All posts filed under: Politics

Has God’s temple been desecrated in China?

Published by

As I read a story out of China, I wondered if I was watching end times prophecy come to pass. Now I don’t think it is the actual fulfillment, but I don’t like how close it got. In 2 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul describes how the Antichrist will set himself up like a god, in the temple of God: 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NASV There were two temples in Israel’s history. King Solomon built the first temple that was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC. The second, built by Ezra and later renovated by King Herod, was the one that Jesus visited. It was obliterated by the Romans in 70 AD and was never rebuilt. But there are …

Do two bizarre stories out of Canada define the country’s spiritual climate?

Published by

I recently read of two events that took place in Canada that in some ways define the cultural climate of hostility against Christianity and its roots. The first involved an Orthodox Priest who was allegedly fired for praying for Israel and the second involved a leader of a political party who quickly apologized after stating in a media interview that her favorite person was Jesus Christ. Father Vladimir Tobin, 77, served as a priest for St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia. According to Breaking Israel News (BIN), he got into trouble with his overlords in the Orthodox church when he publicly prayed for Israel. BIN reports that on August 12, Tobin received a letter from America Archbishop Irénée who serves as the archbishop of Canada telling Tobin it was time for him to retire because his ministry had a “Jewish twist.” Apparently the assistant pastor at the church had contacted the archbishop complaining that during one service Tobin had asked his congregation to pray for Israel. Initially, the archbishop had asked for Tobin’s …

Florida-based Chick-fil-A restaurant. Photo: Robert du Bois/Flickr/Creative Commons

Chick-fil-A preparing a table in the midst of its enemies

Published by

Despite being closed on Sundays, Chick-fil-A continues its exponential growth as a fast food restaurant in America. Last year the sales for an average restaurant were double those of McDonalds considered one of the iconic brands of America. In terms of total sales, Chick-fil-A is third behind McDonalds and Starbucks due to the fact the leaders have more restaurants. In 2018, Chick-fil-A generated $10 billion an increase of $2 billion since 2005. Compared to one of its major competitors, Chick-fil-A increased its number of restaurants by 8% that year, while KFC actually shrank by 1%. It is one of the fastest growing food chains in America. These are staggering numbers considering the chain typically only opens six days a week giving its workers Sunday off to be with family and attend church. But it has opened on Sundays on occasion to provide food often for free in emergencies such as it did after Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina. Staff were called in on a Sunday to not only make but help distribute free Chick-fil-A sandwiches …

The IRA vs Ulster Loyalists and Zealots vs Tax collectors: God brings hardened enemies together

Published by

An article on CBN, tells how the Holy Spirit is bringing together Catholics and protestants who were once deadly enemies in Northern Ireland. Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland and two decades ago it was the center of a violent conflict between Catholics and protestants as the Catholic Irish Republican Army (IRA) was seeking Northern Ireland’s independence from British rule. The Union Protestants loyal to the British government were literally in an armed conflict with the IRA trying to stop this from happening. War raged between the two factions for decades with British soldiers also thrown into the mix who were there to keep the peace. In 1998, a peace was reached between the warring factions and though the peace has held, there are still deep-seated resentments between the two groups. And today in Belfast there is a distinctive Catholic sector in the city marked by murals of the conflict twenty years ago. Though the two groups have put down their guns, God is trying to bring a heart-felt peace and a big …

A prophetic call to leadership?

Published by

Español: Un llamado profético de liderazgo? Earlier this year, the citizens of El Salvador elected Nayib Bukele as the country’s president in national elections held in February. Nothing unusual about that, but there are several things unusual about Bukele. First he is only 37 years of age and is the youngest person ever elected president in that country. He is also the youngest president in Central America. He managed to get elected as an independent. It’s a rare achievement to be elected president with no party affiliation as the last time that happened in El Salvador was in 1972. But what makes him truly unique is that he received three prophetic words and one warning encouraging the Christian businessman to run for president. Bukele was a successful businessman and city mayor and had no interest in running for president of the country. According to Charisma News, in a presentation to a group pastors, businessmen and local leaders at the end of July, Bukele unexpectedly shared his story on how he ended up as president. It …

‘Unplanned’ smashes box office expectations in Canada

Published by

Despite attacks from the radical left, politicians and the pro-choice crowd, the movie Unplanned did extremely well in Canadian movie theaters over the weekend. The movie is scheduled for a seven-day release running from July 12 through the 18th. Listing of theaters showing Unplanned at the end of the article. The movie tells the story of Abby Johnson’s conversion from the pro-choice movement to pro-life.  Abby worked as a director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in the US and dramatically changed her mind after witnessing the abortion of a 13-week-old baby. And Unplanned continues this tradition as according to its producers they have received  letters from many abortion workers have turned their backs on the abortion industry after viewing the film. According to reports, the movie earned an estimated $7,041 per screen based on reports from 49 Canadian theaters. This gave it the second highest per screen average in all of North America for that weekend. If the movie had shown in 1,500 theaters instead of 53, it could have grossed an unprecedented $5 …

The fight for religious freedoms in England and California

Published by

We live in interesting times. In 2016, the University of Sheffield in England kicked Felix Ngole out of its program because of a 2015 Facebook discussion. Ngole, a Christian, was attending post-graduate courses at the university with the intent of becoming a social worker. The Facebook thread involved a discussion of same-sex marriage and Ngole shared some Bible verses revealing his support of traditional marriage. A few months later an anonymous person made a complaint to the University of Sheffield who responded by kicking Ngole out of its program stating that he could not share his personal Christian opinions while attending the university. In fact, the university told Ngole he wouldn’t even be allowed to share his views off campus and that included in churches. But Ngole decided to fight this decision. Represented by Paul Diamond, an attorney who specializes in defending religious liberties, Ngole took the university to court. Though Ngole lost his initial court case, this past June, a three judge Court of Appeals ruled in Ngole’s favor stating: “The mere expression of …

Are Hong Kong protesters in a battle of good versus evil?

Published by

Christians are playing a major role in the massive protests taking place in Hong Kong in recent days. Millions of people have taken to the streets demanding freedom. The protests were sparked by the Hong Kong government’s introduction of an extradition bill that would allow the government to extradite people to countries where they committed crimes. The bill was sparked by a Hong Kong man who killed his girl friend while visiting her in Taiwan. The man fled back to Hong Kong and the Taiwanese government asked for his return. However, if passed this law would also allow China to demand extradition of Hong Kong citizens for prosecution, essentially giving China partial control of Hong Kong’s justice system. Currently, the people are allowed to freely express their views in Hong Kong, including criticism of China’s communist government. If this extradition law is passed, many believe the Chinese government will trump up charges against anti -communist Hong Kong activists and demand their extradition and begin to slowly weed out opposition in this way. Many also suspect …

U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of Christian bakers in Oregon

Published by

The US Supreme Court has just issued a decision  favoring two former Christian bakers based in Oregon. In 2013, a lesbian couple had asked Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery, owned by a Christian couple Aaron and Melissa Klein, to create a wedding cake. The Kleins refused, stating because of their faith they could not create a cake for a marriage they did not agree with. According to reports, the Kleins had previously made a cake for one of the members of this lesbian couple but balked at using their artistic skill to create one promoting same sex marriage. The Lesbian couple took the Kleins before Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries that fined the bakery $135,000 for the emotional damage inflicted on the Lesbian couple for not creating a cake worth about $400. The commissioner at the time allegedly took to social media reporting on his disdain for the Kleins before even coming down with his decision. This fine eventually led to the closing of the bakery. The Kleins appealed the case to an Oregon …

Should we pray for President Donald Trump?

Published by

When US President Donald Trump showed up unannounced at McLean Bible Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia this past weekend, David Platt, who pastors the mega church took the opportunity lay hands on the President and pray for him. Trump was visiting the community because of the recent shootings that resulted in the death of 12 people and came to the church on Sunday morning. Before he prayed, Pratt cited the passage in 1 Timothy where Paul exhorts believers to pray for those in authority including Kings. 2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (2 Timothy 2:1-2 ESV) Platt prayed for Trump for over two minutes and in his article, Todd Starnes provides a written record of what Platt prayed, saying in part: And we know, we need Your mercy. We need Your grace, we need Your help, we need Your wisdom …

Can’t buy or sell because of Conservative beliefs?

Published by

Tucked within the Book of Revelation, a vision of the end times given the Apostle John, he saw a time coming when people would not be able buy or sell if they did not take the mark of the beast. 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:17 NASV) Though there have been books written on the mark of the beast, we still have no idea what it involves, certainly I don’t. Some suggest it will be computerized chips that are inserted in our hands, but it’s doubtful a chip would be put on our forehead which is where John says it will also appear (Revelation 13:16). I don’t believe the mark of the beast has made its appearance yet, but the idea that people will not be able to buy or sell because of a person’s beliefs is already starting to show up. It involves the story …

Chinese Communist Party's hammer and sickle appearing along side McDonalds Credit: Phillip McMaster/Flickr/Creative Commons

Just in time for Easter: Chinese city offers a Judas’ reward for citizens turning in Christians

Published by

I have written several articles in the past how China has taken a sharp turn to the left under its latest president Xi Jingping. The communist trademark hammer and sickle is showing up in public displays around China. Now Asia News is reporting that the Chinese city of Guangzhou is offering rewards of as much as $1,500 US for people to turn in Christians to authorities. Over the previous couple of decades China entered an unprecedented time of prosperity and freedom. During this time, Christianity, that was flourishing in the underground church, moved above ground and this resulted in the construction of several mega churches. However, under Jingping this is all changing. The government is now cracking down on these churches. In early December, police demolished one of the the country’s largest church, The Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi Province, using dynamite and heavy machinery. As a result of this crackdown, Christians are heading back underground where they flourished before Jingping gained tyrannical control of the nation. Now the leaders of Guangzhou want its citizens …

Credit: Jaume Escofet/Flickr/Creative Commons

Britain can be a dangerous place for Christians

Published by

A stunning story out of Britain reveals how dangerous it is for Christian in that country. It involves a Christian from Iran wanting to immigrate to Britain. Now to be sure it is not only dangerous for Christians in Iran, but particularly for any Muslims who convert to Christianity because they face the death penalty if they don’t renounce their new faith. But the British newspaper, The Independent, recently reported that an Iranian Muslim man who had converted to Christianity was denied asylum in 2016 by the British Home Office for a reason that can only be described as bizarre. While being interviewed by the British Home Office, the man explained that he had converted to Christianity because he was tiring of the violence of Muslim extremists.  In comparison, he described Christianity as a peaceful religion. However, when the bureaucrat in Britain’s home office rejected this asylum claim, the person brazenly stated that the man was being rejected because Christianity was not a peaceful religion and cited several passages as evidence. The bureaucrat wrote: “These …

Ottawa Credit: Padraic Ryan/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Why an Ottawa city councilor opposed Michael Olsen’s volunteer appointment

Published by

It was a bizarre move, and some would argue a sign of the times, but a city of Ottawa councilor recently opposed the appointment of Michael Olsen to a volunteer position on the Ottawa’s transit board. With a population of nearly a million, Ottawa is the capital city of Canada and the city’s transit board has set aside one position for a member of the public. Over 92 people applied for the position on the board and it had been narrowed down to three and according to Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, he understood that Olsen was the transit commission’s top choice. So why did city Councillor Shawn Menard oppose Olsen’s appointment? Menard opposed it because Olsen, a retired Federal employee, is actively pro-life. A shocked Olsen told Lifesitenews, “What does this have to do with transit?” Nothing. Fortunately when Menard tried to thwart Olsen’s appointment, the city clerk, who also happened to be a lawyer, told city council that it couldn’t reject Olsen’s appointment because of his belief on abortion because it is protected under …

Caleb Hanna/Twitter/delegatehanna

Youngest black legislator in the US is a Christian

Published by

It was really encouraging to see that the youngest, black legislator in the United States has openly declared himself  a “Christian conservative.” With 60.3% of the vote, Caleb Hanna easily won a seat in West Virginia’s state legislature, also called the House of Delegates, defeating Dana Lynch, the Democratic incumbent. Hanna actually won the Republican nomination when he was just 18 years old while still in high school and then won his seat in the legislature at age 19. As a legislator he plans to continue his schooling as he works towards a degree in economics. He is unabashedly pro-life, supporting the unborn and was endorsed by West Virginia for Life, the state’s pro-life group. He attends Little Laurel Baptist Church and was an active part of his high school’s Christian youth group. During his campaign, Hanna told voters that not only did he support the 2nd amendment and the right to arms he said: “I will be a passionate, effective and conservative fighter for limited government, economic growth and the Constitution.” What really caught …

Credit: Erik Astrom/Flickr/Creative Commons

Study: Why conservatives are happier than those on the political left

Published by

In his interesting article posted on the Daily Wire, author Jeremy Frankel cited a study in the Elsevier Journal of Research in Personality, that stated a person’s political leanings determines how happy they are. The study entitled, “Conservatives are happier than Liberals, but why? Political ideology, personality and life satisfaction,” concluded that people who lean to the political right are happier than those on the left of the political spectrum. The authors of the study, Barry Schlenker, John Chambers and Bonnie Le, said in their abstract: “Political conservatives are happier than liberals. We proposed that this happiness gap is accounted for by specific attitude and personality differences associated with positive adjustment and mental health.” They concluded that there are several reasons why Conservatives are happier. First Conservatives take personal responsibility for what is happening to them. It is not somebody else’s job to make your life better. They believe it is up to the individuals to take responsibility for what is happening to them, even if they were taken advantage by others. In contrast, those …

Credit: YouTube capture/The Last Reformation

Did Danish mainline media hit piece on evangelist Torben Søndergaard distort the truth?

Published by

In my previous life, I worked for an organization that often waded into political issues as it believed in smaller government and lower taxes. Shortly after I began working for them, I started getting harassing phone calls from an older gentlemen who believed the exact opposite. But the main gist of his conversation revolved around the accusation, that the organization I was working for was a front for another group that held a similar opinion. Now I completely respected this other non-profit organization. In fact, it wouldn’t have bothered me if we were associated with them. But we weren’t. After he called me three or four more times repeating this accusation, I finally got tired of it and in what would ultimately be my last conversation with him, he said that despite my denials he knew it was true. I answered: “Sir, the last thing you are interested in is the truth.” There was stunned silence on the other end of the phone and it was obvious by the brief conversation that followed I had …

China's communist revival Credit: Jeroen Elfferich/Flickr/Creative Commons

You shall have no other gods except Xi Jinping?

Published by

It was bizarre move. But Bitter Winter, an organization monitoring Christian persecution in China, reported on November 1, 2018 approximately 30 Chinese officials entered a church service in the Dongcun city in Henan province and demanded the congregation remove the first of the Ten commandments that the church had displayed on its wall. The commandment in question is of course: 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3 NIV) The officials were working with the United Front Work Department and were there to inspect the church.  According to Bitter Winter, one of the officials went to the front of the church and actually removed the first commandment leaving just nine. When a member of the church protested stating this was distorting the Bible, the official stated: “[China’s president] Xi Jinping opposes this statement. Who dares not to cooperate? If anyone disagrees they are fighting against the country. This is a national policy. You should have a clear understanding of the situation. Don’t go against the government.” It is a strange situation when a …

Franklin Graham speaking in Lincoln, Nebraska as part of his 2016 Decision America tour Credit: Matt A.J./Wikipedia

Facebook apologizes for censoring Franklin Graham’s post

Published by

Facebook recently apologized for closing down Evangelist Franklin Graham’s Facebook page for 24 hours. According to a Foxnews report, a moderator (one of 15,000) working for the giant social media company pulled Graham’s page based on a post the evangelist wrote in 2016 defending North Carolina’s House Bill 2 (HB20 law. The state introduced the law after the city of Charlotte introduced a regulation allowing people to use public washrooms based on the sex that they identified with. This meant, that a person born a biological male, but who now identified as female, would be allowed to use a female washroom and shower. HB2 was intended to modify the Charlotte regulation. After this legislation was introduced, there was an immediate backlash from activists. In an April 9, 2016, post Graham responded to Bruce Springsteen’s decision to cancel a concert in the state because of HB2: Bruce Springsteen, a long-time gay rights activist, has cancelled his North Carolina concert. He says the NC law #HB2 to prevent men from being able to use women’s restrooms and locker rooms …

De Peer city hall Credit: Royalbroil/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Big court case defends religious freedom in small city

Published by

It was an early Christmas present for churches in De Pere, Wisconsin and perhaps across the US. On Friday, December 21, 2018, the Pacific Justice Institute was in court in Green Bay, Wisconsin successfully defending religious freedom. The case revolved around an ordinance passed by De Pere, Wisconsin in November 2017. De Pere is a small city with about 25,000 residents, but the court case was huge and if left unchallenged could have set a precedent across the US. The law that came in effect in March, 2018, decreed that churches were for the most part “places of public accommodation.” Churches were only exempt from this ordinance during church actual services. This meant at all other times, churches, as places of accommodation, were subject to the city’s non discrimination law. This meant churches would be required to hire gay staff and would be restricted from what they could say publicly on sexual ethics including sermons posted on the internet. The law would also force churches to allow their facilities to be used for gay marriage. …

Monument displaying Communism's hammer and sickle being installed in a park in China: Credit: Serpentaz/Youtube capture

The Communist revival and rising persecution of Christians

Published by

Two recent stories this Christmas season reveal Communism’s utter hatred for Christians and it is concerning because it may be a foretaste of what is coming in North America as some political parties seem to be taking a radical turn to the left. Writing for Faithwire, Vernon Brewer shared a story of what is happening in North Korea under its Communist despot Kim Jong-un.  Brewer regularly helps bring Bibles into North Korea that is not only dangerous for him, but those receiving them. On one of his journeys into the communist country, he shared a story told him by a young man who Brewer referred to as Eun to protect his identity. Eun was in the third grade when his teacher made an unusual request of her class: “When you go home, I want you to look for a book. Normally [the book] is black. Normally it’s hidden, and your mom or dad read it when you are asleep. If you look hard enough, you can find the book. And if you bring it, we …

Nativity scene in France Credit: (required by the license) © Guillaume Piolle / CC BY 3.0/Wikipedia

Did an ‘all-knowing’ God impregnate Mary without her consent?

Published by

Minnesota State University (MSU) professor Eric Sprankle recently received his 15 minutes of fame when he  tweeted that God impregnated, Mary, the mother of Jesus, without her consent. Similar to many provocateurs, Sprankle sent the tweet out purposefully during the Christmas season. In his tweet, Sprankle wrote: The virgin birth story is about an all-knowing, all-powerful deity impregnating a human teen. There is no definition of consent that would include that scenario. Happy Holidays. — Eric Sprankle, PsyD (@DrSprankle) December 3, 2018 Apparently, Sprankle considers himself as an expert on sexuality and leads the Sexual Health Research Team at MSU and now he claims to be an expert on theology and the Bible as well. Well, let’s take a closer look at Sprankle’s tweet. He describes God as “all-knowing,”  In theological terms, God is “omniscient” which mean He knows everything, past, present and future. So if God is all-knowing, would He know if Mary would consent to being impregnated? Obviously yes. And that is exactly what happened in the birth story found in Luke. An …

Credit: Marc D. Thomas/Flickr/Creative Commons

Beware of wolves wearing ‘I Love Jesus’ hats?

Published by

This story out of Chesterfield, Virginia, may serve as a warning for Churches across North America. Times are changing and Christians need to take note. Late in the evening on election day, November 6, 2018, a man wearing a black hat with the words “I (heart image) Jesus” imprinted on it broke into Ironbridge Baptist Church. The church had earlier served as a polling station, but the building was now closed. Apparently one of the doors had not locked properly or perhaps was left ajar. A man, between 20 and 30 years old, entered the church found Bibles and began ripping pages out of them. He then shattered a nearby window and spray painted a wall. The church estimates damage was minimal at around $500. The intruder was caught on surveillance cameras and according to the Ironbridge’s executive pastor, Dennis Green, there is indication the “I Love Jesus” man knew his way around the building. Though this happened at night when no one is around, why was he so familiar with the church? Now we …

US Capitol Building, Washington, DC Credit: Jason OX4/Flickr/Creative Commons

A time to pray, a time to vote: A message from an “almost” American

Published by

It is election day in the USA and I would urge all the American Christians who visit this website to get out and vote. Even though I am a Canadian and can’t vote in the US, I consider these elections important. Now to be fair, I am almost an American. When my maternal grandfather died over three decades ago at the age of 100, my parents made an unusual discovery as they were completing the necessary paper work. They found out that grandpa Walter was not a Canadian citizen. He immigrated to Canada from the US in the early 1900s and never bothered to complete the paperwork of citizenship. He was effectively still an American. And because he was an American, who had been born in the US, my Canadian mother could automatically become an American citizen, which she did becoming a dual citizen. Though she was an American, because she was not born in the US, her children did not have the same privilege. If we wanted to become Americans we would have to …

The White House Credit: Adam Fagen/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is the White House haunted?

Published by

In an interview on The Today Show in mid October, Jenna Bush Hager, 36, the daughter of former US President George W Bush, claims that the American White House may be haunted. Jenna spoke of the time when she and her twin sister were awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call and suddenly started hearing “1920s piano music, as clear as day, coming out of the fireplace.” Frightened she jumped into bed with her sister who also heard the music. The next week they heard opera music. Jenna’s sister Barbara confirmed the story was true in a 2017 interview with People and E! News stating that the incident was “the wildest thing that ever happened to us living in the White House.” Barbara added that the two thought of running to their parent’s room but talked themselves out of it. If it is not their imagination, could this be signs of demonic activity in the White House? One of the stranger stories in the Old Testament involved a spiritual battle to …

Priscilla Shirer: YouTube capture

Don’t be out of step with the Gospel in terms of race

Published by

I was recently struck by the words of Priscilla Shirer, 44. She is a black woman, a motivational speaker, TV host, author, preacher and founder of Going Beyond Ministries. Priscilla recently had her first acting role in the Christian movie War Room playing Elizabeth, the wife of Tony Jordan. Chuck Bernal, the pastor of Lifepoint Church, recently shared a video on Facebook of some profound statements Priscilla made about race, politics and the Christian faith. On the video that has been viewed nearly 7.5 million times, Priscilla said: “I do not describe myself as a black woman because that gives too much power to my blackness. “I don’t want my race to be the describing adjective of who I am as a woman. I am not a black woman. I am a Christian woman who happens to be black. “It’s the job of your adjective to describe the noun of who you are. If there’s gonna be an adjective describing me it’s not gonna be my race, it’s going to be I’m a woman who …

Credit: Wonderland/Flickr/Creative Commons

Over 1.4k have committed to attend a Witchcraft event to hex Brett Kavanaugh and others

Published by

According to an event posted on Facebook, nearly 1,400 people have committed to attend a rally in New York City to put a hex on the recent Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. What is perhaps equally disturbing another 13,000 have stated they are interested in the event being sponsored by an occult book store in New York city. The event is scheduled for Saturday, October 20, 2018 in Brooklyn. According to Fox News media personality Tucker Carlson,  the event “will include an optional $10 donation” with part of the proceeds going to “Planned Parenthood, to ‘fund their own human sacrifice rituals.’” Though the event will focus on Brett Kavanaugh, he won’t be the only target as it will also focus on rapists and the patriarchy. But equally concerning is the motivation behind the hexes, the Facebook event page goes on to say that the people attending should bring their rage: “He will be the focal point, but by no means the only target, so bring your rage and and all of the axes you’ve got …

Credit: Ashers Baking Co/Ashersbakingco.com

Supreme court rules in favor of freedom of speech and conscience in England

Published by

The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court issued a ruling of sanity in favor of an Evangelical couple, Daniel and Amy McArthur, who manage a family owned bakery, Ashers Baking Co. in Northern Ireland. In 2014, Northern Ireland was embroiled in a campaign to legalize gay marriage and a gay activist approached the bakery’s Netwonabbey location to have it create a cake supporting the gay marriage campaign. The activist wanted a photo of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie along with the words “Support Gay Marriage” written on the top of the cake. Though an employee in initially took the order, the McArthurs later turned it down stating that they would not be able to make the cake because of their Christian beliefs. The activists took the case to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland that ruled against the company and ordered them to produce the cake within seven days. The owners refused and have been embroiled in a series of court cases ever since, that finally ended up in the Supreme Court. The Christian Institute of England …

Lund University, Sweden Credit: Nick Thompson/Flickr/Creative Commons

Swedish neuroscience professor under fire for saying there are biological differences between men and women

Published by

Sweden’s renowned neuroscience professor Dr. Germund Hesslow was teaching a class in a course called “Heritage and Environment” at Lund University when a student asked a question about sex, unrelated to the class topic. Hesslow came under attack after he answered the question by stating research shows that there are differences between the female and male sex that are “biologically founded.” In other words, some of the differences between men and women are due to biology and not because of societal expectations and pressures. University of Toronto Psychology professor Jordan Peterson has come under similar criticism for stating that the difference in the pay gap between men and women is not because of discrimination, though that is a small part of it, but due largely to biology and the different interests of men and women. He even cites statistics from Scandinavian countries that show women are clearly more interested in fields related to people such as medicine and teaching, while men focus more on the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). Since the STEM …

Beijing, China Credit: Oneris Daniel Rico Garcia/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is China’s ‘social credit’ system setting the stage for the antichrist?

Published by

Some experts are warning that other left-leaning governments may soon be tempted to carry out the Chinese government’s “Social Credit” system that came into full effect on May 1, 2018. The plan introduced by Chinese President Jinping will monitor and control those who don’t agree with China’s communistic policies. People will be issued a score based on their political, social and economic activities and this score will affect their ability to do things in China. Some suspect it is simply expanding a “Social Credit” system already developed by a major government-owned online Chinese retailer Alibaba. Alibaba’s financial division, Ant Financial, developed a social credit system called Sesame Credit. While many western businesses have a point system rewarding people based on how much they buy, Sesame Credit includes a strong social aspect in its system where people receive a rating between 350 and 950. The higher the score the better. The benefits of a high Sesame score include having government visa’s fast tracked, renting vehicles without a deposit. People with high Sesame ratings will even receive …

Matagalpa, Nicaragua Credit: Jono Hey/Flickr/Creative Commons

Antichrist Marxism rearing its head in Nicaragua?

Published by

Things have taken a dark turn for Christians in Nicaragua being ruled by its Marxist president and former guerilla Daniel Ortega. Though a democracy, Ortega has recently declared Christians “enemies of the state.” With a population of six million people, Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. About half the population is Catholic and another third consider themselves evangelical. There have been growing public protests against Ortega’s regime because of its rampant corruption, growing totalitarianism and gross mismanagement of the economy. The anti-government protestors are calling for Ortega to step down and call an early election. Ortega has taken to violence to oppose the protests and even set up a secret police force who wear masks or hoods to attack those opposing the regime.. Because of the growing crack down on the anti-government protests, the UN sent a commission to Nicaragua to monitor the situation. After the UN issued a report condemning Ortega for his violence, the president ordered the UN out of the country on September 1. Since April this year, about 300 …

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil at night Credit: Rafael Defavari/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Spiritual warfare: Attempted assassination of Christian presidential candidate in Brazil

Published by

[UPDATED] According to the Brazilian newspaper, O Globo, there was an assassination attempt on a Conservative politician in Brazil. Senator Jair Bolsonaro is campaigning to become the next president of Brazil in an election scheduled for October. With 22% of the support, Bolsonaro is the front-runner. Bolsonaro has taken a very pro family and pro Christian position during the campaign and has openly solicited Christian support. He is also taken a strong stand against the corruption that has rocked the previous Brazilian administration and as well vehemently opposed the violent elements in the communist and left-wing movement in Brazil. Some have referred to Bolsonaro as the Trump of South America because of his strait talk on issues facing Braizil While being carried along by a large crowd during a campaign stop in Mina Gerais earlier this week, a person in the crowd attacked Bolsonaro with a knife. He was quickly carried off by his security detail and police arrested the attacker. Fortunately, Bolsonaro was wearing a bullet proof vest and the knife cut was superficial …

Church in Montbovon, Switzerland Credit: keepps/Flickr/Creative Commons

Stopping the ‘social justice’ creep into the church

Published by

A number of evangelicals have recently organized to oppose the growing intrusion of “social justice” into evangelical churches. The group has issued a Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel where they are expressing their concerns about this philosophy that is becoming increasing popular in the secular world and is now making its way into the Christian one. In their statement, they say: “We are deeply concerned that values borrowed from secular culture are currently undermining Scripture in the areas of race and ethnicity, manhood and womanhood, and human sexuality,” declares the statement.” At this point, over 4,500 Christian leaders have signed the petition. I remember a couple of years back during testimony time at the church we were attending, a woman came to the front and expressed how the church needs to become concerned about “social justice” and the unfairness in the world. It seemed so spiritual, but is it? The problem is that this social justice push is trying to reinterpret the Bible. The Bible speaks often of justice, but now where does …

Red Kangaroos Credit: David Cook/Flickr/Creative Commons

Australia has its first Pentecostal Prime Minister

Published by

Over the weekend, the Australian Liberal party elected Scott Morrison. 50, as Prime Minister of Australia after the party’s leader Malcolm Turnbull resigned on Friday after realizing he no longer had the majority support of his party. Morrison won the nomination in an election run off with two other contenders. Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Morrison served as the country’s treasurer, social services minister and minister in charge of immigration and border protection. In Australia, the Liberal party is considered a center-right party with its main opposition the Labour party considered center left. There has been a lot of political upheaval in Australia recently as Morrison will be Australia’s sixth Prime Minister in the past 10 years. What makes Morrison’s nomination interesting is that he is Australia’s first openly Pentecostal Prime Minister. He and his family regularly attend Horizon Church, a 2,200 member Assemblies of God church in Sydney, Australia. He grew up in a Christian family and according to Reverend Ray Green, the pastor of the church his family attended, as a teenager, Morrison …

Camel caravan in Saudi Arabia Credit: Linda Polik/Flickr/Creative Commons

Defending Saudi Arabia

Published by

Recently, a huge fight erupted between Canada and Saudi Arabia. If you have not heard about this, you are probably saying “What? Who? Why?” I worked in a large university in Canada, and I taught students from Saudi. Thousands of them go to universities in Canada. The female students removed their veils in my classroom and one of them forgot hers on a table one day. That was the only veil in lost-and-found, when I dropped it off. Canada probably trains most Saudi medical doctors in its medical schools. The two countries have a history, but it’s mostly friendly. Until the blow-up happened, most of us could never imagine those two countries disagreeing about anything. RELATED: Gunter: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince is just using the Liberals to look tough Conservative Islam is the religion of Saudi Arabia; there is no doubt. If you ask the what they believe, they will tell you, … and tell you, … and tell you; and they will try to convert you. That was my experience in the classroom. I’m …