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After the death of evangelical leader Chuck Colson, Frank Schaeffer wrote a scathing rebuke of Colson's life and implied that he was in hell. "Evangelical Christianity lost one of its most beloved and bigoted homophobic and misogynistic voices with the death of Charles W. 'Chuck' Colson, a Watergate felon who converted to 'evangelicalism' but never lost his taste for dirty political tricks against opponents," Schaeffer wrote. Schaeffer complained about Colson's political activism, which he described as "far right," and seemed particularly offended that Colson would seek to work with Catholics on issues where evangelicals and Catholics find common cause. He...

It’s pretty interesting to read the obituaries of Charles Colson by those who were alive during Watergate and those who weren’t. It’s clear that some reporters are stuck in the 1970s, apparently unaware of how the state of evangelicalism was shaped by Colson’s complex life and legacy. Colson’s rocky relationship with the media might have something with his life portrayal as reporters try to explain President Nixon’s “hatchet man� turned evangelical leader. Jonathan Aitken (who also wrote a tribute for Christianity Today) demonstrated in his biography Colson’s complex relationship with reporters, especially since his conversion was met with skepticism or...

Convicted Watergate conspirator Chuck Colson has died. That's how most mainstream press accounts reported Saturday's death of Mr. Colson, a tough-minded, ex-Marine who rose in the Nixon White House to be the president's "hatchet man." Those who knew him better reported that Mr. Colson, who nearly four decades ago as he faced his prison sentence professed faith in Jesus Christ, has gone home to be with his Lord. ...

Chuck Colson, a Watergate-era “hatchet man” for President Richard Nixon who became an influential evangelical leader after serving time in prison, died Saturday afternoon, according to his website. He was 80. Colson suffered a brain hemorrhage in late March. Colson was the first Nixon aide to be convicted of Watergate-related charges in the 1972 scandal. After a short prison sentence, he reinvented himself as a Christian leader and founded Prison Fellowship, which calls itself “the world’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families,” with a presence in 113 countries. According to his official biography, Colson “admits he was guilty...

Chuck Colson Dead at Age 80 FaithIssues Evangelical Christianity lost one of its most eloquent and influential voices today with the death of Charles W. "Chuck" Colson. The Prison Fellowship and Colson Center for Christian Worldview founder died at 3:12 PM ET today at the age of 80. After a brief illness, Colson passed away at a Northern Virginia hospital with his wife, Patty, and family at his bedside. On March 30th, Colson became ill while speaking at a Colson Center for Christian Worldview conference in Lansdowne. The following morning he had surgery to remove a pool of clotted blood...

(CBS News) Chuck Colson, a former aide to Richard Nixon, evangelical leader, author and nonprofit founder, died Saturday at the age of 80.

WASHINGTON—When President Richard Nixon's knee-capper went to prison after pleading guilty to a Watergate-related crime, he touched off one of the most compelling stories of conversion and a redeemed life in the modern American church. Charles Colson, 80, hovered near death in Fairfax, Va., as WORLD went to press April 19. "It is with a heavy, but hopeful heart that I share with you that it appears our friend, brother, and founder will soon be home with the Lord," wrote Prison Fellowship CEO Jim Liske in an April 18 message, as his wife and children gathered at his bedside. Colson...

LANSDOWNE, Va., April 18, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Jim Liske, CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministries, gave the following update this morning to the staff and supporters of Prison Fellowship, Justice Fellowship, and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview: “Dear Friends: It is with a heavy, but hopeful heart that I share with you that it appears our friend, brother, and founder will soon be home with the Lord. Chuck’s condition took a decided turn yesterday, and the doctors advised Patty and the family to gather by his bedside.

Colson Associates Expect His Imminent Death Faith Issues/DeMossNews.com "It is with a heavy, but hopeful heart that I share with you that it appears our friend, brother and founder will soon be home with the Lord," said Jim Liske, CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministries, in a statement. Jim Liske, CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministries, gave the following update Wednesday to the staff and supporters of Prison Fellowship, Justice Fellowship and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview: "Dear Friends: It is with a heavy, but hopeful heart that I share with you that it appears our friend, brother and founder will...

Chuck Colson, the evangelical leader who dedicated his life to ministering to convicts after serving time himself in prison and coming to know God, has died. He was 80. Colson was hospitalized March 30 after having trouble getting through a speech at a "Breaking the Spiral of Silence" conference in Virginia. Doctors found a brain hemorrhage, and he underwent surgery to remove a pool of clotted blood. Following the surgery, Colson's health see-sawed from stable to worse, and he remained in ICU. Wednesday, Christian leaders who knew Colson well urged prayer because he "may soon be with the Lord." Colson...

For the first time in 34 years, Chuck Colson won’t be in a prison for Easter. The famous Watergate figure and Christian convert usually spends the day ministering to prisoners, but is recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain. Colson, 80, is a giant of our time. He is a reminder of the true meaning of redemption, a concept that has been debased in our Tilt-a-Whirl media culture that can’t distinguish between notoriety and fame. In contemporary America, redemption begins sometime between the first check-in into rehab and the first cable-TV interview, and reaches completion when...

WASHINGTON, DC, April 4, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Evangelical leader and frequent life and family spokesman Chuck Colson is in critical condition in hospital after undergoing surgery this weekend. He was hospitalized Friday after enduring a brain hemorrhage while speaking in Virginia at the Wilberforce Conference. Colson underwent surgery on Saturday morning to remove a pool of clotted blood on the surface of his brain. Colson became ill while speaking at the Wilberforce Weekend conference on Friday night. “We believe that we serve a mighty God - the ‘Great Physician’ - and are hoping and praying for Chuck’s full recovery....

An old Russian joke tells about a poor peasant whose better-off neighbor has just gotten a cow. In his anguish, the peasant cries out to God for relief from his distress. When God replies and asks him what he wants him to do, the peasant replies, "Kill the cow." The joke illustrates an important point about human nature: The line between clamoring for justice and envy can be very thin. The subject came to mind when I read a recent column by Ross Douthat in the New York Times about the issue of income inequality and the redistribution of wealth....

Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney may face even more opposition regarding his faith if he becomes the GOP nominee, according to polls and several interviews by the Huffington Post. The staunchest opposition against Romney because of his faith came from Rev. Robert Jeffress, who is the spiritual leader for the largest church in Texas. Jeffress, a supporter of GOP contender Rick Perry, called Mormonism a “cult,” and Perry – along with many Christian conservatives – publicly rebuked him. According to new polls and information from Evangelical leaders, Christian views might change if Romney is chosen as Obama’s adversary in 2012. Rev....

Four years ago, the BBC decided to capitalize on the immense popularity of the long-running Doctor Who series by creating a spin-off called Torchwood. Whereas Doctor Who is, apart from the intensity of its stories, safe for the whole family, producers said that Torchwood would be “dark, clever, wild, [and] sexy.” "Doctor Who for adults” is what they called it. As a colleague wrote at the time, a better word to describe the show is “nihilistic” - it’s a judgment that’s reinforced by the show’s newest character. While Torchwood is certainly dark, it’s rarely, if ever, been all that “clever,”...

Four years ago, the BBC decided to capitalize on the immense popularity of the long-running Doctor Who series by creating a spin-off called Torchwood. Whereas Doctor Who is, apart from the intensity of its stories, safe for the whole family, producers said that Torchwood would be “dark, clever, wild, [and] sexy.” Doctor Who for adults” is what they called it. As a colleague wrote at the time, a better word to describe the show is “nihilistic” — it’s a judgment that’s reinforced by the show’s newest character. [...] For the fourth season, entitled “Miracle Day,” the writers ratcheted up the...

The clock is ticking. The United States is on the verge of default. Congress and the president seem unable to come together and find an agreement avoiding an economic catastrophe. How in the world did we get into this fix? Well, it didn’t happen overnight. It’s been coming for a generation. For years, fiscal conservatives have warned about the dangers of out-of-control borrowing and spending, but current and previous presidents and congresses have ignored them, rolling up a massive national debt. The bigger question is why did the American people stand for this? The answer is painfully clear. Because the...

For two years now, I’ve warned that the drive for so-called “gay marriage” was the greatest threat to religious liberty we’ve ever faced. But I think I may have underestimated the threat, because now I fear the democratic process and the rule of law are endangered as well. It was bad enough when the President and the Attorney General declared the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional and would not defend the law of the land in court. Never mind that the DOMA was signed by President Clinton in 1996 after the Senate passed it 85-15 and the House by...

At age 79, Chuck Colson remains one of Christianity's leading cultural commentators. The founder of Prison Fellowship and the Wilberforce Forum, his most famous transition was from the Nixon administration (1969-1973) to prison for obstruction of justice. He professed Christ in 1973 and since then has authored or co-authored more than 20 books laying out a Christian worldview, along with daily BreakPoint commentaries heard by millions of people. What irritates you the most about typical conservative political positions? That many who take conservative political positions aren't really being conservative. Conservatism starts out with modesty and humility. We don't believe we...

The growing crime and incarceration rates are the consequences of a lack of moral training in society today, said Watergate-convict-turned-Christian-evangelical-leader Chuck Colson. When Colson was serving time in prison in the mid-1970s, there were 239,000 incarcerated individuals. Now, that figure had increased ten-fold to a staggering 2.3 million people. During an interview hosted by The King's College Friday, Colson contended that prisons in the United States have become bigger over the years because there is a lack of moral training and education, not because there are more bad people in society. "The moral breakdown in our society is the real...

Obama/Hillary and Freedom of Religion vs. Freedom of Worship "Some advocates for international religious freedom are monitoring what they fear is a change in the language being used by Obama administration officials – that the broad emphasis on spreading freedom of religion that the president used when he spoke in Cairo last June is being subtly replaced by the more limited concept of freedom of worship." This issue has been around for most of this year, but I have yet to find any article or posting which documents every instance of the phrase "Freedom of Religion" and "Freedom of Worship"...

Chuck Colson is sounding the alarm: The government—at the highest levels—may be attempting to redefine the very meaning of religious freedom. If what Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said in a recent speech reflects a new direction in government policy, it seems the aim is clear: To kick faith out of the public square, to send Christians into the closet. [watch video embedded in article]

THE MANHATTAN DECLARATION and EVANGELICAL CO-BELLIGERENCE ...the ineffectual intersection of politics and faith     “The goal of both the church and the state is to advance the public good.” -Francis Beckwith     The ultimate goal of the church biblically is not the public good, but the glory of God in the proclamation and advancement of His gospel of sola fide. God, not the audience, is sovereign. The “public good” is political speak for tolerance. The gospel, however, does divide; it is a stumbling block, offensive and foolishness for those who are perishing.     Here we go...

Regular BreakPoint listeners know about the inhumane lengths some environmentalists are prepared to go to “save the planet.”Some have proposed taxing the parents of newborns several thousand dollars to discourage child-bearing, and thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Others have spoken of “culling” the human herd.What these proposals have in common, besides their cold-bloodedness, is that mainstream environmentalists keep insisting that they are “fringe” views. Well, recent statements from sources that couldn’t be more “respectable” put the lie to those claims. And they should remind Christians why the sanctity of human life must be our highest priority.During the recent U.N. global...

Could same-sex "marriage" spell the end of religious liberty as we know it? Here is the chilling answer. As more states-like Iowa-approve same-sex “marriage,” conservatives are claiming that freedom of religion is in peril. Same-sex “marriage” supporters accuse them of engaging in hysterical gay-bating. Who’s telling the truth? Let me share some stories with you from an excellent news broadcast produced by National Public Radio. Then you decide. Two women decided to hold their civil union ceremony at a New Jersey pavilion owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. This Methodist group told the women they could not “marry”...

It took a while, we're talking decades, but finally some American religious leaders say they are fed up. A few days ago, a faith-based group including Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York issued a scathing indictment of secularism in the USA entitled "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience." The document, which includes input from Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Christians, basically says that Christian values are under siege in America and people of faith need to act aggressively to stem the tide. The declaration goes so far as to encourage civil disobedience and uses Dr. Martin Luther King Jr....

More than 150 Christian leaders, most of them conservative evangelicals and traditionalist Roman Catholics, issued a joint declaration Friday reaffirming their opposition to abortion and gay marriage and pledging to protect religious freedoms. The 4,700-word document, called "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience," sounds familiar themes from political and social debates over the health care overhaul and gay marriage battles. While acknowledging that "Christians and our institutions have too often scandalously failed to uphold the institution of marriage," the group rejects same-sex marriage. The declaration states that opening a legal door for gay marriage would do the same...

A formidable coalition of 150 Catholic, Orthodox and evangelical leaders are calling on Christians in a new manifesto to reject secular authority – and even engage in civil disobedience – if laws force them to accept abortion, same-sex marriage and other ideas that betray their religious beliefs. On Friday, these leaders released a 4,700-word document – called the "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience." The document was signed by leaders ranging from evangelical leader Chuck Colson to two of the leading Catholic prelates in the U.S., Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New...

As Barack Hussein ObamaHussein Obama, Marxist Muslim, continues to gather about him anti-Christian cohorts, particularly as czars in his shadow government, Christians do what Jesus told them to do.

Conservative Christian leaders unveiled a declaration Friday calling on Christians not to comply with rules and laws forcing them to accept abortion, same-sex marriage and other ideals that go against their religious doctrines. The declaration urges Christians to practice civil disobedience to defend their convictions, even though some signers of the document backed away from the strong language. The Catholic Archbishop of Washington, Donald W. Wuerl, was among the first signers of the Manhattan Declaration. He appeared at a news conference in the District on Friday to announce it, even as the Church was considering a city-proposed compromise on its...

We, as Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians, have gathered, beginning in New York on September 28, 2009, to make the following declaration, which we sign as individuals, not on behalf of our organizations, but speaking to and from our communities. We act together in obedience to the one true God, the triune God of holiness and love, who has laid total claim on our lives and by that claim calls us with believers in all ages and all nations to seek and defend the good of all who bear his image.... While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including...

More than 150 Christian leaders are issuing a “call of conscience” to America-- urging them reaffirm their opposition to abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriage. “The Manhattan Declaration” stresses the need to protect religious freedom in in the U.S. It’s signed by seminary leaders, pastors, professors and the heads of ministries. The Christian leaders have come together across denominational lines to call on believers everywhere to radically commit to fight for the sanctity of life, marriage and religious liberty. “And in all three of these areas we see threats in the culture and in our politics.” Robert George, one...

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages. Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity.

Sign The Declaration! Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family. We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are: --the sanctity of human life --the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife --the rights...

Citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to civil disobedience, 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders have signed a declaration saying they will not cooperate with laws that they say could be used to compel their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples. “We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence,” it says. The manifesto, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an...

Citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to civil disobedience, 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders have signed a declaration saying they will not cooperate with laws that they say could be used to compel their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples. “We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence,” it says. The manifesto, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an...

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages. Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity. Archbishop of Washington Donald W. Wuerl is one of the signatories. "Throughout the centuries, Christianity has taught...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Unprecedented coalition of religious leaders call Americans to stand for sanctity of life, marriage, and religious freedom Washington D.C., Nov 20, 2009 / 06:21 am (CNA).- An unprecedented coalition of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders, and scholars has crafted a 4,700-word declaration addressing the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty. The declaration issues “a clarion call” to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not “under any circumstance” abandon their Christian consciences. The statement,  called “the Manhattan Declaration,” has been signed by more than 125 Catholic, Evangelical Christian, and Orthodox...

A landmark book about intelligent design has hit the bookstore shelves. I’ll tell you about it. In recent years, there have been several important books about intelligent design that go to the debate about evolution and the origins of life. Bill Dembski’s The Design Inference was first. Then along came Darwin’s Black Box by Michael Behe, showing the irreducible complexity of the cell, which casts grave doubts on Darwinian evolution as an explanation for life and higher life forms. Now we’ve got Signature in the Cell by the Discovery Institute’s Dr. Stephen Meyer. I’m going to warn you up front:...

Chuck Colson has spent a lifetime atoning for his involvement in the Watergate cover-up. The founder of Prison Fellowship has spent more than three decades working with prisoners in more than 100 countries, and he has mentored generations of conservative Evangelical leaders. This month he launched the Chuck Colson Center, an online research and education center that he calls "the Lexis-Nexis of resources on the Christian worldview." The last of the original religious-right leaders still actively engaged with the movement, Colson spoke with TIME about his latest endeavor, why he thinks churches have failed society and the biggest mistake the...

As more states—like Iowa—approve same-sex “marriage,” conservatives are claiming that freedom of religion is in peril. Same-sex “marriage” supporters accuse them of engaging in hysterical gay-bating. Who’s telling the truth? Let me share some stories with you from an excellent news broadcast produced by National Public Radio. Then you decide. Two women decided to hold their civil union ceremony at a New Jersey pavilion owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. This Methodist group told the women they could not “marry” in any building used for religious purposes. The Rev. Scott Hoffman said a theological principle—that marriage can only...

As I’ve said before on BreakPoint, the Obama administration is planning to revoke the Bush-era “conscience clause” that protects health-care workers from having to perform procedures that violate their conscience—procedures like abortion.A leading post-modern scholar, Professor Stanley Fish, defended Obama’s stance recently in the New York Times. Fish’s reasoning should disturb anyone who believes that human rights come from a higher source than government. Fish’s argument relies on 17th-century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. To Hobbes’s, “the Law is the public Conscience” and must take precedence over the judgments of an individual’s “private Conscience” so that government can maintain order.Fish...

Before a backdrop of soaring stained glass and the 6,000 gleaming pipes of a Ruffatti pipe organ, Tullian Tchividjian on March 15 preached one of the pivotal sermons of his life. Tchividjian, 36, pastor of New City Presbyterian Church in Margate, Fla., was preaching 12 miles down the road in Fort Lauderdale. The occasion: Tchividjian's nomination to succeed D. James Kennedy as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. There had been some dissent in the congregation over who would fill Kennedy's sizable shoes. Kennedy founded the church in 1959 and pastored it for 47 years. In 1974, he launched...

Editor's note: Charles W. Colson, a former aide to President Nixon, is the founder of Prison Fellowship, the world's largest Christian outreach to prisoners. President Bush this week acknowledged Colson's work among prisoners, awarding him the Presidential Citizens Medal. Colson was imprisoned for obstruction of justice in the attempt to smear Daniel Ellsberg, who disclosed the secret history of the Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If anyone knows how Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich feels right now, I do. On Tuesday, the governor was arrested in a glare of publicity and charged with going on "a...

More than 3,000 people, including longtime Mormon critic James Dobson of Focus on the Family, have signed an online petition thanking the LDS Church for its efforts on behalf of California's traditional marriage initiative known as Proposition 8. "Anyone who participated in this process has come to admire the competence, diligence and moral courage that so many members of your faith community displayed as part of this coalition effort -- as Catholics, Evangelicals, Mormons and people of other faith communities all came together to fight this great battle for marriage," says the petition, which is addressed to LDS President Thomas...

Adding Insult to Injury: Africa, AIDS, and Victim-Blaming By Chuck Colson 9/5/2008 Approximately 30 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are thought to be infected with the HIV virus. Unlike the West, from the start, HIV/AIDS in Africa has ravaged the non-drug-using heterosexual population. Let me put it this way: People whose Western counterparts are not at risk for HIV/AIDS have been the epidemic’s principal victims in Africa. Why? This has prompted many people to blame the victims in ways that played on the worst racial stereotypes and prejudices: Researchers and experts argued that “Africans were simply incapable of being anything...

Solzhenitsyn's Warning The faculty of Harvard University admired Alexandr Solzhenitsyn for his literary achievements, so they were thrilled that he agreed to deliver the university’s 1978 commencement address. But almost as soon as he began to speak, the professors changed their minds: too late. As I wrote this month in Christianity Today, they realized that Solzhenitsyn was charging them with complicity in the West’s surrender to liberal secularism, the abandonment of its Christian heritage, and of all the moral horrors that followed. For example, describing the Western worldview as “rationalistic humanism,” Solzhenitsyn decried the loss of “our concept of...

Billionaire, former mutual fund manager, Sir John M. Templeton has died. Templeton ran some of the most successful mutual funds during the initial boom years for mutual funds. In 1939, when World War II began in Europe and the stock market was at record lows, Templeton borrowed $10,000 and bought 100 shares each in 104 companies that were selling at $1 a share or less, including 34 in bankruptcy. A few years later, he made large profits on 100 of the companies; four turned out to be worthless. Templeton renounced his American citizenship in the 1960's and moved to the...

In early June, the German television network ARD aired a film called GOD AND THE WORLD: THE PERSECUTED CHILDREN OF GOD. The “children” referred to are Iraq’s largest Christian community: the Assyrians. While any attention to the plight of Iraqi Christians is welcome, I only wish that the film could have aired in the country that is in the best position to help them: the United States. The film tells the story of the suffering and persecution endured by Assyrian Christians through interviews with Christian refugees - or “internally displaced persons,” as bureaucrats call them - who escaped the most...

NEWTON(AP) — State officials say they will end a Bible-based treatment program at Newton prison that has been the subject of a five-year court battle. The Iowa Department of Corrections has notified Prison Fellowship Ministries in Virginia that the program, called the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, will end by mid-March, prison spokesman Fred Scaletta said in a copyright story in The Des Moines Register. Prison Fellowship sponsored a Christianity-based values program for inmates. It had a three-year state contract that ended in June. Prison officials had granted the organization a one-year extension with donations covering the expenses. A provision in the...