| | Cedarville University experiencing ‘outpouring of the Lord’ at revival | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Thursday, February 16, and today's headlines include a campus revival at Cedarville University in Ohio, research demonstrating that Americans largely view themselves as citizens of the world, the American Psychological Association denying that it advocates for the legal recognition of polyamorous relationships, and an upcoming podcast with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling addressing why her critics have misunderstood her concerns about trans ideology. | | Cedarville University, a Christian university in Ohio, is seeing spontaneous prayer and worship among its student body nearly a week after a revival began at Asbury University in Kentucky. Cedarville University President Thomas White described what has transpired as "a special outpouring and sensing of the presence of the Lord," adding that it "will be left to the historians" to determine if it was truly a revival. White said the outpouring began during the school's morning chapel service on Monday, as students were going through Psalm 86. "So, we took a moment to pray and to sing a song. And during the song, without an altar call or invitation of any kind, we had some students who began to come forward and pray," he explained. The prayer and worship continued after the morning chapel was over, with some students returning to the chapel after class. A small group was still there at 5:30 p.m., with around 1,000 students returning that evening and staying until after 10 p.m. | | Many students came forward during Tuesday's chapel service, and the campus again held an unplanned evening worship gathering Tuesday night. For Wednesday, White said Cedarville students who felt called to do so went out to other schools in the area to evangelize, praying that "the Lord will have a unique outpouring on those campuses." White said that while the Cedarville event has not been continuous as it has been at Asbury, God "works in different places in different ways and that’s great. We’re just happy He’s working all across the country." Continue reading. | | P.S. Get rewarded for sharing our newsletters! Sign-up for the CP referral program—the more you share, the more you earn. Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to get started today! |
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| Americans see themselves as 'world citizens' with secular views | | The sixth installment of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University's America's Values Study has revealed that just 6% of Americans are "Integrated Disciples," meaning those who possess a biblical worldview. An overwhelming majority (75%) are classified as "World Citizens," identified as those who haven't accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, according to the research, which was conducted in conjunction with Americas One. Nineteen percent of respondents are classified as Emergent Followers, which is defined as those who lean toward a biblical worldview but do not have a fully defined biblical worldview in place. "People grow spiritually under specific conditions and in response to specific stimuli. The more we can facilitate genuine relationships between Integrated Disciples and Emergent Followers, the better the chance of enabling spiritual growth among the latter," explained George Barna, the director of research at the CRC. Barna also described the importance of relationships, asserting, "Perhaps if Christian leaders were less focused on transmitting information about their faith than building relationships with outsiders, non-believers would be more interested in Christianity." Read more. | | American Psychological Association denies endorsing ‘consensual non-monogamy’ | | The American Psychological Association is denying assertions from a recent column claiming it advocates for the legal recognition of polyamorous relationships. Earlier this month, Dr. Melissa Martin, a former child therapist, published a column in The Published Reporter claiming that the APA Division 44 "formed a task force to promote what it calls 'consensual non-monogamy relationships' (CNM)" and was "circulating a survey and a petition seeking to secure legally protected class status for individuals with multiple sex partners." Martin wrote that she believed the "covert reason the APA 44 wants people involved in group sexual relations to have civil rights and legal status" is because the APA "wants bigamy and polygamy to be legalized as group marriage. ... Oh, APA 44 is promoting CNM—but they want it legalized. Yes, the radical activists will demand the legalization of group marriage." An APA spokesperson told CP that the APA 44 task force's creation did not equate to an endorsement of non-monogamous romantic relationships, adding that "APA divisions are quasi-independent organizations that are free to establish committees to represent and promote their specialties within psychology, using the best empirical evidence" and "do not speak for the American Psychological Association, which does not have a policy with respect to consensual non-monogamous relationships." Read more. | | Bioethicist: Artificial womb technology treats human life like a 'commodity' | | A viral video promoting the potential future of artificial womb technology that would allow parents to gene edit their babies as they grow inside a portable incubator is cause for concern, according to bioethicists. The "EctoLife: The World’s First Artificial Womb Facility" video, which has been viewed more than 2 million times since December, depicts what a mass artificial womb facility capable of growing 30,000 babies each year might look like. Babies created via IVF would grow inside pods designed to replicate the conditions of a mother’s womb with artificial amniotic fluid and an artificial umbilical cord. "When a baby is born, they instinctively know their mother from those nine months in her womb," Jennifer Lahl, founder and president of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, told CP. "They know her voice, her movements, and her smell. One can easily imagine taking the most human intimate natural bond away will have harmful consequences to both mother and child." The Charlotte Lozier Institute's David Prentice said such baby-growing labs not only present ethical problems because they treat "human life like a commodity," but that the ideas posed in the video include things such as gestating in a completely artificial environment, gene editing, and cloning, making the video "pure science fiction" that "turns human life and having a baby into a circus." Read more. |
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| Does Jesus love me? | | In this editorial, Keith Evans explains that answering the question of whether Jesus loves us comes through understanding the person and work of Jesus and not searching within ourselves. "If ever there is a question about whether God loves us, the biblical solution is not to look to ourselves, our love, or our faithfulness. Instead, we are called to look at the objective reality of what God has done for us in Christ. We are to ground our certainty and assurance of His love in who He is and what He has done—not in ourselves, which is ever-shifting sand," Evans writes. Read more. | | I didn’t marry the woman of my dreams | | Samuel Sey shares his experience of being raised in the Word of faith, prosperity gospel movement, and how God called him out of that church after he learned through studying the Bible that it preached a false Gospel. Sey reflects on once dreaming about who he thought his wife should be and warns that pursuing signs and wonders over the scriptures makes believers "vulnerable to Satanic deception." Read more. |
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| Samaritan's Purse opens field hospital in Turkey | | Samaritan's Purse has deployed a 52-bed emergency field hospital near Antakya in southern Turkey to help fill the void after a major hospital in the region was damaged by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last week, killing at least 40,000 people and leaving tens of thousands in need of medical care. The field hospital, which reported treating dozens of patients within hours of opening, is equipped with a pharmacy and two operating rooms. It is located in the parking lots of the 1,100-bed hospital that is no longer in operation following the earthquake. The Christian charity also plans to bring supplies to the most-impacted areas and to deploy more than 100 Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) specialists to help at hospitals or other areas where there's a need. Read more. | | Bobbie Houston reveals 8 witnesses testified against husband in court case | | Eight witnesses testified against Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston in court late last year as he faces criminal charges of concealing his father's child abuse. "The Crown Prosecution presented eight witnesses. Our Defense presented one—Brian Houston. All evidence was heard, all evidence is recorded," Bobbie Houston wrote on Instagram. "Now the case is adjourned till June for oral & written summaries, final arguments & then the Magistrate alone will rule." Brian Houston has denied allegations he concealed his late father's crimes and shielded him from criminal prosecution. Read more. |
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| Selah worship leader cautions against transhumanism | | During an interview with CP, Selah frontman Todd Smith urged Christians to stay vigilant as the world embraces transhumanism. "One thing you're going to start hearing a lot more about, where we're headed, is transhumanism. Atheism, probably, over time, is slowly going to die out, believe it or not. But transhumanism is really going to start to grow more as the occult grows more, as people get into spirituality more, and they're checking things out," Smith said. "So you're going to see people will probably say, 'Oh, yeah, Jesus is real, but He's not the supreme God and we can be gods!" Smith warned. Encyclopedia Britannica defines transhumanism as a philosophical and scientific movement that "advocates the use of current and emerging technologies—such as genetic engineering, cryonics, artificial intelligence (AI), and nanotechnology—to augment human capabilities and improve the human condition." Selah recently celebrated 25 years in music and released a new album, Greatest Hymns Vol. 3, commemorating their years in music ministry and more than 750 million streams. Watch the full interview here. | | JK Rowling on critics who 'profoundly misunderstood' her criticism of trans ideology | | Author J.K. Rowling joined The Free Press for a new podcast titled "The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling," which premieres on Tuesday. The Harry Potter author plans to share details about her personal life, including her reason for going public with her concerns about transgender ideology. Rowling says those who have accused her of being "transphobic" for pushing back on allowing trans-identified individuals into sex-segregated spaces for women "profoundly" misunderstand her viewpoint. The podcast host is Megan Phelps-Roper, a former member of the Westboro Baptist Church, a controversial congregation known for inflammatory messages against the LGBT community. In a preview of the conversation between the two women, Rowling stated: " I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal." The author shared her concerns regarding the "huge explosion in women wishing to transition," as well the growing number who ultimately regret their decision and return to their original sex, often after having altered their bodies in ways that have rendered them infertile. She also shared how she felt "mentally sexless" and uncomfortable about her body while growing up, but described how turning to "the work of female writers and musicians" helped her realize that being a woman did not mean she needed to "feel pink, frilly and compliant inside your own head." Read more. | | | | Also of Interest... | | JK Rowling warns Scotland's gender identity bill will 'harm the most vulnerable women in society'Canadian nurse facing disciplinary hearings for supporting JK Rowling, believing there are only 2 sexes | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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