C. Aaron Russell's Blog, page 2
December 10, 2014
NYPD shoot knife wielding terrorist attacker in Brooklyn, NY synagogue
New York synagogue stabbing: Suspect shot by police after attack on Jewish student
Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn, NY
A Jewish student has been stabbed in the head inside a synagogue in New York by an attacker who was shot dead by police.
Levi Rosenblat was at the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn when he was attacked at 1.40am this morning, police said.
His suspected assailant, a 49-year-old man, was shot at the scene after he allegedly refused to drop his knife and was later pronounced dead in hospital.
He had burst inside the synagogue and shouted “I want to kill the Jew!” and “kill the Jews”, witnesses said, before stabbing Mr Rosenblat seemingly at random.
Other members of the synagogue intervened and a tense standoff ensued where worshippers and growing numbers of police attempted to persuade him to put down his weapon…(continue reading at The Independent)
December 8, 2014
Christian Bale mocks Moses, the Bible and God
Christian Bale: One Man’s Moses Is Another Man’s Terrorist
by Candida Moss and Joel Baden (The Daily Beast)
The actor insists on viewing Moses through a modern lens, but in a world in which everyone believes in the supernatural, there’s nothing certifiable about talking to God.
The new biblical epic from director Ridley Scott, “Exodus: Gods and Men,” has drummed up a lot of criticism in advance of its release. Most commentators have focused on the issue of race in the casting of the film. But one commentator—who also happens to have been cast in the film—has his own unique feelings about the movie. And when Moses speaks, people tend to listen.
In an interview with ABC’s “Nightline,” Christian Bale described his character, Moses, as a “freedom fighter.” Hey, not so bad, right? Moses is sort of famous for having played a part in freeing his people. But Bale was careful to make sure that we also empathize with the enslaving, murderous, genocidal Egyptians, to whom Moses would have been, according to Bale, a “terrorist.” There’s nothing wrong with trying to see things from both sides. But Bale appears to have concluded that Moses may have been more bad than good.
According to Bale, Moses was “one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life…” (continue reading at The Daily Beast)
November 24, 2014
Is Stephen Hawking’s case for no God science or philosophy?
by Robin Schumacher
In a recent exchange with a Spanish journalist, physicist Stephen Hawking affirmed again that he was an atheist and asserted that a supernatural Creator is not necessary to answer the foundational philosophical question posed long ago by philosopher/mathematician Gottfried Leibniz: “why do we have something rather than nothing?”
There is no doubt that Hawking’s intellect exceeds the vast majority on this planet (including mine) and that his professional achievements are astounding, especially given his physical handicap, and deserve high respect. But when he argues against the existence of God, I’m rather surprised at his core arguments, which can be found in various works such as The Grand Design.
Let’s take a look at Hawking’s three key arguments against God and see what answers for them can be had.
No Gaps, Just Science
October 27, 2014
My Immigration Status: Beloved
Adriana Mondragon (Christianity Today)
read related story of many not as fortunate: Close to Slavery: The U.S. Guestworker Program
As proud as I am of my Mexican heritage, there is only one place I can call home: the United States. I belong to the wave of immigrants who arrived in the country as children. All that remains from my early years in Mexico are a few blurry memories, drawn together from what my mother has told me.
My mother lost her first husband in a car accident in 1978. After his death, she traveled for the first time to the States to identify his body and take care of the funeral. She was left to fend for my two older siblings, mourning and under-resourced. About seven years later, she met my father, and I was born. When I was 3, he left our family to marry another woman.
Later, my mother’s love for her oldest son compelled her to travel to the States a second time. She hadn’t seen him since he moved to Orange County at age 14. When my brother learned she was going to leave me with my uncle, he insisted she bring me to keep the family together. Twenty-five years later, here I remain…
I also faced profound confusion about who I was and where I belonged. I felt I didn’t belong anywhere—too American to return to Mexico, too foreign to belong in the States. Even though I tried to stay optimistic and dodge every insult fired at undocumented immigrants, I felt the effects. Guilt, shame, and depression all knocked on my door, and I welcomed them. I carried them around, believing I was somehow responsible for the “crime” I had committed at age 5. The accusations led me to fear my situation and future…(read full story at Christianity Today)
October 22, 2014
‘Iraq a million times worse now than under Saddam Hussein’ according to Vicar of Baghdad
Vicar of Baghdad: ‘Americans Have to Realize All of Their Intervention Has Totally Been Wasted’
BY VINCENT FUNARO , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
Canon Andrew White, the Anglican pastor who’s known as the Vicar of Baghdad, says that after U.S. troops left Iraq in 2011, the country has been facing “total devastation,” even worse than under Saddam Hussein. White also described what Christians are facing as one of the worst persecutions in history.
“It was total devastation, it was the most horrendous thing,” White told The News Tribune in Takoma, Washington, Sunday when speaking about the persecution Christians have endured in Iraq since the U.S. pulled its troops out in 2011. “The terrible thing that the Americans have to realize is that all of their intervention, everything they tried to do, has totally been wasted. Nothing has been achieved by this at all.”
He continued, “Are we worse now than under Sadam? A million times worse…” (continue reading at the Christian Post)
October 15, 2014
Houston Mayor and city officials subpoena church sermons
By Todd Starnes
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park memorial
The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court.
“The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both needless and unprecedented,” Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christina Holcomb said in a statement. “The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions.”
ADF, a nationally-known law firm specializing in religious liberty cases, is representing five Houston pastors. They filed a motion in Harris County court to stop the subpoenas arguing they are “overbroad, unduly burdensome, harassing, and vexatious.”
“Political and social commentary is not a crime,” Holcomb said. “It is protected by the First Amendment.”
The subpoenas are just the latest twist in an ongoing saga over the Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The law, among other things, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa. The city council approved the law in June…(continue reading at Fox News)
October 7, 2014
‘Ordinary’ vs. ‘Radical’ Christianity: Maturity responds to adolescence
The Case Against ‘Radical’ Christianity
Michael Horton’s message to restless believers: Stay put, and build the church.
Phillip Cary (Christianity Today)
New book available at Amazon
Sometimes you can tell quite a bit about a book from its cover. On the outside, Michael Horton’s Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World (Zondervan) looks a lot like David Platt’s bestseller Radical, and that’s no accident. Horton, editor of Modern Reformation magazine, a founding figure behind the White Horse Inn’s teaching ministry, and host of its radio show, aims to provide an alternative to trendy calls for radical living. He thinks such calls serve mainly to make ordinary Christians anxious about whether they’re really Christian enough, and pastors anxious about ensuring that their ministries are radically transformative.
Horton comes to their aid with a Reformational perspective that diagnoses such anxieties as the outgrowth of works righteousness. If we are justified by faith in Christ alone, then we need not be anxious to show how Spirit-filled we are by living extraordinary, radical lives. Having already received the promise of the Spirit in baptism—God’s promise, which we can trust he will keep—we are free to serve our neighbors with ordinary good works. We are freed from establishing our credentials before God or our own consciences. And we are even free, Horton states, to enjoy our neighbors as gifts rather than making them into our own projects, as if it was our job to transform their lives.
Horton argues that the underlying theology behind oft-heard calls to be wild and crazy radical believers—as if Christianity were an extreme sport—is works righteousness in a new, consumerist mode…(continue reading at Christianity Today)
September 24, 2014
Silence in the face of evil: A wake up call to Christians (Video)
Eric Metaxas: Christians Who Remain Silent About Persecution in the Mideast Enable Evil, Like in Nazi Germany
read article BY NAPP NAZWORTH , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
A stirring message (4 parts, 18 minutes total) from Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer, at the In Defense of Christians Inaugural Summit 2014, Washington, D.C..(ChristianPost.tv)
September 18, 2014
Are Jews exempt from the Gospel? Ann Graham Lotz responds
ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ (Charisma News)
“And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
What do you believe? This past week, while waiting in a car line to pick up my granddaughters at school, I heard a song on the radio that was described as the number-one Christian song in the world. It was sung by the Newsboys, entitled “We Believe.”
The same week I heard the Newsboys’ hit song, I read an op-ed that appeared in The Jerusalem Post criticizing my 911 video invitation to pray for Jerusalem because in it I implied that Jews need to be saved. Do they? Or are they exempt from the gospel?
And what is the gospel?
When the apostle Paul shared with deep conviction in Romans 1:16 that, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile,” what was he talking about?..(continue reading at Charisma News)
September 15, 2014
Is there such a thing as a ‘moderate’ Islamic Rebel?
Who Are These ‘Moderate’ Syrians Obama Wants to Pit Against ISIS?
There were few modern democrats among the armed opposition to Assad two years ago. There are far fewer now. So who can Obama trust not to turn Western-supplied weapons against us later?
Jamie Dettmer (the Daily Beast)
The young rebels and opposition activists gathered in a school to discuss how the northern Syrian town of Al Bab should be governed after the departure of Bashar al Assad’s soldiers were taken aback by the question: “Why aren’t there any women here?” It was the summer of 2012, more than 12 months into the uprising against the Syrian president, and more than a year before Abu Bakr al Baghdadi announced the formation of his al Qaeda breakaway, the Islamic State of Syria and Sham, or ISIS.
Initial surprise at my question was followed by smirks. The young men who had talked about ushering in a new era of modern democracy and freedom in Syria pushed forward a nervous young imam to explain. “It is not in our tradition for men and women to mix,” he said. “They can have their own meeting, if they want. And if we need advice on some issues, we can ask them.” There were some chuckles at this. So much for democracy, at least in its Western guise.
Later that night I sat with two local sheikhs who explained how they were forming a court to adjudicate civil disputes and rule on criminal cases. “We will use Sharia law,” said Abdulbaset Kuredy. “What else is there? After Assad, the whole country will be governed by Sharia.” Then he launched into a condemnation of the corrupt West and its acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The sheikhs were aligned with the Free Syrian Army, the rebel group now touted in Washington as the “moderates” to support in the fight against Assad on the one hand, ISIS on the other.
There was nothing I saw in Al Bab in August 2012—still early days in the insurrection that is now halfway through its fourth year—that led me to feel that if the Syrian uprising toppled Assad, it would lead to an inclusive, minority-respecting, and more or less democratic outcome…(continue reading at the Daily Beast)
