World’s largest coalition of religious leaders urged to be ‘moral conscience’ of the Nations.........
17 December 2019
NEW YORK — A Minnesota professor of religion warned the world’s largest coalition of religious leaders that getting involved in politics can compromise their “moral voices” and suggested they should instead aspire to be the “moral conscience” of their countries to promote a more effective agenda of peace.
“I think we have to acknowledge as religious leaders, as religious communities, how easy it is that we have been seduced by the trappings of the state, seduced by the opportunity for power, as a result of which we tend to compromise our moral voices, our ethical voices,” Anantanand Rambachan, a Hindu professor of religion at St. Olaf College, said during a plenary session on advancing multi-stakeholder partnership for freedom of thought, conscience and religion at the Religions for Peace conference which ended on Friday.
Religions for Peace is the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition advancing common action among religious communities for peace. The organization works to transform violent conflict, advance human development, promote just and harmonious societies, and protect the Earth.
Responding to a question about what the right relationship between states and religious communities should be, Rambachan argued for the position of the “moral conscience.”
“I’ll put it this way, we should not aspire to be the masters of the state, nor should we aspire to be the servant of the state. We should aim to be the moral conscience of all the countries that we live in, especially the moral voice and the moral conscience for those who are powerless, those who are marginalized, those who are oppressed,” Rambachan said Wednesday.
Members of the panel such as Jakob Finci, president of the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bani Dugal, principal representative to the U.N.'s, Bahá’í International Community and co-president of Religions for Peace, U.S., also noted how religion has been exploited in many parts of the world to wage conflict.
“Everyone knows how to use religion to start a war but nobody knows how religion can be used for the peaceful solutions,” he quipped.
He suggested, however, that people within different religions should work to know more about each other and their faith traditions.
“The reasons for the war is not knowing each other,” he said.
In June, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres launched the U.N. Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech and told member states they need to “do better at looking out for each other.”
“Hate speech may have gained a foothold, but it is now on notice,” Guterres said. “We will never stop confronting it.”
Said Rambachan, “I think that one of the liberating truths of our religious traditions, if our traditions are to be saved from a narrow parochial view, is to embrace fully, and seriously, the core teaching that human beings and the universe constitutes an organic unity that no one is marginalized that every human being enjoys intrinsic dignity and value,” he added.
Rambachan further explained that while being an advocate for human rights is good, the religious community has the power to promote those rights in a way that brings reverence.
“From a place of theology we can speak about the inestimable value of the human being which evokes respect,” he said. “Which evokes reverence. The language of rights is not the language of reverence for God. The language of rights leads us to tolerance at best, but it can’t lead us to a place of … respect for the other. ... This is where we, as the religious community, have to speak fully,” he said, noting that this is the only strong source of overcoming hate.
In his observations of relationships between Jews and Muslims in Europe, Finci also noted that he doesn’t see the issue between Jews and Muslims as primarily about religion.
“First of all, speaking about the Middle East, I don’t think it’s a war between Judaism and Islam, because as you know better than myself probably, is the religions are very similar theologically. The reason for all that is happening now are the same reasons we have today. Today we have in Europe a lot of migrants from the original Islamic countries who are not in war at all but they are just trying to find a better way of life,” he said.
How the Salvation Army is trying to change its 'anti-LGBTQ' reputation...........
17 December 2019
Salvation Army bell ringers, the folks you see jingling bells by red kettles at Christmastime, will be carrying a new prop this year: A card explaining the Christian church and charity's approach to LGBTQ people.
Designed to help bell ringers answer questions from passers-by, the cards include a link to online testimonials from LGBTQ people helped by the Salvation Army's array of social services, from homeless shelters to rehab clinics and food pantries.
"For years, Facebook posts, forwarded emails and rumours have been leading some people to believe the Salvation Army does not serve members of the LGBTQ community," the cards read. "These accusations are simply not true."
To many Americans, the Army's social services may be far more familiar than its politics or theology. Ranked number two in the Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of "America's Favourite Charities," it raised $1.5 billion in donations last year. The Red Kettle campaign began 129 years ago, when a Salvationist put out a pot for the needy on Market Street in San Francisco.
But to some in the LGBTQ community, the Salvation Army has another reputation. For decades, they've accused Salvationists of denying some services to same-sex couples, advocating against gay rights and adhering to a traditional theology that considers gay sex sinful. At times, LGBTQ activists have dropped fake dollar bills or vouchers protesting the Salvation Army in the red kettles.
"The Salvation Army has been advertising that it will help LGBTQ people in need, which is a good step, but it can't be the only step," said Ross Murray a director of education and training at GLAAD.
"The Salvation Army's anti-LGBTQ history was multi-faceted. And its path to LGBTQ acceptance is also going to have to be multi-faceted."
The militancy of the LGBTQ+ community continues to grow apace! And the Ecumenical Salvation Army will crumble before them.
SBC Chooses Gay-Affirming Pastor as 2020 Conference President......
17 December 2019
FROM PULPIT & PEN: The Southern Baptist Convention chose David Uth, [pictured above] pastor of First Baptist Church in Orlando, as the president of the Pastor’s Conference for the next year’s annual meeting.
Many should be reminded about who Uth is, and ask the question whether or not SBC leadership will be making strides for LGBTQ+ inclusion along with the rest of their latest compromises.
David Uth hosted a gay-affirming LGBTQ event in the wake of the Orlando gay nightclub shooting at his church, FBC Orlando. In case you have forgotten, #LoveOrlando was a gay-straight hug fest that happened at the church in the shooting’s aftermath. Taking the stage at that event was pastor Larry G. Mills, who said the following:
We’re not peculiar because of race or gender or creed. But in Orlando we are peculiar because of E. Pluribus Unum. Out of many come one. We are peculiar because we have leadership that knows how to fight….We are peculiar because we know how to let theological differences and disputes and factions not get in the way of love and Christ. We are peculiar…because we believe in the Word, and what others would have against us, what others would show as a stumbling stone, we’ve elevated to be the head of the corner, and right now, no matter what people [inaudible] might think, that LGBTQ area is the head cornerstone, and we are here to lift up and magnify, and allow them to know, that regardless of people’s opinion, regardless of where we are, love triumphs over evil.
In the wake of widespread criticism of this abominable, gay-affirming event (the church then asked homosexuals to come forward to be anointed and have hands laid upon them), David Uth prayed that God would strike discerning Christians dead if they criticized him.
The Hallmark Movie Channel on Sunday moved to reinstate ads featuring a same-sex lesbian couple that had been removed from the cable network......
17 December 2019
Late last week, The Hallmark Channel removed multiple Zola [wedding-planning company] ads showing a same-sex couple. Zola had initially submitted six ads to be aired on the network, four of which featured a same-sex couple.
The Hallmark Channel removed those four ads, but continued airing the two that only showed same-sex couples. Zola then decided to pull all their ads soon after.
The Hallmark Movie Channel situation that is brewing right now is very interesting to watch for a variety of reasons. The rise of end times darkness, the sudden surge to power of the LGBTQ+P for Paedophile Movement, and many other reasons as well.
And why? Because Hallmark just watched Chick-fil-A betray their loyal Christian customers, stabbed them right in the back, and to date no national boycott has been created for their defecting to the other side. No power.
The Laodicean Church is powerless, Hallmark Movie Channel knows that, so they have formed an alliance with the group that has the real power - the LGBTQ+P for Paedophile Movement.
Let that thought sink in for a moment or three. And as bad as this looks and as bad as it sounds, things will only get worse from this point on. Much worse.
The Bible says that we are called to be "salt" but when we cease to be salt, then we have no further use to the Lord. Sure looks like we've stopped being salt to? So what happens now?
FROM CBS NEWS: The decision came after considerable backlash over the initial decision to stop airing the ads from the wedding-planning company Zola.
"The Crown Media team has been agonizing over this decision as we've seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused," Hallmark CEO Mike Perry said in a statement Sunday night. "Said simply, they believe this was the wrong decision."
"Hallmark will be working with GLAAD - Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation- to better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands," the statement continued. "The Hallmark Channel will be reaching out to Zola to re-establish our partnership and reinstate the commercials."
Perry also used the statement to apologize, saying, "Our mission is rooted in helping all people connect, celebrate traditions, and be inspired to capture meaningful moments in their lives. Anything that detracts from this purpose is not who we are. We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused."
It's unclear whether Zola will continue airing ads on the The Hallmark Channel, but they noted they are "relieved" by these recent updates.
"We were deeply troubled when Hallmark rejected our commercials for featuring a lesbian couple celebrating their marriage, and are relieved to see that decision was reversed," Zola chief marketing officer Mike Chi said in an earlier statement Sunday.
"We are humbled by everyone who showed support not only for Zola, but for all the LGBTQ couples and families who express their love on their wedding day, and every day."
Some better news.....
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