Christian News from Christians Unite.

[Shammu]

Calif. Activist: Gore's 'Global Warming' Film Taking Students, Others on a Ride

by Jim Brown
May 24, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A California pro-family group is criticizing a Los Angeles-area high school for busing students to watch former Vice President Al Gore's new movie on the theory of global warming.

According to the Drudge Report, 1,500 Beverly Hills high school students were to board 30 school buses this morning and be transported across town to watch the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," which follows Al Gore as he tries to spread his message about the theory of global warming. The Drudge Report quotes Beverly Hills High School science teacher Sarah Utley, who says the free field trip "has been funded by a very generous alum."

The film follows Gore as he traveled around the country, speaking of an impending global climate crisis. It "offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it," says the ClimateCrisis.net website, adding that "[global warming] is the biggest moral challenge facing our global civilization."

Randy Thomasson with the Sacramento-based Campaign for Children and Families believes that instead of carting students to view Gore's one-sided take on the issue, schools should be taking a balanced approach to global warming theory.

"High school students deserve a truthful measurement of science, not blatant propaganda," says Thomasson. "These children would be better served by having an expert for the global warming theory and then an expert against the global warming theory come to class or even come to the school and debate."

The family activist says he finds it ironic the school is using 30 gas-guzzling buses to transport the students across town to the theater. "This is a thing that should be debated on facts and real science, rather than [on] feelings and mere emotions," he asserts. "As it is, these children are getting just one side of the story -- and they're basically putting out a lot of gas fumes traveling across town to do it."

To counter Gore's film, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has been airing two 60-second television ads defending carbon dioxide as a beneficial natural resource rather than a dangerous pollutant, as it is portrayed in the documentary.

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[Shammu]

San Diego Officials Vote to Appeal Order to Remove Mt. Soledad Cross

by Jenni Parker
May 24, 2006

(AgapePress) - - City officials in San Diego, California, have chosen to fight a federal court order requiring the removal of the Mount Soledad cross, part of a memorial built in 1954 to honor Korean War veterans. The controversial monument has been at the center of a debate over the separation of church and state for nearly two decades, and continuing the fight could cost the city $5,000 a day in fines.

According to a San Diego Union-Tribune account, the City Council voted 5-3 to appeal the federal judge's removal order and continue the protracted fight to keep the Mount Soledad cross atop the war memorial. Supporters of the cross were prevalent among the audience of around 60 concerned citizens attending the public hearing on Tuesday (May 23), many identifying themselves as Christians or war veterans.

In 1989, atheist Philip Paulson sued to have the Mount Soledad cross removed, arguing that its presence on city property violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, or the so-called separation of church and state. In 1991, a U.S. District Court judge agreed and ruled that the cross was indeed unconstitutional.

Supporters of the cross have tried to fight efforts to remove it by transferring ownership of the property on which the memorial stands to private entities or to the federal government. However, during the 17 years of litigation and debate since the controversy began, courts have invalidated three land transfers, including two sales to the Mount Soledad Memorial Association, the private group that originally built the cross and that still maintains the memorial site.

Also, just last July, city voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of a measure that would have allowed the city to transfer the cross to the federal government; however, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled that even that proposition violated the Constitution. And on May 3, Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr. ordered the city to remove the cross from Mount Soledad by August 1 or face a fine of $5,000 for each day the city remains in violation of the order.

The Tribune notes that Mayor Jerry Sanders asked the San Diego City Council to consider appealing in order to seek a stay of the judge's 90-day deadline. Meanwhile, the mayor, along with State Representative Duncan Hunter, has called on the White House for help in preserving the cross and has recently been in Washington, DC, trying to persuade the federal government to seize the property on which the memorial stands through eminent domain.

Sanders, who met with White House officials last Monday, says they expressed support for the idea but foresaw possible legal difficulties. San Diego's chief executive is now hoping an appeal of the removal order will give the city time to explore all its options in the effort to keep the war memorial intact. However, the city's chief operating officer, Ronne Froman, told the Tribune that if the appeal fails, the mayor will comply with the judge's order.

Christian Leaders Rallying Support for SD City Council's Fight
A couple of Christian leaders who support the City Council's efforts to preserve the Mount Soledad cross are working to enlist the backing of other believers. Christian Newswire reports that National Clergy Council (NCC) president Rev. Rob Schenck, co-founder of the Washington, DC-based outreach Faith and Action, has traveled to San Diego today to meet with religious leaders throughout the state.

The Mount Soledad cross "affects more than the city of San Diego and California," Schenck contends. "It is of concern to millions of Americans across the country," he says, "and we must tangibly support the five courageous council members and the citizens they represent."

The National Clergy Council president is joining Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition in calling on churches throughout California and the United States to support the San Diego City Council in its fight and to send funds to the city to help with the costs of its appeal.

Schenck was scheduled to appear with Mahoney and several local Christian leaders at an afternoon news conference today at the Mount Soledad memorial to discuss the cross controversy and their plans to rally support for the city of San Diego's effort to preserve the cross.

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[Shammu]

Downsized PK Ministry Now More Targeted, More 'Mature,' Says Leader

by Jody Brown
May 24, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Except for two holiday weekends between early June and late October, men will be gathering by the thousands around the country as a prominent Christian ministry reaches out with the Word of God to encourage and enlist them in spreading the gospel of Christ.

Promise Keepers kicks off its 2006 season June 2-3 at the BankAtlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale. The season concludes in the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles on October 20-21. Along with the 17 intervening conferences, PK says it hopes to reach more than 170,000 men across America. This year's conference theme is "Unleashed -- Releasing the Raw Power of Your Heart."

Promise Keepers president Thomas Fortson says the goal of this year's conferences is to unleash a man to serve God in every aspect of his life. "Not only does he have responsibility in his home as a husband or as a father, but also he has, and should have, an impact in his community," he says. That goal is consistent with PK's objectives since it emerged in the 1990s. Yet, says Fortson, the organization has changed since the days when it packed football stadiums.

"I think we're more mature. I think with time comes wisdom, and I think we don't have to be the big splash anymore. I think we're more targeted," the PK leader tells Associated Press. "But I think when you look at the condition of men, there's no question that there's a need for Promise Keepers." This year, according to a PK press release, the ministry has "retooled" its conference format to help men do three things: discover their potential, find a pathway to optimize that potential, and move in that direction with a few other like-minded friends.

In the past Promise Keepers has convened its men's gatherings in large venues like football stadiums, but now holds its conferences in basketball arenas, where the average attendance is about 10,000. "Whereas PK was the 800-pound gorilla in the nineties," says Fortson, "I think we live in a new age right now -- and our attempt is not only to continue to do the live event, but to expand into areas of technology." That includes online resources Promise Keepers provides to help men resist the lure of Internet porn.

At PK's annual media day in March, the ministry discussed why men seem to be shunning traditional congregations and what churches can do to reverse the trend. Fortson noted at that time a "disconnect" between men's deepest wants and needs, and the churches that so badly need men to be involved. "We find ourselves in the middle of this question," the PK president said, "inspiring men to go deeper and loving our pastors who shepherd the communities of faith."

James Ryle, a founding board member of Promise Keepers, offered this challenge for church leaders, which ties in directly with the purposes of PK's ministry. "The critical question," said Ryle, "is going to have to transition from 'how to get men to the church' to 'how to get men to become the church."

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[Shammu]

Diverse Faith Groups Unite to Push for Federal Marriage Amendment

by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
May 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - Several major religious denominations have come together to urge the U.S. Senate to approve a marriage amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The Religious Coalition for Marriage has released a statement signed by 50 leaders and expressing support for the proposed federal marriage protection amendment.

The Coalition is comprised of all eight U.S. Catholic cardinals, as well as officials of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Church of God in Christ, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, and the National Association of Evangelicals. While diverse in many ways, the groups represented share a singleness of purpose -- the protection of traditional marriage.

As Dr. Richard Land of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention notes, this alliance of faith groups is "truly an historic coalition." He notes that this is the first time these churches, religious leaders, and institutions have coordinated their efforts on this scale.

Land says this has happened because a constitutional amendment is needed to preserve marriage from "radical activists acting through activist courts." These activists who are pushing to legalize marriage between homosexuals are, he asserts, "determined to reinterpret this fundamental institution in novel ways and against the will of the American people."

American Family Association founder and chairman Don Wildmon believes the united effort of these groups is a testament to the importance of one-man, one-woman marriage to all of society. He says the groups involved are representing countless other pro-family Americans who want traditional marriage protected from those seeking to redefine it.

"People are getting fed up with having homosexual marriage crammed down their throats by activist judges across the country," Wildmon says, "and we are absolutely thrilled that all of these groups have come together." While many of the coalition's members "have very divergent and different theological perspectives," he notes, "they do agree that marriage should be only between one man and one woman."

Also, the AFA spokesman contends, the coalition members realize that pastors and other faith community leaders cannot remain silent on this crucial issue any longer. He warns those who choose to stay quietly on the sidelines while biblical marriage is under attack that "the day will come" when they may wish they had spoken out.

"Because of your silence," Wildmon says, "if this thing passes -- if homosexual marriage becomes legal -- the day will come when you will be silenced, and it will be too late to do anything about it at that point in time. That's just the bottom line."

The Federal Marriage Amendment was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Next, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will bring the marriage protection measure, known as Senate Joint Resolution 1, to the floor for a vote on June 6.

The Religious Coalition for Marriage is mounting a major grassroots campaign of support in advance of the vote. A letter has gone out to all Catholic bishops from the U.S. Conference and the Knights of Columbus have alerted their members nationwide as well.

Meanwhile, the highest authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Quorum of Twelve, has endorsed the marriage amendment. And at the same time, all 43,000 Southern Baptist churches are being asked to take part in the campaign to advance the marriage protection measure and see it approved.

The Coalition has also launched a website (ReligiousCoalitionforMarriage.org) that enables church members to send messages urging their senators to approve the Federal Marriage Amendment, and a major grassroots postcard writing campaign is under way as well. Campaign organizers are predicting the Senate will receive millions of postcards and messages expressing support for the amendment.

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Online Smut Peddlers Using Dirty Tricks to Lure Kids, Pastor Warns

by Ed Thomas
May 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A black pastor affiliated with a ministry that trains churches and low-income or underprivileged citizens in computer literacy is sounding the alarm about how Internet pornography websites often use deceptive tactics to target certain demographic groups.

Pastor Bill Mooney-McCoy is director of TechMission's Safe Families program, which provides filtering software and educational materials at its website -- resources designed to help children and families stay safe online. He is also a member of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, a group that recently sponsored an online safety workshop.

During this information session, Mooney-McCoy took the opportunity to warn listeners about some of the sneakier practices of porn peddlers, including using disingenuous web addresses or false website descriptions in efforts to target particular ethnic communities or age groups.

"Basically, pornographers don't care how you get there," the pastor points out. "They just care that you get there, and so they will use many, many deceptive tactics. One of them is the actual use of misleading URLs or misleading descriptions."

For instance, Mooney-McCoy points out, some Internet pornography sites lure web surfers with universal resource locators (URLs) named after well-known black leaders or historical figures. "MartinLutherKing.com and JesseJackson.com are classic examples of that," he says. Unsuspecting web surfers, possibly even students looking for material for a school report, may go to these sites expecting to find information about the individuals named but instead find themselves linking to obscene material.

And sometimes, the minister adds, Internet pornographers are even bolder in their efforts to entice and entrap kids. "There was another case of, I think, almost thousands of names of children's cartoons that were used for the same kind of thing," he notes.

These practices, as well as spamming and many other unethical tricks, are designed and used by Internet porn profiteers specifically to pursue the youth market, Mooney-McCoy warns. Online purveyors of filth have all kinds of "dirty tricks," the pastor notes, and he urges parents to utilize all the Safe Families tools to educate and protect their families.

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Supremes Hearing from Pro-Lifers as Court Considers Partial-Birth Abortion Case

by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
May 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing from those who survived abortions as it decides whether to uphold a ban on partial-birth abortions.

Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute has filed a brief on behalf of two victims who survived late-term abortions and who now speak out on the partial-birth abortion case. The case, Gonzales v. Carhart, was picked up by the high court when the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the federal abortion ban, also known as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.

Hiram Sasser, director of litigation at Liberty Legal, says his firm's brief is unique. "This is the first time in this partial-birth abortion arena that the U.S. Supreme Court's going to hear from survivors of late-term abortions," he explains.

"One of our clients was a victim of saline abortion," Sasser continues. "Her mother thought that she was dead, and the doctor thought she was dead. [But] when she came out she was alive and, miraculously, was able to be saved and go into a nice family home." The abortion survivor is now 30 years old.

According to the Liberty Legal attorney, members of the Supreme Court -- for the first time -- are going to be see the faces of children who are affected by late-term abortions.

"[The justices are] going to see that [these individuals'] lives are worthy of a chance to live and that they have a story to tell," he says. And that story, says Sasser, is a story of survival -- "that they are alive and [that] they, through their lives, represent those many children who are lost through these late-term and partial-birth abortions."

Sasser says there is no difference between killing a baby that is partially delivered, as in the gruesome partial-birth procedure, and one that is completely delivered.

Another pro-family legal group, Liberty Counsel, also filed a brief with the Supreme Court earlier this week, arguing that Congress was correct when it passed the PABA legislation in 2003 -- that is, babies who are only inches away from birth must be granted the same inalienable right to life that is granted to children who complete the birth process. The brief also contends that right should be interfered with by a claim that the "health" of the mother somehow justifies killing the child.

Erik Stanley with Liberty Counsel says the procedure is never necessary to protect the health of the mother. "Abortion doctors use the health exception, which contains no standards, to justify the procedure," he states. "This is a classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse." In addition, he says, if the same procedure were performed on a convicted criminal, it would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. "The partial-birth abortion procedure is gruesome and barbaric," Stanley notes.

Liberty Counsel filed its brief on behalf of Jill Stanek, an Illinois nurse who witnessed first-hand -- and subsequently testified before Congress about -- babies who were born alive and then set aside to die. Stanek's strong pro-life stand and personal accounts played a prominent role in bringing the disturbing practice to public attention.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in late February to hear Gonzales v. Carhart. It represents the first opportunity for the John Roberts-led court to consider the issue of abortion -- and the first chance for Associate Justice Samuel Alito to vote on such a case. The justices could issue their ruling next year.

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[Shammu]

Researcher Gives Google a Thumbs Down on Impartiality

by Chad Groening
May 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A public-policy think tank is calling search engine giant Google to task for removing news organizations from "Google News" that have been critical of radical Islam. An official with the organization suggests the popular Internet website is practicing censorship and exercising a double-standard.

Google has removed sites like New Media Journal and the Jawa Report from its Google News service for what it calls "hate speech" against Islam. Sonia Arrison, director of technology at the Pacific Research Institute, points out the move was made at the same time Google was urging Congress to pass Internet neutrality legislation.

"It's somewhat ironic that Google is trying to censor some things from its search engine at the same time as it's making this very public plea for something called net neutrality, where it's trying to use Congress and legislation to regulate the Internet so that censorship doesn't happen," Arrison notes. "So the question is, what's really going on here with Google and net neutrality and censorship?"

She points out that Google is one of several search engines that have agreed to censorship in Communist China. "They recently agreed to censor a bunch of stuff in China, which led to a lot of outrage over here in America -- but nothing changed," says Arrison, adding that Google is not alone in this instance. "Yahoo and Microsoft are also over there censoring things for the Chinese government as well."

According to Arrison, Google has also given large sums of money to Democratic candidates in the U.S., raising concerns that more conservative websites might be removed from the search engine because of their content.

"If that happens, I hope that there's a huge public outcry and [that] Google's forced by the marketplace to have to rein in some of that censorship," she says, "because when people use a search engine they expect that they're actually searching all the news -- not just some of the news that Google thinks everybody should be seeing."

Arrison suggests conservatives might have to look for alternative search engines that are not governed by a left-wing political agenda.

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[Shammu]

Baptist Pastor Trumpets Another Call for 'Exit Strategy' from Schools

by Jim Brown
May 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A Southern Baptist pastor from Florida says Christians are losing the battle in public schools. The pastor, a member of the committee that brings resolutions forward for the denomination's consideration, says the Southern Baptist Convention should consider developing an "exit strategy" for children from those schools.

Pastor Darrell Orman is the pastor of First Baptist Church - Stuart, Florida, and a member of the Resolutions Committee for the upcoming SBC annual meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina. He says the denomination should consider a proposed resolution that encourages Baptists to develop a strategy for leaving the nation's public school system. Another education-related resolution that has been submitted for consideration urges Baptists to support public schools.

The Southern Baptist Convention has voted on similar education-related resolutions in the past, and last year approved a resolution calling on its churches to investigate what impact the homosexual agenda is having on public schools. Orman believes evangelical churches underestimate the influence of the public education system to silence even godly Christians working in it.

"Evangelism's down across the nation. People are intimidated. Our kids are not being the salt and light that a lot of times they should be," the pastor shares, "and that's why right now, the statistics I keep seeing over and over again say 85 to 90 percent of our kids, when they leave high school, ... also leave our churches and never come back." The Florida pastor says according to information he has been told, that ratio corresponds almost directly with the number of children in churches who are in public school.

Pastor Orman cites reasons he sees for the effectiveness of efforts to squelch the Christian message in public schools.

"I think the public school system has moved so far [to the] left, part of it with the influence of the teachers union and the left leanings of the teachers union across the nation," he says. "And then you've got the ACLU and others, the separation of church and state people, who are trying to inoculate the public system from Christianity, pretty much."

Orman suggests that churches, if they are able to do so, would be wise to start Christian schools that provide families an alternative to public education.

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[Shammu]

Schools Blasted for Holding Separate Graduations for Homosexual Students

by Jim Brown
May 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - USA Today reports that a growing number of colleges and universities are holding so-called "lavender graduations" to honor their "gay," lesbian, and transgendered graduates; but one campus watchdog group spokesman says schools should not be making ideological statements by sponsoring these separate ceremonies.

At the lavender graduations, students are often given awards and typically receive rainbow-colored tassels to put on their mortarboards during their commencement activities. But while these ceremonies are often touted as celebrations of cultural diversity and equality, Jason Mattera with the Virginia-based Young America's Foundation (YAF) feels these exercises actually turn true equality on its head.

"I thought the homosexual agenda was just 'Leave us alone,' right?," Mattera observes. "That's what they're saying: 'Oh, we don't want the government involved in our lives. We just want to be treated normally.' Well, here is an obvious example where they're looking for special treatment."

But rarely, the YAF spokesman points out, does any group of students get its own graduation ceremonies as a separate class. "Imagine," he says, "if the Christian club at any of the schools mentioned -- let's take the University of North Carolina -- if the Christian club gathered together and said, 'We want a separate ceremony in which we were going to read passages from Leviticus and passages from Rick Santorum's It Takes a Family.'

"Not only would they have been probably flogged by the diversity deans and multicultural deans on the college campus," Mattera asserts, "but they would be [charged with] hate speech incidents. They would be reported to the human resource department."

In any case, the conservative campus watchdog adds, the idea of lavender graduations is not a very inclusive one, since the schools that hold these separate ceremonies are in effect promoting segregation. Nor, he asserts, do such ceremonies truly respect homosexual students by honoring their achievements.

"I would even think the homosexual students on these campuses should be offended," Mattera says. Homosexual students should consider these separate ceremonies to be a slap in the face, he contends, because the "honorees" are not being rewarded for their academic merits but for their sexual behavior.

Ultimately, the YAF spokesman believes the lavender graduations that are being held by schools like Duke University, UCLA, the University of Georgia, and the University of Washington are rooted in anti-Christian hostility. But even if they are, as some homosexuals claim, simply celebrations of equality, he feels these ceremonies fail on that level as well.

If these and other colleges and universities are truly interested in equality, Mattera suggests, they could show it by doing away with race-based preferences and special rights for certain classes of students. And instead of trying to ring in a new, so-called "civil rights era" for homosexuals, he says, schools need to stop segregating people on the basis of sexual behavior.

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[Shammu]

Schools Blasted for Holding Separate Graduations for Homosexual Students

by Jim Brown
May 25, 2006

(AgapePress) - - USA Today reports that a growing number of colleges and universities are holding so-called "lavender graduations" to honor their "gay," lesbian, and transgendered graduates; but one campus watchdog group spokesman says schools should not be making ideological statements by sponsoring these separate ceremonies.

At the lavender graduations, students are often given awards and typically receive rainbow-colored tassels to put on their mortarboards during their commencement activities. But while these ceremonies are often touted as celebrations of cultural diversity and equality, Jason Mattera with the Virginia-based Young America's Foundation (YAF) feels these exercises actually turn true equality on its head.

"I thought the homosexual agenda was just 'Leave us alone,' right?," Mattera observes. "That's what they're saying: 'Oh, we don't want the government involved in our lives. We just want to be treated normally.' Well, here is an obvious example where they're looking for special treatment."

But rarely, the YAF spokesman points out, does any group of students get its own graduation ceremonies as a separate class. "Imagine," he says, "if the Christian club at any of the schools mentioned -- let's take the University of North Carolina -- if the Christian club gathered together and said, 'We want a separate ceremony in which we were going to read passages from Leviticus and passages from Rick Santorum's It Takes a Family.'

"Not only would they have been probably flogged by the diversity deans and multicultural deans on the college campus," Mattera asserts, "but they would be [charged with] hate speech incidents. They would be reported to the human resource department."

In any case, the conservative campus watchdog adds, the idea of lavender graduations is not a very inclusive one, since the schools that hold these separate ceremonies are in effect promoting segregation. Nor, he asserts, do such ceremonies truly respect homosexual students by honoring their achievements.

"I would even think the homosexual students on these campuses should be offended," Mattera says. Homosexual students should consider these separate ceremonies to be a slap in the face, he contends, because the "honorees" are not being rewarded for their academic merits but for their sexual behavior.

Ultimately, the YAF spokesman believes the lavender graduations that are being held by schools like Duke University, UCLA, the University of Georgia, and the University of Washington are rooted in anti-Christian hostility. But even if they are, as some homosexuals claim, simply celebrations of equality, he feels these ceremonies fail on that level as well.

If these and other colleges and universities are truly interested in equality, Mattera suggests, they could show it by doing away with race-based preferences and special rights for certain classes of students. And instead of trying to ring in a new, so-called "civil rights era" for homosexuals, he says, schools need to stop segregating people on the basis of sexual behavior.

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[Shammu]

Judge's Order Keeps Embattled Florida Drug Rehab Ministry Open For Now

by Allie Martin
May 26, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A Florida ministry for men working to overcome addictions and other problem behaviors was targeted for closure by county officials; but now that a Christian legal group has intervened on its behalf, that faith-based rehabilitation program is no longer scheduled for eviction.

For several years now, Men of Destiny Ministries (MDM) has operated what it describes as a drug "regeneration" program in St. Cloud, Osceola County, Florida. The ministry is a one-year residential discipleship program that requires participating men to work regular jobs and live in a 6,300-square-foot home operated by the ministry, where they receive biblical counseling, therapy, and education.

Last month, the Osceola County Commission voted to shut down MDM because it was operating a drug rehabilitation program in a residential area. Commissioners gave the ministry 45 days to shut its doors or else face hefty fines. MDM sought help from Liberty Counsel, a pro-family legal organization, which filed suit against the County.

Last week, Liberty Counsel asked Judge Gregory Presnell to stop Osceola County officials from shutting down the rehab program. Now, thanks to the federal judge's order, MDM will not have to shut down its operations while the trial is expedited to a court date in late July.

[Photo compliments of Liberty Counsel]
Mat Staver   
Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver says Presnell saw through the County's arguments. "He said he thought he understood what was happening here," the lawyer notes. "It was the so-called NIMBY syndrome or the 'not in my backyard' syndrome."

The judge went on to point out that Osceola County's professional zoning staff actually recommended approving MDM's operation in the residential area, Staver says, "but then "politics and political pressure from some neighbors began to influence the elected officials, and they voted against this ministry simply because of pre-conceived stereotypes." Presnell even observed that the 45-day warning given to MDM appeared to be "vindictive."

According to Liberty Counsel, neighbors in the community surrounding MDM had made comments like, "once a drug addict, always a drug addict," and Staver believes these individuals' attitudes strongly influenced Osceola County to rescind its approval of the Christian drug program. However, he says more people need to understand that organizations like MDM serve a strategic purpose in a community.

"Christian ministries deserve a place," the Liberty Counsel founder asserts. "Christian ministries oftentimes are the only ones that can meet a need for people who are caught up in addictive behaviors," he says, "because it's only through the power of Jesus Christ that you can be set free."

That is why Liberty Counsel was happy to help defend MDM, Staver adds. "Once you have these zoning officials that try to stop these Christian ministries, we need to vigorously defend their religious liberties, because they are needed ministries in our communities," he says.

Liberty Counsel will be representing MDM again when the ministry goes back to court to resolve its fight with Osceola County. The trial has been set for July 26.

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[Shammu]

Bay State Activist Bothered That Tax Money Going to Governor's Pro-Homosexual Group

by Bill Fancher
May 26, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A pro-homosexual commission under the direction of the governor of Massachusetts is poised to receive a big increase in funding. According to pro-family activist in the Bay State, school activities sponsored by that commission are not for the faint of heart.

The Governor's Commission on Gay & Lesbian Youth has been on a roller coaster ride recently. After being informed about the Commission's activities, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney disbanded it. But attacks by the pro-homosexual lobby and the liberal press in the state led to its reinstatement.

Brian Camenker of the Massachusetts-based Article 8 Alliance has been a vocal critic of the Commission. He says the word "depravity" does not do justice to the nature of the events sponsored by the group. Camenker's organization obtained pictures and information from some of those events and delivered them to the governor's office.

"His staff was so sickened by what we showed them that a few days later the governor announced that he was disbanding this Commission," he explains. That led to a firestorm of attacks from homosexual groups and the press that, evidently, had its desired effect. The governor backed down, says the Article 8 spokesman. "He went back on his word and reinstated the Commission," he says.

According to Camenker, the Commission-sponsored events are pushed on children as young as kindergarten age. And despite Governor Romney's directive to the Commission to clean up its act, that has not happened, says Camenker. He says the May 13 "Gay Youth Pride" event was the worst ever.

In addition, dozens of high schools marched in a Commission-sponsored "Youth Pride Day" parade on May 21 through downtown Boston. Article 8 describes the event as "an entire day of celebrating homosexuality for kids" that was funded by taxpayer dollars.

The Commission received $425,000 from the state this past year, which Camenker says is spent "giving grants to high schools and other ways of pushing homosexuality to kids." And now, he says, the State Legislature is poised to quadruple funding for the Commission to almost $2 million a year.

"So if you think it's bad now -- if you think the school propaganda and the Governor's Commission events are horrible now -- wait until next year," says the Massachusetts activist. "It's just getting started."

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Senator Withdraws Bill Giving Custodial Parents Free Rein to Move Away

by Jim Brown
May 26, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A fathers' rights advocate is hailing the defeat of a California Senate bill that he says would have been devastating for children of divorce and their non-custodial parents. Liberal California Senator Gloria Romero has withdrawn a bill that would have created a "presumptive right" for a divorced parent who has custody to move children away from the other parent.

Critics say Romero's proposed legislation would have allowed a custodial parent, which is usually the mother, to move her children whenever and wherever she wanted, without any consideration by the courts of the children's best interests or the relationship between the children and their non-custodial parent.

According to men's issues columnist Glenn Sacks, founder of the Alliance for Children Concerned About Move-Aways, Romero received more than 4,000 phone calls, letters, and faxes opposing her measure. He says that is because "a lot of people within the mental health community, the psychological community, and the family law community recognize the value of fathers."

Numerous people in all these fields "recognize that children love their fathers, even if 'Mom' is mad at 'Dad,'" Sacks contends, "and they recognize that allowing mothers to destroy the relationships between children and their fathers by moving the children far away is very destructive to children."

Senator Romero's bill was being pushed by "misguided" radical feminist groups, the men's rights advocate asserts. Among the legislation's supporters, he notes, were the California National Organization for Women and the California Commission on the Status of Women, and he says several domestic violence groups were lobbying in favor of the bill as well.

Such groups "want to insist that if there's a divorce or separation, Mom should be able to do whatever she wishes with her kids," Sacks insists. "Those groups are funded by your tax dollars and my tax dollars," he says, "and basically all of these groups are trying to do whatever they can to change the law so that if a divorced or separated mother wants to get rid of her children's father, she can -- and there's going to be very little that can stop her."

The men's issues columnist says he welcomes the defeat of Romero's bill, which he believes would have allowed angry or vengeful divorced mothers to drive fathers out of their children's lives. Thankfully, he suggests, more people are realizing the importance of fathers' role in their children's lives.

Sacks says there is increased recognition within the family law and mental health communities, and among judges and legislators as well, that the relationship between children and their fathers needs to be protected.

http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion04521.shtml

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Penn State Seeks, Receives Help on New 'Speech Code' Policy for Campus

by Jim Brown
May 26, 2006

(AgapePress) - - A federal civil rights lawsuit has prompted Pennsylvania State University to dump a speech code that barred students from using words deemed to be "intolerant."

The Alliance Defense Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of A.J. Fluehr, a student who claimed the policy allowed for viewpoint discrimination against conservative and religious students. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Penn State asked ADF to help the school draft a new policy. ADF attorney David French says the policy that resulted now fully protects free speech.

"We're very encouraged by this outcome," says French, "and I would like to applaud Penn State for bringing us into the conversation after the lawsuit was filed and ...for the changes that they made." The resultant policy was an "important change," he says, "and one that protects free speech at one of our country's most important public universities."

French describes the old policy as one of the worst speech codes he had ever seen. "The old draconian speech codes were unconstitutional because they enabled university officials to engage in viewpoint discrimination," he says. The policy enabled any student who felt offended on the basis of their sexual orientation, for example, to make a complaint against another student and have that student silenced and perhaps even punished, French states. According to an ADF press release, the school used the policy recently to prohibit a student from displaying an art exhibit designed to protest the culture of terrorism in the Palestinian territories.

"What we were trying to do [in changing the policy] is quite simple," the attorney explains. "[We were trying] to make sure that conservative students and religious students had the same rights to free speech as everyone else."

The old policy, he explains, discouraged open discussion on campus. "[And] it's a longstanding First Amendment rule that you can't censor speech just because somebody else feels that your speech is offensive or 'intolerant,' to use the word that Penn State used," he adds.

French says other universities should follow the Penn State model, which he says strikes a proper balance between protecting students from real misconduct while allowing the full range of free speech. "This is an excellent outcome for those who believe that universities are supposed to be the marketplace of ideas," he says.

http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion04522.shtml

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Hartline's San Diego Conference Promises to Equip Christians for Culture Wars

by Mary Rettig
May 26, 2006

(AgapePress) - - James Hartline, a Christian activist in California, is pointing fellow believers to an event taking place this Saturday in San Diego that he says will help equip them to fight in the culture war. He says the "Shake the Nation Conference" will feature speakers from all facets of life, sharing their experiences dealing with opposition to Christianity in society.

Hartline says many Christians today are seeing their free-speech rights violated on a regular basis, even as some of the Shake the Nation Conference presenters have. "We have been very diligent to bring together speakers on every area that we feel we are having a problem with in the culture," he says.

Therefore, the conference guests will address a number of the "obvious" topics for Christians in contemporary society, the activist notes, including "the legal issues, religious freedom issues," and the truth about America's Christian roots. "We're dealing with our religious heritage," he explains, "because it's important for people to be reminded that this country was based on a strong biblical religious heritage."

Also, Hartline points out, the conference will include a number of sessions presented by believers who have seen their rights violated by secular forces. For instance, he says, "We have Greg Thompson, a former superintendent of schools who was terminated from his job for having the Ten Commandments on his school property as well as a Bible on his desk."

Also, the event spokesman points out, "We have Coach Dave Daubenmire, who was a public high school teacher, a very successful football coach for 25 years. And the ACLU sued him, merely because he prayed before games with his football players, and he refused to stop."

The conference will also feature workshops on the benefits of home schooling and on being a Christian teacher in a public school and ministering in that workplace. Others workshops will touch on believers running for public office and doing pro-life activism.

James Hartline says this Memorial Day weekend gathering is designed to help believers from all walks of life stand up for their rights and take back the culture. Hundreds of California Christians are expected to attend the Shake the Nation Conference, and the activist predicts that the participants will emerge well equipped for battle in the culture wars.

http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion04523.shtml

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