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Don’t Use the Wrong Pronoun

Posted by whatyareckon on May 18, 2022
Posted in: America. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

‘Living as a Christian could get a student suspended from public school in Fairfax County, Virginia. Last week, the school board conducted an annual review of its Regulation 2601, proposing edits to a 70-page-long document on “Students’ Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R), and parents noticed something shocking. 

According to a short provision buried deep in the document, students could face suspension for up to five days, and possibly further punishment, for referring to a fellow student according to their biological, God-given sex.

“Using slurs based upon the actual or perceived gender identity (which includes, but is not limited to, malicious deadnaming or malicious misgendering),” reads the offending provision, which appears on Page 21, under the “SBAR Code” “RB9h,” three pages into an extensive table aligning all possible offenses and punishments. The corresponding “Level 4” violation (nowhere defined) merits the punishment “circled R” (“(r)”), defined on Page 19, “allows for a suspension up to 5 days [if frequency and intensity are present]. Also allows for a referral to the Division Superintendent…” (text in brackets is a proposed addition). Is it just me, or is the bureaucratic jargon intentionally designed to confuse and discourage parents?’https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5365

Another Proof of the Bible

Posted by whatyareckon on April 12, 2022
Posted in: Biblical Archaeology. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

‘The Suez Inscription of the Medo-Persian King Darius the Great (Darius I Hystaspes, 521-486 B. C.) of the Achaemenid Empire is found in the Cairo Museum in Cairo, Egypt. The inscription is commented on by leading Egyptologist, Biblical and Old Testament scholar, and evangelical Christian Dr. James Hoffmeier. The canal was built through the Wadi Tumilat, connecting the easternmost or Bubastite branch of the Nile with Lake Timsah, which was connected to the Red Sea by natural waterways. Darius the Great is frequently mentioned in the Bible (Ezra 4:5, 24; 5:5–7; 6:1, 12–15; Haggai 1:1, 15; 2:10; Zechariah 1:1, 7; 7:1). He is the Persian ruler who, in the time of Ezra the priest, confirmed the decree of the Persian king Cyrus for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem: Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls … in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll … thus written: In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices … And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem[.] . … [L]et the … Jews build this house of God in his place. Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed. (Ezra 6:1-12) The Suez inscription of Darius reads: “I am a Persian; with Persia I seized Egypt. I commanded to dig this canal from the river named the Nile [Pirāva], which flows through Egypt, to this sea which comes from Persia. Then this canal was dug, according as I commanded. And I said, ‛Come ye from the Nile through this canal to Persia.’” (“Persians,” ed. James Orr et al., The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia [Chicago: Howard-Severance, 1915], 2336.) The Greek historian Herodotus states that Pharaoh Necho / Neco started to build the 115 mile long canal to join the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez, while Darius I of Persia completed it. Herodotus writes (Histories 2:158-159): Psammetichus had a son Necos, who became king of Egypt. It was he who began the making of the canal into the Red Sea, which was finished by Darius the Persian. This is four days’ voyage in length, and it was dug wide enough for two triremes to move in it rowed abreast. It is fed by the Nile, and is carried from a little above Bubastis by the Arabian town of Patumus; it issues into the Red Sea. The beginning of the digging was in the part of the Egyptian plain which is nearest to Arabia; the mountains that extend to Memphis (in which mountains are the stone quarries) come close to this plain; the canal is led along the lower slope of these mountains in a long reach from west to east; passing then into a ravine it bears southward out of the hill country towards the Arabian Gulf. Now the shortest and most direct passage from the northern to the southern or Red Sea is from the Casian promontory, which is the boundary between Egypt and Syria, to the Arabian Gulf, and this is a distance of one thousand furlongs, neither more nor less; this is the most direct way, but the canal is by much longer, inasmuch as it is more crooked. In Necos’ reign a hundred and twenty thousand Egyptians perished in the digging of it. During the course of excavations, Necos ceased from the work, being stayed by a prophetic utterance that he was toiling beforehand for the barbarian. The Egyptians call all men of other languages barbarians. Necos then ceased from making the canal and engaged rather in warlike preparation[.] The king Darius mentioned in the Bible was a real historical person. The Darius inscription is one of thousands of archaeological evidences validating the Bible is God’s Word.’

Evolutionists Ponder why “Woodpeckers Don’t Get Stuck”

Posted by whatyareckon on March 31, 2022
Posted in: America. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

When I was a boy growing up in Iowa there was a woodpecker that loved to wake me up early in the morning pecking on a tree outside my window. As a young man I never really gave it much thought other it was annoying but there was more going on than just pecking.

‘If you have ever banged a nail into wood and then tried to extract it you will know how hard it is to overcome the friction that holds the nail into the wood. Woodpeckers are well known for banging their beaks into tree trunks and branches and extracting them at an incredibly rapid rate. Scientists have wondered if the birds’ beaks ever get stuck, and how could the birds extract them. Researchers at the University of Antwerp took high speed videos of black woodpeckers (Dryocopus martius) banging their beaks into wood and it seems their beaks get stuck in about one third of their bangs. However, they are able to quickly extricate them and carry on banging at approximate three pecks per second. The researchers closely studied the video recordings to see how they did this. The birds do not simply wrench their beaks out – they face the same problem as with the banged in nail. Instead, they go through a manoeuvre where they rotate the head end of the beak up, leaving the tip still stuck in the wood. This creates a gap between the upper and lower beak. They then bend their head slightly forward, which pulls the lower beak back, and closes the gap between the upper and lower beak, but leaves a tiny gap between the lower beak and the wood. By sliding the upper and lower beaks along one another the bird is able to “walk” its beak out of the wood. The upper and lower parts of the beak can easily slide on one another as they have smooth keratin surfaces. All this happens in around 70 milliseconds.

Scientists have wondered why woodpeckers have flexible joints between their beak and their skull, as having a rigid skull would make their hammering more forceful. Now we know. The ability to move different sections of the skull and beak is called cranial kinesis and the researchers concluded their study “demonstrates the counter-intuitive value of maintaining cranial kinesis in a species adapted to deliver forceful impacts”.

References: Inside JEB 1 March 2022; Science (AAAS) News 7 January 2022; Journal of Experimental Biology 1 March 2022, doi: 10.1242/jeb.243787.

ED. COM. The scientists were surprised at the high rate of woodpeckers getting stuck, which should lead them to ask: why would a bird take up banging its beak into trees if it was going to get stuck every third bang? Unless, of course, it already had a means of extricating itself. Furthermore, who taught the birds to carry out this precision manoeuvre? It is not just enough to have flexible joints. When it gets stuck the bird has to recognise the problem as well as have the nervous system control to carry out the exact movement needed. It is just as well woodpeckers were designed by the Creator who is smarter than evolution-believing human scientists. Otherwise partly evolved woodpeckers would get jammed in trees and die out in the Darwinian struggle for life.’https://mailchi.mp/creationresearch.net/creation-research-email-news-update-16th-march-1167063?e=ce21bf0337

Religious Freedom and Matar Academy

Posted by whatyareckon on March 7, 2022
Posted in: Education. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

‘The Dhillon Law Group, Inc. (@dhillonlaw) has filed suit against Mater Academy on behalf of Nicolas Ortiz, a 14-year-old student, for targeting and discriminating against him for his Christian beliefs.

Ortiz, a practicing Christian, regularly brings his bible to school to read during his free time. For this activity, the complaint alleges that Ortiz has regularly been ostracized and targeted for his beliefs by fellow students, staff, and school administrators.

The complaint also alleges that school offices broke Florida law by repeatedly ignoring Ortiz’s parents requests for inquiries into their son’s bullying.

The complaint shows examples of this harassment including students planning to physically assault him, a science teacher humiliating him for his faith in front of his peers in a classroom setting, and his peers creating false and defamatory statements claiming that he was planning a school shooting to disparage him.

“Mr. Ortiz is experiencing something that no American should ever have to experience, said Dhillon Law Group managing partner, Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban). “It’s bad enough that the school has done nothing to stop the bullying from his peers, but have gone as far as joining in on targeting Mr. Ortiz for simply practicing his faith. This is blatant violation of his first amendment rights is another example of how extreme so many in our education system have become, and why Dhillon Law Group is coming to Mr. Ortiz’s defense.”

Ortiz was given the maximum allowed punishment of a 10-day suspension for the fabricated allegations that he threatened a school shooting.

“Imagine being falsely accused of threatening to shoot up a school. Law enforcement concluded that he was being pranked by fellow students, but that did not stop numerous parents from spreading the false accusation online,” said Dhillon Law Group partner, Matthew Sarelson (@MSarelson). “The students who spread the false accusations against Mr. Ortiz were never disciplined in any way. Only Mr. Ortiz was suspended, without due process and for no valid reason.”

Mr. Ortiz and his parents are seeking significant damages because the school has destroyed his educational experience.’https://www.dhillonlaw.com/lawsuits/miami-student-sues-school-for-discrimination-for-christian-beliefs/

The complaint filed may be downloaded here https://2fxq9y25b9ub11b2g545smj0-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ortiz-Complaint-and-Exhibits.pdf

“Christian” School Backs Down on Morals

Posted by whatyareckon on February 4, 2022
Posted in: America, Australia, Australian Federal Government. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The Australian Prime Minister claims to be a Christian and does attend a Pentecostal church but he is very hesitant to back any Christian or Christian organization (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/03/christian-lobby-groups-attack-morrison-for-vowing-students-wont-be-expelled-due-to-their-sexuality-or-gender) when that person or organization comes head to head with WOKE society. NOTE, whenever, a “Christian” organization accepts Government funds they have signed away their Christian beliefs. Therefore, the following is not a surprise to me.

‘A Brisbane Christian school says it will withdraw its demand that families sign anti-gay and anti-trans enrolment contracts prior to the new school year.

The decision comes before a meeting with the Queensland schools accreditation board.

While Citipointe Christian College says it “deeply regrets” that the contracts made students feel discriminated against, the principal says the school has the right to maintain its ethos and the “freedom to continue to provide an education based on our shared beliefs”.

Those beliefs – and the statement parents were asked to sign – are taken from the school’s governing body, the International Network of Churches, and its formal “statement of faith”. It includes statements that homosexual acts were “immoral” and “offensive to God” and that transgender people would not be recognised.

The withdrawal of the contract comes after the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said he “did not agree with” the school’s use of the document.

Teachers have told Guardian Australia that the school principal, Brian Mulheran, this week had repeatedly doubled down on his decision to implement the contract. He released a video statement to parents on Tuesday defending the contracts and then gave families a two-week extension to sign.

The decision was made before a scheduled meeting of the state government’s statutory accreditation board, which assesses eligibility for government funding and monitors compliance with the Education Act.

The board has received a discrimination complaint about the contract.

It is also understood that dozens of students and families had already chosen to withdraw and have enrolled at the local state school.

Lawyers and others had said the contract was a clear breach of the Queensland anti-discrimination act. The state human rights commissioner, Scott McDougall, said organisations could not “contract out” their responsibilities under the act.

In a letter to families Mulheran said the school would work with the community to update the enrolment contract, but that no families would now be asked to sign the existing one.

A statement posted on the college website said the school would “continue to ensure that families are provided with information that is necessary to make informed choices about … our approach to teaching”.

“We deeply regret that some students feel that they would be discriminated against because of their sexuality or gender identity, and I apologise to them and their families on behalf of the college,” Mulheran said.

“As stated previously, the college does not and will not discriminate against any student because of their sexuality or gender identity. It is central to our faith that being gay or transgender in no way diminishes a person’s humanity or dignity in God’s eyes.

“It is also deeply distressing that some of our students have been vilified in the community simply for their religious beliefs or because they attend the college.”

Mulheran said society “gives freedom to people to be a part of groups with shared beliefs”.

“Citipointe has the freedom to maintain its Christian ethos and this is an essential part of Christian education and choice for parents. As a college established for religious purposes, we will continue to provide an education based on our shared beliefs.”

The Queensland education minister, Grace Grace, said she welcomed the decision and had called for it on a number of occasions.

“In the interests of the mental health of students, staff, carers and parents I hope they abandon it completely and nothing like it ever surfaces again,” Grace said.’https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/03/brisbanes-citipointe-christian-college-withdraws-anti-gay-contract-but-defends-statement-of-faith

Safe in the ARK but not so in ARC

Posted by whatyareckon on January 26, 2022
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

‘The pastor of Action Church—a Florida multi-site megachurch planted with the Association of Related Churches (ARC)—has quietly divorced his wife in a court half the state away from the Orlando-area church.

Justin Dailey, the lead pastor of Action Church, and his former wife, Stefanie Dailey, filed an uncontested dissolution of marriage in Dixie County, court records show.

The petition was filed June 3, 2021, in the rural county on the Gulf Coast in northern Florida, some three hours’ drive from the couple’s Seminole County address. The case was closed two months later, on August 5.

The court record lists Justin Dailey as the plaintiff and Stefanie Dailey as the defendant. Florida is a no-fault divorce state, meaning courts do not assign fault to either partner during the divorce process. The state also permits residents to file in any county they agree on.

The Roys Report did not find an announcement by either Justin Dailey or Action Church, publicly acknowledging the dissolution. Action Church did not respond to a request for comment.

Justin Dailey was 19 when he started attending ARC’s flagship Church of the Highlands (COTH) in Alabama in 2005. He also attended COTH’s ministry school, Highlands College.

He was in his early 20s when he and Stefanie married.

In 2008, the couple moved to Florida to pastor Bayside Community Church. Then Dailey partnered with the ARC to plant Action Church.

In an Action Church pre-launch post from June 2013, the Daileys specifically thanked ARC flagship congregation, Church of the Highlands: “Especially Chris Hodges, Pastor Layne Schranz, and Pastor Randy Bezet for everything you have taught (us), and for always supporting (us)!” they wrote.

According to the church’s website, Action officially launched on January 26, 2014, in Winter Springs, Florida. It’s since grown to four campuses in the Orlando area.

Stefanie Dailey was reportedly considered a pastor at Action Church alongside Justin Dailey.

The church states on its website that it has trustees, or non-staff elders, and overseers, other pastors who “may be called in to help in accountability matters relating to the Lead Pastor.” The website does not name the trustees or overseers.

State records show Dailey serves as the president of the incorporated entity and Nelsa Rivera, wife of Action campus pastor Eddie Rivera, is the secretary-treasurer.

ARC is one of the largest church planting organizations in North America. It’s also been embroiled in several recent scandals involving pastoral misconduct.

The Roys Report reached out to ARC to ask about Dailey and its policy on divorce, but ARC did not respond.

Justin Dailey is one of several ARC church pastors named in a recent lawsuit alleging they knew ARC’s former national director of church planting, Joshua Mauney, had a history of sexual misconduct.

The suit alleges Mauney raped and sexually assaulted his female assistant numerous times while leading a former ARC member church in Royal Palm Beach, Florida.

A second lawsuit claims COTH pastor Dino Rizzo failed to protect an intern after finding out she was sexually harassed by the pastor of Vibrant Church, an ARC church in Mississippi.

An ARC pastor in Tennessee is on sabbatical amid allegations of adultery and one in Houston resigned at the end of 2021 after confessing to adultery.

COTH also removed one of its pastors last July after a former assistant accused him of raping her at his previous church.’https://julieroys.com/orlando-megachurch-pastor-justin-dailey-divorce/?mc_cid=3c623e42a4&mc_eid=b13d34ad49

How Soon the Rapture?

Posted by whatyareckon on January 8, 2022
Posted in: Bible. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air is described for us in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Dr. Manfred Kober was a Professor for many years at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa. His four page paper for the Faith Pulpit is worth a read at https://www.manfredkober.com/materials/FP/1988_1001_How%20Soon%20the%20Rapture.pdf.

If you do not know what the Gospel is Paul gives forth the Gospel in 1Corinthians 15:1- 11 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.