New Poll Finds Nearly 8 in 10 Americans 'Frustrated' by Tone of Political Campaigns

Vast majorities say problem is getting worse and is harmful to country's political process
Contact: Andrew Walther, Knights of Columbus, 203-824-5412, Andrew.Walther@kofc.org
NEW HAVEN, Conn., July 24, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Highlighting the angst of the American electorate over negative campaigning and personal attacks, a new Knights of Columbus-Marist poll finds that the public is increasingly frustrated with the tone of political campaigns and sees the problem getting worse.
The July 2012 survey also found that a strong consensus of Americans believes such negative campaigning is ultimately harmful to the political process.
Nearly 8 in 10 Americans (78 percent) say they are "frustrated" by the tone of political campaigns. Almost three-quarters say the problem is getting worse: 74 percent believe that the tone of political campaigns has "gotten more negative" than in past election years.
In addition, two-thirds of Americans (66 percent) believe candidates spend more time criticizing their opponents than addressing the issues, while almost as many (64 percent) say negative campaign ads "harm the political process" either "a great deal" or "a significant amount."
And by a nearly 20 point margin (56 to 37 percent), the public says the tone of political campaigns is "mostly uncivil and disrespectful." That number grows to 59 percent among registered voters.

"The American people want and deserve civility and a conversation on the issues rather than the personal vilification of political opponents," said Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. "As this current data makes all too clear, the American people want a political discussion that is civil and respectful. As Americans, we understand that we may not agree on every aspect of every issue, but we also understand that how we disagree says a great deal about who we are as a nation."
Anderson's 2010 book "Beyond a House Divided" chronicled previous surveys that showed a broad dissatisfaction concerning the political process among the American people, while finding that on many issues, there is far more unanimity of opinion among the public than is generally acknowledged.
The telephone survey of 1,010 adults was conducted from July 9, 2012 through July 11, 2012. It has a margin of error within +/- 3.0 percentage points.
More information on the poll is available at www.kofc.org

Aurora church, 1 mile from theater massacre, aiming to convey that 'God is real'

AURORA, Colo. (BP) -- Less than a mile separates the movie theater in suburban Denver where 12 people were killed and Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church.

Aurora pastor Mitch Hamilton told the congregation Sunday that the bulletins for the service would not be of much use -- they were printed Thursday and then "everything changed" just after midnight.

While none of Mississippi Avenue's members were among the victims, four were in an adjacent theater and escaped unharmed despite bullets flying through the walls. Nevertheless, trauma permeates the suburban Denver community after the slaying of 12 people by a lone gunman, who also left 58 wounded.

A tearful 6-year-old girl came into Hamilton's office with her mother and asked, "Pastor, why did my cousin die?"

Often visibly emotional during his sermon, Hamilton assured the congregation that even though their normalcy has been shattered, Christians can answer the question of "How do I take a step forward?"

Hamilton urged church members to do so resting in God's presence and His promise to never leave them and trusting in the person of Jesus Christ.

While the church has offered public prayer services and counseling since the tragedy, Hamilton sees Mississippi Avenue members as being a key facet of reaching out to the hurting.

"We are equipping our members," the pastor said, "to share with our community that God is real, that He loves them desperately and that He will walk this road with them if they will only turn to Him."

As is often the case after a significant loss of life, Hamilton has been asked, "Where was God in all this?" His answer, quite simply, is that "God is here."

"He is with each one walking this road and He offers His presence to any who will call upon Him," Hamilton said. "He was with the injured and the medical teams as they sought to preserve life. He was with the first responders as they responded to the call to save lives."

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Calif. College Drops Action Against Student Promoting Christian Event; Policy Unchanged

A California community college student will not have to face a disciplinary hearing after all for distributing religious fliers in the same location used by other students to promote non-religious activities on campus. However, the college district said it is not planning to revise the policy that led to the problem for another six months.

"The university is supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, not a place where free speech is a punishable offense," said Legal Counsel David Hacker of Alliance Defending Freedom. A letter from ADF to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District prompted the withdrawal of the hearing for the Grossmont College student, according to the legal ministry.
"We commend Grossmont College for dropping the unjustified disciplinary hearing against our client, but as the Constitution requires, the college still needs to take prompt action and change its vague distribution policy to prevent any future discrimination against faith-based groups and activities. We'll be monitoring the situation to ensure that the necessary changes are made," Hacker stated Wednesday.
In May, a student was denied the use of tables and chairs for the National Day of Prayer event a Christian club on campus was organizing, even though the club had made reservations in advance as stipulated by the school's policy, ADF stated.
"When the student later distributed fliers for the event in front of the student center, the same location where other groups promoted non-religious activities, the associate dean instructed her to stop, citing college district policy," according to ADF. "The college then took punitive action against the student by initiating a formal disciplinary hearing and placing an academic hold on the student's account."

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/calif-college-drops-action-against-student-promoting-christian-event-policy-unchanged-78515/#0yIt1V7ZwDHoEvx8.99

Miami School Seeks to Evict Church for Anti-Gay Sermons: ‘Contrary…to the Basic Principles of Humanity’

A Southern Baptist church called Impact Miami could soon be evicted from its meeting place at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools because of its position on homosexuality, which the school board describes as “contrary…to the basic principles of humanity.”
The church reportedly pays roughly $1,500 a month to use the high school facility on Sundays, and both its congregants and pastor feel they are being unfairly punished.
“I never thought I would be penalized for teaching on Christian marriage and sexual ethics from the Bible – the very bible that presidents swear on,” Pastor Hakimian said.

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More teens using condoms over past two decades

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly half of high school students say they've had sex, yet progress has stalled in getting them to use condoms to protect against the AIDS virus, government researchers reported Tuesday.
Today, four of every 10 new HIV infections occur in people younger than 30, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention _ and the teen years, just as many youths become sexually active, are key for getting across the safe-sex message.
Using a long-standing survey of high school students' health, the CDC tracked how teen sexual behavior has changed over 20 years. The results are decidedly mixed.
About 60 percent of sexually active high school students say they used condoms the last time they had sex, researchers said at the International AIDS Conference. That's an increase from the 46 percent who were using condoms in 1991.
"This is good news," said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's HIV prevention center. But, "we need to do a lot more."

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Colorado Shooting: Christians Point to the Reality of Evil

While police are still investigating the motive behind Friday's shooting at a theater in Aurora, Colo., some Christians are convinced of the real source: evil.

"What happened up in Aurora ... was the product of pure evil. It was the result of a depraved individual taking his free will to the extreme," said Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, in a statement Friday.
Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also pointed to the moral evil that humans are capable of.

James E. Holmes, 24, was taken into custody early Friday after allegedly opening fire in a movie theater during the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." Armed with four weapons, bullet-proof gear and gas canisters, Holmes was said to have appeared ready to go to war, as one witness described to the media.
The gunman unloaded hundreds of rounds and killed at least 12 people while injuring more than 50 others at Century 16.

"It brings a whole new meaning to 'Dark Knight rising' – not in a good way," said Greg Stier, founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries, to The Christian Post.

"You can't help but think of Satan – you know that dark knight who was once that white knight ... the highest of all angels who ... got thrown out of heaven and has now been on the earth perverting, killing, whispering in ears."
While Christians are oftentimes labeled crazy for believing in Satan, Stier emphasized what Scripture makes clear – that "our struggle is not against people ... but against a person in the spiritual realm."
"There is a highly organized, systematized army of darkness."
While Jesus came to bring life, Satan came to pervert all that, the youth leader added.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/colorado-shooting-christians-point-to-the-reality-of-evil-78647/#PV6IpU5qWMZjM3iW.99

Mother of 'Canadian Psycho' victim becomes Christian

The mother of a Chinese student murdered and dismembered in Canada announced that she has converted to Christianity and was recently baptized in the wake of the gruesome case.

Occasional porn actor and escort Luka Rocco Magnotta is believed to have used an ice pick to stab Lin in late May before carving up his body, sexually abusing the corpse, filming the act and posting the video online.
"Last Sunday, I decided to get baptized," Lin's mother Du Zhigui said in emotional remarks at a religious service in a Montreal church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, an evangelical organization that includes 400 congregations and 120,000 members around the country.
In her speech on Saturday, occasionally interspersed by sobs, she said the pastor of the church, Philip Cherng, approached her when she first came to Canada upon news of her son's killing, adding "the voice of God comforted me."
Du, who had her first contact with Christianity in Taiwan seven years ago, told the audience of roughly 100 people that she still felt "much grief," according to a French translation of her Chinese comments.

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Warner Bros. to Make 'Substantial' Donation to Colorado Shooting Victims

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the studio has been in contact with Colorodo governor John Hickenlooper's office and will contribute to a fund identified by the governor on the website givingfirst.org, which is a program of Colorado's Community First Foundation. The fund distributes monies across several charities that will support victims of the July 20 killing spree that left at least 12 dead and dozens injured.


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Grateful Moms Promote Compassionate Pregnancy Help Centers to Congress

Contact: Virginia Cline, Heartbeat International, 614-885-7577 ext 112
WASHINGTON, July 18, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Women who received support from pregnancy help centers and rejected abortion are bringing their children to meet with U.S. lawmakers as part of Heartbeat's Babies Go to Congress® on July 19.
"Every woman deserves support during an unexpected pregnancy," said Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. "And when women receive unconditional love along with the practical help necessary to welcome new life, they want policy makers to know that they are grateful. Because of this, Heartbeat International developed Babies Go to Congress® to give moms, served by a pregnancy help center, the opportunity to introduce their babies, who were at risk of abortion, to their elected officials."
Women have been thanking pregnancy help organizations for their support for decades and these moms are thrilled to have an opportunity to tell their stories to national leaders. Courageous women like Jessica Gore, who is excited to bring her eight-year-old daughter to meet her elected officials, will testify to the fact that pregnancy help organizations provide a life-changing experience.
"I went to the sonogram appointment at Burleson Pregnancy Aid Center even though I had already been to Planned Parenthood and thought that abortion was right for me," said Jessica, Burleson, Texas. "But when I looked at the sonogram screen, I knew that I had been lied to. What I saw on the screen was not a 'piece of tissue' like Planned Parenthood had told me. The tiny flicker of light, a heartbeat, was my child. I was instantly in love."

"I would have been lost without the guidance of the Pregnancy Aid Center," said Jessica. "Through their programs I learned how to care for my infant daughter. I would not be the person I am today if it hadn't been for the caring people of the Burleson Pregnancy Aid Center and the experiences I've had there. Without them, my daughter would not be alive and I cannot imagine my life without her."
Heartbeat's pregnancy help network provides all the facts on abortion -- from post-abortion stress to possible medical complications -- facts that abortion facilities often leave out. Heartbeat's compassionate network is dedicated to safeguarding maternal health and protecting child wellbeing necessary to sustain a healthy pregnancy.

Founded in 1971, Heartbeat International is the first pregnancy support association in the U.S. Heartbeat's Option Line (1-800-712-HELP/OptionLine.org) connects women facing unexpected pregnancies with the emotional support and practical help they need to welcome new life.

Christian Apps Ministry Develops Evangelistic Mobile App That Leverages Social Media to Share the Gospel

Contact: Abraham Shen, Christian Apps Ministry, 408-334-1981
MILPITAS, Calif., July 18, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- To help churches and Christian organizations develop powerful mobile apps, Christian Apps Ministry is pleased to announce the Great Commission mobile app that leverages social media to share the Gospel. The app is now available on Apple AppStore, Amazon AppStore, and Google Play.
In collaboration with Glen Miller, Pastor at Valley Church and President of Hands of Hope, this innovative app is to equip and train Christians to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. The app provides user-friendly and non-confrontational evangelistic tools to lead the interested individual into having a personal relationship with God, particularly those who have a Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist worldview.
The mobile app utilizes Facebook, Twitter, and Email to share the Good News with family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and strangers through a Why Christianity audio message link. Once the posted audio link is on Facebook, your circle of friends has access to listen to this Why Christianity message. Clicking "Like" on the Facebook post by your friends, it increases the visibility of this audio message further to their circle of friends. Eventually, this leads to a larger group of friends hearing this message.
In addition, the app helps the interested individual to find a Bible-believing local church for worship, discipleship, and fellowship through either Global Positioning Service (GPS) or enter address/zip code.

There are various other features on this app including:

• Life's Ultimate Questions
   
• Introduction to World's Major Religions (Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and others)
   
• How Does One Share The Gospel With Those Other Worldviews?

Jesus gave to His followers the task of making disciples of all nations. It is what we call the Great Commission. It involves preaching the "Good News" of the Gospel and teaching them how to follow Christ. The way we "fish for men" is by introducing people to Jesus Christ.
To see the Glen Miller's video introduction to this evangelistic app on YouTube, please click christianappsministry.org/christian-apps/the-great-commission.

For press media who wants to receive a free promotional code to download on iPhone, please click christianappsministry.org/contact-us.

About Christian Apps Ministry
Christian Apps Ministry is an extension of AppSoft Technology's ministry into developing powerful mobile apps for churches and Christian organizations. christianappsministry.org

If you or your organizations are interested in developing mobile apps, we would love to hear from you. christianappsministry.org/contact-us.