RUSH LIMBAUGH:
"AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK FROM WITHIN...
WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF A SECOND CIVIL WAR"
THE CHURCH MILITANT Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
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The blockading of the church caused Coptic residents of Ezbat Al-Forn Village to write a letter to Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, titled “We were prevented from prayer like criminals.”President el-Sisi has long been deemed to be the hope of Egypt. His words sent shockwaves throughout the world when he declared over 2 1/2 years ago that “it’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire Islamic world to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction for the rest of the world.” El-Sisi proceeded to call for a religious revolution.
Egypt currently ranks as the 21st worst nation in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians, according to Open Doors USA’s 2017 World Watch List.“Egypt Closes Church Over Muslim Extremist Opposition, Blocks Worship at Another”, by Samuel Smith, Christian Post, August 24, 2017:
Authorities in Egypt have reportedly closed down a 1,300-member church in the Minya governorate and are preventing Christians from worshiping at another church in the area, according to a report.
Morningstar News, a donor-funded news agency that reports on persecuted Christians worldwide, reported that the Virgin Mary and St. Paula Church in Kedwan village was shut down last month by authorities based on the claim that local Muslims objected to the church.
According to the outlet, the church served Christians from three different villages — Kedwan al-Baharyia, Kedwan al-Keblyia, Masaken Kedwan.
Coptic Orthodox Bishop of Minya Anba Makarios pressured government officials for weeks to re-open the church. But as the bishop’s pressure on the government provided no result, Makarios issued a public statement refuting the government’s claim that local Muslims opposed the church.
“The security apparatus has prevented Copts from practicing their rites in Kedwan, Minya, claiming that it was because of objections of some opposing factions in the village, and that it was necessary to be considerate of their feelings,” Makarios was quoted as saying: “However, this means that there is no consideration for the feelings of the Copts and those who do not ask for anything but to pray, as if the decision belonged to the opposing factions and not to a great state such as Egypt, which should have authority and law.”
Makarios stated that the majority of Muslims and Coptic Christians in the area co-exist peacefully and that the only opposition to the church came from a small extremist faction.
“There is actually no disagreements or disputes between the Copts and Muslims,” the bishop stated. “He among them who opposes [opening the church], if any is found, gives the excuse of the necessity to obtain a security clearance. Regardless of whether these may be right in their opposition or not, the authorities instead of responding by pointing out that this is the prerogative of the state institutions, or by stating that allowing prayer is a legal right, affirm prevention of prayer! In doing so, they underscore at the same time that the opposing factions are right in their reasoning.”
Morningstar News noted that the Virgin Mary and St. Paula Church in Kedwan is just one of at least 15 Christian places of worship that has faced closure in Minya.
“We have more than 15 places [of worship] closed on the order of the security apparatus, despite the existence of formal requests that are imprisoned in [desk] drawers,” Makarios said in his statement. “Also, there are 70 villages, farmsteads and hamlets without places for prayers.”
In addition to the closure of the worship centers, security officials this past Sunday prevented Christians from worshiping in a private house church in Minya’s Ezbat Al-Forn village.
A local resident told Morning Star News that authorities claimed that the congregation lacked a permit to allow them to worship in the home. However, Makarios reportedly refuted the claim that a permit is needed.
The blockading of the church caused Coptic residents of Ezbat Al-Forn Village to write a letter to Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, titled “We were prevented from prayer like criminals.”
“We were surprised to find police forces surrounding and entering the village to prevent the Egyptian Copts from prayer and were prevented from going out of our homes,” the letter explains, according to Morning Star News. “We were attacked with inappropriate words … As if we are criminals or outlaws and wanted for justice, accused of performing religious rituals. And is performing religious rituals a crime?”
Egypt currently ranks as the 21st worst nation in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians, according to Open Doors USA’s 2017 World Watch List…..
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Franks, who is the chairman of the International Religious Freedom Caucus, said in an interview that he was not infringing on the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom, according to Politico.Good happens – even in Congress! Franks Amendment singling out Muslims rejected; Congress declines to "abridge free exercise" of religion.— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) July 14, 2017
Before we throw our troops into untenable military campaigns, isn’t it prudent that we understand the threat doctrine of our enemy and identify who we are fighting? Evidently, that is out of bounds for the majority of the politicians in Washington. They think that the weather and castration surgeries are more within the purview of the military.It was the 9/11 attack, masterminded by Osama Bin Laden, the leader of terrorist organization al Qaeda, that prompted the Afghanistan War and contributed to public support for the Iraq War. Hundreds of thousands of American forces have been sent to the Middle East and South Asia to fight terrorists.
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Gorka himself has been known to equivocate on this issue,
but he was one of the last, if not the last, member of the Trump
administration who was upholding, even in part, Trump’s apparent
campaign promise to speak honestly about the motivating ideology of the
jihad threat. Now that he is gone, it appears that the proponents of
Obamaesque denial and willful ignorance have won the day. Trump may
recover, of course, or he may not. But right now, in the context of the
Left’s intense ongoing efforts to deny all dissenters any access to the
means of communication, the Trump administration’s abandonment of
honesty regarding jihad means that soon those who speak honestly about
this threat could have no voice at all in the public square. In the wake
of Charlottesville, when the Left began moving aggressively to cut the
ground out from under the feet of foes of jihad terror, Jihad Watch
received a few thousand dollars in donations, for which I am most
grateful. At the same time, the hard-Left smear machine Southern Poverty
Law Center received tens of millions to continue its defamation and
marginalization of legitimate organizations by lumping them in with the
KKK and neo-Nazis. This only means there will be more assaults on
truth-tellers coming in the near future.Sebastian Gorka is resigning his post as Deputy Assistant to President Trump, multiple sources familiar with the situation have told The Federalist._______________________________________________________
In a blunt resignation letter, the national security and counterterrorism expert expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the Trump administration. “[G]iven recent events, it is clear to me that forces that do not support the MAGA promise are – for now – ascendant within the White House,” Gorka wrote. “As a result, the best and most effective way I can support you, Mr. President, is from outside the People’s House.”
Gorka’s letter expressed unhappiness with the direction the Trump administration’s foreign policy has taken, as signaled by the president’s recent speech on Afghanistan:
“Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will ‘Make America Great Again,’ have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months. This was made patently obvious as I read the text of your speech on Afghanistan this week…
“The fact that those who drafted and approved the speech removed any mention of Radical Islam or radical Islamic terrorism proves that a crucial element of your presidential campaign has been lost…
“Just as worrying, when discussing our future actions in the region, the speech listed operational objectives without ever defining the strategic victory conditions we are fighting for. This omission should seriously disturb any national security professional, and any American who is unsatisfied with the last 16 years of disastrous policy decisions which have led to thousands of Americans killed and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent in ways that have not brought security or victory.”
During his time in the Trump administration, Gorka focused on issues such as countering the Muslim Brotherhood, the crisis in Qatar, supporting efforts to draft a new long-term national security strategy, and combatting China’s economic warfare. Before coming to the White House, Gorka was the Major General Matthew C. Horner Chair at Marine Corps University and also contributed to Breitbart News….
The Forward has written dozens of attack pieces against Gorka, including several attempting to align him with Nazism. Most recently that publication retracted a story about his son’s schoolwork. Gorka strenuously objected to allegations he had ties to Nazi groups in his family’s home country of Hungary, where he had previously been involved in national politics. Even detractors eventually acknowledged the Nazi accusations were unfair smears….
UPDATE: In response to this story, the White House issued a statement that said, “Sebastian Gorka did not resign, but I can confirm he no longer works at the White House.”
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“It shows a lack of understanding of the president’s broader policy
when it comes to protecting Americans at home and abroad from all acts
of terrorism. Terrorism has manifested itself in many types of
organizations.”Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday former White House aide Sebastian Gorka was “completely wrong” to criticize the president’s Afghanistan speech because there was no mention of “radical Islam.”
“It shows a lack of understanding of the president’s broader policy when it comes to protecting Americans at home and abroad from all acts of terrorism,” Tillerson told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”
“Terrorism has manifested itself in many types of organizations. The president has charged us to develop policies and tactics both diplomatically and militarily to attack terrorism in its many forms, wherever it exists in the world, and wherever it might present a threat to the homeland or Americans anywhere. This means that we need to develop techniques that are global in their nature.”…
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“The students attending San Domenico come from a variety of religious
backgrounds besides Christianity: Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and
Islam.”Removal of a number of statues and other smaller Catholic icons from the campus of San Domenico School in San Anselmo has raised concerns among some parents.
In an email to the school’s board of directors, Dominican Sisters of San Rafael and the head of school, Shannon Fitzpatrick objected to the removal of the statues and other steps the school has taken in an effort to make the school more inclusive.
“Articulating an inclusive foundation appears to mean letting go of San Domenico’s 167-year tradition as a Dominican Catholic school and being both afraid and ashamed to celebrate one’s heritage and beliefs,” wrote Fitzpatrick, whose 8-year-old son attends the school.
She added, “In our time here, the word ‘Catholic’ has been removed from the mission statement, sacraments were removed from the curriculum, the lower school curriculum was changed to world religions, the logo and colors were changed to be ‘less Catholic,’ and the uniform was changed to be less Catholic.”
Responding to follow-up questions Monday, Fitzpatrick wrote, “There are other families having the same concerns I do. Many parents feel if the school is heading in a different direction then the San Domenico community should have been notified before the signing of the enrollment for the following year.”
Cheryl Newell, who had four children graduate from San Domenico, said, “I am extremely disappointed in the school and the direction they’ve been going. This isn’t a new thing that they’ve been intentionally eroding their Catholic heritage. They’re trying to be something for everyone and they’re making no one happy,”
Kim Pipki, whose daughter left San Domenico two years ago after graduating from ninth grade, said some of the statues were also important to families who aren’t Catholic.
“The one main statue that has everyone fired up is the baby Jesus and Mary one,” Pipki said. “It was at the center of the primary school courtyard.”
Pipki said the school had a ceremony during which children would place a crown on the statue of Mary.
“It was less about God and more about passing on some traditions,” Pipki said. “People were shocked that the statues were pitched in the basement.”
Amy Skewes-Cox, who heads San Domenico School’s board of trustees, said the relocation and removal of some of the school’s 180 religious icons was “completely in compliance” with San Domenico’s new strategic plan, approved unanimously by the board of trustees and the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael last year. She said at least 18 icons remain, including a statue of St. Dominic at the center of the campus.
She noted that it was unfortunate the removal of the statues occurred at about the same time as the unrest in Charlottesville over the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, and that the issues are “totally different” and have “absolutely no connection other than it is change, and people have a hard time with change.”…
One of the strategic plan’s stated goals is to “strengthen San Domenico’s identity as an independent school” and clearly articulate its “inclusive spiritual foundation.”
San Domenico was founded by the Dominican Sisters in 1850 as an independent, Catholic school — meaning that it is not owned or operated by a parish or religious order.
“San Domenico is both a Catholic school and an independent school,” said Head of School Cecily Stock, “but what we were finding after doing some research is that in the broader community we are known as being a Catholic school and are not necessarily known as an independent school. We want to make sure that prospective families are aware that we are an independent school.”
Of the 660 students who attend the K-12 school, 121 are boarding students and 98 of these are international students from British Columbia, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mexico, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The students attending San Domenico come from a variety of religious backgrounds besides Christianity: Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam….
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The Qur’an teaches that Infidel women can be lawfully taken for
sexual use (cf. its allowance for a man to take “captives of the right
hand,” 4:3, 4:24, 23:1-6, 33:50, 70:30). The Qur’an says: “O Prophet,
tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to
bring down over themselves of their outer garments. That is more
suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah
Forgiving and Merciful.” (33:59) The implication there is that if women
do not cover themselves adequately with their outer garments, they may
be abused, and that such abuse would be justified.A young couple from Poland were subjected to a “brutal and beastly attack” by four men suspected to be African migrants on a beach in Rimini, Italy.
The 26-year-olds were taking an evening stroll on their last night in the popular tourist spot when they were set upon by four men, Wiadomości reports.
The young man was beaten unconscious by the gang, who then subjected his partner to multiple rapes in front of him. Both were also robbed.
The Polish consulate in Milan say they are providing every assistance to the couple, who were both hospitalised following their ordeal.
Italian authorities have described the “brutal and beastial [sic] attack” as an “act of cruel aggression”, and called on the public “to cooperate with the police forces informing each and every element that may be of use in the investigation”….
The number of foreigners living in Italy as residents has rocketed by 25 per cent from 2012 to January 2017, and by an astonishing 270 per cent between 2002 and 2017 — statistics which may herald a significant and possibly irreversible demographic shift.
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DailyCaller.comrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
The following testimony was submitted to Pulpit & Pen:republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
The following testimony from JD Hall regarding a recent visit to
Jim Bakker’s studio and Morningside Ministries was sent to Pulpit &
Pen for publishing.republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
The gender barriers continue to be under attack by the secular
culture. Those who speak confidently about how the roles of genders are
ancient history, outdated modes of thought that need to be not only
changed but obliterated. In the Boy Scouts, the line has already has been compromised, wait, no, it has been erased, by allowing gay men to be scout leaders, and gay and transgender
boys to be scouts. The goal to effeminize the role of men is to always
start when they are still boys when their understanding of gender roles
can still be molded.