Satan Temple’s goat-headed statue unveiled July 24, 2015 in Detroit

DETROIT — A controversial monument to be unveiled Saturday downtown is an event that Michigan Christians have tried to shut down, according to a news release.

The Satanic Temple will reveal the 1-ton, bronze, goat-headed idol called Baphomet after 9 p.m. ET to those who have bought $25 to $75 tickets. The location of the unveiling is secret — the original venue canceled the booking — and will be sent to ticket-holders via email Saturday, officials said in the release.

The fête, which the group calls the largest Satanic ceremony in history, will kick off its legal efforts to secure placement of the monument next to a Ten Commandments monument on public grounds in Arkansas or Oklahoma.

The statue is backed by an inverted pentagram and flanked by statues of two young children gazing up at the creature, which has horns, hooves, wings and a beard. It cost more than $100,000 and had been planned for a spot at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City until Oklahoma’s Supreme Court banned religious displays, including a monument of the Ten Commandments, on Capitol grounds.

Oklahoma court: Ten Commandments monument must come down

“It was always our intention to take this wherever it was relevant, wherever it was necessary, and wherever that dialogue needed to take place,” said Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the group, which is less about Satan worship and more about highlighting what it perceives to be improper religious influence on governments.

A Ten Commandments monument is planned outside Arkansas’ Statehouse in Little Rock.

 (Photo: The Satanic Temple via AP)

The statue was to be unveiled at Bert’s Marketplace in Detroit’s Eastern Market district, but Bert Dearing said he returned a $3,000 rental fee when he learned about the group that booked the place.

“It would be great if we had a large turnout” for the 10 a.m. Saturday Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in response to the statue, the Detroit Mass Mob posted on its Facebook page Friday. Other churches in the Mother of Divine Mercy parish, three historic churches near downtown, also plan Masses specifically because of the unveiling.

Baphomet, subject of the statue that the temple plans to unveil, was the idol that the Knights Templar were accused of secretly worshiping in chapter houses across Europe and the Holy Land before the order was disbanded in 1312. Back in the Templars’ day, Baphomet was said to be a disembodied head but has been represented as a goat-headed figure since the 1800s.

The Satanic Temple, different from the Church of Satan founded in the 1960s, views Satan not as an evil figure, but one who dared question authority. The temple also advocates for the separation of church and state.

Baphomet is meant to symbolize plurality and religious liberty, Greaves has said.

Jex Blackmore, Satanic Temple Detroit chapter founder, has said the group doesn’t worship Satan but does promote individuality, compassion and views that differ from Christian and conservative beliefs. Its chapter has more than 200 registered members.

Dueling Satanic groups feud over Tea Party politics

New York City-based sculptor Mark Porter, who worked on the statue for five months in a Florida near Daytona Beach, Fla., said he initially found the task creepy.

“I started thinking about it: Why don’t I like it?” Porter said. “And then after looking at that every day for a year, it’s just whatever. It could be Mickey Mouse.”

The unveiling will be a musical celebration that includes Detroit’s Wolf Eyes band and Boston-based punk act Sadist. The ticket website promises “a night of chaos, noise and debauchery at the unveiling, a hedonistic celebration introducing the controversial Baphomet monument accompanied by provocative performances and installations.”

• My question is, when there was racial turbulence in Virginia a few weeks ago, various church figures voiced their opinions publicly a stated that there would be no tolerance for hatred in their prospective cities. Their speeches can be found of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and newspapers nationwide. WHERE WERE THE CHURCHES when this statue was erected? Why wasn’t a nationwide church effort made to stand against this kingdom of darkness? Where were the demonstrations and speeches from the affluent Christian “big wigs” in this country? Where is the power and boldness in the so-called body of Christ? Church, you have failed again!

Muslim Extremists Hack Christians to Death With Machetes After They Refuse to Say ‘There is No God But Allah’

Muslim extremists in Kenya brutally murdered four Christians – one of them mentally challenged – after they refused to recite the Islamic prayer of faith.

Persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reported that on August 18, soldiers with the Islamic extremist group Al-Shabaab dragged Changawa Muthemba out of his home in Kasala Kairu, Lamu County and took him to the nearby home of his brother-in-law, Joseph Kasena, 42, where a 17-year-old neighbor, Kadenge Katana, also happened to be at the time.

The three men were held at machete point and ordered to recite the Shahada – “there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

When none of them did, the attackers tied them up and hacked them to death. The Muslim extremists then went to the home of Joseph’s older brother, Charo, who was mentally challenged, burning his body.

Joseph’s wife, Caroline, reportedly watched everything happen and is “severely traumatized”, according to a local source.

“Joseph was an elder at a local church. He did communal farming, worked as a cook in a local hotel and also served as a night guard at the home of an expatriate family, who had to leave the area due to the deteriorating security situation. His wife runs a small kiosk,” said the source.

The source said the family of the 17-year-old boy, who was part of a local Catholic church, are “devastated” at his murder.

Kenya is ranked #18 on Open Door USA’s World Watch List of 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The outlet notes that Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, has targeted Kenyan Christians for years, attacking churches, public places and buses.

Last month, the terrorist group beheaded nine Kenyans-some of whom belonged to a local church-in the Pandaguo area of Lamu West in an attack that targeted non-Muslim men only. Two days earlier, attackers killed four people (including police), also in the Pandaguo area, and in June beheaded nine in the coastal district of Lamu.

Last year,  al-Shabab gunmen attacked a bus full of teachers in the same region, pulling 28 non-Muslim passengers from the vehicle and shooting them point blank, according to the Guardian.

The following month, the BBC reported, the militant group did the same to non-Muslim workers at a quarry near the Somali border and violently killed both Muslims and non-Muslims during deadly attacks in Kenya.

Last April, the terrorist group stormed Garissa University College, gunning down two security guards before singling out Christian students and killing 148 of them.

By LEAH MARIEANN KLETT ( news@gospelherald.com ) Aug 29, 2017

Children as Young as 11 Could Start Irreversible Hormone Treatment to Change Gender After Court Ruling

By LEAH MARIEANN KLETT ( news@gospelherald.com ) Sep 06, 2017 

TGender Identity Development Service (GIDS) found that 1,986 children under the age of 18 have been accepted for specialist treatment in the past year. Getty Images

Children as young as 11 could be permitted to start irreversible hormone treatment to change their biological sex without the permission of a court under an upcoming landmark family court case in Sydney.

The Daily Mail reports that five Family Court judges will sit on the case to be heard by the Full Court later this year – the first time they have done so in 12 years.

The case was brought by the father of a 16-year-old who was born female but identified as male from nine-years-old, according to the Daily Telegraph. The child, “Kelvin”, reportedly changed schools to start as a male, used a chest binder and attended the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex and Questioning “campout” on the Central Coast in 2014.

The court has already decided that Kelvin is “competent” and fully understands what is ­involved in starting hormone treatment; however, his father has launched the appeal to ask the court to step out of the process all together. Should the judges rule in favor of the family, children wishing to undergo hormone therapy will only need the permission of a parent and a medical professional.

Currently, for access stage one treatment known as puberty blockers, children are no longer required to go to court, as the process was recently deemed fully reversible. The second stage of treatment – irreversible gender-affirming hormones, is what will be contested.

A June report from the Daily Telegraph said that an analysis of Family Court judgments from the start of this year show 10 children have been granted legal approval to start “stage two” treatment to allow for physical changes.

Recently, the court ruled in favor of 17-year-old “Ashton” to undergo treatment to fulfill his wishes of becoming a boy after the family spoke of “Ashton’s” distress at having female attributes.

Data released earlier this year by the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) shows 1,986 children under the age of 18 have been accepted for specialist treatment in the past year. That’s up from just 94 in 2009-10, with 37 young children under the age of five referred since then.

Western Sydney University professor John Whitehall, who has more than 50 years’ experience treating children, called the rise in transitioning “an infectious trend” and called for an age limit of at least 18 before children who claim they have gender dysphoria are permitted to undergo treatment.

Professor Whitehall said it was “unreasonable” to expect children to understand the gravity of the decisions they were making at such a young age.

“It is unreasonable to expect juveniles to have a complete picture of where they want to be in later life, especially kids that haven’t even yet reached puberty. This is an infectious trend, a dangerous fad and I think it’s nonsense. The courts should stop messing with our kids until they are at least 18 because once you change, that’s it.”

He urged a “watchful waiting” approac­h instead, arguing that a vast majority of children who question their gender will revert to their biological sex by puberty.

“I think it’s a dangerous fad; a dangerous behavioral fashion trend fuelled by the ideologues and fuelled by the media,” he said, adding he was concerned that programs such as Safe Schools, which promotes “gender fluidity”, were causing extra pressure.

“Even making that so-called social transition has consequences,” he said. “It nails the child to the cross. It’s very difficult to come back from that.

Christian Politician Larry Bates Gets 21 Years in Prison for Multimillion-Dollar End Times Coin Scheme

A former Tennessee lawmaker has been sentenced in Memphis to 21 years in prison for running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi coin scheme related to end-of-the-world predictions.

Bates encouraged listeners on his Christian broadcast programs to buy gold and silver coins, which supposedly would give them financial protection against a religious and economic collapse termed “Mystery Babylon,” The Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors said that Bates, a Democrat who served in the Tennessee House from 1971 to 1976, defrauded more than 400 people from 2002 through 2013.

U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman has ordered the 73-year-old ex-lawmaker to repay more than $21 million to victims.

Bates’ two sons and daughter-in-law were also convicted back in May at Memphis federal court of wire and mail fraud, and they currently await sentencing.

As The Christian Post reported back in 2015, the FBI and the DOJ accused Bates and his sons of using their broadcast company, Information Radio Network, “as a means of advertising, promoting, and soliciting the sale or purchase of gold and silver to and from individuals nationwide.”

Bates would tell listeners about an upcoming biblical “mystery Babylon” period that would bring economic, political and religious upheaval, convincing them to buy the coins.

The “mystery Babylon” phrase is found in Revelation 17:5, which reads: “And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.'”

“While there are numerous theories as to the identity of mystery Babylon — whether the Bible text is describing a person, place or system, for example — Larry Bates taught his viewers, listeners and readers that it was a ‘demonic blend of the world system of economics, politics and religion,'” CP noted at the time.

Bates apparently convinced victims that gold and silver can offer protection from volatile money markets, because they always will be exchangeable, even in “end times,” he said.

AP reported that a number of the victims were elderly Americans who lost their life savings and the ability to pay for health care.

One of the victims, Judith Ponder, from Kerrville, Texas, said at the trial that she and her mother gave Bates more than $1.8 million dollars.

Christian pastor Charles Grimsley from Mesa, Colorado, said that he and his wife sent Bates more than $200,000 of their retirement money, but got little in return.

Lipman explained that there were customers who received the coins for which they paid for, but positioned that “that is how Ponzi schemes work.”

Bates said in his defense that business competitors and private and government lawyers had conspired against him, claiming that he is “very sad for these clients of ours.”

“God is my defender,” he insisted. “He knows the truth. He will expose the lies.”

Lipman slammed Bates for the way he used his views, stating: “Your use of religion to gain trust is appalling.”

Pastors Arrested in Sudan as Government Moves to Take Over Church

According to Morning Star News Sudan Correspondent, 

Police in Sudan arrested and interrogated seven church leaders last week in Omdurman, Sudan before releasing them on bail, sources said.

The Christian leaders were jailed for six hours on Wednesday (Aug. 23) and charged with refusing to comply with an order to turn over leadership of their congregation to a government appointed-committee. Omdurman lies across the Nile River from Khartoum, the capital.

The Rev. Ayoub Mattan, Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) moderator, and Kwa Shamaal (also transliterated Kuwa Shamaal), head of missions at the SCOC, were among the church leaders arrested. Pastor Shamaal was previously arrested on Dec. 18, 2015 and acquitted on Jan. 2 this year of charges ranging from spying to inciting hatred against the government.

Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments had written a letter dated Aug. 14 ordering them to hand over church leadership to the committee appointed by the government ministry, sources said. When they refused, police opened a case against them, though it was unclear under what law.

“Police asked if we still maintain our stance on our refusal to acknowledge the committee appointed by the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments, and we said yes, because it is not the work of the [government] ministry to appoint committees for the church,” Pastor Shamaal told Morning Star News.

Police said that in arresting them they were implementing orders from the Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments to impose its committee as new SCOC leadership, presumably to sell off the church property in Sudan’s bid to rid the country of Christianity. The pastors said the committee was contrary to SCOC’s constitution, which calls for general elections every three years to appoint new leadership.

Pastors Mattan, Shamaal and the others are still members of the legitimate executive committee of the SCOC, sources said. The current leadership term expires in March 2018.

Police also arrested the Rev. Yagoub Naway and pastor Musa Kodi, both from the SCOC. The four Christians were interrogated along with the three other church leaders, including SCOC Finance Secretary Abdulbagi Ali Abdulrahaman and SCOC Deputy Finance Secretary El-Amin Hassam Abdulrasool, before they were all released on bail.

Six other SCOC members are in hiding after learning police were searching for them to arrest and interrogate them, sources said.  Pastors Mattan, Shamaal and the others are still members of the legitimate executive committee of the SCOC, sources said. The current leadership term expires in March 2018.

Police also arrested the Rev. Yagoub Naway and pastor Musa Kodi, both from the SCOC. The four Christians were interrogated along with the three other church leaders, including SCOC Finance Secretary Abdulbagi Ali Abdulrahaman and SCOC Deputy Finance Secretary El-Amin Hassam Abdulrasool, before they were all released on bail.

Another SCOC pastor, the Rev. Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor, had received a 12-year sentence earlier this year after being charged with spying and trying to tarnish Sudan’s image, but he was freed along with Abdulmonem Abdumawla of Darfur on May 11 after receiving a presidential pardon.

He had been arrested along with Pastor Shamaal in December 2015. They were convicted on baseless charges of assisting Czech aid worker Petr Jasek – pardoned and released on Feb. 25– in alleged espionage, causing hatred among communities and spreading false information, according to their attorney.

Foreign diplomats and international rights activists took notice of the case after Morning Star News broke the story of the arrest of pastors Abdelrahim Tawor and Shamaal. Their arrests were seen as part of a recent upsurge in harassment of Christians.

Most SCOC members have roots among the ethnic Nuba in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan’s South Kordofan state, where the government is fighting an insurgency. The Nuba along with other Christians in Sudan face discrimination and harassment, as Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir has vowed to introduce a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and Arabic language.

In its campaign to rid the country of Christianity, Sudan has designated 25 church buildings for destruction, and on Aug. 2 it demolished a Baptist church in Omdurman. On May 7 Khartoum state authorities in Sudan demolished a church building in the Khartoum suburb of Soba al Aradi, which began as a refugee camp for south Sudanese. A bulldozer sent by Jebel Aulia locality and the Ministry of Planning and Urban Development destroyed the SCOC building.

Authorities had notified church leaders of the impending demolition just a week prior. The government reportedly claimed the churches were built on land zoned for residential or other uses, or were on government land, but church leaders said it is part of wider crack-down on Christianity.

Harassment, arrests and persecution of Christians have intensified since the secession of South Sudan in July 2011. The Sudanese Minister of Guidance and Endowments announced in April 2013 that no new licenses would be granted for building new churches in Sudan, citing a decrease in the South Sudanese population.

Sudan since 2012 has expelled foreign Christians and bulldozed church buildings on the pretext that they belonged to South Sudanese. Besides raiding Christian bookstores and arresting Christians, authorities threatened to kill South Sudanese Christians who do not leave or cooperate with them in their effort to find other Christians.

Sudan fought a civil war with the south Sudanese from 1983 to 2005, and in June 2011, shortly before the secession of South Sudan the following month, the government began fighting a rebel group in the Nuba Mountains that has its roots in South Sudan.

Due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations, Sudan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department since 1999, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended the country remain on the list in its 2017 report.

Sudan ranked fifth on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christians face most persecution.

Aspiring pastor kills wife and blames it on cough syrup

A young aspiring pastor has been charged with murdering his Sunday school teacher wife. 28-year-old Matthew Phelps was arrested after he called 911 early in the morning on September 1.

“I think I killed my.. (redacted). I had a dream [breathing heavily] and then I turned on the lights and she’s dead on the floor,” said Phelps.

“I have blood all over me and there’s a bloody knife on the bed. I think I did it. I can’t believe this.”

Phelps said that he had taken cough medicine before going to bed in order to aid his sleep. When he awoken he then noticed he had killed his wife.

“I took Coricidin cough and cold,” Phelps said.  “I know it can make you feel good. So a lot of times I can’t sleep at night. she’s not moving at all [crying] oh my god. She didn’t deserve this. [sobbing uncontrollably]”

Officers arrived at the home just after 1:15 a.m. and discovered 29-year-old Lauren Phelps with multiple stab wounds.

“He qualifies that yes it does look like I did kill her,” said an officer on the scene. “The knife is here – I have blood all over me. However, this medicine made me do it. That’s not an uncommon way for people in his position to respond”

There’s no proof that the medicine caused him to commit the crime and Matthew Phelps is still being held on murder charges.

Bushiri allegedly introduces “anointed ATM cards” for tithes and offering payments

Shepherd Bushiri (who also addressees himself as “major one”) who reportedly recently bought a G-Wagon for his wife one month after she bought him a Rolls Royce has allegedly distributed customized ATM cards for his church members to use in paying tithes and offerings. It is not known how the alleged ATM cards are supposed to work  considering that ATM cards are issued by banks for customers who maintain accounts with them. “Bushiri has publicly showed off his private jet, fleet of cars and lavish lifestyle even as some of his church members wallow in abject poverty,” according to amonpointtv,  and verified based on my own research, just google his name and witness yourself he and his wife flaunting expensive cars, etc.

“This time around, he has introduced customized Automated Teller Machine cards with his face, for members to pay tithe money into his account,” the online television outfit claims.

A Facebook user shared the photos on social media writing, “Prophet Bushiri rolls out new ATM cards to make it easy for church followers to pay for tithes automatically every Sunday. What would Jesus say?”

Meanwhile, in an unverified Facebook wall allegedly owned by  Bushiri, he warned his congregation that there were people who tried to blackmail his ministry by linking him to all sorts of things, including the sale of anointed soaps that allegedly allow users to commit sin all day, and then wash off their sins with the soap at night. All that I know is that Bushiri has been caught in countless lies so his credibility is questionable- very questionable!

Shepherd Bushiri has yet to comment on the new allegation concerning the anointed ATM cards but like every other “allegation” he will most likely deny it.

Spiritual Deception from Malawi to America!

Malawian false “prophet” wizard and ritualist Shepherd Bushiri (his real name is Chipiliro Gama) who is also known as “major one” launched his church’s branch in Washington DC on August 31,2017. Bushiri is from Malawi and resides in Pretoria, South Africa and is known for his “walking on air” claims as well as “angels” appearing in his church. Both accounts are proven to be fabrications.  He is also known for publicly threatening to kill people by spiritual means if they speak against him.  America, are you SURE that you want a man such as this in your neighborhoods? I DON’T! He’s NOT who he claims to be people. Be prayerful and ask God to open your eyes to see this clown for who he really is because he will unfailingly unleash a form of darkness unknown to most Americans into this country!