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Hassan Nemazee, a multimillionaire Iranian-American investment banker and top Democratic Party fundraiser, was arrested today by federal law enforcement authorities in New York City and charged with engaging in criminal fraud for his role in arranging a $74 million dollar loan from Citibank, Bloomberg reported. U.S. Attorney Prett Bharara in New York City and FBI investigators told Dow Jones Newswires the 59-year-old Namazee applied for the Citibank loans for Nemazee Capital Corp. by giving Citibank "numerous documents that purported to establish the existence of accounts in Nemazee's name at various financial institutions containing many hundreds of millions of dollars." According...

Dr. Howard Dean’s fans come out for the big Democratic summer shindig As Tom Andrews, the director of the leading national antiwar coalition, began his speech at the Maine Democrats’ big outdoor summer shindig in Falmouth, John Baldacci signaled his bodyguard/driver to move the large, dark SUV up the driveway. The vehicle soon hid in the trees, its engine quietly humming. At first, the governor seemed to be paying attention as Andrews, the former First District congressman, launched into rousing tales of how the country, under President George W. Bush, had gone "from peace and prosperity to war and recession."...

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), then based in the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill, vigorously lobbied for Nicaragua's Sandinista regime, the Cuban-style Marxist regime that shot its way to power in 1979. Today, WOLA pretends it is concerned about the rule of law in Honduras after the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court supported removing the leftist president for defying its constitution. WOLA and Jim Wallis' publication Sojourners have teamed up to spin Honduras' defense of its democracy as another example of a U.S.-supported, imperialist military coup. The constitutional coup in Honduras was...

President Obama has appointed a 26-year-old Pentecostal minister as his White House chief of faith-based initiatives. Himself comfortable with religious language, Obama's campaign appealed strongly to liberal-leaning Christians. Inevitably, self-professed "social justice" religionists will have White House access. Evangelical left activist Jim Wallis has already boasted of the administration's appreciation for his viewpoint. The National Council of Churches (NCC) has also boasted of its presence at recent Obama events. But the NCC, as primarily the organ of diminished Mainline Protestantism, is only a ghost of its former prestigious self. It's been decades since a U.S. President has addressed an NCC...

The National Council of Churches is partnering with the Committee on Outdoor Ministries to call on faith-based camps and conference centers in the United States to sign onto a pact agreeing to treat the environment with respect. Participating camps and conference centers are asked to make decisions about how to use their land while keeping in mind the “sacred nature” of God’s creation; to conserve energy and water; to recycle waste; to purchase environmentally sustainable products; and to continue to educate those who use the camps and conference centers about the preciousness of nature they are experiencing. “Camp and conference...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The CEO of a company whose employee is accused of improperly looking at the passport files of presidential candidates is a consultant to the Barack Obama campaign, a source said Saturday. John Brennan, president of the Analysis Corp., advises the Illinois Democrat on foreign policy and intelligence issues, the source said. Brennan briefed the media on behalf of the campaign this month. The executive is a former senior CIA official and former interim director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He contributed $2,300 to the Obama campaign in January.

The National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia is dedicated to "increasing public understanding of, and appreciation for, the Constitution, its history, and its contemporary relevance." So naturally, it has named Bill Clinton its next chairman. In "Dereliction of Duty: The Constitutional Record of President Clinton," the Cato Institute examined Mr. Clinton's record: Though he "has expressed support for an 'expansive' view of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, he has actually weakened a number of fundamental guarantees, including those of free speech and the right to trial by jury and that against double jeopardy. He has also supported retroactive taxes,...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading United Methodist Church bishop is coming under heavy criticism for wanting to keep the Protestant denomination as a member of a pro-abortion coalition for religious groups. The UMC has been dogged from pro-life advocates within the denomination for decades.San Francisco-area United Methodist Bishop Beverly Shamana, the president of the church's Washington lobby office, is urging UMC officials to keep the group involved in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.The Washington-based RCRC defends unrestricted abortion in the name of its members and actively lobbies against pro-life legislation on Capitol Hill.The United Methodist Board of Church...

The “Win Without War Coalition,” including 40 Religious Left groups and secular allies, is imploring Congressman John Murtha to slash funding for the U.S. presence in Iraq. Murtha chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

Hundreds of Christian leaders marched to Capitol Hill to meet with their representatives and convey their message of social justice and peace to cap off a large annual ecumenical gathering Monday. Tue, Mar. 11, 2008 Posted: 16:20:04 PM EST Hundreds of Christian leaders marched to Capitol Hill to meet with their representatives and convey their message of social justice and peace to cap off a large annual ecumenical gathering Monday. The President of the National Council of Churches USA, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, in preparation for Monday’s advocacy told participants of the Ecumenical Advocacy Days that Christians have a biblical responsibility...

In Discordance with the Scriptures: American Protestant Battles over Translating the Bible. By Peter J. Thuesen. Oxford University Press, 238 pp., $2 7. 50. THE VERSIONS of the Bible we choose to carry, display and read are good indices of who we are. Peter Thuesen presents a history of the creation of a translation that became a kind of badge for many, the Revised Standard Version. He explores the controversy that attended its publication and the aftermath of that controversy. He analyzes the attempts of the men who produced the RSV to respond to the criticisms it engendered, and the...

The financially and demographically struggling National Council of Churches (NCC) is mulling over a new “Social Creed for the 21st Century” that will succinctly articulate its left-leaning political activism. Many of the NCC’s heterodox officials and activist supporters could not affirm traditional Christian theological creeds. For them, political creeds are the desired alternative.

Declaring war "incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ," the bishops of The United Methodist Church called on leaders of all nations to begin an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The bishops also urged against deploying additional troops to Iraq and against establishing permanent military bases in the Middle Eastern country.

As the National Council of Churches (NCC) in the USA reshapes amid budget shortfalls, top officials were installed Thursday to lead the ecumenical group. Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, who represents the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) in Washington, and the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) clergyman, were installed as NCC president and general secretary, respectively. Aykazian is the third Orthodox president and the first from the Oriental Orthodox tradition, according to NCC News Service. He will succeed outgoing president Michael Livingston, who served in the office since January 2006, as the 24th NCC...

Religious Leaders Fast in Protest of Iraq War A number of religious leaders are participating in an interfaith fast Monday to call for the end of the Iraq war. Mon, Oct. 08, 2007 Posted: 13:28:58 PM EST WASHINGTON – A number of religious leaders are participating in an interfaith fast Monday to call for the end of the Iraq war. From dawn until dusk, leaders and adherents of Christianity, Judaism and Islam across the country will join in the anti-war fasting, which takes place as Muslims celebrate the “Night of Power” – the holiest night in Ramadan. “When you are...

Though global Anglican leaders have urged the U.S. church to unequivocally exclude gay bishops by next month, an openly lesbian Episcopal priest is among the five nominees for bishop of the Chicago diocese announced Tuesday. Rev. Tracey Lind, who followed Chicago Bishop William Persell as dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, is one of three women named as finalists to replace Persell, who plans to resign after his successor is installed. It is the first slate of candidates in the diocese to include women. "Since the day last winter when I was asked to make myself available to this nominating...

The National Council of Churches (NCC) is distressed that not all Christians share its animosity towards Israel. Preferring not to address its own demographic implosion, the NCC periodically lashes out at more demographically robust Christian movements, especially conservative evangelicals. In its latest fusillade, the NCC denounced the “Christian Zionism” of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which recently convened its second convention in Washington for pro-Israel evangelicals. Newt Gringrich was among the speakers. “CUFI's position of uncritical support for Israel separates it from the Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, and traditional Protestant Churches, all of whom support Israel while at the same time...

A new generation of Christians has advanced itself into a 50-year-old ecumenical movement and is learning just how diverse faith groups are “being Christian together.” A hundred college students joined hundreds of participants from 80 Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal, Anglican, and Evangelical denominations and organizations over the past several days to discuss the progress of Christian unity and its future. "I think it's very good to see this fresh new wave of young scholars interested in talking with each other about what they find in common and what distinctives they bring to the understanding of Christian faith," commented Wesley...

"The Religious Left is far more “Left” than “religious” – they may look like a church on the outside, but on the inside, they’re a political organization advancing a leftist social agenda. And now, there’s hard evidence to back it up." NCC was a major player in the Elian Gonzalez criminal abduction, following are webpages I created throughout this illegal and disgraceful action on Easter Weekend 7 years ago...rto The Taking of Elian Elian Returns to Cuba

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday said Iran bore no hatred towards the United States as he held talks with American Christians in a rare official contact with visitors from Tehran's arch enemy. State television showed Ahmadinejad meeting with a dozen American representatives from various Christian orders who are in Iran for a week-long visit to promote peace and dialogue between the foes. "The Iranian nation does not have any feeling of hatred and opposition towards the American people and we believe that all people are respectful and given the common grounds people have, they could achieve peace and justice," Ahmadinejad...

Thirteen U.S. Religious Leaders Head to Iran, Feb. 17-25 Delegation Plans to Meet Religious and Political Leaders in the Hope of Improving Relations Between the People of Iran and the U.S. Philadelphia, PA [February 13] - A delegation of 13 U.S. religious leaders will visit Iran next week, Feb. 17-25, to deepen dialogue between religious and political leaders there in the hope of defusing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. During the weeklong visit the group is scheduled to meet with Christian and Muslim religious leaders, women serving in the Iranian parliament, former President Mohammad Khatami and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

NCC chief calls "barbaric execution of Saddam Hussein" President George W. Bush is promising a surge in troops in the war-torn country, ostensibly to help quell sectarian violence and stabilize Baghdad. Friday, January 12, 2007 Ekklesia The head of the leading US ecumenical body, the National Council of Churches USA, has described the call for more troops to be sent to Iraq as "morally unsupportable". President George W. Bush is promising a "surge" in troops in the war-torn country, ostensibly to help quell sectarian violence and stabilize Baghdad. "This escalation of troop presence only promises to guarantee an escalation in...

Carter and Clinton's "New Covenant" By Don FederGrassTopsUSA.com | January 30, 2007This column originally appeared on GrassTopsUSA.com.Its rhetoric notwithstanding, the left loathes diversity. Dissent drives it nuts. It’s forever scheming to eliminate, co-opt or undercut alternative institutions.It controls three of the four major networks, but obsesses about Fox News. It has The New York Times and the rest of the dominant print media, but agonizes over talk-radio and conservative websites.Even though the mainline Protestant churches are safely in its vest-pocket, it’s threatened by the success of conservative denominations. Hence the latest assault on the Southern Baptists, led by ex-Presidents...

The head of a large liberal religious organization is brushing aside a new report that says his group is being propped up financially by left-wing groups such as MoveOn.org and the philanthropies of George Soros and Ted Turner. Instead, National Council of Churches (NCC) general secretary Bob Edgar is focusing on church unity, social justice, and other global stewardship concerns. The report published by the Washington, DC-based Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) claims the NCC is kept afloat financially by leftist groups that promote liberal causes such as same-sex "marriage" and abortion. (See earlier story) But Edgar, who was...

A group of Methodist ministers has begun a national petition drive asking Southern Methodist University to remove itself from negotiations to get the George W. Bush presidential library. "As United Methodists, we believe that the linking of his presidency with a university bearing the Methodist name is utterly inappropriate," reads the petition, which is posted online at ProtectSMU.org. "Because SMU is owned by the United Methodist Church, the imposition of a George W. Bush library, museum and think tank at SMU will irreparably connect the denomination with this presidency,” said Rev. Andrew J. Weaver, a petition organizer in Brooklyn, N.Y....

A new report says the National Council of Churches (That Nobody Goes To Anymore) is being propped up financially by secular foundations and other non-church organizations. At least two members of the clergy who were present at a news conference touting that report suggest that may be one reason why the NCC appears to have abandoned its original mission. The report - titled "Strange Yokefellows: The National Council of Churches (That Nobody Goes To Anymore) and its Growing Non-Church Constituency" - released by the Washington, DC-based Institute on Religion and Democracy highlights the National Council of Churches' (That Nobody Goes...

A new report by the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) casts some very revealing light on the National Council of Churches (NCC), the vanguard of “religious Left” movement in America. While Big Media ceaselessly frets about the political activity of the “religious Right,” it rarely takes on the “religious Left.” But the report by IRD ought to raise a few eyebrows. The NCC’s primary spokesman has been the Reverend Bob Edgar – a former Democrat member of Congress. It seems that as membership in liberal mainline denominations has declined over the years, Edgar has been reaching out to some...

The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com How secular donors move church agenda By Eric Pfeiffer THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published January 11, 2007 The National Council of Churches is becoming financially beholden to secular groups with liberal political leanings, according to a report by a religious watchdog organization. The Institute on Religion and Democracy, a group formed by members of the NCC, says the group accepted the majority of its charitable donations last year from nonreligious organizations and has been pursuing an agenda that does not mesh with the majority of its church members, including support for abortion and homosexual "marriage." "We found...

The Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as president of the influential National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday after being accused of having a sexual affair with a gay man. Haggard also stepped down as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church pending an investigation by a church panel, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations." "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity," Haggard said in a written statement. "I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a...

Every weekday at 8 a.m., Kevin Brock hefts a thick white ring binder onto a sleek, oval conference table. Labeled "Read Book," the deceptively plain folder houses the "Threat Matrix," a top-secret compendium of the most troubling reports of possible terrorist activity, drawn from the nation's 16 intelligence agencies. It is thicker than usual on a recent Monday morning, packed with 66 separate items that came in over the weekend. Brock, the principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, is about to brief some of the government's most senior officials on the latest threat information. -snip- Facing a wall...

National Council of Churches Ignores Christian Suffering By Mark D. Tooley FrontPageMagazine.com | September 29, 2006 The head of the U.S. National Council of Churches (NCC) has a burden on his heart for prison inmates...if they are former al-Qaeda or Taliban operatives at Guantanamo Bay. In his www.middlechurch.net blog, NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar records his chagrin that the U.S. government has denied his request for a visit with the Gitmo prisoners. “’I was in prison and you visited me,’ Jesus says in Matthew 25:36. But the detainees at Guantánamo are not permitted visitors. I know this from personal experience,”...

CBNNews.com – Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami is the highest ranking Iranian official to visit the U.S. in 25 years. The latest stop in his two-week U.S. tour came Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Representatives of the Cathedral invited Khatami to speak about religious tolerance. “The time has come that in the midst of chaos, war, violence, terror, and insecurity on the one the hand, and poverty, ignorance and backwardness on the other, we seek to envision a world of peace, morality, ethics and progress for all humankind,” said Khatami. The State Department granted Khatami and his...

EU Christians Czech Castro By Mark D. Tooley FrontPageMagazine.com | August 24, 2006 Although Western mainline church officials have refused to criticize Fidel Castro for decades, some East European Christians are now speaking out. The head of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic is directly challenging the head of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches over his criticisms of America's anti-Castro policy. "From our own experiences churches in Central and Eastern Europe are aware of what it means to live under a repressive totalitarian regime of the type, which, according to our opinion, exists in Cuba," gently...

According to a new book from the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, Bush brought down the towers.DID THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION covertly blow-up the World Trade Center, ignite the Pentagon, and shoot down United Flight 93 to pave the way for a new American empire? The answer is "yes," according to a new book printed by the official publishing house of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and written by a theologian at a United Methodist seminary. Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11, published by Westminster John Knox Press, is fairly succinct in its conspiracy theory. In fact, only the first half of the...

The anti-Israel divestment campaign among U.S. churches has been largely defeated. But in the midst of the terrorists' war on Israel, the Religious Left's hostility to Israel continues. Religious Left church officials have responded to the conflict between Israel and Hezballah with their usual lamentations over "the violence." But it is "the violence" by Israel that exclusively concerns them. Typical among them has been the reaction of United Church of Christ president John Thomas. "We watch with horror and outrage as Israel punishes an entire population for the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in Gaza, and as belligerence escalates with...

What is the likelihood that the op-ed writer, or cartoonist, or university professor who rants about the evils of Zionism is really an old-fashioned Jew-hater? Much better than most of us thought, according to a study in the August 2006 issue of The Journal of Conflict Resolution. Goebbels was right. Repeat a lie often enough, and people will believe it. This seems to be true even in regard to Jews believing lies about themselves. For decades, so many of us heard pious protestations that strongly held views about Israel had nothing to do with attitudes towards us, that we started...

Top church leaders from some of the largest Christian denominations in the United States and in the world are pleading for an end to the violence in the Middle East, pressing U.S. President Bush to intervene and help lead the involved parties to peace and reconciliation. On Thursday, 19 high-level Christian leaders and church heads signed a letter to President George W. Bush calling for a diplomatic solution to the conflicts in Gaza and between Hezbollah and Israel. “Mr. President, while attention is rightly focused on the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, we write with growing concern for the situation in Gaza and...

The foot soldiers in some of America's greatest battles carried neither guns nor swords. Instead, armed with Bibles and faith in God's mercy, they prayed and marched and fought to end slavery, improve social welfare and establish civil rights. Members of those churches, some of which became known as mainline denominations, were society's vanguard, shaping the country's culture and refining debate. But those times are long past. Today, the opposite is occurring as secular culture defines mainline churches' dialogue on everything from social issues to politics and morality, tellingly shown this summer at the emotional and acrimonious national gatherings of...

Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, a respected ecumenical partner of the churches that form the National Council of Churches, is led by Rev. Canon Naim Ateek (Anglican priest). With their statements, strong on justice for Palestinians, Sabeel has drawn the ire of my Jewish colleagues in the mainstream Jewish organizations in the US. As my Jewish colleagues would point out, I am always aware of the alternative narratives that are a part of this struggle. However, the following statement from Sabeel on the situation in Gaza is well done. It provides background, analysis of the situation on the...

Catholics, keep out; Orthodox, beware. Folks, according to Lifesite, Dr. Bob Edgar (pictured right), the general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said at at a recent gathering of liberal Christian leaders in Washington that “Jesus never said one word about homosexuality, never said one word about civil marriage or abortion,” Dr. Edgar, who has been general secretary of the NCC since 2000, was applauded by homosexual activist organizations shortly after his election for withdrawing his signature from an ecumenical statement in defence of traditional marriage, A Christian Declaration on Marriage. Dr. Edgar also apologized to members of the...

The head of what used to be the main voice of ecumenical Christianity in America has made Fox News the target of his latest jeremiad. Bob Edgar, former Democratic congressman and former seminary president is now an ordained Methodist minister and general secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC) -- but his religion is often politics by another means. Edgar warned a gathering of "moderate" Baptists last month against the challenges of "fear, fundamentalism, and Fox News." instead urging his faithful to "walk in the footsteps of Jesus." Edgar cited the supposed threat posed by Fox News while speaking...

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Forget about traditional morality—Christianity should focus on eradicating poverty, protecting the environment and ending the war in Iraq, according to the general secretary of the National Council of Churches, Dr. Bob Edgar. “Jesus never said one word about homosexuality, never said one word about civil marriage or abortion,” said Dr. Edgar to CBS News at a recent gathering of liberal Christian leaders in Washington. The gathering was the latest effort by the “religious left” to gain back some of the political power the group enjoyed during the 60’s and early 70’s. 30 years...

The Religious Left has finally spoken out against the “violation of religious freedom” in Cuba. No, these church officials were not condemning Fidel Castro’s 47-year war on religion. Instead, they were condemning U.S. regulations on religious groups traveling between Cuba and the United States. In late May, officials of the National Council of Churches (NCC) and its $60 million relief arm, Church World Service (CWS), convened a press conference in Washington, D.C., to denounce U.S. travel restrictions on Cuba. Every year, thousands of American churchgoers raise several million dollars for CWS through its anti-hunger “CROP Walks” across the nation. In...

The first nationwide, in-depth, systematic study of health services provided by religious communities is being undertaken by the National Council of Churches USA. The project will survey more than 100,000 congregations to determine the level of health care education, delivery, and advocacy being offered. The study, made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will be conducted by the Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, deputy general secretary of the NCC and head of its Research and Planning Office. ?Much recent discussion has centered around the question of how much health care our faith communities are providing,? said...

DURHAM, N.C.—One of three Duke University lacrosse players charged with rape wants the case resolved in time for the next school year, his lawyer said in court yesterday. But the judge warned he will not fast-track the proceedings. The case "is not going to jump ahead of the line and be handled any differently," Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Stephens said at a hearing for sophomore Reade Seligmann. After the brief hearing, District Attorney Mike Nifong said he does not expect any trial to begin before next year.

News that the Rev. William Sloane Coffin died on April 12 at the age of 81 was met, as befits that icon of left-liberal sentimentality and self-righteousness, by an outpouring of liberal piety. Coffin's heyday was in the 1970s, when from his perch as chaplain at Yale, he helped transform the university into an ideological battleground. Although you won't hear it from the arbiters of bien pensant opinion, Coffin was almost entirely a malevolent influence, fond of telling his flock such things as "We must recognize that justice is a higher social goal than law and order." Like other gurus...

IT MIGHT BE no accident that the national decline in church attendance has mirrored the rise of activism by church leadership. One religious group famous for its social agenda is the National Council of Churches. Although supposedly a nonpartisan organization, for the past 40 years the NCC's politics has usually sat on the far left of the political spectrum. Since Rev. Bob Edgar took over as the NCC's general secretary in 2000, the group hasn't jettisoned its liberal ways. What is Edgar's record? For starters, he's carried on the NCC's ongoing love affair with Cuba. One of his first acts...

The moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, Rick Ufford Chase, denied that there is a “lack of religious freedom” in Cuba http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=6405 This is madness! Especially if one reads human rights reports regarding Cuba. Its like saying that Hitler did not kill Jews! Cuba is one of the nations that most represses Christians. Rick Ufford Chase has gone too far this time - history doesn't lie especially when it concerns Cuba under communist dictatorship. This report came to me via a Spanish religious blog, but I checked it, and it was from a report that appeared in the Miami Herald...

Preachers used to warn of divine judgment if sinners did not repent and turn to God. Now, increasingly, preachers of the Left are instead warning of cataclysmic climate change if polluters (especially of the American variety) do not abandon economic growth and yield to the most apocalyptic scenarios of the environmental movement. President Bush, of course, is the main King Ahab against whom these prophets of doom now prophesy. The most recent prophecy, in March, came from the Church of England's Archbishop of Canterbury. Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of nearly 80 million Anglicans worldwide, warned that politicians, i.e. Bush, might...

Yesterday, I posted an article about new data from the National Council of Churches about the decline of mainline Protestant churches. The NCC had no data to report about non-denominational churches. Several posts referred to "non-doms" and megachurches. Turns out there was a very recent study by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, that found 1336 "megachurches." (Although the study supposedly defined "megachurches" as having more than 2,000 attendees per weekend, 124 churches did not meet this definition.) This is a substantially greater number than has been tossed bout in research; a 2001 study found only about 800. Most of...