1900 people in Vancouver have accepted Christ during an evangelistic crusade at which Billy Graham’s son Franklin Graham was preaching. This was despite Graham receiving a letter beforehand from church leaders claiming to represent over half the Christians in the city, urging organisers to withdraw Graham from the crusade because of his right-wing political views. The organisers responded that Graham was “not coming to incite hatred or violence but simply to preach the Gospel.”
Once again, Muslims from the Middle East have converted to Christianity and reported that they did so because Jesus appeared to them in a dream. Bishop George Saliba in Beirut has baptised at least 100 ex-Muslim Syrian refugees since the start of the Syrian Civil War. Also, two Middle Eastern pastors who were arrested after running an underground church for new believers were maltreated at first but then an official intervened. Eventually the official admitted that he had dreamed of Jesus who said, "My children are being tortured in your jail. I leave them before you. My children are the apple of my eyes." The official became a Christian himself, was baptised, and then released the men.
The US Government has started proceedings to reduce finding for abortion. It has saved $200 million by ceasing funding for abortion as part of foreign aid packages, and it also plans to remove all federal funding from America’s biggest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has frequently presented itself as a provider of sexual health and women’s health services in general – but when the US Government offered to continue to fund them if they stopped all abortions, Planned Parenthood declined.
Planned Parenthood has also been under fire for its ‘sex education’ which is funded from the ObamaCare programme. In a recent undercover investigation in Portland, Oregon, a 15 year old girl was advised to watch porn without her parents’ knowledge; to buy items from a sex shop (which is illegal at her age); and to engage in deviant sexual practices – the counsellor summarised their advice by saying, “In Fifty Shades these things were abusive because they were enforced, but if they are consensual then they’re absolutely fine.”
There has also been renewed criticism of one of Britain’s biggest abortion providers. A newspaper investigation into Marie Stopes found that some women were being signed off to have abortions after a brief conversation with a call centre worker – and the officially recorded reason for the abortion may bear no resemblance to what is said on the phone.
Two street preachers from Bristol have been found guilty of a public order offence after preaching from the King James Bible. The prosecutor said, "To say to someone that Jesus is the only God is not a matter of truth. To the extent that they are saying that the only way to God is through Jesus, that cannot be a truth." They were also accused of being homophobic after discussing the Bible’s views on homosexuality with hecklers. The magistrate agreed with the prosecutor and fined both men £300.
In the USA, the marriage registrar who was taken to court for refusing to sign certificates for gay marriages and instructing her staff not to do so has won her final court battle. Kim Davis’ case was settled some time ago; she was not required to sign certificates but was banned from instructing her staff to do the same as her. The final issue was legal costs which often far outweigh any fines issued; in the case the ACLU wanted her to pay their legal fees of $231,000 but the judge refused.
Anna Hayford, the wife of well known preacher Jack Hayford from the 10,000-strong Church On The Way in Los Angeles, has passed away after a battle with cancer. She was 83. Jack and Anna had been married for 62 years; Anna was a licensed preacher herself and they co-pastored for 60 years.
The NHS in the UK has issued new guidance under which doctors and nurses will be encouraged to talk to dying patients about their religious preferences. Malcolm Brown, the Church of England Director of Mission and Public Affairs, said: “People’s views and needs can change radically as the inevitability of death approaches and dying can be eased considerably if careful opportunities to express or discuss these matters are created.”
A former porn star in the USA is now a pastor. Crystal Bassette filmed her first porn film at the age of 21 and appeared in over 100 films over the next 10 years. She married a Pentecostal minister in 2015 and they now co-pastor a church in Fulton, New York state. “I never saw myself going to this extreme,” she said, “but God leads you in these directions. I regret my time in the industry but then I think to myself, ‘if I didn’t do these things, where would I be today?’”
In film news, “The Shack” has been released. Although criticised by some for its varied depictions of God, it has been described as ‘a parable’ and ‘one of the most powerful and best-quality Christian movies for a long time’ by others.
And finally, a 20 year old Norwegian woman has announced on YouTube that she was born the wrong species and that she self-identifies as a cat. ‘Nano’ claims to have realised this at the age of 16; to have a superior sense of smell; to be able to see in the dark; and to hate dogs. She hunts mice at night while wearing cat ears and a tail though she has not yet caught any.
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