Category: Faith

Muslim Celebration of ‘Unity and Power’ at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota, With Chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’

Anthony Gockowski

More than 20,000 Muslims are expected to gather at U.S. Bank Stadium Tuesday morning in celebration of the Islamic holiday known as Eid al-Ahda commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham. As such, the holiday, known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” often involves the ritual sacrifice of an animal, though organizers of Tuesday’s event set to be held in the new Minnesota Vikings stadium have assured the public that no animals will be slaughtered inside the stadium. The two-day event was first announced to the public August 7 on Somali TV of Minnesota when a group of local imams gathered outside the stadium, calling the celebration an opportunity to display the “unity and the power of our community.” In attendance at the press conference was Dr. Waleed Idris al-Maneese, who leads the Islamic University of Minnesota and serves as the imam of a Bloomington mosque. His mosque has produced at least five Islamic extremists who have gone on to fight with either ISIS or al-Shabaab, according to WND. Leo Hohmann, an author and journalist who has spent much of his career covering radical Islam, had former imam Dr. Mark Christian translate Maneese’s comments made during the press conference. According to Christian, Maneese…

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Michael W. Smith, TBN to Host Free Concert At Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Aug 30th

Bethany Bowman
Michael W Smith

TBN announced it will partner with three-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist Michael W. Smith to present a free concert and worship event at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, August 30th at 7 p.m. “Surrounded: A Night to Pray, Worship and Be Awakened” is free to the public and will begin with a time of prayer for the city of Nashville, surrounding communities, and the nation, led by area pastors. Following a time of prayer, Smith and his band will lead a Worship service from the floor of the Bridgestone Arena – surrounded by those that attend. It is Smith’s hope that this event crosses all denominational, ethnic, racial and generational lines for a real night of unity in middle Tennessee. “The growth and energy happening in our city is not just material, but profoundly spiritual,” said Smith. “It’s time for a night of prayer and worship for Middle Tennessee. My hope is that individuals, families and even whole congregations will attend ‘Surrounded’ for a night we’ll never forget.” The event will be taped, with plans from TBN to air “Surrounded” as a network special later in the fall. Watch the video: All seating will be general admission; doors open at 6…

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Grammy Winner Chris Tomlin Releases Advance Music Today Ahead of New Album

Bethany Bowman
Chris Tomlin

Grammy winner and world-renowned worship leader Chris Tomlin surprised fans with the release of early music today: the launch of a new radio single and EP, Nobody Loves Me Like You. USA Today reported Friday the previously unannounced four-song digital-only EP is part of a bigger release plan as Chris’ highly anticipated full studio album set for October 26, Holy Roar, and the companion book Holy Roar: 7 Words That Will Change the Way You Worship available October 23. “I am so energized by this new music, I couldn’t wait to share a few songs ahead of the Holy Roar album,” Tomlin said in a statement. “Holy Roar is the freedom, the experience, the wonder of worship. It is seeing the church come together, hands lifted to God, pouring out our praise with an eternal song in our hearts. It’s every voice together, changing the way we worship.” The Nobody Loves Me Like You EP includes four songs from the soon-to-be-released Holy Roar album and is available now at all digital retailers here. The official radio impact date for “Nobody Loves Me Like You” single is September 14. HOLY ROAR includes tracks produced by Ed Cash and Bryan Fowler and…

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SCIENCE: Religious People Live Longer

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church service

by Joshua Gill   Religious affiliation actually prolong one’s life through positive social effects according to a recent study of obituaries in Iowa and across the nation. Laura E. Wallace of Ohio State University, one of the study’s authors, found that among the social factors that affect one’s physical health and longevity, religion plays a large and observably positive role. Her findings showed that people who had active religious affiliations in life lived an average of 10 years longer than their non-religious counterparts in Des Moines, and an average of five years longer nationally. “Being healthy doesn’t just mean going to the gym and eating well. Our social worlds have such a large influence on our health as well. Religion is clearly one of these factors that makes a big difference,” Wallace said, according to PsyPost. “Religion has a strong relationship with longevity. Our research suggests that, in part, this is due to the opportunities that religion provides to make social connections and give back to the community,” she added. Researchers for the study, which was initially published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, analyzed 505 obituaries from the Des Moines Register and a further 1,096 obituaries from across the country. The parameters of…

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Christianity: The First Major Religion That Stripped the State of Its Theocratic Powers

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Jesus Christ

by Cuatro Jones   When discussing the history of the West and exploring the ideas and philosophies that led up to the creation of the Magna Carta and the U.S constitution, eventually the religion of Christianity must be brought forward in the discussion. Why? Well, despite the many sins of Christians (and there are many), Christianity is the first major religion that, at its founding, stripped the state of its theocratic powers over the spiritual lives of the people. In the Biblical narrative, we see Jesus of Nazareth establish this foundational philosophy when answering a challenge from the Pharisees of Judea regarding to whom they should pay their monetary offerings: God (Yahweh) or Caesar? This question was designed to serve as a trap for Jesus, as the Jews were monotheistic and theocratic, and Roman law essentially made the Emperor a god. It is at this pivotal, though often overlooked moment, that Jesus sets the standard for the modern West regarding the role of government and religion in public life, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and render unto God what is God’s.” This is critical because for the first time, we see a clear and categorical line of division between the palace and the temple, set by a central religious figure. This fundamentally…

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‘She Hates Me:’ WaPo Reveals Why Evangelicals Jumped Aboard The Trump Train

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Hillary Clinton

by Chris White   The Washington Post asked locals at a southern Baptist church in Alabama why they voted for President Donald Trump despite that the former reality TV star’s conduct. Their answer was short and to the point. Members of the First Baptist church of Luverne, Alabama say former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president was a no-go for them, according to a report Saturday from WaPo. “She hates me,” Terry Drew, a member of the church, said of Clinton, who lost Alabama by almost 700,000 votes. “She has contempt for people like me, and Clay, and people who love God and believe in the Second Amendment. I think if she had her way it would be a dangerous country for the likes of me,” he said, referring to people like the church’s pastor, Clay Crum. Trump has demonstrated a willingness to hang tough with Christians, Drew said. Drew weighed Trump’s character with what he thought is Clinton’s willingness to destroy his way of life. The choice was clear, he told WaPo reporters, who attended one of Crum’s sermons to get a lay of the land. Trump’s “going to stick to me,” while Clinton will look the other…

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Steve Gill Remembers When Democrat Delegates Booed God at The 2012 DNC Convention

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

On Friday’s Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, conservative commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill was in disbelief as he reflected upon the Democratic Party’s convention in 2012 where delegates voted emotionally against a Godly provision in their platform. “We were talking a moment ago about the Democrats booing God at their convention,” marveled Gill. “Now the reason this came up is that there had been a provision about God in their platform that they removed it, and then because there was so much backlash and pressure they decided to try and add the reference to God back into their platform.” He continued: And it came up for a vote and the Democrats voted against it but the chair after hearing the loud explosion of boos against God, said, ‘Oh in the opinion of the chair it passes,’ and they added God back to their platform against the votes in attendance at the Democratic convention. This is Sheppard Smith of Fox News reporting on it at the time. SPEAKER FROM THE DNC CONVENTION FLOOR: Is there any further discussion, hearing none, the matter requires a two thirds vote in the affirmative, all those delegates…

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Commentary: Democrats’ Anti-Catholic Bigotry On Kavanaugh Will Cost Them In November

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Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump

by George Rasley   That the Democratic Party has become the party of the anti-religious Far Left was confirmed way back in 2012 when delegates to the Democratic National Convention jeered the mention of God and struck all reference to him in their platform. However, until recently, as smart politicians most national figures in the Democratic Party carefully avoided the anti-Christian, anti-Semitic bigotry displayed by their Left wing grassroots activists. That all changed in 2017 during the confirmation of now-Judge Amy Coney Barrett when California’s Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein went after Barrett’s Catholic faith during her confirmation hearing. Feinstein charged that Barrett has “a long history of believing [her] religious beliefs should prevail,” and added “when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you.” Liberals have since tried to explain away Feinstein’s odd phrasing, which had the quality of a nativist, anti-Papist tract from a century ago observed James S. Robbins in a recent op-ed for USAToday. These days, says Robbins, liberals have taken to portraying people in public life who exhibit almost any kind of faith orientation as dangerous extremists. In a discussion of the high court, CNN contributor Dean Obeidallah maintained…

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Commentary: The Ticking Fiscal Time Bomb Set in 1937 Could Tip America Into Despotism by 2030

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US Flag

by Robert Osburn   Celebrated this past July 4, America’s founding story of freedom is truly remarkable: unity, courage, integrity, and national integration (incorporating people from around the world). In most other places, the freedom story is bloody, exclusive, and, ultimately, tyrannical. Take Nicaragua, for one example: In 1979, the Sandinistas overthrew dictator Anastasio Somoza.  Nearly four decades later, hundreds are dying because the very people who led the Sandinista revolution (Daniel Ortega and friends, now in power) are behaving exactly like Somoza.  It’s déjà vu all over again for our Central American neighbors. In an age when democracy is clearly retreating, will America eventually succumb to autocracy while waving sayonara to democracy?    It’s a question that National Review’s JonahGoldberg once very handily dismissed. He now admits that American totalitarianism is a real possibility. Utilizing a scenario-building skill that I learned during my doctoral studies, let me offer what I consider a very plausible scenario that takes America down the rathole of tyranny: Sometime between 2028 and 2034, America’s president will use executive or emergency powers to solve the nation’s Social Security trust fund crisis. As Americans celebrate that presidential act of courage, we will begin the long road to tyranny because we cannot rule ourselves.  Does this remind anyone of the books of Judges and I Samuel when, because everyone did what was right…

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The Flawed Red Hen Analogy Shows Liberals Still Don’t Understand Christian Baker Case

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Sarah Sanders, Jack Phillips

by Monica Burke   After a Lexington, Virginia, restaurant, the Red Hen, refused service to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday, commentators on the left immediately seized upon a false analogy. They likened that incident to the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, the case of the Christian baker in Colorado who refused to craft a custom cake for a same-sex wedding. That attempt at an analogy reveals that the left still does not understand the Supreme Court’s ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Jack Phillips, the baker, serves all customers, but cannot serve all events. He declined to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple not because of their identity, because he could not communicate a message that violated his religious beliefs. He even offered the couple any other item in his store. Meanwhile, the Red Hen denied service to Sanders precisely because of who she is. They did not refuse to create a custom order that would have endorsed views they disagreed with. They denied her service, period. The false analogy also reveals the hypocrisy of the left’s position. They accuse people like Phillips, who serves everyone regardless of who they are, of discrimination,…

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Supreme Court Lifts Ruling on Christian Florist Barronelle Stutzman, Who Refused to Decorate Same-Sex Wedding for Long-time Customers

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Barronelle Stutzman

Reuters   After siding with a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sent back to lower courts a similar dispute over a florist who declined to create flower arrangements for a same-sex wedding based on her Christian beliefs. The justices threw out a 2017 ruling by Washington state’s Supreme Court that Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in the city of Richland, about 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Seattle, had violated the state’s anti-discrimination law and a consumer protection measure. The court ordered the top Washington state court to revisit the case in light of its ruling on June 4 in favor of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who similarly cited his Christian beliefs in refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Stutzman in 2013 refused to provide the arrangements to Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, who were getting married after the state legalized same-sex marriage the prior year. She was hit with a $1,000 fine and directed to make floral arrangements for same-sex weddings if she does so for opposite-sex weddings. In the baker case, the court ruled that a Colorado state commission had…

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Justice Department Initiative Aims to Protect Houses of Worship

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Jeff Sessions

by Arya Hodjat   The U.S. Justice Department will intensify its efforts to bring up lawsuits against municipalities that discriminate against religious establishments, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Wednesday. The initiative, called the “Place to Worship Initiative,” is centered on bringing cases against towns and cities that use zoning laws to prevent houses of worship — churches and mosques, for example — from building. “In recent years, the cultural climate has become less hospitable to people of faith and to religious belief,” Sessions said. “Many Americans have felt that their freedom to practice their faith has been under attack.” The announcement came during an event for the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center — an Orthodox Jewish advocacy group — in Washington, D.C. Sessions also announced the Justice Department would be filing a lawsuit against a New Jersey town for denying the building of an Orthodox Jewish synagogue. “Religious Americans have heard themselves called deplorables,” Sessions said. “They’ve heard themselves called bitter clingers.” Sessions referred to comments made by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during their presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2008, respectively. Clinton made no reference to religion in her 2016 speech. Heather Weaver, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU, told…

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Tennessee Pastors Network Issues Pro-Life Pledge for Candidates to Show Commitment to Defund Planned Parenthood

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Dale Walker Pro-Life Pledge

The Tennessee Pastors Network issued a pro-life pledge on Thursday for candidates for all levels of offices in Tennessee designed to show their commitment to defund Planned Parenthood “Pastor Dale Walker, President of the Tennessee Pastors Network, is calling on Tennessee candidates for Governor, Congress, State House and State Senate to put their “pro-life” words into action. The Tennessee Pastors Network Pro-Life Pledge can be printed out by candidates from the Tennessee Pastors Network website and returned with their signatures and those of two witnesses. Tennessee Pastors Network will list those who have signed the Pro-Life Pledge on the website,” the Tennessee Pastors Network (TPN) said in a statement. “We’re in the midst of all this election season heading into the August 2 primaries on the Democrat and Republican sides. A lot of candidates, particularly on the Republican side, are talking about how pro life they are,” Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill said on Thursday’s edition of the Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville. “Some of these folks who are talking about being so pro-life are the same ones that have voted to fund Planned Parenthood.It’s important to look at what they do, not what they…

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Commentary: ‘The Bible’ Is the All-Time Bestselling Book – But Do You Know What the Next-Best-Selling Book Is?

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Imitation of Christ

by Daniel Lattier   If someone asks you to name the all-time bestselling book, you’d most likely answer “The Bible.” And you’d be right. According to Guinness World Records: “Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book. A survey by the Bible Society concluded that around 2.5 billion copies were printed between 1815 and 1975, but more recent estimates put the number at more than 5 billion.” But you might not have heard of the second-most sold and translated work of Christianity after the Bible… It’s The Imitation of Christ, written by the medieval monk Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471). The Imitation of Christ is a 15th-century devotional work that calls its readers to a radical living of the Christian faith. In the four books that comprise it, it counsels readers to reject the “vanities of the world”, to cultivate silence and turn inward, and to “take up the cross” by embracing suffering and humility in their lives. The fact that between 1500 and 1650 over 650 editions of it were produced, in a wide variety of languages, is a testimony to a less-secularized time in the history of…

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Faith: ‘His Human Will Dreaded That Hour, but His Divine Will Embraced It’

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Faith Cross

Ralph Waldo Emerson had moments more perceptive than his vague religiosity: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” He spoke not of consistency itself, but of a “foolish” consistency. As True God and True Man, Christ was perfectly consistent — but from the platform of a fallen world, that consistency could seem inconsistent.

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Lent Is a Microcosm of Life in its Entirety, with All Its Trials

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Calvary

There are those of us who remember how as schoolboys, the clever use of rhythmic dactyls in Virgil’s metrical Latin verses made unforgettable the sound of horses galloping. And one of my schoolmates gained fleeting fame when our French teacher announced that, as our classmate was recovering from an appendectomy, the first words he whispered as he came out of the anesthesia were from a line in LaFontaine’s fable about the Crow and the Fox: “Matitre Corbeau sur un arbre perche…”

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Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Lee Launches New Website Dedicated to Reinstating Faith in the Public Square

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Bill Lee Faith in the Public Square

Franklin-based businessman Bill Lee launched a new website Tuesday that discusses the gubernatorial hopeful’s views on Faith in the public square, along with a list of events with faith-based community organizations, and a video introducing the effort called, “Faith in Tennessee.” (embedded below) “Too often, our leaders in government work to create government-first solutions to address some of the challenges we face,” Lee said in a statement. “This comes at the expense of many fantastic organizations that are already doing the work and are looking for willing partners, not a government-sponsored competitor.” The website’s singular purpose is to lay out Lee’s thoughts on how to better engage leaders in the faith and nonprofit groups and also lists more than a dozen events scheduled across the state with nonprofits and faith-based organizations.  The tour, which the campaign says will continue through the end of March, highlights groups Lee sees as some of Tennessee’s most effective organizations. “People of faith have been called to serve,” Lee said. “Faith and community leaders are consistently at the forefront because they are often the ones on the front lines battling addiction and improving education.  As I continue to travel across this state, I know that engaging them even more will lead to better results. Also,…

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Michael Novak Commentary: How Christianity Created Capitalism

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Michael Novak

by Michael Novak   Capitalism, it is usually assumed, flowered around the same time as the Enlightenment–the eighteenth century–and, like the Enlightenment, entailed a diminution of organized religion. In fact, the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages was the main locus for the first flowerings of capitalism. Max Weber located the origin of capitalism in modern Protestant cities, but today’s historians find capitalism much earlier than that in rural areas, where monasteries, especially those of the Cistercians, began to rationalize economic life. It was the church more than any other agency, writes historian Randall Collins, that put in place what Weber called the preconditions of capitalism: the rule of law and a bureaucracy for resolving disputes rationally; a specialized and mobile labor force; the institutional permanence that allows for transgenerational investment and sustained intellectual and physical efforts, together with the accumulation of long-term capital; and a zest for discovery, enterprise, wealth creation, and new undertakings. The Protestant Ethic without Protestantism The people of the high Middle Ages (1100—1300) were agog with wonder at great mechanical clocks, new forms of gears for windmills and water mills, improvements in wagons and carts, shoulder harnesses for beasts of burden, the ocean-going ship rudder,…

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Former Pope Benedict Ready for Final ‘Pilgrimage’

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Pope Benedict

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI hinted Wednesday that is is nearing death and ready for his final “pilgrimage” at the age of 90. “In the slow decline of my physical strength, internally, I am on a pilgrimage to the House (of the Lord)”, Joseph Ratzinger wrote in a letter published in the Corriere della Sera daily, which had told him many readers were concerned about his health.

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Monday, January 1

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Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing January 1, Monday Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,    

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, December 31

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 31, 2017 Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

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Holy Land Tradition Kept Alive by Olive Wood Artisans

Tennessee Star Staff

Thirty years ago Bassem Giacaman, whose large extended family has lived in this town for generations, immigrated to New Zealand with his parents and siblings in search of a life far away from the turmoil of the Middle East. They left behind a small shop and olive wood factory, one of a few dozen olive wood enterprises in and around Bethlehem, which Christians around the world revere as the birthplace of Jesus.

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Saturday, December 24

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 24, Sunday John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”      

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Tuesday, December 19

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 19, Tuesday Matthew 10:32-33 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. 1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, December 17

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 17, Sunday Isaiah 9:6 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,      

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Thursday, December 14

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 14, Thursday John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Romans 1:24-25 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Tuesday, December 12

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 12, Tuesday 1 Peter 3:16-17 Keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Revelation 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, December 10

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 10, Sunday Luke 1:26-38 Six months after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. 27 The angel went to a virgin promised in marriage to a descendant of David named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 When the angel entered her home, he greeted her and said, “You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you.” 29 She was startled by what the angel said and tried to figure out what this greeting meant. 30 The angel told her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. 31 You will become pregnant, give birth to a son, and name him Jesus. 32 He will be a great man and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 Your son will be king of Jacob’s people forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be? I’m a virgin.” 35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Wednesday, December 6

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 6, Wednesday Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. December 3, Sunday Hosea 6:3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.”    

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Monday, December 4

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 4, Monday Psalm 36:5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Revelation 1:7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

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Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett Stands Up to Freedom From Religion Foundation

Wendy Wilson

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett is not backing down in the face of a challenge from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The East Tennessee chapter of the Madison, Wisconsin-based group wants Burchett to order a county health department employee to move a personal display that references God, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel. Shawnee Casteel, the chapter’s director, said in a Nov. 8 email to the county that she saw the display while changing her legal name back to her maiden name. Casteel said the display would be OK if it were not visible to the public via a bulletin board behind the window where the employee sits. In a response Nov. 20, Burchett said he would not ask the employee to move the display. “Faith is such an important part of our lives and of all the things going on in this world … this is the place where they attack us … I think it’s very telling,” Burchett told the Knoxville News Sentinel. Written on a piece of paper, the display reads, “Just think, you’re here not by chance, but by God’s choosing. His hand formed you and made you the person you are. He compares you to no one…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Friday, December 1

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 1, Friday 1 Peter 5:5 …clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Revelation 14:7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”    

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Wednesday, November 29

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Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing November, 29, Wednesday Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path Proverbs 4:25-26 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

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Vanderbilt Divinity School Faculty Among Signers of Progressive ‘Boston Declaration’ Denouncing ‘White Privilege’ and ‘Islamophobia’

Wendy Wilson

A group of progressive Christian theologians last week released a document called the Boston Declaration that calls on followers of Jesus to fight “poverty, economic exploitation, racism, sexism, and all forms of oppression.” Initial signatories included a handful of faculty members from the Vanderbilt Divinity School. While most of the signers were from liberal institutions, there also were several representing evangelical ones, including Wheaton College, Baylor University, Azusa Pacific University and Seattle Pacific University. The declaration was issued Nov. 20 at a meeting in Boston of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. The document took aim at evangelical Christians and political conservatives. “Many Evangelical Christians have embraced the politics of exclusion and hatred, such that the Good News of Jesus has become cover for a social and economic order that can only be understood as bad news for many,” said the Rev. Dr. Peter Goodwin Heltzel of the New York Theological Seminary in a news release. “Responding to Jesus’ courageous call to love ‘the least of these,’ we pray for the conversion of the converted.” The declaration denounced “white privilege,” lamented “national boundaries that make our worries about security a pretext for destroying the lives of others,” and…

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Southern Baptists’ ERLC Backs New Evangelical Group Calling for Acceptance of Young Illegal Immigrants

Wendy Wilson

On Thanksgiving Day, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention tweeted its support for a new evangelical group calling for Christians to embrace young illegal immigrants. Voices of Christian Dreamers claims to be grassroots, but in reality is the creation of powerful immigration activists. “As we celebrate Thanksgiving, this group of Christian Dreamers shares why they’re thankful,” said the ERLC tweet, which included a link to a video produced by the group. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, this group of Christian Dreamers shares why they’re thankful. Watch here: https://t.co/RnUqmaNF47 https://t.co/4sqOPIIDv4 — ERLC (@ERLC) November 23, 2017 ERLC President Russell Moore has frequently been criticized by conservatives for his support of progressive immigration policies. The ERLC is the Southern Baptists’ public policy arm and has offices in Washington, D.C., and Nashville. Voices of Christian Dreamers describes itself on its website as “a grassroots, Dreamers-led movement committed to changing the conversation about undocumented immigrants in the Church and beyond, through highlighting biblical teaching, personal stories and other helpful resources.” Its website explains: Dreamers—a term derived from the DREAM Act, a bill that has been repeatedly introduced but never yet passed into law—are individuals brought into the U.S. as children…

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Tennessee Baptist Convention Ends Ties With Church That Hired Female Pastor

Wendy Wilson

During its annual meeting Tuesday, the Tennessee Baptist Convention voted to turn away representatives from an East Tennessee Southern Baptist church that recently hired a female senior pastor, effectively ending its ties with the church. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the decision to not seat “messengers,” or voting representatives, according to the Baptist and Reflector news outlet. The convention is meeting through today in Hendersonville. Tuesday’s vote confirmed a finding last month by the credentials committee that a church with a woman senior pastor cannot be considered a “cooperating church” according to convention bylaws. Article VI of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 says that “the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Ellen Di Giosia has been in her position as senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Jefferson City since Aug. 1. She and six other representatives from the church attempted to register in person for the annual meeting. During a discussion before the vote, a few people spoke in support of Di Giosia and First Baptist. Tambi Swiney, a female associate pastor of Immanuel Baptist in Nashville who works under a male senior pastor, said the Jefferson City church “has a long legacy of…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Wednesday, November 15

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Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing November 15, Wednesday Proverbs 11:1 Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord, but an accurate weight is His delight. Romans 12:6-9 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[a] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good      

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University of Tennessee-Knoxville to Host Presentation on Islamophobia Tonight

Wendy Wilson

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville will host a speaker this evening who will talk about Islamophobia and social justice. Amer F. Ahmed’s presentation is called “Addressing Islamophobia: Dispelling Myths to Break Down Barriers” and is part of the university’s celebration of International Education Week. The school website says that Ahmed “skillfully interweaves social justice, diversity and inclusion, and intercultural frameworks to cultivate rich and meaningful dialogue with his audiences.” “This program will benefit participants interested in learning more about Islam and Islamophobia, providing needed context to bridge divides,” the website says. Born in Ohio to Indian Muslim immigrants, Ahmed is “an intercultural diversity consultant, college administrator, facilitator, poet and Hip Hop activist,” according to his website. He has held positions at Loras College in Iowa, Concordia College in Minnesota, the University of Michigan and Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He is currently director of intercultural teaching and faculty development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The growing emphasis on Islamophobia in recent years has been criticized by conservatives as an effort to downplay and distort the differences between Islam and other belief systems and for becoming a factor behind people being afraid to report potential terrorist activity despite “see something, say something” campaigns. Two years…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, November 12

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing November 12, Sunday Esther 4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Isaiah 64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Matthew 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven  

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Tennessee Baptist Convention in Turmoil Over Female Pastor in East Tennessee

Wendy Wilson

An East Tennessee Southern Baptist church is likely to lose its standing with the Tennessee Baptist Convention over hiring a female senior pastor earlier this year. At their annual meeting in Hendersonville Sunday through Wednesday, Tennessee Baptists may vote on whether First Baptist Church in Jefferson City can seat “messengers,” or voting representatives, reports the Baptist and Reflector news publication. The convention’s credentials committee agreed last month that a church with a woman senior pastor cannot be considered a “cooperating church” according to convention bylaws. “If a church with a woman senior pastor tries to register messengers, the request will be denied, but the decision to seat messengers from the church ultimately will be decided by a vote by messengers,” the Baptist and Reflector reported. Ellen Di Giosia became the pastor of First Baptist Aug. 1. “It is regrettable when one of our churches makes a decision that results in a broken confessional relationship with our TBC network of churches,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. First Baptist issued a statement from Di Giosia and deacon chair John McGraw saying they were “saddened” by the position taken by the credentials committee. The statement said the convention “has…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Saturday, November 11

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing November 11, Saturday Jeremiah 2:2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown. Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;      

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Thursday, November 9

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing November 9, Thursday John 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 3:19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 2 Corinthians 3:16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.      

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