(Pentagon- Photo credit: gregwest98)

*UPDATE: Pentagon Issued a ‘Clarification’ Today

This is one of those stories that is hard to believe and I have been trying to get to the bottom of it for the last two days. Nevertheless according to a press release from the Pentagon, soldiers will now face a court martial if they share their faith or even talk about religion with others in the service?

So, mention Jesus and you can get in trouble and even receive a court martial? It even indicates that this will apply to chaplains?

The whole thing seems preposterous but the way things are going in the second term of President Obama nothing seems ridiculous anymore when it comes to restricting our constitutional rights and particularly religious freedom. Sometimes I think that I have woken up in an entirely different country. Here’s the story from the Christian Post:

The Pentagon released a statement that detailed that soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their faith. Even discussing their faith in general could be considered an offense warranting a court martial.

"Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense…Court Martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis," read the statement that was released to Fox News.

<Read the whole article>

Also read the following:

”Religious Freedom in Our Military; This Is What Intolerance Smells Like”

”Pentagon: Religious Proselytizing is Not Permitted”

“Pentagon May Court Martial Soldiers Who Share Christian Faith”

Response: I promise you that we will be following this story. It looks like it might be the worst violation of religious freedom ever in the USA. What has not come out yet is who issued this statement and under who’s authority? 

It will not and cannot stand as stated. After all, how can the chaplains in the service even do their jobs? Meanwhile the soldiers are fighting and dying for our freedoms but cannot even pray with another in the barracks without the threat of a court martial? I expect that this is just the beginning of this story- more to come for sure. Hopefully there will be greater clarification and some necessary backpedaling from the administration.

Meanwhile, the Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama is freely sharing his faith at a prayer breakfast this morning. This is the National Day of Prayer and a good time to pray for the future of our nation.             *Top

May 2, 2013: National Day of Prayer- USA

National Prayer:

Father, we come to You to pray for our nation, the United States of America.

How You have blessed us through the years, Lord! We rightly sing, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” Yet we see trouble in our culture today. We see the breakdown of the family, crippling addictions, and random acts of horrific violence.

Lord, we need Your help in America. In recent days, we have done our best to remove Your Word and Your counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms and culture. It seems, as President Lincoln once said, that we have “forgotten God.” But Lord, You have not forgotten us! You can bless and help and revive our country again.

Scripture tells us that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Lord, in Your mercy, we ask that You would exalt our country again. We have had a number of great awakenings in America. We have experienced times of refreshing, and revivals that changed not only the spiritual but also the moral landscape. As the psalmist said, “Will You not revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6)

That is our prayer for America today, Lord. Send a mighty spiritual awakening that will turn the hearts of men and women, boys and girls back to you. You have told us if we will humble ourselves and pray, and seek Your face and turn from our wicked ways, that You will forgive our sins and heal our land. (2 Chronicles7:14)

Forgive us today, Lord, and heal this troubled land that we love so much.

We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

-Pastor Greg Laurie, 2013 Honorary Chairman

<Here’s a link to the NDP website which lists all of the events of the day>

This is a great time to add your prayers to the millions praying for America today. Please pray for a spiritual awakening that our nation will turn once more back to God and be revived and blessed.               *Top

Gay activists are pushing for Government officials to drop pastor Greg Laurie from participating in the National Day of Prayer events tomorrow. They claim that he is “anti-Gay” and homophobic but the only thing Laurie is really guilty of is preaching and teaching from the Bible. From the Christian Post:

Homosexual activists are labeling evangelist Greg Laurie as the "anti-gay California pastor" and are asking government officials to rescind Laurie’s invitation to lead National Day of Prayer-related events in Washington, D.C. as the event’s honorary chairman.  …

Laurie, who is the founder of Harvest Crusades and the lead pastor at Harvest churches in Riverside and Orange County, did not immediately respond to a request by The Christian Post for a response. The California pastor preaches that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin.

<Read the whole article>

Response: A dangerous precedence was set earlier this year and cannot be allowed to continue. This is reminiscent of the campaign by the same group of folks in January who were successful in eliminating evangelical pastor Louie Giglio from President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony. If the homosexual lobby is also successful in this situation then religious freedom will have been trumped and may be forever altered in America.

It will mean that a traditional Biblical stand on homosexuality and marriage may become a major disqualifier for participation in all government sponsored events. Will there be a new test for all who enter public service in the future?:

“Are you now or have you ever been ‘anti-gay’?

However, an exception will be still made for Muslim leaders –the PC battle against Islamophobia trumps it all for now. Welcome to a brave new PC world where Bible believing Christians need not apply? Conservative Christians need to stand up now and contact their Congressional representatives before it is too late.            *Top 

                          (Image via CrunchBase)

The New York Times is called the ‘Newspaper of Record’ in the USA and it is respected by all liberals and progressives and quoted from with confidence and certainty like no other source of news in America.

However when it comes to religion it has been demonstrated time and again that folks at the Times just do not get it. The latest example comes from several NY Times reports of the recent funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Amanda Thatcher, Margaret’s granddaughter, delivered a reading from Ephesians 6:10-18 but two experts from the NY Times decided that the quote was really from VI Ephesians? From Get Religion:

Check out the report on Thatcher’s funeral. I’m aware of the regular rumors that Anglicans know nothing about scripture, and I’m fully aware of how ignorant most journalists are about religion — all religion.

But the idea that two NYTimes reporters could confidently state that a granddaughter of Thatcher, at her funeral, read the biblical passage of “VI Ephesians 10:18? — well, that is even today a bit shocking.

Finally a correction did come from the Times on  April 19, 2013:

Because of an editing error, an article on Thursday about the funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain referred incorrectly to the biblical passage read  by Amanda Thatcher as the first lesson at her grandmother’s funeral. It was Ephesians 6:10-18 — not VI Ephesians 10:18.

The NY Times was not the only source of major media confusion when it came to this reading, apparently some in the UK not only could not get the reference right but entirely misunderstood the point of the scripture and tried to apply it to Thatcher’s politics.

<Read the whole article>

Response: I posted on this just to start out the new week with a laugh.  I can’t imagine the number of letters the Times probably received about it. After all, millions of regular folks in America would have easily recognized this error. But apparently no one on the highly respected NY Times staff?

They characterize it as an “editing error” and that it was but so much more. It demonstrates the sheer ignorance of the writers and the editors who should have caught the error before it went into print. Problem is, somebody on the Times staff would have needed to know something about the Bible to have caught the mistake in the first place.

So much for the NY Times and really most of the main stream media when it comes to religion but most particularly when it comes to the Bible. They have been caught by their own arrogant ignorance and have been hoisted by their own petard for everyone to see and laugh at. Have a fun week and blessings to all.            *Top

The landing gear discovered behind ‘Ground Zero’ Mosque site: NYPD Photo

I heard about it on the 10 o’clock news the other night and read about again this morning in the OC Register newspaper.  Land surveyors working on new construction found landing gear from one of the 9/11 planes wedged between the buildings at 51 Park Place.

51 Park Place, why does that sound familiar to me? Then I remembered the ‘rest of the story.’ What the major media fails to mention in most of their accounts is that a new ‘Islamic center’ called Cordoba House is in the process of being built on that site –more infamously referred to as the ‘Ground Zero’ Mosque. Here’s a more complete rendition from the NY Post:

An apparent piece of landing gear from a passenger jet used in the Sept. 11 attacks was found behind the site of the controversial Ground Zero mosque, police said.

The piece of gear was discovered Wednesday, wedged between the rear of 51 Park Place, the mosque site, and the building behind it, 50 Murray Street.

Police are treating the site as a crime scene. They will photograph the piece, and the Medical Examiner will check the area for human remains.

The aircraft part has a clearly visible Boeing identification number, police said.

Surveyors hired by the owner of 51 Park Place made the find when they were working on the property. They called 911 at about 11 a.m. to report what they believed was damaged machinery, cops said.

<Read the whole story>

The article also notes that lawyers for the mosque are claiming that opponents put the landing gear there at this time to stop construction of the new mosque. A rather preposterous assertion.

Response: Life has gone on in NY City and most have forgotten all about the building of the new mosque near Ground Zero. In fact most proponents have claimed that the site had nothing to do with the 9/11 events and that 51 Park Place really wasn’t at the official ‘Ground Zero’ so dispute that characterization.

What can not be disputed is the fact that the building at 51 Park Place was damaged by landing gear from one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade center on 9/11/01 and now we have actual pieces of that landing gear. Also it cannot be disputed that there is a long held tradition in Islam to build mosques at or near the locations of their greatest triumphs. What also cannot be disputed is that most Muslims in the Middle East view the 9/11 event favorably and that most of the funding for the new mosque at 51 Park Place has come from Middle Eastern sources.

Most Americans believe that Muslims should have a right to build mosques and places of worship wherever they want to. However in this case, the mosque in question will be looked upon as a symbol of triumph to most Muslims around the world and not just as a place of worship.

Add to that the fact that an Orthodox church across the street from the World Trade Center that was completely destroyed on 9/11 was not able to get permission to rebuild on their own property for over 10 years but was forced to build at another location. Meanwhile, NY City authorities have ok’d plans for a $100 million tribute to Islam even though few if any Muslims live in the area?

Also add to that the fact that thousands of New Yorkers and folks all around the country have protested on numerous occasions the building of a colossal triumphant mosque near the sacred site of ‘Ground Zero’ where thousands died in the name of radical Islam.

Here are links to some of our past articles on this subject:

-NYC: Thousands Protest Ground Zero Mosque

-Hugh Hewitt: ‘Sacred Space’ Should Trump ‘Ground Zero’ Mosque

-First Look At Controversial ‘Ground Zero’ Mosque Design and it is…Controversial!

-Ground Zero: NY Says No to Rebuilding a Church Destroyed on 9/11 but Yes to the Mosque?

-Ground Zero Mosque to Receive Public Subsidized Financing?

-‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Seeking Federal Funds

-Ground Zero Mosque: The Jewish Response?

-Rally To Rebuild ‘Ground Zero’ Church

-Greek Orthodox Church Finally Gets OK to Rebuild at Ground Zero-New York: Controversial Mosque to be Built Near Ground Zero            *Top

President Obama to Largest Abortion Provider: ‘God Bless You’

Here’s President Obama asking God to bless a bunch of baby killers at a Planned Parenthood convention:

"As long as we’ve got to fight to make sure women have access to quality, affordable health care, and as long as we’ve got to fight to protect a woman’s right to make her own choices about her own health, I want you to know that you’ve also got a president who’s going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way," said Obama. "Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you."

Response: Can you imagine God blessing these people in their efforts to kill babies? I can’t. But obviously President Obama thinks so? A chilling perspective indeed. Either that or ‘God Bless You’ is a mere formality that is meaningless to him? Regardless it is tantamount to taking the Lord’s name in vain.

Meanwhile the President refuses to comment on the Gosnell baby murder trial. I wonder if he intends on being “right there with” Gosnell also “fighting every step of the way”?  When he was in the Illinois state legislature he fought ‘for’ partial birth abortion. So his perspective on the case is probably far different than most Americans. For sure it is different than most Christians who would never think to ask for God to bless the killers of innocent babies.        *Top

                                           (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The owners of the Hobby Lobby chain have chosen to defy the Obama HHS contraceptive mandate for the sake of religious liberty and conscience.

From Breitbart:

“We must obey God rather than men!”—Acts 5:29.

Now that Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has denied Hobby Lobby’s application for an emergency injunction protecting them from Obamacare’s HHS Mandate on abortion and birth control, Hobby Lobby has decided to defy the federal government to remain true to their religious beliefs, at enormous risk and financial cost.

Hobby Lobby is wholly owned and controlled by the Green family, who are evangelical Christians. The Greens are committed to running their business in accordance with their Christian faith, believing that God wants them to conduct their professional business in accordance with the family’s understanding of the Bible. Hobby Lobby’s mission statement includes, “Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company … consistent with Biblical principles.”  

The HHS Mandate goes into effect for Hobby Lobby on Jan. 1, 2013. The Greens correctly understand that some of the drugs the HHS Mandate requires them to cover at no cost in their healthcare plans cause abortions.

Today Hobby Lobby announced that they will not comply with this mandate to become complicit in abortion, which the Greens believe ends an innocent human life.

<Read the whole article>

Response: This is a courageous act by the Green family and Christians from all over America should stand up and support them in this decision. A number of other allied religious groups and institutions have indicated that they are considering a similar action.

You can believe that the Obama administration will come with the full force of the law against the Hobby Lobby owners and attempt to destroy them before others follow suit. If several hundred businesses and religious institutions stood up with the Green family immediately then it would be far more difficult for the Obama Justice Department to take action.

Believe me this is a critical moment in the history of our nation where our rights and freedoms are being challenged. Most of the country is asleep when it comes to this issue or believes that religious leaders and Christian business owners are exaggerating about the potential loss of religious liberty. 

Also this issue has been cast as part of the ‘war on women’ and religious institutions and businesses have been identified as being part of the problem. So some view this as a conflict between civil rights and Constitutionally defined freedoms. Some actually believe that the ‘right’ to free contraceptives and abortion is more important for the greater good and the civil rights of women and should be allowed to over-ride religious freedom in this case. But this is really about who is going to pay for it all and whether people of faith should be forced to pay for abortifacients which are contrary to their beliefs and religious conscience.

The Obama administration on their part is actually trying to redefine the Constitution and the 1st amendment to limit religious freedom to the four walls of houses of worship. So I believe that the Green family are well within their rights to challenge the administration on this issue. Here is a poignant quote about the tradition of civil disobedience in America and Christianity from the Breitbart article:

This is civil disobedience, consistent with America’s highest traditions when moral issues are at stake. The Greens are a law-abiding family. They have no desire to defy their own government. But as the Founders launched the American Revolution because they believed the British government was violating their rights, the Greens believe that President Barack Obama and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are commanding the Greens to sin against God, and that no government has the lawful authority to do so.

The Christian tradition of defying government commands to do something wrong goes back to the very birth of Christianity.  …

The Green family of Hobby Lobby should be commended and supported in their efforts to preserve individual religious liberty and conscience in America. Political support for the Green’s should be sought especially from among our representatives in Congress.

Meanwhile Christians should remember to lift this family and their business up in prayer. This not only could affect the Green’s but also the 13,000 employees who work for them. If possible the administration might seek to put them out of business and put 13,000 more people on the unemployment rolls.          *Top