Commentary: Celebration of Easter and Passover

This weekend marks a Holy Week for many citizens across Tennessee and the world, as we celebrate Passover and Easter. In America, religious beliefs are critical to many of our founding principles. There is no denying the significant impact that faith has had on our nation, from the Puritans to our present day. America was “settled by men and women of deep religious convictions who in the seventeenth century crossed the Atlantic Ocean to practice their faith freely.” George Washington declared in his Farewell Address, that of “all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports.” So, it is no surprise that as a nation, many of our citizens still embrace faith and trust in God. We pass along our faith rituals, habits, customs and traditions to our own children in our homes and places of worship. Passover begins at sundown on Friday, April 19, and ends Saturday evening, April 27. The first Passover Seder is on the evening of April 19, and the second Passover Seder takes place on the evening of April 20. Jewish people everywhere will sit with their families and friends for the celebration of Passover—a celebration of freedom.…

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Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson Visits The Tennessee Star Report In Studio: ‘Jesus Number One Nashville, Let’s Go For Him!’

On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am-the duo welcomed in studio guest Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty to talk about his past, Duck Dynasty, the Gospel, and his new book. Towards the conclusion of the show, Robertson recited some scriptures from the Bible and encouraged Nashville to make Jesus number one in their lives. Gill: Today we’re talking with in studio Phil Robertson. He’s authored a new book, The Theft of America’s Soul and talking about blowing the lid off the lies that are destroying our country. He’s detailed ten lies that are blowing things up. Now I mentioned just before the break that Phil had an athletic background before he got into more duck hunting and fishing. Terry Bradshaw and you were teammates. He stayed in the football ranks you went the other way. And your knees hurt a little less than his. Robertson: Well, I was first string, Bradshaw was second string. So before my last year I sat down in the locker room with him, I sat down with him and I said, “Bradshaw, I…

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Steve Gill Commentary: The Christian Vote, Particularly the Catholic Votes, Are Critical to Trump’s Re-Election in 2020

Three states in the midwest that Hillary Clinton was counting on to carry her to victory in 2016 narrowly ended up in the Donald Trump column — Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. If those three states had been won by Clinton, their 46 Electoral votes would have given her the presidency with slightly more than the necessary 270 needed to win. The total vote margin for Donald Trump in all three of those states was only 107,000! He carried Michigan by 11,837. Wisconsin by 27,257. Pennsylvania by 68,236. The big question as 2020 looms is whether he can retain or expand those margins regardless of whom the Democrats pick as their standard-bearer. Democrats won Senate races in all three states in 2018 and knocked off Republican Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin as well, giving them hope that they can swing them back to blue in 2020. Christian voters were a key component in Trump’s victory in those and other battleground states, like Ohio, Florida and Iowa. George Barna detailed the impact of the Christian vote in 2016 in his book The Day Christians Changed America.  Groups like Lift the Vote, a non-profit focused on energizing and mobilizing Evangelical voters in key…

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Ohio Diocese To Publicly Name Up To 20 Reported Predatory Priests

by Joshua Gill   The bishop of the Steubenville diocese declared that his diocese will release a list of predatory priests, becoming the second Ohio diocese to do so. Dino Orsatti, spokesman for the diocese, made the announcement Tuesday that Bishop Jeffrey Monforton called for the list of alleged sexually predatory priests to be released as a show of greater transparency in the wake of revelations like Pennsylvania’s grand jury report on sexual abuse in six of the state’s dioceses. The list will name between 12 and 20 priests who, according to church documentation dating back as far as 1944, were alleged to have committed sexual abuses against parishioners. “He would welcome any investigation like the one in Pennsylvania,” Orsatti said of Monforton, according to The Associated Press. The Steubenville announcement followed a similar one from the diocese of Youngstown, which announced earlier in September that the church there would also release a list of accused predatory priests, echoing Pennsylvania bishops who chose to release lists of such priests from their respective dioceses during legal battles over the release of the grand jury report. Monsignor John Zuraw  said the diocese of Youngstown hopes that the release of their list will not only foster transparency,…

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Christian Movement that Began on National Mall Will Spread to Every State in 2018

A Christian movement that started as a gathering on the National Mall in 2017 will soon be kicking off a nationwide three-day prayer and worship vigil set to occur simultaneously in every state capital. The event, called “Tent America 2018” and sponsored by Awaken the Dawn, started last year when David Bradshaw met with the founder of Washington D.C.’s popular “David’s Tent.” The two decided to organize a three-day event featuring 50 worship tents on the National Mall to “preach the gospel and send out the youth of America.” The event attracted close to 50,000 people and an additional 4 million viewers on Facebook, encouraging Bradshaw to continue the event in 2018, but this time all across the country. “On Sept. 27-29, again, coinciding with the Feast of Tabernacles, we will be hosting ‘tent city’ gatherings of worship, prayer, and gospel proclamation—simultaneously at all 50 state capitals and on college and university campuses,” an event description states. “Imagine. Three days. Millions of people. Day and night. Public, outdoor worship flooding our nation with the presence of Jesus. It will be historic,” it adds. In a video for the upcoming gatherings, Bradshaw called the success of his 2017 event one of…

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Promoting Religious Liberty Affirms ‘Human Dignity,’ Pompeo Tells Values Voter Summit

by Fred Lucas   Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed Friday that the Trump administration is committed to religious liberty, both at home and abroad. Speaking at the conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington, Pompeo said that more than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries that place significant limitations on religious freedom. He singled out Iran and China. “We are assuring human dignity by advancing one of our most cherished, indispensable liberties, enshrined in the First Amendment. It is our religious liberty,” said Pompeo, a former member of the House from Kansas and CIA director before becoming the nation’s chief diplomat in April. “Religious freedom is a universal, God-given right, to which all people are entitled,” Pompeo said. “Religious freedom is also a building block for free societies. Our Founders knew this.” Pompeo talked about the success of getting American detainees released from captivity in North Korea in May. “Far and away, the greatest highlight to date of my job as secretary of state has been bringing three Americans home from captivity in North Korea,” Pompeo said. He said the State Department now is focused heavily on securing the release and repatriation of Andrew Brunson, an American pastor who has been…

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Vatican Caves To China’s Demand, Recognizes Bishops Appointed By Communist Government

by Joshua Gill   The Vatican reached a breakthrough in negotiations with China by acquiescing to Beijing’s demands to recognize eight bishops appointed by the country’s communist government. Chinese and Vatican officials announced Saturday that they had signed a “provisional agreement” to the effect that the Vatican would recognize eight bishops appointed by China’s communist government without papal approval and that all of China’s bishops would now be considered in full communion with the church. The Vatican issued a statement concerning the agreement, saying it was meant to foster conditions of greater collaboration between Beijing and the Vatican, but Chinese Catholics are divided over the agreement and some have harshly criticized it as a capitulation to China. “Pope Francis hopes that, with these decisions, a new process may begin that will allow the wounds of the past to be overcome, leading to the full communion of all Chinese Catholics,” the Vatican statement reads, according to The Associated Press. Negotiations between the church and China previously included the prospect of China’s recognition of nearly 40 bishops of the country’s underground Catholic Church, which refuses to bend the knee to the Communist Party run Patriotic Association, which governs state-regulated Catholic churches. The Vatican and Beijing…

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Chinese Officials Are Reportedly Burning Bibles And Crosses, Forcing Christians To Renounce Their Faith

by Anders Hagstrom   Chinese pastors claim officials are closing churches, burning bibles and crosses, and forcing pastors and congregations to sign papers claiming they’ve renounced their faith, The Associated Press reported Monday. Chinese pastors and the U.S.-based group China Aid report that Chinese Communist Party officials forcibly shut several churches in central Henan province and Beijing in recent weeks, according to The AP. The escalation is part of the officially atheist Communist Party’s efforts to “sinicize” Christianity, or make it more culturally Chinese. “The international community should be alarmed and outraged for this blatant violation of freedom of religion and belief,” Bob Fu of China Aid told The AP. Fu also cited video footage showing what seemed to be bibles aflame with forms allowing believers to renounce their faith nearby, The AP reported. Fu said the forms marked the first time since freedom of religion was written into the Chinese Constitution in 1982 and since Mao’s Cultural Revolution of 1976 that Christians had been compelled to renounce their faith. One Chinese pastor who asked not to be identified told The AP that officials entered his church at 5 a.m. and began removing items and burning bibles, crosses and furniture. China has…

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Pope Francis: Resign, and Let Pope Benedict Return from Retirement

Pope Francis

by Richard A. Viguerie and Mark Fitzgibbons   The sex abuse scandal and its cover-up within the Catholic Church require solutions that the institutional Church will be incapable of achieving on its own. But the more serious problem is that since Vatican II the Church has been AWOL on Biblically based Christian moral issues affecting the core family and its relationship to God. From marriage, divorce, same-sex relations, sex outside marriage, and the love respect between men and women according to God’s laws, the Church has abandoned its role of moral teacher and spiritual guide telling people where the ‘guardrails’ are. The Church’s abandonment of focus on the central and natural institution of the family has been accentuated by Pope Francis’ attention to socialist, earthly issues. His progressive politics-over-family approach is a symptom of the larger problems within the Church and its hierarchy. No institution that is sick can cure itself, and the Catholic Church is grievously ill. Like any patient, the institutional Church must be a willing participant in the cure. But it will be up to the Catholic laity to administer the necessary fixes. We join others who have already made the call for Pope Francis to resign, and…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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’

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

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

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

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’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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’

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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