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U.S. Episcopal Diocese Votes to Stop Using Masculine Pronouns for God

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The Episcopal church in the Diocese of Washington, D.C., passed a resolution last week to stop using masculine pronouns for God in future updates to its Book of Common Prayer.

The resolution to stop using “gendered language for God” was passed quickly by delegates to the Diocese’s 123rd Convention.

“If revision of the Book of Common Prayer is authorized, to utilize expansive language for God from the rich sources of feminine, masculine, and non-binary imagery for God found in Scripture and tradition and, when possible, to avoid the use of gendered pronouns for God,” the resolution stated.

“Over the centuries our language and our understanding of God has continued to change and adapt,” the drafters of the resolution stated. The drafters said that referring to God using masculine pronouns is to “limit our understanding of God.” . . . .

But Clergy delegate The Rev. Linda R. Calkins from St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Laytonsville, Maryland, challenged the delegates to go further.

Calkins read from Genesis Chapter 17, in which God tells Abraham “I am El Shaddai.” She said that if Episcopalians “are going to be true to what El Shaddai means, it means God with breasts.” (Read more from “U.S. Episcopal Diocese Votes to Stop Using Masculine Pronouns for God” HERE)

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Twist: Christians Use Same-Sex Ruling to Protect Their Rights

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In an unexpected twist, a federal civil-rights lawsuit alleges a Michigan school district’s imposition of a transgender-rights agenda on students and parents violates the very rights created by the Supreme Court decision that established “same-sex marriage.”

It is the first lawsuit in the nation claiming a person’s religious identity is protected by the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges marriage case, according to the legal team that filed suit against the Williamston Community Schools public district and its board.

The claim, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, outlines “numerous civil rights and constitutional violations rising from policies recently passed by the school board,” the lawyers at the Great Lakes Justice Center explain.

“Common sense and common decency demand that biologically intact boys should not be showering with girls, should not be allowed to use girls’ bathroom and locker room facilities, or take a girl’s spot on an athletic team,” said David Kallman, senior counsel with the center . . .

Added William Wagner, president of the center: “The Supreme Court in Obergefell recognized that all citizens have a right to privacy, dignity, and personal identity. These rights must be protected by the school district for all students.” (Read more from “Twist: Christians Use Same-Sex Ruling to Protect Their Rights” HERE)

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Non-Believers Call on God in Times of Crisis, Poll Reveals

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For many non-believers, it is an instinctive response to a crisis: “Please, God.” So perhaps it should not be surprising that a new survey has found that one in five adults pray despite saying they are not religious.

Just over half of all adults in the UK pray, and they are increasingly likely to call on God while engaged in activities such as cooking or exercising, according to the poll. Although one in three people pray in a place of worship, and a third pray before going to sleep or on waking, others combine prayer with daily activities. One in five pray while doing household chores or cooking, 15% pray while travelling, and 12% pray during exercise or other leisure pursuits.

Just under half of those who pray said they believed God hears their prayers, which suggests a slim majority feel their supplications are not answered. Four in ten go further, saying prayer changes the world; a similar number say it makes them feel better.

Family tops the list of subjects of prayers at 71%, followed by thanking God (42%), praying for healing (40%) and for friends (40%). Way down on the list comes global issues such as poverty or disasters, at 24%, according to the poll carried out by ComRes on behalf of the Christian aid agency, Tearfund.

Among the non-religious, personal crisis or tragedy is the most common reason for praying, with one in four saying they pray to gain comfort or feel less lonely. (Read more from “Non-Believers Call on God in Times of Crisis, Poll Reveals” HERE)

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2/3 of Christians Say They’ve Been Spiritually Abused

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Two-thirds of respondents to an online survey say that they have been spiritually abused, a study has revealed.

Academics from Bournemouth University, who carried out the survey on behalf of the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS), a safeguarding charity, received 1591 responses from Christians, 1002 of whom said that they had personally experienced spiritual abuse.

Caution has been expressed about the figures in the survey, whose results form part of the report Understanding Spiritual Abuse in Christian Communities, published on Sunday. A co-author, Justin Humphreys, executive director of safeguarding at CCPAS, said: “Yes, the results are significant, as [being spiritually abused] was not a prerequisite for participation. Having said this, in some ways it is not surprising, as many will have taken this as an opportunity to share their story in anonymous form, possibly for the first time.”

The study also acknowledges that definitions of spiritual abuse are not clear cut, and suggests this lack of clarity may be a significant barrier to responding appropriately to its victims within the Church.

“Existing work around this experience (which is characterised by a systematic pattern of controlling and coercive behaviour in a religious context) is still in its infancy, to the extent that there is not currently universal agreement about this as a term,” it says. (Read more from “2/3 of Christians Say They’ve Been Spiritually Abused” HERE)

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Christians Persecuted in More Ways Than Ever

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. . .This cosmic irony – of genuine godliness inspiring loathing and violence – has been reflected throughout the world ever since. Christianity inspired hostility from the beginning; not only was Jesus crucified, but 11 of the 12 apostles were martyred. Today, sincere followers of Jesus Christ are under attack everywhere, not only in lands dominated by religions and governments hostile to Christianity, but increasingly in those parts of the world historically home to, and founded by, Christians.

Think of it. The most transcendent way of life a man or woman can embrace on this earth – one that commands not only that you love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, but that you love your enemies, “bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you” – is cursed, hated and persecuted.

This persecution shows up in a broad spectrum of ways. In the United States it is, as a rule, far less overt and brutal than overseas, taking the form of censorship, demonization and criminalization – for example, the never-ending prosecutions of Christian businesses and individuals (including the jailing of a Christian county clerk) for being unwilling to actively participate in homosexual weddings. Then there are the ubiquitous assaults on Christian expression in the public square and within our public schools and armed forces, and the ongoing destruction of Christian memorials, crosses, nativity scenes and the like, and even the recent equating of Christianity with white supremacism and the open mockery of prayer.

Of course, in much of the rest of the world no such subtlety or restraints exist, with scores of nations persecuting, torturing, enslaving and slaughtering Christians daily. By every measure, Christian persecution – and even more fundamentally, fear and loathing of biblical Christianity – is growing worldwide, even in the once-Christian West, including Europe, the United Kingdom and North America.

Around the world, sums up Open Doors, a ministry serving the needs of the persecuted faithful, “Christians are being persecuted in more countries and in more ways than ever before.” (Read more from “Christians Persecuted in More Ways Than Ever” HERE)

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Liberals Now Claim Christian Parents Are Dangerous

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. . .Considering the massive shortage of willing foster parents across Canada, this is a rather shocking and blunt move on the part of those in charge of the process: Essentially, Christian parents are being told that their views render them so dangerous that it is better that children desperate for a loving home are still shuffled from place to place rather than come into contact with views that were nearly universal only short decades ago. Such stories are now just beginning to surface in the mainstream media, with an Edmonton, Alberta couple being the latest example. From Canada’s national broadcaster:

An evangelical Christian couple is accusing Alberta of discrimination, claiming their application to adopt a child was rejected over their religious views on gay marriage and homosexuality. The Edmonton married couple say they submitted their application last year and passed a required course for potential adoptive parents.

But during a followup by officials this year, the couple say they ran into trouble when they answered questions about sexuality. The couple say they accept that same-sex marriage is a legal reality, but they don’t support it and believe that homosexuality is wrong.

“The casework supervisor explained that our religious beliefs regarding sexuality were incompatible with the adoption process,” says an affidavit filed in support of an application for a judicial review of the government’s decision.

“The casework supervisor said this stance was the ‘official position of the Alberta government.’ “

(Read more from “Liberals Now Claim Christian Parents Are Dangerous” HERE)

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Disgusting: Satanist Brings Abortion Case to Supreme Court

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A Missouri woman who is an adherent of the Satanic Temple won a victory in court last week in her quest to show that state abortion law violates her religious beliefs.

The Western District Court of Appeals ruled in her favor Tuesday, writing that her constitutional challenge — rare for its basis in religion — presented “a contested matter of right that involves fair doubt and reasonable room for disagreement.”

The woman, identified as Mary Doe in court documents, argued that her religion does not adhere to the idea that life begins at conception, and, because of that, the prerequisites for an abortion in Missouri are unconstitutionally violating her freedom of religion protected by the First Amendment. (Read more from “Disgusting: Satanist Brings Abortion Case to Supreme Court” HERE)

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Schools Are Ditching AD and BC in Religious Education Lessons

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Schools across the country have stopped using the terms BC and AD in religious education lessons for fear of offending non-Christians.

The traditional terms BC, Before Christ, and AD, Anno Domini, are being ditched for BCE – Before Common Era, and CE – Common Era.

The new terms still denote the periods before and after the birth of Christ.

Local authority committees drawing up religious education syllabuses say the old terms may upset minorities or non-believers. But critics blasted the move as a ‘capitulation to political correctness’.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey said the rulings by the religious education committees were a ‘great shame’. (Read more from “Schools Are Ditching AD and BC in Religious Education Lessons” HERE)

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Benham Bros Reveal Secret to Ending Abortion and Gay ‘Marriage’ in America

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Christians who grew up thinking about a candle’s light when singing “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine” have entirely the wrong idea about what it truly means to be a Christian light shining in the world, said the Benham brothers in a recent talk.

The identical twin brothers, speaking at the LifeSiteNews 20th anniversary Gala recently in Herndon, Virginia, said that most think of a candle’s flame when singing the lines from the song about not letting Satan “blow it out.”

But Christian faith, they said, is not meant to be extinguished when faced by the winds of opposition, but to become more inflamed. That’s why the image of a candle in the song needs to be replaced by the image of a coal, they said.

“You see, the same wind that extinguishes the candle’s light ignites the coal’s light,” said Jason . . .

Jason quoted from the prophet Jeremiah (20:9) who called the word of God in his heart a blazing “fire” that could not be contained inside himself. (Read more from “Benham Bros Reveal Secret to Ending Abortion and Gay ‘Marriage’ in America” HERE)

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Can You Feel It? America Thrust Into Spiritual Darkness

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What happened in Charlottesville last week was disgusting. Our hearts grieved as we watched folks marching in our streets who actually believe their race is better than others’. No one should have anything to do with that filth from Satan’s floor.

So this rally that took place ran against every grain of our being . . .

And since then, all the lawless insanity that has followed – including the media’s huge power grab to lump men and women of faith in with these supremacist nut jobs – is grieving, too.

Hearing Antifa (the hard left fringe group fomenting much of the violence) call for an escalation in tactics to stop Republicans or right-wingers from assembling or voicing their opinions is crazy. Antifa activists even labeled right-leaning speech violence, and now say they have a right to use self-defense or physical violence in return.

The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter if it’s the “alt-right” (white supremacists) or hard-left (Antifa), any American with a soul abhors these groups. But what these groups – and the ongoing conflict we’re watching daily now – reveal to us is that we as a nation have entered a period of spiritual darkness, a darkness that can be felt. (Read more from “Can You Feel It? America Thrust Into Spiritual Darkness” HERE)

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