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A Call for Boycotts This week a wave of controversy has been ignited by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) section on Chick-fil-A’s website, stirring up discussions and garnering attention across various platforms. While this content may not be entirely new, its emergence has prompted calls for boycotts from some individuals on social media. Promoting Equality Upon visiting the DEI page, one encounters a statement that states, “One of our core values at Chick-fil-A, Inc. is that we are better together.” Additionally, it mentions Chick-fil-A’s commitment to embedding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in every aspect of its operations. The company...

The sabbath begun in the finishing of the work of creation; so will the everlasting sabbath in the finishing of the work of providence and redemption; and we observe the weekly sabbath in expectation of that, as well as in remembrance of the former, in both conforming ourselves to him we worship. He hath himself blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it. He hath put an honour upon it; it is holy to the Lord, and honourable; and he hath put blessings into it which he hath encouraged us to expect from him in the religious observation of that day....

‘“Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of ]tradition learned by rote,( Isaiah 29)The Neo Pharisees make a great pretense of honoring and observing the Torah, but in truth, they lead those who are wrongly impressed with their “piety” into the pit. These are the blind guides Jesus warned us of; the blind leading the blind into the eternal pit of perdition. For example let us look at the subject of atonement by Blood sacrifice. The Perushim, (Pharisees)...

The takeaway point of this post is that the Lord Jesus presented compelling evidence to His enemies, the Pharisees and Teachers Of The Law, and they responded by trying to literally KILL the evidence. __________ "I would believe in God if I had sufficient evidence" say many unbelievers these days on the Internet. "Give me convincing evidence and I will then believe in Christianity" say many unbelievers on Internet Forums. There is constant talk on the Internet about "give me convincing evidence." Below is a clear example of some people that had clear compelling sufficient empirical evidence that rose to...

A Special Jewish Woman, the Pharisees, and a Good Opportunity Missed By Pope Francis In spite of the progress in the historical work on the Pharisees, preaching all over the Christian world continues to depict these Jewish teachers as xenophobes, elitists, legalists, lovers of money and moral hypocrites. Moreover, in general the term ‘Pharisee’ implies ‘Jew,’ since many Jews and Christians consider the Pharisees the precursors of rabbinic Judaism. Therefore, even when Christians use the term ‘Pharisee’ to denounce clericalism in ecclesial contexts, they do nothing but reinforce prejudice toward Jews.”That’s how Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish American from Vanderbilt University,...

Much of the scholarly discussion about the circumstances of JesusÂ’ death relates to the question of who was responsible for his arrest and crucifixion.Who was responsible? The Jews or the Romans?Historically, the primary responsibility has been placed on the Jewish leadership and the Jews in Jerusalem. Throughout the centuries, this has sometimes had tragic consequences, resulting in anti-Semitism and violence against Jews.More recent trends in scholarship have shifted the blame to the Romans.The tendency to blame the Jews, it is said, arose in the decades after the crucifixion with the churchÂ’s growing conflict with the synagogue and its desire to...

You might be on your way to the sanctuary for worship, and you see a man curled up by the side of the road, bloody and beaten by robbers.  Something tells you the man needs your help (that’s God talking to you), but you are wearing your Sunday best, and you’re not trained as a first responder, and you’ve been given the honor of opening today’s meeting in prayer, and, besides, this guy is probably a drug addict and you have little children you’re responsible for — so you hurry on to church and you prove that you have the...

'The late Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr. would be rolling over in his grave,' one social conservative leader warns. Jerry Falwell Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump on Tuesday was swiftly met with a backlash from other Christian conservatives sounding the alarm about what they see as a dangerous candidate with questionable morals. While the official backing of Trump wasn’t a big surprise — Falwell had heaped praise on Trump last week when he spoke at Liberty University — it came during a fraught time, as many are waking up to the real possibility that Trump could win Iowa next week and...

Criticizing the “Pharisees” is recurrent in Pope Francis’ words. In numerous discourses, between 2013 and 2015, he has spoken of “the sickness of the Pharisees” (7th November 2013), “who rebuke Jesus for not respecting the Sabbath” (1st April 2014), of “the temptation of self-sufficiency and of clericalism, that codification of the faith in rules and regulations, as the scribes, the Pharisees, the doctors of the law did at the time of Jesus” (September 19th 2014). In the Angelus of August 30th 2015 he said that just as it was for the Pharisees it is “dangerous too for us to consider...

Do Not Be Afraid, For Evil Cannot Withstand the Power of Jesus Evil, no matter how powerful it seems, cannot stand. It will ultimately self-destruct and be overcome by the Light. Some Pharisees, likely disingenuous in their motives, approach Jesus to warn him that he needs to leave immediately: Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you. Jesus says simply: Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.' (Luke 13:32) Surely Jesus has more in mind here than the next three...

God and God Alone: A Homily for the 29th Sunday of the Year By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe Gospel today contains lots of interesting juxtapositions: hatred for Jesus but grudging respect for him,  real questions versus rhetorical ones, politics and faith, duties to Caesar and duties to God. The word  “juxtaposition” is from the Latin juxta (meaning “near”) and positio (meaning “place or position”). Hence juxtaposition is the placing of two things near to each other in order to see how they are similar and yet different.  In English, usually a juxtaposition emphasizes differences more than similarities.Let’s look at these one...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The focus of Pope Francis' papacy began to emerge Saturday as he offered some intimate insights into the conclave that elected him pontiff, describing how he was immediately inspired to name himself after St. Francis of Assisi because he wants to see a church that is "for the poor." His comments provided further evidence that this first Latin American papacy would be one that looks beyond the confines of the church itself to the most disadvantaged, named for a 13th-century friar who renounced a wealthy, dissolute lifestyle to embrace a life of poverty and simplicity and...

One of the great battle cries of the Protestant Reformation was “sola scriptura!” Many thought that the Catholic Church had cluttered up the simple Christian faith by adding all sorts of practices, customs and doctrines over the centuries. They thought the Church in their day was guilty of exactly the same Pharisaical obsession with traditions condemned by Jesus in this Sunday’s gospel (Mark 7:1-23). The solution, it seemed, was simple. Let’s purify the Church by ditching all these traditions and keeping the Bible alone. But if we read this portion of the Bible closely, the Lord is not telling us...

A Metro Nashville Council member is suing the Southern Baptist Convention for $1.5 million. Ron Nollner and his wife, Beverly, filed the lawsuit against the nation's largest Protestant denomination and related entities last week. The lawsuit states the two went to New Delhi as missionaries in 2009 and were hired by the Virginia-based International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to oversee construction of an office building there. However, the lawsuit claims they were fired after Ron Nollner complained about illegal and unsafe building practices at the job site and said the project's architect and builder were paying bribes...

As can be expected from a book published by Greg Kofford, Craig L. Foster’s A Different God? is well researched and engaging. This book begins by examining the rise of the religious right and the power it exerts on the current political landscape. Foster presents a good deal of information that most Latter-day Saints will not be well acquainted with, such as the difference between evangelical and fundamentalist Christians, the emergence of the charismatic movement, the rise and fall of the Moral Majority, and the subsequent establishment of the Christian Coalition. This background is particularly pertinent to the majority of...

Although all the countries which attended the recent Climate Summit in Cancun, Mexico claimed to care about the environment, they have an odd way of showing it. The challenges are more profound in the US than many other countries. America has been the leader of the industrial world since the Great Depression. That makes it the nation that has polluted the most for the longest amount of time. 24/7 Wall St. has analyzed the environmental issues facing the 50 states. Pollution is as much a state problem as a national one. Ohio, which ranks poorly on our list, has more...

We stepped outside on Sunday for our ritual family walk. I immediately heard shouts from my kids. "Mom, the neighbor kids are riding their bikes on Sunday!" We have had this conversation a thousand times: Our family has rules that don't apply to other families. They go to different churches. All churches are good. We are in that stage with our children where we try and do the delicate balance of teaching them correct principles without turning them into Pharisees for the rest of the neighborhood. I'm sure you've all had that experience where you go out to a restaurant,...

I grew up in the Catholic Church; however, it seemed like I was Catholic by inheritance only, as no one in my family prayed before meals, read from the Bible, or even discussed God. You went to church because you were supposed to go to church. I attended Catechism classes every Sunday until I turned 13 and received my Confirmation. My teachers were often frustrated with my perpetually raised hand to ask questions like: Why can’t women become priests? Why can’t priests get married? Why do I have to go to confession instead of talking to God directly? And why...

Well, the couple who launched this terrific wedding video are speaking out about their exuberant nuptial boogie. They popped up a couple days ago on TODAY: Most couples wait until the reception before breaking out into the Funky Chicken on their wedding day, but Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson figured, why wait to unleash their unbridled joy? The 28-year-olds floored their wedding guests by having their whole bridal party — including seven bridesmaids, five groomsmen and four ushers — boogie down the aisle in a choreographed dance more at home in a Broadway musical than in a somber church. Groomsmen...

Shakespeare's Richard III says that, since he cannot play the lover, he'll play the villain. It's a choice few of us would admit to ourselves: we don't want to think of ourselves as villains, and we're not comfortable if we don't feel like we're essentially good people. We want to believe that, at a minimum, we're just slightly better than the average Joe. The trouble is that being a truly good person is hard. It's hard to control your temper. It's hard to fight against the temptations to lust, to greed, to laziness, to envy and to gluttony. And so...