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Members of the LDS Church often make a big issue of the fact that their ancestors faced terrible persecutions during the early years of the LDS movement. To most people, Missourian sites like Independence, Liberty, Far West, and Caldwell County mean very little. Yet to the faithful Latter-day Saint, these places carry a great amount of significance. It is true that the Mormons were driven from several states before finally arriving in what is known today as the state of Utah, and this violence can never be condoned. However, with all of the talk of the persecution early Mormons faced,...

It's become an increasingly frequent reminder to us evangelical Christians not to let our cultural identity be framed by "single issues." It was a reminder implicitly included in the "Evangelical Manifesto," a document whose basic content we at WORLD have applauded but whose political direction I questioned in our last issue. Why are the Manifesto's backers so ready to join the cultural left in suggesting a guilt trip for those evangelicals who have been preoccupied with the evils of abortion and same-sex marriage? And if some argue that the rising generation of younger evangelicals is a bit embarrassed by what...

Jeff had so many Operating Under the Influence breakings of the law that he spent too many years of his young life behind bars. “I’m the black sheep of the family,” he said one Friday evening when I visited him in jail. Many of my Friday evenings were spent in that ugly visitors’ room. But it was worth it. At least that’s what Jeff told me. He had no other ones to call on him except one young woman, Yonna. “The rest of my family made something of themselves, but the bottle got to me over and over again.” However,...

The recent attacks from a number of sources on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) reek of the same prejudice that, in the past, we have often seen used against Jews, Catholics, Muslims, and many others. This kind of behavior needs to be identified and condemned for what it is: religious intolerance and blatant bigotry. These attacks on the Mormon Church have come in three forms: preaching, publications, and video presentations. Honoring the freedom to speak and preach from the heart, the National Conference takes issue with using the pulpit, any pulpit, to promote misleading, distorted,...

Motorcycle. Massages. Pimp. Husband. Sons. Travel. It went on and on for years — ten years, in fact. Sarah and her husband, Dick, went all over the country on the back of their motorcycle. He the pimp. She servicing various men here and there. Then were born to them two sons. Yet they continued moving around from one place to another. Dick was lazy. Though he had a college degree, he did not want to report to work anywhere. There was no 9-to-5 job in his future. Dick depended on Sarah to provide the income. She was steady at it....

In a June 29, 2008, piece in the Opinion section of the Santa Fe New Mexican, Michael J. Chávez wrote of how gratified he was to see so many churches represented at the Gay Pride parade in Albuquerque earlier this month. He saw this is a positive step, but only a beginning toward his ultimate goal of having all Christian churches completely de-stigmatize homosexuality, to recognize that “intimate relations between a God-centered, same sex couple is not immoral” and “that we [homosexuals] are not an abomination in the eyes of God”...

Readers at the New York Times have already spoken about the most overrated books of all time and the winners (or rather, the losers) are J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" and God's "The Bible." I read all about it in the Times' Paper Cuts blog ("Plaster Saints?") and arrived at the conclusion that the least favorable works were usually those that failed to adhere to political correctness. (New York Times readers LOVED Obama's "Audacity of Hope.") Hence, Books That Could Never Get Published Today The Hebrew Bible: Too Jewish. Confessions of St. Augustine: Too Christian. Moby Dick --...

A brief has been filed in a federal appeals court asking the justices to overturn a judge who ordered a school district specifically to ban the Bible in its policy regarding the distribution of literature to students. WND reported just a week ago when a federal judge declared unconstitutional a Florida law that was used to prevent Gideons from handing out Bibles to students on public property near schools.Now comes another dispute, this one in Missouri and pursued by Liberty Counsel in its request to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. It wants the court to...

PESHAWAR: In one of the most embarrassing incidents in the history of the provincial metropolis, 25 members of the Christian community were kidnapped when armed men attacked a building in the Christian Colony near the Academy Town on Saturday. "There were a large number of people gathered at around 8 pm and were preparing for worship when armed men broke into the building and picked up 25 to 40 Christians in pick-up vans," a resident of the Christian Colony, Isac, told The News. He said that two of those picked up by the armed men were priests. Sources said that...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading conservative evangelical on Tuesday said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had distorted the Bible and espouses a "fruitcake" approach to the U.S. Constitution. The comments by broadcaster James Dobson are among the sharpest religious attacks to date on the Illinois senator, who will face Republican John McCain in the November election. Dobson, who has previously said he will not vote for McCain because of his past support for stem cell research, on Tuesday said the Arizona senator wasn't doing enough to stop gay marriage in his home state. "This is a year when we have...

Magdi Allam, the Christian convert from Islam who was baptized by Pope Benedict XVI at an Easter service in April, has reacted to Islamist death threats posted on a web site said to be close to al-Qaeda. He has expressed particular concern that the writers of the threatening messages may be Italian. Allam, an Egyptian-born writer and deputy editor of Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, has been a controversial figure in Italy for his regular critiques of Islam. In fact, in his book “Long Live Israel,” Allam wrote “the root of evil is innate in an Islam that is physiologically...

Evangelist Bill Keller of LivePrayer a dot com ministry that has 2.4 million daily subscribers to Keller’s messages is leaving the seat open for Sen. Obama to answer questions about his Christian faith. Will he accept the invitation? The call is simple and cordial but the questions are biting and will not be easy to answer. Bill Keller has issued the public invitation by saying “I am sending a formal invitation to Senator Obama to sit down with me on camera and deal with these serious questions regarding what he believes about his Christian faith

When I was in law school, I had a classmate named Barry (not his real name). At the time, I was not practicing the faith and by no means was a paragon of virtuous living. Despite my own low standards, I thought Barry’s carousing lifestyle crossed the bounds of propriety. He even confided to me that while he was home one weekend he made his girlfriend procure an abortion, because he was not willing to take responsibility for his actions.One day, months later, Barry out of the blue told me, “It’s time for a revival.� It was only then that...

When a Christian pastor in Canada wrote a commentary on the Bible's perspective on homosexuality, a government commission ordered him to renounce his faith and apologize. When a family owned photography studio in New Mexico refused, on religious grounds, to take pictures at a same-sex ceremony, the fine for such "discrimination" was $6,600. Now the experts say Colorado is joining in the repression of the practice of Christianity. "Getting beyond the bathroom and locker room issue, the biggest danger this law poses is to the religious or moral consciences of small business owners who may object to doing business...

As a former skeptic, I have a particular interest in Christian apologetics: the defense of the Christian faith. I've read and recommended many excellent books on the subject but want to call your special attention to one I've most recently read because of the uniqueness of its approach and content. "Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend" is a compilation of essays by renowned Christian apologists compiled and edited by my friend and Christian philosopher and apologist, Ravi Zacharias, that together "suggest a new vision for Christian apologetics in this century." I love apologetics because it helped me overcome certain...

Along with some 30 or so religious leaders, it was my privilege to be in discussion with Senator Obama for several hours last week. It was a private meeting with intelligent men and women of many faith traditions not all of whom were his supporters. It was not arranged as a photo op or a meet and greet. It was a time to reflect on the meaning of faith. Obama was poised, civil, articulate, and prepared for a wide-ranging discussion that included questions across the spectrum of issues potentially touched by Christ’s love – which, of course, is everything. The...

Check out this new site for used Christian books. Creation, apologetics, abortion, theology etc. http://www.remnantbooks.org

... On Father's Day, Finch and other families in the gay community will gather at Saddleback Church, part of an effort to initiate dialogue with mega-church congregations across the nation about religious attitudes toward homosexuality. Members of the project — The American Family Outing — have visited five other such congregations so far. This is their last stop in an effort that began in May. A group of about 50 people will attend Sunday worship at the church. On Monday, a smaller group will meet with Saddleback leaders to discuss issues such as faith and family, sexual orientation and gender....

"Oldest Church" Discovery "Ridiculous," Critics SayMati Milstein in Rihab, Jordan for National Geographic NewsJune 13, 2008 A Jordanian archaeologist's announcement this week that he had uncovered the world's first Christian church in an underground cave drew surprise and skepticism from experts in Jordan and beyond. The Jordan Times earlier this week quoted archaeologist Abdel-Qader al-Housan, director of the Rihab Center for Archaeological Studies as saying, "We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 A.D. to 70 A.D." Al-Housan later told the Associated Press that he discovered a cave beneath St. George's...

Rome, Jun 12, 2008 / 12:17 pm (CNA).- The official Vatican daily “L’Osservatore Romano” has reported that the bishops of Turkey have decided to move up the beginning of the Pauline Year in that country to June 22. Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, will celebrate a Mass on that day, and symposium on the writings of St. Paul as well as a national pilgrimage to Tarsus, Antioquia and Ephesus will take place until June 24.In order to welcome visitors, the Church in Turkey has asked the government for permission to celebrate...

Senator Barack Obama is about to launch his latest outreach to religious voters, but the name of the group could land him in legal trouble. First reported on Friday by Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody, Obama's "Joshua Generation" is designed to help the presumptive Democratic nominee appeal to young evangelicals. But "Generation Joshua", a division of the Home School Legal Defense Association, has been established since 2003 and is pursuing legal action against the Obama campaign.

Youtube video of "America Again" by Carman: America Again

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- More than 1,000 refugees from Iraq arrived in the United States in May, the most in recent months, bringing the fiscal-year total to 4,742 so far, the State Department reported June 3. But with just four months left in the fiscal year, the administration's objective of resettling 12,000 Iraqis in the U.S. by October is far from being reached, said Anastasia Brown, director of refugee programs for Migration and Refugee Services of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She added that even that goal is an inadequate fraction of the estimated 4.9 million Iraqis who have been...

... “I’m rooted in the Christian tradition,� said Obama, who has declared himself a Christian. But then he adds something that most Christians will see as universalism: “I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people.� ...

The Hunt for American al Qaeda The United States is turning up the heat in the hunt for the California boy turned al Qaeda operative, Adam Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. If caught and convicted, Gadahn could face the death penalty. The State Department along with the Department of Diplomatic Security announced the beginning of a publicity campaign in Afghanistan urging locals to provide any information on Gadahn's whereabouts, with a reward if the information leads to his capture. Radio advertisements with information concerning the $1 million reward have...

An elementary school teacher retiring after a 36-year career died of a heart attack moments after saying goodbye to her final class for the summer. Sharon Smith, 57, died Friday on the way to a hospital according to her niece, Doreatha Jackson. Smith was a fourth grade teacher at Molino Park Elementary School, where she had worked since 1972.

The Midwest Book Review has just published the following review of The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues in its June 2008 Reviewer's Bookwatch! Stephen Bloom provides astute counsel to Christian families in "The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues." I found myself quickly engrossed in Stephen's practical counsel, examples, illustrations, and his solid stand on Biblical principles when facing legal issues so prevalent in society today.The chapters are made up of several parts. Each chapter begins with two fictional vignettes reflecting life lessons and more life lessons, Biblical insights, concluding with practical counsel. Individual sections complement each other and integrate Biblical...

Rich Cook had it all: a dream job in his chosen field, Christian music; a solid marriage and three adoring daughters; a home in Orange County, a paradise in his eyes, worlds away from his New Jersey roots. But something was wrong. "I'd been around a long time, and I knew what it was," said Cook, 63. "I had to do something. The bottom line was changes had to be made." Cook was gay. And by the mid '90s he decided it was time to acknowledge it to his family and the world. ... Cook and his wife divorced. His...

California druggist observes first anniversary of refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control, morning-after pill "We will celebrate on June 1st, 2008, our first year of conflict-free pharmacy," said Brent Watson, RPh., pharmacy director and owner of Central Coast Pharmacy Specialists, a compounding-only pharmacy in Templeton, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco in San Luis Obispo County. Watson defied big drug and insurance companies last year when the druggist announced his pharmacy would no longer take insurance or sell branded medications such as birth control pills and the morning-after pill. "It's not good medicine," said Watson.

Screwtape toasts the Commission My dear Luciwa, While I hope you will continue to consider me your uncle, I note you have broken up with my incompetent nephew Wormwood. Our family never understood what you saw with the lazy oaf; we always knew you were capable of much worse. And worse you have! Your cunning has sharpened since leaving the isle for its scion between the seas. The breakup and the change in scenery have obviously renewed your vigor as a temptress. Particularly noteworthy are the new commissions and tribunals you have concocted as head of The Republican Underworld Defense’s...

Two years after Algeria enacted a troubling religious law, Christians in the North African nation are facing an unprecedented clampdown, with churches being closed, suspected missionaries put on trial, and Muslim figures warning of devious plans to lure Algerians away from Islam. The 2006 law, known as Ordinance 06-03, outlaws anything that "incites, constrains, or utilizes means of seduction" to influence a Muslim to convert to another religion. It also bans the publication, distribution or storing of printed material that has the goal of "shaking the faith" of a Muslim. Punishments include imprisonment of up to five years and fines...

BAGHDAD — A U.S. Marine handed out coins promoting Christianity to Muslims in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, outraged Sunni officials said Friday. The U.S. military responded quickly, removing a trooper from duty pending an investigation.

"A high school wrestling coach in a Michigan city known for its large Arab community says he’s being forced out of his job of 35 years on trumped up allegations he allowed his assistant, a local clergyman, to try converting students to Christianity." "Dearborn Schools' spokesman David Mustonen confirmed that principal Imad Fadlallah decided not to renew Marszalek’s contract but said it has nothing to do with Hancock." “Jerry Marszalek is a non-union employee…If we have a union member, a teacher that’s part of the union, they are given priority to people from the outside when it comes to coaching...

DEARBORN, Mich. --A longtime high school wrestling coach has lost his job amid concerns a former assistant coach tried to convert Muslim students to Christianity. The Detroit News reports 35-year coach Jerry Marszalek's contract with Fordson High School in Dearborn, Mich., was not renewed. The decision was supported by 200 to 300 parents, who packed a Board of Education meeting Tuesday to support the principal's decision.

U.S. soldiers stationed at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo may be stunned to find three wooden crosses stripped from the exterior grounds of their chapel in coming weeks – and many never saw it coming. Several high-ranking officers have met behind closed doors to discuss plans for the crosses. They have decided to remove, and perhaps destroy, the Christian symbols located outside Peacekeeper's Chapel in the name of free exercise of religion. Lt. Col. William Jenkins, 35th Infantry Division's Kosovo Force 9 command chaplain, told WND, "The removal of the crosses … is bringing the chapel into line with long-standing regulations...

To follow-up, Thanks to all the wonderful Non-catholics who said that Catholics were Christians, this post is for the Catholics to chime in. Do you think Protestants are Brothers and Sisters in Christ? Are Protestants Christians?

Why do Christians believe in the Trinity? Is it not hard enough to believe that God exists without having to add the puzzle about God being “one and three?” There are some today who would not be upset if we dropped the Trinity. For one thing, they would say, it would help dialogue with the Jews and Muslims, who profess faith in a God who is strictly one. The answer is that Christians believe that God is triune because they believe that God is love! If God is love, then he must love someone. There is no such thing as...

Stemming from this comment >>I think the RCC doctrines are a product of the enemy<< Please tell us where we stand here. Examples welcome, but I'm not sure that actual names can be used when quoting another FReeper, so date and thread title may be better.

Vatican City, May 16, 2008 / 09:53 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict has composed a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan to celebrate the Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which will be observed on May 24.In a letter written to the Catholic Church in China last year, the Holy Father expressed his hope that May 24, the memorial of Our Lady Help of Christians, who is venerated at the shrine of Seshan in Shanghai, would become a day of prayer for the Church in China. The full text of the English-language version of the Holy Father's prayer...

On the eve of his first Stateside appearance, the hammers have begun to fall on Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, the retired Sydney auxiliary whose controversial tome on power, sex and abuse in the church has seen the reserved, strait-laced canonist publicly taken to task for "casting doubt" on the teaching of Christ and the authority of the Magisterium. In recent weeks, after Robinson wrote courtesy notes to the bishops of the American dioceses where he'd be appearing simply to inform them of his presence, several of the ordinaries reportedly responded by requesting that he cancel his plans. From Rome, the...

Up Next: watch the promo May 18, 2008 on WGVU-TV West Michigan:#820 Christians in the Courtroom Witnesses place their hand on the Bible before they testify: how would principles from that Bible play out if it were actually opened up and applied? Would prosecutors be arguing for forgiveness? Stephen Bloom, attorney with Irwin & McKnight law firm in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and author of The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues, wonders with host Karen Saupe how empty courtrooms might become. Inner Compass is a television interview show that explores how people make their decisions about ethical, religious, and social justice issues....

Gentleness: The Mark of a Christian Gentleness, so sadly lacking in this world, should be evident in the life of a Christian. What is gentleness, and how can it be a part of your life? by Noel Hornor "I love those dear hearts and gentle people who live in my home town. Because those dear hearts and gentle people will never, ever let you down." The words of this song, written 47 years ago by Bob Hilliard, call to mind a time when the world was (at least in our collective memory) a more neighborly place. Do you sometimes find...

CLYDE, Texas (AP) -- Behind guarded, ornate gates at the end of a rural road, a self-proclaimed prophet warns his followers about the end of time and rails against a dangerous and unclean world outside their West Texas compound. The women are covered in long skirts and long-sleeve shirts. Many of the children have different mothers and share the same father. But this isn't the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' ranch, which authorities raided last month in Eldorado after receiving reports that underage girls were being forced to marry much older men. This is the House of...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, May 14, 2008 – Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team are safeguarding a piece of Iraqi religious history while operating from a combat outpost next to a Christian-based seminary in southern Baghdad’s Rashid district. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers provide security outside the main chapel of the St. Peter Seminary of Chaldean Patriarchate in the predominantly Muslim community of Abu Tshir, Iraq. The chapel represents a piece of Iraq’s cultural history in southern Baghdad’s Rashid district. U.S. Army photo by Lt. Col. Steve Stover, Multinational Division Baghdad   (Click...

Texas child welfare attorneys say children were removed from the YFZ Ranch and should not return there because its residents live as one big family and all have the same dangerous belief system. The agency that has taken legal custody of 464 children sent its response Thursday to a petition from dozens of Fundamentalist LDS Church mothers. The petition asks the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals to order Judge Barbara Walther to return the children to their mothers. "The community has one common belief system that young girls are called on to be wives and no age is too young...

Are you a joyful bride-to-be? An eager (or nervous!) groom? Perhaps you have a son or daughter getting married this spring or summer? Perhaps a beloved grandchild? Or maybe a lifelong friend? The peak of wedding season is arriving and many of us have a special acquaintance or family member ready to “tie the knot” in a beautiful marriage ceremony of thrilling romance and holy commitment. So what does any of this have to do with the law? Why am I raising the subject of weddings in my Christian legal column? I’m writing to brides and grooms and those close...

TORONTO, May 6, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Ontario premier's plans to scrap the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in the Legislature has resulted in a groundswell of opposition. The flood of emails objecting to the proposal temporarily crashed the website of Queen's Park, and hundreds of phone calls have come in protesting the move. MPPs have complained that the time and money spent on the project could have better been spent elsewhere, especially considering there had been no calls to abolish the prayer leading up to McGuinty's decision to put the proposal to scrap the prayer before a committee. In...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico state police say they've arrested the leader of an apocalyptic church on sex charges. State police spokesman Peter Olson says 66-year-old Wayne Bent was picked up without incident Tuesday at the remote former ranch where he and his followers live. He's facing three charges of criminal sexual contact. Bent goes by the name of Michael Travesser and claims to be the Messiah. State child welfare officials say there have been allegations of inappropriate contact between Bent and children at the northeastern New Mexico compound. Bent has acknowledged having sex with his followers, but...

CBNNews.com - The battle for peaceful expression of pro-life views goes to a new level in the case of one Virginia man. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) are appealing a free speech case involving the rights of pro-life advocate Dennis Green. Five years ago, Green was silenced by authorities in Raleigh, N.C. for peacefully expressing his views on abortion in a public place. Green was threatened with arrest for violating the city's so-called "permit process" and was warned his sign would be confiscated if he didn't leave the area. "Christians shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs,"...

Charity announces plans for Marian statue in London LONDON (CNS) -- A charity has announced plans to erect a statue of Mary in London in memory of the medieval Catholic shrines destroyed in the Reformation. The work will be called "Mary Most Holy" and will stand on land once owned by St. Thomas More, alongside the Thames River at Chelsea. St. Thomas was the lord chancellor of England and was beheaded in 1535. It has been commissioned by the Art and Reconciliation Trust, a charity set up to promote awareness of the negative effects iconoclasm has on culture; the work...