Bishop Eddie Long, the prominent Atlanta pastor accused of sexually abusing three former members of his congregation, said he will wait until Sunday services to speak publicly about the charges against him.
The news comes one day after the 57-year-old pastor "categorically" denied claims that he coerced two men - 20-year-old Maurice Robinson and 21-year-old Anthony Flagg - into a sexual relationship when they were teenagers
"Bishop Eddie Long adamantly denies the allegations," Long's attorney Craig Gillenand said in a statement Wednesday. "It's unfortunate the two young men have chosen to take this course of action."
The two filed separate civil lawsuits Wednesday saying Long showered them with cars, clothes, jewelry, and electronics, took them on trips in private jets, and put them up in luxury hotels.
Sixty-five years after the end of World War II, Holocaust survivors have grown older and their numbers are dwindling.
For many, their last days are lonely. But now a Christian charity - sponsored project is helping some Holocaust survivors in Israel live their last days in dignity.
Bayit Hahm, which means "a warm home" in English, is unique because it's the only place in Israel where Holocaust survivors can live for free.
"They receive medical treatment, meals," said Shimon Sabag, director of charitable group Yad Ezer L'Haver. "There are also games and drama. They have a painting club, a crafts club -- really life from A to Z -- I think for them it's really a kingdom."
More than 200,000 Holocaust survivors reside in Israel and about one-third of them live in poverty.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad addressed members of the United Nations Thursday.
His speech came as a group of influential pro-Israel leaders are pressing the UN to indict Ahmadenijad for incitement to genocide over his frequent calls for Israel's destruction.
Pastor John Hagee's organization, Christians United for Israel, has released a video featuring Sen. Joe Lieberman, Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, Jewish leader Malcolm Hoenlein, and attorney Alan Dershowitz calling for Ahmadenijad's prosecution in an international tribunal.
One of the youngest megachurch pastors in the country preached what may have amounted to half a year's worth of sermons in 24 hours.
Executing what he called the craziest, most asinine ideas he's ever had, Pastor Steven Furtick stood in front of a live Web audience on Tuesday and Wednesday, teaching from the Bible for 24 hours straight.
Though hours of sermons may have easily sounded like a snooze fest for some, the online event was a big draw for thousands who were familiar with the young pastor's passionate preaching.
"Audacious faith" was the main message he proclaimed.
It's the same message found in his newly released book, Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible.
"There's so many people living with the ache of the ordinary; nothing seems to ever happen supernatural in their lives," he said.
Steven Furtick, senior pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C., preaches to a live Web audience for 24 hours straight, Sept. 21-22, 2010.
For some people, leaving their religion means more than taking a spiritual risk. They could be risking their physical health as well, according to one recent study.
In the study conducted done by Christopher Scheitle, a senior research assistant in sociology at Penn State University, 40 percent of those who said they practice a religion with strict social, moral and physical guidelines reported themselves to be in excellent health.
As they moved further from their strict religion, the percentage of those describing themselves in excellent health declined. About 25 percent of those who switched to a more liberal religious group said they were in excellent health, and the figure dropped to 20 percent for people who quit religion all together.
NEW DELHI (Compass Direct News) – A legislative panel in Nepal has proposed retaining a ban on converting others in the country’s new constitution.
Parliament has yet to decide on the proposal, but Christian leaders said they fear it is likely to be approved given that Nepal’s largest political party, led by former Maoist rebels, sympathizes with the deposed king’s wishes for such a ban. The country is forging a new constitution as part of its transition from a Hindu monarchy to a democracy.
Bishop Narayan Sharma of the Believers Church said he expects approval of the ban as recommended by the Committee on Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles (CFRDP). A Sept. 13 report by the Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance said a preliminary draft the CFRDP presented to Nepal’s Parliament penalizes activities aimed at encouraging others to convert, though it does not punish individuals for converting.
A New Jersey Planned Parenthood office is closing its doors forever after Gov. Chris Christie cut state taxpayer funding to the abortion giant -- and the state senate failed to over-ride his decision.
The Cherry Hill, N.J. office is operated by Planned Parenthood of Southern New Jersey. It stands to lose as much as $160,000 in taxpayer funds, because of Christie's decision.
Americans overwhelmingly believe in the concept of sin whether they are religiously involved or not, according to a new Ellison Research study released Tuesday.
“Sin,” as defined by the research organization, is “something that is almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective.” The study questioned more than 1,000 American adult respondents whether they believe in such a thing as “sin” and then asked them whether 30 different behaviors were sinful.
Out the list of 30 behaviors, adultery was most often described as a sinful behavior by American respondents (81 percent).
Following adultery was racism (74 percent); using “hard” drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc. (65 percent); not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change (63 percent); abortion (56 percent); and homosexual activity or sex (52 percent) rounded out the top five behaviors most often considered sinful by Americans.
File photo dated April 25, 2007, of two females drinking wine in a central London pub.
President Barack Obama and his family made a rare appearance at church on Sunday. The first family attended Sunday morning service at St. John's Church.
With daughters Malia and Sasha, Obama and his wife, Michelle, strolled across Lafayette Square to join an hourlong service at the nearby Episcopal church.
It was the first time in months that the president worshipped in public.
The Rev. Dr. Luis Leon preached that morning on the parable of the dishonest steward.
"Jesus is not endorsing the guy because he's dishonest but because he's shrewd," the rector explained.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama leave St. John's Episcopal Church as Rev. Luis Leon follows after services in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010
Christianity is being marginalized in Britain because of a concern for not offending other faiths, says London-born actor David Suchet.
Suchet, star of ITV’s "Poirot," told Woman’s Weekly magazine that a charity he worked for had been recently turned down for government funding “because it was a Christian charity, even though it had been funded by the Government for several years.”
“I do feel that Christianity is being marginalized by other religions in Britain,” said Suchet, who was confirmed two years ago.
“Don’t misunderstand me. We should embrace all religions and marginalize none,” he told the magazine. “But we seem more concerned with marginalizing Christianity, and not offending other faiths."
“We are in danger of losing the importance of the Christian faith in our own country,” he said.
In June of 2002, the synod of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster (in Vancouver, Canada) voted to authorize a service to bless same-sex unions. J. I. Packer was among the synod members who walked out in protest, and he explained why in an article forChristianity Today. The lede summarized his rationale: “Why did I walk out with the others? Because this decision, taken in its context, falsifies the gospel of Christ, abandons the authority of Scripture, jeopardizes the salvation of fellow human beings, and betrays the church in its God-appointed role as the bastion and bulwark of divine truth.”
On Feb. 13, 2008, Packer’s church, St. John’s Shaughnessy in Vancouver (at 760 members, the largest church in the Anglican Church of Canada), voted to leave the ACC and to align with a more orthodox branch in Argentina: the Province of the Southern Cone.
On Feb. 22, 2008, Michael Ingham, Bishop of theNew Westminster Diocese, sent a letter to Packer (who has been an honorary assistant at St. John’s for over 20 years) and other clergy serving a Notice of Presumption of Abandonment of the Exercise of the Ministry under Canon XIX, based on (1) publicly renouncing the doctrine and discipline of the Anglican Church of Canada; and (2) having sought or intending to seek admission into another religious body outside the Anglican Church of Canada. If they do not dispute these facts by April 21, 2008, their authority as ministers of the Word and Sacrament (conferred at their ordinations) will be revoked. Ted Olsen writes: “Frankly, this story isn’t terribly newsworthy in the traditional sense. It’s predictable, and any suspension would be irrelevant. Packer will continue his ministry just as he has been doing since he left the diocese.” Olsen continues: “The possible suspension of Packer may create a bit of a problem for both the Archbishop of Canada and the Archbishop of Canterbury given the reaction that could be expected from many parts of the Communion. It also has potential to make non-Anglican evangelicals worldwide more interested in the Anglican crisis. ”
St John’s put together a DVD (perhaps an hour and a half in length) for their congregation to explain what has happened and why. Journalist Susan Martinuk interviews the rector, Rev. David Short, and Dr. Packer.
The DVD has been broken into 10 parts and posted on YouTube (you can view all of the videos here.)
Because, frankly, I have not been very familiar with the Anglican structure and the ins-and-outs of the controversy, I took a few notes on Rev. Short’s interviews, which may be helpful as a kind of Anglican Reallignment Crash Course for Dummies:
All the different Anglican churches in an area gather in a diocese; over the diocese the head pastor is a bishop. In a geographical area (like British Columbia) a group of dioceses form together, and one of their bishops is elected to be archbishop. Canada together is called a province, and one of the archbishops is elected to be a primate. Each province has a primate. The primates meet once every two years. The Archbishop of Canterbury is “first among equals” and calls together the Lambeth Conference.
The Anglican Communion is a global body made up of 38 interdependent provinces (i.e., national churches). (Canada is a province; the US is a province; Kenya is a province; England is a province; New Zealand is a province; etc.) The global communion is, at it were, 38 ships that are all chained together in the historic faith that we have received in the Scriptures, that is expressed in the creeds, in the formularies of the Anglican Church. We are a flotilla of 38 ships sailing toward, say, England. Since 2002, two of the independent provinces [US and Canada] have decided that we are going to sail in a different direction, say, Australia. So the chain that binds all these provinces together is being stretched and stretched. The ships are calling on two of the ships—Canada and the US—to turn around and head in the historic direction that the church has been heading.
In 2003, the primates said that if Canada and the US continued, they will have torn the fabric, broken the chains—so much so that many of these provinces have said we are going to have to cut the chains and allow those two ships to go their own way. The polite Anglican language to speak about that is “to walk apart.”
Many of us in Canada and the US don’t want to go to Australia. We believe that the direction set for us in the Scriptures and in the historic church is the right direction and God has not changed his mind. We want to be part of the global communion, sailing in this direction.
What’s happening now is that a number of orthodox groups are being forced out of their provinces in Canada and the US, and the other provinces are coming along and saying, “You belong to us”—building links and chains, saying “We will take you with us.” A little bit like a rescue option. It’s unprecedented. Never before have two provinces sought to move away from the communion theologically, and never before has there been a rescue mission for those who want to belong to the rest of the church.
In the view of the majority of the communion, schism has taken place. 22 of 38 have indicated “completely broken” or “impaired” communion with Canada and the US. The reason it’s taken 5 years to fall out is because the global communion has (rightly) wanted to be as patient and gracious and careful as possible, calling for moratoriums on same-sex unions. There is still the possibility that the churches in Canada and the US would turn back.
Same-sex unions is really an iceberg issue. 19/20 of the iceberg is below the water. Several issues rise above the water (same-sex blessings; the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus Christ; etc.) What drives this disagreement is a different view of God, of the Bible, of what Jesus came to do, of what the church is all about. That’s below the surface of the water. It’s not so muchinterpretation of the Bible; it’s the authority of the Bible—how the Word of God functions in the life of the ordinary believer.
Here are the clips from the interview with Packer:
The Taliban, which have been waging an increasingly deadly insurgency against the Afghan government and foreign troops since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted them from power, immediately claimed responsibility.
Chrono: Deadliest days for NATO in Afghan campaign
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the cause of the crash was "under investigation," adding: "There are no reports of enemy fire in the area."
The helicopter came down in the Daychopan district of Zabul province in the Taliban stronghold of southern Afghanistan, said provincial spokesman Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar.
"We don't know the cause of the crash or the number of casualties," he said.
Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed the insurgents shot the helicopter down and killed "more than 10 foreign soldiers". The militia routinely exaggerates its claims.
Another NATO soldier, an Afghan soldier and a US civilian were injured, ISAF said, but it did not identify the nationalities of the dead troops.
"We have no more details at the moment because the helicopter recovery operation is underway," an ISAF spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The incident brings to 529 the number of foreign troops killed this year, according to an AFP tally based on the count kept by icasualties.org, surpassing the previous record of 521 deaths in 2009.
A total of 2,097 coalition troops have now died since the US-led invasion of 2001 which ousted the hardline Islamist Taliban regime and set off a brutal insurgency which has also killed thousands of Afghans.
The US Marines and US Army dominate the foreign forces concentrated in hotspots of the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul.
After only nine months, 2010 has now become the deadlist year of the long war, with the extra deployment of international forces to nearly 150,000 drawing more battlefield engagements, and leading to a spike in casualties.
June was the deadliest month of the war for coalition troops, with 103 fatalities, according to an AFP count based on the independent icasualties.org figures.
Ten foreign troops, mostly American, were killed in a series of attacks across the country on June 22, and another 10 ISAF soldiers died in bombings in the south and east on June 7.
Until recently NATO identified American casualties, while leaving coalition partners to identify their own dead separately. That changed earlier this month and US casualties are no longer revealed.
The United States and NATO have increased to almost 150,000 the number troops trying to quell the insurgency which has spread across the country with the Taliban now present in almost every one of the 34 provinces.
Their influence is strongest in the south and the eastern provinces which border Pakistan, where the Taliban leadership is said to be taking refuge, and from where attacks on Afghan targets are planned and funded.
US President Barack Obama ordered up an extra 30,000 forces in December as part of a renewed counter-insurgency strategy focusing on the south.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said last week that US strategy appeared to be working and that he was cautiously optimistic at signs of progress.
Obama has issued a deadline of mid-2011 for United States forces to begin drawing down, adding a sense of urgency to such tasks as training of Afghan forces so they can take over responsibility for the country's security.
"The cause of the crash is under investigation," the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. "There are no reports of enemy fire in the area."
Another NATO soldier was injured, along with an Afghan soldier and a US civilian, ISAF said, but it did not identify the nationalities of the dead troops and did not give further details on where the crash took place.
The incident brings to 529 the number of foreign troops killed this year, according to an AFP tally based on the count kept by icasualties.org, surpassing the previous record of 521 deaths in 2009.
Chrono: Deadliest days for NATO in Afghan campaign
A total of 2,097 coalition troops have now died since the US-led invasion of 2001 which ousted the hardline Islamist Taliban regime and set off a brutal insurgency which has also killed thousands of Afghans.
The US Marines and US Army dominate the foreign forces concentrated in hotspots of the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.
After only nine months, 2010 has now become the deadlist year of the long war, with the extra deployment of international forces to nearly 150,000 drawing more battlefield engagements, and leading to a spike in casualties.
June was the deadliest month of the war for coalition troops, with 103 fatalities, according to an AFP count based on the independent icasualties.org figures.
Ten foreign troops, mostly American, were killed in a wave of attacks across the country on June 22, and another 10 ISAF soldiers died in bombing attacks in the south and east on June 7.
Until recently NATO identified American casualties, while leaving coalition partners to identify their own dead separately. That changed earlier this month and US casualties are no longer revealed.
The United States and NATO have increased to almost 150,000 the number troops trying to quell the insurgency which has spread across the country with the Taliban now present in almost every one of the 34 provinces.
Their influence is strongest in the south and the eastern provinces which border Pakistan, where the Taliban leadership is said to be taking refuge, and from where attacks on Afghan targets are planned and funded.
US President Barack Obama ordered up an extra 30,000 forces in December as part of a renewed counter-insurgency strategy focusing on the south.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said last week that US strategy appeared to be working and that he was cautiously optimistic at signs of progress.
Obama has issued a deadline of mid-2011 for United States forces to begin drawing down, adding a sense of urgency to such tasks as training of Afghan forces so they can take over responsibility for the country's security.
Two NATO troops, an Afghan soldier and a US civilian, were also injured, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.
"The cause of the crash is under investigation," it said. "There are no reports of enemy fire in the area."
Chrono: Deadliest days for NATO in Afghan campaign
It gave no details on the nationalities of those killed or the exact location of the crash.
The four injured people had been taken to an ISAF medical facility, the statement said.
The crash has raised the death toll among foreign troops in Afghanistan this year to 529, according to an AFP toll based on the icasualties.org website, surpassing the figure of 521 for 2009.
A total of 2,097 coalition troops have now died since the US-led invasion of 2001 which ousted the Taliban regime.
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