As if the past few weeks of scandals haven’t been enough, now we learn that the American government is spying on us to an astounding degree. And all it takes to be a target is an analyst’s “51 percent confidence” in an individual’s “foreignness.”

The fact that I have an extensive media ministry in the Middle East and—surprise, surprise—have a “foreign” sounding name, places me smack-dab in the middle of the NSA’s target lists.

No doubt, they have monitored my phone calls and emails.

And yet, I’m not concerned about being spied upon. At least, I’m not concerned about myself.

I have nothing to hide; as readers of this column can attest to. In this space, I have expressed my thoughts about our government and the Obama administration, and I have worked to expose its duplicitous behavior from day one. In particular, I have closely watched the administration’s policy in the Middle East. FULL POST

We no longer live in a time when isolationism is possible. Through the power of technology, those across the world are as accessible to us as those next door to us. What happens in one part of the world now impacts the entire world.

Often, I am asked, “Michael, why do you spend so much time focusing on other nations? We have so many problems here at home.” While I agree our problems here need to be addressed, and I do address them daily, the time has passed when America can be our sole focus. What is happening in the world politically, economically, and spiritually impacts each one of us sooner or later.

This is why I am spending this week in Jakarta, Indonesia—the world’s largest Muslim nation. I am meeting with pastors, political and business leaders, and am sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with thousands of people over three nights from May 23^rd-25^th in Istora Stadium. The event is also being broadcast throughout the entire nation of Indonesia on LIFE Channel and across the Arab world on THE KINGDOM SAT channel. You can watch it here from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. FULL POST

Politicians accuse each other of failure, which is to be expected. Each side has their “narrative,” and the truth often loses out (although I am thankful for the honest and courageous ones who do speak the truth).

But since I’m not a politician, but instead have a prophetic journalistic voice, I will speak the truth and let the chips fall where they may.

There is one area in particular where it is hard to find the truth spoken by either Republicans or Democrats: namely, this whole idea that Muslim people yearn for democracy. It is a glaring short-sightedness that both sides hold in common.

To be sure, many of my Muslim friends long for Western-style democracy and freedom. But they are always thwarted (and always will be) by the majority view. That is why even those friends of mine would admit that democracy is incompatible with Islamic ideology.

Knowledgeable people will agree that democracy and freedom is a delicate rose that was planted in the soil of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation turned the people of the dark ages back to the Bible, with its deeply-rooted respect for the individual. FULL POST

In Jeffrey Toobin’s recent article in The New Yorker, Wedding Bells, he resorted to name-calling to malign pro-marriage advocates, an all-too common tactic among the gay lobby.

In his article, Toobin wrote: “There are really only two reasons that gay marriage is still illegal in more than three-quarters of the country: that’s the way it has always been; and the very idea of same-sex marriage makes some people, well, uncomfortable.”

Then he went on to define that discomfort as “tradition and bigotry.” So much for returning the tolerance they preach and demand from others—others who actually have legitimate reasons for their beliefs.

The gay lobby—which I contend is the most powerful lobby in America today—has successfully infiltrated the minds of the less-grounded generation. And with that infiltration, they have dismissed the importance of what the Creator Himself demands of His creation.

They have succeeded in framing the argument, not from the creation point of view, but from one of justice and human rights. And who could oppose human rights? I, for one, applaud every effort to give the 100 million persecuted Christians around the world their human right to be left alone in peace. FULL POST

When it comes to the persecution of Christians, President Obama appears to have a tin ear. The question is: why?

Why would a president who claims to be a Christian seem to deliberately help install and collaborate with an Islamist government in Egypt? Many highly-placed Egyptian leaders have revealed that his collaboration with the Muslim Brotherhood began long before President Mubarak’s fall.

Why would Mr. Obama remain silent after being informed again and again of the atrocities committed against Christians in Egypt—atrocities committed by the very government he helped bring to power?

Why would Mr. Obama allow Egypt to remain as the second-highest recipient of U.S. foreign aid while the greatest terrorist build up since al Qaida in Afghanistan now takes place in the Sinai Desert?

Why would Mr. Obama offer no public criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood after their police stood watch while the Coptic Cathedral was attacked by Islamists and then tear-gassed by the police themselves?

Why would the so-called “leader” of the so-called “free world” remain silent while other world leaders speak up? Recently, Angela Merkel of Germany boldly stated that “Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world” Mr. Obama, however, says nothing. FULL POST

What does Christianity have to do with life issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide? Aren’t these just political issues? Why should you impose your opinions on others? But what if the Gospel, which announces life eternal, itself requires a defense of Life? An online apologetics conference coming April 21-23rd will explore these issues. Steven Mosher of the Population Research Institute is the keynote.

Register and learn more at http://onlineapologeticsconference.com

 A Defense of the Faith

isa

Defense of Life

AN ONLINE CONFERENCE FULL POST

Having just returned from a three-country Middle Eastern speaking tour, I cannot help but reflect on how much more complex the situation in the Middle East has become.

On the one hand, there is a powder keg ready to explode in countries like Lebanon and Egypt. On the other hand, more people than ever have become disenchanted with Islam’s dark ideology. Some are turning to atheism and agnosticism, but I am thankful there are many more who are seeking the Truth of the Christian faith.

Four years ago, I was privileged to create a satellite television station, The KINGDOM SAT, to broadcast into the Arab world and Europe 24/7. Since its creation, the viewing audience has grown from a few hundred thousand to the millions.

Many have explained to me how The KINGDOM SAT is helping them investigate the claims of Christ in a calm and rational manner. It is a stark contrast against the screaming and harrowing accusations they receive from their religious channels. FULL POST

A Review of Life Unworthy of Life by Derek Elkins by Anthony Horvath

 Derek Elkins' Life Unworthy of Life came before my eyes, from his perspective, at the most opportune time. I was immersed in studying the philosophies and ideologies that had led to the Holocaust, and the T4 Project (which the book is about) was explicit foreshadowing of that later horror. I was instantly drawn into the manuscript. From my perspective, however, I could have chosen a better time to read it. Evidently, my plane had been moved to a different gate and they had been calling my name for the better part of twenty minutes... "Argher Heervreth blah blah blah..." ... "Theeny Hurgle, [indecipherable]..."

 If it hadn't been for the fact that I suddenly thought it very odd that they had not begun boarding at my gate with just 3 minutes before takeoff and coming to the conclusion that it was unlikely they would fly a plane with just a single passenger, I would not have hurriedly checked the board, and I would not have, in a panic, flung myself in the direction of the gate where my plane actually was waiting for me.

 "[indecipherable] Aneeny Gursheth?" the attendant said as I flew by her.

 It was the spring of 2012. I was in St. Louis for some pro-life stuff. It was my task to select the winners for my ministry's annual Christian Novel Contest, and Derek's book was one of the finalists. Now, does making the judge nearly miss his plane count for a book, or against it?

 The question remains unanswered; nevertheless, it ended up being the grand prize winner. Not long after that, I would extend an offer to publish the book. Derek would accept.

 And now we are just two weeks away from its official release, on April 23, 2013.

 My how time flies.

 Fly, indeed. Today, calling someone a 'Nazi' or a 'fascist' is about the worst thing that you can say about someone, but few people actually have any idea what the terms mean or meant. And that is to be expected, I suppose. Another term similarly deployed is 'zealot,' but who can possibly recall the actual attitudes of such people who lived 2,000 years ago? And that, of course, is when Hitler lived and fascism thrived. People today are only vaguely aware of what happened seventy years ago. They're not going to know the true sentiments of people like the Nazis, who existed only in ancient history, millennia ago. FULL POST

Photo: Flickr/Johnny Jet - Creative Commons

During a time when we are about to celebrate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the United States Supreme Court is deliberating the possible crucifixion of the moral foundation of America.

We are entering a historical period that’s reminiscent of the book of Judges when everyone in Israel “did what was right in his own eyes.”

We have come a long way, America…. the wrong way

We have come a long way since April 19, 1775—the day after Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride—when the British redcoats, under the command of Major John Pitcairn, arrived in Lexington, Massachusetts.

There, they confronted a ragtag regiment of Minutemen, with Pitcairn demanding that they lay down their arms “in the name of George the Sovereign King of England.”

A Lexington minister by the name of Rev. Jonas Clarke was said to have responded on behalf of all the Minutemen: “We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus.” FULL POST

In our country, there is a general feeling that only positions backed by actual fact should drive public policy. 'Religion' is perceived to be the realm of personal opinion. Even Christians tend to accept the view that people are allowed to have their opinion, but they aren't allowed to impose that opinion on others. The result is that many Christians refrain from acting 'politically' because they see their own beliefs as nothing more than 'mere opinion.'

Secularists tend to be people who have dispensed with 'religion' altogether, and like to think that they are entirely 'fact driven.'

When these ideas collide, we observe something very curious: secular humanists conclude that they can advocate for anything that they want in the public sphere, because nothing they believe is 'religious, ' while distinctly Christian viewpoints are forbidden from entering the public domain, since those will be, by definition, 'religious.' And again, even Christians gravitate to that view.

This tends to lead to debates and discussions and policy proposals that take the 'facts' of the secularists as the starting points. We are expected to proceed on their terms. And why not? Surely without the 'religious' component, those 'facts' are as close to actually being real descriptions of the world as one could get, right? FULL POST