All posts filed under: Religious

Benny Hinn in 2019

Prosperity preacher, Benny Hinn, reveals his two biggest regrets

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Popular and equally controversial televangelist, Benny Hinn, revealed his two biggest ministry regrets in an interview with Stephen Strange, the Christian Post reports. The first regret that Hinn, 71, pointed to was his failure to address the inaccurate and false prophecies that were delivered during his meetings by himself and others. He specifically cited outside ministries that had uttered prophecies during his meetings, that “brought harm to not only people’s lives but also to my reputation.” He then cited some of his own failed prophecies and stated that no one is perfect. Hinn added, “sadly — and I wish I could go back and fix it — but sadly, there were some prophecies I gave that were not accurate or from the Lord.” His second-greatest regret was his emphasis or perhaps his overemphasis on the prosperity message because he still believes in certain aspects of what is referred to as the prosperity gospel. Hinn admitted that there were elements of this message that he labeled as ‘gimmikry’ and because of the pressure to raise money, …

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX

Can the Southern Baptist church’s declining membership be due to its resistance to the Holy Spirit?

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The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) finally has some good news, the number of people being water baptized in the famed denomination has nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels, ChurchLeaders.com reports. Last year, over 226,000 people were water baptized, an increase of 26% over the previous year. This is a reason to celebrate in a denomination that includes water baptism as part of its name. However, there was also some bad news. For the 17th year in a row, the denomination’s membership declined, sinking below the 13 million mark for the first time since the 70s. Though membership shrunk by 1.8% in 2023, a loss of about a quarter of a million, it was less than in previous years, so there was a hint of good news in the midst of the bad. A strange thing started happening in 2006, for the first time in its storied history that traces back to the 1800s, the SBC’s membership started declining. From its peak of 16.3 million members, it has declined every year since. Now, we could blame the …

How a supernatural vision led to one of the largest water baptisms in America’s history

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Jesus told His disciples, “My sheep hear my voice” and I believe the Lord speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. We see an example of this in Acts 8, when Philip encountered the Ethiopian Eunuch. We are told that God spoke to Philip in two ways. First, we are told that an Angel of the Lord appeared to Philip telling him, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (verse 26). Some suggest the angel may have spoken to Philip through a vision or a dream. Then as Philip walked down this road, we read that Jesus communicated with Philip again when he encountered a chariot, but in a different way. “Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot,’” Luke writes in verse 29. We are not told specifically how the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip, but it does not appear to be through a prophetic word or word of knowledge given by another individual. The Holy Spirit communicated this message directly to Philip, who …

Pastor Glen Germany facing alleged assailant during Sunday morning service, May 5, 2024

Pastor miraculously saved as gun misfires during Sunday service

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A miracle unfolded during a church service in Pennsylvania this past Sunday (May 5, 2024), the Daily Mail reports. Pastor Glenn Germany was preaching at the Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church, in North Braddock, PA, when a young man allegedly stood up, walked down the aisle with a gun, pointed it directly at Germany, and pulled the trigger. Everything was caught on camera as the service was being live-streamed. Miraculously, the gun misfired. Clarence McCallister, one of the church’s deacons, immediately leaped out of his pew, and tackled the alleged shooter, Bernard Polite, before he could fire again. Both Germany and McCallister were able to detain the young man who seemed to be struggling with mental health issues until the police arrived. Pastor Germany added that Polite actually apologized for what happened and allegedly told the pastor ‘Look, spirits was in my mind. They got in my mind and they told me come in and shoot the pastor.’ Germany added that he has already forgiven the alleged shooter, but added that the most difficult part was …

Ex-Latin Kings gang member now preaches the Gospel

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Fox News had an interesting story about how a former member of the Latin Kings Nation is now preaching the gospel and serving God. Having just served a lengthy prison term, Andy “Rebirth” Pellerano became a Christian after surviving a near fatal drug overdose. Today, he is not only preaching the Gospel, but also sings and in 2018 won Nola Gospel Rap Artist of the Year. In an interview on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Pellerano explained how his gang life started. “I was around 14, 15 years old and I let five grown men jump me so I could be their friend, as I like to put it,” Pellerano said. “So what would I have to do to keep that friendship? And it led to a first-degree attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault, one count of aggravated criminal damage. It was gang-related. I was 16, I made 17. I was charged as an adult.” But a close call with a drug overdose resulted in him starting to go to church, and ultimately transformed his life. …

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

The Holy Spirit is continuing to move on Gen Z at the University of Tennessee

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Despite the negative reports of the rampant violence and antisemitism occurring in American universities, we have another report on how the Holy Spirit is moving on university campuses. This involves a recent outpouring at the University of Tennessee on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, CBN reports. Over 8,000 students gathered at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN, which saw hundreds of students respond, and 150 get water baptized. This was the last event of the year for the semester, and it was obvious many students were impacted. “We have been waiting for a move like this all school year,” a student told FOX & Friends. “At the finale of the event we were singing ‘Speak the Name of Jesus’ and students just rushed to the front. I brought my buddy and it brought us to our knees. There are just no words for the experience.” “Just seeing the presence of the Lord fill the room and how people from all different backgrounds came together for one reason and to worship Jesus is just so awesome,” another female …

Inside Iran's Parliament

Is a demonic angel, the Prince of Persia, influencing the government of Iran?

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As we watch events unfolding in the Middle East, it is clear that Iran is a major instigator of the problems involving attacks on Israel. Iran is believed to be providing both financial and armament support to several terrorist groups in the region, including Hamas (Gaza), Hezbollah (Lebanon), and Houthis rebels (Yemen). Even other Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, which was actually attacked by the Iranian-backed Houthis in 2019, are concerned about Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East. As I have mentioned in an earlier article, before 1935, Iran was commonly referred to by its ancient name Persia. In a recent Christian Post article, Jason Jimenez wonders if the issues we are seeing in Iran today are being instigated by powerful demonic forces that are influencing the country’s political leaders, whom even the Iranian people despise. Jimenez asks if the Bible’s description of a powerful fallen angel, who influenced Persia in its ancient past, is exerting itself once again? In Daniel 10, the prophet Daniel, who was living in Persia (verse one), …

Tucker Carlson speaking at the 2023 Turning Point Action Conference, West Palm Beach, Florida

Tucker Carlson suggests UFOs are actually manifestations of spiritual beings in an interview with Joe Rogan

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In a recent interview with Podcaster Joe Rogan, former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson revealed his opinion on the appearance of UFOs and in some instances even aliens, the Christian Post reports. While some believe the Earth is actually being visited by aliens from other planets, others believe that many of the UFOs are actually evidence of advanced technology created by governments. However, the first thing that Tucker points to is that in the Bible’s Book of Ezekiel, the prophet saw similar types of unidentified flying objects. Obviously, these flying objects were not created by some top-secret government agency, 2,500 years ago. Instead, Ezekiel identified these beings as angelic. “It’s not American technology or Russian or Chinese. It predates all of that,” Carlson noted. “I mean the prophet Ezekiel writes about it in the first chapter, wheels in the sky.” “These are spiritual phenomena. There’s no evidence they’re from another planet,” Carlson added. “They’ve been here for thousands of years, whatever ‘they’ are, and it’s pretty clear to me that they’re spiritual entities, whatever that …

Frogs in the kettle: Christians in America

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Jeff King, the president of International Christian Concern (ICC), warned that Christians in America are like frogs in a boiling pot of water and seem blissfully unaware of their slowly changing environment. “Too many people are not aware politically, and they’re so used to thinking of how things were that they can’t figure out where these bubbles are coming from, not realizing they’re being cooked,” King said in a recent interview with the Christian Post. The ICC president noted that this growing persecution and censorship of Christians is on display in a recent court case involving a Texas teacher, Staci Barber. Barber, along with two other teachers, were allegedly reprimanded by their school principal for participating in a “See You At the Pole,” an international prayer event where students, teachers, and parents gather at the flagpoles of schools around the world to pray. These events typically take place before the start of the school day. The principal allegedly told the teachers that the Katy Independent School District, located near Houston, does not allow teachers to …

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome.

Catholic organization immediately defrocks AI priest after complaints

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Catholic Answers, a San Diego-based lay Catholic organization, had set up an Artificial Intelligence (AI) animated priest, complete with a white collar, priestly vestments, and a beard, who would answer questions about the Catholic faith, the Western Journal reports. The AI called Father Justin was named after Justin Martyr, who was beheaded for his faith by the Romans around 165 AD. The goal was to have the AI priest serve as a search engine of sorts. “Although this is not a substitute for human interaction with a priest, teacher, or spiritual advisor, we believe it can be a valuable tool to help our users better understand and articulate the teachings of the Catholic Church,” Catholic Answers stated in its news release. However, after receiving numerous complaints that Father Justin’s cartoonish look demeaned both real priests and their calling, the Catholic organization was forced to almost immediately defrock him.

Christian teachers fled California to start anti-woke online K-12 school in Florida

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A Christian couple, Joshua and Kali Fontanilla, quit their teaching jobs in California in 2021 and moved to Florida to start what they describe as an anti-woke, school, the Daily Mail reports. They wanted to counter the politicization taking place in schools across America. Their online school called, the Exodus Institute, teaches traditional American values to those from kindergarten to grade 12. When they started in 2022, they only had one student. Today, the school, with its motto ‘Exist Public Education,’ has over 200 students enrolled in its K-12 program. “It’s gotten to the point in public schools where you can’t just mind your own business and keep your politics to yourself because they push it on everyone that you have to participate in liberal politics,” Joshua told the Daily Mail. In explaining their decision to start the school, Kali said that a lot changed from when she first started teaching over 20 years ago. “There are a lot of things teachers didn’t have to face at that time.” Kali, 41, said. “There wasn’t pressure …

Russell Brand in September 2020

Russel Brand announced plans to be baptized on Sunday, April 28, 2024

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Russel Brand, a controversial British comedian, actor, and podcaster, just announced on April 26, that he will be getting baptized this Sunday (April 28, 2024), Fox News reports. Over the past several months, Brand has been expressing an increased interest in the Christian faith. This included videos stating that he has started reading the Bible and notable Christian author, CS Lewis. In one video, he also explained his decision to wear a Christian cross and even discussed the possibility of getting water baptized. “What’s been explained to me is, it’s an opportunity to die and be reborn. An opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ’s name,” Brand said in his most recent video. “Like it says in Galatians: that you can live as an enlightened and awakened person,” Brand added. He also said that as the world seems to be getting crazier, he has noticed a growing interest in the Christian faith. “People are so cynical about the increasing interest in Christianity and the return to God, but to me, it’s …

Individual waving Israeli flag at night in Jerusalem.

An old question: How much do you hate Israel?

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We all know that there is a struggle between the State of Israel and Hamas, a militant group that ‘was’ in control of the Palestinian territory of Gaza. ‘Was’ in control, because after a Hamas raid on Israel, the Israeli army attacked Hamas in Gaza. I’m sure we all know something about this armed conflict, and I don’t need to add to the information in the news. Hopefully, this tragic war can come to a conclusion, and people in the region can return to their peacetime lives. You probably also know about the protests on college and university campuses, against the State of Israel. Some statements, made by some protesters, are scary and abusive. The police are involved, and they have arrested hundreds. One of the strangest claims about the recent protests is that some of the anti-Israel sponsors are Jewish. So apparently, wealthy Jewish people are supporting protesters who call for the end of the Jewish nation. This has been reported by journalists in many parts of the world. This link is from India: …

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2016

Iran’s role in the end times

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When discussing Iran, we need to separate the views of the country’s citizens from those of its tyrannical leader. Iran is currently controlled by an Islamic fundamentalist, Ali Khamenei, who serves as the country’s Supreme Leader, an unelected position. Though there are elections in the country for the country’s legislature, the Supreme Leader decides who will serve as president and cabinet ministers and ultimately approves or disapproves of any legislation that is passed. As a hard-line extremist, Ali Khamenei is not only seeking to construct nuclear weapons, he has also called for Israel to be eliminated. Though most Iranians want to see an end to the tyrannical rule and have democracy restored in the country, they are oddly in agreement with Ali Khamenei’s desire for war with Israel, for different reasons though. In an interview with CBN, Lily Meschi of Iran Alive Ministries explains the difference. Lily was born in Iran’s capital city, Tehran, Faithwire reports. “The Iranian government is totally separated from the citizens,” Meschi explained. “The Iranian people are not for the government; …

Man walking with Bible under his arm.

More Gen Z say the Bible is transforming their lives, survey finds

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There was a bit of good news in a recent survey of Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, conducted by the American Bible Society, CBN reports. For the past 14 years, the American Bible Society has been asking Americans how much they engaged in the Bible. Based on how much they read the Bible and believe it is relevant to their everyday lives, the State of the Bible survey sorts Americans into three basic groups, ‘scripturally engaged’, ‘moveable middle’, and ‘disengaged’. Overall the survey found that the percentage of people who are considered ‘disengaged’ from the Bible, was at its highest percentage, 57%, in the survey’s 14-year history. This was up from 53% the previous year. However, amid this overall decline, the 2024 survey found that Gen Z was bucking this trend with 54% stating their lives had been transformed by reading the Bible, up from 50% the previous year. Another group that showed improvement was Black Americans. The survey found that the number of Black Americans who ‘engaged’ the Bible had increased …

Ikeja, Nigeria

How one Nigerian Christian came to terms with the horrific persecution taking place in that country

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There is a horrific persecution of Christians taking place in Nigeria by Islamic extremists. According to a report published by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, an estimated 8,000 Christians were killed in that country last year because of their faith, some in horrific ways. The non-governmental agency added that 50,000 Christians have been killed in that country by Muslim extremists since 2009. Along with this, over 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools were set on fire. In a recent op-ed for the Christian Post, Oscar Amaechina, who serves as the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria, wrote about his personal struggles dealing with this horrific persecution of believers. “I have persistently asked God in the past why He would not protect His servants,” Amaechina wrote. “I expected God to arise and fight for the Nigerian Christians, but He remained silent.” “I wept profusely when I saw the video of how Lawan Andimi, the chairman of a local chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), was beheaded,” he continued, …

Arch of Triumph, Paris, France

Over 12,000 people were water-baptized in France on Easter Sunday

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Despite reports that France is going through what is described as a period of ‘de-Christianization’, a remarkable thing took place in Catholic Churches across France on Easter Weekend as over 12,000 people were water baptized, CBN reports. The Catholic Church focuses on baptizing infants, who are baptized without making a faith commitment. However, the number of infants being baptized has been declining for several years, making what happened on Easter Sunday even more significant. This is because the majority of the baptisms, 7100, involved adults and the remaining 5,000 were between the ages of 11 to 17. In other words, they involved people making the conscious choice to be baptized. France’s Roman Catholic Church traditionally hosts adult baptisms at Easter, and the number this year not only set a record but was 31% higher than the number of water baptisms at last year’s event. Also, young adults are expressing a renewed interest in faith, as the number of people between the ages of 18 and 25 being water baptized rose from 23% in 2023 to …

Worship service at Community Church in Brighton, Michigan

Lamenting the decline of cultural Christianity

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One of the metaphors that Jesus used to describe the influence of Christianity was salt. Christians are to be the salt of the world and through that be a positive influence on society. In the analogy, the Lord was asking what happens if believers lose their saltiness. Essentially, they would become useless and thrown out (Matthew 5:13). But aside from Christians losing their saltiness, other forces are at work to remove the Christian influence from the world. Perhaps one of the key leaders of this movement has been former Oxford University professor Richard Dawkins, 83. An evolutionary biologist and atheist, he has been at the forefront, publicly criticizing religion and Christianity in particular. He wrote a popular bestseller, The God Delusion, as part of his battle to discredit faith. But in a recent interview with Rachel Johnson on Britain’s LBC at the end of March, we have seen a slight change in Dawkins’s tune. In no way has he become a man of faith, but Dawkins is lamenting the loss of the Christian influence in …

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho State, USA

18-year-old arrested after FBI uncovered his plot to attack a church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in the name of ISIS

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The FBI arrested an eighteen-year-old Idaho teen on Saturday, April 6, 2024, alleging he was plotting a mass killing the next day at a church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in the name of ISIS, an Islamic extremist group, Fox News reports. Alexander Mercurio was arrested after he revealed the details of his plot to a man at a hotel. That man turned out to be an FBI informant. After initially researching white supremacists, Mercurio looked into ISIS and concluded he was more suited for this extremist group and actually made contact with members of ISIS detailing his plot. According to the FBI, Mercurio had made a “ba’yah statement, pledging his allegiance to ISIS.”  The FBI stumbled upon Mercurio during their investigation of a network of ISIS supporters in the US providing financial assistance to the terrorist organization. It’s alleged that Mercurio initially planned to assault his father, handcuff him, steal his guns, and then proceed to the church he had chosen for the attack. He further described his parents as “very Christian and conservative.” According …

John Cooper performing with Skillet in 2017

Skillet frontman, John Cooper, facing death threats over the title of his book

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Things are definitely taking a negative turn for Christians in America, and it was perhaps best demonstrated by comments made by John Cooper in an episode of ‘Politically Rude,’ hosted by Abby Johnson, Church Leaders reports. Cooper, who is the lead singer for the Christian rock band, Skillet, recently published a book in November 2023 entitled, “Wimpy, Weak, and Woke: How Truth Can Save America From Utopian Destruction.” The book focuses on the “philosophies behind utopian dreams that become dystopian nightmares, and presents a positive vision for how we can thrive and flourish.” The book states that man’s solutions will not cure the raging ails of the world, and only God is the solution. In an interview with Church Leaders, Cooper added that the trouble started long before the book was printed and actually began when he released the title of the book. Initially, it resulted in “absolute hate and cussing” and people telling him to “go to hell.” This would have been fine because Cooper is used to this type of hate because of …

Old pickup truck on a farm

Holy Spirit on the move again, resulting in water baptisms in the back of pickup trucks at the University of Georgia

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Over the past year, we have seen the Holy Spirit moving on several university campuses across the US, resulting in hundreds of people being saved. But perhaps, one of the more intriguing spin-offs has been the number of students also getting water baptized. We have seen people being spontaneously water baptized at a lake at Alabama’s Auburn University and more recently in the water fountain at Florida State University. But certainly, this next story may top the list of unusual baptisms as dozens of people were baptized in tanks located in the back of pickup trucks at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, CBN reports. The university, which is based in St. Athens, GA, has a student population of just over 40,000. Between 7,000 and 8,000 students attended the faith event held at Stegeman Coliseum led by Jennie Allen and Jonathan Pokluda. Allen founded IF:Gathering and Pokluda pastors Harris Creek Baptist church in Waco, Texas. Allen has been organizing faith events, called Unite, at University campuses across the US since 2023. During …

A photo of the 1900 Oberammergau Passion Play portraying Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey

The world’s largest Passion play

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Oberammergau is a small town of 5,000 residents in Bavaria, Germany, and is best known for hosting the world’s largest Passion play, the Western Journal reports. It is held roughly every ten years or so because of a pledge that town citizens made in 1634 during the height of the devastating Bubonic plague that swept Europe, killing between and third and half of the population. The citizens vowed that if God spared their community, they would hold a Passion play every ten years and according to tradition, the village was largely spared despite people with the plague coming to the village. The Passion play typically involves 2,000 of the town’s residents as actors, singers, and production workers and can last between five and seven hours, with one break for lunch. Only people who are residents of the town and 20 years or older are allowed to participate. In preparation, for the performance men who are playing leading roles, often start growing their beards and hair on Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, the previous year. …

Jenny Weaver, founder of Core Group

Former witch baptizes 200 people on Easter Sunday

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In 2022, Jenny Weaver, a former drug addict and witch, started Core Group, an organization that was initially dedicated to transforming the lives of women with the Gospel of Jesus. This past Easter Sunday, her group water baptized 200 people on a beach in Clearwater, Florida, with 400 looking on, CBN reports. When Weaver started Core Group, rather than focusing on the Sunday service, Weaver emphasized a program of discipleship with people meeting in their homes during the week. “People are so used to going to church, hearing a sermon, high-fiving their neighbor, walking out, but sometimes there is no real transformation and actual change,” Weaver said. “In these groups, the women come in and they expect to meet with God.” Jenny’s husband, Stephen, has since started Core Group for men. Today, they have over 600 home groups, as well as hundreds of evangelism groups around the world, including the US, UK, Australia, and South Africa. During these meetings in people’s living rooms, they emphasize the Holy Spirit with such themes as spiritual warfare, prayer, …

Phil Robertson in 2015

The Power of Testimony, the story of Phil Robertson

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Many of us underestimate the power of our personal testimony of what Christ has done in our lives, but we can be sure of one thing, Satan doesn’t. In his vision of the end time, the Apostle John writes that when Satan begins to directly attack believers in the end times, he saw them conquering Satan “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). Though the blood of Jesus played a major role in this spiritual battle, so did the believer’s ‘testimony’, which is the Greek word, ‘marturia’. It refers to the testimony that a person gives during an actual judicial trial as evidence, or more generally to any testimony. In this verse, it refers to the believer’s testimony of what Christ has done in their lives, and it’s this testimony that helped conquer Satan. We see a demonstration of a testimony’s power, in the life of Phil Robertson, the former Duck Dynasty star. The Robertson family recently produced a movie, entitled The Blind, which portrays Phil’s remarkable …

Michelangelo's Moses with horns, The Vatican, Rome

Meet Moses with horns

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If you go to the Vatican in Rome, you will find a statue of Moses with horns. Yes, horns. The marble statue was created by Michelangelo at the request of Pope Julius II to be used as part of the Pope’s tomb. The statue was completed in 1545, 32 years after Pope Julius had died. It proves that some Bible translations are more accurate than others because the famous Renaissance sculptor created Moses with horns because of a mistranslation of a Hebrew word in the Latin Vulgate. The Vulgate was largely based on the Latin translation of scriptures from the Hebrew and Greek texts created by Jerome, a priest and theologian, in 382 AD. Though the Vulgate is a bit renowned for its mistakes, it basically became the Roman Catholic Church’s official Bible. So did we end up with a horned Moses? A second set of ten commandments was needed after the first set was broken (Exodus 32:19). When Moses came down the mountain, with the new tablets, his face was shining so brightly, having …

Trailer of burnt Bibles in front of Global Vision Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee

A trailer full of Bible purposefully burnt in front of Greg Locke’s church in Tennessee

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An estimated 200 Bibles were destroyed after an individual purposefully set fire to them in front of a church on Easter Sunday, Fox News reports. The Bibles were in a trailer found in an intersection in front of Global Vision Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. The church is pastored by Greg Locke. The whole incident was caught on the Church’s security cameras. But what was particularly strange is that the Bibles had been brought to the church in the trailer by the man, who then parked it and set it on fire. A woman who had driven through the night to attend the service arrived shortly after the fire had been set and immediately reported it. It is uncertain what the motive was for the fire, but undoubtedly it was intended to intimidate Locke and those who attended his church. It is also possible, that the Bible burning is connected to two recent events that Locke has been involved with. It may be related to a book burning that Locke organized at his church in …

Stained-glass window portraying the resurrection of Jesus in the Berlin Cathedral, Germany

Nearly 70% of Americans believe Jesus rose from the dead, poll finds

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According to a recent Scott Rasmussen National Survey poll conducted on March 20 and 21, 2024, nearly 70% of Americans believe that Jesus rose for the dead, the Daily Signal reports. In addition, to the 68% who believe in the resurrection of Christ, the poll also found that 83% of those surveyed believed that Jesus lived and walked on the earth. This sharply compared to only 5% who believed that Jesus was just a myth. When asked if they planned to attend a church service on Easter Sunday, 49% responded that it was ‘very likely’ this would happen, with 23% adding that it was ‘somewhat likely.’ Twenty-six percent stated that they definitely or probably would not be attending a church service. The survey also asked individuals about their prayer life and found:

A Hot Cross Bun

Uproar in Britain over secular changes to ‘Hot Cross Buns’

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According to historians, the hot Cross Bun, which is a spiced bun that includes fruit, such as orange peels, and a cross on top, was produced to be eaten on Good Friday. It was used to mark the end of Lent, when Catholic and Orthodox Christians commemorated Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness by giving up some activity. Lent ends with the Easter Celebration. The various items included in the production of the bun have symbolic meaning. The cross on top marked the crucifixion of Christ. The spices symbolized the spices and perfumes used to anoint the cloth and Christ’s body at His burial (Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56), and the orange peel, often included in the bun, symbolized the bitterness associated with the crucifixion. The bun was first created in 1361 by Brother Thomas Rodcliff, a monk at St. Albans Abbey in St. Albans, England. Initially, called the Albans bun, the monks handed them out to the poor on Good Friday. Because of its strong association with Easter, there was an uproar recently, when a …

The majority of Americans believe religion is losing its influence in society, poll finds

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There may be some good news in a recent poll conducted by Pew Research that discovered most Americans (80%) believe religion is losing its influence in society, the Christian Post reports. The poll also revealed that most of those who are sensing this also feel uneasy about the change that is taking place. In fact, 49% of Americans actually stated the declining influence of religion is a bad thing and 57% stated that religion had a positive influence on society. In contrast, only 8% of Americans believe the declining influence of religion in society is a good thing. Unfortunately, this means that a small, but vocal, minority has been able to negatively influence American life by dominating key areas such as politics, entertainment, and mainstream media/social media. In addition, 48% of Americans believe that ‘some’ or a ‘great deal’ of their religious views are in conflict with socially accepted cultural norms. This percentage reflects the rapid negative changes that have taken place in America since 2020, when only 24% of Americans similarly believed their religious …

Varanasi, India

Talk About Carey’s Savior

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By Dr. Michael Brown William Carey (1761–1834) began his career as an uneducated shoemaker in England. At the end of his life, he was living in India, hailed as “the father of modern missions,” serving also as a professor of Oriental languages at Fort William College in Calcutta. He was almost entirely self-taught. His accomplishments were almost inconceivable, but for Carey, they were just a way of life. His motto was, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” In describing his own life mission, Carey said, “My business is to witness for Christ. I make shoes just to pay my expenses.” As for his staggering achievements, as reported on the Britannica website, Carey was called the ‘father of Bengali prose’ for his grammars, dictionaries, and translations.” He “translated the Bible into Bengali, Oriya, Marathi, Hindi, Assamese, and Sanskrit. He also translated parts of it into 29 other languages and dialects.” (If you’ve ever tried to master a foreign language, chew on that for a while.) Moreover, His social work extended beyond education …

71% of Jewish teens have experienced antisemitic hate, survey finds

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According to a recent survey of Jewish teenagers, 71% stated that they had experienced some form of antisemitic hate since Oct. 7, 2024, the day Hamas brutally invaded Israel, Israel365 News reports. The survey found that 61% of them had faced person-to-person antisemitism, 46% stated they had experienced it online and 36% said they had experienced it both personally and via the internet. With those who experienced personal attacks, the survey found that 46% of the antisemitic hatred occurred at school. When it came to the internet, the top three platforms for antisemitic expression were Instagram at 33%, followed by TikTok at 23% and Snapchat at 17%. Curiously, X, formerly called Twitter, which the mainstream media has labeled as a forum for hatred since Elon Musk took it over, did not make the top three. The survey was conducted by BBYO, a Jewish teen movement, headquartered in Washington, DC. It has hundreds of chapters found in high schools across America. Meanwhile, at the Oscars, RELATED: Michael Rapaport, Debra Messing denounce Oscar winner’s speech with 450 …

Painting of 3rd century water baptism from the Catacombs of San Callisto, Italy

Tennessee church sets a record for the number of single-day water baptisms

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It was a record for the most water baptisms recorded in a single day at the First Baptist Church based in Hendersonville, Tennessee, the Christian Post reports. The church, which has an average Sunday attendance of 3,900 spread over four services, saw 93 people get water baptized: According to the Church’s senior pastor, Bruce Raley, perhaps the most significant thing about what happened this past Sunday was that the baptisms were spontaneous. People were not attending church expecting to be water baptized. However, because they were preaching on the importance of water baptism that morning, the church was prepared in case the Holy Spirit moved. A satellite city of Nashville, Hendersonville has a population of 62,000.