America’s Most Biblically-Hostile U. S. President

David Barton - 07/08/2014

America’s Most Biblically-Hostile  U. S. President When one observes President Obama’s unwillingness to accommodate America’s four-century long religious conscience protection through his attempts to require Catholics to go against their own doctrines and beliefs, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Catholic. But that characterization would not be correct. Although he has recently singled out Catholics, he has equally targeted traditional Protestant beliefs over the past four years. So since he has attacked Catholics and Protestants, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Christian. But that, too, would be inaccurate.  President Barack Obama He has been equally disrespectful in his appalling treatment of religious Jews in general and Israel in particular. So perhaps the most accurate description of his antipathy toward Catholics, Protestants, religious Jews, and the Jewish nation would be to characterize him as anti-Biblical. And then when his hostility toward Biblical people of faith is contrasted with his preferential treatment of Muslims and Muslim nations, it further strengthens the accuracy of the anti-Biblical descriptor. In fact, there have been numerous clearly documented times when his pro-Islam positions have been the cause of his anti-Biblical actions. Listed below in chronological order are (1) numerous records of his attacks on Biblical persons or organizations; (2) examples of the hostility toward Biblical faith that have become evident in the past three years in the Obama-led military; (3) a listing of his open attacks on Biblical values; and finally (4) a listing of numerous incidents of his preferential deference for Islam’s activities and positions, including letting his Islamic advisors guide and influence his hostility toward people of Biblical faith. 1. Acts of hostility toward people of Biblical faith: December 2009-Present - The annual White House Christmas cards, rather than focusing on Christmas or faith, instead highlight things such as the family dogs. And the White House Christmas tree ornaments include figures such as Mao Tse-Tung and a drag queen. [1] June 2013 – The Obama Department of Justice defunds a Young Marines chapter in Louisiana because their oath mentioned God, and another youth program because it permits a voluntary student-led prayer. [2] February 2013 – The Obama Administration announces that the rights of religious conscience for individuals will not be protected under the Affordable Care Act. [3] January 2013 – Pastor Louie Giglio is pressured to remove himself from praying at the inauguration after it is discovered he once preached a sermon supporting the Biblical definition of marriage. [4] February 2012 – The Obama administration forgives student loans in exchange for public service, but announces it will no longer forgive student loans if the public service is related to religion. [5] January 2012 – The Obama administration argues that the First Amendment provides no protection for churches and synagogues in hiring their pastors and rabbis. [6] December 2011 – The Obama administration denigrates other countries' religious beliefs as an obstacle to radical homosexual rights. [7] November 2011 – President Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial. [8] November 2011 – Unlike previous presidents, Obama studiously avoids any religious references in his Thanksgiving speech. [9] August 2011 – The Obama administration releases its new health care rules that override religious conscience protections for medical workers in the areas of abortion and contraception. [10] April 2011 – For the first time in American history, Obama urges passage of a non-discrimination law that does not contain hiring protections for religious groups, forcing religious organizations to hire according to federal mandates without regard to the dictates of their own faith, thus eliminating conscience protection in hiring. [11] February 2011 – Although he filled posts in the State Department, for more than two years Obama did not fill the post of religious freedom ambassador, an official that works against religious persecution across the world; he filled it only after heavy pressure from the public and from Congress. [12] January 2011 – After a federal law was passed to transfer a WWI Memorial in the Mojave Desert to private ownership, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the cross in the memorial could continue to stand, but the Obama administration refused to allow the land to be transferred as required by law, and refused to allow the cross to be re-erected as ordered by the Court. [13] November 2010 – Obama misquotes the National Motto, saying it is “E pluribus unum” rather than “In God We Trust” as established by federal law. [14] October 19, 2010 – Obama begins deliberately omitting the phrase about “the Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence – an omission he has made on no less than seven occasions. [15] May 2009 – Obama declines to host services for the National Prayer Day (a day established by federal law) at the White House. [16] April 2009 – When speaking at Georgetown University, Obama orders that a monogram symbolizing Jesus' name be covered when he is making his speech. [17] April 2009 – In a deliberate act of disrespect, Obama nominated three pro-abortion ambassadors to the Vatican; of course, the pro-life Vatican rejected all three. [18] February 2009 – Obama announces plans to revoke conscience protection for health workers who refuse to participate in medical activities that go against their beliefs, and fully implements the plan in February 2011. [19] April 2008 – Obama speaks disrespectfully of Christians, saying they “cling to guns or religion” and have an “antipathy to people who aren't like them.” [20] 2. Acts of hostility from the Obama-led military toward people of Biblical faith: June 2014 - Official U. S. government personnel, both civilian and military, in Bahrain (a small Arabic nation near Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran) must wear clothing that facilitates the religious observance of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.​ [21] March 2014 - ​Maxell Air Force Base suddenly bans Gideons from handing out Bibles to willing recruits, a practice that had been occurring for years previously. [22] December 2013 - A naval facility required that two nativity scenes -- scenes depicting the event that caused Christmas to be declared a national federal holiday -- be removed from the base dining hall and be confined to the base chapel, thus disallowing the open public acknowledgment of this national federal holiday. [23] December 2013 - An Air Force base that allowed various public displays ordered the removal of one simply because it contained religious content.[24] October 2013 – A counter-intelligence briefing at Fort Hood tells soldiers that evangelical Christians are a threat to Americans and that for a soldier to donate to such a group “was punishable under military regulations.”[25] October 2013 – Catholic priests hired to serve as military chaplains are prohibited from performing Mass services at base chapels during the government financial shutdown. When they offered to freely do Mass for soldiers, without regard to whether or not the chaplains were receiving pay, they are still denied permission to do so. [26] October 2013 - The Air Force Academy, in response to a complaint from Mikey Weinstein's Military Religious Freedom Foundation, makes "so help me God" optional in cadets' honor oath. [27] August 2013 - A Department of Defense military training manual teaches soldiers that people who talk about "individual liberties, states' rights, and how to make the world a better place" are "extremists." It also lists the Founding Fathers -- those "colonists who sought to free themselves from British rule" -- as examples of those involved in "extremist ideologies and movements." [28] August 2013 - A Senior Master Sergeant was removed from his position and reassigned because he told his openly lesbian squadron commander that she should not punish a staff sergeant who expressed his views in favor of traditional marriage. [29] August 2013 - The military does not provide heterosexual couples specific paid leave to travel to a state just for the purpose of being married, but it did extend these benefits to homosexual couples who want to marry, thus giving them preferential treatment not available to heterosexuals. [30] August 2013 - The Air Force, in the midst of having launched a series of attacks against those expressing traditional religious or moral views, invited a drag queen group to perform at a base. [31] July 2013 - When an Air Force sergeant with years of military service questioned a same-sex marriage ceremony performed at the Air Force Academy's chapel, he received a letter of reprimand telling him that if he disagreed, he needed to get out of the military. His current six-year reenlistment was then reduced to only one-year, with the notification that he "be prepared to retire at the end of this year." [32] July 2013 - An Air Force chaplain who posted a website article on the importance of faith and the origin of the phrase "There are no atheists in foxholes" was officially ordered to remove his post because some were offended by the use of that famous World War II phrase. [33] June 2013 - The U. S. Air Force, in consultation with the Pentagon, removed an inspirational painting that for years has been hanging at Mountain Home Air Force Base because its title was "Blessed Are The Peacemakers" -- a phrase from Matthew 5:9 in the Bible. [34] June 2013 – The Obama administration “strongly objects” to a Defense Authorization amendment to protect the constitutionally-guaranteed religious rights of soldiers and chaplains, claiming that it would have an “adverse effect on good order, discipline, morale, and mission accomplishment.” [35] June 2013 – At a joint base in New Jersey, a video was made, based on a Super Bowl commercial, to honor First Sergeants. It stated: “On the eighth day, God looked down on His creation and said, ‘I need someone who will take care of the Airmen.’ So God created a First Sergeant.” Because the video mentioned the word “God,” the Air Force required that it be taken down. [36] June 2013 – An Army Master Sergeant is reprimanded, threatened with judicial action, and given a bad efficiency report, being told he was “no longer a team player,” because he voiced his support of traditional marriage at his own promotion party. [37] May 2013 - The Pentagon announces that "Air Force members are free to express their personal religious beliefs as long as it does not make others uncomfortable. "Proselytizing (inducing someone to convert to one's faith) goes over that line," [38] affirming if a sharing of faith makes someone feel uncomfortable that it could be a court-marital offense [39] -- the military equivalent of a civil felony. May 2013 - An Air Force officer was actually made to remove a personal Bible from his own desk because it "might" appear that he was condoning the particular religion to which he belonged. [40] April 2013 – Officials briefing U.S. Army soldiers placed "Evangelical Christianity" and "Catholicism" in a list that also included Al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas as examples of "religious extremism." [41] April 2013 – The U.S. Army directs troops to scratch off and paint over tiny Scripture verse references that for decades had been forged into weapon scopes. [42] April 2013 - The Air Force creates a "religious tolerance" policy but consults only a militant atheist group to do so -- a group whose leader has described military personnel who are religious as 'spiritual rapists' and 'human monsters' [43] and who also says that soldiers who proselytize are guilty of treason and sedition and should be punished to hold back a "tidal wave of fundamentalists." [44] January 2013 – President Obama announced his opposition to a provision in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act protecting the rights of conscience for military chaplains. [45] June 2012 – Bibles for the American military have been printed in every conflict since the American Revolution, but the Obama Administration revokes the long-standing U. S. policy of allowing military service emblems to be placed on those military Bibles. [46] May 2012 – The Obama administration opposed legislation to protect the rights of conscience for military chaplains who do not wish to perform same-sex marriages in violation of their strongly-held religious beliefs. [47] April 2012 – A checklist for Air Force Inns will no longer include ensuring that a Bible is available in rooms for those who want to use them. [48] February 2012 – The U. S. Military Academy at West Point disinvites three star Army general and decorated war hero Lieutenant General William G. (“Jerry”) Boykin (retired) from speaking at an event because he is an outspoken Christian. [49] February 2012 – The Air Force removes “God” from the patch of Rapid Capabilities Office (the word on the patch was in Latin: Dei). [50] February 2012 – The Army ordered Catholic chaplains not to read a letter to parishioners that their archbishop asked them to read. [51] November 2011 – The Air Force Academy rescinds support for Operation Christmas Child, a program to send holiday gifts to impoverished children across the world, because the program is run by a Christian charity. [52]  November 2011 – President Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial. [53] November 2011 – Even while restricting and disapprobating Christian religious expressions, the Air Force Academy pays $80,000 to add a Stonehenge-like worship center for pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans at the Air Force Academy. [54] September 2011 – Air Force Chief of Staff prohibits commanders from notifying airmen of programs and services available to them from chaplains. [55] September 2011 – The Army issues guidelines for Walter Reed Medical Center stipulating that “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading materials and/or facts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.” [56] August 2011 – The Air Force stops teaching the Just War theory to officers in California because the course is taught by chaplains and is based on a philosophy introduced by St. Augustine in the third century AD – a theory long taught by civilized nations across the world (except now, America).[57] June 2011 – The Department of Veterans Affairs forbids references to God and Jesus during burial ceremonies at Houston National Cemetery. [58] January 2010 – Because of "concerns" raised by the Department of Defense, tiny Bible verse references that had appeared for decades on scopes and gunsights were removed. [59] 3. Acts of hostility toward Biblical values: March 2014 - The Obama administration seeks funding for every type of sex-education -- except that which reflects traditional moral values. [60] August 2013 - Non-profit charitable hospitals, especially faith-based ones, will face large fines or lose their tax-exempt status if they don't comply with new strangling paperwork requirements related to giving free treatment to poor clients who do not have Obamacare insurance coverage.[61] Ironically, the first hospital in America was founded as a charitable institution in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin, and its logo was the Good Samaritan, with Luke 10:35 inscribed below him: "Take care of him, and I will repay thee," being designed specifically to offer free medical care to the poor. [62] Benjamin Franklin's hospital would likely be fined unless he placed more resources and funds into paperwork rather than helping the poor under the new faith-hostile policy of the Obama administration. August 2013 - USAID, a federal government agency, shut down a conference in South Korea the night before it was scheduled to take place because some of the presentations were not pro-abortion but instead presented information on abortion complications, including the problems of "preterm births, mental health issues, and maternal mortality" among women giving birth who had previous abortions. [63] June 2013 – The Obama Administration finalizes requirements that under the Obamacare insurance program, employers must make available abortion-causing drugs, regardless of the religious conscience objections of many employers and even despite the directive of several federal courts to protect the religious conscience of employers. [64] April 2013 – The United States Agency for Internal Development (USAID), an official foreign policy agency of the U.S. government, begins a program to train homosexual activists in various countries around the world to overturn traditional marriage and anti-sodomy laws, targeting first those countries with strong Catholic influences, including Ecuador, Honduras, and Guatemala. [65] December 2012 – Despite having campaigned to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, President Obama once again suspends the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 which requires the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the American Embassy there. [66] July 2012 - The Pentagon, for the first time, allows service members to wear their uniforms while marching in a parade - specifically, a gay pride parade in San Diego. [67] October 2011 – The Obama administration eliminates federal grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for their extensive programs that aid victims of human trafficking because the Catholic Church is anti-abortion.[68] September 2011 – The Pentagon directs that military chaplains may perform same-sex marriages at military facilities in violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. [69] July 2011 – Obama allows homosexuals to serve openly in the military, reversing a policy originally instituted by George Washington in March 1778. [70] March 2011 – The Obama administration refuses to investigate videos showing Planned Parenthood helping alleged sex traffickers get abortions for victimized underage girls. [71] February 2011 – Obama directs the Justice Department to stop defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act. [72] September 2010 – The Obama administration tells researchers to ignore a judge’s decision striking down federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. [73] August 2010 – The Obama administration Cuts funding for 176 abstinence education programs. [74] July 2010 – The Obama administration uses federal funds in violation of federal law to get Kenya to change its constitution to include abortion. [75] September 16, 2009 – The Obama administration appoints as EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, who asserts that society should “not tolerate” any “private beliefs,” including religious beliefs, if they may negatively affect homosexual “equality.” [76] July 2009 – The Obama administration illegally extends federal benefits to same-sex partners of Foreign Service and Executive Branch employees, in direction violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. [77] May 2009 – The White House budget eliminates all funding for abstinence-only education and replaces it with “comprehensive” sexual education, repeatedly proven to increase teen pregnancies and abortions. [78] He continues the deletion in subsequent budgets. [79] May 2009 – Obama officials assemble a terrorism dictionary calling pro-life advocates violent and charging that they use racism in their “criminal” activities. [80] March 2009 – The Obama administration shut out pro-life groups from attending a White House-sponsored health care summit. [81] March 2009 – Obama orders taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research. [82] March 2009 – Obama gave $50 million for the UNFPA, the UN population agency that promotes abortion and works closely with Chinese population control officials who use forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations.[83] January 2009 – Obama lifts restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, forcing taxpayers to fund pro-abortion groups that either promote or perform abortions in other nations. [84] January 2009 – President Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of state asserts that American taxpayers are required to pay for abortions and that limits on abortion funding are unconstitutional. [85] 4. Acts of preferentialism for Islam: February 2012 – The Obama administration makes effulgent apologies for Korans being burned by the U. S. military, [86] but when Bibles were burned by the military, numerous reasons were offered why it was the right thing to do. [87] October 2011 – Obama’s Muslim advisers block Middle Eastern Christians’ access to the White House. [88] August 2010 – Obama speaks with great praise of Islam and condescendingly of Christianity. [89] August 2010 – Obama went to great lengths to speak out on multiple occasions on behalf of building an Islamic mosque at Ground Zero, while at the same time he was silent about a Christian church being denied permission to rebuild at that location. [90] April 2010 – Christian leader Franklin Graham is disinvited from the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer Event because of complaints from the Muslim community. [91] April 2010 – The Obama administration requires rewriting of government documents and a change in administration vocabulary to remove terms that are deemed offensive to Muslims, including jihad, jihadists, terrorists, radical Islamic, etc. [92] May 2009 – While Obama does not host any National Day of Prayer event at the White House, he does host White House Iftar dinners in honor of Ramadan. [93] 2010 – While every White House traditionally issues hundreds of official proclamations and statements on numerous occasions, this White House avoids traditional Biblical holidays and events but regularly recognizes major Muslim holidays, as evidenced by its 2010 statements on Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Hajj, and Eid-ul-Adha. [94] Many of these actions are literally unprecedented – this is the first time they have happened in four centuries of American history. The hostility of President Obama toward Biblical faith and values is without equal from any previous American president.   [1] Todd Starnes, "No Christmas in White House Holiday Card," Fox News Radio, 2011; Todd Starnes, "White House "Holiday" Card Spotlights Dog, Not Christmas," Fox News Radio, 2012; "White House Christmas Decor Featuring Mao Zedong Comes Under Fire," Fox News, December 24, 2009. [2] Todd Starnes, “DOJ Defunds At-Risk Youth Programs over “God” Reference,”Townhall, June 25, 2013. [3] Steven Ertelt, “Obama Admin’s HHS Mandate Revision Likely Excludes Hobby Lobby,” LifeNews.com, February 1, 2013; Dan Merica, “Obama proposal would let religious groups opt-out of contraception mandate,” CNN, February 1, 2013. [4] Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Minister Backs Out of Speech at Inaugural,” New York Times, January 10, 2013; Eric Marrapodi, “Giglio bows out of inauguration over sermon on gays,” CNN, January 10, 2013. [5] Audrey Hudson, “Obama administration religious service for student loan forgiveness,” Human Events, February 15, 2012. [6] Ted Olson, “Church Wins Firing Case at Supreme Court,” Christianity Today, January 11, 2012. [7] Hillary Rodham Clinton, “Remarks in Recognition of International Human Rights Day,” U.S. Department of State, December 6, 2011. [8] Todd Starns, “Obama Administration Opposes FDR Prayer at WWII Memorial,”Fox News, November 4, 2011. [9] Joel Siegel, “Obama Omits God From Thanksgiving Speech, Riles Critics,” ABC News, November 25, 2011. [10] Chuck Donovan, “HHS’s New Health Guidelines Trample on Conscience,”Heritage Foundation, August 2, 2011. [11] Chris Johnson, “ENDA passage effort renewed with Senate introduction,”Washington Blade, April 15, 2011. [12] Marrianne Medlin, “Amid criticism, President Obama moves to fill vacant religious ambassador post,” Catholic News Agency, February 9, 2011; Thomas F. Farr, “Undefender of the Faith,” Foreign Policy, April 5, 2012. [13] LadyImpactOhio, " Feds sued by Veterans to allow stolen Mojave Desert Cross to be rebuilt," Red State, January 14, 2011. [14] "Remarks by the President at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia," The White House, November 10, 2010. [15] Meredith Jessup, “Obama Continues to Omit ‘Creator’ From Declaration of Independence,” The Blaze, October 19, 2010. [16] Johanna Neuman, “Obama end Bush-era National Prayer Day Service at White House," Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2009. [17] Jim Lovino, "Jesus Missing From Obama’s Georgetown Speech," NBC Washington, April 17, 2009. [18] Chris McGreal, “Vatican vetoes Barack Obama’s nominees for U.S. Ambassador,” The Guardian, April 14, 2009. [19] Aliza Marcus, "Obama to Lift ‘Conscience’ Rule for Health Workers,"Bloomberg, February 27, 2009; Sarah Pulliam Baily, "Obama Admin. Changes Bush ‘Conscience’ Rule for Health Workers," Christianity Today, February 18, 2011. [20] Sarah Pulliam Baily, "Obama: ‘They cling to guns or religion’," Christianity Today, April 13, 2008. [21] Hendrick Simoes, “US personnel in Bahrain prepare for Ramadan​,”Stars and Stripes, June 26, 2014. [22] Todd Starnes, "Bible controversy hits Air Force base," Fox News, March 15, 2014. [23] "Nativity scenes removed from Guantanamo dining halls after complaints,"Fox News, December 19, 2013. [24] Todd Starnes, "Air Force removes Nativity scene," Fox News, December 9, 2013. [25] Steven Ertelt, “Army Briefing Tells Soldiers Christians and Pro-Lifers are a “Radical” Threat,” LifeNews, October 23, 2013. [26] Todd Starnes, “Catholic priests in military face arrest for celebrating Mass,”Fox News, October 5, 2013; The Brody File, “Priest: Obama Admin. Denied Mass to Catholics,” CBN News, October 8, 2013. [27] Stephen Losey, "Academy makes 'God' optional in cadets' oath," Air Force Times, October 25, 2013. [28] Adan Salazar, "DoD Training Manual: ‘Extremist’ Founding Fathers ‘Would Not Be Welcome In Today’s Military’," infowars.com, August 24, 2013. [29] Chad Groening, "'I cannot answer your question:' Air Force Sgt. says lesbian commander booted him," One News Now, August 20, 2013. [30] "Military gives bonuses only to same-sex couples," WND, August 20, 2013. [31] Melanie Korb, "Air Force Invites Drag Queens to Perform on 'Diversity Day',"Charisma News, August 19, 2013. [32] Chad Groening, "Attorney demands answers for Air National Guard sergeant punished for beliefs," OneNewsNow, July 15, 2013. [33] Todd Starnes, "Chaplain Ordered to Remove Religious Essay From Military Website," FoxNews Radio, July 24, 2013. [34] Hellen Cook, “Pentagon Censors Christian Art,” Christian News Wire, January 21, 2010. [35] Todd Starnes, “Obama ‘Strongly Objects’ to Religious Liberty Amendment,”Townhall, June 12, 2013. [36] Todd Starnes, “Air Force Removes Video that Mentions God,” Fox News Radio. June 7, 2013. [37] Todd Starnes, “Army Punishes Soldier who Served Chick-fil-A,” Fox News Radio, June 5, 2013. [38] "Liberty Institute Calls On U.S. Department Of Defense To Abandon Shift In Military's Proselytizing Policy," PR Newswire, May 7, 2013; Todd Starnes, "Air Force Officer Told to Remove Bible from Desk," Townhall.com, May 3, 2013. [39] "Pentagon May Court Martial Soldiers Who Share Christian Faith," Breitbart, May 1, 2013. [40] Todd Starnes, "Air Force Officer Told to Remove Bible from Desk,"Townhall.com, May 3, 2013. [41] Jack Minor, "Military Warned 'evangelicals' No. 1 Threat," WND, April 5, 2013. [42] Todd Starnes, "Army Removes Bible Reference from Scopes," Fox News Radio, April 22, 2013. [43] "Chaplain endorsers ask Air Force for equal time," Alliance Defending Freedom, April 30, 2013. [44] Todd Starnes, "Pentagon: Religious Proselytizing is Not Permitted," Fox News Radio, April 30, 2013. [45] Billy Hallowell, “Obama Opposes NDAA’s ‘Rights of Conscience’ for Military Chaplains & Members, Vows to Protects Rights of Gays,” The Blaze, January 4, 2013; Paul Conner, “Obama calls NDAA conscience clause for military chaplains ‘unnecessary and ill-advised’,” The Daily Caller, January 3, 2013. [46] "U.S. military insignia no longer allowed on Bibles," CBN News, June 14, 2012. [47] Patrick Goodenough, "White House 'Strongly Objects' to Legislation Protecting Military Chaplains from Doing Same-Sex Weddings or Being Forced to Act Against Conscience," cnsnews.com, May 16, 2012. [48] Markeshia Ricks, "Bible checklist for Air Force lodges going away," Air Force Times, April 16, 2012. [49] Ken Blackwell, "Gen. Boykin Blocked At West Point," cnsnews.com, February 1, 2012. [50] Geoff Herbert, " Air Force unit removes 'God' from logo; lawmakers warn of 'dangerous precedent'," syracuse.com, February 9, 2012. [51] Todd Starnes, "Army Silences Catholic Chaplains," Fox News Radio, February 6, 2012. [52] "Air Force Academy Backs Away from Christmas Charity," Fox News Radio, November 4, 2011. [53] Todd Starnes, “Obama Administration Opposes FDR Prayer at WWII Memorial,” Fox News, November 4, 2011. [54] Jenny Dean, "Air Force Academy adapts to pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans," Los Angeles Times, November 26, 2011. [55] "Maintaining Government Neutrality Regarding Religion," Department of the Air Force, September 1, 2011. [56] "Wounded, Ill, and Injured Partners in Care Guidelines," Department of the Navy (accessed on February 29, 2012). [57] Jason Ukman, “Air Force suspends ethics course that used Bible passages that train missle launch officers,” Washington Post, August 2, 2011. [58] “Houston Veterans Claim Censorship of Prayers, Including Ban of ‘God’ and ‘Jesus’,” Fox News, June 29, 2011. [59] Todd Spangler, “U.S. firm to remove Bible references from gun sights,” USA Today, January 21, 2010. [60] Steven Ertelt, “President Obama’s Budget Eliminates Abstinence Education Programs,” Life News, March 5, 2014; Jennifer Liberto, “Sex abstinence program among Obama’s targeted cuts,” CNN Money, March 5, 2014. [61] Patrick Howley, "Obamacare installs new scrutiny, fines for charitable hospitals that treat uninsured people," The Daily Caller, August 8, 2013. [62] “The Story of the Creation of the Nation's First Hospital,” University of Pennsylvania Health System (accessed August 14, 2013). [63] Wendy Wright," USAID Rep Shuts Down Workshop on Abortion Complications," Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, August 9, 2013. [64] "Obama Administration Ignores Outcries, Finalizes HHS Mandate Targeting Religious Freedom," Liberty Counsel, July 1, 2013; Baptist Press, "Moore, others: Final mandate rules fail," Townhall, July 1, 2013. [65] Tony Perkins, "Obama administration begins training homosexual activists around the world," LifeSiteNews, June 6, 2013. [66] Ken Blackwell, "Guest Opinion: Take a Risk for Peace. Move our Embassy to Jerusalem!," Catholic Online, June 5, 2013. [67] "Pentagon: Service members now allowed to wear uniforms in gay pride parades," NY Daily News, July 19, 2012. [68] Jerry Markon, "Health, abortion issues split Obama administration and Catholic groups," Washington Post, October 31, 2011. [69] Luis Martinez, "Will Same Sex Marriages Pose a Dilemma for Military Chaplains?," ABC News, October 12, 2011. [70] Elisabeth Bumiller, "Obama Ends ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy," New York Times, July 22, 2011; George Washington, The Writings of George Washington, John C. Fitzpatrick, editor (Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1934), Vol. XI, pp. 83-84, from General Orders at Valley Forge on March 14, 1778. [71] Steven Ertelt, "Obama Admin Ignores Planned Parenthood Sex Trafficking Videos," LifeNews, March 2, 2011. [72] Brian Montopoli, "Obama administration will no longer defend DOMA,"CBSNews, February 23, 2011. [73] Steven Ertelt, "President Barack Obama’s Pro-Abortion Record: A Pro-Life Compilation," LifeNews, February 11, 2012. [74] Steven Ertelt, "Obama, Congress Cut Funding for 176 Abstinence Programs Despite New Study," LifeNews, August 26, 2010. [75] Tess Civantos, "White House Spent $23M of Taxpayer Money to Back Kenyan Constitution That Legalizes Abortion, GOP Reps Say," Fox News, July 22, 2010. [76] Matt Cover, "Obama’s EEOC Nominee: Society Should ‘Not Tolerate Private Beliefs’ That ‘Adversely Affect’ Homosexuals," cnsnews.com, January 18, 2010. [77] "Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies," The White House, June 17, 2009. [78] Steven Ertelt, "Barack Obama’s Federal Budget Eliminates Funding for Abstinence-Only Education," LifeNews, May 8, 2009. [79] Steven Ertelt, "Obama Budget Funds Sex Ed Over Abstinence on 16-1 Margin," LifeNews, February 14, 2011. [80] Steven Ertelt, "Obama Admin Terrorism Dictionary Calls Pro-Life Advocates Violent, Racist," LifeNews, May 5, 2009. [81] Steven Ertelt, "Pro-Life Groups Left Off Obama’s Health Care Summit List, Abortion Advocates OK," LifeNews, March 5, 2009. [82] "Obama Signs Order Lifting Restrictions on Stem Cell Research Funding,"Fox News, March 9, 2009. [83] Steven Ertelt, “ Obama Administration Announces $50 Million for Pro-Forced Abortion UNFPA,” LifeNews, March 26, 2009; Steven Ertelt, "President Barack Obama’s Pro-Abortion Record: A Pro-Life Compilation," LifeNews, February 11, 2012. [84] Jeff Mason and Deborah Charles, "Obama lifts restrictions on abortion funding," Reuters, January 23, 2009. [85] "Obama pick: Taxpayers must fund abortions," World Net Daily, January 27, 2009. [86] Masoud Popalzai and Nick Paton Walsh, “ Obama apologizes to Afghanistan for Quran burning,” CNN, February 23, 2012. [87] "Military burns unsolicited Bibles sent to Afghanistan," CNN, May 22, 2009. [88] "Report: Obama’s Muslim Advisers Block Middle Eastern Christians’ Access to the White House," Big Peace (accessed on February 29, 2012). [89] Chuck Norris, “ President Obama: Muslim Missionary? (Part 2),”Townhall.com, August 24, 2010; Chuck Norris, "President Obama: Muslim Missionary?," Townhall.com, August 17, 2010. [90] Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President at Iftar Dinner,” The White House, August 13, 2010; "Obama Comes Out in Favor of Allowing Mosque Near Ground Zero," Fox News, August 13, 2010; Pamela Geller, "Islamic Supremacism Trumps Christianity at Ground Zero," American Thinker, July 21, 2011. [91] "Franklin Graham Regrets Army's Decision to Rescind Invite to Pentagon Prayer Service," Fox News, April 22, 2010. [92] “Obama Bans Islam, Jihad From National Security Strategy Document,” Fox News, April 7, 2010; "Counterterror Adviser Defends Jihad as 'Legitimate Tenet of Islam'," Fox News, May 27, 2010; "'Islamic Radicalism' Nixed From Obama Document," CBSNews, April 7, 2010. [93] Barack Obama, “ Remarks by the President at Iftar Dinner,” The White House, September 1, 2009; Kristi Keck, “ Obama tones down National Day of Prayer observance,” CNN, May 6, 2009; Dan Gilgoff, “ The White House on National Day of Prayer: A Proclamation, but No Formal Ceremony,” U.S. News, May 1, 2009. [94] "WH Fails to Release Easter Proclamation," Fox Nation, April 25, 2011; "President Obama ignores most holy Christian holiday; AFA calls act intentional,"American Family Association (accessed on February 29, 2012).

Young couple burned alive by a mob in Pakistan

Shahbaz Maseeh, 26, and his wife Shama Bibi, 24

A young couple, Shahbaz Maseeh, 26, and his wife Shama Bibi, 24 -- parents of four small children and another on the way, was burned alive by a mob in Pakistan for what appears to be trumped up charges of blasphemy.

Relatives of the couple say that the real issue was a monetary dispute involving the couple’s employers. After a local mullah made a public ruling that the couple was guilty of blasphemy by throwing out pages of a Quran, a mob of about 500 people – included Muslims from neighboring villages -- began forming.

Relatives of the couple say the entire family was threatened and everyone began to flee, including children who have still not been accounted for days later. The couple had planned to flee with their young children as well, but were left with no time to do so.

Instead, they barricaded themselves inside a building to escape the mob comprised of their fellow workers at a brick factory where the couple was employed.

"A mob of several dozen attacked the building where they were," said Mushtaq Gill, chief advocate at Pakistani minority rights group Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD).

The mob broke down the door and began beating the couple. "They broke their legs so they couldn't run and then threw them in the fire (in a kiln at the brick factory),” Gill said. “Only some bones and hair were found at the site." Gill added that a rumor had started over the weekend that pages with several verses of the Quran were burned by the wife after being left behind by the wife’s deceased father.

The murder took place in Kot Radha Kishan in the Punjab province, where the majority of Pakistan's close to four million Christians reside.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also said the incident stemmed over a dispute about money. The owners of the brick kiln, who were among those who participated in the mob killing, said the couple owed them money. The rights group, who sent a team to investigate the incidents, said that the team "did not come across any evidence of desecration of the Holy Quran."

False charges of blasphemy, a crime in Pakistan punishable by death or life imprisonment, are often used as a means of revenge to settle personal disputes or insults.

The HRCP said that this was what happened in this current case. Rumors that the couple had desecrated a Quran were "spread to nearby villages and announcements [were] made through mosque loudspeakers," according to the HRCP. The group also said that its investigators found out that four policemen were dispatched to the kiln to take the couple into protective custody, but they were also beaten on orders from the kiln’s owners.

According to police, the kiln's owners were among the 44 arrested for the incident with cases filed against 468 others. Reacting to the murders, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said perpetrators of the brutal crime will be brought to justice.

“The brutal murder of the Christian couple in Kot Radha Krishan is an unacceptable crime,” Nawaz said. “A responsible state cannot tolerate mob rule and public lynching with impunity.”

Nawaz told the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to show no mercy towards those accused of the crime. “The Pakistani state has to act proactively to protect its minorities from violence and injustice. We must promote religious and ethnic diversity in our society as a virtue,” the prime minister added.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director David Griffiths called for proactive protection for at-risk communities. Griffiths also said, “This vicious mob killing is just the latest manifestation of the threat of vigilante violence which anyone can face in Pakistan after a blasphemy accusation.”

Griffiths echoed many Pakistani and international rights activists noting, “The blasphemy laws violate international human rights law and standards and should be reformed as a matter of urgency to provide effective safeguards against their abuse, with a view to their eventual repeal.

"Consistent failure by the government to tackle violence in the name of religion has effectively sent the message that anyone can commit outrageous abuses and excuse them as defense of religious sentiments.”

Responding to the decision of Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to form a three-member committee to expedite the investigation of this case as well as to increase security at Christian neighborhoods in the province, Griffiths said, “The local government’s response is encouraging, but it remains to be seen what comes of the investigation. The climate of impunity around violence against religious minorities in Pakistan is pervasive, and it is all too rare that those behind attacks are held to account.”

One such case of that of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman and mother of five, who was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges stemming from a dispute with Muslim women with whom she worked over a glass of water.  

A Pakistani appeals court recently upheld the sentence of death by hanging for Bibi who was accused of making derogatory statement’s about Mohammed, the founder of Islam.

Bibi was convicted in 2010 under Pakistan’s amorphous blasphemy laws and has been in prison ever since the original ruling. She was targeted by Muslim women in her village and pressured several times to convert to Islam. When she refused, the villagers provoked a confrontation, accusing her of blasphemy. 

Source: CNN

Marriage Is the Economic Stimulus We Need

Marriage Is the Economic 

Stimulus We Need

By Stephen Moore

CBN News Contributor

Thursday, November 06, 2014

This may be a surprising statement from a bleary-eyed, number-crunching economist, but the best anti-poverty program in America may not be tax cuts or debt reduction or regulatory relief, but rather that old-fashioned institution called marriage.

It turns out that poverty rates are very low among intact families and prevalent among homes without a father. Children who grow up in single-parent households are much more likely to face economic trouble as adults.

Those who cheer divorce as a form of women's liberation, or who say that stigmatizing out-of-wedlock births is just right-wing sermonizing, just don't get this intertwined connection between two-parent households and economic success. Socio-cultural factors like the decline of marriage are leading causes of the wealth gap and the stubborn poverty trap in many low income neighborhoods.

For more economic insight, check out more of Stephen Moore's articles on CBN News here.



This isn't to say that kids who grow up in broken homes can't succeed - millions heroically do. It doesn't mean that every marriage was meant to be - many times divorce is the only option. But what is irrefutable is that marriage with a devoted husband and wife in the home is a far better social program than food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, or even all of them combined.

This conclusion is made clear by a new eye-opening and sometimes depressing report called the Index of Culture and Opportunity by my colleagues at the Heritage Foundation. It's conclusion: "We have to reshape our culture before we can ever hope to make a big dent in the number of poor households."

Some of the cultural indicators are going in a positive direction; others have taken a decidely negative course.

First, the good news: violent crime is down. So is the number of abortions.

But in other ways we are ripping our families and our society apart. Consider these statistics on family breakup.

"From 2001 to 2011, the marriage rate dropped by 10.3 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women, or 22.8 percent. Since the 1960s, it has fallen by about 50 percent."

According to one of the report's scholars, W. Bradford Wilcox, "only about half of the nation's adults are cur­rently married, and about half of the nation's children will spend some time outside an intact, married home."

This is a form of child abuse. And those numbers are much higher in low income communities. In some cities like Detroit and Newark two of every three children are born out of wedlock. Name a government program that can take the place of a father.

This troubling trend appears to be a road block to the American Dream. One study by Harvard economist Raj Chetty and his colleagues, finds that when it comes to what is preveninng the economic upward mobility of poor children, "the strongest and most robust predic­tor is the fraction of children with single parents."

It's also true and often overlooked that family breakup creates a statistical illusion that we are making less economic progress than we actually are. For example, if a married couple earns $80,000, but then ends up in divorce, there are now two households earning $40,000. So it appears the economy is slipping and average household income is falling. But in fact what has slipped is the culture.

Meanwhile, birth rates are falling and falling. In only two of the last 40 years have birth rates exceeded replacement level fertility of 2.1 kids per couple.

Who will take care of and finance the retirement of the near 80 milllion baby boomers? Thank goodness for immigration. The population bomb that was once famously worried about by scholars like Paul Ehrlish has become a population fizzle.

Most economists agree that the sharp decline in the share of Americans between ages 18 to 64 that are working is a major economic hindrance. This isn't just happening by chance but rather as a result of policy and cultural changes.

Welfare households, the report finds, are much more likely to have no one working at all and so the assistance becomes a substitute for work. The value of work is denigrated in our modern society and welfare has been elevated. Millions of jobs are there for the taking if the unemployed and underemployed go out and obtain useful skills.

But our culture too often frowns upon Americans doing what are regarded as grimy, blue collar jobs - even though they can pay $60,000 to $100,000 a year. This may explain why it is so hard to get a plumber or carpenter or any kind of handyman these days.

We also seem to disparage the idea of young people, especially teens, working. We parents spoil our kids - and I'm no less guilty than others - with leisure and money. And many millennials have to come to think that to pull them away from the television or computer or Gameboy screen is an offense that is reportable to child protective services.

But this new report reminds us of the obvious: that there is dignity, character building, and self-sufficiency in all forms of labor.

One of my favorite scenes in a recent movie is in Cinderella Man, when during the depths of the Great Depression, James Bradock, played by Russell Crowe, is forced as a last resort to take a welfare payment from the government to feed his family. His sense of shame is clearly evident. Then, when he wins some prize fights and gets back on his feet, he goes back to the welfare office and returns all the taxpayer money he took in his hour of need.

Who does that today? It is now the opposite. The Obama administration runs television and radio ads assuring welfare recipients they should feel no shame whatsoever in taking a hand out and even tells them that the more they live off the expense of someone else (taxpayers), the better it is for the economy. Liberals are trying to bend the culture in a subversive direction and given that last year we had 47 million on food stamps, the Left is succeeding.

We economists bury ourselves in the data and the formulas to try to devise policy recommendations to make the economy grow faster and raise the living standards of workers and families. It's humbling to realize how much of our nation's economic success is based on a culture of virtue. Do the right thing, as Spike Lee would put it.

To save our economy from a path of decline we need to start with a personal and national commitment to sturdy families, strong parents, and a reemergence of the Protestant work ethic. That shouldn't be so hard.

 is chief economist at the Heritage Foundation and an economics contributor to CBN.

This day...serve the Lord.

American Visitors Shocked by Jerusalem Cemetery Desecration

Wednesday, November 05, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff

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Jerusalem

A group of visiting Americans were shocked this week to discover the extent of the nearly daily desecration perpetrated at the large Jewish cemetery situated on the western slopes of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

A delegation from Americans For a Safe Israel (AFSI) were taken to the cemetery by Jerusalem city councilman Aryeh King as part of their tour of the capital. While there, the Americans witnessed first-hand the widespread destruction of Jewish graves at perhaps the most prominent Jewish burial place on earth.

What’s worse, King informed the group, is that the perpetrators of this ongoing crime are almost never dealt with by police for fear of eliciting further Palestinian Arab violence.

“What we saw was appalling and cries out for justice,” wrote AFSI Director Helen Freedman following the visit.

The AFSI group also paid a visit to fortified Jewish kindergartens in the Maaleh Hazeitim neighborhood on the Mount of Olives. The kindergartens recently came under attack by Arab assailants hurling stones and firebombs at the young Jewish students.

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Before Being Killed, the Children Told ISIS: 'No, We Love Yeshua.'

Chris Mitchell

CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief

Before Being Killed, the Children Told ISIS: 'No, We Love Yeshua.'

Few people understand or have seen the persecution of Christians in the Middle East like Canon Andrew White, who has been in the eye of the storm.

White oversees St. George's Church in Baghdad. His ministry, The Foundation for the Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East offers comfort and humanitarian supplies to many of the Christians devastated by the march of ISIS throughout Iraq and Syria.

Here's an excerpt from a recent and revealing interview with the man known as the "Vicar of Baghdad."

"Israel: God's Prophetic Calendar" - James W. Goll

"Israel: God's Prophetic Calendar"

James W. Goll, Franklin, TN

The Elijah List

Although Israel as we know her today is only a little more than sixty five years old, the Jewish nation is actually one of the oldest on earth. These people and their land reach back to the time of Abraham's prophetic pilgrimage and the covenant promise of God to him and his descendants (see Genesis 17:4-8). But after what many considered to be a silence of two thousand years, this land has been reborn. Israel is once again the showpiece being displayed before the eyes of the world. All the more as I have declared that in these very days, the Middle East would be a boiling cauldron (click here to read the article).

Brief Historic Overview

Let's take a peek at the past to be able to have a proper view of the future. How could a remnant of scattered and persecuted Jewish people, who went through their darkest hour in Hitler's Holocaust, come forth all at once as a sovereign nation within their age-old boundaries? Not without divine intervention, for sure, although many Israelis today believe they did it all on their own. Let's sketch this history briefly.

On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution requiring the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. Israel was then reborn the following May 14th, 1948. (Photo of Israeli Declaration of Independence via Wikipedia)

Just a day later, on May 15, 1948, while this creation had barely come forth, five Arab nations assaulted the newborn Jewish babe. Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq (forty million Arabs, 1.5 million of them armed) attacked Israel in what became known as the Israeli War of Independence. The war continued for eight months with heavy casualties on all sides. The miracle is that Israel, which had just been reborn, could not be destroyed (see Isaiah 54:17).

I Stand with Israel

In 1967 the Six-Day War should also have ended in disaster for Israel, but God's mercy again prevailed. The Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Golan Heights were occupied by the Israelis in only six days. This conflict also saw the notable capture by the Jews of the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem and the remaining Western (Wailing) Wall of the Temple. All holy Jewish and Christian sites were controlled by the Israelis at that point.

And consider the outcome of the surprise 1973 Yom Kippur assault. The Arabs, backed by one of the world's two nuclear superpowers, the former Soviet Union, attacked on two fronts; but Israel, coming close to major defeat, again came out the victor. Taken by surprise on their highest holy day, the Israelis were pushed back as the Arabs made territorial gains. Yet by what I believe was divine intervention, Israel regained all her land. Once again the hand of God, working in part through the agency of human beings, protected the outnumbered and despised Jewish nation.

What is the lesson to learn here? God has done it before, He will do it again!

Prophetic Foretellings

The history of God's divine protection of Israel since it was reborn as a nation in 1948 is a brilliant study in its own right. So let's take a quick look at some significant Old Testament prophecies regarding Israel's dispersion and regathering.

Jeremiah's Declaration

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, glimpsed through the lens of time that Israel's faithful, covenant-keeping God would offer His stretched-out wings as a place of divine protection to His people during their ingathering to the Promised Land:

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare in the coastlands afar off, and say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock." Jeremiah 31:10

We find three truths contained in this one verse from Jeremiah. First, it was God Himself who scattered Israel from her own homeland. Second, the same God who scattered Israel will regather her to her own land. And third, God will not merely regather Israel but keep her and put a divine hedge of protection about her as she is regathered. (Photo via pixabay)

Hosea's Pronouncement

Hosea 1:10 reads:

It will come about that, in the place where it is said to them, "You are not My people," it will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God."

This piercing prophetic statement was given concerning the condition of the house of Israel at a time when she was in a state of rebellion and sin ("You are not My people"). But God's critical word of judgment did not end there.

This one verse speaks of physical restoration and relocation and also of the spiritual rebirth or revival that will take place among God's covenant people when they are returned to their covenant-given land. A miracle of major proportions is being declared here. What a reflection of the awesome faithfulness of our Father!

Two Regatherings Predicted

With the needed foundation in place of God's grace and His faithfulness, let's trace a few more steps back in history and glance at the topic of the Diaspora (the dispersion) of the Jewish people in history.

The First Regathering

It is my understanding that Scripture speaks prophetically beforehand that the Jews would suffer two major dispersions, or scatterings, from their own land, followed by two regatherings.

The first was in the years when the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel were exiled in the land of Babylon, that period in which the Jews of the Judean kingdom were displaced from their country after the destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem and commonwealth by Nebuchadnezzar (see Daniel 1:1-6). It was around 605-B.C. when Daniel and his associates were carried away. Their restoration to the land began in 538-B.C. (see 2-Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4), and the Temple remained unrestored until 515-B.C. (see Ezra 6:15), about seventy years after its destruction in 587-B.C.

Daniel, a prophet of the one true God, was in captivity with the children of Israel in Babylon – a foreign land with a foreign culture and gods and ways. It was perhaps in their sixty-third year of captivity, while meditating on the Word of God (see Daniel 9:2), that Daniel received a revelation based on the prophetic promises of Jeremiah:

"This whole land shall be a desolation and a horror, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation," declares the Lord.Jeremiah 25:11-12 (Photo via Wikipedia)

"Thus says the Lord, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.'" Jeremiah 29:10

Not only did Daniel believe the word and declare it as revealed to Jeremiah – that at the end of seventy years of Babylonian captivity, the children of Israel would be released from their enslavement and return to their own land – but Daniel sought the Lord for any reasons or blockades that could stand in the way of the prophetic promise being fulfilled (see Daniel 9:3-19). Daniel then responded by confessing the sin of his people as his own. The verse that summarizes his confession is Daniel 9:19:

"O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Thine own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name."

The fact that the word of the Lord happened precisely as had been declared through the lips of Jeremiah, and knelt upon by the prophet Daniel, gives us an example of prophetic intercession at its best. At the end of seventy years the Israelites were released into the beginning fulfillment of the prophecy of their first return to their covenant land.

The Second Regathering

That was not the only dispersion and regathering prophesied by God's watchmen. Isaiah 11:11-12 states that the Lord would set His hand a second time to recover a remnant of His people:

It will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations, and will assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Let's make it simple. The Scriptures explain that there would be a regional dispersion followed by a regional regathering. Then there would come a second worldwide dispersion followed by a second worldwide regathering. When did the second dispersion occur? It began around 70 A.D. under the Roman ruler Titus, when the Jewish people once again fled their homeland and ran for their lives. For many hundreds of years they scattered – but for approximately nineteen hundred years they were banished from their homeland to the four corners of the earth.

Closing Appeal

A warrior angel came and stood at the end of my bed one year ago. All it said was, "Attention! Be on the Alert!" Are you alert right now as a watchman on the walls? (Photo of Charles Finney via Wikimedia)

From my vantage point, that is exactly what I is see is needed in the Middle East today. We need the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation concerning His prophetic calendar for Israel, so that His heart for Jerusalem and the people of the Middle East will beat in our own heart.

Join me as together we help give birth to God's purposes through the power of prophetic intercession. Join me on the walls, watchmen, and let's lift a cry for Israel for such a time as this!

On the Alert!

This article is an updated excerpt of Chapter 8 – Israel God's Prophetic Calendar, from the book The Prophetic Intercessor.

Dr. James W. Goll
Founder of Encounters Network • Prayer Storm • God Encounters Training e-School

Email: info@encountersnetwork.com
Website: encountersnetwork.com

Dr. James W. Goll is the president of Encounters Network, director of Prayer Storm, and coordinates Encounters Alliance, a coalition of leaders. He is director of God Encounters Training – an e-school of the heart, and is a member of the Harvest International Ministries apostolic team. He has shared Jesus in more than 50 nations worldwide, teaching and imparting the power of intercession, prophetic ministry, and life in the Spirit. James is the prolific author of numerous books and has also produced multiple study guides and hundreds of audio and video messages. James was married to Michal Ann for 32 years before her graduation to Heaven in the fall of 2008. James has four adult children who all love Jesus, and continues to make his home in Franklin, Tennessee.

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Prophetic Bulletin- Hope & Change - Rick Joyner

Rick Joyner

Prophetic Bulletin- Hope & Change

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MorningStar Prophetic Bulletin #90 - November 5, 2014

Rick Joyner

          No President has been so resoundingly rebuked by the American people as was done with the Elections of 2014. The House now has its largest majority in history, and it is Republican. Republicans won control of the Senate. There are Republican governors in most states. On every level, Republicans won a huge victory this year.   

          President Obama himself said that his policies were on the ballot in every race, and by an overwhelming majority America rejected them. Hope is rising again, and it could carry through the 2016 elections if there is real change.

         The Republican Party now has a mandate from the American people. Every poll showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans think that the country is off track, with a large percentage “angry” about it. Now there are two main questions that should be answered very quickly with the seating of the new Congress:

1) Will the Republican leadership lead with the resolution needed to fulfill their mandate?

2) Will President Obama now work with Congress to make the mandated changes or will he become an obstructionist President?

         President Clinton accepted his rebuke in the last midterms of his Administration. He worked with the Republican Congress and its “Contract with America.” The result was the balancing of the budget and the paying down of the national debt for the first time in memory. We also had the largest reduction of Americans on welfare, and the foundation was laid for one of the longest and strongest economic expansions in recent times that unfolded during the Bush Administration. This was all Republican led, but Clinton took much of the credit for it because he read the handwriting on the wall and did the smart thing. Because of this, Clinton remains one of our most popular former Presidents, but more importantly, the country benefitted.

        Obama has the same choice as Clinton. If he changes and works with Congress, he could leave office far more popular than he is now and continue growing in popularity, potentially becoming a force in American politics for a long time. If he doesn’t get the message and act accordingly, it will get very ugly, and impeachment will not be off the table for the abundance of crimes committed by his Administration.

        There is little doubt that the President will come out sounding conciliatory, and maybe even seem humbled by this election. If this is so, let’s pray that it is real. Even so, a major reason for this historic rebuke of a President by the people is that far too often his words have been different from his actions. The American people are obviously not as naïve as we were assumed to be, and we will now require much more than words from him and from the leaders of Congress.

        President Obama has been one who seems to equate words as actions. If the White House blames the defeat on bad messaging or poor candidates, we can assume he will become an obstructionist President. This will be bad for America, but even worse for him and the Democratic Party. After the American people have spoken so loudly and clearly, if the President becomes defiant we will likely see the Democratic Party trying to distance itself further from the President. If they do not, they know their thrashing will continue in 2016.

        With a President defiant of the obvious will of the people and Democrats becoming more independent, this could very well mean Democrats siding with Republicans to overturn Presidential vetoes. It could also see many Democrats siding with Republicans who are calling for deeper investigations into the long list of potential abuses of power, or worse. Already Democrats are pointing at the White House as the reason for this huge drubbing by the voters. The President’s humility or defiance will tell us a lot about the potential difficulty or ease with which we go into the future leadership of the country.  

         Some Democrats are also pointing a finger at Hillary Clinton for this resounding defeat. The highly visible candidates she campaigned for were beaten, and some by huge margins. Hillary may have been the biggest casualty of the 2014 Elections.

Learn From History

         Recently books were being released about the death of conservatism in America and the demise of the Tea Party Movement. These were obviously premature. However, it would also be premature to believe that liberalism is now dead. The Democratic Party may now be in disarray and its leadership cloudy, but if the Republican Party does not bring real change with this opportunity, then it will not likely get another chance like this one. It too has much at stake.

The Issues

         According to the exit polls, the main issues with voters were, in this order:

1) the economy (45%)

2) healthcare (25%)

3) illegal immigration (14%)

4) world affairs (13%)

         When asked if they thought the country was going in the right direction, Americans said “NO” by a 2 to 1 margin. Nearly 80% are worried to very worried about the future. Today we should have more hope, and we should be encouraged that the American people are waking up to and rejecting the direction in which the country has been taken.

The Economy

         It is perceptive that many are very bothered by the economy while the government is touting recovering economic conditions. There is much that is extremely wrong with our economy and with the numbers the government is putting out about it. The people feel more than the fact that they have not had a pay raise in a long time. There are serious economic tremors that all should be feeling, but many of our leaders seem not to be. That is probably the biggest reason so many are alarmed about the economy.

Healthcare

         The Affordable Care Act (AFC) is not affordable. I have about 135 people on staff, and as we have been briefed on the coming requirements of the AFC, we must look at cutting the staff almost in half to be able to afford it. We are not alone, and this is going to hit fast if the new Congress does not deal with this quickly. This is still one of the biggest yokes keeping our economy from taking off as it could.

Illegal Immigration

         Illegal immigration could move up this list fast. Dealing with it in a reasonable but effective way may not only be critical to the economy and our way of life, but also our lives. You can believe terrorists are pouring across our porous border every day, and their attacks will not be long delayed. Securing our border is essential for our security and maybe even our continued existence as a free nation. It is that serious. We can expect the realization of this to become apparent soon. Securing the border does not mean ending immigration, but simply controlling who we let in. This must be addressed immediately, or we will pay a terrible price.

World Affairs

         Name a single nation with which we have better relations since Obama took office and made Hillary Clinton Secretary of State. Remember the “reset” in our relations with Russia? Remember the Arab Spring? It’s now called ISIS. We could continue, but we don’t have the time or space here.

Resolve With Patience

         You can’t turn an aircraft carrier like you can a speedboat. We’ve been turning hard to the left for the last six years, and we won’t get back on course overnight. It is right to have high expectations and to keep our representatives accountable to their promises, but we don’t just need to turn, we need to turn with a clear strategy and wisdom. To jerk too far to the right too fast could lead to other more dangerous problems.

         The key words here are “too far” and “too fast.” A turn to the right is certainly mandated, and in order to get back to who we are as Americans, it is necessary. To effectively deal with the threats to our existence that are still gathering against us, it is imperative that we throw off the extreme devotion to political correctness that has blinded us from seeing or confronting some of the biggest threats.

Conclusion

         After elections that seemed to go in our favor, Christians and conservatives have often relaxed. Some would just go back to sleep. If that happens now, it can prove fatal. The present momentum is encouraging, but we need more momentum. We need endurance and the wisdom Joshua had after his first defeat.

         I said that correctly. After the astonishing victory that Joshua led the people in at Jericho, he led them to another astonishing defeat at the little town of Ai. Even after the sin in the camp was exposed, Joshua could not defeat this little town. When he held the spear out, Israel would prevail, but when he relaxed and drew the spear back, the enemy would prevail. He learned not to draw the spear back until the enemy was totally defeated.

          This election was a great victory, but it is just the beginning of getting America back on course. This is no time to let up, and this is no time to become arrogant.