homosexuality is a sin is being forced out of the public square.Russell Moore, a Southern Baptist theologian, put it this way: "When it is now impossible for one who holds to the catholic Christian view of marriage and the gospel to pray at a public event, we now have a de facto established state church.
"Just as the pre-constitutional Anglican and congregational churches required a license to preach in order to exclude Baptists, the new state church requires a 'license' of embracing sexual liberation in all its forms."
Giglio, founder of the Passion conferences and Passion City Church in Roswell, Ga., had been invited to deliver the benediction during Obama's inauguration ceremony on Jan. 21. He accepted the invitation and told The Christian Post earlier this week that he was honored to lead the nation in prayer.
But the pastor began to face criticism when the liberal blog Think Progress pointed to an "anti-gay" sermon Giglio delivered almost 20 years ago. In that sermon, Giglio affirms homosexuality as a sin, says Christians must respond to the "aggressive" homosexual agenda, and stresses that all are sinners and in need of the healing power of Jesus.
Wilton church offering will provide Internet for African clinic
While the political situation in the Central African Republic remains
unpredictable, one thing is certain — at some point in the next few
months, a clinic there will receive vital Internet service through the
giving of folks from Sunne Lutheran Church in Wilton.
This past Christmas, Sunne members donated to its second “Half a Christmas” offering over and above its target goal of $6,000.
That $6,000 was the cost estimated to install Internet service at Emmanuel Health Center in the C.A.R. town of Gallo, which would allow staff there access to life-saving medical advice and information from anywhere.
Built by Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry and other Lutheran partners around the world, the hospital is in a community that does not have cell service, a landline, postal service or Internet, and whose electricity is provided by solar-powered batteries and a generator.
When the giving was counted shortly after Christmas, Sunne contributors had given $8,360, said the Rev. Paul Schauer, Sunne’s pastor.
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This past Christmas, Sunne members donated to its second “Half a Christmas” offering over and above its target goal of $6,000.
That $6,000 was the cost estimated to install Internet service at Emmanuel Health Center in the C.A.R. town of Gallo, which would allow staff there access to life-saving medical advice and information from anywhere.
Built by Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry and other Lutheran partners around the world, the hospital is in a community that does not have cell service, a landline, postal service or Internet, and whose electricity is provided by solar-powered batteries and a generator.
When the giving was counted shortly after Christmas, Sunne contributors had given $8,360, said the Rev. Paul Schauer, Sunne’s pastor.
READ MORE
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell Mocks the Bible & Urges Obama to Exclude it From the Inauguration
The Blaze.com
Jan. 11, 2013 5:00pm
Atheist activists aren’t the only ones
looking to nix the Bible and references to God from President Barack
Obama’s inauguration. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell also took aim at the
holy book today, dismissing its purportedly heinous contents and urging
the president not to include it in his Jan. 21 inaugural ceremony.
After discussing Pastor Louie Giglio’s recent decision
to remove himself from Obama’s choice of benediction speakers,
O’Donnell launched into a tirade against the Bible and its presence at
the historical event. In addition to defending the gay rights movement
against Giglio’s nearly-20-year-old sermon, the MSNBC host dismissed the
Bible as an antiquated book that virtually nobody can agree with in its
entirety.
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