A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – The president of the Southern Baptist Convention said Monday the denomination has spent years passing resolutions condemning sexual abuse but now it must act.

Pastor J.D. Greear made the remarks at a meeting of the denomination’s governing body during a report on the progress of an advisory group on sexual abuse. His comments also come a week after two Texas newspapers published an investigation detailing hundreds of cases of sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches.

With 15 million members and over 47,000 churches, the Southern Baptist Convention is the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. But the SBC’s structure as a voluntary association of autonomous churches has hindered past efforts at fighting sexual abuse. Some victims and their advocates have accused the denomination of using the structure as an excuse not to act. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Iran is providing high-level al Qaeda operatives with a clandestine sanctuary to funnel fighters, money and weapons across the Middle East, according to Trump administration officials who warn that the long-elusive, complex relationship between two avowed enemies of America has evolved into an unacceptable global security threat.

With the once-prominent Islamic State receding from the spotlight, The Washington Times has learned that the administration is focusing increasingly on the unlikely alliance between Iran and al Qaeda, with what some sources say is an eye toward establishing a potential legal justification for military strikes against Iran or its proxies.

Skeptics have long doubted that Iran, which this year marked its 40th anniversary as a Shiite Muslim theocracy, could find common cause with a radical Sunni Islamist group such as al Qaeda, but U.S. officials argue that a confluence of interests — and a common enemy in the U.S. and its allies — has brought a level of covert cooperation and coordination that has reached new heights. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – President Trump urged Venezuela’s military leaders Monday to turn on leader Nicolas Maduro, casting the struggle in the troubled South American nation as a major test of whether the world can rid itself of a socialist stumbling block.

Speaking in Miami, the president also connected Venezuela to Cuba, saying Mr. Maduro has become a “puppet” of the communist regime in Havana.

He accused Mr. Maduro of denying his people medicine and other life-sustaining assistance to prop up his government, and he told Venezuelan generals they will lose everything unless they reject Mr. Maduro and back National Assembly leader Juan Guaido, whom the U.S. recognizes as the president. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – The water level in the Sea of Galilee, or Kinneret, is expected to climb above the freshwater lake’s lower red line for the first time in two years, at which point pumping will no longer face government restrictions.

The water level now stands at 23 centimeters below the lower red line, but is expected to pass that within a few weeks, thanks to the heavy rains and snow this winter. Since Thursday, the waterline has risen by 10.5 centimeters (4.13 inches), the Water Authority says, and by a total of 1.405 meters (4.6 feet) since the beginning of Israel’s rainy season.

“Despite the heavy rainfalls that have been hitting Israel over the past few weeks, the Sea of Galilee is still 4.435 meters (174.6 inches) short of reaching its full capacity. We expect that by the beginning of March, the waterline will rise above the lower red line,” said a Water Authority official. [ Source: Ynet News (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – The Satanic Temple in Missouri has lost a court battle to overturn a state law requiring abortion clinics to offer an ultrasound, a mandated 72-hour wait period, and provide state-issued pro-life pamphlets to their customers.

At issue is Missouri’s informed consent law, which says women must wait three days, be offered an ultrasound, and be provided with a booklet that says “the life of each human being begins at conception” before undergoing an abortion procedure.

The plaintiff, who goes by the name Mary Doe in the lawsuit, became pregnant in February 2015 and traveled to a St. Louis Planned Parenthood clinic for an abortion. Doe says her religious beliefs as a Satanist were violated by the law. According to court documents, Doe does not believe abortion ends the life of a separate human being. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – New research shows that attending church at least once a week can lead to longer and happier lives – not only that, it can improve entire communities.

Timothy P. Carney, author of “Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse,” writes about what he’s discovered in a recent editorial for the New York Post.

Carney references Sioux County, Iowa as an example. The county is known for its strong Christian presence in the state. The Association of Religious Data Archives states the county has the highest portion of evangelicals and mainline Protestants in Iowa. Carney’s research reveals the county rates low in problems such as drug overdose. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Sixteen US states sued President Donald Trump’s administration Monday over his decision to declare a national emergency to fund a wall on the southern border with Mexico, saying the move violated the constitution.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California, said the president’s order was contrary to the Presentment Clause that outlines legislative procedures and the Appropriations Clause, which defines Congress as the final arbiter of public funds.

The move had been previously announced by Xavier Becerra the attorney general of California who said his state and others had legal standing because they risked losing moneys intended for military projects, disaster assistance and other purposes. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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