The weakness of arguments against Christ and His Resurrection

With Americans becoming more Biblically illiterate year by year, it's more important than ever to be assured of what we believe and why we believe it.

Recently I've noticed some Google video ads which promote atheistic and anti-Christian material. Atheist websites are popping up like mushrooms. Some of what's there is laughable and contains arguments which could easily defeated by people possessing even a small degree of Biblical knowledge. But such is the poor state of religious education that people cannot even discern when they are being handed a ridiculous argument as opposed to one worthy of an intelligent response or debate.

With Easter coming up, a good start towards re-fortifying your faith or helping someone else to believe is this article by John Piper entitled "Eight Reasons Why I Believe That Jesus Rose from the Dead."

And don't be afraid of any of the arguments of supposedly learned skeptics. The Church of God is an old anvil that has worn out many hammers, and for good reason.

Tags: Christian, Christianity, Religion, Spirituality, Faith, God, Jesus, Bible, atheism, Evangelical

Blumnethal stands with Berlin against "adult" business

Good news as Attorney General stands with the City of Berlin against the "adult" franchise called VIP. From the New Britain Herald:

Blumenthal called the case significant because it threatens not only Berlin, but also towns and cities statewide that have enacted similar ordinances involving sexually oriented businesses. Those municipalities include Ansonia, Branford, Bristol, Cromwell, Ellington, Enfield, Fairfield, Griswold, Hartford, Mansfield, Meriden, Rocky Hill, Seymour, Southington, South Windsor, West Hartford and Wethersfield.

In an amicus brief filed in U.S. District Court, Blumenthal said courts across the nation - including the U.S. Supreme Court - have upheld ordinances regulating sexually oriented businesses based on evidence of their adverse secondary effects.

Blumenthal said the adverse effects of sexually oriented businesses are well documented, showing increased crime, especially sex-related crimes, reduced property values, the deterioration of neighboring businesses and a lower quality of life for residents in the surrounding area.

"Berlin is the battleground, a test case for town authority statewide to regulate such businesses within their borders," Blumenthal said. "Across the state, cities and towns face proliferating sexually oriented businesses, including adult bookstores, adult theaters, massage parlors and facilities featuring live nude entertainment.

"In every town and every fight involving these businesses, the goal is the same: to protect citizens from the adverse secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses, including increased crime, lowered property values and a deterioration of the neighborhood," he said.

We applaud Mr. Blumenthal's efforts. And you upstaters - pray and work to get all those billboards down, too!

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Berlin, news, society

When they will not endure sound doctrine...

The Rector of Christ Church in Watertown, CT, the Rev. Allyn Benedict, writes to his parish about what things have come to in the Connecticut Diocese of the Episcopal Church, and by extension, in the Episcopal Church as a whole.

This is the truth of life in the Diocese of Connecticut: no person can make it through the ordination process in Connecticut who holds to the theology which has been embraced by the Episcopal Church and all Anglicans (until relatively recently), indeed by all Christian Churches throughout the history of the faith. Not one priest in the Connecticut Six churches could be ordained in this diocese today. Every one of us would be [is] considered as unfit for ordination because of our theology.

Of course, one may believe whatever one wants in Connecticut. One may even believe as St. Matthew, St Mark, St Luke, St. John, St. Paul, St. James, St. Peter, St. Jude and, yes, as Thomas Cranmer and Richard Hooker believed. But only in private. A ministry based on the apostolic faith once received cannot be lived out in the Diocese of Connecticut with integrity without its being perceived and responded to as a threat to the Episcopal authority of its bishop and named as part of a personal conspiracy against him.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Episcopal, Anglican, news, society

Same-sex marriage hearing draws supporters and foes

Here's an interesting story from the Courant on yesterday's legislative hearings... interesting because of the relatively large amount of space given to pro-family forces.

Here's one that's more friendly to same-sex marriage from the Connecticut Post.

The New London Day went with a short AP piece that featured this piece of logic from Anne Stanback of Love Makes A Family:

“I don't know many married couples who would trade in their marriage for a civil union..."

Well, of course not, but what does that prove? I don't know many couples who want their 8-year-old children to learn about sodomy but that doesn't seem to stop anyone these days.

Please pray that Governor Rell will not shrink back from her pledge to veto any same-sex marriage bill.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, marriage, family, news, society

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week

Dennis Cramer

The following events are coming up this week... for more details please visit the Connecticut Christian Events Calendar!

Friday, March 30 - Saturday, March 31:
Advanced School of Prophecy with Dennis Cramer
(West Haven - Gateway Christian Fellowship)

Saturday, March 31
Energize! Concert, Featuring Salvador
(Danbury - Danbury High School)

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, West Haven, Danbury, events, Evangelical, church, music

Ten reasons why is there so much fatherlessness

Is there any mystery as to why there is more fatherlessness today?

State Senator Gary LeBeau, Democrat of East Hartford, has submitted a bill "asking the state to investigate the causes and potential remedies of fatherless families in Connecticut." In his press release, the Senator said this:

"I've been a public school teacher since 1971, and over that time I've seen a greater and greater percentage of kids coming from families with no father in the home," Sen. LeBeau said. "I want to know what, if anything, Connecticut can do about that, and determine what, if anything, the state may accidentally be doing to either encourage or support fatherless families. Maybe this is just about irresponsibility and selfishness, and maybe there's as much sociology here as there is public policy. But if there's something structural that can be fixed that will encourage men to stay with their children, we should do that. Kids need that."

While I'm heartened by this (see here for facts on the toll fatherlessness takes in the US) I'm also mystified. It's good that politicians are looking at this problem, but can they really be in the dark about the causes of fatherless families? Perhaps phrasing things this way will allow some folks in the Legislature to have political cover when they uncover startling truths about family life that have been known for, oh, 3500 years.

Here's my short and not exhaustive list of ten things which increase fatherlessness in society:

1. no-fault divorce
2. excessive female autonomy at the expense of the male in child-rearing, as exemplified in the area of abortion
3. the existence of abortion itself, which devalues life
4. the rise of cohabitation
5. the glamorization of single motherhood
   
6. the sexual revolution's terrible effect of amplifying male irresponsibility in general
   
7. heavy tax burdens
8. the drug epidemic
9. the proliferation of pornography
10. constant drumbeat of anti-male propaganda throughout society, as exemplified in a host of commercials portraying stupid men
    

What will the Connecticut Legislature say when they climb this mountain of wisdom and find out that the answers they seek are being put out there every day by the Family Institute of Connecticut and others viewed as reactionaries, "theocrats," and "Christofascists?"

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, marriage, family, society, law, abortion, men, women

ABC analyzes speaking in tongues tonight

If you're up late, ABC's Nightline will run a story tonight (11:35 PM) on speaking in tongues. Interestingly, the practice of tongues has been in the news a bit lately, after the New York Times ran a piece on new scientific research revealing brain scans of tongues-speakers engaged in the activity. Tonight it's ABC's turn.

In earlier studies, [University of Pennsylvania researcher Dr. Andrew Newberg] looked at what happens in the brains of Buddhist monks meditating and Franciscan nuns praying. The results were quite different from what happens in the brains of people speaking in tongues, whose brains, he found, went quiet in the frontal lobe -- the part of the brain right behind the forehead that's considered the brain's control center.

The Voice of God?

"When they are actually engaged in this whole very intense spiritual practice … their frontal lobes tend to go down in activity. … It is very consistent with the kind of experience they have, because they say that they're not in charge. [They say] it's the voice of God, it's the spirit of God that is moving through them," said Newberg.

"Whatever is coming out of their mouth is not what they are purposefully or willfully trying to do. And that's in fairly stark contrast to the people who are -- like the Buddhist and Franciscan nuns -- in prayer, because they are very intensely focused and in those individuals the frontal lobes actually increase activity."

Read the rest here.

Get your VCRs and Tivos ready... looks interesting!

Tags: Connecticut, Christianity, Christian, Evangelical, Charismatic, Pentecostal, God, religion, faith, spirituality, theology, society

More on terrorism against children

As a follow-up to our post on the possibility of Beslan-style attacks in the US, Investor's Business Daily has run a sobering editorial which highlights the need for continued vigilance in prayer.

It's a grim picture. But don't think for a moment that al-Qaida is above targeting school children. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said in his Gitmo confession that while he may not like killing kids, they're fair game in jihad. He claims U.S. forces bombed and killed the children of bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, and arrested and "abused" his own children.

These people have nothing better to do than sit around and think of ways to kill us and our most precious resource, our children. They have many helpers placed inside U.S. cities who canvass targets and perform other logistics for such attacks. And these people will stop at nothing to pull them off. They're just waiting for the right time, when our guard is down.

These are all matters the public would like to forget and that much of the media seems to have already forgotten. Read the rest here.

Tags: Christianity, Christian, Connecticut, terror, Islam, news, society

Is yoga appropriate for public schools - or is it religion?

Is yoga appropriate for public schools? Can it be separated from its Hindu religious roots?

Some Connecticut schools promote it now as just one more beneficial form of exercise.

Here's a look at how some non-Hindus, both Christians and Muslims, view yoga in India, where yoga's connection to Hindu worship is more out in the open:

[Gospel for Asia] leaders in the state sent a memo to all staff members in the area telling them not to send their children to school, because they would have to participate in the program that included Surya Namaskar, a Hindu form of sun god worship.

Surya Namaskar is known popularly in English as the Sun Salutation, a basic posture in yoga.

If people in India know this series of bodily postures is a form of worship, why don't we? And does it still matter to people?

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Hinduism, religion, spirituality, yoga, Stamford, India, Islam

Boom in hedge fund and other investment jobs in State

They've tripled from 7,000 to 21,000 since 1990, says the AP (via The Courant):

Karan Sampson, director of hedge funds at Greenwich Associates in Greenwich, said the industry saw an increase in jobs immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as New Yorkers moved to Fairfield County.

"When it came time to open their own businesses, they did it where they lived, not in New York City," she said.

David Saunders, managing director of K2 Advisors, a fund of hedge funds, said the firm quit New York for Stamford about four years ago in search of a backup office for disaster recovery following the Sept. 11 attacks, efficient public transportation and lower taxes.

"We're part of that wave that came up here," he said.

Among the job growth statistics in the investment industry in Connecticut is the eye-popping average annual salary of $310,734 in 2005.

"It makes you want to go back to school, doesn't it?" said Oley Carpp, managing director of the Office of Strategic Competitiveness at the Department of Economic and Community Development.

Well, no, but it is impressive. Let's pray that some of the wealth of the $1 trillion hedge fund industry flows to other areas of society.

Tags: Connecticut, economy, news, investment, financial, Stamford, Greenwich

Pray CT readers: promote your church!

Attention church-hoppers: ignore this post - it's not for you!

There are always people looking for a good church, and things being what they are in the Northeast, I've discovered that there are lots of good churches which somehow fly under people's radar. If you attend a really great Evangelical or Charismatic church, let us know:

1. Where is your church located?
2. What's your church's web address?
3. What are some of the key ministries and outreaches of your church?
4. Who would feel your church was a great fit? Singles, seniors, families with young children?
5. What makes your church a great church?

Write us at info@prayct.org and when you do, we may feature your entry in a future blog post, and even place your church on the very cool Connecticut Church Map. The info you supply could help somebody find a great church!

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, religion, Evangelical, Charismatic, God, Jesus, Bible

Teenage boys arrested in New Milford church vandalism cases

Following up on our earlier post about church vandalism in New Milford, check this out.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Religion, New Milford

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week

The following events are coming up this week... for more details please visit the Connecticut Christian Events Calendar!

All Week, March 18-24:
Holy Spirit Meetings (Pine Meadow - New Life Christian Center)

Monday, March 19:
Regional Prayer Meeting (Torrington - Advent Christian Church)

Friday, March 23:
Martha Munizzi Benefit Concert (Plantsville - Aqua Turf Club)

Saturday, March 24:
Iron Sharpens Iron Conference (Bloomfield - First Cathedral)
Key of David Christian Coffeehouse (Ansonia- First Baptist Church)

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Religion, Evangelical, Pine Meadow, Plantsville, Torrington, Bloomfield, Ansonia

Christian cyclists hit the road in Eastern Connecticut

A new chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association opens in Plainfield:

Stan Winman, the group's president, organized Healing Light. Though he's a resident of Scituate, R.I., Winman works in Norwich and says he thought of starting the chapter in eastern Connecticut because he spends so much time in this part of the state.

“I felt there was a need for what we do here. There was no representation in this area,” said Winman, 48, who was a member of a Rhode Island CMA chapter called Romans 8 for a few years.

The purpose of Healing Light, which reflects the philosophy of the CMA, is primarily to support secular biker events such as charity rides, bike blessings, and fund-raisers for causes such as the March of Dimes and cancer benefits, Winman said.

Read more here, from The Day. More on Healing Light here.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, Plainfield

Call to prayer against terrorism directed at children

The AP came out with a truly frightening story yesterday, but what is perhaps equally alarming is the government's reaction. Witness this:

Suspected members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counterterror officials said yesterday in a cautionary bulletin to police. An FBI spokesman said, "Parents and children have nothing to fear."

Asked about the alert notice, the FBI's Rich Kolko said, "There are no threats, no plots and no history leading us to believe there is any reason for concern," although U.S. law enforcement agencies were asked to watch out for kids' safety.

This is difficult to believe. How can it be that such people have signed up as school bus drivers and yet parents have "nothing to fear?"

It is highly likely that schools and public transportation are already being "cased" for a Beslan-style assault in the U. S.

Please remember to pray for America's schoolchildren and school and public transportation systems.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, terror, Islam, Russia, news

Prayer and Revival Events in Litchfield County

On this Sunday, March 18th at 6:00 PM a special service has been booked with Rev. Frank Mwebesa of Uganda, Africa at First Congregational Church in Torrington.

Pastor Mwebesa is founder of Intercity Prayer Altars Network and he along with a team from Uganda have come to the U. S., and specifically New England, to pray for revival. This evening service will be a precious time to hear, share, and fellowship with the greater church body.

On Monday, March 19th at 6:30 PM there will be a Regional Prayer Meeting at Advent Church, 217 New Harwinton Road, Torrington. Guest prayer partner will be Pastor Frank. Pastors, please invite your church folk as this group specifically prays for revival in Litchfield County.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, prayer, evangelical, Torrington

Worship Artist Martha Munizzi to perform benefit concert in Connecticut

Turning Point Christian Center will present Grammy and Dove Award nominee Martha Munizzi as the featured artist at its 7th annual banquet, next Friday, March 23rd at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT.

Martha is a renowned singer, songwriter and worship leader whose songs include "Because of Who You Are." Proceeds from the event will benefit Turning Point Christian Center and its ministry to persons with drug and alcohol addictions.

For Tickets Call:
860.314.1101
203.272.1701

Source: www.tpccntl.org

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, evangelical, charismatic, music, Plantsville

The state of the Capital

In the face of more shooting comes an upbeat State of the City report from Mayor Perez highlighting crime reduction, jobs growth and increased tourism. If 2006 was really one of the safest years in Hartford in 25 years, then much of the thanks goes to the Lord, working through the prayers and toil of area churches. Please continue praying for the entire capital region.

Arrests in church vandalism cases may be near

Detectives are said to be close to making arrests in the vandalism of two New Milford churches. (Fuller story several days old can still be read here.) The offending artwork includes "666" and an upside-down cross, and, surprisingly, is being admitted by the press to be Satanic in nature.

Although this doesn't get much play anywhere, it's just one of a series of incidents of this type directed at churches in Connecticut over the past year or so.

Tags: Christian, Christianity, Connecticut, New Milford, church, religion, spirituality

Church blesses another church with a unique gift

Faith Lutheran Church in East Hartford, CT shares a wonderful gift with another congregation:

Ever since the day church members were told they needed new windows, and made a decision to replace the leaky plain panes with stained glass scenes from the Bible of their own design and making, visitors have marveled at the result. Charles Kuralt stopped by to have a look for himself. The glass has been written up in magazines as far away as Moscow.

The inside of the Silver Lane church now tells a big story, a story of Biblical proportions which has been the reason behind stained glass since the Middle Ages.

But the 'Windows of Faith', all 56 of them, also fuse together many other human, personal stories of the people who made them - friendships, community, beliefs.

The congregation is now blessing another East Hartford church, Crossroads Community Cathedral, with a gift of a stained glass windows, unsolicited. The East Hartford Gazette says:

"They approached us," said [one of Cathedral's pastors, Sean Wiles]. Late last year he went to visit Faith Lutheran for the first time just down Silver Lane. "I was absolutely blown away. The evolution of how they have changed things over time in each window. How they have grown in what they are doing...at the 900-seat sanctuary "they were going to put in a normal window. But they came to us with this design. They had to build a box to protect it from rain. They have done unbelievable work, and it's going to be back-lit with special lights. Even the builders were impressed."

The stained glass gift leaves him somewhat at a loss for the right words to describe it. Churches of a different faith do not normally reach out, unsolicited, to help one another build a building.

"We haven't even presented it to the congregation," said Pastor Wiles. "It's a humbling thing. I would hope that all churches would be working together and supporting one another."

Read it all here.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, church, God, religion, spirituality, East Hartford

Connecticut Attorney-General seeks controls on MySpace

The Courant tells us that Attorney-General is working to establish tighter controls on MySpace and similar sites, compelling them to do more to verify that minors have parental permission to participate in the site.

Connecticut officials unveiled legislation Wednesday that would require MySpace.com and other social networking web sites to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors post profiles online.

The bill comes a day after a man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for using MySpace.com to set up a sexual encounter with an 11-year-old Connecticut girl. It was one of the first federal sex cases involving the popular networking site.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who met with other attorneys general on Tuesday, said 10 to 20 other states are considering similar legislation.

Please continue to pray for our State's youth.

Tags: Connecticut, law, society, internet

New Christian search page making the Web useful again

Ever searched for a Bible term, name, or place only to be swamped by information overload? I searched "King David" this morning on Google as a test and came up with 1,370,000 results!

Here's a new site which is giving you back the power of the Web: Kingdom Engine.

Kingdom Engine uses Google technology to feed you better results, offering you specialized search engines on a variety of topics. Kingdom Engine avoids the problem of burying you under a million results by searching just a few specially chosen sites instead of the whole Web. The result: information that's more relevant and useful to you.

The site currently offers four unique engines:

• The Bible Search Engine - good for searching the Bible, commentaries and word studies
  

• The Apologetics Search Engine - good for research about religious movements and practices
  

• The Creeds & Confessions Search Engine, and
  

• The Worship Search Engine, which allows you to "search lyrics, titles and composers in hymns and contemporary praise and worship."

Each one of these searches can be added to a Google homepage, or even to your own blog or website. For example, in our right-hand column we currently are hosting The Bible Search Engine. Take advantage of these tools!

Tags: Christianity, Christian, Evangelical, God, religion, Jesus, Bible, apologetics, theology, worship, music, search, web2.0, Google, search engines, web, internet

Same-Sex "Marriage" Legislation resurfaces in Legislature

The Orange Bulletin is running a piece today on the upcoming same-sex marriage battle, complete with quotes from legislators, some of whom still seem to be testing the wind...

State Rep. Themis Klarides, R-114, voted in favor of civil unions. But she would not commit to voting for same -sex marriage. "I don't know what I am going to do. I have always been a supporter of equal rights. I need to hear testimony and there are lots of legal issues to consider," Klarides said.

State Rep. Art Feltman, D-6, indicated he would support such legislation.
"We need to acknowledge the value of all stable relationships in all families not just those that fit traditions," Feltman said.

State Sen. Joseph Crisco, D-17, said his mind was not made up on the issue.
"I am going to keep an open mind until I hear all the arguments," Crisco said.

Please pray and also work to help legislators make good decisions!

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, marriage, family, Hartford, government, law, news, society