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Maine Supreme Court Rules Mom Can’t Take Her Daughter to Church
The Maine Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a custody order prohibiting a mother from taking her 13-year-old daughter to her church or religious events. The court reportedly also upheld that Emily Bickford can’t expose her daughter to religious beliefs, like the Bible, without approval from the girl’s father.
The courts in Maine have granted the girl’s father “decision-making authority” over his daughter’s exposure to religion, so Bickford hasn’t been allowed to take her daughter to church for nearly two years.
The state’s high court heard oral arguments last fall in the case of Bickford v. Bradeen — a battle pitting judicial authority against parental rights and the First Amendment.
Liberty Counsel, a faith-based non-profit legal group, has been representing Bickford and is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.
“This opinion rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. “This opinion goes against other state court decisions involving custody in the context of religious free exercise rights and ignores precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court. We will ask the High Court to take this case and overrule the decision.”
According to Liberty Counsel, Ava’s parents were never married, and Bickford maintained primary custody of Ava, while her father had visitation rights. Since December 2024, Bickford has been challenging a custody order that prohibits her from bringing her daughter, Ava, to Calvary Chapel in Portland, Maine.
Part of the case centers on one service in which Bradeen was mentioned when the church’s pastor prayed for his salvation. And Liberty contends that after attending Calvary Chapel for three years, young Ava decided to be baptized. When her father learned about her decision, it reportedly upset him, fueling the current court battle.
Bradeen argued the church was a “dangerous and harmful environment” that had caused his daughter to suffer from anxiety. He claimed she had a panic attack after hearing the church’s teachings on the rapture.
Then the courts put him in charge of all decisions related to Ava’s religious exposure. Staver argues that the order gave the father “absolute unreviewable authority to deny any kind of association or even reading the Bible or religious philosophy, attending any church or any event or associating with anyone…or any church or religious organization.”
Michelle King, an attorney representing the father, said Bradeen is happy with the results so far. “Anytime you’re in court, it’s stressful,” King said. “But this case has definitely garnered a lot of media attention, and I think that’s always difficult for parents.”
Liberty reports that a lower court in Maine concluded that although Bickford is a fit parent and “there has been no showing of harm to (the child) associated with a belief system that is rooted in the Bible,” the state court raised concerns about mainstream Christian teachings of Heaven, Hell, eternal salvation, angels, demons, and teaching the Bible “verse by verse, chapter by chapter.”
Liberty Counsel hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the case and evaluate the broader constitutional issues at stake.
King said she “anticipated all along” that the case could end up before the Supreme Court.
Sources:CBN News
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Jim Bakker, Televangelist and PTL Founder, Dies at 86, Wife Lori Bakker Announces
Televangelist Jim Bakker, a longtime Christian broadcaster and founder of the PTL television ministry, has died at 86, according to an announcement from his wife, Lori Bakker.
The Jim Bakker Show announced his death Monday evening, sharing a statement from Lori Bakker about her husband’s passing:
It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening.
For 66 years, Jim gave his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry.
Jim loved people deeply. He loved this ministry, and he loved the friends and partners who stood with him throughout the years. Even in his final days, his heart was still for the work of God and for the Gospel to continue reaching the world.
Our family is grieving and we ask for your prayers and privacy during this time.
Jim finished his race with faith. His voice, his vision, and his legacy will never be forgotten.
— Lori Bakker
Bakker became one of the most recognizable figures in Christian television through “The PTL Club,” which he launched with his former wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, in the 1970s.
Bakker would go on to host “The Jim Bakker Show” alongside Lori, where he continued discussing faith, Biblical prophecy and current events.
In her statement, Lori Bakker said her husband remained focused on ministry and spreading the Gospel even in his final days.
The family is asking for prayer and privacy as they grieve.
Additional details surrounding Bakker’s death were not immediately announced.
Sources: Breaking Christian News
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സംഗീതജ്ഞൻ ജെ. വി. പീറ്ററിന്റെയും സാങ്കി പീറ്ററിന്റെയും ഓർമ്മക്കായി ഡാളസിൽ സംഗീത സായാഹ്നം
ഡാളസ്: ക്രൈസ്തവ സംഗീത ലോകത്തിന് സമാനതകളില്ലാത്ത സംഭാവനകൾ നൽകിയ പ്രശസ്ത സംഗീതജ്ഞൻ ഇവാ. ജെ. വി. പീറ്ററിന്റെയും അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ മകൻ സാങ്കി പീറ്ററിന്റെയും സ്മരണാർത്ഥം ഡാളസിൽ പ്രത്യേക സംഗീത സായാഹ്നം സംഘടിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.
“എണ്ണി എണ്ണി സ്തുതിക്കുവാൻ”, “നീയെൻ സ്വന്തം നീയെൻ പക്ഷം”, “നിനക്കായ് കരുതും അവൻ”, “പിളർന്നതാം പാറയെ” തുടങ്ങിയ അഞ്ഞൂറോളം ആത്മീയ ഗാനങ്ങളുടെ രചയിതാവാണ് ജെ. വി. പീറ്റർ. അനേകം പ്രതിഭകളെ വാർത്തെടുത്ത ഗോസ്പൽ ട്യൂണേഴ്സ് (Gospel Tuners) എന്ന ക്രിസ്തീയ മ്യൂസിക്കൽ ബാൻഡിന്റെ സാരഥിയുമായിരുന്നു അദ്ദേഹം. ജെ. വി. പീറ്ററിന്റെയും സാങ്കി പീറ്ററിന്റെയും ജീവിതത്തെയും സംഗീത പൈതൃകത്തെയും ആദരിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ ക്ലാസ്സിക്കൽ മ്യൂസിക് ബാൻഡായ ‘ക്രോസ്സ്റിവർ വോയ്സ് ഡാളസ്’ (Crossriver Voice Dallas) ആണ് ഈ സ്മരണാഞ്ജലി ഒരുക്കുന്നത്.
നവംബർ 8, ഞായറാഴ്ച ഡാളസിലെ റോലറ്റിലുള്ള ഫിലഡൽഫിയ പെന്തക്കോസ്തൽ ചർച്ചിൽ വെച്ചാണ് പരിപാടി നടക്കുന്നത്. ജെ. വി. പീറ്ററിന്റെയും സാങ്കി പീറ്ററിന്റെയും പ്രശസ്ത ഗാനങ്ങളും അവയുടെ പിറകിലുള്ള പശ്ചാത്തല സാക്ഷ്യങ്ങളും മാത്രമായിരിക്കും ഈ സംഗീത സായാഹ്നത്തിന്റെ പ്രധാന ആകർഷണം. ‘ഗോസ്പൽ ട്യൂണേഴ്സ്’മായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട് പ്രവർത്തിച്ച പ്രമുഖ ഗായകരും കലാകാരന്മാരും ഈ സ്മരണാഞ്ജലി സംഗീതവിരുന്നിൽ പങ്കുചേരും.
കൂടുതൽ വിവരങ്ങൾക്ക് ബന്ധപ്പെടുക:
ജോൺസ് പി. മാത്യൂസ്: 214-298-5415 (tel:214-298-5415)
മാത്യു കോശി: 972-415-6587 (tel:972-415-6587)
Sources:globalindiannews
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Man Convinced He’s Found Noah’s Ark Delivers Message For Critics
An independent researcher who has devoted his life to exploring a site near Mount Ararat, believed by some to be the remains of Noah’s ark, is continuing his expedition to investigate what he believes could be the real-life location.
Andrew Jones, who runs Noah’s Ark Scans, a group he described as “a loose organization of individuals interested in pursuing scientific work and promoting [the ark site],” told CBN News his organization received a permit to drill at the site and has been actively engaged in exploring the area.
“This whole project is under Sivas Cumhuriyet University in Turkey, and I’m one of the vice presidents of the project,” Jones said. “The president is Professor Dr. Cenkur Atila, an archaeologist in Turkey, and he’s the one who got the permits for the project. The other vice president for the project has a PhD in archaeology.”
The researcher said other professionals are involved as well, sharing these details to push back on critics he said have accused him of being a lone wolf who’s “taking pictures and making up stuff.”
Jones said technology is allowing them to look 95 meters beneath the surface, deeper than the team has ever gone. He believes this could yield better clues about whether Noah’s Ark is truly underground, though he and his team haven’t yet been shown a full analysis of the findings.
“[Researchers are] seeing anomalies like right angles — some of the same things we were seeing with the 2019 traditional radar,” Jones said. “[Our researcher is] saying the same thing, anomalies that are associated with right angles, corridors, but which could be backfilled with silt, he said, but they’re showing… this pattern of a structure below the surface.”
Part of the exploration compares local and natural geology to see if there are any anomalies under the surface. In a few months, Noah’s Ark Scans will have a full radar analysis and will be able to more fully discern what’s present there. Depending on what they find, a deeper exploration will unfold next year.
“Then we’ll see what happens,” Jones said. “That will lead to … next year’s season.”
In addition to radar, the team has collected over 300 coring samples that will be analyzed at a Turkish university. The team is using various tools, including cameras, to try and dig into the site while also protecting it from damage.
“Since we believe this is Noah’s ark, the whole point is … if we hit a void or cavity, we want to film inside, not just take soil samples,” Jones said. “We have actually three different camera systems to go inside, to go down these holes because the holes are small.”
Ultimately, the researcher said he knows he can’t convince critics to believe that the site is truly where Noah’s ark came to rest. But he did deliver a powerful message to detractors.
“People are criticizing us right now,” Jones said. “I just say, be patient. Hold on. We’re doing this with a scientific team. It’s a multi-year project. We still have to get the soil analysis done. We’ll go where the data goes. So we just ask people to be patient and see what we find.”
Sources:faithwire
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