Attack On Christianity
The War on “Hate” Bans Christian Values
The War on “Hate” Bans Christian Values
by Berit Kjos – 1998
“Hate speech’ and ‘hate crime’ as legal categories usher in the concept of political crime — as un-American a proposition as there can be. America’s survival depends on the unequivocal rejection of political crime.”[1] Balint Vazsonyi, who lived in Hungary under Nazi and later Communist dictatorship
During a health class, high school students in Tuscon, Arizona, were asked, “How many of you hate your parents?”[2] Apparently, hating parents is considered both acceptable and understandable in the new permissive classroom.
But being politically incorrect is not acceptable. Traditional values that clash with the new global standards for tolerance have become tantamount to hate, and Christians who cling to biblical boundaries are labeled both intolerant and hateful — no matter how kind their actions. Today’s social leaders have redefined hate, identified a new group of haters, and are gathering public support for monitoring and punishing the guilty.
At the White House Conference on Hate-Crimes on November 10, 1997, President Clinton announced that a “the justice department has taken aim at hate crimes with more prosecutions and tougher punishments. The National Hate Crimes Network will marshal the resources of federal, state and local enforcement, community groups, educators, antiviolence advocates…”
Every citizen must be brought into a “national dialogue” that would build a new “consensus”. Under the noble banner of peace and unity, biblical values would be linked to hate and intolerance. The program would be marketed to the public by publicizing genuine hateful acts such the murder of homosexuals [3] but, in practice, “hate” would include any attitude that opposes the new ideology.
Pointing to the supposed danger of religious division, Clinton made some alarming proposals at the conference:
“There would almost have to be some sort of club or organization at the school — because if you think about it, your parents are still pretty well separated… Most neighborhoods are still fairly segregated. Most houses of worship are still fairly segregated. …We have to find a disciplined, organized way out of this so that we reach every child in an affirmative way before something bad happens….”
Could our President be suggesting that Christian parents be pressured to conform to the world’s standards? Or that churches be forced to blend their worship with those who choose other gods and contrary lifestyles? Might our government mandate “voluntary”[4] youth groups — as did Nazi and Communist rulers determined to mold compliant citizens — so that cultural “separation” won’t cause “something bad to happen?” Apparently so.cwhbcv3-98.html
The Sin of Separateness. “Seeing ourselves as separate is the central problem in our political thinking,”[5] announced Al Gore at a 1991 Communitarian conference in Washington.
Gore’s conclusion was quoted in the book, Spiritual Politics, co-authored by Corinne McLaughlin, a follower of the Dhjwal Khul, the spirit guide channeled by occultist Alice Bailey. Lest you think McLaughlin too “far out” to be relevant, know that she was the first Task Force Coordinator for President Clinton’s Council for Sustainable Development.[6] She also taught her occult strategies at the Department of Education, Pentagon, and the EPA.
“There really is only one sin–separateness,” she states in her book. “War is more likely to spring from rampant nationalism, ethnocentrism, and intolerant religious fundamentalism–all extreme and separative attitudes ….”
Her solution? The same as Clinton’s: “What is needed as a cure for separateness is a deep sense of community-that we’re all in this together.”
This envisioned community is being designed top-down. The blueprint comes straight from the United Nation through countless UN affiliated governmental and non-governmental networks — all working together to turn your town into a 21st century “sustainable community.”[7] The “partners” implementing this vision include the school (that’s the hub), government, media, business, NGOs (feminists environmentalists), health centers, day-care centers, Chambers of Commerce, churches, and finally parents — but only those who conform to the process.
Training politically correct parents. “…Fundamental attitudes are formed during the first four or five years of life…” states the 1983 UNESCO plan for Lifelong Learning. “Pre-school educators have a special responsibility to ensure that a child’s first experience outside the home is one in which he learns to share, cooperate and function in a group. Parents and pre-school educators should teach children to resolve their conflicts peacefully…Stereotyping may… reinforce rigid…. social attitudes.”[8]
God’s family is made up of people from “every tribe and nation.” But President Clinton’s war on hate has also targeted uncompromising Christians for their refusal to “respect, accept and appreciate” gay lifestyles. The “rigid… attitudes” include all the biblical absolutes our founding fathers gave their lives to preserve. Listen to the obvious (but acceptable) bias in this 1946 statement by Dr. Brock Chisholm, the first head of the World Health Organization.
“We have swallowed all manner of poisonous certainties fed us by our parents…. The results are frustration, inferiority, neurosis and inability to… make the world fit to live in….
“It has long been generally accepted that parents have a perfect right to impose any points of view, any lies or fears, superstitions, prejudices, hates, or faith on their defenseless children…. [People with] guilts, fears, inferiorities, are certain to project their hates on to others…. Such reaction now becomes a dangerous threat to the whole world….”[9] Emphasis added
Two years later, the International Congress on Mental Health met in London 1948, where it presented a report titled “Mental Health and World Citizenship.” It said,
“Social institutions such as family and school impose their imprint early … Thus prejudice, hostility or excessive nationalism may become deeply embedded in the developing personality… often at GREAT HUMAN COST…Change will be strongly resisted unless an attitude of acceptance has first been engendered.”[10]
Today, fifty years later — after an intense media blitz promoting state control over early childhood education — that “attitude of acceptance” has almost been engendered. So during the April 1997 White House Conference on America’s Future, movie star Tom Hanks moderated a film titled “I Am Your Child.” His televised introduction included this comment:
“The emotional and intellectual environment [the child] is exposed to during those critical first three years will have a profound effect on what kind of person he will turn out to be. And the kind of person he turns out to be will impact, either positively or negatively, every other person in the world.”
Did you realize that your politically incorrect child-raising could be a threat to the entire world? Could that “fact” give the state a “compelling interest” in telling you how to train your child?
President Clinton echoed these sentiments during his Hate Crimes Conference. Implying that traditional parents may teach innocent children to hate, he said,
“Children have to be taught to hate… We need to make sure that somebody is teaching them not to do so. … The most important thing we can do is to reach these kids while they’re young enough to learn… If we all do our part for that, we can make America one nation under God.”
Countering Christian “intolerance”. To enforce these unconstitutional ideals, Clinton called on the Departments of Education and Justice to “distribute to every school district in the country a hate crimes resource guide” which would “direct educators to the materials they can use to teach tolerance and mutual respect.”[11]
Do you remember UNESCO’s Declaration on Tolerance? It defines tolerance as “respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures… It is not only a moral duty, it is also a political and legal requirement.”
Since “intolerance… is a global threat,” it calls for
- “the rejection of dogmatism and absolutism.” (Bible?)
- “analysis… of root causes and effective countermeasures, as well as… monitoring…
- “tolerance teaching methods that will address the cultural … and religious sources of intolerance.”
Monitoring compliance. Addressing “religious sources of intolerance” involves everyone. Continuing with his message, Clinton said,
“All of us have to do more in our communities… and in our homes and places of worship to teach all of our children about the dignity of every person.”
That means that Christian parents and pastors must be taught politically correct child-raising — a major reason for the 1996 contract between the U.S. Department of Education and the mainline denominations. Drawing church leaders into the process is key to success.
Classroom discussion groups that prompt children to criticize their parents help monitor resistance. So does a profusion of intrusive surveys that that tell children to report family attitudes, church attendance, and all kinds of other private matters. Much of this data has already become part of the student’s personal computerized file.
When each child is linked to his or her individual computer program, the gathering of this private information can be accelerated and controlled. As Dustin Heuston, who works with the World Institute for Computer-Assisted Teaching, said, then “no one can get between that child and the curriculum.”[12]
President Clinton then explained this ideological training would be linked to the federal government:
“The Justice Department will make its own hate crimes training curriculum available. A lot of hate crimes still go unreported… If a crime is unreported, that gives people an excuse to ignore it.”
Ignoring a neighbor’s incorrect attitudes would not be an option in the envisioned 21st century community. Both President and Hillary Clinton have been promoting the concept of a “civil society” where each person serves the community, participates in group discussions, and takes responsibility for establishing common values — especially social unity and (socialist) equality.
To reinforce the process, Clinton invoked the authority of Attorney General Janet Reno. “The Justice Department is launching a web site,” he announced, “where younger students can learn about prejudice and the harm it causes.
To access this web site, just go to the “Department of Justice, Kid’s Page.” There, Janet Reno invites you to “help stop hateful acts that hurt kids just like you” in the home, school, playground or neighborhood. If a relative makes any derogatory comment, you are invited to correct the relative and/or discuss the problem with a trusted adult.
As soon as children are linked to their personal computer programs, such intrusive questions will become interactive dialogues between students and computers programmed to choose the right questions, measure the degree of resistance, and monitor rate of change. Answers will be fed into the national/international data system. [13]
Yet, in the midst of this battle for freedom, our God reigns! Our “rulers” may, as Psalm 2 tells us, “take counsel together against the Lord” but they cannot win. The spiritual war may rage, but He gives wisdom and strength for the battle to all who know Him, walk in His light, and refuse to compromise. “Blessed are all who put their trust in Him.”
For practical information about “lifelong learning” and the manipulative process of changing beliefs and values, read Brave New Schools.
Endnotes:
1. Balint Vazsonyi (Hungarian), “When crime is defined by hate,” Washinton Times, December 16, 1997, <http://www.founding.org/column28.html>
2. John Leo, “Don’t Listen to Miranda,” US News & World Report, June 16, 1997.
3. These crimes are already prosecuted under existing statues, so there is no need for additional legislation.
4. The word “voluntary” had become a euphemism to win support for all kinds of intrusive regulations that soon become mandatory.
5. Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson, Spiritual Politics (New York: Ballantine Books, 1994),147.
6. See “Local Agenda 21” at our web site. Corinne McLaughlin listed her experiences while conducting a workshop attended by Berit Kjos during a 50th anniversary celebration for the United Nations titled “Celebrating the Spirit” at the University of California at Berkeley, June 19-21, 1995.
8. We have a copy of this entire plan.
9.G.B. Chisholm, “The Re-establishment of a Peacetime Society,” Psychiatry, February 1946, pp. 7, 9-10, 16, 18.
10. We have a copy of this document.
11.The White House Conference on Hate-Crimes
12. Dustin H. Heuston, “Discussion–Developing the Potential of an Amazing Tool,” Schooling and Technology, Vol. 3, Planning for the Future: A Collaborative Model (Southeastern Regional Council for Educational Improvement), p. 8. Cited by Charlotte Iserbyt, The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America (Ravenna, OH: Conscience Press, 1999), page 213.
13. See “A NATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEM – Executive Order #13011”
[Article Reprinted with Permission]
by Bert Kjos 2003
www.crossroad.to
Original Source: http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/cwhbcv3-98.html
Seeds of Persecution – Part 1
Seeds of Persecution – 2002
Today’s growing hostility toward those who follow God
December 2002
Ex-FSIN chief praises Hitler in speech: “A respected Saskatchewan Indian leader said Friday Hitler did the right thing when he ‘fried’ six million Jews during the Second World War…. David Ahenakew, a senator with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), a former chief of the organization and a former chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), said in an interview Friday the Nazi leader was trying to clean up the world during the war.” Preparing for Persecution
November 2002
Secretary of State Powell Takes Poke at Evangelicals: “It appears Secretary of State Colin Powell has launched a campaign to discredit those who would dare criticize the Muslim faith. … Powell used the occasion [another Ramadan dinner] to denounce those who seek to, as he put it, ‘divide and weaken us.’ … ‘We must not listen to the siren song of the bigots and extremists who cloak themselves in false spirituality in an attempt to divide and weaken us.’ Powell did not offer any specifics as to whom he was criticizing — but last week the context was not in doubt. When asked about recent comments from evangelicals such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Franklin Graham — who openly have linked Islam to violence and terrorism — Powell responded: ‘This kind of hatred must be rejected.'” SeeClinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values
Holocaust survivors share memories: “…Then Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. Within a short time, his mother lost her job and he was sent to an orphanage that cared for many Jewish children whose parents could no longer afford to feed them. Sommer’s voice begins to crack as he describes what began on Nov. 9, 1938, in what came to be known as Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass….
“‘The teachers made us go upstairs,’ he says…. ‘They came with torches, wearing brown uniforms. First they tried the front door. Then they tried the back. They were burning all the synagogues and they knew there was a synagogue in there. My teachers kept saying, `These are only children, these are only children!”’
As Biblical Christianity becomes increasingly intolerable to the rising global management system around us, we need to be alert and ready to stand against pressures to conform. John 15:20-21 andPreparing for Persecution
Advocating for religious freedom: “The government of Belarus is presently considering introducing a highly restrictive religion law that would drive Belarus back into Soviet era oppression, crippling the numerous small Protestant evangelical and non-traditional groups that have revived, or come into Belarus, since Perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Prayer and advocacy is requested….
“If adopted as drafted, the new religion law will outlaw unregistered religious activity and only those religious communities that consist of more than 20 Belarusian citizens will be able to gain registration. This will threaten smaller groups and make the founding of new communities impossible. Also, the leader of any religious organisation will have to be a Belarus citizen. This is highly discriminatory and will cause serious difficulties for many religious groups after so many years of Communist oppression…. Denying faith communities the right to train leaders or have foreign staff would make continuing existence impossible.” John 16:2
October 2002
Preparing for the Underground Church by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand: “The Underground Church is comparatively unknown. We have it right next-door, but we are not ready to join it and we are not trained for it. … Even if we do not pass through these tragic circumstances we have a duty to help and to instruct those who do pass through them …
“We have to know how to resist brainwashing. Brainwashing exists in the free world, too. … The methods vary, but brainwashing in my Romanian prison consisted essentially of this: we had to sit seventeen hours on a form which gave no possibility to lean, and you were not allowed to close your eyes. For seventeen hours a day we had to hear, ‘Communism is good, Communism is good, Communism is good, etc.; Christianity is dead, Christianity is dead, Christianity is dead, etc.; Give up, give up, etc.’ You were bored after one minute of this but you had to hear it the whole seventeen hours for weeks, months, years even, without any interruption. … It is one of the worst tortures. Much worse than physical torture. But Christ has foreseen all things because with Him there is no time. Future, past, present are one and the same: He knows all things from the beginning. Communists invented brainwashing too late! Christ had already invented the opposite to brainwashing – heartwashing. He has said: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.'” See Brainwashing in America and Brainwashing & How to Resist It.
The Bible as ‘hate literature’? “A prison sentence for quoting the Bible in Canada? Holy Scriptures treated as ‘hate literature’? That could happen if a proposed bill is passed by Parliament, according to opponents who believe it would criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior.” <bgcolor=”#e8ffff”>Matt 24:9
Christian Converts Persecuted in Egypt: “Before his disappearance on May 7, Ibrahim had been living with… a Christian couple active in an evangelical Coptic church in Cairo. Since March, the couple and their three daughters have been subjected to repeated harassment by both security police and local Muslim extremists. … the family received warning notes and dozens of obscene telephone calls, threatening to kidnap and rape their youngest daughter Sarah, 14. Repeated attempts were made by young Muslim men to convince Sarah she should run away, leave her faith and become a Muslim. Then on April 8, fanatic Muslims in the neighborhood managed to kidnap Sarah for four days. Although her parents located her and forced the captors to return their daughter, a similar attempt was made on July 28.” Please pray for Christians who are willing to suffering for the faith rather than betray the God they love. 2 Corinthians 4:7
The Burnham’s wonderful witness: “Martin always graciously offered to carry things for the Abu Sayyaf and other hostages. Martin was chained to a tree at night by an Abu Sayyaf guard. Every night for the whole year, Martin would thank the guard who chained him and wished him a good night….” Luke 6:22-23 For background information, see the first two links in Persecution .
August 2002
Fundamentalism Education Project: “The growing influence of fundamentalist religious movements poses a challenge to our mainstream religious communities, civic freedoms, and our safety and well-being. This phenomenon is of concern to mainstream religious leaders and their congregations because fundamentalists create sharp divisions among communities of faith and pull believers into their fold with fear tactics and inaccurate truth claims. Religious clergy and lay people have immense interest in understanding and exposing how fundamentalists distort the inclusive messages within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
“….fundamentalists often portray themselves as rescuing their tradition’s authentic and original ‘fundamentals’ from the onslaught of secular culture, but this ‘ancient theology’ they purport to re-claim is often fabricated and non-existent…. [It’s all in the Bible – see Psalm 119:11 ]
“Understanding and countering this phenomenon is important for all of us…. The Texas Faith Network is organizing the Fundamentalism Education Project to provide resources for clergy, lay people, activists and others about religious fundamentalism, and to energize and organize religious leaders to rightfully reclaim the compassionate and tolerant foundations within their respective religious traditions.” This fits right into UNESCO’s Declaration on the role of religion.
Could it happen here? “Here’s some of what’s been happening at the University of Chicago: A car drove up to a Jewish student on campus and a passenger screamed: ‘Death to Jews. Hitler should have finished you all off when he had the chance.’ On a public listserve in the Humanities Department, a pro-Palestinian graduate student joked openly about Auschwitz. A Jewish senior was told by a university-appointed preceptor that he couldn’t be ‘bothered’ reading her B.A. paper because it focused on topics relating to Judaism and Zionism. … Such is life for Jewish students at a major U.S. university.” If this is happening to Jews, it will happen to Christians as well. Both are becoming intolerable to our emotional, reactionary postmodern culture. See Preparing for Persecution and Romans 1:22-32
Christmas book banned from class: “Last December, Laura brought a book entitled ‘The First Christmas’ to school in response to a class assignment. The second graders were told to bring a book to class that represented their Christmas traditions. According to McCarthy, Laura was the only student to bring in a religious-based book and was told she could not share her book with the class.” Brave children who have faced persecution
July 2002
Why 9-11? “How could we have been so blind? That’s the question everyone asks with regard to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack…. Back in 1999, well after the first attack on the World Trade Center, after the Oklahoma City bombing and after the downing of TWA Flight 800, the Clinton administration’s FBI put out a report on terrorism. It was called Project Megiddo. And it explained… that right-wing Christian terrorists posed the gravest danger to the republic and were most likely to incite violence in the months and years ahead. This was the mindset of the Clinton administration. Right-wing Christians were the perceived threat. They were the enemy. Islamists got short shrift in the FBI report.” John 16:2 and Preparing for Persecution
Health care firm guilty of religious harassment: “An Indiana firm, viewed by its founder as God’s home health care agency, was found guilty of harassing six employees who did not share the owner’s fundamentalist views. A nine-person jury in U.S. District Court awarded about $270,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to six former employees of Preferred Home Health Care and a rejected job applicant…. Witnesses for Preferred testified they never saw any employees demoted or penalized on the basis of their faith…. Employees at Preferred were told it was a Christian company and signed an agreement to abide by its faith-based values.
“For at least some Christian businesses, the jury’s ruling could prove troubling. ‘If I hired someone and they weren’t Christian, I would do everything I could to lead them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,’ said Bruce Richardson, the president of Exodus Promotions, which publishes a Christian business phonebook…. ‘Who’s to say that I’m not going to be next?'” See The UN Plan for Your Mental Health
Britain’s Jews express outrage over Wales synagogue attack (Scroll down to title): “Vandals broke into the synagogue, destroyed a Torah scroll, drew swastikas on the wall and tried to burn the building down….’There was a big sign saying ‘T4,’ which we believe is a reference to the Nazi euthanasia program in the concentration camps….” See Preparing for Persecution
Kazakstan Christians persecuted and fined believers rounded up across former Soviet Union: “The seven or eight Protestants were rounded up in May after a female village resident received a Christian magazine through the post from Kiev. They were ordered to swear an oath on a copy of President Saparmurat Niyazov’s ‘spiritual book’ Ruhnama renouncing the Bible and their faith in Jesus…. Human rights workers remain concerned that the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, did not bring the freedom many churches in the region had expected.” John 16:2
June 2002
Anti-Religious Campaigns: “The Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion. Toward that end, the Communist regime confiscated church property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in the schools….
“After Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, Joseph Stalin revived the Russian Orthodox Church to intensify patriotic support for the war effort. By 1957 about 22,000 Russian Orthodox churches had become active. But in 1959 Nikita Khrushchev initiated his own campaign against the Russian Orthodox Church and forced the closure of about 12,000 churches. By 1985 fewer than 7,000 churches remained active. Members of the church hierarchy were jailed or forced out, their places taken by docile clergy, many of whom had ties with the KGB….
“Attacks on Judaism were endemic throughout the Soviet period, and the organized practice of Judaism became almost impossible. Protestant denominations and other sects were also persecuted.”Preparing for Persecution
Rebels Force Churches To Close in Colombia: “In mid April, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia forced 11 evangelical Protestant churches in Arauquita, a town near Colombia’s border with Venezuela, to suspend public worship services. …some 2000 Christians are affected by the closures. Many of them are presently meeting in private homes for prayer and Bible study.” 2 Cor 4:7
Sweden Moves to Criminalize Opposition to Homosexuality: “The Swedish Parliament has moved to within one step of changing the nation’s constitution to ban speech or materials opposing homosexuality and any other alternate lifestyles. If the amendment becomes reality, violators could be subject to prison sentences. …
“That means people coming from (the homosexual) lobby group could sit in our churches having on the tape recorder and listen to somebody and say, ‘What you’re saying now is against our constitution.’ She said anyone convicted of violating the constitutional amendment could spend six months to four years in jail.”
“‘The Swedish example should be a wake-up call to the rest of the world that the real intent is to criminalize Christianity,’ Knight said.” 2 Cor 4:7
April 2002
Berlin police: ‘We did not advise Jews not to wear Jewish attire’: “According to the report, police specifically advised against the wearing of skullcaps and the Star of David. Despite the denial, Army Radio’s Igal Avidan insisted his report was accurate and that it was based on remarks made by the Berlin police spokesman, Lars Sunman, who was reported saying that the recommendation was ‘a blow to freedom of religion, but the police cannot protect every single Jew.'” Preparing for Persecution 2 Cor 4:7
EU law ‘could ban’ … the Old Testament (BBC News, 24 April, 02): “People who distribute stories about fictional children’s hero Biggles [‘a World War I flying ace’] or the Old Testament could be criminalised under a European anti-racism law…. Lord Scott told peers that a proposed framework directive for the harmonisation of EU member states’ laws against racism and xenophobia ‘would almost certainly cover Biggles’. ‘It would probably cover the distribution of the Old Testament as well,’ he said…
“Lord Scott was speaking during a debate on proposals for a Europe-wide arrest warrant. He said: ‘If any member state creates offences on these lines … and prescribes three years’ imprisonment as a possible penalty, we in this country would be expected to extradite the accused under a European arrest warrant.’ Categories of offences such as racism or xenophobia needed to be made ‘much more specific’. Plans for a Europe-wide arrest warrant were agreed by ministers in the wake of the 11 September US terror attacks for introduction by 2004…..
“According to Lord Scott, the European Commission’s proposals for an offence included ‘public dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material containing expressions of racism or xenophobia’. ‘So distribution of, for example, literature containing expressions of belief in race, colour, national origins etc as a factor determining aversion to individuals or groups would be a criminal offence,’ Lord Scott argued.” See Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values. But remember, our God still reigns!
Hatefest on the Mall: “When does anti-Semitism become an even darker form of Jew-hatred? If this weekend’s demonstrations in downtown Washington D.C., particularly those on Saturday, didn’t answer that question, they demonstrated the perilously thin line between dark and darker. It wasn’t the endless chants of ‘Free Palestine, Free Palestine’ or the sea of black, red and green flags. That’s fair enough. But it was the other things — the posters of Israeli flags with a swastika substituting for the Star of David, the coterie of members of the New Black Panther Party calling for ‘Death to Israel,’ the kids with white headbands written in Persian, looking like children bent on suicide.” 2 Tim 3:1-14
Oxford poet ‘wants US Jews shot’: “Tom Paulin… who appears regularly on the panel of the BBC2 arts programme Newsnight Review … [and is] a lecturer at Hertford College, Oxford, was then quoted as saying: ‘They should be shot dead… I think they are Nazis, racists, I feel nothing but hatred for them.’ Earlier in the interview, he was quoted as saying: ‘I never believed that Israel had the right to exist at all.'” Preparing for Persecution
Judge Orders Ten Commandments Plaque Covered: “The initial ruling came after a two-day trial that included testimony from theological scholars and members of the Freethought Society, which describes itself as a group of atheists, agnostics, humanists and others. … The plaque was donated to Northampton County in 1955 by the Bethlehem and Easton Area Jewish Communities….”
Florida Lawmakers Dispute Religion Code: “A special legislative session called by Gov. Jeb Bush to pass a sweeping education measure ended in chaos Friday over a provision allowing students to pray and speak about religion in schools. … ‘The opposition spread like wildfire,’ said Senate President John McKay, a Republican. ‘It was almost spontaneous combustion.’ … The religion provision would give students the right to pray, express their religious believes in homework, distribute religious literature and speak to other students about religion.” Isaiah 30:9-11
March 2002
Anti-Jewish attacks prompt heightened security in France: “A gunman opened fire on a kosher butcher’s shop in southern France — the fourth anti-Semitic attack over the weekend — drawing pledges for increased security at Jewish sites and appeals for religious tolerance. …The shooting came amid a rising number of anti-Semitic attacks in France and during the weeklong Jewish holiday of Passover. Also Saturday night, vandals set fire to the front doors of a synagogue in the eastern city of Strasbourg …The wave of anti-Jewish violence broke out after Israeli-Palestinian fighting escalated in the Middle East….” Preparing for persecution
Rabbi Ordered To Stop Home Prayer: “All we wanted to do is share my Saturday meals with friends,” Konikov said. “All we wanted is to be allowed to practice our sacred traditions in a peaceful manner. I hope Orange County will grant us the freedoms of the Constitution. The freedom to worship, freedom to assemble and the freedom of speech. Konikov must comply with the board’s decision by May 19 or face fines.” See Preparing for Persecution
“Red Cross apologizes – Says excluding patriotic songs from program ‘was a mistake’: “The national office of the American Red Cross has issued an official apology after the organization excluded a student music group in California from performing for a Sept. 11 volunteer-recognition event last Sunday because it planned to sing songs mentioning ‘prayer’ and ‘God.’…. Red Cross spokesperson Patricia Johnson told her those songs were inappropriate for the event, since ‘religious words … will offend some.'” Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values
France Passes Controversial Anti-Cult Law: “A Sunday morning church service in Mulhouse, France where thousands gather in the eastern corner of the country to worship, pray and hear from God is a familiar scene repeated weekly across this country and around the world. But here, where the constitution states: ‘France shall respect all beliefs’– evangelical churches like this one, are under suspicion. Such scenes of absolute devotion to God are increasingly viewed as fanatical, irrational. Some even call this church, the largest charismatic church in the country, a cult. …
“Now in France, it is very difficult to preach the Gospel,” said Peterschmitt, who is pastor of the Full Gospel Mission Church. …Section I of the anti-cult law makes ‘mental manipulation’ a crime. Anyone found guilty of causing: ‘a state of psychological or physical subjection resulting from serious and repeated pressures or techniques designed to alter judgement faces five years imprisonment,’ Picard said. Courts can dissolve religious groups and impose heavy fines….
“Easterman continued, “if we want to have children’s church, Sunday school, that can be seen as influencing minors. If we do work for old people, it’s preying on the vulnerable.” See Matt 24:9 andClinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values and the next item.
Chirac lays out plan for Federation of Europe: “President Chirac [France] called yesterday for a ‘federation of nation states’ in Europe with its own constitution, president, and a parliament elected from regional districts that cut across national boundaries.” See also the first two items in Global Management
February 2002
Have we shamed the face of Jesus? (Voice of the Martyrs): “How many of our brothers and sisters must be beaten, tortured, burned or decapitated, before we realize that Christians and Muslims DO NOT serve the same God? We love the Muslims. Many of our co-workers put aside their own safety to reach them for Christ. We print special literature in their languages; we produce and broadcast special programs into the Middle East. We are willing to give our own lives to win the soul of a single Muslim. But…. we will not prostitute the gospel for a politically correct peace. Should any of us do otherwise?” See Phil 1:20-21 and Preparing for Persecution
President Bush Meets with Chinese President Jiang Zemin: Question: “President Jiang, if I may, with respect, could you explain to Americans who may not understand your reasoning why your government restricts the practice of religious faith, in particular, why your government has imprisoned more than 50 bishops of the Roman Catholic Church? …
Jiang Zemin: “I want to explain that since the founding of People’s Republic of China, all our constitutions, various versions, have provided for the freedom of religious belief. In China there are many religions which include Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam and a typical Chinese religion, Taoism. And their religious faiths are protected by our Constitution. I don’t have religious faith. Yet this does not prevent me from having an interest in religion. I’ve read the Bible, I’ve also read the Koran, as well as the Scriptures of Buddhism. I often have meetings with the religious leaders in this country. For instance, when we are about the celebrate the new year or during holiday season, I would have meetings with them and exchange views.
“Whatever religion people believe in, they have to abide by the law. So some of the law-breakers have been detained because of their violation of law, not because of their religious belief. Although I’m the President of this country, I have no right interfering in the judicial affairs, because of judicial independence.”
Of course, China’s laws forbid religions that fail to conform to the government policies. There is no religious freedom. Christians who worship God outside the controlled ‘Three-Self” churches become “law-breakers.” Certain Biblical teachings are banned; the people must put their hope in Communism, not eternal life with God. But communist leaders prefer to hide their hatred for Biblical truth. So, to save face before a watching world, they hide behind their cruel laws and condone torture to gain written “confessions” from the innocent. With no evidence, they execute their victims for politically correct crimes (such as rape) that were never committed. See Brainwashing and “Education Reform” and read about “confessions.”
China scorecard by Jesse Helms: “It has become a custom for the Chinese leaders, just prior to an American president’s visit, to take long-overdue actions — and here they go again: the Beijing government released Hong Kong businessman Lai Guangqiang after having jailed him for “smuggling” Bibles into China. This fakery — pretending that Communist China might, at long last, be relenting on its religious persecution — did lead a few critics to hope the Beijing regime was at last getting set to adopt a more permissive approach.
“Such hopes were of course false — it was merely fantasy land all over again. Indeed, several explosive documents came forth detailing the Chinese government’s strategy to crush religion in China. A document dated October 2001 blew the cover of the highest levels of the Chinese government. Another document exposed tactics such as monitoring, infiltration, outright force and coercion of church members by spies planted in the congregations. This issue is close to President Bush’s heart but has fallen into a favorite trap of U.S. diplomats — e.g., the sad routine of having a “dialogue” with the Chinese government.” See Matt 10:16, Brainwashing in America and Changing China
Chinese Church Member Martyred: “…the Public Security Bureau (PSB) informed family members of sister Zhong Ju Yu last summer that she was beaten to death while imprisoned in Hubei Province. ‘The family was given the equivalent of $8,000 and threatened with arrest if any family member shared news of the death with the public.’
“Zhong Ju Yu was arrested during a round up of South China Church members last May. At that time 63 church members were jailed. Another 500 are now being monitored closely by the PSB.
“…another South China Church member—Xuequei Gu—was possibly martyred last fall while imprisoned in Hubei Province. Gu was arrested September 20th 2001 and was last seen being taken away in a prison van on October 10th. Family members haven’t heard from him since that day. South China Church leaders say they have received information that Gu was severely beaten and died from injuries sustained during his torture.
“VOM has yet to receive word on the fate of Lai Kwong Keung… a member of evangelical “Church in Hong Kong,” known elsewhere as the “Little Flock,” said to be the fastest growing church in China, with 500,000 members. In May 2001, Mr. Lai was one of a group of three arrested by the Chinese authorities for allegedly “using an evil cult to undermine law enforcement.” It is alleged they were caught smuggling more than 30,000 Bibles into China. If convicted, Li faces a death sentence.” John 15:20-21
Suit filed for cross-wearing employee: “The suit contends that Kimberly Draper, who was hired to work at the front desk of the library, was given a dress code policy that read: “No clothing depicting religious, political or potentially offensive decoration is permitted.” Manion claims such a policy infringes on employees’ constitutional rights. …It is unbelievable that you can be fired from a job for wearing a cross necklace,” said Manion. “That is exactly what happened in this case. The public library system violated the free speech and free exercise of religion rights of our client.” Luke 6:22-23
January 2002
‘Ganging up on the ‘religious right’: “One way the bias shows up is when people of faith are portrayed in news reports as sharing similar, conservative values. That’s why a recent Lexus search showed 651 uses of the phrase “religious right” in the last three months of 2001. “Religious left” was used only 10 times. Does that mean there are no religious liberals?
“When the phrase ‘religious right’ is used, it’s often given a negative spin. One way that’s done is to lump everybody on the ‘religious right’ with its most extreme members. …… In the mainstream media, too often it’s acceptable to make negative comments about Christians that never could be made about any other religious group.” See The Mainstream Media and Preparing for Persecution
Demonizing religion: “Democrats will accuse the Republican Party of being out of the mainstream because it is under the control of the “religious right,” a force within America that mirrors the bigotry of the Taliban…. As vicious as this seems at first glance, it should come as no surprise. For more than 40 years, the heathen left have successfully executed a systematic, step by step dismantlement of a structure of morals and values carefully put in place to protect the history, heritage and cultural identity of America.
“Our books, movies, art, television and music are a unified chorus of smut and anti-social messages. We curse in public places; the media make celebrities of serial murderers; our children are taught about condoms in the third grade; the Boy Scouts are under attack to embrace atheists and homosexuals; the family is being legally undermined; churches are pressured to rewrite scriptures to accommodate those who are proud of their transgressions… and bewildered taxpayers are told they have no choice but to pay for liberal propaganda, blasphemous art and pornography on public television. …anything having to do with religion, particularly the symbols and ideas of the Christian religion, has been treated like an unhealthy contamination, and systematically exorcised out of what has come to be called the public (as opposed to the private) sector.” See Matt 24-9 and The UN Plan for Your Mental Health
Anarchist website targets Christians: “The American Family Association is likened to Afghanistan’s fundamentalist Taliban movement at the website infoshop.org, which describes itself as ‘your online anarchist community.’ Also listed is the Family Research Council, whose Washington, D.C., address is detailed with the comment: ‘We don’t advocate that you do anything to their lovely building.’ The groups are spotlighted, along with the Christian Coalition and Promise Keepers, on a page offering “practical advice for the free person who wants to stop religious hate groups from running your life.’ It invites visitors to ‘join us as we kick some dirt into their graves, burying their hideous fascism once and for all.'” <bgcolor=”#e8ffff”>Matt 24:9
Redefining ‘terrorism’ threatens our liberty: “In the Dec. 17 Newsweek, Anna Quindlen draws first blood in her column ‘The Terrorists Here at Home.’ What ‘terrorists’ does she refer to? Abortion opponents, whom she characterizes as ultraviolent. Quindlen writes: ‘There’s no real ideological difference between these people and the people who flew planes into the World Trade Center….’ By blurry implication, she tars the entire pro-life movement as violent … She tells us that abortion clinic workers face “a single-minded cadre of men who believe that their religious convictions justify violence, destruction and the murder of those whose choices they abhor.’ …
“Americans must scrutinize the anti-terror measures this nation legislates. Only individuals committing or planning violent acts should be targeted – never individuals who are nonviolent but hold some kindred views. Guilt by association is tyranny’s scythe.” <bgcolor=”#e8ffff”>Luke 6:22-23Christianity Under Siege: The Stones Cry Out: “…It is revealing to think that Democrats could even consider attacking Republicans because of their purported association with the Christian right. For the left and the leadership of the Democratic Party to insinuate that the Christian right is comparable to the Taliban is typical and unconscionable. These folks will never understand that such a policy is a misuse of free speech. In their politics and policies they really do believe that the end justifies the means. How Hegelian, how like all the “isms” that destroyed millions of people in the 20th century.
“The trouble is that they will not see any evil in what they do. They are, after all, the enlightened. As long as the end result is ‘good,’ anything goes. The ‘enlightened’ now include the mainstream press, progressive politicians of both parties but especially Democrats, academe, multinational tycoons like Ted Turner and George Soros, and the coterie of globalists who look upon organized and orthodox Christianity as evil and in the way. …
“Conservatives and most Christians are loath to challenge them lest they be painted with the broad brush of newspeak and political correctness. Names like racist, sexist, homophobic or whatever works are used in order to silence Christians. That kind of intimidation has worked before and it is working again in our own time.
“A little name calling, however, is actually good for Christians. It makes them grow stronger. But persecution never just stops at name calling. That is the way real persecutions begin.
“Around the world, Christians not only are being subjected to name calling, they also are being denied basic rights. They are being killed or forcibly converted to Islam. In the United States they are one way or another being forced to convert to a brand of secular humanism gleaned from Hegel, Marx, Freud, Marcuse, Gramsci, Dewey, Maslow, Rogers and Darwin and the entire pantheon of secular gods. If they are not converted, they are silenced in a thousand subtle and not so subtle ways. …” See Preparing for Persecution, Luke 6:22-23 and The Mainstream Media
December 2001
Christians a ‘hate group’: “Much of the manual prepared by President Bill Clinton’s attorney general, already used to indoctrinate an untold number of law enforcement agencies in this state, has stirred disquiet in the ranks of the West Virginia Family Foundation…. Under ‘hate group ideology’ identification, for instance, it is written, ‘Homophobia recently has been added to their agenda.’ …The same section identifies some hate-mongers as those who ‘blame the federal government, an international Jewish conspiracy or communism for most of this country’s problems.’
“What disturbs McCoy and people like him most is the next sentence: ‘Some groups include apocalyptic Christianity in their ideology and believe we are in, or approaching, a period of violence and social turmoil which will precede the Second Coming of Christ.’ Unless Reno and Sheridan can show otherwise, McCoy takes this to mean anyone with a literal interpretation of the Bible, especially in regard to scriptures on prophecy, is part and parcel of a hate group….
“Under motivation, the manual says hate crime offenders feel led by ‘a higher order,’ and, in parenthesis as examples, God is grouped with Adolf Hitler and the Imperial Wizard…. McCoy said the lumping of hate crime law opponents with Nazis and Klan groups is advocated by homosexuals in a book, ‘The Overhauling of Straight America.'”
“Another catch phrase which has crept into the vocabulary of hate crime law advocates is ‘domestic terrorism.’ An 8-hour course, billboarded on the West Virginia State Police Academy, is titled simply ‘Domestic Terrorism,’ and topics advertised are ‘philosophies of hate and anti-government groups,’ and threats such people pose.” See Preparing for Persecution and Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values
November 2001
The unreal war (Joseph Farah):<size=3> “The ideology we are fighting, according to Friedman, is not Islamism; instead it is ‘religious totalitarianism…. a view of the world that my faith must reign supreme and can be affirmed and held passionately only if all others are negated.’ The ideology Friedman calls ‘pluralism’ is actually a religious view more accurately called ‘secular humanism.’ It doesn’t, as he suggests, ’embrace religious diversity,’ but instead attempts to impose its own religious ideology on the world in the name of ‘pluralism.’ It is every bit as intolerant as bin Ladenism….
“Whether he realizes it or not, what Friedman actually did in his essay is declare war on Christianity – including the very biblical Christianity responsible for the true pluralistic society America established under the authorship of the founders. More specifically, he declared his own humanistic jihad on Jesus Christ Himself. By Friedman’s definition, Christ would have to be characterized as a ‘religious totalitarian,’ because it was Christ who said in John 14:6: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'” Matt 24:9 and the first item in Media Bias
October 2001
Birthday In Court: “Our daughters were taken away from us totally against our wishes and without our consent (which is illegal !). At that moment ALL our parental rights were taken away. That is not what they tell you. They tell you that all you need to do is cooperate with them and maybe you will get your kids back. They smile and tell you its all in the best interest of the child, and they are just there to help… all smiles and cute, cuddly toys. IT IS A LIE! The law states they cannot terminate parental rights before one year has passed. In reality they do it the moment they take your child.”
June 2001
An iceberg is out there of religious intolerance : “In certain areas of the Pacific Northwest, churches cannot construct new buildings or even expand their facilities. An Orange County, Fla., ordinance does not allow for a religious gathering of any kind in a residential area. Thus a small prayer meeting cannot be held in a private living room. Recently, a Vermont couple was denied their request for vanity license plates. The reason, their choice of ROMANS5 and ROMANS8 might be offensive to others…. If the seeds of persecution are being sown in the humus of present intolerance, why do so few seem concerned? There are no easy answers, but at least three possibilities exist: Acceptance, Preoccupation and Complacency.” Matt 24:9. See also The Travesty of Tolerance
Questioning the motives of home-schooling parents: “America’s most famous home-schooling parents at the moment are Andrea Yates and JoAnn McGuckin. Yates allegedly drowned her five children in a Houston suburb. McGuckin was arrested and charged with child neglect in Idaho. Her six kids barricaded themselves in the family’s hovel when child-care workers came to remove them….
“Perhaps the time has come to question the motives of some home-schooling parents. Are the parents protecting their children from a cesspool of bad values in the outside world? Or are the parents just people who can’t get along with others? Are they ‘taking charge’ of their children’s education. Or are they taking their children captive?
“Yates and McGuckin are, of course, extreme cases and probably demented. But a movement that insists on parents’ rights to do as they wish with their children gives cover for the unstable, for narcissists and for child-abusers.”
As one might expect, the media will use these two tragedies to limit parental rights and speed public approval for more state control. See Comment and The Mainstream Media—Forging a New Consciousness (also posted in “control” and “media”)
Religious Coalition Warns of Free Speech Threat: “A coalition of Orthodox Jews and Christians warns that freedom of speech and belief is being destroyed in the name of tolerance.’ There is an old Stalinist tactic of adopting terminology for political purposes,’ said Lapin. ‘And tolerance has been turned into the ultimate virtue.'” John 15:20 See The UN Plan for Your Mental HealthHome prayer breaks county Ordinance “What’s ironic, the same people could meet and watch Monday Night Football and that’s ok,” said attorney John Stemberger. “…if this Rabbi and his family can’t meet at his house in the privacy of his own home to worship and speak freely then none of our rights are safe and this has much wider implications than this fellowship here.”
French Religious Groups Under Attack from Gov’t, Media: “As The Washington Times notes, even some media outlets in France have joined the campaign which seems to be driven by an anti-American paranoia promoted by anti-religious socialists. For example, one popular journal recently called the growing presence of groups such as Baptists, Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, an American “Trojan horse invading France.” Matt 24:9
May 2001
Judges rule against home-schoolers: “The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled in a split decision that the parents of a 2-year-old “streaker” should have complied with a social worker’s demands to enter the home and privately interview all their children.” In light of today’s unjustified removal of children from homes by social workers across the country, this ruling is frightening. Once taken by the state, children are kept in foster homes for months and years while parents have little power to reunite their family. See License to Seize our Children and Psalm 32:7
White House: No-pray zone. “Secret Service boots out students who asked God to bless president.”
April 2001
Poster With Picture of Jesus Lands Kindergartner in Court: A kindergartener “was assigned to draw a poster relating to his class’ study of environmental issues. He drew people picking up litter, children holding hands around the globe and a picture of a white-robed man kneeling in one corner.” The teacher censored it. “He didn’t follow the teacher’s instructions despite given two opportunities to do so,” said the school’s lawyer. “It’s unfortunate, but the school has particular curriculum standards it must enforce.” Interesting that the new “curriculum standards” bans drawings of Jesus. Luke 6-22-23
The Myth Of Mental Illness. “The disease approach denies the spiritual dimensions of the whole thing. People in the church may be afraid to take a different stand….” While organic dysfunction can effect the mind and behavior (as in the various forms of schizophrenia), it is now also used to justify sin and condemn Christian values which produce genuine guilt. See also The UN Plan for Your Mental Health
March 2001
Eight-year-old should have “checked her religion at the door”
Hostility Toward Religion: Can the Lions Be Far Behind? “In San Francisco, the government officially pronounced the Truth in Love campaign, which shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with homosexuals, [to be] hateful rhetoric.” See Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values [“…you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” Matt 24:9
School rejected girl’s religious valentines: “A school that allowed students to exchange valentines featuring Britney Spears and boy band ‘N Sync violated a second-grader’s constitutional rights by rejecting her homemade cards celebrating Jesus.”
Febuary 2001
Euro-court outlaws criticism of EU. (I’m having difficulty accessing this site today, perhaps because of increased traffic). The author writes, “The European Court of Justice ruled yesterday that the European Union can lawfully suppress political criticism of its institutions and of leading figures, sweeping aside English Common Law and 50 years of European precedents on civil liberties. (See the rest of this important summary)
Watch or Go to Jail: Students locked up after refusing to watch Channel One. Link has been fixed.
Founder of French Seminary Speaks Out On Pending Legislation to Outlaw Evangelical Christian Work: “…someone came on our Bible college campus and put a rag down one of the student’s gas tanks and lit it on fire. Four cars blew up. …some of the students have not been able to get bank accounts. We wanted to build a church on our own property, our Bible college property, and the government refused us…” [John 15:18-21 explains why.]
Febuary 2001
U.N. Feminist Policies Undermine Traditional Families. To understand the international feminist movement’s hatred for Christianity and Biblical values, read chapter 9 in Twist of Faith.Christian Aid Responds to Horror in the Moluccas
January 2001
December 2000
“We see this persecution as natural,” the source inside Laos told Baptist Press. “We’re not praying that the government will change. We’re just praying that they (Christians) would have moments during this persecution when they can have fellowship with other believers, maybe in jail. Pray for God to give them an extra measure of His grace during this time.”
Persecution linked to the United Nations (May 2000): When the United Nations declared Luang Prabang, Laos, a World Heritage City many local people felt proud of the honor. Now the world would celebrate their local history. What’s more, they would receive the international as well as local funds needed to restore the old Buddhist temples, cultural relics and spiritual traditions. But since the government views Christianity as a threat to their culture, it is now “forcibly removing Christians from this area using the United Nations as an excuse….
“The authorities approach a village and block the entrances and exits. They then determine who is a Christian in the village. Those they find are forced to recant their faith in Jesus or compelled to leave their villages. They are denied their possessions and livelihood….” ( The Voice of the Martyrs Magazine, November 1999)
A world blinded by the deceptive promises of globalist leaders has little appreciation for Memorial Day, American sovereignty or the freedom God gave us in America. The United Nations has planned changes that will change all the rights and freedoms we take for granted. Some of the new rules, regulations and “responsibilities” will be announced at the Millennium Summit ( September 6-8). For a preview, you may want to see the preparatory report from the UNA-UK Millennium Hearing.
Remember, the mastermind and official UN reformer behind Kofi Annan is Maurice Strong. (See the last part of World Heritage Protection” – UNESCO’s War Against National Sovereignty) To understand the meaning behind nice-sounding UN terms such as Human Rights, read Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules
[Article Reprinted with Permission]
by Bert Kjos 2003
www.crossroad.to
Original Source: http://www.crossroad.to/News/archive/seeds1.html
Seeds of Persecution – Part 2
Seeds of Persecution – (2003-2004)
Today’s growing hostility toward those who follow God
December 2004
What is a chapel with no cross? “Just in time for Christmas, Regions Hospital has removed the cross from its chapel and placed it in the chaplain’s office adjacent to the chapel so nobody will see it…. ‘It’s a natural evolution,’ Rivard said. ‘We have a more diverse population in St. Paul, with people having more diverse religious beliefs.’ …
“Now, I know that we are supposed to be sensitive to all forms of religious belief and expression, even atheism and witchcraft and sticking pins in voodoo dolls. And, being the modern, caring, sensitive male that I am, I certainly understand that Christianity is not the official religion of the United States and that furthermore, the United States, bless her heart, does not have an official religion…. Why, our Founding Fathers even wrote it into the deal — ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.’…
“City halls have to consult with lawyers before they dare to put up a tree…. We walk around on pins and needles saying ‘happy holidays.’ We bow so thoroughly to the diversity movement that we are virtually making it a state-endorsed religious belief to not express any beliefs.”
The Beginning of the End of Christianity in Australia? “On Friday December 17 two Christian pastors were found of guilty of vilifying Muslims. The decision, handed down in Melbourne, could mark the beginning of the end of freedom of speech in Australia….
“Judge Higgins said that the two pastors, Daniel Scot (who is a former Muslim), and Danny Nalliah, breached section 8 of the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 which says a person cannot engage in conduct that ‘incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of, that other person or class of persons’. …Interestingly, section 9 of the Act says a ‘person’s motive in engaging in any conduct is irrelevant’. If so, how can one be accused of acting in bad faith? Who decides what is reasonable here or unreasonable?
“The Judge said that Pastor Scot “failed to differentiate between Muslims throughout the world, that he preached a literal translation of the Quran and of Muslims’ religious practices which were not mainstream.” See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny and the next link — a response from liberal Australian “faith communities” expressing their hostility toward those “extremist” who trust Biblical truth:
Letter from leaders and representatives of faith communities concerning the result in the religious vilification case: “Dear Editor, The finding today in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal that Catch the Fire Ministries has vilified Muslims will send a warning to far-right Anti-Semitic groups and extremist groups from both the Christian and Muslim communities in Victoria. These groups have been united in their opposition to the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001.” See The Enemy of The People?
November
Declaration of Independence Banned at Calif School: “A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God — including the Declaration of Independence….
“‘It’s a fact of American history that our founders were religious men, and to hide this fact from young fifth-graders in the name of political correctness is outrageous and shameful,’ said Williams’ attorney… ‘Williams wants to teach his students the true history of our country….There is nothing in the Establishment Clause (of the U.S. Constitution) that prohibits a teacher from showing students the Declaration of Independence.'”
This strategic historical revisioning process began decades ago. See Brave New Schools: The International Agenda
Air Force cracks down on Christian ‘coercion’: “In a move that echoes the recent decision of the U.S. Department of Defense to deny Boy Scouts use of military facilities, the U.S. Air Force Academy iswarning Christian cadets to curb their faith. Officials at the Colorado Springs military college have instituted a new training program, ‘Respecting the Spiritual Values of People,’ to teach the cadets, 90% of whom are from Protestant or Catholic backgrounds, tolerance toward non-Christians…. Now, cadets who are overzealous about religion are being targeted for transformation….
“…cadets were advised by head chaplain Michael Whittington to not hold Bible studies in their dormitories, but he was overruled by Commandant Brig. Gen. Johnny Weida…. Longtime football coach Fisher DeBerry… was told to take down a locker room banner that carried the ‘Competitor’s Creed’: ‘I am a Christian first and last…. I am a member of Team Jesus Christ.’
ACLU threatens abstinence program: “The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue the state of Louisiana because a state website promoting abstinence mentions God….
“On the site’s message board, one teenager poster mentioned God in her testimony: ‘Virginity is something very special which we have been given by God and we can only have it once…. I’m so thankful to God for being with me and giving me the wise choice….” Proverbs 3:5-7
Objections to the forthcoming movie ‘Saved’: “A few days ago I took my children to go and see the move ‘Cinderella.’ One of the trailers that were shown was of the upcoming movie ‘SAVED.’ I was utterly shocked to see the content of the trailer (especially as a trailer before a movie aimed at children!). In the trailer (and obviously the movie) Jesus is the main topic and followers of Jesus are bluntly and openly portrayed as crazy, dishonest and misled.” See The Fall and Rise of Human Violence
Pupil refuses to answer Potter exam question: “A Johannesburg schoolboy appealed to education authorities after refusing to answer an exam question on Harry Potter because he believes the best-selling children’s books promote witchcraft. Eighteen-year-old John Smit did not answer a comprehension question on a review of one of JK Rowling’s books on the boy wizard, worth 30 percent of his English exam. ‘He wouldn’t answer it because it supports witchcraft, and we’re against witchcraft, the Bible is against witchcraft,’ [ said] Smit’s mother….
“African Christian Democratic Party MP Cheryllyn Dudley said South Africa needed a clear policy to avoid other pupils facing moral dilemmas during exams.”
The new education policy in South Africa — as that of the Unesco and the UK — is to make sure all children learn about and respect diverse religions. Following Biblical guidelines that warn against pagan practices will be unacceptable. USA is headed in the same direction. See Establishing a Global Spirituality
October
Report Details Hostility to Religious Expression in America: “In September, the U.S. State Department reported… that eight national governments are designated as being of particular concern as violators of internationally acknowledged religious freedom rights…. North Korea, China, Burma, Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Eritrea….
“Now comes a report from the Liberty Legal Institute (LLI) in Plano, Texas, that reveals what the group describes as ‘widespread religious hostility’ across the U.S. That report, titled ‘Examples of Hostility to Religious Expression in the Public Square’, documents acts of hostility towards, and discrimination against, expressions of faith by students, faculty, government employees, churches, religious organizations, and ordinary citizens….
‘“The campaign to purge expressions of faith from the public square is pervasive, national, and well organized,’ the senator states in a press release. ‘The report… also notes how this effort to cleanse the public square of all religious expressions is carefully orchestrated and organized by some of the nation’s leading liberal special interest groups.'”
Sri Lankan Buddhist Party Launches International Campaign: “Sri Lanka’s JHU party, made up entirely of Buddhist monks, has apparently begun an international campaign to gain support from embassies and governments around the world for their anti-conversion bill…. There is concern that they may use this summit to gain international sympathy for their proposed religiously discriminatory legislation.”
They will find support among those who applaud Unesco’s Declaration on Tolerance
11 Christians arrested at homosexual event: “…the Christian protesters were ‘preaching God’s Word’ to the crowd of people attending the outdoor Philadelphia OutFest event and displaying banners with biblical messages. Not long after the group began their activity, members of the Pink Angels, which the statement describes as ‘a militant mob of homosexuals,’ confronted the protesters and attempted to drown out their message with whistles, while hiding the signs with large sheets of pink Styrofoam. “Even though the Christians obeyed all laws, city ordinances and lawful requests by the Philadelphia police officers on hand,” said Life and Liberty Ministries, “they were promptly and without warning arrested and hauled off to jail, where they spent 21 hours before being released on Monday morning.”
Eleven, jailed, and charged under hate crimes legislation [Photos & more information on the same story]: “On October 10, 2004, eleven Christians with the Philadelphia-based Repent America were arrested, jailed, and charged under hate crimes legislation during an evangelistic outreach at the annual ‘OutFest’ homosexual pride event held in the public streets of Philadelphia….
”This is one of the most remarkable and unlawful actions by police that I have ever witnessed…. Christians are now being labeled as ‘haters’ and any speech that homosexuals perceive to be intimidating, such as our Christian witness at OutFest, makes them a prime target for ‘hate crimes legislation.'” See Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values
September
Small churches banned: “ADF files suit against Marietta, Georgia, for requiring churches to own at least five acres…. ‘The city’s zoning ordinances are essentially an illegal scheme to discourage new churches,’ said ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot, based in Kansas City, Missouri. ‘The zoning restrictions target ‘religious institutions’ alone. No one else is required to meet them…. A city cannot apply one set of rules to churches and another set of rules to everyone else…. That is clearly unconstitutional and illegal.’” John 15:20-21
The Da Vinci Code and Other Deceptions: “The story is set against a backdrop of religious and ‘historical’ statements that are claimed to be ‘facts.’ These are a mixture of anti-Christian teachings, radical feminist theology, and goddess worship. For example, the book says that the early Christians did not believe in the divinity of Christ; the Resurrection never happened; our Bible is the result of a political power play by the Roman Emperor Constantine; and early Christians worshiped the ‘divine feminine.’ These statements are made by a likeable expert, a Harvard professor who (in the context of the novel) seems to be credible and authoritative.
“Readers can become so engrossed in the fast-moving, suspenseful story that they swallow these so-called ‘facts’ without even realizing it. Storytelling can be a powerful tool for changing the way that people think. This is especially true with movies, and Hollywood is making ‘The Da Vinci Code’ into a movie.” Deception
August
Christians face threat pushing Bible beliefs? “According to LifeSiteNews, churches are not only admonished against recommending certain candidates or political parties, but they also face crackdowns for speaking out on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.” Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
July
Appeals court rules S.C. council prayers unconstitutional: “A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a judge’s ruling that prohibits the Great Falls, S.C., Town Council from opening its meetings with a prayer that mentions Jesus Christ. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that such prayers amount to an unconstitutional government advancement of one religion: Christianity. ….
“Darla Kaye Wynne, a Wiccan high priestess, sued the town after its leaders refused to open meetings only with nonsectarian prayers or to allow members of different faiths to lead the prayers.” SeeFrom U.S. Sovereignty to Global Conformity
God worse than terrorism? “Robert Reich, the former U.S. labor secretary under President Bill Clinton, believes people who follow God pose a more significant threat to the modern world than terrorists do….
“Reich concludes his column by taking aim at those who believe in God: ‘The great conflict of the 21st century will not be between the West and terrorism. … The true battle will be between… those who believe in the primacy of the individual and those who believe that human beings owe their allegiance and identity to a higher authority; between those who give priority to life in this world and those who believe that human life is mere preparation for an existence beyond life; between those who believe in science, reason, and logic and those who believe that truth is revealed through Scripture and religious dogma. Terrorism will disrupt and destroy lives. But terrorism itself is not the greatest danger we face.” John 15:20-21
Student told: ‘Leave your faith in the car’: “…a school administrator told the student: ‘Leave your faith in the car’ when your beliefs might offend others.
“‘In this age of alleged tolerance, such a statement is disappointing, to put it mildly,’ said Robert Tyler, counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘Public school students don’t surrender their First Amendment rights when they enter the building. When are public school officials going to learn they are not allowed to silence constitutionally protected student speech just because they disagree with the student?” John 15:20-21
French Jews are leaving, but why? “The Jewish Agency, the quasi-governmental body responsible for settling immigrants in Israel, reported a doubling in the number of French Jews who arrived last year …as a result of attacks against Jews in France in the past three years, many Jews, particularly those whose religion is evident from their clothes, were feeling increasingly uneasy. Much of the tension has centered in working class suburbs of Paris where Jews and Muslims mingle.” Matthew 24:7
June
‘Hate crimes’ bill: Prescription for tyranny: “Such laws create a multi-tiered system of justice, in which some crime victims’ cases are taken more seriously than others, thus violating the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. Seeking federal dollars, police and prosecutors will define more and more cases as ‘hate crimes.’… But the real danger of ‘hate crime’ laws is that they criminalize thoughts and beliefs….
“The federal ‘hate crimes’ bill lays the groundwork for persecution of Christians in this country. Homosexual activists have redefined any opposition to homosexuality as ‘hate speech.’…
“In Tulsa… someone wrote the words ‘kill’ and ‘death’ on the walls of a Catholic elementary school…. the perpetrator also wrote ‘messages referring to devils and to sex with Christian girls. Pentagrams and the number 666 appeared as well. But the police said, ‘It is not a hate crime per se. In order for it to be a hate crime, it has to be an act of malicious intention.’…
“In Canada and Sweden, it is now a ‘hate crime’ to criticize homosexuality in any fashion. Canadian broadcasters are forbidden to air any critical discussion of homosexuality…. In Sweden, a pastor was arrested at his church after he read Bible verses about homosexuality. The ‘gay’ lobby is frank about its desire to persecute Christians in America in just the same way, and this ‘hate crimes’ bill is a key step in that strategy.” Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
Protesters march in defense of cross: “The protesters carried signs reading: ‘Jews for the Seal,’ ‘Anti-Christian Liberties Union’ and ‘Stop the Cultural Cleansing. Stop the ACLU…'” See The Cross: Feared, Banned, Trivialized… yet Triumphant
May
Principal bans lunch meeting for Christian student; Islam meeting okay (Canada) : “For the last three years, this group met every Friday at lunch to discuss various issues concerning their Christian faith. Last fall, however, the principal informed the group that they were no longer welcome to use the school property, even though students from other faiths, including Islam, have been allowed to continue daily prayers and weekly meetings with spiritual leaders during the school day. … Since then, every Friday nearly fifty students pack up chairs and trek half a kilometre to meet outdoors, sometimes in rain or -36 degrees Celsius weather in a grassy patch away from school property. There they have been subjected to not only harsh weather conditions, but jeers from fellow students and passing motorists.” Matthew 24:9
Homeschool Horror: “You know how there are terrorist cells embedded throughout the world? Well, in my neighborhood we have numerous ‘homeschool’ cells humming in the cul-de-sacs. They’re almost as scary as the terrorist ones in some ways — and they definitely have some traits in common with them….
“What’s scary is that a lot of the homeschooling faithful are as fueled by a fanatical, religion-based belief in their mission as Islamist terrorists, and seem to be just about as brainwashed….They’re not only terrorist-like in their conviction that their calling is divinely ordained, homeschoolers also often have a broad martyr streak…. Beyond a certain age, children and mothers are just not meant to be isolated together. It’s unnatural.” See The Enemy of The People? and The Three Myths of Homeschooling
Teaching Assistant Under Fire For Christian References Returns To Work : “A teaching assistant placed on administrative leave after a parent complained about her references to Christianity returned to work Monday…. [Jean] Byce will be working with older students at the school…..Byce was placed on administrative leave earlier in the week while the district investigated possible insubordination stemming from incidents where she made references to Jesus and Christianity to students.” The next link gives more details. Notice the attitude of the school and its attorney. Apparently, an honest Christian answer to a simple question is not “in the best interest of the child,” since it would fail to show equal respect for all religions:
Religion In Classroom: “A student sang a song to me and asked me a question about Jesus being in heaven forever and believing in Jesus and going to heaven, and asked if I believed that, and I said ‘Yes,’ [Jean] Byce said…. ‘[The child’s] parents were already upset because of another incident in which I told the children what the Christian fish symbol was and how it originated.’…
“The attorney for the district… [said], ‘In any situation, it is important all teachers put the students’ best interest first. If a student asks a religious question like, ‘Is Jesus in Heaven?’ the best response is to give a factual statement like, ‘People of the Christian faith believe that Jesus is in Heaven, but other religions don’t believe that.’ By speaking in general, factual terms, you can answer a child’s question and not profess your faith at the same time.” See New Beliefs for a Global Village
Teaching Assistant In Trouble Over Religion: “I’m a school in a community like ours, where 99 percent of the people are Christians, children talk about Jesus a lot,’ [Jean] Byce said. ‘A student sang a song to me and asked me a question about Jesus being in heaven forever and believing in Jesus and going to heaven, and asked if I believed that, and I said ‘Yes.’ Byce said that comment upset the parents of another child, who complained to the school district.
“Byce admitted it wasn’t the first time she had been reprimanded for her Christian views. ‘His parents were already upset because of another incident in which I told the children what the Christian fish symbol was and how it originated,’ she said. ‘Unfortunately, the people at the district level and the attorneys for our district see this as a violation of the law and as insubordination on my part.'” John 15:20-21
Those Unstable, Superstitious Christians: “Woodward reports that when Bush was in the process of deciding to attack Iraq he prayed ‘for the strength to do the Lord’s will.’ This ‘revelation’ reportedly prompted Nader to tell the Christian Science Monitor, ‘We are dealing here with a basically unstable president… a messianic militarist. A messianic militarist, under our constitutional structure, is an unstable office-holder. Talk about separation of church and state: It is not separated at all in Bush’s brain, and this is extremely disturbing.’…
“So why do liberal elitists recoil like snakes when Bush makes references to his faith? Why do they act like it’s newsworthy when the highest officeholder in the land admits to being a practicing Christian in a nation where most citizens claim to be Christians? … Oh, how far we’ve come in this nation since it was considered unquestionably noble to place our ‘firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.'” Matthew 24:9 and John 15:20-21
April
Law of the Land: “Canada’s governor general, the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, signed into law yesterday a controversial measure opposed by religious believers and free-speech advocates who say it will criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior…. The bill… adds sexual orientation as a protected category in Canada’s genocide and hate-crimes legislation, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. ….’Anybody who has views on homosexuality that differ from Svend Robinson’s [The openly homosexual sponsor of the bill] will be exposed rather dramatically to the joys of the Criminal Code,’ McKay said.” Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
February
The Underground University: “…this tenured faculty member casually stated that the university [North Carolina] had too many Christian organizations to manage. He claimed that it would soon be necessary to stop recognizing new Christian organizations and instead have students conform their religious beliefs to those of existing organizations.” John 15:20-21
France’s great paradox to pursue secularism with religious zeal: “It’s on. The lower house of the French Parliament has overwhelmingly voted to make into law the proposal to ban wearing ‘ostensible religious symbols’ such as veils, yarmulkes and large crucifixes in public schools. The idea seems to be catching on elsewhere – Belgium and Germany have indicated they would consider a similar law….
“It began in 1792, with the extremist Jacobins seizing power in France. Jacobinism is a paradox: a mix of revolutionary atheism and authoritarian republican statism…. In 1902, under another militant atheist, Emile Combes, it flared up again. Not content with closing down more than 2500 religious schools, Combes’s government forbade all people from religious orders to teach.” Romans 8:37
Attacks on Boy Scouts may expand to religion: “Various attacks against the Boy Scouts are ‘merely a foretaste of what awaits religious organizations’ unless the U.S. Supreme Court reverses a recent appeals court decision, the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and other organizations have told the high court….
“‘At its root, freedom of religion must mean two things: First, freedom to believe according to the dictates of one’s own conscience and, second, freedom to associate with people who share those core religious beliefs,’ Royce said. ‘If these religious beliefs are to be judged inadequate by the government because they have become politically incorrect, religious freedom as we have historically known it is lost.'” See Preparing for Persecution
January 2004
Religious Restrictions or Religious Censorship? “Burning the flag is considered free speech; erecting crosses as roadside memorials is not. The FCC allows the ‘F-word’ on television, but thanking God at a high school graduation is a no-no. And some schools freely dispense condoms to kids, but pencils that read ‘Jesus loves little children’ were confiscated from a first-grade class in Virginia.” Charts: Paradigm Shift
December 2003
Religious Thought Police: “Christianity is under assault. A Swedish pastor was sent to jail for preaching what the Bible says about homosexuality. A Canadian judge forced schools to teach homosexuality in kindergarten classes. Australian Christians were prosecuted for handing out Christian literature, even though there are no laws against doing it. The Supreme Court of Vermont forced the state to legally recognize same-sex unions. Two Australian pastors have been prosecuted for teaching what the Koran says about Islam. A Canadian judge forced a Catholic high school to allow a gay boy to bring a male escort to his high school prom. In America, a Methodist bishop said that Christian evangelism is arrogant and it can lead to hate crimes. Canadian mayors have been fined up to $10,000 for not celebrating Gay Pride Week in their cities. The European Union is considering laws which might make some parts of the Bible illegal.
“Many Christians are not aware of the extent to which the Church is becoming hemmed in because they have only seen bits and pieces of the picture.” Matthew 24:9
The Media, God and Government: “A week before Christmas, it was reported that a panel of judges from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that wall displays that include framed copies of the Ten Commandments are unconstitutional and cannot hang in public buildings….
“A public school second-grader in Louisiana recently had his Bible confiscated by his teacher when he was caught reading it during the daily 10 minutes of ‘quiet reading time’ in which children are allowed to bring books from home….
“The media tell us that Thomas Jefferson believed in a wall of separation of church and state…. It doesn’t appear in the Constitution. The phrase reflects the view of the founders that the federal government shouldn’t establish a national church like they had in England….
“Instead of using Bibles and hymnals, some schools today depict homosexuality as a legitimate alternative lifestyle and ‘gay’ student clubs are encouraged. But this is not a scandal for journalists who would prefer to write about the so-called ‘separation of church and state.'” (Cliff Kincaid, 12/22/03) See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
Christmas in America becomes battleground: “…news items from across the country this week indicate that the U.S. has become the new battleground for Christmas. Cases in point: A first-grade teacher in Sacramento Co., Calif., says her principal has prohibited instructors from uttering the word ‘Christmas’ in class or in written materials; A school superintendent in Yonkers, N.Y., banned, then unbanned, holiday decorations that contained religious themes more than the generic ‘season’s greetings’….” Persecution
Counselor suspended over ‘religious advice’: “A dropout-prevention counselor at a
North Carolina high school has been suspended for reportedly sharing Scripture with a student who was struggling with homosexuality…. The girl asked Pinto, who is active in First Baptist Church in Concord, N.C., for the Bible’s take on the matter. Pinto reportedly responded by sharing specific Scripture with the girl….
“Critics of this increasingly prevalent zero-tolerance stance on the part of public schools across the country argue the Constitution is being misconstrued.” See Preparing for Persecution
YMCA fliers banned from school: “The local Y can no longer send fliers home with children because a recent one happened to mention the organization puts ‘Christian principles into practice,’ reports the Bakersfield Californian…. The basketball-camp flier included the words: ‘To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build spirit, mind and body for all.'” John 15:20-21
Florida Teacher Blames Firing on Support for Disabled Woman: “I started hearing, ‘Well, you don’t fit in. Teachers with public opinions like that don’t fit in.’
“Cooper-Dowda said she was also called a ‘religious wacko’ on more than one occasion…. ‘The principal, various teachers, my supervisor, aides, paraprofessionals, everyone was saying, ‘Teachers aren’t allowed to have opinions, especially about Terri Schiavo…. And I’m thinking, ‘Wow! I thought this was America?” John 15:20-21
Hatred hits home: “The statistics are chilling to even those who don’t want to believe them: The number of anti-Semitic attacks in the city last month was more than triple that of a year ago – an ominous sign of ‘global anti-Semitism coming home,’ Jewish leaders warn. … ‘It just gives you the shivers,’ said Fraidy… a Holocaust survivor from Romania. ‘This brings all the memories, all the stories we grew up with. It’s coming alive.'” Persecution
November
‘No Christian symbols at Christmas’: Fearing they might offend someone, Red Cross stores in Britain have taken the Christian out of Christmas this year, banning any display of overtly religious decorations. “This is why, during Christmas and any other religious festivals, our volunteers are welcome to display and sell seasonal decorations and goods, including Christmas trees and cards, but not anything overtly religious.” See Matthew 24: 9 and The Fall and Rise of Human Violence
Bill Pryor’s Shocking Comments During Roy Moore’s ‘Trial’ : “He was saying that in order for Chief Justice Moore to resume his duties, he must not acknowledge God. The posting of the Ten Commandments did not even come up. Roy Moore’s ‘crime’ was acknowledging God. For this, he was removed from the bench. To require that a public official not acknowledge God not only violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but also Article Six of the Constitution that says, ‘…no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.’
“To require Chief Justice Moore to not acknowledge God certainly violates this constitutional obligation! Therefore, federal judge Myron Thompson and Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor have plainly and deliberately violated Roy Moore’s constitutional rights under the First Amendment and Article Six of the U.S. Constitution.” From U.S. Sovereignty to Global Conformity
October
Free speech means sometimes saying you’re sorry: “In a recent third case, Lt. Gen. William G. ‘Jerry’ Boykin, an evangelical Christian military/intelligence officer, upset many in the Arab-American world when he told a church audience that his God was bigger than the God of the Muslim warlord he fought in Somalia 1993. He also expressed the opinion that God put George W. Bush in office, that the reason Islamic extremists hate us is because /we’re a Christian nation,’ and that our ‘spiritual enemy will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus.’ Off with his stripes! The Interfaith Alliance has urged Bush to issue a reprimand and the Council on American-Islamic Relations is demanding that Boykin be reassigned….
“That these men’s remarks have evoked such emotional responses suggests a censorious sensitivity that does not bode well for free speech.” See Conforming the Church to the New Millennium
Cross-dressing Wiccan official sparks Christian mission probe: “A Christian mission serving homeless people since 1939 is under investigation for discrimination because its walls are adorned with crosses and other religious imagery. The probe was prompted by a city fair-housing investigator, who also happens to be a cross-dressing Wiccan openly contemptuous of mainstream religions….
“Last year, the Charleston paper said, the mission provided a place to sleep for thousands of people and served more than 82,000 meals.” See Faith-Based Compromise
Christian soldier, Muslim soldier: “There’s something terribly wrong when an American soldier overseas can’t receive Scriptures in the mail, but a Muslim chaplain can preach freely among al-Qaida and Taliban enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay…
“Jack Moody tried to send his son, Daniel, a care package containing a Bible study and other Christian religious materials. Daniel is a 21-year-old Army National Guardsman serving in the Middle East. He had written home requesting spiritual support while he risked his life abroad….
“According to U.S.P.S. postal bulletin 22097… Moody was forbidden from sending ‘any matter containing religious materials contrary to Islamic faith or depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual items…. The postal clerk informed Moody that the Christian contents of the package might be considered offensive to some Muslims overseas.” See Preparing for Persecution
Human nature. Arnold’s corruption of Republican Party: “…many so-called conservatives are eagerly surrendering to the political triumph of a man who aggressively advertises himself as an enthusiastic liberal on the most important of these issues, the matter of life and death…. The Schwarzenegger corruption of the Republican Party – and apparently, of a significant portion of the conservative leadership of that party – in the name of victory threatens to undermine the very reason for the party’s existence.” God’s wisdom or man’s foolishness
September
It’s the winter solstice, Charlie Brown! “In a public school in St. Louis, a teacher spotted the suspect, fourth-grader Raymond Raines, bowing his head in prayer before lunch. The teacher stormed to Raymond’s table, ordered him to stop immediately and sent him to the principal’s office. The principal informed the young malefactor that praying was not allowed in school…..
“Before snack time in her kindergarten class in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., little Kayla Broadus held hands with two of her classmates and recited this prayer: ‘God is good, God is great, thank you, God, for my food.’ The alert teacher pounced on Kayla, severely reprimanded her, and reported her….” Brave children who suffered for Jesus
Court bans religious gifts to classmates: “Kindergartners and first-graders may not distribute to their classmates gifts that bear a religious message, according to a ruling by a federal appeals court. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of a New Jersey elementary school in forbidding a boy from giving out pencils with the message ‘Jesus loves the little children’ with a heart symbol substituted for the word love…. The school… has a ‘legitimate area of control’ regarding speech within school confines.” New Beliefs for a Global Village
In Canada: ‘Bible as hate speech’ bill passes: “Canada’s House of Commons passed a controversial bill yesterday opposed by religious believers and free-speech advocates who say it will criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior. The bill, passed 141-110, adds sexual orientation as a protected category in Canada’s genocide and hate-crimes legislation, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. ‘It’s been a good week for equality in Canada,’ said the bill’s sponsor, Svend Robinson, an openly homosexual member of Parliament.”
Atheists still fighting against WTC cross: “Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, told the Trentonian newspaper. ‘This is a Christian religious advertisement, and allowing it to stay there is an insult to everyone who doesn’t believe in that particular religion.'” See The Cross of Christ
Judge slaps library for barring cross pendant: “A federal court in Kentucky has ruled it was improper for a public library to fire an employee for wearing a necklace featuring a Christian cross pendant. …’The fact that our client was fired for wearing a cross pendant on a necklace to work is not only absurd but unconstitutional as well,’ said Manion. ‘This decision sends an important message that employers cannot discriminate against employees who choose to express their religious beliefs in the workplace.” 2 Cor 2:14
August
<nyt_text>Will the Bible be banned in America? “An extremely disturbing precedent has been set in Canada that homosexual activists in the U.S. are trying duplicate. According to a December 2001 decision by a Saskatchewan court of appeals, the Bible is hate literature if it is quoted verbatim and in context when it is used to condemn homosexuality as sin…” See Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values
U.N. group in ‘showdown with religion’ : “At a forum Monday, attended briefly by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, panel members singled out Roman Catholics and evangelical Protestants as opponents….
“Another panel member, Princeton University professor Anthony Appiah, wondered whether or not religion should be limited, as it poses a ‘challenge’ to the homosexual agenda. …Carol Bellamy, executive director of the U.N. Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, sent a message of support to the conference.” See Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values
Chicago couple sues to allow religious message: “When the local park district announced a ‘buy a brick’ fundraising campaign for a new playground last fall, Mildred and Robert Tong wrote a check for $50 and filled out a form for the brick’s inscription: ‘Missy, EB, and Baby: Jesus is the cornerstone. Love, Mom & Dad.’
“In March 2003, the couple received a notice from the Chicago Park District stating, ‘Your religious message poses serious constitutional problems for the Park District.'” See 2 Cor 2:14 Then scroll down to then next message on the same site:
City ties ‘family values’ to ‘homophobia’: “The city of Oakland barred two employees from advertising an informal group that respects ‘the natural family, marriage and family values,’ contending the bulletin-board flyer was ‘homophobic.’… ‘This is one of the cleanest examples of blatant free-speech discrimination that I’ve ever seen….‘ Lively said.”
<style=”font-style:italic”>Ministers Asked to Curb Remarks About Islam: “Evangelical Christian leaders from across the country called yesterday for fellow ministers such as Jerry Falwell, Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson to stop making broad, inflammatory remarks about Islam. ‘Since we are in a global community, no doubt about it, we must temper our speech,” said the Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which organized the gathering of about 40 pastors, missionaries and heads of religious charities that are active in Muslim countries.
“The conference… represented the first organized effort by fundamentalist Christian groups to rein in their rhetoric and agree on guidelines about what — and what not — to say about Islam. The primary motivation, speakers made clear, is concern that remarks intended for a domestic constituency have reverberated through the Islamic world, inflamed Muslim governments, sparked riots, endangered Christian aid workers and made missionary efforts harder….
“What we have to do as evangelical leaders is offer a constructive critique of these sweeping generalizations about Islam that are either fawning on one end, or hostile on the other,” said Richard Cizik, vice president of the NAE.”
We want to serve, not endanger, God’s mission and His faithful missionaries. That means “speaking the truth in love,” asking God’s guidance and letting His Word and Spirit, not human politics and pressures guide our message. Pray that this cultural globalization will not restrict our freedom to express Biblical truth. Matthew 10:16-22 and Four Faces of Islam
Is the Bible hate literature? “Some Christians… are concerned about a proposal to add ‘sexual orientation’ to the hate propaganda law of the [Canadian] Criminal Code….
“Rev. Dr. Martin Kreplin of St. Andrew’s, Moncton, says that would make reading and discussing certain scriptural passages about homosexual activity a hate crime. ‘The Scriptures speak specifically about homosexuality, and it might be construed as hateful,’ he said. ‘To be allowed to preach on some subjects but not other subjects because it’s considered hateful is a serious concern. It impinges on freedom of speech as well as religion.’…
“Ruth Ross, executive director of the Christian Legal Fellowship… cites two cases: Mark Harding, who was convicted in Ontario for hate crimes for literature he printed on Islam, and Hugh Owens, who was fined under the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code for an advertisement featuring several biblical references on homosexuality.”
Mark Harding’s daughter attends a school in Toronto that has banned Christian prayer but provides a special room for Muslim prayer. When the concerned father published and distributed a brochure that exposed this preferential treatment, he apparently was charged with ‘hate crime’ and ‘sentenced to 340 hours of Islamic indoctrination.‘ See Matthew 10:16-22
June
The campus crusade against Christ (revisited): “Early in January, I learned about an administrative threat to de-recognize InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) at UNC-Chapel Hill…. they would be allowed to remain on campus if they would only abandon their core beliefs….
“On November 14, 1995, Jonathan Curtis, Assistant Director of Student Activities, wrote the University Counsel asking whether an implied requirement that IVCF members must be Christians conflicts with university diversity requirements. …
“On January 28, 2003, Young Life was told to change their constitution to refer to its membership as a ‘community supporting Christianity’ instead of “a community of adult Christians.’ …On the same day, Jonathan Curtis wrote the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity to thank them for amending their constitution so that they no longer described themselves as an organization which ‘believes in God.’ …
“Sadly, the above list of unconstitutional demands is not exhaustive.” Proverb 12:13
May
Pennsylvania teacher’s aide suspended for cross: “…the Christian symbol violates the unit’s policy, as well as the Pennsylvania Public School Code’s prohibition against school employees wearing religious garb and insignia…. Mrs. Nichol refused to comply with the policy, saying that hiding or removing her cross would be acts of ‘denying Christ as her Lord and Savior’ in violation of her religious beliefs….
“‘The actions taken by this agency represent a serious violation of our client’s constitutional rights,’ said Vincent McCarthy, senior counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice… ‘School personnel do not shed their constitutional freedoms when they enter the schoolhouse door.'” Matthew 24:9
Religion taboo topic on public bus: “If you’re planning to ride public transportation in Broken Arrow, Okla., you better bring a book, because striking up a conversation with someone might land you curbside…. Regular passengers Vincenza Siano and her daughter, Lucretia Bacon, were handed a copy of the policy last month. It states: ‘No public speech will be allowed on the bus, which may include but is not necessarily limited to religion, politics, economics or finance.'” Reinventing the World
April
Anti-Christian Bigotry Bites Rod Paige: “The intolerant advocates of tolerance are in full howl over comments by Education Secretary Rod Paige…. Rep. Jerold Nadler (D-NY) is demanding Sec. Paige apologize or resign. Good grief! What outrageous things could Mr. Paige possibly have said to have ignited such hysteria?…
“Answering a question in a Baptist publication about his personal preference between secular and Christian universities, Sec. Paige said: ‘All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught a strong faith. Where a child is taught that, there is a source of strength greater than themselves.'” Matthew 24:9
Man sues after religious mail to Mideast refused: “Postal officials’ refusal to ship Christian literature to an Army National Guardsman stationed in the Middle East is drawing legal attention…. Jack Moody… was told a U.S. Postal Service regulation prohibits the mailing of ‘any matter containing religious materials contrary to Islamic faith.'” Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values
March
repeat France Passes Controversial Anti-Cult Law: “A Sunday morning church service in Mulhouse, France where thousands gather in the eastern corner of the country to worship, pray and hear from God is a familiar scene repeated weekly across this country and around the world. But here, where the constitution states: ‘France shall respect all beliefs’– evangelical churches like this one, are under suspicion. Such scenes of absolute devotion to God are increasingly viewed as fanatical, irrational. Some even call this church, the largest charismatic church in the country, a cult. …
“Now in France, it is very difficult to preach the Gospel,” said Peterschmitt…
“‘Section I of the anti-cult law makes ‘mental manipulation’ a crime. Anyone found guilty of causing: ‘a state of psychological or physical subjection resulting from serious and repeated pressures or techniques designed to alter judgement faces five years imprisonment,’ Picard said. Courts can dissolve religious groups and impose heavy fines.’…
“Easterman [said], “if we want to have children’s church, Sunday school, that can be seen as influencing minors. If we do work for old people, it’s preying on the vulnerable.” See Matt 24:9
The Modern Threats to Religious Freedom: They Are Greater than One May Think: “On the surface, it would seem that Christianity has never been stronger or more influential in this country….
“However… (1) the political authorities have squarely targeted Christians and Christianity for harassment and are freely carrying out their agendas at the present time, (2) the historical legal protections in this country for Christianity have been eroded past the point of no return, (3) most Christians are clueless in understanding this situation, and (4) when Christians do happen to recognize dangers to practicing their faith, they tend to endorse legislative and political actions that in the long run will make things even worse….” See The UN Plan for Your Mental Health and Preparing for Persecution
January 2003
Mel Gibson under attack for Jesus film? “Actor-director Mel Gibson said tonight he’s under attack for making a realistic movie about the suffering, sacrificial death of Jesus….
“‘This is a movie about love, faith, hope and forgiveness,’ Gibson said. ‘He died for all mankind. He (Jesus) suffered for all of us. It’s time to get back to that basic message. The world has gone nuts. We could all use a little more love, faith, hope and forgiveness.’ “ 2 Cor 4:7
Former Attorney General Casts Christ as Terrorist: “Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark Wednesday compared Jesus Christ to a terrorist during a media event for a new anti-war group. ‘The Christian Church overwhelmingly — there are exceptions — who choose to call Mohammed a terrorist… could call Jesus a terrorist too,’ said Clark. ‘I mean, he was pretty tough on money lenders a time or two.'” Matthew 24:9
Bible verses regarded as hate literature: “Under Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Code, Hugh Owens… was found guilty… of inciting hatred and was forced to pay damages of 1,500 Canadian dollars to each of the three homosexual men who filed the complaint…. Owens, an evangelical Christian and corrections officer, said his ad was ‘a Christian response’ to Homosexual Pride Week…. Justice J. Barclay wrote in his opinion that the human-rights panel ‘was correct in concluding that the advertisement can objectively be seen as exposing homosexuals to hatred or ridicule.'” Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules
U of North Carolina Says It Will Resolve Dispute With Christian Group: “A UNC-CH administrator told InterVarsity in a letter Dec. 10 that its charter violates the university’s nondiscrimination policy for student organizations because it requires its officers to adhere to Christian doctrines….
“Scott Vermillion, staff director… of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, said the group has no intention of discriminating. ‘We’re saying, ‘if you’re going to be a leader of this organization, you need to believe in what this organization stands for.'” See next link:
Anti-discrimination policy threatens 1st Amendment: “In September, Rutgers banned a Christian group from using campus facilities and stripped the group of university funding because it selects leaders on the basis of religious belief. Rutgers is punishing the InterVarsity Multi-Ethnic Christian Fellowship for violating the university’s non-discrimination policy. That policy states that ‘membership, benefits and the election of officers’ cannot be biased on the basis of race, sex, handicap, age, sexual orientation, or political and religious affiliation.’
“…the anti-discrimination language here would require a Democratic club to allow a Republican president, a Jewish group to allow a Holocaust-denying president…. The real intention is to break or banish religious groups with biblically based opposition to homosexuality.” See Preparing for Persecution
[Article Reprinted with Permission]
by Bert Kjos 2003
www.crossroad.to
Original Source: http://www.crossroad.to/News/archive/seeds2.html
Seeds of Persecution – Part 3
Seeds of Persecution (2005-2009)
Today’s growing hostility toward those who follow God
December 2010
Atheists’ ad blitz calls Christmas a myth: “A billboard scheduled to be displayed near the New Jersey entrance to the tunnel until the end of the holidays shows a silhouetted manger scene with the message, ‘You KNOW it’s a Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON.’…
“’If the religious right wants a war on Christmas, this is what they’re going to get,’ he said…. The campaign is one of several atheist media blitzes scheduled this holiday season. It joins a $200,000 national television, newspaper and magazine advertising campaign sponsored by the American Humanist Association and the Stiefel Freethought Foundation meant to challenge biblical morality and fundamentalist Christianity.
“Those ads juxtapose passages from religious texts selected because they appear to advocate for ‘fear, hatred and intolerance,’ with quotations from humanist scholars that promote ‘love, equality, peace, freedom and reason.’… The $20,000 campaign, sponsored by a national organization called American Atheists, is timed to preempt annual accusations that liberal groups are waging war on Christmas….
“The American Humanist Association sponsored a 48-foot sign erected on the New Jersey Turnpike in 2008 that read, ‘Don’t Believe in God? You are not alone.'”
“…you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” Matthew 24:9
Austria: Judge Rules That Yodeling Offends Muslims: “An Austrian court has recently fined a citizen for yodeling while mowing his lawn…. The citizen, 63-year-old Helmut G., was told by the court thathis yodeling offended his next-door Muslim neighbors…. Developed in the Central Alps as a method of communication between alpine mountaineers or between alpine villages, the yodel later became part of the region’s traditional lore and musical expression….
“Unfortunately for Helmut G., his neighbors were in the middle of a prayer when he started to yodel…. Helmut G. clarified that ‘It was not my intention to imitate or insult them. I simply started to yodel a few tunes because I was in such a good mood.’”
Secularists Assault on Christmas and Christianity: “One of the most effective ways to overturn a culture is not to take it on directly, but to undermine it gradually….For the past half century, there has been a slow but unrelenting attack on the Christian foundations of the United States. First, secularists took prayer out of the public schools, because it ‘promoted religion and alienated non-believing children.’ …Then they wanted the study of the Bible taken out of schools, because that ‘promoted Christianity….
“…public monuments listing the 10 Commandments had to go, too, because displaying the moral foundation of Western law somehow endorsed Judeo-Christian religion…..Every year, there are fewer nativity scenes on display.” See The Nature and Tactics of Satan
Biblical images restored at bank: “An Oklahoma bank on Friday restored religious images, including a Bible verse on its website, and announced a Federal Reserve Bank ruling that barred their display had been resolved….Earlier Friday, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Frank Lucas released a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stating the demand that the images be removed appeared to be without precedent and unconstitutional. “Mr. Chairman, in our years of public service we have seldom encountered a more alarming case of heavy-handed interpretation and enforcement of federal regulations to the exclusion of any other consideration or law, including the Supreme Law of the Land,” the two Oklahoma Republicans stated.” See next link:
Feds Force Bank to Remove Crosses, Bible Verses, and Christmas Buttons: “Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of regulations. The examiners came to Perkins [the town] last week. And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller’s counter and buttons that say ‘Merry Christmas, God With Us’ were inappropriate…. [The] symbols violated the discouragement clause of Regulation B of the bank regulations. According to the clause, ‘…the use of words, symbols, models and other forms of communication …express, imply or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion.’ The feds interpret that to mean, for example, a Jew or Muslin or atheist may be offended and believe they may be discriminated against at this bank.” See Preparing for Persecution
University: Demands student get re-educated, attend ‘pride’ event: “Augusta State University graduate student Jen Keeton alleges school officials demand she be re-educated in morality, giving her the choice of giving up her Christian beliefs on homosexuality or being expelled from the school’s counseling program….Faculty members, therefore, had demanded Keeton ‘attend at least three workshops …which emphasize …diversity training sensitive toward working with GLBTQ populations.'” See Don’t conform to the ways of the world
Courageous Christian Student Confronts Teacher’s…Homosexual Agenda: “Daniel Glowacki, a 16-year-old junior at Howell High School in Howell, Michigan, has unexpectedly found himself at the center of a national firestorm and the target of homosexual activists across the country…. It came about when he defended another student’s free speech rights, and when confronted by his pro-homosexual teacher, Daniel ended up defending his Catholic faith that considers homosexual conduct a sin…
“Daniel’s economics class teacher, Jay McDowell, wore a purple ‘Tyler’s Army’… t-shirt as part of a national campaign to highlight the alleged ‘bullying’ of homosexuals….Ironically, McDowell ended up ‘bullying’ his own student who dared to defend his Christian beliefs about homosexuality….The outraged teacher angrily threw Daniel out of his classroom…. [Apparently] McDowell told them, ‘If the student was Catholic, he’d be or should be in Catholic school’ and followed him into the hall yelling he was a racist…
“Predictably, homosexual activists across the country are hailing McDowell as a hero and vilifying Daniel and his family, describing them as ‘bigots’ and referring to Daniel’s religious objection to the homosexual agenda as ‘hate speech’. McDowell is head of the school district’s teachers union…”
Mob rule on campus: “If a mob disrupted a pro-choice speaker at a Canadian university, chances are the protesters would be removed. If a mob disrupted a pro-life speaker at a Canadian university, chances are the speech would be cancelled. One kind of speech is free in Canada; another kind isn’t. Speech broadly characterized as ‘left-wing’ a.k.a. ‘progressive’–e. g., pro-choice, anti-Israeli, anti-capitalist — is protected even at its extreme. Speech broadly characterized as ‘right-wing’ a.k.a. ‘reactionary’ — pro-life, pro-Western, pro-Israel–isn’t protected…”
November 2010
You Can’t Say That Here — This Is a University! “George Mason University. GMU maintains a speech code that prohibits ‘any form of bigotry… whether verbal, written, psychological, direct, or implied.. In the hothouse of the modern university, where psyches are as fragile as orchids, it is not hard to imagine what might qualify as implied psychological bigotry: just about anything.” See Mandatory Training in Orwellian Thinking?
Charge for seeking Christian roommate dismissed: “A single woman cited for unfair discrimination by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights for posting a note on her church bulletin board that sought a ‘Christian roommate’ has had her case dismissed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development….The woman, 31-year-old nursing student Tricia Rowe, was alleged to have violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against people of other faiths…..
“This complaint should have never been brought…It is borderline frivolous to suggest that a single lady can be fined by the government simply for seeking a Christian female roommate to share her 900-square-foot house.’…The complaint alleged the woman’s statement, I am looking for a Christian roommate, prevents people of other faithsfrom contacting the woman and making arrangements to share her home with her.”
EOC probes TV station’s firing of Christian weatherman — ‘Our show was one of the highest rated in the country’: “Morning weatherman Jon Cash abruptly was fired by NBC affiliate WAVY-TV on Aug. 31, two days after mentioning during a sermon that he was considering leaving broadcasting for full-time ministry when his contract expires next summer.”
October 2010
‘ACLU-crafted court order criminalizes Christianity’: “…teachers are always considered to be acting in their ‘official capacity’ whenever a student is present, even at private functions off campus.Teachers cannot pray, bow their heads, or fold their hands to show agreement with anyone who does pray. Teachers and staff cannot ‘Reply’ to an e-mail sent by a parent if the parent’s e-mail refers to God or Scripture. Teachers either have to delete such references from the original e-mail or reply by initiating a new e-mail. Teachers and staff are also required to stop students from prayingin their own private club meetings.” See Spiritual Warfare
Christians in Captivity: “So you can freely offend ‘people of faith’ — but only people of faith. Offending anybody else is hate speech….
” New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Palladino recently touched off a firestorm by saying he wouldn’t take children to a ‘gay pride’ parade. It has become controversial not to expose children to a lot of semi-nude men…. But the thought police declared the remarks ‘controversial’ and ‘hateful,’ and Palladino immediately backed off….
“…the expression ‘people of faith’ is not quite honest. If your ‘art’ abused Buddha, or the Hindu pantheon… you would be smeared all over the country as a ‘hater’…. Our civil government, courts, media, schools and universities, and major corporations — we surrendered them all to the enemies of Christ our King.” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
Bakery displays morals, now faces eviction: “An Indianapolis cookie shop could be evicted from its longtime location for refusing a special order from a college homosexual group.”
September 2010
Four Christian missionaries acquited of inciting Dearborn Michigan Muslims: “Friday, four Christian missionaries were acquitted of breach of peace while proselytizing Muslims at [Michigan’s] Dearborn Arab International Festival in June…. At issue has been the right to freedom of speech and religion. The four missionaries…were arrested in June on charges of disorderly conduct. They have claimed the First Amendment guarantees their right to speak freely in public.
“Opponents of the group contend that speech is not protected if it is likely to incite violence….
“Significantly, the missionaries made sure they only talked to people who came up to them and engaged them in conversation. That undermined the case for incitement.” See Mission to the world around us
Christian missionaries will stand trial in Dearborn [Michigan]: “The four Christian missionaries arrested for disorderly conduct for preaching to a predominately Muslim crowd at the Dearborn International Arab Festival in June will stand trial after the judge refused to grant a motion filed by defense attorneys to dismiss the case.”
But it doesn’t make sense! Here is a report on what actually happened:
Allahu Akbar!’ shouted as Christians handcuffed: “Four Christians were arrested and thrown out of a public Arab festival in Michigan… for doing nothing more than engaging in peaceful dialogue and videotaping the event. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Paul Rezkalla and 18-year-old Negeen Mayel attended the 15th annual Dearborn Arab International Festival on June 18 in Dearborn, Mich., where an estimated 30,000 of the city’s 98,000 residents are Muslim…. The American Arab Chamber of Commerce announced the event was expected to draw ‘over 300,000 people…. In the following video…Qureshi said his group took ‘extra precautions’ to prevent disruptions by not handing out pamphlets and to speak only to people ‘who first approached us.'” See God’s Warnings for our Times
Conservative recruiters frog-marched off campus: “The group, founded in 1960 to represent conservatives on college and university campuses, has been working to establish additional college campus chapters…. The members set up a table on the Palm Beach campus in Lake Worth Tuesday during ‘club rush’ after Beattie received verbal permission….
“But campus officials then ‘approached the group and after seeing information about the organization and its ideals criticizing Barack Obama’s economic policy.’.. The officials called campus police to make sure the group was removed from the campus….’She outright denied giving me permission… simply because she disagreed with my beliefs,’ said Beattie.”
Principal threatens to fire teachers who help Christian club: “A principal who reportedly threatened to fire any teacher who helped with the organization of a campus Fellowship of Christian Athletes club is getting a warning letter from a civil rights organization.”
August 2010
Christian College’s Police Force Ruled Unconstitutional: “Christian Colleges cannot have security police to enforce state law because its a violation of ‘Separation of Church & State.’… Davidson College, a small private Presbyterian school in North Carolina, can’t have police officers with the power to arrest suspects and enforce state law – because of its religious affiliation…” See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
[Dutch] Christians on the defensive: “I’f it’d said ‘Allah Akbar’, the council wouldn’t have dared to try and remove it,’ says Marianne Bons…. She’s talking about a farm roof on which ‘Jesus saves’ is painted in enormous letters. The council says the text has to go. The farm’s owner, evangelical Christian Joop van Ooijen, is refusing to obey….
“‘You’re allowed to believe in anything in this country, as long as it’s nothing to do with Christians or the Church,’ says Ms Bos, describing the prevailing Dutch attitude to religion.” S
Christianity not accepted here: “Expelled for being Christian. That’s the fate of two college graduate school students at separate universities…. Julea Ward lost her lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University July 26. …she was dismissed from a counseling program in March, 2009, for not affirming homosexual behavior as morally acceptable….
“…at Augusta State University…Jennifer Keeton was told her Christian beliefs are unethical and incompatible with the prevailing views of the counseling profession. She must stop sharing her beliefs with others and change her beliefs if she’s to graduate from the program, the school has told her.”
Judges rule against Utah highway crosses for fallen troopers: “The white, roadside crosses that currently memorialize the deaths of 14 Utah Highway Patrol troopers are unconstitutional, government endorsements of religion on public lands, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.”
Shopping mall’s speech restrictions torpedoed: “…the case arose after a Matthew Snatchko was arrested at the Roseville Galleria Mall in 2007 for striking up a casual conversation with other shoppers about faith…. Pacific Justice said that under the mall’s rules, shoppers are not allowed to engage in conversations about potentially controversial topics such as religion or politics unless they already know the person they are talking to. Another mall rule bans the wearing of any clothing with religious or political messages. The new ruling from the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento struck down the mall rules as unconstitutionally vague and restrictive of free speech.”
July 2010
“Godbloc filter: “GodBlock is a web filter that blocks religious content. It is targeted at parents and schools who wish to protect their kids from the often violent, sexual, and psychologically harmful material in many holy texts, and from being indoctrinated into any religion before they are of the age to make such decisions. …GodBlock will test each page that your child visits before it is loaded, looking for passages from holy texts, names of religious figures, and other signs of religious propaganda. If none are found, then your child is allowed to browse freely.
“Why? In the last century, the United States has seen a resurgence of fundamentalist religion. Fundamentalist Evangelicals, Mormons, Baptists, Muslims, and Jews have held back progress in science, human rights, civil rights, and protecting our environment. How can we reverse this trend and join the rest of the world in the gradual secularization of society and government?
“Most deeply religious people are born into their religion, but even children raised in a secular household are vulnerable to content on the web. That’s why we’ve produced GodBlock.”
Pastor Yanked From Capitol Over ‘Jesus’ Prayer: “A North Carolina pastor was relieved of his duties as an honorary chaplain of the state house of representatives after he closed a prayer by invoking the name of Jesus.”
Kids can’t pray at U.S. Supreme Court: “A Christian private-school teacher is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow constitutionally protected prayer outside the court building after her class was ‘abruptly’ ordered to stop praying on the grounds….’Even though they were not obstructing traffic, not demonstrating, and praying quietly in a conversational tone so as to not attract attention, a court police officer approached the group and told them to stop praying in that public area immediately,’ ADF reported. ‘The prayer was stopped based on a statute, 40 U.S.C. §6135, which bars parades and processions on Supreme Court grounds.’…
“Mrs. Rigo was not engaging in a parade, procession or assembly. She was speaking in a conversational level to those around her with her head bowed.’… The group noted that the prayers are akin to routine conversations that take place during Supreme Court tours every day….’The last place you’d expect this kind of obvious disregard for the First Amendment would be on the grounds of the U.S. Supreme Court itself…'” See Our Freedom in Christ
June 2010
Supreme Court rules against Christian group that bars gays: “A university can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group that bars gays and nonbelievers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a case that pitted anti-discrimination principles against religious freedom…. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.”
The World’s Oldest Collective Hatred [by Jan Markel]: “For someone to tell a Jew in Israel to ‘go home’… makes no sense because they are home. They may have passed through Germany or Poland, or Russia as my grandparents did, but the Bible reveals that Israel is their home. Of all earth’s inhabitants, only the Jews have a deed to a piece of land from God as recorded in the Bible. But then not even most church members even know that, let alone the monsters of the world. The destiny of the Jew is to be eternally unsafe around the world. The day is coming when friends of Israel will also feel uneasy and unsafe.”
Seven Reasons Why Israel Will Never Get a Fair Shake: “‘Never again.’ It’s what the world said after the Holocaust. Fast forward sixty five years and the only thing standing between seven million Jews in Israel and a 2nd Holocaust is their ability to fight for their own survival…. No matter how grave the provocation or how clearly Israel is in the right, the world’s judgment is always against Israel. Why?”
Illinois abortion clinic takes another shot at Christian pro-lifers: “In the past, the workers have displayed rubber chickens hanging from nooses, a nun in a coffin, and other taunting posters with hateful messages….But Kevin Rilott… notes that the clinic’s new ‘decoration’ reaches another level of hate for pro-life views…. The latest method… is a picture of Jesus making an obscene gesture with words at the bottom that read: ‘Even Jesus hates you.’ …The pro-life advocate adds that a couple of the clinic operators whom his group has gotten to know make it clear that they despise everything about Christianity.” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
May 2010
Gay couple to sue over B&B snub by Christian owners: [UK] “A gay couple who were turned away by a Christian bed and breakfast owner because it was ‘against her convictions’ to let them share a double bed are suing her for damages. …Mr Black, 62, and Mr Morgan, 56, reported Mrs Wilkinson to police for refusing them a room. They said she was breaching discrimination laws and that they were horrified by the former air hostess’s ‘outdated and abhorrent views’. But Mrs Wilkinson and her husband Francis, a former city worker, insisted they were simply living according to their values and Christian beliefs.”‘
College backtracks on discipline for prayer: “A lawsuit against a California college that threatened to suspend a student caught offering a prayer for a sick teacher – and another student who happened to be nearby – has been settled…. The case against the College of Alameda was brought after the school threatened the students [Kandy Kyriacou and Ojoma Omaga] with expulsion after Kyriacou was spotted by another faculty member praying with the teacher. Omaga’s offense apparently to accompany Kyriacou to the teacher’s office and be nearby at the time….
“The incident developed in December 2007 when an instructor at the college complained about a private, consensual prayer in a shared faculty office between a student and a sick teacher. The institution issued formal notices of intent to suspend both the student and a bystander, held disciplinary hearings and imposed written warnings.”
Gary McFarlane: judge’s assault on ‘irrational’ religious freedom claims in sex therapist case: “[The judge’s] comments came as he dismissed a legal challenge by a Christian relationship counsellor who was sacked after refusing to offer sex therapy sessions to homosexual couples because it was against his beliefs. Gary McFarlane, 48, challenged his dismissal at the Court of Appeal, arguing that forcing him to go against what he sees as the Bible’s teaching represented religious discrimination.” See Hating Christians
April 2010
Church warned that flag of Jesus is ‘religious advertising’: [UK] “Rev Mark Binney, vicar of St Andrew’s Church, Hampton, Worcs, said he had been told he needed planning permission if he wanted to fly a flag ‘advertising Christianity’ in future. The flag was put up outside the church in the week preceding Easter Sunday displaying the words ‘This is Holy Week’ and an image of Jesus on the cross.”
Franklin Graham Uninvited to Pentagon Prayer Service: “Rev. Franklin Graham has been uninvited to the Pentagon prayer service because of his true and biblical statements about Islam. Two points: 1. The US military is increasingly going on record as hostile to historic Christianity. They want an American civil religion that passes politically correct muster. That civil religion would include most of the other religions of the world…except Christianity. Not surprisingly, an Islamic cleric, known for his anti-Christian hate speech, is attending the Pentagon prayer service in good standing with our military. 2. The outrageous double standard aside, Franklin Graham should take it as a compliment that he was uninvited to the American pantheon of idols to offer up a prayer along with the pagans.” See Unity in an Anti-Christian World
Pluralism & Global Spirituality. Army withdraws Franklin Graham Pentagon prayer day invitation: “In a 2001 op-ed piece, Graham wrote that he does not believe Muslims are evil, but he objects to the treatment of women in Muslim countries and Islam’s historic ‘persecution or elimination’ of other religions…. ‘I speak out for people that live under Islam, that are enslaved by Islam and I want them to know they can be free through faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone.’
“Council on American Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said it is ‘“completely inappropriate’ for Graham to speak in front of a military audience….
“An Army spokesman told the Associated Press the Pentagon’s relationship with the Christian group does not violate Defense Department rules. We are an all-inclusive military,’ said Col. Tim Collins. ‘We hold observances throughout the year. This one happens to be a Christian-themed event.’” See Tony Blair’s Interfaith Foundation
Federal judge strikes down National Day of Prayer (ten days old): “U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb issued the decision in a case filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist and agnostic group that challenged the constitutionality of a 1988 federal law….’It goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgment’ of religion,’ Crabb wrote, ‘because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context.'” Is that the new legal standard? God’s Warnings for our Times
Tea Party infiltrators to wear Nazi uniforms? “The man who threatened to crash tea parties with protesters wearing Nazi uniforms, carrying misspelled signs and making wild claims on TV, is an Oregon middle-school teacher who may have been working on his tea-party infiltration effort during school time, according to reports. Some tea partiers claim Jason Levin, a teacher at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton, Ore., has been working on his ‘Crash the Tea Party’ website when he should have been teaching.”
State poised to punish free speech at schools — Children with traditional values may get ‘detention, suspension’: “The state of California is poised within days to adopt a resolution that schools be ‘discrimination-free’ zones – a plan one critic asserts is designed ‘to stamp out the free speech of students and teachers with moral values or scientific ethics.’…The resolution states ‘all public education institutes are encouraged to … identify themselves as ‘discrimination-free zones’ through placards, signs, notices of available services, and other appropriate identifications to create a campus climate that welcomes diversity and supports the tolerance of others.’… The proposal states ‘all public education institutions, prekindergarten through university campuses, are encouraged to develop and enact policies that support tolerance and acceptance of others regardless of their race or ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation.…”
Tea partiers ‘screaming white men,’ ‘racist forces’: “Those are just a few of the labels used to describe participants in yesterday’s tea party rally in Boston headlined by Palin, according to an account from a union leader and protest organizer posted on a socialist website. Steve Gillis, vice president of the Steelworkers Local 8751…. described his protest group of mostly Haitian-origin union workers as ‘anti-racists,’ fighting ‘the racist forces’…. Gillis hailed his anti-tea party protest as ‘a step forward for people ready to fight the capitalist system’s tricks…”
Christophobia – Anti-Christian bigotry is the last fashionable hatred: “Christianity is dying. It was once the bastion of Western civilization. Now, Christianity is a pitiful remnant of its former greatness. Across the West, it is in full retreat.… [Compared to today’s increasingly worldly church, God’s true Church may seem to be a mere remnant. But that remnant will never die!]
Pornography, abortion, homosexuality, promiscuity, the AIDS epidemic, soaring out-of-wedlock births, sky-rocketing divorce rates and the breakdown of the family – these are the poisoned fruits of the Playboy philosophy. MTV morality is in; Jesus is out…. The American left is following in the shameful – and much more bloody – footsteps of Marxist regimes. Instead of eradicating religious faith through the barrel of a gun, leftists use bureaucratic dictates and mass propaganda. …
“The same standards do not apply to Islam. Davenport’s multiculturalists would never dare to remove say, Ramadan, from the calendar and rename it “Fasting Month” for fear of offending Muslims – and possibly triggering a fatwa….
“The Founding Fathers emphasized that the constitutional republic depended upon a vigorous religious society…. ‘Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people,’ said John Adams. ‘It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.'” See Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796
Christian Nurse to Fight On in ‘Cross Row’: “Tribunal finds ‘No Discrimination’ despite ruling Christian nurse cannot wear a cross for religious reasons though a Muslim can wear a hijab for religious reasons.” See Preparing for Persecution
City opens door a crack for home Bible studies: “Officials in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., who had ordered participants of a home Bible study either to purchase an unobtainable city permit to meet or shut down, now are relenting a little. City officials have said the Bible study targeted earlier for banishment can continue to meet, but they are keeping the threat of forced closures for potential use against other Bible studies.” See Don’t Mention Jesus
February 2010
Teacher cries ‘hate crime’ over Bible left on desk: “An eighth-grade teacher has accused her students of committing a ‘hate crime’ and being ‘cruel’ because they left a Bible on her desk and a Christmas card with the word ‘Christ’ underlined. Melissa Hussain, an Apex, N.C., science teacher at West Lake Middle School, is suspended with pay and may lose her job after she purportedly clashed with students on the subject of religion and sent students to the school office when they asked about the role of God in creation during a lesson about evolution.
“Hussain wrote on her then-public Facebook page that it was a ‘hate crime’ when her students left a Bible on her desk…. She complained about students singing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and wearing Jesus T-shirts. Hussain said she ‘was able to shame her kids’ over the incidents. ‘I can’t believe the cruelty and ignorance of people sometimes,’ Hussain wrote on the social networking site. She said she wouldn’t let the Bible incident ‘go unpunished.’….
“Hussain’s friends responded by posting comments on the teacher’s Facebook page … calling the parents of Hussain’s students ‘bigoted, stupid and uncaring.’ Another friend suggested Hussain bring a poster to class of NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a swastika drawn on his forehead because doing so would be ‘teaching” students a lesson.'” See Preparing for Persecution
Christian teacher ‘forced out’ after complaining Muslim pupils praised 9/11 hijackers ‘as heroes’: [UK] “A Christian teacher yesterday claimed he was forced out of his job after complaining that Muslim pupils as young as eight hailed the September 11 hijackers as heroes…. The predominantly Muslim youngsters openly praised Islamic extremists in class and described the September 11 terrorists as ‘heroes and martyrs’. One pupil said: ‘Don’t touch me, you’re a Christian’ when he brushed against him. Others said: ‘We want to be Islamic bombers when we grow up’, and ‘The Christians and Jews are our enemies – you too because you’re a Christian’.” See Loving evil more than good
Religious affiliation on ID cards rejected: “…religious affiliation on ID cards has created problems for Christians in predominantly Islamic nations…. Turkey was requiring people to disclose their beliefs in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and the national constitution…. Christians and other religious minorities in Turkey often have been subjected to discrimination based on identification of their religious affiliation…. ‘It has been known to affect whether they get a job or not, how people look at them, whether they are accepted for a post or an application of some sort.” Day of No Return
January 2009
Mall to Christians: God talk banned! “…a youth pastor was arrested at the Galleria Mall in Roseville, Calif., for having a conversation about religion with two other people. Matthew Snatchko… was interrupted in the middle of a conversation by a security guard. A second guard joined the confrontation and told Snatchko he was being placed under citizen’s arrest for ‘trespassing.’ The pastor said he agreed to leave but instead, the guards grabbed him, roughly shoved him against a storefront window and handcuffed him tightly enough to draw blood. …he was booked on charges of battery and trespassing.
“…the charges were dropped, but officials with the Pacific Justice Institute decided to pursue a case against the mall over the impact of the policy on free speech….
“Snatchko originally was confronted during a casual conversation with two other shoppers about faith when a store employee listened to the conversation and alerted mall security guards. Besides the ban on conversations with strangers about religion or politics, the mall also bans any clothing with religious or political messages.” See Evangelism: Our witness to His love
The Crucifixion of Brit Hume: “During the Roman Empire’s secularist era those who acknowledged the deity of Christ were frequently fed to the lions to entertain – for lack of a better word – the ‘progressive’ elites of the day. … You don’t see it when Muslims proselytize in government schools….
“‘Tom Shales, media critic for the Washington Post... demanded that Hume apologize and called his Christian remarks ‘even only a few days into January, as one of the most ridiculous of the year.’ MSNBC’s… Keith Olbermann accused Hume of attempting ‘to threaten Tiger Woods into converting to Christianity’…. Commenting on the Huffington Post, ‘Kandaher’ bypassed Hume altogether and aimed his vitriol directly at his Creator: ‘anyone (sic) watched ‘The passion of Christ’? I thorouhgly (sic) enjoyed it. Nothing like watching this bloke getting beaten up!”
Video: Brit Hume “comes out” as Christian & and faces much criticism for sharing his Christian view.
As Jesus told us, “…because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…. If they persecuted Me they will persecute you… for they do not know the One who sent Me.” John 15:19-21
December 2009
U.S. Army major: Lose evangelical Christian beliefs: “A research paper written by a U.S. Army major for the School of Advanced Military Studies in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., calls for Americans to lose the evangelical Christian belief of pre-millennialism because of the damage it does to the nation’s foreign interests. ‘As a result of millennarian influences on our culture, most Americans think as absolutists,’ Maj. Brian L. Stuckert wrote in his 2008 course requirement at the school for military officers. ‘A proclivity for clear differentiations between good, evil, right, and wrong do not always serve us well in foreign relations or security policy,’ he said.”
Since this was an “academic” paper rather than a policy statement, its actual influence may be slim. But it does show the author’s denial of God’s unchanging Word and his misunderstanding of the Biblical message about the millennium. See End-Time EventsTeacher orders 3rd-grader: Put Bible away! “Her teacher told her to put it away, and she put it in her desk. And then the teacher told her, ‘No, put that in your backpack. I told you to put it away.’ And it hurt her feelings and confused her. Why would my teacher say that I can’t read the Bible when I’m not bothering anybody else?” The principal has since apologized, acknowledging a mistake on the teacher’s part, since school policy does allow children to read the Bible or any other religious book during quiet reading time.” Don’t mention Jesus
8-year-old gets psych evaluation for drawing Jesus: “An 8-year-old boy has been suspended from school and forced to undergo a psychological evaluation after he drew a picture of Jesus Christ on the cross. A teacher at Lowell Maxham Elementary School in Taunton, Mass., said the second-grade student created a violent drawing…. The boy’s picture portrayed a crucified Jesus with Xs over his eyes to indicate that he had died on the cross.
“The child’s father, outraged at the school’s action… said his boy drew the picture after returning from a family trip to see the Christmas display at… a Christian retreat. When the teacher asked students to draw something that reminded them of Christmas on Dec. 2, the boy recalled his trip and created a portrait of Christ on the cross.
“…the boy’s father told the newspaper the school required an evaluation – at the parents’ expense – before the student would be allowed to return.” See Why hate crimes laws would ban Biblical Christianity
November 2009
Federal court says Christian-themed license plates Unconstitutional! “A federal judge ruled Nov. 10 that a South Carolina license plate featuring cross, a stained-glass window and the words ‘I Believe’ violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state…. A federal judge ruled that a Christian-themed license plate in South Carolina ‘amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular.’…
‘“There is free speech for every group in this state besides Christians,’ [Lt. Gov. André] Bauer said…. ‘Every citizen has the right to free speech in this country. I don’t understand why witnessing in public is considered unconstitutional.” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
October 2009
Congress passes ‘Pedophile Protection Act’: “The AFA said, ‘Everywhere hate crimes laws have gone into effect, they have been quickly used to intimidate, silence and punish people of faith who express deeply held religious objections to the normalization of homosexuality. ‘Such laws not only punish officially disapproved speech and thought, they create two tiers of victims. Under hate crimes laws, some victims get more protections than others, which violates the fundamental American principle of equality under the law.'” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
September 2009
Christian hotel owners hauled before court after defending their beliefs in discussion with Muslim guest: “A Christian couple have been charged with a criminal offence after taking part in what they regarded as a reasonable discussion about religion with guests at their hotel. Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang were arrested after a Muslim woman complained to police that she had been offended by their comments. They have been charged under public order laws with using ‘threatening, abusive or insulting words’ that were ‘religiously aggravated’….The couple, whose trial has been set for December, face a fine of up to £5,000 and a criminal record if they are convicted….
“‘Ben and Sharon do not accept they were threatening, abusive or insulting. ‘They are committed Christians and it is the defence’s contention that they have every right to defend their religious beliefs and explain those beliefs to others who do not hold similar views.’… Neil Addison, a prominent criminal barrister and expert in religious law, said: ‘The purpose of the Public Order Act is to prevent disorder, but I’m very concerned that the police are using it merely because someone is offended.”
Curriculum plan would remove mention of Christmas: “A proposal for new social studies curriculum in Texas public schools removes a mention of Christmas in a sixth-grade lesson, replacing it with a Hindu religious festival….
“The draft proposal being considered by the State Board of Education won’t be formally adopted until next May for the 2011-2012 school year. The standards will remain in place for the next decade, dictating what is taught in government, history and other social studies classes in elementary and secondary schools. The standards also will be used to develop state tests and by textbook publishers who develop material for the nation based on their largest market, Texas…. The proposal, which is set to be debated during a hearing next week, removes the words Christmas and Rosh Hashanah. Diwali, a Hindu festival, is added.” See Spiritual Warfare
Lawsuit: Holiday Inn targeted Christians: “A lawsuit has been filed by a Christian organization against the Holiday Inn Select located in Naperville, Ill., for refusing to allow Americans for Truth About Homosexuality to hold an event there. ‘Imagine the hue and cry that would have erupted had the Holiday Inn Select hotel … canceled a ‘gay’ organization’s scheduled banquet after its leader told the hotel that some Christians might protest the event,’ the organization said…” See Why hate crimes laws would ban Biblical Christianity
Church-bell ‘noise’ under attack – in America: “The dispute focuses on the city ordinance that even city officials have conceded is vague…. Nevertheless, on the strength of neighbors’ complaints and the existing statute, one pastor already has been convicted and sentenced for violating the city ordinance with church bells….’No one should be sentenced to jail and probation for doing what churches have traditionally done throughout history, especially when the sound of the church’s bells does not exceed the noise level that the law allows for ice cream trucks.'” Purging the Memory of our Christian Roots
August 2009
Woman accused of contempt for dinner blessing: “A Florida school district worker whose husband read a prayer at a private banquet has been cleared of contempt accusations brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
Shocking terror ties to Christian girl’s family mosque: “The Muslim parents of a young Christian runaway who fears for her life are devout members of mosque with ties to numerous terrorist leaders…. Fathima Rifqa Bary, 17, an honor student and cheerleader, was raised in a Muslim family in Columbus, Ohio. She became a Christian four years ago…. But Bary, a native of Sri Lanka, hitchhiked to a bus station and ran away from home July 19 because she says her family will murder her in what is known as an ‘honor killing’ for converting to Christianity….
“‘The primary issue in this case is the clear and present danger that is presented by the Noor Center mosque and its ties to terrorist activity and the Bary parents’ devotion to, relationship with, and regular participation in the Noor Center.’ …the CEO of the Noor Center, Hany Saqr, has direct ties to the Muslim Brotherhood….
“Saqr had also been an imam, or Islamic religious leader, for another mosque in the same area of Columbus at the same time the largest-known al-Qaida cell in the United States was operating out of that mosque…. Saqr’s subordinate, Ismail Elbarasse, was one of the top Hamas operatives in the country and had provided at least $735,000 to Hamas at that time.” See Hope, Hate & Human Nature
Legal victory after church kicked off campus: “A public college that banned a church from meeting on its property has scrapped its policy of discrimination and is now allowing equal access to campus facilities.”
‘Hate crimes’ brings pro-‘gay’ cash to your town: “The probable new ‘hate crimes’ law may lead to prosecution of pastors, Christian leaders and even ‘Joe-Christian-on-the-street’ for having the wrong opinion about homosexuality or cross-dressing. A lesser-discussed evil twin product of this legislation, however, is federally financed youth and police indoctrination programs….
“The House and Senate versions of the bills (H.R. 1913 and S. 909) both say this: ‘The Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice may award grants… to State, local, or tribal programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles, including programs to train local law enforcement officers in identifying, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes.’ … Such programs will be reinforced by police training about who the real hate groups are: Christian traditional families. These horrifying people are in your town, your community! What can be done to stop them? Congress has just decided.” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
July 2009
Nurse ‘forced’ to help abort: “A Brooklyn nurse claims she was forced to choose between her religious convictions and her job when Mount Sinai Hospital ordered her to assist in a late-term abortion against her will…. The hospital even exaggerated the patient’s condition and claimed the woman could die if the nurse, a devout Catholic, did not follow orders…. ‘It felt like a horror film unfolding,’ said Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo.’… During her job interview, an administrator asked Cenzon-DeCarlo whether she’d be willing to participate in abortions. She flatly said no. The nurse said she put her beliefs in writing. … ‘I emigrated to this country in the belief that here religious freedom is sacred.'”
State House edits ‘Jesus’ from pastor’s prayer: “Stoltzfoos had been invited … to open Tuesday’s session of the House with a prayer as guest chaplain. The pastor declined the invitation after someone on McCall’s staff told him he could not use Jesus’ name in the prayer. ‘First of all, I don’t see how Jesus is denominational. The whole Christian world is called after him,’ Stoltzfoos said. ‘…if you want me to pray, then I have to pray to the one thing I know. I only know one God personally. I only serve one God. How do I do something that dishonors him?’
“The policy — not yet three months old — requires guest chaplains to first submit their prayers in writing and then, if deemed necessary, agree to change their words to meet ‘nondenominational’ guidelines established by McCall’s staff…. It is not an attempt to silence religious leaders, McCall spokesman Bob Caton said, but rather an effort to prevent taxpayers from having to foot the bill of a lawsuit if someone objects to a prayer’s contents and chooses to sue the state.”
Silencing the Christians: “Are we teaching our future leaders tolerance at the expense of moral convictions? On this episode of ‘Speechless…. Silencing the Christians,’ a Georgia Tech student leader receives death and rape threats after she opposes the school’s liberal feminist policies.” See Spiritual Warfare
High Court allows Kent school to block Bible club: “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to stop the Kent School District from blocking a group of Christian students from forming a Bible club on a high school campus.”
June 2009
Sorry, no Christian talent allowed: 7-year-old blocked from using religious song in sign language performance: “A public elementary school in Oakley, Calif., told a seven-year-old second grader that she would not be able to perform her sign language accompaniment to the song ‘We Worship You’ at the school’s evening talent show because the song is Christian.” See Don’t Mention Jesus
University requires permit to hand out Bibles: “The policy is in place to protect the entire BU community…. You just can’t hand things out without approval,’ Mickanis’ e-mail said. Giving away Bibles on the campus of Bucknell University is at your own peril…. ‘Bucknell promises free speech, but it delivers selective censorship,’ said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff. ‘Bucknell administrators have gone out of their way to abuse and even invent policies in attempts to silence these students, all the while professing to respect free speech.” See Preparing for Persecution
Right-wing extremists face extra scrutiny: “‘I am more concerned with the threat from the Christian-identity groups than the homegrown Islamic terrorists,’ said Maria Haberfeld, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. ‘It’s a disaster waiting to happen. The fact that this guy did what he did may be symptomatic of things to come.’…
“Carol Swain, a law professor at Vanderbilt University and the author of ‘The New White Nationalism in America,’ said that such writings on the Internet can help inspire a so-called ‘lone wolf,’ who is not formally involved with any group, to carry out violent acts….
Does her concern include ordinary peace-loving Christians us? Scroll down to “May” at Homeland Security
Court to government: San Francisco officials say calling church ‘hateful,’ ‘callous’ serves ‘secular’ purpose: “Authorities in San Francisco who called the beliefs of the Catholic Church ‘hateful,’ ‘callous,’ and an ‘insult,’ – and urged members to disobey them – have been given the go-ahead by a panel of judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to express such hate because it serves a ‘secular’ purpose….
“‘The policy of San Francisco is one of totalitarian intolerance of Christians of all denominations who oppose homosexual conduct,’ Thompson continued. ‘My concern is that if this ruling is allowed to stand, it will further embolden anti-Christian attacks.'”
May 2009
Christian cross complaint targets nation’s faith factor: “A cross erected in the remote southern California desert by U.S. veterans in memory of their lost World War I buddies has become the focal point for an effort by the American Civil Liberties Union to eradicate references to Christianity from America’s heritage. But now a campaign has been assembled to fight back, to honor the veterans who have kept the nation safe for generations and to endorse the right of the public to acknowledge those efforts…. The cross was covered in a bag when the court’s ruling was released, and later encased in a plywood box so that no one could inadvertently see the representation of Christianity, officials said.”Home: No place for Bible study: “A San Diego pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a county official and warned they will face escalating fines if they continue to hold Bible studies in their home.
“…a county government employee knocked on their door on Good Friday, asking a litany of questions about their Tuesday night Bible studies, which are attended by approximately 15 people. ‘Do you have a regular weekly meeting in your home? Do you sing? Do you say ‘amen’?’… ‘Do you say, ‘Praise the Lord’?’ The pastor’s wife answered yes.
“She… was then told, however, that she must stop holding ‘religious assemblies’ until she and her husband obtain a Major Use Permit from the county…. And if they fail to pay for the MUP, the county official reportedly warned, the couple will be charged escalating fines beginning at $100, then $200, $500, $1000, ‘and then it will get ugly.’…
“… oppressive governments, such as communist China or Nazi Germany, worked to repress home fellowships, labeling them the ‘underground church’ or ‘subversive groups,’ legally compelling Christians to meet only in sanctioned, government-controlled ‘official’ churches.”
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ for Christians: “…military sources confirmed that Bibles sent to American troops in Afghanistan, intended as gifts that soldiers could give to the Afghan people, have been confiscated and destroyed. The Bibles, published in Pashtu and Dari, the predominant Afghan languages, were sent by an American charity. …[They] were reportedly burned. It is a shame that the Christian holy book gets such shabby treatment, especially considering the extraordinary lengths to which our military has been ordered to go so as not to ‘defile the Koran. ….At Gitmo our soldiers are required to use two hands and to wear gloves when handling that book in order not to offend Muslims.
“This Bible blunder pales in comparison to the scandalous contents of books sent all over the world by Muslim governments and interest groups. Congressman Frank Wolf has worked tirelessly to get the State Department to investigate controversial textbooks used at two Islamic schools in Northern Virginia. Some of these books have ‘intolerant’ and ‘shocking’ material, including anti-Semitic and anti-Christian material.” See Spiritual Warfare
Enforced “Diversity” will make Britain “First Modern Soft Totalitarian State: “An attempt in the House of Lords to insert a freedom of speech clause was shot down…. Colebatch cited ‘innumerable cases’ over the last decade in which public employees such as nurses, policemen, teachers, marriage commissioners and others have been threatened with the sack or suspension or disciplinary measures for sharing, or even privately revealing, their religious beliefs….
“Beckford wrote that the public sector in Britain is engaging in an all-out campaign against Christianity…. The operating principle, he said, is government suppression of freedom of speech and religion…. Once the laws are in place, he writes, ‘there will be little to stop future governments or local authorities interpreting ‘equality and diversity’ in different ways to silence other groups – atheists, perhaps, or climate change skeptics.’” See Endurance
Homosexual activists target, expose pro-family voters: “Arkansas voters who signed petitions and then voted to limit adoption strictly to married couples are getting unwelcomed publicity…. ‘Now this gay group out of Massachusetts has acquired the names of all the people who signed the petition to place the measure on the ballot here in Arkansas,’ he notes. ‘They got those from the secretary of state, and they’ve entered those into a database, and they’ve put them up on the Internet.’ Cox considers it a form of harassment against people for standing up for what they believe.” See Taking a Stand
April 2009
Hate Crimes Legislation Draws Criticism from Christian Groups: “Hate-crimes legislation (in other countries), which is basically identical to the proposed U.S. legislation for all intents and purposes, has turned out to be the precursor to even more oppressive hate-speech legislation, which directly squashes any opposition to the homosexual lifestyle or even affirmatively promoting traditional sexual morality.”
Christian charity worker suspended for saying he did not believe in same-sex marriage: “David Booker, 44, was chatting about his faith with co-worker Fiona Vardy during a late shift at the hostel in Southampton…. He told her he was opposed to same-sex marriages and to homosexual clergy but denied being homophobic and said that he had homosexual friends. The next evening, Mr Booker was suspended from his £19,000-a-year post…. His employers told him the action was taken for ‘events that happened last night’. On March 30 he received a formal suspension notice which alleged that he ‘seriously breached’ the charity’s code of conduct ‘by promoting your religious views which contained discriminatory comments regarding a person’s sexual orientation.'”
Crosses, Bibles banned from hospital chapel: “Administrators at a hospital in Australia have thrown the crosses, crucifixes and Bibles out of their chapel to comply with new rules that followed the construction of a special prayer room for Muslims. …The move… was made to avoid offending Muslims or Hindus who may be at the hospital…. Hospital staff members told the newspaper while the chapel was built for Christians, the goal apparently now is to create a neutral space.”
March 2009
Jewish groups denounce Oliphant Gaza cartoon: “The syndicated cartoon published Wednesday in newspapers across the country depicts a goose-stepping uniformed figure wheeling the Jewish symbol as it menaces a small female figure labeled ‘Gaza.’ …’The imagery in this cartoon mimics the venomous anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi and Soviet eras… It is cartoons like this that inspired millions of people to hate in the 1930s and help set the stage for the Nazi genocide.’ … ‘It employs Nazi imagery by portraying Israel as a jack-booted, goose-stepping headless apparition’…. Oliphant, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1967, is one of the most widely syndicated editorial cartoonists in the world.” See MAP of the huge Muslim block determined to crush tiny Israel
U.K. Deports Christians under new Immigration Rules: “A prominent Christian musician and a team of college-age missionaries were recently deported from the United Kingdom under new immigration rules that require religious workers to be sponsored by a licensed organization and obtain visas to enter the country….
“…Christians have to operate under the radar all over the world,’ said Judy Littler Manners, a Christian leader based London. ‘But this is the first time they may be forced to do it in this country.’…
“Christian leaders inside the U.K. said few ministries are fully aware of the complex new Home Office regulations, which were quietly introduced late last year. The rules require that religious workers be sponsored by an organization that has registered with the government, and applicants must pay a fee to obtain a work visa.”
This happened to a missionary friend of ours who was scheduled to participate in a Christian missionary training session in London. She was not allowed to leave the airport and was sent back to America.
“In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Elementary blots out ‘In God We Trust’: “Administrators at Lakeview Elementary School [in Tennessee] told parents that the posters… mentioned ‘God’ and are therefore precluded by school board policy and prohibited in the hallways as inappropriate. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund… filed a lawsuit today on behalf of 10 parents and their children, seeking an injunction against banning private religious expression on student-made posters.
“‘Christian students shouldn’t be censored for expressing their beliefs…. It’s ridiculous as well as unconstitutional to cover up these references to God and prayer – one of which is the national motto itself – on posters announcing a student-led activity.’ ….’The Constitution prohibits government officials from singling out religious speech for censorship….'”
February 2009
Gift bag bomb explodes at Christian missionary’s home: “Christian missionary Gary Stevenson thought the pink, gift-wrapped bag he found on his doorstep was a present left for one of his toddler daughters, but when he brought it inside his home, the bomb within the bag exploded. Stevenson suffered multiple lacerations and burns, deep cuts on his head and chest, and underwent surgery to remove shrapnel from his liver. But he is expected to make a full recovery. His daughters, age 1 and 3, were away with their grandmother at the time.” See Depravity
Christian nurse row: now teachers could be disciplined for discussing religion: “A new code of practice … states that classroom staff must ‘promote equality and value diversity’. An alleged lack of commitment to this requirement, which is insisted upon by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, was used to suspend Caroline Petrie, the Christian nurse who offered to pray for an elderly patient…. The GTC draft guidance states that registered teachers must ‘act respectfully towards all children and young people, parents, carers and colleagues, regardless of their socio-economic background, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, religion or beliefs’. …
“Mike Judge, a spokesman for The Christian Institute, said: ‘Are we going to see Christian teachers suspended because they mention God, or prayer, or church?…
“‘There is a witch hunt against Christians and it is time it stopped. Churches pioneered bedside care for the sick and education for the disadvantaged. Now they are being squeezed out by the ‘tolerance intelligentsia‘ who tolerate anything as long as it is not Christianity…. ‘What this shows is that equality and diversity policies which are purported to promote tolerance end up imposing censorship and a new intolerance.”
The faith that gave birth to tolerance is no longer tolerated! “How did America go from Pilgrims seeking freedom to express their Judeo-Christian beliefs to today’s discrimination against those very beliefs in the name of tolerance?” See Is this America? Part 5
Counselor suspended after teens hear Christian music: “The complaint explains the counselor took the four teen girls on the field trip during the summer of 2006, first to a 5 kilometer run and then to the beach. ‘At the beach, the group encountered a ‘Surf Jam’ taking place at the Huntington Beach Pier. The group also overheard Christian music for about 10 minutes while they were eating.’… After the outing, the counselor was ordered into a ‘disciplinary meeting’ that focused on the inappropriateness of Christian music.”
UK: Primary school receptionist ‘facing sack’ after daughter talks about Jesus to classmate: “Her daughter Jasmine had been overheard by a teacher discussing heaven and God with a friend and had been pulled to one side and told off.”
Police chaplains lose cross in wake of federal lawsuit [Spokane]: “The cross is coming off the official patch worn by Spokane Police Department chaplains after a federal lawsuit prompted changes inside the police chaplains office. The removal of the cross stems from a lawsuit filed against the city…. [It] said the patch was illegal and the department’s requirement that chaplains adhere to the Judeo / Christian ethic was also unconstitutional because government cannot favor one religion over another. So now the city has agreed to remove the patch and change the criteria so now non-religious people can also become chaplains. The head of the chaplains board… called it an attack on Christianity…” Read the section on the First Amendment in this article: Obama’s Faith-Based Partnerships BAN TRUTH
Pro-life pastor prepares for sentencing: “His approach was simply to carry a sign that said ‘Jesus Loves You. Can We Help?’ and offering those who wanted it some information about alternatives to abortion.’…. A complaint was filed and [Pastor Walter] Hoye was found guilty in spite of proof to the contrary. ‘There was a video taken of him doing this, and it shows that he was not harassing anybody…. In fact, he was being harassed by escorts from the abortion clinic.'”
January 2009
Stimulus to ban religious worship: “President Obama’s proposed economic stimulus plan makes a deliberate – and unconstitutional – attempt to censor religious speech and worship on school campuses across the nation…. The wording that specifically targets religious speech already has been approved by the majority Democrats in the U.S. House – all GOP members opposed it.
“Critics argued schools would accept any money offered, then impose a ban on religious events…. ‘This is a direct attack on students of faith, and I’m outraged Democrats are using an economic stimulus bill to promote discrimination,’ DeMint said.” See Don’t mention Jesus
Christians are becoming social pariahs in Britain: “The Radio 2 host said that he feels unable to talk about his faith on his show because he fears how people would react. He argues that society has become increasingly intolerant of the freedom to express religious views. ‘You can’t express views that were common currency 30 or 40 years ago,’ he said. ‘…it’s almost socially unacceptable to say you believe in God.'” See Don’t conform to the ways of the world
Evangelical Comfort Zone Comes to an End: “The period of widespread indifference toward those who take the Bible literally and believe in God, the Creator of the universe, seems to have come to an end….” See CHANGE! New world, New ways, New minds, New gods
December 2008
Dozens of Christmas Displays Vandalized, Pastor Assaulted: “…a 50-year-old figure of the Baby Jesus was stolen from a Washington Park [Ohio] display and later found hanging from a ceiling fan at the alleged thief’s apartment…. [Louisiana:] a 38-year-old man and two teenagers were arrested for vandalizing Christmas lawn displays at five different homes…. [Tennessee:] A 50-year-old statue of a shepherd was decapitated at a Nativity center…. [Texas:] A Nativity scene….was splattered with red paint….Pastor James Dennis Warman was struck repeatedly in the head by two assailants on Dec. 7. He is now in a medically induced coma and not able to speak, and he may have brain damage…” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
September 2008
Five Chaplains Lose Jobs for Praying ‘In Jesus’ Name’: “Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is defending why his administration forced the sudden resignation of five Virginia State Police Chaplains because they prayed publicly ‘in Jesus’ name.’ Police Superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty single-handedly created then enforced a strict ‘non-sectarian’ prayer policy at all public gatherings, censoring and excluding Christian prayers, then accepted the resignation of five chaplains who refused to deny Jesus or violate their conscience by watering down their prayers.”
British Muslims Offended by Christians Praying during Ramadan: “A Christian group in Oxford has apologised to the city’s Muslims for having the audacity to organise a day of prayer during Ramadan. Oxford’s Muslims found it ‘ill-conceived and insensitive’, not to mention ‘grossly insulting and inflammatory’.
“The Muslim Education Centre of Oxford (MECO) has accused the Evangelical group ‘Open Doors UK’ of preaching ‘evangelical propaganda’. Do not Muslims preach Islamic propaganda? Do the Christians in Oxford complain about this? Would the Muslims of Oxford apologise or even care if the Christians did complain about it?”
July 2008
Muslim-led UN Resolution Draws Attention: The Organization of the Islamic Conference “put forward what’s called a ‘[Combating] Defamation of Religions’ resolution which would amend the U.N.’s Declaration of Human Rights and would make it a criminal act and violation of international law to ‘defame another religion.’… [It] only mentions one religion by name: Islam. ‘…there’s nothing about preventing the defamation of Christianity… which means if you were spreading the gospel, it would be deemed defamatory towards Islam and would be [considered] a crime.’ …that is similar to the tactic used by homosexual activists in Canada and Europe to silence Christians. …
‘”If you look at the resolution,’ he continues, ‘it would literally change the entire scope of human rights law on an international basis. They would encourage [all other nations] — after the resolution is passed by the member states, which are all the countries in the U.N — to pass laws that would mandate [that] you could not speak out against another religion.”
If this becomes an international standard, it will fast divide genuine Christian from the cultural Christian. Only those who truly love God will risk their lives and comforts for the privilege of following Jesus and sharing His gospel.
Offend a homosexual… Go to prison for 5 years: “Christians will face prison for speaking out against homosexuality if Brazil’s Senate passes a bill approved unanimously by its House of Representatives…. The bill also seeks to penalize private and public school administrators with up to three years in prison if they refuse to hire openly ‘gay’ teachers. According to the CNA, the measure will force prison time for any ‘moral, ethical, philosophical or psychological expression that questions homosexual practices.’… ‘[A] priest, a pastor, a teacher or even an average citizen who says in a sermon, a classroom or public conversation that homosexual acts are sinful, disordered or an illness could be denounced and detained.’
“…the president of Brazil said ‘opposing’ homosexuality makes you a sick person, and he believes such thoughts need to be criminalized…. Brazilian chief Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva… held the First National Conference of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals to condemn the biblical belief that homosexuality is wrong…. Calling for ‘the criminalization of homophobia,’ he said opposition to homosexuality is ‘perhaps the most perverse disease impregnated in the human head.’ He said ‘prejudiced’ people need to ‘open their minds and clean them.'” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
Evangelicals Support Conversion Code: “The World Council of Churches… said Wednesday that the process was formally joined by the World Evangelical Alliance…. WCC said the code of conductshould serve as an ‘advocacy tool in discussions with governments considering anti-conversion laws (and) help to advance the cause of religious freedom.’ The rules should also address concerns in other religions about Christians seeking converts, and inspire those faiths to ‘consider their own codes of conduct.’… The council noted, however, that none of the partners involved intend — nor have the means — to impose the code of conduct on their constituencies, but they all trust that it will be able to ‘impact hearts and minds’ and allow for ‘moral and peer pressure.’” See UNESCO’s Declaration on the Role of Religion and The Evangelical Manifesto
May 2008
Bible bonfires inside Israel: “Messianic ‘Jews for Jesus’, who are closely linked with Evangelical Christian groups from America and now number up to 15,000 inside Israel, called for an official investigation after orthodox students from a yeshiva in the town of Or Yehuda allegedly dumped and burnt hundreds of copies of the New Testament. These had been distributed to Ethiopian immigrant families in the town. At first, the action was defended…. as ‘purging the evil among us’, but he was quick to backtrack. Ultimately, he blamed ‘three or four’ hotheaded students for a ‘spontaneous act’ which led to an international public relations disaster. …
“…a group of religious Zionist rabbis called for a boycott of this year’s International Bible Quiz after discovering that one of the four finalists from Israel, Bat-El Levi, an 11th-grader from Jerusalem’s Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood, was a messianic Jew.” See Persecution
March 2008
Canada orders ministry by Christians shut down: “The Canadian government has ordered a Christian ministry that teaches doctrine and the differences between Christians and cults shut down because its reference materials were ‘critical’ of the beliefs of those who are not Christian….
“‘Canada is no longer a Christian nation,’ she said. ‘And watch out America!.’ The issue of the ministry’s charities license in Canada, allowing it to operate as a ministry, came up during a routine audit of the ministry’s finances….”
Though the main issue seems to be tax-deductible status, the growing hostility toward Biblical truth may should concern every Christian. We don’t fit the world’s vision of a unifying global spirituality.See Marching toward Global Solidarity and Why hate crimes laws would ban Biblical Christianity
When preaching becomes a crime: “In 1774, a young James Madison, while traveling through Culpeper County in Virginia – well before he became our fourth president – passed by a jail where a number of Baptist preachers had been incarcerated for nothing more than preaching without an official government license. One of these ‘criminals’ preached from a window of the jail to any who would listen. Madison would never forget the dedication of those brave preachers – nor the audacity of the officials who had jailed them….” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
February 2008
Texas Governor Urges Protection for Boy Scouts of America: “Texas Gov. Rick Perry, an Eagle Scout himself, is now the father of an Eagle Scout…. He described the Boy Scouts organization as a moral beacon for the rest of the country, adding that’s why it has become a target for the secular left…. ‘…the Boy Scouts of America, with its clearly-stated belief in God, adherence to a strict moral code and steadfast focus on shaping young men, is the trophy buck that the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and their friends would like to hang above the fireplace,’ Perry said ….
“The scouts have won court battles against the ACLU, which attempted to force the organization to accept homosexual scout masters and abandon adherence to a belief in God. ‘Now, the secular left has shifted its attacks to public entities that have sponsored scout events at city parks, public schools, even the Department of Defense,’ Perry said. ‘They have gone after anyone with access to public funds to prevent them from providing space to the Boy Scouts. …they are winning some of these lawsuits…. In some instances, just the threat of a lawsuit has compelled certain public organizations to close their doors to the scouts. In other instances, city officials sympathetic to the secular agenda are creating new policies that ban access to city facilities for scouts.’
“In one instance, the Boy Scouts were evicted from a facility in Philadelphia that they had rented for one dollar a year for almost a century. The city told the scouts they would have to pay fair market value — $300,000 a year — unless the Boy Scouts renounced its policy on excluding openly homosexual scoutmasters. The scouts declined and were forced from the building. ‘…The scouts actually built that facility more than 80 years ago and gave it to the city for free.'” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
California Irony: Cathedral City Calls Church Message a “Nuisance”: “A small church has found itself facing the wrath of local government for a simple yet profound message painted on its roof…. Pastor Nimmons took his message outside the church walls, painting the word ‘Eternity’ in large letters on the roof of the church. Pastor Nimmons’ intent was to encourage passers-by to consider where they would spend eternity….
“‘By its own definition, this sign ordinance is directed toward business advertisements for goods or services, which this message plainly is not.'” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
January 2008
Brampton, Ontario – Shades of Stalinist Russia [Canada]: “…bureaucrats in Toronto’s western-most suburb decided to have a look at the way churches, mosques, temples, and other ‘places of worship’ have traditionally been exempted from paying property taxes. …soon a study was launched on ‘Places of Worship’. It was all done very quietly….
“…to this day, Brampton hasn’t produced a copy for public perusal…. But last summer, someone with a bit of sympathy for the churches leaked a copy. A draft of the report – the one that doesn’t even officially exist – is about a hundred pages long…. [It indicates that–]
• All ‘non-worship space’ owned by religious organizations (offices, kitchens, nurseries, fellowship halls, parking lots, etc) would become subject to property taxes. Only the sanctuary space [or the altar] would be tax exempt…
• The study recommends a redefinition of what constitutes ‘places of worship’ – including a removal of provisions expressly allowing church properties to be used for ‘community services’ such as day care centres, soup kitchens, etc.
• There is a recommendation for major restrictions on new church start-ups…
• The study sets a stated goal of having only one ‘place of worship’ for every 10-thousand residents….
• And the real shades of Stalinist Russia come with the proposed regulations on ‘house churches.’
“Regularly-scheduled private gatherings in homes would be restricted to no more than 20 people – children included….
“What if I don’t like the particular ‘place of worship’ that the City of Brampton designates for my neighbourhood?” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
December 2007
University mandates ‘Merry —-mas’ as holiday greeting: “The controversy began when the [Southwestern Oklahoma State University] director of human resources recently visited various departments and said that decorations featuring the word ‘Christmas’ in any areas of the university must be immediately removed.’ … ‘He also instructed the employees not to say ‘Christmas’ while on the job. As a result the employees cannot respond ‘Merry Christmas’ to other employees or visitors to the University.’…
“[University President] Hays blamed it on ‘an attempt to be respectful of the diverse religious population at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.’… ‘This censorship specifically includes exchanging greetings of ‘Merry Christmas’ among employees or with non-employees, whether initiated by a university employee or not,’ Liberty Counsel said. ….’Moreover, the free speech rights of employees at the university are infringed when their speech is censored solely because of a religious viewpoint or perceived religious viewpoint.'” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
Colorado Gunman Killed Himself: “Murray shot and killed sisters Stephanie and Rachael Works, ages 18 and 16, and wounded their father, who was in or near their car in the parking lot of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado….
“…some answers may be found from a warning Murray posted online just 90 minutes before he went to New Life Church. The message attributed to Matthew Murray — using the screen name ‘nghtmrchld26’ — mirrored the wording of a warning posted in 1999 by Eric Harris… [Columbine High School]. ‘I’m coming for EVERYONE soon and I WILL be armed to the @.%$ teeth and I WILL shoot to kill,’ the posting… read….
“Murray… titled his entry, ‘You Christians brought this on yourselves.’… In earlier postings, ‘nghtmrchld26’ railed against the Rev. Ted Haggard, founder of New Life Church… fired last year after a former male prostitute alleged he had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with him…. One post, called ‘My YWAM Horror Story,’ complained about being removed from the Arvada youth mission program. ‘Why was I told that I couldn’t be a missionary because I wasn’t `social enough’? I was told that I was `an introvert… The authoritarianism and hypocrisy is outrageous.'” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity and The Fall and Rise of Human Violence
November 2007
County investigates sheriff for supporting Christmas: “A county sheriff who had publicly expressed frustration with ‘politically correct’ antagonism from secular America toward the religious foundations of Christmas now is under investigation for his thoughts…. County Sheriff Jim Alderden’s opinions were expressed in his ‘Bulls-Eye’ website column recently…. ‘The fact that we are even engaged in a discourse of whether Christmas trees and Christian symbols of faith should be allowed on city property is absurd…. One major U.S. city’s airport, he noted, was installing footbaths for Muslims, but refused to allow Christmas trees.” See Tolerance as a Tool for Transformation
One smack too many: “Opponents of New Zealand’s new anti-smacking [spanking] law are fearful that the case of a woman facing possible arrest if she were found to have smacked her child a third time, is an indication of worse things to come. The Wellington woman… said she and her family had been traumatised by two separate incidents, the first involving Child, Youth and Family (CYF) and the second the police. … ‘Now that we are in the system, it doesn’t matter whether we are guilty or not. If the police officers don’t like us for any reason, they have the power to separate our family.’
“The first episode occurred earlier in the year, after the school called CYF when a teacher reported that the woman had smacked her child on the hand before school. A few months later three policemen turned up, apparently in response to a complaint from a neighbour. The woman admitted smacking her child on the backside for misbehaving on the trampoline. …when she asked what would happen if they paid a second visit for just pulling her child off the tramp, she alleged they told her she would be arrested … because she still used physical force…. [A friend said] she was a ‘great mother’ who really loved her children.” See What can parents do
August 2007
Ohio bans the name of Jesus from the statehouse: “When Pastor Keith Hamblen of Calvary Bible Church in Lima prayed ‘in Jesus’ name’ on the floor of the Ohio Statehouse, Democratic minority leader Chris Redfern stomped off the floor in protest. Catering oh so tenderly to the religious pluralists in the House, the Republican majority leader is willing to offend Christians. …
“‘I have received several legitimate complaints from members recently about the disregard for the guest minister guidelines, more specifically the increasing tendency of guest invocators to use language referring to a particular deity,” the Republican majority speaker John Husted said in a memorandum to all Ohio House members. ‘If a prayer is not received in writing and approved by the Clerk’s Office… the guest invocator will be asked not to deliver the prayer.” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
Evangelical Pastor told to Leave Israel: “Interior Ministry officials said the decision was made following suspicions that Cantrell was involved in missionary work. The pastor categorically denied the allegations as baseless. Cantrell, who has been active in raising money for Israel as well as working on behalf of Soviet Jews, had resided in Israel on a special clergy visa during his work for Bridges for Peace, but then went back to a regular tourist visa, which needed to be renewed every three or six months, he said. … The issue underscored the delicate balancing act evangelical Christian supporters of Israel face….” See Persecution
July 2007
Banning Jihad Watch: “Many reported that the ban on Jihad Watch was explained with the assertion that Jihad Watch contained ‘hate speech.’ This was true even in some Federal Government offices. Jihad Watch was also blocked, readers informed me, on the computers of the State of Connecticut; the City of Chicago; Bank of America; Fidelity Investments; Site Coach; GE IT; JPMorgan Chase; Defense Finance and Accounting Services….
“If it were merely a matter of filtering out controversial material, sites that treat some of the same material from a different perspective — particularly pro-jihad sites — would also have been banned. But they evidently have not been. Jihad Watch is dedicated to the defense of human rights for all against those who would impose Islamic law, with its institutionalized discrimination against women and religious minorities. There is no ‘hatred’ in this, except when we report the words of hatred and supremacism of the Islamic jihadists…. The politicized nature of Internet censorship should surprise no one.” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny and the next link:
May 2007
Bible drawn into sex publication controversy: “More than 800 Hong Kong residents have called on authorities to reclassify the Bible as ‘indecent’ due to its sexual and violent content, following an uproar over a sex column in a university student journal. … .If the Bible is similarly classified as ‘indecent’ by authorities, only those over 18 could buy the holy book and it would need to be sealed in a wrapper with a statutory warning notice….'”
From an angry atheist: The Baptizing of America by James Rudin: “A specter is haunting America, and it is not socialism and certainly not communism. It is the specter of Americans kneeling in submission to a particular interpretation of a religion that has become an ideology, an all-encompassing way of life. It is the specter of our nation ruled by the extreme Christian right, who would make the United States a ‘Christian nation’ where their version of God’s law supersedes all human law—including the Constitution. That, more than any other force in the world today, is the immediate and profound threat to our republic.” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
April 2007
Students punished for opposing ‘gay’ advocacy Dozens of 1st Amendment lawsuits being considered against administrators: “Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of students in several Sacramento area school districts are being penalized by school officials for objecting to the homosexual advocacy ‘Day of Silence.’… That is an event promoted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network organization, which advocates for the homosexual lifestyle and promotes educating children in that choice. During that event, students go around school during the day without speaking, and they hand out cards stating they are protesting the ‘discrimination’ against the homosexual lifestyle…. Snider said an estimated 3,000-4,000 Sacramento area students remained out of class to protest the GLSEN event…. ‘A lot of students were suspended…. Others were just kicked out [of school] and told to go home for the day. I’m not certain that is legal. You can’t just kick students out.'”
Another Cross in Limbo Awaiting Court Decision: “The monument, originally erected in 1934 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars to honor the ‘dead of all wars,’ features of a cross planted at the top of a hill in the Mojave National Preserve…. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California challenged the memorial, arguing that it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which instructs Congress to ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'” [Notice how the ACLU turns that “freedom” upside down!] See The Old Rugged Cross
Whitewashing Jihad in the Schools: “Last month, New Jersey’s Burlington Township High School held its own mock terrorism drill. ‘You perform as you practice,’ Superintendent Chris Manno told the Burlington County Times. ‘We need to practice under conditions as real as possible in order to evaluate our procedures and plans so that they’re as effective as possible.’ But the ‘real as possible’ conditions included no bomb-vest-donning jihadists shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’…
“Remember the jihad-sympathizing admonition included in the NEA’s touchy-feely, post-9/11 curriculum: ‘Do not suggest that any group is responsible’ for the terrorist attacks, parents and teachers were advised. But feel free to conjure up homeschooling ‘wackos’ and Christian ‘New Crusaders’ to avoid offending the Muslim lobby.
“Here is a ‘real as possible’ scenario. Last month, you’ll recall, counterterrorism officials sent cautionary bulletins to police departments nationwide warning that suspected members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States. The ‘extremists’ being investigated by the FBI and other agencies are foreigners who have been able to ‘purchase buses and acquire licenses.’ Who are these ‘extremists’? Hint: They are not Presbyterian or Lutheran or Catholic homeschooling wackos…..
“In Indonesia last month, a theological school was reportedly attacked by religious terrorists in Jakarta. The school was evangelical Christian. The terrorists were Muslim. In southern Thailand, attackers hurled explosives and opened fire on an Islamic school, killing three students…. And in the name of winning Iraqis over to their blood-stained cause this week, a suicide truck bomber carrying food supplies killed eight Iraqi schoolgirls and a baby…”
Hostage drill at NJ school features mock ‘Christian terrorists’: “…a recent hostage drill at a New Jersey high school, which portrayed conservative Christians as terrorists, is reflective of a dangerous philosophy that has become prevalent in many parts of America, where it is having negative effects on education. A local paper reports that a drill at Burlington Township High School in New Jersey involved police portraying mock gunmen, described as ‘members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called the ‘New Crusaders’ who don’t believe in the separation of church and state.’ The fake gunmen were said to have been ‘seeking justice because the daughter of one [member] had been expelled for praying before class.'”
It’s amazing to see hostility of the world toward Jesus and His followers — and the readiness to attribute the brutality of militant Islam to Christianity! Yet, a very similar event happened a couple of years ago. See Homeland Security links Homeschoolers to Terrorists
Homeschooler flees state custody: “Melissa Busekros, the schoolgirl taken by police and placed in a psychiatric hospital because she was diagnosed with a ‘school phobia’ and was being homeschooled, has fled state custody to make a midnight trip back to her own family…. ‘At 3 a.m., in Erlangen, Germany, Melissa reached her home to the surprise of her entire family.” See Victory in Christ
Second family worried police may storm their home and carry off their children as they did to the Busekros family: “For over two months, 15 year-old homeschooled Melissa Busekros has been in the custody of Germany’s Jugendamt, an organization created by National Socialist (Nazi) chancellor Adolf Hitler in 1939 to supervise and control families politically after he banned homeschooling in 1938 as subversive to indoctrinating German youth in the Nazi ideology. The Jugendamt ordered Melissa to undergo psychiatric treatment for ‘school phobia,’ and has placed her in a foster home and location unknown to her parents who are allowed to see their daughter only once a week. …..
“‘The father was showing the videotape to the daughter when another worker within the room for the visit came over and slammed the computer shut, called the police, and had him escorted off the property,’ Joel Thornton…. ‘They’re only allowed 1 hour visit a week, and they ended this visit and made him leave. The father was trying to give Melissa some insight about what the world outside was saying…. He wanted her to see what was being said, but particularly what this youth officer was saying about her not wanting to go home, even though she basically requests to everyone she talks to that she wants to go home.’
“Thornton… was going to meet with 4 other homeschooling families in the Dresden area this weekend, and also with the Brause family, which lost legal custody of their children to the Jugendamt.”See Homeschooling Under Fire
March 2007
Melissa – HomeSchooled teen in Germany begs for help to go home to family: “‘I was taken away from my family on the first February 2007 and brought with more than 15 police men to the psychiatry in Nuremberg. There I was 2 weeks, I was brought there because I was homeschooled 2 ½ years. Now I am in a foster-family and I am allowed to see my parents only a week.’ Those visits… are held at a public building since she is being held against her will at a foster home the location of which is kept secret from her parents…. Melissa’s parents Hubert and Gundrun Busekros are… very thankful for the prayer support from all over the world. Although they are permitted to call her a couple of times a week, they have lost their custody rights.” See Brussels Journal Editor Threatened with Prosecution over Homeschooling
Fifteen year old German homeschooler forcibly admitted into a mental institution: “On the first of February this year, the Busekros’ oldest daughter was torn from her family by force, thanks to a judge’s ruling: Compulsory admittance to the Klinikum Nuremberg-Nord, a psychiatric clinic for children and young people and loss of parental custody.” See the next link:
Uregent update and call for prayer support: “..the OLG appeals court in Germany upheld the decision of the lower court against the Busekros family. The court also held that Hubert and Gudrun must undergo psychiatric evaluation. The family, while willing to do this to see Melissa returned home, genuinely fears that all of this will be used against them to take their remaining children away from them. An additional fear is that Melissa will be returned to the psychiatric clinic system in Germany and ‘disappear.’ This would leave the family with no way to know where Melissa is or how she is doing. She could become a ward of the State and completely lost to her family.
“The pressure on this family, which has been incredible for the past month, has just increased to levels that are beyond imagination. Please pray for their peace and wisdom as they continue to fight to hold their family together in this hostile environment.” See Threatened with Prosecution over Homeschooling
Christian belief a ‘hate crime’ under plan: “…that plan would invert American justice, and instead of requiring evidence it would leave it to someone who claims to be offended to determine whether a ‘crime’ has been committed. ‘Truth is not allowed as evidence in hate crimes trials.’… A homosexual can claim emotional damage from hearing Scripture that describes his lifestyle as an abomination. He can press charges against the pastor or broadcaster who merely reads the Bible in public. The ‘hater’ can be fined thousands of dollars and even imprisoned!'” See The War on Hate Bans Christian Values
February 2007
Men jailed for being on public sidewalk… handing out Bibles: “Two men who are members of Gideons International, the Christian organization that is famous for, among other ministries, placing Bibles in motels and giving them to children, have been arrested after trying to hand out Bibles on a public sidewalk in Florida….” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
January 2007
Warnings about Christians are what is intolerant: “…a Court of Appeal in Australia set aside a ruling of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and ordered a retrial in the case of two Christian pastors. The VCAT had ruled that Daniel Scot and Daniel Nalliah’s statements critical of Islam were likely to incite hatred….
“…the highest court in Saskatchewan province ruled that Hugh Owens would not, after all, have to pay $1,500 Canadian to three men offended by his newspaper ad citing Bible verses against sodomy. And in the U.K…. 74-year-old Edward Atkinson was sent to jail for sending graphic pictures of aborted fetuses to a hospital….
“There was better news for free speech in the United States in 2006. The same month as Atkinson was sentenced to jail (and, for good measure, taken off the National Health Service hip replacement waiting list — [a foretaste of the planned global community where food and health care would be tied to compliance with PC attitudinal guidelines]), a federal district court judge in Pennsylvania… upheld the right of Pastor Jim Grove to speak against homosexuality to participants arriving at a PrideFest in Harrisburg.
“And a whole crop of religious-liberty cases around Christmas—the school bus driver on Long Island forbidden to wear a Santa Claus hat, the Seattle airport authority that responded to a rabbi’s request for a menorah by taking down their Christmas trees, the first-grader told he couldn’t sing a Christmas song at show-and-tell—seem to have been resolved in favor of free speech and religious liberty by public outcry…. It doesn’t seem like it’s Christians who are ‘intolerant of criticism,’ does it?…
“Christianity played a crucial role in the establishment of the civil liberties we enjoy. And Christians are on the front lines defending those liberties today.” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
December 2006
School Can’t Stop Child’s Singing of ‘Proselytizing’ Song: “U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson in Trenton, N.J., sustained a civil liberties challenge to the Frenchtown Elementary School District Board of Education’s refusal to let 8-year-old Olivia Turton perform ‘Awesome God’ in the after-school ‘Frenchtown Idol’ contest….
“Wolfson found the school board’s decision to exclude ‘Awesome God,’ despite the contest’s general tolerance for songs with religious themes, constituted viewpoint discrimination. As for the board’s argument that it was the song’s proselytizing nature that made it objectionable, Wolfson found that the contest rules did not disqualify songs with messages exhorting the audience to action. … Lastly, Wolfson found that the board’s viewpoint discrimination could not be justified by the Establishment Clause.” See Don’t mention Jesus
November 2006
Casey Ran as ‘Pro-Life…Seeks “Sexual Orientation” Hate Crime Law: “Within 24 hours of winning the bitter Pennsylvanian Senate race against incumbent Republican Rick Santorum, Democrat Senator-elect Bob Casey, Jr. let his real agendas show through. … Casey was immediately and unabashedly backed in his election bid by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a pro-gay activist group…. Casey thanked HRC the day after the election saying, ‘HRC got behind my campaign early and has been a tremendous help. I look forward to working with HRC’s incredible staff and membership, especially toadvance hate-crimes legislation in the Senate.’…
“Adding sexual orientation verbage to hate-crime legislation is a threat to the First Amendment rights of all Americans who oppose homosexuality. Gramley said, ‘…we know what hate-crimes legislation that includes ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ can mean to Christians. In 2004 we witnessed 11 Christians being arrested and charged with a hate crime for simply reading Scripture and singing choruses at a homosexual event.'” See The Mainstream Media – Forging a New Global Consciousness
Company policies vary on the right to wear a crucifix: “As the furor continued over [British Airline]’s decision to ban a Heathrow worker from wearing a crucifix other firms supported the company’s stand…. Many firms cited health and safety regulations as their reason for not allowing crosses to be worn. However, Sikh bangles were often permitted….
“Meanwhile, the airline is developing a Muslim uniform for its staff. ‘Two ground staff at Heathrow wanted to pursue their religion and we would support that,’ he said.”
If this sounds irrational and unfair, remember the reason. See Persecution
October 2006
Bible-Reading Student Gets Lesson in Litigation: “Amber Mangum was a frequent reader during lunch breaks at her Prince George’s County middle school, silently soaking up the adventures of Harry Potter and other tales in the spare minutes before afternoon classes. The habit was never viewed as a problem… until the book she was reading was the Bible. A vice principal at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Laurel last month ordered Amber, then 12, to stop reading the Bible or face punishment.” See Don’t mention Jesus
‘Radical homosexuals’ want to coerce compliance: “A decision by the city of Berkeley, Calif., to deprive the Sea Scouts of a traditional benefit because their parent organization holds a religious belief that does not allow homosexuals or atheists in positions of leadership is being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court.” See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
September 2006
Ministry backs down on school prayer: “Opponents of the New Zealand Education Ministry’s controversial new guidelines on religion and prayer in schools are relieved that the ministry has decided not to push ahead with them. Under the guidelines, it was suggested that schools should give advance notice of assemblies featuring prayers and hymns and seek written consent from parents who wanted their children to take part in voluntary religious activities. See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
Chaplain convicted of saying prayers ‘in Jesus’ name’: “A military jury today convicted a Navy chaplain of a misdemeanor count of disobeying his commanding officer for wearing his uniform while delivering a prayer ‘in Jesus’ name’ at an assembly in front of the White House.
“‘But I had prior written permission to wear my uniform if it was a religious observance….” Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt told WND…. Klingenschmitt, who raised immediate concerns with this superiors when the Navy issued a new order that prayers could only be ‘non-sectarian,’ also has alleged he was punished for raising those concerns, and later notifying Congress and President Bush of the situation….” See No Rights for Resisters
June 2006
Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Cross: “…the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on June 21, 2006, that the majestic 30-foot cross atop Mt. Soledad in San Diego must be removed by August 1, or the city will face $5,000 per day fines…. The attorney fighting to remove the cross is James McElroy, a Planned Parenthood attorney who spent over a decade suing pro-lifers…. ‘Our nation’s landmarks that give assent to our Christian Heritage are rapidly facing extinction,’ said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who grew up not far from the historic cross.” See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
Banned: “Schoolgirls are forced to take off chastity rings – or be ordered out of lessons…. It is only a band of silver, imprinted with a Bible verse, worn by a schoolgirl. But the decision by one of the country’s top state schools to ban American-style ‘purity rings’ – increasingly worn by Christian teenagers to symbolise a pledge not to have sex before marriage – has prompted not just a standoff with local parents, but a debate over religious expression and sex education….’
“There are Muslim girls in the school who are allowed to wear the headcovering, although that isn’t part of the school uniform, and Sikh girls who are allowed the wear the bangle although that isn’t part of the uniform. It’s a discriminatory policy….”
Facing the Giants: “…a low-budget movie about a burned-out and depressed football coach whose life takes a miraculous turn for the better. What makes the difference? Faith in Jesus Christ. But that encounter with God was enough for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to give the movie… a PG rating…. This movie, which Hollywood thinks is ‘heavily laden with messages from one religion,’ apparently had to be red-flagged….
“MPAA did not red flag Prince of Egypt or The Lion King, despite their obvious spiritual elements. So is it religion or Christianity that made the otherwise squeaky clean Facing the Giants a PG movie? There was a time in our country when faith in Christ was seen as a source of strength, not a threat to children.” See The Rising World Religion
May 2006
Churches work on conversion plan: “The Vatican and the world’s largest alliance of Christian churches plan to seek a common code for religious conversions…. Religious freedom and missionary outreach by Christian groups have become increasingly sensitive topics as many Muslims perceive their faith as under threat by the West and nations such as China struggle to maintain state controls on churches.
“‘How can we – anxious to maintain, develop and nurture good relations with people of other faiths – deal with this highly complex issue that sometimes threatens the fiber of living together?’ said the Rev. Hans Ucko, head of the interreligious relations office for the World Council of Churches. … Members of other faiths, including Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, also plan to attend the meeting….
“The biggest challenges to the project will be highlighted by who will be absent: Pentecostal and evangelical-style congregations that often lead the drive for conversions…. The details of the conversion code will take shape in the coming years, said Ucko, but it will explore ‘the dos and don’ts’ of trying to spread Christianity among other faiths. … Critics claim the laws will be used totarget Christian missionaries, who are often the target of denunciations from Hindu nationalists.” See the next link:
repeat U.N. religious summit speakers decry efforts at conversion: “The Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders [2000 AD] failed to accomplish one of its main objectives in four days of meetings but evidenced widespread opposition to efforts at religious conversion. The summit, held partly at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York, was attended by about 800 religious leaders and 1,000 observers from nearly 100 countries.
“…pronouncements were voiced by speakers from different religious traditions against attempts to convert people to other religions, and they met with strong affirmation…. Evangelicals especially would be targets for such sentiments, since they have sent missionaries throughout the world to proclaim the message of salvation exclusively by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
“On numerous occasions, there were ‘very negative comments regarding proselytization,’ said Ken Welborn of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board. Such declarations were met by ‘vigorous applause,’ said Richard Cizik…. ‘That view was held by most of those at the conference…. What I think was also unfortunate was that the representatives of Christianity were joining that same call to denounce proselytizing, in particular Joan Brown Campbell [former general secretary of the National Council of Churches].” See Persecution
April 2006
Ohio St. Drops Harassment Charges Against Conservative Librarian: “The librarian, a devout Quaker, had been under investigation by the school for suggesting that freshmen students read conservative books. Three professors — two of whom are openly homosexual — objected to the librarian’s suggestions, particularly Kupelian’s book, which they described as ‘hate literature’ and ‘homophobic tripe’ that ‘threatened’ them and made them feel ‘unsafe’ on campus.
“After a faculty vote supporting the professors’ allegations, the school put Savage under investigation for sexual harassment. Librarian Scott Savage serves on a committee designed to pick books for incoming OSU students…. While other committee members suggested a series of liberal books, Savage recommended that some conservative books be added to the list….” See Re-inventing the World
Texas School District Caves to Parents’ Call to Shut Down Bible Club: “‘…what we have here is a district that is doing everything in its power to discriminate against these kids…’ According to the Liberty Legal spokesman, the district does not impose fees and rental agreements on other student clubs. But because Students Standing Strong is a religious group, he says, the district is ‘just hunting and looking for some way to throw hurdles in their way.’…
“‘The small group of parents is complaining because this group is so successful and it’s a Christian group,’ he explains. ‘And they’re asking the school district to stop them, which is against the law.’ But instead of standing up to the parents and explaining that the district does not discriminate against any clubs, Christian or not…[the district] is ‘going along and trying to figure out ways to discriminate.’“
Evangelical teens rally in S.F.: “More than 25,000 evangelical Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco for a two-day rally at AT&T Park against ‘the virtue terrorism’ of popular culture, and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of protesters who said their event amounted to a ‘fascist mega-pep rally.’ …”
“Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who told counterprotesters at City Hall on Friday that while such fundamentalists may be small in number, ‘they’re loud, they’re obnoxious, they’re disgusting, and they should get out of San Francisco.'”
What would happen if a Christian leader made a similar public statement about the annual lewd and loud “Gay Rights” demonstrations?
Crisis Pregnancy Centers Targeted in ‘Crackdown on Deceit’: “… the new bill would direct the FTC to ‘create rules that prohibit any organization from advertising services with the intent to deceive the public into believing that the organization is a provider of abortion services if it does not, in fact, provide abortion services.'” See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
March 2006
Grandmother Gets Help Asserting Preschooler’s Right to Share His Faith: “Thanks to the efforts of a persistent grandmother and advice from a pro-family legal group, a four-year-old student at a Head Start program in one Oregon city can now talk about his faith with classmates. An instructor had initially muzzled the youngster’s religious speech at school. … [AFA lawyer, Steve Crampton] noted, ‘The school is wrong. As the United States Supreme Court has observed, ‘[t]here is a crucial difference between government speech endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion,’ which the Constitution’s free Speech and free exercise clauses protect.” See Don’t Mention Jesus
February 2006
Intern fired for sharing faith: “A straight-A student, Escobar was complimented regularly by the DCFS for her work. But she came under scrutiny for sharing her faith with co-workers during lunch breaks and after-hours, and for changing into a shirt with a religious message – ‘Found’ – after signing out for the day…. Escobar was directed to stop sharing her faith, even during breaks and after work hours. Also, the university ordered her to sign a document admitting she had ‘an inability to separate her religious beliefs from her role’ as an intern. She refused to sign the document, arguing she couldn’t agree to such a sweeping prohibition that included her religious practice during non-working hours.”
Christian Group Kicked Off UK Campus over ‘PC’ Demands: “A Christian faith group at a major university in England has been thrown off campus for refusing to open up its membership to all faiths and beliefs…. Although the group, which has 100-plus members, says all students are welcome to attend meetings, it insists that it is well within its rights to restrict membership to people who profess faith in Jesus Christ.
“The union also objected to demands to remove the words ‘men’ and ‘women’ from its charter in order not to offend transsexuals….
“Birmingham University currently had 13 faith-based student societies, five of them Christian. (The five are Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Adventist and a social justice group called Fusion.) No other group had a problem making the changes.” Conform to Truth, not to the world!
December 2005
Letter to The President of the United States… from Chaplain Klingenschmitt: “…74 Congressmen, 4 Senators, 65 chaplains citing religious discrimination, and over 160,000 Americans have asked you to sign an Executive Order, not to establish a new law, but to enforce the law upheld since 1860….
“…I face sudden termination (without retirement), and my family faces eviction from military housing… because I dared to pray publicly in Jesus name…“The Navy calls this Pluralism but lately its become government-enforced religious conformity to one civic religion that punishes religious diversity, and denies equal opportunity to all faiths….
“Mr. President, all our service-members (and especially our chaplains) make extraordinary sacrifices to grant religious liberty to foreigners overseas. Shall we now deny the same basic religious freedom to Americans in uniform?” See He Paid The Price
November 2005
The Universist Movement presents DEISM – The Union of Reason and Spirituality: “This website is designed to provide information on Deism and be a resource for other freethinkers (from Atheists to Transcendentalists) in our mutual struggle against the religious dogmas that have too long held humanity back.” It matches UN plans for re-learning: The Re-establishment of Peacetime Society andReligious Education
European Union lowercases ‘Christ’: “A new grammar rule devised by the European Union in Brussels stipulates the word ‘Christ’ shall be spelled with a lowercase ‘c.’…. [T]he new guidelines also indicate the Dutch word for ‘Jews’ (Joden) is to be spelled with a capital ‘J’ when referring to nationality and with a lower-case ‘j’ when referring to the religion. … [T]he title of Javier Solana, secretary general of the EU, was still to be spelled with capital letters.” See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
October 2005
These Courses Are Condemned lighter-than-air classes from public schools…. A proposed English class, ‘Christian Morality in American Literature,’ included readings from Mark Twain, Stephen Crane and Nathaniel Hawthorne, but it was judged unworthy because, according to the university, it ‘does not offer a non-biased approach to the subject matter.’
“So what does a nonbiased class look like? The university has deemed acceptable such public-school courses as ‘Feminine Perspectives in Literature’…. A history course, ‘Christianity’s Influence on America,’ was rejected by the university because its focus was ‘too narrow’…. But… the course seems downright all-encompassing when compared with approved classes at other schools, like ‘Modern Irish History’.” See Establishing a Global Spirituality
Churches Protest Proposed Religious Law in Romania: “Romanian religious minorities are concerned that a draft law that their government intends to pass before the end of the year will give too much undefined power to the state over religious affairs in the country. They are also concerned that the proposed law will give too many privileges to eighteen state-recognized ‘religious denominations,’ while some smaller groups would be unable to even call themselves ‘churches.'”
September 2005
College bars Christian from sharing faith: “Officials at Ulster County Community College in Stone Ridge, N.Y., told Greg Davis of Indian Lake, N.Y., that he needed to file a facilities use permit application to speak about his faith with students in a public, grassy area on campus in October 2003. But when he did so, his application was denied because the school claimed his desired religious expression does not constitute a ‘cultural, educational, social or recreational’ activity….
“The Constitution does not say that speech is only free if it meets certain arbitrary categories developed by public officials,’ said Kellum.”
August 2005
UC System Sued for Alleged Discrimination Against Christian-Based Education: “The suit accuses the university system of violating the free-speech rights of Christian students. ‘The University of California, in reviewing courses, has objected to a ‘biased’ English text because it emphasizes Christian themes…. It has objected to a history text that emphasizes the role of Christianity in history. It has objected to a social studies text that emphasizes the Christian heritage of America.” See Establishing a Global Spirituality
July 2005
Liberal Media Lashes Out at Christians: “The culture wars have turned nastier than ever. And if conservative Christians are offended by being called insane, stupid, sinister — or even the next incarnation of fascist storm troopers — they’d better get used to it….
“Also in Harper’s was ‘Feeling the Hate with the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB),’ an article by Chris Hedges…. Hedges wrote: ‘But fascism… would not return wearing swastikas and brown shirts. Its ideological inheritors would cloak themselves in the language of the Bible; they would come carrying crosses and chanting the Pledge of Allegiance.’…
“Bill Maher… seems to have a deeply-rooted disdain for religious folk in general. On MSNBC’s Scarborough Country, he told host Joe Scarborough: ‘I think religion is a neurological disorder.'”
Brock Chisholm, first head of the UN’s World Health Organization, would agree. See The Re-establishment of Peacetime Society
Media mind control in the war on terror: “Why is it that when we try to send a package to Iraq or Afghanistan to our troops we are asked by our post office if there are any religious materials inside (specifically any Bibles)? Our own government won’t let us send Bibles to our kids because it might offend some local in a country that we just paid for in our own sweat and blood. The media has never addressed this issue, but if someone claims that some form of disrespect happened to Quarans (issued by our government, by the way) in Guantanamo Bay, then it is on the news for days—and echoed by the liberals in congress for weeks.” See Brainwashing in America
Anti-Christian Discimination is Wrong: “Allstate Insurance… fired Christian conservative J. Matt Barber–‘because an outside organization had complained about an article he had written on his own time.'”Next link leads to his article:
June 2005
How the most misquoted Bible verse is destroying America: “How many times have you heard someone say, ‘Judge not lest you be judged’? The statement has become the great American open-mindedness mantra when anyone has the courage to declare that someone else’s belief, actions or lifestyle is morally amiss….
“When Jesus condemned judging, he wasn’t at all implying we should never make judgments about anyone.… What Jesus condemns is a critical and judgmental spirit, an unholy sense of superiority. Jesus commanded us to examine ourselves first for the problems we so easily see in others. Only then can we help remove the speck in another’s eye—which, incidentally, assumes that a problem exists and must be confronted.” See When to judge or not to judge
Prohibition of Bible Reading at Recess Results in Lawsuit: “A Tennessee elementary school is being sued for barring a ten-year-old boy from reading his Bible during recess. … The young student was recently prohibited from reading his Bible with a few friends on the playground at Karns Elementary School in Knoxville. The school claims recess is not ‘free time,’ but in fact instructional time — and thus, the Bible reading during recess violates the so-called separation of church and state. …
“‘He was under the impression that they were telling him there he was something wrong with his Christian faith — that there was something wrong with him reading his Bible,’ Pope explains. ‘He was, in fact, treated like a second-class citizen.'” John 15:20-21
May 2005
The Zero Tolerance for God POLICE Surfaces Again: “Against the First Amendment of our Constitution and all logic, a Knox County School District’s Elementary principal reportedly corralled a 10 year old student and banned him from reading his Bible during recess when he and his friends invested their free time in studying the tenets of their faith…..
“In the never ending striving for political correctness sandwiched between slices of misinformation, a great injustice was done.
‘“The first amendment establishes freedom from religious persecution regardless of age,’ explained Mr. Laursen. ‘As an agent of the government this principal over-stepped his authority when he ordered his charge not to read the Bible during his free time just because a parent believed it inappropriate.” See Zero Tolerance For Non-Compliance
March 2005
‘Mein Kampf’ becomes bestseller in Turkey: “Eighty years after Adolf Hitler published his autobiographical manifesto, ‘Mein Kampf,’ the book that launched European Nazism, is climbing the best-seller charts in Muslim Turkey. …While most Turkish publishers of ‘Mein Kampf’ say they are merely pursuing the profit motive, others admit that anti-Semitic and anti-American feelings are fueling demand.”See When Iron Gates Yield
Will Religion Be the Death of Us? (Spoken by Glen Hiemstra, the founder of Futurist.com and a leading facilitator and speaker on Vision 2025, a worldwide movement for social change) “The past two years have featured what seems to be a dramatic increase in religious fanaticism. Recent events have highlighted this trend, including a bitter fights in the U.S. over a statue of the ten commandments in a public court house placed there by a judge and removed by the order of other judges…. Religious extremism is as old as religions, but what makes this new religiously inspired extremism so dangerous is the amplifying effects of modern weapons, communications and travel.” See Consensus, Change & Community & Re-Inventing the Church
Colorado to dump Christian prof: “While University of Colorado officials defend controversial professor Ward Churchill in the name of free speech, an evangelical Christian professor at the school claims he’s about to be dismissed for religious or political reasons. Professor Phil Mitchell, who has a doctorate in American social history from the university, says he recently was informed his contract would not be renewed after this year….
“Mitchell, winner in 1998 of the prestigious SOAR Award for teacher of the year… was berated as a racist. ‘That would have come as a surprise to my black children,’ said Mitchell, who has nine children, two of them adopted African-Americans.” Matthew 24:9
February 2005
Christians have neurological disorder: “Television personality Bill Maher… says Christians and others who are religious suffer from a neurological disorder that ‘stops people from thinking.’ …’We are a nation that is unenlightened because of religion. I do believe that. I think that religion stops people from thinking. I think it justifies crazies. I think flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative. I think religion is a neurological disorder. If you look at it logically, it’s something that was drilled into your head when you were a small child. It certainly was drilled into mine at that age. And you really can’t be responsible when you are a kid for what adults put into your head.”
“The former host of ‘Politically Incorrect’ said the lack of enlightenment of so many Americans means the nation actually has more in common with its enemies than one might think. Said Maher: ‘When you look at beliefs in such things as, do you go to heaven, is there a devil, we have more in common with Turkey and Iran and Syria than we do with European nations and Canada and nations that, yes, I would consider more enlightened than us…. The future does not belong to the evangelicals.” Actually, it does. See Eternity
FBI examines pastor’s sermons on abortion & homosexuality: “One [FBI] guy opened a file,’ [Pastor] Steele said. “And he said, ‘This is pertaining to a sermon that you preached on Memorial Day.’
“On Memorial Day 2004, Steele was in the middle of preaching a sermon series he called ‘Life Issues’ dealing with controversial cultural issues from a biblical perspective. One such sermon was about abortion….
“As a pastor I believe that as Christians we are called to speak the truth no matter what…. And we have to continue to speak that truth in love to all people and to share the message of Christ because it’s the only message that’s going to change the lives of people.” Called to Total Commitment
[Article Reprinted with Permission]
by Bert Kjos 2003
www.crossroad.to
Original Source: http://www.crossroad.to/News/Persecution/archives/seeds-2006.html
Seeds of Persecution – Part 4
Seeds of Persecution – (2009-2011)
Today’s growing hostility toward those who follow God
May 2011
VA changes position pastor’s invoking ‘Jesus’ in public prayer: “Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs informed a federal judge in Houston today the agency has reconsidered its position on religious-specific prayer at Houston National Cemetery, agreeing a pastor can utter ‘Jesus Christ’ during his Memorial Day prayer.’…
“For the past two years, Rainey has given the Memorial Day invocation at the cemetery to honor U.S. soldiers who have fought and died. And each year, he’s mentioned Jesus Christ, without complaint. The invocation is sponsored by a private group, the National Cemetery Council for Greater Houston, but held at the Houston National Cemetery, which is public property. …Rainey’s prayer…includes the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and closes with one reference to Jesus: ‘While respecting people of every faith today, it is in the name of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, that I pray. Amen.’…
“Cemetery director Arleen Ocasio …wrote. ‘The tone of all messages must be inclusive of all beliefs… and non-denominational in nature.”…
“It’s private speech that happens to be on public land,” said Hiram Sasser, Rainey’s attorney. ‘The Supreme Court has said on five occasions that the government has no business censoring religious private speech on public land or in a public venue.” See Purging the Memory of Our Christian Roots
Prescribing Jesus Gets Doctor Censured: “A Christian doctor in England has been threatened with an official warning from his professional body for discussing Jesus with a patient….Richard Scott, a doctor for 28 years, is under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) and faces disciplinary action after he suggested to a 24-year-old man that he might find solace in Christianity. Scott, who practices at a medical center in Margate, east of London, well known for having Christian doctors, insists he only raised his spiritual beliefs after carrying out a thorough and lengthy consultation, during which medical checks and referrals for further care were arranged. “When the man’s mother inquired of the consultation, however, her son apparently replied, “He just said I need Jesus.” This prompted his mother to refer Scott to the GMC…” See Persecuted but not forsaken
April 2011
Foster parents argue Christians should be allowed to help: “A husband and wife whose dispute with local city officials over their plan to resume providing care for foster children escalated to the point a court concluded Christians only have ‘qualified’ rights to their faith now is asking those local officials to change their decision. The case involves Eunice and Owen Johns, who were rejected by local foster care authorities because they would not promise to promote homosexuality to children.“
March 2011
DOJ to white male bullying victims: Tough luck: “The viral video sensation showing a bullying incident at an Australian school has brought the issue of bullying back into the spotlight. Here in the United States, the Obama administration has made school bullying a federal issue….Here is the catch. DOJ will only investigate bullying cases if the victim is considered protected under the 1964 Civil Rights legislation….
“The Justice Department’s anti-bullying initiative is tantamount to bringing hate crime legislation to the public school system. Obviously, not only is the heterosexual white male student out of luck but inner city minority students lose out in this deal too…”
Anti-Christian bias is OK at the BBC: “‘Islam must not be offended at any price, although Christians are fair game because they do nothing about it if they are offended….In my view, ‘bias’ is too blunt a word to describe the subtleties of the pervading culture.’ …He added that ‘the one thing guaranteed to damage your career prospects at the BBC is letting it be known that you are at odds with the prevailing and deep-rooted BBC attitude towards Life, the Universe and Everything.’
“…former Radio 2 presenter Don Maclean claimed that the BBC is keen on programmes which attack churches, and that there was a wider secularist campaign ‘to get rid of Christianity.’ …BBC’s former chief political correspondent, said: ‘The BBC is not impartial or neutral. It’s a publicly-funded, urban organization with an abnormally large number of young people, ethnic minorities and gay people. ‘…It is better expressed as a cultural liberal bias.’”
Oklahoma Police Captain Faces Disciplinary Action for Refusing to Attend Islamic Event: “The Tulsa Police Deptartment is investigating a captain who refused an order to assign officers to attend an upcoming Islamic event because he said it would violate his religious beliefs. Capt. Paul Fields was reassigned after he refused to order officers under his command to attend the Islamic Center of Tulsa’s Law Enforcement Appreciation Day….
“’It is my opinion and that of my legal counsel that forcing me to enter a Mosque when it is not directly related to a police call for service is a violation of my Civil Rights,’ Fields wrote in an internal police department memo….’I have no problem with officers attending on a voluntary basis; however, I take exception to requiring officers to attend this event….I believe this directive to be an unlawful order, as it is in direct conflict with my personal religious convictions.’ “.. according to a promotional flyer, the Islamic event included not just food and entertainment, but ‘presentations’ on ‘beliefs, human rights, and women.’ They would also be able to watch a Muslim prayer service and take a tour of the mosque….
“Ibrahim Hooper, the spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR, an arm of Muslim Brotherhood], called the incident an example of ‘anti-Muslim bigotry.'” Once again CAIR poses as victim.
February 2011
Homosexuals Sue Christian Bed & Breakfast Owner for Refusing ‘Civil Union’ Ceremony: “…a homosexual couple has filed complaints with… the Illinois Department of Human Rights for the refusal of two innkeepers to rent out their privately owned bed and breakfasts for a civil union ceremony and reception….
“One of the bed and breakfasts…is owned by Jim Walder, a Christian father of five children who has been deluged with vicious, hateful emails and phone calls. …it’s been an emotionally devastating experience for the Walders who did not ask for this battle. The desire and efforts of parents to protect their children from exposure to ceremonies and celebrations on their property that honor conduct which God finds detestable are noble desires and efforts that must be supported.”
Please pray with me for God’s peace and protection for their family during this difficult time — and a victorious end to this battle. He told us, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
‘Bloodless persecution’ predicted for Christians: “Christianity has been around what now is Europe since the first century, with some parts of the New Testament written to people in Greece and Rome. But a new report is warning that open hostility to Christianity across the continent is on the rise and intolerance is being paired with legislative power to attack and violate the religious rights of the faithful. ‘There are signs that hostility towards free and open demonstrations of faith is growing. Christians are increasingly marginalized.” See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
FOX Rejects John 3:16 Super Bowl Ad: “As FOX Network puts the finishing touches on its advertisement lineup for the February 6th Super Bowl — arguably as popular a part of the evening as the game itself — one thing is certain: just about any thing will be permissible in the way of sex, sleaze, and crude humor. Apparently, however, one type of ad will not be permitted: those promoting positive values and faith in God.
“Following last year’s media furor over a Focus on the Family-sponsored pro-life spot during the Super Bowl featuring Christian football phenomenon Tim Tebow and his mother, FOX has put the kibosh on wholesome advocacy ads with the potential of offending any viewer with an opposing viewpoint….
“The goal of the site [that produced that ad]… is to offer a ‘message of hope’ base on the well-known New Testament scripture John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
January 2011
Father: ‘My children are being held hostage’ — Christian homeschooling family broken apart by N.J. agency: “Army Major John Jackson and his wife Carolyn, devout Christian homeschoolers with a history of serving as adoptive and foster parents, had their five children taken away in April 2010 by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services – and despite the collapse of the evidenceagainst the Jacksons, DYFS hasn’t returned the children to their parents.
“…the Jacksons say they have encountered prejudice against their religion and homeschooling as they fight a state agency determined to see the children adopted by strangers no matter what the evidence says…. ‘
“We were told we’re ‘excessive Christians’ by our therapeutic supervisor,’ …said John Jackson. During a visit with the children, a DYFS supervisor told Jackson he was not allowed to pray with his children for reunification of the family.'” See Homeland Security links Homeschoolers to terrorists
EU School Calendars Scrub Christian Holidays, Keep Muslim Ones : “…while Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter are missing from the diary’s pages, days commemorating ‘Sikh Baisakhi-Day, the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday, the Muslim holiday Aid-el-Kebir,’ remain. The omissions have drawn the ire of the Christian Democratic Party in France….[It states:] ‘The role of Christianity in the European contruction is an undeniable and historical fact. How can this diary pretend to inform teenagers about the EU, removing all references to christianism, negating a religion that contributed so much to its construction and unity?'”
Feds’ rhetoric imperils Christian values, beliefs: “A California-based organization has released its annual list of anti-Christian acts in America for 2010….The list included stories like the Department of Homeland Security’s report on ‘Rightwing Extremism,’ which labeled conservative Christians as potential terrorists — or when police officers were called to a middle school in Kentucky to stop eighth-graders from praying during lunch for a student whose mother was tragically killed. The number-one anti-Christian event in 2010, according to the poll’s final tally, was the continued push for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) — a bill that, if made law, would force ministries to hire individuals who oppose their beliefs or who live in open defiance of their values.”
Persecution a sign of end times: “Matthew Sherwood….says his co-worker and boss often told him that his God was a joke and that believing that Jesus was crucified on the cross is ‘garbage.’ Sherwood alleges that his colleagues also changed his Facebook bio to read, ‘Satan is king. All hail Satan! I am officially a Satanist.’…
” Dr. Michael Coffman, president of Environmental Perspectives]… believes Christians will soon be unable to proclaim their faith publicly without facing consequences. ‘It’s only a matter of time before our very protections are going to be fully lost and we will be as demonized and persecuted as all the Christians in other nations of the world.'” See Persecuted but not forsaken
December 2010
Atheists’ ad blitz calls Christmas a myth: “A billboard scheduled to be displayed near the New Jersey entrance to the tunnel until the end of the holidays shows a silhouetted manger scene with the message, ‘You KNOW it’s a Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON.’…
“’If the religious right wants a war on Christmas, this is what they’re going to get,’ he said…. The campaign is one of several atheist media blitzes scheduled this holiday season. It joins a $200,000 national television, newspaper and magazine advertising campaign sponsored by the American Humanist Association and the Stiefel Freethought Foundation meant to challenge biblical morality and fundamentalist Christianity.
“Those ads juxtapose passages from religious texts selected because they appear to advocate for ‘fear, hatred and intolerance,’ with quotations from humanist scholars that promote ‘love, equality, peace, freedom and reason.’… The $20,000 campaign, sponsored by a national organization called American Atheists, is timed to preempt annual accusations that liberal groups are waging war on Christmas….
“The American Humanist Association sponsored a 48-foot sign erected on the New Jersey Turnpike in 2008 that read, ‘Don’t Believe in God? You are not alone.'”
“…you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” Matthew 24:9
Austria: Judge Rules That Yodeling Offends Muslims: “An Austrian court has recently fined a citizen for yodeling while mowing his lawn…. The citizen, 63-year-old Helmut G., was told by the court thathis yodeling offended his next-door Muslim neighbors…. Developed in the Central Alps as a method of communication between alpine mountaineers or between alpine villages, the yodel later became part of the region’s traditional lore and musical expression….
“Unfortunately for Helmut G., his neighbors were in the middle of a prayer when he started to yodel…. Helmut G. clarified that ‘It was not my intention to imitate or insult them. I simply started to yodel a few tunes because I was in such a good mood.’”
Secularists Assault on Christmas and Christianity: “One of the most effective ways to overturn a culture is not to take it on directly, but to undermine it gradually….For the past half century, there has been a slow but unrelenting attack on the Christian foundations of the United States. First, secularists took prayer out of the public schools, because it ‘promoted religion and alienated non-believing children.’ …Then they wanted the study of the Bible taken out of schools, because that ‘promoted Christianity….
“…public monuments listing the 10 Commandments had to go, too, because displaying the moral foundation of Western law somehow endorsed Judeo-Christian religion…..Every year, there are fewer nativity scenes on display.” See The Nature and Tactics of Satan
Biblical images restored at bank: “An Oklahoma bank on Friday restored religious images, including a Bible verse on its website, and announced a Federal Reserve Bank ruling that barred their display had been resolved….Earlier Friday, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Frank Lucas released a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stating the demand that the images be removed appeared to be without precedent and unconstitutional. “Mr. Chairman, in our years of public service we have seldom encountered a more alarming case of heavy-handed interpretation and enforcement of federal regulations to the exclusion of any other consideration or law, including the Supreme Law of the Land,” the two Oklahoma Republicans stated.” See next link:
Feds Force Bank to Remove Crosses, Bible Verses, and Christmas Buttons: “Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of regulations. The examiners came to Perkins [the town] last week. And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller’s counter and buttons that say ‘Merry Christmas, God With Us’ were inappropriate…. [The] symbols violated the discouragement clause of Regulation B of the bank regulations. According to the clause, ‘…the use of words, symbols, models and other forms of communication …express, imply or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion.’ The feds interpret that to mean, for example, a Jew or Muslin or atheist may be offended and believe they may be discriminated against at this bank.” See Preparing for Persecution
University: Demands student get re-educated, attend ‘pride’ event: “Augusta State University graduate student Jen Keeton alleges school officials demand she be re-educated in morality, giving her the choice of giving up her Christian beliefs on homosexuality or being expelled from the school’s counseling program….Faculty members, therefore, had demanded Keeton ‘attend at least three workshops …which emphasize …diversity training sensitive toward working with GLBTQ populations.'” See Don’t conform to the ways of the world
Courageous Christian Student Confronts Teacher’s…Homosexual Agenda: “Daniel Glowacki, a 16-year-old junior at Howell High School in Howell, Michigan, has unexpectedly found himself at the center of a national firestorm and the target of homosexual activists across the country…. It came about when he defended another student’s free speech rights, and when confronted by his pro-homosexual teacher, Daniel ended up defending his Catholic faith that considers homosexual conduct a sin…
“Daniel’s economics class teacher, Jay McDowell, wore a purple ‘Tyler’s Army’… t-shirt as part of a national campaign to highlight the alleged ‘bullying’ of homosexuals….Ironically, McDowell ended up ‘bullying’ his own student who dared to defend his Christian beliefs about homosexuality….The outraged teacher angrily threw Daniel out of his classroom…. [Apparently] McDowell told them, ‘If the student was Catholic, he’d be or should be in Catholic school’ and followed him into the hall yelling he was a racist…
“Predictably, homosexual activists across the country are hailing McDowell as a hero and vilifying Daniel and his family, describing them as ‘bigots’ and referring to Daniel’s religious objection to the homosexual agenda as ‘hate speech’. McDowell is head of the school district’s teachers union…”
Mob rule on campus: “If a mob disrupted a pro-choice speaker at a Canadian university, chances are the protesters would be removed. If a mob disrupted a pro-life speaker at a Canadian university, chances are the speech would be cancelled. One kind of speech is free in Canada; another kind isn’t. Speech broadly characterized as ‘left-wing’ a.k.a. ‘progressive’–e. g., pro-choice, anti-Israeli, anti-capitalist — is protected even at its extreme. Speech broadly characterized as ‘right-wing’ a.k.a. ‘reactionary’ — pro-life, pro-Western, pro-Israel–isn’t protected…”
November 2010
You Can’t Say That Here — This Is a University! “George Mason University. GMU maintains a speech code that prohibits ‘any form of bigotry… whether verbal, written, psychological, direct, or implied.. In the hothouse of the modern university, where psyches are as fragile as orchids, it is not hard to imagine what might qualify as implied psychological bigotry: just about anything.” See Mandatory Training in Orwellian Thinking?
Charge for seeking Christian roommate dismissed: “A single woman cited for unfair discrimination by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights for posting a note on her church bulletin board that sought a ‘Christian roommate’ has had her case dismissed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development….The woman, 31-year-old nursing student Tricia Rowe, was alleged to have violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against people of other faiths…..
“This complaint should have never been brought…It is borderline frivolous to suggest that a single lady can be fined by the government simply for seeking a Christian female roommate to share her 900-square-foot house.’…The complaint alleged the woman’s statement, I am looking for a Christian roommate, prevents people of other faithsfrom contacting the woman and making arrangements to share her home with her.”
EOC probes TV station’s firing of Christian weatherman — ‘Our show was one of the highest rated in the country’: “Morning weatherman Jon Cash abruptly was fired by NBC affiliate WAVY-TV on Aug. 31, two days after mentioning during a sermon that he was considering leaving broadcasting for full-time ministry when his contract expires next summer.”
October 2010
‘ACLU-crafted court order criminalizes Christianity’: “…teachers are always considered to be acting in their ‘official capacity’ whenever a student is present, even at private functions off campus.Teachers cannot pray, bow their heads, or fold their hands to show agreement with anyone who does pray. Teachers and staff cannot ‘Reply’ to an e-mail sent by a parent if the parent’s e-mail refers to God or Scripture. Teachers either have to delete such references from the original e-mail or reply by initiating a new e-mail. Teachers and staff are also required to stop students from prayingin their own private club meetings.” See Spiritual Warfare
Christians in Captivity: “So you can freely offend ‘people of faith’ — but only people of faith. Offending anybody else is hate speech….
” New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Palladino recently touched off a firestorm by saying he wouldn’t take children to a ‘gay pride’ parade. It has become controversial not to expose children to a lot of semi-nude men…. But the thought police declared the remarks ‘controversial’ and ‘hateful,’ and Palladino immediately backed off….
“…the expression ‘people of faith’ is not quite honest. If your ‘art’ abused Buddha, or the Hindu pantheon… you would be smeared all over the country as a ‘hater’…. Our civil government, courts, media, schools and universities, and major corporations — we surrendered them all to the enemies of Christ our King.” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
Bakery displays morals, now faces eviction: “An Indianapolis cookie shop could be evicted from its longtime location for refusing a special order from a college homosexual group.”
September 2010
Four Christian missionaries acquited of inciting Dearborn Michigan Muslims: “Friday, four Christian missionaries were acquitted of breach of peace while proselytizing Muslims at [Michigan’s] Dearborn Arab International Festival in June…. At issue has been the right to freedom of speech and religion. The four missionaries…were arrested in June on charges of disorderly conduct. They have claimed the First Amendment guarantees their right to speak freely in public.
“Opponents of the group contend that speech is not protected if it is likely to incite violence….
“Significantly, the missionaries made sure they only talked to people who came up to them and engaged them in conversation. That undermined the case for incitement.” See Mission to the world around us
Christian missionaries will stand trial in Dearborn [Michigan]: “The four Christian missionaries arrested for disorderly conduct for preaching to a predominately Muslim crowd at the Dearborn International Arab Festival in June will stand trial after the judge refused to grant a motion filed by defense attorneys to dismiss the case.”
But it doesn’t make sense! Here is a report on what actually happened:
Allahu Akbar!’ shouted as Christians handcuffed: “Four Christians were arrested and thrown out of a public Arab festival in Michigan… for doing nothing more than engaging in peaceful dialogue and videotaping the event. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Paul Rezkalla and 18-year-old Negeen Mayel attended the 15th annual Dearborn Arab International Festival on June 18 in Dearborn, Mich., where an estimated 30,000 of the city’s 98,000 residents are Muslim…. The American Arab Chamber of Commerce announced the event was expected to draw ‘over 300,000 people…. In the following video…Qureshi said his group took ‘extra precautions’ to prevent disruptions by not handing out pamphlets and to speak only to people ‘who first approached us.'” See God’s Warnings for our Times
Conservative recruiters frog-marched off campus: “The group, founded in 1960 to represent conservatives on college and university campuses, has been working to establish additional college campus chapters…. The members set up a table on the Palm Beach campus in Lake Worth Tuesday during ‘club rush’ after Beattie received verbal permission….
“But campus officials then ‘approached the group and after seeing information about the organization and its ideals criticizing Barack Obama’s economic policy.’.. The officials called campus police to make sure the group was removed from the campus….’She outright denied giving me permission… simply because she disagreed with my beliefs,’ said Beattie.”
Principal threatens to fire teachers who help Christian club: “A principal who reportedly threatened to fire any teacher who helped with the organization of a campus Fellowship of Christian Athletes club is getting a warning letter from a civil rights organization.”
August 2010
Christian College’s Police Force Ruled Unconstitutional: “Christian Colleges cannot have security police to enforce state law because its a violation of ‘Separation of Church & State.’… Davidson College, a small private Presbyterian school in North Carolina, can’t have police officers with the power to arrest suspects and enforce state law – because of its religious affiliation…” See Ban truth – Reap Tyranny
[Dutch] Christians on the defensive: “I’f it’d said ‘Allah Akbar’, the council wouldn’t have dared to try and remove it,’ says Marianne Bons…. She’s talking about a farm roof on which ‘Jesus saves’ is painted in enormous letters. The council says the text has to go. The farm’s owner, evangelical Christian Joop van Ooijen, is refusing to obey….
“‘You’re allowed to believe in anything in this country, as long as it’s nothing to do with Christians or the Church,’ says Ms Bos, describing the prevailing Dutch attitude to religion.” S
Christianity not accepted here: “Expelled for being Christian. That’s the fate of two college graduate school students at separate universities…. Julea Ward lost her lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University July 26. …she was dismissed from a counseling program in March, 2009, for not affirming homosexual behavior as morally acceptable….
“…at Augusta State University…Jennifer Keeton was told her Christian beliefs are unethical and incompatible with the prevailing views of the counseling profession. She must stop sharing her beliefs with others and change her beliefs if she’s to graduate from the program, the school has told her.”
Judges rule against Utah highway crosses for fallen troopers: “The white, roadside crosses that currently memorialize the deaths of 14 Utah Highway Patrol troopers are unconstitutional, government endorsements of religion on public lands, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.”
Shopping mall’s speech restrictions torpedoed: “…the case arose after a Matthew Snatchko was arrested at the Roseville Galleria Mall in 2007 for striking up a casual conversation with other shoppers about faith…. Pacific Justice said that under the mall’s rules, shoppers are not allowed to engage in conversations about potentially controversial topics such as religion or politics unless they already know the person they are talking to. Another mall rule bans the wearing of any clothing with religious or political messages. The new ruling from the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento struck down the mall rules as unconstitutionally vague and restrictive of free speech.”
July 2010
“Godbloc filter: “GodBlock is a web filter that blocks religious content. It is targeted at parents and schools who wish to protect their kids from the often violent, sexual, and psychologically harmful material in many holy texts, and from being indoctrinated into any religion before they are of the age to make such decisions. …GodBlock will test each page that your child visits before it is loaded, looking for passages from holy texts, names of religious figures, and other signs of religious propaganda. If none are found, then your child is allowed to browse freely.
“Why? In the last century, the United States has seen a resurgence of fundamentalist religion. Fundamentalist Evangelicals, Mormons, Baptists, Muslims, and Jews have held back progress in science, human rights, civil rights, and protecting our environment. How can we reverse this trend and join the rest of the world in the gradual secularization of society and government?
“Most deeply religious people are born into their religion, but even children raised in a secular household are vulnerable to content on the web. That’s why we’ve produced GodBlock.”
Pastor Yanked From Capitol Over ‘Jesus’ Prayer: “A North Carolina pastor was relieved of his duties as an honorary chaplain of the state house of representatives after he closed a prayer by invoking the name of Jesus.”
Kids can’t pray at U.S. Supreme Court: “A Christian private-school teacher is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow constitutionally protected prayer outside the court building after her class was ‘abruptly’ ordered to stop praying on the grounds….’Even though they were not obstructing traffic, not demonstrating, and praying quietly in a conversational tone so as to not attract attention, a court police officer approached the group and told them to stop praying in that public area immediately,’ ADF reported. ‘The prayer was stopped based on a statute, 40 U.S.C. §6135, which bars parades and processions on Supreme Court grounds.’…
“Mrs. Rigo was not engaging in a parade, procession or assembly. She was speaking in a conversational level to those around her with her head bowed.’… The group noted that the prayers are akin to routine conversations that take place during Supreme Court tours every day….’The last place you’d expect this kind of obvious disregard for the First Amendment would be on the grounds of the U.S. Supreme Court itself…'” See Our Freedom in Christ
June 2010
Supreme Court rules against Christian group that bars gays: “A university can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group that bars gays and nonbelievers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a case that pitted anti-discrimination principles against religious freedom…. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.”
The World’s Oldest Collective Hatred [by Jan Markel]: “For someone to tell a Jew in Israel to ‘go home’… makes no sense because they are home. They may have passed through Germany or Poland, or Russia as my grandparents did, but the Bible reveals that Israel is their home. Of all earth’s inhabitants, only the Jews have a deed to a piece of land from God as recorded in the Bible. But then not even most church members even know that, let alone the monsters of the world. The destiny of the Jew is to be eternally unsafe around the world. The day is coming when friends of Israel will also feel uneasy and unsafe.”
Seven Reasons Why Israel Will Never Get a Fair Shake: “‘Never again.’ It’s what the world said after the Holocaust. Fast forward sixty five years and the only thing standing between seven million Jews in Israel and a 2nd Holocaust is their ability to fight for their own survival…. No matter how grave the provocation or how clearly Israel is in the right, the world’s judgment is always against Israel. Why?”
Illinois abortion clinic takes another shot at Christian pro-lifers: “In the past, the workers have displayed rubber chickens hanging from nooses, a nun in a coffin, and other taunting posters with hateful messages….But Kevin Rilott… notes that the clinic’s new ‘decoration’ reaches another level of hate for pro-life views…. The latest method… is a picture of Jesus making an obscene gesture with words at the bottom that read: ‘Even Jesus hates you.’ …The pro-life advocate adds that a couple of the clinic operators whom his group has gotten to know make it clear that they despise everything about Christianity.” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
May 2010
Gay couple to sue over B&B snub by Christian owners: [UK] “A gay couple who were turned away by a Christian bed and breakfast owner because it was ‘against her convictions’ to let them share a double bed are suing her for damages. …Mr Black, 62, and Mr Morgan, 56, reported Mrs Wilkinson to police for refusing them a room. They said she was breaching discrimination laws and that they were horrified by the former air hostess’s ‘outdated and abhorrent views’. But Mrs Wilkinson and her husband Francis, a former city worker, insisted they were simply living according to their values and Christian beliefs.”‘
College backtracks on discipline for prayer: “A lawsuit against a California college that threatened to suspend a student caught offering a prayer for a sick teacher – and another student who happened to be nearby – has been settled…. The case against the College of Alameda was brought after the school threatened the students [Kandy Kyriacou and Ojoma Omaga] with expulsion after Kyriacou was spotted by another faculty member praying with the teacher. Omaga’s offense apparently to accompany Kyriacou to the teacher’s office and be nearby at the time….
“The incident developed in December 2007 when an instructor at the college complained about a private, consensual prayer in a shared faculty office between a student and a sick teacher. The institution issued formal notices of intent to suspend both the student and a bystander, held disciplinary hearings and imposed written warnings.”
Gary McFarlane: judge’s assault on ‘irrational’ religious freedom claims in sex therapist case: “[The judge’s] comments came as he dismissed a legal challenge by a Christian relationship counsellor who was sacked after refusing to offer sex therapy sessions to homosexual couples because it was against his beliefs. Gary McFarlane, 48, challenged his dismissal at the Court of Appeal, arguing that forcing him to go against what he sees as the Bible’s teaching represented religious discrimination.” See Hating Christians
April 2010
Church warned that flag of Jesus is ‘religious advertising’: [UK] “Rev Mark Binney, vicar of St Andrew’s Church, Hampton, Worcs, said he had been told he needed planning permission if he wanted to fly a flag ‘advertising Christianity’ in future. The flag was put up outside the church in the week preceding Easter Sunday displaying the words ‘This is Holy Week’ and an image of Jesus on the cross.”
Franklin Graham Uninvited to Pentagon Prayer Service: “Rev. Franklin Graham has been uninvited to the Pentagon prayer service because of his true and biblical statements about Islam. Two points: 1. The US military is increasingly going on record as hostile to historic Christianity. They want an American civil religion that passes politically correct muster. That civil religion would include most of the other religions of the world…except Christianity. Not surprisingly, an Islamic cleric, known for his anti-Christian hate speech, is attending the Pentagon prayer service in good standing with our military. 2. The outrageous double standard aside, Franklin Graham should take it as a compliment that he was uninvited to the American pantheon of idols to offer up a prayer along with the pagans.” See Unity in an Anti-Christian World
Pluralism & Global Spirituality. Army withdraws Franklin Graham Pentagon prayer day invitation: “In a 2001 op-ed piece, Graham wrote that he does not believe Muslims are evil, but he objects to the treatment of women in Muslim countries and Islam’s historic ‘persecution or elimination’ of other religions…. ‘I speak out for people that live under Islam, that are enslaved by Islam and I want them to know they can be free through faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone.’
“Council on American Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said it is ‘“completely inappropriate’ for Graham to speak in front of a military audience….
“An Army spokesman told the Associated Press the Pentagon’s relationship with the Christian group does not violate Defense Department rules. We are an all-inclusive military,’ said Col. Tim Collins. ‘We hold observances throughout the year. This one happens to be a Christian-themed event.’” See Tony Blair’s Interfaith Foundation
Federal judge strikes down National Day of Prayer (ten days old): “U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb issued the decision in a case filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist and agnostic group that challenged the constitutionality of a 1988 federal law….’It goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgment’ of religion,’ Crabb wrote, ‘because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context.'” Is that the new legal standard? God’s Warnings for our Times
Tea Party infiltrators to wear Nazi uniforms? “The man who threatened to crash tea parties with protesters wearing Nazi uniforms, carrying misspelled signs and making wild claims on TV, is an Oregon middle-school teacher who may have been working on his tea-party infiltration effort during school time, according to reports. Some tea partiers claim Jason Levin, a teacher at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton, Ore., has been working on his ‘Crash the Tea Party’ website when he should have been teaching.”
State poised to punish free speech at schools — Children with traditional values may get ‘detention, suspension’: “The state of California is poised within days to adopt a resolution that schools be ‘discrimination-free’ zones – a plan one critic asserts is designed ‘to stamp out the free speech of students and teachers with moral values or scientific ethics.’…The resolution states ‘all public education institutes are encouraged to … identify themselves as ‘discrimination-free zones’ through placards, signs, notices of available services, and other appropriate identifications to create a campus climate that welcomes diversity and supports the tolerance of others.’… The proposal states ‘all public education institutions, prekindergarten through university campuses, are encouraged to develop and enact policies that support tolerance and acceptance of others regardless of their race or ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation.…”
Tea partiers ‘screaming white men,’ ‘racist forces’: “Those are just a few of the labels used to describe participants in yesterday’s tea party rally in Boston headlined by Palin, according to an account from a union leader and protest organizer posted on a socialist website. Steve Gillis, vice president of the Steelworkers Local 8751…. described his protest group of mostly Haitian-origin union workers as ‘anti-racists,’ fighting ‘the racist forces’…. Gillis hailed his anti-tea party protest as ‘a step forward for people ready to fight the capitalist system’s tricks…”
Christophobia – Anti-Christian bigotry is the last fashionable hatred: “Christianity is dying. It was once the bastion of Western civilization. Now, Christianity is a pitiful remnant of its former greatness. Across the West, it is in full retreat.… [Compared to today’s increasingly worldly church, God’s true Church may seem to be a mere remnant. But that remnant will never die!]
Pornography, abortion, homosexuality, promiscuity, the AIDS epidemic, soaring out-of-wedlock births, sky-rocketing divorce rates and the breakdown of the family – these are the poisoned fruits of the Playboy philosophy. MTV morality is in; Jesus is out…. The American left is following in the shameful – and much more bloody – footsteps of Marxist regimes. Instead of eradicating religious faith through the barrel of a gun, leftists use bureaucratic dictates and mass propaganda. …
“The same standards do not apply to Islam. Davenport’s multiculturalists would never dare to remove say, Ramadan, from the calendar and rename it “Fasting Month” for fear of offending Muslims – and possibly triggering a fatwa….
“The Founding Fathers emphasized that the constitutional republic depended upon a vigorous religious society…. ‘Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people,’ said John Adams. ‘It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.'” See Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796
Christian Nurse to Fight On in ‘Cross Row’: “Tribunal finds ‘No Discrimination’ despite ruling Christian nurse cannot wear a cross for religious reasons though a Muslim can wear a hijab for religious reasons.” See Preparing for Persecution
City opens door a crack for home Bible studies: “Officials in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., who had ordered participants of a home Bible study either to purchase an unobtainable city permit to meet or shut down, now are relenting a little. City officials have said the Bible study targeted earlier for banishment can continue to meet, but they are keeping the threat of forced closures for potential use against other Bible studies.” See Don’t Mention Jesus
February 2010
Teacher cries ‘hate crime’ over Bible left on desk: “An eighth-grade teacher has accused her students of committing a ‘hate crime’ and being ‘cruel’ because they left a Bible on her desk and a Christmas card with the word ‘Christ’ underlined. Melissa Hussain, an Apex, N.C., science teacher at West Lake Middle School, is suspended with pay and may lose her job after she purportedly clashed with students on the subject of religion and sent students to the school office when they asked about the role of God in creation during a lesson about evolution.
“Hussain wrote on her then-public Facebook page that it was a ‘hate crime’ when her students left a Bible on her desk…. She complained about students singing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and wearing Jesus T-shirts. Hussain said she ‘was able to shame her kids’ over the incidents. ‘I can’t believe the cruelty and ignorance of people sometimes,’ Hussain wrote on the social networking site. She said she wouldn’t let the Bible incident ‘go unpunished.’….
“Hussain’s friends responded by posting comments on the teacher’s Facebook page … calling the parents of Hussain’s students ‘bigoted, stupid and uncaring.’ Another friend suggested Hussain bring a poster to class of NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a swastika drawn on his forehead because doing so would be ‘teaching” students a lesson.'” See Preparing for Persecution
Christian teacher ‘forced out’ after complaining Muslim pupils praised 9/11 hijackers ‘as heroes’: [UK] “A Christian teacher yesterday claimed he was forced out of his job after complaining that Muslim pupils as young as eight hailed the September 11 hijackers as heroes…. The predominantly Muslim youngsters openly praised Islamic extremists in class and described the September 11 terrorists as ‘heroes and martyrs’. One pupil said: ‘Don’t touch me, you’re a Christian’ when he brushed against him. Others said: ‘We want to be Islamic bombers when we grow up’, and ‘The Christians and Jews are our enemies – you too because you’re a Christian’.” See Loving evil more than good
Religious affiliation on ID cards rejected: “…religious affiliation on ID cards has created problems for Christians in predominantly Islamic nations…. Turkey was requiring people to disclose their beliefs in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and the national constitution…. Christians and other religious minorities in Turkey often have been subjected to discrimination based on identification of their religious affiliation…. ‘It has been known to affect whether they get a job or not, how people look at them, whether they are accepted for a post or an application of some sort.” Day of No Return
January 2009
Mall to Christians: God talk banned! “…a youth pastor was arrested at the Galleria Mall in Roseville, Calif., for having a conversation about religion with two other people. Matthew Snatchko… was interrupted in the middle of a conversation by a security guard. A second guard joined the confrontation and told Snatchko he was being placed under citizen’s arrest for ‘trespassing.’ The pastor said he agreed to leave but instead, the guards grabbed him, roughly shoved him against a storefront window and handcuffed him tightly enough to draw blood. …he was booked on charges of battery and trespassing.
“…the charges were dropped, but officials with the Pacific Justice Institute decided to pursue a case against the mall over the impact of the policy on free speech….
“Snatchko originally was confronted during a casual conversation with two other shoppers about faith when a store employee listened to the conversation and alerted mall security guards. Besides the ban on conversations with strangers about religion or politics, the mall also bans any clothing with religious or political messages.” See Evangelism: Our witness to His love
The Crucifixion of Brit Hume: “During the Roman Empire’s secularist era those who acknowledged the deity of Christ were frequently fed to the lions to entertain – for lack of a better word – the ‘progressive’ elites of the day. … You don’t see it when Muslims proselytize in government schools….
“‘Tom Shales, media critic for the Washington Post... demanded that Hume apologize and called his Christian remarks ‘even only a few days into January, as one of the most ridiculous of the year.’ MSNBC’s… Keith Olbermann accused Hume of attempting ‘to threaten Tiger Woods into converting to Christianity’…. Commenting on the Huffington Post, ‘Kandaher’ bypassed Hume altogether and aimed his vitriol directly at his Creator: ‘anyone (sic) watched ‘The passion of Christ’? I thorouhgly (sic) enjoyed it. Nothing like watching this bloke getting beaten up!”
Video: Brit Hume “comes out” as Christian & and faces much criticism for sharing his Christian view.
As Jesus told us, “…because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…. If they persecuted Me they will persecute you… for they do not know the One who sent Me.” John 15:19-21
[Article Reprinted with Permission]
by Bert Kjos 2003
www.crossroad.toOriginal Source: http://www.crossroad.to/News/archive/seeds4.html
Seeds of Persecution – Part 5
Seeds of Persecution
Today’s growing hostility toward those who trust and follow God
January 2014
District bullies students over faith – again: “The teacher gave each child in the class a canvas bag with instruction to find something at home that represented a family Christmas tradition… and share it…
“‘Brynn took the Star of Bethlehem from the top of the family Christmas tree to represent her family’s tradition of remembering why Christmas is celebrated. Brynn worked diligently on a one-minute presentation….’
“She began: ‘Our Christmas tradition is to put a star on top of our tree. The star is named the Star of Bethlehem. The three kings followed the star to find baby Jesus, the Savior of the world. John…’ At that point, she was interrupted by the teacher, who said: ‘Stop right there! Go take your seat!’ Then the teacher told the entire class that Brynn was not allowed to talk about the Bible or share any verses.
“The disapproval and hostility that Christian students have come to experience in our nation’s public schools has become epidemic…. The legal team said the incident came just days after a teacher…told first-grader Isaiah Martinez that ‘Jesus is not allowed in school.'” See Light after darkness
University of Michigan Ousts Christian Club From Campus for Not Allowing Non-Christian Leaders: “InterVarsity Christian Fellowship states that it was informed by campus officials that its policies conflicted with the university’s policies, which prohibit discrimination. ‘The university is sending the message that religious voices are suspect and should be marginalized.'”
Hospital Bans Christmas Carolers From Singing Religious Songs: “A group of high school students from Augusta’s Alleluia Community School were prevented from singing traditional holiday songs that honor and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ to veterans by the medical center last week. … the Veterans Affairs hospital’s ‘spiritual care’ grants holiday exemption only to secular characters…” See Her All for Him
Banning childrens’ Christmas cards. VA hospital refuses to accept ‘Merry Christmas’ cards: “Boys and girls at Grace Academy in Prosper, Tex., spent most of last Friday making homemade Christmas cards for bedridden veterans at the VA hospital in Dallas.
“Fourth-grader Gracie Brown was especially proud of her card, hoping it would ‘make their day because their family might live far away, and they might not have somebody to celebrate Christmas with.’ ‘I’d like them to know they’ve not been forgotten and somebody wanted to say thank you.’ … Gracie’s card read, ‘Merry Christmas. Thank you for your service.’ It also included an American flag.
“But the bedridden veterans at the VA hospital will never get to see Gracie’s card. Nor will they see the cards made by 51 other students. That’s because the Christmas cards violated VA policy.” See Preparing for Persecution
October 2013
Seeds of Persecution. Christian sports broadcaster sues Fox Sports over dismissal: “Craig James, who was fired by Fox Sports Southwest because he voiced views reflecting traditional biblical belief, is going to court over his termination…. ‘They have said themselves that the reason they terminated him was because of his religious beliefs concerning marriage,” says Mateer. “Craig actually believes that marriage is between one man and one woman – and he said that during a U.S. Senate debate over a year ago…”
July 2013
U.S. city looks to penalize Bible believers: “Think it’s hot in Texas these days? Just wait a few weeks, until the San Antonio City Council … resumes work on a proposed change to its nondiscrimination ordinances that apparently will discriminate against all who take the Bible at its word and follow it. That’s because the change creates a penalty for those who ever exhibit a ‘bias,’ which clearly could include adopting the Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality….
“The proposal, however, does not define ‘bias…. The new ordinance would state: ‘No person shall be appointed to a position if the city council finds that such person has, prior to such proposed appointment, engaged in discrimination or demonstrated a bias, by word or deed, against any person, group or organization on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age, or disability.’…
“Church leaders who oppose the proposed change argue it violates First Amendment rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of association.” See Spiritual Warfare: Hating Truth
University Tells Student to Remove Cross Necklace: “A Sonoma State University student was ordered to remove a cross necklace by a supervisor who thought other students might find it offensive….Audrey Jarvis, 19, a liberal arts major at the northern California university, said she had no choice but to seek a ‘religious accommodation’ in order to wear the cross.” See Can’t We All Share One Religion?
DOMA Supreme Strikedown Could Lead to Loss of Non-Profit Status for Traditional Religions: “It seems inconceivable, but so far we’ve had cake shops and photographers sued for turning down gay marriage events and a church was targeted because it refused to allow the use of its property. The Boy Scouts are on the way being beaten. The next target will be religious schools of any kind.”
May 2013
Baptist Newspaper Said IRS Targeted Them : “Among the ministries targeted are the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Samaritan’s Purse and the Biblical Recorder – the news journal of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention. …the IRS was targeting more than just Tea Party groups and conservative political organizations. ‘I am bringing this to your attention because I believe that someone in the Administration was targeting and attempting to intimidate us,’ wrote Franklin Graham…. ‘This is morally wrong and unethical.” Seeing the world from His perspective
Army Email Labels Christian Ministries as “Domestic Hate Groups”: “A U.S. Army officer sent an email to dozens of subordinates listing the American Family Association and Family Research Council as ‘domestic hate groups’ because they oppose homosexuality — and warned officers to monitor soldiers who might be supporters of the groups….
“Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, [said]… ‘It’s very disturbing to see where the Obama Administration is taking the military and using it as a laboratory for social experimentation — and also as an instrument to fundamentally change the culture.’….
“The Army denied there is any attack on Christians or those who hold religious beliefs. …’Any belief that the Army is out to label religious groups in a negative manner is without warrant.” Not true! SeeRising Persecution in the “Land of the Free”?
April 2013
Police won’t say why pastor arrested: “Several city police officers swooped in and arrested a preacher named Chet Gallagher while he walked along a public sidewalk in front of the abortion clinic, preaching the Word of God to a dozen or more people, this week. The charges? Don’t know; police didn’t tell him. Department officials even declined to give him charging documents when he was ordered to appear in court in June.” See Spiritual Warfare, Part 3: Hating God’s Truth
Military Labels Evangelicals, Catholics as ‘Religious Extremism’: “The U.S. Army listed Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with Al Qaeda and Hamas during a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania…. The incident occurred during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism. Topping the list is Evangelical Christianity. Other organizations listed included Catholicism, Al Qaeda, Hamas, the Ku Klux Klan, Sunni Muslims, and Nation of Islam. The military also listed ‘Islamophobia.'” See Can’t We All Share One Religion?
American Arrested for Anti-homosexual Statements: “What does the Islamic world and [much of today’s] Europe have in common? ….in neither place are Christians allowed to fully express their beliefs without fear of persecution….The victim is 47-year-old New Yorker Shawn Holes, who was on a UK tour when he was arrested in Glasgow after running afoul of UK hate-speech laws….
“When asked about his views on homosexuality, Holes said: ‘Homosexuals are deserving of the wrath of God – and so are all other sinners.’ …Holes’ arrest was followed by the imposition of a £1,000 fine, which is a harsher penalty than even some Britons who commit violent crimes must endure.” See Zero Tolerance For Non-Compliance
Genuine Repentance and Transformed Lives: “Fast becoming like heathen nations, America is now rejecting — even banning — God’s Word and ways. … A dark monument to the envisioned unity of nations and world religions, it aims to eradicate God’s eternal Truth and establish a new world order based on power, tyranny and dark spiritual mysteries that few can even fathom.”
March 2013
Alabama School Bans Word ‘Easter’: “Boys and girls at an Alabama elementary school will still get to hunt for eggs – but they can’t call them ‘Easter Eggs’. …the principal banished the word for the sake of religious diversity…. ‘So we’re just trying to make sure we respect and honor everybody’s differences.'” See Brainwashing aimed at silencing Christianity?
Stanford Kills Popular Course on Free Market: “In 2009, Professor John McCaskey began teaching ‘Moral Foundations of Capitalism‘ at the Palo Alto, Calif. institution. The seminar explored and evaluated historical arguments for the free-market model…. The course proved more popular than Stanford expected, drawing double the planned number of students with even more sitting on the floor outside….So what does a university do with a runaway academic hit? Cancel it, of course….
[In contrast] Stanford’s Department of History presents such essentials as ‘Capitalism and Its Discontents…’ and “Social Democracy from Marx to Gross National Happiness.'” See Mandatory Training in Orwellian Thinking
January 2013
Muzzling Military Chaplains: “One of the items on Obama’s second term agenda is to root out traditionally Christian chaplains from the military. He sees them as bigots unworthy of conscience protections. Like Chick-fil-A, they don’t uphold Obama’s ‘values.’ …Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick, the Army’s deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel, said military members who dissent from Obama’s gay rights agenda should ‘get out.'”
November 2012
Potty-Training Toddler Pees in Front Yard…Mother Gets Fined $2,500: “…a police officer witnessed the incident and wrote Ashley Warden, the 3-year-old boy’s mother, a $2,500 ticket for public urination.”
October 2012
Faith-Based Partnerships? “Why is our government so hostile to the Christian message of God’s love? Why would America follow the intolerant ways of Communist and Islamic nations that outlaw genuine Christian ministries to the hungry and homeless?
“Which social and political goals are fueling this war on God’s Truth? One clue may be found in Barack Obama’s ‘Call to Renewal’ speech on June 28, 2006. He said, ‘Democracy demands that thereligiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific values.’…’
“But the apostle Paul said, ‘We must obey God rather than man.’ Committed Christians cannot yield to rules that would quench our freedom to share God’s Word. Meanwhile, we must prepare to face the kind of hostility that would have been unthinkable in this ‘land of the free’ six decades ago…
“Francis Schaeffer points to the heart of today’s battle: ‘Let us not forget why the Christians were killed. They were not killed because they worshiped Jesus…. Nobody cared who worshiped whom so long as the worshiper did not disrupt the unity of the state, centered in the formal worship of Caesar. The reason the Christians were killed was because they were rebels…”
September 2012
Persecution of Christians on Rise — in U.S.: “…government agencies around the U.S. are trying to push Christian expression out the door. …’senior citizens being banned from praying over their meals in the Senior Center….’One of the most strident examples: the misuse of the Establishment Clause to attempt to ban any mention of God from historical markers, monuments or even museum exhibits, ‘French says. This represents an effort to whitewash God from American history.” See His light in the darkness
Obama Curbs Military Drills With Israel, Increases Drills with Muslim Brotherhood: “Just days after a report that the U.S. was sharply cutting its participation in a military exercise scheduled with Israel, U.S. planes landed in Egypt Tuesday for a joint exercise….The exercise is one of a series of steps the U.S. has undertaken in recent weeks to build ties with the regime of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, the new President of Egypt. According to U.S. reports, Washington is set to forgive a billion dollars of Egyptian debt as part of its international assistance program for Egypt. The debt will be dumped in the laps of U.S. taxpayers. Egypt currently owes the U.S. some $3 billion.”
August 2012
Police have ‘a pattern’ of ignoring anti-Christian hate crimes: “Washington, D.C., is one of many localities that includes a ‘hate crimes law, which says additional consequences will be imposed if a criminal targets a person for one of many reasons, including the ‘political affiliation of a victim.’ Why then are the capital’s police not investigating the Family Research Center shooting as a hate crime?…FRC shooter Floyd Corkins II – a homosexual activist from Herndon, Virginia – reportedly shouted, ‘I don’t like your politics’ as he opened fire inside the headquarters of the Family Research Center….Yet there is no word D.C. police intend to punish someone of Corkins’ political orientation.”
Christians victims of rising ‘hostility’ from gov’t and secular groups, report says: “…there’s been a rising pattern of hostility toward Christians in America over the past decade. The 140-page ‘Survey of Religious Hostility in America,’ prepared by the Liberty Institute and the Family Research Council, highlighted more than 600 examples illustrating what it characterized as religious animosity shown by judges, government bureaucrats, schools and secular groups. Among the examples listed in the survey:
~ Matthew Reynolds, valedictorian for HLV Junior-Senior High School in Victor, Iowa, was told he had to give a ‘secular’ speech after he wished to attribute his success to his faith in Jesus Christ during his graduation speech….
~ Dr. Frank Turek, a Cisco employee, was fired for expressing his views on traditional marriage in his book, even though he never voiced his religious opinions at work.
~ Samantha Schulz, 8, was barred from singing ‘Kum Ba Yah’ at a Boys and Girls Club in Port Charlotte, Fla., because the song included the words ‘Oh, Lord.’
~ Lorena Cenzon-DeCarlo, a nurse at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital, was forced to participate in a late-term abortion against her religious convictions, and was threatened with job termination and loss of license. “ See Can’t We All Share One Religion?
July 2012
Mayor Menino on Chick-fil-A: “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion….’ Mayor Thomas M. Menino is vowing to block Chick-fil-A from bringing its Southern-fried fast-food empire to Boston… after the family-owned firm’s president suggested gay marriage is ‘inviting God’s judgment on our nation.'” See Declaration on Tolerance
One nation under…government: “When Barack Obama promised to ‘fundamentally transform the United States,’ we could not have anticipated the extreme transformations he would seek. The evidence is rolling in that he is determined to transform America into a totally secular land.” While Christian expressions would be forbidden except in government regulated churches, Islamic expressions might well be legal anywhere.
Judge says man can’t hand out Bibles at Twin Cities Pride fest: “A Wisconsin man who wants to hand out Bibles at the 40th Annual Twin Cities Pride festival in Loring Park this month will have to confine himself to a booth just outside of the event….Johnson, an evangelical Christian and taxidermist from Hayward, said in his lawsuit that he has distributed Bibles at the annual event since 1995 and that he had no problems until 2009, when the organization refused to rent him a booth after an exchange about his views on homosexuality.” See Declaration on Tolerance
June 2012
German Court Makes Circumcision for Religious Reasons a Crime: “In a ruling bound to fuel a long-running debate over circumcision, a regional court in Cologne said Tuesday that the ‘fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents.’ … For Jews, however, circumcision of baby boys at eight days has been a key tenet of faith for some 4,000 years. Prescribed by God in Genesis 17, it symbolized that a person was in covenant with his Creator.” See Can’t We All Share One Religion?
Lawmakers claim Air Force culture becoming ‘ hostile towards religion’: “Dozens of House lawmakers accused the U.S. Air Force this week of being ‘hostile towards religion,’ citing a string of recent incidents they claim show the military is taking separation of church and state too far. …Among the incidents: ~ A decision to remove a Latin reference to ‘God’ from a logo… ~The suspension of an ethics course because the material included Bible passages….”
Patriotism Should be Celebrated in School, Not Banned: “’God Bless the USA’ is one of America’s most popular patriotic songs, and it took on new meaning after the deadly terrorist attacks of 9/11. Yet, a school in New York City has banned this song from a graduation ceremony for kindergarten students. The principal says ‘God Bless the USA’ is not ‘age appropriate’ and could end up ‘offending other cultures.’ Singing “I’m proud to be an American” is wholly appropriate in school, and this patriotic song should be reinstated on the program.” See Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules
Banning Bibles out of line — Congress told Resolution also would address censorship of faith elements at military funerals: “The Veterans Administration in recent months has tried to prohibit Bibles at its military hospitals and ban the use of the word ‘God‘ at military funerals, and now there are members in Congress who say enough is enough. So HR 2720 has been introduced, stating emphatically that ‘no official of the federal government, including the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, may interfere with the content and creed of the funeral, memorial service, or ceremony of a deceased individual, as expressed by the last will and testament of the individual or as determined by the family or agent of the individual, as provided under state law.” See UNESCO’s Declaration on the Role of Religion in a Culture of Peace
Islamic Indoctrination in Textbooks: “Political correctness has a double standard when it comes to teaching about religion in public schools. Drop Christianity down the memory hole but give extensive and mostly favorable coverage to Islam.
“Even the mainstream media have provided extensive coverage of the steady stream of court cases and threatening letters from the American Civil Liberties Union aimed at removing all signs of Judeo-Christianity from public schools. Not only must prayer be prohibited, a cross and the Ten Commandments removed…. a valedictorian banned from thanking God for his help, a football coach prohibited from bowing his head during a student-led pre-game prayer.” See Spiritual Warfare: Good or Evil – Who Wins?
“…because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…. If they persecuted Me they will persecute you… for they do not know the One who sent Me.” John 15:19-21
May 2012
Pastor Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Teaching That Parents Should Spank Their Children: “…2 years in prison for simply teaching that parents should spank their children when they misbehave. …Caminiti was not accused of spanking anyone or of physically hurting anyone. He was put in prison simply for his speech…. I know that when I got a licking on the behind as a child that helped me to remember not to do the same thing again. ….You simply cannot do much damage with a wooden spoon.
“[The prosecutors] claimed that Caminiti was ‘the spoke in the wheel of this conspiracy’. Even after Caminiti leaves prison, he will be forbidden from having any contact with his old church….’Caminiti will be on extended supervision for six years after his release from prison. Despite objections on constitutional grounds by Caminiti’s lawyers, Sumi ordered that he not have any contact with the Aleitheia Bible Church and have no leadership role in any church.” See Ban Truth – Reap Tyranny
April 2012
Campus Christians forced to accept Muslim leaders? “Christian students at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., are fighting an administration policy that dictates ‘all comers’ be eligible for leadership in student organizations, even if they don’t share the groups’ faith. In fact, under the policy put into effect earlier this year, campus groups’ leadership requirements can no longer ‘discriminate’ on race, faith, gender or sexual orientation, leading many to question whether men could be elected to lead sororities or Muslims to lead Bible studies.” See Can’t We All Share One Religion?
“School Removes ‘God’ From Lee Greenwood Song: “We can’t take God out of the song, we can’t take God out of The Pledge of Allegiance, we can’t take God off of the American currency. …The song is played at every naturalization ceremony behind The National Anthem….” Purging the Memory of Our Christian Roots
City banishes Bibles during ‘gay’ fest: “For over a decade, Brian Johnson has peaceably passed out Bibles during Minneapolis’ Twin Cities Pride Festival….Twin Cities Pride, the organizers of the annual festival celebrating homosexuality, have convinced the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to allow them to exile anyone attempting to distribute Bibles or communicate unapproved messages at the event to a ‘no pride zone’ far away from the festivities.” See Evangelism: Our witness to His love
March 2012
Censoring the ex-homosexual message: “Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr called it ‘reprehensible,’ ‘deplorable’ and ‘disgusting.’ What could trigger such a response? Child sexual abuse by a teacher? Drug dealing in the high schools? A drunk driving accident that killed students?
“No – it was a one-page flier distributed to students in several Montgomery County, Md., high schools…. The flier included disgusting declarations such as, ‘All individuals deserve the right to self-determination and happiness‘ and such ‘reprehensible’ advice as ‘[I]mportant decisions should not be made on feelings alone.’
“The controversy arose not because of its relatively innocuous content, but because of its source: an organization called Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays…. The flier states, ‘Every year, thousands of people with unwanted same-sex attractions make the personal decision to leave a gay identity,’ and asserts that such people should be able to ‘seek help and information on overcoming their feelings.'”
Of course, such an old-fashioned notion clashes with today pro-gay education system. The new global values are incompatible with the slightest reminder of Christian beliefs.” See Ban truth – Reap tyranny
February 2012
Prayer Case at School Is Settled: “The settlement prohibits employees of the local district from initiating or joining prayers in the presence of students. It also bars school employees from displaying religious icons on school walls or windows unless they are being used for ‘non-religious’ purposes. But the school district may permit students to pray in graduation-ceremony speeches.” See Victory in Christ
Christian Students: ‘Asking Us to Deny Our Faith’: “…a new video…showcases student reaction to the university’s non-discrimination rules — regulations that forbid student clubs from requiring leaders to hold specific beliefs. …The clip opens with individual students discussing…the nation’s history of religious freedom…. ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'” See UNESCO’s Declaration on the Role of Religion in a Culture of Peace
December 2011
Reviving hatred for Christianity. The ultimate guide to attacks from anti-Christmas Grinches: “The U.S. military apologizes for promoting a Christian-based charity and relief program providing holiday gifts to poor children….Atheists and ‘free-thinkers’ sue cities into submission, forcing removal of all things ‘Christ’ on public property during the Christian holiday. Is the nation that puts ‘In God We Trust’ on its currency at war with Christmas? …’I don’t really understand where the anti-Christmas fervor comes from….'” Here is the underlying answer: <face=”verdana” size=”1″ font=”” color=”#CC0000″>Spiritual Warfare: Behind the Peaceful Scenes of Christmas
School punishes religious beliefs, student sues: “A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a Michigan public school student who was punished for telling his teacher [a homosexual activist] he opposes homosexuality. …He was then threatened with suspension and ordered to leave the classroom. …News of the incident spread nationwide…’A firestorm of protest and vilification of Daniel appeared in the homosexual Internet community. …vilifying Daniel and his family as ‘bigots,’ referring to the student’s religious objections as ‘hate speech.'” See Why “Hate crime” laws would ban Biblical Christianity
Calif. School Reportedly Bans Teachers From Displaying Santas & Christmas Trees in Classrooms: “A Stockton, California, school is finding itself at the center of the annual War on Christmas debateafter teachers were told that they won’t be allowed to display Santas, Christmas trees….The document apparently reads, ‘District office would like to remind everyone when displaying holiday decorations in and around school to be mindful no association to any religious affiliation i.e. Santa, poinsettias, Christmas trees, etc.”
November 2011
Praying at funerals—censored and banned: “…the Veteran Affairs (VA) cemetery in Houston… was banning prayer and the word ‘God’ at funerals held there. Citizens and families protested and a local lawmaker promised legislative action—while the cemetery director said the policy would continue. Praise God! The ban is lifted!”
Air Force Academy backtracks on Christmas Toy Drive because it’s too Christian: “The U.S. Air Force Academy has pulled out of a Christian-sponsored children’s toy drive after commanders wereaccused of religious intolerance. …The cadet sent an e-mail saying, ‘This just shows how our military is supporting one religion – which is Christianity.”
October 2011
Jesus’ name ruled ‘unconstitutional‘ — Judge says prayers to Christ ‘do violence to America’s pluralistic, inclusive values’: “But the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State are standing by their victory in a U.S. circuit court decision that states even ‘a solitary reference to Jesus Christ‘ in invocations before the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners’ meetings could do ‘violence to the pluralistic and inclusive values that are a defining feature of American public life.’ Furthermore, wrote Judge [Wilkinson]..legislative invocations offered in Jesus’ name are inherently ‘sectarian’ and thus should be censored lest they make some attendees feel ‘uncomfortable, unwelcome and unwilling to participate in…public affairs.’ But the board disagrees, and with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund is asking the Supreme Court to trump Wilkinson’s ruling.” See The UN Seizure of Parental Rights
Europe to destroy traditional family and sexual identity: “Traditional words ‘father’ and ‘mother’ will be replaced with official terms Parent 1 and Parent 2 in Britain. The terms will be used in official documents. The authorities decided to make such a ‘politically correct’ move to accommodate same-sex couples…. The decision is another step towards the destruction of traditional families…..The words ‘father’ and ‘mother’ will be removed from British passport applications…”
September 2011
High School Coaches in Trouble for Bowing Their Heads During Student-Led Prayer in Tennessee: “…the coaches didn’t say anything aloud themselves, but bowed their heads in observance alongside the students. Word got back to the principal and the school district, which found the coaches’ participation to be an uncomfortable mix of religion and public school.” See Purging the Memory of Our Christian Roots
Student Suspended for Saying Gay Is Wrong: “Fourteen-year-old Dakota Ary [explained:]. ‘We were talking about religions in Germany. I said, ‘I’m a Christian. I think being a homosexual is wrong,’ he said. It wasn’t directed to anyone except my friend who was sitting behind me. I guess [the teacher] heard me. He started yelling. He told me he was going to write me an infraction and send me to the office.’ An assistant principal called Ary’s mother… [Her response:] ‘…My son is on the honor roll with great grades….He was stating an opinion. He has a right to do that.”
‘In God We Trust’ banished from classroom: “‘A team of free-speech experts has announced plans to challenge a decision by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that banished the national motto, ‘In God We Trust,’ from a school teacher’s classroom….The school allowed a 35-to-40 foot string of Tibetan prayer flags with images of Buddha, a poster with the lyrics from John Lennon’s anti-religion song ‘Imagine’ (which begins, ‘Imagine there’s no Heaven’), a poster with Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘7 Social Sins,’ a poster of Muslim leader Malcolm X and another of Buddhist leader Dalai Lama.”
Online ‘hate’ campaign targets Christian sites: “A formal investigation of several Christian organizations has been launched by PayPal, the huge money-transfer company, because of an online campaign of ‘hate’ against them by homosexuals… ‘I noticed that your message came to me after a hate campaign against me and other Christian ministries,’ [Severo] told PayPal….That online campaign criticizes ‘anti-LGBT extremists’ who are using PayPal to raise money for ‘their dangerous cause.’ It specifically puts bull’s-eyes on Severo and LaBarbera as well as [many others]…
‘”I want you to know that we Christians love homosexuals, but we disagree with their immoral lifestyles,’ [Severo] told PayPal….Severo said AllOut also is working on Facebook, Twitter and through emails to pressure PayPal to censor his religious beliefs….’All the accusations of this hate campaign against me are false. I have never, as a Christian, preached any violence….’
“According to LaBarbera, the issue is that homosexual activists…now are demanding that people with biblical perspectives…be shut down. ‘They want dominance even if it means smearing pro-family people as ‘haters’ and destroying our cherished religious freedoms.’ …[Severo’s] website had been under surveillance by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security….
“…a similar series of attacks were generated against online ministries and groups that discuss the danger of Islam. PayPal reportedly cut off several accounts…then restored them a short time later.”
City demands Christians get permit for Bible study: “Chuck and Stephanie Fromm already have been fined $300 for holding Bible studies for their friends at their home, and they face the potential for additional fines of $500 for each study held, according to a legal team taking their case to court.’ The newest conflict over Bible studies in homes in America arose in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where…city code section 9-3.301 prohibits religious organizations in residential neighborhoods without [an expensive] conditional-use permit…. [T]he Fromms already have been fined $300, and an appeal to the city was denied.”
Managing change. The Ham Sandwich Hate Crime? “When is a failure to respect the deep religious beliefs of a group regarded as a hate crime? …In today’s America, some groups are more equal than others, and media and local authorities seem unified in accepting this as fair, just, and normal….
“A week after the ham incident, over five thousand public schools across the country observed a ‘Day of Silence’ in support of homosexuality. Students…were also encouraged to wear T-shirts and buttons supporting homosexuality….Though no homosexuals were harassed that day, Christian students who were offended by the school’s orchestration of homosexual propaganda were..”
August 2011
Homeland Security surveillance detected on Christian website: “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has begun watching a blog posted by a Christian who was forced to flee Brazil because of the conflict between that nation’s pro-homosexual ‘hate crimes’ agenda and his advocacy for traditional marriage. …similar crackdowns could be coming in the U.S. because of the federal ‘hate crimes’ bill signed by Obama….’Brazil grants freedom to preach Christianity, provided that the sermons avoid negative mentions of state-protected behaviors and cultural trends,’ Severo said….
“In Rio, a Pentecostal minister led a criminal to Jesus and convinced him to deliver himself to police. …the former criminal lived under the influence of demons from Afro-Brazilian religionswhich inspired him to criminal conduct…. Because of this innocent account, Rev. Andrade is now being prosecuted for discrimination against the Afro-Brazilian ‘culture‘!…
“[Severo] explained ABGLT, which had filed complaints of ‘homophobia’ against him with the Brazilian government, recently was helped by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to beaccredited in the United Nations, extending its global influence….He said it appears DHS was searching for some combination of ‘Christian,’ ‘U.S.’ and ‘Brazil’ terms….
“The report from the DHS Office…defined right-wing extremism in the U.S. as ‘divided into those groups, movements and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented… It may include…opposition to abortion or immigration.’
“The Missouri report warned law enforcement agencies to watch for suspicious individuals who may have bumper stickers for…candidates such as Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin…[and] individuals with ‘radical’ ideologies based on Christian views.” See Why “Hate Crime” laws ban Biblical Christianity
July 2011
Cisco Fires Marriage Defender Frank Turek – Latest Victim of Homosexual Intolerance: “Christian apologist Frank Turek, an eloquent defender of natural (i.e., real) marriage – who was recently fired by Cisco Systems due to his off-the-job, pro-family advocacy. …The homosexual advocate described Turek’s presentation and demeanor as kind and bereft of malice. This particular LGBT activist works diligently to convert Christians to a pro-‘gay rights’ mindset, and yet – even as he opposed Turek’s ideas – he found no hatred for homosexuals in the man.” See God’s love
Half of Americans believe U.S. Christians persecuted: “The question was, ‘There is a trend developing in which gay activists are filing lawsuits against people who refuse to do business with them on moral/religious grounds – such as when a New Mexico photographer was sued by a lesbian couple for refusing to photograph their wedding…”
June 2011
Houston Cemetery Bans the Word ‘God’ from Military Funerals: “The director of the Houston VA [Veterans Administration] National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio, has ordered the burial teams to instruct that religious references, as well as prayer, are no longer to be included as part of the burial services. …the mention of ‘God’ is not allowed. Ocasio has also ordered the closing of the cemetery chapel, which used to be available for grieving family and friends to gather and pray.
“…this country was founded by people who willingly uprooted their families and risked their lives crossing a violent and deadly sea to reach these free shores. These God-fearing people…raised their children with the moral principles handed down from God. Great consideration was taken by our founders, when creating a constitution that would protect the individual liberties of all….The ban on God at these funerals is an insult — not only to Christians, but, more importantly, to our military Christians. How very shameful it is that this attack comes from within the Veterans Administration itself.” SeeBan truth – Reap Tyranny
School Boots Boy Scouts for Mother Earth: “The school…told the Cub Scouts this week that their flyer cannot be distributed because it mentions God in the 12 core values. While this constitutional misstep is unseemly, it is somehow made worse when contrasted with the always-welcome creed of environmentalism….
“Does this worship of the environment constitute a religion? Turns out that it does….A bit of search-engine query reveals that the World Pantheist Movement officially established themselves as a religion on June 29, 1998….’Why call this a religion rather than a philosophy? Like Buddhism or Taoism, it is both…” See Is Earth our Mother?
Christian sacked after abortion leaflet row: [UK] “Margaret Forrester discussed the booklet with family planning staff at the health centre where she worked because she felt that the NHS was failing to give patients information about the risks and other options to terminating a pregnancy….[She] was found guilty of ‘gross professional misconduct’ and fired. She has spoken out over the ‘scandal’ of the pro-abortion culture in the medical profession and claimed that Christians were ‘an easy target’ for ‘politically correct’ bureaucrats in the NHS.” See The Dark Roots of EUGENIC
[Article Reprinted with Permission]
by Bert Kjos 2003
www.crossroad.to
Original Source: http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/ConformingChurch1-00.html#religion
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America’s Most Biblically-Hostile U. S. President
I’m sick and tired of listening to liberal lemmings exclaim that President Obama is a Christian. I guess it’s not surprising. Many of them have deceived themselves into believing he’s a great president, too. He is neither. He is a devil in disguise. No president in our history has been more determined to eradicate Christianity from our society than Obama.
Article by David Barton – 12/20/2013
1. Acts of hostility toward people of Biblical faith:
- June 2013 – The Obama Department of Justice defunds a Young Marines chapter in Louisiana because their oath mentioned God, and another youth program because it permits a voluntary student-led prayer. [1]
- February 2013 – The Obama Administration announces that the rights of religious conscience for individuals will not be protected under the Affordable Care Act. [2]
- January 2013 – Pastor Louie Giglio is pressured to remove himself from praying at the inauguration after it is discovered he once preached a sermon supporting the Biblical definition of marriage. [3]
- February 2012 – The Obama administration forgives student loans in exchange for public service, but announces it will no longer forgive student loans if the public service is related to religion. [4]
- January 2012 – The Obama administration argues that the First Amendment provides no protection for churches and synagogues in hiring their pastors and rabbis. [5]
- December 2011 – The Obama administration denigrates other countries’ religious beliefs as an obstacle to radical homosexual rights. [6]
- November 2011 – President Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial. [7]
- November 2011 – Unlike previous presidents, Obama studiously avoids any religious references in his Thanksgiving speech. [8]
- August 2011 – The Obama administration releases its new health care rules that override religious conscience protections for medical workers in the areas of abortion and contraception. [9]
- April 2011 – For the first time in American history, Obama urges passage of a non-discrimination law that does not contain hiring protections for religious groups, forcing religious organizations to hire according to federal mandates without regard to the dictates of their own faith, thus eliminating conscience protection in hiring. [10]
- February 2011 – Although he filled posts in the State Department, for more than two years Obama did not fill the post of religious freedom ambassador, an official that works against religious persecution across the world; he filled it only after heavy pressure from the public and from Congress. [11]
- January 2011 – After a federal law was passed to transfer a WWI Memorial in the Mojave Desert to private ownership, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the cross in the memorial could continue to stand, but the Obama administration refused to allow the land to be transferred as required by law, and refused to allow the cross to be re-erected as ordered by the Court. [12]
- November 2010 – Obama misquotes the National Motto, saying it is “E pluribus unum” rather than “In God We Trust” as established by federal law. [13]
- October 19, 2010 – Obama begins deliberately omitting the phrase about “the Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence – an omission he has made on no less than seven occasions. [14]
- May 2009 – Obama declines to host services for the National Prayer Day (a day established by federal law) at the White House. [15]
- April 2009 – When speaking at Georgetown University, Obama orders that a monogram symbolizing Jesus’ name be covered when he is making his speech. [16]
- April 2009 – In a deliberate act of disrespect, Obama nominated three pro-abortion ambassadors to the Vatican; of course, the pro-life Vatican rejected all three. [17]
- February 2009 – Obama announces plans to revoke conscience protection for health workers who refuse to participate in medical activities that go against their beliefs, and fully implements the plan in February 2011. [18]
- April 2008 – Obama speaks disrespectfully of Christians, saying they “cling to guns or religion” and have an “antipathy to people who aren’t like them.” [19]
2. Acts of hostility from the Obama-led military toward people of Biblical faith:
- December 2013 – A naval facility required that two nativity scenes — scenes depicting the event that caused Christmas to be declared a national federal holiday — be removed from the base dining hall and be confined to the base chapel, thus disallowing the open public acknowledgment of this national federal holiday. [20]
- December 2013 – An Air Force base that allowed various public displays ordered the removal of one simply because it contained religious content. [21]
- October 2013 – A counter-intelligence briefing at Fort Hood tells soldiers that evangelical Christians are a threat to Americans and that for a soldier to donate to such a group “was punishable under military regulations.” [22]
- October 2013 – Catholic priests hired to serve as military chaplains are prohibited from performing Mass services at base chapels during the government financial shutdown. When they offered to freely do Mass for soldiers, without regard to whether or not the chaplains were receiving pay, they are still denied permission to do so. [23]
- August 2013 – A Department of Defense military training manual teaches soldiers that people who talk about “individual liberties, states’ rights, and how to make the world a better place” are “extremists.” It also lists the Founding Fathers — those “colonists who sought to free themselves from British rule” — as examples of those involved in “extremist ideologies and movements.” [24]
- August 2013 – A Senior Master Sergeant was removed from his position and reassigned because he told his openly lesbian squadron commander that she should not punish a staff sergeant who expressed his views in favor of traditional marriage. [25]
- August 2013 – The military does not provide heterosexual couples specific paid leave to travel to a state just for the purpose of being married, but it did extend these benefits to homosexual couples who want to marry, thus giving them preferential treatment not available to heterosexuals. [26]
- August 2013 – The Air Force, in the midst of having launched a series of attacks against those expressing traditional religious or moral views, invited a drag queen group to perform at a base. [27]
- July 2013 – When an Air Force sergeant with years of military service questioned a same-sex marriage ceremony performed at the Air Force Academy’s chapel, he received a letter of reprimand telling him that if he disagreed, he needed to get out of the military. His current six-year reenlistment was then reduced to only one-year, with the notification that he “be prepared to retire at the end of this year.” [28]
- July 2013 – An Air Force chaplain who posted a website article on the importance of faith and the origin of the phrase “There are no atheists in foxholes” was officially ordered to remove his post because some were offended by the use of that famous World War II phrase. [29]
- June 2013 – The U. S. Air Force, in consultation with the Pentagon, removed an inspirational painting that for years has been hanging at Mountain Home Air Force Base because its title was “Blessed Are The Peacemakers” — a phrase from Matthew 5:9 in the Bible. [30]
- June 2013 – The Obama administration “strongly objects” to a Defense Authorization amendment to protect the constitutionally-guaranteed religious rights of soldiers and chaplains, claiming that it would have an “adverse effect on good order, discipline, morale, and mission accomplishment.” [31]
- June 2013 – At a joint base in New Jersey, a video was made, based on a Super Bowl commercial, to honor First Sergeants. It stated: “On the eighth day, God looked down on His creation and said, ‘I need someone who will take care of the Airmen.’ So God created a First Sergeant.” Because the video mentioned the word “God,” the Air Force required that it be taken down. [32]
- June 2013 – An Army Master Sergeant is reprimanded, threatened with judicial action, and given a bad efficiency report, being told he was “no longer a team player,” because he voiced his support of traditional marriage at his own promotion party. [33]
- May 2013 – The Pentagon announces that “Air Force members are free to express their personal religious beliefs as long as it does not make others uncomfortable. “Proselytizing (inducing someone to convert to one’s faith) goes over that line,” [34] affirming if a sharing of faith makes someone feel uncomfortable that it could be a court-marital offense [35] — the military equivalent of a civil felony.
- May 2013 – An Air Force officer was actually made to remove a personal Bible from his own desk because it “might” appear that he was condoning the particular religion to which he belonged. [36]
- April 2013 – Officials briefing U.S. Army soldiers placed “Evangelical Christianity” and “Catholicism” in a list that also included Al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas as examples of “religious extremism.” [37]
- April 2013 – The U.S. Army directs troops to scratch off and paint over tiny Scripture verse references that for decades had been forged into weapon scopes. [38]
- April 2013 – The Air Force creates a “religious tolerance” policy but consults only a militant atheist group to do so — a group whose leader has described military personnel who are religious as ‘spiritual rapists’ and ‘human monsters’ [39] and who also says that soldiers who proselytize are guilty of treason and sedition and should be punished to hold back a “tidal wave of fundamentalists.” [40]
- January 2013 – President Obama announced his opposition to a provision in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act protecting the rights of conscience for military chaplains. [41]
- June 2012 – Bibles for the American military have been printed in every conflict since the American Revolution, but the Obama Administration revokes the long-standing U. S. policy of allowing military service emblems to be placed on those military Bibles. [42]
- May 2012 – The Obama administration opposed legislation to protect the rights of conscience for military chaplains who do not wish to perform same-sex marriages in violation of their strongly-held religious beliefs. [43]
- April 2012 – A checklist for Air Force Inns will no longer include ensuring that a Bible is available in rooms for those who want to use them. [44]
- February 2012 – The U. S. Military Academy at West Point disinvites three star Army general and decorated war hero Lieutenant General William G. (“Jerry”) Boykin (retired) from speaking at an event because he is an outspoken Christian. [45]
- February 2012 – The Air Force removes “God” from the patch of Rapid Capabilities Office (the word on the patch was in Latin: Dei). [46]
- February 2012 – The Army ordered Catholic chaplains not to read a letter to parishioners that their archbishop asked them to read. [47]
- November 2011 – The Air Force Academy rescinds support for Operation Christmas Child, a program to send holiday gifts to impoverished children across the world, because the program is run by a Christian charity. [48]
- November 2011 – President Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial. [49]
- November 2011 – Even while restricting and disapprobating Christian religious expressions, the Air Force Academy pays $80,000 to add a Stonehenge-like worship center for pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans at the Air Force Academy. [50]
- September 2011 – Air Force Chief of Staff prohibits commanders from notifying airmen of programs and services available to them from chaplains. [51]
- September 2011 – The Army issues guidelines for Walter Reed Medical Center stipulating that “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading materials and/or facts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.” [52]
- August 2011 – The Air Force stops teaching the Just War theory to officers in California because the course is taught by chaplains and is based on a philosophy introduced by St. Augustine in the third century AD – a theory long taught by civilized nations across the world (except now, America). [53]
- June 2011 – The Department of Veterans Affairs forbids references to God and Jesus during burial ceremonies at Houston National Cemetery. [54]
- January 2010 – Because of “concerns” raised by the Department of Defense, tiny Bible verse references that had appeared for decades on scopes and gunsights were removed. [55]
3. Acts of hostility toward Biblical values:
- August 2013 – Non-profit charitable hospitals, especially faith-based ones, will face large fines or lose their tax-exempt status if they don’t comply with new strangling paperwork requirements related to giving free treatment to poor clients who do not have Obamacare insurance coverage. [56] Ironically, the first hospital in America was founded as a charitable institution in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin, and its logo was the Good Samaritan, with Luke 10:35 inscribed below him: “Take care of him, and I will repay thee,” being designed specifically to offer free medical care to the poor. [57] Benjamin Franklin’s hospital would likely be fined unless he placed more resources and funds into paperwork rather than helping the poor under the new faith-hostile policy of the Obama administration.
- August 2013 – USAID, a federal government agency, shut down a conference in South Korea the night before it was scheduled to take place because some of the presentations were not pro-abortion but instead presented information on abortion complications, including the problems of “preterm births, mental health issues, and maternal mortality” among women giving birth who had previous abortions. [58]
- June 2013 – The Obama Administration finalizes requirements that under the Obamacare insurance program, employers must make available abortion-causing drugs, regardless of the religious conscience objections of many employers and even despite the directive of several federal courts to protect the religious conscience of employers. [59]
- April 2013 – The United States Agency for Internal Development (USAID), an official foreign policy agency of the U.S. government, begins a program to train homosexual activists in various countries around the world to overturn traditional marriage and anti-sodomy laws, targeting first those countries with strong Catholic influences, including Ecuador, Honduras, and Guatemala. [60]
- December 2012 – Despite having campaigned to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Obama once again suspends the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 which requires the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the American Embassy there. [61]
- July 2012 – The Pentagon, for the first time, allows service members to wear their uniforms while marching in a parade – specifically, a gay pride parade in San Diego. [62]
- October 2011 – The Obama administration eliminates federal grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for their extensive programs that aid victims of human trafficking because the Catholic Church is anti-abortion. [63]
- September 2011 – The Pentagon directs that military chaplains may perform same-sex marriages at military facilities in violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. [64]
- July 2011 – Obama allows homosexuals to serve openly in the military, reversing a policy originally instituted by George Washington in March 1778. [65]
- March 2011 – The Obama administration refuses to investigate videos showing Planned Parenthood helping alleged sex traffickers get abortions for victimized underage girls. [66]
- February 2011 – Obama directs the Justice Department to stop defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act. [67]
- September 2010 – The Obama administration tells researchers to ignore a judge’s decision striking down federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. [68]
- August 2010 – The Obama administration Cuts funding for 176 abstinence education programs. [69]
- July 2010 – The Obama administration uses federal funds in violation of federal law to get Kenya to change its constitution to include abortion. [70]
- September 16, 2009 – The Obama administration appoints as EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, who asserts that society should “not tolerate” any “private beliefs,” including religious beliefs, if they may negatively affect homosexual “equality.” [71]
- July 2009 – The Obama administration illegally extends federal benefits to same-sex partners of Foreign Service and Executive Branch employees, in direction violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. [72]
- May 2009 – Obama officials assemble a terrorism dictionary calling pro-life advocates violent and charging that they use racism in their “criminal” activities. [75]
- March 2009 – The Obama administration shut out pro-life groups from attending a White House-sponsored health care summit. [76]
- March 2009 – Obama orders taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research. [77]
- March 2009 – Obama gave $50 million for the UNFPA, the UN population agency that promotes abortion and works closely with Chinese population control officials who use forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations. [78]
- January 2009 – Obama lifts restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, forcing taxpayers to fund pro-abortion groups that either promote or perform abortions in other nations. [79]
- January 2009 – President Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of state asserts that American taxpayers are required to pay for abortions and that limits on abortion funding are unconstitutional. [80]
4. Acts of preferentialism for Islam:
- October 2011 – Obama’s Muslim advisers block Middle Eastern Christians’ access to the White House. [83]
- August 2010 – Obama speaks with great praise of Islam and condescendingly of Christianity. [84]
- August 2010 – Obama went to great lengths to speak out on multiple occasions on behalf of building an Islamic mosque at Ground Zero, while at the same time he was silent about a Christian church being denied permission to rebuild at that location. [85]
- April 2010 – Christian leader Franklin Graham is disinvited from the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer Event because of complaints from the Muslim community. [86]
- April 2010 – The Obama administration requires rewriting of government documents and a change in administration vocabulary to remove terms that are deemed offensive to Muslims, including jihad, jihadists, terrorists, radical Islamic, etc. [87]
- May 2009 – While Obama does not host any National Day of Prayer event at the White House, he does host White House Iftar dinners in honor of Ramadan. [88]
- 2010 – While every White House traditionally issues hundreds of official proclamations and statements on numerous occasions, this White House avoids traditional Biblical holidays and events but regularly recognizes major Muslim holidays, as evidenced by its 2010 statements on Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Hajj, and Eid-ul-Adha. [89]
Many of these actions are literally unprecedented – this is the first time they have happened in four centuries of American history. The hostility of President Obama toward Biblical faith and values is without equal from any previous American president.
Have yourself a politically correct Christmas
The following article was originally posted at: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4437550.html
Reprinted with permission.
What is it about the explicitly Christian Christmas card that we find so offensive? Adam Ch’ng is baffled by attempts to purge Christ from Christmas.
With Christmas fast approaching, employers around the country are distributing ‘approved’ Christmas greetings for employees to forward onto our clients.
These greetings are sure not only to be grammatically correct but more importantly, politically correct and sanitised of any references to Christianity whatsoever.
The last thing that Collins Street corporates would want is to unnecessarily ‘offend’ a client by suggesting that Christmas is somehow related to, well, Christianity. In fact, HR departments across Australia almost certainly exchange a handbook titled, Christmas Cards: Prohibited Words and Phrases. This list undoubtedly includes ‘Christ’, ‘Christmas’ and even words with vague religious overtones like, ‘blessed’.
So acute is society’s rejection of Jesus Christ that even mentioning his name is considered ‘insensitive’, ‘offensive’ and ‘politically incorrect’. It looks like Lord Voldemort has stiff competition – Jesus Christ is the new ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’.
But what is it about the explicitly Christian Christmas card that we find so offensive? Why do we feign moral indignation at the mere mention of Jesus Christ? Indeed, there must be some plausible reason why we seem so offended by and even afraid of a Jewish baby born in a cattle trough over 2,000 years ago.
So violent is our opposition to Jesus Christ that in last year’s Sydney Morning Herald, Rob Brooks engaged in first-class mind-bending reality inversion by attacking the ‘cynical attempts by Christians to hijack the whole fiesta for their own religious ends’. Now you don’t have to be the most puritanical Christian to wonder how that makes any sense at all.
But then again, being criticised by Rob Brooks is, as Paul Keating would say, like being flogged with a warm lettuce. The simple truth is that Brooks and others in the commentariat join a long line of cultural elites throughout history who have hated Christmas and the one whose birth it celebrates. Indeed, King Herod was so threatened by the first Christmas that he ordered the infanticide of every male child under the age of two in Bethlehem and the surrounding regions. Such opposition is nothing new.
King Herod was then, like many are today, threatened by Jesus Christ, the newborn child of a carpenter and his wife – the incarnate God. Let’s be clear, the incarnation of God did not represent some divinely painless birth of an inoffensive caricature of ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild’. For Christians across the ages, the incarnation of God heralded the triumphal and yet humble coming of the King of Kings for his subjects. It marked the centre point of human history where the creator God became created man to ‘bring good news to the poor … to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, …to comfort all who mourn’ (Isaiah 61:1-2).
For the shepherds who watched their flocks by night, for the kings of Orient and for all who celebrate the birth of Christ, the first Christmas was then and remains today the best news in the world. As the world struggles to comprehend the darkness of the human heart and the horror of the Newtown shootings, the Christmas message of humanity’s reconciliation with God and each other could not come soon enough.
And therein lies the great offence – the reason why so many seek to purge Christ from Christmas. The incarnation of God at Christmas calls our bluff and exposes humanity’s underbelly. It shows us that something in our world has gone seriously wrong. And above all else, it demonstrates that we are not as in control as we would like to think we are. The first Christmas was (and still is) offensive because it demands reception of a King, acknowledgement of our corruption, acceptance of a Saviour, and faith to trust in the baby Jesus Christ who is both Saviour and King.
In her article, ‘Decaf Christmas‘, Justine Toh rightly observes that many of us opt for a ‘decaf Christ’, a Christmas without the strong and at times discomfiting caffeinated message of Jesus. Others take it further still and attempt to redefine Christmas as the inoffensive chai latte of holiday festivities. Censoring Christ from every Christmas greeting may escape offending our clients but it deprives us all of the hope that the parents of Newtown (and by extension the rest of us) desperately need.
So this year, I intend to send the most politically incorrect Christian Christmas cards that I can find. For the Christmas message with one hand exposes the inconvenient and offensive problem of humanity’s dark underbelly; but with other, it provides the answer by proclaiming peace on earth, and goodwill among men.
Adam Ch’ng is a graduate at a law firm in Melbourne where he principally practices employment and workplace relations law. View his full profile here. The views expressed here are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of his employer or any other organisation.
School bans Christmas trees, the colors red & green
[Original Source: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/12/05/school-bans-christmas-trees-
In an article by Todd Starnes (Todd’s American Dispatch Published December 05, 2013), he shares: “an “elementary school in Frisco, Texas is believed to be the first in the state to violate “The Merry Christmas Law” after they banned Christmas trees and the colors red & green from an upcoming “winter” party.colors-red-green/?intcmp=obnetwork]
Boys and girls who attend the Nichols Elementary School “Winter Party” will not be able to make any reference to Christmas or any other religious holiday. Christmas trees are also banned – along with the colors red and green.”
Once again, the left proves that liberalism is a mental disease. You may ask, “What is the compelling reason for this action? Here’s what the principal of the school had to say:
“…they didn’t want to offend any families and since each family donates money they feel this is the best policy.”
What about all the families who might be offended by not being able to call Christmas, Christmas?!!
Texas Rep. Pat Fallon, the author of a “Merry Christmas Law” that was signed into law in June that “codifies the fact that students and staff are permitted to discuss winter holidays as they please,” was shocked.
“Fallon fired off a letter to every school official in the district, reminding them of their yuletide rights under the law.
“Texas law clearly permits Christmas-themed celebrations, events and displays,” Fallon wrote. “The district may also display scenes or symbols with traditional winter holidays (e.g. nativity scenes, Christmas trees, menorahs, etc.)”
Clearly, this is another example of attacks against Christianity, and one more incremental step of stripping away our rights.
School sued for having a portrait of Jesus
An Ohio school district has agreed to keep a portrait of Jesus Christ off school property and pay a $95,000 fine in the face of legal pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Jackson City School District, located in Jackson, reached a deal on Friday after the ACLU, along with the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, sued the district in February, citing “unconstitutional” actions and charging that students and visitors to the school “will continue to suffer permanent, severe and irreparable harm and injury,” according to the lawsuit.
The picture had been hanging in Jackson’s high school since 1947 as part of a “Hall of Honor” display meant to highlight famous historical figures.
“The case could have ended before it began if the school had simply acknowledged that it is not the government’s place to endorse one specific religion in a public school that children are legally required to attend,” said James Hardiman, the legal director for Ohio’s ACLU chapter.
The case, in which the district was being represented by the Texas-based Liberty Institute, was brought before the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio, though the school eventually agreed to the settlement rather than spend taxpayer dollars on fighting the lawsuit, said Phil Howard, the district’s superintendent.
The portrait was removed by April, and both parties announced in July that they had reached a tentative agreement pending a final settlement.
Under the terms of the settlement, the district will pay the money to the ACLU and Freedom From Religion Foundation for damages and legal fees.