The Voice of the Martyrs.

Persecution of Christians is one of the major news stories of 2015. Here is an account I meant to post some months ago though I never got it out of my draft file.

Source: » Arminius’s Declaration of Sentiments

Debates about predestination, which ultimately divided Reformed Protestantism late in the Reformation, surrounded Jacob Arminius. John Aloisi of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary comments on the recent translation of Arminius’s Declaration of Sentiments.

Planned Parenthood, the law of the land, and Christian response

Source: Concordia Theology » Save Your Outrage – Do Something Positive Instead

A well researched and written article on the recent tensions surrounding Planned Parenthood and selling parts from aborted fetuses (Lord, have mercy). Truth and ethics are presented as needful Christian values when dealing with controversy.

Consortium consulted more than 120 member presidents on what to do about Eastern Mennonite University and Goshen College.

Source: Peace Church Out: Mennonite Schools Leave CCCU to Avoid Same-Sex Marriage Split | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com

Debate about Gay marriage divided members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), which advocates for religious freedom on behalf of Christian schools. The article illustrates how church history affects these modern debates since members of the consortium appealed to “historic Christianity” as setting a standard for agreement and practice.

The Vatican on Saturday fired a monsignor who came out as gay on the eve of a big meeting.

Source: Vatican fires gay priest on eve of Catholic bishops meeting

The public protest of Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa raised numerous issues, including the celibacy requirement for priests that was imposed in the twelfth century and vigorously debated during the Protestant Reformation.

Secularism activists say the removal was an important move in the culture wars.

Source: Oklahoma Ten Commandments Monument Removal Celebrated By Secularism Activists

Rev. Bruce Prescott, a member of Northhaven Church in Norman, OK, initiated the law suit to remove the Ten Commandments. Northhaven Church is a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which formed from a split in the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1990s. You can learn more about the church at their website: northhavenchurch.net.

“It’ll be gone forever,” says the group leader.

Source: End of the world on Wednesday, says religious group

I have never understood the obsession with trying to predict the end of the world based on speculative interpretations of the Bible. I wonder whether anyone has done a comprehensive study of this practice and of what is going on in these groups that makes them come up with such predictions.

The following is the full text of Pope Francis’s speech to Congress delivered Thursday in Washington.

Source: Transcript: Pope Francis’s speech to Congress – The Washington Post

This is the first time a pope has addressed the U. S. Congress.

On a dating web site, Mercer described himself as “Not Religious, Not Religious, but Spiritual.”

Source: Oregon community college shooter was bitter

Although I have seen several articles stating that the Oregon shooter was targeting Christians, this is the first article that gives a source for that information as well as quotations of what the shooter was asking. The statements do not make clear whether the shooter was targeting Christians or whether he was expressing some twisted belief that he was sending them home to the Lord. Very sad. According to a sister-in-law, there were Christians in the shooter’s family.

 

Up to 100 Syrian refugees have arrived in the state this year, with more expected in coming months.

Source: Syrian refugees eager to build new lives in Michigan

Lutheran Social Services of Michigan and Catholic Charities are settling Syrian refugees in Michigan, where the largest concentration of Muslims are located in the U.S. The Lutheran agency is settling the majority of immigrants.