The Oregon Faith Report - Faith News from Oregon

Homeschoolers clash with Obama’s school attendance proposal

By Home School Legal Defense Association

In the State of the Union address President Obama called on all states to raise their school compulsory attendance age to 18, unnecessarily adding to bureaucratic requirements for homeschoolers.

Homeschool advocates at the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) are dedicated to protecting the educational relationship between parents and their children. Parents — not the federal government and certainly not the president — are the ones who should decide how children are educated and when they’re ready to graduate from high school.

Portland Archbishop: Teach, Bless, Serve

“Teach, Bless, Serve” – The 2012 Archbishop’s Appeal
By Portland Archdiocese

The 2012 Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal has chosen the theme “Teach, Bless, Serve.” The theme reflects the mission of the Church in western Oregon. The Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal provides support for more than 25 areas of ministry in the Archdiocese of Portland. As Archbishop John G. Vlazny notes “our work can only be accomplished when all of us in the Archdiocese pool our resources and work together.” The financial goal for this year’s Appeal is $3,640,000. It is hoped that all parishioner households in the Archdiocese will provide a pledge to support these many valued ministries.

UofO has twist to evolution origins

University of Oregon has twist to evolution origins
By Oregon Christian Post

Fish crawled out of their ponds into a flooded forest, not a sandy desert, says a geologist at the University of Oregon. The best part: evolution favored the fish with “more flexible necks.” The Journal of Geology has published these speculative findings as a “study” displacing the desert theory that has been popular since the 1940s.

The new theory has water quickly rising to cover forested regions. When it receded a short time later, it left an environment with many tree limbs and pools. The fish that survived were able to move around, through the branches, and eventually turned into amphibians capable of living on land most of the time.

Lawmaker speaks on Oregon human trafficking efforts

State Representative Bruce Hanna
Oregon House co-speaker
Newletter

January Focus: Human Trafficking PreventionRep. Bruce Hanna Representative Bruce Hanna: Human Trafficking Prevention January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. I wish raising awareness about this issue was not necessary, but that’s simply not the case. The reality is a sad one.

Few Americans realize how prevalent human trafficking is throughout the U.S. and right here at home. A January 2010 article in the Oregonian disclosed that Portland had become a hub of human trafficking activity.

Ruling on Ministers: What the Supreme Court said & didn’t say

Teachers as Ministers
By Barran Liebman,
Oregon law firm

The U.S. Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, held that the “ministerial exception” bars a school teacher from bringing employment discrimination claims against her religious employer. The Court’s ruling clearly grants religious institutions the freedom to employ (and terminate) employees who act as ministers of their faith. Yet the Court’s decision does not clearly delineate how a religious organization (or their employees) determines who is and who is not a “minister.”

OSU Debate: Did religion help or hurt Latin America?

By Oregon State Socratic Club
Oregon State University Student Club

The Socratic Club at OSU will sponsor a debate on the topic, “The Influence of Christianity on Latin America: Beneficial or Destructive?” on Monday, January 23, in Milam Auditorium (Milam 26) on the OSU campus, at 7:30 p.m. The speakers are Joseph Orosco (Philosophy) and Nicole von Germeten (History).

The influence of Christianity on Latin American life and culture has long been hotly debated.

Largest ever Mormon survey releases results

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has completed a large nationwide survey of 1,000 Mormons called “Mormons in America”. It is the largest such survey of a non-LDS organization.  Read the full report here.  Below are three chart excerpts below.

Celebrating Heroes: Oregon Pearl Harbor Survivor

Celebrating Heroes: Oregon Pearl Harbor Survivor 
Guest Submission,

He wasn’t big. He wasn’t strong. He wasn’t looking for glory in battle. Ed Johann of Newport, Oregon, considers himself a rather unremarkable guy who found himself in the middle of one of the most remarkable events in American military history. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor—a surprise, early morning attack that nearly decimated America’s Pacific fleet and left more than 2,300 dead.

Many Americans listened by radio to the retelling of that day’s terrible events in the quiet of their living rooms. Johann heard the bullets whizzing by, inhaled the smoke of burning ships, and saw the bodies of his friends and comrades in arms floating in the water. For Johann, life would never be quite the same.

Portland Human Trafficking Story: From runaway to redemption

By Compassion Connect
Fairview, Oregon
Note: Written by By Erin Bruzda (Adapted and expanded from Shelly’s Story by Starla Brown.)Posted in Blog, Adorned in Grace, Abolition Now.   Material below deals with adult subject matter.

Her Story: Before her 10th birthday, Shelly’s happy family was ripped apart by her father’s affair.

The shockwaves of the resulting divorce left her mother so paralyzed, that Shelly became caretaker – cooking and cleaning for four younger siblings. While her mother withdrew into her own emotionally tortured world, Shelly was left with what most every kid thinks they want …no rules or boundaries. By age 12, she began spending her time hanging out with friends, often drinking till late into the night; hoping to wash away her unwelcome responsibilities at home.

Marriage battle: Petition vs. Governor in Washington

By Oregon Christian Post,

Washington state Governor Chris Gregoire has introduced a ballot measure about same-sex marriage, but an attorney in Everett, Wash., is fighting back. Stephen Pidgeon wants to clarify the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. Washington’s current statutory language defines marriage as a contract between a male and a female. Gov. Gregoire says that the issue should go to the voters.

Democratic State Senator Ed Murray of Seattle, a gay lawmaker, dislikes that idea. Minority rights are minority rights, he says—not something that should be up for democratic choice. But, he added, he is confident that the gay rights advoicates will win.

The ultimate green church: Salem’s St. Vincent’s de Paul

The Ultimate green chruch: Salem, St. Vincent’s
Faith News Note:

Houses of worship have budgets too, and a church in Salem has been happy to save on its heating costs by installing solar panels.   According to the Salem Statesman Journal, St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church expects to save at least 25% over its previous cost of $10,000 per year. Steve and Marilyn Lippincott, members of the church, donated the entire system and even paid for installation. The system is expected to produce nearly 30,000 kW hours per year over its twenty-five year lifespan, and has already produced more than 1100 kW hours since it was first put into use on November 23 of last year.

The Tebow Ad sequel that Focus on the Family did (that most people missed)

The Tebow Ad sequel that Focus on the Family did (that most people missed)

Last year, Focus on the Family did an Ad during the Super Bowl featuring Tim Tebow and Tebow’s mother that created a media firestorm. The Focus on the Family TV ad rode the wave buzz and was seen by tens of millions of viewers both on TV and online. Since then, Tebow controversy has only reached epic proportions. It was only a matter of time before Focus on the Family would try again. In a similar theme as the first ad, Focus tries to highlight the John 3:16 Bible message and ran the ad during the football game last weekend. Here is FOX News talking about the ad.

Portland Mission expands to handle artic blast

By  Portland Rescue Mission

Portland Rescue Mission will provide more than 145 men a warm, safe place to sleep tonight. Due to freezing temperatures combined with rain and snow the Mission will further expand their winter shelter by providing mats in the lobby of their Burnside Shelter (111 W. Burnside). The Mission’s winter shelter consistently provides a clean, warm place for up to135 men to sleep each night. The extreme weather shelter expansion will provide an additional 10 men, who otherwise would have been turned away, a place to stay.

Christian college discrimination feared over new federal rules

Georgene Rice of KPDQ-FM interviews Dr. Daniel Lockwood from Multnomah University discusses the new Department of Education’s proposed rules for education institutions, which include 14 directives, including the ability to control curriculum, admissions and hiring standards.

Georgene: As I mentioned , Christianity Today ran an article indicating that the Department of Education is finalizing a new set of rules and my concern was whether or not this would have a negative impact on Multnomah University and other Christian colleges and universities in our area.

Dr. Daniel Lockwood: Yes, and this is a good example of a bureaucracy gone amok. The Christianity Today article referenced 80 pages, but it’s actually 900 pages of regulations that have been produced and the concern have been mostly mitigated but they do suggest that there’s things in the wind that could be troublesome for us.

2012 Tax law changes for churches & clergy

By Christianity Today International,

The 2012 Church & Clergy Tax Guide by nonprofit tax expert, Richard Hammar, J.D., LL.M., CPA, releases this month. This annually updated, exhaustive tax reference includes key developments from the past year. Here are five developments Hammar highlights in this book that you’ll want to find out more about:

A new constitutional challenge to the parsonage exclusion and housing allowance benefits enjoyed by clergy has been filed in Wisconsin.

Video: Supreme Court decides on huge religion discrimination case

Video: Supreme Court decides on huge religion discrimination case

Legal experts are citing this case the biggest religious freedom case in decades. See Brain Williams news clip below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Athiest & pastor to debate in Beaverton

By Evergreen Presbyterian

This Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. the Beaverton Religion Forum returns to Evergreen. Tom Gebhardt of the Center for Inquiry Portland and Keith Thomas, Assistant Pastor of Evergreen Presbyterian Church will answer the question, “Do you need God to be a genuinely moral person?” The forum’s Master of Ceremonies, Bernie Dehler, atheist in persuasion, will allow each presenter 10 minutes to answer the question, then he will open the floor to questions directed at one or both of the presenters. We continue the forum having enjoyed peaceful and productive conversations between Atheists, Christians, Muslims, and Jews for two years. Keep the forum going by inviting your friends to join us. The forum is a friendly clash of opposing world views on selected topics.

Tebow, Chuck Norris, Playoffs & other adventures with the Broncos superstar

How Tim Tebow Messed Up My Plans & Forced Me to Preach on His Family’s Behalf
By Randy Alcorn
Eternal Perspectives Ministries
Sandy, Oregon

I was one of those people tweeting and Facebooking to celebrate Tebow and the Broncos winning their playoff game Sunday. They say that after that game there was more immediate social network activity about Tebow than any athlete ever; my Facebook post got 600 plus likes, over 200 of those within ten minutes.

When it appeared the Steelers were within field goal range on the easiest field in the NFL to kick field goals, the Broncos sacked them and took them out of range. Then they punted and in the first play of overtime, Tim Tebow threw a perfect pass to Demaryius Thomas, who stiff armed and ran for an 80 yard touchdown (yes, I am aware, as is Tebow, that there are actually other players on the team). It was electrifying, and Tim Tebow was once again the most talked about person in the country.

What I love about Timmy is exactly what irritates some people. It’s the way he always says, and clearly means it from his heart, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Supreme Court hears profanity on TV case

Supreme Court hears profanity on TV case
By Oregon Faith News Note:

The United States Supreme Court heard arguments in a case involving the FCC rules governing profanity and nudity on the airwaves. The Obama administration is defending the FCC and the nation’s broadcasters are taking the side of free speech.

Chief Justice John Roberts,said,“What the government is asking for, is a few channels where you can say, ‘I’m not going to-they are not going to hear the S -word, the F -word.’”

Justice Elena Kagan said, “the way this policy seems to work, it’s like nobody can use dirty words or nudity except for Steven Spielberg.”

Justice Samuel Alito, said that broadcast TV will soon go the way of “vinyl records and 8-track tapes.”