Real Christians CANNOT Vote for Obama

I'm going to come right out and say it - Real Christians CANNOT vote for Barack Obama! Although I'm not THE person to judge a person's commitment to Christianity, I believe (with everything in me) that any true, Bible-believing, God-fearing, Jesus-worshiping Christian cannot -- under their beliefs and faith -- vote for Barack Obama. Let's look at a few reasons why -- whether black, white, red, yellow or green -- NO real Christian can, in good faith, vote for Obama...

ABORTION
Let's face it. Obama is on record voting for abortion, even the most heinous of procedures, partial-birth abortion. He even voted against the Born Alive Infants Protection Act -- which would save lives of botched abortions -- those where the baby lives to be born. Obama's vote would have thos children murdered as well.

HOMOSEXUALITY
The Bible is clear - Homosexuality is a sin. Never mind the politically correct bunk you've been brainwashed into believing. Homosexuality is wrong. Therefore gay marriage is wrong. Yet, Barack Obama not only supports homosexuality, he wants our five and six year old children to be forced into celebrating and embracing homosexuality. He even hired one of the gay agenda's lowest lowlifes, Kevin Jennings, to work for his campaign.

ISRAEL & JEWS
Although the story has been told several times over the past two years, it is finally catching traction only this week -- B. Hussein Obama's friendship with Rashid Khalidi, a known terrorist apologist and anti-Israeli pundit, along with several others.

SOCIALISM
Call it what you want, but when you spread the wealth, tax the people and remove capitalistic and democratic values from a society in the way Barack Obama plans to "change" America, it's socialism.

CONCLUSION
As such, any person who calls themselves a Christian would be "a house divided" if they were to vote for Obama. As the Bible says, we cannot serve two masters. From his words, deeds and proposed policies, we KNOW that Barack Obama cannot truly be a Christian. Therefore, he must be serving someone other than the God of the Holy Bible and Christianity.

Therefore, real Christians cannot vote for Obama -- and still say they are living by their beliefs and faith. The two are incongruous.

Vice President Palin? Now, That is REAL Change!

Conservatives and mainstream Republicans, one and all, received a pleasant surprise when Presidential hopeful John McCain announced his running mate this morning. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is going to keep the hopes of a woman in the White House alive for voters in 2008. As for conservatives, worried about the auspices of an ultra-liberal like Barak Obama becoming our next President....

“They’re beyond ecstatic,” said Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition. “This is a home run. She is a reformer governor who is solidly pro-life and a person of deep Christian faith. And she is really one of the bright shining new stars in the Republican firmament.”

The forty-four year old Palin is known to conservatives for choosing not to have an abortion after learning that she was carrying a child with Down syndrome. “It is almost impossible to exaggerate how important that is to the conservative faith community,” Mr. Reed said.

Ms. Palin, a former mayor of the small town of Wasilla, an Anchorage suburb, mother of five and one-time beauty pageant queen, first rose to prominence as a whistle-blower uncovering ethical misconduct in state government.

As she was introduced by Senator McCain this morning, Ms. Palin praised the achievement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who lost a long and bitter primary race against Senator Obama, saying that she had left “18 million cracks” in the highest glass ceiling in the land. Then, making an explicit appeal to Ms. Clinton’s disappointed supporters, she said, “It turns out that the women in America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling.”

Personally, I'm glad to know that a true, pro-life Christian woman is going to be part of the Presidential election process. Her influence will be needed as our next President is sure to select at least two Supreme Court justices -- a decision that will positively or adversely affect every person in this nation. Vice President Palin? Now, that is REAL change!

What Exactly is the Religion of President Bush?

What Exactly is the Religion of Bush Who has Proclaimed Hindu Holiday Dwali, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Year of the Goat, Year of the Rat; Referred to 'An Almighty' and Said Christians/Muslims Worship Same God
Article from ChristiansUnite.com
Recovering Republican John Lofton, Editor of TheAmericanView.com web site and co-host of "The American View" radio show has issued the following statement:

"What, exactly, is the religion of President George W. Bush? He says he is a Christian. And numerous so-called conservative Christian leaders and organizations have said Mr. Bush is a Christian. But, is he a Christian? Is there a way to tell if a person is a Christian? Of course. None other than our Lord Himself says that we are known by our fruits, our actions (Matthew 7:15ff).
Some of Mr. Bush's "fruits" as President include these:

• Mr. Bush has contradicted God's Word by saying, repeatedly, and approvingly, that people of different faiths "are free to worship as they choose" or not worship. God, however, says, in the First Commandment that He - the God of the Bible -- is the only true God there is and He must be worshipped the way He says He is to be worshipped: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

• Mr. Bush has also said, repeatedly, that the strength of our Nation is in its diversity of religions. But, God says in His Word that it is only the nation that has Him as its God, and only Him, that is blessed (Psalm 33:12).

• Mr. Bush, in this year's "National Day Of Prayer," referred, strangely, to "an Almighty" when he expressed his hope that someday there might be an "International Day Of Prayer."

• Mr. Bush has honored by various proclamations: The Hindu holiday of Dwali which features prominently the "Goddess Lakshimi" and "Lord Ganesha;" Ramadan; Kwanzaa; The Year Of The Goat; and The Year Of The Rat (coincidentally an election year, this year.)

For an in-depth, respectful and well-researched discussion of this important topic (rulers can bless/curse a nation), please visit TheAmericanView.com web site and listen to "The American View" radio show number 155. Editor Lofton also discusses this topic with radio talk show Jan Mickelson of WHO radio in Des Moines, Iowa.

World's Leading Internet Evangelist Bill Keller 'Debates' Oprah, the High Priestess of the New Age Movement

Article by ChristiansUnite.com Staff
Liveprayer.com founder Bill Keller has engaged in a "high tech cyber debate" with the most powerful woman in the media, Oprah Winfrey, who Keller called "the most dangerous woman on the planet" in a recent FOX News appearance.
Keller, who reaches over 2.4 million subscribers worldwide every day with his Daily Devotional, and hundreds of thousands more on his "live" TV program seen now exclusively at LivePrayer.com ever Mon-Fri at 10pm EDT, has been exposing Oprah for years to his audience as a false prophet who is leading the souls of millions to hell. Keller contends the New Age teachings Oprah promotes, lead people away from Biblical Truth and faith in Jesus Christ, which the Bible states is the only way to be saved.
Keller has called these New Age teachings "spiritual crack," since they make people feel good for a short period, but leave them wanting more, and ultimately put them on a road to destruction. Keller commented, "Oprah is free to believe whatever she wants. However, she claims to be a Christian, yet denies that Jesus is the only way to be saved, and the Bible is the only Truth. She clearly has no idea what being a Christian means, since she is being used as a tool of satan to lead the souls of men to hell with these New Age lies she promotes." You can see this "high tech cyber debate" at YouTube.com.

About Bill Keller
The press has crowned him the Dr. Phil of Prayer and the next big thing in mass media religion. Bill Keller is the host of Live Prayer with Bill Keller, the nation's only live call-in faith and values-based program airing exclusively on the internet. The program deals head-on with issues ranging from divorce, homosexuality, abortion, sexual abuse, pornography, drug addiction, radical Islam, race relations, spousal abuse, false prophets and more, from a conservative, biblical worldview. Live Prayer is unscripted and unedited, giving it a fresh and totally spontaneous approach to problem solving. The program can be seen live, Monday through Friday at 10PM EST, and 24/7 through programs archived on LivePrayer.com. For information please visit www.liveprayer.com

About Live Prayer.com
In 1999, Keller launched LivePrayer.com, which has become the most successful online faith outreach in history. Since its inception, LivePrayer.com has responded personally to more than 60 million online requests for prayer. Additionally, Keller's Live Prayer devotional is received daily by nearly 2.5 million email subscribers, making Keller devotional one of the most read e-communications in the world. For information on where to watch Live Prayer in your area, visit www.liveprayer.com

TOPIC: 'Hannah Montana' star: I do everything for Jesus
Article & photo from ChristianToday.com
"Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus and her best friend Mandy Jiroux recently declared their love for Jesus, saying everything they do is for Him. In their Easter installment of "The Miley and Mandy Show" on YouTube, 20-year-old Jiroux, who performs as a back-up dancer for the popular teen star, reads a question from a fan who asked if the girls were Christian.
The squeaky-clean duo emphatically respond, "Yes!" "Yes! We love Jesus!" says Cyrus, 15, as she nods her head in agreement. "Happy Easter, by the way. He died for our sins. That's how awesome he is. Jesus rocks! That's why we do what we do," the Hannah Montana star adds. "She (Mandy) dances for Jesus. I sing, dance and act for Jesus! ... Now that I think about it, I do everything for Jesus. We make the YouTube videos for Jesus. We’re all about it."
Her comments should come as no surprise to fans who have been following her career. Cyrus, who plays a high school teen with an alter-identity as a pop singer on the hit Disney Channel show, has been very vocal about her faith. She recently credited her family and faith for keeping her grounded in an interview with TV presenter Barbara Walters that aired for the Oscars. “Some people don’t have a family to fall back on, like I have, and that’s when something greater than even that comes in – and that’s faith and that’s what I have for me,” Cyrus told Walters, according to ABC News. “That’s what keeps me strong.”
In an appearance on Oprah last year, Cyrus had also mentioned church as the source of her strength. When asked to name her favorite Bible verse, she referred to Ephesians 6:10-11, stating "Finally, my brother, come close to the Lord for if you put on the full armour of God you can stand against the wiles of a devil."
Her most recent movie release, "The Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour", has grossed over $63 million. Cyrus' next project will be "The Hannah Montana Movie”, slated for a May, 2009 debut.

TOPIC: Sin, As Defined by Americans
From Albert Mohler.com
As is so often the case, research comes with both good news and bad news. Ellison Research conducted a survey of representative Americans to find out what the public believes about sin. The good news is the simple part -- the vast majority of Americans believe in sin.

According to the Ellison Research study, 87% of Americans believe in the concept of sin, defined as "something that is almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective." That is good news of a sort, since the absence of any notion of sin would spell social and theological disaster. It is somewhat reassuring to know that most of our neighbors believe that at least some acts are "almost always considered wrong." It is hard to imagine how we would sleep at night if a majority believed otherwise. But all that reassurance quickly dissipates when the rest of the data are considered. It turns out that Americans do not have a very clear idea of which acts are sin.

A significant majority of Americans were agreed that the following are sins:

• Adultery - 81%
• Racism - 74%
• Using "hard" drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc. - 65%
• Not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back - 63%
• Having an abortion - 56%
• Homosexual activity or sex - 52%
• Not reporting some income on your tax returns - 52%

A "significant percentage" of Americans agreed that these acts are also sinful:

• Reading or watching pornography - 50%
• Gossip - 47%
• Swearing - 46%
• Sex before marriage - 45%
• Homosexual thoughts - 44%
• Sexual thoughts about someone you are not married to - 43%
• Doing things as a consumer that harm the environment - 41%
• Smoking marijuana - 41%
• Getting drunk - 41%
• Not taking proper care of your body - 35%

A much smaller percentage believed that these acts are sins:

• Gambling - 30%
• Telling a "little white lie" to avoid hurting someone's feelings - 29%
• Using tobacco - 23%
• Not attending church or religious worship services on a regular basis - 18%
• Playing the lottery - 18%
• Watching an R-rated movie - 18%
• Being significantly overweight - 17%
• Not giving 10% of your income to a church or charity - 16%
• Drinking any alcohol - 14%
• Working on Sunday/the Sabbath - 14%
• Spanking your child when he/she misbehaves - 7%
• Making a lot of money - 4%
• Dancing - 4%

There are surprises here, at least as measured against similar surveys. The Ellison Research survey indicates that only 52% of Americans believe that homosexual acts are sin and only 45% defined sex before marriage as sin. These two data points may indicate the evaporation of biblical morality in the worldviews of many Americans -- at least when it comes to sex. The worldview of personal autonomy, wedded to the Sexual Revolution, may have produced a moral reversal on these matters of sex. Homosexual acts and extramarital heterosexual acts are clearly identified as sins in the Bible. This research indicates that only adultery is generally understood to be sin.

The spread of legalized gambling goes hand-in-hand with the fact that only 30% of Americans believe that gambling is a sin. America is becoming a continental Las Vegas. There is more to the data, of course, and the full report makes for interesting reading.

For Christians, a few observations are in order. First, we do not find out what acts are sinful by asking our neighbors. Christians believe that God alone has the right to determine sin, and that the ultimate authority for determining sin is the Bible -- not a poll. Second, these data seem to indicate that Americans think of sin only in terms of what we do, not in terms of who we are. The Bible reveals sin to be what we are as fallen humanity, not merely the acts we commit or fail to commit. Third, Christians understand that sin is, most importantly, an act of rebellion and disobedience against God himself. Surveys like this point to the fact that most Americans think of sin as acts against other humans or acts against the self (as in gluttony). When sin is seen only in this perspective, all that remains is a negotiable social etiquette. Fourth, this report reminds us of the evangelistic challenge we now face. The loss of a deeper sense of sin means that many (if not most) Americans see themselves in no need of salvation. As a previous generation of Christians knew so well, we have to communicate the "sin word" before we can explain the "grace word" in evangelism. Keep these points in mind as you take a look at this report -- and be reminded why we lock our doors at night.

TOPIC: Obama Pro-Murder-By-Abortion; Pro-Homosexual 'Rights;' OK With Terri Schiavo Murder; Is This Guy Wearing a What-Would-Satan-Do Bracelet?

Statement by John Lofton
Culled from ChristiansUnite.com

Recovering Republican John Lofton, Editor of TheAmericanView.com and co-host of "The American View" radio show with the Constitution Party's 2004 Presidential candidate Michael Anthony Peroutka, has issued the following statement:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" -- Isaiah 5:20:

"Sen. Barack Obama is OK with the evils of abortion, homosexuality, and the murder of Terri Schiavo and he calls himself a Christian?! And, adding blasphemous insult to injury, he has invoked, of all people, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Sermon On The Mount to justify sodomite/lesbian fornication (civil unions for homosexuals.) For shame!"

In his 'The Screwtape Letters' C.S. Lewis writes: 'The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid dens of crime that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth- shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice. Hence naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern.' Or a soft-spoken, smooth-shaven, well-manicured, huge-smiling Presidential candidate such as Barack Obama.

For more on this disgusting, nauseating topic please listen to the current "The American View" (radio show 146). On this same program, you will hear an interview with Pastor Leon Forte of the Grace Christian Church in Athens, Ohio. Pastor Forte was the person who, at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, asked Obama the questions about his faith, which elicited Obama's anti-Christian statements on homosexuality and abortion. Pastor Forte is not pleased with what Obama had to say.

TOPIC: ESPN Anchor Sinks to New Low with Christian Bashing
Article from ChristiansUnite.com
ESPN's anchorwoman Dana Jacobson ought to be fired for her bigoted, anti- Christian tirade at a recent ESPN function, says Dr. Gary Cass, Chairman and CEO of the Christian Anti- Defamation Commission. Speaking at an event in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor ESPN Radio personalities Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic let go with vulgar remarks like "F--- Notre Dame," "F--- Touchdown Jesus" and finally "F--- Jesus."

"The hypocrisy and double standards are outrageous," said Dr. Cass. "If she were a Christian and said the same things about Jews, Blacks, homosexuals or Muslims, the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, or the NAACP, or the Human Rights Commission or the Council on American-Islamic Relations, aided and abetted by the politically correct media, would demand nothing less than internment in rehab, court ordered psychiatric evaluations, mandated psychotropic drugs and a humiliating public apology."

Celebrities such as actor Mel Gibson, radio host Don Imus and bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman have suffered career setbacks after making offensive remarks and have spent countless hours trying to placate the aggrieved groups. This situation is no different and the consequences should be the same.
"Because she was allegedly intoxicated at a bawdy event, this is supposed to mollify her critics. But people speak out of the abundance of their heart. Alcohol reveals a dark, hateful heart, it does not cause it," said Dr. Cass. The CADC is calling on people of faith to contact ESPN and register their disapproval of anti-Christian bigotry.

E-mail ESPN: espn_inc@espn.com
Call ESPN: 860-766-2000

The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission is a non-profit organization devoted to protecting the rights of Christians to confidently live their faith. Dr. Gary Cass has degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as Executive Director of the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, an outreach of Coral Ridge Ministries founded by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy.

TOPIC: Obama Wins South Carolina; Hilary Comes in Second; Edwards is a Loser!
Photo by Stefan Zaklin
With most of the precincts reporting, it seems that Barack Obama has won the South Carolina Democratic primary. Hilary Clinton (that name makes me shudder) came in second and John Edwards is a loser (which is fair since he's such a liar and fake, anyway).
Already, there are stirrings in Washington that Senator Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy will endorse Obama this coming week. Well, that settles the idea for me. IF I were ever considering voting for Barack Obama, that idea just flew out the window on the wings of one of Teddy Kennedy's liquor bottles. Kennedy is one of the most liberal, liberals in the US government. If he endorse a candidate, it's highly likely that candidate is much like Ted Kennedy. After all, the Kennedy ego is huge and well-rooted in the status quo of their beliefs. Therefore, any candidate accepting Ted Kennedy's endorsement is a liberal's, liberal -- or one in the making.
Barack Obama can say he's a Bible believing Christian all he wants. BUT, if he accepts the anti-Christian, anti-anything-conservative-or-traditional-values-oriented Kennedy endorsement, then I'd say something smells very fishy! The amoral ideas for which Ted Kennedy stands are at polar opposites from that of a Bible believing Christian. So, which will it be Obama? Are you really a Christian Democrat or a Kennedy liberal?

TOPIC: D-List Slander of Jesus Sparks Grass Roots Campaign

Article from christiansunite.com

"Enough is enough!" is the headline of a full-page USA Today ad purchased by a consortium of Christian actors, singers, dancers, crew and managers sending a message about hurtful and insensitive attitudes toward the Christian faith coming out of Hollywood. Kathy Griffin's blasphemous Emmy Award acceptance speech - that slandered Jesus Christ and was bleeped out during the national awards show telecast on E! - provoked action from The Miracle Theater of Pigeon Forge, TN that ran the almost $100,000 ad on Monday, September 17. That evening before millions of viewers, Larry King on his nightly CNN broadcast held up the ad and bantered with the "D-List" star about growing public discontent.
Most recently, The Miracle Theater's cast and management have expanded the campaign to give the public a voice on the matter, and thousands (52,800+ when I signed) of concerned Americans have already responded by signing the "One Million for Christ" petition at (www.MiracleTheater.com).
It states, "The name of Jesus Christ should not be mocked, nor should those who love Him be slandered for their beliefs. It is time for people of faith around the country to stand firm against religious slander, bias, and bigotry of all types including Christianity." Russ Hollingsworth, The Miracle Theater General Manager, says, "It seems like Christianity is the only religion that it's acceptable to persecute. It made my heart sick to see people in the audience at the Emmy's laughing at Griffin's remarks. It should not be acceptable to mock anyone's faith. We have to start changing the hearts and minds of people on this subject!"
"We believe that every American has the right to worship freely and to speak freely," Hollingsworth continues. "We believe, however, that as Christians, we should not accept mockery of our Lord quietly. When word reached our cast that a Hollywood celebrity had stood before TV cameras and said such vulgar things about Christ, they were moved to do something. It's just not okay anymore to mock Christians and Jesus with impunity."
The idea for the "One Million for Christ" petition came about after the theater's ad appeared Monday morning in USA TODAY; many people were looking for a way to speak out on the matter. Those interested in standing alongside the theater to defend the Christian faith can sign the petition online at the theater's website, or they may call at 1-800- 768-1170 to be added to the petition.
In the end, the petition will be presented to the media."Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus was mocked and few stood up for him," begins The USA Today ad that launched the grass roots campaign. "We, at the Miracle Theater, consider it an honor to stand for Jesus today. We may never win a national award. We may never be household names. We may never be seen in Hollywood. Although others may choose to use their national platform to slander our God, we are honored as professional entertainers to stand for Christ."

The Miracle Theater produces wholesome family entertainment and faith-based live theatrical productions. They launched the "One Million for Chris" petition drive on Sept. 16.

TOPIC: Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust to Confront Democratic Party at 2008 Convention

Article from christiansunite.com

The Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, along with the Christian Defense Coalition, will be holding demonstrations, prayer vigils, and rallies surrounding the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado in August 2008.
The Survivors announced the events at a press conference at Speer Boulevard and Chopper Circle in Denver on Tuesday, September 18th. The prominent pro-life youth activist organization is based out of Southern California, with chapters and projects across the country. The Survivors have led successful events at previous political conventions, including the Democratic National Conventions in Los Angeles in 2000 and Boston in 2004.

Danielle Versluys, Director of Special Events for the Survivors, states, "we are coming to the Democratic National Convention to be a voice for the voiceless minority - the thousands of innocent children who die every day in America. Our elected leaders are responsible for all American lives, whether born or preborn, and it is time for the youth of America to say enough is enough. We are calling the Democratic Party to account for their embrasure of the genocide."

"As a Survivor of America's abortion holocaust, I am disgusted and outraged that the Democratic Party continues to uphold murder as an American value," says James Conrad, age 22. "My family was torn apart by abortion, and I know firsthand what the effects of that terrible decision can be. I will be at the Convention on behalf of my generation, exposing the lie of abortion that has resulted in the murder of over 45,000,000 of my peers."

TOPIC: A Christian Statesman Has Gone Home
Rev. D. James Kennedy, Broadcaster, Dies at 76

Article by NEELA BANERJEE

[For some reason, Ms. Banerjee has a problem calling Dr. Kennedy by his proper title. Yet, she entitles Barry Lynn "reverend" as though it means something. ???]

The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a Christian broadcaster and the pastor of a Florida megachurch who played a critical role in the rise of conservative Christianity, died yesterday at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 76. The cause was not immediately known, said Kristin Cole, a church spokeswoman, but Mr. Kennedy suffered permanent damage from heart arrhythmia last December and had been undergoing rehabilitative therapy since then.

From the founding of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale 48 years ago, Mr. Kennedy became an indefatigable and persuasive voice urging Christians to take on a broader culture that, in his view, had begun to decay.

He argued that the decline was due to society’s increasing secularization and hostility to Christianity, said Frank Wright, a friend and the chief executive of the National Religious Broadcasters Association. Though not as well known to the broader public as the late Rev. Jerry Falwell or the Rev. Pat Robertson, Mr. Kennedy provided much of the theology that attracted millions of Christians into the camp of the religious right, said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “He was absolutely relentless in his criticism of everything on the left,” Mr. Lynn said. “He was a formidable creator of an opposition to what people like I believe.”

Mr. Kennedy stayed largely in the background as men like Mr. Falwell, Mr. Robertson and James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family spoke to Americans about the need to curtail abortion rights, gay rights and the teaching of evolution. But over the last decade, he, too, grew more openly active, creating the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, which held conferences that taught people to how to get involved in the political process. The center closed in April.

Mr. Kennedy opened the Center for Christian Statesmanship in Washington to equip evangelicals on Capitol Hill to be more effective in government. He was also instrumental in establishing the Alliance Defense Fund, an increasingly active Christian counterweight to secular civil liberties groups.

“For decades, Dr. Kennedy has been a passionate defender of biblical truth in a culture that increasingly forgot it,” Dr. Dobson said in a statement. “He was a giant in the battle to restore traditional values in our nation.”

Kennedy accepted Jesus after the message of a radio preacher woke him one Sunday morning. In Mr. Kennedy’s often-repeated account, which appears on his Web site, the preacher asked: “Suppose you were to die today and stand before God, and he were to ask you, ‘What right do you have to enter into my heaven?’— what would you say?”

In 1967, he started an “evangelism clinic” called Evangelism Explosion, which taught Christians how to spread the Gospel. Mr. Kennedy’s Coral Ridge Ministries, which includes radio and television, says it now has an audience of 3.5 million people, according to the group’s Web site. “Coral Ridge Hour,” a weekly sermon by Mr. Kennedy, is broadcast in more than 145 countries and on more than 600 stations.

Mr. Kennedy also founded a seminary and a school and wrote more than 65 books. Mr. Kennedy worked with other evangelicals to articulate the core beliefs of what would become the religious right. Mr. Kennedy spoke sharply against gay rights and abortion rights. But he thought the greatest threat to society was the fact that public education had left prayer out of the classroom and continued to teach evolution, Mr. Wright said. “When people feel that they are the product of some accident and not the intended creation of God, they are filled with a sense of hopelessness and there is an almost pagan barbarianism in the way some people would act,” Mr. Wright said.

TOPIC: Doubt or Certainty? Which Does YOUR World Revolve Around?

2005 editorial from Charles Krauthammer of TIME magazine

These things come in waves, of course, but waves need to be resisted, even if the exercise leaves you feeling like King Canute. The new wave is fashionable doubt. Doubt is in. Certainty is out.

The New Republic devoted a cover article to hailing the "conservatism of doubt." For the less bookish, Hollywood spends $130 million on a Crusader epic in which the heroes are 12th century multiculturalists, Christian and Muslim, who want nothing more than love, peace and interfaith understanding. (Such people inhabit 21st century Hollywood, but as columnist John Podhoretz points out, they were nowhere to be seen in 12th century Jerusalem.) And dare you have any "deeply held views" -- a transparent euphemism for religiously grounded views -- especially regarding abortion [or homosexuality or the war against terrorism].

The Op-Ed pages are filled with jeremiads about believers -- principally evangelical Christians and traditional Catholics -- bent on turning the U.S. into a theocracy. Now I am not much of a believer, but there is something deeply wrong -- indeed, deeply un-American -- about fearing people simply because they believe.
It seems perfectly O.K. for secularists to impose their secular views on America, such as, say, legalized abortion or gay marriage. But when someone takes the contrary view, all of a sudden he is trying to impose his view on you. And if that contrary view happens to be rooted in Scripture or some kind of religious belief system, the very public advocacy of that view becomes a violation of the U.S. constitutional order.

What nonsense. The campaign against certainty is merely the philosophical veneer for an attempt to politically marginalize and intellectually disenfranchise believers. Instead of arguing the merits of any issue, secularists are trying to win the argument by default on the grounds that the other side displays unhealthy certainty or, even worse, unseemly religiosity. Why this panic about certainty and people who display it? It is not just, as conventional wisdom has it, that liberals think the last election was lost because of a bloc of benighted Evangelicals. It is because we a handful of years of moral certainty, and firm belief -- and that's about all secular liberalism can tolerate.

Do you remember 9/11? How you felt? The moral clarity of that day and the days thereafter? Just days after 9/11, on this very page, Lance Morrow wrote a brilliant, searing affirmation of right against wrong, good against evil. A few years of that near papal certainty is more than any self-respecting intelligentsia can take. The overwhelmingly secular intellectuals are embarrassed that they once nodded in assent to Morrow-like certainty, an affront to their self-flattering pose as skeptics.

Enough. A new day, a new wave. Time again for nuance, doubt and the comforts of relativism. It is not just the restless search for novelty, the artist's Holy Grail. It is weariness with the responsibilities and the nightmares that come with clarity -- and the demands that moral certainty make on us as individuals and as a nation.

Nothing has more aroused and infuriated the sophisticates than the foreign policy of a religiously inclined President, based on the notion of a universal aspiration to freedom and of America's need and duty to advance it around the world. Such liberationism, confident and unapologetic, is portrayed as arrogant crusading, a deep violation of the tradition of American pluralism, ecumenism, modesty and skeptical restraint.

That widespread portrayal is invention masquerading as history. You want certainty? You want religiosity? How about a people who overthrow the political order of the ages, go to war and occasion thousands of deaths in the name of self-evident truths and unalienable rights endowed by the Creator? That was 1776. The universality, the sacredness and the divine origin of freedom are enshrined in our founding document. The Founders, believers all, signed it. Thomas Jefferson wrote it. And not even Jefferson, the most skeptical of the lot, had the slightest doubt about it.

TOPIC: Statement from Schoolgirl Following Purity Ring Ruling

Article from ChristianToday

Statement from schoolgirl Lydia Playfoot following the High Court's decision to uphold a ban on her wearing a purity ring by her school, Millais School in West Sussex.

"I am very disappointed by the decision this morning by the High Court not to allow me to wear my purity ring to school as an expression of my Christian faith not to have sex outside of marriage. I believe that Mr. Justice Supperstone’s decision will mean that slowly, over time, people such as school governors, employers, political organisations and others will be allowed to stop Christians from publicly expressing and practising their faith.

Over two years ago, I was concerned at the number of teenagers who were catching sexually transmitted diseases, getting pregnant and/or having abortions. The Government's Sex Education Programme is not working, and the pressure on young people to 'give in' to sex continues to increase. This is often because of the media’s focus on sex and the expectations of others.

As a Christian I do not agree with sex before marriage. I believe I have a right not only to state my Christian views on sex, but also to demonstrate my Christian faith and commitment to God and my future husband not to have sex before marriage, through the wearing of a purity ring.

I, along with 11 other Christian girls at Millais School decided before God that we would make a commitment not to have sex before marriage, and as a sign of that commitment, to wear a simple silver ring from the ‘Silver Ring Thing’ movement. The wearing of the ring was to me, a demonstration of my Christian faith and values, which are based on the Bible – which clearly teaches that sex outside of marriage is wrong and therefore not God's best for us. Despite the fact that Muslims girls at our school wear headscarves, and Sikhs wear Kara bangles, the school refused to allow me to manifest my belief through the wearing of a ring.

The School Governors originally said it was for Health and Safety reasons that purity rings were banned from school, but have offered no evidence to support the view that wearing a ring could physically harm another pupil or staff member. I still believe the decision by the Governors of the School goes against the Article 9 rights to Freedom of Religion and my right to express my faith in word or deed, in a democratic, Christian-based country. I shall be consulting my legal team to consider whether to appeal.

Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents, family and friends who have stood by me though all of this, and to the many hundreds of people, both locally in Horsham, across the UK and throughout the world who have sent me letters of support and assured me of their prayers. I would also like to thank the national press and media for the balanced way in which they have covered this story, and have portrayed it for what it is; another example of the loss of the right of Christians to demonstrate their faith in public.

Lastly, but by no means least, I would like to thank my barrister, Mr Paul Diamond, and Mrs Andrea Minichiello Williams of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship for all their advice, guidance and support through what is a legal and political minefield for a 16-year-old schoolgirl to walk through. I would also like to thank Paul Eddy, of Paul Eddy PR who has guided me through the maze of working with the national press and media.

To everyone I offer my thanks, and I deeply regret that I could not persuade the Court to consider upholding the religious liberty of Christian people in the United Kingdom.

As a Christian though, I live for another Kingdom, and serve another King, Jesus Christ, and therefore I shall continue to live and speak for what is right and true.
Thank you.
Miss Lydia Playfoot
July 16, 2007"

Interview: Former Guitarist of Korn Reflects on Conversion, Freedom from Drugs
Money, fame, success; you’ve got it all, right? Not according to Brian “Head” Welch, the former lead guitarist and founder of multi Grammy-winning nu-metal rock band Korn. The mega rock star details his life story in his new book, Save Me From Myself: How I found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story. The biography, released 7 July (07/07/07), explains the freedom he received from a life devastated by drugs and entangled in the negative lifestyle that comes with being in an out-of-control band. His testimony is of a life that hit rock bottom, but was lifted up by Christ. Christian Today caught up with the musician at his hotel in New York. His long pony tails, split braided goatee and tattoos may not have given him the appearance of a typical Christian, but his witness was a heartfelt and sincere testimony to what God has done in his life.

Read the entire interview at ChristianToday.com

Article from christiansunite.com

A psychologist who has examined over thirty medical records subpoenaed from abortionist George R. Tiller, says women were given late-term abortions on viable babies so they would not have to miss rock concerts and sporting events.

Dr. Paul McHugh revealed last week that he examined medical records that showed women who were 26 to 30 weeks into their pregnancies were being given abortions by Tiller for "trivial" birth control reasons under the guise of "mental health" concerns that could not be substantiated by the records.

Dr. McHugh is a Harvard educated psychologist who headed the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital for 26 years and serves on the President's Council on Bioethics. He was asked to review the abortion records by former Attorney General Phill Kline to determine if the mental health diagnoses were psychiatrically justified. Dr. McHugh stated that the records "highlighted certain kinds of things, which ...were sometimes of a most trivial sort, from saying that, 'I won't be able to go to concerts,' or 'I won't be able to take part in sports,' to more serious ones, such as, 'I don't want to give my child up for adoption.'"
Of Tiller's psychiatric diagnoses, Dr. McHugh stated, "He had mostly social reasons for thinking that the late-term abortions were suitable ...Again, these ideas that he was suggesting - these were not psychiatric ideas, these were social ideas that he is proposing. And by the way, again, there was nothing to back these things up in a substantial way."

When asked if Dr. McHugh could find even one file that justified a late-term abortion by demonstrating that the woman would suffer substantial and irreversible harm as required by Kansas law, he responded emphatically, "I saw no file that justified abortion on that basis."

"The people of Kansas have written these laws. Viable fetuses should not be aborted unless there's a substantial and irreversible condition that the pregnancy will produce. Well, when a psychiatric diagnosis is brought forth, I think that people should understand that that requires a heck of a lot more than I found in these records," Dr. McHugh said. "It doesn't take a Harvard education to understand that missing a rock concert doesn't 'substantially and irreversibly' impair a woman, physically or mentally," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. "It is clear that Tiller is breaking the law at the cost of innocent lives. The public must rise up and say that enough is enough!" Please continue to contact Attorney General Paul Morrison and ask him to charge Tiller for committing illegal late-term abortions.

Attorney General Paul Morrison
Phone: (785) 296-2215; Fax: (785) 296-6296

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.

TOPIC: Ambulance Takes Planned Parenthood Victim to Hospital

Article from christiansunite.com

Rescuer Ed Sauley reports that an ambulance carried a patient of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Olympia, Washington, to a hospital on Friday, May 25. It is believed that the woman was the victim of a botched abortion. It is unknown if she survived her injuries.
"Alert pro-lifers are exposing more and more cases of serious abortion injury and death," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

"These abortion mills are hurting women at an alarming rate, yet they still try to tell people that abortion is safe. It wasn't safe for that Washington woman last week, and it isn't safe for the thousands of women across America who are seeking abortions this week. Women need to know the truth that if they walk into an abortion mill, they may not walk out."

It is difficult to know how many women suffer abortion injuries requiring emergency hospitalization because abortion mills are often hesitant to call ambulances. There have been an estimated 347 known abortion deaths since 1973, but that figure is likely much higher, since abortion deaths are frequently classified under something other than abortion.
A listing of known abortion victims is available at The Blackmun Wall. Planned Parenthood is Olympia's only remaining abortion mill. Sauley told Operation Rescue that two other area abortion mills have closed in the last four years, the most recent as of last March. Sauley operates one of Operation Rescue's Truth Trucks throughout the Pacific Northwest. He directs a group called "Show the Truth" that tours public places exposing the truth about the human tragedy of abortion.

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.

TOPIC: Jerry Falwell Has Passed On To Eternal Life

By staff at christiansunite.com

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, a noted televangelist, founder of Liberty University and frequent political commentator, died yesterday at the age of 73. His efforts to mold conservative Christianity into a political force altered the American political landscape and were a decisive factor in the ascendancy of Evangelicals as a formidable voting block. Often one of the first to be quoted by the mainstream media on controversial social issues, Falwell was frequently a nexus of controversy in the engagement between religion and politics in America.

IRD UM Action Director Mark Tooley commented:

"Rev. Falwell helped bring millions of previously politically unengaged evangelicals into the forefront of American public life. He challenged religious people to apply their faith in the political sphere. In the late 1970's and through the 1980's, he was instrumental in the creation of what became known as the "Reagan Coalition," of which evangelicals were a key component.
As the founding pastor of a congregation that now numbers over 24,000 members, Rev. Falwell also foreshadowed the mega-church movement in America, which now involves millions of American Christians. Rev. Falwell was central in bringing and keeping issues involving family structure and sexual ethics in public debates, when many others, even among conservatives, would have preferred to ignore them.
During the course of Rev. Falwell's career, evangelicals went from the sideline of American religious and political life to the mainstream, where they are now America's largest religious and political demographic.For all of his polarizing statements and controversies, Falwell undeniably initiated a season of growing Evangelical influence in American politics. He will be remembered in history as a decisive figure in our nation's political and religious life in the second half of the 20th century."

The Institute on Religion and Democracy, founded in 1981, is an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches' social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad.

TOPIC: 12 Year Old Christian Girl Repeatedly Raped by Muslims

Article from christiansunite.com

A 12-year-old Christian girl, Shaheena Masih, was kidnapped and raped by four Muslim men on Easter Day in the city of Lahore, Punjab province, Pakistan, according to an April 23 report from the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance.
Shaheena stayed home from an Easter prayer service at a local church, Kings Revival Church, in order to take care of her ailing father. At approximately 10: 00 a.m., her father asked her to go out and get him some juice. On her way to a shop, she was kidnapped by four armed men who placed a handkerchief on her mouth until she was unconscious and flung her into a car. The men took her to a factory and locked her in a room, where she was repeatedly raped by the four men over the span of two days.
During one of the attacks, one of the perpetuators reportedly said to the others, "Don't hesitate to rape a Christian girl. Even if she will die, no one will get us. Her poor parents cannot pursue us." They eventually left Shaheena at a brothel run by a Muslim lady, who later dropped her off on a street near her home.
One of the attackers, Mohammed Safdar, was caught by police after they raided the factory. Under interrogation, he implicated the others. Only after pressure did the police register a case against the attackers. They [the police] are now being pressured to drop the charges and Shaheena's family has been threatened if the case proceeds. [Another confirmed Muslim rapist is named Mohammad Naseer.]
You can read more details of Shaheena's story (and lack of action by the police) on BosNewsLife and the Christian Persecution Blog.

Ask God to give Shaheena healing from the emotional and physical scars of the assault.
Pray that authorities will prosecute the offenders to the full extent of the law.
Pray for Shaheena and her family as they will struggle with the ability
to exhibit God's love to their persecutors.
For more information on persecution in Pakistan, click here.

The Sope-Bocks: I would personally like to get my hands on these four scumbags. The police wouldn't need to worry about an arrest or a trial, I can assure you. Raping a 12 year old girl is rotten enough. Raping her because she is a Christian is just beyond vindictive and cruel. Disgusting pigs... I spit on them -- and want to stomp their devilish brains out!
You should know that Shaheena's life in Pakistan will ALWAYS be difficult as the culture will consider her tainted -- even though she had nothing to do with her demise. Please pray for Shaheena and her family -- and that the police will get off their scared little carcasses and do the right thing.