Tag Archives: United States

NFL Star on Baltimore: Only Christ Can Mend Us

An NFL star is boldly addressing the situation in Baltimore, saying that the problem is that people are not turning to the one who can truly bring healing: Christ.

Benjamin Watson, 11 year NFL veteran and current tight end for the New Orleans Saints, said that the problems in Baltimore are not unique to that city and will likely happen again somewhere else.  However, the problems are not just in cities but the nation.

“We have major problems as a nation. Yesterday, Ferguson burned. Tonight #Baltimore burns. Tomorrow, it will be another city in our homeland,” Watson wrote. “Watching the coverage I’m hearing yet another version of a nauseatingly familiar narrative: violence by police reciprocated by violence by the community, reciprocated by violence by police reciprocated by.… It seems fruitless to continue to analyze, condemn, and respond to these dreadful episodes.”

“Our problems are wholistic [sic] and common to the human heart. Hatred, prejudice, exploitation, pride, self righteousness, secrecy, and rebellion, manifest itself in the explosions we’ve seen over the last year, the last century, and the last millennia,” Watson continued. “Tonight I see so much entrenched pain without remedy. Most are handling it without violence while a few are committing the unacceptable.”

The remedy he said was Jesus.

“Tonight I see ‘smoke,’ but we must address the fire. The response that we are watching is just ‘smoke’ from years of hopelessness,” Watson described. “After each situation the more I am convinced that the love of God for our fellow brothers and sisters who were created in His image is our only hope for reconciliation.”

He also said that churches need to get out and make a difference in their neighborhoods because “holding hands and singing” is not the answer.

“But the only way we can even see Him that way is if God illuminates our view and changes our thought process. I’m not talking about holding hands and singing. Love is an action that compels one to treat another with dignity and respect even if they don’t deserve it,” Watson opined. “It pushes for education and opportunities for those in poverty. It gives identity and self worth. It administers justice without abuse. It honors authority and promotes peace. It is not weak, but strong for what is right!”

Supreme Court Throws Out Ruling Against Catholic Group

A Catholic organization that was being threatened with fines by the IRS because they were not providing insurance coverage including contraception has been given a reprieve by the Supreme Court.

The court granted Michigan Catholic Conference their request for an exemption for religious regions against the mandate by the Department of Health and Human Services.  The ruling means that the previous decision against the group was vacated and the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit must consider the Hobby Lobby decision in reviewing the case.

A counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty praised the ruling in a message to the Christian Post.

“That’s what is so bizarre about the government’s position,” said Mark Rienzi a senior counsel with the Becket Fund.

“The government says they are not a ‘religious employer’ and therefore they have to sign forms to authorize and require other people to give out contraceptives for them. That makes no sense at all.”

Rienzi said the Court will likely have to take up one of these cases in the future.

I think that the Court will continue the path it has set in the long string of mandate cases to date … and it will protect religious ministries from this mandate,” said Rienzi.

“This whole fight is unnecessary and silly. Obviously the government can distribute contraceptives without the forced involvement of the Catholic Church and its ministries. The government can put a man on the moon — they can distribute pills without religious ministries.”

The group is the sixth the justices have sided with on the issue since December 2013.

Prison Fellowship Praises Companies For No Longer Checking Criminal Past

Calling it a move consistent with the redemptive message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Prison Fellowship has praised Koch Industries, Walmart, Home Depot, Best Buy and others for no longer asking about criminal history on job applications.

Jesse Wiese of Justice Fellowship, the policy arm of Prison Fellowship, said that the move by the businesses is vital in several ways.

“Continually punishing somebody for one act in their past is antithetical to the gospel and diminishes human potential and the whole concept of the Imago Dei [image of God],” he said to the Christian Post.  “Often times the best person for the job is isolated because their application is being thrown out before they can even walk in the door.”

Wiese noted that one in four Americans has a criminal record that could be used against them when looking for a job.

Mark Holden of Koch Industries told CP that the move makes “moral sense.”

“A lot of people have made mistakes when they were younger, and if they committed a felony, they may not even go through the process because they feel like their application would be thrown in the trash,” Holden said.   “We could be precluding somebody from a fair hearing with initial questions, so we would rather find out what somebody is about first.”

Prison Fellowship is a ministry to prisoners started by the late Chuck Colson after his imprisonment from the Watergate scandal.

California Airports Increased Security Over ISIS Threat

A number of California airports increased security measures over the weekend after intelligence officials intercepted messages about a possible terror plot against the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security did not release details of the threat other than saying they had intercepted chatter and other information that raised concerns.  They also confirmed the chatter was connected to ISIS.

“Over the last few months, we have made a number of security adjustments, including enhanced screening at select overseas airports and increasing random searches of passengers and carry-on luggage on flights inbound to the U.S., reflecting an evolving threat picture,” a spokesman with the department told CNN.

In addition to the airport security upgrades, DHS confirmed they had been increasing security at federal installations since February.

“The department has conducted significant outreach efforts … with state and local law enforcement partners regarding these trends and engaging in a series of meetings and events with local community leaders across the country to counter violent extremism,” the spokesman stated.

The TSA alerted local law enforcement that the airlines might not be the target but rather an individual actor focusing on uniformed personnel at various locations.

The increase in DHS actions and security comes after the head of the FBI admitted they have intelligence of people in all 50 states with sympathy toward the terrorist organization ISIS.

“Those people exist in every state” Comey said at a law enforcement event. “I have homegrown violent extremist investigations in every single state. Until a few weeks ago there was 49 states. Alaska had none, which I couldn’t quite figure out. But Alaska has now joined the group, so we have investigations of people in various stages of radicalizing in all 50 states.”

Controversial “Sex Box” TV Show Cancelled

A television program that featured people having sex in a box just feet away from a panel of therapists and commentators in a soundproof box has been cancelled by the WE TV network because of low ratings.

The network said the show did not attract the “large numbers of viewers”but that they are considering ways to chance the show for a return to the air.  The show previously featured two adults having sex and then talking about it just after the act with therapists and show hosts.

The producers of the show claimed that there was nothing improper or pornographic about the show.

The show had been condemned by Christian groups across the nation who had been calling for a boycott of WE TV because of the program.  The Parent’s Television Council had started an online petition to stop the program before it aired.

The network’s response was for people to “watch before you judge”.

The PTC released a statement Friday praising the cancellation and declaring victory in their effort to remove the show.

“The program from its very outset was an affront to families, toxic to advertisers, and a clear demonstration of a badly-broken business model that forces every cable/satellite subscriber to pay for unwanted and unwatched cable networks,” stated PTC President Tim Winter.

“PTC members and other pro-family groups who signed petitions against the show are to be congratulated for their successful activism.”

Yellowstone Supervolcano Has Massive Magna Reserve

A team of scientists have made a shocking discovery regarding the supervolcano beneath Yellowstone National Park.

The magma reserve under the volcano are significantly larger than previously recorded.

Researchers from the University of Utah report in the journal Science that the magma under Yellowstone could fill the Grand Canyon almost 14 times.  Most of the magma is in a newly discovered reservoir under the previously discovered reservoir.

“For the first time, we have imaged the continuous volcanic plumbing system under Yellowstone,”says first author Hsin-Hua Huang, also a postdoctoral researcher in geology and geophysics. “That includes the upper crustal magma chamber we have seen previously plus a lower crustal magma reservoir that has never been imaged before and that connects the upper chamber to the Yellowstone hotspot plume below.”

The newly discovered reservoir feeds the magma chamber that heats the geysers and other attractions at Yellowstone.  The scientists found that the chambers are made of mostly solid rock with holes through them like a sponge allowing liquid magma to move.

The researchers were quick to point out that the discovery doesn’t mean that an eruption is any more imminent; just that they have a better understanding of the system that would lead to an eruption at some point in the future.

“The actual hazard is the same, but now we have a much better understanding of the complete crustal magma system,” said researcher Robert B. Smith.

The researchers say that the odds of an eruption each year is 1 in 700,000, the same odds as a person being struck by lightning.

Ex-Boxing Champion’s Mansion To Become Church

At one point, it was a spectacle of boxing trophies, lavish parties and even a few tigers roaming around the ground.

Now, the former mansion of legendary boxer Mike Tyson is being turned into a church after the landowner who bought the mansion at auction donated it to a local church.

The building in Southington, Ohio was built with gold-plated furnishings and even a jacuzzi room with mirrored ceilings.  The mansion still has many of the extravagant touches but has been abandoned since the boxer went bankrupt and was forced to sell almost all of his possessions.

The mansion was given to Living Word Sanctuary that plans to have the building converted to a ministry center by the end of the year.  They’ve even invited Mike Tyson to come and attend the first service in the building when it’s ready to go.

“How we stumbled upon the place was really God’s grace because we had no intentions of looking…,”said Pastor Nick Dejacimo of Living Word.  The church plans to have Vacation Bible Schools and nature events at the grounds along with weekly worship services and Bible studies.

The church is currently meeting inside a YMCA in Warren, Ohio.

Minnesota Declares State of Emergency Over Bird Flu

Minnesota has declared a state of emergency because of a strain of avian flu that has led to the elimination of 7.3 million birds.  It’s the second state to declare the emergency over the bird flu following Wisconsin.

The highly infectious strain of H5N2 bird flu has been found in 46 different Minnesota farms in 16 counties.  The disease has hit around 2.6 million birds.

State health officials are rushing doses of Tamiflu to farm workers or anyone else who has been in contact with the infected birds.  As of April 24th, no humans have been confirmed to have been infected with the H5N2 strain.

“There’s no reason for anybody in the state of Minnesota to be concerned about their own health,” Governor Mark Dayton said at a press conference on Thursday after declaring the state of emergency.

The H5N2 strain is so deadly to birds that an entirely infected flock will die within 48 hours.

Two bird flu strains have been discovered in the United States this year. The H5N2 strain is in Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. It has also been identified on farms in Ontario, Canada.  The other strain, H5N8, was found in California and Idaho.

The top U.S. egg producing state, Iowa, reported the virus in a farm that has 3.8 million hens.

New Report Says 143 Million Americans In Earthquake Zones

A new report says that around 143 million Americans are living in an earthquake zone and that 28 million in the lower 48 are in danger of “strong shaking”by a quake.

The researchers attribute the record total to population migration with many moving to the earthquake areas on the West Coast that are known for their activity.  The scientists also say a “change in hazard assessment”contributed to the expansion of zones.

The report shows nearly 20,000 schools are in the area that is considered a threat from earthquakes.

The last time FEMA estimated the number of Americans who could be impacted by a quake in 1994.  That report stated only 75 million Americans were at risk.  The study was conducted then by the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Geological Survey and FEMA.

The new report says that financial losses from damages to schools, hospitals and other emergency responder buildings could run over $4.5 billion per year.  Up to 80% of that cost would be located along the West Coast.

“While the West Coast may carry the larger burden of potential losses and the greatest threat from the strongest shaking, this report shows that the threat from earthquakes is widespread,”said Kishor Jaiswal, the researcher who presented the findings.

Christian Burger Chain Voted America’s Favorite

A Christian burger chain that prints a Bible verse on their drink cups has been named the favorite  “limited service” restaurant in America.

In-N-Out Burger is listed with other restaurants that allow customers to pay at a counter such as buffets, cafeterias and steak houses.  The honor was given in the annual Consumer Picks survey in Nation’s Restaurant News.

The company prints verses on the bottom of their drink cups including Revelation 3:20, John 3:16, Matthew 6:19 and 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Rich Snyder, president of the company in the 1980s, wanted to find a way to better establish the company’s Christian beliefs in their daily business.

The survey ranks 172 restaurants in a variety of categories including food quality and cleanliness.  Over 42,000 people provided responses for the survey.

In-N-Out was not the only openly Christian restaurant to do well in the survey.  Chick-fil-A finished 5th in the survey of 172 chains.