All posts filed under: z386

Is organized religion dead? Are Christians history?

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Have you heard that organized religion is in decline, at least in North America? Apparently, we are witnessing a huge increase in people who claim to have no religious membership, especially in the United States. This increase in “nones”, people with no religion, and a decline in religious memberships has been happening for at least twenty years. This is a cultural trend, and the decline may be happening in other parts of the world. In 2014, Rowan Williams the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury said that the United Kingdom was a post-Christian society. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, where organized religion also controls the government, a young woman, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, was arrested recently, by the religious Morality Police. She was not wearing a head covering. She was supposed to wear a correct head covering, as a Muslim woman, but many women in Iran want to drop that requirement from their lives. Mahsa was arrested and detained, and somehow, she died in custody. Possibly, the police were too aggressive. Apparently, the reaction against that expression …

Denmark will not be vaccinating people under 50 years of age

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An odd thing is happening in Denmark. Though the government is expecting an increase in the number of COVID cases this fall in line with the upcoming flu season it will not be vaccinating anyone below the age of 50, unless they have underlining health issues. The reason is that healthy people under the age of 50 are not particularly vulnerable to the virus. The Government of Denmark explains: With the autumn vaccination programme, we aim to prevent serious illness, hospitalisation and death. The risk of becoming severely ill from covid-19 increases with age. Therefore, people who have reached the age of 50 and particularly vulnerable people will be offered vaccination. We expect that many people will be infected with covid-19 during autumn and winter. It is therefore important that the population remembers the guidance on how to prevent infection, which also applies to a number of other infectious diseases. People aged under 50 are generally not at particularly higher risk of becoming severely ill from COVID-19. In addition, younger people aged under 50 are …

Taxes and the Bible

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According to a recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, the average American family spent more money paying their taxes, than they did to buy such essentials as food, clothing and medical care. According to the reports, that year the average American family handed over $16,729.73 for their federal, state, and municipal taxes while only paying $15,495.28 for their food, clothing and medical bills. Taxes, unfortunately, are a necessary part of government. And in the Gospels, we have an odd collaboration taking place when the Herodians and the Pharisees joined up to try to attack Christ on the issue of taxes (Matthew 22:15-22). The Herodians were a group of Jews who actually supported Herod and Rome, while the Pharisees were on the opposite end of the political spectrum. They believed in a national Israel, free from Rome. But that old saying my enemy’s enemy is my friend rang true here. The two had one common enemy, Jesus, and because of that, they could be friends for a few minutes. And the two …

Credit: Dennis Yip/Flickr/Creative Commons

Pharmaceutical bribery?

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The Blaze provides details on a court case involving a doctor who was found guilty of allegedly accepting bribes from a pharmaceutical company to prescribe fentanyl. The Blaze writes: Randall Halley, a Missouri physician, was sentenced on Tuesday for accepting bribes from a drug manufacturer in exchange for prescribing fentanyl to his patients. The 65-year-old who pleaded guilty in 2021 was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison. […] Halley overprescribed fentanyl for kickbacks from the pharmaceutical company so often that he ranked highest in Missouri and 38th in the nation for sales of the drug. The physician admitted to lying on Medicare pre-approval forms to secure insurance coverage. He also admitted to providing staff with his DEA registration number so they could prescribe medications in his absence. The drug manufacturer made it appear that Halley was being paid as a speaker at various events. In reality, the physician was collecting bribes for prescribing the company’s fentanyl to his patients. Authorities discovered a direct correlation between the payments from the company and …

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

Did Democrat Senator issue a call to arms against the pro-life movement?

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Some are accusing Hawaii’s Democrat Senator, Mazie Hirono, of issuing a call for violence against pro-life groups in a speech in the US Senate on Wednesday, Sept 14, 2022. The Blaze provides the details: Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii said she was issuing “literally a call to arms” against the pro-life movement in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday. “When I hear my colleagues talking about how, you know, it should be states’ rights, or government should not be telling us what to do, the word ‘hypocrites,’ it doesn’t even go far enough to call them out on what they’re doing,” said Hirono during her speech. “This is an outright attack on women in this country. That is how I see it.” […] Hirono ended her speech with the odd call to arms. “Madam president, I yield the floor, but clearly, you know, this is a — literally call to arms in our country, I yield the floor,” she concluded. READ: Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono issues ‘literally a call to arms’ against pro-life …

Oberlin College will pay $36.6 million for calling bakery racist

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Oberlin College has finally agreed to pay a $36.6 million judgment to a bakery it labelled as racist. Nearly six years ago, the son of the owner of Gibson’s Bakery in Oberlin, Ohio confronted a young black man for allegedly stealing a bottle of wine from the bakery. The young man and two of his friends who also became involved eventually pled guilty to misdemeanor charges over the incident. However, the three were also attending Oberlin College in the small town. The school has a long history of political activism, and students at the college accused the owners of the bakery of being racists and organized demonstrations and boycotts against the small business. School officials also became involved. This included providing food and cold weather clothing for the student demonstrators. The college’s former Dean also distributed a flyer accusing Gibson’s Bakery of racial profiling. The College’s Student Senate sent an email to its students condemning the Bakery and as well the college discontinued purchasing goods from the bakery. In 2017, the owners of Gibson’s Bakery …

When Gorbachev was the Antichrist

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By Dr. Michael L. Brown

Are you old enough to remember when Christians thought that Mikhail Gorbachev was the antichrist? After all, he was the whiz kid who came out of nowhere and was shaking the Soviet Union. Perhaps he also aspired to take over the world? And then he had that mark on his forehead. Some said it looked like a dragon! Could he be the man?

Poll: 45% of San Franciscans have been affected by crime

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A poll conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that over the past five years, 45% of the residents of the city stated that they have experience theft and 24% said that they have been threatened or experienced violence, RT reports. The same poll revealed that 65Overall, 65% stated that the city is going downhill. Of course, what else could you expect when you elect progressive politicians who believe the real victims are the criminals and are treating them with kid gloves. Realizing there is a rapid deterioration taking place in the city, its progressive lawmakers are now asking for suggestions on how to bizarrely fix a problem they created with their soft-on-crime approach to justice. Writing for the Daily Mail, David Marcus explains: In the City by the Bay, 1,700 people have died from drug overdoses since the beginning of 2020. That is nearly 700 more fatalities than the county suffered from the Covid pandemic. Mayor London Breed says she’s now ready to get serious about the problem, by putting an end to open-air drug markets, …

God’s light shining in dark places

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While the world seems to be getting darker, God’s light is breaking through in unusual places. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association announced an unusual move of God in Mongolia, a small nation wedged between Russia on its Northern border, and Communist China to the south. With a population of 3.3 million, it functioned as a satellite state of the old Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991. At that point, Mongolia embraced a market economy and democracy. Today, over 51% of the people are Buddhist and as a holdover from its atheistic days under Marx-Leninism, just over 40% have no religion. Christianity makes up over 2% of the population. The two days of meetings featured, Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham at meetings in Mongolia’s capital city Ulaanbaatar, which were sponsored by nearly 250 of the country’s churches. Christian Post reports that over 17,000 people attended the meetings held in the city’s main arena and on the last night, over 2,000 Mongolians came forward to receive Christ. Organizers were even surprised by the number …

Poll: Nearly half of Portlanders fear being assaulted

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According to a recent survey conducted by Portland, Oregon’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, 48% of the city’s citizens are fearful when venturing out on the city’s streets. Fox News provides more details: Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler commissioned the survey from local firm DHM Research. Nearly half (48%) of the 500 Portlanders who responded felt unsafe walking alone at night in their own neighborhood. Of those who felt unsafe, 78% told researchers they were afraid of being physically assaulted. […] Portland has seen a sharper increase in violent crime than many other major cities. Homicides in the city increased 83% from 2019 to 2020, while nationally killings increased by an average of about 30%. There were 90 homicides in the city last year, breaking the city’s previous record of 66 in 1987, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. READ: Portlanders are taking precautions to avoid being attacked in response to rising crime Fox News also reports that the city’s police department is currently understaffed. Of course, Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, initially led the charge in calling for a reduction …