ETERNAL FLAME NEWS

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Christian Music Artists Chris Tomlin and Skillet Win At Billboard Music Awards

By Josephine Vivaldo | Christian Post Contributor

Chris Tomlin and Skillet shined at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards, hosted by "The Hangover" star Ken Jeong in Las Vegas.

omlin took home two awards for Top Christian Artist and Top Christian Song for “Our God” from his 2010 album And If Our God Is For Us… , beating out such artists as Casting Crowns, MercyMe, tobyMac and Kris Allen.

Skillet nabbed the award for Top Christian Album, for Awake, released in 2009.

One of the country’s most recognized worship leaders, Tomlin is currently preparing for his “And If Our God Is For Us…” tour, which will kick off on May 28 in Europe.

Tomlin’s latest album was released last November.

He said of the title, “The dot dot dot is pretty important to me because it kind of leaves the sentence open ended. What I want people to see [is] that if that's true, then everything is possible. Those aren't my words. It's Scripture. Scripture tells us that God is for you and nothing can stop you.”

Skillet’s Awake, meanwhile, has topped the Rock, Alternative and Christian charts and has sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide.

Awake is currently holding the No. 2 spot on the Rock Album chart, No. 1 spot on the Christian Album chart, No. 3 slots for top Digital Copy and the No. 1 slot for Alternative Album.

While the band has been criticized for not being Christian, the band’s drummer, Jen Ledger, recently clarified in an interview during the Avalanche tour, “I love controversy because a lot of Christians assume that we are not really Christian because we tour as mainstream. However, we are still very passionate about our faith and that’s what we live for. “

"Survivor" TV Show Producer To Make Bible-Based Scripted Drama For History Channel

By BILL CARTER Published: May 24, 2011

In the beginning, Mark Burnett made a name as the most prominent producer of reality television. Now he’s moving from Omarosa to Moses.

In what Mr. Burnett is calling the “most important project I have ever undertaken,” he has made a deal with the History Channel to mount a 10-hour series based on the stories of the Bible. The project, which History will announce on Tuesday, is expected to be on a similar scale to its most ambitious work, “America: The Story of Us.”

That 12-part series, covering the 400-year history of America and broadcast last year, was closer to the fare typically seen on the History Channel. But Nancy Dubuc, the president of History, said the historical importance of the Bible is beyond dispute.

“This is the most discussed, debated book in the history of mankind,” said Ms. Dubuc, whose channel has tackled other religious projects, like “Jesus: The Lost 40 Days” and “The Real Face of Jesus?”

She added, “What the book has come to represent, and the power of it and the importance of it is itself history.”

“The Bible” will not be a documentary representation; it will be a scripted, acted drama. That represents a departure for Mr. Burnett, the man behind hit shows like “Survivor,” “The Apprentice” (where Omarosa Manigault Stallworth appeared as a contestant) and “The Voice.”

“This is definitely a new area for Mark,” Ms. Dubuc said. “But he is such a powerful visual storyteller. This is a producer you can put any editorial or visual challenge in front of and he rises to it.”

The series will have five two-hour parts, Mr. Burnett said, and each will probably contain two or three biblical stories. He and his team are selecting the stories for the series, he said, which will be in production through next year and shown in 2013.

“Some of the stories are obvious,” Mr. Burnett said, like Noah’s Ark, Exodus and accounts of the birth and death of Jesus. But the project will also cover stories that Mr. Burnett said he was unfamiliar with.

Mr. Burnett, who conceived the project with his wife, the actress Roma Downey (“Touched by an Angel”), said he had been inspired by rewatching, for the first time since childhood, the classic Cecil B. DeMille version of “The Ten Commandments.”

He said that sort of epic production, backed by location shoots and special effects, “used to be the purview of major motion pictures.” Now, he said, “that kind of quality is within the parameters of television.”

Mr. Burnett and Ms. Downey saw an opportunity to make a different mark. “Once in a generation someone gets to breathe new visual life into that book,” Mr. Burnett said.

Neither Mr. Burnett nor Ms. Dubuc would disclose the budget, though Mr. Burnett said it was not his most expensive series. He cited History Channel’s experience with “The Story of Us” and its coming project on Gettysburg.

History’s most recent experience with a scripted drama based on fact was “The Kennedys,” which it dropped in January, saying the mini-series did not live up to its standards of accuracy.

The Bible has its own layers of interpretation, of course, but Ms. Dubuc said the series would not try to impose any kind of historical context to events like the Flood. “It is just the magnitude of the book itself,” she said. “We’re not stepping back to examine anything that could be called a controversy. We are just telling the stories that are in it.”

Graduating Seniors Say Prayer Despite Atheist Complaints

Seniors at Louisiana's Bastrop High School went on with prayer during their graduation ceremony May 20, despite threats of a possible lawsuit, plans to cancel the prayer, and contrary advice from a school attorney.

Openly atheist graduate Damon Fowler complained to the superintendent about the traditional prayer and threatened to contact the American Civil Liberties Union if it wasn't removed from the ceremony.

At the recommendation of an attorney, school administrators reprinted all the graduation announcements to rid any mention of prayer in the program. Instead, a "Moment of Silence" was listed.

But when graduating senior Laci Rae Mattice stood at the podium to lead the moment of silence, she instead recited the Lord's Prayer.

"I respect the beliefs of other people, but I feel that I can't go on without giving glory to my Lord today," she said. "I want to ask for the Lord's blessings upon us."

Laci Rae then asked fellow students to say the prayer with her "if they want to."

"The Constitution does not require that graduation be free of religious people or speech. Students have the right to express secular and religious viewpoints at graduation," said Mathew D. Staver, founder and chairman of the Liberty Counsel.

"To censor only the religious viewpoints is intolerant and unconstitutional," he continued. "Students should not be bullied by the ACLU to give up their constitutional rights."

In an online forum, Damon's brother Jerrett said he is in contact with a lawyer at the Freedom From Religion Foundation about the case. The group has offered Damon a $1,000 "student activist" award for his courage to speak out.

Administrators say Bastrop has never had anyone protest the graduation prayer.

"[Atheist, agnostic, and non-Christian students] respected the majority of their classmates and didn't say anything," said longtime Bastrop staff member Mitzi Quinn. "We've never had this come up before. Never."

Damon attended the graduation ceremony. Before the event, he posted on his Facebook page, "I'm going to walk, no matter what they say or do."

The teen has since moved to Texas.

Explosion Hits Iran Refinery As Ahmadinejad Visits

By NASSER KARIMI
Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- An explosion blamed on a gas leak rocked Iran's largest refinery on Tuesday around the time of a visit to the plant by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iranian media reported that up to two people were killed.

The blast occurred just before Ahmadinejad was to inaugurate and expansion project at the 400,000 barrel per day refinery in the southwestern city of Abadan, and injured 20 people, the semi-official Fars news agency said. The explosion was blamed on a "gas leakage," but no other details were provided. Ahmadinejad himself was not injured.

Conflicting reports over the toll and timing of the blast surfaced but officials at the plant were not reachable for comment.

The semi-official Mehr news agency said two people were killed in the explosion that took place while the president was visiting. Mehr said Ahmadinejad ordered a special plane to airlift those critically injured to Tehran. Meanwhile, state television said the explosion occurred after Ahmadinejad had left the site and the station broadcast a live feed showing the president speaking to officials at a local hall in Abadan.

The plant alone accounts for about 25 percent of Iran's fuel production, which is about 1.67 million barrel per day.

Fazel Kaebi, an Abadan resident, told The Associated Press over the phone that he saw ambulances and rescue teams rush to the site shortly after the explosion. He said the townspeople had noticed black smoke coming from the refinery in the past few days, which he speculated could have been from a fire.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, the reports said, but the extend of the damage was not immediately clear.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Full Address At AIPAC 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

NEW DATE: Harold Camping Predicts Rapture is now October 21st

An unapologetic Harold Camping made a new prediction Monday: the rapture is actually on Oct. 21, not May 21 as he originally proclaimed.

Camping offered no sincere apology when he spoke publicly Monday for the first time since his failed May 21 Judgment Day prediction. He insisted that his predictions have been right all along, only that his interpretation was more literal when it should have been spiritual.

Judgment Day on May 21 did come, said Camping. However, he clarified that the Judgment Day arrived in a spiritual sense rather than manifesting physically.

"On May 21, this last weekend, this is where the spiritual aspect of it really comes through. God again brought judgment on the world. We didn’t see any difference but God brought Judgment Day to bear upon the whole world. The whole world is under Judgment Day and it will continue right up until Oct. 21, 2011 and by that time the whole world will be destroyed," he proclaimed.

The president of Family Radio said he agreed to speak because many people have been asking and that he had to "honorably" face that.

"Are you ready to shoot yourself or go on booze trip or whatever?" Camping said of people's questions to him.

"I can tell you very candidly that when May 21 came and went, it was a very difficult time for me, a very difficult time. I was wondering, 'What is going on?'" he said, speaking from the organization's headquarters in Oakland, Calif.

The 89-year-old radio broadcaster said he prayed and reviewed the Bible and concluded that he had been looking at the Bible more factually than spiritually.

"The Bible is a very spiritual book. There are a lot of things that are very factual, very factual, of course, but there are a lot of things that are very spiritual. How to know whether to look at it with a spiritual understanding or a factual understanding is hard to know," said Camping.

"The fact is when we look at it more spiritually then we find that He did come."

Camping then firmly stated that Oct. 21, 2011, is still the date of the End of the World.

On May 21, "God brought Judgment Day to the whole world. The whole world is on Judgment Day. It will continue to Oct. 21, 2011 and at that time the whole world will be destroyed."

It was Camping's first official statement to be released post-May 21.

His comments Monday were broadcast live, beginning 8:30 p.m. ET during the Family Radio's "Open Forum" program, by radio through the organization’s FM stations and by television on KFTL Channel 28. Members of the press were allowed to sit inside the Family Radio office and listen as Camping delivered his statement.

During his statement and in the Q&A session with reporters that followed, the soothsayer strongly defended the accuracy of all his previous Judgment Day predictions.

He broke down each of his predictions, saying they were all fulfilled: May 21, 1988, judgment came upon the churches; Sept. 7, 1994, judgment continued on the churches; then on May 21, 2011, judgment came upon the entire world.

"We are not changing the dates at all. We are just looking at it a little more spiritually but it won't be spiritual on Oct. 21 because the Bible teaches the world will be destroyed altogether. But it will be very quick," said Camping.

Camping remained undeterred in his beliefs while speaking to reporters. He admitted that he was "wrong" in his interpretation of the spiritual aspect of May 21 but refused to accept fault for the timeline of his doomsday predictions.

"We have not made a mistake as so far as the timeline, the unfolding," he said.

Camping's latest predictions had resulted in chaos among his followers and others who believed him. Some quit their jobs, others sold all their possessions before the rapture date, and one mother tried to kill her two children.

Despite being asked several times whether he would take responsibility for the incidents that transpired, Camping deflected every time, saying he was just a "humble Bible teacher" who was merely relaying the message found in the Bible.

"I don't have any responsibility. I don't have any responsibility of anybody's life. I'm only teaching the Bible. I'm simply saying, 'This is what the Bible says.'"

Israel PM at AIPAC: 'Support for Israel unites America.'

By JPOST.COM STAFF
05/24/2011 05:33

In Washington, Netanyahu addresses American Israel Public Affairs Committee on second day of their annual conference; remarks come one day after President Barack Obama clarifies remarks on 1967 borders at same podium.

Israel is with America as much as America is with Israel, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on the second day of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference in Washington on Monday.

Netanyahu opened his speech by offering his condolences on the many American deaths following a tornado in Joplin, Miss. "America, we're with you, on this day, and everyday," the prime minister told the AIPAC conference. "Israel is America's indispensible ally."

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Netanyahu spoke admirably of the words of Abraham Lincoln and pointed out the vast similarities between American and Israeli culture, noting that both are cultures of learning and ideas. Lincoln's writings resonate, he said, because "They're rooted in ideas, first championed by our people - the Jewish people." This is the reason, Netanyahu said, that Jerusalem must remain undivided.

"Israel is the cradle of our civilization, and the modern state of Israel was founded precisely on these eternal values," he said, adding that this civilization was born and fostered in "our eternal capital: the united city of Jerusalem." This remark was met by resounding applause.

"Support for Israel does not divide America, it unites America," he said.

Netanyahu acknowledged the difficult economic times faced in the United States, and thanked the government for their continued economic support.
"I want to thank the President and Congress for providing Israel with vital assistance so that Israel can defend itself by itself," he said.

Netanyahu's address came a day after US President Barack Obama addressed AIPAC,
where he defended his formulation for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and made clarifications that put his comments more in line with Israeli positions. Obama reiterated statements from his Middle East speech on Thursday that a Palestinian state should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps, which had sparked outrage from many in the pro-Israel community.

Read more at JPost

Students Who "Support" Free Speech Want to Ban Conservatives From Radio & TV

College students who claim to support the freedom of speech wish to ban conservative talk-show hosts from both radio & TV (filmed at CSU Fresno).

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Sign the Petition - Defend Marriage; President Obama won't defend the law!

Sign the Petition - https://www.alliancedefensefund.org/marriage