Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Hillard, OH takes a stand against Westboro Church-Raises Money for Wounded Vets
When two women and a man from Westboro Baptist church took their stance outside Hilliard Darby High School in Ohio on Tuesday, they found themselves surrounded by 100 counter-demonstrators.
Taking their cue from the fundamentalist church’s protests, the counter-demonstrators brandished brightly colored placards with large slogans printed across the front.
But instead of the offensive “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates you” messages of the Westboro church members, these placards carried positive messages.
One stated simply “God is love!” while another said “God hates bigots.”
They also shouted “Get out,” making it clear that the Westboro protest was not welcome in their town.
Students and local residents also used the Westboro demonstration as an opportunity to show their support for U.S. troops by organizing a bake sale to benefit wounded veterans.
What Facebook Page is more engaging than Sports, Bieber, Gaga? "Jesus Daily" is the "Most Engaging Page on Facebook!"
So what’s more engaging than Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Twilight, and apparently the Los Angeles Lakers?
Jesus Daily, to be exact.
Taking the top spots in All Facebook’s – the unofficial Facebook resource page – weekly rankings, religious pages continue to dominate and infiltrate the charts.
Pages like “Jesus Daily” and “The Bible” fall above American pop stars and much beloved sports teams as the “Most Engaging Pages,” demonstrating that religious faith is still much a part of the culture today, regardless of what many believe or rather, don’t believe.
With over 5,108,270 fans and 2,127,067 interactions, “Jesus Daily” maintains the number one spot for a second week in a row, with “The Bible” close behind at second, moving up rapidly on the list, recording over 7,015,719 fans and 1,119,413 interactions.
The goals of both pages are similar, with the former challenging others to “strive to follow Jesus daily by contemplating His sayings daily,” and the latter hoping to see the Word of God shared across Facebook.
Q&A: ChinaAid's Bob Fu on 'how little religious freedom China has'
The text of the petition is not yet public, but ChinaAid -- a U.S.-based group that monitors freedom in the country -- said the petition, which could endanger the leaders, would be the "first such move in 60 years of communist rule of China." Interest in the petition was sparked by the government's ongoing high-profile crackdown against Shouwang Church, an unregistered Beijing congregation that has seen hundreds of its members placed either under house or detained by police since April.
Churches in China must register with the government to be legal, but such registration results in restrictions on their religious freedom -- including limits on evangelism and Sunday Schools. The Chinese government has prevented Shouwang from meeting in recent weeks, blocking all congregational attempts to gather either indoors or outdoors. The clash between the government and Shouwang has drawn international attention, including segments on CNN and the BBC.
Most estimates say the Chinese house church movement is significantly larger than the registered church membership.
Baptist Press spoke with Bob Fu, ChinaAid founder and president, about Shouwang, the recent house church crackdown, and the desire for churches to go underground. Following is a partial transcript:
BP: Shouwang has been meeting for many years. Why is China just now cracking down on the church?
BOB FU: The church has been targeted since 2008. Ironically, they had been trying to register with the government, and of course the government wants them to join the government-sanctioned church organization, the Three-Self Patriotic Church. But the government denied their registration attempt. They were tolerated until 2008. In December 2010, there was a government operation, Operation Deterrence -- it was a special operation targeting independent house churches. Of course, Shouwang church had purchased a building for about $4 million in December 2009 but has not been able to get the key to the building; the government had been trying every way to sabotage their rental arrangements in different facilities. Their last rental facility was a restaurant that was pressured to not continue working with the church. So Shouwang Church has really been forced to move outdoors.
There are two circumstances that made the government take the radical action like they did in April this year. Number one, Shouwang played an instrumental role in organizing the 200 delegates to the Lausanne [Congress on Global Evangelization in South Africa]. I think, for the first time, the government really saw the independent house churches trying to be on the international stage. That really made the government extremely nervous. Number two was the Jasmine Revolution [in North Africa/the Middle East].
BP: So you think the Chinese government is afraid that what happened in Egypt and other countries could happen to China?
BOB FU: They're very, very afraid. The Chinese security forces have been on high alert because of what's happening in Tunisia, Egypt. They are really in panic and in a paranoid mood.
BP: How is the Chinese government's mindset different from a Western mindset? Why are they so suspicious of Christianity?
BOB FU: Historically, Christianity has always been suspected as a Western force, as a Western religion. In the Chinese government's propaganda, it's always been associated with the free world. Of course, the most rapid-growing religion in China is Christianity, especially in the past 60 years. The growth is really astonishing. Some estimate there are 70 to 130 million Christians. Since the Tiananmen massacre 22 years ago, there has been a major revival of the house churches in the cities, especially among the Chinese intellectuals. The Christian worldview and values really, I think, made the Chinese government afraid. The Christian worldview is contradictory to the materialistic worldview. Also, the [house church's] enormous manifestation of care, love to the society, to the needy -- you would think these are the things that the Chinese government also wanted. Almost half of the volunteers and the rescue workers to the 2008 earthquake were Chinese house church members. That became a scary thing to the Chinese leadership. They actually started a campaign to keep out these volunteers from the earthquake area. Some were even put in prison.
BP: They were put in prison?
BOB FU: Yes, for doing good. Of course, when the house churches were helping, they also spread the Gospel. So the government was very scared. Some Christians were detained.
BP: Help our readers understand another key issue: Why would a church not want to be a government-recognized registered church?
BOB FU: Fundamentally, the number one reason is focused on who is the head of the church? Is it the Communist Party, the Chinese government or Jesus Christ alone? The Three-Self Patriotic Movement is nothing but a political organization with a religious uniform. All the leaders are appointed by the Communist Party, the United Front Work Department, and the State Administration for Religious Affairs, and they are salaried. And many of the leaders are also Communist Party members. Secondly, once you join the government-sanctioned church, you lose pretty much all the freedom of evangelism. There are lots of limitations and rules that will forbid you to do any evangelism outside of the four walls of the church building. You can't baptize anybody under 18 years old, you're forbidden to have a Sunday School. There are fundamental differences.
BP: Why would the Chinese government restrict Sunday Schools?
BOB FU: This is part of the clash with the Communist Party, because they view those under 18 years old as the successors of socialism.... For children, Sunday School is certainly a forbidden policy.
BP: So in a registered church, a Sunday morning worship service would just be a worship service?
BOB FU: Yes, just a worship service.
BP: ChinaAid says the Chinese government may take new measures against the church. What would those measures be?
BOB FU: We heard form a reliable internal government source, and it collaborated with other sources -- apparently the government is planning to take a radical escalation to make some formal arrests on these Shouwang Church leaders.
BP: And we are talking about possible prison time?
BOB FU: Yes.
BP: Is this the most high-profile church-state confrontation you can remember?
BOB FU: In the city setting, it is the most visible. There have been major clashes between house church groups -- most of them in rural areas.
BP: A lot of these members have been placed under house arrest. What does that mean, and is it only on Sunday mornings?
BOB FU: For the five church leaders -- two pastors and three elders -- they have been under house arrest since April 9, which means they don't have any freedom of movement to get out of the house. There was one occasion two weeks ago [involving a church family] when one little baby fell from the seventh floor of a building and died, so [Senior] Pastor Jin Tianming begged the guards outside his house, and he was escorted by two guards to pray for the baby's parents in the hospital. For the rest of the members, most of them are not allowed to get out of their homes from Saturday night until Monday morning, and some are prevented from going home from Friday to Monday or Tuesday.
BP: And people are having their jobs threatened for their participation?
BOB FU: Yes, some lost their jobs, some lost their apartments.
BP: Is this serving to educate the public around the world about the lack of religious freedom in China?
BOB FU: Absolutely. This case basically highlights a very moderate church. When Shouwang Church wanted to register, they received lots of criticism, because some house churches do not want to have anything to do with the government. So Shouwang walked an extra mile to register, and now they are being targeted. It will help the free world to see how little religious freedom China has.
BP: What else would you want our readers to know?
BOB FU: I think we should urge the churches in the free world, especially the American churches, to really speak up for this church. We need more churches to speak up, because this church is facing danger. If we are silent, that will be a real mistake. I really do want to make that appeal.
--30--
Michael Foust is associate editor of BP. For more information about ChinaAid, visit ChinaAid.org. Join Baptist Press' Facebook page or Twitter feed to comment on this and other articles. Visit facebook.com/baptistpress or Twitter.com/Baptist Press.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
65% of Americans reject gay-affirmative lessons in grade school
A recent poll released by Wenzel Strategies and World Net Daily indicates that a large majority of Americans – 65 percent – do not approve of gay-affirmative lessons in grade schools, reports LifeSiteNews.com.
The poll was conducted for World Net Daily by the public-opinion and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies. The telephone survey conducted April 19-21 asked the question: “Do you believe elementary school children should be taught that homosexuality is a normal alternative lifestyle?”
Only 22 percent of respondents said they believe such teaching would be right, while another 13 percent said they were unsure. The vast majority – 65 percent – said they do not approve of such teaching.
“Whether they object on moral grounds or simply out of concern that many U.S. schools are failing in their core missions of teaching basics doesn’t really matter – the vast majority of American adults want this type of curriculum kept out of the classroom,” Wenzel chief Fritz Wenzel said.
“Americans are particularly averse to the introduction of gay issues into the curriculum of the nation’s elementary schools,” Wenzel said. “Even among Democrats, who have been much more sympathetic to the promotion of gay issues, just 32 percent said they believe this should be taught to elementary school students. Just 11 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of political independents said the same thing.”
The poll also asked the question: “It is appropriate to expose elementary school students to ‘gay pride’ and ‘Gay History Month’ lessons that celebrate the lives of homosexual activists like Harvey Milk?” Only 1 in 5 people supported such lessons, while nearly 68 percent opposed the teaching.
To read the full story, click here.
Vivendi Entertainment Programming Joins the Sky Angel Network
“As the digital landscape continues to transform home entertainment, Sky Angel’s video on demand offerings have become an integral part of delivering the very best in faith-based programming,” stated Yolanda Macias, Vivendi Entertainment’s Executive Vice President of Business Development and Acquisitions. “Our partnership with Sky Angel is an important step in reaching this very vital and thriving audience.”
Sky Angel offers subscribers two services: a traditional TV service available in the U.S. with over 80 television and radio channels of inspirational and family-friendly programming, Video On Demand and 48 Hour Playback, and a Web TV service offered worldwide with more than 35 inspiring television and radio channels, Video On Demand and other features viewed via personal computers. To learn more and to subscribe, visit www.skyangel.com or call 1-800-SKY-ANGEL (1-800-759-2643).
About Sky Angel:
Sky Angel® is a Christian-owned multi-channel distribution service with inspirational and family-friendly television and radio programming. Founded in 1981 by Robert Johnson Sr., Sky Angel now provides two uplifting, inspirational, entertaining and affordable subscription services for those who want television options that support traditional family values. Sky Angel’s mission is to build and operate a global communications system to assure the Gospel will penetrate every nation, culture and people. Sky Angel carries the Parents Television Council’s® prestigious Entertainment Seal of Approval™, which recognizes excellence and social responsibility in programming. Visit Sky Angel online at www.skyangel.com.
About Vivendi Entertainment:
Vivendi Entertainment is a full service independent film, television, DVD and digital distribution company operating in the United States and Canada. Representing a vast range of genres including action, comedy, urban, family, Latino, sports and stand-up comedies, Vivendi Entertainment has become a favorite distribution partner for independent content providers. The company has built an extensive catalog of over 3,000 titles, and its customer-centric business model was founded on the principles of collaboration and financial transparency. The company provides sales, marketing, and distribution services to many of the home entertainment industry's most prestigious brands including: The Weinstein Company, World Wrestling Entertainment, National Geographic, Classic Media, RHI, Shout! Factory, Salient, and Code Black. Vivendi Entertainment is a division of Universal Music Group Distribution, the award-winning sales, marketing and distribution arm of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company.
Northwestern University Cancels 'LIVE SEX' Performance & ends Human Sexuality Class
View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com
"Northwestern University’s Department of Psychology will not offer a course in human sexuality during the 2011-12 academic year. That course was taught previously by Professor J. Michael Bailey, who will have other teaching assignments in the coming year. Courses in human sexuality are offered in a variety of academic departments in other universities, and Northwestern is reviewing how such a course best fits into the University’s curriculum. At Northwestern University, the dean of a college/school has the right and responsibility to determine course assignments."
Source: NBC Chicago
Breaking Around the World News for May 10th
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
SPIRITUAL WARFARE: SETTING THE CAPTIVES FREE
WHAT IS SALVATION?
**1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life.
This passage tells us that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son, Jesus Christ. In other words, the way to possess eternal life is to possess God's Son. The question is, how can a person have the Son of God?
Man's Problem
Separation From God
Isaiah 59:2 But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God's Solution
God is not only perfect holiness (whose holy character we can never attain to on our own or by our works of righteousness) but He is also perfect love and full of grace and mercy. Because of His love and grace, He has not left us without hope and a solution.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This is the good news of the Bible, the message of the gospel. It's the message of the gift of God's own Son who became man (the God-man), lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sin, and was raised from the grave proving both the fact He is God's Son and the value of His death for us as our substitute.
Romans 1:4 who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 4:25 He was given over because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of our justification.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made the one who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the right-eousness of God.
1 Peter 3:18 Because Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God, by being put to death in the flesh but by being made alive in the spirit.
How Do We Receive God's Son?
Because of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross, the Bible states "He that has the Son has life." We can receive the Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior by personal faith, by trusting in the person of Christ and His death for our sins.
John 1:12 But to all who have received him--those who believe in his name--he has given the right to become God's children
John 3:16-18 For this is the way God loved the world: he gave his one and only Son that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
This means we must each come to God the same way: (1) as a sinner who recognizes his sinfulness, (2) realizes no human works can result in salvation, and (3) relies totally on Christ alone by faith alone for our salvation.
If you would like to receive and trust Christ as your personal Savior, you may want to express your faith in Christ by a simple prayer acknowledging your sinfulness, accepting His forgiveness and putting your faith in Christ for your salvation.
Remember, A decision to follow Christ is a decision for life. You not only say a prayer acknowledging Him as your saviour, asking for forgiveness, and turning from your sin, it means you follow Him everyday and walk in the freedom He has given to you.
http://youtu.be/xF2Q2AXnqMY
The Name Above ALL Names
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12
http://youtu.be/8nmEBsH0IV4