Ron Chambers

71-Year-Old Pastor Arrested for Causing ‘Alarm and Distress’ for ‘Homophobic’ Message on Marriage

Christian News – April 30, 2021

(Christian Concern) — John Sherwood, a UK pastor, was arrested in North West London this past Friday, April 23, and detained overnight – all for speaking about what the Bible says about marriage.

John, in his early 70s, is minister of a north London church, and was preaching with a colleague in the centre of Uxbridge on Friday, as he regularly does. After speaking on the final verses in Genesis 1, where it says that God created mankind in his own image, creating them male and female, a number of police officers appeared on the scene. Reportedly, three complaints had been received about the pastor’s teaching, and the police accused him of causing “alarm and distress” to the public.

After speaking to the police, John resumed his preaching, speaking on freedom of speech. However, a couple of bystanders in the crowd apparently shouted that John’s preaching was “homophobic” and “hate speech”. John spoke to the police once more.

What quickly followed was a brutal arrest, where an officer took away the pastor’s Bible and pulled him from the steps where he had been preaching. Three officers gathered around him to handcuff him and take him away.

You can read more about the case from Pastor John Sherwood’s colleague, Peter Simpson, on The Conservative Woman blog.

https://christiannews.net

Scientists Want to Dim the Sun to ‘Save Us’ from Climate Change – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Dale Hurd – May 11, 2021

Scientists want to spread dust in the upper atmosphere to see if it will stop climate change.

The idea is to dump calcium carbonate, basically chalk dust, into the stratosphere to block some of the sun’s rays with the hope of halting the climate from warming.

It’s called Stratospheric Aerosol Injection or SAI.

The media calls it Bill Gates’ idea, but Gates is only one of many people funding the research and it isn’t his idea, it’s Harvard’s.

The test launch for the project next month in Sweden was canceled after people complained. But there’s likely to be another test in the future because some scientists think this could work, while others say it’s a very bad idea.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? A Lot

A video made by the German science foundation Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung shows how it could all go terribly wrong. It says of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection that “It is unlikely that cooling of the planet could be achieved in a uniform way. SAI would therefore produce regional winners and losers. The total global rainfall would be less. In Asia, SAI could upset the complex system governing the monsoon, on which the water and food supply of 2 billion people depends.”

It could also lead to droughts in Africa and flooding in Latin America.

Experts admit they aren’t sure what would happen if the sun was dimmed, but we know when it has happened because of natural processes, the result was not good.

https://www1.cbn.com

State steps in when feds give Title X money to abortionists

Bob Unruh – May 13, 2021

President Trump successfully had worked to make sure federal Title X taxpayer money was not being used to fund abortions.

Joe Biden, when he moved into the Oval Office, immediately reversed that. It’s one of nearly a dozen ways President Biden is moving to cement a “legacy of death,” as critics have described

But now one state has started a movement to protect its own taxpayers from that burden anyway.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on Thursday signed his state Legislature’s HB620, sponsored by Rep. Amy Regier, that ensures taxpayer dollars funding Title X family planning programs are kept separate from abortion-related activities.

“Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the dangerous work of abortionists. HB 620 helps ensure that Montana women and families maintain access to quality, comprehensive healthcare, including family planning services,” said Denise Burke, a senior counsel to the Alliance Defending Freedom.

https://www.wnd.com

3 major reasons why the Super Blood Moon Eclipse on May 26 will be a very big deal

Strange Sounds – May 12, 2021

It’s almost time for another “Blood Moon” eclipse in North America—the first for over two years! “Blood Moon 2021,” a total lunar eclipse, will occur in the early hours of May 26, 2021 and be visible to some—but not all—of North America.

A total lunar eclipse, during which observers see a red Moon, can only occur at full Moon. The full Moon in May 2021 is called the “Flower Moon,” simply for the time of year it occurs in the northern hemisphere.

So why is the event being trailed as the “Super Flower Blood Moon 2021?”

Here are three things you need to know about 2021’s only total lunar eclipse.

1. It’s a ‘supermoon,’ the biggest and brightest full Moon of 2021

The “Super Flower Blood Moon 2021” is a “supermoon.”

It will be about 7% bigger than an average full Moon, but that’s not something you’re going to notice. What you will probably notice is that it will be about 15% brighter—the brightest, in fact, of 2021. That’s because it’s the closest full Moon to Earth of 2021.

The entire world can enjoy this special sight of a “supermoon.” All you have to do is look to the east around dusk to see a fabulous full moonrise.

2. It’s a ‘Blood Moon,’ 2021’s only total lunar eclipse

From 11:11-11:25 UTC the full Moon will turn a reddish color. You can find out if you can see it from where you are using this eclipse map.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when a full Moon enters Earth’s shadow in space. Of course, Earth is always casting a shadow into outer space opposite the Sun. It extends to around 870,000 miles/1.4 million km.

The Moon’s orbital path around Earth is roughly 5% inclined to the path of the Sun through our sky, so it rarely causes an eclipse of the Sun. So too lunar eclipses.

3. You’ve got a 50% chance of seeing it from where you are in North America

The entire night-side of Earth will witness the full Moon turn a reddish color during a brief 15-minute totality on May 26, 2021, but in many parts of the U.S the Moon will set just as the eclipse gets going.

https://strangesounds.org

Conflict with China a ‘high likelihood’, says top Australian general

Nick McKenzie and Anthony Galloway – May 4, 2021

One of the nation’s top military commanders told his troops that Beijing is already engaged in “grey zone” warfare against Australia and they must plan for the high likelihood this may spill over into actual conflict in the future.

The candid and confidential briefing by Major-General Adam Findlay to Australia’s special forces soldiers last year gives the most detailed insight yet made public into how the nation’s top military planners view the threat of China.

The then-special forces commander, who has since stepped down but who still advises the Australian Defence Force, highlighted the steps Australia’s military was taking to prevent war but also described a “high likelihood” that actual conflict could break out due to the unpredictable nature of foreign affairs.

“Who do you reckon the main [regional] threat is?” General Findlay asked his troops and officers before answering: “China”.

“OK, so if China is a threat, how many special forces brigades in China? You should know there are 26,000 Chinese SOF [Special Operations Forces] personnel.”

Details of the April 2020 briefing have been obtained by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald from multiple sources who have requested to remain anonymous because they are not authorised to speak publicly. They say General Findlay told his troops that, if the threat of conflict was realised, the ADF needed to rely not only on traditional air, land and sea capabilities but also on Australia’s ability to use cyber and space warfare.

https://www.smh.com.au

Anger boils in Northern Ireland despite attempts to end riots

Luke Butterly – April 12, 2021

Belfast, Northern Ireland – On Saturday, the 23rd anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended the decades of conflict that claimed over 3,000 lives, David Devlin was on the streets trying to keep the peace.

“Anything could happen, but we are hoping for peace, hoping tonight remains calm,” they told Al Jazeera.

Video footage of young people throwing petrol bombs at one of the gates that separate these areas – on which the words “There was never a good war or a bad peace” are painted – has been watched with horror across the world.

“Things this evening appear to be quite calm, there does not appear to be any other gatherings on either side of the interface,” Devlin said as they began their shift.

“Over the past few nights, we have been out on the ground trying to talk to young people, dissuade them from any risk-taking behavior, trying to get them go, stay safe, and not engage in anything that is going to put their safety at risk.”

Northern Ireland has been rocked by sporadic rioting in loyalist working-class areas, amounting to the worst violence seen in years.Loyalists back a Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, as opposed to a united Ireland.

https://www.aljazeera.com

Dust storms and valley fever in the American West

Lia Potee – May 07, 2021

Valley fever is a dangerous threat to human health – and cases are on the rise in the arid southwestern United States, as wind from increasing dust storms can transport the fungal spores that cause the disease. Valley fever is caused by the Coccidioides fungus, which grows in dirt and fields and can cause fever, rash and coughing. Using NASA research and satellite data, the World Meteorological Organization is refining its Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System to help forecast where dust risk is greatest.

George Mason University’s Daniel Tong, one of the first scientists to discover the link between dust storms and Valley fever, leads a NASA-funded team to track the airborne spread of Valley fever across the United States for the first time.

There are about 15 thousand cases of Valley fever in the U.S. each year, and approximately 200 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Funded by NASA’s Earth Science Division, Tong’s team is helping track disease risk for epidemiologists, health care providers and public health decision makers.

“Our paper was the first one to reveal the positive relationship between dust storms and Valley fever,” said Tong. “So now we’re asking the question: How can we detect that dust in the air?”

https://www.terradaily.com

Doctors investigate mystery brain disease in Canada

Jessica Murphy – May 5, 2021

Doctors in Canada have been coming across patients showing symptoms similar to that of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare fatal condition that attacks the brain. But when they took a closer look, what they found left them stumped.

Almost two years ago, Roger Ellis collapsed at home with a seizure on his 40th wedding anniversary.

In his early 60s, Mr Ellis, who was born and raised around New Brunswick’s bucolic Acadian peninsula, had been healthy until that June, and was enjoying his retirement after decades working as an industrial mechanic.

His son, Steve Ellis, says after that fateful day his father’s health rapidly declined.

“He had delusions, hallucinations, weight loss, aggression, repetitive speech,” he says.

“At one point he couldn’t even walk. So in the span of three months we were being brought to a hospital to tell us they believed he was dying – but no one knew why.”

Roger Ellis’ doctors first suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease [CJD]. CJD is a human prion disease, a fatal and rare degenerative brain disorder that sees patients present with symptoms like failing memory, behavioural changes and difficulties with co-ordination.

One widely known category is Variant CJD, which is linked to eating contaminated meat infected with mad cow disease. CJD also belongs to a wider category of brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS, in which protein in the nervous system become misfolded and aggregated.

But Mr Ellis’ CJD test came back negative, as did the barrage of other tests his doctors put him through as they tried to pinpoint the cause of his illness.

His son says the medical team did their best to alleviate his father’s varying symptoms but were still left with a mystery: what was behind Mr Ellis’s decline?

In March of this year, the younger Mr Ellis came across a possible – if partial – answer.

Radio-Canada, the public broadcaster, obtained a copy of a public health memo that had been sent to the province’s medical professionals warning of a cluster of patients exhibiting an unknown degenerative brain disease.

“The first thing I said was: ‘This is my dad,'” he recalls.

Roger Ellis is now believed to be one of those afflicted with the illness and is under the care of Dr Alier Marrero.

https://www.bbc.com

China Removes Bible Apps from App Store, Shuts Down Popular Christian Websites

Michael Foust – May 4, 2021

China’s government in recent days continued its clampdown on Christianity within cyberspace by banning various Bible apps and shutting down WeChat Christian public accounts, according to a new report.

International Christian Concern reported May 1 that Christian accounts on WeChat – a Chinese social media platform – are no longer available. When Chinese citizens attempt to access WeChat Christian pages such as “Gospel League” and “Life Quarterly,” they receive a message reading, “[We] received [a] report that [this account] violates the ‘Internet User Public Account Information Services Management Provisions’ and its account has been blocked and suspended.”

Father Francis Liu of the Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness posted screenshots of the blocked pages on his Twitter page, according to International Christian Concern.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has removed Bible apps from the Chinese app store, according to ICC.

“Those who want to download Bible Apps have to use [a] VPN to circumvent the Firewall,” ICC said in its report.

This is not the first time China has targeted Bible apps. In 2019, China’s government removed a 6-year-old Chinese Bible app called WeDevote after it had been downloaded 10 million times, World reported. Popular American Bible apps such as YouVersion are not available in the Chinese app store.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Biden Becomes 1st President to Omit ‘God’ from National Day of Prayer Proclamation

Michael Foust – May 6, 2021

President Biden on Wednesday issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation that touted the “power of prayer” and invited Americans to “give thanks,” although the proclamation’s absence of the word “God” sparked criticism and marked the first time that’s happened in modern history.

By a 1952 law, every U.S. president must issue a proclamation designating a National Day of Prayer. This year the day fell on May 6.

“Today, we remember and celebrate the role that the healing balm of prayer can play in our lives and in the life of our Nation,” the proclamation reads. “As we continue to confront the crises and challenges of our time – from a deadly pandemic, to the loss of lives and livelihoods in its wake, to a reckoning on racial justice, to the existential threat of climate change – Americans of faith can call upon the power of prayer to provide hope and uplift us for the work ahead.”

On the National Day of Prayer, “we unite with purpose and resolve, and recommit ourselves to the core freedoms that helped define and guide our Nation from its earliest days,” it reads.

“We celebrate our incredible good fortune that, as Americans, we can exercise our convictions freely – no matter our faith or beliefs,” it reads. “Let us find in our prayers, however they are delivered, the determination to overcome adversity, rise above our differences, and come together as one Nation to meet this moment in history.”

The proclamation, though, omits the word “God,” making Biden the first president not to include “God” in his proclamation in the modern history of National Day of Prayer proclamations. The omission is ironic, because secular groups in recent months have criticized Biden for discussing religion too much.

https://www.christianheadlines.com