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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The church's engagement with the culture involves a host of issues, controversies, and decisions -- but no issue defines our current cultural crisis as clearly as homosexuality. Some churches and denominations have capitulated to the demands of the homosexual rights movement, and now accept homosexuality as a fully valid lifestyle. Other denominations are tottering on the brink, and without a massive conservative resistance, they are almost certain to abandon biblical truth and bless what the Bible condemns. Within a few short years, a major dividing line has become evident -- with those churches endorsing homosexuality on one side,...

A day after a children's book about a homosexual prince finding his true love received national media attention, the colorful hardback rose to a surprisingly high No. 38 on Amazon.com's list of best sellers. The book, "King & King," gained media coverage Thursday when a North Carolina couple expressed their outrage after their first-grade daughter came home from her public-school library with the book. As WorldNetDaily reported, the book chronicles the adventures of Prince Bertie, who waves off a bevy of eligible princesses before falling for Prince Lee, the Associated Press reported. The book ends with the two "marrying" and...

An effort to do away with federal income tax and replace it with a national consumption tax is gaining steam, as activists strive to get at least 100 members of the House of Representatives on board by Independence Day. "We think we'll be at 100 co-sponsors by July 4," Tom Wright, executive director of Americans for Fair Taxation, told WND. Wright noted the House bill, H.R. 25, added its latest co-sponsor this week – Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin of Wyoming – bringing the total to 44. "We're working with our grass-roots people across the country" to get to the goal,...

Mirroring the defiance of San Francisco officials, the 26-year-old mayor of a New York college town says he will perform up to a dozen same-sex marriage ceremonies today. Jason West, mayor of New Paltz, about 75 miles north of New York City, contends he is obligated to issue the licenses to homosexual couples because the state law on marriage says nothing about gender, and New York's constitution requires equal protection. "We as a society have no right to discriminate in marriage any more than we have the right to discriminate when someone votes or when someone wants to hold office,"...

SANTA CRUZ — When Doreen Boxer and Cynthia Zapata heard that "power of love" was the theme of this month’s services at the Santa Cruz Bible Church, the recently married gay couple thought their search for a new place of worship might have been guided by a divine hand. "What a coincidence — we were honoring our love at a time they were celebrating love’s power," said Boxer. "It seemed like God had sent us to this church." Little did Boxer and her partner of seven years know that their Feb. 15 attendance at the church on Frederick Street would...

   Abstract Top AbstractMethods Results Interpretation References   Background: Young gay and bisexual men may perceive that the consequences of HIV infection have dramatically improved with the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy. We therefore sought to identify trends in HIV infection rates and associated risk behaviours among young gay and bisexual men in Vancouver. Methods: Prospective cohort study involving gay and bisexual men aged 18-30 years who had not previously tested HIV positive. Subjects were recruited through physicians, clinics and community outreach in Vancouver. Annually participants were tested for HIV antibodies and asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire...

In the past several days, the media have descended on Massachusetts like a flock of vultures on a wounded prey. The scenes inside and outside the Statehouse are described by many as "surreal." With the thousands of people and hundreds of cameras on Beacon Hill, the legislators say they have never seen or experienced anything like this before. The hoopla, of course, is about "gay" marriage. One of the greatest battles for America's future right now is being waged in Massachusetts – an outcome that will affect and possibly change our entire nation forever. Simply put, this battle is about...

A teacher suspended because he wrote published letters critical of homosexual behavior was properly punished with a one-month suspension, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled. As WorldNetDaily reported, Chris Kempling of Quesnel, British Columbia, was found guilty of unbecoming conduct by the B.C. College of Teachers. The panel asserted his letters to the editor, a research paper and other correspondence contained "discriminatory and derogatory statements against homosexuals." Teacher Chris Kempling (Vancouver Sun) Though none of the statements in question were made in class, the panel said the writings indicated the veteran teacher's attitude could poison the class environment. One Kempling...

A youth-oriented television drama with a growing U.S. following is breaking new ground this year with a major teen character who declares his homosexuality and "falls in love" with a male classmate. The Canadian drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation" – available to 22 million U.S. households on the Nickelodeon-owned cable channel Noggin – is acclaimed by homosexual-rights groups for boldly going where no program has gone before. Actor Adamo Ruggiero (Photo: DeGrassi: Next Generation) "When a gay teen character is introduced into a mainstream youth-oriented drama with a minimum of fanfare, you can be sure of one thing: You're not...

Heath Ledger portrayed minuteman son of Mel Gibson in 'The Patriot' (Columbia Pictures) Mel Gibson fans will remember Heath Ledger as the eldest son determined to fight for independence against the British, the innocent but brave fair-haired boy-man who struggles for justice even among his fellow southern colonialists. They will remember him in that role in the "The Patriot," that is, until the release of "Brokeback Mountain." Production on Ang Lee's movie begins this summer. It is the story of two cowboys on the range in 1963. They fall in love under the Big Sky of Wyoming. There's nothing...

As the presidential election year gets started, WorldNetDaily.com is ranked as the No. 1 most popular political site on the Internet, according to Alexa.com, the public Net ratings service affiliated with Amazon.com. The new rankings, released today, show WND at No. 1 followed by Slate, the news and opinion website owned by Microsoft. "This is quite an honor when you think about how many websites there are in the world offering political commentary," said Joseph Farah, founder and editor of WND. "But it's even more thrilling because we've never considered WND primarily a political site. It is first and foremost...

A state appeals court ruled a homosexual father cannot flaunt his lifestyle around his son. As part of a divorce hearing, a Tennessee lower-court judge had barred Joe Hogue, a producer in the Christian music industry, from ''taking the child around or otherwise exposing the child to his gay lover(s) and/or his gay lifestyle," the Nashville Tennessean reported. The state Court of Appeals said, however, the judge was wrong to jail Hogue on a contempt-of-court charge for telling his son, then 9, he was homosexual. But in a seven-page decision, Judge Frank Clement Jr. said the panel found nothing wrong...

A lesbian-themed travel company plans to take advantage of the landmark Massachusetts high-court decision allowing same-sex marriage by organizing a mass wedding and cruise for as many as 1,200 women. The company, Olivia, says the "ruling paves the way for us to start our cruise with a romantic, legal wedding in Boston" next July, according to the Boston Globe. With lesbian singer k.d. lang "serenading us on board with special performances in Boston and Provincetown, and a week sailing to gorgeous, lesbian-friendly Montreal, it's truly the ultimate honeymoon," the group says on its website. The July 3 ceremony is planned...

Requiring seventh-grade students to pretend they're Muslims, wear Islamic garb, memorize verses from the Quran, pray to Allah and even to play "jihad games" in California public schools has been legally upheld by a federal judge, who has dismissed a highly publicized lawsuit brought by several Christian students and their parents. As WND reported in July of last year, the suit was filed by the Thomas More Law Center against the Byron Union School District and various school officials to stop the use of the "Islam simulation" materials and methods used in the Excelsior Elementary School in Byron, Calif. In...

British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. OBJECTIVE: To assess how HIV infection and AIDS (HIV/AIDS) impacts on mortality rates for gay and bisexual men. METHODS: Vital statistics data were obtained for a large Canadian urban centre from 1987 to 1992. Three scenarios were utilized with assumed proportions of gay and bisexual men of 3%, 6% and 9% among the male population age 20 years. For each scenario, non-HIV deaths were distributed according to the assumed proportion of the total population (3%, 6% or 9%) but 95% of HIV deaths were distributed to gay and...

Homosexual Agenda: Categorical Index of Links (Revision 1.1) Category Year Title Posted On FreeRepublic Adoption   2002 Pediatrics Group Endorses Homosexual Adoption     Trophy children Yes Bible   2003 What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality, Adultery...     What does the Bible actually say about being gay? Yes     The Christian Confronted by Homosexuality Yes     Talmud on Homosexuality     Is banning the Bible next?     Christianity and Homosexuality Yes     A divisive debate over the Bible spotlighted Episcopalians' OK for gay bishop   2002 Responding to Pro-Gay Theology   1999 The...

I was 14 the first time it happened. Mary* lived next door. She was two years my junior. Because Mary's parents both worked, they often asked me to watch Mary and her younger brother. One day, Mary found some pornographic magazines in her parents' bedroom. I understood the magazine's depictions, because I had my first of several sexual encounters when I was ten. But I'd never had sex with another girl before. As we looked at a photograph of a couple having intercourse, Mary asked, "Have you ever done that?" "Sure," I said proudly. "How was it?" "It was okay."...

You've seen Britney and Madonna. Now a US high school has seen two 17-year-olds, Katherine Pecore and Stephanie Haaser, lock lips on top of a lunch table. The result? Two-day suspensions, a school protest and 15 minutes of fame. "It wasn't an affection thing. It was really just a statement," Katherine said. The girls say the kiss was staged to protest against homophobia. It happened in the middle of lunch at River Hill High School in Maryland. Stephanie's English teacher had asked his students to perform a "nonconformist act" as part of a course on transcendentalist authors such as Ralph...

At today's White House news briefing, WND asked presidential press secretary Scott McClellan about President Bush having sent a congratulatory letter to a denomination founded by homosexual activists that performs more than 6,000 same-sex "weddings" each year, not long after endorsing "Marriage Protection Week." WND: Scott, WorldNetDaily reports that just after the president proclaimed marriage to be "a union between a man and a woman," the Metropolitan Community Churches, which perform 6,000 same-sex nuptial ceremonies a year, received a letter from the president congratulating them for "encouraging the celebration of faith and sharing of God's love." And my question: Since...

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas, has ruled a Ten Commandments monument on the state Capitol grounds does not violate the U.S. Constitution by establishing a state-sponsored religion. Thomas Van Orden, a homeless man, had sued, claimed the monument was a government endorsement of Judeo-Christian values. In its ruling, the appeals panel agreed with the state, which argued the Ten Commandments are historical in nature because they provide a foundation for Western law. "The Ten Commandments are undoubtedly a sacred religious text, but they are also a foundational document in the development of Western legal codes and...