North Korea surprised the world by releasing an American Christian who had been held illegally in the country for the last six months.
Jeffrey Fowle, who had forgotten his Bible in the bathroom of a restaurant, has been held since mid-May on charges that he was using his tourist visa as a way to commit Christian proselytization.
“We can confirm that Jeffrey Fowle has been allowed to depart the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and is on his way home to re-join his family,” U.S. State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf said in a statement on Tuesday.
Fowle spoke to reporters last month and said that while he was good his situation was getting desperate.
The White House said that while they were very happy for Fowle’s release, they are still demanding the release of two other captured Americans, Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller.
The United States will force all flights from countries that have Ebola outbreaks to five airports to allow more through screening for the virus.
Anyone flying into the U.S. from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea will now have to travel through JFK in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Dulles in Washington, D.C., Atlanta or Chicago. The move goes into effect immediately according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“We are working closely with the airlines to implement these restrictions with minimal travel disruption,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement. “If not already handled by the airlines, the few impacted travelers should contact the airlines for rebooking, as needed.”
Johnson said that 94% of passengers from those areas reportedly already come through those airports, so it should have minimal impact on the worldwide airline flight schedules.
“We currently have in place measures to identify and screen anyone at all land, sea and air ports of entry into the United States who we have reason to believe has been present in Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea in the preceding 21 days,” Johnson said.
A Washington-based travel group told Reuters that an average of 150 per day come into the U.S. from those countries.
A new study from Barna Group says that unchurched Americans are more hostile toward evangelism than ever in the country’s history.
The survey says that since 1993, the number of unchurched Americans who would be open to attending church if invited by a friend was down from 65 percent to 47 percent.
The study showed that most people open to visiting church did so because of personal invitations from friends they knew well. Advertising and impersonal contacts such as cold phone calls were shown to have more negative than positive impact on those who do not attend church.
“The gap between the churched and the churchless is growing, and it appears that Christian communities of faith will struggle more than ever to engage church outsiders in their neighborhood, town or city,” Barna Group President David Kinnaman told the Christian Post.
He said that secular society has taken aggressive steps to make Christians seem “increasingly alien and difficult to understand.”
Young Christians across the nation participated in the outreach called “Bring Your Bible To School Day.”
The event, sponsored by Focus on the Family and Day of Dialogue, is “designed to empower Christian students who have a heart for sharing Christ’s love and express a Biblical perspective on current-day issues with peers.”
Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family, said the event was aimed to encourage students to engage their peers on matters of faith.
“We believe truth rises to the surface when honest conversations and a free exchange of ideas are allowed to happen,” Cushman told The Christian Post.“It equips the next generation of Christian leaders with confidence that the Gospel of Christ speaks into even the most sensitive cultural issues.”
The event is also designed to show teachers and other staff at the schools that students do not leave their religious freedom at the school house door.
“Federal courts have repeatedly upheld the rights of students to bring their Bibles to school, to distribute Bibles at school, and to discuss the Bible at school during non-instructional time,” the legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) explained in a legal memo surrounding today’s observance.
“Christian students don’t abandon their constitutionally protected freedoms at the schoolhouse gate,” ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco told Christian Post. “Their freedom to express their beliefs includes the right to bring their Bible to school, to read it during their free time, and to engage in other activities as part of ‘Bring Your Bible to School Day.’”
The U.S. Census Bureau released a report Thursday showing that 48 million Americans are living in poverty.
The report says that despite government programs that help the poor, even 16% of children are still living in poverty.
The report from the Census Bureau is different than the standard report because it takes into account living conditions when considering who is in poverty. So while the official national poverty line is $23,283 for a family of four, in major cities the measure could be $30,000 or more.
California’s poverty rate under the new stat review is 23.4%, meaning almost 1 in 4 Californians can’t afford to live in that state’s high costs of living. New York, Florida and 10 other states had increases in their poverty numbers with the new measure.
The biggest factor putting people into poverty is medical bills according to the report.
Yet the CDC allowed the latest American to be infected with the virus to fly on an airplane after showing a low-grade fever.
The Centers for Disease Control admits they allowed Amber Vinson of Dallas to fly from Cleveland to Dallas with a fever of 99.5.
“Although she did not report any symptoms and she did not meet the fever threshold of 100.4, she did report at that time she took her temperature and found it to be 99.5,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden. “I don’t think that changes the level of risk of people around her. She did not vomit, she was not bleeding, so the level of risk of people around her would be extremely low.”
However, the CDC is contacting everyone who was on the flight about their possible exposure to Ebola.
“Those who have exposures to Ebola, she should not have traveled on a commercial airline,” said Dr. Frieden. “The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for controlled movement. That can include a charter plane; that can include a car; but it does not include public transport. We will from this moment forward ensure that no other individual who is being monitored for exposure undergoes travel in any way other than controlled movement.”
The plane was used for five additional flights before it was taken out of service.
The U.S. Supreme Court has stepped in to block a law that was designed to protect the health of women seeking to end the lives of their babies via abortion in Texas.
In an unsigned order from the court, they supported abortionists and those who advocate the killing of babies via abortion by suspending the October 2nd ruling of an appeals court that said that Texas law could take effect while appeals take place.
The court also put on hold a part of the law that requires doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals for abortionists near the Texas/Mexico border.
“This does not protect the health and safety of women who are undergoing abortion,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life. “”This is definitely a short-term loss, but not necessarily a long- term loss.”
Texas state attorneys say that the law is not a burden on women who want to kill their babies, because nearly 9 in 10 women still live within 150 miles of an abortionist.
It was a simple article from a Commander in the Air National Guard about their own spiritual journey in their role as a Commander.
However, after one anti-Christianist complained about the content, a higher-ranking commander ordered the article removed so as not to offend the unidentified service member.
Col. Craig R. Baker sided with the anti-Christianist and said the publication would be sent out again minus the life story of Col. Florencio Marquinez.
“There have been many challenges and adversities along the way that really impacted my life,” he shared, after speaking about his appreciation for the Airman’s Creed. “It is my strong spiritual foundation that has kept the light shining on my path. I would not be the man I am today if isn’t wasn’t for my mother leading our whole family to Jesus Christ. Her creed to us five children growing up is God first in your life, then comes family and third, work.”
“My career both in the military and civilian world has brought many challenges and struggles, but one verse from the Bible that really helped me get through them is from Matthew 19:26, ‘With God, all things are possible,’” Marquinez continued. “So no matter how stressful your life can be with juggling family issues, relationships, career advancement, work, school or any burden that life throws your way, cast it upon the Lord and He will sustain you.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom is accusing Col. Baker of violating the civil rights of Col. Marquienez because his views cannot be squelched simply because of his religious beliefs.
A nurse who treated the Liberian who arrived in Texas infected with Ebola has been confirmed to be infected with the virus.
“A health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the Ebola patient hospitalized there has tested positive for Ebola in a preliminary test at the state public health laboratory in Austin,” reads a statement issued Sunday morning by the Texas Department of State Health Services. “Confirmatory testing will be conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.”
The head of state health services said he was not surprised to see someone else become infected with the virus.
“We knew a second case could be a reality, and we’ve been preparing for this possibility,” said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. “We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread.”
The CDC was quick to claim the infection had to be a mistake on the part of the nurse, despite having no evidence to back up that claim.
Rick Warren spoke to a group of church planters and told them that building a church is more important than drawing a crowd.
“You must be very careful how you build. Some build with gold, silver, precious stones even wood, hay and straw but the day will come when fire will reveal the quality of your work and if what you build survives, you will receive a reward,” Warren said on Thursday of the three-day conference.
“The success of your ministry isn’t about size or speed, regardless of those ‘large church lists.’ God isn’t going to judge you based on those things because those are human measurements.”
Warren said that church planters are too preoccupied with church trends or what is “currently in or hip.”
“I could show you how to get a crowd but a crowd isn’t a church,” Warren said. “Most church planters spend an entire year planning the first service and none planning the second.”
Warren said more than anything church planters need a pure heart and clear purpose.