Tiller Shooting Suspect in Custody

Latest Update:

Eyewitness News has confirmed the suspect in the shooting of Dr. George Tiller is in custody in the Kansas City area. Wichita police say the man was arrested near Gardner, KS at around 2:00 Sunday afternoon.

Wichita Police are hosting a news conference on the shooting at 4:00 pm today. Look for live coverage here.

Stay with Eyewitness News for further updates.

Police say Tiller's body was removed from the church at 12:30 Sunday afternoon. The FBI is involved in the investigation.

Nationwide alert issued for car and suspect description.

Update: Wichita residents are planning to mourn the death of Dr. George Tiller, as well as remember his triumphs, at Old Town Square tonight at 8pm. Although some in attendance may bring signs, the vigil is intended to be a peaceful gathering to show support for Tiller's family and friends.



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Eyewitness News has confirmed that abortion provider Dr. George Tiller has been shot and killed at his Wichita church.


The shooting happened around ten o'clock Sunday morning at the Reformation Lutheran Church.

Location of Church

Police have a suspect description. The suspect is described as a white male in his 50's or 60's with grey hair that is balding in the middle. He is about 6'1" and about 220 pounds and was wearing a white shirt and dark pants.

The suspect was last seen in a light blue Ford Taurus, possibly an early 1990's model. It has a K-State vanity plate and a Kansas license plate number 225 BAB.

Tiller was the victim of violence before. On June 9, 1986 someone detonated a homemade bomb on the roof of his Wichita clinic. No one was hurt

During the Summer of Mercy in 1991, protesters blocked the entrance to his facility before a federal judge ruled the protesters be arrested.

Two years later, Dr. Tiller was shot outside his clinic the evening of August 19, 1993. His wounds were not life threatening. Abortion opponent Shelly Shannon was convicted of that shooting and sentenced to prison.

Link to the original source: Update

Kansas abortion doctor shot dead at church

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A Kansas doctor who was a controversial provider of so-called "late-term" abortions was shot and killed at his church on Sunday, local media reported.

The Wichita Eagle newspaper reported that 67-year-old George Tiller, a longtime target of anti-abortion activists, was shot to death as he walked into services at Reformation Lutheran Church.

Police are searching for a white male who fled the scene after shooting Tiller with a handgun, local media reported.

Local television station KAKE said on its website that sources close to the investigation and the doctor confirmed that Tiller was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after emergency crews arrived.

Police Captain Brent Allred did not name the victim, but he classified the case as high-profile and said the victim has been the target of violence in the past, the station said.

Tiller's clinic in Wichita has been the site of mass protests by anti-abortion groups and was bombed in 1985. Tiller was shot and wounded by an abortion opponent in 1993.

Abortions are generally considered late-term when they are performed after the 20th week of gestation on fetuses potentially old enough to survive outside the womb.

Anti-abortion group Operation Rescue said it was shocked by the news. "We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller's family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ," the group said in a statement on its website.


Link to original source: Doctor


I recored an audio response to this story:

You can listen here:

Seven Marks Of False Teachers Pt 3

Preaching Today Podcast

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Sermons on Genesis: Chapters 1-11

NEWLY PUBLISHED - FIRST, AND ONLY, ENGLISH TRANSLATION

John Calvin is generally thought of as the greatest theologian of the Protestant Reformation or as a gifted Bible commentator whose insights into the text of Scripture are still highly valued today. Yet it is not widely known that the greatest obligation Calvin felt was not to his fellow scholars, nor even to his students, but to the ordinary people - citizens of Geneva and persecuted refugees, shopkeepers and merchants, the young and the old - who crowded St. Peter's Church no less than ten times a fortnight to listen to his sermons in French.

Calvin's sermons have lain for too long in the shadow of his commentaries. In seeking to correct this imbalance, it should be remembered that a sermon serves a very different purpose from a commentary. While explanation and interpretation are enough for students, they are never enough for a congregation of sinners. That is why Calvin's sermons always combine the essential elements of all true preaching - exposition, exhortation and practical application. So let the reader be warned: this volume contains lively preaching! Calvin aims to awaken the conscience and also demands life-changing action. Is it any wonder that such preaching was used by God to bring spiritual renewal on an unprecedented scale to the people and nations of sixteenth-century Europe?

Purchase at Reformation Heritage Books.

Modern Church Doctrinal Ignorance

I'm becoming increasingly alarmed at the level of biblical/doctrinal ignorance that is so rampant in the modern church. As I've said before, as an ex-Fundamental Baptist it was almost encouraged to not pursue extensive amounts of bible education. Now I'm not saying that all IFB folks are like that...but people often raised their eyebrows when I bought another book or took another class.

I decided to start doing some investigating on the matter and specifically I'm wondering how much young adults who regularly go to church really know about theology and doctrine. I did a quick search on the internet prior to this post and searched on "church interviews on doctrine." One link got my attention.

http://www.thefellowship.info/

When I clicked on the link and went to their main website I found that this is the home of the "Cooperative Baptist Fellowship." Here is what they have to say about themselves:

"Made up of individuals and approximately 1,900 affiliated churches, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is an organization that serves a larger renewal movement among Baptists. Partnering with 15 theological schools, 19 autonomous state and regional organizations and more than 150 ministry organizations worldwide, CBF has an annual budget of $16 million."

It sounded pretty impressive....1900 churches, $16 million dollar budget. What do these people believe? You'd expect a robust and pretty clear doctrinal statement, right? Not that I could find. Now it's possible that I've missed it on the website but here's what I could find so far:

In their Frequently Asked Questions you find most of their "doctrinal statements"- http://www.thefellowship.info/About-Us/FAQ

• Regarding the Bible- they say it's "inspired" but not inerrant? Wow!
• Women pastors- they say it's OK and use Galatians 3:27-28 to prove it!
• Homosexuality- no official position from the "fellowship" since it is a "social issue"- gee, I thought it was a biblical one and the Bible has an official position on it?

If you download their "Who We Are" brochure (http://www.thefellowship.info/Files/About-Us/Who_We_are) here is what it says doctrinally:

• "We affirm the freedom and responsibility of every person to relate directly to God without the imposition of creed or the control of clergy or government." Uh...isn't that a creed? They go on to say that interpretation is totally between the individual and the Holy Spirit...the idea you get here is that anything established as a formal doctrinal statement, creed, confession is bad...you get the impression that Scriptural interpretation is a free-for-all of those who have never studied the Bible. WHat about church leaders- pastors, teachers, professors?


• Now here is the closest they've come to a comprehensive doctrinal statement, sorta:
  We believe the Bible teaches that …
  - God is the one triune God, Creator of all people in God’s own image.
  - All people are separated from God by sin.
  - Christ is the Savior and Redeemer for all peoples.
  - The Holy Spirit convicts and converts all who believe in Christ, teaches the church in the voice of the Living Christ, and empowers the church and all believers for the mission of Christ in the world.
  - Christ calls us to minister redemptively to the spiritual, physical, and social needs of individuals and communities.
  - Every believer and every church is responsible for sharing the Gospel with all people.
  - We want to enable believers and churches to work cooperatively with other Great Commission Christians to activate this global missions calling in their
  communities and throughout the world.

Pretty weak and not very thorough. I think it's on purpose though...they don't want to pin anyone down with anything...interpretation is a private matter and theology seems to slow down the focus on missions.

Here is what really saddened me...how would they interview someone to see if they were qualified to be in their ministry? Do they ask lots of doctrinal questions? Here is the interview guidelines I saw on their site- http://www.thefellowship.info/Documents/Interviewing.pdf

Please click the link and read it...what you will find are lots of questions about leadership, ministry goal, how you fit in, etc, etc...but NO doctrinal quesitons. Folks...today's churches are a mess...can your church teenager group tell you what imputation is and what it means to them? Can they define repentance and tell you if it does/doesn't have anything to do with salvation? Do they know any relevant church history? Do they know what justification is? Can they give a biblical defense of the deity of Christ or the existence/nature of the Trinity? If you think these are silly questions then you're part of the problem.

Missing Link Update

Someone posted the following comments for the Missing Link story:

this is a quote from livescience.com:
The fossil was apparently discovered in 1983 by private collectors who split and eventually sold two parts of the skeleton on separate plates: The lesser part was restored and, in the process, partly fabricated to make it look more complete.

This part was eventually purchased for a private museum in Wyoming, and then described by Jens L. Franzen, part of Hurum's team, who recognized the fabrication. The more complete part has just come to light, and it now belongs to the Natural History Museum of the University of Oslo.

. . . .hmmm is was such an important discovery it sat around for 26 years? And imagine the OUTRAGE if a Christian Church added to some scrolls that were found in order to make it "look more complete"

A cloud is like 99% water, a snow cone is about 97% water and watermelon is about 98.25568447% water so THEREFORE watermelon in the missing link between clouds and snow cones . . . right?

After reading the above comment I did some searching and found the original article that is posted at livescience.com.

Here is the link: Missing Link

Livescience is a sight that believes in evolution. It is always important to read both sides when dealing with a controversial subject.

According to Livescience, "The fact is that there is no such thing as "the missing link" between different stages of evolution." Here is the link to the article where this quote is found: Myth of the Missing Link

Wow, so we have some evolutionist claiming there is no missing link while other evolutionist are claiming they have found the missing link!

So, which is it?



Thanks to the person who left the comment. We appreciate it.

Ida: the Missing Link at Last?

For all the headlines and proclamations, this “missing link” story includes an amazing amount of hot air.

A story we first previewed on May 16 has since rocketed to the heights of media hype as a team of scientists reveals “Ida,” the latest and greatest supposed missing link. But does Ida actually support “the evolution of early primates, and, ultimately, modern human beings,” as one news outlet reported?1

Another reporter raved, “The search for a direct connection between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom has taken 200 years—but it was presented to the world today at a special news conference in New York.”2

Formally identified as Darwinius masillae (in honor of Charles Darwin), the fossil originated in Germany and is purportedly 47 million years old. One scientist gave the find the nickname Ida (after his daughter).


Atlantic Productions / revealingthelink.com
Despite the hype, Ida looks nothing like a transitional “apeman,” instead looking quite like a modern lemur.
As for a more level-headed explanation of the evolutionary excitement, the Wall Street Journal reports:

Anthropologists have long believed that humans evolved from ancient ape-like ancestors. Some 50 million years ago, two ape-like groups walked the Earth. One is known as the tarsidae, a precursor of the tarsier, a tiny, large-eyed creature that lives in Asia. Another group is known as the adapidae, a precursor of today's lemurs in Madagascar.

Based on previously limited fossil evidence, one big debate had been whether the tarsidae or adapidae group gave rise to monkeys, apes, and humans. The latest discovery bolsters the less common position that our ancient ape-like ancestor was an adapid, the believed precursor of lemurs.

Thus, rather than an apeman-like missing link that some media sources have irresponsibly implied, the real story is quite underwhelming and should in no way faze creationists. Let’s first review the facts:

The well-preserved fossil (95 percent complete, including fossilized fur and more) is about the size of a raccoon and includes a long tail. It resembles the skeleton of a lemur (a small, tailed, tree-climbing primate). The fossil does not resemble a human skeleton.

The fossil was found in two parts by amateur fossil hunters in 1983. It eventually made its way through fossil dealers to the research team.

Ida has opposable thumbs, which the ABC News article states are “similar to humans’ and unlike those found on other modern mammals” (i.e., implying that opposable thumbs are evidence of evolution). Yet lemurs today have opposable thumbs (like all primates). Likewise, Ida has nails, as do other primates. And the talus bone is described as “the same shape as in humans,” despite the fact that there are other differences in the ankle structure.

Unlike today’s lemurs (as far as scientists know), Ida lacks the “grooming claw” and a “toothcomb” (a fused row of teeth) In fact, its teeth are more similar to a monkey’s. These are minor differences easily explained by variation within a kind.

Given these facts, it may seem incredible that anyone would hail this find as a “missing link.” Yet British naturalist David Attenborough claims:

“Now people can say, ‘Okay, you say we’re primates . . . show us the link.’ The link, they would have said until now, is missing. Well, it is no longer missing.”

Unbelievably, Attenborough claims his interpretation is “not a question of imagination.”

The Creationist Interpretation
The principles that inform creationists about Ida are some of the same that allow creationists to interpret fossil after fossil hailed as “transitional forms”:

1.Nothing about this fossil suggests it is anything other than an extinct, lemur-like creature. Its appearance is far from chimpanzee, let alone “apeman” or human.
2.A fossil can never show evolution. Fossils are unchanging records of dead organisms. Evolution is an alleged process of change in live organisms. Fossils show “evolution” only if one presupposes evolution, then uses that presupposed belief to interpret the fossil.
3.Similarities can never show evolution. If two organisms have similar structures, the only thing it proves is that the two have similar structures. One must presuppose evolution to say that the similarities are due to evolution rather than design. Furthermore, when it comes to “transitional forms,” the slightest similarities often receive great attention while major differences are ignored.
4.The remarkable preservation is a hallmark of rapid burial. Team member Jørn Hurum of the University of Oslo said, “This fossil is so complete. Everything’s there. It’s unheard of in the primate record at all. You have to get to human burial to see something that’s this complete.” Even the contents of Ida’s stomach were preserved. While the researchers believe Ida sunk to the bottom of a lake and was buried, this preservation is more consistent with a catastrophic flood.4 Yet Ida was found with “hundreds of well-preserved specimens.”5
5.If evolution were true, there would be real transitional forms. Instead, the best “missing links” evolutionists can come up with are strikingly similar to organisms we see today, usually with the exception of minor, controversial, and inferred anatomical differences.
6.Evolutionists only open up about the lack of fossil missing links once a new one is found. Sky News reports, “Researchers say proof of this transitional species finally confirms Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution,” while Attenborough commented that the missing link “is no longer missing.” So are they admitting the evidence was missing until now (supposedly)?
So it’s clear what Ida is not. As for our conclusion on what Ida is, we wrote in News to Note:

[B]ecause the fossil is similar to a modern lemur (a small, tailed, tree-climbing primate), it’s unlikely that creationists need any interpretation of the “missing link” other than that it was a small, tailed, probably tree-climbing, and now extinct primate—from a kind created on Day 6 of Creation Week.

Much of the excitement over Ida appears to stem from a well-coordinated public relations effort to promote an upcoming documentary and a new book titled The Link. The documentary will air on the History Channel in the U.S. (as The Link) on May 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. It will air on BBC One in the UK (as Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link) on Tuesday May 26th at 9 p.m. Filmmaker Atlantic Productions even launched a website to promote the discovery, revealingthelink.com.

Yet as Hurum commented, “This fossil will probably be pictured in all the textbooks for the next 100 years.” So while the media rush may at first be a bid to promote the documentary and book, the ultimate result is one more trumped-up “missing link” presented to future generations as evidence of evolution.


Here is the link to the original source: Missing Link


For more information follow this link: Missing

David Cook

Wednesday night was the amazing American Idol finale. One of the best performances of the night was David Cook singing Permanent. He wrote the song for his brother Adam who had brain cancer. Sadly Adam died just a few weeks before the American Idol final.


Here is the studio version of the song with the lyrics:





David Cook, who was the “ American Idol” winner last season, appeared on last night’s finale show, in which he performed his new song “Permanent.” According to examiner.com, it was a beautiful song that was played on piano with great vocals added.

And what is actually the great thing, is that after the show you can actually go to iTunes and download the track. Then all the money raised from the download will be going to a charity called ABCSquared, which is a cancer foundation.

This obviously means a lot to singer David cook as his brother passed away from brain cancer not that long ago. As we mentioned in a previous post, David made the announcement of his brother’s death at the Washington D.C. Race for Hope 5K at the beginning of May.


The live performance of the song is truly amazing! It is beautiful and haunting at the same time. Support the cancer foundation and go to I-Tunes and download the song!

You can get David's song "Permanent" from the Idol Finale on Itunes by putting into the search box "David Cook Charity Single".

Mark Driscoll

Knowing God

Weary Christians...what's the deal?

Have you ever gotten to the point in your Christian life where you were just tired of it...where you were weary in well doing (Galatians 6:9)? I've been there. I'm now reading a book by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones called "Spiritual Depression." In one section he talks about this verse and about the causes and cures for this form of spiritual depression. Let me share a few things that hit me.

"I must ask myself shy I have been doing this work [speaking of working as a Christian...and yet feeling weary] and what has been my motive. I have been active and I have enjoyed doing the work, but now I find it has become a burden. And now comes the question. Why have I really been doing it the whole time?"

This is a good question that many of us don't want to face. When we get weary in well doing we need to ask "What is my motive anyway?" He goes on to say:

"We have really been doing all that we have been doing, to satisfy self, in order to please ourselves, in order to be able to say to ourselves: 'How wonderful you are and how much you do'. Self says that we are important. We have to admit that it has not all been for the glory of God, but for our own glory."

Isn't that so true? If we were really out for God's glory and not our own why in the world would we be weary in doing His work. Didn't He call us to carry our own cross...to suffer for His name's sake? What do we expect? If we're working in the flesh and for our own glory then that is something we should get weary in.

The final "condemnation" that I needed to hear then came on page 199...we'd all better take heed:

"Let me remind you, that you are in the Christian life, and the Christian life is a life of well doing. If you regard the Christian life as a dreary task you are insulting God...If you and I come to regard any aspect of this Christian life merely as a task and a duty, and if we have to goad ourselves and to set out teeth in order to get through with it, I say we are insulting God and we have forgotten the very essence of Christianity. The Christian life is not a task...It is the kind of life the Son of God Himself lived. It is to be like God Himself in His own holiness.

Christian...get your eyes off this life, off this world, off our wants and desires and set our affections on things above, not on things of this earth. This is a dress rehearsal for eternity and we'd better not labour in the power of the flesh for the glory of the flesh.

1 Corinthians 3 and Purgatory

Shai Linne Presents The Gospel

Carrie Prejean Update

Wired4Truth

You need to take the time and check out this blog!

http://wired4truth.info/

Preaching is the First Mark of the True Church: Why Faithful Pastors Matter So Much

Love, Rebuke, and Praise

America: A nation of religious drifters

WASHINGTON - The U.S. is a nation of religious drifters, with about half of adults restlessly switching faith affiliation at least once during their lives, a new survey has found.

And the reasons behind all the swapping depend greatly on whether one grows up kneeling at Roman Catholic Mass, praying in a Protestant pew or occupied with nonreligious pursuits, according to a report issued Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

While Catholics are more likely to leave the church because they stopped believing its teachings, many Protestants are driven to trade one Protestant denomination or affiliation for another because of changed life circumstances, the survey found.

The ranks of those unaffiliated with any religion, meanwhile, are growing not so much because of a lack of religious belief but because of disenchantment with religious leaders and institutions.

The report estimates that between 47 percent and 59 percent of U.S. adults have changed affiliation at least once. Most described just gradually drifting away from their childhood faith.

"This shows a sort of religion a la carte and how pervasive it is," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion. "In some ways, it's an indictment of organized Christianity. It suggests there's a big open door for newcomers, but a wide back door where people are leaving."

The report, "Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S.," sought to answer questions about widespread religion-changing identified in a 2007 Pew survey of 35,000 Americans.

The new report, based on re-interviews with more than 2,800 people from the original survey, focuses on religious populations that showed a lot of movement: ex-Catholics, ex-Protestants, Protestants who've swapped denominational families within Protestantism and people raised unaffiliated who now belong to a faith.


The 2007 survey estimated that 44 percent of U.S. adults had left their childhood religious affiliation.

But the re-interviews found the extent of religion-swapping is likely much greater. The new survey revealed that one in six Americans who belong to their childhood faith are "reverts" _ people who left the faith, only to return later.

Roughly two-thirds of those raised Catholic or Protestant who now claim no religious affiliation say they have changed faiths at least twice. Thirty-two percent of unaffiliated ex-Protestants said they've changed three times or more.


Age is another factor. Most people who left their childhood faith did so before turning 24, and a majority joined their current religion before 36.


The rest of this report can be found at this link: Drifters



Listen to my comments about the article:

JUDAS

More proof of the apostasy found in churches today!

Free Download For May

Looking for something to put on your ipod?

Christian Audio offers a different audio book free for download every month.

This month it is Foxes Book of Martyrs.

Foxes Book of Martyrs (Unabridged) by John Fox

Beginning with the story of Stephen from the book of Acts, considered the first Christian martyr, the drama builds to the passion of the early Church's persecution under the Roman Empire. The hardy and radical faith of those first believers spawned medieval missionary movements that spread the gospel across Europe and into England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Get it!