Abraham Lincoln Bible Unveiled After 150 Years, Promising New Clues on His Faith in God - CBN News Charlene Aaron

Abraham Lincoln's Bible (Photo Credit: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum)

Abraham Lincoln Bible Unveiled After 150 Years, Promising New Clues on His Faith in God

06-21-2019

CBN News Charlene Aaron

From George Washington to Donald Trump, US presidents have taken the oath of office with their hand on a Bible.

President Trump and former President Barack Obama both used one of Abraham Lincoln's Bibles during their inaugurations.

Now another Bible belonging to Lincoln has been unveiled to the public for the first time in 150 years. 

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According to the New York Times, the Bible, one of six owned by President Abraham Lincoln, has been kept hidden from scholars and the public since the president acquired it in 1864, one year before his assassination.

Lincoln reportedly received the Bible as a gift during a fundraiser in Philadelphia by the hospital that treated soldiers who were wounded during the Civil War.
 
Engraved on the cover are the words, "to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States," from "the Ladies of the Citizens Volunteer Hospital of Philadelphia.

After the president's death, his widow, Mary Todd Lincoln, reportedly gave the Bible to Rev. Noyes Miner, a family friend, Baptist minister, and neighbor.

The Bible stayed with the Miner family until recently when they decided to donate it to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Museum.

According to Alan Lowe, executive director of the Lincoln museum, the Bible reveals a lot about Lincoln's views on faith and religion. 

"Their evolution over time is a fascinating one, that tells us much about our 16th president - how he viewed himself, the world around him and the future of our nation," Lowe said.

There were claims that the president at some point in his life had been an atheist. CBN once reported that, as a young man, Lincoln openly questioned the truth of Scripture, according to Marvin Olasky's book, The American Leadership Tradition. Even after he became president, Olasky writes, Lincoln's "god in 1861 and 1862 was the Union," not Jehovah.

Then, in 1862, Lincoln's life took a dramatic turn. The war was not going well for the Union, and Lincoln was being savaged in both the Yankee and Confederate press. Personal tragedy struck as well, when his beloved son Willie died suddenly. Lincoln sought his solace in the Bible. Confronted with the loss of little Willie and yet another devastating Union defeat at the second Battle of Manassas, a humbled Lincoln finally embraced Christ. "My own wisdom seemed insufficient," he wrote to a friend. I was "driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I have nowhere else to go."

Reportedly after receiving another Bible, Lincoln wrote, "In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this book.  But for it, we could not know right from wrong.  All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it."

Miner once wrote that Lincoln "believed not only in the overwhelming Providence of God, but in the divinity of the Sacred Scriptures" and that the first lady told him at Ford's Theater that Lincoln was planning a post-White House visit to Jerusalem to "see the places hallowed by the footsteps of the Saviour."

Lincoln often mentioned God in speeches and letters, and his Second Inaugural Address was dominated by biblical themes: 

"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether'."

After Lincoln's death, Rev. Miner wrote, "the bullet from the pistol of the assassin entered his brain, and the soul of the great and good President was carried by the angels to the New Jerusalem above."

The Bible will be on public display at the Lincoln Museum for the remainder of the year.

According to Ian Hunt, head of acquisitions for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, "the donation of this Bible offers a new opportunity to reflect on Lincoln's religious beliefs." 

"It is a tangible connection to the fascinating question of what Lincoln believed and how those beliefs evolved as he endured tragedy after tragedy."
 

'They Had the Power:' Former Satanic High Priest Says Christians' Prayers Hindered Him from Carrying Out Evil - CBN News Charlene Aaron

'They Had the Power:' Former Satanic High Priest Says 

Christians' Prayers Hindered Him from Carrying Out Evil

06-21-2018

CBN News Charlene Aaron

John Ramirez once worshipped the devil and carried out evil in the name of Satan.

Now a pastor, he knows all about the dark side.

He once sacrificed animals as part of satanic rituals and his friends even called him, "Luficer's son."

In his book, Armed and Dangerous: The Ultimate Battle Plan for Targeting and Defeating the 

Enemy, Ramirez details why Christians need to pray more effectively.

"I wrote this book because I wanted Christians to know that it's not only a defense spiritual warfare, 

but there's an offense spiritual warfare," he told CBN News. "We need to keep the devil, the devil 

in his place."

Watch CBN's Charlene Aaron's interview with Ramirez on Prayer Link

Ramirez said he was most effective in Satanism when believers were prayerless.

"I was able to go in there and capitalize and take a stand and a position in the spirit realm 

against the Christians that were not praying," he explained. "I took that territory away so I 

owned your neighbor, I owned your neighborhood, I owned your region because you didn't 

saturate with prayers. I beat you to it."

He also shared how when Christians did pray that it stopped his evil plans in their tracks.

"It is those believers, it's that group of people, those intercessors that gave me such a beatdown 

in the spiritual," he said. "When I came into the neighborhood and they were in the spirit together 

holding hands. Do I know they were physically holding hands in one area? I don't know, but in 

the spirit realm, they were holding hands. And, they were able to chase me out the neighborhood. 

No mission accomplished. Mission aborted, weakened my assignment and no mission accomplished 

because they knew something: they had the power in that neighborhood that I didn't have."

Ramirez now encourages Christians to broaden their prayers and to be sensitive to pray for the 

nation, schools and other areas.

He said, "If I know what's going on in my neighborhood, then I know what to lift up to the altar 

of God. And I think a lot of times we miss it because we have been called to be intercessors 

between life and death. We need to intercede for our neighborhood, our region, then our family, 

our loved ones, our husbands, wives, our workplaces."

After serving the devil for most of his life, he says that he wouldn't trade anything for what he's 

found in Christ.

"For twenty-five years of my life, I was able to do anything to anybody, anywhere," said Ramirez. 

"I count that all to be foolish to gain Christ. He's my Uno. He's the breath that I breathe. He walks 

with me. I can hear the sound of His voice in my ear."

Franklin Graham Praises Pope Francis: Abortion Is 'White Glove' Version of Nazi Crimes - CBN News Charlene Aaron

Franklin Graham Praises Pope Francis: Abortion Is 'White Glove' Version of Nazi Crimes

06-19-2018

CBN News Charlene Aaron

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Franklin Graham Praises Pope Francis: Abortion Is 'White Glove' Version of Nazi Crimes

06-19-2018

CBN News Charlene Aaron

The Rev. Franklin Graham is applauding Pope Francis for recent comments he made about abortion.

"I appreciate Pope Francis boldly speaking out for the unborn," Graham said in a recent Facebook post.

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Speaking to a delegation of Italy's family association in Rome over the weekend, the pope said 

abortion to avoid birth defects is similar to the Holocaust.

"It is fashionable, or at least usual, that when in the first few months of a pregnancy doctors do 

studies to see if the child is healthy or has something, the first idea is: 'Let's send it away,'" the 

Pope said. "We do the same as the Nazis to maintain the purity of the race, but with white gloves on."

He has frequently lamented how the sick, the poor, the elderly and the unborn are considered 

unworthy of protection and dignity by a society that prizes individual efficiency instead, and 

he's urged families to accept children "as God gives them to us."

Graham continued in his post, "The Pope denounced abortion, calling it the 'white glove' 

equivalent of the Nazi-era eugenics program. He also encouraged families to accept children 

'as God gives them to us.' He's right, and our society needs to hear this message now more than 

ever. God's Word says, 'Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a

reward' (Psalm 127:3). We can never stop praying for an end to abortion—will you pray that 

our nation would wake up and protect the most vulnerable among us?"

The pope also made headlines on another big social issue, saying same-sex families should not 

be recognized in the Catholic Church.

"Today, it is hard to say this, we speak of 'diversified' families: different types of families. It is 

true that the word 'family' is an analogical word because we speak of the 'family' of stars, 'family' 

of trees, 'family' of animals ... it is an analogical word. But the human family in the image of God, 

man, and woman, is the only one. It is the only one. A man and woman can be non-believers: but 

if they love each other and unite in marriage, they are in the image of God even if they don't 

believe," Francis said.

Girl With No Hands Wins National Handwriting Contest for Second Time - CBN News Charlene Aaron

Girl With No Hands Wins National Handwriting Contest for Second Time

05-11-2018

CBN News Charlene Aaron

Anaya Ellick doesn't let anything stop her from doing the things she enjoys.

"I just like writing in cursive," the 9-year-old told CBN News. "If I'm sad and I draw it makes me 

feel happy."

Born without hands, the third grader, who attends Greenbrier Christian Academy, uses her forearms

to write. When she was a year old, her grandmother taught her to steady the pencil between her

two wrists.

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Her mother Bianca Middleton says the family decided against the use of a prosthesis.

"They actually started to hinder her rather than help her," said Middleton. She didn't want them 

anymore. She had already started learning how to do different things without them. She learned 

to write and draw without them."

In a time with mainly computer keyboards and no emphasis on writing or spelling, teachers 

at the school say teaching students cursive writing is a vital part of their development.

Sara Cannady is Anaya's teacher.

"Research has shown that the part of the brain that does writing is closely related to children 

learning to read and to spell," Cannady said. "And doing cursive writing they learn to look at the 

word as a whole and so that is very important for their fluidity in reading and for them to be able 

to write words as a whole."

School officials recently entered Anaya in a national cursive writing competition.

Anaya's work went under a category for students with cognitive delays, intellectual, physical 

or developmental disabilities, which was judged by a team of occupational therapists.

Facing stiff competition and strict guidelines, the little girl with no hands came out on top.

Teachers and contest organizers say Anaya's handwriting skills are absolutely amazing.

"The people that judge the contest do it on the keys of legibility, which is the size, the shape, 

the slant and the spacing of the letters so they don't all scrunch in together and when you look 

at her handwriting it's just absolutely beautiful. To think that she can do that without any hands 

is very impressive," said Dale Figg of contest organizer Zaner-Bloser.

"She won for a manuscript when she was in first grade so we were excited to be able to enter 

her again for her cursive handwriting," said Tracy Cox, the school's elementary school teacher."

"And just to see that it's continued and it's beautiful. I mean it really is some of the best handwriting 

in her class," added Cox.

Others, including Anaya's family members, are also impressed.

"It's amazing to watch and it's also motivating to like when I hit spaces, you know I'm like oh this 

is impossible but I can't do this and it's like I never heard her say because I don't have, I can't," 

said her dad Andre Ellick.

"The biggest thing Anaya has taught our class is that there are no excuses," said Cannaday.

And how does Anaya feel about taking home an even bigger trophy this year?

"Proud," she commented.

'Praise You in This Storm': Teen Leads Community in Worship, Standing in Wreckage of Tornado Destruction - CBN News Charlene Aaron

'Praise You in This Storm': Teen Leads Community in Worship, Standing in Wreckage of Tornado Destruction

04-24-2018

CBN News Charlene Aaron

After an EF-3 tornado tore through their town, many residents of Elon, Virginia, near Lynchburg, are giving thanks and praise to God.

On Sunday, April 15, the storm left a path of destruction destroying between 26 homes on Nottaway Drive.

While many families lost their homes, thankfully, no was killed.

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And for that, the people of Elon, are grateful.

Gary Fink and his wife and five children hid in the basement of their home during the tornado. Now all that is left of their home is the foundation.

"All I know is while it was happening it seemed like forever," he told WSET.  

Fink's wife Leecy shared about the love and faith in their tight-knit neighborhood in a Facebook post.

"The homes on Nottaway, Saponi and Mattoponi drive are filled with the finest people that you can ever know," she said. "These parents and children are good to the core. They love their families, they love their neighbors like family, they love Jesus. Each family, I have heard gave Him the credit for what we lived through...Thank you, God, for protecting my family, my people. We will rebuild. We will rebuild stronger. We will rebuild together."

Where the Fink home once stood, neighbors recently gathered to sing praises to God.

In a Facebook LIVE video, 17-year-old Tre Tyree, who lives across the street from the Finks, stands on the bare foundation of the Fink home, with guitar in hand leading a small crowd in the popular worship song, "Praise You in This Storm."

He and several others helped to pull the family from the rubble after the storm.

"I knew we had escaped death and there were angels watching over us," Fink said on Facebook.

"I'll praise you in this storm," Tyree sings in the video while standing next to his girlfriend. "And I will lift my hands. For you are who you are. No matter where I am. Every tear I've cried. You hold in your hand. You never left my side. And though my heart is torn. I will praise you in this storm."

He continues singing the popular Casting Crowns song: "As the thunder rolls, I barely hear You whisper through the rain: 'I'm with you.' And as Your mercy falls, I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away."

The moving video, taken by Leecy Fink, has been viewed over 13,000 times with dozens of comments.

"What a beautiful testimony the Elon families are to all of us," wrote Dale Martin.  "Continued prayers that God will surround you with his love and care."

Madelyn Marks commented, "Praying for you guys!  Beautiful playing and voice!"

Meanwhile, there is a lot of work to do in Elon as families start to rebuild their lives and their homes. 

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the Fink family.

A Troubling Message to Those Who Want to Serve: 'Christians Need Not Apply' - CBN News Charlene Aaron

Amy Coney Barrett grilled about Catholic faith

A Troubling Message to Those Who Want to Serve: 'Christians Need Not Apply'

0-19-2017

CBN News Charlene Aaron

This past summer, Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT, grilled President Trump's pick for deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget over comments he made about Muslims.

In a conservative blog, Russell Vought, an evangelical Christian, defended Wheaton College for forcing out a professor who said Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

"I'm a Christian, and I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith," said Vought at his confirmation hearing.

He added, "That post was to defend my alma mater, Wheaton College, a Christian school that has a statement of faith that includes the centrality of Jesus Christ for salvation."

During Vought's confirmation hearing, Sanders asked if the comments were Islamophobic. Sanders ultimately decided he would not vote for Vought.

Religious Beliefs Used as a 'Litmus Test' for Public Office s to ideas with which they disagree," he said.

Following Vought's confirmation hearing, Jeffress demanded that Sanders apologize or resign.

Did Sanders Cross a Constitutional Line?

In an interview with CBN News, he said, "Here we had an evangelical Christian being questioned and Bernie Sanders got into the religious issue and took issue with this nominee's belief that faith in Jesus Christ is the only to heaven. That is the foundation of biblical Christianity for 2,000 years and Senator Sanders started to lecture this nominee and said he wasn't sure he could vote for him."

Jeffress, a member of the President's Evangelical Advisory Council, said Sanders also crossed a constitutional line.

He explained, "Article Six of the Constitution says government cannot impose a litmus test, a religious litmus test for service. Now you and I can use whatever litmus test we want.  But government can't impose that and that's why I said Senator Sanders needs to apologize for what he said or he needs to resign."

The mistreatment didn't end with Vought.  

Catholic Nominee Grilled Over Religious Beliefs

In September, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, applied her own religious test to federal appeals court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame and a practicing Catholic, felt pressured to explain how her religious beliefs might affect her legal decisions.

Feinstein specifically referenced a 2006 graduation speech where Barrett made several references to God.

In her speech, Barrett told graduates, "No matter how exciting any career is, what is it really worth if you don't make it part of a bigger life project to know, love and serve the God who made you."

She went on to encourage students to "pray about your career choices before you make them."

Feinstein said in the confirmation hearing, "When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you and that's of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for years."

Metaxas: Religious Tests Are 'Frightening'

Conservative author and radio host Eric Metaxas calls what amounts to a religious test, troubling.

"To me the idea that U.S. senators are this ignorant about this incredibly, utterly central element in American freedom, I find frightening and it should be a wakeup call to everybody," he told CBN News.

He said that acts like this must be called out by all sides.

"Americans should not allow leaders to not understand this," said Metaxas.

"You can have different views of faith or whatever but when you don't understand that that is sacrosanct.  In America for 240 years we have said you never go there. That is pure bigotry."

While liberals might consider their actions as just political posturing, Metaxas sees the problem as much more serious.

"When Sen. Feinstein did this recently, I thought, she actually thinks that what she's saying is okay. She thinks it's just politics. It's not just politics. It's fundamentally unconstitutional," he said.

Meanwhile, Jeffress believes the problem is likely to get worse.

"I don't believe that is the call for fatalism and I see that in too many Christians," he said.

"They just throw up their hands. It's all going to go to hell in hand basket, let's just get in our holy huddles and try to encourage one another and hope nobody does anything bad to us. That is not what Christians need to be doing. We are to be on the offense," said Jeffress.

Metaxas says the best way to do that is through prayer.

"The one thing however that we have as Christians is we have the power of prayer and we need to pray against this."

He added, "This is not God's will. It's God's will that everyone be genuinely free and we need to pray hard that in this nation that this would be preserved," he said.

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'Have You Been There All My Life?': The Millennial Social Media Star Who Met God in a Supernatural Way - CBN News Charlene Aaron

'Have You Been There All My Life?': The Millennial Social Media Star Who Met God in a Supernatural Way

04-20-2017

CBN News Charlene Aaron

Here is a special guest blog by CBN's Emily Jones. Buckle up, it's an amazing story. 

Sazan Hendrix is a woman who's taking the beauty world by the reins and isn't letting go! I, like millions of others, were drawn to her style and beauty tips. But go beyond that bright smile and even brighter personality and you'll find a woman who was once desperately searching for God -- until the day He showed up in her bedroom.

"I had my identity crisis in college when I was 20," she told me. "I didn't really know who God was."

Sazan is Kurdish and grew up in a predominantly Muslim culture. But while she called herself Muslim on paper, she never practiced their culture's faith and felt completely lost the night her identity crisis became unbearable. That all changed when her Christian best friend named Stevie challenged her to do the unthinkable – really talk to God.  

"He said, 'you know what, when you go home tonight why don't you just ask God to reveal himself to you through your dreams?'"

"So, I literally went home that night and I prayed differently than I had ever done my whole life," she says. "And I just said 'I don't know who you are ...have you been there for me my whole life? Do you hear my prayers? Reveal yourself to me.'" 

Boy, did God show up. 

"That night I literally had a dream that I was in a church worshipping Jesus' name…It was an out of body experience dream where I felt that love. I felt that worship. I felt it all," she told me. "I could see myself in those stands and my hands were in the air. I could see myself worshipping Jesus."

Funny thing is, she had never stepped foot inside a church before and had no clue what worship even looked like. 

"When I had that dream I knew it wasn't just a coincidence… I was about to step into the light after I felt like I had been in the dark for so long," she says.

And it only got better from there. 

"For two weeks straight after I had that amazing dream I started having these prophetic dreams…I started to get to know this Jesus guy through my dreams and for me, that was all I needed to know that this was the truth."

But her parents weren't happy about her new faith.   

"They were so upset," Sazan says."They told me, 'never tell us when you go to church because we don't want to hear about it.'"

But what completely severed their relationship was when Sazan broke Kurdish tradition and married Stevie -- a man with no connection to the Kurdish culture. 

But while Sazan endured years of painful silent treatment from her family, they eventually reconnected with her after seeing how Jesus changed her.

Now, Sazan uses her beauty platform to minister to millions of people like me. She has some pretty familiar advice – just talk to God. 

"God just wants you to talk to him. He wants to you listen…It's amazing when you open your eyes and ears what God can show you."

Spoken like a true pro. Jesus has a habit of showing up and showing out when we just open our mouths and start with that first "hello."

Tales of Faith, Love and Hope in Charlotte Chaos - CBN News Charlene Aaron

Tales of Faith, Love and Hope in Charlotte Chaos

09-23-2016

CBN News Charlene Aaron

Pastors and faith leaders in Charlotte are offering hope and spiritual healing in the wake of the killing of Keith Lamont Scott, a black man shot by a black police officer.

Police say a gun was recovered on the scene. His family, however, insists he didn't have a gun, but a book.

Violent protests erupted in the city Wednesday as a result of the shooting.

Dot Cannamela lives in the same neighborhood as Scott and she told CBN News that God protected her by delaying her commute by 15 minutes that night.  

"I prayed with a pastor friend of mine for safety and protection. I didn't have a good feeling," she recalled.

The neighborhood is by UNCC and dozens of people came out and harassed officers and lab workers. Cannamela said what she experienced could only be described as chaos.

"The violence and destruction, people cannot imagine," she said. "There was vulgarity...I was called names that I don't even want to tell you," she added. 

Cannamela said that the violence and tension was so high that she could not approach the victim's family to share the words of encouragement the Lord put on her heart. 

"I want to give encouragement, plant a seed with people, (to) my brothers and sisters in the Lord and people unsaved that we can overcome and God is in control".

"I believe the leaders in this town, in this state, in our government they (shouldn't) take this lightly and my prayer to the Lord is that we try to be in peace and unity and show love to people. What we need to try to do here is show love to people. That's what Christ represented," she added. 

North Carolina's governor has declared a state of emergency, calling in the National Guard and state police to help restore order.

Pastor Kirby Anthony of R5 Church said he felt God compelled him to attend the protests Wednesday.

In an interview with CBN News he said, "Last night me, myself and a couple of brothers from our church decided to go down into uptown for one reason and one reason only, to pray and to be a light for those that were there."

"To be a light for the police officers and a light for the protesters," said Anthony.

He shared what he saw at the protests, many of which, he said, were peaceful.

"We saw some people protesting silently, obviously we saw the police officers, who at that time were very reserved, standing in a straight line, just standing there quietly and then we did see some protesters that were down there. You could tell they were there just to cause trouble," he explained.

The shooting death of Scott came just days after another officer-involved shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Terence Crutcher was shot and killed by an officer Friday.

In both cases, police said they felt threatened and were forced to take lethal action.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association sends it Rapid Response team of chaplains all over the world to minister in crisis situations.

The team deployed to Ferguson, Missouri and other cities that have seen unrest after police shootings. The team was in its hometown of Charlotte to offer a beacon of hope admist the protests.

Kelly Burke, Manager of Emergency Response and Logistics for BGEA's Rapid Response team told CBN News, "We had our chaplains spread out in some teams."

"Some were in the area where the shooting took place last night where they heard the shot. They saw some of the windows broken," Burke said during the interview.

He recalled that one man had asked for prayer.

"He just said I'm overwhelmed with life right now. And that's a constant theme that we hear often", said Burke.

When asked how churches can help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the inner city communities.

"To be engaged," he answered.

"Our Decision America tour right now that Franklin Graham is a part of is largely that. It's just that the church, and it's kind of a reactive impluse that we all have, to maybe withdraw and maybe get inside the church and maybe while things are tense and caotic out there on the streets," he said.

"They're tense and caotic on the streets because they don't know the hope. They're looking for answers. They're looking for solutions."  

Pastor Anthony said that anger what is fueling the black community in light of black men killed by white, and sometimes even black police officers.

"I believe the gentleman who got shot in Oklahoma, one of the gentleman in the helicopter said he looks like a 'big dude or a bad dude or something.'  Well he's not just a bad dude," said Anthony.

"That's somebody's father. That's somebody's son. That's somebody's neighbor. And so when you see them get killed it angers you."

There is also another cause for the anger among blacks said Anthony.

"The legal system that failed, in a lot of people's opinions, to prosecute these officers for the way that they handled the situation and the way that they took the individual's life," he commented.

Meanwhile, communication and humility between officers and the black community is part of the solution Anthony told CBN News.

"The officer when he goes out into the community, he needs to check his attitude," said Anthony.

"Are these just people that you're lording your authority over and nobody has a right and you have all the power. I think that's a very dangerous attitude to have."

He said blacks have a role to play in moving forward as well.

"At the same time there are plenty of us in the black community that when we look at these officers we can't just look at them as the enemy."

America's inner-cities are in need of people who will go and show the love of Christ, Trent and Carmen Post told CBN News. The couple head Make Your Mark, an international, non-profit ministry based in Charlotte.

The couple moved into downtown Charlotte more than a decade ago, with no other ambition than to renovate and re-sell an old home. Within months, they started sharing their lives with drug addicts, prostitutes and street kids who feel they have no hope.

"They feel like that, they feel marginalized, they feel forgotten about, they have no voice and we like to stand in the gap and we know Jesus does, too," Trent said. 

He emphasizes that the key to understanding the needs of people in the inner-cities is relationship.

"We always say, 'The world needs more Jesus is flesh.' And Jesus didn't just come out and pray. He engaged people, he loved them, he fed them, he healed them...it was relationship."

Carmen said a Facebook post showed her the need to drop her defenses, let go of her need to be right and listen to the pain of others. After she wrote, "All Lives Matter" in relation to a "Black Lives Matter" post, one of the mother's of a child in their ministry responded in pain and anger.

"All I could do was selflessly understand her and put myself in her shoes and put anything that I thought away, and, you know, I think that's what it takes. I think it takes us as believers like to put what we think, what we've been taught, like put it away for the Gospel.  We don't have to be right, we don't have to prove a point,  but put it away for the Gospel so that people are feeling loved."

Watch video here: Charlotte - Tales of Faith, Love and Hope

Ex-Muslim's Post Says What Others Are Afraid to Say about Orlando Massacre - CBN News Charlene Aaron

Ex-Muslim's Post Says What Others Are Afraid to Say about Orlando Massacre

06-14-2016

CBN News Charlene Aaron

A former Muslim is speaking out online about the Orlando massacre and her Facebook post went viral with 1.2 million views.

Isik Abla is now a Christian TV host. She told CBN News that the Orlando attack should be called exactly what it was: radical Islam.

Watch the full interview with Isik Abla about what she says motivated her to write the post and speak the truth about Islam.

"Islam is a dangerous ideology, not only a religion and that Islam cannot exist without being radical," Abla said.

"It is an ideology to destroy. It's mission is to destroy America," she added. 

Abla said she posted the video about the truth of Islam as a wakeup call to America. 

"This has been my heart's cry and I have been so passionate since September 11 because this is the country that I found freedom. This is the country I found Christianity, I found Jesus Christ and I got free," she said.

"When I was in my own country I had no voice I was less than a cow and in this beautiful free country I found freedom and I have a voice. And when this happened, I said, 'No, no, no no, America cannot afford this anymore. America cannot afford one more September 11 anymore,'" she continued.

"And this is my heart cry to all Americans. Even atheists are writing to me, even Buddhists are writing to me and they are telling me 'you are right.' We need to open up our eyes. So this message is not just for Christians. This message is for true Americans," she said.

Abla said Christians should respond to the Orlando tragedy and the homosexual community with more than just words of love.

"The world doesn't need another description of the Christianity anymore. The world needs the demonstration of the Christianity and this is where we fail," she said.

"And instead of getting all into this arguments and politics, if people just start loving people, sinners, and we are all sinners, with the love of Jesus Christ, until the point that they ask us 'What is this? I want to be like you.' Then you have the platform to tell them what Bible says about their lifestyle," she said.

Watch here: Ex-Muslim Isik Abla