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Full statement from Benny Hinn, popular wealth-and-health Word of Faith preacher, on September 3, 2019, speaking to his followers during a Facebook Live broadcast: So it’s all about our brokenness, our old man, we call that the flesh must be broken, must be out of the way. And today, sadly, among a lot of circles, […]The post Benny Hinn’s Confession – Full Transcript appeared first on Berean Research.
- 5 Sep 19, 2:57am -

Saints, you’ll want to pay close attention to how the Social Justice Movement has been worming its way into churches of all denominations, but especially into the pews of the Southern Baptist Convention. It’s as if leaders have forgotten that Jesus came as Savior to wipe away our guilt and shame, and are instead demanding […]The post By WHOSE Standard? appeared first on Berean Research.
- 24 Jul 19, 3:16am -

Millions of young people around the world are being told that they can soon supernaturally receive the hovering mantle of evangelism from the late Billy Graham, and that this opportunity will be theirs on February 23. Please hear me, Christian, there is no “mantle” from any person dead or alive that we are to activate […]The post Lou Engel ends “The Call” to usher in Billy Graham’s “mantle” appeared first on Berean Research.
- 28 Jan 19, 9:28pm -

Discernment Ministry. What do you think of when you hear or read that term? Does your nose wrinkle a little? Does your upper lip curl in disgust? A lot of good, solid, caring, sheep-loving discerning writers are being told not to quit their day jobs due to the actions of a few. Whether those actions […]The post Holding on. appeared first on Berean Research.
- 9 Oct 18, 2:21am -

There is a growing trend to dismiss the Bible in a world that says, “you can’t believe a book that’s a couple thousand years old,” as Rob Bell has done. Bell recently made these statements and said that the Church is very close to embracing gay marriage. If you haven’t boldly marked false teachers, people […]The post Why we “Mark and Avoid” appeared first on Berean Research.
- 5 Oct 18, 7:37pm -

Politics remain divisive, but churches seek unity in prayer.British evangelicals are divided over Brexit. The January 31 deadline for the nation’s departure from the European Union is fast approaching, and Thursday’s elections gave the Conservative Party a historic victory and “a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done,” according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. As evangelicals absorb the news, they are grappling with the political tumult, the ongoing uncertainty, and the question of what a Christian should do in these difficult times.The Evangelical Alliance of the United Kingdom (EAUK) has been urging everyone to pray, posting a prayer to social media every Thursday “to ask God for His peace, grace and guidance.” It’s an effort at unity amid division. The EAUK has remained “studiously impartial” on Brexit, “to reflect the diversity of political opinions” among evangelicals, according to spokesman Danny Webster.If there’s a chance to come together, Webster believes, it’s in prayer. “We can pray for wisdom for our leaders,” Webster told CT, “whether we agree with them or not.”Britain itself has been deeply divided over the plans to leave the European Union. In 2016, 52 percent of the population voted for leave. Debates about how to do that, exactly, have roiled UK politics ever since, as two successive prime ministers struggled to negotiate a divorce with the EU that can also get approved by Parliament.A slight majority of evangelicals voted remain. According to a 2016 study immediately before the vote, 51 percent supported staying in the EU, 27 percent wanted Brexit, and 22 percent were undecided. In the last three years, British evangelicals across the spectrum have expressed ...Continue reading...
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Vietnam deserves a priority place on our prayer list as we lift our voices as spiritual advocates for the world.Regardless of one’s politics, it is impossible not to be overwhelmed by the stories, artifacts, and pictures of the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. The horror of conflict they depict is tangible.The veteran missionary couple who took me there could not complete the tour and said they would not come again. In picture after picture one can almost hear the pounding war machines leaving behind remnants of human destruction.Against that backdrop, I joined with church leaders celebrating the amazing accomplishment of printing a million Bibles since 1994, when the communist government began permitting it. The pride of church leaders in raising up a national church countermands their long suffering at the hands of foreign influence.The Vietnamese, a highly resilient and entrepreneurial people, are imbued with a spirit and energy that pushes them up from the ravages of war and destruction, turning their hope of life into energetic ideas and initiatives in a country still under authoritarian communism.I recently met pastor Nhuong Pham who emerged from the most unlikely places. He’s a window, a way to see the Spirit at work. Let me tell you his story.Nhuong’s home had no connection to Christian faith. Vietnamese worship their ancestors under the combined influence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Their culture has no intrinsic connection to the monotheistic faith of Christianity.Moreover, Nhuong’s world was communism, which was taught in their schools, everywhere framing life and the marketplace.Added to that, in their not too distant past, they endured two brutal wars of national liberation against the French and Americans – two nations which most Vietnamese assumed were Christian. Any ...Continue reading...
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In addition to historic recognition by US lawmakers, this week a new patriarch was finally elected in Istanbul, Turkey.Following years of frustration, Armenian Christians worldwide received a double blessing this week.For the first time in its history, the US Senate recognized the Armenian Genocide. And after 11 years of practical vacancy, the Armenian community in Istanbul, Turkey, elected a new patriarch.“It is very emotional for the Armenian world, and anyone who wants to see the truth incarnated,” Paul Haidostian, president of evangelical Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon—the only Armenian university in the diaspora—told CT concerning the resolution.“But it is very obvious this was the opportune moment to be bipartisan.”Led by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, the unanimous passage yesterday drove his co-sponsor Sen. Robert Menendez to tears.“I’m thankful that this resolution has passed at a time in which there are still survivors of the genocide,” said the Democrat from New Jersey, pausing for 20 seconds before being able to continue. “[They] will be able to see that the Senate acknowledges what they went through.”About 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1923, as the defeated Ottoman Empire transitioned into the modern Republic of Turkey. Less than half a million survived.The resolution also mentions the Greek, Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Aramean, Maronite, and other Christian victims who lived in Asia Minor and other Ottoman provinces at the time.Turkey concedes that many Armenians died in the fighting and aftermath of World War II, though it believes the numbers are inflated. It calls for a joint academic commission of Turkish and Armenian scholars. But it rejects the term “genocide.”The Senate’s Resolution 150 is a duplicate ...Continue reading...
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Mix up your holiday listening with releases from Phil Wickham, Audrey Assad, and others. If your Christmas playlist needs another voice—someone besides Mariah Carey to get you in the spirit of the season—there are plenty of varieties of carols, hymns, and festive tunes to choose from.Even the newest Christian Christmas albums offer a shiny array, from jazzed-up classics and sing-along worship songs to haunting seasonal reflections.Here are six recent releases that have earned their place among our beloved favorites. (And check out this Spotify playlist to hear all the recommendations from the picks below.)Fragile by Nichole NordemanThis is not an album that candy-coats the holidays. Nichole Nordeman’s title track “Fragile” is an intelligently woven medley that wistfully draws the favorite carol “What Child Is This?” into conversation with Sting’s “Fragile.” The result is a remarkably fresh version of this age-old tune and particularly relevant to contemporary life. The entire 41 minutes of production is silky smooth, and its movement in mood is sublime. Lyrics dive deep into the struggle with reconciliation and loss: “So I will swallow hard to say this / It might be a little rough / If the world wants peace for Christmas / Might it not begin with us?” But it still finds room for joy as well as plenty of beloved carols in Nordeman’s iconic style, including “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Cue up this album as your soundtrack for drinking cocoa on Christmas Eve and catching up with family while candles flicker in the background. Or, even better, give it to a neighbor to start a conversation about faith, doubt, and life.Christmas by Phil WickhamPhil Wickham’s guitar-led Christmas ...Continue reading...
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Before we look at strategy or plans, let’s first look to Jesus and to what he wants to do in and through us. After all, he led us into ministry, and he can give us the strength and guidance to help us continue, and finish well, no matter how long the journey ahead. In the first article we dealt with four lies pastors can easily believe. Here are four more that can deceive pastors if we aren’t careful.5. I just need to love God better!This one is so easy because, like so many lies, it has an element of truth to it. We do want to love God with our heart, soul, and strength. But we tend to get this wrong because of our innate tendency toward self-justification and self-righteousness.Whenever we put ourselves or our performance at the center, things go sideways in a hurry. It’s not about you loving God. It’s about God loving you. We love the One who first loved us.This is why grace is so amazing: God loved us when we were unlovely. To paraphrase Jonathan Edwards, the only thing you brought to salvation was your sin. And yet God loved you so much Jesus died for you. You are his child; he’s not mad at you.Try as you might, even if you did everything right, you would still be an imperfect person trying to love God better. Take some time to just rest in the knowledge that God loves you.Sometimes pastors do a better job of telling others the truth about who they are in Christ than believing the same truth they teach others also applies to them. Understanding our identity in Christ may be the most important issue for the church in our changing times today.Who you are in Christ defines you, not what you have or haven’t accomplished, or how well you love. Drew Hyun reminded us at the Summit, “What you do matters, but who you are matters more.”6. God is disappointed in me for not doing _______ .We have a tendency to think of God like we do people. We have anthropomorphized him such that our default mindset is of a towering figure shaking his finger at all ...Continue reading...
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https://www.mnnonline.org/news/somalia-sees-bloodiest-terror-attack-countrys-history/Somalia (MNN) -- Over 300 people were killed in Somalia's bloodiest attackThe post Somalia sees bloodiest terror attack in country’s history appeared first on Mission Network News.
- 17 Oct 17, 4:00am -

https://www.mnnonline.org/news/emergency-medical-flight-gets-conjoined-twin-infants-life-saving-surgery/DRC (MNN/MAF) -- Conjoined twins saved through ministry’s medical flightThe post Emergency medical flight gets conjoined twin infants to life-saving surgery appeared first on Mission Network News.
- 17 Oct 17, 4:00am -

https://www.mnnonline.org/news/christmas-short-term-mission-opportunities/Int'l (MNN) -- Short-term mission trip opportunities this ChristmasThe post Christmas short-term mission opportunities! appeared first on Mission Network News.
- 17 Oct 17, 4:00am -

https://www.mnnonline.org/news/faces-stories-behind-world-food-day/International (MNN) -- On World Food Day, ministry spotlighting long-term solutionsThe post The faces and stories behind World Food Day appeared first on Mission Network News.
- 16 Oct 17, 4:00am -

https://www.mnnonline.org/news/state-elections-draw-near-india-spark-anti-christian-sentiment/India (MNN) -- Christians are being watched closely The post State elections draw near in India, spark anti-Christian sentiment appeared first on Mission Network News.
- 16 Oct 17, 4:00am -

(RNS) — This week’s gallery includes a shooting in a Jewish community in New Jersey, an annual procession in honor of the Virgin Mary near Los Angeles, and more.The post Photos of the Week appeared first on Religion News Service.
- 10 hours ago 14 Dec 19, 2:04pm -

(RNS) — On Tuesday (Dec. 10), two men opened fire on a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey, ultimately leaving four dead and three wounded in the shooting spree. One of the shooters had ties with the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, which includes organizations labeled as hate groups, in part due to some members voicing anti-Semitic rhetoric.The post Who are Black Hebrew Israelites? appeared first on Religion News Service.
- 1 day ago 13 Dec 19, 9:40pm -

NEWS STORY RNS-Koch-Petition: Over 10,000 Christians petition Boston College to reject Koch grant BOSTON (RNS) – More than 10,000 Christians have signed a petition urging officials at Boston College to ...The post RNS Updated Budget — Friday, December 13, 2019 appeared first on Religion News Service.
- 1 day ago 13 Dec 19, 8:57pm -

CLAREMONT, Calif. (RNS) — Claremont United Methodist Church is taking security measures after its Nativity scene showing Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees in cages has garnered widespread attention.The post ‘You’ve got to call out evil,’ says pastor of church with Nativity scene separated in cages appeared first on Religion News Service.
- 1 day ago 13 Dec 19, 8:30pm -

(RNS) — A number of new Advent resources available this year admit a bleak midwinter spirit, drawing attention to grief and injustice.The post The original ‘Blue Christmas’: New Advent resources focus on grief, justice before celebration appeared first on Religion News Service.
- 1 day ago 13 Dec 19, 7:10pm -

Image: Section: CartoonsDate to Publish: Saturday, December 14, 2019 - 07:48 to Monday, January 13, 2020 - 07:48
- 11 hours ago 14 Dec 19, 12:48pm -

Leaks from XinjiangChinaPersecutionUighursCommunismReligious LibertyThe publication of secret documents is helping draw attention to China’s Uighur prison campsPersecutionJune ChengIn summer 2018, I remember talking to my friends while working on an article about the estimated 1 million Muslim minorities, mostly Uighurs, held in reeducation camps in China’s Xinjiang region. None of those friends had heard about the situation, and they were shocked to learn that concentration camps had reemerged with merely a blip on the world’s radar. It’s been difficult to pin down facts and figures about the camps as communication between Xinjiang and the rest of the world has been largely cut off. Chinese officials initially denied the existence of the camps, but intrepid journalists began investigating them. Researchers used government tenders, job ads, and Google Earth to determine the size and scope of the camps. Members of the Uighur diaspora posted images of missing family members on social media. As the evidence mounted, Chinese officials began claiming the camps were vocational training centers for Muslim minorities with terrorist tendencies. Despite the injustice of the forced detentions, the world was slow to respond. Muslim countries remained silent, fearful of losing lucrative Chinese investments. Western countries crafted strongly worded statements against the camps, but seemingly took little action. In the past few months, however, it seems the tide is turning. Major leaks of classified government documents from the region revealed that the Chinese government had planned the massive crackdown on Xinjiang and was willing to use any tactic necessary to rid the region of religious extremism. The U.S. House of Representatives then passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act on Dec. 3, a bill that condemns the mass detentions and recommends sanctions on Communist officials responsible for the camps. The bill also blocks U.S. tech companies from selling technology to China that could contribute to the surveillance state.In mid-November, The New York Times reported it had obtained 400 pages of leaked Chinese government documents about Xinjiang. The trove included a classified directive that provided local officials with a script to help them explain to Uighur students studying outside the region why their parents were missing when they returned home. The authorized answer: “They’re in a training school set up by the government.” Officials were told to warn students that their behavior could shorten or extend their relatives’ detention.The leaked documents also provided a glimpse into the motivation for the crackdown: Private speeches by President Xi Jinping in 2014 called for the government to show “absolutely no mercy” in the “struggle against terrorism, infiltration, and separatism.” That speech came weeks after Uighur militants stabbed 150 people at a train station in Kunming, killing 31. Xi called for the party to use tools of “dictatorship” to eradicate radical Islam in the region. He likened extremism to a virus that needed treatment.A little more than a week later, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published another trove of government documents—dubbed the “China Cables”—that included operation manuals for the reeducation camps. The documents from 2017 described how dormitory rooms had to be double locked and how camps required patrols, guard posts, video surveillance, and alarms to keep detainees from escaping. The manuals discussed how to keep the camps a secret, how to indoctrinate the detainees, and when to allow them to see relatives.“It really shows that from the onset, the Chinese government had a plan for how to secure the vocational training centers, how to lock in the ‘students’ into their dorms, how to keep them there for at least one year,” Adrian Zenz, a leading German researcher of the camps, told ICIJ. He estimates Chinese authorities have detained between 900,000 and 1.8 million people in Xinjiang since the spring of 2017. In response to the recent leaks and the U.S. bill, China launched a propaganda campaign claiming to show the “truth” about Xinjiang and how the vocational training centers are necessary to fight terrorism. Videos posted on YouTube in various languages depicted graphic terrorist attacks by Uighur extremists.Xinjiang governor Shohrat Zakir claimed the reports were “pure fabrication” but wouldn’t say how many people had been placed in the camps. He claimed all the students in the “vocational education centers” have completed their courses and “returned to society."Yet Zenz wrote in Foreign Policy that, according to other leaked documents, after finishing indoctrination courses Uighurs are involuntarily sent to labor-intensive sweatshops, even though many of them are highly skilled intellectuals, scientists, or businesspeople. Spreadsheets from Xinjiang’s Yarkant County reveal most factory workers earned less than minimum wage and nearly half of them are over 40. The oldest worker is 74. “The combination of full-time work and centralized elder care and child care is to ensure family members spend more time in state-controlled settings than with each other, under constant surveillance and control,” Zenz wrote.Book burning: A photo went viral recently that showed two women burning banned books outside a library in Gansu province. The library said in a post that it had “cleaned up illegal and religious publications” by removing 65 books, which its staff then destroyed. Authorities later said they would punish the staff members, although such illegal publications are still banned from libraries in the country. ChinaSnapshots of ChinaEditor's Notes:  NotesUpdated byChangedCreated This photo taken on May 31, 2019 shows watchtowers on a high-security facility near what is believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, on the outskirts of Hotan, in China's northwestern Xinjiang region. - As many as one million ethnic Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are believed to be held in a network of internment camps in Xinjiang, but China has not given any figures and describes the facilities as "vocational education centres" aimed at steering people away from extremism. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY CHINA-XINJIANG-MEDIA-RIGHTS-PRESS,FOCUS BY EVA XIAO (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)rachelfbeatty12/13/2019 - 16:3312/13/2019 - 16:33
- 1 day ago 13 Dec 19, 9:57pm -

Hollywood loves breakup and divorce movies, even if the average moviegoer doesn’t. Movies like Annie Hall and Kramer vs. Kramer—even Mrs. Doubtfire in its last 20 minutes—leave viewers with an indigestion-like feeling of unresolved discomfort while critics and awards-show voters applaud louder and louder. It’s as though making a movie that’s painful to watch represents some sort of career achievement level for actors, writers, and directors.If that’s the goal, director Noah Baumbach has succeeded with Marriage Story. He takes viewers on an uphill slog through the worst moments in the small lives of the most self-absorbed spouses in the world. Adam Driver was more sympathetic as a budding Sith Lord in the latest Star Wars movies than as the clueless, entitled husband Charlie. He starts off understanding and accommodating but flips to resentful and verbally abusive faster than you can say, “Charlie, come to the dark side.”Wife Nicole, played by Scarlett Johanssen, treats Charlie like a genie who should grant her every wish. When he doesn’t deliver, she punishes him with the help of Los Angeles’ most monstrous divorce lawyer. There are hints in the film’s final minutes that maybe their dumpster fire of a divorce has changed Charlie and Nicole for the better. But that change comes at the expense of the well-being of their 8-year-old son, Henry, who is academically, emotionally, and socially stunted.Hollywood is drooling over Marriage Story. It earned six Golden Globe nominations—more than any other film this year. Maybe in a subculture with a divorce rate twice that of the rest of the country, a film like this provides a sort of comforting validation.For those who understand marriage as a covenant between helpmates, not a means to personal fulfillment, I asked WORLD News Group staff members to name their favorite pro-marriage movies and TV shows—beyond the obvious titles by the Kendrick brothers (Fireproof, Courageous, War Room). Not all of them deal directly with marriage, but they portray married couples growing together through trials.ComedyAlexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)The Family Man (2000)The Incredibles (2004)Instant Family (2018)The Philadelphia Story (1940)Up (2009)DramaA Beautiful Mind (2001)The Painted Veil (2007)TVMadam SecretaryThe GoldbergsThe MiddleThis Is UsEditor’s note: While none of the above movies and TV shows are rated R, not all are suitable for children. Courtesy of Newsha Tavakolian/Magnum photos “Somayeh” from Blank Pages of an Iranian Photo Album by Newsha Tavakolian Women on filmThe Smithsonian’s My Iran: Six Women Photographers collection includes photos from life before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when thousands of people died and hundreds of thousands fled the country.One photograph showcases the last day women were allowed in public without wearing hijabs, just after the revolution in March 1979. Another displayed several women living in exile.“Those who live in Iran tend to idealize life in the West, and those who live outside long for home,” one of the photographers, Mitra Tabrizian, noted in a caption. “But what both groups have in common is the will to survive.” —Onize Ohikere Associated Press/Photo by Siobhan Morrissey Gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin next to Italian artist Maurizio Cattlelan’s Comedian at the Art Basel exhibition in Miami Beach, Fla., last week Entertainment notesIt’s impossible to tell what’s more absurd: that a Miami art show displayed a banana duct-taped to a wall, that someone ate the banana and called it a performance, or that someone paid $120,000 for the art, which will require the periodic replacement of the banana when it rots. Maybe the greatest absurdity is that we can’t stop talking about it.Britt McHenry, a host on the Fox Nation streaming service, sued Fox News and her former co-host, professional wrestler George “Tyrus” Murdoch, for sexual harassment this week. The lawsuit claims Murdoch sent McHenry sexually explicit texts and Fox News excluded her from company events and shows when she complained. Fox News denies any wrongdoing. Bombshell, a movie about how female Fox News hosts handled sexual harassment by the late CEO Roger Ailes premiered in theaters on Friday.Major League Baseball is amending its drug-testing guidelines for players to remove marijuana as a “drug of abuse” and add opioids and cocaine. MLB will still test for marijuana use but treat it the same as alcohol. On July 1, 27-year-old Tyler Skaggs, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, died after consuming alcohol and opioids. —L.L. Image: Deck: Skip the latest feature-length divorce drama for something more pro-nuptialCategory: Culture & ArtsKeywords: EntertainmentMediaMoviesHollywoodMarriageDivorceFamilyArtMiddle EastIranNewsSexual AbuseSportsDrugsSlug: EntertainmentArticle Title: Marriage storiesAuthor: Lynde LangdonDigital Branding: MuseHide from Archive?: 0
- 1 day ago 13 Dec 19, 9:23pm -

Lawmakers in Washington are pushing the U.S. Department of Justice to tackle the beast in the basement: hard-core online pornography. Last week, four Republican U.S. representatives sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr urging him to enforce dusty federal obscenity laws against the creators and distributors of graphic, violent, and deviant online pornography, an exploding and illegal industry.Although the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects some pornographic content under the guarantee of free speech, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld exceptions, including content legally considered obscenity (Miller v. California) and child pornography (New York v. Ferber), which are prosecutable.But most of the obscene, or hard-core, pornography produced and distributed online today—which some experts argue represents the majority of online pornography—goes unprosecuted. Under President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder disbanded the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force in the criminal division of the Justice Department. For much of the last decade, the federal government has made little to no effort to fight hard-core pornography online.In 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump signed a pledge, produced by internet safety group Enough Is Enough, promising to aggressively enforce existing federal laws, including obscenity laws, to prevent the sexual exploitation of children online. He also promised to appoint “an attorney general who will make the prosecution of such laws a top priority.”The four representatives seek to hold the White House accountable for the president’s promises.“This pledge has so far been ignored in the Trump administration with the result that the harms of illegal pornography have continued unabated, affecting children and adults so acutely to the point that 15 state legislatures have declared that pornography is causing a public health crisis,” wrote Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana, Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, and Brian Babin of Texas. “It is imperative that you follow through on this important campaign promise made by Mr. Trump.”Barr successfully prosecuted obscenity crimes in the early 1990s while serving as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, according to Donna Rice Hughes, the president and CEO of Enough Is Enough. “I believe he is the AG to do this job,” she said.If he takes the challenge, Barr faces an uphill battle. Online pornographers today operate unobstructed. “It’s anything goes, and they know it,” Hughes said.This week, online pornography giant PornHub released its year-in-review data, boasting it had more than 42 billion visits in 2019, an average of 115 million per day. It also claimed a record number of searches and video uploads, totaling 1.36 million hours of new content in 2019.Critics of obscenity laws argue the government should not police what adults decide to consume and parents should be responsible for keeping their children away from pornography.But Hughes disagrees, contending that parents today are playing whack-a-mole trying to keep their kids safe from the onslaught of explicit online content. She also said the multibillion-dollar obscene pornography industry directly fuels sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and child pornography. Violent and deviant porn creates a vicious cycle of demand because it is highly addictive, so more content creates a demand for even more content. If the Justice Department makes it a priority to go after some of the big players in obscene online pornography, Hughes said, it would send a loud message to pornographers that creating and distributing such content will affect their bottom line: “I believe we will see a change.”If not, Hughes said, it will only get harder: “If previous administrations had taken this seriously, we wouldn’t be in this mess, and if this administration doesn’t start, it’s going to be an even bigger mess.” iStock.com/Sasiistock Why belief in God matters to kidsDeclining interest in religion is one of the most important explanations for increased rates of depression and anxiety in children and teens today, according to New York psychoanalyst Erica Komisar.“I am often asked by parents, ‘How do I talk to my child about death if I don’t believe in God or heaven?’ My answer is always the same: ‘Lie,’” she wrote in an editorial earlier this month for The Wall Street Journal. “The idea that you simply die and turn to dust may work for some adults, but it doesn’t help children. Belief in heaven helps them grapple with this tremendous and incomprehensible loss.”But fewer and fewer Americans attend church or say they believe in God. Komisar, who is politically liberal and Jewish, cited research on higher psychological well-being for children or teens who attend a religious service at least once a week. She also praised the values of empathy, gratitude, and community instilled by a religious identity, needed antidotes to a distracted, lonely, and individualistic culture.This isn’t the first time Komisar has been willing to voice controversial conclusions. Reporters and reviewers shunned her after the release of her 2017 book Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters, which used neuroscience and psychology to defend the idea that babies have a biological need for their mother’s care. —K.C. Facebook/Save James Jeffrey Younger with James and Jude Judicial reassignmentA Texas court has appointed a new judge to handle a controversial ongoing custody battle between two parents who disagree about the gender identity of their 7-year-old son.In October, Texas District Judge Kim Cooks granted former spouses Jeffrey Younger and Anne Georgulas joint managing conservatorship of their son James Younger and his twin brother Jude. Both parents must agree on any medical or psychological treatment for the boys.Georgulas, who claims James is transgender, appealed the decision and filed a motion in early November requesting Cooks’ removal from the case. Her attorneys argued Cooks invited “ex parte communication” in a private Facebook post she wrote linking to a news report on the case, compromising her impartiality.This week, the court appointed Texas District Judge Mary Brown to the case, according to the Save James Facebook page, a site run by friends of the family. —K.C. Changing definitionMerriam-Webster on Tuesday selected the pronoun “they” as its 2019 word of the year. Dictionary searches for “they” increased by 313 percent from 2018 to 2019, according to the dictionary publisher, noting growing acceptance of the word’s use as a pronoun for one person with a gender identity different from his or her biological sex. The company added a nonbinary definition to its entry for “they” in September, a decision critics saw as grammatical heresy and gender ideology capitulation. —K.C. Image: Deck: Advocates call on the Justice Department to tackle illegal online pornographyCategory: Family & SocietyKeywords: FamilyPornographyInternetChildrenSexual AbuseSexualityReligionDeathTransgenderismCourtsLanguageSlug: FamilyArticle Title: A war on obscenity Author: Kiley CrosslandDigital Branding: RelationsHide from Archive?: 0
- 1 day ago 13 Dec 19, 9:07pm -

WASHINGTON—New tariffs on Chinese goods will not take effect Sunday as planned after China and the United States agreed on wording for the first phase of a trade deal. President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted he thought it was an “amazing deal” and said he would start “negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election.”What does the first phase entail? The long-negotiated deal will halt U.S. tariffs on Chinese products in stages, including the Sunday fees that would have affected consumer products like cellphones, laptop computers, and toys. In return, China agreed to buy more crops and manufacturing products from the United States. The second phase likely will involve intellectual property, technology, financial services, and trade expansion, among other things, Bloomberg reported.Dig deeper: Read June Cheng’s report in Snapshots of China on how the trade war affects the Chinese economy.Image: Category: InternationalArticle Title: U.S., China make progress on trade dealKeywords: Foreign TradeInternationalChinaEconomyAsiaPoliticsForeign PolicyAuthor: Harvest Prude
- 1 day ago 13 Dec 19, 5:22pm -