By Rev. Mark Creech
Christian Action League
August 10, 2018

In a column distributed by the Elon University Writers Syndicate and published by the Raleigh News and Observer, the Durham Herald-Sun, WRAL, and the Burlington Times, Elon’s Professor of Religious Studies, Rebecca Todd Peters, claimed that opposition to abortion by conservative Christians “flies in the face of Jesus’ teaching that he came to bring abundant life.”

She grounded her argument in the contention that most Christian denominations allow for abortion under certain circumstances such as prenatal health, rape, incest, and the health of the mother, often abbreviated by the acronym PRIM. She argued it was wrong for Christians to be selective in supporting some abortions and not others, forcing women into “two categories – the tragic and the damned.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
August 10, 2018

SMITHFIELD – Monday, Johnston County Commissioners approved a Brunch Ordinance by a margin of 5-2. The measure allows for alcohol sales in unincorporated areas of the county to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays instead of noon.

Smithfield and Clayton had already approved Brunch Ordinances.

Commissioners held a public hearing on the proposal last month but postponed their vote until this week.

In 2017, the North Carolina General Assembly approved legislation authorizing local governments to pass ordinances for Sunday alcohol sales starting two hours earlier. Brunch Ordinances apply to bars, hotels, private clubs, restaurants and retail sales of beer and wine. Read the rest of this entry »

By Ray K. Hodge
Christian Action League
August 10, 2018

A commercial ditty often heard during the 1950s and 1960s intoned, “You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.”

A ditty reflecting current times might well ask, “I wonder where Sunday went!” While someone might say, “I didn’t know Sunday had gone any place,” the Sunday many of us in America knew during the 1910-1960 years has gone, and perhaps forever.

Some raised in other cultures or those too young to remember how it was in many places 60 years ago may not have noticed the wholesale changes in Sunday. But those who remember those days know there have been tremendous and damaging changes.

During those years there was a religious and cultural awareness that Sunday was a special day, a day set aside for physical and spiritual rest. The Old Testament with its Jewish Sabbath unquestionably influenced the perception and observance of Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and as Christians came to call it and observe it. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barry Brownstein
Intellectual Takeout
August 10, 2018

While Venezuela continues to collapse into a living hell for all but Nicolás Maduro and ruling elites, support in America for democratic socialism continues to rise.

Graphic reports such as the recent New York Times photo essay about starvation in Venezuela abound:

Kenyerber Aquino Merchán was 17 months old when he starved to death.

His father left before dawn to bring him home from the hospital morgue. He carried Kenyerber’s skeletal frame into the kitchen and handed it to a mortuary worker who makes house calls for Venezuelan families with no money for funerals. Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
August 3, 2018

Last year ended with a flurry of news analyses regarding the nation’s first major tax overhaul since 1986. As most Americans struggled to figure out how the new rules would affect their personal finances, few realized the legislation would strike a blow against churches and other nonprofits, causing many of the organizations to deal with taxes for the first time in history.

The obscure provision tucked deep within a massive budget bill requires nonprofit organizations to pay a 21-percent tax on some benefits they provide their employees, such as parking, transportation and other perks. Analysts now say the tax could cost nonprofits millions of dollars if not more. Read the rest of this entry »

By M.H. Cavanaugh
Christian Action League
August 3, 2018

Last week, Christians celebrated the news that Pastor Andrew Brunson, from Black Mountain, North Carolina, had been moved from prison to house arrest. But recent developments indicate that Brunson’s plight may be far from over.

Brunson, who served as a missionary in Turkey for nearly 25 years, has been wrongly accused of espionage and terrorism. The pastor declares that he is innocent. The charges against him are unsubstantiated, and the U.S. State Department says he has committed no crime. North Carolina U.S. Senator, Thom Tillis (R) once stated on the Senate floor that the only thing Brunson is guilty of is sharing his faith with those who would listen. Read the rest of this entry »

By Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
August 3, 2018

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C. – This week, WECT News reported a Columbus County man, Jeremy Clark Powell, of Whiteville, was arrested after undercover officers caught him selling illegal alcohol in a Walmart parking lot in Elizabethtown. Authorities say the man also had a liquor still that he was running from his backyard.

Bladen County Sheriff James A. Vicker told WECT the arrest was made after his department partnered with the state’s Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) to investigate the traffic of illegal alcohol in Elizabethtown.

Back in June, WNCN News reported that ALE officers had shut down several moonshine operations. Agents seized setups in Newton Grove, Henderson, Roxboro, Robbins, and Benson. Read the rest of this entry »

By Joe Sturz
Christian Action League
August 3, 2018

Many people claim bingo, poker, rolling dice, slot machines, lotteries, etc., are just innocent forms of entertainment if not carried too far.  Many groups use gambling for fund raisers, including churches.

The attraction & excitement that gambling thrives on is greed & covetousness – of getting something for nothing. 

The dangers and risks inherent with gambling are: Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
July 27, 2018

Picture Courtesy of the Lincoln Herald

LINCOLNTON – The First Amendment right of a person to express his beliefs in public could be put to the test next month when a case involving a street preacher in Lincolnton goes to court.

Preachers who frequently take to the streets of the Lincoln County seat have come under increasing pressure since the city of roughly 11,000 approved changes to its ordinances late last year. Now, its noise ordinance prohibits “any person or group of persons willfully making any loud, raucous, or disturbing sound that – because of its volume, duration, and character – annoy, disturb, frighten, injure, or endanger the comfort, health, peace, or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities in the neighborhood or Central Business District.”

Jeffrey Dean Shook, a street preacher, was the first person arrested under the city’s new ordinance. Shook is to appear in Lincoln County District Court, Monday, August 20^th. Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
July 27, 2018

Prayers continue for an American pastor jailed by Turkish authorities for nearly two years and moved to house arrest on Thursday.

Andrew Brunson, 50, originally of Black Mountain, North Carolina, has lived in Turkey for more than 20 years and was serving as pastor of Resurrection Church in Izmir when he was arrested in the fall of 2016 and accused of helping those behind a failed coup attempt. If convicted of the trumped up charges of espionage and terrorism, he could face up to 35 years in prison.

“We rejoice with Brunson and his family that he is out of the prison, but want to urge Christians to keep praying. This nightmare is not over for this stalwart servant of God,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “Pray for him and for others being persecuted for their faith all over the world.” Read the rest of this entry »