CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY
A free service of Jesus Christ is Lord Ministries
News selected and edited by Ray Mossholder
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
THERMAL UNDERWEAR SALES AT ALL-TIME HIGH
As of Tuesday morning, temperatures were already at 8 degrees in Atlanta and 6 degrees below zero at a remote weather station in the north Georgia mountains — the coldest temperatures in the state for years. Temperatures hit lows in parts of West Virginia not felt for 25 years, while the extreme cold in Virginia beat record lows that had stood since the late 1950s. The National Weather Service said the mercury bottomed out at 3 degrees before sunrise at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshal International Airport, with a wind chill of minus 16.
Monday’s subzero temperatures broke records in Chicago, which set a record for the date at minus 16, and Fort Wayne, Ind., where the mercury fell to 13 below. Records also fell in Oklahoma and Texas, and wind chills across the region were 40 below and colder.
Forecasters said some 187 million people in all could feel the effects of the “polar vortex” by the time it spreads across the country. Tennessee utility officials braced for near-record power demand, while Ohio prepared for its coldest temperatures in decades. Wind chill warnings stretched as far south as Florida.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence issued disaster declarations, paving the way to request federal aid.
Bob Oravec, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md., said the blast of frigid air raised concerns that roads wet from melted snow would freeze over. But there are signs things are returning to normal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
VIOLENT IRAQI CIVIL WAR ERUPTING AGAIN
Iraq’s prime minister today urged residents and tribes of Fallujah to “expel” Al Qaeda militants from this western city to avoid an all-out battle. Nouri al-Maliki’s message was broadcast over state TV. It came as dozens of families were fleeing in fear from Fallujah, 40 miles west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Iraqi government troops have surrounded the city, which lies in the western Sunni-dominated Anbar province and which was overrun by Al Qaeda fighters last week.
Along with Fallujah, Al Qaeda fighters last week also took control of most parts of the provincial capital of Ramadi.
Iraqi troops have since been trying to dislodge militants from the group, known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, from the two cities.
The recent gains by Al Qaeda in Iraq have been a blow to the country’s Shiite-led government, as sectarian violence has escalated since the U.S. withdrawal. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that Washington was “very, very concerned” by the fighting but would not send in American troops.
On Monday, the Iranian army’s deputy chief-of-staff, Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, said Iran was also ready to help Iraq with military equipment and advisers, should Baghdad ask for it. Any Iranian help would exacerbate tensions as Iraqi Sunnis accuse Tehran of backing what they say are their Shiite-led government’s unfair policies against them.
ISIL is also one of the strongest rebel units in neighboring Syria, where it has imposed a strict version of Islamic law in territories it holds in the civil war raging there. It also has kidnapped and killed dozens of people it deems critical of its rule.
With America’s military gone, the United Nations says Iraq had the highest annual death toll in 2013 since the worst of the Civil War bloodletting began to subside in 2007 – 8,868.
EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS
Millions of Christians thronged churches across the mainly Muslim nation of Egypt for Christmas Mass, held Monday amid unusually tight security but with congregations filled with hope ahead of a key vote on a new constitution that enshrines equality and criminalizes discrimination.
Many churches, especially in southern Egyptian strongholds of radical Muslims, held Midnight Mass several hours early so that worshippers could avoid returning home after midnight when streets are empty, raising the possibility of attacks.
A wave of attacks blamed on Islamists in August left dozens of churches destroyed, burned or looted. Christian homes and businesses were also targeted.
Cairo’s St. Mark’s Cathedral which was attacked by mobs last April, seat of the Coptic Orthodox pope, police armed with machine-guns manned sandbag positions outside the towering structure. Hours before Mass, sniffing dogs were deployed to ensure there were no explosives planted inside.
During the service, plainclothes security men stood guard just yards (meters) from the altar to keep an eye on the congregation as Coptic Pope Tawadros II led the prayers. Cabinet ministers, army generals and politicians, mostly Muslims, attended the service.
Elsewhere in Cairo and other main cities, streets leading to large churches were sealed off and checkpoints were set up in areas with sizable Christian communities as armored army and police vehicles roamed the streets.
Metal detectors were placed at the entrances of many churches, where volunteers searched bags and demanded to see IDs, leading to the formation of long lines outside churches.
The amended constitution Egyptians will vote on later this month in a nationwide referendum enshrines equality between all Egyptians and instructs the next parliament to legislate a new law that will facilitate the construction and maintenance of churches. It also removes language in the 2012 constitution that critics feared could pave the way to the creation of a purist Islamic state, something that gravely alarmed Christians.
Associated Press reporter Mamdouh Thabet contributed to this report from Assiut, Egypt.
AMERICAN VETERANS HOSPITALS ROBBED OF CHRISTMAS
Why did Veterans Administration hospitals restrict and in some cases ban volunteers from bringing holiday cheer to patients?
That’s the question Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) wants answered. He’s the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and he’s accusing the VA of disrespecting Christmas as well as censoring and obstructing volunteers bearing gifts and Christmas cards.
Among the allegations:
* The VA medical center in Augusta, Ga. Banned high school carolers from singing Christmas songs containing religious references in public areas of the hospital. The students declined to perform from a government-approved list of secular songs.
* VA officials in Iowa City, Iowa, told American Legion volunteers they could not hand out gifts to veterans if the wrapping paper included the words “Merry Christmas.”
* VA personnel in Montgomery, Ala., prevented a young woman from delivering gift bags to veterans on Christmas Eve because they included the words “Merry Christmas.”
The VA did not provide comments on the incidents in Iowa City or Alabama, but they did weigh in on the incident in Georgia – with the high school carolers. Pay close attention to the last sentence.
“We welcome holiday music within our medical centers, and our Veterans and their families welcome the spirit and consideration of those who donate their time,” the statement read. ‘For carolers singing religious songs, we are happy to provide more private areas for groups to sing for Veterans who choose to participate.”
A private area? For crying out loud, the kids are performing “Away in the Manger!”
It’s enough to make you want to deck somebody’s halls.
Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary.
SATAN COMING TO OKLAHOMA’S CAPITOL?
A satanic group unveiled designs Monday for a 7-foot-tall statue of Satan it wants to put at the Oklahoma state Capitol, where a Ten Commandments monument was placed in 2012.
The New York-based Satanic Temple formally submitted its application to a panel that oversees the Capitol grounds, including an artist’s rendering that depicts Satan as Baphomet, a goat-headed figure with horns, wings and a long beard that’s often used as a symbol of the occult. In the rendering, Satan is sitting in a pentagram-adorned throne with smiling children next to him.
“The monument has been designed to reflect the views of Satanists in Oklahoma City and beyond,” temple spokesman Lucien Greaves said in a statement. “The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation.”
The Satanic Temple maintains that the Oklahoma Legislature’s decision to authorize a privately funded Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol opened the door for its statue. The Ten Commandments monument was placed on the north steps of the building in 2012, and the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has sued to have it removed.
In response, the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission recently placed a moratorium on considering any new requests.
Similar requests for monuments have been made by a Hindu leader in Nevada, an animal rights group and the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
MUSLIMS TO RULE LIBYA WITH SHARIA LAW
Libya’s recent edict that its coming constitution will be based on Shariah law has sent a chill through the North African nation’s small Christian community.
Libya’s Coptic Christians, who number about 300,000, or 5 percent of the population, were allowed to practice their faith under dictator Muammar Qaddafi. But since the strongman was ousted from power, and ultimately killed, Muslim fundamentalists have increasingly filled the power void. Last month, the national assembly voted in favor of making Koranic law, or Shariah, the basis of all legislative decisions, meaning Islam will shape all future banking, criminal and financial cases.
“Islamic law is the source of legislation in Libya,” stated the General National Congress in a statement released shortly after the vote was held. “All state institutions need to comply with this.” A special committee has begun reviewing existing laws to ensure that they comply with Shariah. The status and rights of women will have to be addressed in Libya’s future constitution.”
The emerging political and legal system’s orientation, combined with the rise of militants in the oil-rich nation, has left Christians feeling like the promise of democracy in the wake of Qaddafi’s fall has been broken.
“NATO went to war in Libya on the basis of a full democracy,” Patrick Sookhdeo, international director for human rights group The Barnabus Fund, told FoxNews.com. “But what we have ended up with is a fractured government in which religious extremism of the worst kind has now taken over the government.”
“They [Christians] will not have full citizenship,” he said, referring to the recent ouster of Muslim Brotherhood backed President Morsi when his administration attempted to implement similar legislation.
Many have speculated that Ambassador Chris Smith may have been murdered in Benghazi more than a year ago because of his Christian faith and how he spoke about it with Muslims and his students in Libya.
Joel Shrum, 29, was killed by members of the Supporters of Sharia — which also operates in Libya — who issued a message saying that the murder occurred, “as a response to the campaign of Christianproselytizing that the West has launched against Muslims.”
CONSTITUTION STOPS CHICAGO’S GUN LAW
Tuesday, January 7, 2014