How should Christians view Sunday?

The anonymous author of Hebrews found different ways of describing the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of them, which forms the underlying motif of chapters 3 and 4, is that Jesus Christ gives the rest that neither Moses nor Joshua could provide. Under Moses, the people of God were disobedient and failed to enter into God's rest (3:18). Psalm 95:11 (quoted in Hebrews 4:3) implies that Joshua could not have given the people "real rest" since "through David" God speaks about the rest he will give on another day (Heb. 4:7). This in turn implies that "There remains a sabbath rest for the people of God" (Heb. 4:9).

In speaking of this rest (3:18; 4:1, 3-6, 8) the author consistently used the same word for "rest" (katapausis). Suddenly, in speaking about the "rest" that remains for the people of God, he uses a different word (sabbatismos, used only here in the NT) meaning specifically a Sabbath rest. In the context of his teaching, this refers fundamentally to the "Sabbath rest" which is found in Christ ("Come ... I will give you rest," Matt. 11:28-30). Thus we are to "strive to enter that rest" (4:11).

Since Augustine, Christians have recognized that the Bible describes human experience in a fourfold scheme: in creation, fall, redemption, and glory. We are familiar with echoes of this in the Westminster Confession of Faith (chapter 9) and in Thomas Boston's great book Human Nature in its Fourfold State. It is no surprise then that the Sabbath, which was made for man, is experienced by him in four ways.

3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Savings

Have you ever stopped to consider the potential "future value" of the money you spend today? That is, if you were to save it rather than spend it, what would it be worth as you near retirement, say in 20 years?

For example, let's say you spend $7 each workday for lunch on the job. What if you decided to fast just once a week and save that $7 rather than spend it? Over 20 years, you would accumulate $7,280. Not bad. But if you were to invest that $7 a week in a Roth IRA earning 6%, your small weekly investment would grow to . . . (drum roll) . . . $14,078!

Surprised? We thought so. Now, start applying that same logic to other adjustments you can make in your lifestyle.

Boost Savings By Changing a Habit

3 Ways to Recognize False Prophets

How do you recognize a false prophet? They aren't really dressed up in sheep's clothing. Here are three ways to recognize false prophets according to Scripture.

Satanists protest Ten Commandments monument at Arkansas State Capitol by unveiling giant goat-headed statue

Satanic Temple unveils Satanic statue of a goat-headed, winged creature called Baphomet at the Arkansas State Capitol on August 16, 2018.

Some Christians recently protested against a giant Satanic Temple statue unveiled at the Arkansas State Capitol, holding Bible verse messages against a Satanic rally.

CBS News reported that in total 150 people, both Satanists and Christians, were present at the unveiling of the Satanic statue of a goat-headed, winged creature called Baphomet at the state capitol last Thursday.

The Danger of Living Like Satan and Demons Don't Exist

Unless you dish out $10.75 to watch some poor fictional family be terrorized by them on the big screen, you aren't going to hear much talk about Satan or demons nowadays.

Contemporary thinking is far too "advanced" to entertain the existence of such entities. Most westerners classify the devil and his demons alongside trolls, poltergeists, and vampires — they're a little scary to think about, but make-believe nonetheless.

North and South Korean families allowed rare reunions after decades apart

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands after signing agreements during the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, in this still frame taken from video, South Korea April 27, 2018.

Families split apart since the Korean War decades ago have been given the rare chance to meet each other again this week.

It is the first time since 2015 that reunions have taken place between North Koreans and their South Korean relatives. The resumption of family reunions was made possible by the Panmunjom Declaration signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic meeting earlier this year.

Authentic Christianity changes culture, US nuncio says

Many have forgotten that authentic Christianity has a positive influence on history and brings about greater human fulfillment, Archbishop Christopher Pierre said Sunday at a cultural event organized by the lay movement Communion and Liberation.

“When faced with change, conflict, relativism, and bleak prospects for the future, people are beginning to despair under the burden of daily life and have forgotten how to be protagonists in history,” the apostolic nuncio to the US said Aug. 19 at the Rimini Meeting.

“Meeting Christ and being changed by Him – the revolution of the heart – this is what turns the wheel of history! This is the true revolution!”

3 Things That Deceive You Into Settling for a Fake God

1. The pleasures of the flesh.

2. The pursuit of success.

3. The approval of man.

Unfortunately, this is not a television game show but the way we live our everyday lives.

For example, many people today try to find meaning and satisfaction in sex. This is why pornography is so rampant. Sexual immorality and promiscuity may make us feel safe, loved, looked after and in control, but in the end, they leave us feeling more guilty, broken and demeaned.

China backtracks on one-child policy in face of massive demographic crisis

After decades of limiting families to one child via forced abortions and sterilization, the Chinese government is undertaking a campaign to encourage more babies in hopes of staving off a demographic crisis.

China began implementing its one-child policy in 1980, amid fears of food shortages and hopes of cutting the country’s population to under 1.2 billion by the end of the 20th century. In 2016, concerns that there would be too few young workers to replace and support an aging population led the Communist regime to allow couples to have two children. That concession sparked a brief population spike that year, but it didn’t continue into 2017.

3 Stages of Prayer That Lead You Into Deeper Intimacy With Jesus

Richard J. Foster, a Quaker and author of the modern-day Christian classics Celebration of Discipline and Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, is a longtime student of various forms of prayer. Through his studies and experience, he has encapsulated contemplative prayer into three stages: recollection, the prayer of quiet and spiritual ecstasy.

Recollection. Phase one is recollection, which means letting go of all competing distractions. That is the idea behind Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God."

What to Expect in a 'Ruth' Year

It's a Ruth year. That's one of the revelations Chuck Pierce has been sharing in the Hebrew year 5778. But what does that mean?

As I was reading the Book of Ruth, I received a revelation we can hang our faith on. Although there is more to be understood about the Ruth year, the second chapter of this book reveals five points that we can contend for in 2018 as we stand at the open door and prepare to move into a foreign land: divine connections, divine strategy, divine protection, divine favor and divine harvest.

In Ruth 2, we find Ruth and Naomi in Bethlehem. Although this was Naomi's homeland, it was a foreign land to Ruth. She followed her mother-in-law there out of loyalty. When you follow the Lord into a foreign territory out of allegiance to His heart, you can expect the following.

3 Key Ingredients to See the Prophesied Transfer of Wealth

Have you ever wondered what it's going to take for you to experience the transfer of wealth that the Bible predicts?

Sometimes, huge concepts like the wealth transfer seem like distant, pie-in-the-sky concepts ... especially when we have not experienced them yet.

Proverbs 13:22 says, "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."

We believe God and desire the prosperity He promises. So, we pray and pray for the fulfillment of His Word, but we often don't know what else to do to see the things we are praying for manifest. However, anytime we dissect a historical occurrence of a phenomenon such as a transfer of wealth, we find patterns we can replicate in order to see that phenomenon happen in our own lives.

Recently, the Lord showed me three key ingredients of the wealth transfer that we can each replicate in our own lives in order to see that wealth transfer come to pass.

3 Dangerous Traps That Can Blind Seers

The enemy wants to blind seers and is working overtime in this season to fulfill that mandate. Listen in as Jennifer teaches three dangerous traps that can blind seers.

How family structure affects the likelihood of child abuse

Amid a renewed public conversation about what can be done to keep children safe from abuse, studies show that unstable family structure is a major risk factor for abuse.

When looking at overall trends in child abuse, Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the University of Virginia’s National Marriage Project, told CNA that studies show children who come from unstable homes with unmarried parents are most likely to be abused, especially by someone close to them.

“Family drama and family chaos are breeding grounds for abuse,” Wilcox told CNA. “Kids who are exposed to instability are more likely to be exposed to unrelated adults, especially unrelated adult males.”

Kids in chaotic family situations are also more likely to be emotionally distraught, a vulnerability that adult abusers are likely to prey on, Wilcox said.

8 Signs You Are Under Spiritual Attack

Many people are facing spiritual struggles as they attempt to advance in the things of God. One of the primary tricks of the enemy is to get a person deceived and not realizing the depth of what is taking place in their lives.

Oftentimes people assume that the struggle they are facing is just a natural battle yet just beneath the surface there is something far more complex taking place. They are under a spiritual attack!

US bishops welcome change to Catechism on death penalty

Bishops across the US have welcomed the modification made to the Catechism of the Catholic Church saying the Church teaches that capital punishment is “inadmissible.”

Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles welcomed the changes, stating Aug. 3: “I am grateful for Pope Francis’ leadership in working for an end to judicial executions worldwide.”

Team Breakers Break Dreams

I had the privilege to interview T.D. Jakes. Many of his sermons have moved me over the years, as have his writings.

Along the way, I learned that Bishop Jakes is a successful entrepreneur and knows his pastoral calling is linked to helping others succeed by helping them pursue their dreams of business ownership.

One of the takeaways from the interview was this quote: "Build a team to build the dream." He spoke of building a team of doers with complementary skills and gifts. Too many dysfunctional teams are known for how they internally compete.

Should Christians Date?

It's apparently more complicated than you'd expect. Pure Flix Entertainment's new documentary, The Dating Project, recently challenged people on the street to define dating. Their answers may surprise you. Watch the video to see what a few people said.

Tarot, palm readings are idolatry, says Francis

Tarot cards and palm readings are idolatrous, according to Pope Francis, and should be shunned alongside other modern 'idols'.

The pope was speaking at his weekly audience yesterday after a month-long summer break. He asked his hearers: 'How many of you go to pray with tarot cards to see your future? How many of you go to get your hands read to see your future, instead of praying to God?'

He said: 'God is living, the rest [of these] are idols, and they aren't useful.'

Francis was expounding the first commandment, 'You shall have no other gods before me.'


He pointed to the Greek origin of the word 'idol', which means 'to see'. Idol worship, he said, was 'a vision which becomes a fixation, an obsession'.

Zimbabwe's ruling party wins majority in parliament, opposition questions poll

The presidential candidate for Zimbabwe's main opposition accused the ruling ZANU-PF of trying to steal the general election on Wednesday after official figures gave President Emmerson Mnangagwa's party a majority in parliament.

Nelson Chamisa, 40, and the 75-year-old Mnangagwa were the main contenders in Monday's vote, the first since Robert Mugabe was forced to resign after a de facto coup in November after nearly 40 years in power.

The Incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's results showed Mnangagwa's ZANU-PF cruising to a big majority after picking up 109 seats against 41 for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Another 58 seats are yet to be declared.

Pope Francis to altar servers: Holiness is not for the lazy

Everyone is called to pursue sainthood through living the Works of Mercy, though it is not for the weak of heart, Pope Francis told more than 60,000 young altar servers in St. Peter’s Square Tuesday.

“It is true, it is not easy, but remember – I will say it again – the way of holiness is not for the lazy,” the pope said July 31.

4 Ways Porn Will Ruin Your Sex Life

A couple of years ago, Huffington Post published an article with this title: "5 Reasons Why Watching Porn Together Can Be Good For Your Relationship." Their reasons?

Papal aides say prosperity gospel is distorted take on the ‘American Dream’

After publishing a highly controversial essay in July 2017 alleging the existence of an “ecumenism of hate” between Catholics and Evangelicals in the U.S., close papal confidantes Fr. Antonio Spadaro SJ and Marcelo Figueroa in a new article issue a scathing critique of the “prosperity gospel,” which they say is based on a reductionist view of the American Dream.

In the new essay, run July 18 in the Jesuit-run magazine “La Civilta Cattolica,” which is directed by Spadaro, the authors argue that the prosperity gospel, rooted in late 19th century America, is closely tied to the Protestant Evangelical movement in the U.S., and sees power, wealth and success as the result of one's faith, while poverty and misfortune are signs of a lack of faith.

The Shocking Reason Some People Don't Get Slain in the Spirit

When talking to the leadership team at Catch the Fire in Toronto, they confirmed that when they pray for people, not everyone is slain in the Spirit. For those who don't know, being slain in the Spirit is falling over (generally backward), when someone is in front of you praying for you. The understanding is that the Holy Spirit is coming upon them and this weakens them so they fall down, and then normally they rest under the Spirit's power as they lay on the floor and He ministers to them.

My questions was: "Is it the left-brainers who don't get slain in the Spirit?"

They paused and thought for a moment and then said, "Yes, it is the left-brainers who don't fall down."

The One Dream Symbol You Should Never Interpret Figuratively

A fundamental principle we must always remember about dreams is that they are not usually literal; they are most often symbolic. They are pictures that represent something else, thus need to be interpreted. That is true with most dreams, and with most symbols, except for numbers. Every time in the Bible that someone had numbers in their dreams, those figures represented the exact same number in waking life. However, the number will probably be linked to something which needs to be interpreted symbolically.

For example, when Joseph dreamed of 11 stars, the 11 was literal, but the stars were symbolic and actually represented his brothers. Joseph was dreaming about his 11 brothers (Gen. 37:1-11). Likewise, the cupbearer's dream of three branches stood for three days (Gen. 39:12), and for the chief baker, the three baskets represented three days (Gen. 39:18). In Pharaoh's dream, the seven cows were seven years (Gen. 41:26).

Embryo gene-editing poses inescapable ethical problems, critic says

Genetic editing of human embryos, even in special circumstances, ignores the complex ethical problems related to creating and destroying human embryos, a Catholic bioethicist has said.
“On first glance, genetic editing of human embryos to treat diseases seems like a laudable project. But the reality is far more complex,” Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, stated.

The most likely approach for genetic modification of an embryo or embryos would require their creation through in vitro fertilization, said Fr. Pacholzyck, who holds a doctorate in neuroscience. This step “violates their human dignity and ‘objectifies’ them.”

Suicide Bomber Kills 128

A suicide bomber killed 128 people at an election rally in southwestern Pakistan in the second election-related attack on Friday, officials said, amid growing tensions over ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's return ahead of the July 25 vote.

The bombing was the most deadly attack in Pakistan in over three years and is the third incident of election-related violence this week.

Are Misguided Pastors to Blame for This Godless Liberty?

Just 10 days after the Americans celebrate their Revolution, the French celebrate theirs, on Bastille Day, July 14.

The two revolutions could not have been more different. The Americans honored God in their Declaration of independence. The French, on the other hand, adopted the atheistic, anti-Christian values of the French Enlightenment and set out to eradicate God from public life. Churches were closed, priests were persecuted, and the calendar was remade without any Christian holidays. To replace the Virgin Mary, the revolutionary leaders invented the atheistic "Goddess of Liberty," which became the emblem of godless liberty.

WHO Recognizes Sex Addiction as a Mental Health Disorder

The World Health Organization (WHO) has now classified compulsive sexual behavior—commonly called sex addiction—as a mental health disorder.

While the impacts of sex addiction have long affected relationships, it is now included in WHO's International Classification Diseases list (known as ICD-11).

The deep roots of Portugal's Marian devotion

When the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima in 1917, Portugal had already acclaimed Mary as their reigning Queen for hundreds of years. After the coronation of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception as “Queen of Portugal” by King João IV in 1646, no Portuguese monarch ever wore a crown again.

The history of exceptional Marian devotion near Fatima dates back even further.

5 Signs You're a Man of True Conviction

I get motion sick pretty easily. In fact, all it normally takes is for me to be put in the backseat of a car. So, when my family went on a cruise I was a little nervous. However, I was assured that the ship was so big that it would take a lot of rough seas to cause significant movement. Well, our first night had a lot of crosswinds. Everywhere I tried to walk, it felt like the ground was moving. I kept feeling myself getting pushed right and left, several times almost losing my footing. I finally got dizzy and had to go lay down for the rest of the night.

This is what it's like for men who lack conviction— strong convictions about their identity (who they are), what they believe, and morality. They lack solid footing, constantly getting pushed around by the cultural waves of moral relativism and a low sense of self. In his book Dangerous Good, author Kenny Luck talks about the need for men to be a force in the world for good. He believes God has created each of us with purpose. In order to know your purpose, you have to have conviction. Do you have it? From Kenny Luck's book, here are five signs you are a man of conviction.

Conservatives Report Having Greater Purpose in Life Compared to Liberals, Study Finds

Conservatives report having a greater meaning in their lives when compared to liberals, according to findings from five studies.

David Newman of the University of Southern California authored the study and said he had an interest in older research that found conservatives expressed being more satisfied with their lives, which motivated him to carry out his own research, PsyPost reports.

Cardinal Farrell again says priests have ‘no credibility’ for marriage prep

The Vatican official leading the Church’s office for laity, family, and life has said that priests do not have the credibility or experience to prepare couples for marriage. The official made similar remarks to Catholic leaders in September 2017.

During an interview with the Irish Catholic magazine Intercom, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, said that “priests are not the best people to train others for marriage.”

UK appoints first religious freedom envoy

For the first time, a Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief has been appointed in the UK to promote international religious liberty and fight persecution.

Lord Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the United Nations, was selected for the role. Ahmad also serves as the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

In the role, Ahmad “will promote the UK’s firm stance on religious tolerance abroad, helping to tackle religious discrimination in countries where minority faith groups face persecution,” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement Wednesday.

America's Broken Moral Compass Sending Nation in Wrong Direction

As if proof was necessary, a recent Gallup Poll showed that Americans are holding more permissive views than ever on a variety of cultural and societal issues.

According to Gallup, Americans continue to express an increasingly liberal outlook on what is morally acceptable, with views on several moral issues the most left-leaning they have been to date. The percentages of U.S. adults who believe birth control, divorce, sex between unmarried people, gay or lesbian relations, having a baby outside of marriage, doctor-assisted suicide, pornography and polygamy are morally acceptable practices have tied record highs or set new ones this year.

Vatican publishes norms on consecrated virgins

Almost 50 years after the Church published the new Rite of Consecrated Virginity, the Vatican has issued an instruction on the state of life, its discipline, and the responsibilities of diocesan bishops toward the vocation of consecrated virgins.

The instruction was created in response to requests from bishops for clarity on the role and mission of consecrated virgins, especially following an increase in the number of women discerning the vocation since the revision of the Rite of Consecration, published in 1970 with the approval of Pope Paul VI.
A consecrated virgin is a never-married woman who dedicates her perpetual virginity to God and is set aside as a sacred person who belongs to Christ in the Catholic Church.

What 'Soul' Really Means in 'Love God With All Your Soul'

The Bible commands us to love God with all of our soul—but what does that truly mean? In this video, The Bible Project clarifies common misconceptions—often created by the intermingling of Greek philosophy with Christian living—and explains what the Hebrew word for soul, nephesh, really entails.

Horrific: Parents punch their 30-week unborn baby to death, charges unlikely

The parents of a baby girl who died of catastrophic injuries shortly after birth have been accused of deliberately killing her, according to court documents.

The unnamed couple arrived at Kern Medical in Bakersfield. California to give birth on 24th May. The woman was about 30 weeks pregnant.

Horrendous attack

Medical staff found that the baby girl was suffering from a fractured skull and spinal injuries, "traumatic injuries... that led to the child's death" shortly afterwards. They also noticed "severe bruising" on the woman's stomach, and, suspicious of her explanation that she'd fallen while mopping, called the police.

EWTN to air Fr. Capodanno documentary for 4th of July

EWTN Global Catholic Network will observe America's Independence Day with airings of Called and Chosen: Father Vincent R. Capodanno.

The 90-minute documentary about the life and death of Fr. Capodanno will air on EWTN July 4 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern time. Produced by Jim Kelty, the film won a Gabriel Award at the Catholic Media Conference in June.

12 Ways God Can Speak to You

Skeptics say God doesn't speak anymore. Even some Christians claim God only speaks through the Bible. Really? Did He get laryngitis and lose His voice? Did He change? Did He cease being God? Malachi 3:6 affirms, "For I am the Lord, I do not change." That means if God saved in Bible times, He still saves today. If He healed then, He still heals now. If He spoke to people in the past, He still does.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). The question is not, "Is God still speaking?" The question is, "Are we listening?" Jesus implored all seven churches of Asia, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev. 2:7). Consider these 12 ways God still speaks today:

Trafficking victims' advocate honored by US State Department

A young Nigerian woman who escaped from forced prostitution in Italy was honored by the U.S. State Department last week as a 2018 Trafficking in Persons Hero.

Blessing Okoedion “is an example that through perseverance and support, trafficking victims can overcome, thrive, and help others to do so as well,” said U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich in a June 30 statement.

Our Culture Is Drunk on This Corrupting Evil—Here's How to Avoid It

Last week, President Trump visited the U.S. Capitol for a meeting with Republican members of the House of Representatives. Videotape captured the sound of a female Congressional intern yelling an expletive at him from across the other side of the rotunda, as Mr. Trump was walking through the Capitol Building.

The echoed obscene outburst is a current example of prevalent vulgarities in public discourse and the present degradation of the political process. Many modern politicians and political leaders (both men and women) seem unashamed to dish out vile obscenities—in public and in private.

UK court upholds London abortion clinic buffer zone

The High Court of England and Wales ruled Monday that a buffer zone around an abortion facility in the London borough of Ealing is legal, in a move that will likely encourage similar buffer zones in the United Kingdom.

While the ban was found to interfere with the human rights of pro-life protesters, it was ruled July 2 that the local government had a right to decide it was a “necessary step in a democratic society."

Japanese eugenics program forced sterilization and abortion on tens of thousands

The Japanese government is facing a growing number of lawsuits from victims of its Nazism-inspired mass sterilization program that robbed tens of thousands of people of their reproductive capacities over a period of several decades.

An estimated 25,000 people were sterilized by Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law between 1948 and 1996, 16,500 of them involuntarily, according to government sources. Up to 60,000 forced abortions are also believed to have been carried out, all in the name of purifying Japan of hereditary diseases, particularly mental disorders perceived to be genetic in origin.

Calls for peace and justice ahead of Mexico's general election

Various civil organizations in Mexico, including one dedicated to the philosophy of St. Thomas More, have urged politicians participating in the upcoming general election to re-establish peace and justice in the country.

By signing of the “Pact for Peace,” the organizations stressed that “We educational, social, political and governmental actors must all be united  in order to strengthen the essential conditions for peace: the promotion of ethical, human and social values of respect and peaceful coexistence. The prevention of violence, drugs and crime. Social dialogue and conciliation.”

The signatories include National Parents Union, the Mexican Commission for Human Rights, the Citizen Coordinator, the Fundación Tomás Moro, and the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice.

Bishops cautiously hopeful as South Sudan declares permanent ceasefire

More than four-and-a-half years after a devastating civil war broke out in the world’s youngest country, a permanent ceasefire has been declared by South Sudan officials and rebel leaders.

But for the peace agreement to last, Catholic and world leaders stressed that the nation’s leadership must be ready to rebuild society.
 
Bishop Barani Hiiboro of Tombura-Yambio, president of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishop’s Conference, welcomed the ceasefire, according to Independent Catholic News, but added that “if it is to mean anything for the suffering people of South Sudan, then our leadership must face the task of rebuilding our broken pieces - social and political relationships, the fragile economy, and the infrastructure of our states, devastated by the conflict.”

States sue Trump over immigrant families as Congress quarrels

More than a dozen states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its separation of migrant children and parents at the US-Mexico border, saying President Donald Trump's order last week ending the breakups was illusory.
 
In a complaint filed with US District Court in Seattle, 17 states and the District of Columbia argued the administration's policy was unconstitutional in part because it was 'motivated by animus and a desire to harm' immigrants arriving from Latin America.

Undocumented migrants are released from detention at a bus stop in McAllen, Texas.

'The new federal executive order does not bring back together the thousands of families that were torn apart by the federal government's policy, and it does not prevent families from being separated in the future,' Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a Democrat, said in a statement on the lawsuit.

Faithful Catholics being ‘pushed out’ of Church: German Cardinal

The former head of the Vatican’s doctrine office has accused fellow German bishops of giving up on the New Evangelization. Despairing of Christianity’s role in the contemporary world, they are watering down doctrine so the Church can survive. Those who disagree are punished.

“The faithful who take Catholic doctrine seriously are branded as conservative and pushed out of the Church, and exposed to the defamation campaign of the liberal and anti-Catholic media,” Cardinal Gerhardt Müller told Catholic World Report.

About 200 Christians Murdered in Heinous Killing Spree

In a 60-hour killing spree that began last weekend, about 200 Christians were slaughtered in Plateau State even as the U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom was departing Nigeria.

Ambassador Sam Brownback's one-week visit was pockmarked with six suicide bombings by Boko Haram in one day (the largest single day detonations), deadly Shiite clashes with the police, altercations between local Muslims and a community, and continuing killings by Muslim Fulani Herdsmen.

The grand finale of this perfect storm of violence was the triple-digit massacre in Plateau State.

The Pagan Influence Rapidly Degrading American Culture

A clash between two inimical worldviews is taking place in America: Biblical Christianity vs. secular humanism. In order to dominate, secular humanists had to find a way to exercise complete control over the five levers of cultural influence: spiritual, intellectual, educational, economical and vocational.

Secular lawyers can be unflaggingly persistent as well as ruthlessly devious. They determined that to banish the Judeo-Christian culture from the public square, the Bible had to be expunged from public education first. Theological principles and debate then could be relegated to the recesses of the conscience, and safely lodged behind the four walls of the church. As a consequence, public education, higher learning and academia have become ever more intertwined with the state.

Infant baptism violates human rights, says former Irish president

Former Irish President Mary McAleese has said that the baptism of infants is a form of coercion, calling on the Catholic Church to change its practice.

“You can’t impose, really, obligations on people who are only two weeks old and you can’t say to them at seven or eight or 14 or 19 ‘here is what you contracted, here is what you signed up to’ because the truth is they didn’t,” she said in a June 23 interview with The Irish Times.

Here's What It Takes to Be a Real Man

In answering this question, some might draw up the image of a rugged male with a tough-guy persona spitting out statements like, "Cross me and you will live to regret it!" Such is not the case from heaven's perspective. As the sixteenth-century church leader, Francis de Sales, pointed out, "There is nothing so strong as gentleness and nothing so gentle as real strength."

Real men do not revel in displays of anger, pepper their speech with vile words, or boast of their sensual prowess. Real men enshrine a life based on principles. They are disciplined, steady and patient, knowing "he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city" (Proverbs 16:32). Real men are protectors, not predators: defenders of the weak, not abusers of those considered inferior.

Filipino bishops hesitant about priests seeking gun permits

After three priests were murdered during the last six months, Philippine officials say they have received gun carry permit applications from nearly 250 religious workers, including 188 Catholic priests – but some of the country’s bishops have raised concerns about a priest carrying a weapon.

In the Philippines, a person is only permitted to carry a firearm outside of their residence if they are under threat or if their life is in “imminent danger.” Normally, this would require a “threat assessment certificate” from the Philippine National Police (PNP), but certain professions – including priests, rabbis, journalists, and doctors – are exempt from this requirement as their jobs are considered to be inherently dangerous.

New Study Reveals That Marriage Is Good for Your Heart

Although through the years there have been many jokes about marriage, a new study says living with a married partner may help ward off heart disease and stroke, according to the news agency AFP.

Researchers combing through 20 years of data on more than two million people, aged 42 to 77, found that being married significantly reduced the risk of both afflictions.

Their findings were recently published in the medical journal Heart.