No
Clergy or Prayers at New York's 9/11
Memorial?
"In a city where the most
residents in recent memory now cite religious faith as strongly
important, New York is tone-deaf to exclude all religion when
remembering the slaughter of over 3000 innocents." -- Mark Tooley,
IRD President
WASHINGTON,
/Christian Newswire/ -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office
has announced that the principle ceremony marking the 9/11
terrorist attacks will exclude clergy and formal prayers. The move
by city hall allows "moments of silence" and for families to share,
but specifically excludes religious figures. Bloomberg's
controversial decision comes when the Barna Group polling firm
finds that 46 percent of New York area residents reported attending
worship services in the previous week in 2010, up from 31 percent
in 2000. The latest figures also show that 61 percent of New
York-area residents agree strongly that religious faith is very
important to them.
IRD President Mark Tooley commented: "In a city where the most
residents in recent memory now cite religious faith as strongly
important, New York is tone-deaf to exclude all religion when
remembering the slaughter of over 3000 innocents. "To exclude
clergy even at a memorial service implies that religion is not
welcome in the public square, even in mourning. "From presidential
inaugurals to opening Congress, to countless civic events routinely
in every community across America, clergy and prayers have been a
regular part of public life for years. The exclusion of both clergy
and prayers is deeply at odds with America's robust religious life
and even with the beliefs of most New Yorkers."
"Secularist groups like Americans United for the Separation of
Church and State naturally applaud New York's ignoring most
Americans and most New Yorkers by pretending religion is
unimportant, even when remembering mass slaughter and heroic
sacrifice."
The Institute on Religion
& Democracy works to reaffirm the church's biblical and
historical teachings, strengthen and reform its role in public
life, protect religious freedom, and renew democracy at home and
abroad.
www.TheIRD.org
Hikers' Sentencing Should
Remind Americans of Threat from Iran's Apocalyptic
'Twelvers'
Tehran's Leaders Insist on
Israel's Destruction to Spur Messianic Figure's Appearance,
'Radical Islam' Author Explains, as America Approaches 10th
Anniversary of 9/11
DALLAS, /Christian Newswire/ -- The weekend
sentencing of two
American hikers to eight
years in an Iranian prison on espionage charges should give
Americans pause as Tehran's regime - spurred by a radical,
apocalyptic theology that insists on Israel's destruction -
continues to target the West and America approaches the 10th
anniversary of 9/11, says cultural apologist Dr. Jim Denison. In
his essay, "U.S.
Hikers and Iran's Apocalyptic Leaders," published Monday
on the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture website at
http://dftc.co/i, the
author of the new book "Radical Islam: What You Need to Know,"
explains that Iran's top leaders, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, are "Twelvers," adherents of Shiite
Islam's largest branch. Twelvers believe a Messiah-like figure, the
Mahdi ("guided one"), will arise at history's end to rule the world
for Islam. Among the beliefs of many Twelvers: Israel and America -
the "little Satan" and "Great Satan," respectively - must be
attacked to bring about the Mahdi's arrival. This figure would then
show up, believers contend, to protect the Muslim world from
Western reprisal.
Such beliefs, Denison reminds
readers, explain Ahmadinejad's declaration in 2005 that Israel must
be "wiped off the map."
"Are Iran's leaders using the
two American hikers and other foreign detainees to incite their
people against the West?" Denison asks. "Did they charge our
citizens with espionage so they could claim the West is attacking
Islam? Since the Qur'an requires Muslims to defend Islam (Qur'an
2:190), this accusation would legitimize an attack against Israel
and the West out of obedience to Islam's holy book." The Twelvers
are just one part of the extremist movement that Denison describes
in his book, a primer on radical Islam, which he calls "the
greatest threat our children have ever faced." "Radical Islam" is
the first in the "Unlocking the Truth" series of books offering a
spiritual perspective on key cultural issues facing America. A
free, sample chapter is available at
www.denisonforum.org.
Denison is the author of six
other books, including "Wrestling with God: How Can I Love a God
I'm Not Sure I Can Trust?" by Tyndale House
Publishers.
Denison's daily cultural
commentary is made available worldwide to thousands of subscribers
at
www.denisonforum.org/cultural-commentary.
His faith perspective sheds light on topics ranging from same-sex
marriage, to bioethics, to the recent turmoil in the financial
markets. The Denison Forum on Truth and Culture (
www.denisonforum.org) was
founded in 2009. The Forum responds to issues through a variety of
communications and channels, including a column in "The Dallas
Morning News," books, articles and speaking engagements. Denison
currently serves on the board of the Baylor Health Care System. He
is chairman of the advisory board for Dallas Baptist University and
former senior pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church, a 10,000-member
congregation in Dallas.
Free Speech Now Welcome at
Cypress College -- Settlement Reached in Two Pro-Life
Cases
CYPRESS, Calif.,
Aug. 30, 2011 /Christian
Newswire/ -- Life Legal Defense Foundation today announced the
settlement of two civil rights actions it filed in 2008 and 2009
against Cypress College, on behalf of a group of young pro-life
activists. The settlement includes significant changes to the
school's free speech policy and payment to plaintiffs for both
monetary damages and their attorneys' fees.
The first suit arose from an incident in February 2007, when three
members of the Survivors (survivors.la),
based in Riverside, California, were arrested and jailed for
refusing to stand in a yellow painted square marked "free speech
area" that was located next to a construction zone. The young
people were accused of trespassing on property not open to the
general public, though their peaceful activities took place
entirely in open areas of the public college.
Recognizing that Cypress College was open to the general public,
the Orange County District Attorney Office dismissed the charges
and a judge declared the pro-lifers factually innocent.
The second suit arose just one year later, when the Survivors
returned to Cypress College to once again engage in peaceful free
speech activity. Cypress College administrators directed the arrest
of the five pro-lifers and this time accused them of causing a
disturbance on campus. All criminal charges were dismissed when the
prosecutor reviewed video coverage of the activities that proved
that no disturbance had occurred.
In response to the false arrests, LLDF attorney Allison Aranda
filed suit challenging the constitutionality of Cypress College's
free speech policy. After three and a half years of litigation,
Cypress College has agreed to amend their free speech policy,
thereby opening up the main areas of campus for peaceful First
Amendment activities.
"This victory is a long time coming," said Katie Short, legal
director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. "We have been
battling Cypress College over their free speech policies for years.
This victory shows that, with a lot of patience and persistence, it
is possible to open the eyes of college administrators and
successfully preserve the free speech rights of young people on our
public college campuses."
Life Legal Defense Foundation is a non-profit organization
composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens, committed to
giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their
advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our
nation. For more information call Allison K. Aranda at
951-541-9327.
Troubled Abortionist Nicola Riley Admits Lying to Gain Licensure in
Utah
SALT LAKE CITY,
Aug. 31, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Utah
abortionist Nicola Riley has admitted that she lied to the Utah
Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) about a
criminal conviction and incarceration in order to gain licensure in
that state.
As part of a settlement
agreement with DOPL Riley admitted her deception and must now pay a
fine of $10,000 to be paid over 18 months. She also has three
months to write and submit an essay to DOPL describing how her
unprofessional conduct has affected her patients and her
profession.
"While we are happy that the
DOPL acted to discipline Riley for lying, we are disappointed in
the relatively light punishment considering the seriousness of the
offense," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "This sounds
more like a school detention assignment than discipline for lying
to obtain a medical license. Other states have taken her deception
much more seriously."
Operation Rescue conducted
further research on Riley and discovered she had a criminal
conviction during her service in the U.S. Army. Operation Rescue
received a
copy of her criminal
record through an open records request and discovered
that she had grossly misrepresented her involvement in a credit
card/identity theft ring on her medical license applications in the
states of Maryland, Wyoming, and Utah.
On those applications she stated
that she served one year at Ft. Leavenworth Military Prison for not
quickly reporting the credit card fraud that was being perpetrated
by her subordinates. In truth, Riley was herself deeply involved in
fraudulently obtaining credit cards by using personal information
stolen during her military duties. She then made large purchases
using the fraudulent credit cards. Riley actually served 30 months
in prison for her crimes.
"Riley's entire medical career
is based on a lie. Riley broke a sacred trust that makes her
completely unfit for the practice of medicine. A doctor that cannot
be trusted to tell the truth cannot be trusted at all," said
Newman.
About Operation
Rescue®
Operation Rescue is one of the
leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and
has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America.
Operation Rescue is now headquartered in a former abortion clinic
that it bought and closed in 2006. From there, Operation
Rescue launches its innovative new strategies across the nation,
exposing and closing abortion clinics through peaceful, legal
means. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion
issue, taking direct action to stop abortion and ultimately restore
legal personhood to the pre-born in obedience to biblical
mandates.
WASHINGTON, /Christian Newswire/ -- For
many years, the pro-life community has been allowed to pray,
counsel and have a peaceful witness on the public property
surrounding the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Washington, D.C.
