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A photo of a Nativity Scene the Catholic League erected in New York’s Central Park in December 2009. (Photo courtesy of Catholic League) (CNSNews.com) – The New York City-based Catholic League has erected a life-size Nativity scene at the heart of New York’s Central Park, hoping the display will remind Christians in other cities that such displays are legal.   Placed at the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, the Nativity stands prominently in front of the world’s largest menorah – the eight-armed candelabra used to mark the eight days of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.   First...

From bankruptcy to pre-nups, I've drilled deep into our analytics for 2009. Here's your top ten favorite (most viewed) posts of the year: 1. Bankruptcy for Christians Facing Financial Meltdown?2. Google Gives Glimpse of Legal Struggles Christians Face3. Good News on the Law: Can President Obama Change the Supreme Court?4. The Litigation Trap and the Christian Conciliation Alternative: Christianity 9 to 55. Good News on the Law: You Can Be a Christian at Work6. The Madoff Scandal and Three Essential Questions on Wealth7. Christian Lawyer: Not an Oxymoron8. Mortgage morality meltdown: Law prof says go ahead, stiff the bank!9. The...

My son stood larger than life, the sun dancing on his hair, his eyes sparkling as he laughed with his teammates in all the bravado only teammates can share. Grinning from ear to ear, ahead in a major semi-pro football game, my son was radiant with the joy of it, and I thanked God for days such as this. I once had the RIGHT to kill him. For a second I imagined him not there. That thought shot through my body like ice and anger at women like Nancy Pelosi welled up inside. What kind of monster would fight to...

A Christian teacher fears she may never work again after she was sacked for offering to pray for a sick pupil. Olive Jones, 54, said she had been made to feel like a criminal, and claimed that Christians were being persecuted due to 'political correctness'. Mrs Jones, who taught children not well enough to attend school, said that after she raised the topic of prayer during a visit to a 12-year-old's house, the girl's mother lodged a complaint. Just hours later, said Mrs Jones, her boss told her she would no longer be working for Oak Hill Short Stay School...

Their families? Left to fend for themselves. So tomorrow more pastors jailed by Chinese atheists will string fine wire for Christmas light insertions into hard plastic containers. A workday: 16-20 hours. Then the items will be marketed global for believers to have Christmas lights for one more December. It goes on and on and on.

A devout Christian teacher has lost her job after discussing her faith with a mother and her sick child and offering to pray for them. Olive Jones, a 54-year-old mother of two, who taught maths to children too ill to attend school, was dismissed following a complaint from the girl’s mother. She was visiting the home of the child when she spoke about her belief in miracles and asked whether she could say a prayer, but when the mother indicated they were not believers she did not go ahead. Mrs Jones was then called in by her managers who, she...

Dear friends, Thank you all so much for your emails and facebook messages. If you have sent me an email or facebook message recently and I haven’t responded to you, please know that every one of your emails of support and encouragement are read and are greatly appreciated. Due to the busy season right now, I have not been able to respond immediately, but I soon will. Please know that all your responses are read and are personally appreciated. Thank you for staying engaged. I wanted to take a minute to let you know about a couple of important things...

Christian leaders representing a wide spectrum of sects were assured Monday morning by the commander of the IDF's Civil Administration Bethlehem Coordination and Liaison Office that Christian pilgrims would have free access to the birthplace of Jesus during the Christmas holiday. Priests, archbishops and friars representing Latin Catholic, Coptic, Greek Orthodox, Franciscan, Lutheran, Anglican, Syrian Orthodox, Ethiopian and Armenian Christian sects met with Lt.-Col. Eyad Sirhan, the Druse commander responsible for orchestrating pilgrimages by a diverse collection of Christian faithful. Some wore the black and white collar of the priest, others wore robes and traditional hats. Conversation was conducted in...

Even as you read this, persecuted Christians from around the world are gathering names and addresses from their local communities. These names are then submitted to Bibles Unbound where members have the opportunity to mail New Testaments in the appropriate language directly to the field. This unique program gives you the ability to stand alongside our persecuted brothers and sisters and help create a witness for Jesus Christ in hostile lands right from your own home. We invite you to read about current ministry operations to the right and consider joining today. For a donation of only $30.00 per month...

I had never heard of KAIROS until I read Colby Cosh's analysis of their partisan politics. That led me to some further reading, and I discovered that KAIROS had issued a denunciation of Alberta's oilsands, and then they went on their fact-finding trip to Fort McMurray. One might have thought it would have been in the reverse order. A quick visit to KAIROS's website shows that their most important goal now is not actually anything to do with religion, let alone with Christianity. It's about getting back to the taxpayer trough. I say let them raise their own money through...

Note: 1 video and photos included. Home » News » Politics "After Covering Up Symbol for Jesus at Georgetown, White House Had Obama Speak in Front of Symbols for AMA, AARP and Human Rights Campaign" Thursday, December 17, 2009 By Nicholas Ballasy and Edwin Mora SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) – When President Barack Obama spoke at Gaston Hall at Georgetown University on April 14, the university complied with a White House request to cover up all signs and symbols on the wall of the stage behind where the president spoke. These included the monogram “IHS”-- a symbol for the name of Jesus--which...

When it comes to a Christmastime movie, a perennial favorite of most everyone is It’s a Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart made no secret it was his favorite film and favorite role as George Bailey. The poignant slice of Americana is on the Vatican’s film list and No. 5 on the Register’s 100 best films list. No matter how many times we watch it, the story remains fresh and remarkably uplifting. And with strong spiritual implications whose foundations were laid before filming began. Before Stewart became George Bailey, his guardian angel surely watched over him during harrowing combat missions in World...

A student says a Dallas public community-college teacher compared crosses to swastikas while explaining a school ban on religious items made in ceramics classes.

The archbishop of Kirkuk says security measures will be strengthened during Christmas for fear of new attacks. Two attacks are carried out in Mosul yesterday; two churches are hit, one baby girl is dead and 40 people are wounded. Source tells AsiaNews that the Christian community is “destined to die” in the city. Kirkuk (AsiaNews) – A policy of “ethnic and religious cleansing� is underway in Mosul; in fact, it has worsened as Christmas approaches, Mgr Louis Sako told AsiaNews. For the archbishop of Kirkuk, this means that “security measures must be strengthened or the holiday season�. Meanwhile, tensions and...

In addition, B. Hussein stated on the White House official site that abortion will henceforth be worldwide practice endorsed by America. B. Hussein, arch-killer of womb children, defies the definition of “caring father” for slaughter leader extraordinary.

One eight-year-old in Taunton just learned a valuable lesson in political correctness, and a school district may wind up learning a little something about free speech, religious expression, and not asking questions to which one does not want to hear the answers. An elementary school student was asked to draw something that reminded him of Christmas. When he drew a picture of Jesus on a crucifix, the teacher and the administration recoiled in horror at the “violent image.” No, really: An eight year old elementary school student in Taunton was sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological...

The U.S. Supreme Court Washington D.C., Dec 15, 2009 / 06:59 am (CNA).- In a case which could greatly affect organized Christian activity on college campuses, the United States Supreme Court has decided to consider whether it was constitutional for a public university to bar a Christian student group on the grounds the group’s rules against sex outside of marriage were discriminatory towards homosexuals.The Christian Legal Society (CLS) chapter at the University of California’s Hastings College of Law applied to the college for standing as a registered student organization, United Press International (UPI) reports. The national CLS requires voting...

God forbid that the Christian bodies should mess up the ground where a woman accused of adultery is to be earth-pitted up to her chin, then stoned till dead, village children watching.

Thornton reported the evangelists arrived with banners in front of the Nobel commission offices to proclaim the Gospel message before, during and after the Nobel presentation to Obama. Almost immediately, police agents told the evangelists to remove their banners and their signs, then move across the street, even though the nation's laws formally recognize freedom of speech. "A few minutes later the Oslo police again approached the evangelists and ordered them to lower their voices. Again, the evangelists complied with the order of the police. At this point the Oslo police ordered the evangelists to stop sharing their message or...

A new Muslims of America (MOA) terror training video has been uncovered by the Christian Action Network. This video show members of MOA participating in paramilitary style training on their compound in upstate New York, near the town of Hancock. Click the link to see the exclusive new tape.

to serve nearly 50,000 worshippers in the gritty heart of China's coal country. But that was before hundreds of police and hired thugs descended on the mega-church, smashing doors and windows, seizing Bibles and sending dozens of worshippers to hospitals with serious injuries, members and activists say Today, the church's co-pastors are in jail. The gates to the church complex in the northern province of Shanxi are locked and a police armored personnel vehicle sits outside. The closure of what may be China's first mega-church is the most visible sign that the communist government is determined to rein in the...

Canada’s Macleans news site recently published an article titled “Darwin movie too evolved for U.S. audiences”. The article refers to the decision of US film distributors to “pass” on the film “Creation”—the dramatized story of Charles Darwin’s struggle while writing the Origin of Species. The refusal to distribute a film premiered and acclaimed at the Toronto Film Festival seems to have again roused the Canadian media’s scorn of the “backward Americans” of which—according to Gallup—only 39% believe Darwin and his evolutionary theory. It is interesting how very differently the Canadian and world media treated America during WW II when far...

The Boy Scouts of America turns 100 today!

And so it is with each of us--we make the journey to the close, then we see. We come upon heaven's own reward--sight!

Last February I mentioned the events that would commemorate the life and work of Charles Darwin in 2009. I had no idea at the time that I would be invited to participate in one of these events. But there I was, precisely 150 years after On the Origin of Species first appeared, seated with other scientists in front of a packed room that featured, among other interesting things, a life-sized model of a baleen whale. The venue was the National Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, Germany, and the occasion was a panel discussion titled Design without a Designer? [1]...

David Queller and Joan Strassmann, evolutionary biologists at Rice University, recently proposed a new way to describe what makes an organism a unified whole. They defined an organism as an entity made up of parts that cooperate well for an overall purpose, and do so with minimal conflict. But how do parts like these get together, and where does purposeful behavior come from?...

Hanukkah is sited in the Gospel of John 10:22 as the "feast of the dedication."

“Darwin’s finches” are a variety of small black birds that were observed and collected by British naturalist Charles Darwin during his famous voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle in the early 1800s. Years later, Darwin argued that subtle variations in their beak sizes supported his concept that all organisms share a common ancestor (a theory known as macroevolution). The finches, whose technical name is Geospiza, have since become classic evolutionary icons...

At the Dutch college, traditionally the meters-high tree was seen by all walking through the school's atrium. However, not this year. In the tree’s place are streamers and lights dangling.

"This shows how to witness honestly and why the "sneak the Gospel in" type of "evangelism" actually hinders ministry and is not doing unto others as you would have them do unto you." ~ Lane Chaplin

Wednesday December 9, 2009 Pro-Life Leaders Launch Opposition to Senate Health Bill Following Nelson Amendment Demise By Kathleen GilbertWASHINGTON, D.C., December 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Following the defeat of the Nelson/Hatch/Casey amendment Tuesday evening,  pro-life leaders are calling on senators to oppose the Senate health care bill as it heads towards a final vote, which lawmakers expect will happen before the end of the year.The Senate voted 54-45 Tuesday evening to table the Nelson/Hatch/Casey amendment, effectively killing the language that would have applied Hyde-amendment restrictions on federal funding of abortion to the health care overhaul.  The "tabling" vote allowed...

We just left Aunt Gert’s home. It’s been a bright spot in a rather lackluster winter month.

I just came from a funeral service for an aunt of mine who was a staunch Catholic. I came out of that religion about 25 years ago after reading for myself what the Bible had to say. My question surrounds the actuality of salvation for all the millions who still practice Mary worship and so forth. Knowing that one cannot serve two masters, I wonder at how it is possible that the aforementioned can really experience Christ in a saving way, while they continue to believe that the church of Rome is solely responsible for their eternal welfare. Answer: Greetings...

Start off your week right by checking out this video of the high school students in the Chamber Choir of South Kitsap High School of Port Orchard, Washington were the students perform a great rendition of Halleluia! This was in Dec., 2008 in the Winter Festival. Freeper Lynn D's wife actually made 4 of the monk costumes, both Lynn and his were in the audience during the presentation of this concert. Great work Lynn and thank your wife for such a great job on the costumes. Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

Washington - The Supreme Court agreed today to hear an appeal from a Christian student group in San Francisco which refused to admit gays and lesbians and decide whether the group's right to religious liberty and freedom of association can trump a university's ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation. The case, to be heard next year, could set new rules for campus groups across the nation. The University of California's Hastings College of Law says its officially recognized student groups must be open to all of its students. The law school also has a general non-discrimination policy which applies...

Dr. Henry M. Morris founded the Institute for Creation Research in 1970 with a vision to uncover and present evidence for the accuracy and authority of the Bible. For almost 40 years, ICR has distinguished itself as the leader in creation science research and education, ably assisted by the many fine scientists whom God has led to work here. These men and women have dedicated their training and skills to raising the banner for the truth of our Creator God. We would like you to meet our current on-site scientists and hear their thoughts on the purpose, significance, and importance...

Start off your week right by checking out this video of the high school students in the Chamber Choir of South Kitsap High School of Port Orchard, Washington were the students perform a great rendition of Halleluia! This was in Dec., 2008 in the Winter Festival. Freeper Lynn D's wife actually made 4 of the monk costumes, both Lynn and his were in the audience during the presentation of this concert. Great work Lynn and thank your wife for such a great job on the costumes. Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

No one desires a cross. No one. We all want affirmation and recognition. We pursue security and life. We all need affection and friendship. But no one wants a cross. Of course we love the cross upon which our wonderful Savior died for us. We all love and appreciate that cross. But no one wants a cross for themselves. No one. But the cross is what we are called to. A sinner realizes he is lost. The Spirit illuminates to him just Who Jesus is, and that sinner believes that Jesus is the Savior and the only way to eternal...

For those of you who need a good laugh, you need to see this videwo of high schools students giving a great rendition of Halleluia! If this doesn't make you laugh, then you have major physiological problems, because it is real funny Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

A Vermont court ordered a Christian child taken away from her mother and given to a lesbian ex-partner, setting up, according to a lawyer for the Christian family, a dispute that the U.S. Supreme Court likely will have to resolve. Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, told WND the recent order from the Vermont judge that Lisa Miller turn over her young daughter, Isabella, to the lesbian ex-partner, Janet Jenkins, on New Year's Day is being appealed. In the interim, a separate court hearing on the dispute is scheduled to be heard in a Virginia court during this coming week....

My wife and I had decided that we had to move. Her health was not getting any better. The neurosurgeon who could treat her performed his operations in Boston and we had to go where he was. Into the truck we slid our boxes, while our dreams seemed to go “out the window.”

“The rest of my family made something of themselves, but the bottle got to me over and over again.”

As we all know, Obama's grandmother was supposedly a Christian woman, or so he told us during the US elections. Obama also claimed he is a Christian, but for now we can probably confirm that Obama's grandmother is not a Christian, unless she went to Mecca during Hajj for other reasons, which we also doubt. On November 25, Obama's grandmother arrived in Saudi Arabia for none other than Hajj, the muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, which all Muslims are required to make if they can in their lifetime. Sarah Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia for Hajj on the 25th of November....

Italian editor and critic of Islamic extremism Magdi AllamMagdi Allam was baptized a Christian and took on the name “Christian”.

New Zealand Climate Scientists Faked Data, Too. From Anthony Watts at Watts Up With That The New Zealand Government’s chief climate advisory unit NIWA is under fire for allegedly massaging raw climate data to show a global warming trend that wasn’t there. The scandal breaks as fears grow worldwide that corruption of climate science is not confined to just Britain’s CRU climate research centre. In New Zealand’s case, the figures published on NIWA’s [the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research] website suggest a strong warming trend in New Zealand over the past century [go to the link to see...

In May 2009, a remarkably well-preserved extinct primate, nicknamed “Ida,” was hailed as one of the most important fossil finds ever. It had features that some interpreted as a link between two primate body forms. At the time, ICR News suggested that its evolutionary significance was far overblown, predicting that the scientific consensus would offer retractions. Those retractions came three months later, confirming that the fossil―called Darwinius―was really just an extinct lemur variety...

Natural selection and change, yes; Evolution, no --snip-- Summary 1.This episode talks much about change and natural selection, but fails to give any evidence that these produce evolution, other than for the various professors who assert that it does. 2.Darwin’s theory promoted the idea that man is “a beast with animal lusts and no morality”, and this has been gleefully accepted by much of modern society. 3.We might well ask: Why would any sane professor adopt and propagate a theory for which there is such paltry scientific evidence, which is an expression of hatred of God, and which demotes man...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17). There is a certain church that I pass on my way home from work every day. Like most churches, this church has a sign out by the road. I have already expressed my extreme frustration with church signs elsewhere, so it should come as no surprise that I am always keeping...

Evolutionists retreating from the arena of science --snip-- Today, the Darwinian scientific consensus persists within almost every large university and governmental institution. But around the middle of the 20th century an interesting new trend emerged and has since become increasingly established. Evolutionary theorists have been forced, step by step, to steadily retreat from the evidence in the field. Some of the evidences mentioned earlier in this article were demonstrated to be frauds and hoaxes. Other discoveries have been a blow to the straightforward expectations and predictions of evolutionists. Increasingly, they have been forced to tack ad hoc mechanisms onto Darwin’s...

If Christians do not keep watch over their freedom of religious expression, it could be taken away from them even in a free nation. Then they would be hampered like the Christians are in India.