(AgapePress) - Christians in North Carolina have taken a stand against the pro-homosexual agenda — and they’re winning some of the battles.

Churches in the Charlotte area have taken on homosexual activists recently, and the results have been encouraging. Flip Benham of Operation Save America says he is elated. “As the Church comes out of the closet, we are finding out that many of the enemies of God are moving back into the closet,” he says.

A case in point, Benham says, was the recent cancellation of the “Charlotte Pride” parade, a springtime gathering that in past years has featured transvestite dancers, homosexual comedians, and vendor booths pushing sadomasochism (S&M) merchandise. He credits the activist members of Operation Save America and their supporters with the turnabout.

“They just got so fed up with us that many of them left,” he says. “And by the way, many of them came to know Christ through the witnessing of hundreds of Christians who came out in the street.”

In another example 900 Christians showed up at a school board meeting where a proposal for a homosexual club in a local high school was denied — because churches took a stand, says Benham.

“I hope that this sends a bright ray of hope out to our entire country that many of the battles can be won if we, the Church, will simply come out of the closet, come out of the four walls, and just live our faith out in the streets,” the ministry leader says.

The Bible is right, says Benham, adding that it is great to see the Church take a stand. “We’ve found out that it’s true that when the church of Jesus Christ arrives at the gates of hell, the gates of hell cannot prevail against it,” he exclaims.

- Bill Fancher

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/4/252006b.asp

A federal judge has ruled that a Ten Commandments monument that’s stood on an Ohio courthouse lawn for almost 50 years does not promote religion and can remain in place. Judge James Carr said the monument can stay because the motives for placing it outside the Lucas County courthouse were secular and not an endorsement of a specific belief. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio sued Lucas County in 2002 to have the display removed, saying it was unconstitutional and promoted religion. Carr’s decision followed a ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court that Ten Commandments are permissible if their main purpose is to honor the nation’s legal, rather than religious, traditions, and if they do not promote one religious sect over another.

[AP]

Amid the latest Islamic terrorist attacks, the world’s best known Buddhist monk is claiming Islam is really a compassionate faith that is being unfairly maligned. The Dalai Lama spoke to a gathering of international Islamic leaders in San Francisco, California, over the weekend and told listeners that all human beings are prone to violence and an entire faith should not be judged by what he called “a few mischievous people.” One of the organizers of the San Francisco meeting said he hoped the presence of the Dalai Lama could warm Americans to Islam, since many Americans have mixed feelings about that religion but are receptive to Buddhism. According to Associated Press reports, around 500 people attended the religious gathering. Along with the Buddhist Dalai Lama and Muslim speakers, the event featured presenters from roughly 30 countries and representing several religious traditions.

-Fred Jackson