A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – Roughly half of self-identified evangelicals affirm at least one New Age belief, including a third who believe in psychics and one in five who believe in reincarnation or astrology, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.

The survey of Christians and non-Christians found that New Age beliefs may be more widespread than previously thought.

Among self-identified evangelicals:

24 percent believe “spiritual energy can be located within physical things.”
33 percent believe in psychics.
19 percent believe in reincarnation.
18 percent believe in astrology.

[ Source: Christian Headlines (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – A volcano erupted in Indonesia Wednesday on the same island hit by an earthquake and tsunami just days before.

Mount Soputan in North Sulawesi erupted just before 9 p.m. Tuesday (ET) and shot ash and rock nearly 20,000 feet into the air.

No evacuations were immediately ordered and the local airport remains open. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – An Israeli official played down on Wednesday the Russian upgrading of Syria’s air defenses, saying the newly supplied S-300 missile system could be defeated by Israel’s stealth fighters and possibly destroyed on the ground.

Moscow said on Tuesday that it had delivered the S-300, a decision it took after accusing Israel of indirect responsibility for the downing of a Russian spy plane by Syrian forces as they fired on attacking Israeli jets last month.

Damascus and its big-power backer describe the advanced addition to Syria’s arsenal as a major deterrent. Israel and Washington have both voiced misgivings about the S-300 handover. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

The post Israel can beat Russian-supplied S-300 air shield in Syria: minister appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the Russian delivery of the S-300 air defense system to Syria was “a serious escalation.”

Moscow said on Tuesday that it had delivered the S-300, a decision it took after accusing Israel of indirect responsibility for the downing of a Russian spy plane by Syrian forces as they fired on attacking Israeli jets last month.

Damascus and its big-power backer describe the advanced addition to Syria’s arsenal as a major deterrent. Israel and Washington have both voiced misgivings about the S-300 handover. [ Source: Ynet News (Read More…) ]

The post Pompeo: Russian delivery of S-300 to Syria a 'serious escalation' appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – A White House reporter took issue Wednesday with John Bolton for referring to the “so-called State of Palestine,” prompting the National Security Advisor to explain that it is, in fact, “not a state.”

Appearing in the briefing room to speak about the administration decision to terminate a 63-year-old Treaty of Amity with Iran, Bolton also announced the withdrawal from a Vienna Convention optional protocol relating to dispute resolution. He said the step was being taken in response to a case brought before the International Court of Justice “by the so-called State of Palestine” in response to the U.S. Embassy move to Jerusalem. [ Source: CNS News (Read More…) ]

The post Bolton Sets Reporter Straight on ‘Palestine’: ‘It’s Not a State’ appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration on Wednesday pulled out of two international agreements after Iran and the Palestinians complained to the International Court of Justice about U.S. policies, the latest withdrawal by Washington from multilateral accords.

The U.S. national security adviser John Bolton slammed the highest United Nations tribunal as “politicized and ineffective” as he announced that the United States would review all international agreements that could expose it to binding decisions by the ICJ.

Earlier on Wednesday the ICJ handed a victory to Tehran, ordering the United States to ensure that sanctions against Iran, due to be tightened next month, do not affect humanitarian aid or civil aviation safety. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

The post U.S. withdraws from international accords, says U.N. world court 'politicized' appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – A school district in Massachusetts will no longer allow prayer at its school-sponsored events in order to appease one of the nation’s leading atheist groups.

Last month, Canton Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Fischer-Mueller informed the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation that “steps have been taken to ensure that there will be no prayers or religious rituals” included as part of any school ceremony or school-sponsored event, including graduation ceremonies.

Fischer-Mueller’s letter came after FFRF, which advocates for a strict separation of church and state and regularly pressures school districts and local government entities across the nation to drop all types of religious activities and cooperation, sent a demand letter to her in late June. [ Source: Christian Post (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took steps Wednesday that will set up a Saturday afternoon vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

McConnell filed a motion to end debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination, and that motion will get a vote on Friday. Assuming at least 50 senators agree to end debate, Kavanaugh’s final confirmation vote will come Saturday.

McConnell has pledged that Kavanaugh would get an up or down vote this week. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – A Trump administration plan to organize friendly Middle East regimes into an “Arab NATO” is gathering unexpected steam, with the State Department on Wednesday confirming that Saudi Arabia and eight other allies plan a meeting soon to start putting the idea into practice.

During much of September, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking engaged in shuttle diplomacy to lay the groundwork for a U.S.-hosted summit in January on what officials are calling the “Middle East Strategic Alliance,” or MESA.

Those efforts appeared to pay off late last week, when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gathered on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City with the foreign ministers of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to prepare for the January meeting, State Department sources confirmed. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – The 19-country eurozone economy lost momentum in September despite a resilient performance by the services sector in Italy, according to a closely watched survey released Wednesday.

Financial information firm IHS Markit said its composite purchasing managers’ index, a key measure of business activity in services and manufacturing, slipped to 54.1 points in September from 54.5 the previous month.

Though anything above 50 indicates expansion, the decline provides further evidence that the eurozone economy cooled during the summer as trade growth stalled. Trade tensions around the world, mainly between the United States and China, have stoked worries that protectionism is on the rise to the detriment of business. [ Source: ABC News (Read More…) ]

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