Tag: Bible

Commentary: The Left’s ‘Christian Nationalism’ Fearmongering Is Untethered to Reality

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Church Sign

Is America on the verge of establishing a theocracy? The Left’s recent warnings about the rise of “Christian nationalism” suggest that a powerful, conservative Christian cabal is pulling the strings behind the scenes to forcibly convert the entire nation, or something.

In the past week, Politico’s Heidi Przybyla has been hammering the drum on this issue, first claiming—apparently without concrete evidence—that former Trump administration official Russell Vought has prioritized “Christian nationalism” by name in documents for a potential Trump second term, and then defining Christian nationalism as the doctrine that rights come from God, not government.

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Radio Host Bradlee Dean Speaks to Arizona Tea Party Activists About His Ministry to High School Assemblies and More

Rachel Alexander

Bradlee Dean, founder of the nonprofit Christian organization You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide International (YCRBYCHI) and host of the radio show Sons of Liberty, spoke to the Grassroots Tea Party Activists of Arizona Thursday evening in the West Valley. Dean, an ordained minister and drummer for the Junkyard Prophet, a Christian rock band, founded YCRBYCHI in 1997, which gives presentations to students at school assemblies across the country. 

The fiery, entertaining Dean started his radio show in 2002, which is now nationally syndicated. He produced a mini-series documentary in 2011 titled My War, where he “slings rocks at the political, social, and immoral giants of our time and confronts society’s ills.” He said his band has “purposely turned down 5 record deals in order to maintain control of their uncompromising message.” The Minnesota native wrote a regular column for WND until 2017.

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Commentary: An Amazing Story of Redemption Out of Pearl Harbor

RealClearWire

December 7th, 1941 is “a date which will live in infamy,” declared President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Japanese pilot that led the infamous raid on Pearl Harbor is the subject of a new fascinating book, Wounded Tiger by T. Martin Bennett. Christian apologist Josh McDowell calls Bennett’s book, “mesmerizing.”

I spoke with Bennett on my radio show about this amazing story of violence, repentance, redemption, and forgiveness. I have been aware of Fuchida’s incredible story before, having produced a TV segment on his conversion for D. James Kennedy Ministries-TV about 30 years ago.

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House Ethics Committee Holds First Meeting on Ethics Complaint Against Representative Stahl Hamilton

Neil Jones

The Arizona House Ethics Committee met Thursday morning to discuss an ethics complaint filed against Democrat Representative Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (Flagstaff), an ordained minister, after being caught on camera hiding Bibles kept in the House’s members-only lounge.

“The House Ethics Committee is responsible for considering complaints that are submitted by a House member accusing another member of behavior that violates House Rules,” said Committee Chair Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale). “Today’s hearing was not a trial, but the Committee made every effort to provide Representative Stahl Hamilton the due process to which she is entitled as a member of the House.”

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Republican Legislator Announces Ethics Complaint Against Representative Caught Hiding Bibles at State Capitol

Neil Jones

Three Arizona State Representatives, Justin Heap (R-Mesa), David Marshall (R-Snowflake), and Lupe Diaz (R-Benson), announced Monday that the group filed an ethics complaint against Representative Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D-Flagstaff) after it was discovered she was removing Bibles on display at the State Capitol and hiding them from sight.

“Today I, @DaveMarshallAZ & @LupeDiaz4AZ filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton. We will not allow a single Member to decide for the whole Legislature & the millions of faithful Arizonans that their beliefs & values are no longer welcome in government,” Heap shared.

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Surveillance Footage Reveals Democrat State Representative Hiding Bibles from View at Arizona Capitol

Neil Jones

New surveillance footage at the Arizona State Capitol, first covered by AZ Family, shows State Representative Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D-Flagstaff), an ordained minister, taking two Bibles placed around the House’s member-only lounge and hiding them out of view.

“It’s bizarre and juvenile for an elected public official, an ordained minister nonetheless, to act in this manner. Such actions are disrespectful to the Bible and people of faith, and to the institution of the House and its members,” said House Majority Caucus spokesman Andrew Wilder in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.

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Commentary: Seven Financial Tips from the Book of Proverbs

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Ask someone from the millennial or Generation Z crowds about tech-related topics and you’ll likely get an encyclopedia of knowledge pouring forth. Ask those same cohorts about a financial decision or money-related matter and you just might get a deer-in-the-headlights look.

Over two-thirds of people ages 18-41 have “financial topics they want advice on,” a Harris Poll found earlier this year, “but aren’t sure how to get it.” And given that 70 percent of millennials and 65 percent of Generation Z live paycheck to paycheck, it’s not hard to imagine what types of financial advice might be needed.

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Humphreys County Parent Angered After Child Brings Bible Home from School

Peter D'Abrosca

A Humphreys County parent is angry after she said her child was given a bible from school. 

“[My daughter] said they put the Bibles on a table and the principal himself said, ‘You can take them,’ and she felt very uncomfortable not doing it because she was afraid to catch hell from kids,” according to the parent, who asked to remain anonymous. 

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Scientists Believe They’ve Found Physical Evidence for One of the Most Infamous Biblical Stories

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Scientists believe they have found physical evidence that an exploding space rock could have inspired one of the most infamous stories in the Bible, archaeologist Christopher R. Moore wrote, Yahoo News reported.

Scientists may have found proof of an icy space rock hurtling through the atmosphere at about 38,000 mph toward the ancient Biblical city Sodom, now called Tall el-Hammam, roughly 3,600 years ago, Moore wrote. The Bible describes the destruction of an urban center near the Dead Sea, with stones and fire falling from the sky.

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IRS Denies Tax Exemption to Christian Group, Associates Bible with GOP

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Woman's hands with Holy Bible and taking notes

A top Internal Revenue Service official told a Christian group that “Bible teachings are typically affiliated” with the Republican Party as a rationale for denying its application for tax-exempt status. 

The Texas-based Christians Engaged filed an appeal on Wednesday to the IRS’ denial, objecting to the tax agency’s assertion that it is partisan. 

In a May 18 denial letter, IRS Exempt Organizations Director Stephen A. Martin said Christians Engaged is involved in “prohibited political campaign intervention” and “operate[s] for a substantial non-exempt private purpose and for the private interests of the [Republican Party].”

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Lipscomb University Lectures How Whiteness Shapes Spirituality, Anti-Racism is Fundamental to Salvation

Corinne Murdock
Lipscomb University

According to Lipscomb University, whiteness shapes spirituality and anti-racism is necessary for salvation. These were topics lectured to students in two mandatory small-group sessions – weekly occurrences called “Breakouts” – offered this past spring semester. 

Lipscomb University requires students to select one Breakout at the beginning of the semester. Once a student chooses their Breakout, they must remain in that group for the entire semester. 

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Lipscomb University’s Christian Scholars Conference to Host Ibram Kendi, ‘How to Be Antiracist’ Author, as Featured Speaker, Scrubs Website After Tennessee Star Inquiries

Corinne Murdock

Lipscomb University, a self-proclaimed Christian institution, chose “How to Be Antiracist” author Ibram Kendi as a featured speaker for its 2021 Christian Scholars Conference (CSC). The Tennessee Star reached out for more details to CSC Chair David Fleer, Lipscomb University spokespersons, Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry, and Lipscomb University Board of Trustees Chair David Solomon. None of them responded by press time.

After The Star reached out to each of those individuals, Lipscomb University completely scrubbed the original contents of its CSC page. An archived version of the website from Tuesday shows that the original CSC page was largely dedicated to Kendi’s appearance as a featured guest speaker. It also included positive remarks from Fleer about Kendi.

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Student Sues School for Banning Biblical Shirt While Allowing LGBTQ Speech

Corinne Murdock

A Tennessee high school student has filed a lawsuit against Overton County School District (OCS) for banning her Biblical shirt while allowing other free speech. The shirt read: “HOMOSEXUALITY IS A SIN – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.” 
OCS claimed that the student’s shirt violated Livingston Academy dress code policy. Although the policy doesn’t define “offensive messages” or “sexual connotations,” Principal Richard Melton determined that the student’s shirt fell under those criteria.

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Evangelical Kelly Kullberg Offers Free Bible Study Book to Help Christians Use Wisdom of Scriptures in Immigration Debate

Jason M. Reynolds

  No issue is dividing America – including Christians – more than immigration, evangelical Kelly Kullberg says. The American Association of Evangelicals (AAE) and Evangelicals for Biblical Immigration (EBI) say this division is tragic and unnecessary, when a biblical understanding of a wise welcome could heal both the Church and nation. Kullberg is founder of American Association of Evangelicals, the Veritas Forum and author of “Finding God Beyond Harvard.” Kullberg, AAE and EBI are offering a new, free, downloadable Bible study on the topic of immigration called “Wise Welcome: The Bible & Immigration.” The book can help Christians use the wisdom of scriptures in the immigration debate. Kullberg is author of “Wise Welcome: The Bible & Immigration;” co-author is Dr. James Hoffmeier, a former missionary child, refugee, legal immigrant, and Old Testament scholar and professor. The book may be downloaded from AAE’s website here. George Soros-funded “ministries” like Sojourners and Faith in Public Life help the open borders political project, but few know that the Bible does not teach open borders and blanket amnesty. It teaches discernment and “Wise Welcome,” Kullberg, a spokesperson for AAE, said in a press release. “Many people have heard the beautiful verse from Matthew 25,…

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Students Sue Pennsylvania School District Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Bible Ban

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by Joshua Gill   Cumberland County High School students filed a lawsuit against their Pennsylvania school district over what they call an unconstitutional ban on distributing the Bible on campus. The students, leaders of the Christians in Action Student Club, filed their lawsuit against Mechanicsburg Area School District (MASD) Wednesday with the help of Independence Law Center after the district refused to rescind its policies preventing the students from handing out Bibles on campus during non-instructional hours. The law firm, a local pro-bono legal organization, initially sent a letter to school district administrators challenging them to rescind their “Bible ban.” The school district responded to the challenge, claiming the law firm’s allegations were “misleading” and that the students never formally requested to hand out Bibles and were therefore never officially prohibited from distributing scripture. The law firm disputed the district’s claim, saying that email records proved otherwise. “Despite what the school district has later said, the students requested permission to share Bibles at lunch and were explicitly denied the ability to do so by the principal,” Randall Wenger, chief counsel for the law center, said in a press statement. “The principal by email told the students they are ‘not permitted…

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In Unique Midnight Ceremony, Mike DeWine Sworn in as Governor of Ohio

Andrew Shirley

If his first day in office is any gauge of his coming term of office, Governor DeWine will have an unprecedented tenure. DeWine is not the first executive to be sworn in on more than one Bible. As recently as 2017, President Donald Trump was sworn in on two; a common practice. When Mike DeWine was sworn in as Governor of Ohio, he was sworn in on nine. Nine Bibles. At 12:01 A.M., Mike DeWine took his oath of office at his family home in Cedarville. Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine, his son, administered the oath with all nine Bibles. When asked why nine, a spokesperson stated that the family wanted one for each of their eight children, in addition to theirs. Immediately following the ceremony, the 72-year-old Ohioan, signed six separate Executive Orders, crossing a wide array of issues. They are: E.O. 2019-01D: Creating the Governor’s RecoveryOhio Initiative, This creates a special task force that will oversee the statewide battle against the Opioid Epidemic. Leading the group as his “Drug-Czar” is  Alisha Nelson, who has served in the capacity under DeWine when he was Attorney General, E.O. 2019-02D: Creating the Governor’s Children’s Initiative, Ohio has one of the highest childhood…

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Tennessee Star Report Exclusive: Mark West Resigns as President of Chattanooga Tea Party to Focus More on God’s Word

Julie Carr

In an exclusive interview during Thursday morning’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– Gill and Leahy spoke to Mark West, who last night, resigned as President of the Chattanooga Tea Party after nine years. During the interview, West discussed his reasons for resigning and what he was currently focused on.  West convictionally expressed his new found enjoyment in raising buffalo and his commitment and dedication to reading the word of God each day.  He concluded the discussion by reciting a portion of a piece entitled, “Mission Worthy of an Old Guy’s Focus” and how this applies to the word and one’s duty to pass it on to future generations. Leahy: By the way we are joined now, on the line by our good friend, Mark West, who has served as the president of the Chattanooga Tea Party from April 15, 2009 until last night, when he resigned.  And so, Mark West welcome to the Tennessee Star Report. West: Hey Michael good to talk to you and Steve good to hear from you! Gill: And in addition to his many…

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Chattanooga Public School Students Take Bible Classes

Chris Butler
Bible

You may not think such a thing legal in this day and age, but the Hamilton County Public School System offers a Bible History Class. This is courtesy of a Chattanooga-based nonprofit that has put up millions of dollars of its own money to fund it. The group, Bible in the Schools, has donated cash for several years, and their money funds teachers and materials for the class, said Hamilton County School Systems spokesman Tim Hensley, in an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star. A representative from Bible in the Schools was unavailable to talk Thursday. The group has already donated $1.3 million to fund the course for the school year, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. According to the paper, enrollment data from 23 participating schools show 4,068 students in grades six through 12 completed the courses during the 2017-18 academic year, a record enrollment. The $1.3 million was the largest philanthropic gift the school system received for the year. With the money the school system hired 20 qualified and certified Bible History teachers, Superintendent Bryan Johnson told the paper. The class is an elective. Bible in the Schools has made this course possible for nearly 10 decades,…

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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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Steve Gill: Indiana Church Misguided for ‘Detainment’ of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Protest of Trump Border Policy

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill, on Wednesday’s Gill Report broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, discussed the Biblical protest by an Indianapolis church and its misguided interpretation of the holy family as immigrants. “An Indianapolis church is putting Jesus, Mary and Joseph in a cage, to protest president Trump’s zero tolerance policy cracking down on illegal immigration,” stated Steve Gill; adding, “Apparently the church is incapable of understanding the term ‘illegal,’ you know, ‘criminal behavior.’ Apparently, we shouldn’t put people in prisons if they break the law.” He continued: I wonder if somebody broke into the church and stole all the church items and stole the money in the church whether they would prosecute or just turn the other cheek and say we shouldn’t jail anybody because it might separate them from their families. Anyway, Christ Church Cathedral constructed a cage made of chain link fence on its lawn overnight and placed statues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph inside to represent Christ and the holy family being detained by immigration authorities. The church tweeted out yesterday morning, ‘On our lawn tonight, we place the holy family in an ICE detention.’ Steve Carlson, the church’s rector and dean,…

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LifeWay Research: More Than Half of Americans Have Read Little or None of the Bible

Wendy Wilson

Many Americans say they own a Bible and have a positive view of it, but not many make a habit of reading it, a new LifeWay Research study has found. Church leaders have become increasingly worried about biblical literacy and the results show why. “Most Americans don’t know first-hand the overall story of the Bible—because they rarely pick it up,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, in a news release. “Even among worship attendees less than half read the Bible daily. The only time most Americans hear from the Bible is when someone else is reading it.” LifeWay Research, which is based in Nashville and is part of the Southern Baptist Convention, surveyed 1,000 people for the study. Few have a systematic plan for reading the Bible and more than half of Americans have read little or none of the Bible, the study shows. Not surprisingly, the study found that those who attend church regularly are more likely to read the Christian scripture daily. Women are more likely than men to read the Bible and Protestants are more likely than Catholics to read it. Evangelicals are more likely to read the Bible than those without evangelical beliefs. People in…

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Kentucky Governor Says Bible Is Welcome In Kentucky Public Schools

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has signed two bills into law emphasizing that the Bible is welcome in state schools, the Baptist Press reports. This week the Republican governor signed legislation allowing students to take Bible literacy as an elective. Last month, he signed a bill clarifying that students can express religious and political viewpoints in K-12 schools and colleges. Bevin had declared 2017 the Year of the Bible. A Republican state senator sponsored the legislation about expression after a Johnson County elementary school took out biblical references from a presentation of Charlie Brown’s Christmas Carol. There are already rights in place for religious expression, but the law is intended to clear up misunderstandings on the part of some teachers and administrators. As for Bible literacy classes, some schools already offer them but the law will offer more protection. C.B. Embry, a Republican state senator from Morgantown, was quoted by the Baptist Press as saying that children need a basic understanding of the Bible. “I don’t think there is another document in the history of our culture that has had more impact on our culture, our society or our values than the Bible,” Embry said. Even most of the Democrats in…

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