Mayor Plans To Keep God In Government
Despite legal threats from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Georgia mayor says he plans to continue to live out his faith publicly.
Warner Robbins Mayor Chuck Shaheen is taking heat from the Freedom From Religion group for publicly thanking God and for supporting public prayer. He tells OneNewsNow they can try to separate church and state, but they cannot separate church and this mayor.
"Being a mayor is not the pinnacle of my life because I'm going to be a Christian long after I'm a mayor," he explains. "Because of what Jesus did for me, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. And I do get attacked a lot for my stand, but I don't push it on anybody, and I just hope I can let my light so shine before men that they can see the good works that God does in our lives and glorify our Father who is in Heaven."
GeorgiaMayor Shaheen says he agrees with the separation of church and state, just not the way religious skeptics see it.
"The state needs to get out of the church, but the church doesn't need to get out of the state," he contends. "You need to have more godly people in government and keep government out of the church."
He says he has received overwhelming support from Warner Robbins citizens for his convictions. –By Bill Bumpas/One News Now/June 28, 2012
Seventh-Day Adventists Lose "Granola" Trademark Fight In Australia
Cereal company owned by denomination trademarked the word in 1921; federal judge says it's too commonplace now.
Sanitarium Foods, a cereal company owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia, has lost its two-year legal battle to keep Australian bakeries, restaurants, and grocery stores from using the word "granola."
The denomination trademarked "granola" as an "invented word" in 1921; this week, a federal judge disagreed, saying the word can be "easily found in dictionaries," reports Adventist Today.
The Adventist church plans to keep defending its intellectual property. –By Jeremy Weber/Christianity Today/June 22, 2012
Jordan: Bank Fires Women for Refusing to Wear Hijab
Several Arabic news reports appeared yesterday, Tuesday, May 22, exposing the new hijab policy of the Jordanian Dubai Islamic Bank. Under new ownership, bank management recently decreed that all females must wear the hijab, the Islamic veil, or be terminated. According to Najem News—which says the bank's policy "contradicts Jordan's laws and constitutions"—the bank "fired all female employees who refused to wear the hijab, after warning them that it is mandatory, despite the fact that some of the employees are Christians." There are also suspicions that, along with Islamizing the bank's atmosphere, this new policy was further set to target and terminate the Christian employees, since it is they who are most likely to reject the hijab.
One female Christian employee who had worked at the bank for 27 years is among those just fired. Though not available for comment, an associate of hers said in response to the new hijab rule: "Is this to be the new approach in Jordan during the Arab Spring revolutions—suppression of freedoms, intolerance for others, the exercise of intellectual terrorism, the quantization of minds, and the imposition of obligations in the name of religion?"
Some may be tempted to draw parallels between this and similar precedents in the West. For instance, some Western banks refuse to serve Muslim women in full hijab. However, this is done for security measures—show by the fact that the hijab is not singled out, but also hats, hoods and sunglasses—whereas the Jordanian Dubai Islam Bank is basing its policy entirely on religious discrimination. –By Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/May 24, 2012
Americans Show Broad Support For Abortion Rights
It’s safe to say that the Republican assault on reproductive rights won’t end anytime soon, especially after the latest Gallup poll which claims that more Americans identify as “pro life” than ever.
But is that what the poll really says? Not even Life News is willing to go quite that far, carefully noting that the results reflect those who self-identify as “pro-life” despite what the “pro-life” platform embraces.
That’s because today’s “pro-life” movement is one that sees itself as opposing all forms of legalized abortion, including contraception. But according to the poll results that’s not how most Americans, including those who identify as “pro-life” see the issue.
Since 2001, at least half of Americans have consistently chosen the middle position, saying abortion should be legal under certain circumstances, and the 52% saying this today is similar to the 50% in May 2011. The 25% currently wanting abortion to be legal in all cases and the 20% in favor of making it illegal in all cases are also similar to last year’s findings.
That means that over two-thirds of Americans actually support abortion being legal in all or “certain” circumstances while only 20 percent of Americans are truly “pro-life” in a way that supports the “pro-life” political agenda.
Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America issued this statement in response:
Abortion is a deeply personal and often complex decision for a woman.
What this poll makes clear is that labels like ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life’ simply don’t reflect the complexity of how most people actually think and feel about abortion in this country. A majority of Americans still believe abortion should remain a safe and legal medical procedure for a woman to consider if and when she needs it, and these fundamental views have held steady for more than a decade. Instead of putting people in one category or another, we should respect the real-life decisions women and their families face every day.
Gallup also included the issue of birth control in its poll for the first time this year. As women’s health opponents continue their unprecedented assault on access to basic health care, this poll reiterates birth control is not a moral issue – it is simply basic health care. The fact is that birth control use is nearly universal in the U.S. — 99 percent of sexually active women use it at some point in their lives. The Affordable Care Act’s birth control coverage benefit means that millions more women will have access to affordable birth control, and this important step forward needs to be maintained.
Best news of all from Gallup: 25% of Americans think abortion should be legal in every circumstance while only 20% think it should be illegal in all circumstances. –By Jessica Pieklo/Care2/May 23, 2012
Despite legal threats from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Georgia mayor says he plans to continue to live out his faith publicly.
Warner Robbins Mayor Chuck Shaheen is taking heat from the Freedom From Religion group for publicly thanking God and for supporting public prayer. He tells OneNewsNow they can try to separate church and state, but they cannot separate church and this mayor.
"Being a mayor is not the pinnacle of my life because I'm going to be a Christian long after I'm a mayor," he explains. "Because of what Jesus did for me, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. And I do get attacked a lot for my stand, but I don't push it on anybody, and I just hope I can let my light so shine before men that they can see the good works that God does in our lives and glorify our Father who is in Heaven."
GeorgiaMayor Shaheen says he agrees with the separation of church and state, just not the way religious skeptics see it.
"The state needs to get out of the church, but the church doesn't need to get out of the state," he contends. "You need to have more godly people in government and keep government out of the church."
He says he has received overwhelming support from Warner Robbins citizens for his convictions. –By Bill Bumpas/One News Now/June 28, 2012
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Seventh-Day Adventists Lose "Granola" Trademark Fight In Australia
Cereal company owned by denomination trademarked the word in 1921; federal judge says it's too commonplace now.
Sanitarium Foods, a cereal company owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia, has lost its two-year legal battle to keep Australian bakeries, restaurants, and grocery stores from using the word "granola."
The denomination trademarked "granola" as an "invented word" in 1921; this week, a federal judge disagreed, saying the word can be "easily found in dictionaries," reports Adventist Today.
The Adventist church plans to keep defending its intellectual property. –By Jeremy Weber/Christianity Today/June 22, 2012
<><><>*<><><>
Jordan: Bank Fires Women for Refusing to Wear Hijab
Several Arabic news reports appeared yesterday, Tuesday, May 22, exposing the new hijab policy of the Jordanian Dubai Islamic Bank. Under new ownership, bank management recently decreed that all females must wear the hijab, the Islamic veil, or be terminated. According to Najem News—which says the bank's policy "contradicts Jordan's laws and constitutions"—the bank "fired all female employees who refused to wear the hijab, after warning them that it is mandatory, despite the fact that some of the employees are Christians." There are also suspicions that, along with Islamizing the bank's atmosphere, this new policy was further set to target and terminate the Christian employees, since it is they who are most likely to reject the hijab.
One female Christian employee who had worked at the bank for 27 years is among those just fired. Though not available for comment, an associate of hers said in response to the new hijab rule: "Is this to be the new approach in Jordan during the Arab Spring revolutions—suppression of freedoms, intolerance for others, the exercise of intellectual terrorism, the quantization of minds, and the imposition of obligations in the name of religion?"
Some may be tempted to draw parallels between this and similar precedents in the West. For instance, some Western banks refuse to serve Muslim women in full hijab. However, this is done for security measures—show by the fact that the hijab is not singled out, but also hats, hoods and sunglasses—whereas the Jordanian Dubai Islam Bank is basing its policy entirely on religious discrimination. –By Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/May 24, 2012
<><><>*<><><>
Americans Show Broad Support For Abortion Rights
It’s safe to say that the Republican assault on reproductive rights won’t end anytime soon, especially after the latest Gallup poll which claims that more Americans identify as “pro life” than ever.
But is that what the poll really says? Not even Life News is willing to go quite that far, carefully noting that the results reflect those who self-identify as “pro-life” despite what the “pro-life” platform embraces.
That’s because today’s “pro-life” movement is one that sees itself as opposing all forms of legalized abortion, including contraception. But according to the poll results that’s not how most Americans, including those who identify as “pro-life” see the issue.
Since 2001, at least half of Americans have consistently chosen the middle position, saying abortion should be legal under certain circumstances, and the 52% saying this today is similar to the 50% in May 2011. The 25% currently wanting abortion to be legal in all cases and the 20% in favor of making it illegal in all cases are also similar to last year’s findings.
That means that over two-thirds of Americans actually support abortion being legal in all or “certain” circumstances while only 20 percent of Americans are truly “pro-life” in a way that supports the “pro-life” political agenda.
Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America issued this statement in response:
Abortion is a deeply personal and often complex decision for a woman.
What this poll makes clear is that labels like ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life’ simply don’t reflect the complexity of how most people actually think and feel about abortion in this country. A majority of Americans still believe abortion should remain a safe and legal medical procedure for a woman to consider if and when she needs it, and these fundamental views have held steady for more than a decade. Instead of putting people in one category or another, we should respect the real-life decisions women and their families face every day.
Gallup also included the issue of birth control in its poll for the first time this year. As women’s health opponents continue their unprecedented assault on access to basic health care, this poll reiterates birth control is not a moral issue – it is simply basic health care. The fact is that birth control use is nearly universal in the U.S. — 99 percent of sexually active women use it at some point in their lives. The Affordable Care Act’s birth control coverage benefit means that millions more women will have access to affordable birth control, and this important step forward needs to be maintained.
Best news of all from Gallup: 25% of Americans think abortion should be legal in every circumstance while only 20% think it should be illegal in all circumstances. –By Jessica Pieklo/Care2/May 23, 2012
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