| | Texas charity fundraised to demolish churches | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Thursday, December 15, and today's headlines include a coalition of interfaith leaders calling on Congress to condemn a Texas nonprofit for raising funds to demolish churches in India, a drag performer invited to the White House restricting their Twitter profile over controversial tweets, and a new faith-based musical about the life of Jesus. | | A coalition of Christian and interfaith leaders in Texas has sent a letter to members of U.S. Congress calling on them to condemn "anti-Christian hate and bigotry" from a local nonprofit they say is raising funds to demolish churches in India. The Dec.13 letter from the Federation of Indian American Christian Organization in North America (FIACONA) to U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the Internal Revenue Service and others alleges the Texas-based Global Hindu Heritage Foundation is "one of many Hindu supremacist groups" using the U.S. as an "operating base" to promote violence against Christians in India. GHHS advocates an ideology known as Hindutva, or extremist Hindu supremacism, which holds that India belongs solely to Hindus to the exclusion of an estimated 220 million Indian Christians and Muslims, according to the statement. | | The letter, which was co-signed by Church of The Way in Frisco and Concerned Indian American Christians in DFW, accuses GHHF and similar groups of "funding and actively promoting" attacks on churches in India, including vandalizing prayer spaces, harassing Sunday worshippers, molesting women and breaking into church buildings. Enclosed with the letter was a copy of an invitation to a Nov. 27 gala dinner hosted by GHHF. The invitation states that part of the event's agenda included "Ghar Vapsi," which is the forced religious conversion of Indian Christians and Muslims to Hinduism and Sikhism. Continue reading. | | P.S.Volume 4 of CP Magazine, Gender Indoctrination: Inside the transgender battle and gender chaos in America, is here! If you'd like to help support Christian journalism, this digital-only offering runs just $19.99 annually—or get your free copy when you sign-up for a free Christian Post account. Sign-up to download your flipbook or PDF copy today. |
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| Tornadoes sweep across southern states, killing 3 | | At least 18 tornadoes swept through Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi on Tuesday and Wednesday as a winter storm system moved through the United States. Three people, including a mother and son, were killed, and multiple others were hospitalized. On Wednesday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a state of emergency as tornado and flood alerts remained active and the storm system continued to move through the state. Read more. | | Drag queen at Biden's Respect for Marriage Act signing locks Twitter profile over offensive tweets | | New York City drag performer Marti Gould Allen-Cummings, who was invited to the White House signing of the so-called Respect for Marriage Act restricted his Twitter account after a review of his profile revealed controversial tweets. "The kids are out to sing and suck d!" read one Tweet, while another simply stated, "F--- the police." Recently re-emerged video footage also shows Cummings performing the children's song "Baby Shark" in front of a small child while dressed in women's clothing. Cummings restricted his account in response to reports from Fox News' Tucker Carlson and others and subsequently released a statement on Wednesday arguing that his tweets had been taken out of context. Read more. | | Conservative voters say 'no' to Trump | | The results from a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of more than 1,000 likely U.S. voters shows that nearly two-thirds of Republican and conservative-leaning voters would prefer the GOP nominate someone other than former President Donald Trump for president in 2024. The findings come despite such voters liking his policies. Meanwhile, 64.7% of Republican and conservative independent respondents indicated they want Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to run in 2024. David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, believes the results indicate that "Republicans and conservative independents increasingly want Trumpism without Trump." However, the researcher believes that DeSantis' chances of defeating Trump in the GOP primaries will depend on how many other candidates enter the race. Trump announced in November that he is running for president in 2024. Read more. |
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| The difference between natural kindness and Christian kindness | | The key difference between natural kindness and Christian kindness is the source, explains Pastor Dan Delzell. While many unbelievers are kind because it seems like the right thing to do and makes the world a better place, "For the Christian, the fifth item Scripture lists as 'the fruit of the Spirit' (Galatians 5:22) is kindness," Delzell notes. As such, Christians' kindness is rooted in God's love for us in Christ. However, when believers allow their sinful nature to control them, they are certainly capable of being unkind, which is why it is important not to give into selfish desires by holding grudges, looking down on others, or otherwise harboring a mean spirit. Read more. | | LGBTQ 'rights' and the First Amendment cannot co-exist | | Ryan Bomberger writes about the loss of free speech and religious liberty at the hands of LGBTQ "rights" that lack common sense. The loss of the First Amendment to appease LGBTQ activists "now seems to be a daily occurrence as Americans face dire consequence for choosing not to bow to LGBTQ activists’ social, political and legal demands. If you’re an artist, they will force you to create against your will (here, here, and here). If you’re a florist, you must participate in a wedding ceremony against your will. If you want to keep your job, you must use wrong or fake pronouns against your will. If you’re a faith-based adoption agency, you must deprive vulnerable children of a married mother and father against your will," Bomberger asserts. Read more. |
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| Lasting change starts with you. | | When you give to the World Vision Fund, you’ll be meeting critical needs both today and tomorrow, helping people rebuild in the wake of disasters and empowering entire communities to lift themselves out of poverty. | | You’ll help kids and families tackle the big issues that keep them in poverty, equipping them to thrive with reliable access to basics like clean water, nutrition, healthcare, education, and more. | | Inspired by Jesus’ love, we work shoulder to shoulder with families and local leaders, empowering people to create change that lasts so they can stand confidently on their own. Learn More. | | |
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| Lysa TerKeurst on healing after divorce | | Author Lysa TerKeurst has reflected on the "healing" she's done in the two years following the divorce from her husband of 29 years due to his infidelity and substance abuse issues. The Proverbs 31 Ministry founder recently took to Instagram to share, "Two years of healing ... Two years of believing God for goodness even when things felt not good at all." TerKeurst initially attempted to work through her husband's infidelity and substance abuse issues, and the two even renewed their vows. However, she later shared on social media that he had since "broken those vows." Calling the situation heartbreaking, TerKeust said she believed the "wisest (and hardest) choice" was to accept reality and pursue divorce. "It’s hard to face a future that looks nothing like what I desperately and constantly prayed it would look like," she wrote. Read more. |
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| Worship performances leaves 'The Voice' judges speechless | | "The Voice" contestant Bodie performed a rendition of "Gratitude" by Christian artist Brandon Lake during night one of the show's two-part finale on Monday. "I'm choking on my tears over here," judge Gwen Stefani shared. "You have a superpower behind you, it's a truth. I think it comes from your pure faith that you have ... I can't even speak right now, that was so beautiful." Bodie's coach, Blake Shelton, echoed similar sentiments, calling the performance "one of the most moving performances I've seen in a long time on this show." Watch now. | | Faith-based musical tells the story of Jesus | | Faith-based musical "His Story: The Musical" is set to launch in 2023 and hopes to follow in the footsteps of "Hamilton" to share the story of Jesus with this generation. The show's 18-year-old creator, Anna Miriam Brown, was inspired to write the musical following a mission to Africa at age 16. While there, she was introduced to the musical "Hamilton" and wondered whether she could create something similar with the story of Jesus. Described as "‘The Chosen’ meets ‘Hamilton,’" the musical is being backed by "Duck Dynasty" stars Willie and Korie Robertson as well as Tony Award-nominated creators Jeff Calhoun and Bruce Lazarus. The original music for "His Story" is currently available on all major streaming platforms, and the musical will debut on May 5, 2023, at the new state-of-the-art Broadway Tent at Grandscape in The Colony, Texas. Learn more. | | | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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