Showing posts with label CBN News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CBN News. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Ben Shapiro: Judeo-Christian Values 'Made the West Great' - CBN News Jenna Browder


Ben Shapiro: Judeo-Christian Values 'Made the West Great'
04-18-2019
CBN News Jenna Browder
WASHINGTON – Ben Shapiro is making quite a name for himself as a young conservative known for his sharp and to-the-point style and in his new book, The Right Side of History, he takes a deep dive into what made the Western world great. Faith, he points out, is paramount. 
Shapiro knows what it's like to draw a crowd and even angry protests on some of the college campuses he visits, but he doesn't let that stop him from sharing his conservative views, and often running intellectual circles around those he goes up against. 
Attempts to Undermine Shapiro

"I think there's a willing attempt to undermine the very basis of what I stand for," Shapiro told CBN News. "People deliberately lie about what it is that I am saying. People will suggest that, for example, that I'm a white supremacist when I'm militantly anti-white supremacist."
In fact, the 35-year-old Harvard educated lawyer is devout in his Jewish faith. 

"The attempt to paint me as some sort of racist, the attempt to paint me as some sort of bigot or somebody who wants to hurt other people, I'm some sort of Fascist, those lies are the way the Left avoids the debate, unfortunately, the hard Left avoids the debate anyway," said Shapiro.  
'The Right Side of History'
The debate is something he doesn't shy away from and in The Right Side of History, he makes the case for the Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law that made the Western world great. 
Shapiro argues that we're living in the "most prosperous time in human history," yet our society is becoming more angry and divided.  
He says we have to investigate the roots of our civilization to explain this conundrum. 
Shapiro contends those roots lie in Judeo-Christian ethics and Greek teleology, the idea that we can apply reason to the universe and come up with good moral and scientific answers. 
Fighting Against the Chaos Undermining Western Civilization
"That combination, the push and pull between human reason and Divine revelation, that push and pull created the West," said Shapiro. "We have tried forcibly in many cases to undermine both of those basis for Western civilization, then we're surprised when we return to the chaos that proceeded them." 
It's that chaos he's trying to fight against on his radio and podcast show, cable news programs and columns he writes for "The Daily Wire," which he founded. 
As for why Christians should be especially interested in his new book, he says the answer is simple. 
"It gives a rationale for why Judeo-Christian values lie at the root of Western civilization," explained Shapiro. "Because what we're hearing from all our relatives is that you're an idiot if you believe in revelation at Sinai or the Sermon on the Mount, that you're a fool if you believe the tenants of Judeo-Christianity, that if you believe any of those values that you're basically a dunce and that we could come to all of these values on our own." 
He says this book is a rebuke of that notion. 
"You do need to make certain fundamental assumptions about the nature of the universe that are rooted in a God-based orderly universe if you actually want to have a Western civilization worth fighting for and preserving," he said.
Watch interview here: Ben Shapiro

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

'Simply Mind-Blowing': Researchers Believe They've Discovered the Route Moses Took Out of Egypt - CBN News

Egypt desert.jpg
'Simply Mind-Blowing': Researchers Believe They've Discovered the Route Moses Took Out of Egypt
04-16-2019
Bible scholars from the Doubting Thomas Research Foundation (DTRF) believe they may have discovered the route Moses took when he led the Children of Israel out of slavery from Egypt and to the Promised Land. 
The group told the Daily Star Online that they traveled to Saudi Arabia three times during their research and found evidence that the Israelites traveled through the modern-day kingdom to get to Israel. 
DTRF researcher Ryan Mauro is still working on this theory but said the most "plausible" route is one where the Israelites left Egypt through Cairo and crossed into the Sinai Peninsula. He believes they crossed into ancient Midian and stopped at Mount Sinai, which he claims is the peak of Jabal al-Lawz in eastern Saudi Arabia. 
"After three trips to Saudi Arabia, and I'm fully convinced that the Israelites went into the ancient land of Midian when they fled slavery in Egypt," he told the Daily Star Online
Last year, the organization released a documentary detailing their quest to find Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia. 
Mauro said he and his team discovered several pieces of evidence that Jabal al-Lawz is where Mount Sinai was located. 
"The golden calf, the split rock, Moses' altar, the Red Sea crossing site; all of these pieces need to fit, and they fit at this site in a way that no other site does," he said. 
Mount Sinai is traditionally associated with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The St. Catherine Monastery was built over what is believed to be the site where God spoke to Moses in the burning bush. 
"Perhaps these (skeptics) have doubted the historical account of the Exodus story because of a lack of evidence at the traditional site at St. Catherine's, but what we have found appears to fit the ancient accounts," Mauro said of the Jabal al-Lawz peak. 
Jabal al-Lawz has been previously been identified as the possible site of Mount Sinai, but scholars doubt this theory. 
"There is no credible historical, geographical, archaeological or Biblical evidence for the thesis that Mt. Sinai is at Jabal al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia,"  said creationist researcher Gordon Franz.
Mauro also told the Daily Star Online there is evidence that Moses split the sea at the Gulf of Aqaba on the modern-day beach of Nuweiba. There, the crossing would be just eight miles wide and a depth of only 33 meters (108 feet).
"It's going to take some time to bring this alternative theory into mainstream historiography, but I believe that our work is going to seriously shift the landscape on this subject," Mauro said. 
Mainstream scholars seriously doubt the historicity of the events recorded in Exodus due to a lack of archaeological evidence. 
Mauro encourages them to have an open mind. 
"I would basically say to someone who's (skeptical) about the Exodus to keep an open mind about the subject," he said. "These events really did happen. It doesn't require belief in one of these faiths to accept the evidence."
Mauro said his team is currently trying to piece together an exact timeline and map structure for Exodus based on their findings. 
"What I found there was simply mind-blowing. I couldn't believe that there was all this evidence for the Exodus and hardly anyone outside this region was aware of it.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

'So Let It Be Done': As ABC Re-Airs 'Ten Commandments' for 45th Time, Here's What You Didn't Know About 1 Epic Special Effect - CBN News Steve Warren

Screenshot of Charlton Heston as Moses from the trailer for Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic "The Ten Commandments." (Image credit: Paramount/Wikipedia)
Screenshot of Charlton Heston as Moses from the trailer for Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic "The Ten Commandments." (Image credit: Paramount/Wikipedia)
'So Let It Be Done': As ABC Re-Airs 'Ten Commandments' for 45th Time, Here's What You Didn't Know About 1 Epic Special Effect
04-15-2019
CBN News Steve Warren
Cecil B. DeMille's biblical epic about an original game of thrones played out between two Egyptian princes will be seen again on broadcast television this weekend.
The Academy Award-winning The Ten Commandments will air on the ABC television network at 7:00 pm Eastern/6:00 pm Central, Saturday, April 20. 
Spoiler alert:  One prince wins the throne, while the other ends up as a messenger for the Most High. 
Except for one gap in 1999, the 1956 classic film, starring Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Rameses, has been broadcast by ABC around Easter and Passover since 1973.   
The Ten Commandments remains one of the most popular films ever made. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. 
It was also a box office hit. The film is the seventh-highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation, according to Wikipedia.  As of 2011, the movie was estimated to have brought in more than $2 billion. 
The cast reads like a who's who of old Hollywood. Along with Heston and Brynner, the film also stars Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Vincent Price, and John Carradine.
The working title of the film was originally "Prince of Egypt." It was directed and produced by DeMille, who intended it as a remake of his earlier 1923 Paramount film The Ten Commandments
According to the Turner Classic Movies website, in the original theatrical version of the film before the opening title credits, DeMille is seen stepping from behind a curtain and onto a stage. He then directly addressed the viewing audience, telling them that the Bible omits approximately 30 years in its description of the life of Moses and that the filmmakers drew upon historical works such as those by Philo and Josephus and the Hebrew Midrash for the picture. 
The director also explained that the subject of Moses' life is particularly timely, as it deals with themes such as whether man is to be ruled by God's law or the whims of a dictator like Rameses. The director said the filmmakers' intent was "not to create a story but to be worthy of the story divinely created 3,000 years ago, the five books of Moses." 
The film also has the significance of having the most expensive special effect ever made for a film -- the parting of the Red Sea.
In April 1955 the New York Times reported the special effects team "built a 200,000 cubic-foot swimming pool and installed hydraulic equipment that could deluge the area with 360,000 gallons of water in two minutes flat."  
A May 20, 1955, Hollywood Reporter news item asserted that the Red Sea sequence would cost $500,000, both for filming and creating the special effects. The Times review, however, claimed that the scene "cost more than a million dollars and took 18 months to shoot."
Last year, Jeff Pfeiffer wrote an article posted to the TV Insider website about The Ten Commandments re-airing on ABC and asked the questions: Why is the film still so popular today when any film, including The Ten Commandments, is readily available via streaming or DVD?  And why do people still display a sometimes passionate desire to see ABC air this film every year at around the same time?
"This seems to be a case where it's not only the film itself but the tradition of watching it on television, most likely with family, that combines to make it a special event for many viewers, perhaps made stronger set against the backdrop of various spring holidays," he wrote. 
"Television times may have changed, but ABC's annual Easter airing of The Ten Commandments can still give (particularly older) viewers some sense of that comfort and familiarity," Pfeiffer continued. 
So this Saturday night, plan on spending some time with your family watching the movie... and pass the popcorn. 

Friday, April 12, 2019

'Every American's Right': Christian Farmers Fight Back After Being Banned for Biblical Marriage Beliefs - CBN News Emily Jones

The Tennes family's Country Mill Farms has been blocked from their local farmers market over their biblical beliefs about marriage (Photo: Screen capture)
'Every American's Right': Christian Farmers Fight Back After Being Banned for Biblical Marriage Beliefs
04-11-2019
CBN News Emily Jones
A pair of Christian farmers who were banned from their local farmers market in 2016 for choosing not to host a gay wedding on their personal farm are taking their battle to court this week. 
Steve and Bridget Tennes, owners of Country Mill Farms, are asking for a permanent court order forcing the city of East Lansing, Michigan to let them sell their products at the city's farmer's market. 
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) will represent the Tennes family in court this Friday. According to ADF, the City of Lansing blocked the Christian family from selling their products after reading on the Country Mill Farms' Facebook page that they support biblical marriage and will not allow LGBTQ weddings in their orchards. 
"Our family farm here is very personal to us," Steve Tennes said in a statement on the ADF website. "One of the things we really enjoy about our family farm here is (that) we are able to raise our five children here at the farm in accordance with our faith." 
In 2017, a federal judge issued a preliminary order forcing the city to allow the Tennes family to participate in the farmers market and said the city most likely violated their religious and free speech rights. 
According to NBC News, East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said that temporary ruling only covered the 2017 market season. Meadows also said the city opposes the Tennes' "corporate decision-making," not their religious beliefs.
"This doesn't have anything to do with Mr. Tennes," Meadows said. "This has to do with the business."
ADF Legal Counsel Kate Anderson strongly disagrees. 
"All Americans should be free to live and speak according to their deeply held religious beliefs without fear of government punishment," said Anderson. "Yet East Lansing officials changed their market policy to shut out Steve Tennes because they don't like his Catholic beliefs regarding marriage. Courts have repeatedly rejected these types of practices as unconstitutional discrimination."
Steve and Bridget Tennes are military veterans and hope their case will help preserve the freedoms of other Americans. 
"This isn't just about our ability to sell at the farmer's market. It's really about every American's right to make a living and not have to worry about being punished by the government," Steve said.
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Thursday, April 11, 2019

Israel Hours Away from Historic Moon Landing - Here's Where You Can Watch It - CBN News Emily Jones ShareTweet +2

Animation of Beresheet in lunar orbit/Courtesy SpaceIL and IAI

Animation of Beresheet in lunar orbit/Courtesy SpaceIL and IAI
Israel Hours Away from Historic Moon Landing - Here's Where You Can Watch It
04-11-2019
CBN News Emily Jones


JERUSALEM, Israel - Israelis will be glued to their screens Thursday night to watch the Beresheet spacecraft land on the moon. If successful, Israel will become the fourth nation after the United States, Russia, and China to touch the moon.
Israel's Beresheet spacecraft, which was developed by a team of scientists from SpaceIL and Israel Space Industries, is currently orbiting the moon. The spacecraft catapulted from the earth about seven weeks ago and is expected to land on the moon approximately 10:25 p.m. (3:25 p.m. ET).
On Wednesday, the SpaceIL and IAI team successfully completed the last maneuver before landing.
The maneuver lowered the spacecraft’s altitude in preparation for its landing. Beresheet is in elliptical orbit with its perilune (the closest point to the moon) only 15-17 km from the moon's surface.
Beresheet will continue to orbit the moon in elliptical orbit every two hours until it lands.
Meanwhile, Israeli scientists spent all night Wednesday working on their last calculations before the big event. NASA is also participating in the mission and will help the scientists stay in contact with the spacecraft after it reaches the moon's surface.
Once Beresheet lands, its mission will last two to three days. The craft will take pictures of the lunar surface and conduct experiments.
The spacecraft is also bringing God's written word to the moon. It will carry a time capsule containing a database of hundreds of files. The files include a copy of the Bible, information about SpaceIL, Israeli national symbols, and other materials.
The capsule will be left on the moon's surface after Israel completes its mission there.
Israeli leaders hope a successful landing will have an "Apollo Effect" on Israeli youth.
"We want the Israeli kids and the Israeli youth to, we want to encourage them to learn STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and informatics - and we hope that they will have this mission we will create the effect and encourage them," said SpaceIL CEO Dr. Ido Antebi.
President Reuven Rivlin said Beresheet will make history.
"When I was a child, we used to write fortunes on bubblegum wrappers – 'by the time you're 21, you'll go to the moon'. Then, it seemed fantastical, impossible. Until now, only great powers have landed on the moon – the United States, the Soviet Union and China. But if everything goes to plan, the State of Israel – our young and small country – will be the fourth country in history to land a spacecraft on the moon."
If you would like to watch the live broadcast of the landing from the SpaceIL control room,  click here
Note: The time of the landing may change and viewers are encouraged to look for updates on social media.