‘Gay’ Man Sues Bible Publisher for Mental Anguish

A homosexual man is suing a third national Bible publisher for “mental anguish” after he says the company published Bibles with a negative connotation toward homosexuals.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges William Tyndale Publishing manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale’s New Living Translation Holy Bible and the New Life ApplicationStudy Bible by using the term “homosexuals” in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9.

“One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether,” Fowler wrote in a statement on his blog.

Read Full Article

School Sues State for Banning Bible Use as Textbook

A public charter school is suing Idaho officials, saying the state illegally barred use of the Bible as an instructional text. The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boise on behalf of Nampa Classical Academy in Idaho.

The charter school is scheduled to open Sept. 8 and had planned to use the Bible as a primary source of teaching material, but not to teach religion.

Source

Charter School’s Use of Bible Ignites Firestorm

A new charter school planning to open this fall in Idaho has come under fire since it publicly announced one of the textbooks students will be using is the Bible.

Unlike a typical public school, the Nampa Classical Academy has the freedom under Idaho’s Public Charter School Commission to develop its own curriculum. Students will be taught, for example, Latin and Western civilization, but it’s the school’s choice to use the Bible as a historical and literary text that has ignited a public firestorm.

At a meeting of the Public Charter School Commission, parents stood and argued for and against allowing the Bible to be used in the school.

The American Civil Liberties Union plans to launch an investigation.

“Our main concern is the separation of church and state and that the state is not funding or endorsing a specific religion,” Monica Hopkins, director of the ACLU of Idaho told the Idaho Press-Tribune.

The Public Charter School Commission has directed staff to review the legality of using the Bible in charter schools.

Even Idaho’s Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Swartz, according to the Press-Tribune, has raised concerns that the Bible – even if it used in a purely secular manner – may not be allowed in the classroom under the Idaho Constitution.

via Charter school’s use of Bible ignites public firestorm.

Student Wins Classroom Creationism Case

A federal judge ruled that a public high school history teacher violated the First Amendment when he called creationism “superstitious nonsense” during a classroom lecture.

[...]

Farnan sued in U.S. District Court in 2007, alleging that Corbett violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment by making repeated comments in class that were hostile to Christian beliefs.

The lawsuit cited more than 20 statements made by Corbett during one day of class, all of which were recorded by Farnan, to support allegations of a broader teaching method that “favors irreligion over religion” and made Christian students feel uncomfortable.

[...]

But Selna ruled Friday that one comment, where Corbett referred to creationism as “religious, superstitious nonsense,” did violate Farnan’s constitutional rights.

Read Article

Most U.S. Christians Don’t Believe Satan, Holy Spirit Exist

Nearly six out of ten Christians either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil,” the survey found.

Forty percent strongly agreed with the statement while 19 percent of American Christians somewhat agreed.

In contrast, about 35 percent of American Christians believe Satan is real. Twenty-six percent strongly disagreed with the statement that Satan is merely symbolic and about one-tenth (9 percent) somewhat disagreed.

The remaining eight percent of American Christians responded they were unsure what to believe about the existence of Satan.

Interestingly, the majority of Christians believe a person can be under the influence of spiritual forces, such as demons or evil spirits, even though many of these same people believe Satan is merely a symbol of evil. Two out of three Christians agreed that such forces are real (39 percent agreed strongly, 25 percent agreed somewhat).

Likewise, most Christians in the United States do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force. Fifty-eight percent strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement that the Holy Spirit is “a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity.”

Only one-third of Christians disagreed with the statement that the Holy Spirit is not just symbolic (9 percent disagreed somewhat, 25 percent disagreed strongly). Nine percent expressed they were unsure.

Interestingly, about half (49 percent) of those who agreed that the Holy Spirit is only a symbol but not a living entity, agreed that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit is God’s power or presence, not just symbolic.

“Most Americans, even those who say they are Christian, have doubts about the intrusion of the supernatural into the natural world,” commented George Barna, founder of The Barna Group and author of books analyzing research concerning America’s faith.

“Hollywood has made evil accessible and tame, making Satan and demons less worrisome than the Bible suggests they really are,” he said. “It’s hard for achievement-driven, self-reliant, independent people to believe that their lives can be impacted by unseen forces.”

via Most U.S. Christians Don’t Believe Satan, Holy Spirit Exist| Christianpost.com.

Faith of Conservatives, Liberals Differ Greatly

Social, political conservatives differ significantly Read more

Survey: Parents Rely on Personal Experience Over Biblical Guidance

Although most parents say they are trying to improve their parenting skills, few look to the Bible or church for guidance, a new study shows.

A majority of parents (60 percent) heavily rely on their own experiences growing up for parenting guidance but only one-fifth say they receive a lot of guidance from sacred text such as the Bible or Koran, the latest study by LifeWay Research found. Even fewer parents (15 percent) look to church as a source of guidance for parenting.

The vast majority (96 percent) agree they consistently try to be better parents but more than 6 in 10 completely ignore parenting seminars and over half don’t care for books by religious parenting experts, according to the study.

“Parents claim they are trying hard to be better parents but they are not welcoming outside guidance or advice,” said Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, the research arm of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

“The only source of advice that a majority of parents use a lot is their own experience. It’s as if parents are collectively reverting to a popular toddler saying, ‘I will do it myself!’” said McConnell, co-author of a new book called The Parent Adventure.

Source

Billy Graham Ministry To Focus On End Time – Return of Jesus Christ

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will focus on the return of Jesus Christ and help prepare believers for life in the last days in 2009, according to a recent announcement.

Writing in one of the several resources that the ministry is providing on the End Times, Rev. Billy Graham said, “People ask me, ‘Do you really believe that Jesus Christ is going to come back to this earth again?”

“Yes, I do,” he continues. “The Bible teaches that Jesus is coming again. And I don’t see any other hope, because we’re heading toward a catastrophe in our world.

“The most important question, however, is this: Are you ready for Christ’s return?”

Towards this end, the ministry has compiled a number of End Times resources including a message delivered by Graham in 1998, a 2008 message from BGEA president and CEO Franklin Graham, an article adapted from a message delivered by Anne Graham Lotz in 1996, an End Times article on the basics of the Second Coming, and a couple of Q&As with Billy Graham that includes a question on whether the world will end in 2009, according to news reports.

Through its compilation of resources on the Second Coming of Christ, the BGEA hopes that believers will learn how they can fulfill God’s plan for their life, increase their love for the Savior and grow their faith during these times.

The world renowned evangelist also reminds believers that regardless of when Christ returns, the end of the world does come for each and every single person – the moment that they die.

“[A]nd that could be at any time for any of us. We never know,” Graham states.

Billy Graham ministry focuses on end times – The Christian Messenger

Florida School District Bans Distribution of Bible on Religious Freedom Day

A Florida school district has banned distribution of the Bible on Religious Freedom Day.

Earlier this month, World Changers of Florida was denied the right to distribute the Bible in the Collier County School District during non-instructional time. Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, is handling the case.

“The school district said that the Bible cannot be distributed on Religious Freedom Day,” he explains. “It had been distributed on Religious Freedom Day for the past several years, but this time they changed their decision and said it would be unconstitutional to distribute the Bible in a public school to willing recipients who want to receive the Bible.”

Staver notes that other items are distributed at the schools for secular events. In a Liberty Counsel press release, he stated that “limiting access to the forum based on religious viewpoint violates the First Amendment.”
Matt Staver
“This particular school says that everything goes but the Bible is banned,” he adds. “The Bible is essentially treated like contraband, where it was once the central part of our educational system.”

Liberty Counsel has written to the school district outlining the Constitution and court decisions that demonstrate the error in their decision.

Source

1 in 3 American Christians Say Jesus Sinned

Half of Americans who call themselves “Christian” don’t believe Satan exists and fully one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while on Earth, according to a new Barna Group poll.

Another 40 percent say they do not have a responsibility to share their Christian faith with others, and 25 percent “dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches,” the organization reports.

Pollster George Barna said the results have huge implications.

“Americans are increasingly comfortable picking and choosing what they deem to be helpful and accurate theological views and have become comfortable discarding the rest of the teachings in the Bible,” he said.

via Source WND Read Full Article

Top Scholars Confirm Truth of Christianity

A new survey recently showed that 70 percent of people in Great Britain doubted the biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ, but they are “gravely mistaken,” says Ted Baehr, a professional scholar and theologian.

Christianity is true as well as historical, factual and “intellectually sound,” said Baehr, who founded The Christian Film & Television Commission ministry in 1985.

“Top scholars, historians and experts have confirmed that the Bible is the most historically and intellectually reliable ancient text in the whole world, including the Bible’s account of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles and disciples who wrote the New Testament documents,” Baehr said.

He cited the work of numerous top scholars, historians and experts, such as C.S. Lewis, Gary Habermas, F.F. Bruce, William Lane Craig, John A.T. Robinson, John Warwick Montgomery, Bruce Metzger, Simon Greenleaf, Stuart C. Hackett, J. Gresham Machen, Ronald Nash, Edwin Yamauchi, Craig Blomberg, John Wenham, Lee Strobel, Paul Maier, and N.T. Wright.

“These people are wonderfully astute thinkers, investigators and writers,” Baehr said. “They have refuted all of the important lies, half-truths and silly comments against Jesus, His apostles, the Bible, and Christianity made by non-Christians and even by some allegedly former Christians.”

“Not only can you have complete faith in the New Testament documents and what they say about the virgin birth, divinity, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and teachings of Jesus Christ,” Baehr said, “but you can also rely on what they say about non-Christian places, people, and events, such as the names and titles of Roman government officials.

“Jesus is both God and man,” he said. “He was born of a virgin, never sinned in his life, died for our sins, and rose on the third day. Turn away from your sins and faults, believe in Jesus and his teachings, and be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

via Source – Read More

President Bush – Bible Probably Not Literal

President George W. Bush said in an interview Monday that the Bible is “probably not” literally true and that a belief that God created the world is compatible with the theory of evolution.

“I think you can have both,” Bush, who leaves office January 20, told ABC television, adding “You’re getting me way out of my lane here. I’m just a simple president.”

But “evolution is an interesting subject. I happen to believe that evolution doesn’t fully explain the mystery of life,” said the president, an outspoken Christian who often invokes God in his speeches.

“I think that God created the Earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don’t think it’s incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution,” he told ABC television.

Asked whether the Bible was literally true, Bush replied: “Probably not. No, I’m not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it.”

“The important lesson is ‘God sent a son,’” he said.

Source

Leading Economist: I Fear The Worst Is Yet To Come – Markets May Have To Close

As stock markets headed off a cliff again last week, closely followed by currencies, and as meltdown threatened entire countries such as Hungary and Iceland Read more