ETERNAL FLAME NEWS

JMC Live Interview: Provoke Ministries

2012-02-04T21:57:00.000-05:00

Clint Haley founder & Director of Provoke Ministries

www.provokeministries.com

Address: P.O Box 88, Detroit Lakes, MN 56502

JMC LIVE: Overcome 1/28/12

2012-01-29T00:58:00.000-05:00

Jeremy talks bout addictions, sex trafficking, and Biblical Prophecy in tonight's show-JMC Live Overcome: How to move beyond your circumstances and find how Jesus can heal you.

JMC Bytes: Stress

2012-01-27T22:59:00.001-05:00

JMC Bytes: Stress from JMC Ministries on Vimeo.

Presidential Pledge for Religious Freedom Petition

2012-01-25T07:05:00.001-05:00

Signing this petition indicates that you would like your Presidential Candidate to sign the Pledge for Religious Freedom. These signatures will encourage Presidential candidates to sign the pledge because they demonstrate that religious freedom is an important priority and we want our President to protect and promote it.

Petition

I would like my Presidential Candidate to sign the Pledge for Religious Freedom, committing to protect and promote religious freedom for people of all faiths and making it a priority of his or her administration.

I PLEDGE that I will protect religious freedom in full for all Americans, and will advance international religious freedom as part of American foreign policy.

As part of this PLEDGE, I hereby commit myself to the following positions:

FIRST, that religious liberty in full is the birthright of every American, as recognized by the First Amendment. It entails the right to believe, worship, and practice in accord with one's faith, subject only to the limits imposed by the U.S. constitution and the Bill of Rights.The right of religious freedom must be applied equally to all religious communities in America, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and others. At the same time, religious freedom does not mandate belief, but protects the right not to believe.

Religious freedom includes the right to employ religious arguments, or religiously-informed moral arguments, when contending for or against laws and policies, such as laws designed to protect the unborn and traditional marriage, or to relieve poverty and increase economic opportunity for the disadvantaged.

Religious freedom includes the right of individuals and of religious communities to engage in religiously-motivated charitable works. It also includes the right of individuals and of religious communities not to be forced to participate in, or to forfeit their employment because of refusal to participate in, activities that deeply offend their religious conscience.

SECOND, that I will nominate to the U.S. federal bench judges who are committed to protecting for all Americans the religious liberty rights described above.

THIRD, that I will make religious freedom promotion a foreign policy priority of my administration. This will include ensuring the U.S. State Department performs its statutory duty of advancing international religious freedom; appointing an ambassador at large for international religious freedom who is a person of stature, experienced in matters of religious freedom and diplomacy; ensuring that the ambassador at large has sufficient authority and resources to succeed; ensuring that democracy assistance funding includes support for religious freedom; and ensuring that all of America's diplomats are trained in the importance of advancing, and how to advance, international religious freedom.

CLICK HERE NOW TO SIGN YOUR PETITION!

Network of Knoxville Churches Open To Homeless

2012-01-24T17:31:00.001-05:00

On Saturday night self described 'Jill-of-all-trades' Denesse McBayne devoted herself to her real passion-- cooking.

"We're not only feeding their bodies," says McBayne. "We're feeding their spirit."

She spent the afternoon at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd whipping up a Caribbean feast to feed the members of the Family Promise program.

For one week, four times a year, a network of 16 churches throughout the Knoxville area take turns hosting homeless families of all sizes and descriptions.

READ MORE

79 percent of Americans want Abortion Laws to be Stricter

2012-01-24T17:27:00.000-05:00

(CNSNews.com) – According to a new poll, 79 percent of Americans would not allow abortion after the first three months of pregnancy, and 51 percent would allow it – if at all – only in the cases of incest, rape, or to save the life of the mother.

The survey, a Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll, was conducted in late December, and 1,053 adults were surveyed by telephone.

Urge Congress To Pass H.R. 2070 the vote is this week. Your help is needed NOW!

2012-01-22T13:00:00.004-05:00

FDR’s D-Day Landing Prayer Inclusion at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. is up for a full Congressional vote on Tuesday, January 24th. Use this link to send your faxes to the Leadership of the United States House of Representatives and urge Congress to vote YES on H.R. 2070.

In May of 2011, honoring those brave men and women who served our country in WWII, Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio’s 6th District introduced legislation that will place FDR’s D-Day Landing Prayer at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. - H.R. 2070.

Send Your Faxes And Urge Congress To Pass H.R. 2070.

Sixty-eight years ago, on the morning of June 6, 1944, as Allied forces were landing on the beaches in Normandy; President Roosevelt went to the airwaves and prayed with our nation for God’s blessing and protection upon our brave fighting men. He prayed, “Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity….”

Christian Alliance of America Director Chris Long stated, “President Roosevelt’s prayer articulated the great crusade that was underway to liberate millions suffering under tyranny. He noblized the war effort and paid honor to the fallen and those veterans who fought courageously in the conflict. It is only fitting that succeeding generations learn of this prayer that was offered at that most poignant moment in our nation’s history. We are encouraged by the support that this legislation is receiving. Veterans and veterans groups across the nation are in support of adding FDR’s D-Day Landing Prayer to the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C.”

We therefore urge members of Congress to support the FDR D-Day Prayer Act and pass the legislation that will allow its inclusion at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. We commend Congressman Johnson and the Congressional co-sponsors of this historic legislation.

The legislation reads that the entire prayer will be included in a plaque or inscription at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. Here is the prayer that President Roosevelt prayed with the nation the morning of the D-Day Landings.

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest -- until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home. Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them -- help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice. Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces. And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keeness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment -- let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace -- a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen -President Franklin D. Roosevelt, June 6, 1944

The D-Day Landing Prayer Project is a legislative initiative of The Christian Alliance of America

Send Your Faxes And Urge Congress To Pass H.R. 2070.

The bill was introduced in May of 2011. It currently has 57 co-sponsors in Congress. It received hearings in the Congressional Committee on Natural Resources on November 3rd and 17th and was referred by unanimous consent to the full U.S. House. H.R. 2070 is scheduled for a vote this Tuesday, January 24th. Fax all members of Congress and urge them to support H.R. 2070, the World War II Memorial Prayer Act.

Chris Long
Christian Alliance of America

Christian Alliance of America, PO Box 3076, Akron OH 44309

Ross County Point in Time Count set for Tuesday Jan 24th

2012-01-21T17:35:00.001-05:00

We will be conducting the Point in Time Count on January 24, 2012. This is the statewide count of the homeless. We will be meeting at Chillicothe City Transit at 575 East 7th Street. We will be starting the count at 4:30 a.m. Participants/Walkers may come to pick up maps, locations and handouts at that time. We will be happy to have volunteers anytime during the day as the count time period is 12:00a to 11:59p.

There will be a drop in center in the City Transit Building from 10:00a.m. – 4:00p.m. There will be food, blessing bags, toiletries, blankets & other items. We will have social service agencies and other’s to give the homeless information on Ross County assistance. We are encouraging the homeless to come to the drop in center.

We hope that all agencies will come by at some point of the count/drop in to offer Information and Support.

For More Information:

Tabitha Muse (740) 772-4004 or Ceil Corcoran (740) 773-1569 ext. 106

I believe in Tim Tebow

2012-01-20T01:06:00.001-05:00

I've come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde.

No, I've come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am.

Who among us is this selfless?

Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.

Remember last week, when the world was pulling its hair out in the hour after Tebow had stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs? And Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second? When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?

Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.

MORE FROM TIM TEBOW

For Tim Tebow's take on being named America's most popular athlete, click here.

"Here he'd just played the game of his life," recalls Bailey's mother, Kathy, of Loveland, Colo., "and the first thing he does after his press conference is come find Bailey and ask, 'Did you get anything to eat?' He acted like what he'd just done wasn't anything, like it was all about Bailey."

More than that, Tebow kept corralling people into the room for Bailey to meet. Hey, Demaryius, come in here a minute. Hey, Mr. Elway. Hey, Coach Fox.

Even though sometimes-fatal Wegener's granulomatosis has left Bailey with only one lung, the attention took her breath away.

"It was the best day of my life," she emailed. "It was a bright star among very gloomy and difficult days. Tim Tebow gave me the greatest gift I could ever imagine. He gave me the strength for the future. I know now that I can face any obstacle placed in front of me. Tim taught me to never give up because at the end of the day, today might seem bleak but it can't rain forever and tomorrow is a new day, with new promises."

WSYX ABC6 On Your Side Top Story - Ross County Man Using Facebook to Prevent Drug Abuse

2012-01-19T18:49:00.000-05:00

CHILLICOTHE -- A Ross County man is fighting back against drug abuse by creating a Facebook group page in memory of his brother.

Gavin Campos set up "Straight Forward... to help victims of pill addictions", shortly after his brother Jesse lost his life from a drug overdose on Christmas Eve.

Since the group was created three weeks ago, more than 2100 people have signed up to be members.

Campos says the web page is the first of several things he wants to do to bring attention to drug addiction.

--------------------------

Reporter: Steve Levine
Web Producer: Ken Hines

Posted: Thursday, January 19 2012, 05:56 PM EST

VIDEO BELOW
WSYX ABC6 On Your Side Top Story - Ross County Man Using Facebook to Prevent Drug Abuse

JMC Live Interview: Pastor Ronald "Foot" Robinson of Chillicothe Bikers Church

2012-01-13T00:11:00.001-05:00

15,000 People From 62 Winnipeg Churches Have A Citywide Service

2012-01-10T07:04:00.000-05:00

Nearly 15,000 people from 62 Winnipeg churches packed the MTS Centre on Sunday for a massive citywide church service.

The downtown hockey arena was almost at capacity for the third annual "One Heart Winnipeg" event, which brought together numerous Christian denominations under one roof for a single service.

"Today we are telling everybody, including the city of Winnipeg, that we are on the same team," co-organizer Bruce Martin, who is the lead pastor with the Calvary Temple Church, told CBC News.

"We are not in competition. We are not threatened by each other. We work together."

"R" rated Films Aren't What the People Want Study Shows

2012-01-09T06:54:00.001-05:00

Hollywood took in 4.5 percent less revenue in 2011 than in 2010, selling the least amount of tickets since 1995. Are consumers simply fed up with what Tinseltown has to offer? Dr. Ted Baehr of MovieGuide says it depends on the film in question.

"The spin is that people want more R-rated films, but the actual truth of the matter is that there were more R-rated films last year than there were the year before, and there were more than the year before that," he explains.

Two years ago, 44 percent of the films were rated R. Now, 51 percent of films carry that rating. At the same time, however, films that are rated G, PG, and even PG-13 are outperforming the movies for restricted audiences.

"There was a study out from the Los Angeles Times that 74 percent of the young women [and 58 percent of the young boys] don't want to see sex, violence, nudity, [or] profanity in films," Baehr cites. Since "consumers don't want to see R-rated films," he wonders who filmmakers are making them for.

READ MORE

More TV nudity, profanity? Supreme Court will Decide on Tuesday

2012-01-09T06:51:00.002-05:00

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in its most significant broadcast indecency case since 1978, and conservative groups are warning the justices that if the television networks win, profanity and nudity will flood TV broadcasts.

At issue is whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the constitutional authority to set rules governing what is permissible on the airwaves and to fine stations that cross the line. One example is the infamous Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident in 2004 and the FCC's ensuing fine of CBS and CBS stations. Lower courts overruled the fine, and CBS has yet to pay.

Among other examples of TV indecency that led to FCC fines yet to be paid because of lower court rulings, ABC's "NYPD Blue" showed a nude female character in 2003 and Fox's Billboard Music Awards in 2002 and 2003 failed to bleep profane words by Cher and Nicole Richie.

The Supreme Court case is an appeal from the U.S. Second Court of Appeals, which in 2010 struck down the FCC's entire broadcast indecency policy. Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC want the Second Circuit's decision upheld.

Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council co-sponsored a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the FCC.

"If the court opens the floodgates to so-called 'adult material' at all hours on broadcast TV and radio in the name of the First Amendment, then TV and radio will be open only to adults, not children, and, at that, adults who desire only more indecent material," the brief stated. "Television viewers will be forced to listen to indecent material. Profanity and sex will dominate daytime radio. Nothing in the First Amendment requires this result."

Conservative groups are concerned about the case because the high court's four-member conservative bloc -- often reliable in taking the conservative stance on such social issue cases -- might not hold together. Specifically, Justice Clarence Thomas in 2009 questioned the "viability" of two Supreme Court cases cited by the FCC as constitutionally supporting the current indecency policy: a 1969 case, Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, and a 1978 case, FCC v. Pacifica Foundation.

"Red Lion and Pacifica were unconvincing when they were issued, and the passage of time has only increased doubt regarding their continued validity," Thomas wrote in a 2009 concurring opinion.

In Red Lion, the Supreme Court upheld the so-called Fairness Doctrine; in FCC v. Pacifica, the high court ruled that the FCC had the authority to regulate indecent language on the airwaves. The latter case involved comedian George Carlin's "seven dirty words" routine.

Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council argued that the Supreme Court was right in its 1978 ruling to note that "since broadcasting was uniquely available to children merely by turning on the television or radio, it could be regulated to a greater extent than other forms of media." The two pro-family groups also cited studies showing that media has a negative impact on children and can lead to risky sexual behaviors, poor body image, violence and smoking.

The networks already are allowed to broadcast patently offensive material, as long as it is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., the groups say. But it is wrong to broadcast such material during the daytime and early evening when "children are likely to be in the audience," the groups say.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) filed a brief arguing that regulations on broadcast indecency are similar to regulations on public indecency. An indecent television broadcast, the legal organization said, "is essentially an indecent public display."

"Just as a state could prohibit someone from strutting around naked in public, the state could forbid someone from strutting around carrying a display -- still or video -- of someone naked," the ACLJ brief, which supported neither party, said. "Likewise, a state may forbid companies from broadcasting into people's homes programs depicting someone strutting around naked. Thus, an indecent broadcast is properly subject to government prohibition."

Broadcasters are different from other types of media -- such as print media, which has more freedom -- because of their ability to "intrude on the privacy of the home without prior warning," especially for the viewer who is "just tuning in or switching channels," the ACLJ brief said. Further, broadcast media is "uniquely accessible to children."

The Parents Television Council (PTC) filed a brief supporting the FCC policy and quoted its own research showing a 69 percent increase in profanity in prime-time programming from 2005 to 2010. If the FCC's policy falls, the Parents Television Council said, television will only become more coarse.

"The public airwaves will afford no shelter for parents who want to shield their children for as long as they can from the corrosive effects of what broadcasters think is appropriate," the PTC brief said.

READ MORE

80 Percent of Americans say they are Christian

2012-01-09T06:51:00.001-05:00

More than three-quarters of Americans identify themselves as Christian, Gallup reports. Pollsters found that 78 percent of Americans identify with Christianity. Overall, more than 82 percent of Americans have a religious identity, with this percentage breakdown:

52.5: Protestant/other Christian

23.6: Catholic

1.9: Mormon

1.6: Jewish

0.5: Muslim

2.4: Other non-Christian

15: None/atheist/agnostic

2.5: No response

The findings fit the trend of an increasing percentage of Americans who do not embrace a formal religious identity.

In 1951, 1 percent of Americans did not have a religious identity, compared to 24 percent identifying as Catholic and 68 percent claiming a non-Catholic Christian faith.

Gallup found earlier this year that 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, which suggests that a lack of religious identity is not necessarily linked to atheism.

Glide Memorial Church hands out 8,000 toys

2011-12-24T12:36:00.001-05:00

Atheists Say "Santa" is OK but Jesus Has to Go! Calls Nativity a "Superstition"

2011-12-21T22:16:00.001-05:00

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has taken offense with a nativity scene displayed outside a courthouse in downtown Athens, Texas.

The Keep Athens Beautiful Committee has been putting up the nativity scene since 2002, and County Judge Richard Sanders says it’s not violating any law, according to ABC News affiliate KBMT.

“Because we have all the other decorations, it’s legal,” Sanders said. “Our county attorney has looked into it.”

A Henderson County resident complained to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist group, and the foundation notified the committee that the nativity scene was in violation of federal law. The foundation asked for the baby Jesus to be removed, or for a sign to be put up next to his crib that would read: “At this season of the winter solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

But while some believe Santa is “but myth and superstition,” no one has asked for a sign to be placed next to him, clarifying his non-existence. The town has several other seasonal decorations up, such as reindeer, garden gnomes and snowmen, but the nativity scene is the only decoration has been criticized as a religious symbol. As for Santa, he’s more of a tradition than a religious icon, so the foundation has not taken issue with him.

Henderson County Commissioner Joe Hall says he’ll fight to keep the nativity scene in place.

“Don’t come down here and tell me there is no God. This nation is a Christian nation regardless of what those fruit loops and fruitcakes in Washington D.C. say. Hell will freeze over before I vote to have it removed,” Hall said.

Pastor Nathan Lorick of First Baptist Church in Malakoff, about 10 miles from Athens, said it is time to stand up and speak up in defense of Christianity, which is the majority in Athens.

“I hope this is a platform all across the nation that says, let’s take America back,” he said.

How The Recession Has Affected Many This Christmas Season

2011-12-19T14:34:00.001-05:00

YAHOO NEWS--For most Americans, the holidays are a time for happiness and celebration with family and friends--or at least for a few precious days of hard-earned relaxation. But when you're out of work and struggling to get by, the season can make things even harder.

Barry Viprino, a 30-year old financial adviser from Cape Cod, Mass., has been jobless for a year, and his family of five has been living in a one-room apartment. "It is hard looking myself in the mirror, or my kids in the eye," he told us. "For Christmas, they keep asking if we can just get a house. And I have to explain that, Santa cannot give us a house."

Barry Viprino and family

Four years into the Great Recession and the jobless recovery that's followed, we've become inured to the grim statistics. More than 13 million Americans are still officially out of work, and more than four in 10 of them are considered long-term unemployed--they've been jobless for six months or longer. But personal accounts like Barry's--or like one from Norman Spooner of Spencer, Iowa, who explained why he's staying home alone for Christmas this year while his wife visits their grown children: "I am too ashamed to go because I have nothing to offer" -- still hit home.

Over the summer, we asked Yahoo News readers to tell us what it's like to be out of work for an extended period. We got thousands of compelling responses, which we used to create an up-close look at the plight of the unemployed -- a project we called Down But Not Out. For the next installment, we put out a call last week for more stories, this time about how the jobless are coping with the holidays. And once again, readers responded with some fascinating, poignant, heartfelt tales, that help create a rich, nuanced picture of prolonged joblessness in America.

We've posted some of them, in full, on the separate Tumblr site we created for the project. And we've excerpted some below.

"We have started writing letters to one another."
It's not all doom and gloom. To enjoy the season, some readers have been forced to get creative --and even have found some unexpected sources of contentment.

Kellie Norton with her son Justin, at his graduation from U.S. Airforce basic trainin …

Kellie Norton, 38, of Colorado Springs, Colo., is a single mother who lost her job in a department store in March after her autistic 13-year old son became ill and she had to change her schedule. "He doesn't understand that Mommy has no money for presents," she wrote.

Still, she's looking on the bright side. "We won't be traveling anywhere this year. I can not afford the gas," she told us. "I will be bundling my son up on Christmas Eve though. We will spend the few dollars in gas to drive around the city and see all the Christmas lights. The heat in my truck no longer works, so it's gloves and hot chocolate to stay warm. But that's OK. If there is one thing my son loves, it is Christmas lights."

"I can't give anybody anything for Christmas," wrote Paul M., 25, who lost his job three months ago with a contractor at Chicago's Midway Airport. "The least I could do is take some of the food stamps I'm expecting soon and buy materials to make homemade pretzels for my family and friends. The only downside is they'll be hard once they get them."

Dina Johnson with her grand-daughter

Dina Johnson, 39, from southeast Idaho, who lost her job over two years ago, told us she's found a good way to let her loved ones know what they mean to her."We have started writing letters to one another," she wrote. "Mainly the letters are sharing how the other person is important in our lives and what little things they have done to strengthen that relationship."

Heather Yeager, 26, from Tampa, Fla., lost her job at a hospital two months ago, and is facing eviction from her home, along with her four kids, all under the age of 6. "I can't just go out and buy my kids things for Christmas like I would like," she wrote, "so I find myself on the Internet looking at Craigslist ads for things people are giving away for free so that my kids can have some sense of Christmas."

Kevin S., a 48-year-old Californian, told us that last year he was unemployed and couldn't afford gifts for his young son, a big SpongeBob fan. "So I found a yellow and pink sponge in our bathroom," Kevin wrote. "I drew SpongeBob's eyes, nose and mouth on the yellow sponge and cut the pink sponge into a star for the Patrick character. He absolutely loved them and took them everywhere he went. A friend of mine saw them and laughed and said: 'Recession, huh?' 'Yup,' I told him."

"I am always so relieved when Christmas is over"
Still, a lot of readers wrote about the pain of being unable to afford to buy gifts or plan celebrations.

"I always feel like I am missing out on something," wrote Brenda Tlapa, 44, of Bedford Park, Ill., who lost her job at a Fortune 500 design company back in 2008, and is scheduled to lose a warehouse position this Friday. "I see others shopping and spending money, and I honestly get a little upset and resentful. I have absolutely no money to spend on gifts, nothing to give my mother (who means the world to me) and nothing to give my nieces and nephews."

"I am always so relieved when Christmas is over," she added. "It's like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders."

Spooner, who told us he's spending the holiday alone because he's shamed about being unable to afford gifts, appears to feel the same way this year. "I cannot watch any TV shows or movies that are Christmas themed," he wrote. "I cannot go into any stores during the season because it hurts to see all the Christmas gift wrap, decorations and shoppers. If I am watching TV and a Christmas-related commercial comes on, I immediately have to mute the TV and turn away. I have always loved Christmas and have never missed a Black Friday shopping day, until this year."

Tom H., 57, who lives near Austin, Texas, and has been looking for work for more than two years, is making sacrifices. "My wife asked me for some face wash for Christmas, with tears in her eyes, saying it is something she can't afford to buy anymore," he told us. "I plan on finding something else I can sell to try to order that for her."

K. Smith

Meanwhile, K. Smith (she asked to be identified that way), 50, from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, whose job with a defense contractor was outsourced to China, is cutting back. "There will be little Christmas in our house," she wrote. "Some stocking-stuffers are wrapped in newspaper under a Charlie Brown tree. No turkey or ham waits to be served on fancy linen . . . . No, it'll be simple fare, biscuits and gravy, spaghetti and such." And for Mike Famous of Skippack, Penn., who's been out of work around two years, Christmas is a difficult reminder of better days. "You damn sure don't think about Christmas," he wrote. "If you do, it's only in the sentimental, wayward sense that you have some distant memory as a kid or of when you were with your kids and times were good . . . . I can recall the night before Christmas like it was the night before PARADISE. Those were the days, as they say. Now twenty bucks for a tree is twenty bucks I ain't got. Twenty bucks is three dinners if I work at it. Keep the tree and let me eat."
Read More from YAHOO News

Is There A World War On Christmas?

2011-12-19T14:28:00.001-05:00

NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how crazy the "War on Christmas" has become:

North Korea is putting South Korea on notice, warning of "unexpected consequences" if Seoul displays Christmas lights near the border. In China last week, government officials and the police smashed the sound equipment of Christians who were about to celebrate Christmas in a village outside Beijing.

Our atheists share the same mindset, if not the same means.

In a South Carolina cancer center, a 67-year-old volunteer Santa was evicted because of the "different cultures and beliefs of the patients we care for"; it later reversed its decision. In an elementary school in Stockton, California, poinsettias were banned but somehow snowmen were permitted; they justified their censorship by saying there was a Sikh temple in the city (note: there is no evidence that Sikhs suffer apoplexy when they see poinsettias, but there is plenty of evidence that cultural fascists enjoy using them as a foil to justify their own intolerance).

A homosexual group on the campus of Washington and Jefferson College succeeded in getting the Dean to approve a condom-decorated Christmas tree. A skeleton St. Nick was found hanging from a cross on the grounds of the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg, Virginia.

Most atheists are not intolerant, but rare is the atheist qua activist who is not. Unfortunately, we don't have to look overseas to Communist nations to witness this verity. That they show up at Christmastime, as well as at Easter, is proof that their real hatred is of all things Christian.
Read More from Christian News Wire

Retired Astronomy Teachers Says She Has Discovered The Christmas Star

2011-12-19T14:23:00.002-05:00

Christian Post--When former high school astronomy teacher Irene Worthington Baron received 60 astronomy computer programs from NASA for her classroom, she started wondering if she could use them to prove there really was a Christmas star.

Baron, recently retired after almost 40 years of teaching, just released a new ebook, Unraveling the Christmas Star Mystery. In it, she explains how she used ancient astronomy symbols and modern computer programs to uncover events surrounding the birth of Christ.

She told The Christian Post, “I always thought there was one Christmas star and I wanted to find it.” So she started studying the symbols of ancient astronomers.

In her book, Baron claims that her findings reveal there were 10 major, celestial events announcing the birth of Jesus Christ, the last being the position marker over Bethlehem.

She writes, “The sixth significant event of Jesus’ birth announcement occurred on September 1st, 0004 when a spectacular solar eclipse occurred close to Mars, Venus, and Saturn while the Sun was partially eclipsing the slow moving Saturn. The Moon then moved in front of the Sun and totally eclipsed it. To have the Sun eclipsing Saturn and the Moon eclipsing the Sun simultaneously is an extremely rare event at any time, let alone for a dawn sky.”

She told CP that the “Christmas star was, in fact, Saturn.” It was on the other side of the sun during that time and was very bright in the night sky. It was moving right over Bethlehem during a two-week time period.

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Full Video Coverage of Athens Nativity Rally

2011-12-19T02:45:00.002-05:00

Nathan Lorick's Speech at Henderson County Nativity Rally

2011-12-19T02:43:00.002-05:00

JMC Live Faith in America: The Nativity Rally in Athens,TX

2011-12-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

Jeremy shares about being born in Athens, TX and talks about the Nativity Rally in that town. He challenges America to imitate the Christ-like character God has called us to be.

Henderson County Texas Takes A Stand for Christ with the Nativity Rally

2011-12-17T18:23:00.003-05:00

The Call to the Pastors of Henderson County Texas

And here is the Nativity Rally

More from the Rally

Facebook Gets Into Suicide Prevention

2011-12-13T14:14:00.000-05:00

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook is making it easier for people who express suicidal thoughts on the social networking site to get help.

A program launching Tuesday enables users to instantly connect with a crisis counselor from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline through Facebook's "chat" messaging system.

If a friend spots a suicidal thought on someone's page, he can report it to Facebook by clicking a link next to the comment. Facebook then sends an email to the person who posted the comment encouraging that user to call the hotline or click a link for a confidential chat.

The service is Facebook's latest move aimed at improving safety on its site.

Internet Evangelism Is Effective

2011-12-12T16:38:00.002-05:00

Online evangelism is producing real disciples for Christ, according to a recent study.

Over half of those who made a decision for Jesus over the Internet have subsequently shared their faith with others, Global Media Outreach's study reveals.

Additionally, 34 percent read their Bibles daily and nearly half pray for at least 10 minutes a day.

"These findings are remarkable because they reveal that online evangelism isn’t just an in-the-moment decision, and people continue to grow in their faith after they have indicated a decision,” Global Media Outreach founder and chairman Walt Wilson said in a statement.

The study, called the Christian Growth Index, measured the responses of more than 100,000 people from around the world.

For Wilson, the results of the study indicate "that online evangelism and discipleship is truly measurable and effective."

Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they shared their faith three times or more and 37 percent said they shared their faith at least once or twice.

Northeast states cut heating aid to poor

2011-12-12T16:38:00.001-05:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mary Power is 92 and worried about surviving another frigid New England winter because deep cuts in federal home heating assistance benefits mean she probably can't afford enough heating oil to stay warm.

She lives in a drafty trailer in Boston's West Roxbury neighborhood and gets by on $11,148 a year in pension and Social Security benefits. Her heating aid help this year will drop from $1,035 to $685. With rising heating oil prices, it probably will cost her more than $3,000 for enough oil to keep warm unless she turns her thermostat down to 60 degrees, as she plans.

"I will just have to crawl into bed with the covers over me and stay there," said Power, a widow who worked as a cashier and waitress until she was 80. "I will do what I have to do."

Thousands of poor people across the Northeast are bracing for a difficult winter with substantially less home heating aid coming from the federal government.

"They're playing Russian roulette with people's lives," said John Drew, who heads Action for Boston Community Development, Inc., which provides aid to low-income residents in Massachusetts.

The issue could flare just as New Hampshire votes in the Republican presidential primary.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said she hopes the candidates will take up the region's heating aid crunch because it underscores how badly the country needs a comprehensive energy policy.

Several Northeast states already have reduced heating aid benefits to families as Congress considers cutting more than $1 billion from last year's $4.7 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program that served nearly 9 million households.

Families in New England, where the winters are long and cold and people rely heavily on costly oil heat, are expected to be especially hard hit. Many poor and elderly people on fixed incomes struggle with rising heating bills that can run into thousands of dollars. That can force them to cut back on other necessities like food or medicine.

"The winter of 2011-12 could be memorable for the misery and suffering of thousands of frigid households," New Hampshire's Concord Monitor newspaper said in an editorial. "Heating oil prices are expected to hit record highs, and federal fuel assistance may reach a record low for recent years."

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Nativity Controversy Uniting Athens, TX Jeremy's Birthtown

2011-12-09T00:06:00.000-05:00

PARENTS be WARNED as New Adult Domains Going "Live" Today

2011-12-06T14:55:00.001-05:00

More 100,000 Web sites using the .xxx domain hit the Web on Tuesday morning, heightening debate over the new top-level Internet designation.

The International Corportation for Assigned Names and Numbers approved .xxx in March, and the domain went up for general sale Tuesday.

Ky Church Overturns Ban on Interracial Couples

2011-12-05T15:46:00.001-05:00

An eastern Kentucky church under a firestorm of criticism since members voted to bar mixed-race couples from joining the congregation overturned that decision Sunday, saying it welcomes all believers.

Stacy Stepp, pastor of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Pike County, told The Associated Press that the vote by nine people last week was declared null and void after it was determined that new bylaws can't run contrary to local, state or national laws. He said the proposal was discriminatory, therefore it couldn't be adopted.

Stepp said about 30 people who attended church services voted on a new resolution that welcomes "believers into our fellowship regardless of race, creed or color."

PIKEVILLE, Ky. Pastor Speaks Out on Interracial Church Ban

2011-12-02T18:25:00.001-05:00

Stacy Stepp, pastor of Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church, told the Appalachian News-Express in Pikeville he believes state and national Free Will Baptist associations will stand with him and other members of the church who oppose the ban.

Stepp also said he’s seeking another vote on the issue, perhaps as early as Sunday, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. ”We’re going to get it resolved,” Stepp said, going on to claim that he doesn’t believe the congregation is racist.

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Pastors in Houston, TX Face Charges Against Telling "Gays" About Sin. Will Have to Face New Municipal Court Lesbian Run Judiciary

2011-12-02T18:12:00.006-05:00

Two veteran street preachers in Houston are facing a bench trial for spreading the biblical message about homosexuality – and other sins – on one of their favorite corners for preaching in Houston.

Senate Approves Bill that Legalizes Sodomy and Bestiality in U.S. Military

2011-12-02T18:06:00.001-05:00

(CNSNews.com) – (Updated) The Senate on Thursday evening voted 93-7 to approve a defense authorization bill that includes a provision which not only repeals the military law on sodomy, it also repeals the military ban on sex with animals--or bestiality.

On Nov. 15, the Senate Armed Services Committee had unanimously approved S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a provision to repeal Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Article 125 of the UCMJ makes it illegal to engage in both sodomy with humans and sex with animals.

It states: "(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense. (b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the effort to remove sodomy from military law stems from liberal Senate Democrats' and President Obama’s support for removing the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

“It’s all about using the military to advance this administration’s radical social agenda,” Perkins told CNSNews.com. “Not only did they overturn Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but they had another problem, and that is, under military law sodomy is illegal, just as adultery is illegal, so they had to remove that prohibition against sodomy.”

Perkins said removing the bestiality provision may have been intentional--or just “collateral damage”

“Well, whether it was inadvertent or not, they have also taken out the provision against bestiality,” he said. “So now, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), there’s nothing there to prosecute bestiality."

Former Army Col. Bob Maginnis said some military lawyers have indicated that bestiality may be prosecutable under another section of the military code of justice – the “catch-all” Article 134 for offenses against “good military order and discipline.”

But don't count on that, he said.

“If we have a soldier who engages in sodomy with an animal – whether a government animal or a non-government animal – is it, in fact, a chargeable offense under the Uniform Code? I think that’s in question,” Maginnis told CNSNews.com.

“When the reader stops laughing, the reader needs to ask the question whether or not this is in the best interests of the government, in the best interests of the military and the best interests of the country? I think not.”

He added: “Soldiers, unfortunately, like it or not, have engaged in this type of behavior in the past. Will they in the future, if they remove this statute? I don’t know.”

Joplin, Mo. Residents Donate over 12,000 Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes

2011-12-01T11:27:00.001-05:00

The Christmas spirit is alive in Joplin, Mo. Residents of the tornado damaged town have seen their share of hardships this year, but it didn’t stop them from participating in Operation Christmas Child. They more than doubled the number of shoe box donations for the organization that sends gift filled shoe boxes to third world countries every Christmas.

OCC Collection Center Coordinator Della Bergen told The Christian Post that the damage from the tornado didn’t stop people from donating. People who had lost everything still came out and donated boxes because OCC is a yearly tradition for them. She said they told her they’re “not going to miss it this year just because of the tornado.”

In total, the town raised 12,520 shoe boxes, compared with last year’s 5,664. Bergen said one of the reasons for the jump in donations stems from the fact that many tornado victims had people they didn’t even know give them things to survive. In turn, this gave them a deeper understanding of what Operation Christmas Child is all about.

Samaritan's Purse’s rescue efforts after the tornado also helped raise awareness for the ministry, and people wanted to give back.

Those who dropped off boxes told Bergen that even though they were just getting back on their feet, they knew their problems were a temporary situation, but for the kids getting shoe boxes, nothing ever changes.

Many new churches signed on this year to help with the shoe boxes. Harmony Heights Baptist Church was hit by the tornado during a service and three of its members were killed. They lost all of their supplies for OCC in the disaster as well.

9yr old kids are attempting suicide study says

2011-12-01T11:25:00.000-05:00

Children as young as nine years old are attempting to kill themselves, according to a new U.S. study that probes depression and suicide in youths.

And nearly 40 per cent of those who attempted suicide first tried to kill themselves in elementary or middle school, according to the study published in the November edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health by researchers from the University of Washington.

The data was collected from an ongoing study that asked 883 participants, aged 18 to 19, to discuss their suicidal history. Out of 78 participants who said they have attempted suicide, 38 said they made a single attempt and 40 made multiple attempts.

Those who tried to kill themselves multiple times began their attempts as children.

"Multiple attempters were more likely to have made their first suicide attempt during elementary or middle school compared to single attempters," said the study, titled: An Examination of the Validity of Retrospective Measures of Suicide Attempts in Youth.

Those who tried to kill themselves — especially those who made multiple attempts — reported significantly more depression than their peers. The authors suggest that with students trying to kill themselves at such young ages, suicide prevention programs should focus on elementary and middle school populations as well as high school populations.

The youngest age of a reported suicide attempt in the sample was nine years old. Suicide attempt rates showed a sharp spike when the participants were around 12 years old.

Twice as many girls as boys in the study tried to kill themselves.

"We can say that there is tremendous stress on being a teenager these days or even younger people because of the Internet and the fast pace of society and all sorts of things happening around them with the social interaction," said Grant Wilson, director of Canadian Children's Rights Council.

Kentucky Pike County church bans interracial couples from membership

2011-12-01T11:22:00.000-05:00

Only In America: National Guard Soldier Fights To Keep Tree House He Built For Sons On His Own Property

2011-11-30T16:56:00.002-05:00

A Fairfax County zoning board has granted a reprieve allowing two boys to keep the tree house their father built for them.

The Board of Zoning Appeals, reversing an earlier decision, agreed unanimously Wednesday to grant a a variance to the tree house that Mark W. Grapin built earlier this year for his two sons before he had to leave on another tour to Iraq.

Wednesday’s decision was a victory for Grapin, who spent more money defending the tree house in an administrative battle than he did building it. The county’s action against the tree house also led to national media coverage and an online petition defending the Grapins, while county officials said they had no choice but to enforce a law that keeps everyone’s neighborhood safe and orderly.

Grapin, 51, who is with the Army National Guard, constructed a red, 58-square-foot tree house last spring around the only sturdy tree on their Falls Church property.

Zoning officials, responding to anonymous complaints, said the Grapins’ tree house violated a county zoning ordinance that regulates the construction of any accessory structure, such as a shed, in people’s front yards. The Grapins live on a corner lot, so its two yards were both defined under the code as front yards, officials said.

Last month, the Board of Zoning Appeals declined to grant a variance, which requires a showing of hardship. Its decision meant the tree house was in violation of zoning laws and must come down.

On Wednesday, however, the board reversed itself, county spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald said.

Voting 5 to 0, the board found that because the house’s placement on the unusually shaped, shallow property had limited the functionality of its backyard, the homeowners had little choice but to build it in front.

Fitzgerald said the board also conditioned its approval, saying that the tree house must be screened by trees. The variance also can last no more than five years and cannot be transferred with ownership of the property.

Many Churches Still Plan For Worship Services On Christmas Day

2011-11-30T16:50:00.001-05:00

Christian Post--There could be plenty of space in church pews on Christmas Day which falls on a Sunday this year, while many Americans will be putting top priority on opening gifts and family time.

Even though nine out of 10 pastors plan to host Christmas Day services this year, that doesn’t mean their church members will be filling up the scheduled times of worship, leaders of the faith-based LifeWay Research organization said.

A recent LifeWay Research study of 1,000 Protestant pastors shows that 91 percent of Protestant pastors plan to have services on Christmas Day while 69 percent said they plan to host Christmas Eve services.

However, pastors may be fighting an uphill battle in filling seats this year though churches usually see one of their highest attendances during Christmas.

A report done by LifeWay Research last year showed that nearly 70 percent of Americans agree with the statement that “many of the things I enjoy during the Christmas season have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ.”

Although there is speculation among researchers about church attendance on Christmas Day, 74 percent of Americans agree (strongly or somewhat) that “Christmas is primarily a day for religious celebration and observance.”

Woman Says She Was Imprisoned By Church Of Scientology For 12 Yrs On Cruise Ship

2011-11-30T16:43:00.001-05:00

For most people, an extended stay aboard a luxury cruise liner sounds like a dream vacation.

But Valeska Paris says she was held against her will aboard the Scientology cruise ship "Freewinds" for more than a decade. During her stay on the vessel, she alleges, she was forced into hard labor and never allowed to leave the ship without an escort.

In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC News) Lateline program, Paris claims that Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige sent her to the ship when she was 18 in order to prevent her family from pulling her out of the organization.

"I was basically hauled in and told that my mum had attacked the church and that I needed to disconnect from her because she was suppressive," she said. "He decided the ship, and I found out two hours before my plane left, I was woken up in the morning and I was sent to the ship for 'two weeks.' "

Paris was born into a Scientology family, but her mother quit the group after her husband committed suicide, blaming Scientology for coercing him out of a self-made personal fortune of more than a million dollars.

Instead of the promised two week stay, Paris found herself unable to leave the ship without an official Scientology escort and was often forced into hard labor on the lower levels of the ship for stretches as long as two full days. "It's hot, it's extremely loud, it's smelly, it's not nice. I was sent down there at first for 48 hours straight on almost no sleep and I had to work by myself," she said.

So, why didn't Paris simply escape from the ship when it would take port? The Freewinds has a relatively small sailing route, traveling throughout the Caribbean and occasionally docking at small islands.

"I did not want to be there, I made it clear I did not want to be there and that was considered bad ethics, meaning it was considered not right," she said. "They take your passport when you go on the ship and you're in the middle of an island. So it's a bit hard [to escape] and by that time I was 18, I'd been in Scientology my whole life, it's not like I knew how to escape," she said.

The Church of Scientology calls Paris' claims false but declined ABC requests to make church officials available for interviews for the story. The church, which has a well-known litigious history, threatened Lateline with legal action for taking part in an alleged breach of confidentiality between Paris and the church. In a statement, the Church of Scientology said Ms Paris' claims were false.

Woman Sues Therapist For Brainwashing Her Into Believing She Was In A Satanic Cult

2011-11-30T16:37:00.001-05:00

A psychologist accused of hypnotizing a woman into believing she possessed multiple personalities and participated in satanic rituals may be sued by several others who say they were also told they had been a part of a satanic cult, according to a Missouri attorney.

Lisa Nasseff, 41, of Saint Paul, Minn., is suing her former therapist, Mark Schwartz, and the Castlewood Treatment Center in St. Louis, Mo., where she received 15 months of treatment for anorexia, according to the complaint.

Instead of improving, the lawsuit alleges Nasseff suffered "great physical pain and suffering and anguish" during her time at the facility, and asserts that she will continue to suffer.

"She was hospitalized multiple times," Nasseff's lawyer, Kenneth Vuylsteke, told ABCNews.com. "One time she tried to commit suicide … she's done much better now that she's been away from there."

The complaint alleges Nasseff's therapist, Mark Schwartz, "carelessly and negligently hypnotized [Nasseff]" while she was under the influence of "various psychotropic medications" to treat depression and anxiety. The hypnosis allegedly created false memories, including the belief that she was "a member of a satanic cult and that she was involved in or perpetrated various criminal and horrific acts of abuse."

One of those acts included "sacrificing her sister's baby on the altar of Satan," according to Vuylsteke.

Nasseff "was in a highly vulnerable physical and mental state due to her pre-existing eating disorder," according to the complaint.

The lawsuit also alleges Schwartz "persuaded and convinced [Nasseff] to become increasingly isolated from her family and friends by leading her to believe said persons were involved in a satanic cult and that they had been and would continue to sexually abuse her and force her to engage in criminal acts and horrific abuse of others."

But then other women receiving treatment at the facility began to realize their stories were very similar to one another's, Vuylsteke said.

"She got together with other women who had been through this with her at Castlewood. And they said, 'How can we all have been members of cults and not know it -- two years ago, three years ago? We all got brainwashed? It can't be right."

Now "multiple individuals" are speaking out about Castlewood, and backing Nasseff's account of what took place there, Vuylsteke added.

"We've got other cases we're looking at right now," Vuylsteke told ABCNews.com, adding the alleged victims' stories, all involving women, look "remarkably similar."

At this stage, he declined to say exactly how many women are claiming false memory implantation.

"All I can tell you is it's several. We're in the process of evaluating them right now," he said.

Schwartz, the therapist who treated Nasseff at Castlewood and still serves as the facility's clinical co-director, denied ever hypnotizing Nasseff.

Christian Colleges Cutting Tuition By Double Digit Percentages to Attract New Students

2011-11-29T17:56:00.003-05:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- With church membership dwindling and more families struggling to afford the cost of college, many private religiously-affiliated colleges and universities are slashing tuition and offering incentives to attract new students -- and to stay afloat.

Some Christian colleges are cutting tuition by double-digit percentages, while others are capping the price of admission for all four years or offering huge discounts based on academic performance.

Brewton-Parker College, a 4-year Bible study school in southeast Georgia, cut its tuition by 22% to $12,290 a year for the current school year to "to offer a quality Christian education to more students." Enrollment has fallen to 778 students in recent years. The school wouldn't say how high enrollment was in the past, but things are looking dire.

To afford the tuition cuts, the college has had to make sizable cost cuts, including reducing its workweek to four days from five in order to save on operations and staffing.

"Brewton-Parker, like many other Christian-affiliated schools, is private and we have to have new students coming in," college president Mike Simoneaux said. "We recognize that in order to stay competitive we had to find ways to lower our tuition and not our quality."

5 colleges slashing tuition

It's a trend seen among religiously-affiliated colleges across the nation, both big and small. Duquesne University, the largest Catholic university in Pennsylvania with 5,858 undergraduates, is reducing tuition by 50% for students who enroll in its School of Education in 2012. Seton Hall University, a 4-year private Catholic school in South Orange, N.J., is chopping tuition by 61% for applicants who meet certain academic qualifications. And Cabrini College, another Catholic school in Pennsylvania, plans to cut tuition by 12.5% next year and cap it at that level through 2014.

Of the more than 1,600 small private nonprofit institutions for higher education in the United States (which have an average enrollment of 1,900 students), two-thirds have a faith or religious affiliation, many of which are linked to Christian denominations. And while the economy is affecting most schools of this size, faith-based institutions are in the toughest spot.

By keeping tuition as low as possible -- with some schools reducing the amount of financial aid they are doling out at the same time to make this possible -- these schools are taking potential hits to profits as they try to enroll more students, said John Nelson, a managing director at Moody's, which rates the credit worthiness of universities.

One of the biggest issues facing these schools is their value proposition. Some incoming students fear their job and/or earning prospects will be limited should they graduate from a religiously-affiliated school.

In order to appeal to a wider group of students, many of these institutions are removing the "Christian" or "Bible" from their names. Johnson Bible College, in Knoxville, Tenn., for example, changed its name to "Johnson University" earlier this year to "eliminate barriers that our students and graduates often face," the college's president Gary Weedman said in a statement on the school's website.

Meanwhile, other schools are trying to make it easier for students to pursue lower-paying religiously-affiliated vocations post-graduation without being weighed down by student loans.

Davis College, an evangelical Christian school founded in 1900, said it recently reduced tuition for the current year by up to 22% for this reason.

"As a college of Bible and ministry, our niche is preparing students for service vocations that are often in the lower pay range," said Chief Enrollment Officer Rick Cramer. "We were disturbed to find that some of our graduates were not going directly into ministry simply because they felt the need to pay off their loans first."

Cramer said the tuition cut has helped the school retain current students. Now he's hoping it will significantly boost enrollment -- and help the school avoid the same fate as other Bible colleges that have been forced to close their doors.

"We need to attract more incoming students into that ministry development pipeline so that we can continue to impact the world for another 100 years," he said.

Recent tuition cuts have not only been limited to Christian schools. Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid, a Jewish rabbinical school in Far Rockaway, N.Y., slashed tuition by more than 20% for the current school year, while Rabbinical College of Telshe, in Wickliffe, Ohio, cut tuition about 7% for the previous school year, according to the most recent data the colleges reported to College Board.

California City Drops Case Against Couple For Holding Bible Studies in Their Home

2011-11-29T17:52:00.001-05:00

A legal analyst says it was "wise" for a California city to drop a citation filed against a couple for hosting a home Bible study.

The city of San Juan Capistrano dismissed its citation against a local couple who held a growing Bible study in their home. Because of complaints from the neighbors, the city initially fined Chuck and Stephanie Fromm $300 for holding the session. Officials had also noted that the couple needed a conditional use permit to hold the gatherings, and they threatened to fine the Fromms $500 per meeting if they continued. So, the pair filed a lawsuit against San Juan Capistrano following an appeal to the city, which was rejected (see earlier story).

Ken Klukowski, fellow and senior legal analyst with The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU), believes the city ultimately made the right decision.

"The city was wise to rescind that citation because otherwise it would have gone to court, and the city would have been beaten badly in court," he suggests.

The Associated Press reports that the city is currently reviewing how its land-use codes apply to churches, but Klukowski tells OneNewsNow the latest move sets an example for future incidents.

"I think it is certainly a political precedent on behalf of the public officials leading the city, that they understand that pursuing families for having a Bible study in their own home is not very wise policy," the attorney concludes.

Tyler Perry Writes Letter To Penn State Victim Who Was Molested

2011-11-29T17:05:00.002-05:00

Tyler Perry was touched by the Penn State molestation scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, and decided to write an open letter to the victim who came forth about being molested at the age of 11.

Perry, writer, actor, director and producer, opened up about being molested as a child. He called the victim courageous for doing the same.

“To think that you, when you were only 11 years old, spoke up – you are my hero,” Perry wrote in a letter that was published in Newsweek. “I’m so proud of you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I want you to know you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Sandusky was charged earlier this month for sexually assaulting eight boys over a 15-year period. A grand jury investigation suggested that he used his position as the founder of The Second Mile, a foster home designed to help troubled boys, to choose the victims.

Sandusky’s lawyer, Joe Amendola, insists that the case against his client is hearsay. On Monday, Amendola also announced that they are conducting their own private investigation to prove he is innocent.

Nevertheless, Perry – known for his character “Madea” in his stage plays – called Sandusky a monster and assured the victim that he was not to blame for the situation that has led to the overhaul of the Penn State administration.

“Please know that you were chosen by a monster. You didn’t choose him,” Perry wrote. “You didn’t ask for it and, most of all, you didn’t deserve it. What a huge lesson that was for me to learn.”

In the letter, Perry also chastised the Penn State staff who did not speak up for Sandusky’s victims.

“Do you know that at the young age of 11 you had more courage than all the adults who let you down? All of the ones who didn’t go to the proper authorities, all of the ones who were worried about their careers, reputations, or livelihoods,” Perry wrote. “I wonder what they would have done if it were their own child.”

The actor opened up about his abuse last year while on the “Oprah” show. He told Oprah Winfrey that he felt like he died as a child after suffering physical abuse from his father and sexual abuse from several other adults.

He credited his mother and God for helping him survive.

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LGBT Groups To Boycott Salvation Army Kettle Campaign This Christmas Season

2011-11-29T16:58:00.004-05:00

The Salvation Army red kettles that sit outside storefronts during the Christmas season are causing some gay groups to see red. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) activists are calling for a boycott of the Salvation Army’s annual red kettle drive because of its stance on homosexuality.

Bil Browning, writing on the LGBQT blog The Bilerico Project, said, “As the holidays approach, the Salvation Army bell ringers are out in front of stores dunning shoppers for donations. If you care about gay rights, you'll skip their bucket in favor of a charity that doesn't actively discriminate against the LGBT community. The Salvation Army has a history of active discrimination against gays and lesbians.”

Meanwhile, a Facebook page called “Boycott The Salvation Army” now has over 2,000 likes. The description of the page reads, “The Salvation Army is not only a charity, but an evangelical church promoting conservative Christianity and anti-gay politics.”

But Maj. George Hood, national community relations secretary for the Salvation Army, addressed the LGBT groups’ accusations of discrimination. He said the disagreement between the Salvation Army and gay activist groups comes down to theology.

“The Salvation Army and the gay community are never going to come to an agreement on the topic,” Hood told The Christian Post on Monday.

He went on to say that the Salvation Army will not change its beliefs about theological issues any more than gay groups would change their views.

Andy Thayer, co-founder of Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network, explained to The Christian Post in an email today why his group was participating in the boycott. "We urge people to boycott the Salvation Army and instead give to non-sectarian agencies because it uses its selective interpretation of the Bible to promote discrimination against LGBT people in employment benefits and leadership positions within the Army,” he wrote.

The Salvation Army’s stance on homosexuality is stated on its website. It says the group holds a positive view of human sexuality: “Sexual intimacy is understood as a gift of God to be enjoyed within the context of heterosexual marriage. However, in the Christian view, sexual intimacy is not essential to a healthy, full, and rich life. Apart from marriage, the scriptural standard is celibacy.”

While the Salvation Army as a church does have strong theological beliefs about homosexuality, its main focus as described in its mission statement is “to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”

Hood pointed out that LGBT groups have boycotted the Christian charity nearly annually in recent years, but they have not had a significant impact on giving in previous years. He said in the past two to three years, the organization actually broke records during their red kettle drive. Last year, Salvation Army raised $142 million, which “was a 5 percent increase over the previous year.”

In the end, Hood said, it’s unfortunate that there is a boycott because it’s not the Salvation Army that will be hurt, but “it’s the people we serve,” including many from the gay community.

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14 Month old Girl With Down's Syndrome Takes Modeling World By Storm

2011-11-28T14:52:00.002-05:00

The London Telegraph newspaper features a story on little Taya Kennedy, a 14-month-old girl who has Down’s Syndrome but has taken the modeling world by storm. The camera loves her and she now has her own modeling agency that is booking her gig after photogenic gig.

Kennedy is just another example of the joy such children and people with Down syndrome bring to the world but who, tragically, see their lives snuffed out by abortion at a 90 percent rate.

From the story:

‘Taya is an incredibly photogenic, warm and smiley child, and that shines through in her photographs,’ says Alysia Lewis, owner of Urban Angels, the prestigious UK model agency that has signed her up.

‘We only open our books twice a year and select just a few new children each season.

‘The standard is high; the desire for places strong. Taya is one of 50 children we chose from 2,000 applicants.

‘That she has Down’s Syndrome did not enter the equation. We chose her because of her vibrancy and sense of fun. Not all children are comfortable in front of a lens and with a photographer looking at them — especially when they are so young. But Taya was so relaxed and happy. She was just what we were looking for.’

Gemma Andre, Taya’s mother, says she is offended when people come up to her and tell her they’re sorry her daughter has Down syndrome.

‘I always believed my daughter was stunning but I thought, “I’m her mum. I’m biased,”’ she says.

Read More from Life News

President Obama In Hot Seat For Leaving God Out Of His Thanksgiving Day Speech

2011-11-28T14:36:00.002-05:00

President Obama may have created an unholy mess by leaving God out of his Thanksgiving speech.

Conservative pundits are blasting the commander-in-chief for having no religious references in his weekly Internet address -- saying that the Almighty is surely among those we should give thanks to.

"I feel terrible," said Fox News' Eric Bolling on Friday. "I absolutely think should have had some sort of mention. Look, we're thankful for the blessings we've been given…but didn't mention who he was thankful to."

Bolling then argued "86% of Americans believe in some sort of God, whether it's Christianity or Islam or what not."

Conservative columnist Ben Shapiro went further, tweeting Obama is a "militant atheist," adding "Unreal that Obama doesn't mention God in Thanksgiving message…to whom does he think we are giving thanks?"

"Holy cow!" wrote Sherman Frederick at The Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Is that one screwed up view or what?"

Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes was also furious.

"His remarks were void of any religious references, although Thanksgiving is a holiday traditionally steeped in giving thanks and praise to God," he wrote on the network's website.

During the three minute speech, Obama said he and his family -- like a lot of America -- would spend the day "eating great food, watching a little football, and reflecting on how truly lucky we are."

He gave thanks to America's military personnel, volunteers serving the less fortunate, and the pilgrims, pioneers and patriots who helped make the country what it is today.

He acknowledged this holiday may be "more difficult than most' for many, but urges Americans to not lose hope.

Senate To Vote On Bill That Would Allow Military To Arrest Americans Without Charge Or Trial

2011-11-28T14:25:00.004-05:00

The Senate is set to vote on a bill today that would define the whole of the United States as a “battlefield” and allow the U.S. Military to arrest American citizens in their own back yard without charge or trial.

“The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself,” writes Chris Anders of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor this week, the legislation will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill.

The bill was drafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), before being passed in a closed-door committee meeting without any kind of hearing. The language appears in sections 1031 and 1032 of the NDAA bill.

“I would also point out that these provisions raise serious questions as to who we are as a society and what our Constitution seeks to protect,” Colorado Senator Mark Udall said in a speech last week. One section of these provisions, section 1031, would be interpreted as allowing the military to capture and indefinitely detain American citizens on U.S. soil. Section 1031 essentially repeals the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by authorizing the U.S. military to perform law enforcement functions on American soil. That alone should alarm my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but there are other problems with these provisions that must be resolved.”

This means Americans could be declared domestic terrorists and thrown in a military brig with no recourse whatsoever. Given that the Department of Homeland Security has characterized behavior such as buying gold, owning guns, using a watch or binoculars, donating to charity, using the telephone or email to find information, using cash, and all manner of mundane behaviors as potential indicators of domestic terrorism, such a provision would be wide open to abuse.

Billboard Compnanies Refuse To Advertise Christian Film About Abortion

2011-11-28T14:19:00.002-05:00

It's the ad for a new movie project that three major billboard companies in Southern California have refused – and all it has is words: "180movie.com – award-winning – free viewing – one million views in 22 days."

The ad is about the new work of world-renowned author and evangelist Ray Comfort of the Living Waters ministry, whose documentary, "180: The Movie," has gone viral with more than 1.5 million views on YouTube over some six weeks.

It's also sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Comfort reports that three of those billboard companies – he's not releasing their names right now – have refused to sell space to promote the pro-life project. Other companies haven't actually refused – they just haven't returned telephone calls seeking a deal, he said.

These are the same companies that advertise atheists' mockery of God and the Bible, and "promote strip clubs and porn conventions," Comfort reported.

"One is owned by a Jewish family. Their spokesperson was very upset that we dared to compare American abortion to the Holocaust. But there are no pictures involved. All we want is to put up text saying: '180movie.com – award-winning – free viewing – 1 million views in 22 days.' They have the right to refuse, but I think their refusal hasn't been well thought out," he said.

"If they don't see the comparison of the killing of 6 million Jews with the slaughter of nearly 60 million Americans through abortion, it's probably because they don't consider a baby in the womb to be human. That's exactly what Hitler did with the Jews. He said that they weren't human, and then he made billions when he killed them and seized their assets. American abortion makes billions through the slaughter of the unborn, and like the Nazi machine, it is a well-run money-making industry that has been successful in brainwashing millions into believing that a baby is something other than a baby," Comfort said.

Comfort also has handed out some 180,000 DVDs at 100 top U.S. universities to spread the message, and he's working on plans to give away hundreds of thousands of copies outside of high schools.

Comfort, who is Jewish, said, "After being turned down by these companies, we decided to ask the churches of America to put 180movie.com on their church signs. We also produced huge '180' window stickers for cars. These take up the whole back window and act as a moving billboard.

"Millions of Americans are being legally slaughtered in our country, but here is something positive we can do. This short movie is changing minds about abortion and saving lives," he said.

An Evening With Jeremy Caverley: A look inside at the poor, sick & homeless

2011-11-27T17:20:00.003-05:00

Black Friday Now "Bless Friday" For Many Churches

2011-11-25T12:17:00.002-05:00

While thousands of bargain hunters hit the stores for Black Friday deals, several churches are choosing to start the Christmas season with "Bless Friday" by giving back to the community.

And these churches are hoping to get their message across to Americans. "People get our message that when we focus too much on buying things, we lose sight of the real reason for Christmas – remembering and honoring Christ," said Chuck Fox, founder of Bless Friday, in a statement. "We want to begin our Christmas celebration by serving others just as Jesus did."

Fox launched Bless Friday in 2010 after hearing a sermon on how Americans are losing sight of the real reason for Christmas.

The message of Bless Friday in a nutshell: It’s a day for service not shopping.

"On the day after Thanksgiving, millions of people started their Christmas celebration at malls and other retail outlets," the website for Bless Friday states. "This can’t be the way that God intends Christians to prepare for the celebration of the coming of the Savior of the World. And what begins poorly also ends poorly."

According to the National Retail Federation, up to 152 million people plan to shop Black Friday weekend, up from the 138 million people who planned to do so last year.

Fox stressed the need to start the Christmas celebration "in a more loving and appropriate manner." He is hoping to spread the word to get more churches involved and more service opportunities scheduled.

Beacon of Light Christian Center in South Houston is participating by offering food and clothing to those in need and hosting activities for the wider community.

"Our community is filled with people who financially overextend themselves at Christmas. We want to show them a more positive and more spiritual way to celebrate," Pastor Anthony Gasery said in a statement.

Congregants from Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston have been encouraged to volunteer at local ministries, fix up a hurricane-damaged home or simply share a meal with neighbors.

"BLESS is not a program," the church says. "Rather, it is a series of practices that we believe will help us live a complete and balanced life in Christ."

Grocery Store Security Guard Fired After Threatening A 4yr old With Criminal Charges For Eating Fruit

2011-11-25T12:06:00.001-05:00

A grocery store security guard was fired after he told the father of a 4-year-old girl that she would face criminal charges for eating from a dried fruit package, a TV station reported.

The child's mother, Alissa Jones, said the father wasn't looking when the girl grabbed the package, ate a few pieces of fruit then returned it to a shelf at a Safeway store in Everett, Wash., KOMO reported Wednesday.

Safeway previously faced widespread criticism when a Honolulu couple were arrested over stolen sandwiches and had their 2-year-old daughter taken from them briefly by state officials.

In Washington, the guard took the 4-year-old and her dad to a room and said the girl would face charges and be banned from the chain, Jones said, adding the guard had the girl sign a paper acknowledging she wasn't allowed to enter any Safeway stores.

The company said it was "appalled" by the guard's actions and dismissed him. Store officials have apologized to the girl's parents, Safeway spokesperson Cherie Myers said.

"Our policies on shoplifting are intended to protect our customers, but built on common sense. And everyone understands what common sense is," Myers said.

The name of the guard was not immediately available.

The woman involved in the Honolulu incident, Nicole Leszczynski, was 30 weeks pregnant at the time. Last month, she and her husband forgot to pay for two sandwiches that together cost $5. They were handcuffed and searched, and later released on $50 bail each.

The company decided not to press charges, apologized and said then it would re-examine its policies.

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Black Friday Off To Bad Start As Woman Pepper Sprays Fellow Shoppers To Get A Xbox

2011-11-25T11:57:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving Video Thank Him

2011-11-23T14:43:00.003-05:00

The True Meaning ThanksGiving Give Thanks Pass It On

2011-11-23T14:43:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving Video - Give Thanks

2011-11-23T14:39:00.001-05:00

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

2011-11-23T14:08:00.001-05:00

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the
providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for
His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and
Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee,
requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public
thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity
peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful
knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been
pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other
transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our
several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a
blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and
constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York,
the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.
President George Washington

Pakistan Bans "Jesus Christ" In Text Messages

2011-11-21T13:19:00.003-05:00

Christian Post--The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is taking some major criticism after sending a letter to mobile phone companies saying they should block text messages containing certain words and phrases, and among those phrases are “Jesus Christ” and “got Jesus.”

According to the letter, Pakistanis have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but these freedoms are “subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam,” among other things.

The letter and the two lists containing the banned words and phrases were posted on the Bytes For All (BFA) website. BFA, a human rights organization in Pakistan made up of information and communication technology professionals and users, is outraged over the ban.

The letter establishes “harmful, fraudulent, misleading, illegal or unsolicited messages in bulk to any person without express permission of the recipient” as spam, and says it is the responsibility of telecommunications companies to block such messages. The PTA sent each company two lists, which combined contain over 1,600 words in both English and Urdo that the government considers to be impermissible.

Most of the words on the list are vulgar and sexual in nature, but some have drawn attention from critics for either being odd – such as “athletes foot,” “deposit,” “fart,” and “K Mart” – or for appearing to be discriminatory against Christians.

BFA expressed its concerns about the “moral policing” in Pakistan, and how it will affect the nation's citizens, in an article posted to the organization's website Friday.

“It is a matter of utmost concern for Pakistani citizens, for this decision is not just oppressive & hegemonic, but unconstitutional as well,” the BFA article states.

It later says, “Once the authorities are allowed to filter SMS messages to ban abusive words, the restriction shall eventually not be limited to abusive words, rather, further fire the campaign to oppress the society by controlling its access to all kinds of information.”

BFA is also critical of the authority's decision to ban “Jesus Christ.”

“We also condemn this fact that while indulging themselves in this hideous task of moral policing, PTA managed to hurt the religious feelings of many Pakistani Christians by adding 'Jesus Christ' in banned word list. If such thing happened in any other country, there would be an outrage already and if it was directed (mistakenly or intentionally) towards Muslims, the amount of an outrage would be uncontrollable,” the article says.

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