-NEWS UPDATES/ Abiding Word Ministries/ Spring 2013
-The Vine and Branches/-Editor:David R. Barnhart ~ -------
-LAW SUIT FILED TO GET GOD OFF OUR CURRENCY-The Freedom From Religion Foundation mounted a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department and other government officials this week, claiming that they are discriminating against nonbelievers by including the phrase
"In God We Trust" on the nation's currency.
Such lawsuits have been attempted before and lost, but in the present climate, one has to take such matters seriously.
"Our government is prohibited from endorsing one religion over another but also prohibited from endorsing religion over non-religion. The placement of a monotheistic ideal on our nation's currency violates this stricture and is therefore unconstitutional," said FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. Along with 19 other plaintiffs,
the FFRF argues in the lawsuit that they "are forced to proselytize--by an Act of Congress-- for a deity they don't believe in whenever they handle money."---From: Huffington Post 3/13/13 ~
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--"THE INSIDER MOVEMENT"=CHRISLAM=How Missionaries are promoting an Islamized Gospel-Can you be a Christian and remain part of another religion?An article in
Christianity Today, January 2013, describes how people are being converted to Christianity, yet told they may continue in their old religions--Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism. Such beliefs and methods are described as "The Insider Moverment," a nonbiblical theological position held by many missionaries and clergy in today's evangelical and mainline churches.
"Where is the outcry of pastors in America because of this? Nobody is challenging these methods, and it boggles my mind that churches subscribe to this," said Elijah Abraham, a born-again Christian who was raised a Muslim in Iraq, and today is the founder and director of 'Living Oasis Ministires, reaching Muslims with the Gospel'.
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Information from 'Stand Up for Truth and Christianity Today.' -----------
--STANFORD HIRES ATHEIST CHAPLAINThe Humanist Community at Stanford University has hired atheist John Figdor to care for the needs of students who profess no faith. However, Figdor is officially recognized by Stanford's Office of Religious Life, which has 17 other chaplains of various faiths to minister to students' needs.
Figdor is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School. His more recent project at Stanford was to offer a program called "The Heathen's Guide to Holidays," in which he suggested alternate activities during such times. Among the options was singing John Lennon's "Imagine."
Interestingly, when Stanford was founded in 1885, the founders called for the school to teach students "doctrines of immortality of the soul, the existence of an all-wise and benevolent Creator, and that obedience to His laws is the highest duty of man." Jane Stanford, who donated the money for the school's Memorial Church, had the first minister fired a few months after he started, "because his Christian theological teachings were too liberal." ~~
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As Christians living in an upside-down world, we need to pray for holy boldness to let our light shine brightly and give a clear witness of God's truth. For that to happen we need to diligently study the Scriptures daily, showing
oursleves "approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Above all, let us follow Paul's wise counsel and "put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to resist the evil day, and having done all to stand, STAND!" (Ephesians 6:13).
