The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
UPDATE: "Second US Doctor Sick with Ebola; Crisis 'Out of Control'" - CBNNews.com, Sept. 02, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2014/September/A-Losing-Battle-Ebola-Going-to-Get-Worse-CDC-Says/ "Another American doctor in Liberia has tested positive for the Ebola virus, according to the international Christian mission organization, SIM. SIM leaders report the American doctor was treating obstetrics patients at the organization's ELWA Hospital in Monrovia and not treating Ebola patients..."The epidemic is going faster than we are," he warned. 'We need to scale up our response. We can hope for new tools and maybe they'll come, but we can't count on them.' So far, the West African outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria."
Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.
PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)
LATEST:"Christians in the Middle East Arm Themselves As Genocide Comes to Their Front Door" - Katie Pavlich | Sep 05, 2014;
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/09/05/christians-in-the-middle-east-arm-themselves-as-violence-rages-around-them-n1887849" Earlier this week the BBC and Al Jazeera both reported on armed Iraqi citizen volunteers who helped government forces fight off ISIS in Amerli. Today, the AP is out with a story about Christians in the Middle East who are arming themselves, carrying weapons with them during daily tasks and heading to the hills at night to defend their communities as violence continues to rage around them. Genocide is at their front door and they're doing everything they can to stop it from coming in... So far, the terror army ISIS has slaughtered and tortured thousands of Christians in Iraq and Syria."
URGENT: Emergency Relief For Iraqi Believers Facing Genocide! - August 30, 2014- Liberty Counsel Action is partnering with RUN Ministries to deliver emergency food, water and shelter to Iraqi Christians and Yazidis who have fled their homes and are facing genocide. More than 146,000 people are now threatened by genocide from radical ISIS forces.RUN Ministries has a solid network of believers throughout the Middle East who are willing to risk life and limb to get relief through the ISIS lines of defense. The cost of getting the needed aid to them is $8 per person per day. This includes tents, blankets, food, and water for the first 3 weeks. TO DONATE (as I have), PLEASE GO TO: http://www.grassrootsaction.com/201181/offer.asp?Ref_ID=27781&CID=201181&RID=42814607
"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/ "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
LATEST SAHEED NEWS! May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Spiral of Silence Goes Online - The Truth Must Out" - By: John Stonestreet| Breakpoint.org: September 4, 2014;
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/26012?spMailingID=9368923&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=380250732&spReportId=MzgwMjUwNzMyS0
You’d think that social media would bring more voices to the table of public debate. But it ain’t so....
Chuck Colson spoke frequently about the need for Christians to break the “spiral of silence” when it comes to hot-button social issues such as redefining marriage or the sanctity of human life. The term “spiral of silence” refers to the desire we all have to avoid reprisal or isolation in public settings, and so people generally go along with what they think is the popular opinion—even if they object to that opinion themselves. So instead of speaking up, they remain silent.
Thus, for example, though many people oppose the idea of same-sex “marriage”, they’re afraid to say so, and that perpetuates the illusion that it’s an historical inevitability, when in fact many people just don’t want the grief.In one study, researchers called this phenomenon “false enforcement,” or “the public enforcement of a norm that is not privately endorsed.” What sustains the norm isn’t its popularity, much less its validity, but instead, the desire to “avoid a negative social judgment from one’s peers.”
Think about the media, for example: When was the last time you saw homosexuality depicted negatively at all? And consider the verbal beating former coach Tony Dungy took this summer after he merely stated he would not have drafted Michael Sam to play on his team? Well, anyone with a similar view certainly got the message.
Now advocates of social media often suggest that online communication tools combat the spiral of silence. Because social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide more options for those with minority views, they should feel freer to say what they really think and thus break the spiral of silence. But it hasn’t worked out that way.In fact, social media may have made the spiral of silence even worse.
According to Pew Research, 86 percent of Americans are willing to have an in-person conversation about a controversial public issue, but just 42 percent of Facebook and Twitter users are willing to post about it on those platforms. And of the 14% of Americans who were unwilling to discuss the story face to face with others, only 0.3% were willing to post about it on social media.
Now perhaps you’re thinking, “Well, social media isn’t usually the best place to have these discussions.” And I would agree. Often it’s not. But the study also suggested that “social media users were less willing to share their opinions in face-to-face settings.” In other words, their hesitancy to express their opinions on social media made them less likely to do it in other social settings too.
How could this be? Something C.S. Lewis noticed decades ago may offer a clue. He wrote of a tendency in public discourse to attack the motives of a person without even bothering to examine the merits of his or her position. Back in 1941, Lewis wrote, “The modern method is to assume without discussion that he is wrong and then distract his attention from this (the only real issue) by busily explaining how he became so silly.” It’s a technique Lewis called “Bulverism.” I can tell you from firsthand experience, there’s no shortage of people out there who want to make those of us who hold Christian views on such things as marriage feel like we’re silly.
For example, one reviewer of Same-Sex Marriage: A Thoughtful Approach to God's Design for Marriage, my new book with Sean McDowell, said we were just trotting out the old, tired examples of the New Mexico photographer and Denver baker who were punished for refusing to be a part of a so-called gay wedding—as if they were an anomaly rather than the new norm. Rather than deal with the facts of actual events that happened as recently as a few months ago, the reviewer instead chose to attack our motives and intelligence. It’s just dressed up Bulverism!
Well, how to break this spiral of silence? It’s easy to say; it’s harder to do. We must speak the truth in love—face to face, online, or in whatever venue God provides. Not out of a desire to prove others wrong, but as a witness to the true, the good, and the beautiful. As Christian apologist G. K. Chesterton wrote, “We are not entitled to despair of explaining the truth; nor is it really so horribly difficult to explain.”
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION -Be a part of breaking the spiral of silence. Take advantage of social media to speak the truth winsomely but with boldness. The opportunities to share your opinions, thoughts, and beliefs should be used, not silenced.
RESOURCES:
"Social Media and the ‘Spiral of Silence’" - Keith Hampton, Lee Rainie, Weixu Lu, Maria Dwyer, Inyoung Shin and Kristen Purcell | Pew Research | August 26, 2014; http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/
"Ignorant, Ridiculous and Dangerous?" - Chuck Colson | The Colson Center | November 7, 2011;http://www.colsoncenter.org/twominutewarning/archive/entry/33/18165?spMailingID=9368923&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=380250732&spReportId=MzgwMjUwNzMyS0
"Break the Spiral of Silence (Part I)" - Chuck Colson, Two-Minute “Warning” | The Colson Center | November 2, 2011;http://www.colsoncenter.org/twominutewarning/archive/entry/33/18133?spMailingID=9368923&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=380250732&spReportId=MzgwMjUwNzMyS0
"The Emperor's New Clothes: Breaking the Spiral of Silence" - Chuck Colson | BreakPoint.org | November 2, 2011;http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/breakpoint-commentaries-search/entry/13/18134?spMailingID=9368923&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=380250732&spReportId=MzgwMjUwNzMyS0
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
UPDATE: "Second US Doctor Sick with Ebola; Crisis 'Out of Control'" - CBNNews.com, Sept. 02, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2014/September/A-Losing-Battle-Ebola-Going-to-Get-Worse-CDC-Says/ "Another American doctor in Liberia has tested positive for the Ebola virus, according to the international Christian mission organization, SIM. SIM leaders report the American doctor was treating obstetrics patients at the organization's ELWA Hospital in Monrovia and not treating Ebola patients..."The epidemic is going faster than we are," he warned. 'We need to scale up our response. We can hope for new tools and maybe they'll come, but we can't count on them.' So far, the West African outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria."
Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.
PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)
LATEST:"Christians in the Middle East Arm Themselves As Genocide Comes to Their Front Door" - Katie Pavlich | Sep 05, 2014;
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/09/05/christians-in-the-middle-east-arm-themselves-as-violence-rages-around-them-n1887849" Earlier this week the BBC and Al Jazeera both reported on armed Iraqi citizen volunteers who helped government forces fight off ISIS in Amerli. Today, the AP is out with a story about Christians in the Middle East who are arming themselves, carrying weapons with them during daily tasks and heading to the hills at night to defend their communities as violence continues to rage around them. Genocide is at their front door and they're doing everything they can to stop it from coming in... So far, the terror army ISIS has slaughtered and tortured thousands of Christians in Iraq and Syria."
URGENT: Emergency Relief For Iraqi Believers Facing Genocide! - August 30, 2014- Liberty Counsel Action is partnering with RUN Ministries to deliver emergency food, water and shelter to Iraqi Christians and Yazidis who have fled their homes and are facing genocide. More than 146,000 people are now threatened by genocide from radical ISIS forces.RUN Ministries has a solid network of believers throughout the Middle East who are willing to risk life and limb to get relief through the ISIS lines of defense. The cost of getting the needed aid to them is $8 per person per day. This includes tents, blankets, food, and water for the first 3 weeks. TO DONATE (as I have), PLEASE GO TO: http://www.grassrootsaction.com/201181/offer.asp?Ref_ID=27781&CID=201181&RID=42814607
"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/ "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
LATEST SAHEED NEWS! May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
PRAY ALSO : - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- For leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release
/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: As the Lord leads, please pray:
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Spiral of Silence Goes Online - The Truth Must Out" - By: John Stonestreet| Breakpoint.org: September 4, 2014;
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/26012?spMailingID=9368923&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=380250732&spReportId=MzgwMjUwNzMyS0
You’d think that social media would bring more voices to the table of public debate. But it ain’t so....
Chuck Colson spoke frequently about the need for Christians to break the “spiral of silence” when it comes to hot-button social issues such as redefining marriage or the sanctity of human life. The term “spiral of silence” refers to the desire we all have to avoid reprisal or isolation in public settings, and so people generally go along with what they think is the popular opinion—even if they object to that opinion themselves. So instead of speaking up, they remain silent.
Thus, for example, though many people oppose the idea of same-sex “marriage”, they’re afraid to say so, and that perpetuates the illusion that it’s an historical inevitability, when in fact many people just don’t want the grief.In one study, researchers called this phenomenon “false enforcement,” or “the public enforcement of a norm that is not privately endorsed.” What sustains the norm isn’t its popularity, much less its validity, but instead, the desire to “avoid a negative social judgment from one’s peers.”
Think about the media, for example: When was the last time you saw homosexuality depicted negatively at all? And consider the verbal beating former coach Tony Dungy took this summer after he merely stated he would not have drafted Michael Sam to play on his team? Well, anyone with a similar view certainly got the message.
Now advocates of social media often suggest that online communication tools combat the spiral of silence. Because social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide more options for those with minority views, they should feel freer to say what they really think and thus break the spiral of silence. But it hasn’t worked out that way.In fact, social media may have made the spiral of silence even worse.
According to Pew Research, 86 percent of Americans are willing to have an in-person conversation about a controversial public issue, but just 42 percent of Facebook and Twitter users are willing to post about it on those platforms. And of the 14% of Americans who were unwilling to discuss the story face to face with others, only 0.3% were willing to post about it on social media.
Now perhaps you’re thinking, “Well, social media isn’t usually the best place to have these discussions.” And I would agree. Often it’s not. But the study also suggested that “social media users were less willing to share their opinions in face-to-face settings.” In other words, their hesitancy to express their opinions on social media made them less likely to do it in other social settings too.
How could this be? Something C.S. Lewis noticed decades ago may offer a clue. He wrote of a tendency in public discourse to attack the motives of a person without even bothering to examine the merits of his or her position. Back in 1941, Lewis wrote, “The modern method is to assume without discussion that he is wrong and then distract his attention from this (the only real issue) by busily explaining how he became so silly.” It’s a technique Lewis called “Bulverism.” I can tell you from firsthand experience, there’s no shortage of people out there who want to make those of us who hold Christian views on such things as marriage feel like we’re silly.
For example, one reviewer of Same-Sex Marriage: A Thoughtful Approach to God's Design for Marriage, my new book with Sean McDowell, said we were just trotting out the old, tired examples of the New Mexico photographer and Denver baker who were punished for refusing to be a part of a so-called gay wedding—as if they were an anomaly rather than the new norm. Rather than deal with the facts of actual events that happened as recently as a few months ago, the reviewer instead chose to attack our motives and intelligence. It’s just dressed up Bulverism!
Well, how to break this spiral of silence? It’s easy to say; it’s harder to do. We must speak the truth in love—face to face, online, or in whatever venue God provides. Not out of a desire to prove others wrong, but as a witness to the true, the good, and the beautiful. As Christian apologist G. K. Chesterton wrote, “We are not entitled to despair of explaining the truth; nor is it really so horribly difficult to explain.”
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION -Be a part of breaking the spiral of silence. Take advantage of social media to speak the truth winsomely but with boldness. The opportunities to share your opinions, thoughts, and beliefs should be used, not silenced.
RESOURCES:
"Social Media and the ‘Spiral of Silence’" - Keith Hampton, Lee Rainie, Weixu Lu, Maria Dwyer, Inyoung Shin and Kristen Purcell | Pew Research | August 26, 2014; http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/
"Ignorant, Ridiculous and Dangerous?" - Chuck Colson | The Colson Center | November 7, 2011;http://www.colsoncenter.org/twominutewarning/archive/entry/33/18165?spMailingID=9368923&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=380250732&spReportId=MzgwMjUwNzMyS0
"Break the Spiral of Silence (Part I)" - Chuck Colson, Two-Minute “Warning” | The Colson Center | November 2, 2011;http://www.colsoncenter.org/twominutewarning/archive/entry/33/18133?spMailingID=9368923&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=380250732&spReportId=MzgwMjUwNzMyS0
"The Emperor's New Clothes: Breaking the Spiral of Silence" - Chuck Colson | BreakPoint.org | November 2, 2011;http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/breakpoint-commentaries-search/entry/13/18134?spMailingID=9368923&spUserID=MTMyMjM2ODE5OQS2&spJobID=380250732&spReportId=MzgwMjUwNzMyS0
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