This week, there have been two huge examples of Professional Wrestling Superstars publicly talking about their faith. Below, is a video of Pastor Ed Young interviewing The Undertaker with The Phenom opening up about his Christian faith.
Below that, there are a couple of quotes from Roman Reigns about how his faith has helped him through his fight against Leukemia. During his announcement, Reigns let the world know that his cancer is in remission.
This isn’t the first time that we’ve reported on wrestlers being outspoken about their faith. We’ve had personal interviews with both Jeff Jarrett and A.J. Styles, who proudly share their faith publicly.
Enjoy what you read below and remember, while Professional Wrestlers may seem larger than life to many of their fans – the put their pants on one leg at a time and face the same struggles that everyone else does.
The Undertaker Opens Up About His Faith In New Interview With Pastor Ed Young (Video)
WWE Star Roman Reigns Announces His Cancer Is In Remission
“I’m a man of faith I’ve always believed in God I’ve always believed that he’s favored me and looked out for me but I’m not going to lie before my announcement in October I was terrified Y’all,” Romain said during his remarks Monday night. “I was scared I was insecure and I really didn’t know if I wanted to share that secret with the world.”
“The overwhelming support that you gave me it gave me strength it gave me new life it gave me a new opportunity and it gave me a new purpose. Roman continued. “I’m going to use this platform this giant WWE platform that is global and the whole world can see it I’m going to use it to raise awareness and I’m going to use it to support those who are in need it just like I was.” https://trevordecker.com/2019/02/26/wwe-star-roman-reigns-announces-cancer-remission/
Opponents of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act say that it’s unnecessary and there are laws that already address the situation. Let’s look a just few reasons they are wrong.
The reason we need this:
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would have required that “any health care practitioner present” at the time of a birth “exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker promised to make his state the most “abortion-friendly” in the nation, and a pro-life law firm warns a new bill would do just that going far beyond the scope of Roe v. Wade, including legalizing self-abortions.
The legislation was introduced after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, endorsed post-birth abortions while discussing The Repeal Act, a state bill which sought to repeal restrictions on third-trimester abortions. Virginia Democratic Del. Kathy Tran, a sponsor of that bill, was asked at a hearing if a woman about to give birth and dilating could still request an abortion.
“My bill would allow that, yes,” Tran said. Northam, in a later interview with a radio station, backed up Tran.
“When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of, obviously, the mother, with the consent of the physicians, more than one physician, by the way,” Northam said. “And, it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that’s non-viable.”
The seven (now eight) states that have no gestational limits on abortion are: Alaska, Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Vermont, along with Washington, D.C.
House Bill 51, sponsored by Representative Joanne Ferrary, does away with a state statute from 1969 that made abortion a fourth-degree felony in New Mexico (except in cases of rape, incest, and harm to the mother’s health). However, being that the statute originated in 1969, the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade essentially did away with the statute – meaning that the 1960’s law is unenforceable currently.
However, fear of Roe v. Wade being overturned has led extreme abortion supporters to file for such outrageous abortion laws. HB-51, if passed, would allow for abortion without restriction up to birth in New Mexico.
Vermont’s new abortion bill is under fire from pro-life advocates as it would effectively sanction late-term abortion procedures and bar prosecution of “any individual” who performs or attempts an abortion.
The bill, named H. 57, which went before the state’s House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, was introduced just after New York and Virginia came under fire for bills making it easier to perform late-term abortions and – as in Virginia’s proposal – even allowing abortions up until the birth.
And do you want to take the word of the pro-death side of the equation? Well apparently President Trump didn’t:
The Trump administration announced Friday that it intends to bar taxpayer-funded family planning centers from promoting or perfoming abortions or referring women to other clinics for them — a move that is likely to yank money from groups like Planned Parenthood.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Title X program, a family-planning grant that helps approximately four million women a year, would be subject to a revision of regulations — including one that “prohibits the use of Title X funds to perform, promote, refer for, or support abortion as a method of family planning.”
On March 29, Pure Flix is releasing the movie “Unplanned”. We’ve had Pure Flix co-founder David A.R. White on the podcast more than once, and never has any Pure Flix film been rated higher than PG-13. However, “Unplanned” tells the true story of Abby Johnson, who defected from Planned Parenthood to become a pro-life activist. This movie does NOT have any of the following in it.: no profane language, nudity, violence, drug abuse or anything else that moviegoers typically associate with the R rating.
If we as Christians want to make sure our voices are heard it’s imperative that we support this movie by going to the theaters the very first weekend the movie opens. The numbers from that opening weekend determine whether or not additional locations are added which is needed for the movie to be a big hit or not.
The following quote really says all the is needed about the R-rating: “A 15-year old girl can get an abortion without her parent’s permission but she can’t see this movie without adult supervision? That’s sad,” said Ken Rather, the Executive VP of distribution for Pure Flix.
About Pure Flix:
Pure Flix is a Christian movie studio that produces, distributes, and acquires Christ-centered movies. Our VISION is to influence the global culture for Christ through media. Our MISSION is to be the world leader in producing and distributing faith and family media. Since day one, we continue to strive to make a difference for His name.
MPAA’s R-Rating for Anti-Abortion Film Disputed by Distributor Pure Flix
The organization says the R-rating on ‘Unplanned’ was for “some disturbing/bloody images” and was in no way politically motivated.
Pure Flix Entertainment, the family-friendly label known for distributing God’s Not Dead and a few dozen other movies aimed at Christians, will release its first R-rated film next month, and it is none too happy about having to do so.
The film, Unplanned, tells the true story of Abby Johnson, who defected from Planned Parenthood to become a pro-life activist. While the filmmakers were certain they were making a PG-13 film, the MPAA has informed them that it will, in fact, be rated R unless all scenes of abortions are removed or altered.
The filmmakers are refusing to change anything, putting Pure Flix in the awkward position of having to open an R-rated movie on March 29. The company’s other releases, roughly two dozen movies, were all rated G, PG or PG-13.
“A 15-year old girl can get an abortion without her parent’s permission but she can’t see this movie without adult supervision? That’s sad,” said Ken Rather, the executive vp of distribution for Pure Flix.
The situation prompted the filmmakers to fire off a letter of complaint to MPAA CEO Charles Rivkin.
“We consider the MPAA’s current standards to be deeply flawed, insofar as they allow scenes of remarkably graphic sex, violence, degradation, murder and mayhem to have a PG-13 rating, whereas our film, highlighting the grave dangers of abortion in a straightforward manner, is considered dangerous for the American people to view,” wrote Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, the co-writers and co-directors of Unplanned.
Pure Flix says not only will it not alter the film to get a PG-13 rating, but it also won’t officially appeal the decision, as it worries it would delay their distribution efforts to have the movie’s rating up in limbo. Also, appeals are historically a longshot. In 2017, for example, the MPAA rated 563 movies, five were appealed and only one was changed — that being Clint Eastwood’s The 15:17 to Paris, which originally was an R before the appeal brought it down to PG-13.
The MPAA says the R-rating on Unplanned was for “some disturbing/bloody images” and was in no way politically motivated. It’s process involves a ratings board of about 10 people from all walks of life — all of whom have children — voting and debating until they come to a majority agreement.
“Any film submitter who objects to the given rating can choose to go through the appeals process. To date, the distributor has chosen not to,” an MPAA spokesperson said about Unplanned. “Our rules provide a detailed timeline for the appeals process. There was sufficient time for it to be completed in advance of the film’s March 29 release.”
The MPAA told Pure Flix that the most problematic scene featured a doctor gazing at a computer screen that shows the image of a fetus as the abortion is completed. The doctor in the scene is real-life Dr. Anthony Levatino, who says he has performed about 1,200 abortions over the years.
“The portrayal of a live, moving fetus disappearing is very accurate,” Levatino said. “You’re watching an abortion. It’s an accurate view of what’s happening. It’s disturbing if you recognize it’s a human life.”
“We have three scenes in the film which directly address abortion, and the MPAA objected to all three,” added Solomon. “They specifically made mention of objection to grainy, black and white sonogram images that were part of one of the scenes. It was clear that any meaningful treatment of the issue was going to be objectionable.”
The MPAA’s ratings board changes often, making it tough to predict its sensibilities on controversial social issues. In 1996, for example, it gave an R rating to If These Walls Could Talk due to “realistic depiction of abortions, a graphic shooting and some language.”
But for Unplanned the MPAA doesn’t mention “realistic depiction of abortions” as being a cause for the restrictive rating, and there is no profane language, nudity, violence, drug abuse or anything else that moviegoers typically associate with the R rating, says Pure Flix and the filmmakers.
“This story needs to be told and the message needed to be delivered,” says PureFlix president Michael Scott. “It is our calling as Christians to tell the story about the moral implications of abortion that the mainstream media refuses to acknowledge.”
Friend of the podcast Angelica Hale is having a big week. Here are two posts about our friend.
Angelica Hale took the AGT stage one last time during the airing of Monday night’s final of NBC’s America’s Got Talent the Champions. Delivering an incredible inspiring performance. Angelica performed the song “Impossible”.
America’s Got Talent favorite Angelica Hale has released a new music video in support of Sepsis survivors week. The music video “No Time To Waste” was released following Angelica’s appearance on NBC’s AGT the champions in the final of the competition featuring popular acts from the Got Talent franchise around the world. Angelica Hale’s health struggles have been well-documented throughout her time on America’s Got Talent. She has been an inspiration to so many of overcoming life’s difficulties and being able to achieve her dreams.
“As a Sepsis survivor, I am grateful to be able to use my talent to raise awareness of Sepsis which will hopefully save many lives. I wrote this song, “No Time To Waste” in partnership with Sepsis Alliance with that message in mind. I hope you all enjoy and to learn more, please go to sepsis.org today.” Angelica said about the original song.
Listen to our latest interview with Catherine Hadro by clicking here. Catherine is the host of EWTN’s Pro-Life Weekly is a guest of the podcast. We discuss March for Life 2019, the President and Vice-President’s pro-life support, as well a some of the recent legislation that is getting nationwide media coverage.
Jesus: His Life is an epic new drama-doc series revealing the enigmatic figure of Jesus as never before seen: through the eyes of the people closest to Him. Family, friends, followers, and those whose lives cross with his in dramatic ways, create a 360 portrait of Jesus – the man and the Messiah – from eight different and intimate perspectives: Joseph, John the Baptist, Mary, Caiaphas, Mary Magdalene, Peter, Pontius Pilate and Judas Iscariot.
HISTORY® TO PREMIERE EIGHT-PART EVENT
“JESUS: HIS LIFE” ON MONDAY, MARCH 25
Epic Retelling of the Life of Jesus Christ Airs Over Four Weeks Leading Up to Easter
New York, NY – January 18, 2019 – HISTORY’s eight-part event “Jesus: His Life” explores the story of Jesus Christ through a unique lens: the people in his life who were closest to him. Each of the eight chapters is told from the perspective of different biblical figures, all of whom played a pivotal role in Jesus’ life including Joseph, John the Baptist, Mary Mother of Jesus, Caiaphas, Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene and Peter.
Each figure takes a turn guiding viewers through the emotional and epic story of the most famous man in history, through his birth, death and resurrection, all conveyed through a combination of scripted drama and interviews with prominent religious and historical experts. Utilizing some of the world’s most respected Biblical scholars, historians, faith leaders and theologians, the series weaves together the canonical Gospels, historical sources and cultural context to create a complete portrait of Jesus – the man and the Messiah. The series reveals his journey through a complex world of kings, politicians, reformers and soldiers in a turbulent power struggle during a time of revolutionary change. “Jesus: His Life” brings viewers into this dramatic world to reveal the greatest story ever told. The series premieres two episodes back-to-back weekly beginning on Monday, March 25 at 8pm ET/PT, with the finale airing just before Easter. A+E Networks holds exclusive worldwide distribution rights for the series which is produced by Nutopia.
“‘Jesus: His Life’ brings together some of the world’s top scholars, historians and faith leaders from diverse ideological and theological perspectives to tell the story of Jesus in a new way,” said Mary Donahue, SVP, Programming and Development for HISTORY. “Viewers will see and experience the life of Jesus as never before, through this powerful and thought-provoking portrait of a man who is one of the most influential people in human history.”
The series interviews and consulted with a diverse group of scholars, faith leaders and theologians from across the ideological spectrum to provide a rounded picture of the life and times in which Jesus lived, including:
Robert Cargill – Assistant Professor of Judaism, Christianity and Classics, University of Iowa
Christena Cleveland – Associate Professor, Duke University Divinity School
Bishop Michael Curry – Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church
Nicola Denzey Lewis – Professor in the Department of Religion, Claremont Graduate University
Joshua DuBois – Author and CEO, Values Partnerships and Head of White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships under President Obama
Rabbi Joshua Garroway – Associate Professor of Early Christianity and the Second Commonwealth, Hebrew Union College
Mark Goodacre – Professor in the Department of Religious Studies, Duke University
Nyasha Junior – Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible, Temple University
Mark Leuchter – Professor and Director of Jewish Studies, Temple University
Kimberly Majeski – Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Ministries, Anderson University
Father James Martin, S.J – Jesuit Priest and Author
Ryan McAnnally-Linz – Associate Research Scholar, Yale Center for Faith and Culture
Scot McKnight – Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary
Father Jonathan Morris – Catholic Priest
Candida Moss – Professor of Theology, University of Birmingham (UK)
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III – Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ
Joel Osteen – Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church, New York Times Bestselling Author, and Executive Producer
Michael Peppard – Associate Professor in New Testament, Early Christian Studies, Religion and Public Life, Fordham University
Reverend Gabriel Salguero – Pastor and President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition
Stephen Schneck – Associate Professor of Politics, Catholic University of America
Simon Sebag Montefiore – Historian and Author
Reverend Shively Smith – Assistant Professor of New Testament, Boston University School of Theology
Pastor Susan Sparks – Preacher, Comedian and Author
Miroslav Volf – Founder/Director, Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Professor of Theology, Yale University Divinity School
Ben Witherington III – Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary
Annette Yoshiko Reed – Associate Professor of Religious Studies, New York University
“Jesus: His Life” is produced for HISTORY by Nutopia with Jane Root and Ben Goold serving as executive producers. Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue and Evan Lerner serve as executive producers for HISTORY. Joel Osteen also serves as Executive Producer. A+E Networks holds exclusive worldwide distribution rights for “Jesus: His Life.”
About HISTORY® HISTORY, a division of A+E Networks, is the premier destination for historical storytelling. From best-in-class documentary events, to a signature slate of industry leading nonfiction series and premium fact-based scripted programming, HISTORY serves as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media. HISTORY has been named the #1 U.S. TV network in buzz for seven consecutive years by YouGov BrandIndex, and a top favorite TV network by Beta Research Corporation. For a deeper dive, visit history.com or follow @history on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. For additional press materials visit the A+E Networks Press Center at http://press.aenetworks.com.
About Nutopia
Nutopia is a leading television production company based in LA, DC and London, creating innovative, award-winning, premium content on a global scale. Founded in 2008 by Jane Root, former President of Discovery Channel US, Controller of BBC2 and co-founder of Wall to Wall TV, Nutopia created the ‘mega doc’ model, blending huge scale history series and high-profile talent from the worlds of documentary and drama. Nutopia has become synonymous with creating high quality content that stands out from the crowd, working with some of the most prominent global broadcasters including Netflix, CNN, National Geographic, the BBC, PBS and A+E Networks. Most recently, Nutopia created National Geographic’s One Strange Rock which received three Wildscreen Festival Panda awards, was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Documentary awards and was shortlisted for the Grierson Best Science Documentary award. Other recent projects include Civilizations (BBC/PBS) and The Great American Read (PBS). Some critical successes for the company include the Emmy Award-winning series How We Got To Now; two seasons of ratings smash Finding Jesus. Faith. Fact. Forgery; Emmy Award-winning series America the Story of Us and Mankind the Story of All of Us.
Like our President or hate our President, but he’s not afraid to speak out about his thoughts on the Bible. And just to point this out, but the word OPTION is in there.
Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great!
Pastor Greg Laurie has been in a message series about the 1970s Jesus Revolution based on his latest book of the same name. In the sermon series Pastor Laurie has talked about many different aspects of the last great religious movement in America including the music from that era. Last week former Voice contestant Brennley Brown performed a cover of a popular song by legendary contemporary Christian artist Larry Norman called “I wish we’d all Been Ready”. The song has been covered by many artists over the years but we’re sure you’ve never heard of a version with such conviction as Brennley Brown’s. The lyrics to the song are based on the Christian belief of the rapture.
Lyrics
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he’s gone
I wish we’d all be ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one’s left standing still
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The Father spoke, the demons dined
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind
There is plenty of information and misinformation online about what happened in Washington D.C with students from Covington Catholic High School that was at the Lincoln Memorial after the March for Life.
I believe that the media jumped on a subject with partial video clips and soundbites that were taken out of context to make up a story that didn’t exist. Oh, the encounter happened – just now the way that was initially portrayed by the mainstream media.
No matter what you think happened or what really did happen, there is absolutely NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THE THREATS OF VIOLENCE that have been leveled against the school and individual students. Even if the students had been totally wrong (and I certainly don’t believe they were) that doesn’t mean that they deserve to be told that they should lock all the students in the school and then burn it down or have mass school shooting threatened.
There are plenty of marches, protests, and rallies that I take as highly offensive to me and my beliefs – and I never have attacked and threatened violence against those who participate, no matter how disgusted I am with what is said and done.
The school now as a special safety plan in place just for this issue and school is closed today over safety concerns.
Below, there is a partial story (read the full story by clicking the headline link) at CBN.com. There are videos from both sides of the story, plus tweets and official statements.
I challenge you to comment with statements decrying the threats of violence.
Some of the threats are too vile to repeat, but the teenage boys who were falsely accused of targeting a Native American demonstrator in Washington, DC have faced a massive wave of extremist, left-wing attacks. The mob of ranting, unhinged social media users has leveled threats of death and violence while others have been trying to have the boys’ parents fired from their jobs.
So Covington Catholic High School is closed today for the safety of the students and their families. “Please continue to keep the Covington Catholic Community in your prayers,” the principal says.
Two of the Covington students are speaking out about all the hate-filled backlash they, their classmates, and families have received. More about that in a minute.
But first, it turns out the media didn’t seek out all the facts in their rush to attack the boys. Additional videos of the incident reveal the boys were standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial after the March for Life, waiting for their bus to take them home to Kentucky. The boys were being taunted and attacked verbally by a group called the Black Hebrew Israelites. So the boys started chanting school spirit cheers.
That’s when a group of marching Native Americans came upon the scene. Nathan Phillips, an elderly leader from the group, then decided to wade into the middle of the crowd of teens while playing a drum and singing. Phillips says he wanted to bring peace, but video shows him singling out one of the boys, Nick Sandmann, who just stood there smiling while the man sang in his face while banging his drum. Members of the Native American group then told the media that the boys had blocked the elderly man’s path and were taunting him, but the videos tell a different story.
Safety plans in place.
Unedited raw video – short
This unedited video (with the original sound) is indisputable proof that the Native American man approached the Catholic school kids pic.twitter.com/cFi0qRYDg2
Long video of events there at the Lincoln Memorial
Details about the previous video from the person who posted it.
First 45 minutes are african americans being incredibly racist and threatening violence against the students directly. Kept that in the upload in case someone accuses me of deceptive editing. Nothing here was edited, at all. This is the whole video of the entire event. Starts getting interesting around @1:10:00 Native Americans invade the student rally at 1:11:24. You can see them come across directly, and instigate the confrontation with the kids. The kids were minding their own business. At NO point in the entire video do they chant “build the wall.”
The President tweets his remarks:
Looking like Nick Sandman & Covington Catholic students were treated unfairly with early judgements proving out to be false – smeared by media. Not good, but making big comeback! “New footage shows that media was wrong about teen’s encounter with Native American” @TuckerCarlson
Nick Sandmann and the students of Covington have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be. They have captivated the attention of the world, and I know they will use it for the good – maybe even to bring people together. It started off unpleasant, but can end in a dream!
“I don’t know what it says about me but I’ve truly lost the ability to articulate the hysterical rage, nausea, and heartache this makes me feel. I just want these people to die. Simple as that. Every single one of them. And their parents,” Abriss tweeted in response to the original video of Sandmann
The Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School have issued the following statement:
We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general, Jan. 18, after the March for Life, in Washington, D.C. We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.
The matter is being investigated and we will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion.
We know this incident also has tainted the entire witness of the March for Life and express our most sincere apologies to all those who attended the March and all those who support the pro-life movement.
Pastor Ed Boston 