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.
“Queering the Bible” is set to launch next fall and will be instructed
by Gwynn Kessler, an associate professor of religion, according to
Swarthmore’s course catalog.
The course, which is being offered through Swarthmore’s Religion
Department, promises to “[introduce] students to the complexity of
constructions of sex, gender, and identity in one of the most
influential literary works produced in ancient times.”
“By reading the Bible with the methods of queer and trans* theoretical
approaches,” the catalog advertises, “this class destabilizes long held
assumptions about what the bible–and religion–says about gender and
sexuality.”
It appears that the Swarthmore Religion Department will offer no other
Bible-centric courses next fall apart from this one. Out of around ten
listed courses that explicitly involve Bible study at Swarthmore,
“Queering the Bible” appears to be the only one taking place in fall of
2018. Only one other Bible-related course, a class teaching the grammar
and vocabulary necessary to read the Old Testament in the original
Hebrew, is offered during that time.
Read more...
http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/40306/
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE'S RELIGION COURSE CATALOG INCLUDES STUDY IN
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
SWARTHMORE, Pa. —A private liberal arts college
just outside of Philadelphia is drawing concerns over a “Queering the
Bible” class included in its course catalog that is meant to provide
“queer and trans readings of biblical texts.” Swarthmore College, founded in 1864 by Quakers, provides a description of the course
on its website, along with other upcoming religious-themed classes such
as “Christian Mysticism,” “Islamic Law and Society” and “From Vodun to
Voodoo: African Religions in the Old and New Worlds.” “This course surveys queer and trans readings of biblical texts,” the
outline reads. “It introduces students to the complexity of
constructions of sex, gender, and identity in one of the most
influential literary works produced in ancient times.” “By reading the Bible with the methods of queer and trans theoretical
approaches, this class destabilizes long held assumptions about what
the Bible—and religion—says about gender and sexuality,” the course
description asserts.
The study will be offered this fall and taught by Swarthmore
Associate Professor of Religion Gwynn Kessler. According to the college
website, Kessler’s research work focuses on Jewish interpretations of
Scripture, specifically “rabbinic theology and rabbinic constructions of
gender and identity” with “postmodern, feminist, and queer theoretical
approaches.”
KesslerKessler
is the author of several publications, including “Imagining the Fetus:
The Unborn in Myth, Religion, and Culture,” “Torah Queeries: Weekly
Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible” and “Let’s Cross That Body When We Get
To It: Gender and Ethnicity in Rabbinic Literature.”
Christian News Network reached out to Kessler for comment, but a
response was not received as of press time. The College Fix, which first
reported on the matter, likewise attempted to obtain additional
information from Kessler, but the professor did not respond.
In addition to Kessler’s “Queering the Bible” course, Swarthmore also
lists among its religion courses—although it does not appear that it is
being currently offered—a study called “Queering God: Feminist and
Queer Theology.”
“The God of the Bible and later Jewish and Christian literature is distinctively masculine, definitely male. Or is He?” the description of the course
reads. “If we can point out places in traditional writings where God is
nurturing, forgiving, and loving, does that mean that God is feminine,
or female? This course examines feminist and queer writings about God,
explores the tensions between feminist and queer theology, and seeks to
stretch the limits of gendering-and sexing-the divine.”
Public reaction to Swarthmore’s “Queering God” and “Queering the
Bible” courses has been largely in opposition of such teachings.
“This college is wrong to be offering such a damaging course. They are harming young minds unnecessarily,” one commenter wrote.
“This is about sanitizing and neutralizing the prohibitions on
homosexual acts that Scripture unequivocally condemns. … Guilty
conscience? No problem, we’ll simply alter the verses to suit
ourselves,” another stated.
Leviticus 18:22, part of what is referred to as the Torah, reads,
“Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.”
Jude 1:7, written by a man believed to be one of Christ’s earthly
brothers, also outlines, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities
about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and
going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the
vengeance of eternal fire.”
Most of the children can't even read or do math at a proficient level,
government studies show. But victims of government schools across
California will now be forced to endure extreme state-sponsored
“Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender” (LGBT) indoctrination, whether
parents approve or not. | Article: http://bit.ly/2CSMN56
Dr. Duke Pesta and Dr. Sandra Stotsky Dissect Why Common Core Has Failed Every Child THE STEALTH "REBRANDING" OF COMMON CORE FreedomProject's Academic Director, Dr. Duke Pesta, interviews Dr.
Sandra Stotsky on the demonstrable failures of Common Core. According to
a new study from the Pioneer Institute, the move to Common Core has
decimated academic achievement in Massachusetts. Prior to adopting the
Core, Massachusetts schools and educational standards were the finest in
the nation, in large part because of the work of Dr. Stotsky. Now,
Common Core has relegated Massachusetts to the same underachieving,
politicized, centralized mediocrity plaguing the rest of the country’s
public schools. Learn more @ http://www.fpeusa.org/commoncore
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Liberal Governors Andrew Cuomo & Gerry Brown Pardon Illegal Immigrants to keep them in the USA.
USA –-(Ammoland.com)-While the nation was preoccupied celebrating the holidays, the governors of
two major states pardoned immigrants convicted of serious crimes to
shield them from deportation.
First, California Governor Jerry Brown pardoned two men on the verge of being deported for committing crimes in the U.S., according to a Sacramento news report.
Days later, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
[who is eyeing a run for President] pardoned 18 immigrants convicted of
serious crimes so they could remain in the country. The foreigners had
obtained legal immigration status in the United States but committed
such abhorrent crimes that they faced removal after the completion of
their criminal sentence. An official statement issued by the governor’s office refers to the pardoned as “contributing members of society” who face the “threat of deportation and other immigration-related challenges” as a result of their crimes.
Cuomo
said the foreign criminals he pardoned had been rehabilitated but the
“stigma of convictions” prevented them from gaining legal status or
fully reentering society. “While the federal government continues to
target immigrants and threatens to tear families apart with deportation,
these actions take a critical step toward a more just, more fair and
more compassionate New York,” Cuomo said in a statement.
The
state press release also quotes several representatives from open
borders groups praising the governor’s pardons. Among them is the
president of a group dedicated to eradicating racial disparities in the
criminal justice system, who commended Cuomo’s strong display of
leadership.
“Too many immigrants with prior criminal
convictions are subjected to the gratuitous punishment of deportation,
despite being longstanding contributing members of our community,” said
the president of the Vera Institute of Justice. The director of the
Center on Race, Inequality and the Law also applauded Cuomo, saying
“deportation is an out-size punishment for prior criminal convictions
when people serve their sentences and go on to become longstanding, law
abiding, contributing members of society.”
Let’s look at a few of the newly pardoned immigrants.
The
Californians are two Cambodian men, Mony Neth of Modesto and Rottanak
Kong of Davis, arrested in immigration sweeps a few months ago. The men,
ages 42 and 39, came to the U.S. as children and were convicted of
felonies as adults. The crimes include a weapons charge and association
to a gang. Neth and Rottanak were scheduled to be deported in December
along with dozens of other Cambodians convicted of crimes but a federal
judge in southern California issued a temporary restraining order after
their pro bono attorneys from a civil rights group filed an emergency
motion. Nearly 2,000 Cambodians in the U.S. are subject to deportation,
according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) figures cited in a northern California newspaper. More than half of them have criminal convictions that stripped them of legal status.
The
New York pardons include a 57-year-old Mexican transgender woman
convicted of criminal facilitation, a 35-year-old man from Estonia
convicted of larceny and a 53-year-old Dominican man convicted of
criminal sale of a controlled substance.
The Mexican
national, Lorena Borjas, deserves to stay in the U.S. because she is a
strong advocate for transgender and immigrant communities and runs HIV
testing programs for transgender sex workers and a syringe exchange for
transwomen taking hormone injections. The Estonian, Alexander Shilov,
became a nurse and frequently gives talks on overcoming addiction. The
Dominican, Freddy Perez, works as an electrician and takes care of his
autistic younger brother. For these reasons, they deserve to remain in
the U.S. despite their criminal histories, according to Cuomo.
This appears to be part of a broader effort by local governments to protect criminal immigrants from deportation. Months ago, Judicial Watch reported
that prosecutors in two major U.S. cities ordered staff not to charge
illegal immigrants with minor, non-violent crimes because it could get
the offenders deported. Brooklyn, New York District Attorney Eric
Gonzalez was the first to issue the order creating two sets of rules
involving local crimes. The goal, according to a statement issued by the
Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, is “minimizing collateral immigration consequences of criminal convictions.”
Taxpayers in the busy New York City borough are also paying for two
immigration attorneys to train all staff on immigration issues and
advise prosecutors when making plea offers and sentencing
recommendations. The idea is to avoid “disproportionate collateral consequences, such as deportation, while maintaining public safety.”
Gonzalez, the Brooklyn District Attorney, says he’s committed to equal
and fair justice for all Brooklyn residents—citizens, lawful residents
and undocumented immigrants alike. Judicial WatchA
few weeks after Brooklyn proudly disclosed its policy, prosecutors in
Maryland’s largest city joined the bandwagon, albeit more quietly. There
was no public announcement or celebratory press conference but a local
newspaper got ahold of an internal memo sent by Baltimore’s Chief Deputy
State’s Attorney instructing prosecutors to think twice before
charging illegal immigrants with minor, non-violent crimes. The chief
deputy, Michael Schatzow, used similar language in the memo, writing
that the Trump administration’s deportation efforts “have increased the potential collateral consequences to certain immigrants of minor, non-violent criminal conduct.” Schatzow is second-in-command to Baltimore’s top prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, and oversees major crimes at the state agency.
“In
considering the appropriate disposition of a minor, non-violent
criminal case, please be certain to consider those potential
consequences to the victim, witnesses, and the defendant,” Schatzow
wrote to his staff.
About Judicial Watch
Judicial
Watch, Inc., a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation,
promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government,
politics and the law. Through its educational endeavors, Judicial Watch
advocates high standards of ethics and morality in our nation's public
life and seeks to ensure that political and judicial officials do not
abuse the powers entrusted to them by the American people. Judicial
Watch fulfills its educational mission through litigation,
investigations, and public outreach.
For more information, visit: www.JudicialWatch.org.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Democratic National Committee Deputy Chair Keith Ellison
endorsed
Antifa on Wednesday, tweeting a picture of himself smiling with an
Antifa handbook. Ellison posted a picture with “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook” and
asserted that the book would “strike fear in the heart” of President
Donald Trump.
Antifa is a far-left group that uses violence to achieve progressive
political ends, including starting riots and fires at the University of
California, Berkeley. While the group claims to be anti-Fascist, they
routinely shut down the speech of people they disagree with. Antifa
clashed with far-right protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, last
year.
The book, written by Dartmouth professor Mark Bray,
argues that “militant anti-fascism is a reasonable, historically
informed response to the fascist threat that persisted after 1945 and
that has become especially menacing in recent years.”
According to Bray, it is acceptable to use violence against “fascism”
because what he considers to be fascist ideas — like those shared by
right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopolous — aren’t worthy of debate.
Bray also states that anti-fascists must be prepared to “physically confront the far right when necessary.”
During an MSNBC interview in August, Bray even argued that Antifa
needs to preemptively strike against white nationalists because “fascism
cannot be defended by speech.” (RELATED: Dartmouth Professor Defends Antifa Violence)
Ellison’s decision to share a photo with the book is interesting considering House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi condemned the “violent actions” of Antifa protesters.
__________________________________________________________
Ellison-Top Democrat Endorses Antifa
Powerful Democrat Keith Ellison Second in Command of Democrat Party praises Antifa handbook - by Mark Bray
WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department
has placed Pakistan on a special watch list for “severe violations of
religious freedom,” it said on Thursday, days after the White House said
Islamabad would have to do more to combat terrorism to receive U.S.
aid. The State Department also said it had re-designated 10 other nations
as “countries of particular concern” under the International Religious
Freedom Act for having engaged in or tolerated egregious violations of
religious freedom. The re-designated countries were China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North
Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
They were re-designated on Dec. 22. “The protection of religious freedom is vital to peace, stability,
and prosperity,” the department said in a statement. “These designations
are aimed at improving the respect for religious freedom in these
countries.”…
MICHAEL W.
SMITH CONTINUES TO CALL FOR ECUMENICAL UNITY
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
BY DAVID CLOUD
(Friday Church News Notes, January 5, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)
- One of the great dangers of using contemporary worship music is that
it builds bridges to the one-world church. To my knowledge, 100% of the
popular contemporary worship musicians are radical ecumenists, including
Stuart Townend and the Gettys. They have non-critical association with
"Christians" of every stripe, including Roman
Catholics. To them, "separation" is almost a dirty word. Michael W.
Smith is one of the most prominent and influential names in contemporary
worship, and he continues to call for ecumenical unity. The goal of his
new live album Surrounded is "to unify the Church’s diverse
expressions into one passionate, joyful cry of worship."He says, "I
feel God moving through His Church and He is calling us together to be
one voice and one heart. One bride. Every
nation, every tribe and every tongue. Every social class, EVERY
DENOMINATION" ("Michael W. Smith Releases Two Albums," louderthanthemusic.com,
Dec. 2017).It is impossible to reconcile the Bible’s clear and
forceful warnings about false teaching and apostasy (e.g., Romans 16:17;
2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 11:1-4, 14-15; 1 Timothy 1:3; 4:1-5; 2 Timothy
3:5; 4:3-4; 1 John 4:1; Jude 3; Revelation 2:14-16) with contemporary
praise music’s call for ecumenical unity. For those
who love the Bible, interpret it literally, and hold it to be the sole
and final authority for faith and practice, it is clear that the voice
Michael W. Smith is hearing is not God’s. "Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and
I hate every false way" (Psalm 119:128). Bible-believing churches that
are messing around with contemporary music and are not properly
educating their people about this issue are playing with spiritual fire,
but most of the pastors are terribly and carelessly and willfully ignorant of such things.
