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When people see us, they need to see the Christ Spirit in us. This cannot be if we separate ourselves from God as miserable sinners. That is self righteous hypocrisy. People saying they do what they want because they are miserable sinners. That is saying sin is God's fault. Jesus called us to be one in Christ. John 17:20-23. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in...

VATICAN CITY — Homosexuals and transsexuals "will never enter the kingdom of heaven", a leading Roman Catholic cardinal said on Wednesday. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan said that while the Church regarded homosexuality as an "insult to God", this did not justify discrimination against gay and transsexual people. "Transsexuals and homosexuals will never enter the kingdom of heaven and it is not me who says this, but Saint Paul," the cardinal said, in comments reported by the Ansa news agency. "People are not born homosexual, they become homosexual, for different reasons: education issues or because they did not develop their own...

On the night Campbell elected the youngest openly gay mayor in America, hundreds rallied in Vallejo to protest their mayor following his remarks about gays and heaven. Demonstrators bearing rainbow flags and signs outside Vallejo City Hall Tuesday night directed their ire at Osby Davis for his comments in a New York Times' article about the growing political clout of Evangelicals. Davis, who narrowly (and we mean narrowly) defeated gay rival Gary Cloutier in 2007, told Scott James that those pearly, beatific gates would remain shut for gays. "... they are in fact committing sin and that sin will keep...

Does being totally depraved mean we're always sinning no matter what? Yes. Romans 14:23 says, "Whatever is not from faith is sin." And so you don't even need total depravity. You just need unbelief in order to say that everything a person does who is not a believer is sin. Maybe another word on that. Why is that the case? If you have a son, and you want him to do something, and he does the thing-like unbelievers don't usually kill people, OK? So they're obeying that commandment, "Don't kill," but why are they doing that? Are they doing it...

Homosexual behavior has been successfully marketed as a "rights" issue. For instance, if you dare to oppose homosexual marriage, even though the vast majority of Americans do and have demonstrated in referendum after referendum, those in the public eye run the risk of vilification and ostracism for articulating such positions. On Friday, more than 150 Christian leaders, most of them conservative evangelicals and traditionalist Roman Catholics, issued a joint declaration reaffirming their opposition to homosexual marriage on the basis of protecting religious freedom. While I agree that government's granting of special "rights" based on aberrant sexual behavior is a religious...

The newest threat to the United States is the Oval Office’s Marxist Muslim and his shadow government/czars impregnating evil government. He is out to destroy our democracy, in that sense beheading the infidels. He has long publicly witnessed that he is Muslim, though too many have never recognized that as fact.

A play depicting Jesus as a gay man played to an appreciative audience in a packed church sanctuary tonight while a handful of protesters outside called it blasphemous. It was the second showing of "Corpus Christi" in Orange County in about two years. The show sparked protests and bomb threats at its 1998 opening at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York. The play depicts Jesus as a gay man living in 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas, playwright Terrence McNally's hometown. The cast of 13 portray Jesus and the 12 Apostles. The Church of the Foothills in Santa Ana received hate...

Marriage rates are at an all-time low, a fact that has ramifications for all of us. Most people have no clue about the differences between marriage and cohabitation, thus they are completely blasé about a trend that undermines one of the basic foundations of civil society. I developed the following chart to note the significant differences between the two relationships. The number of couples in the United States who are "living together" without marriage has increased nearly 1,000 percent since 1970. Living together has become the "normative experience," with nearly 50 percent of young adults aged twenty to forty cohabiting....

The second-largest Lutheran congregation in Minnesota has decided that it is not going to wait any longer to withdraw from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) over the denomination's August vote to permit gay preachers. In his November newsletter to the members of Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville, the Rev. Bill Bohline said that the church is going to scrap its original plan to wait six to eight months . . .

Glasgow, United Kingdom, Nov 9, 2009 / 09:54 pm (CNA).- The Archbishop of Glasgow has denounced a publicly funded play which portrays Jesus as a transsexual, saying it is a “provocative and offensive abuse” of Christian beliefs. He suggested the event is part of an agenda to “mock Christianity.”The play “Queen of Heaven” is being staged in the Tron Theatre as part of the publicly funded “Glasgay!” arts festival, which describes itself as “Scotland’s Annual celebration of queer culture,” the BBC reports. Some 300 people held a candlelight protest of the play outside the theatre.Festival producer Steven Thomson described...

Today there are many different views and thoughts about just what the term “Sin” means. Just the word alone gives people the Hee-bee-Gee-bees. People do not like to think of themselves as “Sinners.” They say or think, “Well, I’m not that bad. I’ve never killed anyone. If you only knew the good I do...(and so on and so forth).” These statements and sentiments are expressed in attempting to justify themselves in light of the realities of their "sinful"condition. (John 3:19-21, Hebrews 6:1; 9:14). Sin, as defined in God’s Word, the Bible, is the transgression and violation of the righteousness and...

Striping away the nuance of public discourse and gazing at the underlying foundation of competing belief systems seems to reveal two general camps into which people fall. There are those who believe, for whatever reason and to varying degrees, that human beings have evolved from lower animal or social forms and are continuing to evolve toward some future perfection or apotheosis. Conversely, there are those who believe man is inherently flawed, limited, and in a very literal way retarded. I believe the latter self-evident, and wish to ask those who believe the former to present me with an answer to...

The generations following the sin of Adam and Eve proceeded upon a path of moral degeneration. Cain, in a jealous rage, impulsively killed his brother Abel. In the next generation, Tuvel-Kain perfected the crime of Cain through manufacturing weapons. Then, Lemach boasted to his wives of committing pre-meditative murder. Idolatry flourished during the time of Enosh. Organized crime was established by a group of hoodlums called "The sons of El-ohim." Sexual perversion was rampant in Noah's generation. Torah (Biblical) tradition teaches that there are three cardinal sins that a person should choose death rather than be forced to commit. They...

Why We Are Going to Hell – Part 5,291 The Abomination in the Temple bythelastcrusade.org A Canadian Roman Catholic bishop has been charged with the distribution and selling of child pornography after a random search of his laptop at the Ottawa airport, a police source confirmed to the press. His Eminence Raymond Lahey, 69, was returning to Canada from the United States when Canadian Border Services Agency officials found images on his computer. Bishop Lahey resigned from governing the diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia last weekend. In his letter to his flock, the Bishop said that he needed time...

Controversy Erupts as Catholic Bishop Asks Pro-Gay Bishop Not to Enter His Diocese By Peter J. Smith MARQUETTE, Michigan, October 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A public controversy has erupted between two bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, with one of the youngest bishops in the country publicly taking on one of his own colleagues in an effort to defend the Church's teachings on homosexuality and other issues. Marquette Bishop Alexander K. Sample, 49-years-old and one of the youngest US Catholic bishops, recently banned Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, 79, a retired auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and...

He used to perform abortions. Then he returned to his Catholic faith. Now, Dr. John Bruchalski's mission is to help spread the message of Divine Mercy through his medical practice. His powerful conversion story is why planners for the upcoming North American Congress on Mercy have invited him to give his witness for the historic Nov. 14-15 event. First, he founded the Tepeyac Family Center in 1994. The obstetrical and gynecological facility in Fairfax, Va., combines the best of modern medicine with the healing presence of Jesus Christ. Then, in 2000, he founded Divine Mercy Care, a non-profit organization performing...

SALISBURY, NC (WBTV)- More than 500 people packed St. Paul's Lutheran church in Salisbury Monday to discuss issues surrounding gay marriage and gay clergy. Members from Lutheran churches across North Carolina discussed the possibility of moving away from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA voted last month to bless same-sex marriages and allow gay pastors to lead congregations... which left members divided. "We want to provide an avenue for them. For support and encouragement while they work through in their own congregations what they want to do," Pastor Carl haynes says. Clergy members also told us many...

Paul says, "An overseer must be above reproach," (I Timothy 3:2) and yet we hear of pastors falling into sin all too frequently. How should such pastors (and I would add Ruling Elders and Deacons) be viewed by the church and how should they be disciplined? Surely most evangelicals believe these pastors ought to be removed from their positions of leadership within the church. The sin is simply too damaging to one’s reputation and especially to the reputation of Christ and His church to allow such a man to remain in his pastoral position. Hardly any within the evangelical church...

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He used to perform abortions. Then he returned to his Catholic faith. Now, Dr. John Bruchalski's mission is to help spread the message of Divine Mercy through his medical practice. His powerful conversion story is why planners for the upcoming North American Congress on Mercy have invited him to give his witness for the historic Nov. 14-15 event. First, he founded the Tepeyac Family Center in 1994. The obstetrical and gynecological facility in Fairfax, Va., combines the best of modern medicine with the healing presence of Jesus Christ. Then, in 2000, he founded Divine Mercy Care, a non-profit organization...

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans are a diverse, extraordinary, resilient, and passionate group of forgiving men and women. I wouldn't be standing beside them demanding full and equal treatment under the law and speaking out against the harm caused by religion-based bigotry at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11 if I thought they were not created in God's image the same as myself, same as my family, as we all are—we are all God's children. And I know better than anyone, since six years ago I was one of those bigots. At that time...

A Christian activist says it's vital for believers to push back against those promoting the homosexual agenda. Peter LaBarbera is president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, an Illinois-based group dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda. He says many people -- even in conservative, evangelical Christian circles -- do not know about the true agenda of homosexual groups such as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Peter LaBarbera"They're undermining the Word of God by trying to say that the Bible does not teach that homosexual behavior is sinful," he says. "On the other side, they're pushing policies that promote gay...

Are humans born to cheat? What do Americans think about marital infidelity? Those who oppose the practice of adultery often base their arguments on religious prohibitions. Others, confident that religion is worthless, or worse, turn to science to support their contentions that monogamy is not biologically “natural.” The ABC News television program Nightline is currently running a series on the Ten Commandments that “explores the biblical commandments from [a] modern-day perspective.”[1] The fourth installment of the series looked at...

We are losing our children! Research indicates that 70% of teens who are involved in a church youth group will stop attending church … [1] Similar statements from Christian leaders aren’t new, but many still can’t seem to identify the root cause of the problem. However, most front-line evangelists in the Western world have reached a consensus. The following quote is from a person who shares his faith more times in a month than most Christians ever will in their lives...

Today there are many different views and thoughts about just what the term “Sin” means. Just the word alone gives people the Hee-bee-Gee-bees. People do not like to think of themselves as “Sinners.” They say or think, “Well, I’m not that bad. I’ve never killed anyone. If you only knew the good I do...(and so on and so forth).” These statements and sentiments are expressed in attempting to justify themselves in light of the realities of their "sinful"condition. (John 3:19-21, Hebrews 6:1; 9:14). Sin, as defined in God’s Word, the Bible, is the transgression and violation of the righteousness and...

The passing of Senator Edward Kennedy was truly the end of an era. He had been extolled as the "lion of the Senate." Understandably, given the impact of his life, the news media were filled with stories about Kennedy, his family, his trials and tribulations and his contributions. I was most surprised to read that a month before his death Senator Kennedy had written a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, which was delivered to him by President Obama. As a practicing Catholic, I took great interest in Kennedy's thoughts about his Catholicism at the end of his life.

Findings from a nationwide study reveal that clergy sexual misconduct is more prevalent than many people believe.According to research by Baylor University, 3.1 percent of adult women who attend religious services at least once a month have been victims of clergy sexual misconduct since turning 18. In other words, seven women in every congregation of 400 adults have been victimized.Ninety-two percent of the sexual advances were made in secret and 67 percent of the offenders were married to someone else at the time of the advance."Because many people are familiar with some of the high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, most...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Bradley E. Schmeling has been receiving letters and stories of Lutherans returning to church after many years away, given actions taken at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in August. "Even my own partner's sister's family intends to return to an ELCA congregation after many years of worship in other denominations," Schmeling said. "People write to me about their experiences with church issues. (They) know my name because of the trial a couple of years ago." In 2007 Schmeling was removed from the ELCA clergy roster for being in...

A homosexual man is suing a third national Bible publisher for "mental anguish" after he says the company published Bibles with a negative connotation toward homosexuals. Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges Tyndale House Publishers manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale's New Living Translation Holy Bible and the New Life Application Study Bible by using the term "homosexuals" in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9. "One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether," Fowler wrote in a statement on his blog.

A homosexual man is suing a third national Bible publisher for "mental anguish" after he says the company published Bibles with a negative connotation toward homosexuals. Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges William Tyndale Publishing manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale’s New Living Translation Holy Bible and the New Life Application Study Bible by using the term "homosexuals" in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9. "One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether," Fowler wrote in a statement on his blog.

I found this while stumbling. Forgive me if it is a repost. The link below is a letter written from a Christian minister named Bruce Lowe. He graduated from the University of Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 1936. He is now a staunch defender of LGBT rights and has delineated a biblical justification for homosexual acceptance. He encourages equality before the law as well as equality within the church. Here is the introduction to his letter. Every LGBTQQ Christian should take the time to read his words. I think it will make a lot of you feel a little bit better. (The...

$10 million sought for 'negative connotation' toward homosexuals A homosexual man is suing a third national Bible publisher for "mental anguish" after he says the company published Bibles with a negative connotation toward homosexuals. Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges William Tyndale Publishing manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale’s New Living Translation Holy Bible and the New Life Application Study Bible by using the term "homosexuals" in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9. "One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether," Fowler wrote in a...

Let us detour for a moment from the recent death of Senator Ted Kennedy and the continuing debate over health care reform to consider a bizarre little happening in the Twin Cities that occurred last week. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America convened for an annual meeting at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Among the items on its agenda was a vote to decide whether to allow non-celibate homosexuals to be ordained as pastors. On Wednesday, the day of the vote, a freak storm unexpectedly swept through town without warning, bringing a tornado that damaged both the convention center and the...

ABBA-MAZING VIDEO! ... Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: It shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. (Jeremiah 23:19)

ome things are not up for a vote. Some things we as creatures do not have the right to even think we can change. We as creatures have forgotten our place. Instead of prostrating ourselves face down on the ground before God, Our Father and Our Creator, in humble obedience and prayer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—as a shrinking “sideline” denomination—decided to continue its in-your-face unfaithful and disrespectful conduct toward God, Our Maker, ignoring all interventions, warnings and signs. The ELCA put God’s Word and all of its teachings on the natural order, marriage and family up for a...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A Nebraska man who stole a painting of the Virgin Mary to finance an abortion for a teen he raped has been convicted of first-degree sexual assault and felony theft. Aurelio Vallerillo-Sanchez, 39, of Omaha pleaded no contest to the charges Friday and faces up to 70 years in prison when sentenced in October, Douglas County prosecutor Brenda Beadle said Saturday. A call to the county public defender representing Vallerillo-Sanchez wasn't answered Saturday. Beadle said Vallerillo-Sanchez fled to Mexico with the 300-year-old painting worth $100,000 and the pregnant teen in March 2007. "The plan was that...

In a historic change, noncelibate gays and lesbians can now lead parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). On a 559-451 vote taken Friday in Minneapolis at their biennial conference, delegates repealed the ELCA ban on gay clergy unless they agree to remain celibate. It makes ELCA, with 4.8 million members nationwide and 830,000 in Minnesota, the largest denomination in the country to welcome gays into the pulpits without restriction.The vote did not surprise Ryan Schwarz from Washington, a member of Lutheran CORE, a group that opposed the motion. Nor did it dampen his interest in running for...

The nation's largest Lutheran denomination took openly gay clergy more fully into its fold Friday, as leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to lift a ban that prohibited sexually active gay and lesbian people from serving as ministers. Under the new policy, individual ELCA congregations will be allowed to hire homosexuals as clergy as long as they are in a committed relationships. Until now, gays and lesbians had to remain celibate to serve as clergy. In a prepared statement, Nebraska Synod Bishop David deFreese said difficult deliberations are part of being the church. "Good people of earnest...

Discussion resumed on “Resolution 1,” with Susan Dill, DE-MD. In my visiting with people, I’ve heard stories of bishops who are already keeping people of one opinion or another out of their synod. How is that respect of conscience going to work? (Interesting question, though not germaine to the present resolution.) Timothy Wengert answered, suggesting that bishops and synods must respect the consciences with which they disagree. Stan Olsen added that we have one roster, and anyone on the roster is eligible for call in any synod. Pr. Richard Mahan, WV/WMd. Spoke against. We’ve lost nearly half a million members...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have moved toward a more welcoming view of homosexuality. Delegates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting in Minneapolis, approved a "social statement on human sexuality" that acknowledges differing views on homosexuality. It says the ELCA is strong enough to accommodate such differences. -snip- Wednesday's vote was a prelude to votes scheduled Friday on whether to let people in same-sex relationships serve as Lutheran ministers.

Some things are not up for a vote. Some things we as creatures do not have the right to even think we can change. We as creatures have forgotten our place. Instead of prostrating ourselves face down on the ground before God, Our Father and Our Creator, in humble obedience and prayer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—as a shrinking “sideline” denomination—decided to continue its in-your-face unfaithful and disrespectful conduct toward God, Our Maker, ignoring all interventions, warnings and signs. The ELCA put God’s Word and all of its teachings on the natural order, marriage and family up for a...

The new executive director of Call to Action is Jim FitzGerald, formerly of Planned Parenthood. Here are some selected excerpts about him from an article in the National Catholic Reporter: “What’s missing in our church is the freedom to talk without fear about issues like abortion or gay marriage or stem cell research. “That’s what I love about Call to Action: Everyone’s at the table,” he says, quoting the theme for Call to Action’s November conference. “It’s easy to be in conversation with people who think like you. But if we only do that, we miss out on something that...

Charles Hurt reports in today's New York Post: Repeatedly invoking the Bible, President Obama yesterday told religious leaders that health-care critics are "bearing false witness" against his plan

In a stunning display of audacity, President Obama took the opportunity of a conference call with ministers to strongly imply that his opponents were misrepresenting his healthcare plan and "bearing false witness" before reminding them that "I am my brother's keeper." OK Mr. President... other than the fact that the majority of misrepresentation and lies seem to be coming from your White House, as far as I know the Bible never says that "I am my brother's keeper." Genesis 4:9 asks "Am I my brother's keeper?"... but the question is unanswered. Even if the answer is YES... how does that...

"These are all fabrications that have been put out there in order to discourage people from meeting what I consider to be a core ethical and moral obligation, and that is to look out for each other."

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have moved toward a more welcoming view of homosexuality. Delegates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting in Minneapolis, approved a "social statement on human sexuality" on Wednesday that acknowledges differing views on homosexuality among congregations. It says the ELCA is strong enough to accommodate such differences.

As the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) meets in Minneapolis to vote on the inclusion of openly gay and lesbian clergy, proponents are making sure the stories of gay and lesbian pastors are heard. Advocates are distributing a document in which 95 members of the Lutheran clergy — a number that references Martin Luther’s 95 Theses — announce that they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The booklet, “One Table, Many Blessings” (pdf), shares how the ban on openly gay clergy has affected their lives. Currently church rules state openly gay or lesbian clergy should remain celibate and not...

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- How much sin is in America? It depends on where you live, according to four Kansas State University geography researchers. In what researcher Thomas Vought described as a not-too-serious study meant to garner attention at a convention of geographers in Las Vegas as much as to contribute to understanding the habits of people around the country, the foursome found that the South -- encompassing an arc from North Carolina through Louisiana -- was most prone to the traditional seven deadly sins. And the least sinful areas? The Midwest and western Appalachia, the study's findings showed. Lest Southerners...

Lutherans Prepare To Vote On Accepting Gay Clergy by Barbara Bradley Hagerty National Public Radio, August 15, 2009 First it was the Episcopalians, now it's the Lutherans. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — one of the largest Christian churches — is on the brink of sanctioning gay clergy members. When more than 1,000 members of the clergy and lay people begin a weeklong meeting in Minneapolis on Monday, they will be asked to decide whether to change their policy and allow pastors in gay relationships to serve in the ministry. What's remarkable is that this once incendiary issue has...

FRIDLEY, Minn. - The Rev. Dave Glesne stood before the members of Redeemer Lutheran Church a few weeks ago and told them there might be some painful decisions in the near future. Glesne is against letting people in same-sex relationships serve as pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and he says his congregation is behind him. They're worried this suburban Minneapolis church could find itself on the losing side as leaders of the nation's largest Lutheran denomination vote on whether to take that step at their biennial national convention, which starts Monday in Minneapolis. "Of course the question...