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BY MICHAEL BROWN/ASKDRBROWN.ORG
MAY 27, 2022

For many years, I have stated that a major reason America is so messed up is that much of the American Church is also messed up. And a major reason that so much of the American Church is messed up is that so many Christian leaders are also messed up. The domino effect is quite real.

Church leaders greatly influence their followers, for better or for worse. And since Christian believers are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, if we are not fulfilling our moral and spiritual duties, this will have a deleterious effect on the nation.

And how, exactly, do Church leaders influence their followers? They do it by their message and by their example. If they are preaching rightly and living rightly, they will produce healthy congregants. If their preaching is unbiblical and their lifestyle is compromised, they will produce unhealthy congregants.

To be sure, America is not as influenced by the pulpit as it was in 1873, when Charles Finney preached that, "If the public press lacks moral discrimination... If the church is degenerate and worldly... If the world loses its interest in religion... If Satan rules in our halls of legislation... If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it."

Yet with 70 percent of Americans still professing Christianity and with evangelical Christians alone making up roughly 25 percent of the population, the Christian leaders of the nation remain influential, for better or worse.

In that light, a recent Barna survey gives lots of cause for concern, especially when it comes to the message being preached by Christian leaders.

As reported by Decision magazine, "A new study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University (ACU), guided by popular pollster George Barna, has found that just 37% of Christian pastors in the United States have a Biblical worldview."

Seriously? Just thirty-seven percent?

It would be bad enough if less than 4 in 10 believers held to a biblical worldview. But less than 4 in 10 pastors? How can this be?

In the words of Barna, "This is another strong piece of evidence that the culture is influencing the American church more than Christian churches are influencing the culture."

Or, viewed from another angle, rather than Christian leaders equipping their people to swim against the tide of the culture, they too are being carried by the current of the age. And that, in turn, means that the light is not shining and the salt is not being salty.

It is a vicious cycle of moral and spiritual deterioration.

In short, when the doctors are spreading disease rather than curing disease, the populace is in big trouble.

Decision reports that, "The survey looked at eight different categories of belief and behavior, including family and the value of life; God, creation and history; personal faith practices; and sin, salvation and one's relationship with God."

Predictably, the heart of the problem can be traced back to beliefs about the Bible: "The survey found that the category with the lowest percentage of pastors holding a Biblical worldview is the one related to beliefs and behaviors about the Bible, truth and morality."

No surprise here!

And what do we make of the finding that just 4 percent of executive pastors (this is not a typo) hold to a biblical worldview? Just 4 percent? And how much influence do executive pastors have in the staffing of churches and in many of the practical decisions the church makes?

As for the larger population (not just professing Christians), the survey found that "just 2% of the parents of preteens" held to a biblical worldview, along with "men (2%), women (4%), whites (4%), blacks (2%), Hispanics (less than one-half of one percent), and less than one-half of 1% among those who identify as LGBTQ."

But this, too, should not surprise us, seeing that, in 2009, Barna reported that, "Even among born again adults, the statistics [concerning Americans with a biblical worldview] have remained flat: 18% in 1995, 22% in 2000, 21% in 2005, and 19% today."

As I wrote in 2017, "We have believed that we should blend in and not rock the boat, showing the non-believers around us that we're no different than they are. But while it's important to be contributing members of the society, and while we're called to be peacemakers not troublemakers, we are also called to swim against the tide and go against the grain. We are called to show the world a better way

"Sadly, many Christian leaders have put more emphasis on discovering what's trending in society than learning what's on God's heart. In their quest to become relevant, they have become irrelevant."

To be sure, there are many healthy leaders and healthy congregations in America. And there are always questions about the precise accuracy of polls and the nature of the questions that are asked.

But without a doubt, when we see so much moral and spiritual confusion in the larger society, it reflects the moral and spiritual confusion found in many churches. And that, in turn, reflects the confused and compromised message emanating from "Christian" leaders around America.

May God bring a true revival to His people, starting with Christian leaders across the land. May the awakening begin with us!

https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5385

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CP U.S. | MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022
By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor

A new study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University has found that just 37% of Christian pastors in the United States have a biblical worldview, demonstrating that spiritual awakening is "needed just as desperately in our pulpits as in the pews," according to the pollster.

The nationwide study of about 1,000 Christian pastors found that just slightly more than a third (37%) of the U.S. pastors hold a biblical worldview. The majority (62%) possess a hybrid worldview known as Syncretism.

The study, released Thursday, showed that 41% of senior pastors — as compared to 28% of associate pastors — have a biblical worldview. Further, only 13% of teaching pastors and 12% of children's and youth pastors have a biblical worldview.

The lowest level of biblical worldview was among executive pastors, with only 4% of them holding consistently biblical beliefs and behaviors.

The research included 54 worldview-related questions, and it found that only 47% of the pastors have a biblical worldview regarding family and the value of life; 44% concerning issues related to God, creation, and history; 43% in relation to personal faith practices; 43% when it comes to matters of sin, salvation, and one's relationship with God; 40% pertaining to human character and human nature; and 40% when it comes to measures of lifestyle, personal behavior, and relationships.

The study, however, noted that not having a biblical worldview doesn't mean adherence to a competing worldview, such as secular humanism or Marxism.

"In fact, less than 1% of pastors embody a worldview other than Biblical Theism (i.e., the biblical worldview)," researchers said. "Instead, their prevailing worldview is best described as Syncretism, the blending of ideas
and applications from a variety of holistic worldviews into a unique but inconsistent combination that represents their personal preferences. More than six out of 10 pastors (62%) have a predominantly syncretistic worldview."

George Barna, the director of research at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, said that a person's worldview primarily develops before the age of 13, then goes through a period of refinement during their teens and twenties.

"From a worldview perspective, a church's most important ministers are the children's pastor and the youth pastor," he said. "Discovering that seven out of every eight of those pastors lack a biblical worldview helps to explain why so few people in the nation's youngest generations are developing a heart and mind for biblical principles and ways of life, and why our society seems to have run wild over the last decade, in particular."

In conclusion, Barna said, "God is in the transformation business. Pastors who are willing to allow Him to transform their thinking and behavior can emerge from that process as a powerful example of what can happen when one's heart, mind and soul are surrendered to God. It certainly seems that if America is going to experience a spiritual revival, that awakening is needed just as desperately in our pulpits as in the pews."

Another study released by the Barna Group last month showed that more pastors now say they considered quitting their jobs compared to a year ago, driven to despair by stress, loneliness, political divisions and other worries like their church being in decline.

The share of pastors who have seriously considered quitting being in full-time ministry within the last year increased from 29% in 2021 to 42% in March of this year.

Michael Youssef, pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, recently urged pastors to stand firm on biblical truth as many churches are capitulating to woke theology in an effort to seem inclusive and “seeker-friendly."

“The Apostle Paul tells us we’re going to see young people fall by the wayside, but don’t give up on the Gospel, don’t compromise on the truth,” the 73-year-old Egyptian-American pastor told CP.

“We’re seeing deconstruction, pastors watering down the Gospel, and other things going on. I realized this is a time for me, at the age of 73, to leave a legacy to the younger generation of pastors. And it's not really my legacy; it's the Word of God, it’s the Apostle Paul's legacy."

To discern when a pastor is a false teacher who promotes a watered-down theology versus a biblically-sound one who holds to the ancient truths found in the Scriptures, Youssef urged churchgoers to ask: “Do they lift up Jesus and the cross of Christ as the only hope for salvation, eternal life, and calling men to repent and women to repent of their sins and turn to the Lord? Or do they simply preach affirmations?”

https://www.christianpost.com/news/only-37-of-pastors-have-a-biblical-worldview-barna.html

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Kathy Weaver
May 27, 2022

The First Amendment of our Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; …"

The current Federalist Society Republican political appointees to our Supreme Court are planning on making a mockery of our First Amendment by doing an end run around it that requires our government not make laws in favor of religion.

For more than a decade this conservative court has made rulings weakening that separation of religion and government. This court may further weaken this separation with a decision on Roe v. Wade with almost 50 years of case law supporting legal abortions giving women the right of liberty concerning their bodies under the 14th Amendment.

In 1992, the Supreme Court in Planned Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey upheld Roe and cited courts “have recognized the right of the individual to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision whether to bear or beget a child, Eisenstadt v. Baird.”

The Federalist Society was founded in 1992 by law students naming their organization for the Federalist Papers, essays written to persuade New York to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The society favors states’ rights over a strong central government, and they take an unfavorable view of amendments and legislation that removed powers from the states.

The Federalist Society is funded by corporations (Koch Industries) and right-wing conservative foundations (Mercer and Bradley Family). Six of the current conservative Supreme Court justices are Federalist Society nominees who, once appointed, are expected to rule for the partisan and corporate donors behind this Federalist Society operation. They are fully committed to Trump’s conservative Republicans’ politicization of our system of justice.

The leaked preliminary report by Justice Alito argues there is no mention of abortion in our Constitution while using 13th and 17th century common law treatise to return a woman's right to a legal abortion back to the states. That would result in many states, including Florida, being able to pass and enforce laws limiting abortions or outright banning all abortions without exceptions, and classifying abortion as felony murder with prison sentences for anyone involved in the crime.

This is the culmination of years of religious groups joining conservative Republicans to force their religious views on all Americans. In the 1980s the evangelical Southern Baptist Moral Majority, co-founded by Jerry Falwell, joined forces with the Republican Party to elect Ronald Reagan to the presidency. He became their patriarchal male leader. Falwell's Moral Majority supported both anti-abortion and anti-gay legislation.

Southern Baptists were joined by the U.S. Catholic bishops in their quest to overturn Roe, who also hope to make birth control illegal, labeling it abortion. Catholic priests openly supported Trump and demonized Democrats as godless communists for their pro-choice views and restricting pro-choice Catholic Democratic political leaders from receiving communion.

Religion is not without corruption; we've seen it in the Catholic Church and now the Southern Baptist Church with a third-party report that their leadership has hidden more than 20 years of sexual abuse cases involving women and children of their congregation — a good reason to disagree with Falwell's opinion concerning our First Amendment, "The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the devil to keep Christians from running their own country."

All religions have the right under the First Amendment to practice their faith, but they do not have the right to make our government their religious organization. The Rev. Billy Graham stated this clearly: "I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except manipulating it."

We've seen the political corruption of our Supreme Court and now the possibility that these political justices will rule either to overturn Roe v. Wade or to rely on states to do it, standing in violation of our third branch of government, a Supreme Court free of political pressure, and our First Amendment rights under our Constitution, a government free of religious domination.

On this Memorial Day, let's remember women have been serving their country in battle since the American Revolution for more than 200 years in one form or another, fighting for our freedoms. Women have overcome decades of discrimination to get to where they are today. Neither our Supreme Court nor our states should be able to treat women as second-class citizens, requiring them to bear children against their will.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: First Amendment rights include women's freedom from church doctrine

https://www.yahoo.com/news/kathy-weaver-constitutions-religious-freedom-093006072.html

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1:00PM EDT 5/24/2022 MICHAEL BROWN
Charisma News

When the children of Israel were in exile, scattered from their homeland because of their sin and with the holy temple in Jerusalem in ruins, it made the God of Israel look bad. Couldn't He take care of His own? As the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, "And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed" (Isa. 52:5b, NIV).

It is the same with us today as evangelical followers of Jesus: Because of our failings and scandals and carnality, the name of the Lord is being mocked and ridiculed. This is heartbreaking on so many levels.

In years past, the guilt of a few prominent TV preachers tarnished the names of other, good Christian leaders, making Jesus look bad. Why did the Lord's orchard have so many bad apples?

More recently, because of the politicizing of the gospel, many Christian conservatives became better known as followers of Trump than followers of Jesus, with some of them even emulating his mean-spirited behavior. This was the new model of Christian "boldness." And once again, the name of Jesus was dragged down.

Then we were shocked to learn about the failings of a beloved apologist. And to hear the salacious details about an affair that threatened the marriage of the famous leader of the world's largest Christian university.

This year, the worldwide Hillsong movement has become associated with the word "scandal."

And now, in devastating fashion, the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, has been accused of a massive cover-up of sexual sins.

As widely reported, an independent, third-party investigation indicated that SBC leaders "stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over two decades while seeking to protect their own reputations."

In the words of the SBC task force that called for the investigation:

We grieve for what has been revealed in this report. We lament on behalf of survivors for how they have not been protected and cared for as they deserve and as God demands. With broken hearts, we want to lead the way by publicly repenting for what has happened in our convention. We implore our Southern Baptist family to respond to this report with deep repentance and a commitment to the ongoing moral demands of the gospel as it relates to sexual abuse. We must resolve to give of our time and resources to not only care well for survivors of sexual abuse, but to provide a culture of accountability, transparency, and safety as we move forward. We acknowledge that any act of repentance requires ongoing, deliberate, dedicated obedience and sacrifice. This is the calling of our Savior to unite as a body in following after Him.

Who can fathom the amount of damage that has been done?

First, there are the victims of sexual abuse who suffered the double indignity of being abused and then ignored, demeaned, disbelieved and silenced. And this was at the hands of well-known, highly respected Christian leaders, according to the report. How can this be?

Then there is the spiritual rot that follows in its wake, as sin and guilt are swept under the carpet, only to fester and grow. (Remember: we're not talking about people who were guilty of minor indiscretions and then repented and lived above reproach thereafter. We're talking about allegations of rape and even abuse of children, with the offending leaders not even punished.)

Then, as things explode publicly, the name of the Lord is mocked and ridiculed. "You see," the world shouts, "we told you these Christians were a bunch of hypocrites. And we told you this whole Jesus-thing was a sham. Now you have living proof!"

What a terrible, inexcusable shame.

It's one thing if we say to the world, "We don't claim to be perfect, but we are true to our faith, and where we fall short, we acknowledge it and make amends."

It is another thing when we willfully and systematically cover up sin.

And to think: For many women in particular, the place that should be a safe haven, a place of refuge and protection, has become a place of fear, shame and abuse. To ask again: How can this be? I personally have no formal connection with the SBC or Hillsong, and I'm sure there are many godly people in these two large movements, the SBC being, by far, the largest.

I don't doubt for a second that there are plenty of devoted ministers among them, many ethical leaders, along with countless believers who love the Lord and seek to honor Him.

In fact, I would expect that the great majority are true blue.

And in the circles in which I travel, I have worked side by side with some of the finest Christians on the planet, people of integrity and high character, people who are above reproach. I am honored to call them friends and co-workers.

Yet there is no denying that, as conservative followers of Jesus, many of us identifying as evangelicals, we together look bad right now. Our "brand" has been tarnished. Our reputation has been smeared. And our Lord is being mocked.

That's why, together, we should get low before God and before people. We should confess corporately our guilt and sin. We should ask the watching world to forgive us for bringing reproach to the name of Jesus. And we should say, "By God's grace, we pledge to learn from our failings, to make amends and do better. And if you get to know us personally, you might be pleasantly surprised. There's a lot of good that we have done as well because of what Jesus has done in our lives."

The bad news is that many lives have been destroyed and much damage has been done. The good news is that God gives grace to the humble, and the lower we go in our repentance, the higher He will lift us up.

You can be sure that He, far more than any of us, is jealous for the reputation of His Son. And He will act to glorify His name.

As He said through the prophet Ezekiel, "And wherever [the Israelites] went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, 'These are the Lord's people, and yet they had to leave his land.' I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone" (Ezek. 36:20-21b).

And so, He acted, bringing the exiles home, thereby restoring honor to His name. I trust He will act again.

https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/in-the-line-of-fire/89257-as-evangelical-christians-we-are-bringing-reproach-to-the-name-of-jesus

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1:00PM EDT 6/6/2022 SHANE IDLEMAN

In a recent documentary, I discussed the rapid decline of America and the desperate need for serious prayer and fasting. To say that we are at a crossroads is an understatement—we are in the crosshairs.

This is an urgent call to the pulpits of America. America's lukewarm temperature is caused by a lack of fire in the pulpit and apathy in the pew. Leonard Ravenhill once lamented, "We need more prophets in our pulpits and less puppets." That same cry goes out today. We simply cannot remain silent.

Is Saving America the Mission of the Church?

CNN recently released an article quoting pastor Andy Stanley, who said "saving America is not the mission of the church."

I don't know Pastor Stanley, nor do I know his heart, but he highlights a real dilemma in our nation—prophetic voices who lack humility. In short, many bold preachers don't weep before they whip (cf. John 2:13-16). But balancing love with anger over the condition of our nation, families and churches is a hard balance to find.

People who say things such as "saving America is not the mission of the church" often use these phrases to justify their silence on important issues. Biblically speaking, it's impossible to be nonconfrontational to a culture hell-bent on rejecting God. We can't be "unhitched" from God's Word.

But Shane, Can You Answer the Question?

Back to the question, "Is saving America the mission of the church?" Of course not; but shouldn't we desire godly leaders and laws that align with God's Word and not be shamed for it? Shouldn't we want to protect our borders and our children without being chastised? Shouldn't we be a voice to those who have no voice and stop the slaughtering of the innocent?

The dilemma Pastor Stanley and others face is that they can't have their cake and eat it too. They can't avoid controversial topics in the hopes of not offending. Watering down difficult topics is exactly why America is drowning in a cesspool of moral relativism.

CNN quotes Stanley because, in their eyes, he supports their narrative. You won't find secular news outlets quoting and supporting bold preachers. Why? Because bold, Christ-centered, truth-elevating preaching exposes and dismantles their agenda. If secular news outlets are on your side, are you sure that you're on the right side?

Weak and Woke Won't Awaken

My goal isn't to divide the body of Christ but to convict it. I don't have a beef against Pastor Stanley—I'm sure he's a great guy—but if a Christian leader says controversial things, can't we lovingly challenge his or her words? This isn't dividing the body; rather it's sharpening our iron (Prov. 27:17).

Many of us are becoming weary of the silent pulpit that seems more comfortable slamming bold saints than confronting blatant sinners. Weak sermons from woke pastors won't convict the sinners who need redemption. 

A person who is considered "woke" prides himself or herself on being extra sensitive and aware of racial and social discrimination and injustice. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on the person's motives.

If we repent of our skin color, dislike police officers, disdain America, and support sexual perversion by our silence, all under the banner of "wokeness," we are in deep trouble. If we won't preach the truth because some in our audience are on the other side of the political spectrum, we aren't pastors, we are appeasers.

Love of Country Over Love of People

Love of country shouldn't take precedence over love of people, but doesn't loving people also mean loving the country in which they live?

What many are really saying is, "If you vote for a mean-tweeting president, care about God-given freedoms, and talk about hot-button issues, you don't love people." With all due respect, that simply is not true!

Is it even possible for Christians to embrace a political party without hurting the feelings of the other party? No, it's not. This is the dilemma of Pastor Stanley and other leaders. Instead of asking, "How can we not offend others?" they should be asking, "Are we offending God?"

There Must Appear a New Type of Preacher

A.W. Tozer hit the nail on the head decades ago: "If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used ... there must appear a new type of preacher."

Tozer continues, "The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting."

He concludes, "Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath." God, give us more prophets and fewer puppets!

Appeasement—An Exercise in Futility

Those who have been called to preach will confront compromise, condemn moral digression and powerfully denounce sin in the hope of reconciling man to God. The world despises them because they challenge the sin the world enjoys. Trying to please a Christ-rejecting world is an exercise in futility.

Although ruffling feathers is not our goal, we will step on toes from time to time when we speak the truth. This can't always be avoided, nor should it be.

Weak and woke won't turn America around, but neither will pride and arrogance. Speaking the heart of God flows from a reservoir of brokenness and time spent with Him. How are you doing in this area?

Whether you're on the Right or the Left, you must be on the right side of God's Word.

We need more men like the Old Testament prophet Micaiah, who said, "As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say" (1 Kings 22:14, NLT).

Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship, in Lancaster, California, and now Leona Valley, California. He also began the Westside Christian Radio Network—WCFRadio.org—in 2019. His sermons, books, articles and radio program have sparked change in many people's lives.

https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/89362-why-america-needs-more-prophets-not-puppets

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8:00AM EDT 5/17/2022 LIBERTY COUNSEL
Charisma News

In less than two weeks, Joe Biden plans to cede U.S. sovereignty over our health affairs to the United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO). If successful, WHO will be able to impose its rules — including shutdown orders, border closures and vaccine passports — at will.

In January, the Biden administration quietly submitted to WHO a series of amendments that would change its International Health Regulations (IHR).

Biden's proposed amendments would cede American sovereignty, as well as the sovereignty of all the other 193 member states, to WHO. This would place the health decisions of 99.94% of the world population under the control of an unelected, unaccountable foreign governing body.

In less than two weeks, Joe Biden plans to cede U.S. sovereignty over our health affairs to the United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO). If successful, WHO will be able to impose its rules — including shutdown orders, border closures and vaccine passports — at will.

In January, the Biden administration quietly submitted to WHO a series of amendments that would change its International Health Regulations (IHR).

Biden's proposed amendments would cede American sovereignty, as well as the sovereignty of all the other 193 member states, to WHO. This would place the health decisions of 99.94% of the world population under the control of an unelected, unaccountable foreign governing body.

These amendments have little to do with health and safety, and everything to do with control.

Do not let Joe Biden put America under the U.N.'s One-World Government! Congress must demand that Biden withdraw all WHO amendments!

Under these amendments, WHO could declare a "shutdown," ordering everyone to stay in their houses. WHO could declare what businesses are "essential." Churches will not be on WHO's list.

WHO would have authority to close our borders and impose vaccine passports. In March 2022, WHO began pushing international vaccine passports. Immediately, two continents complied.

WHO could dictate whether a doctor may prescribe, or a pharmacy dispense, ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). WHO could fine individual violators, including the United States, for noncompliance.

George W. Bush adopted and agreed to live under WHO's regulations back in 2005. Donald Trump began the process to pull America out of WHO. Biden reversed Trump. Now Biden's proposed changes will cede sovereignty to WHO.

WHO member states will vote on Biden's proposed amendments this month. If just 40 other countries agree, the U.S. will be bound to comply.

WHO will meet May 22-28 to vote on Biden's amendments.

We must now call on Congress to demand it takes an immediate stand against Biden's attempts to put Americans under the thumb of WHO.

Congress must demand that Biden withdraw all WHO amendments!

This is extremely urgent. We must compel Congress to act now to save America from one-world governance.

If you thought the COVID shutdowns and mandates by our own federal and state governments were bad, imagine what WHO could do to us!

Tell the legislators to do everything in their power to stop Biden from ceding authority to WHO. We need "all hands on deck."

Liberty Counsel has a very full docket of vital litigation fighting tyrants who want to subvert American liberty on many fronts. I will update you on our cutting-edge litigation as soon as possible.

For the original article, visit our content partners at LC.org.

https://www.charismanews.com/world/89189-a-giant-step-to-a-one-world-government

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Podcasters: Jeff Kinley and Todd Hampson say the End Times is getting more violent for Christians

By Nicole Alcindor, CP Reporter

Prophecy Pros podcasters Jeff Kinley and Todd Hampson recently shared signs that the world is currently in the End Times, warning that society is only getting worse for Christians because speaking the truth can lead to being “attacked.”

The podcast duo shared in a May 4 episode that just like in the time of Noah, the earth is today filled with sin that is often “celebrated” by the masses.

Hampson and Kinley pointed out that “extreme” sexual immorality and ungodly behavior are rampant in today's culture. They cited the LGBT movement and gay marriage, and "evil" sorcery practices and “extreme" violence.

They noted that an “explosion of this kind of immorality and perversion,” which is prevalent in society today, all function as signs that the world is currently in The End Times.

“Obviously, sin began with Adam and Eve and increased when Cain killed Abel, and ... it gets worse and worse and worse. And wherever there is sin, there is death, and that just becomes like a disease that just takes over the whole earth. And then God gets sick of it and has had enough and does His thing,” Hampson said.

In the story of Noah, people were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving into marriage,” as stated in Matthew 24:38.

“They were going about ordinary life. They weren't thinking about God or whatever. But when you rewind back to Genesis 6, what you discover is that they weren't just getting married and just having dinner. I mean, they were involved in a whole lot of other stuff. And part of that was, it says that in verse 11, ‘[the earth] was corrupt in the sight of God,’” Kinley said.

“And that word ‘corrupt’ is the same word that Moses — the same author here — uses in Exodus 32 when he talks about how the children of Israel at the base of Mount Sinai were corrupting themselves. And in that context, there it meant just basically a national sexual orgy day is basically what it was referring to. And it doesn't take a lot of imagination to think of a world without God. What are they doing, right? … It's Mardi Gras on steroids. So the whole concept and culture of sexual immorality was just exploding up into the very end during the time of Noah,” Kinley continued.

“Also, in the days of Lot. So the connotation there was just extreme sexual immorality, no restraints. Everybody's doing all kinds of crazy stuff, doing everything possible; that's against the norms and stuff that God set up and God’s ordained pattern of doing things,” Hampson added.

Kinley said that through his study of the Bible and in his conversations with theologians and rabbis, he's learned of the undeniable parallel between the time of Noah and today's push for same-sex marriage.

“One of the things that they said [that] I thought was just really incredible was that [the rabbis] said that during the days of Noah — and this is obviously probably oral tradition passed down through the Jewish leadership — that there were gay marriage contracts, homosexual marriage contracts written between couples and that songs were composed for those weddings,” Kinley said.

“But then these rabbis said, once homosexual marriage was condoned and celebrated, they said God basically said, ‘That's it.’ They even used this terminology; they said that ‘your civilization has forfeited its right to exist.’ When I read that, it was like a cannonball into the gut. … I thought, wow, they believe that and that was right on the heels of us legalizing gay marriage in our own country.”

Even though Christians are to stand for truth, Hampson and Kinley agreed there is a way in which all believers should share what they believe on these matters because, throughout history, God showed sorrow for those living against His will.

“God actually feels sorrow. … We think of God [as] just being righteous and almost stoic at times, but God feels sorrow. We know from Ephesians; … the Holy Spirit can be grieved. Jesus wept, right? Jesus wept over Jerusalem. He wept at the death of Lazarus,” Kinley emphasized.

“It's a tough thing because obviously, we want to speak the truth in love, but we never want to throw truth out the window in the name of love. So, we've got to speak truth in our culture today,” Hampson added.

“God ordained men and women. [He] created us as men and women from the get-go and he ordained marriage. And it's the enemy who's been confusing every possible issue or everything that God has ordained, trying to mess it up and trying to cause division and all that kind of stuff.”

https://www.christianpost.com/news/prophesy-pros-highlight-signs-the-world-is-in-the-end-times.html

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3:00PM EDT 5/24/2022 MICHAEL SNYDER
Charisma News

You would have to be out of your mind to fight wars with China and Russia simultaneously. Unfortunately, the guy in the White House actually fits that description. Joe Biden has been a hothead throughout his career in politics, but now he is a hothead in an advanced state of mental decline. And as I have warned for more than a year, he is surrounded by the worst foreign policy team in U.S. history, and that is really saying something. Biden and his team just keep making one colossal mistake after another, and now we are on a path that could soon have us fighting major wars with both China and Russia at the same time.

If there were ever a time to invoke the 25th Amendment, it is now. If we start shooting at the Chinese and the Russians, the unthinkable will become reality. There will be no do-overs, and there will be no going back to the way life was before.

During a press conference in Japan, Biden was asked if he would use the U.S. military to defend Taiwan if China invades. This is how he responded:

"Very quickly, you didn't want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?" a reporter asked the president during a news conference in Japan. "Yes," Biden replied.

"You are?" the reporter pressed.

"That's the commitment we made," the president said.

As he made those remarks, Biden seemed dazed and confused, as if he were in some sort of a mental fog.

“Biden says the US would defend #Taiwan militarily against an invasion by China”

Immediately after Biden's press conference, administration officials attempted to walk back his remarks.

They said he "misspoke" and that there had been no change in policy.

But the damage had already been done, and the Chinese were furious. In fact, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded by stating that "there is no room for compromise" when it comes to Taiwan:

"On issues concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and other core interests, there is no room for compromise," said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"We urged the US side to earnestly follow the One China principle ... be cautious in words and deeds on the Taiwan issue, and not send any wrong signal to pro-Taiwan independence and separatist forces—so it won't cause serious damage to the situation across the Taiwan Strait and China-US relations."

China has always considered Taiwan to be Chinese territory, and in recent weeks there have been all sorts of rumblings that the Chinese are getting ready to invade.

Let me share just one example with you:

Officials from the Chinese finance ministry and central bank on April 22 met with representatives of dozens of banks, including HSBC, to discuss what Beijing could do in the event of the imposition of severe sanctions on China. The finance ministry noted, in the words of the Financial Times, that "all large foreign and domestic banks operating in China" were present.

Participants concluded Beijing could not protect foreign assets, but the holding of the "emergency meeting" is nonetheless ominous. Chinese
officials have seen the effect of sanctions imposed on Russia after it launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February, and they are planning to weather any such measures applied to their own country.

Why would the Chinese hold such an emergency meeting? The answer is obvious.

The only reason the U.S. would impose the same sort of sanctions on China as it has on Russia would be if China decided to invade Taiwan.

As I have detailed in previous articles, the Chinese have been sending military aircraft into Taiwan's air defense identification zone on a constant basis for months. And there have been all sorts of reports and rumors that the Chinese military is actively making preparations for an invasion.

So that is why Biden is being asked about a potential invasion. Everyone realizes that such a scenario is a distinct possibility.

And once China invades, the U.S. and China will immediately be in a state of war.

In fact, an article that was recently posted on Fox News is suggesting that the Chinese may actually launch a "first strike" against U.S. military assets if it decides to launch an invasion of Taiwan:

For China to seize Taiwan, it must first gain air superiority and then knock out Taiwan's navy. And unlike Russia's invasion of non-NATO ally Ukraine, China must assume from the start that America and Japan will swiftly come to Taiwan's aid, meaning that China will launch a first strike on American and Japanese naval and air assets. Thus, unless successfully deterred, a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is likely to be a high-intensity affair from the first hour, with American ships, submarines and air bases targeted by hundreds of Chinese missiles—regardless of whether America formally returns to strategic ambiguity or even abandons Taiwan as some suggest.

I don't think the Chinese would risk such an attack.

Instead, I think that they would hit Taiwan with overwhelming force and hope that Biden would just respond with sanctions. But I could be wrong.

Switching gears, both sides continue to escalate the war in Ukraine.

On Sunday, we learned that the U.S. is actually considering sending troops into Ukraine to guard the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv:

Plans to send U.S. forces back into Ukraine to guard the recently reopened American embassy in Kyiv are "underway at a relatively low level," Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that officials are mulling plans to send special forces to Kyiv to guard the U.S. embassy. The effort is a delicate one, as it requires balancing the safety of American diplomats while avoiding what Russia could see as an escalation.

That is not a good idea, but rational people are not running our foreign policy at this point.

If rational people were making these decisions in Washington, D.C., we would not have already committed $54 billion to this conflict. That is an amount that is nine times larger than what Ukraine normally spends on their entire military for an entire year.

https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/89259-world-war-iii-rising-end-times-stage-is-being-set-for-simultaneous-us-conflict-with-china-russia