When Famous Christians Suffer Public Depression

Every morning, Sheila Walsh grabs a glass of water to wash down her medication. With a prayer of thanksgiving for doctors, the noted author and speaker swallows her antidepressant.

The Women of Faith speaker and former 700 Club host is a broken woman made whole in Christ. Her platform now teaches women that their history doesn't define their destiny.

It's a message she's lived herself. After her stint as Pat Robertson's cohost, Walsh was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and severe clinical depression. She was placed in a psyche ward for one month.

"Sometimes God will take you to a prison to set you free," Walsh says.

In her first Women of Faith event, Walsh recalls how scared she was to admit her flaws, but the Holy Spirit convicted her to tell the truth of her story. Once she finished, she opened her eyes to see scores of women lining up to speak, all saying, "That's my story!"

‘My Pastor is on the Ashley Madison List.’ What now?

Too many Christians have been caught using Ashley Madison, many of them pastors and church leaders. What now?

This week, I’ve already written a couple of posts on the Ashley Madison hack and information leak because pastors, Christian leaders, and families are facing devastating revelation and the after-effects of public sin.

Based on my conversations with leaders from several denominations in the U.S. and Canada, I estimate that at least 400 church leaders (pastors, elders, staff, deacons, etc.) will be resigning Sunday. This is a significant moment of embarrassment for the church—and it should be. To be honest, the number of pastors and church leaders on Ashley Madison is much lower than the number of those looking to have an affair. Yet, there is still much that we must consider in the midst of the embarrassment.

Also, to be clear, in situations like these, we must confirm all things. Not everyone on the list signed themselves up. Among those who did, the sin and circumstances will be different. Many likely signed themselves up and didn't actually go through with adultery. Regardless, though, trust has been shattered and hearts have been broken. But before we assume a name on a list means adultery has taken place, we must confirm all things and seek the full truth.

Early Notes on the Ashley Madison Hack

1. A data dump, which allegedly contains over 35 million email addresses, 33 million accounts with more detailed information (names and addresses), and every credit card transaction from the last seven years, is reported to have been posted online. It could be doctored or entirely fake, however: a hack was previously confirmed by the company, and early signs point to legitimacy. (Update: Brian Krebs was unsure, but now seems convinced; Ashley Madison’s official statement is ambiguous.)

2. It is not easily accessible to most internet users—it’s still in fairly raw form, in massive downloadable archives.

3. However, 4chan users, and undoubtedly others, are already combing through data and posting their discoveries. They started by searching for people with government email addresses, university email addresses, and addresses associated with major corporations. This is unfolding very quickly, already revealing the email addresses of students, teachers, public servants and municipal employees.

4. Anonymous internet posters have already discovered the email address of at least one public figure. In subsequent posts, they identify this person’s partner. This person has been confronted on Twitter; I would not be surprised if the partner is currently getting alarming emails from strangers. This happened almost instantly after the leak.

What Just Caused Outrage Among Spotify Users?

 Spotify: Users Outraged Amid Muddled Privacy Changes

As seedy businesses go, you’d be hard-pressed to find many that top Ashley Madison.

While traditional dating sites allow people to find dates, relationships, and even marriages, Ashley Madison’s version of “dating” caters to people who want to fly under the radar and cheat on their spouse. “Life is short, have an affair,” as the company’s tagline says.

Except it’s no longer under the radar.

Ashley Madison’s website recently suffered a major cyber attack, with the hackers downloading an enormous amount of users’ data for the public to see. Names, email addresses, credit card numbers – basically, crucial information that users very much wanted to stay private. After all, cheaters hardly wish to be exposed!

Two users even committed suicide after their details were leaked.

The lesson from this breach is simple: Once your information goes online, it’s no longer guaranteed to be private.

Yes… even if the company taking the information promises to keep it safe.

Yes… even if you didn’t give the information voluntarily.

And yes… sometimes, even if it’s illegal to disclose the information.

For every advance in cyber security, cyber thieves are just as determined to access data, which then either becomes widely available or can cause you serious harm. Right now, nobody has an answer to this global epidemic.

NEW STUDY: What you eat can increase your chances of being depressed.

A diet high in refined carbohydrates may lead to an increased risk for new-onset depression in postmenopausal women, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study by James Gangwisch, PhD and colleagues in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) looked at the dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, types of carbohydrates consumed, and depression in data from more than 70,000 postmenopausal women who participated in the National Institutes of Health's Women's Health Initiative Observational Study between 1994 and 1998.

Consumption of carbohydrates increases blood sugar levels to varying degrees, depending on the type of food ingested. The more highly refined the carbohydrate, the higher its score on the glycemic index (GI) scale. The GI scale, which goes from 0-100, measures the amount of sugar found in the blood after eating. Refined foods such as white bread, white rice, and soda trigger a hormonal response in the body to increase blood sugar levels. This response may also cause or exacerbate mood changes, fatigue and other symptoms of depression.

Outrage as Decades Old Jesus Portrait Is Forcefully Removed From Kansas School by Atheists

Kansas residents are outraged after an atheist group forced a local middle school to remove a portrait of Jesus Christ that had been displayed in the school since the 1950s.

"I'm sick of this," said 53-year-old Chanute resident Jack Lynch, according to Reuters. "This country was founded on Christian beliefs. In God we trust. Now people want to come in and change all that. If they don't like it let them leave."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist organization, warned Royster Middle School Superintendent Richard Proffitt that the portrait's display at the public school was an "egregious violation of the First Amendment."

Proffitt subsequently explained that after receiving the complaint he had no choice but to remove the portrait from the school.

"I conferred with legal counsel and both of them told me to be in compliance with state and federal law that we had to have it removed," he said.

Proffitt added, however, that people from around the country have since complained about the portrait's removal.

FFRF law clerk Ryan Jayne said that a local community member initially notified the law group about the portrait.

"They were afraid to bring it up themselves so they came to us," Jayne said.

"In areas that are predominantly Christian, the backlash that non-Christians receive when they speak out against government endorsement of religion can be very severe."

Kenya tighten regulations on Religious Organizations

The Kenyan government is cracking down on churches in the country, using two high-profile incidents of misconduct to help justify the new regulations.

In mid-August, Deputy President William Ruto said the government will tighten regulations on the registration of religious organizations and their leaders in an attempt to tame rogue pastors.
Speaking during a conference for Full Gospel Churches of Kenya in Embu, central Kenya, Ruto said he regretted the church had been invaded by unscrupulous preachers who were defrauding gullible followers.

But the latest incidents involving preacher misconduct have nothing to do with church-related activities.

On Aug. 12, police arrested James Ng’ang’a of Neno Evangelism Centre following an accident in July that killed one woman and left her husband seriously injured. Ng’ang’a was charged with attempting to defeat justice and giving false information to government officers in an attempt to cover up the accident. Officials also charged two police officers who declined to investigate the case and another man who claimed he was behind the wheel, not Ng’ang’a, when the accident happened.

World's Largest Christian Wax Museum Uses Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis and Prince Charles to Spread the Gospel

The BibleWalk wax museum has been attracting a lot of attention lately — and not because of its detailed mannequins that depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments, but because several of the mannequins are repurposed from celebrity statues. Prince Charles, Elvis and Elizabeth Taylor are a just few famous faces out of over 300 figures, and the staff is continuing to add to the collection.

BibleWalk was started 28 years ago by the Rev. Richard Diamond and his wife, Alwilda, and because it is completely staffed by volunteers from their church, Diamond Hill Cathedral, they have to obtain the mannequins from other sites across the country in order to illustrate biblical stories. Often that means using the likenesses of Prince Phillip for an angel or Elvis to represent Samson.

"We try to do them up a bit different sometimes [so they won't be recognized]," museum employee Moriah Daugherty told The Telegraph. "For the most part people are here to hear the Bible stories, so we do have people recognize them sometimes, but people really do just recognize the word of God and are so in tune to the story that's going on as they're walking through the museum that it's really not too much of a distraction."


BibleWalk welcomes visitors of all denominations, or no denomination, who often find themselves overwhelmed by the stunning display of the crucifixtion of Jesus, or the museum's newest scene, which depicts the journeys of Paul in the New Testament. It's the reason BibleWalk attracts over 30,000 visitors each year, with some even inspired to visit the adjacent church afterwards, museum Director Julia Mott-Hardin told The Christian Post.

JOHN ECKHARDT: Can a Christian Have a Demon?

(CHARISMAMAG) There was a time when we taught in our church that Christians could not have demons. I preached long sermons stating that Christians could be oppressed, regressed, digressed, obsessed and suppressed, but never pos­sessed. We believed that a demon could be outside a Christian oppressing him but that it could not be inside him. The reasoning I used to defend this position was that Jesus and the Holy Spirit could not live inside the same body in which demons reside.

The problem was, our experience did not match our theology. When we min­istered deliverance, we frequently prayed for people we knew were born-again, Spirit-filled believers—and they mani­fested demons! We had to face the fact that either our experience was wrong or our doctrine was wrong.

We couldn't question our experience because we knew what we were seeing. So we began to question our theology.

In our search for truth, we realized that in the Bible, Jesus tells us to cast devils out, not to cast devils off. Obviously, for some­thing to come out, it must be in. We finally came to the conclusion that our interpre­tation of the Bible had been wrong.

Now I am convinced not only that a Christian can have demons but also that there are demons that operate in the realm of theology, encouraging us to argue and debate endlessly over doctrine rather than meeting the needs of people who are hurting. Demons actually help promote the teaching that a Christian cannot have a demon, because they gain strength from staying hidden. They can operate in their destructive ways without being challenged!

Some may argue that a believer cannot be possessed. But the dismaying fact remains that born-again Christians, including leaders, are experiencing dif­ficulties that can find no solution in nat­ural infirmities or the endless conflict between the flesh and the Spirit.

It's time to acknowledge that we are dealing with real people who have real problems and that God did not save and commission us so we could argue over doctrine. He called us into ministry so we can help people who are hurting, wounded and bruised.

When you come into contact with someone who is controlled by demons, the answer is to cast the devils out, not to argue about whether or not the person is a Christian. The answer is to bring help to that person.

France Honors Americans, Brit for Foiling Gunman on a crowded train

French President Francois Hollande pinned the Legion of Honor, his nation's highest award, on three American servicemen and a Briton who risked their lives to stop a gunman on a crowded train in Europe.

"Here are four men who with the help of others acted not just to save their own lives but who also came to help others and saved the lives of others," NBC News quoted the French president.

"You risked your lives to defend an ideal, the ideal of liberty and freedom," Hollande said.

Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone, and Alek Skarlator, all members of the U.S. military, have been friends since childhood.

"Alek just hit me on the shoulder and said, 'Let's go' and ran down, tackled him," U.S. airman Spencer Stone recalled. "We hit the ground. Alek came up and grabbed the gun out of his hand. I put him in a chokehold. It seemed like he just kept pulling more weapons left and right."

RESEARCH: Divorce Divides More Than Just Families

LifeWay Research released new data from a recent study on how Protestant pastors and Americans see divorce. What makes divorce sinful? Do circumstances around the divorce drastically affect how pastors or Americans view divorce?

What Do Americans Think?

Aaron Earls wrote for LifeWay Research:

In a phone survey of 1,000 Americans, LifeWay Research found 39 percent say divorce is a sin when an individual’s spouse commits adultery; 38 percent when the couple no longer loves one another; 38 percent when a spouse abandons the other; 37 percent when a spouse is abused; and 35 percent when a spouse is addicted to pornography. Close to the same (37 percent) say divorce is not a sin in any of these.

Scott McConnell, Vice President of LifeWay Research, reported, "About one in seven Americans are saying divorce is a sin in all of these cases, more than a third don’t think any of these would be a sin, and almost half believe some circumstances would be sinful, but not others."

Here is more from Aaron Earls' release:

Differences also exist between Americans from different regions of the country. Those in the Northeast and those in the predominately Protestant South are more likely to consider the various possibilities as sinful compared to those in the West. Westerners are the most likely to say none of the reasons would be a sin (51 percent).

Minorities are also frequently more likely to consider as a sin the particular reasons for a divorce. Hispanics are more likely than whites to say it is sinful to divorce when one spouse commits adultery—45 percent compared to 36 percent. African Americans are most likely to believe divorcing over abuse is a sin. Almost half (47 percent) say yes, compared to 36 percent of whites and 32 percent of Hispanics. Only a quarter (26 percent) of African Americans say none of the reasons given are a sin, compared to 40 percent of whites and 37 percent of Hispanics.

Amazon is taking over television

At first glance, it seemed like a typically iconoclastic move by a man who has made a career out of upsetting apple carts (and TV executives).

When Jeremy Clarkson announced last month that he and his fellow ex-Top Gear presenters, Richard Hammond and James May, had agreed to front a new motoring show for internet company Amazon, many fans were taken by surprise. The trio, after all, were television’s hottest free agents at the time, having left the BBC abruptly following a widely reported punch-up in a hotel, and commentators were confidently predicting the team would be signed up by ITV, Sky or another of the BBC’s traditional rivals.

But, in fact, we shouldn’t have been surprised at all; Amazon has been plotting to take over the world of television for years and the Top Gear coup is just the start of an accelerated investment in programme making and feature film production by a company that not that many years ago was most famous for selling books online.

But why is Amazon muscling its way into film and television? And what will it mean for viewers? The answer to the first question is simple: it is doing it because it can. Over the last five years a technological revolution has seen more and more people watching their favourite films and television shows over the internet. Instead of waiting for a time in the week when a broadcaster deigned to show the next episode in a particular series, viewers now have the opportunity to watch programmes or movies at a time and a place of their choosing, whether that be in their living room between nine and 10 o’clock on a Tuesday evening or under a tree in their local park on a Sunday afternoon.

The on-demand streaming service Netflix has attracted more than four million subscribers in the UK with a slate of dramas, sitcoms, documentaries, children’s programmes and films.

But, if anything, Amazon is in an even stronger position than Netflix. The sixth most popular website in the world, Amazon has tens of millions of internet-connected customers, most of whom have, over the years, happily embraced an ever-expanding suite of Amazon products. The US company was also in the film-rental business way before Netflix, having built up a back catalogue of tens of thousands of films and TV shows, which it sent to customers via post.

PRC RESEARCH: Mobile Messaging and Social Media 2015

In today’s world, people — particularly young people — are continually finding and adapting new ways of communicating electronically to fit their needs. Case in point: 2015 marks the first time Pew Research Center has asked specifically about mobile messaging apps as a separate kind of mobile activity apart from cell phone texting. And already, according to a new survey, 36% of smartphone owners report using messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Kik or iMessage, and 17% use apps that automatically delete sent messages such as Snapchat or Wickr.

Both of these kinds of apps are particularly popular among young adults. Half (49%) of smartphone owners ages 18 to 29 use messaging apps, while 41% use apps that automatically delete sent messages. These apps are free, and when connected to Wi-Fi, they do not use up SMS (Short Messaging Service) or other data. Furthermore, they offer a more private kind of social interaction than traditional social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.

The results in this report reflect the noteworthy and rapid emergence of different kinds of communications tools serving different social needs. These new tools add to an already complex and varied terrain of online and mobile interaction.

Overall, this survey found that 85% of adults are internet users and 67% are smartphone users. Throughout this report, analysis is largely based on these groups.

Along with asking about usage of mobile messaging apps, the survey also tracked usage of a variety of social media platforms and online forums. Among the key findings:

The proportion of online adults who use Pinterest and Instagram has doubled since Pew Research Center first started tracking social media platform adoption in 2012. Some 31% of online adults use Pinterest (up from 15% in 2012), while 28% use Instagram (up from 13% in 2012). However, none of the social media platforms measured in this survey experienced a statistically significant increase in usage between September 2014 and April 2015.

Revival Hits Muslim North Africa.

A Christian revival is touching the northernmost reaches of Africa. In a region once hostile to the Gospel, now tens of thousands of Muslims are following Jesus.

As the sun sets over the Mediterranean Sea, Muslims across Northern Africa are converting to faith in Jesus Christ in record numbers.

"What God is doing in North Africa, all the way from actually Mauritanian to Libya, is unprecedented in the history of missions," said Tino Qahoush, a graduate of Regent University and filmmaker.

Qahoush has spent years traveling the region to document the transformation.

"I have the privilege of recording testimonies and listening to first-hand stories of men and women of all ages, where they can be sitting in a room and see the appearance and the presence of God appear to them in reality, like a vision," he told CBN News.

"Some of them gave me stories of how they carry on a conversation. It's not just a light that appears" he added.

Qahoush revealed that sometimes he feels jealous.

"How come Jesus is visiting the Muslim world at this time and age and we don't hear that happening in the traditional Christian community?" he said.

A Profound Move of God

His interviews confirm what experts say is a profound move of God in the predominantly Muslim nations of Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia.

From the shores of Casablanca, Morocco, to Tripoli, Libya, experts say the growth of Christianity, especially in the last 20 years, has been unprecedented.

Now that growth is also evident in the North African nation of Algeria.

Pastor Salah leads one of the largest churches in Algeria. Some 1,200 believers attend the church, and 99 percent of the population is Muslim.

"In fact we never thought the Algerian church would grow so big," Salah said.

He said every new Christian in his church came from a Muslim background. Since the church opened, they have baptized on average 150-160 believers per year.

Zino, a former Muslim, was invited to attend Pastor Salah's church by a friend. What he saw transformed him.

"I saw Algerians worshipping God with all their hearts and it touched me," Zino shared.

Others like Farhat, who is also a former Muslim, spoke of miraculous encounters. He said he was illiterate and couldn't read the Bible when he accepted the Lord. Then God made a change.

"Since then I've read the Bible and understood the Word of God," he told CBN News. "This is just an example of what God has done in my life, and this is the case of many people here in Algeria."

Muslims: 'Tell Us About Jesus!'

Even though Algeria is overwhelmingly Muslim, the government has given Protestant churches the freedom to register their congregations.

"It is the first Muslim Arab government who recognizes, officially, churches from Islam," Youssef Qurahmane, a leading Algerian pastor, said.

He said although government will harass and intimidate Christians from time to time, the level of persecution is nothing like it was 20 years ago.

10 Quick Tips to Be a Better Boss

It takes more than one person to make a company successful--great businesses thrive because of outstanding teamwork. It might be easy to bring a group of people together, but creating a cooperative and cohesive team of people, one that's working for a common goal, isn't so simple. It takes good leadership to help them be excited and effective. Like Henry Ford said, "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself."

People want to do a great job, and to have their hard work acknowledged. When you treat your team members with honesty and respect and show a willingness to join them, you're leading a culture of cooperation--and that's a culture that produces enthusiastic and productive followers.

Do you want to lead your team to success? Do these 10 things:

1. Lead by example. Don't ask your team to do something that you aren't willing to do. If you never stay late to finish a project, you can't expect them to give up their evenings.

2. Provide the tools. Do you know what your people need in order to succeed? Ask them and then listen--really listen. Maybe they need new software or special training. Whatever it is, show that you're attentive and ready to support them.

3. Don't micromanage. If you pick the right people, you can let them run with their own assignments. Checking on them causes frustration and wastes your time, so if you can't rely on others, you might need to re-evaluate your hiring process.

4. Be real. Leaders have emotions, too. When you can honestly share the joys and frustrations of a project, you're giving team members permission to be their authentic selves. Respect on both sides will grow and prosper.

CNN/ORC Poll: Majority declares Obama a Failure as President

(Newsmax) President Barack Obama's disapproval rating is past the 50 percent mark, according to a new CNN/ORC poll, with his worst ratings coming on how he's handling the Islamic State (ISIS) and Iran.

The poll shows that 51 percent of the 1,001 adults surveyed between Aug. 13-17 disapprove of how Obama handles the presidency overall, with 47 percent approving, reports CNN. The president's show is a flip from those in a similar poll in late July, in which respondents gave him a 49 percent approval rating and 47 percent disapproval rating. 

The current poll also showed that a majority disapproves of how the president handles the economy and foreign affairs, with 52 percent saying his plans would move the United States in the wrong direction.

And overall, 52 percent of the poll's respondents say things are going badly in the country, compared to 48 percent who think matters are going well.

But the worst marks came in how Obama handles ISIS, with 62 percent saying they disapprove of his approach to the insurgent jihadist group. Further, another 60 percent disapprove of how he's handling Iran.

And while Obama generally has high ratings among Democrats, 35 percent said they disapprove of how he handles ISIS and 30 percent Iran, and overall, 23 percent of Democrats say they do not approve on how he's handling foreign affairs.

Zuckerberg calls Trump's proposal that the U.S. deport 11 million illegal immigrants "absurd."

Mark Zuckerberg has a message for all Americans: Unfollow Donald Trump.

Zuckerberg's advocacy group FWD.us released a statement Wednesday calling Trump's proposal that the U.S. deport 11 million illegal immigrants "absurd." Posted by FWD.us president Todd Schulte, the statement doesn't name Trump specifically but calls out the "voices yelling for mass deportation," an immigration reform idea Trump has supported.

FWD.us's statement reads as a retort to Trump's first policy paper on immigration reform, in which he refers to Florida Senator Marco Rubio as "Mark Zuckerberg's personal senator," implying Rubio takes his immigration policy cues from the Facebook co-founder. Here's what the FWD.us post says about the consequences of mass deportation:

"[D]eporting 11.5 million people would cost U.S. taxpayers $400 to $600 billion dollars, and would take at least 20 years to complete. Even worse, this mass deportation would reduce our GDP by $1.7 trillion--over 5 percent. Many industries would be hit hard, others--like agriculture, construction and hospitality--would be devastated."

Women in a Nigerian community claim toxic waste made their husbands impotent

The people of Rido community in Chikun Local Government area of Kaduna State, the host community to the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), have protested over dump of toxic waste and flares from the industrial plants in the area.

The residents who complained about the hard time they were passing through due to the chemical emission they
inhale from toxic waste, said they were always counting their losses. Some of the women living in the area took to the street in a peaceful protest over what they described as starvation as a result of low libido of their men to satisfy them in bed.

Saved from Islam on September 11 - Charles H. Featherstone

I’ve heard that Christians are made, not born. How true that is, I don’t know. My wife, Jennifer, was born on a Thursday and baptized by her father, a Lutheran pastor, the following Sunday. She may not have been born a Christian, but she is about as close as one can get. For me, the path to Christian faith has been far rockier.

Both my parents were raised as Lutherans. But my mother never had much use for religion. And my father, who had taken religion seriously, lost his faith in God’s goodness in the jungles of South Vietnam.

My father hoped to make a career in the Army. So we moved a lot, five times during my first ten years. When he finally resigned his commission in 1977, we settled in a Southern California suburb.

It wasn’t home. It couldn’t be. And by that time, I had been on the receiving end of my father’s intense but sporadic violence for some years. I learned to both fear and hate him, and almost all authority. School quickly became unsafe as well: I was bullied, terrorized, and abused regularly, not just by classmates, but also by my fifth-grade teacher. There was no one to trust. I was frightened, incredibly alone, and increasingly angry.


But whatever I lacked in religious guidance, I never blamed God. I didn’t know how. Indeed, there was an intense God-hunger in my soul. I may not have known where I was going or even how to start, but I knew there was something out there worth finding.

Fiery Belfast Preacher in "Hate Speech" Trial Not Backing Down From Islamic Extremists

"The police tried to shut me up and tell me what to preach. It's ridiculous. I believe in freedom of speech. I'm going to keep on preaching the Gospel. I have nothing against Muslims, I have never hated Muslims. I have never hated anyone. But I am against what Muslims believe. They have the right to say what they believe in and I have a right to say what I believe. I am 78 years of age and in ill health but jail knows no fear for me. They can lock me up with sex offenders, hoodlums and paramilitaries and I will do my time." –Pastor James McConnell

An evangelical Christian pastor in Northern Ireland has made his first court appearance after he was charged with making "grossly offensive" remarks about Islam. (Photo via Breaking Israel News)

James McConnell, 78, appeared at Laganside Magistrates Court in Belfast on August 6, after local Muslims complained that he delivered a sermon in which he described Islam as "heathen" and "satanic."

According to Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS), McConnell - whose sermon was streamed live on the Internet - violated the 2003 Communications Act by "sending, or causing to be sent, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message or other matter that was grossly offensive."

Pastor McConnell's prosecution is one of a growing number of examples in which British authorities - who routinely ignore incendiary speech by Muslim extremists - are using hate speech laws to silence Christians.

In what was described as an "extraordinary morning," more than 1,000 people appeared outside the courthouse singing hymns and waving placards - declaring "Christianity under persecution" and "Evil Sharia law is not welcome in our country" - in a mass show of solidarity for McConnell, who was cheered and applauded as he entered and exited the courthouse. 
Inside the courtroom, McConnell's defense attorney, Joe Rice, told District Judge Amanda Henderson that his client was "strenuously" contesting the case. Rice said:

"We are pleading not guilty. Very candidly not guilty. This is one of the most bizarre and peculiar cases I have ever seen before the court.

"The Pastor has waited a long time for this to come to court. He did not incite hatred or encourage violence against Muslims. He expressed views about another religion, not in a personalized manner but in a generalized way.

"He believes in the freedom of speech - he's a member of the clergy in Northern Ireland. He has every right to criticize Islam, as Islamic clerics have the right to entice him. This is a principled stance that the pastor has taken. This is not the PPS's finest hour, this case." 
The entire hearing lasted less than ten minutes. As he left the courthouse, McConnell addressed his supporters amid loud cheers and applause. He said:

Church at the vanguard of anti-graft crusade –Most Rev. Okoh

The Primate, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, said on Tuesday that the church had always been at the vanguard of the fight against corruption in the country.

Okoh said this at a conference with the theme ‘Ebenezer’, organised for Chancellors, Registrars and Legal Officers at the Basilica of Grace Diocese of Abuja, Gudu District, Apo, Abuja.

He was speaking against the backdrop of President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to fight corruption.

The Primate said the church had been in the forefront of sensitising people to the need to live right.

Okoh called on Nigerians to live their lives devoid of corruption, adding that any Nigerian found culpable would face the wrath of the law.

The cleric added, “We had the privilege to see Mr. President and he told us that it (anti-corruption war) is on course, and that what is happening at the moment is that he is gathering facts and statistics and that as soon as that is completed, they will start prosecution.

Facebook leads social pack in US, Twitter sputters

Facebook remains the dominant social network for US Internet users, while Twitter has failed to keep apace with rivals like Instagram and Pinterest, a study showed Wednesday. 

The Pew Research Center report found 72 per cent of Americans who are online currently use Facebook, a modest uptick of one percentage point from a year ago and five points higher than in 2012. 

Because the vast majority of Americans use the Internet, the figures suggest 62 per cent of all US adults are on Facebook, according to Pew. 

The study showed Pinterest, the bulletin-board style network, was used by 31 per cent of those surveyed while Facebook-owned photo-sharing network Instagram grabbed 28 per cent, with both showing significant growth. 

Twitter's share remained stuck at 23 per cent, the same level as last year, although it rose from 16 per cent in 2012. 

Facebook has an added advantage over its rivals because its users are "highly engaged," according to the survey, which found 70 per cent of Facebook users saying they log on daily, including 43 per cent who do so several times a day. 

That compared with daily engagement of 59 per cent for Instagram users, 38 per cent of those on Twitter and 27 per cent of Pinterest users. 

92-year-old woman kicked out of church for not tithing

(KCTV5) A 92-year-old woman is no longer allowed to worship at the church where she was a member for more than 50 years because she was not tithing.

Josephine King said that was the reason she was kicked out of Bainbridge's First African Baptist Church.

Her family members said they hope the situation will bring change to churches across the nation.

“Josephine King is no longer considered a member of the First African Baptist Church of Bainbridge, Georgia,” read Gerald Simmons, as he skimmed over the letter addressed to his aunt.

The letter, signed by Senior Pastor Derrick Mike, stated that Ms. King "has shown non-support" towards the church in the areas of "constant and consistent financial and physical participation."

"She was stunned. She was disappointed. She was shocked," said Simmons.

Most Americans Don’t See Sin in Divorce

In a summer of celebrity splits — Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, Miss Piggy and Kermit — a question comes up for many Christians.

Is it a sin — cohabitating Muppets aside — to break up a marriage?

If you’ve got a good reason for divorce — adultery, abuse, addiction or abandonment — fewer than 1 in 4 Americans would call that a sin, a new LifeWay Research survey finds.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults finds only a minority would call divorce a sin even when:

• There’s adultery (39 percent).
• The two people no longer love each other (38 percent).
• One spouse has abandoned the other (38 percent).
• One spouse is abusing the other (37 percent).
• A spouse is addicted to pornography (35 percent).
• However, 37 percent say divorce is not a sin in any of those circumstances.

People who identify as Christians were slightly more likely to see sin in those divorcing over abuse (43 percent) or abandonment (43 percent) or pornography addiction (39 percent).

And more than 4 in 10 Protestants (43 percent) think it’s sinful for couples to split over a lack of love, according to the survey, which has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. 

T.D. Jakes Involved in Controversy over LGBT Comments

Bishop T. D. Jakes, senior pastor of The Potter’s House in Dallas, recently became embroiled in controversy within the Christian community and beyond when his comments in an interview on HuffPost Live were interpreted as supporting the LGBT community.

Jakes has since issued a statement on Facebook, clarifying his comments and what he believes. He asserts that his comments were misconstrued and reiterates his orthodox stance on sexuality.

Jakes’  comments concerning his views on the LGBT community were especially pinpointed by both liberals and conservatives because he used the words “evolved” and “evolving,” indicating that his beliefs are shifting to a less stringent definition of marriage, and even that he may be leaning toward embracing the homosexual community. 

More gay and transgender characters appearing in TV shows for children

(CHRISTIANITY TODAY)There is no escaping the widespread acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage—not even in cartoon shows. Parents are now being warned that more and more gay and transgender characters are being shown in television shows directed at children.

"There are definitely more gay and transgender characters and stories in children's television," Christian media watcher Jeff Johnston told LifeSiteNews.

He said some examples can be found in the animated series "The Legend of Korra," which ended its third and final season with the two lead heroines holding hands and dissolving into a mist, thus hinting at a lesbian relationship between the two.

Then there's the Australian cartoon series "SheZow," which featured a "a 12-year-old boy who finds a 'power ring' that turns him into a girl," Johnson said.

Cartoon Network's "Adventure Time" has strong "gender-queer narratives," he noted, adding that its creator, Pendleton Ward, even admitted that the show's two female characters—Marcelline and Princess Bubblegum—previously "dated." 

Kenyan Clergy Joins Battle Against Deadly Homemade Brews

(CHRISTIAN HEADLINES) Clerics in Kenya are backing a presidential decree banning homemade brews, largely blamed for a recent spate of deaths in the East African nation.

The homemade alcoholic drinks, popularly dubbed chang’aa (“kill me quick”) or Kumi Kumi (ten-ten shillings), are popular with the poor, who cannot afford commercially brewed bottled beer, which is heavily taxed.

Until recently, most Kenyan homemade brews were safe and were consumed at traditional parties, but unscrupulous brewers in the last few years have been introducing industrial chemicals such as methanol to make the drinks stronger and to quicken the brewing process, turning the drinks into poisons.

Local church leaders are alarmed, and say addiction to the stronger brews has become a leading killer. It is also destroying families and youth and entrenching poverty, they say.

War against dissent: Chinese TV Host gets Punished for Insulting Communist Leader Mao Zedong

Quite a lot of interesting things are happening in China lately. There is a sweeping campaign against dissent. Earlier, their was an intense persecution of Christians, followed by the removal of crosses from Church buildings with the attendant backlash.

The latest of these disturbing development is the report credited to  The Washington Free Beacon, of a TV host who was accused of demonstrating a lack of "Political discipline" for daring to criticize the late leader and founder of the Communist Party Mao Zedong at a private dinner. He made the comments about Mao in April which included a vulgar insult about Mao in a revolutionary song at the event.

Please read the report: 

A popular TV personality in China will be punished for insulting Communist Party founder Mao Zedong at a private dinner, according to state media reports, the latest example of Chinese authorities’ sweeping ideological campaign against dissent.

Authorities said on Sunday that Bi Fujian, a talent show host on China Central Television, had demonstrated a lack of “political discipline” when he made the comments about Mao in April. Bi reportedly included a vulgar insult about Mao in a revolutionary song at the event and said that, “he has ruined us all.”

Gay activists sue Swiss Catholic Bishop for preaching against gay marriage

A homosexual activist group called Pink Cross, the umbrella organization of Swiss male homosexuals, has announced that it will file a lawsuit against Bishop Vitus Huonder of Chur, Switzerland. The organization claims that Huonder had publicly called for crimes against homosexuals by quoting the Book of Leviticus at a recent conference in Fulda, Germany.

Bishop Huonder had given this talk on July 31 at a conservative Catholic conference organized by a lay organization, Forum Deutscher Katholiken, that is opposed to the proposals to change and liberalize the Catholic Church's moral teaching on marriage and the family. The conference, “Rejoicing in the Faith” (Freude am Glauben), published a communiqué in which it asks the pope and Synod Fathers to “find answers taken from the sources of knowledge of the Holy Scripture and the Church's Tradition which fill today's life reality of the faithful with new Christian spirit.”

The conference communiqué also states:

We reject the discrimination of people because of their sexual orientation. However, we stress that the notion “marriage” has to be preserved for the Living and Loving Community of one man with one woman. Family is and remains for us the community of father, mother, and child(ren).

Mike Bamiloye calls for tougher sanctions against piracy

MOUNT Zion Faith Ministries International has called for tougher sanctions for pirates who steal intellectual property of others.

This call was made yesterday in Ibadan by the founder of the Christian drama ministries, Evangelist Mike Bamiloye.

He said this while speaking with newsmen as part of activities marking the 30th year anniversary of the Ministries.

According to him, the government should prove it is not in support of piracy by putting a very strong policy in place that would check the menace which threatens the survival of publishing and film industries in the country.

Bamiloye who was flanked by Chairman of Planning Committee, Pastor Deji Adekusibe‎, Evangelist Wole Olaleye, Yemi Adepoju, Elvon Jarrett, Kolade Segun Okeowo‎ and other members of the popular group said, “there has not been a strong policy against piracy in Nigeria.

The Federal Government should evolve strong policy against piracy. The pirates should be identified and the suspects should be punished accordingly. This will serve as a deterrent to other people that may be or want to go into piracy.”

C.N.F EDITORIAL: Where is the U.S.A heading?

While the Oklahoma's Supreme Court has declared that the State must remove a Ten Commandments stone monument, the Satanic Statue is being unveiled in Detroit. The goal of the Satanist, which has been ongoing for years, was to move the statue to Oklahoma, side by side the 10 Commandments statue. Once that failed, their new plan is to move it to Arkansas where a law authorizing a Ten Commandments statue on capitol grounds was approved earlier in 2015. Why are the Satanists so fixated with placing their statue beside the Ten Commandments?

Some sections of the American judiciary are increasingly becoming tools for upturning the status quo, coming in the wake of the controversial gay right ruling of June 26, 2015. These Judgments at most times, are at variance with the tide of public opinion, the States Legislature and her executive arm. Why must the verdict of few “activist" Judges prevail against the majority, including the elected arms and the general populace. Is there no place for referendum especially on major and highly controversial issues?

Obama Signed Off on Iran’s Right to Nuclear Program in Secret 2011 Talks

Obama misled the nation about secret deals with Iran

President Barack Obama approved of Iran’s right to operate a nuclear program in 2011 during secret meetings with Iranian officials, according to new disclosures by Iran’s Supreme Leader.

The comments, made earlier this year by Ali Khamenei, dispute claims by the Obama administration that it only began talking to Iran after the election of President Hassan Rouhani.

Khamenei revealed in a recent speech that talks began in secret with anti-Semitic, Holocaust denying former President Mahmoud Ahmadenejad. At this time, Obama told the Iranians he endorses Iran’s right to have a nuclear program.

“The issue of negotiating with the Americans is related to the term of the previous [Ahmadinejad] government, and to the dispatching of a mediator to Tehran to request talks,” Khamenei said in a recent speech translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“At the time, a respected regional figure came to me as a mediator and explicitly said that U.S. President [Obama] had asked him to come to Tehran and present an American request for negotiations,” Khamenei disclosed. “The Americans told this mediator: ‘We want to solve the nuclear issue and lift sanctions within six months, while recognizing Iran as a nuclear power.’”

SPY THREAT: China Read Emails of Top U.S. Officials

NBC NEWS: China's cyber spies have accessed the private emails of "many" top Obama administration officials, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official and a top secret document obtained by NBC News, and have been doing so since at least April 2010.

The email grab -- first codenamed "Dancing Panda" by U.S. officials, and then "Legion Amethyst" -- was detected in April 2010, according to a top secret NSA briefing from 2014. The intrusion into personal emails was still active at the time of the briefing and, according to the senior official, is still going on.

In 2011, Google disclosed that the private gmail accounts of some U.S. officials had been compromised, but the briefing shows that private email accounts from other providers were compromised as well.

The government email accounts assigned to the officials, however, were not hacked because they are more secure, says the senior U.S. intelligence official.

The senior official says the private emails of "all top national security and trade officials" were targeted.

The Chinese also harvested the email address books of targeted officials, according to the document, reconstructing and then "exploiting the(ir) social networks" by sending malware to their friends and colleagues.

Why So Many People Think Obama Is the Antichrist

If you type in "is Obama the Antichrist" into Google, you'll get about 822,000 results in .34 seconds. By way of comparison, if you ask "is Bush the Antichrist" you get 454,000 results in .43 seconds.

(Last week, we learned if you type "is Pope Francis Antichrist" into Google, you'll get about 425,000 results in .37 seconds. And you ask Google the same question about Pope Benedict you only get 137,000 and it takes a little longer—.47 seconds.)

So just as I asked why so many people think Pope Francis is the Antichrist last week, I'll ask another pointed question: Why do so many people think President Obama is the Antichrist? Could it be for some of the same reasons his popularity is declining? His approval rating in the United States has dropped from 86 percent in January 2009 to 44 percent in August 2015, according to Rasmussen Reports.

Indeed, even some Democrats are cooling off to Obama, the first-ever African-American to take office. In fact, the once-hated President George Bush is now more popular than Obama. Fifty-two percent have a favorable opinion of Bush, despite the fact that over 100,000 questioned if he was the Antichrist during his term, according to a CNN/ORC poll.

So what gives? "Despite the public's focus on the economy, it may not be the issue driving down Obama's approval ratings," writes CNN Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta. "While the public's assessment of his handling of the economy is about the same as it was in February, he's lost ground on his handling of ISIS (down 8 points since February)."

It turns out, 1 in 5 Republicans think Obama is the Antichrist, according to Public Policy Polling. Obama is an pro-abortion activist and a pro-gay president who ushered same-sex marriage into the mainstream in his term. He inked a nuclear deal with Iran that sets the stage for Israel's destruction. And, generally speaking, his policies have certainly given boldness to the antichrist agenda. His refusal to call terrorism Islamic has also ruffled feathers.

Ex Fashion Model: Victoria's Secret Photoshopping Incident Led Me to Jesus Christ

Many young girls often fantasize about becoming a fashion model, but for one young woman who spent eight years living "the dream," seeing the perils of the industry was enough to turn her off for good. She hopes that her story about finding Christ in Hollywood will inspire others.

At age 17, Nicole Weider thought that she had hit the jackpot after finding success in the modeling industry shortly after relocating to Los Angeles. But after six years, what many outsiders perceive to be glitz and glamour actually turned out to be a world of darkness and destruction that left her battling a deep depression at age 23.

"I mean I saw it all," Weider told The Christian Post. "I saw many celebrities in front of me doing drugs, I saw models that I work with starving themselves, anything you can imagine I saw up close and personal."

During one particular photo shoot with leading lingerie retailer, Victoria's Secret, which is known to recruit statuesque supermodels from around the world such as former VS Angel Gisele Bundchen (who Weider once met), the Christian author was left shocked after seeing the extent of airbrushing and photoshopping that goes into their campaigns. The incident would forever change her perspective on modeling and motivated her to turn her back on the industry for good and eventually give her life to Jesus.

"I think the most shocking thing that I discovered was I worked on a Victoria's Secret commercial just as a body double for one of the models and one of the photographer's assistants was retouching the pictures on one of the monitors," she recalled. "And he was showing me how he was photoshopping the pictures in real time and I was completely blown away because here in front of me was all these beautiful supermodels (they were gorgeous) and then here he was retouching all the pictures and I couldn't believe it.