Glenn Beck taken to task for 'gay marriage' position

Posted on Aug 27, 2010 | by Michael Foust

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A pro-family leader is taking conservative talk show host Glenn Beck to task for saying the legalization of "gay marriage" will not harm religious freedom.

Appearing on Fox News' "O'Reilly Factor" Aug. 11, Beck took a libertarian approach to the issue and said he has "bigger fish to fry." A federal judge's ruling against California Prop 8 was barely mentioned on Beck's TV and radio programs.

"Do you believe that gay marriage is a threat to the country in any way?" host Bill O'Reilly asked.

"A threat to the country?" Beck asked.

"Yeah, is it going to harm it in anyway?" O'Reilly responded.

"No. Will the gays come and get us?" Beck answered, sarcastically.

O'Reilly asked again if "gay marriage" legalization would harm the country, and Beck responded, "I believe that Thomas Jefferson said: 'If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me?'"

Beck added, "As long as we are not going down the road of Canada, where it is now a problem for churches to have free speech ..."

But free speech and religious freedoms will be impacted if "gay marriage" is legalized, says Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth about Homosexuality. LaBarbera wrote a column, "Why Glenn Beck is Wrong," that listed several reasons "gay marriage" legalization will harm freedoms. LaBarbera said it would:

-- override "the documented will of the people in the 31 states that have already voted -- some by huge margins -- to preserve marriage in the law as what it is: between one man and one woman."

-- force "businessmen and -women to subsidize homosexual relationships" through insurance benefits "even if they rightly believe that those relationships are immoral and deviant."

-- pave the way "for even greater pro-homosexuality indoctrination in the nation's schools than we are already seeing under the mandate of 'sexual orientation nondiscrimination.'"

-- open the door for homosexual teachers in public schools to talk openly about their spouses -- all with the protection of the law.

-- allow textbooks to be rewritten to portray "gay marriage" as a good thing that was part of a successful civil rights movement.

-- result in those who oppose "gay marriage" to be portrayed as bigots who are equivalent to the racist opponents of the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement and who need to be pushed by the government "to the curb."

-- harm the adoption movement and possibly lead to the closing of adoption agencies who refuse to adopt to homosexual couples, as happened to Catholic Charities in Massachusetts.

FORMER GOP CHAIR IS HOMOSEXUAL -- Former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, who was the campaign manager for President George W. Bush's 2004 campaign, told The Atlantic in an Aug. 25 story that he is homosexual. He also says he backs "gay marriage," which is ironic, because pundits often credit Bush's 2004 re-election -- at least partially -- to social conservatives who went out in droves in 11 states to vote for constitutional marriage amendments. Ohio, a key swing state that went for Bush, passed a marriage amendment that year.

"It's taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life," Mehlman, who has never been married, said. "Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I've told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they've been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that's made me a happier and better person. It's something I wish I had done years ago."

Retrieved from:
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=33601

Protests show intolerant side of 'gay marriage' movement

Posted on Jul 23, 2010 | by Michael Foust

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (BP)--A 23-city bus tour by the National Organization for Marriage was intended to rally Americans to support the traditional definition of marriage, but its first few stops also have served as a platform for protests to show the ugly side of the "gay marriage" movement.

In Albany, N.Y., July 17, protesters with rainbow-colored balloons and umbrellas walked behind the podium during the outdoor sunny rally and refused to move. The next day in Providence, R.I., protesters went a step further, walking through the crowd and shouting at attendees and even approaching the podium and screaming at the speaker, National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown. Both rallies were held in front of the respective state capitols.

At one point, the protesters and Brown were only a few feet apart.

"This is the face of tolerance," Brown said, speaking into the microphone and using sarcasm to make an ironic point.

"This is the face of love!" the protester screamed back at Brown.

With attendees seemingly in disbelief, Brown told them, "Activists have come to break up our rallies and silence us. The moment we allow them to silence us is the moment our civil rights have been taken away."

Police apparently were unprepared and had to wait for backup to restore order.

Videos, since posted on YouTube, captured the exchange. (Watch them at Marriagetour2010.com.) One protester, heard on a video, said to a parent, "You'd better watch that kid or we're gonna kidnap him." Brown said another protester was heard saying, "Mommy raising you to be a good little bigot?"

The National Organization for Marriage was instrumental in helping pass California Proposition 8 and Maine Question 1, each of which reversed laws that had legalized "gay marriage" in those states.

"Not only did they truly embarrass themselves and their cause," Brown said in an e-mail to supporters, "they made our point far more powerfully than we could ever hope to do, making it crystal clear how far they are willing to go to force their agenda on all of society.

"... If gay marriage ever becomes the law in Rhode Island, or any other state, remember this display of intolerance when they tell you they would never dream of forcing it on young children in public schools, as they did in Massachusetts and California."

Brown added, "We have a message of tolerance and respect for all, adults and children alike. Theirs is a message of intolerance and hatred -- if you don't agree with me, you're a bigot and we're going to either shout you down or intimidate you into silence. That's no civil rights movement."



PELOSI'S PRESS SECRETARY 'MARRIES' PARTNER -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's press secretary, Drew Hammill, "married" his partner, Jason Mida, in Washington D.C. in late May, according to an announcement in The New York Times. The announcement said Hammill is 31, Mida 30.

"Gay marriage" is legal in the District of Columbia as well as in five states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa. Pelosi, whose district covers San Francisco, supports "gay marriage."

As a spokesman for the speaker, Hammill often is quoted in the media.

Retrieved from:
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=33407

Robertson Spokesman's Statement on 'Pact with The Devil' Remarks

CBN.com – VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., January 13, 2010 -- On today’s The 700 Club, during a segment about the devastation, suffering and humanitarian effort that is needed in Haiti, Dr. Robertson also spoke about Haiti’s history. His comments were based on the widely-discussed 1791 slave rebellion led by Boukman Dutty at Bois Caiman, where the slaves allegedly made a famous pact with the devil in exchange for victory over the French. This history, combined with the horrible state of the country, has led countless scholars and religious figures over the centuries to believe the country is cursed. Dr. Robertson never stated that the earthquake was God’s wrath. If you watch the entire video segment, Dr. Robertson’s compassion for the people of Haiti is clear. He called for prayer for them. His humanitarian arm has been working to help thousands of people in Haiti over the last year, and they are currently launching a major relief and recovery effort to help the victims of this disaster. They have sent a shipment of millions of dollars worth of medications that is now in Haiti, and their disaster team leaders are expected to arrive tomorrow and begin operations to ease the suffering.

Chris Roslan
Spokesman for CBN

Did You Know?

Very interesting presentation and statistics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=AU&hl=en-GB&v=FPqHt4LpyKY&eurl=http://thedigitalblur.com/2008/11/08/did-you-know-shift-happens-by-karl-fisch/


As for what it all means?

Daniel 12:4
"But you, Daniel, keep these words secret, and seal the book until the end times. Many will travel everywhere, and knowledge will grow."

Does The Golden Compass point to a new atheism?

Perspectives: Does The Golden Compass point to a new atheism?

Rebecca Grace - Guest Columnist
OneNewsNow.com
October 29, 2007
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/10/perspectives_does_the_golden_c.php

It all started with a phone call I received several months ago. A concerned mother called to tell me about The Golden Compass, an upcoming film from New Line Cinema. Several more phone calls followed the first one as did a plethora of emails expressing disgust over this movie -- and rightly so.

I plan to review the movie, but I haven't had the opportunity to see it yet. So, in the meantime, here is some information that will help you understand why the film has the potential to be extremely dark and dangerous.

According to CNSNews.com, leading atheist writers and intellectuals are engaged in a "scientific" quest to ultimately destroy organized religion, particularly Christianity. Oxford professor Richard Dawkins, author Sam Harris and journalist Christopher Hitchens are some of the big names leading this "new atheism" initiative. Evidence of their agenda is seen in efforts such as the Out Campaign and the Blasphemy Challenge.

CNSNews.com defines the Out Campaign as "a movement started by Dawkins to encourage Americans to proudly display their atheism."

ABC News describes the Blasphemy Challenge as a way "to challenge people to make videos of themselves denying, denouncing or blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and then post them on YouTube." ABC News also calls it "the cutting edge of a new and emboldened wave of atheism."

The Blasphemy Challenge targets teens while an upcoming movie that may have a similar agenda is likely to appeal to families, especially children.

The Golden Compass is a film from New Line Cinema based on the first book of a series, His Dark Materials, written by English atheist Philip Pullman. It is set to release December 7 in theaters nationwide. From watching the trailer, it's easy to see that the film has a C. S. Lewis/Narnia feel to it, but don't be deceived.

Pullman's book trilogy is the story of "a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow God," BBC News reported. The Guardian, a British newspaper, goes even further to describe the books as "metaphysical fantasies encompassing parallel worlds, the death of God and the fall of man ...."

"I don't know whether there's a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say," Pullman said in an interview posted on his website.

Therefore, without yet seeing the film, at least one pro-family group -- the American Family Association -- is alerting Christians to the potential dangers of The Golden Compass. Because of Pullman's clearly articulated anti-Christian motives, AFA is warning all viewers to run from the film.

The Golden Compass is set in an alternative world with a sinister Magisterium. It is about a girl named Lyra who sets out to rescue her friend Roger who has been kidnapped by an organization known as the Gobblers. Roger's rescue turns into an epic quest to save two different worlds -- one in which people's souls manifest themselves as animals. These manifestations are known as "daemons," and Pullman says they help a person grow toward wisdom.

In addition, the movie website allows visitors to answer a set of questions and create their own daemons that journey alongside them in life.

"One of the [book] series' main themes -- the rejection of organized religion and in particular the abuse of power within the Catholic Church -- is to be watered down," according to the Telegraph, a newspaper in the U.K.

"But when the film is released in December the Magisterium will be shown as a critique of all dogmatic organizations, thereby avoiding a religious backlash."

Although the film has supposedly been stripped of the books' key denunciation of religion to prevent offending Catholic audiences, that doesn't appease the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. The Catholic League still views The Golden Compass as bait for Pullman's books, which the group says are representative of the author's two-fold agenda "to promote atheism and denigrate Christianity. To kids."

Baby's 1st steps ... at 12 weeks in the womb

June 29, 2004: Vivid 3D images, produced by new ultrasound technology, go far beyond the grainy pictures shown to proud parents-to-be in the doctor's office.

Scans pioneered by a London professor reveal complex behavior in unborn children from an early stage of development – some of which was thought only to occur much later.

The advanced imagery has captured a 12-week-old baby "walking" in the womb and others apparently yawning and rubbing their eyes.

A whole range of typical baby behavior and moods can be observed beginning at 26 weeks, including scratching, smiling, crying, hiccuping and sucking.

More cases of terrorists 'baking' children cited

More headlines about the 'religion of peace'

Researchers say Muslim history includes cooking human victims
Posted: July 19, 2007
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com


Although the recent WND report of al-Qaida terrorists allegedly baking a young boy and serving him as a meal to his relatives was too horrific for some to believe, a major Christian ministry is citing another example – and also claims such a practice has its roots in the historical stories of Islam.

The issue has come into focus following a report from Michael Yon, a Special Forces soldier now in Iraq to report on the successes there. He told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt he was inspired by a "news cycle that seems to pander toward the terrorists."

Yon, who has earned widespread respect as an independent journalist, reported that Iraqi officials told him about al-Qaida terrorists baking children and serving them to their families.

He confirmed independently to WND that an Iraqi official had recounted for him instances in which the terrorists would bake a young boy, then invite his family to have lunch, with the baked child as the main course.

Officials with the Barnabas Fund, an international Christian group working to help persecuted Christians, particularly those in Muslim-majority contexts, then confirmed Yon's report aligns with one of their own reports about such an atrocity.

And a researcher for the Barnabas Fund cites what he says is the foundation for such barbarism.

The researcher said the story is common to history books that include the story of Mohammed ibn Abu Bekre, a contemporary of Muhammad. The connections are these: Mohammad ibn Abu Bekre was the son of Abu Bekre, the first adult male to believe in Muhammad. Mohammad ibn Abu Bekre also is the brother of Aisha, Muhammad's 9-year-old wife.

The history stories recount, according to the Barnabas Fund researcher: "When Abu Bekre divorced the mother of his son Mohammed, Ali (the fourth Caliph) took her as a wife. Later Ali as Caliph appointed his stepson and the son of Abu Bekre, the brother of Aisha, the beloved wife of the prophet, as the governor of Egypt."

However, after five months, a rival Caliph army invaded Egypt to take it back from Ali, and they killed Mohammed ibn Abu Bekre, the history books say.

"Then they put his body (corpse) in a dead donkey, then they roasted the donkey and sent it as a gift to Aisha," the history books say. "From that day on Aisha never ate roasted food."

The researcher said this specific information comes from Ibn Kathir's history book, "al Bidayah wa-Nihaya," but the story is common to Islamic history books if they include a reference to Mohammed ibn Abu Bekre.

A Christian website, Muslim Hope, also documents the story with minor variations. In this version, Mohammed ibn Abu Bekre was executed, and the body then was put "in the carcass of a donkey, and then burned."

Robert Spencer of JihadWatch told WND the account is from Islamic tradition.

"He was put in the skin of a dead donkey and burned," he said. "It is absolutely true [that the events are part of Islamic history]."

The Barnabas Fund said its sources inside Iraq confirmed "a toddler was kidnapped in Baghdad in October 2006. The mother could not afford to pay the ransom, and so the kidnappers killed the child. They returned the body to the mother. The little child had been beheaded, roasted and was served on a mound of rice."

"We received a number of inquiries about its veracity," the organization told WND about its December 2006 report. "More questions followed when a reporter at the [London] Telegraph blogged about it on their website on March 31 of this year."

"A few sites on the web not only openly doubted it, but also published statements saying that we surely invented it for purposes of fundraising and/or because of Islamophobia," the group continued.

However, the organization stood by its sources, and, "After seeing Michael Yon's report, we hope such horrific incidents will indeed be reported upon and recognized as the dark works of jihadists, not ours and others' imagination."

A spokesman for the organization, Marshall Sana, told WND the Barnabas Fund works directly with local Christian leaders wherever it can reach them throughout Iraq, and its report came from two different parties.

"We heard this story from two separate sources, both of them senior Christian leaders in the region, one of them with direct pastoral responsibility for the family involved," he said. "We were offered a photo, but the UK office [of Barnabas Fund] said we did not want to see it. The family has some relatives living in the UK."

The report from Yon came while he was covering the war – and al-Qaida's involvement – in Baqubah, and he was listening to statements from an Iraqi official who asked that his name not be reported.

"Speaking through an American interpreter, Lt. David Wallach, who is a native Arabic speaker, the Iraqi official related how al-Qaida united these gangs who then became absorbed into 'al-Qaida.' They recruited boys born during the years 1991, 92 and 93 who were each given weapons, including pistols, a bicycle and a phone (with phone cards paid) and a salary of $100 per month, all courtesy of al-Qaida. These boys were used for kidnapping, torturing and murdering people," said Yon's dispatch, "Bless the Beasts and Children."

"At first, he said, they would only target Shia, but over time the new al-Qaida directed attacks against Sunni, and then anyone who thought differently. The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al-Qaida invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11 years old," Yon continued.

"As Lt. David Wallach interpreted the man's words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, 'What did he say?' Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al-Qaida served the boy to his family."

One of the groups that has far more knowledge about torture and atrocities than it would prefer is International Christian Concern.

Policy Analyst Jeremy Sewall calls such reports "pretty extreme." But he also said with the documentation of various other tortures that have come out, "Your report wouldn't surprise me."

"I'm just thinking of a report about two Muslims who approached a Christian boy at a work at a mechanic's shop. They said, 'Are you a Christian.' He said, "Yes.' And they beheaded him on the spot," he said.

He also cited the recently confirmed report from Turkey, where Muslims martyred three Christians in an attack that was most accurately described as "gruesome."

In that case, "various body parts were chopped off," he confirmed. "It was terrible."

As WND reported, Tilman Geske, a German citizen, and two Turkish Christians were martyred – allegedly by five Muslims who met the three victims at a Christian publishing company for a Bible study, according to Voice of the Martyrs.

According to the reports, Geske, 46, Pastor Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel were killed with hundreds of stab wounds, "they were disemboweled and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes."

Yon told WND he reported what he was told – no more or less. "Perhaps it's urban legend. I have no idea. But my reporting was spot on. ... I quoted someone and offered zero opinion," he said.

But he, also, said he'd witnessed the results of atrocities, such as the unearthing of the heads of decapitated children, that convinced him al-Qaida certainly was capable of such a heinous crime.

"Al-Qaida: the organization that gleefully bragged about murdering roughly 3,000 people by smashing jets full of civilians into buildings and earth. Al-Qaida in Iraq: who proudly broadcast their penchant for sawing off the heads of living breathing people, and in such a manner as to ensure lots of spurting blood and gurgles of final pain, in some cases with the added flourish of the executioner raising up the severed head and squealing excitedly," he said.

"People at home might find it incredible, improbable, even impossible. Yet here in combat with al-Qaida, the idea is no more improbable-sounding than someone saying 'The chicken crossed the road.' Maybe the chicken crossed the road. Maybe not. The veterans I've been talking with here have no difficulty imagining the chicken crossing the road, or al-Qaida roasting kids. Sickening, yes. Improbable, no," he said.

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the concept of "passing children through fire" dates back to the Old Testament, when the god Moloch appeared.

"The chief feature of Moloch's worship among the Jews seems to have been the sacrifice of children, and the usual expression for describing that sacrifice was 'to pass through the fire', a rite carried out after the victims had been put to death," the reference says.

"The prophets expressly treat the cult of Moloch as foreign and as an apostasy from the worship of the true God," it continues. "The offerings by fire ... have suggested to many that Moloch was a fire- or sun-god."

The Old Testament, in Leviticus, also specifies the death penalty for someone who gives children to Moloch: "He shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones."

Jeremiah called the practice an "abomination."



http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56643
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56723

Tablet linked to obscure O.T. figure found

Posted on Jul 17, 2007 | by Staff LONDON (BP)
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=26084

It's doubtful that many Christians remember the name "Nebo-Sarsekim" from reading the Old Testament, but thanks to an archaeological discovery at the British Museum, they may in the future.

British Museum officials announced recently the discovery of a two-inch-wide, 2,500-year-old cuneiform tablet that contains details of a financial transaction by a "Nabu-sharrussu-ukin," who is called in the tablet the "chief eunuch" of Babylon King Nebuchadnezzar.

That's the same person mentioned in Jeremiah 39:3 -- although spelled differently in different translations -- as the chief officer of Nebuchadnezzar who was in Jerusalem when the Babylonians overtook the city around 587 B.C.

Conservative biblical scholars say it's another affirmation that the Bible is true -- even in the smallest of details, such as names.

Babylonian names notoriously are difficult to translate. The Holman Christian Standard and the New King James Version call him "Sarsechim." The New International Version calls him "Nebo-Sarsekim"

The small tablet is one of more than 100,000 inscribed tablets housed at the British Museum, The Times newspaper reported July 11, and was acquired in 1920. It was unearthed about a mile from modern-day Baghdad, Iraq, the newspaper said. But because of the painstaking effort to translate them and often to piece them together, it wasn't seen as having a biblical connection until recently. Michael Jursa, a professor from the University of Vienna, made the connection.

"This is a fantastic discovery, a world-class find," the British Museum's Irving Finkel said, according to The London Telegraph. "If Nebo-Sarsekim existed, which other lesser figures in the Old Testament existed? A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative [of Jeremiah] takes on a new kind of power."

The New International Version of the Bible translates Jeremiah 39:3 thusly:

"Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon."

That verse immediately follows a verse describing the Babylonians breaking through Jerusalem's walls. Various translations also call Nebo-Sarsekim a "Rabsaris," which can be translated "chief official" or "chief eunuch."

The tablet actually dates to 595 B.C., several years prior to the siege of Jerusalem. It would have been made by pressing an object into clay. The tablet reads, according to the Telegraph: "(Regarding) 1.5 minas (0.75 kg) of gold, the property of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni. Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon."

Said Jursa, the scholar who discovered the tablet, "Finding something like this tablet, where we see a person mentioned in the Bible making an everyday payment to the temple in Babylon and quoting the exact date, is quite extraordinary."

Media Undermining 'American values'

It's a matter of what sells and what can be produced cheeply to get the biggest bang for the buck.

It is very costly to hire really good and talented writers for shows.

Whereas, it is does not take any talent or thought to appeal to the viewer's fleshly appetites. The more base, racy, and "edgy" a program, the more attention a program will get.

In a very competitive marketplace, programmers know that they have to keep pushing the envelope to keep getting people's attention.

This sets up a self-perpetuating spiral where the media pushes the "edge" (translated: lowers the values), viewers are "hardened" and their values lowered, then the media has to go down to the next level, and so on...

The majority of viewers just want to sit, turn off their mind, and absorb whatever garbage happens to be spewing out of the TV at the time.

It is our job as Christians to be salt and light and do everything we can to break this sprial.

First and foremost by not participating in this spiral in the first place.

Next, by shining the light of truth and calling people's attention to the fact that what is wrong and immoral is, well, wrong and immoral.

What we can also do is vote with our dollars and support family-friendly programming anywhere we can find it.

Praying gets 7 Christians arrested

Now praying gets 7 Christians arrested
Cops call holding Bibles while lying prostrate 'disturbing peace'
Posted: July 7, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Christians have been arrested recently at "gay" festivals for nothing more than having a protest sign that is "wider than their torso," but now police have gone even further, targeting Bible-carrying ministers for praying on public property and for standing on a public sidewalk near a "gay" festival.

One of the new cases comes from Elmira, N.Y., where police arrested seven Christians who went into a public park where a "gay" fest was beginning and started to pray, faces down, while holding their Bibles.

They were cited for "disturbing the peace," and Assistant Police Chief Mike Robertson told WND that the seven are accused of a "combination" of allegations under that statute, which includes the "intent" to cause a public inconvenience, any "disturbance" of a meeting of persons, obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or taking part in "any act that serves no legitimate purpose."


Pastor Mark Holick being arrested for being on sidewalk at Wichita "gay" fest

The second such case arose in Wichita, Kan., where police arrested Spirit One Christian Center Pastor Mark Holick, who had received permission earlier from officers to be on the public sidewalk adjacent to the park where the festival was occurring but then was arrested doing exactly that.

Julian Raven, a street preacher, told WND his group of seven assembled to pray for three hours the night before Elmira's recent "pride" festival in promotion of the homosexual lifestyle.

"We have a legal right to be at an event held in a public square. We're not a hate group," he said. "We're Christians and we're going to be there to pray."

He said he contacted police, who told him he had no free speech rights in the public park.

"The female officer, she said, 'You're not going to cross the street. You're not going to enter the park and you're not going to share your religion with anybody in this park,'" he told WND.

"When she said that, for the first time in my life as a Christian, I felt now my freedom of speech is threatened or challenged," he said. "I was being told I could not share my religion with anybody in that park."

Raven said he told the officer "she was violating the Constitution that she had sworn to uphold, and she was very agitated and adamant, and couldn't look me straight in the eye."

Raven asked for the justification for such a threat and was not given a response.

He said his team of Christians then went into the park, holding Bibles over their heads to signify their subservience to God's Word, and lay on their faces to pray.

Within three minutes, police officers had put handcuffs on the seven, to the cheers of the homosexual crowd, he said.

He said a court date is pending for the seven July 23.

"I have the highest respect for the police officers. They have a very difficult job to do. But we were treated unfairly in a public setting. This was a hasty show of force. It was not called for," he said.

He said if the situation is left unchallenged, the city of Elmira will be in the position of being able to control the content of people's messages in a lawful assembly – or even thoughts if they are nearby.

"We didn't say boo to a goose, still we were arrested," he said.

The local newspaper reported the arrests came just "moments" after Elmira Mayor John Tonello delivered a speech "celebrating diversity."

And the actions prompted some immediate criticism from newspaper readers.

"I was appalled and disgusted by the gay stories strewn through the … paper. … What was even more disturbing was the way the city acted. Since when is it illegal to sit on the ground in a public park and recite Bible verses? Are they not protected by the same Constitution that allows gay people to have their gay pride event. These Bible thumpers had their constitutional right to free speech and assembly trampled on by the city. They should not have been arrested," said Kevin Raznoff.

Robertson told WND the Christians "certainly" have a right to assemble, but not on public property when there's an "organized" event there. Asked repeatedly about how the "disturbance" statute relates to First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech, he did not answer.

"Obviously, they caused a disruption to an event that was taking place," he said.

But Raven confirmed to WND the seven Christians did not approach a single person, did not speak to anyone and did not even make any audible statements until after they were arrested.

Pastor Holick's case in Wichita was even more drastic. He had gone, with a team from his church, to pass out flyers and pray at a recent "pride" festival held there.

He had checked with the police department and was told, "The sidewalk is your friend."

"Upon arriving we began to set up," he said. "Immediately, I was approached by WPD and told that we could not go into the park (a public park mind you where everyone else – except the Christians – was allowed in) and that we could not be on the sidewalk on that side of the street but that we could go to the other side of the street.

"In other words, one side of the street is open to Christians but the public park and the public sidewalk next to the park is not," he said.

But then Holick was arrested within about four minutes of his arrival.

"It is obvious that the WPD did not keep their word and that they wanted to arrest as quickly as possible. The First Amendment … was cast aside like so much garbage," he said.

"The sin is 'coming out' further and further and the church is now being pushed further and further back inside the four walls of the church building; we are the ones that are seen as 'the trouble makers.' The police arrest the Christians and allow all manner of perversion to flaunt itself in the streets of Wichita. And we the church … well … I'm not sure we care," he said.

Police alleged that they asked Holick five times to "leave" the festival, even though he never purchased the required admission fee or went in.

As WND reported , Holick already had been targeted by the Internal Revenue Service for the moral statements he posted on the church's sign.

The notice he got from the IRS warned him about putting his Christian beliefs on the sign, and he responded that he would continue to preach the Word of God.

Just a week earlier, WND reported police in St. Petersburg, Fla., arrested five Christians for carrying signs "wider than their torsos" outside an officially designated protest area at that city's homosexual festival.

Pastor Billy Ball, Assistant Pastor Doug Pitts, Frankie Primavera and Josh Pettigrew, all of Faith Baptist Church in Primrose, Ga., were arrested after leaving a small area set aside by city officials for protest activities. Bill Holt, of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Jefferson, Ga., was also taken into custody.

According to Lighthouse Pastor Kevin Whitman, the five men were told by police their signs were not allowed outside the protest area because they were wider than their torsos. When the men refused to put them away, they were arrested for violating a controversial city ordinance that governs permitted events.

As WND reported, St. Petersburg officials, following disturbances at a previous homosexual pride festival, implemented rules governing outdoor events that set aside "free speech zones," where protesters are allowed.

The resulting ordinance came under fire by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Alliance Defense Fund for being too broad. It allows the city to create prior restraints of speech on an event-by-event basis, with virtually no predictable limits. It also criminalizes certain free speech behavior around public events and authorizes the police to enforce breaches of permits – the penalty for such breaches being arrest.

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56544

Feminism turned me into lesbian

Hetero woman: Feminism turned me into lesbian

'I'd had a very happy marriage and a very good relationship with men'

Posted: July 1, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com


A 53-year-old university professor and campaigner for legalized same-sex marriage in the UK said she was once a married "happy heterosexual" who had no doubts about her sexual orientation, but political activity and involvement in feminist causes "changed" her into a lesbian.

Sue Wilkinson, professor of Feminist and Health Studies at Loughborough University, told the London Times that her 17-year marriage to her husband had been a good one.

But that changed in the mid-1980s when the young professor became involved with the British Psychological Society.

A 53-year-old university professor and campaigner for legalized same-sex marriage in the UK said she was once a married "happy heterosexual" who had no doubts about her sexual orientation, but political activity and involvement in feminist causes "changed" her into a lesbian.

Sue Wilkinson, professor of Feminist and Health Studies at Loughborough University, told the London Times that her 17-year marriage to her husband had been a good one.

But that changed in the mid-1980s when the young professor became involved with the British Psychological Society.

"I was never unsure about my sexuality throughout my teens or 20s. I was a happy heterosexual and had no doubts," said Wilkinson.

"Then I changed, through political activity and feminism, spending time with women's organizations. It opened my mind to the possibility of a lesbian identity."

Wilkinson divorced her husband and has lived with her partner, Prof. Celia Kitzinger of York University, for the past 17 years.

"I'd had a very happy marriage and a very good relationship with men," she said. "My husband took it very badly."

In 2003, the two women married in Vancouver, Canada, where same-sex unions are legal. A change in UK law in 2005 recognized their Canadian ceremony as a civil union, but not marriage.

Wilkinson and Kitzinger sued, arguing that foreign heterosexual unions would automatically be recognized as valid marriages, and the law, as constituted, was "a breach of our rights under the European Convention on Human Rights."

Last year, the court ruled against their claim of marriage and violation of human rights, granting them the right to appeal, but ordering them to pay $50,000 toward the government's legal costs.

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56458

Federal judge asked to allow Gideons scripture distribution

Federal judge asked to allow Gideons scripture distribution
Allie Martin
OneNewsNow.com
June 25, 2007

An attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund says a policy in one Florida city that bans the distribution of Christian literature makes believers out to be second-class citizens. Now a federal judge has now been asked to review and strike the policy that was used earlier this year to intimidate Christians who were handing out Bibles near a public school.

In January, Thomas Gray, a member of Gideons International, was threatened with arrest if he did not stop distributing Bibles within 500 feet of Key Largo School. Gray was told that he had "no right" to be there. Gray, as well as other Gideons, were on a public sidewalk and had notified authorities of the plans. Prior to the distribution, both school officials and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office had said the activity was permissible.

But during the distribution, Gray learned that two of his fellow Gideons had been arrested. After being threatened himself with arrest, Gray contacted the Alliance Defense Fund -- and as spokesman Jeremy Tedesco says, a federal judge has been asked to review the case. Tedesco says the ruling could have a big impact.

"The First Amendment knows no second-class citizen," Tedesco notes. "And more importantly, it protects the right of anybody to use the public sidewalk, to be present on a public sidewalk and to be engaged in speech. And the state certainly can't get away with telling religious people they can't be there, but permitting others to be there."

ADF attorneys have asked for the statute, which could ultimately affect every public school in the Sunshine State, to be struck down.

"You're talking probably thousands of schools," exclaims Tedesco. "They are literally speech-free zones around each one of those schools [under this statute]. All day, every day, people -- including the Gideons -- could be hauled off to jail and prosecuted for engaging in protected First Amendment expression. So this statute needs to be stricken as a violation of the First Amendment."

A decision on the preliminary injunction request could come later this year. The case is Gray v. Kohl.

Angry Mob Assaults Peaceful Christians

Dan Musick’s testimony:

I went to the parade armed with 500+ tracts and my camera. My prayer was for God to show me what He wanted me to do. Before the parade I passed out some tracts. At the parade I took lots of pictures and video, and passed out a few tracts. The sidewalk and area behind the barriers was packed.

After the parade there was a steady flow of crowd traffic so I started passing out the “I Was Gay” tracts. I did this for about an hour, and passed out about 300. Many ended up on the sidewalk.

I experienced every form of mockery you could imagine, but only from one or two at a time at the most. At one point two lesbians were circling me and warning others not to take my tracts. One tore up a tract and threw it at me. Another knocked the tracts out of my hand.

Overall the response was excellent. For every negative there had to be at least three positives — those who came up from behind me when I was turned a different direction to ask for a tract, and many who seemed desperate for some kind of hope as they took the tracts. I saw one or two people bend over to pick up the tracts off the sidewalk.

Several engaged me in serious conversation; there were several opportunities to lay out the gospel. Others just wanted to argue and prove I was wrong.

One man came up and asked what I was doing. I explained I was offering good news for homosexuals by the gospel of Christ and I laid out the gospel for him. I asked if he believed it. He said, “Yes,” and asked if he could join me. He said it was better for him to work with someone and that another person with whom he had teamed up with did not work out.

I stopped, removed my hat and we prayed together, acknowledging that God’s Word would never return void.

He proceeded to unroll a big banner and to strap it to a pole with bungee cords. It was a telescoping pole, and suddenly he lifted the banner up into the sky another 6 feet. It was huge.

He started preaching from a format I had learned called the ”Way of the Master,” a series with Ray Comfort. This stresses the importance of preaching Law before Grace ….

Joe’s approach was loving, clear and direct — a model presentation of the Gospel, beginning with the law and the reality that we have all sinned.

The mood of the place changed suddenly. First a small crowd gathered around us. Joe continued preaching and the crowd grew in size.

Then several things started happening all at once.

First, I remember a bright lady coming up to me and started telling me that what we were doing was wrong. Gays can’t help being who they are; that’s the way God made them; when you call their actions sin you are condemning them. She had the air of a Pharisee — I suspect in hindsight she was a pastor from one of the churches that defends homosexuality as good.

While talking to her, several things began to occur. First, I remember the most sinister laughter, mocking and jeering I have ever heard. The crowd despised Joe’s preaching. People from the crowd were yelling out at us and moving closer to us. Someone from a balcony up above us threw some kind of bottle — I think it was plastic - and hit Joe on his left shoulder. Another man came up and tried to light the banner with his cigarette lighter. While trying to do this someone sprayed beer on both of us and another man poured beer on Joe. At about this point it crossed my mind that we might just be casting our pearls before swine.

I also remembered one point when people were taking pictures of the humiliation they were trying to impose [on us]. One guy stuck up his middle finger in front of the banner and I held up the tract next to him so that would be in the picture as well.

Then one of the men got behind Joe and started to make sexual gestures like he wanted to have anal sex. Then He reached for Joe’s pants to try to take them off.

At this point I abandoned my conversation with the lady to pull the man away from Joe. It was at about that time that someone knocked the tracts out of my hand. Some one else tried to take the pole and banner away from Joe, and I told him to be strong.

At this point it turned into a wrestling match for the banner. The crowd had evolved into a mob. Several hands were grasping the pole supporting the banner. Then those who did not want us there began pulling the banner and us with it into a recessed area or an alley.

At this point I called 911 … I couldn’t remember where we were, just that we were just north of Belmont. Within a minute or so the police were there and shortly thereafter there were 20-40 police.

We got our banner back. I asked the police to defend our free speech rights. He said, “Let’s be practical. There are 400,000 of them and only a handful of us.” He said the banner was inflammatory and that the police could not control the crowd if Joe continued preaching. If he continued preaching he would have to arrest us. I think he was thinking of his duty to protect us.

I told Joe the police had a good point. I was willing to go to jail but I couldn’t see what would be gained by it. It was time to shake the dust off our sandals; they had not received our message. Joe couldn’t see anything to be gained, either, so we agreed to leave.

We thanked the senior officer for his help. I told him, “Sometimes God sends His angels to help us; sometimes He sends the police.” He chuckled, we shook hands, and we left on good terms.

The mob clearly ruled the police at this point; our free speech rights were trampled. But that was a peripheral issue for us at this time. Joe’s passion and concern, which he also expressed to the police, was that those who had mistreated him were going to hell; that was his motivation for wanting to continue preaching to a hostile mob. It was well past my time to reconnect with [other Americans For Truth volunteers] and I felt my time for evangelizing was finished. The thought of evangelizing to assert my free speech rights never occurred to me, and it is, at best, a twisted motive for evangelizing.

Joe and I walked a couple blocks until he had to go a different direction. I thanked him for letting me share in the experience we had there and I hugged him. Suffering together for the Gospel creates a bond that is not easily broken.

This is my story.

Dan Musick
http://www.americansfortruth.org/contact.php
--------------------------------------------------

Joe Christopherson's Testimony:

I Was Attacked By a Homosexual Mob!

I went into Chicago today, to preach the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ at the gay pride parade. After finally finding a good place to park, I made my way down the parade route. The parade was done there but there were thousands of people in the streets.

I walked down the route and met up with and joined a brother [Dan Musick] passing out gospel tracts. I unfurled a fairly new 4-by-6 foot banner I have which says, “Lied, Stolen, Lusted? Homosexual, Fornicator, Drunkard? Repent and call on the Lord Jesus to Escape Hell” (at the bottom is the website: burningheartsoutreach.com). Then I started open-air preaching.

It must have been about 10 to 20 minutes, and a violent crowd formed around us. They were cursing at me like mad dogs. And before it was all over I was basically molested – they handled me in vile ways – trying to pull my pants off (thank God I wear a belt). They tried to burn my banner, steal my banner; my banner and I were soaked with various alcoholic drinks that were hurled at me. They spit and threw something. They bent and tried to steal my banner pole.

A bunch of police showed up and rescued us from the mob. I was assaulted by the crowd but the police threatened me with arrest if I did not leave. Absolutely incredible. It was like Sodom and Gomorrah. “They loved darkness and hated the light.” [John 3:19] I prayed that this sin be not laid to their charge.

Please pray that God will save these lost souls bound in perversion. Jesus is their only hope. I rejoice in the Lord that I was counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. [See Matthew 5:11-13] I only got a couple of scratches so I really didn’t suffer that much at all. Thank You Jesus for your divine protection. And this weekend [I will be preaching at] the “Taste of Chicago.” Thousands to preach to and a much, much less violent crowd; please pray for me and for souls to be won to Christ. Thank you.

In the harvest,

Joe Christopherson, http://www.burningheartsoutreach.com/

The High Cost of Free Love

By Heather Sells
CBN News
May 18, 2007

CBNNews.com - The old-fashioned romance associated with Valentine's Day is no longer a reality for many young people. That's because casual sex, known as "hooking up," is in.

But at least one campus doctor is worried about the medical and emotional downsides of such activity.

Here is more on the doctor’s concerns, and the politically charged field of sexual health.

Social advocates on both sides of the issue can agree -- our habits and understanding of sex changed profoundly 40 years ago.

Educator Pam Stenzel notes, "In the 1960s, we could do whatever we wanted. Sex was free. It was no big deal."

With the Sexual Revolution, many began to think of sex as a recreational event, with no consequences.

But today, the costs are clear.

Each year, 19-million Americans become infected with a sexually transmitted disease, or STD.

Almost half of them are between the ages of 15 and 24.

Just 40 years ago, only two sexually transmitted diseases existed. Today, there are 25.

There are young people who choose abstinence.

But research shows 47 percent of high school students have had sex, paving the way for a variety of "relationships" in college.

"They're having multiple-partner sex completely indiscriminately," said Stenzel. "It's hooking up. It's friends with benefits. It's something we do cause we're bored on a Friday night. It has nothing to do with intimacy."

With STDs, other problems can come -- like cervical cancer, infertility and depression.

But while it's OK to talk about the mechanics of sex with young people, frank discussion of the medical and emotional downsides has become rare.

And that's why Dr. Miriam Grossman is speaking up.

Her new book Unprotected explains how political correctness has invaded today's university health centers.

As an Ivy-League-trained campus psychiatrist herself, she says health providers can give plenty of information and caution about other risky behaviors -- such as smoking, drinking and overeating.

But when it comes to sex -- risky behaviors are not discouraged.

Her conclusion?

Ideology-driven health care is misinforming, and putting the health of millions of students at risk.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/104261.aspx?option=print

Importing a Slave Class

- We fought a civil war to force Democrats to give up
on slavery 150 years ago. They've become so desperate
for servants that now they're importing an underclass
to wash their clothes and pick their vegetables. This
vast class of unskilled immigrants is the left's new
form of slavery.


- The people who make arguments about "jobs Americans
won't do" are never in a line of work where unskilled
immigrants can compete with them. Liberals love to
strike generous, humanitarian poses with other
people's lives.


- The jejune fact that we "can't deport them all" is
supposed to lead ineluctably to the conclusion that we
must grant amnesty to illegal aliens -- and fast!

We can't catch all rapists, so why not grant amnesty
to rapists? Surely no one wants thousands of rapists
living in the shadows! How about discrimination laws?
Insider trading laws? Do you expect Bush to round up
everyone who goes over the speed limit? Of course we
can't do that. We can't even catch all murderers. What
we need is "comprehensive murder reform." It's not
"amnesty" -- we'll ask them to pay a small fine.


- Noticeably, the biggest proponents of the
government's policy of importing a huge underclass of
unskilled workers are not themselves unskilled
workers.

The great bounty of cheap labor by unskilled
immigrants isn't going to hardworking Americans who
hang drywall or clean hotel rooms -- and who are
having trouble getting jobs, now that they're forced
to compete with the vast influx of unskilled workers
who don't pay taxes.

The only beneficiaries of these famed hardworking
immigrants -- unlike you lazy Americans -- are the
wealthy, who want the cheap labor while making the
rest of us chip in for the immigrants' schooling, food
and health care.


Ann Coulter
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=20855

Why would they ever want to come back?

by Bob Yandian

Psalm 116:15: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

I ministered from this verse at the memorial service for Chip this week. This verse has been a blessing to me when a Christian dies and goes to be with the Lord. This verse did not say it was precious to us, but to the Lord. In our sight, death is a time for grieving and sorrow. Rightfully so. God commanded Israel to take time to grieve for the death of Moses. And throughout the Word we are given permission to mourn for the absence, the hole that will exist, when our friends and loved ones are gone. But we are also told not to grieve as those who have no hope. Our grieving only lasts for a short time before it is overtaken by the eternal joy inside of us. Our hope is in Jesus and in the fact that we will see the person again.

The death of a saint is precious in the sight of the Lord. We stand on one side of the door and see an exit. God stands on the other side of the door and sees an entrance. Our friends exited this life and entered eternity. From God’s side, it was a glorious event. True success in the Christian life comes from looking at our lives from God’s viewpoint, not ours. We are to set our affection (minds) on things above and not on things of the earth. The mind of Christ, which should guide us daily, tells us that the person is far better off in God’s presence than they ever were on earth. We often ask, “Why would that person want to leave us?” We should be asking, “Why would they ever want to come back?”

http://www.gracetulsa.com/blog_0705.asp#050107

Newspaper Skews Marriage Facts

by Wendy Cloyd
citizenlink.org

The New York Times compared apples to oranges in pronouncing that marriage is headed for extinction.

An article in The New York Times Monday reported that married women are now a minority, but marriage and family experts say that’s a distortion of U.S. Census data.

According to the Times report, 51 percent of American women are single, compared to 35 percent of women in 1950.

But included in that number were girls as young as 15 and women whose husbands work out of town, are in the military or are institutionalized.

"This is simply another brazen attempt by The New York Times to advance an ultra-liberal social agenda," said Dr. Bill Maier, psychologist in residence at Focus on the Family.

Dr. Scott Stanley, co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver, said women are marrying at a later age -- the median is now 26 -- which can radically skew marriage statistics.

"You can look at how many are married by age 40 in any particular era and you get a little more precise way to do it," he said. Marriage is less common than it used to be, “but the number of people who want to be married and have it work out well is still extraordinarily high.”

Maier said the Times article also failed to mention that married women have better physical and emotional health than unmarried women.

“They live longer, enjoy a much higher standard of living, report higher levels of sexual satisfaction and are less likely to be victims of violence," he said.

The New York Times seems intent on disparaging marriage and discouraging young women from even considering it, Maier said.

"Marriage as an institution is suffering in our country," he added. "We should do everything we can to promote healthy, stable marital relationships, because those relationships remain the bedrock of our society."

Religious Freedom Day, 2007

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

On Religious Freedom Day, we commemorate the passage of the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, authored by Thomas Jefferson, and we celebrate the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom.

Across the centuries, people have come to America seeking to worship the Almighty freely. Today, our citizens profess many different faiths, and we welcome every religion. Yet people in many countries live without the freedom to worship as they choose and some face persecution for their beliefs. My Administration is working with our friends and allies around the globe to advance common values and spread the blessings of liberty to every corner of the world. Freedom is a gift from the Almighty, written in the heart and soul of every man, woman, and child, and we must continue to promote the importance of religious freedom at home and abroad.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2007, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to reflect on the great blessing of religious liberty, endeavor to preserve this freedom for future generations, and commemorate this day with appropriate events and activities in their schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, and homes.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

GEORGE W. BUSH

NBC's Conan O'Brien mocks Jesus and Christianity

Posted: January 12, 2007
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

NBC has plummeted to the level of CBS, with a late-night skit that blatantly mocks Christianity by portraying Jesus as a homosexual voyeur, a stunt that would have been instantly condemned nationwide if it had focused on any subject other than Christianity, according to a pro-life leader.

Full article: http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53739

Navy dismisses chaplain who prayed 'in Jesus' name'

'We are homeless, jobless, and we are in God's hands'
January 12, 2007
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

A U.S. Navy chaplain who prayed "in Jesus' name" as his conscience dictated is being ejected from the military service "in retaliation" for his victorious battle to change Navy policy that required religious rites be "non-sectarian."

"This fight cost me everything. My career is over, my family is now homeless, we've lost a million dollar pension, but Congress agreed with me and rescinded the Navy policy, so chaplains are free again to pray in Jesus' name," Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt told WND. "My sacrifice purchased their freedom. My conscience is clear, the fight was worth it, and I'd do it all again."

Klingenschmitt has fought an extended battle with the Navy over its restrictions on religious expression by its chaplains. He appeared and delivered a public prayer "in Jesus' name" at a White House rally last winter and was court-martialed for that. The Navy convicted him of failing to follow a lawful order because his superior didn't want him praying "in Jesus' name."

He's also launched a legal battle that he said he hopes eventually will result in his reinstatement, alleging the Navy assembled a "civic religion" by ordering its chaplains to pray in a certain way.

Full article: http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53731