McDonald’s Blacklisted

The president of a pro-family values mutual fund company says the extreme actions of McDonald's has forced the investment firm to publicly clarify that its portfolios won't include any stock in the worldwide hamburger retailer. Timothy Plan's socially responsible investing includes screening of companies whose revenues or actions support pornography, abortion, anti-family entertainment, or promotion of non-married lifestyles. "McDonald's actually has been on our screen or prohibited list since 1999 -- so this is nothing new," says Ally. "What is new is the aggressive approach that they're moving to, in promoting and supporting the homosexual agenda." That aggressive approach? The fast-food giant's $20,000 donation to the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce for a seat on its board of directors, and labeling of those who oppose the homosexual agenda as "haters" -- both of which Ally says marked an extreme step up from sponsorship of TV programs and movies with anti-family and pornographic entertainment. Those actions, coupled with offering its employees transgender health benefits, have kept McDonald's out of Timothy Plan investments to this point, according to Ally.

Homosexuality a Sin?

The Baptist Press reports that Americans hold differing opinions on the issue of homosexuality, including whether homosexual behavior is sinful. A telephone survey of 1,201 American adults conducted in April revealed that 48 percent of Americans believe homosexual behavior is sinful, while 45 percent say it's not, almost a statistical tie when considering the margin of error. Among those with a religious affiliation, 55 percent of Catholics and 31 percent of Protestants said they do not believe homosexual behavior is sinful. That number dropped to 17 percent among born-again, evangelical or fundamentalist Protestants. Holding opposing views, 39 percent of Catholics, 61 percent of Protestants and 79 percent of born-again, evangelical or fundamentalist Protestants said they do believe homosexual behavior is sinful.

• JJ Commentary: The Bible couldn’t be clearer about homosexuality being a sin – even in the New Testament (see Romans 1:26-27, 1Corinthians 6:9). Too many Christians don’t know their Bible and are too easily swayed by public opinion

Boycott Praise Report

In the face of plummeting car sales, Ford Motor Company has taken steps to reduce its aggressive, pro-homosexual policies, prompting a family-rights group to call off its boycott of the carmaker. The American Family Association says it's suspending its two-year boycott of Ford, noting the auto giant has met the conditions of the original agreement between AFA and Ford from 2005. AFA Chairman Donald Wildmon said the original agreement between the family group and Ford contained four items:

Ford would not renew current promotions or create future incentives that give cash donations to homosexual organizations based on the purchase of a vehicle.
Ford would not make corporate donations to homosexual organizations that, as part of their activities, engage in political or social campaigns to promote civil unions or same-sex marriage.
Ford would stop giving cash and vehicle donations or endorsements to homosexual social activities such as 'gay'-pride parades.
Ford would cease all advertising on homosexual websites and through homosexual media outlets (magazines, television, radio) in the U.S. with the exception of $100,000 to be used by Volvo. The Volvo ads would be the same ads used in the general media and not aimed at the homosexual community specifically.
Ø JJ Commentary: Christians can and should make a difference in the world or else we allow ungodly values to afflict our country and our lives.

Obama Twists Biblical Principles

Some recent remarks by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama linking same-sex relationships to Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount are raising some eyebrows in the Christian community. During a Sunday campaign stop in Nelsonville, Ohio, Pastor Leon Forte of Grace Christian Center in Athens, Ohio, asked the Illinois senator to address social concerns. Your campaign sets a quandary for most evangelical Christians," Forte said. "They believe in the social agenda that you have. They have a problem with what the conservatives have laid out as the moral litmus test about who is worthy and who is not."

As part of a lengthy videotaped response, Obama referred to the speech by Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew, as well as some anti-homosexuality statements made by the apostle Paul which he called "obscure": I will tell you that I don't believe in gay marriage, but I do think that people who are gay and lesbian should be treated with dignity and respect and that the state should not discriminate against them. So, I believe in civil unions that allow a same-sex couple to visit each other in a hospital or transfer property to each other. I don't think it should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state. If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans. That's my view. But we can have a respectful disagreement on that.

• JJ Commentary: Romans 1:26-27 is not “obscure” but rather direct and clear, showing that homosexuality is not just an Old Testament issue. Of course, the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ other teachings implore us to love everyone, including sinners and our enemies. But that does not mean that we condone the sin.

Into The Cesspool

The governing council in Montgomery County, Md., is considering adopting an "open doors" policy to its public restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities to meet the demands of a transgender "non-discrimination" plan, which would allow men into women's lockers and vice versa, a support group reports. According to notes from city council meetings, Sprigg said, the only requirement will be that the person using the public facilities, including showers and locker rooms, be of the gender they present in public. The county plan, Bill 23-07, specifically would augment the state's non-discrimination plan by adding "gender identity" as a protected class.

In addition to prohibiting discrimination in the areas of employment and housing, Bill 23-07 adds 'public accommodation' to the list, causing many to question the judgment of allowing men who merely claim they feel female to have complete access to women's restrooms, showers and locker rooms in schools, and other places of public accommodation such as health clubs, swimming pools, and store dressing rooms.

• JJ Commentary: Sick, sick, sick. The so-called “homosexual agenda” is leading us into a cesspool of perversion.

Vulgarity Reigns

Four firefighters are suing the city of San Diego for being forced by their superiors to attend the annual "Gay Pride" parade where they endured a barrage of sexual taunts and lewd gestures. San Diego's fire chief, Tracy Jarman, is an open lesbian who called the July 21 parade a "fun event" in which "all employees are encouraged to participate." But the firefighters said, unlike previous years, they were ordered into uniform to participate in the parade in their fire truck, despite their repeated protests.

The firefighters' legal counsel, the Thomas More Law Center, said the men were "left with the Hobson's choice of either violating their conscience or being disciplined for disobeying a direct order." The firefighters, described as devoted husbands and fathers, said they were subject to the most vulgar kinds of sexual harassment.

• JJ Commentary: Welcome to the “brave, new world.”

Fake Christian Politicians

RENO (AP) — The national chairman of the Democratic Party urged his faithful in Nevada Monday night to reach out to a constituency more typically aligned with Republicans — evangelical Christians. Democrats are poised to recapture the White House because they are the most fiscally responsible party and will end the war in Iraq, said former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. But the 2008 presidential election may ultimately hinge on evangelical Christians he said are undergoing a "generational change" that emphasizes social responsibility over social conservatism.

"I haven't seen gay marriage in the Bible once," Dean said in the keynote address at a Democratic fundraiser at a Reno hotel-casino.

• JJ Commentary: Hmmm. I guess he doesn’t really read the Bible. Both the Old and New Testaments have quite a bit to say about homosexuality. He should especially read Romans 1. Fake Christians are worse than non-Christians because they muddy the waters with deception.
  

Curses Versus Pride

The Orthodox Righteous Court of Law (Badatz) have placed a curse on the organizers and particpicants in the gay pride parade scheduled to take place in Jerusalem next Thursday. The curse also applied to police forces that will secure the event. The Edah Haredit is an extreme body which has declared ideological warfare against the "heretic Zionist government." Its members shun Knesset votes, do not carry Israeli ID cards, and refuse allowances from the government budget.

On Sunday of next week members of the community are planning to launch protests against the pride parade. A mass demonstration is scheduled to take place on Jerusalem's Bar Ilan Street, which will "shock and agitate" the public according to posters. The protest's organizers expect some 100,000 people to show up. Noa Satat, head of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, said in response: "The Orthodox curses and their refusal to commit to non-violence prove that this is not just a pride parade but a fight for Israeli democracy, freedom of expression and for the capital city, which is everyone's city."

• JJ Commentary: A gay-pride march in Jerusalem, God’s capital of this world, will call down judgment on the participants regardless of whether we curse them or not. Instead, let’s pray for their deliverance and salvation.

Feeding Filth in our Schools

A 12-year-old girl who says she was traumatized when her teacher showed the film "Brokeback Mountain" featuring love scenes with homosexual cowboys is suing the Chicago Board of Education for $500,000. According to reports, the student, Jessica Turner, claims she suffered psychological distress after watching the movie, which stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two cowboys who fall in love and includes love scenes between the two men and between the men and their wives. The suit names Ashburn Principal Jewel Diaz and the substitute teacher, known only in the complaint as Ms. Buford, as well as the board, and alleges negligence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Buford showed the video without permission from parents and guardians.

• JJ Commentary: Bad enough showing highly sexualized films to 12-year olds, but even more so one promoting homosexuality. Our schools have become brainwashing centers for the secular agenda of the New World (Dis)Order.

End-Time Stratagem

A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the "gay" agenda taught to Christians who attend a public school in Massachusetts, finding that they need the teachings to be "engaged and productive citizens." U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf yesterday dismissed a civil rights lawsuit brought by David Parker, ordering that it is reasonable, indeed there is an obligation, for public schools to teach young children to accept and endorse homosexuality. Wolf essentially adopted the reasoning in a brief submitted by a number of homosexual-advocacy groups, who said "the rights of religious freedom and parental control over the upbringing of children … would undermine teaching and learning…"

David and Tonia Parker and Joseph and Robin Wirthlin, who have children of school age in Lexington, Mass., brought the lawsuit. They alleged district officials and staff at Estabrook Elementary School violated state law and civil rights by indoctrinating their children about a lifestyle they, as Christians, teach is immoral. " Wolf's ruling is every parent's nightmare. It goes to extraordinary lengths to legitimize and reinforce the 'right' (and even the duty) of schools to normalize homosexual behavior to even the youngest of children... In the ruling, Wolf makes the absurd claim that normalizing homosexuality to young children is 'reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.' According to Wolf, this means teaching 'diversity' which includes 'differences in sexual orientation.'

• JJ Commentary: The “homosexual agenda” is a key stratagem of the New World (Dis)Order, designed to undermine the family and God’s divine order.