Werner Groenewald’s family and friends were shocked when he decided to go to Afghanistan about 12 years ago. It was 2002, the year after the September 11 attacks that prompted the United States to invade the country and remove the Taliban from power. Afghanistan had just begun rebuilding itself, following decades of brutal regimes and […]
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The former head “pastor” of Michigan’s Mars Hill Bible Church and author of “Love Wins,” a book questioning the orthodox Christian view of Hell, is set to debut his own self-help television talk show this month on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), a move that may raise additional concerns about the already controversial speaker. “The […]
BELFAST, Ireland — A school in Ireland has apologized and has decided to withdraw a worksheet that presents the Bible’s teachings on homosexuality following a complaint over the assignment. Hunterhouse College in Belfast, a grammar school for girls ages 11-18, had included a study on 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 for its Religious Studies curriculum, discussing a […]
WASHINGTON — The White House has rejected a petition requesting that the government declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. The petition had been first created in July on the White House website, and obtained over 213,000 signatures in just a month. The Obama administration has stated that it will respond to any petition that […]
The state of Michigan recently held its 12th annual “Adoption Day,” seeing dozens of children across the state officially joined to their forever families. Adoption Day, which is a tradition every Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day, is co-sponsored by the Michigan Supreme Court, the Michigan Department of Human Services, the Child Welfare Services division of the […]
WASHINGTON — A new report released by the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Division of Reproductive Health shows that over 200 babies are aborted for every 1,000 live births in America. The report, released on Friday, analyzed information provided by nearly all 50 states for the year 2011. The information is broken down into various […]
MUSTANG, Okla. — An Oklahoma school board has dropped its plans to offer an elective Bible course proposed by the president of the popular craft chain Hobby Lobby following objection from a self-proclaimed atheist organization and a church-state separation group. As previously reported, the Mustang School Board had agreed in April to move forward with […]
France is celebrating its first successful fetal surgery after a baby girl was born Nov. 9 at full term and in good health. Nearly four months earlier, in July, doctors at Armand Trousseau Hospital in Paris operated on the 20-week-old fetus with spina bifida while inside her mother’s womb. To prevent brain damage, doctors recommended […]
ISTANBUL, Turkey — In a move that drew some concerns from onlookers worldwide, the Roman Catholic pontiff known as Francis visited Turkey’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, expressing reverence during a moment of prayer observed by the nation’s grand mufti, who led him on a tour of the Islamic facility. According to reports, Francis took off his […]
Arrests and hospitalizations are being reported across the country and around the world today as large crowds push and shove their way through the stores on Black Friday. Just as last year, a number of retailers decided to get an early start on the big shopping day, opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day. Footage from Thursday […]