A Minnesota lawmaker is under scrutiny for pro-homosexual remarks he made before a house panel arguing that being gay is “godly and holy.”

Video of the lawmakers’ speech quickly went viral on YouTube.

“How many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God wants them around?” state Rep. Steve Simon, D-St. Louis Park, said.

“And how many gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether the living of their lives the way they wish as long as they don’t harm others, is a godly, holy, and happy, and glorious thing?” he continued.
 
Rep. Simon urged members of the state’s Civil Law Committee to vote “no” this week on a traditional marriage amendment. The measure would allow voters to decide the matter on the 2012 general election ballot.

Simon argued that sexual orientation is a gift from God and that religious justification should not be applied to ban same-sex marriage.

Randy Thomas, executive vice president with Exodus International disagreed, saying the ideology behind the lawmaker’s remarks is convoluted.

Thomas spoke by phone with CBN News in response to Rep. Simon’s remarks. Click play for his reaction.

“The theology behind that statement is so absent, it’s very confusing,” he said.

“The Lord is the author of every breath so every person who is alive on this planet today is here because the Lord ordained their existence. So of course he wants them here,” he explained. “He wants them to know Him, He wants to love them, He wants to save them.” 

“That does not mean that He agrees with everything that we do or what we believe,” Thomas continued.

“He loves us enough to tell us ‘yes’ when we are in line with His will and He loves us enough to tell us ‘no,’” he said.

Gay marriage is not recognized under Minnesota law. The House committee passed the ballot amendment 10-7, making way for the people to decide in 2012.

Originally posted 2011-05-06 05:40:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Rev. David Wilkerson, founding pastor of Times Square Church in New York City and author of the well-known book The Cross and the Switchblade, was killed Wednesday in a head-on collision in Texas. He was 79.

Wilkerson’s wife, Gwen, was also involved in the crash.  She is in fair condition and expected to recover.

“Thank you for all your prayers and the outpouring of love you have shown for the Wilkerson family,” Times Square Church Senior Pastor Carter Conlon said in a statement, Thursday, on the church website.  “We are comforted by knowing that Pastor David has been enjoying the full presence of the Lord for more than a day now.”

Conlon added that the family will have a private funeral in Texas.  A public memorial service will be held at Times Square Church within the next two weeks.

How did Pastor David Wilkerson’s ministry and life impact you?

CBN founder Pat Robertson remembered Wilkerson as a “tremendous man” who is “with Jesus and  is rejoicing in heaven.” Click play for more of his comments following Heather Sells’ report.

Also, CBN Chaplain Joel Palser, a friend of Wilkerson, talked more about the Wilkerson’s life and what qualities made him such a strong man of God.

Click play below for his comments.

Crash Details

Wilkerson was driving east on U.S. 175 in Cuney, Texas, Wednesday afternoon, and moved into the opposite lane where a tractor trailer was driving westbound.

The truck driver saw the car and tried to move out of the way, but still collided with the pastor’s car head on, according to Public Safety Trooper Eric Long. 

The accident occurred on the Neches River bridge, about 100 miles outside Dallas.  Wilkerson and his wife had recently moved to Tyler, Texas, from New York. 

It’s unclear what caused him to veer into the other lane.  The truck driver has since been released from the hospital.

Wilkerson was pronounced dead on the scene.

Last Words

Wilkerson posted a blog dated April 27 — the day of his death. In the post, titled “When All Means Fail,” he encouraged those facing difficulty to “hold fast” and stand strong in faith.

“To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights, and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you,’” Wilkerson wrote. “Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail-his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.”

Read all of Wilkerson’s final blog here.

Scott Ross, a 700 Club correspondent, knew Rev. Wilkerson both personally and professionally.  Watch his comments below on the legacy Wilkerson left behind.

Word of the accident began to spread Wednesday night on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Christians urged prayer for Mrs. Wilkerson, who’s in ”fair” condition — one step up from critical.

Rev. Wilkerson’s Impact

Wilkerson’s cousin Rich Wilkerson confirmed the death on Twitter.

“It is confirmed my dear cousin David Wilkerson lost his life in a tragic car accident this afternoon..Prayers r needed at this time,” he tweeted.

Rev. Wilkerson spent the early part of his ministry reaching out to gang members and drug addicts in New York, as told in his bestselling book The Cross and the Switchblade.

“The term LEGEND is often used to describe a person of extreme influence but what about a man that supersedes superlatives..david wilkerson,” his cousin tweeted right after confirming his death. 

In 1971, Wilkerson started World Challenge, Inc. as an umbrella for his crusades, conferences, evangelism and other ministry. Times Square Church was founded under the group in 1987.

The church is now led by Pastor Carter Conlon and has more than 8,000 members.

Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge, a Christian outreach program for troubled young people and recovering drug addicts, which currently has more than 100 centers nationwide.

“Please remember the Wilkerson family in your prayers as our founder, Rev. David Wilkerson, went to be with the Lord this evening,” Teen Challenge told Twitter followers.

Wilkerson is survived by his wife, four children and 11 grandchildren.

Originally posted 2011-04-29 01:27:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 terror attacks that struck New York City and Washington, D.C., was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan last Monday.

In a televised statement to the nation late Sunday night, President Barack Obama decalred ‘”justice has been done,” but admitted the fight against terrorism is far from over.

It was a speech Americans waited years to hear.

“On nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al-Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done,” Obama said.

“Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body,” Obama said.

Bin Laden was finally killed during a firefight with a team of elite counter terrorism troops at a mansion in Pakistan. A U.S. official said the compound was “custom built to hide someone of significance.”

The CIA had discovered the compound which was near Pakistan’s capital. U.S. military force using four helicopters attacked the compound to eliminate the man who sanctioned the hijacking of four airline passenger jets to kill nearly 3,000 people on 9/11.

“We are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to,” Obama said.

Within minutes of the president’s announcement, celebrations erupted in Washington, D.C.

“I’m in shock,” one person said.

Americans in New York City near Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attacks, also welcomed the news.

“I don’t know that it’s going to make our country any safer, but at least we have the satisfaction of knowing that he’s not even alive anymore,” one person said.

“I can’t tell you the national pride that I feel here and being visiting from Texas, being in Times Square when this was being announced, just so much pride for our country,” one tourist said.

“People have lost their lives because of Osama bin Laden and I think this has been a long time coming. So I think I speak for a lot of people in Times Square and Ground Zero who felt that this has taken along time but it’s time to celebrate,” another person said.

Officials say U.S. forces took custody of bin Laden’s body. It was treated with respect under Islamic tradition and was buried at sea because the U.S. did not want his burial place to become a shrine for terrorists.

Originally posted 2011-05-02 15:34:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

WASHINGTON — The price of gold has set another record high Monday, with the price of the yellow metal rising to more than $1,880 an ounce.

The dollar, by some estimates, has lost about 80 percent of its purchasing power compared to gold since 1970.
   
Now some economists and political leaders believe the time has come to make the dollar “as good as gold” again by returning to the gold standard.

Return to the Gold Standard?
   
Ask any investor and they’ll probably tell you “cash is king” — especially during volatile times like these. But more and more people are looking to gold as both a safe haven and an investment.

Jeff Bell is the director of American Principles, the Washington-based group that’s trying to persuade policymakers to return to the gold standard – that is, tying the value of the dollar to the value of gold.

“The flight to gold, as many people understand, is a vote of no confidence in paper money, particularly in the dollar,” Bell explained.
   
But it was 40 years ago this August, in the middle of the Vietnam War and fighting inflation, that President Richard Nixon cut the dollar’s link to gold.

“It may have helped Nixon in the short run by enabling the economy to be very liquid, but in the long run it led to enormously greater problems than Nixon started off with,” Bell said.
    
Bell believes Americans will never rein in Washington’s out-of-control spending, the Federal Reserve’s record-setting dollar printing, or escape repeated financial bubbles without a monetary foundation based on gold.

Critics: Gold Standard ‘Wrongheaded’

But some economists disagree.

“I think it’s exactly wrong-headed,” stated Tara Sinclair, a professor of economics and international affairs at George Washington University.

“I think the whole idea of the economic situation we’re in right now suggests even more than normal we need to have monetary policy in the hands of capable policymakers rather than just simply based on the supply of gold,” she said.
    
Sinclair says it’s times like these that prove it’s best for the government to control the money supply so it can put more money into the economy to strengthen it during difficult times.

“The most similar situation that we were in like today was the Great Depression,” she said. “And that’s exactly when we saw that countries who went off the gold standard did better.”
    
But Bell argues as the global reserve currency, since the rest of the world relies on dollars for their own purchases, Washington hasn’t been able to resist the temptation of running up deficits and printing more and more money with less purchasing power.
    
His group is working with grassroots targeting influential primary states to build their case.

“Everybody at the grassroots knew about this,” Bell said. “And that’s why we’re focused on our group, Gold Standard 2012 project, is focused on going to the early states – like Iowa and South Carolina – convincing the grassroots that this needs to happen.”
    
However, given the current economic situation that’s unlikely to happen any time soon.

Originally posted 2011-08-22 19:10:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

WASHINGTON – Ratcheting up the pressure, President Barack Obama on Saturday said Moammar Gadhafi has lost his legitimacy to rule and urged the Libyan leader to leave power immediately.

It was the first time Obama has called for Gadhafi to step down, coming after days of bloodshed in Libya. Gadhafi has vowed to fight to the end to keep his four-decade grip on power in the North African country.

“When a leader’s only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now,” the White House said in a statement, summarizing Obama’s telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Until now, U.S. officials have held back from such a pronouncement, insisting it is for the Libyan people to decide who their leader should be.

Obama commented a day after the administration froze all Libyan assets in the U.S. that belong to Gadhafi, his government and four of his children. The U.S. also closed its embassy in Libya and suspended the limited defense trade between the countries.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced further sanctions Saturday, revoking visas for senior Libyan officials and their immediate family members. She said applications from these people for travel to the United States would be rejected.

Gadhafi “should go without further bloodshed and violence,” Clinton said in a separate statement.

Obama has been conferring with world leaders about the unrest in Libya. The administration is hoping that the world speaks with a single voice against Gadhafi’s violent crackdown on protesters, and Obama is sending Clinton to Geneva on Sunday to coordinate with foreign policy chiefs from several countries.

The U.N. Security Council met urgently Saturday to debate new sanctions against Libya but disagreed over a proposal to refer Gadhafi and his top lieutenants to an international war crimes tribunal.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants immediate action to protect Libyan civilians. The U.N. chief was due in Washington on Monday for talks with Obama at the White House.

The administration had been facing increasing pressure to more forcefully condemn Gadhafi and explicitly call for his ouster, as French President Nicolas Sarkozy has done. Witnesses in Libya said Gadhafi is arming civilian supporters to set up checkpoints and roving patrols in Tripoli, the capital.

The U.S. held back, but its tone shifted sharply on Friday after Americans in Libya were evacuated to safety by ferry and a chartered airplane.

Shortly after, Obama signed an executive order outlining financial penalties designed to pressure Gadhafi’s government into halting the violence. The order said that the instability in Libya constituted an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy.

A nonviolent revolt against Gadhafi’s government began Feb. 15 amid a wave of uprisings in the Arab world. Most of Libya’s eastern half is under the control of rebels. Witnesses say Gadhafi’s government has responded by shooting at protesters in numerous cities.
     
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.

Originally posted 2011-02-27 04:46:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

As East Coast residents clean up the remnants of Hurricane Irene, weather experts are already watching what could turn into the next hurricane of the season.

A tropical depression far out in the Atlantic is forecast to become a hurricane this week.

Currently, the storm system is off the coast of South Africa, and could strengthen to a tropical storm by Monday night.

The storm would be named “Katia” — the name that replaced Katrina in the rotating storm roster because of the catastrophic damage from the 2005 storm.

Meteorologists say Katia could reach hurricane strength by Thursday.

It’s still too early to tell if the storm would approach the United States.

Originally posted 2011-08-29 21:50:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The budget stalemate in Washington could have serious implications for millions of Americans — especially with the news that Moody’s Investors Service may downgrade the nation’s credit rating.

Even if an agreement is reached to raise the debt ceiling, the ratings agency warned Wednesday it will downgrade the nation’s credit unless the deal puts future borrowing and spending under control.

“I think it’s fairly safe to say that the stock market would get hit. The bond market would get hit. The economy would get hit,” Charles Schwab Chief Financial Analyst Liz Ann Sonders said.

President Obama raised the stakes Wednesday, walking out of negotiations after House Minority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., suggested a short term increase to the nation’s credit limit.
   
“Don’t call my bluff,” the president warned the legislators.

“If these debt negotiations have convinced us of anything it’s that we can’t leave it to politicians in Washington to make the difficult decisions. They need to get our fiscal house in order,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.
   
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is warning that failure to raise the debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline would be disastrous.

“That would create a huge financial calamity,” Bernanke said. “It would affect everybody.”

And financial advisors are warning Americans to take a look at their own financial holdings.

There’s “not a better time than now to make sure that you’re not overexposed to any one particular area that might get hit,” Sonders said.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration and lawmakers are back at it again Thursday, with just a little over two weeks left until Aug. 2.

Originally posted 2011-07-14 15:32:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

A powerful bomb ripped through government buildings in Oslo, Norway Friday, killing at least seven people less than an hour before a man dressed as a law enforcement officer opened fire at a youth camp, leaving at least nine others dead.

Authorities have linked at least one suspect to the two attacks. Officials say this is the nation’s worst attack since World War II.

Police said there’s no motive yet, and they aren’t sure if the attacks were carried out by one person or a terrorist group.

Justice Minister Knut Storberget, who was not in the building at the time of the bombing, said the man in custody is Norwegian.

He called the attacks “cowardly.”

“I have message to those who attacked us,” he said. “It’s a message from all of Norway: You will not destroy our democracy and our commitment to a better world.”

Following Friday’s blast, President Barack Obama extended his condolences to the people of Norway, and assured anyone involved in the attack would be sought after.

“We don’t have information yet, but I wanted to personally extend my condolences to the people of Norway,” Obama said.

“It’s a reminder that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this type of terror from occurring, and that we have to work cooperatively together both on intelligence and in terms of prevention of these kinds of horrible attacks,” he said.

Click play to watch Friday’s CBN Newswatch report, followed by comments from CBN News Senior Reporter Dale Hurd.

“So far, police cannot say anything about the scope of the damage. Aside from that there’s been one or several explosions,” Oslo police said in a brief statement.

Law enforcement officials say Friday’s explosion was caused by “one or more” bombs.

The attacks come as Norway is investigating a series homegrown terror plots linked to al Qaeda.

In the latest plot, Iraqi-born cleric Mullah Krekar is facing charges for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he is deported from the Scandinavian country.

The nation has been plagued with terrorism concerns since 2005, when cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad sparked violent protests in the Muslim community.

Originally posted 2011-07-23 14:54:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

CAIRO – Christians and Muslims fought in the streets of western Cairo on Saturday in violence triggered by word of a mixed romance, Egypt’s official news agency reported. At least five people were killed.

The clashes marked an escalation in tension between Egypt’s Muslims and its Coptic Christian minority that has coincided with uncertainty surrounding the country’s path after President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February.

Ultraconservative Muslims have renewed protests in recent days accusing the church of abducting the wife of a Coptic priest who the protesters believe converted to Islam. Copts answered back by holding their own rally Friday outside the Orthodox Church to protest what they said was the “targeting of the church.”

The news agency said the violence Saturday broke out in the Imbaba neighborhood after word spread that a Christian woman had married a Muslim and was being held in a church against her will.

Hundreds of Muslims converged on the church to demand the woman be released, witnesses said. Copts stood outside the church protecting it. The witnesses said gunfire was exchanged in the melee, including from people shooting from rooftops.

Islamists threw firebombs at the church, leaving the facade burning. Firefighters battled with the fire in the church as violence extended to nearby streets. Fire also hit homes near the church, the witnesses said. Crowds chanted, “With our souls and our blood we defend you, Islam.”

Besides the dead, 105 people were injured, health ministry official Hesham Shiha told Egyptian private TV ONTV.

Egyptian, TV reported that the military and police were trying to break up the standoff. Witnesses said they used tear gas and fired into the air.

Mixed relationships are taboo in Egypt, where the Muslim majority and sizable Christian minority are both largely conservative. Such relationships are often the source of deadly clashes between the faiths.

If a Christian woman marries a Muslim, she is expelled from the church. A Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a Christian man, according to state law.

Because divorce is banned under the Coptic Church, unless under stringent conditions, many women resort to conversion as a way to get out of a marriage.

The case of Camilla Shehata, the wife of a Coptic priest, captivated attention last summer and has again become a source of tension.

Ultraconservative Muslims have held protests and appeared on talk shows demanding the return of Shehata to Islam. They accused the police of collaborating with the church by handing Shehata over to church authorities to reconvert her.

On Saturday, Shehata appeared on a Christian TV station broadcast from outside of Egypt in a teleconference with her husband to say she was still a Christian and had never converted.

She said the protests were an attack on the church. “Let the protesters leave the Church alone and turn their attention to Egypt’s future.” The woman’s whereabouts is unknown.

Ultraconservative Muslims have gained prominence in Egypt, becoming more assertive in trying to spread their version of an Islamic way of life.
     
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.

Originally posted 2011-05-08 00:20:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Hurricane Irene is long gone, but the floodwaters it left behind were still taking a toll on millions of Americans Wednesday, particularly in the Northeast.

Dangerously-damaged infrastructure and thousands of water-logged homes and businesses continued to affect the lives of residents from North Carolina through New England.

The storm left at least 44 people dead and 2.5 million without power in 13 states.

“The first thing (I saw ) when I looked out the window — I saw the house wasn’t in the right place,” recalled Jacob Herz, a resident of Fleischmanns, N.Y.

In Vermont, rescue crews are still trying to reach residents in 11 towns left isolated and desperate.

“The water was really, really up very high. And the force of it was beyond our comprehension,” Woodstock, Vt., resident Michael Ricci said.

But for some, this isn’t their first flood.

“This is my second flood in five years,” Lodi, N.J. resident Bonnie Riddick said. “I’m getting out of here. My whole apartment, I can’t get back in for a month, two months, until we gut all the walls, do all the electrical work again.”

In Conway, N.H., 22 people were rescued in just a few hours.

“(These are) the worst possible conditions of swift water rescue,” New Hampshire Fire Department Chief Stephen Solomon said. “There’s a guy hanging in a tree. We had another person in rising water in his house, ended up in his attic.”

Irene’s floodwaters damaged 80 homes in Conway alone.  In Vermont, the National Guard has been delivering food and supplies to stranded residents.

“If it’s a life-and-death situation, where someone needs to be Medevac-ed or taken to a hospital,” Mark Bosma, a spokesman for Vermont Emergency Management, told The Associated Press.

“We would get a helicopter there to airlift them out, if we could get close to them,” he said. ”A lot of these areas are mountainous areas where there may not be a place to land.”

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate are scheduled to tour New Jersey and New York on Wednesday. They’ll also visit other states in the days ahead.

Originally posted 2011-08-31 16:23:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter