Author: Gospel Order

New poll finds fewer people keep the Sabbath than in the 70’s, but many people still value it

2bc3557695The Sabbath may be losing its religious significance in the eyes of many Americans, but a majority still believe taking a day of rest benefits society, according to a new survey on Sabbath observance by the Deseret News.

Half of U.S. adults today (50 percent) say the Sabbath has personal spiritual meaning for them, down from 74 percent in 1978. However, 62 percent of people agree that it’s important for society to have one day a week set aside for spiritual rest, the survey reported — and only 11 percent disagree with that proposition.

The Deseret News poll was conducted by Y2 Analytics and YouGov among 1,691 Americans, including an oversample of Mormons and Jews, two groups known for their Sabbath observance. It finds that members of some religious groups, such as Mormons and evangelicals, continue to focus their Sunday activities around church attendance and Bible study, while others spend their time on less spiritual pursuits. Source

!!! Please note: The Sabbath being reported here is actually Sunday and not Saturday (the seventh day of the week).  The Catholic Church admitted that the change from Saturday to Sunday is not biblical but only from the her tradition. 

“Nothing is said in the Bible about the change of the Lord’s day from Saturday to Sunday. We know of the change only from the tradition of the Church–a fact handed down to us from earliest times by the living voice of the Church. That is why we find so illogical the attitude of many non-Catholics, who say that they yet will believe nothing unless they can find it in the Bible and yet will continue to keep Sunday as the Lord’s day on the say-so of the Catholic Church.” The Faith Explained, by Leo J. Trese, page 246. Nihil Obstat by Louis J. Putz, C.S.C., Univ. of Notre Dame. Imprimatur by Leo A. Pursley, D.D. Bishop of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

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Why Thousands Of Pagans Are Standing Up For The Environment

571935391600002a0031c5e7In the months leading up to last year’s Earth Day, a group of roughly 50 pagans gathered in a closed Facebook group to draft a collective call to action. On April 22, 2015, they published the “Pagan Community Statement on the Environment,” which framed climate change as a global moral dilemma to which pagans and other people of faith must respond…

“There are Witches, Wiccans, Druids, Shamans, Goddess Worshipers, Pantheists, Animists, Humanistic Pagans, Atheistic Pagans, Heathens, Polytheists, Reconstctionists, Buddho-Pagans, Christo-Pagans, Quaker Pagans, Unitarian Universalist Pagans, and many more,” Halstead told The Huffington Post…

“Speaking in harmony does not mean everyone being of one mind or agreeing on every point,” Halstead said. “It means temporarily setting aside our egos and prioritizing our individual disagreements when a collective voice is urgently needed, as it is now.”

“I hope that this helps demonstrate to the interfaith activist community that Pagans are serious and worthy partners in the fight to turn the tide of global climate change.  Source

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Group of teenagers get opportunity to confess sins to Pope Francis

1461480443025VATICAN CITY –  Sixteen teenagers have gotten an unexpected opportunity to confess sins to Pope Francis.

The pontiff made a surprise appearance late Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square, where thousands of Catholics faithful, ranging in age from 13 to 16, were participating in a special Holy Year youth day, including confession near the famed Colonnade of Bernini.

Francis and each of the 16 teenagers sat face-to-face in simple chairs set up in pairs for him and many others hearing confessions in the square. The teenagers seemed at ease, with Francis shaking hands warmly with the youths. In all, the pope spent more than an hour in the square.

He has dedicated the Holy Year to two central themes of his papacy: mercy and reconciliation. Source

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Evangelicals lose water supply as officials punish them for refusing to pay amount to fund Catholic fiesta in Mexico

evangelicals-in-mexicoAn evangelical community in Mexico is now suffering from lack of potable water after local authorities cut off their supply for refusing to pay their contribution for the holding of a Roman Catholic fiesta in honour of a Catholic saint.

The family of Maranatha Church’s pastor Octavio Gomez and four other evangelical families in San Jose village in the city of Teopisca in Chiapas state, Mexico refused to pay when the authorities, together with the fiesta organisers, came to visit them early this month demanding a fixed contribution of 200 pesos, equivalent to about $12, the Evangelical Focus reports.

The authorities threatened to cut off their water supply if they persisted in not paying the amount. Moreover, the authorities warned that they would have to pay a fine of 4,000 pesos ($229) to have the water line reconnected once it’s been cut.  Source

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Oklahomans to Vote on Whether to Return Ten Commandments Monument to State Capitol

25891-ten-commandments-facebook-800w-tnControversy over a Ten Commandments monument removed from the grounds of the state Capitol in October continues with an effort to reinstate the monument.
The Associated Press reports that the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 65-7 on Thursday in favor of a statewide vote to determine whether to remove an article of the state constitution which prohibits the use of state funds to support religion. Source
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Doctor-pastor sues Georgia after sermons cost him new job

10154896_706238416081704_1911099118206837435_nA public health expert and Seventh-Day Adventist preacher who lost a job offer from the State of Georgia over sermons posted to YouTube is suing for discrimination.

A week after offering Eric Walsh a job in 2014 as district health director for Northwest Georgia, state officials combed through his online sermons, which allegedly ranged from topics such as the sin of homosexuality to the corrupting influence of pop culture. They met together the following morning, and revoked his job offer the next day.  Source

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Public Health Official and Pastor Fired after Preaching about Homosexuality and Evolution

1461169713561Fired for preaching: Georgia dumps doctor over church sermons

Bi-vocational pastors be warned – what you say from the pulpit on Sunday could get you fired from your public sector job on Monday.

Dr. Eric Walsh, a renowned public health expert who also serves as a lay minister, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Public Health alleging he was terminated for delivering sermons on issues ranging from homosexuality to evolution. Source

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‘Shameful’: Catholic Spanish teacher admits molesting 9 kids, but gets no jail term

5718c72fc461887a658b4599A Catholic Spanish schoolteacher has admitted in court that he abused nine children, all seven years old, but won’t be spending any time behind bars because of a legal loophole.

Roberto P.S. admitted he had molested eight girls and one boy, a spokeswoman for the court said, as cited by The Local.

The teacher got individual sentences of one year per child, totaling nine years in jail, prosecution and defense have agreed, Cadena Ser TV reported.

However, here’s when the tricky law comes to the molester’s rescue: due to the fact that the teacher received individual sentences of one year, and not an entire nine-year sentence, he qualifies for a suspended sentence, according to a reform to the country’s criminal code. Source

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Indian drought ‘affecting 330 million people’ after two weak monsoons

4096About 330 million people are affected by drought in India, the government has said, as the country reels from severe water shortages and desperately poor farmers suffer crop losses.

A senior government lawyer, PS Narasimha, told the supreme court that a quarter of the country’s population, spread across 10 states, had been hit by drought after two consecutive years of weak monsoons.

Narasimha said the government had released funds to affected regions where a crippling shortage of rainfall had forced the rationing of drinking water to some communities.

As summer hits India, reports of families and farmers in remote villages walking long distances to find water after their wells dried up have dominated local media. Source

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