FIRST PRINCIPLES PRESS NEWS & BLOG

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Raise Your Voice!

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Today we celebrate the National Day of Prayer. Memorial Day, at the end of the month, is when we remember those who died in service to our country. Let’s not leave the majority of those serving today without a prayer. “Endowed by Their Creator” is a collection of historic American military prayers spanning from 1774-present. Get this case for prayer and give/send it to someone serving so that they will know they have a right to pray as they read the history, the case, and the 100s of prayers in the book that serve as “evidence” that America is a nation that values prayer.

Prayer is under attack in the military institution on the national day of prayer. As a Vietnam combat veteran, 34 years as a Marine officer, a former Defense official, and a lawyer, I spent 10 years collecting American military prayer books from before the nation’s founding to the present day. I did this research not as a man of the church, but as lawyer to make the case for the “military necessity” of prayer, because there are ‘no atheists in foxholes’. I found that while over 70 percent of those serving today in the US military self identify as Christians, their Chaplains are threatened and discouraged from praying in the name of their God, Jesus Christ and leaders are officially prohibited from leading their troops in pray – even in battle in this One Nation Under God. – Colonel Ronald D. Ray, USMCR

Share this message today with your friends and family and do not let the prayers of our soldiers go unheard.

Many KY Churches Shrink Though Some Enjoy Surges

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There are more of us, but not in church.

That’s the gist of a once-a-decade report on religious denominations that found membership is falling across the nation, despite overall population growth.

The largest decliners include the Roman Catholic Church and many historic Protestant denominations, ranging from conservative to liberal.

But the biggest gainer in overall numbers in the U.S. Religion Census were those unclaimed by any religious groups — 18 million nationally, and up by double-digit percentages in the Lousville area and Kentucky — even though researchers made unprecedented inroads into gathering numbers from previously uncounted groups.Some religious groups did post dramatic gains over the past decade — including the independent Christian movement paced by Louisville’s Southeast Christian Church, as well as Mormons, Muslims and some Pentecostals.

And while the census showed a flourishing of nondenominational churches — at 12 million strong, a movement larger than all but two denominations — there are no figures from earlier decades to show whether this trend is growing or shrinking.

Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz said he hadn’t seen the results of the survey but said the numbers show the urgency of finding new ways to present the gospel to “people who have already heard it once and are lukewarm.”

The census was conducted by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, using a fleet of researchers across religious traditions. It was released Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Associated Church Press in Chicago.

Among the scores of groups whose numbers could be compared between 2000 and 2010, the overall trend was down — in the Louisville area, Kentucky, Indiana and the nation.

Religious denominations reported a 1 percent membership loss in Kentucky and a 5 percent decline in Indiana over a decade — losing ground even as each state’s population rose 7 percent.

In the Louisville Metropolitan Statistical Area — covering Jefferson County and 12 surrounding counties in Kentucky and Southern Indiana — total religious adherents shrank 4 percent while the population grew 11 percent.

Nationally, religious adherents decreased 2 percent while the population rose 10 percent.

There are several asterisks to the report. The Catholic decline partly reflects a more rigorous method that screens out some people who identify themselves as Catholic but who largely don’t participate in church life, for example. And some historically African-American denominations proved difficult to measure.

On the other hand, even though the report lists Southern Baptists as growing in adherents over the past decade, the denomination has sounded alarms over the stagnation of conversions in recent years, and membership also has ebbed.

“It is difficult to make straight comparisons between the numbers” said Dale E. Jones, director of research services for the Church of the Nazarene and one of the coordinators of the survey. But where they can be compared from decade to decade, the “adherent counts are down.”

Paul Chitwood, executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, the state affiliate of Southern Baptists, said he’s observed the long-range trend toward more people lacking any church ties.

“It’s a reminder to Southern Baptists of how important our evangelism and outreach are,” said Chitwood, citing such efforts as disaster relief, door-to-door evangelism, nontraditional church events oriented toward groups such as outdoorsmen and the launch of new congregations.

“Newly planted churches are typically more effective at reaching the unchurched than established churches,” Chitwood said.

The Religion Census includes data on houses of worship in 236 religious traditions down to the county level. It’s the sixth such survey since the 1950s.

Overall, just under half of Americans were claimed as adherents by religious groups.

And while this survey represents top-down measurements — estimating adherents based on the numbers claimed by religious denominations and congregations — it mirrors some trends reported by bottom-up surveys asking individuals what religion they have, if any.

One-third of adults under 30 reported having no religion in 2011 in a newly released major survey — up from a quarter just five years earlier, according to researchers Robert Putnam and David Campbell, authors of a revised 2012 edition of “American Grace,” a wide-ranging book about contemporary religion.

The scholars said many young adults are reacting against the fusion of religion, Republican politics and anti-gay activism.

The Public Religion Research Institute found a smaller ratio of adults under 25 to have no religion — one-quarter — but most of them had grown up in a religion before rejecting it.

Edwin Hensley, an organizer for the group Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers, applauded the secular trends but said politics had less to do with it than basic questioning.

A blend of religion and politics might cause people “to challenge their beliefs whereas otherwise they might not have thought to challenge them,” said Hensley, whose group meets regularly for discussions and to hear speakers.

In the Louisville area, the census found double-digit percentage declines among Roman Catholics, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and two Lutheran denominations. The Assemblies of God declined locally but grew nationally.

Mormons and Muslims posted large gains locally.

The Christian Churches and Churches of Christ — which includes one of the largest churches in the nation, Southeast Christian, and several other large congregations — rose 164 percent in the metropolitan region and 29 percent throughout Kentucky, the survey said.

Southeast senior pastor Dave Stone said growing churches need to integrate younger people into their services and be ready to adapt frequently.

“I do think there is a spiritual awakening that is taking place in the Louisville area,” he said. “I think it can be traced back to one thing, and that is prayer.”

Kurtz said he takes heart in the enrollment of thousands of people in area “Why Catholic?” classes at local parishes, including an upcoming series on prayer.

Louisville Area Bishop Lindsey Davis of the United Methodist Church said his denomination is turning the corner locally. The denomination is the third-largest in Kentucky but declined 9 percent in the state and 4 percent nationally in the past decade.

However, the Kentucky Annual Conference, which covers most of the state, actually grew last year by about 1,000 people, he said.

“The increase is a direct result of our planting of 12 new congregations since 2008,” he said. “And I believe that planting new churches is the key to making new disciples of Jesus in these years to come.”

 Article: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012305010095

National Day of Prayer Special Request

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Next Thursday, May 3, we will celebrate the National Day of Prayer. Prayer is a vital part of our American heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a new nation, the calls to prayer by national leaders have continued down through our history.

Many young people, the up and coming leaders of this country, are largely ignorant of this long history of prayer and its role in equipping the nation’s fighting forces to defend America’s way of life. America today has arrived at a time when too often the nation’s leaders seek to herd us into new paths leaving the “old paths” to the very destruction of the nation’s Christian foundation. First Principles Press has thus prepared and now presents the case for historic American military prayer as an indispensable guide both for our military and all Americans in these morally tumultuous times.

We would like to ask you to please consider purchasing copies of the case for military prayer and the “evidence” included therein–a historic collection of prayers spanning from before the nation’s founding to the present day. Also, please consider sharing this message with your own social network, to spread the word as far as possible about preserving military prayer.

In honor of the National Day of Prayer, we are offering a special. Between now and May 3 with the purchase of 2 copies of “Endowed by Their Creator”, we will send you a third for free.

If you are interested in supporting First Principles Press and joining with us to make the case for military prayer, email us at firstprinciplespress@gmail.com or visit the Prayer Collection page to read background materials and for information on how to order books.

Bible Checklist for Air Force Lodges Going Away

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The Bibles that are often found in the nightstands of Air Force Inns lodging rooms aren’t going away, but the requirement that staff check and make sure they’re there is.

The Air Force Services Agency will remove the “Is a Bible provided?” question from its lodging checklist, according to Air Force Personnel Center spokesman Mike Dickerson.

Dickerson said after a legal review, the Air Force Services Agency determined that there was no legal reason to have the question on the lodging checklist. The checklist is used to ensure that lodging standards at all Air Force Inns are being met and maintained. The question will be removed when the checklist is updated in September. The updated checklist will be in effect for fiscal 2013.

But the Air Force isn’t prepared to do a wholesale scrub of the Bibles from Air Force Inns.

“The Air Force has not directed the removal of Bibles from Air Force Inns lodging rooms at this time,” Dickerson said in an email. “We continue to review the situation and weigh our multiple First Amendment responsibilities and obligations.”

For All in the Service of Our Country

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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

- The West Point Prayer Book 1948

General Robert E. Lee’s Farewell Address to the Army of Northern Virginia

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Robert E. Lee’s farewell address to the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia, following its formal surrender April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House.

April 10, 1865

I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen. After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.

By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from a consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a Merciful God will extend to you His blessings and protection.

With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your Country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.