The California Supreme Court handed conservatives a big victory on Thursday (Nov. 17) by allowing them to defend a statewide ban on gay marriage that a federal judge struck down as unconstitutional last year.

The court’s 7-0 ruling is a victory for conservative and evangelical backers of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that ended same-sex marriage in California. State officials have declined to defend the measure in a federal appeals court.

“When an initiative measure is challenged in court, the integrity and effectiveness of the judicial process require that a competent and spirited defense be presented,” Justice Joyce Kennard wrote in a concurring opinion.

“If public officials refuse to provide that defense, the ability of the initiative proponents to intervene in the pending litigation, and to appeal an adverse judgment, is inherent in, and essential to the effective exercise of, the constitutional initiative power.”

Prop 8 supporters have been working on the case with the Alliance Defense Fund, a leading Christian law firm. Mormon and Roman Catholic churches also lent strong support to the proposition though the various court challenges.

Andrew Pugno, an attorney for ProtectMarriage.com, told a San Francisco radio station that the state court’s ruling “really is a huge disaster for the homosexual marriage extremists.”

Attorney Kate Kendell of the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights said only state officials should be able to defend the initiative in court, even if they chose not to.

“We disagree profoundly … that a handful of unelected initiative sponsors have the power to represent the interests of the entire public and to override the decisions of the state’s elected executive officers,” she said.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Catholic rioters attacked recently police in Northern Ireland, throwing bombs, hijacking and torching vehicles, and causing a general melee in Londonderry, Ireland. No serious injuries were reported.

The rioting sprung from tensions amid an annual Protestant parade that was held in the Catholic-majority city. The parade commemorates the anniversary of the 17^th century victory over Irish Catholic Forces who had laid siege to Protestants in the city.

Four masked men hijacked a Royal Mail postal van, tossed bombs inside the vehicle and then sped away. Other cars were torched and explosives were lobbed at police officers in the city center.

“A pipe bomb-type device was thrown at officers in the area of Free Derry Corner some time before 7:00 p.m.,” a spokeswoman told the AFP. “It exploded. However, there were no injuries or damage to property.”

Two cars were hijacked. In one instance, the spokeswoman told the AFP, “A woman and her daughter were pulled from the vehicle [by masked men on Creggan street]. [Another] car was set alight in Fahan Street around 5:15 p.m. and a van hijacked on Lecky road.”

A number of bombs were also lobbed at Land Rovers belonging to police, and at the Memorial Hall.

The violence ensued after a generally peaceful parade, as some 15,000 people from the British Protestant brotherhood, Apprentice Boys of Derry, marched through Londonderry, with 140 bands playing.

This is something that they do every year, and normally it leads to unrest from Irish republican extremists. They were celebrating the 17^th century victory of the military over Irish Catholic forces after a 105-day siege was laid on the Protestants living in the city.

Traditionally, the Irish republican extremists are stirred to riot because of the parade and festivities. Hours before the march, Molotov cocktails were tossed at the headquarters of the Apprentice Boys, causing light damage.

There were also scuffles with the police along the fringe of the parade, by supporters of splinter groups from the Irish Republican Army. Nine Molotov cocktails were seized by police.

Past incidents of violence

The riots last Saturday were preceded the night before by unrest in northwestern Northern Ireland, along the border. Four men were arrested, namely a 32-year-old man for resisting arrest, a 24-year-old-man for possession of a fire bomb and assault, and two men (aged 18 and 19) for disorderly behavior.

They will appear on Sept. 9 before the Derry Magistrates Court.

Earlier, the U.K.had just experienced its nastiest rioting in decades. The melee began last Saturday in North London, then spread out to eight other areas, including outside of London. (See http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2011/08/anarchy-in-the-uk-christians-call-for-practical-action-in-aftermath-of-riots-16960/).

Last month, amid annual parades in Northern Ireland by the Orange Order, another major Protestant group, clashes ensued for two nights before and after the parade. Police responded with water cannons and plastic bullets, and 40 were injured.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Even as Brazil scored a 2-1 victory over North Korea recently, what stood foremost was how overall, the World Cup  has become an opportunity for Christians to share their faith.

A report from Christianity Today cited a number of publications that headlined the Christian faith of many athletes and activities by churches to spread the gospel, even as they enjoy watching the games.

The publications that were cited included Agence France Presse, The Times of London, The New Republic, and the Telegraph among others. Also noted were the evangelistic activities of the Brazilians, Christianity Today reported.

Christianity Today noted how the Brazilians perceived an opportunity to reach out to North Korea, a closed society.

According to The Sunday Times, Christians are severely punished in North Korea and one is rendered a political criminal simply for performing the sign of the cross.

South African churches are also sharing their faith, as are Baptists who are holding church events and outreaches.  They are also distributing a special newsletter at World Cup activities, Christianity Today said.

FIFA has disallowed players to express their faith, and this has led The Association of Evangelical Priests from Paraguay to decry “an attack on religious freedom and freedom of conscience,” Christianity Today said.

Also noted was how Steven Pienaar blessed himself just before the game between South Africa and Mexico; and Gonzalo Higuain from Argentina often made the sign of the cross, The Sunday Times said.

Brazilian player Kaka, a world-famous evangelical Christian, last year removed his shirt to reveal a vest with the slogan “I belong to Jesus.” Several other teammates followed suit, The Sunday Times said.

This time around, Kaka is not yet up to par after having had a series of injuries this season with Real Madrid. His participation in Brazil’s win against North Korea was comparatively subdued. Still, he told the Associated Press that he was thankful that he could still play and expected to improve.

While Christians have evidenced and shared their faith with nationals from other countries in the World Cup, elsewhere just watching the games is considered a crime against religion, Christianity Today said.

In Somalia, two people were killed and many others arrested by radical Muslims for watching the Cup. The games, they say, are a diversion from engaging in jihad, Christianity Today reported.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Question: “Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important?”

Answer:
The resurrection of Jesus is important for several reasons. First, it witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not a God worthy of our faith and worship. Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting that is death and the victory that is the graves (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.

Second, the resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike all other religions, Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same. All other religions were founded by men and prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we take comfort in the fact that our God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. The grave could not hold Him. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul explains in detail the importance of the resurrection of Christ. Some in Corinth did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in this chapter Paul gives six disastrous consequences if there were no resurrection: 1) preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14); 2) faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14); 3) all the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15); 4) no one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17); 5) all former believers would have perished (v.18); and 6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth (v. 19). But Christ indeed has risen from the dead and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep (v. 20), assuring that we will follow Him in resurrection.

The inspired Word of God guarantees the believer’s resurrection at the coming of Jesus Christ for His Body (the Church) at the Rapture. Such hope and assurance results in a great song of triumph as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55, Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

How do these concluding verses relate to the importance of the resurrection? Paul answers, …you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (v. 58). He reminds us that because we know we will be resurrected to new life, we can suffer persecution and danger for Christs sake (vv. 29-31), just as He did. We can follow the example of the thousands of martyrs through history who gladly traded their earthly lives for everlasting life via the resurrection.

The resurrection is the triumphant and glorious victory for every believer. Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scripture. And, He is coming again! The dead in Christ will be raised up, and those who remain and are alive at His coming will be changed and receive new, glorified bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important to salvation? It demonstrated that God accepted Jesus sacrifice on our behalf. It proves that God has the power to raise us from the dead. It guarantees that those who believe in Christ will not remain dead, but will be resurrected unto eternal life. That is our blessed hope!

Recommended Resource:
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas.

Originally here.

Be Sociable, Share!

•