Sunday, August 27, 2017
Southern Poverty Law Center Names Well-Known Christian Organization an “Active Hate Group”. Say What??
kingsjester
August 25, 2017 7:00
“In our polarized times, radicals use the SPLC’s hate-group designations to justify violence. Politicians and corporations use the designation to marginalize and punish good men and women. Not long ago the Family Research Council narrowly avoided mass murder when a man tried to attack its headquarters. He was inspired in part by the SPLC’s hate-group designation, and his plan was to shoot FRC employees and stuff Chick-fil-A sandwiches into their dead, bleeding mouths.” – David French, Senior Writer, National Review, July 13, 2017
Foxnews.com reports:
A prominent evangelical ministry has filed a federal lawsuit against the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), saying it defamed the Christian organization as an “active hate group” because it endorses the biblical view of homosexuality.
The clash marks the latest chapter in a growing feud between those who embrace historic monotheistic beliefs, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim, and progressive activists who have begun targeting mainstream Christian groups that hold traditional beliefs about sex and other issues.
Officials of the D. James Kennedy Ministries, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., accuse the SPLC of deceptive practices, saying that it wrongly asserts that some organizations breed or fuel hate because of their religious positions on such things as same-sex marriage and other social issues.
“It’s completely disingenuous to tag D. James Kennedy Ministries as a hate group alongside the KKK and neo-Nazis,” Kennedy Ministries spokesman John Rabe said to Fox News. “We desire all people, with no exceptions, to receive the love of Christ and his forgiveness and healing. We unequivocally condemn violence, and we hate no one.”
“It’s ridiculous for the SPLC to falsely tag evangelical Christian ministries as ‘hate groups’ simply for upholding the 2,000-year-old Christian consensus on marriage and sexuality,” Rabe said. “It’s nothing more than an attempt to bulldoze over those who disagree with them, and it has a chilling effect on the free exercise of religion in a nation built on that. We decided not to let their falsehoods stand.”
Kennedy Ministries filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., where the SPLC is headquartered.
The SPLC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.So, just who is this bunch of foaming-at-the-mouth, snot-nosed Liberals known as the SPLC?
“In our polarized times, radicals use the SPLC’s hate-group designations to justify violence. Politicians and corporations use the designation to marginalize and punish good men and women. Not long ago the Family Research Council narrowly avoided mass murder when a man tried to attack its headquarters. He was inspired in part by the SPLC’s hate-group designation, and his plan was to shoot FRC employees and stuff Chick-fil-A sandwiches into their dead, bleeding mouths.” – David French, Senior Writer, National Review, July 13, 2017
Foxnews.com reports:
A prominent evangelical ministry has filed a federal lawsuit against the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), saying it defamed the Christian organization as an “active hate group” because it endorses the biblical view of homosexuality.
The clash marks the latest chapter in a growing feud between those who embrace historic monotheistic beliefs, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim, and progressive activists who have begun targeting mainstream Christian groups that hold traditional beliefs about sex and other issues.
Officials of the D. James Kennedy Ministries, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., accuse the SPLC of deceptive practices, saying that it wrongly asserts that some organizations breed or fuel hate because of their religious positions on such things as same-sex marriage and other social issues.
“It’s completely disingenuous to tag D. James Kennedy Ministries as a hate group alongside the KKK and neo-Nazis,” Kennedy Ministries spokesman John Rabe said to Fox News. “We desire all people, with no exceptions, to receive the love of Christ and his forgiveness and healing. We unequivocally condemn violence, and we hate no one.”
“It’s ridiculous for the SPLC to falsely tag evangelical Christian ministries as ‘hate groups’ simply for upholding the 2,000-year-old Christian consensus on marriage and sexuality,” Rabe said. “It’s nothing more than an attempt to bulldoze over those who disagree with them, and it has a chilling effect on the free exercise of religion in a nation built on that. We decided not to let their falsehoods stand.”
Kennedy Ministries filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., where the SPLC is headquartered.
The SPLC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.So, just who is this bunch of foaming-at-the-mouth, snot-nosed Liberals known as the SPLC?
ASK THE CHAPLAIN: Is Sunday the Christian sabbath
By: Rev. Dayna Spence
POSTED: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017 - 10:15 a.m.
UPDATED: 3 DAYS AGO
(METRO CREATIVE GRAPHICS)
Dear Chaplain: Suppose a person has to work and can't go to church on Sundays, can they choose another day to honor the sabbath?
- Signed, Sunday Sabbath
Dear Sunday Sabbath: Thanks so much for your question. First, the sabbath comes from a Hebrew word which means to rest or to cease. The first mention of resting or ceasing in the Bible is in the creation story. In Genesis 2:2-3, it says, "On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day...and blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work." We can gather from this text that there is a time to work and a time to rest. If God himself didn't work around the clock, but set aside a time to rest and enjoy the fruits of his labor, then we should too. The work and rest concept seemed to be understood from the beginning of time since there was no sabbath law until after the Children of Israel were delivered from Egypt. The sabbath law was not instituted until after Moses was given the 10 Commandments, and it was so new to them that God had to explain to them how to keep it, in detail.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." - Exodus 10:8-11
Take a break from time to time
August 26, 2017
This week I've been on vacation camping with family and I'm reminded of why it's so important to take a break from time to time. While the standing joke is that pastors only work on Sunday, reality is everyone needs to rest their bodies, mind and refresh their spirits. That's an example we find in Jesus; in Mark 1:35 we read; "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed."
Jesus knew he needed time to connect in prayer, so he rose early and found a place of solitude and he prayed. He spent time in reflection, in bringing the burdens of his heart to the Father and he was refreshed.
When John the Baptist was beheaded and Jesus disciples were overwhelmed, Jesus made sure that they too had a time of rest. Mark 6:31-33 says; "And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves."
The ministry was so busy they were not even able to sit down for a meal. Maybe you can relate, you're so busy you find yourself living on fast food and microwaved meals. Maybe you gobble your lunch while trying to multi-task and get just a little more done. As those made in the image of God, we need a time of rest, and when you rest you not only re-energize yourself but you actually follow the pattern God created for you.
The commandment simply says; "work six days and then rest", but many try to make that simple pattern into a legalistic rule so they define what work is or demand that you rest. Jesus of course set it all straight when he said in Mark 2:27; "…The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." In other words the day of rest is a gift from God and not a rule to be mandated.
This week I've been on vacation camping with family and I'm reminded of why it's so important to take a break from time to time. While the standing joke is that pastors only work on Sunday, reality is everyone needs to rest their bodies, mind and refresh their spirits. That's an example we find in Jesus; in Mark 1:35 we read; "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed."
Jesus knew he needed time to connect in prayer, so he rose early and found a place of solitude and he prayed. He spent time in reflection, in bringing the burdens of his heart to the Father and he was refreshed.
When John the Baptist was beheaded and Jesus disciples were overwhelmed, Jesus made sure that they too had a time of rest. Mark 6:31-33 says; "And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves."
The ministry was so busy they were not even able to sit down for a meal. Maybe you can relate, you're so busy you find yourself living on fast food and microwaved meals. Maybe you gobble your lunch while trying to multi-task and get just a little more done. As those made in the image of God, we need a time of rest, and when you rest you not only re-energize yourself but you actually follow the pattern God created for you.
The commandment simply says; "work six days and then rest", but many try to make that simple pattern into a legalistic rule so they define what work is or demand that you rest. Jesus of course set it all straight when he said in Mark 2:27; "…The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." In other words the day of rest is a gift from God and not a rule to be mandated.
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Pope and WCC leaders discuss ecumenism, ecology, economic justice
Church \ Church in Dialogue
Pope Francis meets with WCC General Secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and Central Committee Moderator Dr Agnes Abuom on Thursday August 24th
25/08/2017 15:36
(Vatican Radio) Leaders of the World Council of Churches have expressed gratitude for a “very constructive and fruitful meeting with Pope Francis” in the Vatican.
The informal encounter took place on Thursday, during the second day of a visit to Rome by the WCC general secretary , Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and Central Committee moderator, Dr Agnes Abuom from Kenya.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:
The two WCC leaders met privately with the pope and the head of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, focusing on how to deepen relations within the ecumenical movement. They also discussed the challenges of climate change and economic justice, as well as the important role of faith leaders in seeking solutions to conflicts in different parts of the world.
United witness, common service
Speaking after the encounter, Rev. Tveit said, “We are living in a time when the purpose and the objectives of the ecumenical movement are highly relevant. He said: “There is a willingness in the WCC constituencies and beyond, in the Roman Catholic Church, to seek a united witness and a common service” in order to be a more effective voice in our “divided and fragile world.”
The meeting with Pope Francis included prayers for unity, peace and reconciliation. Both sides also expressed the wish to explore opportunities to meet again in 2018.
Climate justice, COP23
The WCC delegation also held talks with Flaminia Giovanelli, under-secretary at the former Pontifical Justice and Peace Council, discussing climate justice and the upcoming COP 23 conference in Bonn, as well as peacebuilding initiatives and a meeting on migration and xenophobia scheduled for December.
Sant'Egidio community
On Wednesday the WCC leaders visited the headquarters of the Sant’Egidio community, meeting with two Christian and two Muslim refugees who survived the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to find jobs in Italy. Rev Fykse Tveit said that many in Europe today see people like them as four problems, or even risks, but instead they are four human beings now contributing to doing work that is needed here in Europe.
The Geneva based World Council of Churches brings together 348 member churches in countries across the globe, with the goal of promoting full unity among all Christians . It includes most of the world's Orthodox churches, as well as Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed, United and Independent churches.
Future of work after Laudato si’: debate on the changing labour market
latest press releases
Webnews, 14/07/2017
Future of work after Laudato si’:
debate on the changing labour market
Webnews, 14/07/2017
Future of work after Laudato si’:
debate on the changing labour market
In a time of digitalisation, robotisation and climate change, the world of work is facing incredible changes. Inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ and its call to protect employment and nature, COMECE took part in a seminar with the ILO, researchers and Church-based actors in Geneva.
The conference was a first stepping-stone towards a COMECE reflection on the future of work.
Together with Catholic actors from five different continents and the International Labour Organisations (ILO), COMECE discussed the negative and positive impacts of digitalisation, robotisation and the globalisation on the labour market.
Participants stressed the need for a more social and sustainable economy, based not only on the goal of profit-maximisation but able to take into account its effect on human dignity and the natural environment. They also agreed that a new perception of work and labour is demanded by the climate change and by the need for an ecological transition.
The three-day workshop hosted by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) was the starting point of global reflection on Catholic actors, which shall feed-in into the ILO centenary debate on the future of work.
COMECE will contribute to this debate by providing a reflection paper formulated with other European Catholic-based organisations within the framework of COMECE Social Affairs Commission. The paper will be addressed with specific recommendations to the European institutions.
COMECE will also continue to assess the impacts of digitalisation on decent working hours and work-life balance in its European Sunday Alliance.
The conference was a first stepping-stone towards a COMECE reflection on the future of work.
Together with Catholic actors from five different continents and the International Labour Organisations (ILO), COMECE discussed the negative and positive impacts of digitalisation, robotisation and the globalisation on the labour market.
Participants stressed the need for a more social and sustainable economy, based not only on the goal of profit-maximisation but able to take into account its effect on human dignity and the natural environment. They also agreed that a new perception of work and labour is demanded by the climate change and by the need for an ecological transition.
The three-day workshop hosted by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) was the starting point of global reflection on Catholic actors, which shall feed-in into the ILO centenary debate on the future of work.
COMECE will contribute to this debate by providing a reflection paper formulated with other European Catholic-based organisations within the framework of COMECE Social Affairs Commission. The paper will be addressed with specific recommendations to the European institutions.
COMECE will also continue to assess the impacts of digitalisation on decent working hours and work-life balance in its European Sunday Alliance.
The Sabbath is God's Mark
August 26
Hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. Ezekiel 20:20.
The Israelites placed over their doors a signature of blood, to show that they were God's property. So the children of God in this age will bear the signature God has appointed. They will place themselves in harmony with God's holy law. A mark is placed upon every one of God's people just as verily as a mark was placed over the doors of the Hebrew dwellings, to preserve the people from the general ruin. God declares, “I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.”
Every soul in our world is the Lord's property, by creation and by redemption. Each individual soul is on trial for his life. Has he given to God that which belongs to Him? Has he surrendered to God all that is His as His purchased possession? All who cherish the Lord as their portion in this life will be under His control, and will receive the sign, the mark of God, which shows them to be God's special possession. Christ's righteousness will go before them, and the glory of the Lord will be their rereward. The Lord protects every human being who bears His sign.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.... Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
This recognition of God is of the highest value to every human being. All who love and serve Him are very precious in His sight. He would have them stand where they are worthy representatives of the truth as it is in Jesus.
Maranatha, p.246.
Friday, August 25, 2017
An Ecumenical Statement from the Boston Faith Community on the Racial Tr...
An Ecumenical Statement from the Boston Faith Community on the Racial Tragedy in Charlottesville, VA
CMMInterfaith
Published on Aug 24, 2017
Co-Led by Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries and The New Democracy Center, members of Boston’s faith community convened Wednesday, August 16th, 2017 11:00 A.M. at Fanueil Hall in downtown Boston to express their concerns about the tragedy that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia the previous weekend.
Speaking:
Mr. Kevin C. Peterson
Exec. Dir., The New Democracy Center
Rev. Josephy Rocha
Minister, Grace Church of All Nations
Rev. Dr. Rodney L. Petersen
Exec. Dir., Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries
Exec. Dir., The Lord's Day Alliance of the U.S.
Chair, Presbytery of Boston
Mr. Michael Felsen
Regional Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor
Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries Board Member
Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Dyer, M.S.W., LiC.S.W.
Dir. of In-Ministry Programs, Clinical, Health and Pastoral Care Studies
Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary
Rev. Dana Gonsal
Assoc. Minister, Peoples Baptist Church
Chaplain, Nashua Street Jail
Bishop William E. Dickerson II
Pastor, Greater Love Tabernacle
Rev. Dr. Richard N. Chrisman
Retired Associate Minister, Old South Church
Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries Board Member
Rev. Mary Day Miller
Exec. Minister, The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Trump Must Focus More on What Media Covers Up about Charlottesville, Phoenix and Statues
Trump Must Focus More on What Media Covers Up about Charlottesville, Phoenix and Statues: He Should Focus on Arms of Statue Opponents and His Love of All Americans
President Trump must focus on educating the American people that many of the anti-statue and anti-police demonstrators came to Charlottesville armed with offensive weapons furnished by George Soros and other anti-Trump hypocrites. How many people who listened to the media reports on the Phoenix speech last night about Charlottesville last week and the statues are aware that Trump pointed out that many of the anti-statue people came armed with clubs, to go with their helmets and black masks? When the president commented that there was fault on both sides, he was referring to those people on both sides who came and come armed and braced for fights; he never equated Nazis with peaceful protestors.
Many people on both sides intended to peacefully express views for and against preserving historical monuments; those are the people Trump defended; not the Nazis. They are the people protected under our Bill of Rights, but many people on both sides were looking for fights, and such people were indeed properly criticized by Trump, and improperly not kept apart by the police.
Read more
Christopher Columbus Statue in New York City Could Be Considered for Removal
Aug 23 2017, 6:14 pm ET
by Daniella Silva
As the violence in Charlottesville has reignited a national debate over monuments dedicated to Confederate-era and other controversial figures, New York City is conducting its own review over “symbols of hate” and possibly taking aim at Christopher Columbus.
New York City Mayor Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced a 90-day review by a commission of all "symbols of hate" on city property in the wake of violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that was protesting the planned removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
The move has opened questions about a variety of monuments in the city, including a 76-foot statue of Christopher Columbus in the heart of Manhattan’s Columbus Circle.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said on Monday she thought Columbus' history and treatment of indigenous people in Caribbean "has to be looked at."
The statue of Christopher Columbus by Gaetano Russo stands in Columbus Circle in New York. Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images file
"I will wait for the commission, as I said Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure to many of us particularly in the Caribbean and I think that that has to be looked at, when you have to look at history we have to look at it thoroughly and clearly," she said.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Transgender reveal in kindergarten class leaves parents feeling "betrayed"
ROCKLIN, Calif. -- The Rocklin Academy school board is facing tough questions from parents concerned over a controversial incident involving transgender discussions inside a kindergarten class, CBS Sacramento reports.
"These parents feel betrayed by the school district that they were not notified," said Karen England with the Capitol Resource Institute.
The incident happened earlier this summer during the last few days of the academic school year.
At Monday night's board meeting, the teacher at the center of the controversy spoke out. With emotions high, she addressed a packed house.
"I'm so proud of my students, it was never my intent to harm any students but to help them through a difficult situation," she said.
The teacher defended her decision to read two children's books about transgenderism including one titled "I am Jazz." She says the books were given to her by a transgender child going through a transition.
"The kindergartners came home very confused, about whether or not you can pick your gender, whether or not they really were a boy or a girl," said England.
Monday, August 21, 2017
Who Receive the Seal?
August 21
And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. Revelation 14:5.
Only those who receive the seal of the living God will have the passport through the gates of the Holy City....
The seal of the living God will be placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character.
As wax takes the impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit of God and retain the image of Christ.
Many will not receive the seal of God because they do not keep His commandments or bear the fruits of righteousness.
The great mass of professing Christians will meet with bitter disappointment in the day of God. They have not upon their foreheads the seal of the living God. Lukewarm and halfhearted, they dishonor God far more than the avowed unbeliever. They grope in darkness, when they might be walking in the noonday light of the Word, under the guidance of One who never errs....
Those whom the Lamb shall lead by the fountains of living waters, and from whose eyes He shall wipe away all tears, will be those now receiving the knowledge and understanding revealed in the Bible, the Word of God....
We are to copy no human being. There is no human being wise enough to be our criterion. We are to look to the man Christ Jesus, who is complete in the perfection of righteousness and holiness. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the pattern man. His experience is the measure of the experience that we are to gain. His character is our model. Let us, then, take our minds off the perplexities and the difficulties of this life, and fix them on Him, that by beholding we may be changed into His likeness. We may behold Christ to good purpose. We may safely look to Him; for He is all-wise. As we look to Him and think of Him, He will be formed within, the hope of glory.
Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.
Maranatha, p.241.
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