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.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
A Cambridge, Massachusetts, librarian refused several Dr.
Seuss children’s books donated by First Lady Melania Trump, claiming the
content is “steeped in racist propaganda.”
The First Lady donated ten Dr. Seuss titles to schools across the
country in honor of National Read a Book Day, including, “Oh, the Places
You’ll Go,” which Melania indicated she’d read to her son Barron “over
and over.”
Cambridge Public Schools librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro thanked Melania
for the “wonderful gesture,” but ultimately labeled Seuss works “a bit
of a cliche” and said her library “would not be keeping the titles for
our collection” due to their racist nature.
One “fact that many people are unaware of is that Dr. Seuss’s
illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful
stereotypes,“ Soeiro wrote in response to the First Lady.
“Open one of his books (If I Ran a Zoo or And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, for example), and you’ll see the racist mockery in his art,“ Soeiro explained.
The triggered librarian also pointed to a School Library Journal article entitled, “Is the Cat in the Hat Racist? Read Across America Shifts Away from Dr. Seuss and Toward Diverse Books,”
which analyzed the “minstrel characteristics and trope nature of
Seuss’s characters,” as an example of why Seuss books are racist.
Soeiro also referenced a book by Philip Nel, Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books, as proof the beloved children’s author embraced a racist ideology.
“I am honored that you recognized my students and our school. I
can think of no better gift for children than books; it was a wonderful
gesture, if one that could have been better thought out,” Soeiro said in
an Hbook.com blog post.
The
First Lady’s communication director, Stephanie Grisham, called the
librarian’s rejection “unfortunate,” and said the Melania just wants “to
help as many children as she can.”
“She has demonstrated this in both actions and words since her
husband took office, and sending books to children across the country is
but one example,” Grisham said in a statement to Fox News.
“To turn the gesture of sending young students some books into
something divisive is unfortunate, but the First Lady remains committed
to her efforts on behalf of children everywhere.”
Seuss’s grandnephew, Ted Owens, also took issue with the
librarians’ representation of his great uncle’s works, defending the
books and their numerous make-believe characters.
“I know one thing for sure — I never saw one ounce of racism in
anything he said, or how he lived his life, or what his stories were
about,” Owens told the Boston Herald, adding the charges were “preposterous.”
“When you have grinches and sneetches and all his other
characters, how can you say that’s racist? His characters are based on
made-up characters,” Owens said, according to the Herald. “They’re
Sam-I-Am, they’re elephants, ‘Horton Hears a Who.’”
The mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, also slammed Soeiro for proposing Seuss had a hidden racist agenda.
“‘One fish — two fish — red fish — blue fish’ — I think
her comments ‘stink’ and are ridiculous towards our beloved Dr. Seuss.
We’re extremely proud to be home to the one and only Dr. Seuss Museum in
the world. By the way, attendance has been through the roof, too!”
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno stated.
“Her comments that this is ‘racist propaganda and that Dr. Seuss
is a bit of a cliche and a tired and worn ambassador for children’s
literature’ is ‘political correctness’ at its worst. …By the way, kudos
to First Lady Melania Trump for her generous offer to donate Dr. Seuss
books to that Cambridge school library — they don’t want them — we’ll
take them and would be honored to have the First Lady and President
Trump… visit.”
As pointed out by The Gateway Pundit, librarians didn’t seem to mind when Obama read, Green Eggs and Ham, at the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
A new book aimed at children in Sweden is entitled Grandpa Has Four Wives in another example of how Sharia law is being normalized as the country takes in thousands of Muslim migrants.
The book, named Farfar har fyra fruar in Swedish, has been published in both Swedish and Somali and is aimed at 3-6 year olds.
“Asli has never been to Somalia, but
now she finally gets to go there with her dad, to meet grandfather and
all her grandmothers,” states the blurb for the book, which is written
by Oscar Trimbel and published by Adlibris.
Under Sharia law, Muslim men are
allowed to practice polygamy and have up to four wives. A woman is not
permitted to have more than one husband.
Another book by the same author entitled Mormor är inget spöke (Grandma is no ghost) serves to normalize the burka.
“Omar greets his grandmother who comes
from Somalia. When it’s Halloween, Omar wants to dress up like a ghost
like any other child. He wants his grandmother to come along because it
can be scary,” states the blurb for the book.
Despite many countries in Europe
handing out fines and prison sentences for polygamy, Sweden recognizes
polygamous marriages performed abroad and allows up to four wives to be
registered as spouses.
Around 30 per cent of people living in
Sweden have a foreign background, with native Swedes set to become an
ethnic minority in their own countrywithin 25 years.
Illustrating the rapid demographic
change sweeping the country, the photo below recently caused
controversy. It shows a class photo of a single blonde white girl
surrounded by children who are all from a migrant background, with three
of the other girls wearing hijabs.
Norwegian news outlet Ekte Nyheter published the photo along with the inscription, “A picture says more than a thousand words.”
Meanwhile, over in nearby Finland, a book entitled How to Marry a Finnish Girl features a cover which some have complained looks like a black man groping a white woman in a wedding dress.
Dr. Duke Pesta and Alex Newman talk about a disturbed 5th grade teacher
in Florida who sparked a parental outcry and national scandal after
demanding students refer to her by gender-neutral pronouns like “Mx”,
instead of Ms.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
In what is being widely described as a harbinger of more upcoming
victories for anti-establishment conservatives, Christians, and
constitutionalists, the enormously popular Judge Roy Moore dealt a
crushing blow to the establishment and its chosen candidate in the race
to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate. With about half of the votes
counted, Moore won Tuesday’s Republian primary runoff election with
massive margins. “Because of you, tonight, the establishment has been
DEFEATED in Alabama!” Moore tweeted. His opponent, Senator Luther
Strange, conceded the race before 9 pm Central Time, sparking
celebrations by patriots and conservatives all across America.
While establishment candidate and incumbent Luther Strange had the
full backing of the “Swamp” in Washington, D.C. — and many millions of
swamp dollars to prop up his campaign and demonize Moore — the people of
Alabama ultimately sided with Moore. The victory was not unexpected,
with every poll showing the anti-establishment Moore with a significant
lead. But with warnings from conservatives about potential dirty tricks
by the establishment, the formal win was a relief and a cause for
celebration for patriots across America. Establishment operatives
everywhere are said to be very concerned, with establishment-minded
incumbents in Congress and state legislatures at risk of being the next
ones to be replaced by increasingly
aware voters.
In a statement, Strange graciously congratulated Moore. “From the
beginning of this campaign, my priority has been serving the people of
Alabama,” he said. “Tomorrow I will go back to work with President Trump
and do all I can to advance his agenda over the next few weeks.... I
congratulate Roy Moore on the result this evening. May God be with him
and may God continue to bless Alabama and the United States of
America.”
The establishment spent many millions of dollars trying to sink
Moore. But the people of Alabama have grown to love and respect him over
the decades. Indeed, as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court,
Moore gained the respect of Christians, conservatives, Tea Partiers,
patriots, pro-family forces, constitutionalists, and others all across
America. He did that by standing up for God and the Constitution against
outrageous federal court rulings — twice — despite enormous personal
cost to himself.
In the first historic case, Moore refused to take down a monument of
the Ten Commandments. For that, he was ultimately removed from his post
in a farcical proceeding by anti-Christian extremists and federal
supremacists. Voters eventually sent him back for another term. And
again, Moore was persecuted, this time for standing for the Constitution and marriage — and standing against lawless and anti-constitutional legislating by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Obergefell
ruling, which purported to invent a “right” to a “homosexual marriage”
that more than eight in 10 Alabama voters rejected at the ballot box.
And now, it is again Moore who is having the last laugh.
President Donald Trump halfheartedly waded into the race to back
Strange. It began with a tweet endorsing Strange. Under enormous
pressure from GOP leaders in Congress and especially Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whose name is increasingly toxic among
grassroots conservatives fed up with the establishment, Trump even
visited Alabama last week to campaign for the incumbent. However, even
the president himself, worried that his candidate might lose, admitted
on stage that he “might have made a mistake” by endorsing Strange.
If Moore won the runoff, Trump said, he would support Moore's
campaign in the upcoming general election against the Democrat
candidate. "I have to say this, if his opponent wins, I'm going to be
here campaigning like hell for him," Trump said about the judge. But
even on Tuesday morning, the day of the vote, Trump sent out a Tweet
urging Alabama voters to vote for “Big Luther.” Ironically, many of
Trump's own people in Alabama voted for Moore. Still, even among the
most die-hard Trump fans, Moore's victory is being touted as a major win
for what has come to be known as “Trumpism.”
With Trump's apparent blessing, even some of the president's most
loyal supporters — including his former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon of
Breitbart, and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben
Carson — threw their weight behind Moore as well. At a campaign stop,
Bannon said Moore would be more aligned with Trump's “populist” agenda,
telling voters that Alabama could show the world “that this populist,
nationalist, conservative movement is on the rise.” “A vote for Judge
Roy Moore is a vote for Donald J. Trump,” Bannon told enthusiastic
supporters in Alabama. Another Trump loyalist, liberty-minded U.K.
leader Nigel Farage, who helped lead his own nation to voting in favor
of independence from the autocratic European Union, also campaigned for
Moore.
Before the vote, a number of prominent voices warned that the
establishment might resort to dirty tricks to keep a committed Christian
and firm constitutionalist out of the U.S. Senate. For example,
spokesman Rob Chambers for the American Family Association's political
arm, known as AFA Action, which endorsed Moore, warned that
“establishment” Republicans could attempt a repeat of the 2014 tactics
used in Mississippi.
The situation there was similar, with the establishment desperate to
defeat true conservative State Senator Chris McDaniel in favor of “RINO”
U.S. Senator Thad Cochran. In that incident, which sparked outrage
among grassroots conservatives across the state and nationwide, GOP establishment figures paid Democrat leaders to urge Democrats to vote for Cochran.
They even used blatant lies to scare Democrats into voting in the GOP
primary against the conservative candidate. Whether elements of the GOP
establishment will be willing to side with Democrats in Alabama to keep a
true conservative out of the Senate remains to be seen.
In an example of the dishonesty that has marked the establishment's
vicious campaign against Moore, one of the more recent attacks suggested
he was not as tough as he should be on gun rights. Of course, Moore has
never shown any indication of being soft on gun rights or any other
God-given liberties enshrined in the Constitution. But to prove his
commitment, at one of his final campaign rallies, Moore literally
whipped out his personal pistol on stage, making headlines from shocked
anti-gun activists pretending to be unbiased journalists.
In an interview with The New American last month, Moore made
clear that he would be working to preserve and protect the whole
Constitution upon arrival in Washington. “I know a little bit about the
Constitution, and I know that the federal government is not following
the Constitution,” said the judge, who graduated from the prestigious
West Point Military Academy and served in Vietnam. “People don't even
regard it, generally, in Washington, D.C., but I think it needs to be
brought back.”
And unlike many politicians who talk like constitutionalists on the
campaign trail but then vote like they never read the document once they
are in office, Moore has a track record to prove his constitutional
fidelity — and he has endured very serious consequences for standing on
principle. Quoting the Constitution, speeches from the founders, and
Bible verses from memory, Moore said one key part of his agenda would be
reining in the federal courts and their unconstitutional decisions.
“Judges who put themselves above the Constitution are putting
themselves above the law and should be impeached by the Congress and
removed by the Senate,” he said. In addition to impeachment, Congress
has the power to rein in the courts under Article 3, Section 2 of the
Constitution, which allows lawmakers to change the jurisdiction of the
federal courts, Moore explained. Finally, every federal district and
appellate court “serves at the pleasure of Congress,” he added, again
citing the plain language of the U.S. Constitution.
By contrast, among the major problems with Strange was his lack of
fidelity to the U.S. Constitution he promised, with his hand on the
Bible, to uphold and defend. During his brief time in the Senate, where
he was appointed by a scandal-plagued governor who has since resigned,
Senator Strange earned a measly 57 percent on The New American's Freedom Index, which ranks lawmakers based on the constitutionality of their voting records.
Over that period, senators who take their oath of office to the
Constitution seriously did far better. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), for
instance, earned a perfect 100 percent, while Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah)
received a 90 percent. For perspective, Strange scored worse than even
neoconservative Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) and only slightly better
than ObamaCare savior John McCain of Arizona, both of whom are widely
criticized by grassroots conservatives as Republicans in Name Only
(RINOs). Representative Brooks of Alabama, who also ran for the Senate
seat but ended up endorsing Moore, has a 74 percent over his
congressional career and a 78 in the most recent period.
This is a crucial time in American history, Moore continued in the
interview. “Our country is in crisis right now,” said Moore, who has
four children and five grandchildren. “In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote these
are the times that try men's souls. I believe these are not only times
that try men's souls, but the soul of our nation as well. The people
know what I stand for, they know what I'll do, and they know that I'll
stand on the principles upon which our nation was founded. All the
money, power, and prestige in Washington, and the folks there, can't
change the facts of how my opponent got appointed to the job, nor can
they change the fact that the people of the great state of Alabama will
elect the next senator for the United States Congress.”
With the primary and the run-off out of the way, the next step is the
general election. Moore will face off against Democrat Doug Jones, a
former U.S. attorney during President Bill Clinton’s time in the White
House. Alabama is among the most conservative states in America, though,
and the winner of the GOP runoff has been almost universally regarded
as a shoo-in for the general election. The final vote to decide who will
represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate will take place on December 12.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former Alabama Supreme Court
Justice Roy Moore, also known as the “Ten Commandments Judge,” has won
the state primary runoff for the U.S. Senate, significantly defeating
his opponent Luther Strange despite President Trump’s endorsement of
Strange.
As of press time, with 92 percent of precincts reporting, Moore had
obtained 54 percent of the vote versus 45 percent for Strange.
Strange has conceded the race, remarking in a statement, “I
congratulate Roy Moore on the result this evening. May God be with him
and may God continue to bless Alabama and the United States of America.”
He also thanked President Trump and Vice President Pence for their support.
Trump himself congratulated Moore upon learning the results of the
race, tweeting, “Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary
win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race.
Roy, WIN in Dec!” Moore, while thanking his supporters Tuesday night, also gave thanks
foremost to God, noting that he never prayed to God to win, but rather
asked that the Lord’s will would be done. He said that it is not good
for a man to think that he won on his own, and noted that losing is
sometimes good for a person. “[T]here’s nothing too great for God. For one day every valley shall
be exalted, and every mountain or hill shall be made low. The crooked
shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, for the
mouth of the Lord has spoken it,” Moore said, quoting from the book of
Isaiah.
“We’re put here on earth for a short time, and for that short time,
our duty is to serve Almighty God and serve Him in all things,” he also
declared. “[W]e have to return the knowledge of God and the Constitution
of the United States to the United States Congress.” Moore lamented the division that is sweeping America, but expressed
optimism that God can restore the country to its former “greatness.” “This is a time for victory. It’s a time to remember the struggles
we’ve gone through. But it’s also a time to rededicate our lives to God,
and to our Constitution and to our country, [and] to our families,” he
said.
Moore generated widespread support from evangelicals both statewide
and nationwide, including James Dobson of Focus on the Family and
Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse. Several former White House cabinet
members also appeared at Moore’s rallies, including Sebastian Gorka, an
intelligence analyst who served as an advisor to President Trump, and
former Chief of Staff Steve Bannon.
As previously reported, Moore is known as the “Ten Commandments
Judge” as he was ousted from the Alabama Supreme Court in 2003
following a battle over a Ten Commandments monument he had erected in
the high court’s rotunda.
He was reelected by the people in 2012 as chief justice, but the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended him again last
year following a trial over a memo he released in 2016, advising that
his colleagues had not reversed a decision prohibiting probate judges
from issuing marriage licenses to homosexuals as per the Alabama
Constitution. After the suspension was upheld in April, Moore resigned and soon announced his run for U.S. Senate.
________________________________________________________ SEE ALSO: https://newswithviews.com/police-adviser-moore-primary-victory-in-alabama-a-rejection-of-kook-morality/
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Growing scientific evidence for the cause of Autism is stacking
up. Research in France, China and Canada is revealing the horrible
truth. How long will it be ignored?
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
On September 24, just hours before his previous travel ban was set to
expire, President Trump signed a proclamation limiting the immigrant
and non-immigrant entry into the United States from eight countries.
Trump’s proclamation continues the ban on immigration from five of the
six countries in the previous ban: Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and
Somalia. It also adds three new countries to the list: Chad, North
Korea, and Venezuela. The proclamation also drops one country previously
named — Sudan. Furthermore, it relaxes restrictions for non-immigrant
visitors from Somalia, as well as students and other exchange visitors
from Iran.
Trump said about his new proclamation:
Following an extensive review by the
Department of Homeland Security, we are taking action today to protect
the safety and security of the American people by establishing a minimum
security baseline for entry into the United States. We cannot afford to
continue the failed policies of the past, which present an unacceptable
danger to our country. My highest obligation is to ensure the safety
and security of the American people, and in issuing this new travel
order, I am fulfilling that sacred obligation.
NPR reported that the new restrictions on Chad and North Korea are a
broad ban on nationals from those countries entering the United States.
However, the restrictions for Venezuela apply only to government
officials and their immediate families.
These changes are set to take effect on October 18, though the
restrictions on Sudan will be lifted immediately, as a result of
security baselines established by the Trump administration.
However, noted the White House statement, the travel restrictions are
not necessarily permanent and a nation can get off the list by making
necessary changes to eliminate the administration’s security concerns:
“These limitations and restrictions are conditional, and these countries
can, under this Executive action, improve their information-sharing
practices and receive relief from the limitations and restrictions.”
A statement posted on the White House website on September 24
explained the latest proclamation, noting, “This action to protect our
national security builds on Executive Order 13780, which President Trump
signed in March.”
In a March article, we reported
that President Trump had signed an executive order on March 6 “to
protect the Nation from terrorist activities by foreign nationals
admitted to the United States,” but that the order differed from an
earlier order restricting travel to the United States that Trump had
signed on January 27. The reason for the revised order was that on
January 28, a U.S. District judge of the Eastern District of New York
ruled in favor of a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) on behalf of two Iraqi men who were detained at John F. Kennedy
International Airport, thus blocking the order. Subsequently, judges in
other federal district courts in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington
issued similar rulings.
Most of the arguments made by the judges blocking Trump’s order
asserted that the order amounted to a ban on Muslims entering the
country. The revised order removed some language favorable to Christian
refugees, but even these changes were not enough to satisfy those
determined to stop the order.
Just hours before an amended version of the ban was scheduled to take
effect, Judge Derrick K. Watson of the Federal District Court in
Honolulu granted a temporary restraining order enjoining the Trump
administration executive branch from enforcing or implementing two key
sections of the order across the nation. The objection to Trump’s travel
ban most frequently cited by Watson and U.S. District Judge Theodore D.
Chuang in Maryland (another judge who issued a ruling last March
blocking sections of Trump’s executive order) was that the order
amounted to a ban on Muslims entering the United States. The judges made
numerous references to Trump’s alleged anti-Muslim bias in their
respective decisions to block the order.
However, the critics of Trump’s 90-day ban on entry into the United
States from six predominantly Muslim countries — Libya, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria, Yemen, and Iran (Iraq was included in the original January
executive order) — did not mention that that particular group of
countries originates with H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement
and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, signed into law by former
President Obama on December 18, 2015, as part of the Omnibus
Appropriations Act of FY2016.
A prolonged battle through the courts followed, with the case
eventually reaching the Supreme Court. On the last day of the 2016-2017
term on June 26, the High Court granted most of the Trump
administration’s emergency request to put the president’s March 6 travel
ban executive order into place. However, Judge Watson persisted and on
July 13 imposed his own interpretation of the Supreme Court’s June 26
ruling. The Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit upheld Watson on
September 7 and said that the Trump administration cannot ban
grandparents and other family members of citizens and legal residents
from coming to the United States from the six countries named in Trump’s
March 6 executive order.
But four days later, Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy
issued an order in favor of the administration and stayed the appeals
court’s September 7 ruling. The matter will be ultimately decided when
the Supreme Court hears arguments on the merits of the executive order
in October. But since the original order has now expired, the Court will
now have to consider the new order. It would be surprising if one or
more liberal federal judges does not issue a ruling blocking the new
proclamation between now and October.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
LAKE FOREST, Calif. —Megachurch leader Rick Warren,
known for his best-selling book “The Purpose-Driven Life,” said in a
recent interview that he hopes his partnership with a local Roman
Catholic leader to collaboratively combat social ills becomes a “model”
for others around the world. His remarks have drawn disagreement from
those who believe that ecumenism with those who preach another gospel is
unbiblical.
The Roman Catholic site Crux published the interview,
which featured both Warren and friend Kevin Vann of the Diocese of
Orange, on Sept. 14. They were asked by interviewer and diocese
Chancellor Pia de Solenni to share about how their friendship formed and
developed.
Vann recalled that Warren attended his installation as the bishop of
Orange and also called to congratulate him. The two continued to
communicate and soon also began praying together.
“One way we stay in touch is by texting personal prayer requests to
each other,” Warren explained. “When my youngest son died in April 2013,
I knew Kevin was praying for me, and when his father died in November
2014, I was praying for him. Sharing pain and grief brought us closer.”
Not only did Warren and Vann pray together, but “brainstorming
meetings between [their] two staffs” about the issue of mental
illness—in light of Matthew Warren’s suicide—led to the formation of a
joint conference and other efforts to address mental health.
“Out of these discussions about working together, the Diocese of
Orange and Saddleback church decided to partner in sponsoring two
gatherings, or symposia, on what should be the Church’s response to
mental illness,” Vann explained.
“[O]ut of Matthew’s death came a partnership in creating a conference
to help others, and also a number of other mental health initiatives,”
Warren added. “It also brought Catholics and Evangelicals together as I,
and our church, received many letters of comfort from Catholic priests
and parishioners.”
Vann noted that the two have worked together on other projects as
well, including jointly expressing their opposition to
physician-assisted suicide. Warren noted that he also organized a
retreat in which priests and pastors cooperatively strategized how
churches can be the face of love in the midst of the blot of racism.
“So really, our friendship began with heart-to-heart praying
together, but then it grew into working hand-in-hand together on
projects where Christians can offer a compassionate response to those in
need, and also stand together with clear and united voice in opposing
evil,” he further outlined.
Vann and Warren agreed that the world is a better place when
Evangelicals and Catholics work together to address societal issues.
“We’ve seen first-hand that much good can be accomplished for the
Kingdom of God by Catholics and Evangelicals being present to one
another, praying for each other, and ministering to our communities
together,” Vann said. “If
unbelievers like what they see, they will listen to what we say,”
Warren also remarked. “Consider this: about 25 percent of Americans are
Catholic Christians, and another 25 percent are Evangelical Christians.
That’s about half of America! If just these two groups were committed to
modeling the love of Christ together, imagine all the good that could
happen!”
“Our prayer is that Orange County might be a model for others around the world,” he said.
Warren shared the article on Twitter, writing, “If you love Jesus, we may serve on different teams, but we’re in the same league of receiving His grace and forgiveness.”
His post generated mixed response, with some commenting in favor
of the partnership and others expressing that ecumenism with those who
do not adhere to biblical orthodoxy is verboten.
“Yes pastor! I am happy because Jesus is uniting us,” one commenter wrote.
“How do you explain the Counsel of Trent placing an anathema on those
who believe that justification is by faith alone?” another asked.
John Fallahee of Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries and
adjunct faculty at Knox Theological Seminary told Christian News Network
that the gospel is the only means by which the evils of the world can
be addressed, as it is the power of God to save and transform. However,
since Catholics preach a different gospel/adhere to erring doctrines as
to how men may be saved, how “[c]an two walk together except they be
agreed?” (Amos 3:3)
“Jesus Christ’s perfect, once for all sacrifice for sin on the cross
and resurrection from the dead three days later (John 19:16–20:29),
proves there is no other message or means to address sin and evil in
this world,” he explained. “This is why Paul proclaims, “For I am not
ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans
1:16).” Fallahee“[But]
the false and fatal gospel of the Roman Catholic Church is a different
gospel than Jesus Christ and the apostles,” Fallahee continued.
“Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Church condemns anyone who believes you
are saved by faith apart from works (Trent, Session 6, On
Justification, Canon 9, 12, 14, 15). They condemn anyone who denies the
necessity of the sacraments (Trent, Session 7, Concerning the
Sacraments, Canon 4). And they condemn anyone who denies the eucharistic
sacrifice remits sins (Trent, Session 13, Concerning the Eucharist,
Canon 5).”
He noted that Jude, in observing false teachings creeping into the
Church, instructed the Christians of his day to “contend earnestly for
the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude
1:3-4). Likewise, Fallahee explained, those in our day who mistakenly
think that Christianity can be compromised for the sake of unity do not
truly understand the necessity of the purity of the gospel that saves
souls.
“If anyone puts forward a lesser ‘light,’ like the ‘picture of
unity,’ they prove they do not understand the primacy and power of the
gospel of Christ to change a sinner, like Saul into the Apostle Paul,
and the ‘such were some of you’ mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9–11,” he
outlined.
“Since there is only one authorized gospel from Jesus Christ (Matthew
28:16–20) and all other gospels preached are forbidden and cursed
(Galatians 1:6-9), there can be no genuine unity when individuals do not
believe in the same gospel and the same Christ,” Fallahee stated.
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
“If all goes to plan, the girls are also forced into marriage with a
strict Muslim. Their husbands don’t love them, they just marry her to
make her a Muslim. She will be hit and humiliated. And if she tries to
escape, or convert back to her original religion, she will be killed.”
Will the Islamophobia never end?
“Egypt: ex-kidnapper admits ‘they get paid for every Coptic Christian girl they bring in,’” World Watch Monitor, September 14, 2017:
“I remember a Coptic Christian girl from a rich,
well-known family in Minya. She was kidnapped by five Muslim men. They
held her in a house, stripped her and filmed her naked. In the video,
one of them also undressed. They threatened to make the video public if
the girl wouldn’t marry him.”
‘G’, an Egyptian, admits he was in a network actively targeting
Coptic girls for years before he left Islam; he says that the kidnapping
of such girls is now at an all-time high. “Salafist networks began in
the seventies and it’s reached its highest levels now, in the era of
President Sisi… A group of kidnappers meets in a mosque to discuss
potential victims. They keep a close eye on Christians’ houses and
monitor everything that’s going on. On that basis, they weave a spider’s
web around [the girls],” he says.
Strategies can be subtle. “A Muslim boy tells a Christian girl he
loves her and wants to convert to Christianity for her,” ‘G’
explains. “They start a romantic relationship until one day they decide
to ‘escape’ together. What the girls don’t know is that they are
actually being kidnapped. Most of the time they will not marry their
kidnapper, but someone else.”
Kidnapping of a minor
This summer there were two ‘kidnap’ incidents within two days.
Sixteen-year-old Marilyn was kidnapped through this ‘love’ tactic, as
her family priest, Father Boutros Khalaf, explains, when we meet in
their village, Balansora, Minya province, as her desperate parents cry
nearby. “On Wednesday evening [28 June, 2017] at 5pm, Marilyn
disappeared. Her mother searched everywhere but couldn’t find her. Some
people told us that she had been kidnapped by a young man named Taha. He
had taken her to a farm where he works,” says Fr Khalaf.
An Egyptian researcher, who wants to remain anonymous, confirmed to
World Watch Monitor over the phone: “Marilyn was seduced by a recruit of
a Salafi organisation. She was involved in a love affair; he was then
able to convince her to run away with him. Marilyn isn’t 18 yet. So even
if she had agreed to go with Taha, in our law this is clearly a case of
kidnapping a minor.”
The day before, 15-year-old Neveen Adly Beshai Sawiris was pushed
into a car with force by two men as she walked along a street in Cairo.
Her 38-year-old kidnapper later confessed he had forged her papers to
show her as an over-18 and married her.
He was charged with kidnapping a minor, forgery, and inciting sectarian strife.
Pressure to convert
‘G’, who knows the groups from the inside, says, “The kidnappers
receive large amounts of money. Police can help them in different ways,
and when they do, they might also receive a part of the financial reward
the kidnappers are paid by the Islamisation organisations. In some
cases, police provide the kidnappers with drugs they seize. The drugs
are then given to the girls to weaken their resistance as they put them
under pressure. I even know of cases in which police offered helped to
beat up the girls to make them recite the Islamic creed.
“And the value of the reward increases whenever the girl has a
position. For example, when she is the daughter of a priest or comes
from a well-known family.”
Many girls are handed over to extremists, ‘G’ explains. “The Salafist
group I knew rented apartments in different areas of Egypt to hide
kidnapped Coptic girls,” he says. “There, they put them under pressure
and threaten them to convert to Islam. And once they reach the legal
age, a specially arranged Islamic representative comes in to make the
conversion official, issue a certificate and accordingly they change
their ID.”
Marilyn’s father, Medhat Saad Edward, shares: “I filed a report in
two police stations, and I gave the names of the kidnappers and the
place where they hid my daughter. But the police haven’t arrested them.
They didn’t even get in touch with Taha’s brother, who lives in the
village and is in touch with Taha.”
“If all goes to plan, the girls are also forced into
marriage with a strict Muslim. Their husbands don’t love them, they just
marry her to make her a Muslim. She will be hit and humiliated. And if
she tries to escape, or convert back to her original religion, she will
be killed.”
Meanwhile, a Muslim girl kidnapped for ransom in Balansora around the
same time was followed by the police and released in 24 hours.
“Kidnappers of Christian girls rarely get arrested or brought to the
prosecution,” says ‘G’. “For instance, the police don’t report it as a
kidnap but say the girl ‘went missing’. This way they cover up the
crimes of those they see as their ‘Muslim brothers’.”…
The
First Lady’s communication director, Stephanie Grisham, called the
librarian’s rejection “unfortunate,” and said the Melania just wants “to
help as many children as she can.”
“If
unbelievers like what they see, they will listen to what we say,”
Warren also remarked. “Consider this: about 25 percent of Americans are
Catholic Christians, and another 25 percent are Evangelical Christians.
That’s about half of America! If just these two groups were committed to
modeling the love of Christ together, imagine all the good that could
happen!”