TBC NewsWatch

FBI MAKES CHANGES TO NOT OFFEND MUSLIMS

CBNNews.com, 5/28/13, “FBI Makes Changes to Not Offend Muslims” [Excerpts]: The FBI has removed material that may be offensive to muslims from its anti-terror training guidelines.

A report from “Judicial Watch” shows that materials linking the Muslim Brotherhood to terrorism or profiling terrorists as “young male immigrants of Middle Eastern appearance” are now gone. The FBI called such references “unsuitable in the current political context.”

An independent group of subject matter experts reviewed the FBI’s training curricula on counter terrorism.

The group recommended the removal of presentations and curricula on Islam from FBI offices around the country.

(http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2013/June/FBI-Makes-Changes-to-Not-Offend-Muslims/)

[TBC: The FBI called such references “unsuitable in the current political context.” Dave Hunt wrote in March, 2003, “Our politically correct delusion is leading to disaster. Tragically, the gospel is kept from Islamic countries by the failure of Western governments to admit and confront the truth about Islam. Please continue to inform yourselves, to protest to our leaders, to pray for God’s intervention, and to be witnesses for Christ to Muslims in our country.”]

CHRISTIANS FARE BADLY IN OPPRESSIVE COUNTRY

OneNewsNow, 6/2/13, “Christians fare badly in one of world’s most oppressive countries” [Excerpts]: A Christian advocacy group is asking for prayer for Christians who are being persecuted in one of the most oppressive countries in the world.

Religious persecution in Eritrea is at its height, one Christian advocacy group says. The country of six million people is located between Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Red Sea. This year, almost 200 Christians have been arrested in the country, and it is estimated that roughly 1,200 Christians are currently incarcerated. In the Eritrean town of Adi Keyh, 37 Christian students and five adult men were arrested in May. Christians who are discovered are put in shipping containers in military camps.

“Nobody knows what’s happened to them, not even their families, because there’s no process,” Open Door’s Jerry Dykstra says. “We just ask your prayers for the Protestant and evangelical churches....Last year, about 30 Christians died while in Eritrean prisons. Churches in the country have been closely watched since 2002, when the government closed Christian churches that did not apply for registration with the government.

Eritrea is one of the most “repressive, secretive and inaccessible countries in the world” [Amnesty International].

(http://www.onenewsnow.com/persecution/2013/06/07/christians-fare-badly-in-one-of-most-oppressive-countries)

CHRISTIAN COCKTAILS

Christian Post, 6/14/13, “Christian Cocktails” [Excerpts]: Gina was so tired of defending what she knew was right. She’d heard it repeatedly—today’s issues aren’t black or white. Her teens kept telling her that her opinions were no longer a reality. But why should she “tolerate” behavior that used to be illegal? 

 It wasn’t as if she was getting much assistance from the pulpit either. She couldn’t recall a real sermon about sexual sin, greed, lust, or what living for Christ looked like. They’d certainly been to enough churches—at least a dozen. The family had followed her husband’s sales career across the country—settling in five different cities over the course of twenty years. It was as if the churches knew they had to keep people interested and steer clear of controversy. They served up Christian cocktails, tasty and easy to swallow.

She remembered a church in the Midwest that didn’t even use Bibles. Even though Gina carried hers each week, no one else did. And her kids refused to since none of the other kids had one. A church near Sacramento was like a pep rally. A large screen showed humorous mini-clips about life. This was followed by what amounted to a rock concert, which the kids seemed to like. A young pastor then delivered a short, cheery message encouraging everyone for the week ahead. People walked out smiling, but the joy was so shallow it wouldn’t last.

What seemed to be missing most everywhere they’d gone, was studying the Bible. As Gina looked over the different crowds of attendees, she wondered how many took the time to read the Bible during the week. She knew her kids never did. When they even bothered to go to youth group, it was just more entertainment—designed to pull kids in, but not equipping them for what they’d face in life.

Gina knew her kids hadn’t been trained to battle the war against principalities—and she wasn’t much better. Each Sunday, the controversial issues facing them were untouched. They heard syrupy-sweet words that helped them co-exist with evil. Instead of loving the sinner, they had come to a place where they loved the sin too.

Gina and her husband couldn’t place all the blame on church. They had been part of the problem and didn’t offer any kind of solution. Gina picked up her Bible. Turning to Paul’s warnings in 1 Timothy 4, “The Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.”

Indeed, her family had been drinking Christian cocktails for a long time now—instead of feasting on God’s Word. They’d chosen to live in a drunken stupor, failing to see God’s truth. It had been easier to listen to what they liked to hear but they’d failed to learn how God wanted them to really live. Sobered by the thought, Gina slid to her knees and prayed. Which is where repentance begins. And change follows.

(http://blogs.christianpost.com/friday-tidings/christian-cocktails-16573/)

LEGS KNOCKED OUT FROM UNDER SNAKE EVOLUTION

CreationMoments.com, 6/14/13, “Legs knocked out from under snake evolution” [Excerpts]: It’s rather interesting that evolutionists believe that snakes once had legs and lost them. This sounds very much like the Genesis account of the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

Obviously, evolutionists don’t accept the story of the first temptation. As far as they are concerned, the snake evolved from some reptile which originally had legs. But evolutionists have always tried to find some evolutionary advantage to losing legs and, thus, justify their theory. In 1973 an unpublished study suggested that garter snakes use 30 percent less energy for locomotion than they would if they had legs. That study was preliminary and never published. But that didn’t stop evolutionists from saying that they had found the reason that snakes don’t have legs.

Now, a much more exhaustive study done at the University of California at Irvine, has shown that this evolutionary explanation is false. Outfitting black racer snakes with oxygen masks and using modern precision equipment, including a snake-sized treadmill, researchers have shown that snakes use as much energy as a creature of the same weight to get around. The supposed evolutionary advantage to not having legs has disappeared under the bright light of scientific investigation.

(http://www.creationmoments.com/radio/transcripts/legs-knocked-out-under-snake-evolution)