Ex-Pastor Popular Author Says He Can No Longer Call Himself a ‘Christian’

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The author of the influential Christian book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” who recently announced that he and his wife are separating, now says he can no longer call himself a Christian by “all the measurements” he has for defining the term.

Former pastor Josh Harris, who has previously denounced aspects of his popular courtship series, made the declaration in an Instagram post on Saturday featuring a photo of himself looking out at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. In the post, Harris tells his followers that his earlier announcement about the decision to get a divorce left out a key piece of information: he no longer identifies as a Christian. The statement also includes an apology to members of the LGBT community.

“My heart is full of gratitude. I wish you could see all the messages people sent me after the announcement of my divorce. They are expressions of love though they are saddened or even strongly disapprove of the decision,” Harris begins. “I am learning that no group has the market cornered on grace. This week I’ve received grace from Christians, atheists, evangelicals, exvangelicals, straight people, LGBTQ people, and everyone in-between. Of course there have also been strong words of rebuke from religious people. While not always pleasant, I know they are seeking to love me. (There have also been spiteful, hateful comments that angered and hurt me.)⁣⁣”

Harris then arrives at his big reveal about having “deconstructed” his faith. “The information that was left out of our announcement is that I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus,” he explains. “The popular phrase for this is ‘deconstruction,’ the biblical phrase is ‘falling away.’ By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian. Many people tell me that there is a different way to practice faith and I want to remain open to this, but I’m not there now.⁣⁣” (Read more from “Ex-Pastor Popular Author Says He Can No Longer Call Himself a ‘Christian’” HERE)

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State’s Assisted Suicide Law to Allow Terminally Ill Patients ‘Right to Die’

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New Jersey’s assisted suicide law goes into effect Thursday, allowing terminally ill patients to request a prescription from their doctors that would aid in ending their lives.

The law, which took eight years to pass in the state until Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy signed it in April, allows New Jersey residents with a terminal, incurable diagnosis that would end the person’s life in six months to request a prescription medication that would end their lives.

Patients would be required to ask their doctor twice in 15 days and submit a written request witnessed by two people stating that they are “fully informed” of alternatives, including palliative care and pain control. . .

The law is gaining momentum in several states— including Oregon, Washington, California, Vermont, Hawaii, and Colorado— and state health department records show that 3,478 people have died using assisted suicide methods since the law was passed. . .

“Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks,” the American Medical Association (AMA) wrote in May. (Read more from “State’s Assisted Suicide Law to Allow Terminally Ill Patients ‘Right to Die’” HERE)

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Ilhan Omar Splits From Second Husband as Questions About Marital History Heats Up

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Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has reportedly split from her second husband and is headed for divorce as questions continue to mount about her marital history, according to the exclusive reporting of The Daily Mail.

“The bust-up comes just as critics are demanding answers as to whether she married her own brother in a successful bid to get him into the United States,” The Daily Mail reported. “Omar has now dumped her current husband Ahmed Hirsi – who she first married in a religious ceremony in 2002 and divorced in 2008 – and moved into a penthouse apartment in one of Minneapolis’s trendiest neighborhoods, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively.” . . .

The Daily Mail says that they were told by a family friend that Hirsi only goes to Omar’s home “when Ilhan is in DC.” . . .

Earlier this week Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint to David Skaggs, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Office of Congressional Ethics, “calling for a full investigation into potential crimes tied to allegations that Rep. Ilhan Omar may have married her biological brother.” . . .

The allegations recently resurfaced and have started to gain traction in the media after the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ordered Omar “to repay her state House campaign committee nearly $3,500 in funds used in violation of law, as well as pay to the state a $500 civil penalty,” The Hill reported. “But the report issued by the board also revealed that Omar and her current husband Ahmed Hirsi filed joint tax returns in 2014 and 2015, while Omar was still legally married to another man, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.” (Read more from “Ilhan Omar Splits From Second Husband as Questions About Marital History Heats Up” HERE)

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SEAL Team 6 Member Charged With Impersonating People to Get Nude Pics

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A Navy SEAL Team 6 member who was named Sailor of the Year in 2016 has been charged with impersonating other people via text to get nude pictures of women, according to a report.

Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Howard faces a general court-martial for the allegations, The Virginian-Pilot reported Friday, citing charge documents.

Howard’s civil defense attorney, Michael Waddington, told the paper that the Navy did not find the alleged photos on Howard’s phone. . .

On Wednesday, a Navy SEAL platoon from San Diego was ordered back to the U.S. from Iraq for the members’ refusal to cooperate with an investigation into alleged sexual assault and reports of drinking alcohol while deployed.

And earlier this month, a weekslong trial concluded for Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who had been charged with murder and attempted murder in the killing of a teenage ISIS member in Iraq. (A jury eventually found Gallagher not guilty.) (Read more from “SEAL Team 6 Member Charged With Impersonating People to Get Nude Pics” HERE)

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Sign of the Times: Seattle Adults Pay Money to Pretend to Be Children for a Day

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From the progressive city of Seattle comes an invitation for grown adults to regress back into childhood for a day at the park. On Saturday, August 3, Center Stage Event Marketing invites grown-ups to ditch their kids, forget their phones, and attend “Adult Recess” for a seven hour event where folks are welcome to act like they are a kid again. . .

The Seattle Times reports that portions of the event will benefit the Ronald McDonald House, but that the main purpose of the day is “to create an event that dropped attendees straight into their elementary-school playground — with the addition of beer. ”

Likewise, “The event will go beyond the physical activities surrounding recess. There will be ’80s and ’90s music, and food trucks with childhood favorites — peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, mac and cheese, and ice cream.” . . .

Far be it for me to judge how any grown adult spends his or her time. This is America and they can do whatever they want. But it is little concerning as a society that there are full-on camps for adults to pretend to be like children. Isn’t there a responsibility for adults to not act like children, let alone pay to pretend to be one, so that the next generation can have role models? Furthermore, isn’t this idea purely self-centered? Rather than take children, your own or other kids, to go and enjoy the wonders of life — grownups are paying to play make-believe that they can simply shirk adulthood? Wouldn’t it be better to experience “nostalgia” to teach boys and girls the games that you played growing up? Again, people can spend their money how they want to, but it sure seems like this is a defining mark of an unserious country filled with unserious people. (Read more from “Sign of the Times: Seattle Adults Pay Money to Pretend to Be Children for a Day” HERE)

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New ‘Suicide Pod’ Unveiled, Has a Detachable Coffin

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In the near future, people may be able to step inside of an all-inclusive suicide pod that not only gets the deadly job done but also provides the very capsule in which people can be buried.

According to LifeNews, Australian euthanasia activist Dr. Philip Nitschke, a.k.a. “Dr Death,” recently unveiled his 3D printed suicide capsule that comes with a coffin.

“The death pod, also referred to as a ‘glorified gas chamber’ was first envisioned in 2012,” reports the outlet. “It contains canisters of liquid nitrogen which is released when activated by the person inside the capsule within the pod, causing oxygen levels to plummet to very low levels and starving the individual of the air he or she needs, causing their death. The capsule is then detached from the pod and serves as a coffin for the occupant.”

The capsule was unveiled at the “Disrupting Death” workshop in Queensland, Australia, and promised people that it will kill them with “style and euphoria,” with Nitschke claiming that people will experience an “elegant almost euphoric” death when using the pod.

“The idea of using a machine to have absolute control really has been a long-term interest of mine,” he told Exit International. “So, a person can, with minimal involvement, get into the machine and press a button for a very peaceful, elegant almost-euphoric death.” (Read more from “New ‘Suicide Pod’ Unveiled, Has a Detachable Coffin” HERE)

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Politifact’s ‘Fact Check’ on AOC Crying in Front of ‘Empty Parking Lot’ Is Utterly Hilarious

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Politifact is at it again! The left-wing fact-checker purporting to be unbiased made a mockery of themselves (again) with their latest rating concerning socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Politifact, creating their best damage control for the freshman congresswoman, rated the claim that Ocasio-Cortez cried in front of an empty parking lot for a photo-op as “false” because it was, in fact, a “road” with some parked cars, not a parking lot, that the elected Democrat cried in front of. . .

The Internet was not on the same page, and it got worse from there for the 29-year-old. When more photos came to light, it appeared she was crying in front of an empty driveway area where cars were parked. There were no migrants in AOC’s view, it appeared. As one might imagine, the mockery of AOC then hit fever pitch. . .

But thank goodness for the likes of nonpartisan fact-checkers like Politifact to set us all straight.

“No, this isn’t a photo of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez crying over a parking lot,” reported Politifact.

“Photographers at the scene who took photos of Ocasio-Cortez say she was not facing a parking lot,” the fact-checker’s “ruling” said. “Rather she was just beyond the toll plaza for the Tornillo facility, and she standing on a road that led to the Tornillo tent complex, which was in the line of her gaze, as she stood at the fence. Pictures by other outlets also confirm the location.” (Read more from “Politifact’s ‘Fact Check’ on AOC Crying in Front of ‘Empty Parking Lot’ Is Utterly Hilarious” HERE)

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Transgender Activist Pushes for LGBTQ ‘Topless’ Swim Parties for Children at Town Pools. Oh, and Parents Can’t Attend.

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Transgender activist Jessica Yaniv — a biological male who identifies as a female — is pushing for LGBTQ “topless” swim parties for children as young as 12 at pools run by a Canadian town. And one of the stipulations is that parents and guardians are barred from attending. . .

Yaniv petitioned the Township of Langley in British Columbia to allow the “topless” LGBTQ swim parties at three municipal pools. . .

The paperwork indicates the “All-Bodies Swim” is for “people aged 12+” and “restricted to LGBTQ2S.” In addition, the document adds that “individuals will be permitted to be topless (at their leisure)” — which, as you can guess, likely isn’t as much of an issue for males as it would be for females.

The document also says “parents and caretakers will be prohibited from attending these events as it’s considered safe and inclusive.” . . .

While Yaniv’s delegation wanted to appear before the township council Monday night to get permission to hold the “All-Bodies Swim” events, TheBlaze on Tuesday confirmed with a council member that the matter was postponed until September.

(Read more from “Transgender Activist Pushes for LGBTQ ‘Topless’ Swim Parties for Children at Town Pools. Oh, and Parents Can’t Attend.” HERE)

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White House Proposes Massive Rule Change to Food Stamps

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The Trump administration on Tuesday released a proposed rule change that would significantly impact more than 3 million food stamp recipients. Under the new rule, states would no longer be allowed to automatically enroll people into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program if they’re already receiving benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. . .

“We are changing the rules, preventing abuse of a critical safety net system, so those who need food assistance the most are the only ones who receive it,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told TIME Magazine.

Perdue used the recent example of a millionaire in Minnesota who successfully signed up for food stamps, despite clearly not needing the financial help, CNN reported.

“Unfortunately, automatic eligibility has expanded to allow even millionaires and others who simply receive a TANF-funded brochure to become eligible for SNAP when they clearly don’t need it,” said Brandon Lipps, a USDA acting deputy undersecretary. . .

The Congressional Budget Office said the proposed rule change could save taxpayers $8.1 billion between 2019 to 2028. The USDA, however, believes taxpayers would save $2.5 billion per year. (Read more from “White House Proposes Massive Rule Change to Food Stamps” HERE)

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Miss World America Strips Titleholder for ‘Supporting’ Trump

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Twenty-year-old conservative activist and prominent Trump supporter Kathy Zhu was reportedly stripped of her Miss Michigan crown from the Miss World America Organization over past “insensitive” social media posts and her refusal to try on a hijab at a college event in 2018.

Zhu is a Chinese immigrant who moved to the United States at age five; she became popular in conservative circles for both her support for Donald Trump during the 2016 election and for fighting off students attempting to get her expelled from the University of Central Florida for refusing to try on a hijab — an event that allegedly helped get the conservative stripped of her beauty pageant accomplishments. . .

However, the student was soon informed by the organization via email that she would have to turn in her sash and crown and disassociate with the group over past “offensive, insensitive, and inappropriate” social media posts. . .

Zhu also responded via email to the organization over her ouster, pushing back on Miss World America’s apparent opposition to the conservative’s refusal to wear a hijab. “[W]hat is ‘insensitive’ is that women in the Middle East are getting STONED TO DEATH for refusing to obey their husband’s orders to wear hijabs,” she wrote. “A Muslim woman tried to FORCIBLY put a hijab on my head without my permission. I tweeted about it on my social media, and it got the attention of the media. Almost everyone was supportive of me refusing to be put in that situation.”

On Friday morning, Zhu thanked her supporters and announced that she will not be taking legal action against the organization because they have “suffered enough negative publicity.”

(Read more from “Miss World America Strips Titleholder for Supporting Trump” HERE)

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