Government and Faith Archives

December 20, 2018December 19, 2018

Wicca Religious System Growing

Wicca is recognized in America as a Pagan religious belief system which includes a wide range of extreme views including witchcraft. The latest demographic studies indicate that the Wicca religious system has 1.5 million American followers.

Since Wicca has no central authority to set doctrines or practices, those who practice Wicca vary widely in their beliefs. They include those who subscribe to witchcraft, pantheism, polytheism, goddess worship, and celebration of cycles of the Moon and Sun. Our experience has been that the average age of people in Wicca is between 25 and 35.

For 50 years this ministry has warned people that they must have an evidence-based faith. One’s faith must be based on solid evidence not on emotions and psychological extremism. Emotion and unsupported ideas will not stand up in the challenging world in which we live. That prediction is being supported strongly by the number of people subscribing to various branches of the Wiccan religious system and rejecting Christianity.
–John N. Clayton © 2018

November 27, 2018November 26, 2018

Harvard Hypocrisy Evident

Harvard Hypocrisy at their Gate
Yesterday we reported on Harvard University’s policy of forcing women’s organizations to either accept men or be driven out of existence. They are doing that to be “gender neutral.” Now we are learning about more Harvard hypocrisy.

On October 16, 2018, the Wall Street Journal published an article by William McGurn titled “What Hillsdale Can Teach Harvard.” The article documents Harvard’s discrimination against Asian-Americans. To conform to federal guidelines, Harvard is requiring higher SAT scores and adding personality traits like “kindness” and “likability” to justify the exclusion of Asian-Americans.

Hillsdale College here in Michigan has forgone federal grants and aid. In that way, it can ignore federal requirements on programs and enrollment policies. Harvard receives millions of federal dollars each year by conforming to federal guidelines for its courses and admissions. McGurn quotes a Harvard defense of their SAT and psychological requirements:

“This case involves a private university, which has a weighty academic-freedom interest, protected by the First Amendment, in choosing its students, and in determining how they are educated (including through the judgment about the educational benefits flowing from a diverse student body).”

Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College, has said, “Any time anyone from Harvard would like to see how a college can maintain its autonomy and its values, our door is open.”

In past years we have reported on cases were Christian students at Harvard were pressured to reject their Christian beliefs in order to stay in school. Yesterday we quoted the administration’s commitment to “making Harvard a campus for all of its students.” Harvard’s hypocrisy and its 39-billion-dollar endowment seem to dictate what students have to do and believe to be accepted.
–John N. Clayton © 2018

November 6, 2018November 5, 2018

In God We Trust

We don’t normally repeat a post, but since today is an important election day in the United States, we are making an exception. In case you missed this post earlier, it’s a reminder of the importance of Christian faith in the founding and history of the USA. The very character of our country is the result of people of faith who lived by their faith, and the freedom we enjoy grows from loving God and our neighbors. That character and freedom depend our continuing to live out our national motto – In God We Trust.
–Roland Earnst

Most people are not aware that the Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States, has four verses. One has to wonder what would happen at a sporting event if someone sang all four verses, especially verse four which goes like this:

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

From the post of November 1, 2018, by John Clayton

November 1, 2018October 31, 2018

Star-Spangled Banner Verse 4

October 28, 2018October 26, 2018

Colorado Civil Rights Commission Is Targeting Jack Phillips – Again!

The state of Colorado refuses to stop harassing Jack Phillips for his Christian faith. A few months ago we reported on how the Colorado Civil Rights Commission is targeting Jack Phillips. Mr. Phillips owns a business called Masterpiece Cakeshop. Jack is an artist, and he expresses his art in finely-crafted cakes for special occasions. Jack and his wife are also deeply committed Christians, and the “Master” in the cakeshop’s name reflects his master, Jesus Christ. He wants every piece of art he designs to reflect his faith as he serves others.

Six years ago a same-sex couple asked him to create a cake for their wedding. He respectfully declined because doing so would violate his deeply-held religious conviction that marriage is between a man and a woman. He would create a cake for those customers for another occasion, but not for their wedding. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission punished him severely and accused him of acting like the Nazi’s or the segregationists of the past. You can read our report on that HERE.

After years of litigation, in June 2018 the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jack Phillips by a vote of 7 to 2. (We reported on that HERE.) Phillips was freed from years of legal troubles. But not for long. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission is targeting Jack Phillips again.

On the day the Supreme Court took up his case in June of 2017, an attorney called the Masterpiece Cakeshop. He requested Jack to create a cake for him that was blue on the outside and pink on the inside to celebrate his gender transition from male to female. Jack’s Christian faith told him that he could not do that, and he politely declined. The lawyer filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The commission did not act on that complaint until after they had lost the first case before the Supreme Court.

After losing the first legal battle, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission is targeting Jack Phillips again. Obviously, the lawyer who requested the blue and pink cake was setting him up. (The lawyer later called requesting a cake celebrating Satan.) It is just as apparent that the state of Colorado is out to destroy Jack’s business and attack his faith. The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a lawsuit against the state officials and filed a preliminary injunction with a federal court to stop the harassment by the state.

You can read more about this on the ADF website HERE and HERE.
–Roland Earnst © 2018

October 8, 2018October 2, 2018

NASA Turns 60

NASA Turns 60
In 1957 when I was 19 years old and a junior at Indiana University, the Soviet Union placed Sputnik, the first artificial satellite into orbit around the Earth. The following year the United States established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with the goal of staking America’s claim to the cosmos. NASA turns 60 this year with an incredible record of accomplishment.

There have been 166 manned missions, 116 satellites which study the Earth, 70 missions to the moon and planets, 27 telescopes/observatories placed in space, and 17 satellites studying solar wind and interplanetary science. We now have robots making incredible discoveries at every turn, and plans are in the works for the first humans to land on another planet.

As a physics major and later as a physics teacher I have been enthralled with NASA’s accomplishments. I have had students who graduated from my high school and went on to have key roles in NASA. As those students come back and share their experiences and what they have discovered, I have been encouraged. I am excited by the fact that most of them see their discoveries, as I do, as a way of learning what God has done and understanding some of the methods He has used.

What an exciting time to be alive, and what a blessing it is to learn and grow in our faith and our knowledge! The more we know of the creation, the closer we get to the Creator. As NASA turns 60, I look forward to what lies ahead.
–John N. Clayton © 2018
Data from Time magazine, October 8, 2018, page 18-19.

October 7, 2018November 15, 2018

Harvesting Organs from Prisoners

Harvesting Organs from Prisoners
One of the evidences for the validity of Christianity is the “fruit test.” Jesus said, “By their fruits, you shall know them,” and in Matthew 7:16-20 Jesus talks about the logic of the fruit test. Jesus dealt with the poor, the down-trodden, and those society might deem as “unfit.” One fundamental belief of Christianity is that the individual is of value, no matter what their circumstance. That includes prisoners. The atheist Chinese government’s harvesting organs from prisoners is brutal beyond belief.

Communist China has always been an opponent of Christian values and teaching. It has now been revealed that the organs of prisoners, especially members of the Falun Gong religious movement have been forcibly removed for transplanting into visitors who come to China for organ transplants.

If you view humans as just animals no different from any other, and you consider some have humans to be unproductive in society, why not use them as you would pigs to get organs that can enable the “fit” to live longer? But you don’t have to look to China for this kind of attitude. There are writers and scholars in America who are suggesting the same practice. We have referenced Peter Singer ethics professor at Princeton University as an example of such an advocate. (See our Nov/Dec 2010 issue, Vol. 37 #6 page 26).

First Corinthians 3:16 and 6:15-20 portray the individual as the dwelling place of the Spirit. Christian values are critical in medical ethics. China is an excellent example of what happens when these values are not used, and atheist values are applied. The result is such detestable practices as harvesting organs from prisoners for financial gain.
–John N. Clayton © 2018
Data from The Week, October 5, 2018, page 15.

October 6, 2018October 2, 2018

California Assembly Bill 2943

It was inevitable that after a period of time LGBT proponents would have people who no longer wanted to be a part of their lifestyle. To prevent people from getting help to leave that lifestyle, legislators in California have introduced California Assembly Bill 2943.

What that bill would do is to make it illegal to counsel anyone who wants to leave the LGBT lifestyle. You can get counseling to leave any other lifestyle choice. There are programs that offer counseling to help people leave Christianity just as there are to help people leave Islam or any other lifestyle choice. But what California Assembly Bill 2943 would do is eliminate the right of a person who is part of the LGBT community to receive help to change their lifestyle. Once you have chosen to be a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or homosexual, you would not be allowed to get counseling to change that choice.

Elizabeth Woning who has been a vocal opponent of the bill says, “AB 2943 isn’t protecting LGBT people. It’s really a dramatic infringement of their rights.” Part of the reason this legislation was introduced is because of the track record of Exodus International. At one time, Exodus International advocated militant activity to get people out of gay behavior.

There are effective programs that are not extreme, but offer positive support for those who want help. Two websites that are available on this subject are californiafamily.org and oncegay.com. The bill has been stalled for now, but it has raised awareness of the militant opposition to anyone who opposes forcing the LGBT lifestyle upon the general public.
–John N. Clayton © 2018
Data from Citizen magazine, October 2018, page 12-17

October 5, 2018October 2, 2018

Fake Documentaries

One of the frustrations of politics for us common folk is not knowing what is factual and what is fake. Any fact that a politician doesn’t want to hear can be labeled and discarded as “fake news.” The same problem exists on popular television in what we would call fake documentaries.

People seem to feel that if they see something on television called a documentary that it is true and has been verified by a reputable source. Religious groups, atheist groups, and food fad groups produce fake documentaries. They are also created by promoters of ESP, people who advocate alien visitations to Earth both now and in the past, and people who just want to make money with a fake documentary.

In the November issue of Astronomy magazine (page 64), Jeff Hester tells of being asked to comment on a bogus show about UFOs. The show was called a documentary and Hester, who is an astrophysicist, was interviewed as part of the program. The claims were totally false, and Hester said so in the interview and assumed the documentary would be scrapped.

The show was eventually broadcast as a documentary and given broad exposure. Hester called the producers and pointed out that he had shown that the story they were presenting was false. The producers admitted that they knew it was false. Then they stated something which Hester quoted in his column:

“Documentaries on stuff like this aren’t meant to educate people. They’re meant to sell soap. My job is to tell the intended audience exactly what it wants to hear. If people want to see miracles and space aliens, I show them miracles and space aliens. That way they tune in, watch to the end, leave happy, and buy the sponsors’ products.”

Remember that this was a television show called a documentary which many people will quote and believe. Yet the person who produced the fake documentary freely admits it was fake. Hester concludes “..they’re just plain old-fashioned carnival hucksters, picking the pockets of gullible people they play for rubes.”

We try very hard to quote scientific research from credible sources that can be verified. We also remind our readers that there are fake documentaries. We encourage you to think, and not believe something you see on television just because it is called a “documentary.”
–John N. Clayton © 2018