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We sing the Psalms because the people of God have been doing so since as early as Moses (Ps. 90) and especially during the days of David, when the Psalter became the “hymnal” of Israel. When we sing them, we identify with our most ancient forefathers and offer transcendent praise, applicable in all times and in all places.

The finances of Christians who tithe are generally healthier than the finances of those who do not, according to a new report that takes a close look at the financial, spiritual and giving practices of people who give 10 percent or more of their income away to churches and charities each year. Researchers compared tithers to non-tithers using nine financial health indicators, and found that tithers were better off in every category. Among tithers, for example, 80 percent have no unpaid credit card bills, 74 percent don't owe anything on their cars, 48 percent own their home and 28 percent...

The American Atheists of Cranford, N.J., announced Friday they will be sending books on atheism to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to be placed next to Gideon Bibles inside every cabin and lodge at the state's parks. On April 28, Ed Buchner, the former president of American Atheists, a nonprofit organization that was founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair in 1963, complained to the Department after he found "nine Bibles" inside his cabin, according to American Atheists. In a move to avoid controversy, and a potential lawsuit, the decision was made to remove all Bibles from the state's parks that...

New allegations claim the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) not only delayed the applications of new conservative groups, but also targeted a Christian group, Family Talk Action, and a well-established group, the Leadership Institute. In September 2011, well-known family advocate Dr. James Dobson's newest Christian ministry, Family Talk Action Corporation, filed a Form 1024 with the IRS requesting 501(c)(4) status. The attorney in charge had 26 years experience of filing these forms. "The Family Talk application was every bit as compliant as the ones he'd filled out in the past," said Alex McFarland, the group's Director of Apologetics. McFarland told The...

The problem with much Christian worship in the contemporary world, Catholic and Protestant alike, is not that it is too entertaining but that it is not entertaining enough. Worship characterized by upbeat rock music, stand-up comedy, beautiful people taking center stage, and a certain amount of Hallmark Channel sentimentality neglects one classic form of entertainment, the one that tells us, to quote the Book of Common Prayer, that “in the midst of life we are in death.” It neglects tragedy. Tragedy as a form of art and of entertainment highlighted death, and death is central to true Christian worship. The...

Billy Graham is planning to preach publicly one last time—and he wants to do it in homes across the country. This fall, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assocation (BGEA) will launch "My Hope America with Billy Graham," a video evangelism course that "combines the impact of video programs with the power of personal relationships." The series will allow churchgoers to host small groups and view videos culled from messages that Graham has recorded throughout his career. But Graham says he is currently taping a message specifically for the My Hope series, and the BGEA is framing the video as Graham's last...

Read aloud this desperate and heartfelt prayer with me; As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that...

Christian ministers like Joel Osteen, Rick Warren and Jamal Bryant are among a number of high-profile individuals and organizations apparently being used by scammers on Facebook to solicit funds from unsuspecting supporters.Miles McPherson, senior pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, alerted his Facebook fans Wednesday that someone had set up a fake account on the social network pretending to be him.Joel Osteen Ministries, which has more than 3,630,000 "Likes" on Facebook, received several messages from supporters this week notifying the Lakewood Church ministry of account holders using Joel Osteen's name.The ministry has routinely responded: "Thank you for informing us...

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face...

Remembering Dr. Duane T. Gish, Creation's 'Bulldog' A mixture of sorrow and thankfulness comes over the Institute for Creation Research family as we note the passing of Dr. Duane Gish on March 6, 2013. Dr. Gish has been a champion of creation at ICR for decades, and we will miss him. Born in Kansas and educated at University of California, Los Angeles, he later received his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. He joined the ICR faculty in 1970, after a fruitful career in biochemistry at the Upjohn Company in Michigan. Soon after the publication of The Genesis Flood in 1961,...

A Letter to a congregation I Have Two Moms May 10, 2013 Many of you know that I was a foster child. When I was a kid, I had never met my father and then my mother died when I was five years old. My two sisters and I were passed around a bit in the “system.” It wasn’t so fun. For that story see this blog: http://www.westsideinfo.com/rwt-blog-24708 Then, just before I turned eight, a family with 5 kids of their own took my two sisters and me into their home. My new mother’s name was Gerrie. She is my...

Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic By David B. CurrieThe day President John F. Kennedy was shot is one of my most vivid childhood memories. I was in sixth grade playing on the playground when the rumors started. Just before the dismissal bell at the end of the day, the principal made the announcement over the PA system: JFK had been assassinated.School was dismissed in eerie silence. Tears welled up in my eyes as I walked the half mile home that afternoon. My sorrow was almost overwhelming for a sixth-grader, not only because our President was dead, but primarily because in...

May 9, 2013 – Much ink has been spilled in recent months over what social analysts are calling the “rise of the Nones.” The trend describes the seeming surge in people who claim no faith or say they are unaffiliated with any belief system. The term rose to prominence when a Pew Research poll found that the number of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated rose to almost 20%—a nearly 5% leap in just the last five years. In the subsequent months, a Gallup poll showed similar numbers, and most recently, in March 2013, a poll from UC-Berkeley and Duke University...

A report from the Pennsylvania Pastors' Network reveals that approximately 20 percent of evangelical pastors in the Keystone State are "not in sync" on significant moral and doctrinal issues. The report contains information compiled from a phone survey conducted by United in Purpose on behalf of PPN. The survey asked evangelical pastors from across the state to respond to 20 questions pertaining to topics such as abortion, same-sex marriage, the authority of the Bible, and how a person can be spiritually saved. The results of the survey are being released in several parts over time. When asked to respond to...

The purported value of ethical relativism, the idea that there are no transcendent, binding rules for right and wrong that all humans are morally required to submit to, is that it allows us to live in peace. That is, if you have your ethics, and I have my ethics, well then there is no real need for us to fight over whose ethic wins. (So long, as, of course, our lives never actually cross.) The real value is far more sinister. We find ethical relativism appealing because we find our own guilt unappealing. Though we seek to suppress such knowledge,...

The evangelical "Pray for Reform: 92 Days of Prayer and Action to Pass Immigration Reform" campaign called on Congress in a press call on Wednesday to pass meaningful legislation in the next 92 days, throwing further support behind the current momentum in Congress to finally pass a immigration reform bill. The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, explained in the press call that the number 92 is significant for evangelicals because the Hebrew word for immigration is mentioned 92 times in the Old Testament. "This number represents the biblical call to welcome the stranger. I'm...

At the Center for Law and Religion Forum, University of Michigan law professor Dan Crane has been doing an interesting series of posts on the under-representation of Evangelicals within America’s legal elite. Dan notes that Evangelicals do not seem overly bothered by the fact that relatively few of them occupy positions at the top of the legal profession–no Evangelicals sit on the Supreme Court, for example–and wonders why. One explanation, he says, is that Evangelicals believe, and are comfortable with the fact, that Catholics represent their outlook on things. For example, he writes, [A]fter the Supreme Court nomination of evangelical...

When future President, General Dwight Eisenhower oversaw the liberation of German run concentration camps, he commanded his troops to round-up as many German civilians as possible, and forced them to tour the camps, so that none of them could say, "We didn't know what was going on out there...". Eisenhower wanted to force the German population to fully face the evil that they had allowed in their midst. They had to march through the camps, in order to witness the stacks of bodies, the louse infested barracks, the massive crematoriums, the human survivors who looked like skeletons. Ordinary German citizens...

They were men of the cloth. But their cloth of preferance must have been silk -- as in lingerie. Lead Pastor David Loveless, who has been married for 33-years and was recognized as "one of the top 20 Christian leaders in the US to watch," has resigned from the Discovery Church in Orlando after admitting to having an affair, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Loveless is the third pastor of a major Orlando-area church to resign within the past six-months because of an affair.

Former megachurch pastor Rob Bell appeared in a recent radio discussion with Christian British minister Andrew Wilson to discuss his new book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, and grew frustrated when pressed by Wilson to explain his theological reasons for affirming homosexuality and same-sex relationships. Bell and Wilson appeared on the U.K. faith debate program "Unbelievable?" hosted by Justin Brierley on Premier Christian Radio. Wilson is a published theologian and elder at Kings Church in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The men, moderated by Brierley, started the discussion by debating various issues during the hour-plus program, but it...

<p>On Wednesday, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said President Barack Obama needed to clear up and "renounce" the "un-American" and "amoral" reports from the Pentagon that U.S. soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their Christian faith. She called on Obama to do so "today, right now."</p>

MY OFFERING: I offer You Lord my heart which is full of You. It belongs to You because it contains nothing but You. I offer You my mind because on which You have imprinted Your facial Image. May I now worship the sacred relic day and night painted on my soul. May the world no longer see me but the Christ crucified in me for the only thing I truly long for is being crucified with the Lord to be able to love Him to the fullest. I offer You Lord my eyes which no longer capable of seeing any...

Members of a boys 4 X 100 meter relay high school track team in Texas were left in tears last weekend after the University Interscholastic League of Texas disqualified them from competing in the state championships because the team's anchor runner made a "religious gesture" as he crossed the finish line to win their regional title. The runner, Derrick Hayes reportedly lifted a finger to the sky in celebration, as he wrapped up the win for Columbus High School. According to his father, K.C. Hayes, he was simply pointing to God. But UIL officials disagreed and slapped the team with...

Outspoken San Diego Pastor Chris Clark of the East Clairemont Southern Baptist Church of San Diego, Calif., isn't shy about defending citizens' rights when it comes to government encroachment, especially when it pertains to parental rights. Speaking out against the California Family Health Council mailing condoms to more youths, Clark told The Christian Post, "This is one more example of the government's intrusion on parental rights and responsibilities with their kids. … And it goes against what Scripture teaches." The California Family Health Council, a statewide organization that "champions and promotes access to quality sexual and reproductive health care for...

Faithful America refused on Thursday to verify a claim that it had collected signatures from more than 20,000 Christians petitioning ESPN to suspend sports analyst Chris Broussard for what they feel are "hateful" comments towards NBA player Jason Collins who recently revealed he is gay. Collins announced in a Sports Illustrated article on Monday that he was a gay man who took his faith in Jesus Christ seriously. In a later interview on ESPN's "Outside the Lines"show, however, Broussard – who is a practicing Christian – said Collins' position was inconsistent with biblical teachings. "Personally, I don't believe that you...

I am often asked, “What is an Anabaptist?” and “Who are the Anabaptists?” If one listened to everyone who claimed an Anabaptist connection, it would be easy to be confused. For many today a progressive politics is Anabaptist; for others it means being either Yoderian (John Howard Yoder) or Hauerwasian (Stanley Hauerwas). Fair enough, but neither of them is the full representation of Anabaptism. So today I want to sketch the view of the one description of Anabaptism that shaped the 20th century the most. I refer to Harold S. Bender‘s classic essay called “The Anabaptist Vision.� No, it is not...

My love is enduring and so it must be with you "My children" for I AM a just and loving God visiting these Virtues upon those that choose love in an enduring manner, for to see My River of Life "TRULY" flow through you there can be NO Guile or sorrow, no hopeless desires for My hope in you "IS" Christ Jesus and his desire is My will and My will alone and so as you enter into my will all guile and tribulation begins to subside and a new and fresh awakening begins. So take on my will for...

Religious liberty groups have grave concerns after they learned the Pentagon is vetting its guide on religious tolerance with a group that compared Christian evangelism to “rape” and advocated that military personnel who proselytize should be court martialed. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is calling on the Air Force to enforce a regulation that they believe calls for the court martial of any service member caught proselytizing. President Mikey Weinstein and others from his organization met privately with Pentagon officials on April 23. He said U.S. troops who proselytize are guilty of sedition and treason and should be punished –...

Richmond, VA—The pastor of a large, well-known church in Richmond has been accused of sexual misconduct on a group of websites. A group of Richmond faith leaders held a protest calling for his resignation on Monday afternoon. On multiple websites, Geronimo Aguilar has been accused of sexual misconduct. 8News also discovered a Facebook page called "Richmond Outreach Center Recovery Group." It has been set up for those who allege to be victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Aguilar. We have confirmed that Aguilar was under investigation in California and Texas; a police report shows that he was alleged...

“Today, we face incredibly well-funded gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation’s armed forces.”

Televangelist Benny Hinn has asked supporters of his ministry for $2.5 million in donations, which he says an anonymous donor will match dollar by dollar to help him get out of debt. "God wants your ministry to be completely out of debt, and I want to plant an anointed seed that will help you take a giant step toward becoming totally debt-free!" says the anonymous man, whom Hinn calls a "long-time and beloved" friend. "God has laid it on my heart to plant a seed of $2.5 million into your ministry, but God only wants me to make this gift...

(JNS.org) A small Massachusetts town has become a growing refuge for Egyptian Christians fleeing persecution in their homeland. Milford, located approximately 40 miles from Boston, has been drawing increasing numbers of Christians from Egypt, bolstering an existing community of Egyptians who settled in the area in the 1980s and founded St. Mark’s Church in nearby Natick, Mass. “Milford is one of the most famous cities that has a lot of Egyptians,” Maged Saad told the Boston Globe. “It is just by luck. We have no experience in USA, but we just asked one friend. He is here also.” As a...

In describing what SFL is all about, I have often said that satire and parody are blunt instruments that lack nuance. Satire is good for pointing out glaring common problems but somewhat less useful when it comes to dealing with churches that don’t completely fit the mold of the stereotypical IFB mold: the “nice” churches with the pastors who don’t yell. Perhaps they wear pants to Wednesday night church and slip the occasional praise chorus (sans drums) into their worship line up. The members of these churches do seem like nice people even though they refuse to take the words...

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face...

Baby in Toilet Means America is in the Toilet! Don Boys, Ph.D. It was revealed in the murder trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell that a late-term baby survived a botched abortion and was “swimming” in a toilet and “trying to get out.” An assistant killer then took the very large baby out and “snipped the back of its neck while the mother was still in the room.” The bloody barbarian baby butcher sarcastically said that the baby “was big enough that it could walk to the store or the bus stop.” I’d like to see that doctor in his white...

Dave Hunt, an apologist, best-selling author, speaker and radio commentator, died April 5 with his wife, Ruth, at his side. He was 87. Noted for his research on cults, the occult and New Age doctrines, which began creeping into the church during the 1980s, Hunt was renowned for his controversial 1985 best-seller, The Seduction of Christianity (Harvest House Publishers), which he co-authored with T.A. McMahon. A prolific author of more than 40 books with at least 4 million copies sold, many translated into 50 languages, Hunt's other titles include Yoga and the Body of Christ; A Woman Rides the Beast;...

I am troubled by Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s crackdown on florist Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, for refusing to make a flower arrangement for a same-sex wedding. #I’m not arguing here against gay marriage. I voted for it. I’m not even sure that Stutzman has a legal right to refuse the business. Ferguson says that under Washington’s anti-discrimination statute, she doesn’t, and probably he’s right. She might, however, have a superior right under the state constitution, depending on how you interpret it. #The constitution has nothing in it about freedom from private discrimination. But Article 1, Section...

Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, And...

When confronted with extravagant, Gosnell-like, Boston-like evil, we should pray that the perpetrators of evil would feel the sword of God’s justice. We should also pray that the wicked men and women involved would experience the incredible, life-changing, sin-forgiving mercy of God.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in the U.S., at it meeting on April 19, 2013, adopted a statement concerning Homosexuality and Same Sex marriage. They intentionally included positions from the Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church with the hope that they would once again join in making a prophetic statement to those in civil authority that the fear and judgment of God may at least move enough legislators and judges not to approve of or support legalizing “same sex marriage.” Their desire is that the whole Christian, and especially the Reformed church, should protest this matter. Resolution Adopted...

And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:6-10)Noah’s son Ham had four sons; Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan....

North Dakota’s abortion laws have been at the center of controversial debate recently, as three anti-abortion bills were signed into law by Gov. Jack Dalrymple in March, and a 2011 anti-abortion law is currently being challenged in the Cass County District Court. In the face of this law making, some Concordia students and faculty are engaged in the dialogue by volunteering as escorts at the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, N.D., the only clinic in the state that provides abortions. Junior sociology major Courtney Gasner-White and sociology Professor Natalie Peluso both volunteer as escorts to ensure patients and couples...

A U.S. Army officer who tried to access the Southern Baptist Convention's website on a government computer says he instead received a message indicating the site was blocked "due to hostile content." According to a press release from the American Family Association, a group the officer informed about the incident, the message said SBC.net was being blocked by "Team CONUS," the Continental US Theater Network Operations and Security Center and Regional Computer Emergency Response Team. A Defense Department spokesperson said in an email to The Christian Post that the block is not intentional, and the department is working to solve...

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations. (Genesis 10:1-5)We come to the “Table of Nations”, which has been described even by unbelieving “higher...

New York City, N.Y., Apr 24, 2013 / 04:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York will receive the 2013 William Wilberforce Award this weekend from a group of Christians for his leadership in standing up for religious freedom. “I resonate with Cardinal Dolan as much as any public religious leader in our country today,” Dr. Timothy George, chairman of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview which is bestowing the award, told CNA April 16. “Cardinal Dolan has just been tremendous, he's one of the major leaders not just of the Catholic Church in the United...

It happened by chance. Jay Crenshaw didn’t plan on changing his views on illegal immigration. His experience with an illegal immigrant changed him. It happened when a Colombian friend was arrested for driving without a license. That friend was a white-collar professional who’d lived in Florida for years. He was an active member of Crenshaw’s Orlando church and was supporting his mother and brother. He also happened to be living in the country illegally. Deportation loomed. Crenshaw, an attorney and self-described conservative Evangelical Christian, found himself knee-deep in a friend’s personal crisis, not a national-policy debate. Torn between the...

When it comes to the persecution of Christians, President Obama appears to have a tin ear. The question is: why? Why would a president who claims to be a Christian seem to deliberately help install and collaborate with an Islamist government in Egypt? Many highly-placed Egyptian leaders have revealed that his collaboration with the Muslim Brotherhood began long before President Mubarak’s fall. Why would Mr. Obama remain silent after being informed again and again of the atrocities committed against Christians in Egypt—atrocities committed by the very government he helped bring to power? The answer to the question of “why” can...

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York. New York City, N.Y., Apr 24, 2013 / 04:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York will receive the 2013 William Wilberforce Award this weekend from a group of Christians for his leadership in standing up for religious freedom. “I resonate with Cardinal Dolan as much as any public religious leader in our country today,� Dr. Timothy George, chairman of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview which is bestowing the award, told CNA April 16. “Cardinal Dolan has just been tremendous, he's one of the major leaders...

My children die through a lack of knowledge and this is from a position and choice of abidance or avoidance for there can only be one cup you drink. Protruding your head(vanity) into the heavenlies to take instead of what is given through abiding in my presence as my friend bears no fruit , BUT to those that rest in me as Benjamin the gates and storehouses of my kingdom are freely given and received as Jacob at Peniel for I have opened heaven for those that receive my friendship in loyal trust yet those that waiver are as a...