America Is Dying One Weak-Willed Governor at a Time - BRYAN FISCHER/AMERICAN FAMILY RADIO CHARISMA NEWS

America Is Dying One Weak-Willed Governor at a Time

3/30/2016 BRYAN FISCHER/AMERICAN FAMILY RADIO  CHARISMA NEWS

(Reuters photo)

According to the Founders, government has been established, not to give us rights, but to secure the unalienable rights given to us by God. 

Among these rights are religious liberty. In fact, according to the First Amendment, the free exercise of religion is the very first right government is pledged to guarantee and protect. 

Somebody needs to send a copy of that amendment to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican and self-identified Southern Baptist, who evidently has forgotten all about it. In so doing, he has vetoed away what is left of religious liberty in the Peach State. 

Gov. Deal is the poster child for how we are losing America: one cowardly governor at a time. One after another, we have seen supposedly principled governors cravenly cave to the bullies and bigots of Big Gay. The Gay Gestapo has claimed another victim in Gov. Deal and every freedom loving Georgian will pay the price. 

Gov. Deal has vetoed a religious liberty bill that is about as mild a bill as you can imagine. It would have protected pastors from being forced to perform same-sex weddings, and churches and other faith-based organizations from being forced to rent out their facilities for wedding ceremonies which celebrate the infamous crime against nature.

Thus Gov. Deal is now on record declaring to one and all that he doesn't mind if a Southern Baptist pastor is compelled by government to officiate a gay wedding or get punished in the process. He's just fine with a church or a Christian school being ordered by government to rent its facility for a gay wedding or to a homosexual activist group, or else. 

In other words, Gov. Deal, as Indiana Gov. Mike Pence did before him, has abandoned any pretext of protecting Christians from discrimination in his state. As one lawmaker bluntly put it, "It's open season on people of faith" in Georgia. 

The bill had been virtually eviscerated before it even got to the governor's desk. Even if the governor had signed it, it would have provided no protection at all for Christian vendors who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to the free exercise of religion in the way they run their businesses. Christian bakers, florists, photographers, T-shirt makers and so forth are now officially left high and dry in Georgia, abandoned by the very official who has taken an oath before God to protect them. 

About all that was left in the bill was protection for what pastors and churches and faith-based organizations do inside the four walls of their own buildings. Now even that protection has vanished like a whiff of smoke and the governor has left them without a shred of legal protection. 

The governor piously claimed, "I do not respond well to insults or threats," and then vetoed the bill after Coca-Cola, Netflix, Apple, Time Warner, Marriott, Walt Disney and the NFL rattled their sabers.

The governor is right. He does not respond well to insults and threats. He folded like a cheap accordion at a Lawrence Welk concert. 

As Todd Starnes put it, he "was more interested in protecting the Almighty Dollar than he was protecting followers of the Almighty." 

If you want a three-word Snapchat to explain why we are losing America and why the Republican Party is being abandoned in droves by people of principle, here it is: Governor Nathan Deal.

Bryan Fischer is the host of the two-hour weekday radio program "Focal Point" on American Family Radio.

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No One Is Born Gay - Michael Brown

No One Is Born Gay

9/8/2014 MICHAEL BROWN

There is no reputable scientific evidence that anyone is born gay. (Angie Draiville/freeimages.com)

If there were reputable scientific evidence that some people were born homosexual, I would have no problem accepting this. After all, my theology tells me that as human beings, we are all created in God's image and yet we are a fallen race, and so all of us carry aspects of that fallen nature to the core of our being, and that could theoretically include homosexuality.

But the fact is that there is simply no reputable scientific evidence that anyone is born gay.

As stated by gay activist and history professor John D'Emilio, "'Born gay' is an idea with a large constituency, LGBT and otherwise. It's an idea designed to allay the ingrained fears of a homophobic society and the internalized fears of gays, lesbians and bisexuals. What's most amazing to me about the 'born gay' phenomenon is that the scientific evidence for it is thin as a reed, yet it doesn't matter. It's an idea with such social utility that one doesn't need much evidence in order to make it attractive and credible."

In other words, because the "born gay" idea has proved so useful, the fact that there's virtually no scientific support for the theory hardly matters. It's an idea that has worked wonders for gay activists and their allies.

As noted years ago by gay scientist Simon LeVay, "There [was] a survey in The New York Times that broke down people on the basis of whether they thought gays and lesbians were born that way or whether it was a lifestyle choice. Across the board, those who thought gays and lesbians were born that way were more liberal and gay friendly."

And so, the argument goes, "If I'm born this way, how can my attractions be wrong? And if I'm born this way, how can you expect me to change?"

Of course, even if no one is born gay, that doesn't mean that homosexual attractions are not deeply rooted. In most cases, those feelings are very deeply rooted to the point that many gay men and women truly believe they were born gay.

And even if no one is born gay, that doesn't mean that homosexual attractions are easily changed. In most cases, they are not.

But why base a so-called civil-rights movement on lies? Why not tell the truth?

One of the most gay-friendly professional organizations in our country is the American Psychological Association, and yet even the APA states that, "There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation."

Similarly, in England, the pro-gay Royal College of Psychiatrists recently back tracked on an earlier statement that homosexuality was biologically determined, now saying that "sexual orientation is determined by a combination of biological and postnatal environmental factors." And while they stated clearly their belief that homosexuality was not a mental disorder and that it should be accepted, they added, "It is not the case that sexual orientation is immutable or might not vary to some extent in a person's life."

That's why psychiatrist Nathaniel S. Lehrman, former chairperson of the Task Force on Religion and Mental Health said in 2005, "Researchers now openly admit that after searching for more than 20 years, they are still unable to find the 'gay gene'" (in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons).

Why then do we constantly hear about people being born gay? First, it has worked wonders for gay activism; second, many gays and lesbians believe it to be true, since as far back as they can remember, they felt that they were different.

But political expediency and personal feelings do not change the facts, and those facts remain the same: There is no clear scientific evidence that anyone is born gay

According to lesbian researcher Lisa Diamond, "The queer community has been obsessed with cultivating the idea that we all have fixed sexual identities. We've crafted terrific narratives and political platforms based on the notions that all gays are 'born that way.' But what if sexuality is more complex? What if biology actually intersects with environment, time, culture and context? Could we possibly be more fluid than we've supposed?"

Camille Paglia, a social critic, academic, feminist and lesbian, was even more blunt, famously stating in her book Vamps and Tramps, "Our sexual bodies were designed for reproduction. ... No one is born gay. The idea is ridiculous ... homosexuality is an adaptation, not an inborn trait."

Paglia also asked, "Is the gay identity so fragile that it cannot bear the thought that some people may not wish to be gay? Sexuality is highly fluid, and reversals are theoretically possible."

Remarkably, when a school chaplain in Tasmania, Australia, posted Paglia's opinion on social media, there was an outcry against him, causing him to issue a public apology: "I've made a mistake and learnt from it. I'm deeply sorry for any offence I've caused. I was very careless in posting that image for discussion. I will work with my employers to ensure there is no repeat."

Despite this apology, he was still fired—and the organization he worked for was Christian! That is how toxic today's climate has become, and yet this chaplain simply posted the accurate reflections of a lesbian academic. How could this be considered hateful or bigoted?

Again, this does not mean that same-sex attractions and desires are not deeply rooted in some people's lives, nor does it mean that they chose to be gay. (You can choose to act on your attractions but that doesn't mean you chose to have the attractions.)

It simply means that one of the major gay-activist talking points, one that has even infiltrated parts of the church, is based on lies, not truth.

It's time we speak the truth in love. Lies never help anyone in the long run.

Michael Brown is author of Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding With Love and Truth to Questions About Homosexuality and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed are solely the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Charisma Media.

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Secularism Sucking the Pneuma Out of Spirit-Filled Christianity

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Secularism Sucking the Pneuma Out of Spirit-Filled Christianity

11:00AM EDT 10/25/2013 JENNIFER LECLAIRE, charismanews

 

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When Pentecostals don’t speak in tongues and Baptists aren’t getting baptized, it signals a deeper issue of faith. (Ashley Campbell/Flickr/Creative Commons)

Fewer Pentecostals are speaking tongues. Fewer Baptists are getting baptized. Wait, what? Yes, you read that correctly. But what are we to make of the decline of baptisms in water and in the Spirit? I’ll get to that in a minute.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a column entitled, “Are We Pentecostals Losing Our Religion by Holding Our Tongue-Talking?.” In it I referenced an AP report about a small Assemblies of God congregation that looks just like every other Pentecostal church service—except nobody is speaking in tongues.

What I didn’t include are the stats from the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world with 66 million members. At the General Council meeting in August, the AG talked about the decline baptisms in the Spirit.

According to the denomination’s statistics, tongue talking decreased by about 3 percent to less than 82,000. That’s the lowest rate since 1995. How is that even possible, given that Pentecostalism is one of the fastest growing sectors of Christianity? The Pew Research Center reports that at least 25% of the 2 billion Christians in the world are connected to the Pentecostal or charismatic movements.

“This is a long-developing phenomenon," Harvey Cox, an expert in Pentecostalism and professor of religion at the Harvard Divinity School, told the Associated Press. "They don't want what appears to be objectionable to stick out or be viewed with suspicion."

And it’s not just the Pentecostals that are straying from the defining characteristics of their faith. The Baptists are also reporting a decline in Baptisms. Indeed, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) reports water baptisms dipped 13 percent in 2012 to under 300,000. Al Gilbert of the NAMB told One News Now that’s the biggest drop in 62 years—62 years!

“Maybe we're not identifying the need to help our teenagers and even our older children understand how to publicly profess their faith," Gilbert says. "Are we even making sure that they've understood the claims of Christ and then they have declared that they're publicly a follower of Christ?"

OK, so what’s going on here and what does it mean for Pentecostals, Baptists, and Christianity at large? It doesn’t take a prophet to see that secularism is attacking the foundations of Christianity and we’re seeing the manifestations in two of the largest, oldest branches in the body of Christ.

Think about it for a minute. When Pentecostals don’t speak in tongues and Baptists aren’t getting baptized, it signals a deeper issue of faith. In an age of interfaith marriages, some may be abandoning their religious roots to avoid offending their spouses.

In a recent article entitled “Interfaith Unions: A Mixed Blessing,” Naomi Shaeffer Riley points out that before the 1960s, about 20 percent of married couples were in interfaith unions; of couples married in this century’s first decade, 45 percent were. She also notes that secular Americans welcome the rise of interfaith unions as a sign of societal progress. But it’s not progress when you abandon the tenets of your faith in the name of compromise.

Secularism is even creeping into churches. What does that look like? Some of the signs are blatantly obvious, such as teaching that Jesus is not the only way to God. But the Bible clearly states that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Approval of homosexual lifestyles is another obvious fruit of secularism in the church, just as is a refusal to confront other sins.

But secularism isn’t always so blatant. There are subtle secularistic messages invading the church. Messages that focus more on moralism than Christ and the cross sound fine and good but morality without Christ is not Christianity. Likewise, pop psychology-centered sermons can take our focus off Christ’s and distract us from our faith in His healing power and place it in steps or formulas that may actually contradict the Word.

When we’re scared our faith will offend, we’re bowing to secularism. When we stop publicly baptizing in water, we may also be bowing to the influence of secularism. And when we stop praying in tongues because we don’t want to scare off seekers, we’ve definitely given in to secularism.

This Scripture keeps coming to mind: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). Make no mistake, secularism is among the forces working to destroy our Christian foundation. It’s time for the righteous to rise up, bold as lions, and declare the cross of Christ, get baptized publicly, and speak in tongues to build ourselves up in our most holy faith. And ultimately, secularism must bow a knee to the name of Jesus.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. 

You can email Jennifer atjennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebookor follow her on Twitter.

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