Atheists lost their case against the “In God We Trust” motto on the nation’s currency Wednesday.

It’s a battle they have lost several times before, as court after court has affirmed that printing and engraving the country’s motto on its money does not violate the U.S. Constitution.

The plaintiffs, a group that included humanists and minor children, argued before a federal appeals court that the words amount to a government endorsement of religion, disallowed by the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. They further held that, forced to carry around a religious statement in their pockets and pocketbooks, their constitutionally guaranteed right to freely exercise religion is being violated.

But the three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York noted that the courts have long looked at the motto not so much as the entanglement of government in religion, but as a more general statement of optimism and a “reference to the country’s religious heritage.”

The decision in Newdow v. United States of America pleased those who have worked to protect religious expression in the public sphere.

“Americans need not be forced to abandon their religious heritage simply to appease someone’s animosity toward anything that references God,” said Rory Gray of the Alliance Defending Freedom.

But it frustrated those who see religion creeping into places where they believe church and state should be separated. The group American Atheists, which was not a party to the suit, said the court’s reasoning—based on historical acceptance of the motto—is faulty.

Atheists have seen a spate of unfavorable rulings lately. Last week a federal court in Kentucky rejected atheists’ suit against the IRS, for the many breaks and privileges it offers churches and religious organizations. And in the 5-4 Greece v. Galloway ruling earlier this month, the Supreme Court affirmed that government bodies may convene meeting with highly sectarian prayers.

The 2nd Circuit also questioned the atheists’ objection to money that forces them “to bear on their persons … a statement that attributes to them personally a perceived falsehood that is the antithesis of the central tenant of their religious system.” The atheists had reminded the court that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act requires the government to prove that it has gone to great pains to avoid so burdening religious expression.

“We respectfully disagree that appellants have identified a substantial burden upon their religious practices or beliefs,” the judges responded.

Copyright 2014 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.

Pain is often the hallmark of disease. Chronic pain itself is not a defined medical condition, but rather a symptom in the body that something has gone awry.

Pain usually stems from inflammation of the body’s tissues. Although there is no blood test for pain, the patient is acutely aware of its existence.

Throughout the centuries, one of the most pressing goals for medical researchers has been to find more effective ways to diminish pain. As medicine enters the 21st century, we are still seeking a perfect pain reliever with no side effects. After all, end-stage cancer patients are still given morphine, a narcotic drug that was used during the Civil War, to dull their excruciating pain. And experts on pain are sizing up the benefits of marijuana for their patients. Somehow we haven’t been able to develop a pain reliever that’s truly effective and doesn’t cause a drug-induced high.

Sometimes physicians can’t make a definitive medical diagnosis to explain the underlying cause of chronic pain. They may shrug their shoulders or use a term like fibromyalgia, a diagnosis made to describe intense, diffuse pain of unknown origin. Regardless of whether a definitive cause of chronic pain can be found, every patient knows that the pain is very, very real.

The most powerful pain relievers, however, are corticosteroids. They have an immediate effect, but they knock out all eicosanoids—”good” and “bad”—indiscriminately. This can lead to severe side effects, such as immune depression, cognitive impairment, and diabetes.

Aspirin, on the other hand, affects a more limited number of eicosanoids (only prostaglandins and thromboxanes), but at least it knocks out the “bad” eicosanoids at a slightly faster rate than it knocks out the “good” ones. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as Advil) also work like aspirin. In recent years, new and very expensive medications called COX-2 inhibitors were added to the stockpile of pain relievers. These have a little more selectivity than aspirin, but not as corticosteroids.

Corticosteroids, aspirin, and other anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit the actions of enzymes that make “bad” eicosanoids, whereas Ultra Refined high-dose fish oil reduces the actual building block (arachidonic acid)) necessary to make the same “bad” eicosanoids. The medications won’t reduce the building blocks of “bad” eicosanoids, so it’s almost as if you’re fighting an uphill battle against pain.

Ultra Refined high-dose fish oil, on the other hand, reduces the materials necessary to make these weapons of pain.* Thus, you’re able to charge downhill to conquer your enemy. This explains why Ultra Refined high-dose fish oil can so effectively keep inflammatory pain under control.

While medicine has a variety of blood tests to check for heart disease and diabetes, it has virtually none to test for pain. The primary way your doctor determines the extent of your pain is by your own reporting of symptoms. Medical science has coined a lot of terms to describe the various parts of your body that hurt. Many end in—itis, a Greek root meaning inflammation. Below are some common forms of inflammatory pain:

Inflammatory Pain

Arthritis—joints; encephalitis—brain; pancreatitis—pancreas; hepatitis—liver; colitis—colon; bronchitis—lungs; meningitis—brain; gastritis—stomach; tendonitis—muscle tendon.

I think you get the picture. Virtually wherever your pain is, it comes from the overproduction of “bad” eicosanoids like prostaglandins or leukotrienes. Always striving for balance, your body also produces an equally impressive number of “good” eicosanoids that decrease pain.

The trick is to achieve the right level of the “good” and the “bad.” As you now know, our lifestyles favor an overproduction of “bad” eicosanoids. That’s why you need to reach the Anti Inflammation Zone: to shift the scales the other way in order to strike an appropriate balance of eicosanoids. This process will limit the amount of insulin in your blood while providing sufficient levels of Ultra Refined high-dose fish oil.

Controlling this super hormone known as eicosanoids has 90 percent of the impact on the pain you feel—compared with a 10 percent impact by insulin (and thereby diet). This means that you need to focus most of your efforts on consuming Ultra Refined high-dose fish oil if your aim is to decrease chronic pain.

Besides fibromyalgia, a wide number of painful conditions caused by chronic inflammation can be alleviated once you are in the Anti Inflammation Zone.

Pain is an unfortunate hallmark of nearly every chronic disease. But the fact is that we can control pain much more than we think. All we have to do is get our “bad” eicosanoids under control. We can do this by using powerful drugs like corticosteroids, which have some serious side effects, or by choosing my dietary recommendations as the “drug” of choice. I know what I would choose: the option that hurts least.

I’m confident that Ultra Refined high-dose fish oil, especially when coupled with improved insulin control, will have a significant role to play in the treatment of chronic pain, including arthritis.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. As with any natural product, individual results will vary.

For more information about Dr. Barry Sears, his incredible fish oil supplements, or the popular Zone Diet, please visit .

If you purchase any Zone Labs, Inc. products, part of the proceeds support CBN ministries.

Dr. Barry Sears is a leader in the field of dietary control of hormonal response. A former research scientist at the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Sears has dedicated his efforts over the past 25 years to the study of lipids and their inflammatory role in the development of chronic disease. He holds 13 U.S. patents in the areas of intravenous drug delivery systems and hormonal regulation for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

For the original article, visit .

Muslim militants attacked Notre Dame de Fatima in the capital city of the Central African Republic (CAR), Wednesday. The pastor of the church estimated that more than 30 were killed in the attack.

Notre Dame de Fatima, a Roman Catholic compound situated in KM5, a neighborhood located 5 kilometers (or 3.1 miles) from Bangui’s city center, suffered an attack by Islamic militants allegedly affiliated with the radical Islamic insurgency known as Séléka. A coalition of largely Muslim forces, Séléka took control of the CAR on March 24, 2013, before being ousted from power in January of this year.

“We were in the church when we heard the shooting outside,” the Rev. Freddy Mboula told the Associated Press, saying, “There were screams and after 30 minutes of gunfire there were bodies everywhere.”

According to Reuters, the attackers hurled grenades into the compound’s “garden,” killing 30 of the hundreds that have reportedly sought refuge behind Notre Dame de Fatima’s walls.

For months the CAR has been plagued by sectarian violence between Islamic militants, including active Séléka remnants, and anti-balaka (or anti-machete) militias, which have been widely associated with the CAR’s Christian populations. Archbishop of Bangui, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, told Vatican Insider, “the anti-balaka do not represent the ideas and beliefs of us Christians, even though they are associated with us.”

The anti-balaka militias, which initially formed to protect vulnerable communities, have committed reprisal attacks against both Séléka militants and Muslim civilians. Attacks by militia members on Muslim civilians have incited violent reprisals, including the massacre of a Christian family in Bangui and a series of violent attacks perpetrated Easter week against Christians.

Séléka (or “coalition” in Sango, one of two national languages in the CAR) formed as result of an agreement between a fundamentalist group that splintered off the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP) and the Patriotic Convention for Saving the Country (CPSK). While not an overtly religious group, Séléka militants have committed egregious attacks against Christians throughout its 9-month reign under then-President Michel Djotodia.

“Today’s attack on a Christian compound in Bangui tragically exemplifies the ongoing culture of reprisal that has gripped the Central African Republic,” said Cameron Thomas, International Christian Concern’s regional manager for Africa. “As anti-balaka militias continue to commit attacks against both militants and civilians, with Séléka remnants returning such attacks in kind, innocent civilians, including Christians seeking refuge behind church walls, continue to suffer the consequences of growing sectarian violence.

“The future of the Central African Republic will continue to darken so long as the international community does not take decisive action to stem the ongoing violence and bring about the necessary resolution to prevent future attacks.”

This article originally appeared on .

For Latino Protestants in the United States, the Pew Research Center has found that Pentecostalism is preferred. A recent Pew Research survey revealed Pentecostalism as the single largest denominational family among Hispanic Protestants.

According to the report, “When Latino Protestants are asked which denomination or church they identify with most closely, about three in 10 (29 percent) say they are affiliated with a Pentecostal church, such as the Assemblies of God.”

Efraim Espinoza, director of U.S. AG Office of Hispanic Relations, says the findings come as no surprise.

“Just over one-third (110) of the 324 new AG churches planted in the United States last year were Hispanic church plants,” Espinoza states. “And the largest church in the U.S. Assemblies of God is a Hispanic church in Chicago—New Life Covenant Ministries, pastored by Wilfredo (Choco) De Jesús, with more than 17,000 people attending each week.”

Espinoza says that the U.S. Assemblies of God has 14 Hispanic districts with more than 3,300 ministers and 2,051 churches.

“Currently about 20 percent of all AG U.S. churches are Hispanic churches, and the percentage is growing,” he explains.

“We’re living in exciting times,” says AG General Superintendent George O. Wood. “To see such incredible growth in Hispanic AG churches in the United States is such a joy to witness—and to know that such a strong percentage of Hispanic Protestants are Pentecostal is also deeply encouraging. I pray that in the coming years, the Holy Spirit draws an even greater percentage of Hispanic men and women to the Lord’s service.”

Researches found that among Hispanic Protestants, 19 percent identified themselves as Baptist and 11 percent were nondenominational/independent. No other group reached double figures, with the majority of groups (12) having less than 5 percent.  

The report also notes that among younger Hispanics (18-29) there is a much larger percentage of adults who are “unaffiliated” (31 percent) as compared to ages 30-49 (15 percent) and 50 and older (11 percent).

“These findings are significant,” Espinoza says. “It means younger Hispanics are not ‘dutifully’ following in the footsteps of their parents—in fact, they may be disillusioned by religion. I believe that’s why so many Hispanics are looking to the Assemblies of God, where religion is replaced by relationship and repetition is replaced by the infilling and power of the Holy Spirit.”

For more information on the Assemblies of God and the Office of Hispanic Relations (English or in Spanish), click here.

When God spoke to Moses and others in the Old Testament, those events were encounters with God. An encounter with Jesus was an encounter with God for the disciples. In the same way, an encounter with the Holy Spirit is an encounter with God for you.

Now that the Holy Spirit is given, He is the One who guides you into all truth and teaches you all things. You understand spiritual truth because the Holy Spirit is working in your life. You cannot understand the Word of God unless the Spirit of God teaches you. When you come to the Word of God, the Author Himself is present to instruct you. You never discover truth; truth is revealed. When the Holy Spirit reveals truth to you, He is not leading you to an encounter with God. That is an encounter with God!

Immediately Respond

When God spoke to Moses, what Moses did next was crucial. After Jesus spoke to the disciples, what they did next was crucial. What you do next after the Spirit of God speaks to you through His Word is crucial. Our problem is that when the Spirit of God speaks to us, we go into a long discussion with Him questioning the rightness of His directions.
Moses went into a long discussion with God (Exodus 3:11-4:13), and it limited him for the rest of his life. Because of his objections, God gave Aaron to be a spokesman for Moses. Moses had to speak to the people through his brother Aaron (Exodus 4:14-16).

Aaron was the one who made the golden calf for the rebellious people. Aaron, together with Miriam, led a challenge to Moses’ leadership. Moses paid a high price for arguing with God.
I challenge you to review what you sense God has been saying to you on a regular basis. If God speaks and you hear but do not respond, a time could come when you will not hear His voice. Disobedience can lead to a “famine … of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11-12).

When Samuel was a young boy, God began to speak to him. The Scriptures say, “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground” (1 Samuel 3:19). Be like Samuel. Don’t let a single word from the Lord fail to bring adjustments in your life. Then God will do in you and through you everything He says to you.

Luke 8:5-15 records Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seeds. The seed that fell on the good soil represented those who heard the Word of God, retained it, and produced fruit.
Jesus said, “Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him” (Luke 8:18). If you hear the Word of God and do not apply it to produce fruit in your life, even what you think you have will be taken away. Be careful how you listen to God! Make up your mind now that when the Spirit of God speaks to you, you are going to do what He says.

God Speaks With a Purpose

We usually want God to speak to us so He can give us a devotional thought to make us feel good all day. If you want the God of the universe to speak to you, you need to be ready for Him to reveal to you what He is doing where you are. In the Scripture, God is not often seen coming and speaking to people just for conversation’s sake. He is always up to something. When God speaks to you through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, the church or in some other way, He has a purpose in mind for your life.

When God spoke to Abram (Genesis 12), what was God about to do? He was about to begin to build a nation. Notice the timing of God. Why did God speak to Abram when He did? Because it was then that God wanted to start to build a nation. The moment Abram knew what God was about to do, he had to make an adjustment in his life to God. He had to follow immediately what God said.

God Speaks at the Right Time

The moment God speaks to you is the very moment God wants you to respond. Some of us assaume that we have the next few months to think about it and to try to decide whether this is really God’s timing. The moment God speaks to you is His timing. That is why He chooses to speak when He does. He speaks to His servant when He is ready to move.

This article from Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is taken from Experiencing God: How to Live the Full Adventure of Knowing and Doing the Will of God, by Henry Blackaby, ©1994 Broadman & Holman Publishers. Reprinted and used by permission.

The few times I have written an article about the possible connection between violent acts and violent video games, I immediately receive responses from readers who say, “I’ve played violent video games for years, and they have not affected me negatively. I’m perfectly capable of distinguishing between fantasy and reality.”

Perhaps that is so, but not everyone is able to distinguish fantasy from reality, and studies indicate that it is the unstable who are most likely to be affected negatively. Tragically, this might have been the case with mass murderer Elliot Rodger.

Of course, Rodger alone is responsible for his actions and none of us have the authority to play armchair psychologists (especially those of who are not psychologists). But we can (and should) look at the larger issues involved and ask if, perhaps, there is a connection between violent video games and murder.

In December 2012, in the wake of the Newtown massacre, I noted how video game manufacturers were in denial, despite studies pointing to “a rather clear consensus” that, similar to continual watching of TV and movie violence, “playing violent video games increases aggression.”

Last September, I noted that the latest edition of the mega-popular Grand Theft Auto V was “a reflection on the state of nation.” Even a positive reviewer of the game (named James Delingpole) wrote, “As a middle-aged parent, I like to think I’m mature enough to be able to appreciate the game’s cartoonish, ugly, misogynistic, ultraviolent, pornographic worldview with a certain wry detachment.

“But whether the game’s teenage target market is so readily capable of making such distinctions, I’m not nearly so sure.”

Already in 2008, Reuters reported that, “One of the largest video game distributors in Asia has halted sales of the Grand Theft Auto IV in Thailand after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the game.”

Last November, safety expert Sedgrid Lewis wrote that, “The knockout game aka The One Hitter Quitter is the deadly game that African-American teenagers are playing across the nation. It is the true life version of the popular video game Grand Theft Auto (GTA).”

And these are just a few examples of many.

Can we continue to deny the connection between violent, sometimes murderous acts, and immersion in extraordinarily graphic, incredibly realistic, utterly sadistic video games?

Do we simply ignore the fact that mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik told the court that “he ‘trained’ for the attacks he carried out in Norway [in 2011] using the computer game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare?

It is true that researchers continue to debate the evidence—although it seems clear that playing the games leads to an increase in aggression, at least for the short term—and it is true that some psychologists respond rather blithely with observations like, “Television and even violence in the news have been found to have a similar impact,” as if that would somehow minimize rather than highlight the potentially negative effects of these games.

But it seems undeniable that those immersed in such games, especially if they are emotionally unstable, will become increasingly desensitized, explaining how some young mass murderers have carried out their deadly rampages with complete scorn, even laughing as they slaughtered their schoolmates. They had lived this out a thousand times before.

A youth pastor in Seattle told me with shock that young people he spoke with at a local high school the fateful day of 9/11 were hardly moved by the tragedy. They explained to him that they had seen much better graphics than what they had witnessed on TV that morning as the planes flew into the Twin Towers. The real-life stuff hardly competed.

Is this not the ultimate hardness of heart?

Aaron Klein has now suggested that, “From his eerie laugh to specific quotes in his chilling YouTube diatribe, mass [murderer] Elliot Rodger seems to be channeling, perhaps even mimicking a specific character from the violent Warcraft video game.”

He wrote, “It has been widely reported Rodger was an avid Warcraft player. His online manifesto states he would retreat deep into the game for hours per day and would dream of Warcraft when he went on family vacations and could not play.

“What has been missed until now is that quotes from his final YouTube video announcing his murderous intentions seem to come from the Warcraft character known as Garrosh Hellscream, whose pursuit of dominance and power led him to hate the Warcraft races, including his own.”

Again, Rodger alone is responsible for his actions, and only he and God know exactly what prompted him to do what he did.

But it is fair to ask how his life might have turned out had he immersed himself in wholesome entertainment as opposed to World of Warcraft. Perhaps this was a key factor that helped push him over the edge? And perhaps it is we who are blurring the differences between fantasy and reality when we deny any connection between the two?

Michael Brown is author of Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding With Love and Truth to Questions About Homosexuality and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

When McDonald’s is mentioned, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? What about a company that advertises on shows with sex orgies, strip clubs and “jokes” about child molestation?

All McDonald’s food chains have some things in common: Happy Meals with toys, playgrounds with colorful slides and a smiling Ronald McDonald to welcome the customers. McDonald’s has become a global phenomenon that children all over the world have come to love. However, its recent decisions have proven to be quite questionable.

McDonald’s has recently decided to support some very raunchy, ultra-violent television programs such as Family Guy, American Dad, and The Following, with content that’s clearly not appropriate for children.

Through the poor earnings report viewed by the Wall Street Journal in 2013, it’s clear that some consumers are not “loving it.” In fact, according to that same report, McDonald’s’ share prices have dropped. This may be due to the fact that parents are unwilling to purchase from a company associated with TV programs that have such vile content.

Research done by both Ohio State University and the University of Michigan proves that companies sponsoring programs with explicit content are less likely to be remembered than companies that advertise on shows with more appropriate content. Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Quinn of Walmart also supports this evidence, stating that Walmart has had an 18 percent higher return when their advertising dollars are spent on family-friendly entertainment.

According to OneNewsNow, Melissa Henson, director of grassroots education and advocacy for the Parents Television Council, says McDonald’s used to be among the PTC’s “best” advertisers.

“But, in the last few years, they seem to have gone in completely the opposite direction,” she said. “They seem to be much more interested in targeting ‘hip, young’ Millennials than family consumers. I think that’s affected their bottom line.”

With their children’s moral safety in mind, some parents have begun a petition to urge McDonald’s to reconsider their decisions regarding the shows they advertise on television.

For 23 years, Movieguide’s own research shows that moviegoers and television viewers generally prefer more family-friendly entertainment with morally and spiritually uplifting content and values, and less raunchy, ultraviolent content.

This article originally appeared on . If you enjoyed this article, like Movieguide on Facebook!

Few of us know what we want to be at the age of 9, but evangelist Reinhard Bonnke is one of the exceptions. The German evangelist, who has preached in front of crowds exceeding 1.6 million in Africa, says it was at that tender age that he got his calling to be a missionary.

Now, after 35 years and preaching in front of more than 74 million people, Bonnke is bringing his message, “American Shall be Saved,” to the United States. His gospel crusade will bring his message from the Lord to Miami, Greensboro, Long Island, Houston, and Pittsburgh.

“Evangelism must always lead into the church,” Bonnke says. “This is a central truth I have practiced everywhere. I, the evangelist, bring my nets and borrow the boats of the local churches. Together we will cast our nets into the human ocean and pull them in to be emptied on the beach. My promise to you is not to take a single fish but to leave them all with the local churches. Then I will dry and mend my nets and move to the next place.”

Bonnke’s next stop is Miami, where he will preach to a crowd at the American Airlines arena on July 18-19. Over 200 churches across racial, denominational, cultural and even linguistic barriers have joined forces to help Bonnke witness Jesus to South Florida.

Ordained in 1964, Bonnke first started working as a missionary in Africa at the age of 27. His first fellowship meeting in Lesotho attracted 100 people,but his audiences quickly grew until they filled an entire stadium. During the 1980s, he preached to crowds of 75,000 in Cape Town and 150,000 in Malawi, eventually peaking at 1.6 million at a crusade in 2000 in Lagos, Nigeria. In 2001, Bonnke moved to the United States after he saw the need to do similar work here, and in 2013 he moved to Singer Island.

“I am scanning the skies for men and women who pray and weep for the salvation of America. As Bill Bright used to say, ‘Let’s leave our logos and egos.’ Let’s rally at the foot of the cross of Calvary and preach the Gospel of salvation to the nation,” Bonnke says. “The Holy Spirit will cooperate. God is pouring out His Spirit with glorious indifference to our differences! He said, ‘I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh.’ And it seems to me He pours Himself into the mold of any vessel.”

A priceless vein of God’s infinite wisdom and creative beauty can be found marbled throughout the marvelous and myriad differences He established between the two sexes: male and female.

Thank You, God, for blessing us with “the other.”

“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'” (Gen. 2:18).

And so He made woman, thereby giving man a chance to think of, do for and partner with his spiritually, sexually, emotionally and physically compatible binary opposite.

And she for him.

Yet our culture today is more me-focused than ever before. We’re entitlement-minded and obsessed with fatally flawed and pseudo-utopian notions of egalitarianism, as well as outcome-based, rather than opportunity-based, concepts of materialist “equality,” “fundamental fairness” and “social justice.”

Dr. Peter Jones, a world-renowned Christian apologist and founder of the truthXchange, gets to the root of this problem by way of a lucid “comparative antithetical hermeneutical system” he calls “Two-ism and One-ism”:

Two-ism:

All Is Two: We worship and serve the eternal, personal Creator of all things. God alone is divine and is distinct from His creation, yet through His Son, Jesus, He is in loving communion with it.

One-ism:

All Is One: We worship and serve creation as divine. All distinctions must be eliminated and, through “enlightenment,” we discover that we also are divine.

Christian writer Jay Wegter summarizes the “Two-ist/One-ist” distinction:

“Paganism is built upon the fundamental oneness of all things (monism). Under the pagan worldview, all is divine, all shares the same substance. Under paganism, the ‘two-ness’ of biblical worldview is overturned. It is viewed as false to make distinctions if all is the same. Paganism seeks to achieve spirituality by removing the distinctions which God has made. Global spirituality seeks to obliterate the antithesis which exists between the truths of theism and pagan worldview.

“Pagan spirituality seeks to erase the distinctions between God and man; between man and animal; and between man and woman. Perversion is the inevitable result—the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans chapter one that the overturning of created order will result in unnatural ways of living (Rom 1:24-27).”

“Unnatural ways of living,” as Wegter puts it, is the disordered order of the day in our post-modern, post-Christian world.

For example: “Homosexual androgyny,” says Dr. Jones, “is ‘the Sacrament of One-ism.’ It carries within it the very essence of what it means to worship created things.”

Me, me, me. Same, same, same. Sex, sex, sex.

Marriage, on the other hand, authentic man-woman marriage, is a perfect representation of the Two-ist reality in which we all live—to include our pagan friends, who labor under the One-ist lie.

Two-ism, in effect, is what brilliant worldview analyst Nancy Pearcey calls “total truth.”

Total truth is revealed to us pressed down and running over in both God’s created order, so that we “are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20), along with His infallible word, which is the handbook for life—an invaluable gift to all mankind in the form of the Judeo-Christian Bible.

Total truth remains totally true for all, regardless of whether we choose to recognize it or stubbornly, foolishly and pitiably choose to deny it. As Pearcey notes, “Christianity is the key that fits the lock of the universe.”

Indeed, when we slip and fall, gravity hurts, in the physical sense, whether we’re Christian or pagan. Likewise, when we fall from grace—when we sin—death, which is “the wages of sin,” hurts in the spiritual sense.

Eternally.

Though we have no salvation from gravity, we do have salvation from sin, in and through the person of Christ Jesus. He sits atop heaven’s throne, along with God the Father, on the decidedly superior flip-side of our transcendental Two-ist reality.

There is we. And there is He.

God was the first defender of natural marriage. After all, he designed it. Jesus reiterated that design, making it abundantly clear and beyond refutation that marriage is, always has been and always will be the union of the binary opposite, magnificently different male and female of the human creation.

Declared Christ: “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Matt. 19:4-6).

Note that, rather conspicuously, Jesus did not say: “At the beginning the Creator made them lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT). For this reason a male, female or shemale will leave his, her or whatchahoozie’s father and mother, father and father or mother and mother and be united to his or her wife—and/or husband—and the two or more will become one flesh. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

So important, in fact, is the natural, God-ordained union of man and wife in the covenantal bond of marriage, that God uses this union as the metaphor for Christ’s covenantal bond to His “bride,” the Church.

Equality does not mean “sameness.” In fact, when it comes to matters of sex, marriage, sexuality, family and procreation—which, by their very nature, require binary and biological compatibility—sameness becomes, quite naturally and necessarily, unequal. It’s a nonstarter. A man cannot give birth to a baby (I demand “birth equality” now!) because men and women are different.

Likewise, a woman cannot give birth to a baby without a man. That’s because, thank God and again, He made us different. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

There is “marriage equality” and then there is marriage reality. Marriage exists in the Two-ist reality. “Marriage equality” persists in the One-ist fantasy.

Thank God men and women are different.

Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of . He is an author, columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber).