World Net Daily----The Veterans Administration in recent months has tried to prohibit
Bibles at its military hospitals and ban the use of the word “God” at
military funerals, and now there are members in Congress who say enough
is enough.
So HR 2720 has been introduced, stating emphatically that “no
official of the federal government, including the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, may interfere with the content and creed of the funeral,
memorial service, or ceremony of a deceased individual, as expressed by
the last will and testament of the individual or as determined by the
family or agent of the individual, as provided under state law.:
The resolution also requires federal officials to provide access to
health care facilities, cemeteries and other facilities if access is
requested by either veterans or their families.
The proposal came about because of a series of events that took place
last year where veterans and their families were prohibited from
exercising their First Amendment right to freedom of religion.
It was then that officials at Walter Reed Medical Center issued a
regulation telling families they would not be permitted to bring in
Bibles to read to their loved ones. The memo stated that “no religious
items (i.e. Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to
be given away or used during a visit.”
When news of the ban was made public, the hospital quickly backpedaled and rescinded the policy.
Just this week, on the anniversary of D-Day, Kelly Shackelford,
president and chief executive officer of Liberty Institute, testified
before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Disability
Assistance and Memorial Affairs about the importance of the bill.
It was May of last year that Liberty Institute filed a lawsuit
against federal officials after Arleen Ocasio, of the Houston National
Cemetery, attempted to edit and censor a prayer that was to be offered
by Pastor Scott Rainey at a Memorial Day service. Ocasio told Rainey
that his prayer needed to be submitted to her for approval and its
contents needed to be “non-denominational.”
While Liberty Institute was presenting its argument to the court,
officials learned of several other instances where religious freedom was
being suppressed.
Ocasio had instituted a policy titled, “Houston National Cemetery
Honor Guard Guidelines.” The guidelines required volunteer honor guards
to omit any and all religious elements from their rituals, unless the
family specifically requested otherwise.
“Instead, they could only do what she described as the ‘four core
elements,’ the folding of the flag, the presentation of the flag, the
rifle salute, and the playing of taps,” Shackelford said. “Ocasio stated
that the VFW District 4 Honor Guard members could not provide texts of
prayer to the family for consideration.
She also stated that if family
members wanted a certain prayer read, they would have to submit the
prayer to the cemetery in writing and cemetery officials would then give
the prayer to the VFW District 4 Honor Guard to read.”
A representative from the cemetery went even further and told the VFW
District 4 Honor Guard that they would not be permitted to conduct the
burial ritual because the word “God” was included.
“The cemetery representative did state that they could say the Lord’s
Prayer and the 23rd Psalm since the word ‘God’ is not included in those
texts. When questioned regarding the source of the authority for these
pronouncements, the cemetery representative responded ‘by my
supervisor’s orders.’”
While it could seem as if the guidelines were reasonable since it
claims the family can request the full burial ritual, Shackelford says
the reality is that families were denied that right.
“At least on three occasions, cemetery officials interfered with
families of deceased veterans in their making arrangements for burial
service,” he said.
James Haycraft, Geri Lakey and Lisa Ward, representing families of
deceased veterans, each claimed the cemetery interfered with and
precluded their wishes in honoring their loved ones.
“Mr. Haycraft’s brother did not receive the burial service he
desired, being prohibited from having the VFW honor guard perform the
entire VFW burial ritual. In the case of Ms. Lakey, cemetery officials
attempted to stop her husband from receiving the entire VFW burial
ritual. But for the actions of her husband’s VFW post commander (a
former judge), his final wishes would have been thwarted,” he testified.
“Ms. Ward had to have her husband’s burial service at a private funeral
home rather than the Houston National Cemetery so that the honor guard
could perform the entire VFW burial ritual, as she desired.
Nevertheless, because of the cemetery’s restrictions, her desire to have
the service at the cemetery was denied.”
In December, the VA settled the lawsuit by agreeing to stop
interfering with the religious content of military funerals and to
censoring the speech of clergy at any type of ceremony.
Read More from World Net Daily
Monday, June 11, 2012
Study Suggests There Are Risks To Same Sex Parenting
Two studies released Sunday may act like brakes on popular
social-science assertions that gay parents are the same as — or maybe
better than — married mother-father parents.“The empirical claim that no notable differences exist must go,” University of Texas sociology professor Mark Regnerus said in his study in Social Science Research.
Using a “gold standard” data set of nearly 3,000 randomly selected American young adults, Mr. Regnerus looked at their lives on 40 measures of social, emotional and relationship outcomes.
He found that, when compared with adults raised in married, mother-father families, adults raised by lesbian mothers had negative outcomes in 24 of 40 categories, while adults raised by gay fathers had negative outcomes in 19 categories.
Findings like these contradict claims that there are no differences between gay parenting and heterosexual, married parents, said Mr. Regnerus, who helped develop the New Family Structures Study at the University of Texas.
Mr. Regnerus‘ study of 2,988 people ages 18 to 39 — including 175 adults raised by lesbian mothers and 73 adults raised by gay fathers — marks the first research from the new data set, which initially included some 15,000 people.
The second study, also in Social Science Research, takes a critical look at the basis of an oft-cited American Psychological Association report on gay parenting.
The APA brief says, “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.”
After looking at the 59 studies that undergird this assertion, however, “The jury is still out,” said Loren Marks, an associate professor at the School of Human Ecology at Louisiana State University. “The lack of high-quality data leaves the most significant questions [about gay parenting] unaddressed and unanswered.”
Problems with the APA-cited studies were their small size; dependence on wealthy, white, well-educated lesbian mothers; and failure to examine common outcomes for children, such as their education, employment and risks for poverty, criminality, early childbearing, substance abuse and suicide. Instead, the APA studies often looked at children’s gender-role behaviors, emotional functioning and sexual identities.
Read More from The Washington Times
Church Fights City To Give Temporary Housing To Homeless Families
ALHAMBRA - A local church is fighting city zoning
and fire codes that Alhambra officials say bar it from being part of a
program to house homeless families.
Representatives from Alhambra's First Baptist Church say they want to join with 13 other local host churches in the Family Promise Program, which asks them to host three to five homeless families for one week four times a year as part of the church's charity work.
Alhambra officials say the church cannot house the families because it would be considered a homeless shelter. Based on an ordinance passed by the City Council in June, 2011, First Baptist is not located in an area zoned for a shelter, Director of Development Services Mary Swink said.
Pastor Lee Hamby said the church has been trying to work with the city for months to get clearance to participate in the program, but at a meeting in May were told that doing so would violate city laws.
But Hamby said the city's actions and zoning laws violate the church's First Amendment rights and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
"The church historically - not just our church, but churches in general - helps people that are poor, who are homeless," Hamby said. "Every case law on this has been ruled in favor of the church based on freedom of religion."
The Family Promise Program is a national nonprofit, founded in 1986, and the San Gabriel branch was founded two years ago by Hamby and Pastor Ken
Fong of Rosemead's Evergreen Baptist Church. While the families rotate between 14 host churches to sleep in, during the days they use the program's resource center to find employment and housing.
Hamby said his church has always helped the homeless, but Family Promise seemed like a more effective way to get them back on track.
"We saw this as a way to really help families go from temporary homelessness back to permanent housing and work and not just be a Band-Aid," Hamby said.
Despite the setback, since the program began in October 2011 First Baptist has twice hosted families using rental apartments and other churches instead of their own. Hamby said he still plans to house families for a third time this month, but will have to put them up in a hotel because of the city's restrictions.
Alhambra City Manager Julio Fuentes said he is willing to work with the church and Family Promise to find a different place to house the families, but that doing so in the church is not legally an option because of both zoning and fire codes.
Fire Chief Bill Walker agreed that the church's building would have to undergo serious alterations to be fire-code compliant for housing families.
"You still have to follow the building and the fire codes to house people," Fuentes said. "You just can't make makeshift housing without obviously adhering to the proper building codes because safety is still an issue."
Fuentes said the city is not against organizations that help the homeless, and said it spent more than $500,000 last year on homeless programs.
But San Gabriel Valley Family Promise Board President Karen Roberson said she thinks hosting the families is no different from a sleepover for the church youth group or an overnight prayer service.
She said she never thought to ask for city permission, and that the other cities she has worked with have shown support for the program. The host churches stretch from Pasadena to Rosemead, including First Baptist Church of Pasadena, South Pasadena Christian Church, Sierra Madre United Methodist Church and Mission Valley Free Methodist Church in San Gabriel.
The cities of Rosemead and Monterey Park have given Family Promise grants, Roberson said.
"Generally we don't ask permission because this is a mission ministry of the churches," she said. "This is part of what churches do."
Read More From SGV Tribune.com
Representatives from Alhambra's First Baptist Church say they want to join with 13 other local host churches in the Family Promise Program, which asks them to host three to five homeless families for one week four times a year as part of the church's charity work.
Alhambra officials say the church cannot house the families because it would be considered a homeless shelter. Based on an ordinance passed by the City Council in June, 2011, First Baptist is not located in an area zoned for a shelter, Director of Development Services Mary Swink said.
Pastor Lee Hamby said the church has been trying to work with the city for months to get clearance to participate in the program, but at a meeting in May were told that doing so would violate city laws.
But Hamby said the city's actions and zoning laws violate the church's First Amendment rights and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
"The church historically - not just our church, but churches in general - helps people that are poor, who are homeless," Hamby said. "Every case law on this has been ruled in favor of the church based on freedom of religion."
The Family Promise Program is a national nonprofit, founded in 1986, and the San Gabriel branch was founded two years ago by Hamby and Pastor Ken
Fong of Rosemead's Evergreen Baptist Church. While the families rotate between 14 host churches to sleep in, during the days they use the program's resource center to find employment and housing.
Hamby said his church has always helped the homeless, but Family Promise seemed like a more effective way to get them back on track.
"We saw this as a way to really help families go from temporary homelessness back to permanent housing and work and not just be a Band-Aid," Hamby said.
Despite the setback, since the program began in October 2011 First Baptist has twice hosted families using rental apartments and other churches instead of their own. Hamby said he still plans to house families for a third time this month, but will have to put them up in a hotel because of the city's restrictions.
Alhambra City Manager Julio Fuentes said he is willing to work with the church and Family Promise to find a different place to house the families, but that doing so in the church is not legally an option because of both zoning and fire codes.
Fire Chief Bill Walker agreed that the church's building would have to undergo serious alterations to be fire-code compliant for housing families.
"You still have to follow the building and the fire codes to house people," Fuentes said. "You just can't make makeshift housing without obviously adhering to the proper building codes because safety is still an issue."
Fuentes said the city is not against organizations that help the homeless, and said it spent more than $500,000 last year on homeless programs.
But San Gabriel Valley Family Promise Board President Karen Roberson said she thinks hosting the families is no different from a sleepover for the church youth group or an overnight prayer service.
She said she never thought to ask for city permission, and that the other cities she has worked with have shown support for the program. The host churches stretch from Pasadena to Rosemead, including First Baptist Church of Pasadena, South Pasadena Christian Church, Sierra Madre United Methodist Church and Mission Valley Free Methodist Church in San Gabriel.
The cities of Rosemead and Monterey Park have given Family Promise grants, Roberson said.
"Generally we don't ask permission because this is a mission ministry of the churches," she said. "This is part of what churches do."
Read More From SGV Tribune.com
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Is preaching in America in a particularly bad state?
By JOHN WILSON
Is preaching in America in a particularly bad state?Several commentators have recently raised the question, yet it has a long history. "It has become an impertinent Vein among People of all Sorts," wrote Jonathan Swift in the 1720s, "to hunt after what they call a good Sermon, as if it were a Matter of Pastime or Diversion."
And often those on the hunt declare their disappointment, as when Britain's Lord Hugh Cecil said in the mid-20th century that "the two dangers which beset the Church of England are good music and bad preaching."
Today's complainers include Ross Douthat, whose recently published "Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics" describes churches whose preachers promise prosperity to the faithful or dispense the gospel of narcissism. Others wonder about a pulpit presence so charismatic that it draws more attention to the preacher than to his message.
And yet, on the basis of a lifetime of churchgoing, I have to report that week after week, year after year, I have heard the Word of God faithfully preached. And I am particularly skeptical of sweeping claims, as by the Barna Group's David Kinnaman, that the upcoming generation of churchgoers has tastes and needs radically different from those of any previous generation in human history.
So what explains the recently announced million-dollar grant from the Lilly Foundation "to cultivate excellence in preaching" at Calvin College's Institute of Christian Worship? Does this eye-catching grant suggest that worship is on perilous ground?
It doesn't. Preaching—and worship—is in need of renewal because it is always in need of renewal. No pastor, congregation or denomination will ever get it right once and for all.
At the Lilly-funded program, pastors—men and women from various denominational backgrounds—will study together in "Micah Groups," named for the biblical passage that has become a touchstone for many Christians of this generation: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). The goal of the program, says director Mark Labberton, is "the convergence of worship, preaching, and justice."
READ MORE
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Billy Graham ministry aims to take revivals online
The remarkable success of evangelist Billy Graham's Crusades for Christ did not come from his
preaching alone, but also the immense amount of preparation and follow-up that went into planning
each revival.
Now, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is taking that experience and harnessing it to save souls through the Internet in a way that perhaps only such a large and established organization can.
The basic premise is simple: Use search engines to find people who are looking for answers to life's big questions and direct them to a website, http://www.peacewithgod.net . From there, seekers are led through a series of readings and videos loosely tied to John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
At the end of the series, they are offered a chance to pray and to accept Jesus. Those who do become a little point of light on a Google Earth application, showing more than 476,000 souls around the world who have been saved through the site since it went live last year.
But that's not where it stops.
"People don't make decisions and then show up in church the next week," Director of Internet Evangelism John Cass said. "These same people who are hurting in this world are still walking by churches on every corner."
Although the site has been running in a beta mode, it is expected to be fully functional within a month. At that point hundreds of volunteers will also be online, doing everything from answering basic questions about God and Christianity to leading interested visitors through a 5-week online discipleship course.
Those new Christians will be encouraged to join local churches that are cooperating with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on the project.
READ MORE
Now, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is taking that experience and harnessing it to save souls through the Internet in a way that perhaps only such a large and established organization can.
The basic premise is simple: Use search engines to find people who are looking for answers to life's big questions and direct them to a website, http://www.peacewithgod.net . From there, seekers are led through a series of readings and videos loosely tied to John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
At the end of the series, they are offered a chance to pray and to accept Jesus. Those who do become a little point of light on a Google Earth application, showing more than 476,000 souls around the world who have been saved through the site since it went live last year.
But that's not where it stops.
"People don't make decisions and then show up in church the next week," Director of Internet Evangelism John Cass said. "These same people who are hurting in this world are still walking by churches on every corner."
Although the site has been running in a beta mode, it is expected to be fully functional within a month. At that point hundreds of volunteers will also be online, doing everything from answering basic questions about God and Christianity to leading interested visitors through a 5-week online discipleship course.
Those new Christians will be encouraged to join local churches that are cooperating with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on the project.
READ MORE
George Soros Spends $400 Million On 'Open Society' Education, 'Social Action,' Colleges And Universities
School is letting out around the United States, but for George Soros,
education never stops. Soros has given more than $400 million to
colleges and universities, including money to most prominent
institutions in the United States. He also helped establish Central
European University (CEU) which, in turn, uses its resources to promote
his personal goal of an “open society.”
Imagine that, a whole university funded by one of the most controversial figures in the world. Soros has used that $400 million worldwide to indoctrinate students and teach them to promote liberal, and in some cases extremist, causes. But don’t expect the American news media to make it a big issue, even though they have done so for the Koch brothers.
CEU, which is essentially Soros’s own university, has received $250 million from the liberal billionaire. The Founder and Chairman of the Board is none other than Soros. More than half of CEU’s 20 member board are closely tied to the liberal financier. President of the Soros-funded Bard College Leon Botstein is Chairman of the Board.
While the Left shrivels at the thought of the Koch brother’s donations to universities, Soros gave more than 50 times as much. Bard College was the American institution that received the most from Soros (more than $75 million). Grants to Bard for “community service and social action” included a Palestinian youth group and an initiative to educate prisoners across the country.
All of the Ivy League universities, along with a variety of state schools, private institutions, and even religiously-affiliated institutions, were also funded by Soros.
READ MORE
Imagine that, a whole university funded by one of the most controversial figures in the world. Soros has used that $400 million worldwide to indoctrinate students and teach them to promote liberal, and in some cases extremist, causes. But don’t expect the American news media to make it a big issue, even though they have done so for the Koch brothers.
CEU, which is essentially Soros’s own university, has received $250 million from the liberal billionaire. The Founder and Chairman of the Board is none other than Soros. More than half of CEU’s 20 member board are closely tied to the liberal financier. President of the Soros-funded Bard College Leon Botstein is Chairman of the Board.
While the Left shrivels at the thought of the Koch brother’s donations to universities, Soros gave more than 50 times as much. Bard College was the American institution that received the most from Soros (more than $75 million). Grants to Bard for “community service and social action” included a Palestinian youth group and an initiative to educate prisoners across the country.
All of the Ivy League universities, along with a variety of state schools, private institutions, and even religiously-affiliated institutions, were also funded by Soros.
READ MORE
Civil Rights Leader Resigns From NAACP National Board Over Gay Marriage Endorsement
The debate over gay marriage in the African American community
continues to rage one month after President Barack Obama endorsed
same-sex marriage. Weeks after the NAACP, an African-American civil
rights organization, passed a resolution also backing gay marriage as a
civil right, the Rev. Keith Ratliff Sr., a member of the organization’s
national board, has resigned.
According to KCCI, Ratliff, who also served as the NAACP’s Iowa/Nebraska conference president, has been uncertain about his future role in the group since its decision to follow in Obama’s footsteps. On May 28, World Magazine reported:
After prayer, it seems his decision has been solidified.
“I want to thank the NAACP for the privilege to humbly serve in such an organization and thank all those I had the privilege to work with in the states of Iowa, Nebraska and throughout the country,” Ratliff said in a statement announcing his decision to exit his leadership role in the nation’s oldest civil rights group.
READ MORE
According to KCCI, Ratliff, who also served as the NAACP’s Iowa/Nebraska conference president, has been uncertain about his future role in the group since its decision to follow in Obama’s footsteps. On May 28, World Magazine reported:
The Rev. Keith A. Ratliff Sr. said he is “in prayer” about his relationship with the NAACP following its endorsement of same-sex marriage on May 19…“I’m against same-sex marriage,” he told CitizenLink. “There are a number of issues that the NAACP has to address and deal with, and I certainly don’t think same-sex marriage should be a top priority.” Ratliff added that the gay rights movement should not be compared with the civil rights movement: “There is not a parallel between the homosexual community and the struggles of African-Americans in our country. I haven’t seen any signs on any restrooms that say ‘For Homosexuals Only.’ Homosexuals do not have to sit on the back of the bus, as African-Americans had to.”
After prayer, it seems his decision has been solidified.“I want to thank the NAACP for the privilege to humbly serve in such an organization and thank all those I had the privilege to work with in the states of Iowa, Nebraska and throughout the country,” Ratliff said in a statement announcing his decision to exit his leadership role in the nation’s oldest civil rights group.
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