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I Am going to move My sphere of authority into place now upon My Foundation and "TRUTH" shall be its Robe ! Zechariah 4:9 9The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house; his hands shall also finish it. Then you shall know (recognize and understand) that the Lord of hosts has sent me [His messenger] to you. The unction of My Spirit is something to be followed not ignored ! My blessings flow through My Spirit and Guiding counselor of My very Heart ! So understand this ; To reject My Spirit is to deny Me ,...

The Episcopal Priest, Rev. Gary R. Hall, is the Dean of the Washington National Cathedral. I expected him to be liberal as he has been outspoken concerning his support of gay marriage and gun control. I mean, hey, he's an Episcopalian, whaddya' expect? But I was truly surprised by something in Sally Quinn's profile of Rev. Hall at On Faith. Check it out: I don’t want to be loosey-goosey about it,� he says, “but I describe myself as a non-theistic Christian.� And he goes on to expand on the concept. “Jesus doesn’t use the word God very much,� he says....

A female CofE vicar yesterday insisted she has not sinned against God by putting an obscene bumper sticker reading 'WTFWJD' on the back of her car. The Reverend Alice Goodman stuck the sticker, standing for ‘What The F*** Would Jesus Do?', on the back of her red Subaru Legacy - sparking outrage from members of her parish. But the Reverend insists the sticker is harmless and even the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams was happy to accept a lift in her car in the past. The sign - a play on the Christian motto ‘What Would Jesus Do?’...

No sincere follower of Jesus would ever wish hatred, violence or discrimination against anyone. But behaving in a way that honors God is not the same as declaring that God must somehow changed His mind on sin. Tutu is an ardent supporter of gay rights and said that he "would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven." "No," he said, "I would say sorry – I mean, I would much rather go to the other place. I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this." The former Archbishop may have been...

Readers of First Things probably know this already, but here’s a follow up on a story from earlier this year. In February, archaeologists confirmed that they had discovered the remains of King Richard III beneath a parking lot in Leicester. Richard died in battle at Bosworth Field in August 1485; the Tudor victors gave him a rather unceremonious burial in what was then a local abbey. Richard will now be re-interred in Leicester’s Anglican cathedral, most likely next May. Back in February, some Catholics objected that Richard, who was Catholic, should by rights be buried in a Catholic ceremony in...

We look back in time, and say the universe is 15 billion years old. But as every scientist knows, when we say the universe is 15 billion years old, there's another half of the sentence that we rarely bother to say. The other half of the sentence is: The universe is 15 billion years old as seen from the time-space coordinates of the earth. The key is that the Torah looks forward in time, from very different time-space coordinates, when the universe was small. Since then, the universe has expanded out. Space stretches, and that stretching of space totally changes...

When evangelical preachers lose their way and turn their backs on biblical Christianity, why is it they end up in the Episcopal Church? As a preacher who traveled in the opposite direction and left the Episcopal Church 22 years ago—or I should say the Episcopal Church left me—I think I have a clue. On March 18, the Huffington Post reported that Rob Bell, the one-time evangelical pastor who rejected the core of Christian faith, has endorsed homosexual marriage. Where was that endorsement made? Surprise, surprise: Grace Cathedral, the Episcopal Cathedral of the Diocese of California. Grace Cathedral is located in...

WASHINGTON—Whenever I write sympathetically about religion, I get bombarded by tweets and notes from readers who normally agree with me but cannot abide the idea that religious belief should be seen as intellectually serious. And because I have written favorably about Pope Francis, I get more than my share of angry comments about the Catholic pedophilia scandal, which continues to haunt the church and troubles even its most loyal members. Getting lambasted doesn’t bother me. On the contrary, citizens talking back to the purveyors of opinion is a glorious aspect of free speech. But my correspondents underscore the existence of...

Question: Does the OPC use the crucifix in the church? If not, are they opposed to it? Answer: Thank you for your question. The answer is, so far as I know, the crucifix is not used in OPC churches, and here is why: 1.The Second Commandment (Ex. 20:4-6 and Deut. 5:8-10) forbids any picture or image of God, and that would include the Son of God, even as man. At any rate we do not know what Jesus looked like as there is no physical description of him. 2.The crucifix will always end up being an object of worship—regarded as...

David Virtue's website, VirtueOnline, www.virtueonline.org recently reprinted a blog post by Joel Wilhelm, entitled "FiFNA vs. Anglicanism." http://tinyurl.com/n5soffq Readers of Anglican blogs may remember that, in June, the Stand Firm website ran an article: "What is Going on With the ACNA and the Filioque?" which cited another post by Wilhelm, entitled, "ACNA Vs. the 39 Articles," in which he challenges the ACNA for considering returning to the original form of the Nicene Creed, which does not contain the Filioque. I don't know about you, but I am beginning to sense a theme with these "versus" articles: Take an organization that...

To borrow from the musical group The Kinks, you know “it’s a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world” when Russian president Vladimir Putin becomes the leading voice for stopping the violent persecutions against Christians while the president of the United States stands silent. Speaking at a meeting with Orthodox Christian leaders in Moscow last week, according to Life Site News, Putin said he noted “with alarm” that “in many of the world’s regions… inter-confessional tensions are mounting, and the rights of religious minorities are infringed, including Christians and Orthodox Christians.” In emphasizing the Middle East and North Africa, Putin...

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Timothy George reports the PCUSA Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song voted against including the popular hymn “In Christ Alone” from their latest hymnal. He writes: Recently, the wrath of God became a point of controversy in the decision of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song to exclude from its new hymnal the much-loved song “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. The Committee wanted to include this song because it is being sung in many churches, Presbyterian and otherwise, but they could not abide this line from the third stanza: “Till on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath...

The convention of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is over. There were no big controversies. Virtually all of the resolutions passed, overwhelmingly, and those that didn’t were defeated overwhelmingly. No challenges to Lutheran orthodoxy even came up. The delegates were pretty much all on the same conservative page. After the jump, Lutheran journalist Mollie Hemingway writes about the difficulty religion reporters have in covering a church convention that is peaceful and non-contentious. But surely what didn’t happen is huge news for Lutherans. To be sure, issues remain, but could it be that the LCMS is getting unified again? Were any...

More and more my children are walking in the Beatitudes of my love for truly they are rooted in my endearment and promise of safety and rest, yet I correct the ones I love so they do not waiver from one fact "Be holy as I AM". Obedience to the fullness of my word keeps you from lack and the Leviathans of a lukewarm life. I establish all things in me for I AM HOLY and my fire(spirit) determines what is holy or chaff for the wind ! So STAND tall my children and BE in me for I AM...

The Most Reverend Justin Welby said there had been a “revolution” in attitudes to homosexuality and the economy, particularly among young people. Speaking to more than 6,000 people at a conference, Archbishop Welby said the passing of the Same Sex Marriage Act had been “crushing” for the church, but was something it needed to listen and respond to. "I spoke against it and voted against it but I listened and I heard the roar of revolution,” said the Archbishop, as he described listening to the debate on The Same Sex Marriage Act. "It came not merely from those one would...

Recent remarks by the retired Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu are not surprising for an Anglican prelate these days, but remain disturbing. Briefly put, the Archbishop says he would rather go to hell than go to a “homophobic heaven.”  Here’s some more complete report page of his remarks, in yesterdays Washington Times. South Africa’s iconic retired archbishop, Desmond Tutu, said on Friday that if he had his pick, he’d go to hell before heading to a heaven that condemned homosexuality as sin. “I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this,” he...

Promoting acceptance of sexual behavior has replaced the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the primary mission. On the one hand, the world will never be satisfied–until Christians completely renounce their faith. More importantly, the Lord will never bless such unfaithfulness to Him and His Word. We see from the sad example of what’s happened to the ELCA–the biggest split in American church history–that whatever churches and other organizations such as the Boy Scouts imagine they will gain by giving in to the world is dwarfed by what they will surely lose.

<p>The South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says he will never worship a 'homophobic God' and would rather go to hell than find himself in a 'homophobic heaven'.</p> <p>The retired archbishop said the fight against homophobia in South Africa was similar to the campaign waged against racial apartheid in South Africa.</p>

South Africa's Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says he will never worship a "homophobic God" and will rather go to hell. The retired archbishop was speaking at the launch of a UN-backed campaign in South Africa to promote gay rights. Despite sex-same relationships being legal in South Africa, it had some of the worst cases of homophobic violence, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said. Archbishop Tutu, 81, is a long-standing campaigner for gay rights. 'Toilet brush attack' He retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996, but has remained the moral conscience of the nation, correspondents say. Same-sex...

Question:What would a baptized and confirmed Roman Catholic need to do in order to join the Orthodox Presbyterian Church?Answer: Allow me to answer you question with a brief autobiographical anecdote. I was born, baptized, raised, confirmed, and educated in the Roman Catholic system. In fact, it was while I was at a Roman Catholic college (of all places) that I was converted by the grace of God. After realizing how different the teachings of the RCC are from Scripture, I joined with a Baptist church. And that church required that I be rebaptized as an adult. So, I went through...

A friend of mine attended a Christian college where almost all of the students, including her, grew up in non-denominational, evangelical Protestant churches. A few years after graduation, she is the only person in her graduating class who is not Roman Catholic, high Anglican or Lutheran. The town I live in has several “evangelical� Protestant colleges: on Ash Wednesday you can tell who studies at them by the ash crosses on their foreheads.Young Christians are going over to Catholicism and high Anglicanism/Lutheranism in droves, despite growing up in low Protestant churches that told them about Jesus. It’s a trend...

I’ve just returned from Heidelberg, Germany, where I joined brothers and sisters from around the world to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism. In addition to illuminating papers and warm fellowship, we enjoyed one of the city’s several museum exhibits celebrating the anniversary. Of special note was the Heidelberg Palace exhibit, “The Power of Faith: 450 Years of the Heidelberg Catechism.” Frederick III, ruler of the Palatinate and imperial elector, was nicknamed “the pious” by fellow princes. Embracing Reformed teaching, he was distressed with the low level of knowledge of even the basics of the Christian faith in...

There are no curses left you see, For they all belong to me , The adversary only has a lie , Do not believe it or you may die, It is Faith in Spirit that is your cause , I Said " IT IS FINISHED " with NO pause ! It was DONE in My blood for you , An eternal covenant unbreakable through and through , I AM your hedge to every lie, Let Me remove the speck from your eye, You are "FORGIVEN" I AM your Seal ! This is an ETERNAL DEAL ! I AM the same...

It is often asserted by Roman Catholic apologists that Protestants must rely on their tradition in order to know which books ought to be included in the Biblical Canon. The argument says that since there is no “inspired table of contents” for the Bible, then we are forced into relying upon tradition to dictate which books belong in the Bible, and which books do not. It was the church of Rome, these apologists alledge, which determined the canon at the Councils of Hippo (393 A.D.) and Carthage (397 A.D.), and it is only due to this, that Protestants know which...

When Father Patrick Allen lay prostrate before the bishop for his diaconate ordination on June 29, Allen’s son, Henry, ran up to join his dad. It was barely a week into Father Patrick Allen’s new ministry when, in the course of taking his two children to activities in his nonreligious clothes, at least five people asked:So, what do you do for a living?Allen smiles graciously, sometimes bringing his hand to his chest in a humble gesture, one that coincidentally shows his wedding band.“This might begin a long conversation,� the James Island father says.“I’m a Catholic priest.�When his daughter, Lucy, goes...

[Christopher Love, minister of St. Laurence-Jewry in London, was beheaded at the age of 29 for treason during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. Thomas Manton preached his funeral sermon. Among others accused, but not convicted or executed, were Thomas Watson and several other prominent London ministers. Love declared his innocence to the very end. The letters written between Christopher and his wife Mary, as he sat in the Tower of London awaiting his death in August, 1651, are full of love and poignant affection. If it pleases God to allow it, Soli Deo Gloria will begin work shortly be reprinting...

Ms. Julie Taylor works in the office of Children, Youth and Family Advocacy of the United Methodist Women, and Ms. Amee Paparella is the new Director and Organizer for Women’s Advocacy at the General Board of church and Society of The United Methodist Church. On January 18, they posted their article, “Clearly More to Be Done,” on the General Board of Church and Society website.Co-written, their article serves as their personal response to the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. But given their positions in denominational agencies, their article also functions like an official response of The United Methodist Church...

A Word of Breakthrough for ministries around the world ! Your Voice (ministry) is about to be , A living testimony , A SHOFAR of Spirit and Truth , No longer hampered but flowing through ~ ~ ~ So ALL IS behind you now , You have ceased to exist it is ALL ME your vow ! And so it begins "TRULY" you in Me, Woven in to My TAPESTRY , YOUR VOICE "IS MY WILL" no longer you , I WILL SPEAK AND YOU WILL DO, All that you were is gone and void, I AM YOUR ALL I...

Though primarily a theologian, the famous Reformation figure John Calvin had much to say about the application of biblical principles to politics. His focus on the sovereignty of God in all aspects of Creation led Calvin to believe in God’s ordinance not only in the spiritual realm, but also in civil government. Citing Scriptural passages such as Proverbs 8:15-16 – “By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth” – Calvin demonstrated that all governments are ordained by God. In Calvin’s mind, therefore, the rule of civil authority...

Editor's note: On Sunday morning, officials with the fire department confirmed that the sanctuary was actually spared.The bells at Trinity Presbyterian Church will not toll this morning as flames engulfed the historic church Saturday night after a fire spread from the attic and brought the roof down. Capt. Scott McBurney of the Opelika Fire Department said he believed the church was struck by lightning. McBurney, who lives near Trinity, said he heard thunder and then a pop an hour before the station received a call at approximately 6:46 p.m. "We were on the scene in three minutes," McBurney said. "Smoke...

She is a political analyst, blogger, columnist and commentator. She is a Democrat who regularly contributes to USA Today, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, Fox News and the Wall Street Journal among other publications. She formerly served under the Clinton administration from 1993-1998 and was appointed Deputy Assistant U.S Trade Representative for Public Affairs. In an interview with Focus on the Family, she shares how she converted from atheism to Christianity. She said: “I was not looking to be a Christian. The last thing in the world I wanted to be was a Christian. I had grown up as an Episcopalian,...

You may be an evangelical and be an Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Brethren or other. You may be Calvinist or Arminian. But we generally need more agreement on points of theology and worship if we are to live and serve together as a church. One of the ways in which churches identify themselves is by calling themselves ‘Reformed’. So - what does ‘Reformed’ mean? Historically the name comes from the period of the Reformation: ‘Reformed’ churches were those that followed Calvin rather than Luther. It is broadly accurate therefore to say that ‘Reformed’ is equivalent to ‘Calvinistic’. Men who studied under...

Episcopal Church gays and lesbians are weighing a resolution to be put forward at the next General Convention making it illegal for straight white males to be admitted to the priesthood. LA Bishop Mary Glasspool, an avowed lesbian and one of many lesbians and gays supporting the "no white males resolution", crafted her resolution after hearing a straight white male preaching a sermon condemning homosexual behavior last month. "I was shocked, stunned, blown away and mortified. I have never heard such homophobia coming from a pulpit. That was my moment to say enough is enough. "This comes down to a...

Protestant hardliners attacked lines of Belfast riot police Friday as Northern Ireland's annual mass marches by the Orange Order brotherhood reached a furious, chaotic end with running street battles at several conflict zones. In north Belfast, police in flame-retardant suits and helmets deployed a half-dozen armored cars to block a road so that Protestant Orangemen could not march past the edge of Ardoyne, a militant Catholic district that has become the most bitterly contested spot on the city map. Men jumped on top of the armored barricade and, as hundreds of marchers and supporters formed a sea of often alcohol-fueled...

From the first days of his papacy Francis has been hailed as a radical reformer. The mainstream journalists have enjoyed creating a new narrative: The shadowy Dan Brown-type Vatican (as we all know) is worm eaten with secret pedophiles, a cadre of homosexuals, mobsters running the Vatican Bank, an ancient, sinister international conspiracy and Cardinals who are shady, secretive and scheming. Benedict XVI was, at best, a congenial old duffer more interested in red shoes and fancy vestments and giving top jobs to his cronies than in cleaning up the church. At worst he was the Goblin King sitting happily...

Today is the 504th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin (July 10, 1509) — and the 497th anniversary of misunderstanding Calvinists. To commemorate the event, let’s look at a recent notable example provided by The Economist. The article is out-datedly titled, “Dippers divided� and the subhead is “Where evangelicals disagree.� Where evangelicals disagree, apparently, is on whether to maintain, the “theocon� alliance in American politics between Catholics and evangelicals, who have set aside their doctrinal differences (over the Virgin Mary, for example) to take a joint stand against abortion and in favour of the traditional family. What could be...

In a guest post at the blog of Kevin DeYoung (July 3, 2013), Jason Helopoulos asks and answers the question: Does Calvinism Kill Missions? It is often asserted that Calvinism creates a barrier to evangelism and missions. The accusation usually comes in the form of questions. How could those who believe the Scriptures teach predestination and election truly have a heart for missions? If God has determined who shall be saved, why would there be any need to engage in evangelism or missions? And yet, we can safely say that this is an argument lacking historical proof (and theological basis)....

A statue of the Virgin Mary pictured on a bonfire at Lanark Way has been handed over to Holy Cross Church in north Belfast, writes Colin O'Carroll The statue was pictured on the bonfire with its face damaged. It was removed by community leaders and taken to Holy Cross which is situated right at the Ardoyne interface which is the focus of the current tensions over the Parades Commission decision to ban a return Twelfth feeder parade. Holy Cross Rector Fr Gary Donegan welcomed the handing over of the statue. He said he hoped the gesture would defuse some of...

Today is the 504th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin (July 10, 1509). Here are nine things you should know about the French theologian and Reformer.

Any honest assessment of the degree to which historical societies, museums, and schools have disseminated historical information to the public writ large is an agonizing reappraisal because one quickly comes to the conclusion that our endeavors have been shockingly limited in success. Over the years, for example, I've met adults - many with university degrees - who thought the Quakers massacred the Indians and stole their land (then I had to explain who the Quakers are); that WWII was fought in 1930; that Henry VIII's divorce was the only cause of the English Reformation and slavery the only cause of...

As Christians and tech fans alike watched the YouVersion Bible App hit the 100 million downloads milestone Sunday evening, the pastor who came up with the idea of using technology to make the Bible more accessible on smart phones and tablets said he hopes it will surpass the popularity of other top rated apps in the field."We're excited to see the Bible rising in the ranks, because it means God's Word is becoming more widely known," Pastor Bobby Gruenewald of LifeChurch.tv in Oklahoma told The Christian Post on Monday. "One day we hope it would far exceed the popularity of...

ELCA seminary marks 150th anniversary of Battle of Gettysburg 13-48-MRC GETTYSBURG, Pa. (ELCA) -- Exactly 150 years ago on July 1, 1863, Union cavalry commander Gen. John Buford observed Confederate soldiers advancing on Gettysburg from the west. He surveyed the advance from the cupola of a Lutheran seminary building. Within a few hours the fields surrounding the seminary became a battleground, turning the seminary building into perhaps the largest field hospital of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg. The Seminary Ridge Museum opened July 1, 2013, inside that building, historically known as Schmucker Hall on the campus of the Lutheran Theological...

Just under two years ago, the Rev. Marion Haynes-Weller of Kreutz Creek Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania was struggling to connect with the Hellam Township community. When she took her dog Obi to church one day in the summer of 2011 however, everything began to change. "We knew we had children in the neighborhood and we would see them and wave to them but most of them are unchurched and they were a little uncomfortable approaching me," Haynes-Weller told The Christian Post in a recent interview about the wary relationship she once had with the small community. "They would be here...

Four Presbyterian churches in New Jersey will be holding a lecture series about how the United States has become the "hardest mission field." The Delaware Valley Summer Institute will sponsor the four-night event, titled "America After Christendom: The Hardest Mission Field", from August 11-14. Dr. Darrell Guder, professor of missional and ecumenical theology at Princeton Seminary, will lead the events' presentations. The churches organizing the event are Lambertville Presbyterian, Titusville Presbyterian, Stockton Presbyterian, and Mt. Airy Presbyterian. Rev. Kenneth Good, pastor at Stockton Presbyterian, told The Christian Post that the event was the fourth time the churches have come together...

God created government. So preached Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in the days leading up to the presidential election. Hibbs has joined with nearly 1,600 pastors across the country and about 140 in California in the Pulpit Initiative, a legal effort aimed at protecting the free-speech rights of pastors in the pulpit. Hibbs' sermons in a series called "Politics and Faith" may have been enough to let the church know which candidate he supported. Or at least who he didn't. He preached about politics and Israel. And politics and defending the pre-born. Hibbs was emphatic during an...

After the Revolution, Thomas Jones, an embittered loyalist exile, identified the culprits he deemed responsible for the rebellion in New York: the Whig "triumvirate" of Presbyterians--William Livingston, William Smith, and John Morin Scott. Jones averred that in the Independent Reflector (1752-53) and Watch Tower (1754-55), which they authored, "the established Church was abused, Monarchy derided, Episcopacy reprobated, and republicanism held up, as the best existing form of government." The three wrote "with a rancor, a malevolence, and an acrimony, not to be equaled but by the descendants of those presbyterian and republican fanatics, whose ancestors had in the preceding century...

When the American Revolution broke out, at least in the Scotch-Irish version of the story, the Ulster natives leaped at the opportunity to attack the British crown. "Call this war by whatever name you may. . . ," observed one Hessian officer, "it is nothing more or less than a Scotch Irish Presbyterian rebellion." King George allegedly called the conflict "a Presbyterian war," and another official stated that cousin "America has run off with the Presbyterian parson." The more I read on the history of America and the Scottish/English reformations, the more I am convinced that American liberty has...

Coming predominantly from former homes in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, the first permanent European settlers began arriving in the area west of the Catawba River during the 1750s. These settlers were overwhelmingly Scots-Irish Presbyterians who traveled here by way of the "Great Wagon Road." Allied by both blood and religious affiliations, the Scots-Irish pioneers moved through the Shenandoah Valley and the present-day towns of Winchester, Lexington, and Roanoke in Virginia, and eventually pushed south to Salisbury, North Carolina. From here they drifted southward along the Catawba into South Carolina. In order to set the stage for the 1780 Presbyterian Rebellion,...

Deuteronomy repeats the laws of blessing clearly in My Word, That revolve around My spirit so as you listen My will is heard, So stay within the sound of My voice , abide in my courts entered by My door, Thanksgiving opens blessings and praises I adore, To "find" the KEYS 0----c I give you just surrender ALL ! The enemy will deceive you but I bring "clarity" to call, Just raise the sound of your voice thanking Me each day, For this is "FAITH in action THE KEY" that lights the way ! For if it opens My gates...