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Third, Akin’s argument that a commemoration of the “Reformation” is not a celebration of it borders on deliberate deception. Akin cites favorably “From Conflict to Communion: The Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017.”  This deplorable piece of trash, which portrays the destroyer of Christendom and his fellow “reformers” as laudable Christians who “had no desire to found a new church,” was produced jointly by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, which would more aptly be named the Pontifical Council for the Prevention of Christian Unity. The LWF’s member sects...

A London church has apologised for hosting a satanic fashion show. St Andrew's Church in Holborn received criticism after it offered up its building as part of London fashion week on Monday evening. The Anglican church's alter was transformed into a runway for models wearing inverted crosses, devil horns and vampire costumes to walk down in Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu's Spring/Summer 2018 collection. Dr Adrian Hilton from the Archbishop Cramner blog told Premier the church's decision to host the event was "bizarre". He said: "How can the Church ask godparents to reject Satan in its liturgy of christening when it's...

A boy wearing a dress to school is "not a problem", the Archbishop of Canterbury has said. Speaking on LBC radio the most senior cleric in the Church of England said he would tell a concerned parishioner that they should help their child "understand". He said: "I would say to them, I don't think that's a problem. "The other family are making up their own minds. The other child is making up their own mind. "Talk to your child. Help them to understand. Help them to see what's going on and to be faithful to their own convictions." The Archbishop...

Everyone has almost certainly heard of Oscar Wilde, the witty Victorian-era Irish playwright whose many affairs with other men landed him in a British jail and eventual self-exile in France, where he died in 1900 at the age of 46. He’s been a hero to some to the point where there’s actually a United Methodist worship space dedicated to him in the symbolic heart of New York City gay culture. Tara Burton, Vox.com’s new religion writer describes it for us. The key, as you read this feature, is to look for any sign of dissenting voices questioning its big themes....

Jurisdictions carry no weight in My courts for as Creator I Reign Supreme ! Do you see my children I AM The First and The Last Word as Mediator over All Creation and it is My hand that is the Gavel of Authority and My answer was given on The Cross " IT IS FINISHED " You are Worthy and My blood has dressed you in My Righteousness and My Answer to the enemy for you shall forever be " NOT GUILTY " and surely goodness and mercy shall follow you ALL the days of your life and you SHALL...

Next month, October 31st, will be the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting his ninety-five theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. Whether one thinks Luther was right or wrong, this was one of the most important events in history. Western Civilization was rent in half. My views concerning Luther have gone all over the place during my lifetime, Was he a villain? Was he a hero? At times, I have held these diametrically opposed views. Now, I am of the opinion that he was a bit of both. Luther's chief attraction as a role model was that...

A Christian couple in the U.K. has decided to pull their 6-year-old son from a Church of England primary school in protest against the school's pro-transgender policies.Nigel and Sally Rowe from the Isle of Wight explained in a press release shared by the Christian Legal Center that the "deeply painful and very reluctantly taken" decision they took came after they received a "cold and shockingly inappropriate" response to their concerns.The Rowes are preparing for legal action and have contacted the Diocese of Portsmouth and the Church of England's Chief Education Officer after the school allowed children to dress and identify...

As the state’s last abortion clinic is at risk of being shut down, some religious leaders step up against Gov. Matt Bevin’s anti-abortion policies. In the spring of 2014, the Rev. Millie Horning Peters and her clergy friend were eating lunch in Louisville, Kentucky, when their discussion turned to reproductive rights. As people of faith who were also pro-abortion rights, they were concerned by the absence of a religious voice in discussions about women’s health care. Instead, they observed, anti-choice arguments of the outspoken religious right dominated the public debate on reproduction. So Peters set out to dispel the narrative...

In a recent interview in which she announced she had joined the Episcopal Church, Rachel Held Evans said, Just about every denomination in the American church— including many evangelical denominations — is seeing a decline in numbers, so if it’s a competition, then we’re all losing, just at different rates. Many Americans, both within and outside the church, share Evans perception of the decline of denominations. But is it true? Are most denominations truly seeing a decline in numbers? Before we answer the question, we should clarify what is meant by “decline.” We could, for instance, say that Protestantism has been...

No sooner had the Nashville Statement on biblical sexuality been issued then we began to hear a common refrain from the left. “This is another sign that the religious right is dying! This statement represents the last gasp of the old, antiquated guard! It’s time to say good bye and good riddance! Let’s welcome the new thing the Spirit is doing!”In reality, it is the religious left that is dying, while those who uphold Scripture are seeing blessing and increase around the globe. Before I back up this statement, here’s what some “progressive” Christian leaders are saying.Writing for the Huffington...

A nation has come before my courts attention, Its leader creating his own ascension, The cries of the innocent brought before me, Torture and murder with blasphemy, Turning his back to My very Throne(Jeremiah 17:13), Creating a temporal one of his own, Causing his subjects through fear to give him fame, Trying his best to erase My Name("Jesus Christ"), No fear of The Creator has he, So now he shall meet the angel of death and catastrophe, A boy attempting to become a man, But very soon will lose his land, The hand "is" writing on the wall, This man's...

The number of Anglicans in Britain has collapsed by 50 per cent in under two decades, according to figures released today. The latest British Social Attitudes survey’s data on religion show that the number of people in Britain who describe themselves as having no religion at all is also at its highest ever level. More than half, 53 per cent, of the British public now describe themselves as having ‘no religion’. This is up from 48 per cent in 2015. Figures released earlier from the same survey showed that that religious people are becoming more socially liberal on issues like...

Religion offers the fresh start many are looking for. For the first time, according to a recent report, Catholics outnumber Anglicans in British prisons. Whereas half of prisoners were Anglicans in 1993, only 17 per cent now are. There were 270 more Catholic prisoners in British prisons than Anglicans a couple of months ago, and nearly as many Muslims, the figures being 14,961, 14,691, and 13,100 respectively. There were 26,443 prisoners who claimed to be of no religion. This latter figure explains in part the fall in the number of Anglicans: it used to be that if a prisoner said...

About half of Protestants in the U.S. now agree with the "historically Catholic belief" that both faith and good deeds are needed for salvation, rather than faith alone, a Pew Research Center survey shows.White Evangelicals stood out as the strongest believers in faith alone, however.Pew, which released the survey to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, explored different questions, though one of the main focuses was on the requirements for salvation.Fifty-two percent of U.S. Protestants said both good deeds and faith in God are needed to get into heaven; 46 percent said faith alone (sola fide) is needed. Among Catholics,...

A PROPOSAL to amend the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of the Episcopal Church in the United States to change the marriage rite and catechism may be brought to the General Convention next year. Although alternative “gender-neutral” rites are available on a trial basis, after a decision by the 2015 General Convention, the US Prayer Book catechism continues to state that marriage is between a man and a woman. Members of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage which was commissioned by the 2015 Convention to study “the impact of same-sex marriage and rites of blessing on our Church”...

The Canadian PM urged his Irish counterpart to support 'reproductive rights'Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told his Irish counterpart that abortion in Ireland should be a “human right”. At a three-day meeting between Mr Trudeau and Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach, the two leaders spoke about Mr Varadkar’s plan to hold a referendum next year to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Irish constitution, which protects the right to life of the unborn child. “We discussed the issue of abortion, which I know is an important issue for a lot of campaigners for women’s rights in Canada,” the taoiseach...

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged Methodist and Waldensian Churches to continue to walk together with the Catholic Church on the path towards full Christian unity pointing out that in a world lacerated by violence and fear it is all the more important to live and to convey the Christian message of welcome and fraternity. The Pope’s words of friendship and closeness came in a message on Monday to the annual Synod of the Italian Methodist and Waldensian Churches taking place in Torre Pellice - near Turin - from 20 to 25 August. Recalling recent encounters between the Churches and...

I recently blogged about research I’ve done on how progressive Christians view conservative Christians, atheists and Muslims (on the religious side), and liberals and conservatives (on the political side). I defined the difference between the two groups of Christians very simply: Do they accept the Bible as the Word of God? What I found was interesting (though not surprising). Progressive Christians tend to put politics over theology. That’s not to say there are no conservative Christians who do the same. Nor does it mean that all progressive Christians view politics so highly. What it does mean is that progressive Christians...

This is the email Hillary Clinton's pastor, the Rev. Bill Shillady, sent her on the morning of November 9, 2016, the day after she lost the presidential election to Donald Trump. For more on how religion helped lead Clinton "out of the woods," read our interview with Shillady. Sunday is Coming November 9, 2016 It is Friday, but Sunday is coming. This is not the devotional I had hoped to write. This is not the devotional you wish to receive this day. While Good Friday may be the starkest representation of a Friday that we have, life is filled with...

A senior evangelical bishop in the Church of England is spearheading resistance to a perceived drift in teaching on sexuality, hinting that some form of schism may be necessary. Julian Henderson, the Bishop of Blackburn and president of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), told evangelical leaders across the CofE that 'behind the scenes' initiatives were under way to bolster traditionalist teaching and support in the Church. But he went on to warn that some form of split or church-within-a-church may be necessary if the apparent liberalising trajectory continues. 'We are being realistic and thinking through what "visible differentiation"...