Scrolling around...January 11, 2013

Obama Signs Bill Giving Him Armed Protection For Life
Despite launching a gun control agenda that threatens to disarm the American people, President Obama has signed a bill that would afford him armed Secret Service protection for life...

Great website: Daily Job Cuts.com

A California Drought: Not Enough Children
..In 1970, six years after the end of the baby boom, children made up more than one-third of California's population. By 2030, they will account for just one-fifth, according to projections by lead author Dowell Myers, a USC demographer. "We have a massive replacement problem statewide," Mr. Myers said in an interview. (Mmm...starting in the '70's-I wonder what their abortion statistics are-not mentioned in the article.)

Al Jazeera America
Al Jazeera every week airs its superstar, Muslim Brotherhood leader Yousuf al-Qaradawi, who is barred from entering the US and other Western countries. He has repeatedly called for the Muslim world to damage the U.S. economy by boycotting American products, as well as often rendering opinions such as, "Oh Allah, kill them [Jews] down to the very last one." One can see why Qatar's leadership would like to propagate "a Qatari sponsored narrative of events, and shape that narrative and how it is seen." Most moving is to hear that Al Gore finds these opinions as "aligned with our point of view."...

From the PCUSA to ECO: A story of genuinely gracious dismissal
On June 26, 2012, First Presbyterian Church of Dunellen, N.J., left the Presbyterian Church (USA) and became the 12th member of ECO (A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians). At that time, I had been pastoring there for over 12 years. Fifteen days following this momentous occasion, I celebrated 30 years as a pastor. It was a bitter-sweet experience for me, as I was leaving the denomination that had nurtured my faith and embarking on a new chapter in life, along with a small but growing handful of other pastors and churches committed to innovative, Reformed and evangelical ministry.

Our church had been talking about separation from the PCUSA for years. If anything, I was one of the roadblocks to departure. How many letters to the congregation had I written following General Assemblies explaining that even though what had happened was bad—even really bad—it was still worth staying, worth fighting? I taught and believed that God was still calling us to be a voice in the wilderness—crying, praying and actively working for denominational renewal. I lived this out in my own ministry. An active participant in the life of our presbytery, I had formed many friendships with pastors and elders across the theological spectrum. I’d served as chair of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry, and at the time that we began our dismissal process, I was chair of Presbytery Council...

Brother Andrew: Muslims eager to hear of Jesus
"The Muslim world is waiting for us; they're eager to listen," he tells The Associated Press. "And whenever I go, and I was there very recently again, even the fundamentalists say Brother Andrew, come back soon and tell us more about Jesus."

Albert Mohler: The Giglio Imbroglio — The Public Inauguration of a New Moral McCarthyism
A new chapter in America’s moral revolution came today as Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio withdrew from giving the benediction at President Obama’s second inaugural ceremony. In a statement released to the White House and the Presidential Inaugural Committee, Giglio said that he withdrew because of the furor that emerged yesterday after a liberal watchdog group revealed that almost twenty years ago he had preached a sermon in which he had stated that homosexuality is a sin and that the “only way out of a homosexual lifestyle … is through the healing power of Jesus.”
In other words, a Christian pastor has been effectively disinvited from delivering an inaugural prayer because he believes and teaches Christian truth.

The fact that Giglio was actually disinvited was made clear in a statement from Addie Whisenant of the Presidential Inaugural Committee:

“We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection, and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this inaugural. Pastor Giglio was asked to deliver the benediction in large part because of his leadership in combating human trafficking around the world. As we now work to select someone to deliver the benediction, we will ensure their beliefs reflect this administration’s vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans.”

That statement is, in effect, an embarrassed apology for having invited Louie Giglio in the first place. Whisenant’s statement apologizes for the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s failure to make certain that their selection had never, at any time, for any reason, believed that homosexuality is less than a perfectly acceptable lifestyle. The committee then promised to repent and learn from their failure, committing to select a replacement who would “reflect this administration’s vision of inclusion and acceptance.”...

Kudos to the President's Inaugural Committee
...Inclusion and acceptance for all Americans? Well, it would seem not all. In short, they said we're kicking him out to show how inclusive we are. But at least they were clear. Huzzahs for clarity. They liked the part of his Christianity that was against human trafficking but not so much the part about homosexuality. Clarity...

Pro-family pastor withdraws from Obama inauguration after backlash from gay activists
Rev. Louie Giglio, the pro-family pastor picked by President Obama to deliver the benediction at his Jan. 21st inauguration, has backed out after a pressure campaign by homosexual activists.
Rev. Giglio, who heads Atlanta’s Passion City Church, said he did not want the inauguration to “be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point.”...

Muslim Parents Sue Greek Orthodox School for Banning Head Scarves
Here’s an unusual case. Muslim parents are suing a public school in south London for refusing to allow their nine-year-old daughter to wear a head scarf to class. That’s not so unusual in itself. Law school casebooks are full of cases in which parents sue public schools for failing to accommodate their children’s religious practices. What makes this case unusual is that the public school in question, St. Cyprian’s in Croydon, is an Orthodox Christian school...

The abortion of unwanted girls taking place in the UK
Illegal abortion on the grounds of gender may be taking place in Britain within immigrant communities, ministers have admitted for the first time after an official analysis of birth statistics....