While mainstream media focus on sexual assault of women in the military, President Obama's new secretary of defense Ashton Carter is pointing out that most victims are military men — commonly of anal sex assault and/or forced oral sex, according to a recent study.
By definition, male-on-male anal/oral sex is homosexual behavior.
For background, read President Obama Tells Generals: Back My Gay Military, or Resign and also read President Obama's Cross-dressing Military Fantasy is Reality
And read Obama Top Homosexual Arrested for Anal Sex with Boy
-- From "Defense Secretary: 10,400 Male Troops Subjected to 'Unwanted Sexual Contact' Last Year" by Susan Jones, CNSNews.com 4/23/15
[Sec. Carter] noted that last year, far more men (10,400) than women (8,500) "experienced unwanted sexual contact."
Carter added that "too few" men reported the incidents as sexual assault.
Carter also mentioned retaliation against those who report, try to prevent or respond to sexual assault.
Carter said the nation is looking to the Defense Department to "lead boldly on sexual assault," and he promised that "stopping sexual assault will be a focus of my time as secretary of defense."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Experts: Males Also Are Victims of Sexual Assault" by Jim Garamone, DoD News, Defense Media Activity 2/20/15
Experts urged Army leaders to reach out to male victims of sexual assault, noting people should not view sexual violence as a crime perpetrated exclusively against women.
Jim Hopper, a psychologist and researcher, and Russell Strand, a retired Criminal Investigative Service special agent, spoke about an aspect of sexual violence not often discussed: sexual assaults on men.
So about 87 percent of men attacked are not reporting it and “these are real men in real pain,” Hopper said. The pain is compounded by shame. Being sexually assaulted brings additional feelings of shame to a man because it works against the ideal of what it means to be a man, he said.
They are also afraid of their friends or teammates finding out what happened to them, he said. They believe they will be looked at as less than a man, that they will be ostracized and shunned. And, many victims see the assault as the death-knell to their careers.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Federal watchdog: DOD slow in addressing sexual assault of men" by Wyatt Olson, Stars and Stripes 3/19/15
Although the Department of Defense has taken numerous steps to address sexual assaults of servicemembers in general, it still doesn’t have a clear plan for responding specifically to attacks on men, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday.
. . . A Rand Corp. survey last year estimated 9,000 to 13,000 active-duty men were sexually assaulted during the year prior to the survey. About 2,500 to 5,500 of those were described as “penetrative” sexual assaults.
The DOD has implemented a “gender-neutral” program for preventing and responding to the problem of sexual assault, an approach that does not take into consideration the significantly lower rates of reporting assault by men compared with women.
The difference in reporting “suggest that male victims of sexual assault may not have a similar level of confidence as do female victims in the process of reporting a sexual assault within the department,” the GAO said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Christians in President Obama's Military? Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Air Force & Navy Take Orders from Atheists vs. Christians
Navy Chaplain Booted — Submarined by Homosexual Spy
President Obama's Defense Dept. Says Bible is Sexist
President Obama Compares Christians to Islamic Terrorists
Showing posts with label PBS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PBS. Show all posts
Friday, April 24, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Denver Baker Refuses 'Anti-Gay' Bible Cake Order
While Christians in the wedding business are being prosecuted by governments as well as fined and/or bankrupted by lawsuits for refusing to participate in same-sex ceremonies, the gay-friendly Azucar Bakery in Denver, Colorado is being investigated by the Colorado Civil Rights Division for discriminating against a customer who wanted a Bible-shaped cake with words that she considers hateful to gays and against her moral conscience.
Colorado lawmakers are considering new legislation to permit businesses to refuse services that violate the owner's religious or moral beliefs.
UPDATE 4/11/15: Christian Attacked for Placing 'Anti-Gay' Cake Order in Florida
For background, read about Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado who has been persecuted by the State of Colorado for refusing to make a same-sex "wedding" cake that would violate his religious conscience.
Also read about states passing religious liberty laws to protect citizens and their businesses from lawsuits by homosexualists and/or fines by courts, and to ensure the free practice of religion without government interference. In February 2014, the homosexualists exposed their goal to end religious liberty when they descended on Arizona's legislature.
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Lesbians Attack Immigrant Christian Florida Wedding Planner
North Carolina Christians Lose Jobs for Refusing Same-sex 'Wedding'
New York Christian Farmers Guilty & Fined over 'Gay Wedding'
Pastors Face Fines, Jail for Refusing 'Gay Wedding'
-- From "Complaint: Baker refused to write anti-gay words on cake" by Jessica Oh, KUSA-TV posted at USA Today Network 1/20/15
In March of 2014, a customer named Bill Jack requested several cakes in the shapes of Bibles from the Azucar Bakery in Denver, Colo., according to the bakery owner, Marjorie Silva.
Silva says Jack pulled out a piece of paper with phrases like "God hates gays" and requested her to write them on his cakes.
He wouldn't let employees make a copy of the paper and would not read the words out loud, Silva claims. The bakery owner also says the customer wanted an image of two men holding hands with an "X" on top.
"After I read it, I was like 'No way,'" Silva said. "'We're not doing this. This is just very discriminatory and hateful.'"
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Colorado baker faces complaint for refusing anti-gay message on cake" by The Associated Press 1/22/15
She said she would make the cake, but declined to write his suggested messages on the cake, telling him she would give him icing and a pastry bag so he could write the words himself. Silva said the customer didn't want that.
The case comes as Republicans in Colorado's Legislature talk about changing the state law requiring that businesses serve gays in the wake of a series of incidents where religious business owners rejected orders to celebrate gay weddings. Republican Sen. Kevin Lundberg said the new case shows a "clash of values" and argued Colorado's public accommodation law is not working.
"The state shouldn't come in and say to the individual businessman, 'You must violate your religious — and I'll say religious-slash-moral convictions. This baker (Silva), thought that was a violation of their moral convictions. The other baker, which we all know very well because of all the stories, clearly that was a violation of their religious convictions," Lundberg said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Castle Rock man whose ‘anti-gay’ cake was rejected: ‘I was discriminated against’" by Will C. Holden, KDVR-TV31 (Denver, CO) 1/20/15
In addition to being a state legislator, [Gordon] Klingenschmitt is also an ordained minister and former Navy chaplain who has made suggestions on multiple occasions that President Barack Obama may be possessed by demons. In this case, however, Klingenschmitt said he supports Silva’s right to “not print the Bible on her cakes.”
Klingenschmitt agrees so strongly with Silva, in fact, that he is sponsoring legislation to protect her rights in the state’s current legislative session.
That said, Klingenschmitt was also quick to point out that he also sided with Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips in a similar 2012 incident that was settled in court last year. The only difference between the two cases was that Phillips refused to make a rainbow-layered cake for a Colorado gay couple’s wedding in Massachusetts, citing a religious objection to gay marriage.
This is why, Klingenschmitt said, he is in the early drafting stages of a bill that he hopes will garner bipartisan support for its efforts to “repair an existing flaw in Colorado’s nondiscrimination statues.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Focus on the Family Sides With Colorado Baker Who Refused to Bake 'God Hates Gays' Cake" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 1/21/15
Jeff Johnston, issues analyst with the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, told The Christian Post that he sided with the pro-gay bakery on the grounds of First Amendment rights.
"This is a free speech issue, and we support freedom of speech. It's also a religious or conscience issue — the government should not force people to violate their core beliefs," said Johnston.
"Just as a Christian baker should not be required to create a cake for a same-sex ceremony, this baker should not be required to create a cake with a message that goes against her conscience."
Azucar is not the first bakery to find itself in legal trouble over expression regarding homosexuality, but it might be the first to face possible legal action for refusing to cater to anti-gay sentiments.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/4/15: From "Colorado bakery that refused to bake anti-gay cakes did not discriminate, state agency says" by Peter Holley, Washington Post
. . . the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies . . . ruled that the Azucar Bakery was within its rights when employees refused to carry out an order from customer William Jack in March 2014, according to the Denver Post.
Marjorie Silva, the bakery’s owner, agreed to make the cakes but refused to put the ant-gay imagery on them, according to the AP.
Not long after her refusal, Silva said she received notice from the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies that she was the subject of a religious discrimination complaint.
While Jack argued that he had been discriminated against for being Christian, the department’s decision said evidence showed Silva refused to bake the cakes because the customer’s requests included “derogatory language and imagery.” . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/4/15: From "'Gay' cakes protected, anti-'gay' cakes not" posted at World Net Daily
Last week, the state agency ruled that Denver’s Azucar Bakery did not discriminate against William Jack, a Christian from Castle Rock, by refusing to make two cakes with “groomsmen” X’d out and . . . the following Bible verses: “God hates sin. Psalm 45:7,” “Homosexuality is a detestable sin. Leviticus 18:2,” “God loves sinners” and “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.”
He told the civil rights agency he ordered the cakes with the imagery and biblical verses to convey that same-sex marriage is, in his words, “un-biblical and inappropriate.”
“I find it offensive that the Colorado Civil Rights Division considers the baker’s claims that Bible verses were discriminatory as the reason for denying my claim,” Jack told 7NEWS on Saturday. “I find it offensive that the legal director of the Colorado division of the ACLU called the Bible verses on the cakes obscenities. Especially at this time on the church calendar – Holy Week – I find it offensive that the Bible is censored from the public arena.”
Jack said he is in the process of filing an appeal with the Colorado Civil Rights Division.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
PBS NewsHour report on Masterpiece Cakeshop (1/21/15 video):
Also read Gay Agenda will be Complete when Christians are Muzzled, Say Homosexualists as well as Senator Ted Cruz Says the Gay Agenda Ends Christian Liberty
Colorado lawmakers are considering new legislation to permit businesses to refuse services that violate the owner's religious or moral beliefs.
“The government should not be able to compel bakers to print things that they disagree with.”UPDATE 4/4/15: Colorado Rules Homosexualists CAN Discriminate Against Christians, but not vice versa (see update article excerpts below)
-- Gordon Klingenschmitt, Colorado state representative (Republican)
UPDATE 4/11/15: Christian Attacked for Placing 'Anti-Gay' Cake Order in Florida
For background, read about Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado who has been persecuted by the State of Colorado for refusing to make a same-sex "wedding" cake that would violate his religious conscience.
Also read about states passing religious liberty laws to protect citizens and their businesses from lawsuits by homosexualists and/or fines by courts, and to ensure the free practice of religion without government interference. In February 2014, the homosexualists exposed their goal to end religious liberty when they descended on Arizona's legislature.
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Lesbians Attack Immigrant Christian Florida Wedding Planner
North Carolina Christians Lose Jobs for Refusing Same-sex 'Wedding'
New York Christian Farmers Guilty & Fined over 'Gay Wedding'
Pastors Face Fines, Jail for Refusing 'Gay Wedding'
-- From "Complaint: Baker refused to write anti-gay words on cake" by Jessica Oh, KUSA-TV posted at USA Today Network 1/20/15
In March of 2014, a customer named Bill Jack requested several cakes in the shapes of Bibles from the Azucar Bakery in Denver, Colo., according to the bakery owner, Marjorie Silva.
Silva says Jack pulled out a piece of paper with phrases like "God hates gays" and requested her to write them on his cakes.
He wouldn't let employees make a copy of the paper and would not read the words out loud, Silva claims. The bakery owner also says the customer wanted an image of two men holding hands with an "X" on top.
"After I read it, I was like 'No way,'" Silva said. "'We're not doing this. This is just very discriminatory and hateful.'"
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Colorado baker faces complaint for refusing anti-gay message on cake" by The Associated Press 1/22/15
She said she would make the cake, but declined to write his suggested messages on the cake, telling him she would give him icing and a pastry bag so he could write the words himself. Silva said the customer didn't want that.
The case comes as Republicans in Colorado's Legislature talk about changing the state law requiring that businesses serve gays in the wake of a series of incidents where religious business owners rejected orders to celebrate gay weddings. Republican Sen. Kevin Lundberg said the new case shows a "clash of values" and argued Colorado's public accommodation law is not working.
"The state shouldn't come in and say to the individual businessman, 'You must violate your religious — and I'll say religious-slash-moral convictions. This baker (Silva), thought that was a violation of their moral convictions. The other baker, which we all know very well because of all the stories, clearly that was a violation of their religious convictions," Lundberg said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Castle Rock man whose ‘anti-gay’ cake was rejected: ‘I was discriminated against’" by Will C. Holden, KDVR-TV31 (Denver, CO) 1/20/15
In addition to being a state legislator, [Gordon] Klingenschmitt is also an ordained minister and former Navy chaplain who has made suggestions on multiple occasions that President Barack Obama may be possessed by demons. In this case, however, Klingenschmitt said he supports Silva’s right to “not print the Bible on her cakes.”
Klingenschmitt agrees so strongly with Silva, in fact, that he is sponsoring legislation to protect her rights in the state’s current legislative session.
That said, Klingenschmitt was also quick to point out that he also sided with Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips in a similar 2012 incident that was settled in court last year. The only difference between the two cases was that Phillips refused to make a rainbow-layered cake for a Colorado gay couple’s wedding in Massachusetts, citing a religious objection to gay marriage.
This is why, Klingenschmitt said, he is in the early drafting stages of a bill that he hopes will garner bipartisan support for its efforts to “repair an existing flaw in Colorado’s nondiscrimination statues.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Focus on the Family Sides With Colorado Baker Who Refused to Bake 'God Hates Gays' Cake" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 1/21/15
Jeff Johnston, issues analyst with the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, told The Christian Post that he sided with the pro-gay bakery on the grounds of First Amendment rights.
"This is a free speech issue, and we support freedom of speech. It's also a religious or conscience issue — the government should not force people to violate their core beliefs," said Johnston.
"Just as a Christian baker should not be required to create a cake for a same-sex ceremony, this baker should not be required to create a cake with a message that goes against her conscience."
Azucar is not the first bakery to find itself in legal trouble over expression regarding homosexuality, but it might be the first to face possible legal action for refusing to cater to anti-gay sentiments.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/4/15: From "Colorado bakery that refused to bake anti-gay cakes did not discriminate, state agency says" by Peter Holley, Washington Post
. . . the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies . . . ruled that the Azucar Bakery was within its rights when employees refused to carry out an order from customer William Jack in March 2014, according to the Denver Post.
Marjorie Silva, the bakery’s owner, agreed to make the cakes but refused to put the ant-gay imagery on them, according to the AP.
Not long after her refusal, Silva said she received notice from the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies that she was the subject of a religious discrimination complaint.
While Jack argued that he had been discriminated against for being Christian, the department’s decision said evidence showed Silva refused to bake the cakes because the customer’s requests included “derogatory language and imagery.” . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/4/15: From "'Gay' cakes protected, anti-'gay' cakes not" posted at World Net Daily
Last week, the state agency ruled that Denver’s Azucar Bakery did not discriminate against William Jack, a Christian from Castle Rock, by refusing to make two cakes with “groomsmen” X’d out and . . . the following Bible verses: “God hates sin. Psalm 45:7,” “Homosexuality is a detestable sin. Leviticus 18:2,” “God loves sinners” and “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.”
He told the civil rights agency he ordered the cakes with the imagery and biblical verses to convey that same-sex marriage is, in his words, “un-biblical and inappropriate.”
“I find it offensive that the Colorado Civil Rights Division considers the baker’s claims that Bible verses were discriminatory as the reason for denying my claim,” Jack told 7NEWS on Saturday. “I find it offensive that the legal director of the Colorado division of the ACLU called the Bible verses on the cakes obscenities. Especially at this time on the church calendar – Holy Week – I find it offensive that the Bible is censored from the public arena.”
Jack said he is in the process of filing an appeal with the Colorado Civil Rights Division.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
PBS NewsHour report on Masterpiece Cakeshop (1/21/15 video):
Also read Gay Agenda will be Complete when Christians are Muzzled, Say Homosexualists as well as Senator Ted Cruz Says the Gay Agenda Ends Christian Liberty
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Study: Media Bias FOR Gays is Christians' Fault
The latest study by Pew Research shows that the mainstream news media is five times more likely to favor "gay marriage" over true marriage, but says this is NOT media bias, but rather it's because conservatives don't present a coherent message to report.
In one example, MSNBC coverage was 64% supporting "gay marriage" but only 6% opposing.
For background, read TV's Disproportionate Attention to the Gay Agenda and also read Gay TV, The New ABnormal, UNreality Shows as well as Transgender Cartoons Indoctrinate Preschoolers
UPDATE 12/29/13: ABC News Reports Gay Agenda is Big Success Story of 2013 (video)
-- From "Gay marriage received more supporting coverage in media, study says" by David Bauder, Associated Press Television Writer 6/17/13
The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism said Monday that . . . the imbalance was largely because many of the stories were about changing public attitudes, or politicians announcing their support of legalization.
Proponents also were more consistent in their message, defining it as an issue of civil rights. Pew said opponents didn't coalesce on a primary reason for not supporting same-sex marriage.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study Finds Supportive Tilt to Gay Marriage Coverage" by Brian Stelter, New York Times 6/17/13
[The Pew report said,] “The level of support conveyed in the news media examined here goes beyond the level seen in public opinion surveys.” The imbalance was evident both in reporting and in commentary, and on all three of the major cable news channels, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
The study lends credence to conservative charges that the nation’s news media have championed the issue of same-sex marriage at the expense of objectivity. Others have argued that news organizations are right not to overly emphasize opposition to what many see as a core civil rights issue.
The researchers noted in their report that many of the developments that the news media were covering were intrinsically positive for the gay rights movement, including votes in favor of same-sex marriage on the state level.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "News Coverage Conveys Strong Momentum for Same-Sex Marriage" by Paul Hitlin, Amy Mitchell and Mark Jurkowitz, Pew Research Center 6/17/13
Almost half (47%) of the nearly 500 stories studied from March 18 (a week prior to the Supreme Court hearings), through May 12, primarily focused on support for the measure, while 9% largely focused on opposition and 44% had a roughly equal mix of both viewpoints or were neutral. In order for a story to be classified as supporting or opposing same sex marriage, statements expressing that position had to outnumber the opposite view by at least 2-to-1. Stories that did not meet that threshold were defined as neutral or mixed.
This news media focus on support held true whether the stories were reported news articles or opinion pieces, and was also the case across nearly all media sectors studied. All three of the major cable networks, for instance, had more stories with significantly more supportive statements than opposing, including Fox News.
In addition to the main set of news media, this study also examined same-sex marriage coverage in three other media segments: Twitter, the Huffington Post - which has a dedicated microsite to "Gay Voices" and produced so much coverage that it was examined separately from the rest of the news media - and a mix of LGBT news outlets.
Within the media debate on the subject, this report found that those arguing for same-sex marriage had a more consistent message than those arguing against.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pew Reports Media Bias on Marriage Debate" by Joan Frawley Desmond, Senior Editor, National Catholic Register 6/17/13
Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, the primary institution defending the nation’s marriage laws, told the Register that the Pew study provided valuable context for evaluating the true state of the debate on “marriage equality.”
“If there is overwhelming media bias and we are not able to get out our message broadly through broadcast television, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy,” said Brown in a June 17 interview.
“During Proposition 8, the largest social ballot issue in history,” Brown recalled, “there were very few invitations for us and our allies to be on broadcast television.
“Over the past four years, we have met with Washington bureau chiefs and laid out the problems we are facing. We have seen a little bit of improvement, but media coverage is still overwhelming biased.
“The Human Rights Campaign will be invited to speak and there will be no one from the other side,” he said, referring to the leading organization promoting same-sex ‘marriage.’
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
As an example of the pro-homosexual media bias, see the PBS reporting of a different Pew Poll a few days ago.
Also read Media Admit Propaganda Overstating Gay Population
UPDATE 6/21/13 - PBS NewsHour: Being "Christian AND Gay" (video):
In one example, MSNBC coverage was 64% supporting "gay marriage" but only 6% opposing.
For background, read TV's Disproportionate Attention to the Gay Agenda and also read Gay TV, The New ABnormal, UNreality Shows as well as Transgender Cartoons Indoctrinate Preschoolers
UPDATE 12/29/13: ABC News Reports Gay Agenda is Big Success Story of 2013 (video)
-- From "Gay marriage received more supporting coverage in media, study says" by David Bauder, Associated Press Television Writer 6/17/13
The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism said Monday that . . . the imbalance was largely because many of the stories were about changing public attitudes, or politicians announcing their support of legalization.
Proponents also were more consistent in their message, defining it as an issue of civil rights. Pew said opponents didn't coalesce on a primary reason for not supporting same-sex marriage.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study Finds Supportive Tilt to Gay Marriage Coverage" by Brian Stelter, New York Times 6/17/13
[The Pew report said,] “The level of support conveyed in the news media examined here goes beyond the level seen in public opinion surveys.” The imbalance was evident both in reporting and in commentary, and on all three of the major cable news channels, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
The study lends credence to conservative charges that the nation’s news media have championed the issue of same-sex marriage at the expense of objectivity. Others have argued that news organizations are right not to overly emphasize opposition to what many see as a core civil rights issue.
The researchers noted in their report that many of the developments that the news media were covering were intrinsically positive for the gay rights movement, including votes in favor of same-sex marriage on the state level.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "News Coverage Conveys Strong Momentum for Same-Sex Marriage" by Paul Hitlin, Amy Mitchell and Mark Jurkowitz, Pew Research Center 6/17/13
Almost half (47%) of the nearly 500 stories studied from March 18 (a week prior to the Supreme Court hearings), through May 12, primarily focused on support for the measure, while 9% largely focused on opposition and 44% had a roughly equal mix of both viewpoints or were neutral. In order for a story to be classified as supporting or opposing same sex marriage, statements expressing that position had to outnumber the opposite view by at least 2-to-1. Stories that did not meet that threshold were defined as neutral or mixed.
This news media focus on support held true whether the stories were reported news articles or opinion pieces, and was also the case across nearly all media sectors studied. All three of the major cable networks, for instance, had more stories with significantly more supportive statements than opposing, including Fox News.
In addition to the main set of news media, this study also examined same-sex marriage coverage in three other media segments: Twitter, the Huffington Post - which has a dedicated microsite to "Gay Voices" and produced so much coverage that it was examined separately from the rest of the news media - and a mix of LGBT news outlets.
Within the media debate on the subject, this report found that those arguing for same-sex marriage had a more consistent message than those arguing against.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pew Reports Media Bias on Marriage Debate" by Joan Frawley Desmond, Senior Editor, National Catholic Register 6/17/13
Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, the primary institution defending the nation’s marriage laws, told the Register that the Pew study provided valuable context for evaluating the true state of the debate on “marriage equality.”
“If there is overwhelming media bias and we are not able to get out our message broadly through broadcast television, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy,” said Brown in a June 17 interview.
“During Proposition 8, the largest social ballot issue in history,” Brown recalled, “there were very few invitations for us and our allies to be on broadcast television.
“Over the past four years, we have met with Washington bureau chiefs and laid out the problems we are facing. We have seen a little bit of improvement, but media coverage is still overwhelming biased.
“The Human Rights Campaign will be invited to speak and there will be no one from the other side,” he said, referring to the leading organization promoting same-sex ‘marriage.’
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
As an example of the pro-homosexual media bias, see the PBS reporting of a different Pew Poll a few days ago.
Also read Media Admit Propaganda Overstating Gay Population
UPDATE 6/21/13 - PBS NewsHour: Being "Christian AND Gay" (video):
Sunday, August 05, 2012
Homosexualists, Foreigners Bash Christian Baker
When Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, CO told two men that it would be against his beliefs to make a cake for their Massachusetts same-sex "wedding," homosexualists used the Internet to enlist angry responses, even death threats, against Phillips from out of state, and from around the world.
UPDATE 1/22/15: Denver Baker Refuses 'Anti-Gay' Bible Cake Order
For background, read Homosexuals Sue Christians for Refusing Accommodation and also read ACLU Sues Christians over Lesbian 'Wedding' as well as Christian Wedding Photographer Sued by Lesbians
UPDATE 1/21/15: PBS NewsHour report on Masterpiece Cakeshop (video):
-- From "Same-sex couple denied wedding cake by bakery" by CBS News 7/30/12
Dave Mullin and Charlie Craig said they dated for nearly two years before getting engaged. They went into the Masterpiece Cake Shop thinking they'd spend a full day trying cakes for their ceremony. Instead the meeting lasted a few seconds.
It wasn't the first time the shop turned down same-sex couples who wanted a cake. Phillips has received more than 1,000 angry messages about his stance.
"If gays come in and want to order birthday cakes or any cakes for any occasion, graduations, or whatever, I have no prejudice against that whatsoever," Phillips said. "It's just the wedding cake, not the people, not their lifestyle."
"We would close down that bakery before we closed our beliefs, so that may be what it comes to ... we'll see," Phillips said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Cake shop owner will continue to reject orders for same-sex weddings" by Erin Udell, The Denver Post 8/5/12
"We've seen support from every state and every continent," [Mullins said].
Phillips said he received more negative phone calls in the first few days but that most people who have come in or called recently share messages of support.
"I'm not going to change my business because of a petition," Phillips said. "I'm just going to do the best I can do to honor Jesus Christ."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Colo. Bakery Refusing Gay Couple's Wedding Cake Sees Business Double" by Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter 8/2/12
"[On Monday] we had about twice as much business as normal," said Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cake Shop in Lakewood. "There are people coming in to support us."
"I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, so you could say this is a religious belief. I believe the Bible teaches that [homosexuality] is not an OK thing," he added, clarifying his stance.
Phillips concluded that he does not believe his refusal to service same-sex couples looking for a wedding cake makes him homophobic.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Chick-fil-A Opposition to Gay Agenda Causes Media Storm
“F*ck you and your homophobic cake shop.”Meanwhile, local consumers have flocked to Masterpiece in support of First Amendment freedom for this Christian, American business.
-- Dave Mullin, same-sex marriage partner
UPDATE 1/22/15: Denver Baker Refuses 'Anti-Gay' Bible Cake Order
For background, read Homosexuals Sue Christians for Refusing Accommodation and also read ACLU Sues Christians over Lesbian 'Wedding' as well as Christian Wedding Photographer Sued by Lesbians
UPDATE 1/21/15: PBS NewsHour report on Masterpiece Cakeshop (video):
-- From "Same-sex couple denied wedding cake by bakery" by CBS News 7/30/12
Dave Mullin and Charlie Craig said they dated for nearly two years before getting engaged. They went into the Masterpiece Cake Shop thinking they'd spend a full day trying cakes for their ceremony. Instead the meeting lasted a few seconds.
It wasn't the first time the shop turned down same-sex couples who wanted a cake. Phillips has received more than 1,000 angry messages about his stance.
"If gays come in and want to order birthday cakes or any cakes for any occasion, graduations, or whatever, I have no prejudice against that whatsoever," Phillips said. "It's just the wedding cake, not the people, not their lifestyle."
"We would close down that bakery before we closed our beliefs, so that may be what it comes to ... we'll see," Phillips said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Cake shop owner will continue to reject orders for same-sex weddings" by Erin Udell, The Denver Post 8/5/12
"We've seen support from every state and every continent," [Mullins said].
Phillips said he received more negative phone calls in the first few days but that most people who have come in or called recently share messages of support.
"I'm not going to change my business because of a petition," Phillips said. "I'm just going to do the best I can do to honor Jesus Christ."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Colo. Bakery Refusing Gay Couple's Wedding Cake Sees Business Double" by Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter 8/2/12
"[On Monday] we had about twice as much business as normal," said Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cake Shop in Lakewood. "There are people coming in to support us."
"I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, so you could say this is a religious belief. I believe the Bible teaches that [homosexuality] is not an OK thing," he added, clarifying his stance.
Phillips concluded that he does not believe his refusal to service same-sex couples looking for a wedding cake makes him homophobic.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Chick-fil-A Opposition to Gay Agenda Causes Media Storm
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Homosexual Bully Slams Pope in IL College Chapel
The anti-bullying advocate, backed by President Obama and highlighted on the White House website,spewed anti-Christian profanity in his speech Sunday at the United Church of Christ affiliated Elmhurst College -- the same day that he reiterated his contempt for the Bible on his website in a so-called apology for his anti-Christian rant of April 13th to teenagers in Seattle.
UPDATE 5/8/12: Catholic League President Bill Donohue called on Elmhurst College officials to apologize
-- From "Anti-gay activist takes issue with speech at Elmhurst College" by Annemarie Mannion, TribLocal reporter (Chicago Tribune) 5/1/12
Peter LaBarbera, of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, tweeted and posted portions of the April 29 speech made at Hammerschmidt Chapel on the campus. LaBarbera’s first video post, which was filmed by someone in the audience, shows Savage criticizing Pope Benedict’s warning against legalizing same sex marriage.
Desiree Chen, a spokeswoman for Elmhurst College, believes the event was successful.
The college invited the advice columnist, blogger and author to talk about the “It Gets Better” project, a video and social media effort designed to inspire hope in young people dealing with bullying or harassment.
Chen said the college has no plans to post a video of the speech because she does not have permission to do so. She said Savage did not grant permission.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Ousted Attendee: Gay Activist Dan Savage Is 'A Walking Hate Crime,' Speech Video Will Show" by Lauren Thompson, CNSNews.com 4/30/12
The media have been glossing over militant gay activist Dan Savage’s brutal war on Christians during a talk at Elmhurst College last week.
This latest attack on Christians comes just days after more than 100 Christian high students walked out on Savage after he called them "pansy-assed" at a journalism conference in California and said offensive things about Christianity.
Savage responded on Twitter to LaBarbera’s claims calling his own actions “civil” and branded LaBarbera a “liar.” He then touted that LaBarbera “bore false witness.”
LaBarbera described a lengthy list of Savage’s hateful dialogue, none of which has been published or featured in the video clips released of his talk. “He was especially obscene about Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins, declaring everything Perkins does causes gays to commit suicide. He said every dead gay kid is a rhetorical victory for Tony Perkins and Perkins stands on their dead bodies,” LaBarbera said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Dan Savage Apologizes for Bullying During Anti-Bullying Speech" by Tim Newcomb, Time Magazine 5/1/12
Advice columnist Dan Savage, the founder of the ‘It Gets Better’ project — a series of web videos devoted to helping victims of bullying — is facing charges of bullying himself after a speech to a group of high school journalists in Seattle turned into a rant at several students who walked out in protest mid-speech.
Focusing on what he called the “hypocrisy” of Christians who wouldn’t condemn anti-gay bullying because of Biblical strictures on homosexuality, Savage said:
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sparks fly over Dan Savage's comments to students about Bible" by Jonathan Martin, Seattle Times staff reporter 4/30/12
Savage's speech, at a 3,000-student gathering of young journalists in Seattle, linked bullying of gay kids with biblical denunciations of homosexuality.
In an interview, Savage said he regretted using vulgar terms and apologized for his description of the walkout, but defended his description of the Bible.
Savage said the speech is one he has repeatedly given in promoting "It Gets Better," his hugely successful project to help gay, lesbian and transgender youths cope with bullying. The project has at least 40,000 videos — testimonials meant to offer encouragement — including one by President Obama, and an accompanying book that debuted on The New York Times best-seller list.
In the speech, Savage, citing Sam Harris' "Letter to a Christian Nation," said the Bible gave instructions about how to treat slaves. If the Bible erred "on the easiest moral question that humanity has ever faced ... What are the odds that the Bible got something as complicated as human sexuality wrong? 100 percent," said Savage. Students are heard cheering and clapping.
In a statement, the [Seattle event] organizers said Savage "veered from the topic" of bullying. Student journalism "should not shy away from controversial topics and viewpoints. But it should promote and engage in civil discourse. Mr. Savage's speech fell short of that standard, and for this our organizations apologize."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read 'Gay Rights' Winning, Loss of Religious Liberty Documented - Washington Post writer demonstrates it's a "zero sum" game: Winning homosexual 'rights' means Christians must lose freedom of religion.
Chicago PBS WTTW-TV video interview with Dan Savage:
"What the Pope is saying is that the only thing that stands between my dick and Brad Pitt's mouth is a piece of paper....What the Pope is saying is that once we're all gay-married we're going to go extinct in a generation because once we're all gay-married, we're gonna forget which hole sh*ts babies."For background, read White House Says Gay Recruitment of Kids Successful and so Senators Join Obama in Supporting Dan Savage and also read White House Focus is Now 'Gay Students'
--Dan Savage, Gay Sex Columnist, speaking at Elmhurst College 4/29/12
UPDATE 5/8/12: Catholic League President Bill Donohue called on Elmhurst College officials to apologize
-- From "Anti-gay activist takes issue with speech at Elmhurst College" by Annemarie Mannion, TribLocal reporter (Chicago Tribune) 5/1/12
Peter LaBarbera, of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, tweeted and posted portions of the April 29 speech made at Hammerschmidt Chapel on the campus. LaBarbera’s first video post, which was filmed by someone in the audience, shows Savage criticizing Pope Benedict’s warning against legalizing same sex marriage.
Desiree Chen, a spokeswoman for Elmhurst College, believes the event was successful.
The college invited the advice columnist, blogger and author to talk about the “It Gets Better” project, a video and social media effort designed to inspire hope in young people dealing with bullying or harassment.
Chen said the college has no plans to post a video of the speech because she does not have permission to do so. She said Savage did not grant permission.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Ousted Attendee: Gay Activist Dan Savage Is 'A Walking Hate Crime,' Speech Video Will Show" by Lauren Thompson, CNSNews.com 4/30/12
The media have been glossing over militant gay activist Dan Savage’s brutal war on Christians during a talk at Elmhurst College last week.
This latest attack on Christians comes just days after more than 100 Christian high students walked out on Savage after he called them "pansy-assed" at a journalism conference in California and said offensive things about Christianity.
Savage responded on Twitter to LaBarbera’s claims calling his own actions “civil” and branded LaBarbera a “liar.” He then touted that LaBarbera “bore false witness.”
LaBarbera described a lengthy list of Savage’s hateful dialogue, none of which has been published or featured in the video clips released of his talk. “He was especially obscene about Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins, declaring everything Perkins does causes gays to commit suicide. He said every dead gay kid is a rhetorical victory for Tony Perkins and Perkins stands on their dead bodies,” LaBarbera said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Dan Savage Apologizes for Bullying During Anti-Bullying Speech" by Tim Newcomb, Time Magazine 5/1/12
Advice columnist Dan Savage, the founder of the ‘It Gets Better’ project — a series of web videos devoted to helping victims of bullying — is facing charges of bullying himself after a speech to a group of high school journalists in Seattle turned into a rant at several students who walked out in protest mid-speech.
Focusing on what he called the “hypocrisy” of Christians who wouldn’t condemn anti-gay bullying because of Biblical strictures on homosexuality, Savage said:
“We can learn to ignore the bullsh*t in the Bible about gay people… the same way we have learned to ignore the bullsh*t in the Bible about shellfish, about slavery, about dinner, about farming, about menstruation, about virginity, about masturbation. We ignore bullsh*t in the Bible about all sorts of things.”That was the point at which a group of about 20 or 30 students and advisors quietly stood up and walked out of the auditorium. “It’s funny, as someone who is the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the Bible, how pansy-assed some people react when you push back,” Savage said after they had left.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sparks fly over Dan Savage's comments to students about Bible" by Jonathan Martin, Seattle Times staff reporter 4/30/12
Savage's speech, at a 3,000-student gathering of young journalists in Seattle, linked bullying of gay kids with biblical denunciations of homosexuality.
In an interview, Savage said he regretted using vulgar terms and apologized for his description of the walkout, but defended his description of the Bible.
Savage said the speech is one he has repeatedly given in promoting "It Gets Better," his hugely successful project to help gay, lesbian and transgender youths cope with bullying. The project has at least 40,000 videos — testimonials meant to offer encouragement — including one by President Obama, and an accompanying book that debuted on The New York Times best-seller list.
In the speech, Savage, citing Sam Harris' "Letter to a Christian Nation," said the Bible gave instructions about how to treat slaves. If the Bible erred "on the easiest moral question that humanity has ever faced ... What are the odds that the Bible got something as complicated as human sexuality wrong? 100 percent," said Savage. Students are heard cheering and clapping.
In a statement, the [Seattle event] organizers said Savage "veered from the topic" of bullying. Student journalism "should not shy away from controversial topics and viewpoints. But it should promote and engage in civil discourse. Mr. Savage's speech fell short of that standard, and for this our organizations apologize."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read 'Gay Rights' Winning, Loss of Religious Liberty Documented - Washington Post writer demonstrates it's a "zero sum" game: Winning homosexual 'rights' means Christians must lose freedom of religion.
Chicago PBS WTTW-TV video interview with Dan Savage:
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Indoctrinating Kids Against Non-liberal Media: PBS
Trying to counter the imminent demise of the liberal mainstream media, the so-called News Literacy Project (NLP) has infiltrated 21 inner-city and nearby schools in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago with the goal of teaching children to discount Internet-based news information from non-liberal sources.
-- From "In the Media - Press Room" posted at the NLP website
The news-literacy movement has the potential to begin to rewrite the unflattering narratives about the press that have become so pervasive that we’ve nearly stopped questioning them—to remove the derogatory undertone from the phrase “mainstream media.” It has the potential to push back against the hijacking of the journalistic reputation—not only by a sustained and strategic smear campaign on the part of the political right (“the liberal media”), but also on the part of the political left (“the corporate media”).
To read more at the NLP website, CLICK HERE.
From "News Literacy Project Trains Young People to Be Skeptical Media Consumers" transcript posted at The PBS Newshour 12/13/11
JEFFREY BROWN, PBS Newshour: How can young people learn to be better consumers of news and information?
COLIN O'BRIEN, News Literacy Project: You want news sources that are transparent. You want to be able to see who is doing the reporting, see what their agenda is, see who funds them, see if they are, in fact, a credible source or not.
ALAN MILLER, News Literacy Project: There is so much potential here for misinformation, for propaganda, for spin, all of the myriad sources that are out there. More and more of, the onus is shifting to the consumer.
JEFFREY BROWN: And a slew of recent studies supports the notion that young people seek out traditional news sources less and less and that they have a difficult time knowing how to judge the legitimacy of the information that does come at them.
In response, the News Literacy Project, funded by a combination of foundations, corporations and individuals, develops lesson plans for teachers . . .
JEFFREY BROWN: The program also brings journalists into the classroom to run workshops.
JEFFREY BROWN: . . . the idea of making this into a national program got a recent boost from Michael Copps, a member of the Federal Communications Commission.
MICHAEL COPPS, FCC: And we need to focus on bringing all these together in the public sector and in the private sector to develop an online news literacy curriculum that can be made available across the nation. This can be a powerful antidote to the dumbing down of our civic dialogue that has taken place.
JEFFREY BROWN: To further the effort, the News Literacy Project and the American Library Association are launching workshops around the country to make high school students better media watchdogs, with a specific focus on the 2012 political campaign.
To read the entire program transcript above, CLICK HERE.
“I used to read the Daily News or the Post. Now I read The New York Times.”
-- Raquel Monje, high school senior indoctrinated by the NLP at Manhattan’s Facing History School
-- From "In the Media - Press Room" posted at the NLP website
The news-literacy movement has the potential to begin to rewrite the unflattering narratives about the press that have become so pervasive that we’ve nearly stopped questioning them—to remove the derogatory undertone from the phrase “mainstream media.” It has the potential to push back against the hijacking of the journalistic reputation—not only by a sustained and strategic smear campaign on the part of the political right (“the liberal media”), but also on the part of the political left (“the corporate media”).
To read more at the NLP website, CLICK HERE.
From "News Literacy Project Trains Young People to Be Skeptical Media Consumers" transcript posted at The PBS Newshour 12/13/11
JEFFREY BROWN, PBS Newshour: How can young people learn to be better consumers of news and information?
COLIN O'BRIEN, News Literacy Project: You want news sources that are transparent. You want to be able to see who is doing the reporting, see what their agenda is, see who funds them, see if they are, in fact, a credible source or not.
ALAN MILLER, News Literacy Project: There is so much potential here for misinformation, for propaganda, for spin, all of the myriad sources that are out there. More and more of, the onus is shifting to the consumer.
JEFFREY BROWN: And a slew of recent studies supports the notion that young people seek out traditional news sources less and less and that they have a difficult time knowing how to judge the legitimacy of the information that does come at them.
In response, the News Literacy Project, funded by a combination of foundations, corporations and individuals, develops lesson plans for teachers . . .
JEFFREY BROWN: The program also brings journalists into the classroom to run workshops.
JEFFREY BROWN: . . . the idea of making this into a national program got a recent boost from Michael Copps, a member of the Federal Communications Commission.
MICHAEL COPPS, FCC: And we need to focus on bringing all these together in the public sector and in the private sector to develop an online news literacy curriculum that can be made available across the nation. This can be a powerful antidote to the dumbing down of our civic dialogue that has taken place.
JEFFREY BROWN: To further the effort, the News Literacy Project and the American Library Association are launching workshops around the country to make high school students better media watchdogs, with a specific focus on the 2012 political campaign.
To read the entire program transcript above, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
A Rabbi, Pastor & Imam at a Methodist Seminary ...
It sounds like the opening line of a joke, but it's not. Facing declining enrollment, Claremont Colleges Graduate School of Theology in California is now claiming to train and prepare new leaders with a vision of blending divergent world religions.
For background, read Methodist Seminary Trains Pluralistic Clergy
-- From "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly Listings" Washington Post 10/21/11
Multi_Faith Theological Education — At the Claremont Colleges in California, the Graduate School of Theology has created Claremont Lincoln University, the first multi-faith theological school of its kind. As Saul Gonzalez reports, the new and controversial graduate university is teaching and will grant degrees to students who want to become Christian ministers, Jewish rabbis or Muslim imams, and it plans to include Hindus, Sikhs and others, as well.
From "Multifaith Theological Education" by Saul Gonzalez, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, PBS 10/21/11
SAUL GONZALEZ, correspondent: . . . California’s Claremont Lincoln University, which describes itself as America’s first interreligious school of theology, one that will train pastors, rabbis, and eventually Muslim imams all on one campus. The school’s philosophy was captured in the opening remarks of Muslim-American religious scholar Najeeba Syeed-Miller, a professor at Claremont Lincoln.
PROFESSOR NAJEEBA SYEED-MILLER: The diversity of humankind is not a curse from God. It is a sign of God’s creation, and the beauty of humanity is in our very differences.
GONZALEZ: What do you hope to accomplish here at Claremont Lincoln? What’s the grand vision?
PHILIP CLAYTON (Provost, Claremont Lincoln University): You have to get beyond the point of people defining their religions by the traditional walls. . . . When you train rabbis in one school, pastors in another, imams in another, you put them out into communities they create an “us versus them” mentality. What if we do something that’s never been done before? Let’s train them in the same classroom. Let’s let them work out their differences in their day-to-day education. When they go out into their communities you won’t find them doing the “us versus them,” but, we hope, the “we.” What that would [do] for the face of religion in America would be staggering.
GONZALEZ: Claremont Lincoln is actually the creation of a much older institution, United Methodist-affiliated Claremont School of Theology, founded in 1885. It partnered with southern California’s Academy of Jewish Religion and the Islamic Center of Southern California to form this new school. Students attending this school can get master’s degrees in divinity, rabbinic studies, and Muslim counseling.
GONZALEZ: Beyond America’s changing religious landscape, there’s another reason why Claremont went multifaith: survival. Like other schools of theology and seminaries during these tough economic times, this campus faced a declining enrollment and a tightening budget. Allowing students from other faiths to train here is one way to keep the lights on and the doors open.
CLAYTON: This is an extremely hard time for American theological schools. We could go on with a dwindling number of Methodists students, but we decided we wanted to be ahead of the curve. . . . we had a 45-year history of being edgy. We were always sort of pushing the envelope, and so we decided we would push the envelope on this one.
To read the entire interview transcript above, CLICK HERE.
From "Donation spurs multifaith university in Claremont" posted at The Christian Century 5/25/11
Looking to support "tolerance and respect among religions," a United Methodist couple has upped its total donation to $50 million to launch a multifaith university that will educate professional leaders for churches, synagogues and mosques while providing those future clergy with insights into interreligious issues.
The Methodist-affiliated Claremont School of Theology announced May 16 that philanthropists David and Joan Lincoln, who earlier donated $10 million, would be honored in the institution's name—Claremont Lincoln University—as classes begin this fall. Only the seminary will receive money from United Methodist agencies.
A week before the university announcement was made, the New York Times reported that Pitzer College, one of the seven Claremont colleges within walking distance of the seminary, will offer a major in secularism this fall. The new department of secular studies is headed by sociologist Phil Zuckerman, who has written extensively on secularism.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pastors and Rabbis and Imams" by Libby A. Nelson, Inside Higher Ed 10/25/11
Like everything about the newly established university, the vision is ecumenical and ambitious.
As the United States becomes more religiously diverse, with more interfaith marriages and families, the demand for ministers and religious counselors who are comfortable in that atmosphere is "off the charts, no question," says Philip Clayton, Claremont Lincoln's provost.
"Drawing on the wealth of interreligious partnerships is one of the most crucial things that we need to learn for the coming decades," Clayton says. "Frankly, without that resource, I don't think human civilization is going to make it."
"The majority of Methodists embrace the interreligious project as long as the Methodist members participate as Christians in interreligious dialogue,” Clayton says.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The Amazing Technicolor Multifaith Theology School" by Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 6/11/10
This move by the Claremont School of Theology illustrates what happens when churches and denominations allow their institutions to embrace theological liberalism. . . . The leftward march of liberal Protestantism is hardly news, but on occasion a development arises that serves as something of a parable of that trajectory.
Liberal Protestantism long ago grew embarrassed by the exclusive claims of biblical Christianity and the historic Christian faith. Adopting pluralist and inclusivist reconstructions of the faith, liberal theologians and theological schools have been pressing the margins for over a century now. Given that trajectory, a multifaith theological seminary was an inevitability — the only question was when and where it would happen.
Mark Tooley, President of The Institute on Religion and Democracy, said that the school’s action meant that it “seems to be moving away from its responsibility to the United Methodist Church.” He added: “It almost seems that they’re trying to fulfill the stereotype that many in the church have of liberal Methodism on the West Coast.”
In a subsequent interview, Tooley, a United Methodist, pointed out that the United Methodist Church has lost nearly half of its membership on the West Coast.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
For background, read Methodist Seminary Trains Pluralistic Clergy
-- From "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly Listings" Washington Post 10/21/11
Multi_Faith Theological Education — At the Claremont Colleges in California, the Graduate School of Theology has created Claremont Lincoln University, the first multi-faith theological school of its kind. As Saul Gonzalez reports, the new and controversial graduate university is teaching and will grant degrees to students who want to become Christian ministers, Jewish rabbis or Muslim imams, and it plans to include Hindus, Sikhs and others, as well.
From "Multifaith Theological Education" by Saul Gonzalez, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, PBS 10/21/11
SAUL GONZALEZ, correspondent: . . . California’s Claremont Lincoln University, which describes itself as America’s first interreligious school of theology, one that will train pastors, rabbis, and eventually Muslim imams all on one campus. The school’s philosophy was captured in the opening remarks of Muslim-American religious scholar Najeeba Syeed-Miller, a professor at Claremont Lincoln.
PROFESSOR NAJEEBA SYEED-MILLER: The diversity of humankind is not a curse from God. It is a sign of God’s creation, and the beauty of humanity is in our very differences.
GONZALEZ: What do you hope to accomplish here at Claremont Lincoln? What’s the grand vision?
PHILIP CLAYTON (Provost, Claremont Lincoln University): You have to get beyond the point of people defining their religions by the traditional walls. . . . When you train rabbis in one school, pastors in another, imams in another, you put them out into communities they create an “us versus them” mentality. What if we do something that’s never been done before? Let’s train them in the same classroom. Let’s let them work out their differences in their day-to-day education. When they go out into their communities you won’t find them doing the “us versus them,” but, we hope, the “we.” What that would [do] for the face of religion in America would be staggering.
GONZALEZ: Claremont Lincoln is actually the creation of a much older institution, United Methodist-affiliated Claremont School of Theology, founded in 1885. It partnered with southern California’s Academy of Jewish Religion and the Islamic Center of Southern California to form this new school. Students attending this school can get master’s degrees in divinity, rabbinic studies, and Muslim counseling.
GONZALEZ: Beyond America’s changing religious landscape, there’s another reason why Claremont went multifaith: survival. Like other schools of theology and seminaries during these tough economic times, this campus faced a declining enrollment and a tightening budget. Allowing students from other faiths to train here is one way to keep the lights on and the doors open.
CLAYTON: This is an extremely hard time for American theological schools. We could go on with a dwindling number of Methodists students, but we decided we wanted to be ahead of the curve. . . . we had a 45-year history of being edgy. We were always sort of pushing the envelope, and so we decided we would push the envelope on this one.
To read the entire interview transcript above, CLICK HERE.
From "Donation spurs multifaith university in Claremont" posted at The Christian Century 5/25/11
Looking to support "tolerance and respect among religions," a United Methodist couple has upped its total donation to $50 million to launch a multifaith university that will educate professional leaders for churches, synagogues and mosques while providing those future clergy with insights into interreligious issues.
The Methodist-affiliated Claremont School of Theology announced May 16 that philanthropists David and Joan Lincoln, who earlier donated $10 million, would be honored in the institution's name—Claremont Lincoln University—as classes begin this fall. Only the seminary will receive money from United Methodist agencies.
A week before the university announcement was made, the New York Times reported that Pitzer College, one of the seven Claremont colleges within walking distance of the seminary, will offer a major in secularism this fall. The new department of secular studies is headed by sociologist Phil Zuckerman, who has written extensively on secularism.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pastors and Rabbis and Imams" by Libby A. Nelson, Inside Higher Ed 10/25/11
Like everything about the newly established university, the vision is ecumenical and ambitious.
As the United States becomes more religiously diverse, with more interfaith marriages and families, the demand for ministers and religious counselors who are comfortable in that atmosphere is "off the charts, no question," says Philip Clayton, Claremont Lincoln's provost.
"Drawing on the wealth of interreligious partnerships is one of the most crucial things that we need to learn for the coming decades," Clayton says. "Frankly, without that resource, I don't think human civilization is going to make it."
"The majority of Methodists embrace the interreligious project as long as the Methodist members participate as Christians in interreligious dialogue,” Clayton says.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The Amazing Technicolor Multifaith Theology School" by Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 6/11/10
This move by the Claremont School of Theology illustrates what happens when churches and denominations allow their institutions to embrace theological liberalism. . . . The leftward march of liberal Protestantism is hardly news, but on occasion a development arises that serves as something of a parable of that trajectory.
Liberal Protestantism long ago grew embarrassed by the exclusive claims of biblical Christianity and the historic Christian faith. Adopting pluralist and inclusivist reconstructions of the faith, liberal theologians and theological schools have been pressing the margins for over a century now. Given that trajectory, a multifaith theological seminary was an inevitability — the only question was when and where it would happen.
Mark Tooley, President of The Institute on Religion and Democracy, said that the school’s action meant that it “seems to be moving away from its responsibility to the United Methodist Church.” He added: “It almost seems that they’re trying to fulfill the stereotype that many in the church have of liberal Methodism on the West Coast.”
In a subsequent interview, Tooley, a United Methodist, pointed out that the United Methodist Church has lost nearly half of its membership on the West Coast.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Astronomer: No Intelligent Life Beyond Earth
After analyzing hundreds of planets, Harvard's senior astrophysicist, Dr. Howard Smith has concluded that there is no one beyond our own Earth -- which exists in perfect placement in our Solar System to sustain our lives, unlike any other heavenly body.
Ummm . . . It would seem he's saying that the Earth's perfect existence is not the result of random chance.
-- From "No hope of alien life in space, says US researcher" by The Daily Telegraph 1/25/11
There is no hope of finding alien life in space because conditions on all other 500 planets discovered so far are too hostile, a leading astronomer has claimed.
Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard, said that extreme conditions found so far on planets discovered outside the solar system are likely to be the norm. "Most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own," he said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Astronomer discounts chances of alien life" posted at UPI 1/24/11
Smith insists extrasolar planets are too different from our own and even if they did support life it would be impossible for us to contact it.
"Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny bubble of space around the Earth, stretching perhaps 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own," he says. "But communicating would still take decades or centuries."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Alien life deemed impossible by analysis of 500 planets" by Heidi Blake, London Telegraph 1/23/11
[Dr. Smith] pointed to stars such as HD10180, which sparked great excitement when it was found to be orbited by a planet of similar size and appearance to Earth.
But the similarities turned out to be superficial. The planet lies less than two million miles from its sun, meaning it is roasting hot, stripped of its atmosphere and blasted by radiation.
Many of the other planets have highly elliptical orbits which cause huge variations in temperature which prevent water remaining liquid, thus making it impossible for life to develop.
. . . Dr Smith dismissed the claims [of NASA -- see next article below], insisting that other extrasolar planets differ starkly from our own . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 2/2/11: Media Fanfare for NASA discovering, what might be distant planets, that theoretically could sustain life, but no conclusions are scientifically possible.
From "Astronomers hunting alien Earths" by Dan Vergano, USA TODAY 1/23/11
NASA's Kepler space telescope team this month unveiled the first indisputable detection of a rocky planet spotted in another star's solar system. The find lifted hopes that planets with rocky cores like Earth fill many stars' solar systems. Mission scientists led by William Borucki of NASA's NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., promise to report on hundreds of more planetary candidates next month.
Dubbed "Kepler-10b," the recently-announced rocky planet roasts in an orbit far too hot for life, circling less than two million miles above its sun-like star. "You have to see this as a warm up for Kepler, literally," says mission team scientist Sara Seager of MIT, however, pointing to expected future finds.
"Although no such planets have yet been discovered, the first will be found within the next couple of years," write astrophysicists Jonti Horner of Australia's University of New South Wales and Barrie Jones of the United Kingdom's Open University in the current Astronomy & Geophysics journal. "And so the time is right to discuss exactly what factors might come together to make such planets more, or less, suitable for life to develop and thrive."
Some caution about planet discoveries might be in order, though. The September announcement of the planet Gliese 581g by a team led by Steven Vogt of the University of California-Santa Cruz and Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institute of Washington (D.C.), has come under fire. Circling just such an M-class dwarf star, the planet was announced as orbiting in a potentially habitable zone. Other astronomers, such as the Geneva Observatory's Francesco Pepe, have since said they couldn't confirm the planet's detection, raising questions about its existence. (Noting that three outside groups have now reported they can't find Gliese 581g, Pepe says in an email, "It turns out today that Vogt's conclusions were wrong.")
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Warning to Dr. Howard Smith: You're about to be labeled a heretic by your peers.
UPDATE 2/3/11 (video): PBS report speculates that "odds are" some planet must have life
UPDATE 12/25/14: From "Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God" by Eric Metaxas (author of “Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life”), posted at Wall Street Journal
Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life—every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart. . . .
Yet here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing. What can account for it? Can every one of those many parameters have been perfect by accident? At what point is it fair to admit that science suggests that we cannot be the result of random forces? Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being?
Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term “big bang,” said that his atheism was “greatly shaken” at these developments. He later wrote that “a common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with chemistry and biology . . . . The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”
Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that “the appearance of design is overwhelming” and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox has said “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator . . . gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 3/17/14: Science Limited to Godless Origins at Ball State Univ.
Ummm . . . It would seem he's saying that the Earth's perfect existence is not the result of random chance.
-- From "No hope of alien life in space, says US researcher" by The Daily Telegraph 1/25/11
There is no hope of finding alien life in space because conditions on all other 500 planets discovered so far are too hostile, a leading astronomer has claimed.
Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard, said that extreme conditions found so far on planets discovered outside the solar system are likely to be the norm. "Most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own," he said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Astronomer discounts chances of alien life" posted at UPI 1/24/11
Smith insists extrasolar planets are too different from our own and even if they did support life it would be impossible for us to contact it.
"Any hope of contact has to be limited to a relatively tiny bubble of space around the Earth, stretching perhaps 1,250 light years out from our planet, where aliens might be able to pick up our signals or send us their own," he says. "But communicating would still take decades or centuries."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Alien life deemed impossible by analysis of 500 planets" by Heidi Blake, London Telegraph 1/23/11
[Dr. Smith] pointed to stars such as HD10180, which sparked great excitement when it was found to be orbited by a planet of similar size and appearance to Earth.
But the similarities turned out to be superficial. The planet lies less than two million miles from its sun, meaning it is roasting hot, stripped of its atmosphere and blasted by radiation.
Many of the other planets have highly elliptical orbits which cause huge variations in temperature which prevent water remaining liquid, thus making it impossible for life to develop.
. . . Dr Smith dismissed the claims [of NASA -- see next article below], insisting that other extrasolar planets differ starkly from our own . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 2/2/11: Media Fanfare for NASA discovering, what might be distant planets, that theoretically could sustain life, but no conclusions are scientifically possible.
From "Astronomers hunting alien Earths" by Dan Vergano, USA TODAY 1/23/11
NASA's Kepler space telescope team this month unveiled the first indisputable detection of a rocky planet spotted in another star's solar system. The find lifted hopes that planets with rocky cores like Earth fill many stars' solar systems. Mission scientists led by William Borucki of NASA's NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., promise to report on hundreds of more planetary candidates next month.
Dubbed "Kepler-10b," the recently-announced rocky planet roasts in an orbit far too hot for life, circling less than two million miles above its sun-like star. "You have to see this as a warm up for Kepler, literally," says mission team scientist Sara Seager of MIT, however, pointing to expected future finds.
"Although no such planets have yet been discovered, the first will be found within the next couple of years," write astrophysicists Jonti Horner of Australia's University of New South Wales and Barrie Jones of the United Kingdom's Open University in the current Astronomy & Geophysics journal. "And so the time is right to discuss exactly what factors might come together to make such planets more, or less, suitable for life to develop and thrive."
Some caution about planet discoveries might be in order, though. The September announcement of the planet Gliese 581g by a team led by Steven Vogt of the University of California-Santa Cruz and Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institute of Washington (D.C.), has come under fire. Circling just such an M-class dwarf star, the planet was announced as orbiting in a potentially habitable zone. Other astronomers, such as the Geneva Observatory's Francesco Pepe, have since said they couldn't confirm the planet's detection, raising questions about its existence. (Noting that three outside groups have now reported they can't find Gliese 581g, Pepe says in an email, "It turns out today that Vogt's conclusions were wrong.")
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Warning to Dr. Howard Smith: You're about to be labeled a heretic by your peers.
UPDATE 2/3/11 (video): PBS report speculates that "odds are" some planet must have life
UPDATE 12/25/14: From "Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God" by Eric Metaxas (author of “Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life”), posted at Wall Street Journal
Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life—every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart. . . .
Yet here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing. What can account for it? Can every one of those many parameters have been perfect by accident? At what point is it fair to admit that science suggests that we cannot be the result of random forces? Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being?
Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term “big bang,” said that his atheism was “greatly shaken” at these developments. He later wrote that “a common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with chemistry and biology . . . . The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”
Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that “the appearance of design is overwhelming” and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox has said “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator . . . gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 3/17/14: Science Limited to Godless Origins at Ball State Univ.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Christian Programing Banned from National Public Radio
Since Barack Obama became president, the anti-choice trend is undeniable: Make Christianity on the airwaves rare
UPDATE 6/17/09: PBS confirms ban on airing new religious TV programs
-- From "NPR axes Christian radio programs" by Pete Chagnon, OneNewsNow 4/30/2009
In 1985, National Public Radio (NPR) adopted a policy stating that member stations had to provide "nonsectarian, non-political, noncommercial" educational programming. But in February 2009, the wording was changed to say: "NPR Member Stations shall provide ONLY [emphasis added] nonsectarian, non-political, noncommercial educational content on all broadcast channel(s) and related media distribution platforms such as member partners that use the NPR member brands."
The rule, which takes effect May 1, means that any NPR stations carrying religious programming must cease and desist that programming as of that date. In explaining its decision in a similar matter, PBS -- another federally funded media outlet -- says it "places a high value on presenting diverse perspectives, as opposed to rigidly adhering to any single political or religious point of view." Allowing such programming, it continues, "would cause the public's trust in PBS to erode, along with the value of the brand."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 6/17/09: PBS confirms ban on airing new religious TV programs
-- From "NPR axes Christian radio programs" by Pete Chagnon, OneNewsNow 4/30/2009
In 1985, National Public Radio (NPR) adopted a policy stating that member stations had to provide "nonsectarian, non-political, noncommercial" educational programming. But in February 2009, the wording was changed to say: "NPR Member Stations shall provide ONLY [emphasis added] nonsectarian, non-political, noncommercial educational content on all broadcast channel(s) and related media distribution platforms such as member partners that use the NPR member brands."
The rule, which takes effect May 1, means that any NPR stations carrying religious programming must cease and desist that programming as of that date. In explaining its decision in a similar matter, PBS -- another federally funded media outlet -- says it "places a high value on presenting diverse perspectives, as opposed to rigidly adhering to any single political or religious point of view." Allowing such programming, it continues, "would cause the public's trust in PBS to erode, along with the value of the brand."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
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