Stormbringer's Thunder

It just doesn't get more ridiculous than this. Julie Bass of Oak Park, Michigan -- a mother of 6, law-abiding citizen, and gardener -- is facing 93 days in jail after being charged with a misdemeanor. Her crime? Planting a vegetable garden in the front yard. Bass says that she planted the garden after her front yard was torn up for some sewer repairs. Rather than wasting the opportunity to start with a clean slate by planting a lawn, she decided to really put the area to use, and plant a vegetable garden. Her garden consists of 5 raised beds, where she grows a mix of squashes, corn, tomatoes, flowers, and other veggies. Bass received a warning from the city telling her to remove the vegetable garden, because it doesn't adhere to city ordinances (more on that later.) When she refused, she was ticketed and charged with a misdemeanor. Her trial, before a jury, is set to begin on July 26th. If she is found guilty, she can be sentenced to up to 93 days in jail. Read the ...

"I will kill you and your family." "Someone please shoot her in the head, again and again." "I'm going to kill the pastor." "If I had a gun I would have gunned you down along with each and every other supporter…" "We're going to kill you." "You're dead. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon … you're dead." "I'm a gay guy who owns guns, and he's my next target." A federal court in Tacoma, WA has been asked to order that the names of signatories of a state petition seeking to protect traditional marriage be redacted to protect them from death threats from homosexual activists. "What is becoming increasingly evident," said James Bopp of the James Madison Center,"is that some groups and individuals, certainly a minority, have resorted to advancing their cause, not by debating the merits of the issue but by discouraging participation in the democratic process...

Previously, I talked about the Sojourners-sponsored ad headlined "What Would Jesus Cut?" The ad, signed by Jim Wallis and more than two dozen leaders of the Religious Left, urged our leaders to ask themselves what Jesus would cut from the federal budget. Called "the leader of the Religious Left by The New York Times, Rev. Jim Wallis has a long history of denouncing his own country. In Agenda for Biblical People (1976), Jim Wallis refers to America as a "fallen nation." In an article in Mission Trends, Wallis approvingly predicted that "more Christians will come to view the world through Marxist eyes" and that "so-called 'young evangelicals' . . . [will] see the impossibility of making capitalism work for justice and peace." Read the rest of Michael Youssef's "Keep Jesus Out of Your Socialism - Part 3" here .

In part one of this series , I made clear, from the words of Jesus and the New Testament, that ministering to the poor and the needy among us is the work of Christian individuals and the church, not the secular government. Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. . . ." Today's Religious Left wants to change that to, "He has anointed the federal government to preach good news to the poor." The Christian gospel is a message of salvation, not a message of income redistribution and raising our neighbor's taxes. Jesus said that the way to serve the poor is by giving generously of our own resources. "But when you give a banquet," He said in Luke 14, "invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Read the rest of Michael Youssef 's " Keep ...

The headline of the full-page ad asks, "What Would Jesus Cut?—A budget is a moral document." The text continues, "Our faith tells us that the moral test of a society is how it treats the poor." The ad was produced by Sojourners, a self-described "evangelical" organization whose slogan is "Faith in Action for Social Justice." The ad was signed by Sojourners president Jim Wallis and more than two dozen Religious Left pastors, theologians, and activists. They urge our legislators to ask themselves, "What would Jesus cut?" from the federal budget. How would you answer that question? My answer would be, "It's a nonsense question. Your premise is faulty. Your priorities are not His priorities." Read the rest of Michael Youssef's "Keep Jesus Out of Your Socialism Part 1" here .

A high school valedictorian in Vermont was forbidden by school administers from delivering nearly half of his graduation speech in which he discussed how Jesus had changed his life. “I was just sharing a story about my life and how it was changed,” said Kyle Gearwar, the valedictorian at Fair Haven Union High School. “And as an American and as a valedictorian I felt that I should have been able to do that.” Gearwar, 18, said he had submitted his speech to the principal and the following day he was summoned to the office. “They told me my speech was going to be a problem – that the school wouldn’t allow me to deliver the speech and they would prevent me from giving the speech if it came down to it,” Gearwar told Fox News Radio. He said the principal told him to remove anything that “had to do with religion, God, talking about how He can help you. The thing that actually changed me, I couldn’t talk about.” “You can burn a flag but we’re not able to speak about God,” he s...

Eritrean Christians fleeing persecution often face appalling conditions in Egypt, according to a report on the Christian Today website. The report cites The Barnabas Fund as saying that Egypt is the most common destination for Christians escaping from Eritrea, one of the most hostile countries in the world for believers. The Eritrean government sees Christians and evangelicals as a threat to national security because of their allegiance to God over the state. Persecution intensified after an Eritrean governor ordered a purge against Christians at the end of 2010. “The suffering of our brothers and sisters from Eritrea is unimaginable,” said Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of Barnabas Fund. Read the rest of "Unimaginable Suffering" here .

"Standing up for what's right, even when it's unpopular", my eye! A group of New York City atheists is demanding that the city remove a street sign honoring seven firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because they say the sign violates the separation of church and state. The street, “Seven in Heaven Way,” was officially dedicated last weekend in Brooklyn outside the firehouse where the firefighters once served. The ceremony was attended by dozens of firefighters, city leaders and widows of the fallen men. And they wonder why they're the least liked, least trusted group... Read the rest of "New York Atheists Angry Over 'Heaven' Street Sign Honoring Sept. 11 Victims" here .

 

I think it is truly disgraceful what you publish on this website. I Know for a fact that homosexuals can not help their sexual preferences. Do you think that they would choose to be persecuted and excluded from society if they had a choice? Most of your “proof” comes from a book written thousands of years ago when people did not necessarily understand what scientists have now discovered about gay people. I’m not saying that I don’t believe the Bible, I just think that everything in it should be taken with a grain of salt. I would not be so quick to blindly believe, word for word, in a book that contradicts itself in many places. I believe that when Jesus and various other people condemned homosexuality, they were condeming the type of activity found in places like Ancient Rome, when the rich male citizens would sometimes have “little boy companions.” That, I find disgraceful, but I think that doesn’t mean we should not allow innocent people t...

Can someone help me understand what diversity means at Cisco Systems? 1. Frank Turek, a management and team-building trainer, was dismissed by Cisco for reasons completely unrelated to his job performance. 2. The reason for his dismissal was his religious and political views , none of which was ever brought up on the job. 3. Cisco loudly trumpets its value of inclusion and diversity. 4. The company has reportedly failed to respond to private and open letters asking how this firing reflects a mindset of diversity and inclusion. 5. Cisco’s Senior Director of Inclusion and Diversity reportedly “refused to do anything to address the cultural factors that contributed to the firing, she refused to even consider the possibility that the Cisco culture was decidedly tilted toward intolerant political correctness—the soil from which the firing sprouted.” Read the rest of Thinking Christian's (Tom Gilson) " What Do Diversity and Inclusion Mean at Cisco Systems?"

Buona sera. This is a good follow-up to the previous post . I am not entirely pleased with the tone of the article that follows, but that's the breaks. Once again, I'll state that the loaded word "homophobic" (which has become essentially meaningless, but still inflames negative emotions) can be used to cost people their jobs, their political positions, their social status, &c. That negative label (used by mindless sheep who prefer to attack and ridicule rather than discuss) is inaccurate for the overwhelming majority of people; those of us who disagree with their lifestyles on societal, cultural or religious grounds do not phobe any homos. "You keep using that expression, Cowboy Bob. I don't think it means..." Don't start with me now, Nicky. As the gay-rights movement advances, there is increasing evidence of an intriguing role reversal: Today, it is the conservative opponents of that movement who seem eager to depict themsel...

Buon giorno. This article could almost be a "Logic Lesson" because it touches on a particular fallacy. Keep reading to see what I mean. The term "homophobic" has lost its original meaning long ago. Today, it is pretty much a meaningless term that is used to carry emotion and poison the well ; that is, if I say that Alex is a homophobe, that will make you less inclined to believe whatever Alex is trying to say, even on the remote chance that he is actually right for once. It is very convenient to do a drive-by labeling of someone with this term, especially if emotions are high and the gang is already predisposed to hate the other person. Being a "homophobe" is the current trendy hate-word. Idiots are ready and willing to believe the accusation without proof. Why bother to discuss something when you can hate. I have said several times that I do not phobe any homos. It is simply a matter of disagreeing with their lifestyles as a matter of culture and ...

A gay activist group has taken credit for an elaborate online hoax attacking the Southern Baptist Convention for its opposition to gay marriage, calling the nation’s largest Protestant denomination “irresponsible and un-Christian.”  A group calling itself the Center for Responsible Christian Living created a phony website, a fake telephone number along with a press release that was sent to members of the national media.  The Nashville-based, pro-gay activists said they wanted their attack to coincide with New York’s legalization of same-sex marriage and the 42nd anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, long believed to be a turning point in the history of the gay rights movement. Read the rest of Gay Activists Admit to Online Hoax Targeting Southern Baptist Convention here . Another article about this is here .

An atheist group has funded a $23,000 campaign to fly banners across the skies of America on Fourth of July saying “God-LESS America” and “Atheism is Patriotic. ” The stunt is being organized by the group American Atheists, which plans to see planes fly banners over 27 locations on July 4th. Flights were originally scheduled to fly over Biloxi, Miss. beaches, the Texas rangers pre-game, a zoo in Toledo, Ohio, the Independence Day parade in Rapid City, S.D., and more. However ... A massive 80 percent of pilots from an aircraft advertising company have refused to fly banners by an atheist group saying “God-LESS America” and “ Atheism is Patriotic”, on Fourth of July. Read the rest of "Pilots Refuse to Fly Atheist 'God-LESS America' Banners" here .   Proverbs 4.16 ESV Addendum: This comment was given to me directly: It's hard to imagine a group destined for more severe punishment than those living in the greatest country on earth and still considering ...

It’s sad that many Americans do not know about our politics or history. Who much do you know? What does the 4th of July mean to you and do you know when the first year 4th of July was celebrated? Read the article here .

Not only does PZ's incivility discourage members of his own tribe from thinking about switching sides, but his harsh style also effectively intimidates many who are already skeptical of Darwinian evolution from speaking out, lest they become targets of that mockery. PZ's harsh rhetorical style is, in effect, a deliberate method of silencing opposition . Read the article about PZ Myers, intimidation, evolution and "new" atheism here .