General Discussion

Revival strikes Asbury once again

http://www.theasburycollegian.com/2023/02/revival-strikes-asbury-once-again/

I have been in Hughes Auditorium for almost twelve hours now without an intent to leave anytime soon.

Peers, professors, local church leaders and seminary students surround me— all of them praying, worshipping, and praising God together. Voices are ringing out. People are bowing at the altar, arms stretched wide. A pair of friends cling to each other in a hug, one with tears in her eyes. A diverse group of individuals crowd the piano and flawlessly switch from song to song. Some even sit like me, with laptops open. No one wants to leave.

No one even expected this to happen. Not on a random Wednesday for sure. Yet, we sit and sing about God’s love pouring out and His goodness.

As a senior, I have never witnessed anything like this. I’ve heard about it from alumni, especially those who have come to chapel and spoken about their experience with the Revival of 1970. December graduate Elle Hooper agrees with me.

“I am one of many who have been praying for this since my freshman year,” Hooper said. “To be here and witness to this is life-giving.”

There have been moments of testimony, Scripture reading and prayer, private and public — whatever the Spirit felt like doing. Different leaders like chapel speaker Zach Meerkreebs and campus pastor Greg Haseloff worked to keep the day flowing as long as God intended it. Pizza, snacks, water and coffee rejuvenated the energy around dinner time and after the sunset.

This experience is a true testament to show God’s timing. He knew when we as a student body and as a community needed a day like today. To confess, reconcile, heal and allow prayers to be spoken over us — He knew what we needed to do and helped us do it. He is still present even as I type these words; honestly, it is hard to describe everything I am feeling, much like my friends sitting around me.

Part of me is filled with nothing but gratitude. We have sung the popular song by Brandon Lake more than once, but the truth of the lyrics hit every time: “So I throw up my hands, and praise You again and again ’cause all that I have is a hallelujah.”

I have embraced friends, cried with strangers and overall felt more connected to God than I have in a long while. And I am only one person, one witness to healing and transformative action taking place on the carpets, against the walls, and between the wooden rows of seats.

Junior Abigail Glei said she felt peace about the sovereignty of God. “He is teaching me to believe that He is in control and that I don’t need to worry.”

Senior Ashley Schumacher described feeling the weight of the Holy Spirit the second she re-entered Hughes after chapel had been dismissed.

In a moment of testimony, junior Andrew Seamands shouted, “God is so awesome!”

Another student Andrew Johnson spent hours in Hughes and found himself being reminded about how “it’s okay to be vulnerable and emotional.”

Freshman Kiara King told the Collegian she felt a push from God tonight. “He gave me the push to keep going and to truly know He has me on the right path,” she said.

No matter what anyone has been through or how God spoke to them individually, there was a collective understanding that it was time to surrender, pray and keep worshipping.

It doesn’t seem like the night is planning to end anytime soon. A friend in Tennessee Facetimed me in the middle of worship because “I had to see for myself what God was doing.”

Come and see. It’s surely an unbelievable sight that will stir your heart. The Collegian will provide updates as the revival continues officially throughout the night and tomorrow morning on Feb. 9, 2023, at 11 a.m.

While it might be the right thing to do to welcome them into the church, churches do not have to welcome their extreme culture that comes with them that goes against Christian behavior standards.

Pope, Anglican, Presbyterian leaders denounce anti-gay laws

https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-lgbtq-people-south-sudan-religion-ddd1e52de12a95216e798a9ddd103ade

First Baptist Church faces backlash on 'biblical sexuality' pledge for congregants

https://www.foxnews.com/media/first-baptist-church-faces-backlash-biblical-sexuality-pledge-congregants

The Florida church came under fire for a statement confirming beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman

By Lindsay Kornick | Fox News

The First Baptist Church of Jacksonville was spotlighted on Sunday after local media reports caught wind on the church’s "biblical sexuality" statement set to take effect in March.

The "First Baptist Statement on Biblical Sexuality" detailing the church’s support for binary gender roles as well as the belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman was originally approved in October.

"As a member of First Baptist Church, I believe that God creates people in his image as either male or female, and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not individual choice. I believe marriage is instituted by God, not government, is between one man and one woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression," the statement read.

According to the church, all members of the congregation are required to sign the statement and return it by March 19 in order to maintain their membership.

Backlash grew against the statement in the previous week, leading up to an open mic event at the church to listen to and discuss concerns from audience members. One included a queer woman named Katie who opposed the statement and condemned the church for supporting it.

"Yesterday, an acquaintance messaged me and told me about this forum. Their family has made the decision to stop attending this church considering recent events, which is something I encourage all existing congregants to follow," Katie said.

"The decision to have your members sign any form of contract to attend turns your church into an organization, a club," she added. "This church is no longer a religious place of worship welcome to all. These sexuality oaths are drawing a clear line in the sand, showing us who you truly welcome, which is by no means all."

Senior Pastor Heath Lambert defended the statement against these allegations, emphasizing that the statement does not solely condemn homosexuality but all sins regarding sexuality.

"It is not that we are any less sinful than anybody out there in Jacksonville. It’s not that we are any better than anybody who thinks our statement is a joke," Lambert said. "It’s that we have come to confess our sin instead of looking at the Bible and railing against what the Bible has to say about sexual sin. We’ve said, 'God, you’re right, and I’m wrong, will you please forgive me and [then] you wash me in the blood of Jesus.’ By faith, we are not better, but by faith, we are saved."

Lambert previously offered a lengthy defense of the statement on the church’s website back when it was first approved. In the defense, he specifically targeted LGBTQ critics who vehemently opposed the statement.

"We want to welcome you as we were welcomed. If you need help, we would love to serve you. If you would like to come and worship with us, you are always welcome to be part of what we are doing. Of course, when you come, we will ask you to respect our beliefs just as you want us to respect yours. But if you do come, we will welcome you, pray with you, serve you, and love you. We will also probably say some things that will challenge you. That’s ok. Real love can handle disagreement," he wrote.

Lambert closed, "If you ever give us the chance, we will be happy to welcome you. We will do that, not because we agree about sexuality, but because we believe everything the Bible says about loving your neighbor, and we really think it’s possible to disagree without being hateful."

The full open mic forum is available for viewing on the church's Facebook account.

Satanic Temple Opens New Abortion Clinic to Kill Babies in Ritualistic Abortions

https://www.lifenews.com/2023/02/01/satanic-temple-opens-new-abortion-clinic-to-kill-babies-in-ritualistic-abortions/

The Satanic Temple isn’t just promoting the killing of unborn babies in abortions anymore. It’s actually killing them through a new “religious” abortion practice in New Mexico.

On Wednesday, the satanic group launched a new “religious medical services arm,” TST Health, to begin doing abortions. The Satanic Temple believes aborting unborn babies is a religious “ritual” and compares it to communion or baptism for Christians.

The name of its first “telehealth” abortion practice doubles as a covert death wish to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

The Samuel Alito’s Mom’s Satanic Abortion Clinic in New Mexico will offer abortion drugs to women ages 17 and up who are up to 11 weeks of pregnancy, according to Fox News. The FDA does not recommend abortion drugs after 10 weeks.

“In 1950, Samuel Alito’s mother did not have options, and look what happened,” said Malcolm Jarry, co-founder of The Satanic Temple, in a statement. “Prior to 1973, doctors who performed abortions could lose their licenses and go to jail. The clinic’s name serves to remind people just how important it is to have the right to control one’s body and the potential ramifications of losing that right.”

According to a press release from the group, “anyone in New Mexico seeking to perform The Satanic Temple’s abortion ritual will be able to receive free online medical services.”

Licensed medical workers will screen patients during a virtual appointment, and then prescribe abortion drugs through pharmacies that will mail them in “a discreet package,” the group said. Women will be charged a pharmacy fee of about $90, it continued. The satanic group also set up a 24-hour abortion hotline.

Eventually, The Satanic Temple leaders said they want to expand their new abortion practice to states that ban abortions. Their group has filed lawsuits in several states challenging their legal protections for unborn babies on religious grounds.

“TST is proud to expand reproductive options for our members. This is just the beginning,” said Erin Helian, executive director of campaigns, in a statement. “We will remain steadfast as we continue the fight to uphold reproductive justice in the United States.”

The satanic group claims killing unborn babies in abortions is a religious ritual, and restricting it violates its “fundamental tenets,” according to an article on Glenn Beck’s website. Its leaders also claim pro-life laws are rooted in “Christian nationalism” – even though people of all faiths and no faith believe basic human rights should apply to all human beings.

The supposed religion claims to have “seven fundamental tenets,” including one that teaches, “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.” In its lawsuits, the group claims abortion restrictions and bans violate this teaching as well as an “abortion ritual” that its members perform.

It likens the “ritual” slaughter of unborn babies to communion or baptism for Christians. In 2020, it even raffled off an abortion to raise money for its lawsuits.

“The fact that the Satanic Temple plans to set up a ritual abortion clinic in New Mexico speaks volumes about who is really behind the abortion agenda,” Elisa Martinez, founder of New Mexico Alliance for Life, told LifeNews.

“Their willingness to flaunt the practice of ending innocent human life as a ritualistic sacrifice shows how New Mexico public officials have cooperated with this evil by turning the state into the thriving taxpayer-funded abortion capital of the Southwest and even America,” Martinez said.

The Satanic Temple claims to have 700,000 members internationally, and it is a recognized religion by the IRS.

The group is deeply involved in abortion advocacy. Breitbart once described its work as a “pro-abortion crusade to come to the aid of America’s largest abortion provider,” Planned Parenthood.

Within the past decade, it has filed numerous lawsuits in different states to overturn pro-life laws, though its attempts thus far have failed. Other recent lawsuits include a challenge to the Texas heartbeat law, which pro-life advocates say has saved tens of thousands of unborn babies’ lives thus far.

The Satanic Temple also is pushing its beliefs on young children. Recently, the group began opening clubs in elementary schools.

Increasingly, these satanic influences can be seen at pro-abortion rallies where abortion activists chant “Hail, Satan!” and the phrase “fight like hell” has become common among prominent pro-abortion politicians.

Then, earlier this month, New York City leaders erected a golden statue to abortion on top of a city courthouse. Many described the statue, a naked woman with horns, as demonic or satanic.

This is a demonic agenda!

Bugs to be used in bread, beer, and various other items 'intended for the general population,' courtesy of the EU

https://www.theblaze.com/news/eu-approval-of-bugs-in-food-now-in-effect#toggle-gdpr