Same-sex couples received their marriage licenses Friday morning at the Rowan County clerk's office following a judge's orders for Christian County Clerk Kim Davis to be sent to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in June. Davis cited "God's authority" as the reason she defied the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. One day after Davis was jailed, however, her deputy clerks started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, the first being to William Smith Jr. and James Yates. Deputy clerk Brian Mason issued the license to the pair and congratulated them, but some of the clerks remain conflicted about the issue. Deputy clerk Melissa Thompson told a packed court Thursday that compromising her religious beliefs is "the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life." Still, U.S. District Judge David Bunning made it clear that any other clerks who refuse could also be found in contempt of court, like Davis. "God's moral law conflicts with my job duties," Davis said to the judge before being taken away by a U.S. Marshal. "You can't be separated from something that's in your heart and your soul." Davis defied several court orders to issue marriage licenses. Bunning chose a prison sentence over a fine because he believed Davis, who makes $80,000 per year, would not comply with his order if fined, reported USA Today. The judge also ruled that that Davis will be released from prison once she has agreed to comply with the court order and proceed to issue marriage licenses. "The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order," Bunning said at the hearing. "If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that's what potentially causes problems." It seems unlikely that Davis will change her mind. Even when Bunning offered to release her if she allowed her clerks to issue the licenses, she refused. "I've weighed the cost, and I'm prepared to go to jail, I sure am," she told Fox NewsThursday. "This is a fight worth fighting."
As the moon shines red for the fourth time since April 2014, even those not typically associated with prophetic circles are wondering if we've reached the end. "The night of Sept. 27-28 will bring a 'blood moon,'" writes CNN's Todd Leopold. "To skywatchers, it simply refers to the copper color the moon takes on during an eclipse, but to some Christian ministers, the fourth and final eclipse in a tetrad—four consecutive total lunar eclipses, each separated by six lunar months—fulfills biblical prophecy of the apocalypse." CNN cites the rise in popularity of Hagee's book Four Blood Moons, and the subsequent documentary as the sudden fascination with the tetrad of lunar eclipses.
An attorney for Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’ refused to back down during a press conference on Friday afternoon, telling reporters that Davis “has no intention of stepping down,” and that she doesn’t believe that the gay marriage licenses issued earlier in the day are valid. “It is our position and the position of the clerk … that those licenses are void,” Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver said outside a Kentucky jail. “They’re not worth the paper that they are written on.” He reiterated his own personal surprise over the fact that U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Davis’ arrest during a contempt hearing on Thursday. “I think it has stunned the American people,” he said. “It has shocked me.” Staver said that Davis stands by her Christian faith, will not issue gay marriage licenses and has “no remorse,” commending her “incredible resilience and faith.” The attorney also said that he believes that there are options that would remedy the legal conundrum by affording Davis’ religious protections. “You change the form and amend the statute. This can be done by the governor quickly,” Staver said of marriage licenses. “It can be done by the legislature … Judge Bunning himself … could have ordered that the forms be changed accordingly.” The lawyer had tough words for Bunning, claiming that Thursday’s proceedings were a “charade” and that the judge had already decided he would incarcerate Davis well before he heard “one word of testimony.”
A random man who approached microphones that were setup for a Friday afternoon press conference to address the arrest of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis warned members of the media that “destruction is coming on America.” The man, who was carrying Bible-themed signage and a flagpole, while donning a long beard and cowboy hat, delivered an impromptu address about sin and the law just minutes before attorneys for Davis were scheduled to address her arrest. Standing before an audience of journalists, he shared his wide-ranging views on religious themes, “loneliness on the streets” and “tyranny.” “When they’re willing and able to arrest someone, it’s called tyranny,” he said, going on to also discuss spiritual issues. “We all gonna die. The word of God says, ‘Your life is like a vapor’ … we never know when we’re going to die.” The man directly told the media that they are important to the nation, but seemingly accused them of not doing their jobs. “This country was formed as a Christian nation,” he said, seemingly warning about the cost of sin. “I’m warning you: destruction is coming on America.”
UPDATE: Shortly after this article was published, Kim Davis was found in contempt of court by a federal judge and taken into custody. Davis’ attorney issued a statement that said, in part: “Kim Davis is being treated as a criminal because she cannot violate her conscience. While she may be behind bars for now, Kim Davis is a free woman. Her conscience remains unshackled. “… And the tragedy is that there are simple ways to accommodate her convictions. Just remove her name from the marriage licenses. That’s all she has asked from the beginning. … This is not the kind of America the Founders envisioned or that most Americans want.” Kentucky’s Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis talked to Decision magazine on Wednesday. A more comprehensive story will appear in the October edition of the magazine. No amount of threats against her life or her job, no edicts from the U.S. Supreme Court or the governor, could sway Kim Davis to compromise God’s truth. She is so overwhelmed by His grace, so captivated by His love, so surrendered to His will that she can’t fathom caving to the ways and pressures of this world—regardless of the consequences. “I cannot be separated from what I believe,” she said. “I have to love the Lord with my whole heart, mind, body and soul—with every ounce of strength and might that I have in me. It’s every breath we take and every beat of our heart.”
Nabeel Qureshi grew up a devout Muslim and always questioned Christians about their faith. Years later, when he saw another side of his faith, he held on to his belief but began running out of arguments.
CNF: Too late but you just did..! Ominous times ahead. America whats going on? You're rocking your foundation! Read the story. (TheBlaze/AP) — As a defiant Kentucky clerk sat in jail Friday, choosing indefinite imprisonment over licensing gay marriages, her lawyers approached the microphones outside and compared her to Dr. Martin Luther King. Around the country, other supporters reached for Biblical heroes, comparing her to Silas and Daniel, imprisoned for their faith and rescued by God. It’s precisely the narrative gay rights advocates had hoped to avoid. But as Davis’ mug shot rocketed around the Internet, it became clear that the gay rights movement must battle the idea that Christianity is under siege, said Kenneth Upton, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, a law firm specializing in LGBT issues. “This is what the other side wants,” Upton said, pointing to the image of Davis in handcuffs. “This is a Biblical story, to go to jail for your faith. We don’t want to make her a martyr to the people who are like her, who want to paint themselves as victims.”
A 70 year old man, Amos Otene, after spending over 30 hours in a mortuary in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, has reportedly bounced back to life. According to report, doctors at a private hospital in the town had on August 26, 2015, certified him dead at 4. 30 a.m and promptly covered him up and wheeled him into the mortuary, awaiting instructions from members of the family for embalmment. Eche, one of his children who lives in Lafia was said to have visited and was taken to the mortuary to confirm that his father had indeed passed on. According to Eche, at about 1.39 pm, the morticians at the hospital wheeled out the trolley containing my father and unveiled the face for me to see. Vanguard reports that Otene was said to have been admitted on August 25, after he complained of severe tooth ache which had persisted for several days. As the news of Otene’s death spread, family members and other sympathizers continued to throng the hospital. Doctors, who according to reports, further proved that Otene was dead, extracted the requisite body fluid and other substances from the corpse, for post mortem examination which was to ultimately reveal the cause of death. Eche said, “In the process of wheeling my late dad into the mortuary, he started raising his right hand and all of us fled towards the reception area of the mortuary. From a safe distance, we watched as my father lifted himself and sat on the bed and that was about seven minutes later. One of the attendants eventually summoned enough courage and approached my father who fell back on the trolley. “The doctors ordered that my resurrected father be readmitted in the ward where some medication was administered and he was placed on fresh round of drips. He remained in the ward till Tuesday when the doctors carried out series of tests and certified Otene fit for discharge.
A county clerk in Kentucky has been found guilty of contempt and sent to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples due to her own religious objections. Kim Davis, the clerk at Rowan County who garnered national attention for refusing to issue the marriage licenses, was found in contempt of court Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning. Bunning chose a prison sentence over a fine because he believed Davis, who makes $80,000 per year, would not comply with his order if given a fine, reported USA Today. Bunning added that Davis will be released from prison once she has agreed to comply with the court order and proceed to issue marriage licenses. Around one hundred protestors representing both sides of the marriage definition debate crowded outside the Ashland courthouse.
A county clerk in Kentucky has been found guilty of contempt and sent to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples due to her own religious objections. Kim Davis, the clerk at Rowan County who garnered national attention for refusing to issue the marriage licenses, was found in contempt of court Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning. Bunning chose a prison sentence over a fine because he believed Davis, who makes $80,000 per year, would not comply with his order if given a fine, reported USA Today. Bunning added that Davis will be released from prison once she has agreed to comply with the court order and proceed to issue marriage licenses. Around one hundred protestors representing both sides of the marriage definition debate crowded outside the Ashland courthouse.
J.D. Greear, lead pastor of Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, has been noted for taking a 300-member church and growing the congregation to more than 9,000, making it one of the 100 fastest-growing churches in the U.S. So perhaps Greear can afford to say that pastors should stop their obsession with "gathering and counting" and instead get excited about the possible impact of "raising up and sending out" their members. But what the North Carolina pastor suggests is not exactly revolutionary, as he points to the nearly 2,000-year-old command of Jesus for his believers to "go and make disciples of all nations," the basis of what Christians call the Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:16-20. Another passage Greear points to is John 14:12. "One of Jesus' promises, He said that greater works would we do than even He did. Think about that? How can any one person do a work that is greater than Jesus' work? He didn't mean that we would preach greater sermons, that we would pray with greater insight, or see greater miracles," Greear said in an interview with The Christian Post. "What He meant was when the Spirit of God was distributed on all the members of the Body of Christ, the collective impact of that they had in the world would be greater than if the Spirit stayed centralized on just one person, even [if] that one person was Jesus Himself. So he says when I send the Spirit onto the whole Church, it will be greater." But Greear did not always see things that way. The Southern Baptist leader and former Middle East missionary reveals in his latest book, Gaining By Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that Send, that God had to challenge him personally before he saw the light. That challenge came a few years after Greear started leading Summit Church in 2002. His primary focus at the time, perhaps like many other pastors, was to put more people in the pews. "The church I pastor did not start out as a sending church. During my first years there, my focus was entirely on growing the church. I sincerely wanted to reach people for Jesus, but I was also pretty interested in making a big name for myself," Greear confesses in Gaining By Losing.
It was like Hollywood coming to town for Kannapolis, North Carolina—population 50,000—during a movie premiere of War Room. As the red carpet rolled into the historic Gem Theatre, something stronger than excitement could be felt in the air. Maybe it was the essence of the movie—after all, prayer is a powerful weapon. The story of War Room reveals how prayer can be more than a few fleeting words to God; it can be a strategic battle against the enemy. As a man named Tony Jordan cheats in his career and nearly cheats on his wife, Elizabeth, financial and marriage struggles surround the family. Enter a woman named Miss Clara, who challenges Elizabeth to set up a "war room," a private place to pray for God's help in life's battles. Will this change things? The makers of Facing the Giants, Fireproof and Courageous, the Kendrick Brothers created this film on the power of prayer in hopes that people will leave the movie desiring a more active prayer life. "It's one thing to go to the movies and see eye candy... but we want to leave them with something more eternal," director Alex Kendrick said. And those who are part of the movie have already witnessed eternal results.
Facebook has built a tool to help schools adopt a system of personalized learning that it wants to give to any public school that wants it for free, the company announced Thursday. Facebook developed the tool — called the Personalized Learning Plan — in partnership with Summit Public Schools, which have notably high college-acceptance rates thanks to a special approach to learning that emphasizes letting students move at their own pace. Instead of spending classroom time for lectures, Summit schools deliver all content and assignments online. Class time is then dedicated to teacher-led, real-world projects and student collaboration. Teachers also encourage students to understand all their work in the context of larger, long-term goals, and work with them to plan and track their course-work as a path towards those goals. The partnership between Summit and Facebook blossomed after Priscilla Chan, wife of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, toured a Summit school in Sunnyvale. She found the effectiveness of its methods inspiring, and encouraged her husband to check it out too.
These threats hardly align with the EU's stated ambition of "ever-closer union" between member states. They are a gun to the head of EU integration. The question of "what to do" remains politically toxic for any mainstream Western European politician. During the summer, British Prime Minister David Cameron passingly referred to the "swarm" of migrants at Calais. His political opponents immediately jumped on this and denounced his "offensive" language. What chance is there, however, of proposing the kind of bold thinking we will need to consider in Europe if we keep reducing our response to this crisis to a language game? Professor Paul Collier recently suggested setting up EU-sponsored work-havens in Jordan to ensure Syrian refugees (who comprise 40% of recent EU arrivals) have an incentive to stay in the region. It would make far more sense for EU countries to keep migrants out of Europe while sorting out who they are (most arrivals come without papers) and then assessing the legitimacy of their claim. The EU might consider paying North African countries to provide such holding centres. Tunisia is an obvious possibility, as is Morocco.
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!"
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.
1. A data dump, whichallegedly 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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
(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.
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."
