The Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck, evangelical minister and president of Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital in Washington DC, and a long-time observer at the Supreme Court, issued the following statement after sitting in on both historic same-sex marriage cases argued before the justices this past Tuesday and Wednesday:

“While each of the same-sex marriage cases before the High Court involve different questions on the constitutionality of limiting legal definitions of marriage to one man and one woman, it was clear at the end of the second day of arguments that there is a majority of the justices ready to grant some form of federal accommodation to it. The first question on Tuesday was whether states have the right to define marriage for themselves, as occurred in California with the Proposition 8 amendment to the state constitution limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. The second question on Wednesday was whether the federal government can similarly limit legal marriage to a man and woman, as it did in the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA.

“Indications of the High Court’s answers to these questions came in the tone and nature of the questions they posed to lawyers for both sides. After listening and watching the behavior of the justices over the course of the two days, I believe the first question will be answered as yes; states retain the right to define marriage, but only for now. The answer to the second question will be no, the federal government cannot limit the definition of marriage to a man and a woman because it’s obligated to defer in that matter to the respective states. I predict Justice Kennedy will be the decisive vote in that majority.

“Again, based on what I saw and heard, together with other information I’ve gathered from very good sources here in Washington, I predict the Court will not find a sweeping, across-the-board right to same-sex marriage, but it will provide another impetus toward its full acceptance by striking down DOMA and removing all federal impediments towards it. This will bring about a whole rack of new challenges for Christians of every tradition, but especially for members of the clergy. It will most immediately affect military and other federal institutional chaplains, such as prison and V.A. chaplains, but it will eventually reach every pastor that must be authorized by a court to preside at weddings. These are challenges we must meet prayerfully and carefully, and we must begin doing so now.”

Dr. Schenck was the only proponent of traditional marriage to address the media outside the Supreme Court building following the arguments in the DOMA case. The legal team arguing for the preservation of DOMA opted not to make public statements, leaving the Rev. Dr. Schenck alone at the podium against approximately thirty opponents of DOMA, including lawyers, the petitioner who brought the suit, and numerous activists.

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital, 109 Second Avenue Northeast, Washington DC 20002, 202-546-8329, Fax: 202-546-6864, Info@FaithAndAction.org

[3] United Church of Christ Leaders Carry Banner for Marriage Equality to Supreme Court

Leaders, ministers and members of the United Church of Christ rallied with fellow (L)esbian (G)ay B(isexual) T(ransgender) advocates at the U.S. Supreme Court to urge the court to strike down California’s Proposition 8 constitutional amendment that limits marriage to that of one man and one woman, and to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org

[4] Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Spring Conference Audio Available through SermonAudio

Audio recordings of the 2013 Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Spring Theology Conference are available through SermonAudio at the following link:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?sourceonly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=gpts&subsetcat=series&subsetitem=2013+Theology+Conference

+ Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 200 East Main Street, Post Office Box 690, Taylors, South Carolina, 29687, 864-322-2717, Fax: 864-322-2719, info@gpts.edu

+ SermonAudio, info@sermonaudio.com

[5] Southern New England Reformation Conference with Dr. Joel Beeke Scheduled for 3-4 May 2013 in North Providence, Rhode Island

The 2013 Southern New England Reformation Conference with Dr. Joel Beeke is scheduled for 3-4 May 2013 at the Grace Community Baptist Church in North Providence, Rhode Island.

Topics to be covered will include loving your spouse, leading family worship, raising children and teens, and Puritan evangelism.

The conference brochure is available at the following link:

http://www.joelbeeke.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/8219-Brochure-Flyer2013-proof3-update.pdf

+ Joel Beeke – Doctrine for Life

+ Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-977-0599, Fax: 616-285-3246, info@puritanseminary.org

[6] Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale Offers Summer Courses

The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale offers the following summer courses at Yale Divinity School from 17-21 June 2013:

— D09 – Jonathan Edwards on the History of Redemption – The Church throughout the Ages [http://summerstudy.yale.edu/jonathan-edwards-history-redemption-church-throughout-ages] – 17-21 June – 9:00-11:30 a.m.

Course Description: This intensive course will consist of primary and secondary readings from and on Edwards’s unfinished opus, “A History of the Work of Redemption,” supplemented by selections from other writings in his corpus, focusing on his concept of sacred time, providence, revivalism, and the role and functions of the church, placed within the historical context of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Reformed religious culture.

— D12 – The Heidelberg Catechism – An Ecumenical Foundation for Christian Teaching? [http://summerstudy.yale.edu/heidelberg-catechism-ecumenical-foundation-christian-teaching] – 17-21 June 1:30-4:00 p.m.

Course Description: 2013 is the 450-year commemoration of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), a teaching manual of Christian instruction used in particular in the Reformed Protestant faith tradition. This course is part of the worldwide commemorative attention given to this document throughout 2013, for example, at Heidelberg University and through Refo500. The course will provide a historical introduction to Christian catechetical instruction, with particular emphasis on the Heidelberg Catechism. We will consider trajectories and transitional moments in the transfer of Christian thought, continuities and discontinuities, from the Early Church to the Medieval era and on to the Reformation period. The Heidelberg Catechism will be placed in context, contrasted and compared with catechisms of other Christian faith traditions, such as Lutheranism, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism and Scottish-Presbyterianism. We will explore the structure and content of the Heidelberg Catechism as well as its use as an instructional manual and a preaching document.

+ Yale Divinity School, 409 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, 203-432-5303, joseph.britton@yale.edu

[7] Headlines from Christian Concern

Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:

— Downing Street Calls Police in Response to Group Exposing the Truth about Abortion

— Parliamentary Chapel Could Be Turned into Multi-Faith Room

— U.K. Department of Education Report Shows Most Parents Want Sex Education to Promote ‘Abstinence’

+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page

[8] Headlines from The Christian Institute

Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:

— Gay Marriage Group Gets Scottish Government Money to ‘Suppress Other Views’

— Fertility Expert Warns of Child ‘Eugenics’ Dangers

— Step Closer to Presumed Organ Donation in Wales

+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk

[9] Articles from LifesiteNews.com

Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:

— ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, and PBS Completely Ignore Late Term Abortionist and Newborn Murderer Kermit Gosnell Trial

— Victoria’s Secret Outrages Parents by Launching Sexy New Campaign Aimed at Tweens and Teens

— University of Quebec Professor Teams with Planned Parenthood to Root Out Quebec’s Pregnancy Help Centers

— Abortionist Upset Her Identity Goes Public as Owner of Tiller’s Wichita, Kansas Late-Term Abortion Clinic

+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page

[10] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:

— New York State Assemblyman William R. Nojay Likens New York Governor Cuomo’s gun snitch to the East German Stasi

— U.S. Department of Homeland Security Says They Can Seize Your Gold, Silver, and Guns If They Feel Like It

— Executive Order Establishes Presidential Commission to Promote “Efficient” Elections

— Mexican Drug Cartels Operating inside American Borders

— U.S. on Alert for Nuclear Blast Overhead

— Researcher: 1.72 Billion Abortions Worldwide over Last Forty Years

— Christians Side with Mammon. Mammon Sided with Barabbas

— From Cyprus to Canada: Plan to Sacrifice Depositors for More Important Banks

— Obama’s Orwellian U.S. Department of Homeland Security Demands “Obedience” from Its Agents

— 71st Anniversary: Roosevelt’s Concentration Camps

— Planned Parenthood Official Argues for Right to Post-Birth Abortion

— North Korea’s Kim Jong-un Puts Rocket Forces on ‘Standby to Fire’ at U.S. Targets

— U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Plans to Spend US$100 Million on Ammunition

— New Legislation Would Fire Sheriffs Who Disobey Federal Gun Restrictions

— Des Moines Register Criticized for Publishing Map Showing Schools with No Security

— Montana High School Bans ‘Schindler’s List’ Producer for Being Conservative

— Society of Actuaries Study Says Obamacare to Raise Individual Claim Costs by Thirty-Two Percent

— American Academy of Pediatrics Allowed Itself to Be Politicized in Their Rush to Offer an Opinion on the Definition of Marriage

— No Charges against Frederick County, Maryland Cops Who Killed a Man with Down Syndrome in a Movie Theater, Even Though a Coroner Ruled It a Homicide

— Officer Convicted In Shooting Death Becomes Sulphur Springs, Arkansas Police Chief

— Autopsy Confirms Kermit Gosnell Killed Woman in Botched Abortion

— Michelle Obama Aide Becomes Florida Planned Parenthood CEO

— Abortion Activists Compare Pro-Life Christians to the Taliban

— Liberal Euthanasia Activists Redefining Sedation into Killing

— Fox News Personalities Bill O’Reilly & Megyn Kelly Say Critics of Same-Sex “Marriage” Just “Thump Bible”

— NBC Newswomen Jenna Wolfe and Stephanie Gosk Announce They Are Lesbian Lovers and Are Expecting a Baby

— U.S. Centers for Disease Control Reports 110,197,000 Venereal Infections in U.S. – More than On-Third of U.S. Population

— Slavic Gospel Association Says Religious Freedom Restrictions Common throughout Central Asia

— Same Colorado Lawmaker Suggests Women Eat Chipotle to Prevent Rape

— Boy Scouts of America Members: We’re Being Bullied by Gay Rights Activists

— Obamacare Funnels US$75 Million to Planned Parenthood to Push Sex on Kids

— Kentucky Lawmakers Override Religious Freedom Veto by Governor Steve Beshear

— Harry Reid’s New Gun Control Bill Is Designed to Destroy Gun Ownership

— North Dakota Governor Faces Death Threats after Signing Abortion Ban

— Associated Press Calls Abortion Doc Who Snipped Babies’ Necks “An Elegant Man”

— Entire Family in India Beaten for Their Faith

— Hmong Christian Leader in Vietnam Beaten to Death in Police Custody, Sources Say Electrical Shock Torture Suspected

— Newport News, Virginia Teacher Says She Had No Idea Two Students Were Poisoning Her

— Pasadena City College Offers Course Devoted Entirely to Pornography

— New York University Women’s ‘HERstory’ Month Included Burlesque Dancer and ‘Sixty-Nine Ways to Use Saran Wrap’ Sexual Workshop

— Johns Hopkins University Denies Pro-Life Club, Equates Them to White Supremacists

— Des Moines (Iowa) Area Community College Uses Student Funds for LGBTQ Conference That Slams the Bible and Conservatives

— Twelve-Year-Old Girl Rescued by a Christian Organization in India from the Clutches of Her Perpetrators Who Were Selling Off Her Virginity

— New York City Bloomberg Administration Launches Sex Education Condom App for Kids

— Transgendered “Pregnant Man” Divorces Lesbian Wife

— Gender-Neutral College Student Housing Increases Risk of Sexual Assault

— “Stomp on Jesus” Instructor Raises Nuremberg Defense: “I Was Doing My Job”

— Public Schools Give Kids Attention Deficit Disorder

+ Human Events, One Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001, 202-216-0600, Editors@HumanEventsOnline.com

+ Mr. Conservative, mrconservative.com@gmail.com

+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 North Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page

+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page

+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com

+ RedState, 1 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Suite 600, Washington DC 20001, contact@redstate.com

+ Last Resistance, Contact Page

+ Tea Party Economist

+ The Weekly Standard, 1150 17th Street, Northwest, Suite 505, Washington DC 20036, 202-293-4900, editor@weeklystandard.com

+ Red Alert Politics, 1015 15th Street Northwest, #500, Washington DC 20005, info@redalertpolitics.com

+ CBS St. Louis, 1220 Olive Street, 3rd Floor, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, 314-621-2345, Fax: 314-588-1234, kmox@kmox.com

+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com

+ Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, 888-369-4762, Fax: 212-462-6127, yourquestions@foxnews.com

+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ The Liberty Crier

+ 5News, 318 North 13th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901, 479-783-3131, 479-783-3295, van.comer@kfsm.com

+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328, Contact Page

+ Southern Baptist Convention, 901 Commerce Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37203-3699, 615-244-2355

+ Gospel for Asia, 1800 Golden Trail Court, Carrollton, Texas 75010, 972-300-7777, info@gfa.org

+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com

+ WVEC, 613 Woodis Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23510, 757-625-1313, Contact Page

+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com

+ The Leadership Institute, 1101 North Highland Street, Arlington, Virginia 22201, 703-247-2000, Contact Page

+ Clash Daily, Contact Page

+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org

[11] The Religion of Peace

Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:

— “Islam’s flag will be raised above the White House”

— ‘Underwear Bomber’ Was Working for the CIA

— Saudi Arabia: Man who Paralyzed Friend to Have Spinal Cord Severed

— Jihadists in Syria Behead Cleric, Parade Body and “Laid His Head on a Minaret”

— Muslims in Nigeria Slaughter Fifty Christians in Easter Attack

— Man Yells ‘Will of Allah’ in Easter Sunday Church Killing in Ohio

— Afghan Teenager Fatally Stabs U.S. Soldier

— Easter Threats, Rise of Islam Fueling Attacks on Tanzanian Christians

— New York Times finally reports on the epidemic brutal sex attacks in Egypt

— Number of Muslims in the Netherlands Becoming Jihadists Expanding So Rapidly That the Government Can’t Keep Track Anymore

— Sharia in Africa: Graphic Video of Woman Being Stoned to Death

— Egyptian Mosque Turned into House of Torture for Christians

— Rise in Sexual Assaults in Egypt Sets Off Clash over Blame

— An American Christian’s Letter from an Iranian Prison

— Key Mali Lawmaker Challenges Obama on al-Qaida Threat

— Germany Stopping Islamists from Instituting Sharia Law

— Bombings in Sudan Kill Christians, Destroy Church Building as Sudanese Government Continues Terrorizing Its Own Citizens

— HCJB Partner Off the Air in Central African Republic

— U.S. Muslim Calls for Restrictions on Free Speech at Event Hosted by Obama Appointee

— Lebanon: the Next Mideast War Zone?

— China Jails Twenty Muslims on Terrorism Charges

— Monster Moms of Islam

— Saudi Arabia’s Top Muslim Cleric Slams Twitter

— Bombings in Sudan Kill Christians, Destroy Church Building

— Girls School Teacher Shot Dead in Targeted Killing in Pakistan by Obama’s Islamic “Peace” Partners

— In Brooklyn, New York, Grand Jury Murder Investigation of Muslim Involvement in Double Honor Murder in Pakistan over Daughter’s Escape from Forced Marriage

— Jewish Filmmaker Beaten Unconscious by Muslims at French Film Festival

— Muslims on Warpath in Pakistan

— Muslim Lawyer Proposes Using Cyber-bullying Laws to Outlaw Blasphemy

— Islamists Rename Prostitution for Terrorists as ‘Sexual Jihad’

— Anglican Primate of Tanzania Reports Attack

— Taliban Spread Terror in Karachi, Pakistan as the New Gang in Town

— Syria’s War Invades a Campus That Acted as a Sanctuary

— Syrian Cleric Supported Blowing Up American and Israeli Targets

— Saudi Arabia’s Lack of Swordsmen Kills Ancient Execution Method

— Will Same Sex Marriage Undermine Obama’s Loyal Muslim Outreach ?

— Pakistani Manufacturer Whose Product Was Used to Build Improvised Explosive Devices Is Seeking U.S. Subsidy to Build a Plant in Indiana

— Palestinian Jailed for Facebook Like

— Islamic High School to Open in Glasgow, Scotland

— Florida: Muslim Mom Burns Daughter for Chatting Online

— Syrian Rebel Fighters Blast Muslim Brotherhood for ‘Delaying Victory’

— Sharia in the Maldives: Amputation for Theft Added to Draft Penal Code “As Stated in the Quran”

— Chicago Tribune Writes Apology Article on Behalf of Vicious Jihadist Who Tried to Blow Up Wrigley Field with a Weapon of Mass Destruction

— Dhimmi U.S. Department of Defense Says Giving Purple Heart to Fort Hood Jihad Victims Would Hurt Hasan Trial

— Saudi Arabia Declares Destruction of All Churches in Region

— Lego to Pull ‘Anti-Islamic’ Star Wars Toy Set following Muslim Furor

— India’s Largest Islamic Organization “Brainwashing and Training Girls for Jihad”

— Sharia: Killing Women since the 7th Century

— Massacre of Syrian Soldiers in Iraq Raises Risk of Widening Conflict

— Islamic Apartheid: Slavery

— At Least Eighty Die in Armed Attacks on Villages in Nigeria’s Kaduna and Plateau States

+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com

+ The Liberty Crier

+ International Business Times, 7 Hanover Square, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10004, 646-867-7100, info@ibtimes.com

+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page

+ Star Beacon, 4626 Park Avenue, Ashtabula, Ohio 44004, 440-998-2323, jimf@starbeacon.com

+ Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas,New York, New York 10036, 888-369-4762, Fax: 212-462-6127,yourquestions@foxnews.com

+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328, Contact Page

+ Assyrian International News Agency

+ Washington Guardian, Post Office Box 9977, McLean, Virginia 22102, webmaster@washingtonguardian.com

+ Godfather Politics, 457 Nathan Dean Boulevard, Dallas, Georgia 30132

+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com

+ Clash Daily, Contact Page

+ Morning Star News, Contact Page

+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org

+ Way of Life Literature, Post Office Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, 519-652-2619, fbns@wayoflife.org

+ VirtueOnline, 1236 Waterford Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380

+ New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, 212- 556-1234, executive-editor@nytimes.com

+ Voice Of The Copts, Votc@Voiceofthecopts.Org

+ Last Resistance, Contact Page

+ The National, Post Office Box 111434, Abu Dhabi, 971-2-4145328, newsdesk@thenational.ae

+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com

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3 April 2013

Christian Observer Publishing