Lee Ardis

Media mockery of prayer, ‘subtle smears’ against Christianity marks coverage of Nashville massacre

One faith leader said our nation must ‘address the moral decay and brokenness plaguing our culture’

Pastors and conservative leaders weighed in on reaction by journalists and entertainers who have mocked prayer and brought attention to Tennessee’s drag show ban amid the Christian elementary school massacre that took six lives Monday.

As the nation grapples with the murders of three adults and three children at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, faith leaders responded to the criticism by journalists, commentators, entertainers and activists who have mocked prayer and blamed conservatives for outlawing drag shows for kids and not guns.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins reiterated that people should still turn to prayer as a way to combat the “spiritual battle” that “is raging for our country and our culture” which “is targeting our children.”

“We must return to the only lasting source of hope and freedom — the Lord Jesus Christ,” he added. “The Church must stand uncompromisingly upon the truth of God’s word, which is the source of hope and freedom. Nothing Washington is doing will matter until we acknowledge and address the moral decay and brokenness plaguing our culture.”

‘Transgender Americans shape our Nation’s soul’: Biden issues another pro-transgender proclamation

President Joe Biden on Thursday proclaimed March 31, 2023 as “Transgender Day of Visibility,” a move that marked his third time making such a proclamation as president, since he had previously proclaimed March 31, in both 2021 and 2022, a “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

“Transgender Day of Visibility celebrates the joy, strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know — people who have too often had to put their jobs, relationships, and lives on the line just to be their true selves,” Biden’s 2023 proclamation declares. “Today, we show millions of transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong, and they should be treated with dignity and respect. Their courage has given countless others strength, but no one should have to be brave just to be themselves.”

“Transgender Americans shape our Nation’s soul — proudly serving in the military, curing deadly diseases, holding elected office, running thriving businesses, fighting for justice, raising families, and much more,” Biden’s proclamation read. “A wave of discriminatory State laws is targeting transgender youth, terrifying families and hurting kids who are not hurting anyone.”

“I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination against all transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people,” Biden declared.

Poison gas: Details of foiled terror attack on Jews in Athens revealed

Iranian mastermind behind planned attack on Jewish, Israeli targets in Greece promised the terrorists 16,000 euros per Israeli victim.

A day after Greek authorities revealed the arrest of two Pakistani terrorists for plotting to attack Jewish targets in Athens, more details have emerged about the terrorists and the foiled attack.

Greek media reported today (Wednesday) that in the searches carried out in the terrorists’ homes, many items were discovered that would have helped them carry out the attack, including ten mobile phones, two computers, memory cards and more.

In addition, the Greek investigators revealed a series of messages that the terrorists exchanged in preparation for the attack, including photos and videos, which also included plans to kidnap and murder Israeli citizens.

The investigators in Greece are still attempting to locate other suspects who cooperated with the two Pakistani terrorists and who may still be roaming freely in Greece. The two arrested suspects will be brought before the court on charges of terrorist offenses, while a third person who is suspected of having planned the attack and is in Iran will be tried in absentia on charges of terrorism.

Read more at: www.israelnationalnews.com

Brazil, China strike trade deal agreement to ditch US dollar

China overtook the United States as Brazil’s top trading partner in 2009

Brazil and China have reportedly struck a deal to ditch the U.S. dollar in favor of their own currencies in trade transactions.

The deal, announced Wednesday, will enable China and Brazil to carry out trade and financial transactions directly, exchanging yuan for reais – or vice versa – rather than first converting their currencies to the U.S. dollar.

The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) said the new arrangement is expected to “reduce costs” and “promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment.”

China is Brazil’s largest trading partner, accounting for more than a fifth of all imports, followed by the United States, according to the latest figures. China is also Brazil’s largest export market, accounting for more than a third of all exports.

Putin says Russia will station tactical nukes in Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West as it steps up military support for Ukraine.

Putin said the move was triggered by Britain’s decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.

Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia plans to maintain control over those it sends to Belarus, and construction of storage facilities for them will be completed by July 1, Putin said.

He didn’t say how many nuclear weapons Russia would keep in Belarus. The U.S. government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by tactical aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds.

Pope Francis hospitalized with respiratory infection

Pope Francis was hospitalized with a respiratory infection Wednesday after experiencing difficulty breathing in recent days and will remain in the Rome hospital for several days of treatment, the Vatican said.

The 86-year-old pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, doesn’t have COVID-19, spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement late Wednesday.

The hospitalization was the first since Francis spent 10 days at the Gemelli hospital in July 2021 to have 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed.

It immediately raised questions about Francis’ overall health, and his ability to celebrate the busy Holy Week events that are due to begin this weekend with Palm Sunday.

Bruni said Francis had had trouble breathing in recent days and went to the Gemelli hospital Wednesday for tests.

“The tests showed a respiratory infection (COVID-19 infection excluded) that will require some days of medical treatment in the hospital,” Bruni’s statement said.

‘Use a Nail Gun to Nail the Heads and Crucify Them’: The Persecution of Christians, February 2023

The following are among the murders and abuses inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of February 2023:

The Muslim Slaughter of Christians

Democratic Republic of Congo: On February 12-13, Muslim terrorists massacred 22 people in the 95% Christian-majority nation. The terrorists were members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), “a Ugandan armed group that has operated in east Congo for decades…. It has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and stages frequent deadly raids on villages.” Although Reuters claims that “There was no indication as to the motive” of the attacks, others are more forthright. Discussing the ongoing terrorization of the DRC, the human rights group, Open Doors, wrote:

“These predominantly Christian communities are attacked by an Islamic extremist group with a clear Islamic expansionist agenda…. The ideology, the agenda of establishing a ‘caliphate’ in the region, and the way they operate is the same, and we can see how they afflict terrible suffering on innocent people.”

Similarly, speaking of an earlier attack on his village, when the ADF slaughtered about 20 people, a Christian clergyman further shed light on their motivations:

“They tried to force some of our Christians to convert to Islam. They also tried to force my wife and our four children to convert to Islam, but when they refused to convert, they shot my wife in the head while our four children were cut into pieces with a Somali sword… the rebel militants intend to establish an Islamist state ruled by sharia [Islamic law].”

Read more at: www.gatestoneinstitute.org

Occultic Uptick? Alarming Proportion of Young People Use Crystals and Herbs, Follow ‘Spiritual Teachers’

A substantial proportion of young people are engaging in herbs and crystals as part of routine spiritual practices, according to a research firm that specializes in surveying youths.

Springtide Research Institute told CBN’s Faithwire it found 44% of young people between the ages of 13 and 25 “engage with herbs/crystals as a spiritual practice.” Shockingly, 21% do so on a weekly basis.

These results were found in the polling firm’s “State of Religion & Young People 2022” report, underscoring the reality that young people are finding alternative sources of religion and spirituality in an era of rampant secularism and less attachment to Judeo-Christian values.

With culture skewing away from the faith, a vacuum is in its place, and young people are desperately looking to fill the holes.

“Young people today are lonely and desperate to experience a deep sense of connection,” Kevin Singer, head of media and public relations at Springtide, told CBN’s Faithwire. “If that isn’t happening in churches and other faith communities, they will find it elsewhere — typically online — where independent spiritual teachers are making their living.”

Crystals and herbs are two New Age practices some believe hold the power to offer healing or ward off evil spirits, with these elements and practices sparking concern among many Christians.

As GotQuestions.org explains, “According to crystal healers, the careful placing of crystals on a patient’s body is supposed to line up with or stimulate the body’s chakras and promote healing.”

The FBI has found a gateway to declare Christians as criminals: federal whistleblower

The FBI is targeting Catholics who attend Latin Mass

The FBI has found a new gateway to declare Christians as criminals, a federal whistleblower said on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

An internal document from the bureau’s Richmond, Virginia, field office allegedly vowed to spy on “radical traditionalist Catholics and their ideology.”

“They have found a gateway in what they think is fringe Catholicism in order to move into Christians in general and declare them to be the actual criminals in this country or the potential terrorists,” federal whistleblower and former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin said.

Seraphin said the document is antithetical to Catholicism and was written by someone who believes abortion rights must be upheld and the LGBTQ agenda “has to be pushed down the American people’s throats.”

“I’m friends with people who love the Latin Mass,” the Catholic federal whistleblower told Fox News. “I grew up in a traditional school where I actually learned Latin in fifth and sixth grade and all the way through high school and it doesn’t seem reasonable, but it is the state of the FBI at this point that they are so desperate to find White supremacists that they’re going to look at the Catholic Church.”

Polio is Back: London Re-Launches Vaccination Campaign Against Previously Eradicated Disease

Authorities in the UK are set to re-launch a child vaccination campaign in London in response to a polio outbreak in the capital.

British authorities are to re-launch efforts to see every child in London aged from 1 to 11 vaccinated against Polio after an outbreak of the disease last year.

An initial campaign to see all children jabbed was started last year after the formerly extinct disease was found in the city’s sewer system, with the virus thought to have possibly re-entered open-borders Britain from abroad.

Despite this attempt to get the population most vulnerable to the disease vaccinated, uptake for the childhood polio jab in London remains well below the national average, with the country’s National Health Service now set to renew efforts to get more children inoculated against the virus, which can cause paralysis and even death.

“Until we reach every last child, we cannot be sure that we will not see a case of paralysis,” The Telegraph reports Dr Vanessa Saliba of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as saying regarding the outbreak.

“Even a single case of paralysis from polio would be a tragedy as it is completely preventable,” she continued. “Only by improving vaccination coverage across all communities can we ensure resilience against future disease threats.”