In conjunction with FRC's Watchmen on the Wall, Illinois Family Institute is hosting a prayer gathering on September 17th, in Springfield, to pray for our state and nation. The fact that this is an election year only accentuates the urgency of such a gathering.
The prophet Jeremiah told the people of God in Babylon to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:4-7)
The post September Gathering to Pray for Illinois and the Nation appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
Illinois Family Institute is proud to be welcoming George Barna as our keynote speaker at our fall banquet to share his faith, political insights and his most recent polling work regarding faith-based statistics, leadership and upcoming elections in the United States. Mr. Barna, who founded the Barna Research Group in 1984, is now the Executive Director of the American Culture and Faith Institute which regularly conducts national surveys to gauge the sentiment and activity of politically conservative, spiritual active Christians in America.
Mr. Barna is the author of more than 50 books, mostly addressing leadership, social trends, church dynamics and …
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What the heck is wrong with Denver attorney “Autumn” Charlie Scardina? Oh yeah, he’s delusional. He thinks he is or wants to be a woman. And he definitely masquerades as one. That’s not an excuse for his reprehensible act of going after Masterpiece Cakeshop baker Jack Phillips, but it may help explain it.
In June 2017, just after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take Phillips’ case regarding his refusal to bake a cake for a same-sex faux-marriage and in full knowledge that Phillips would refuse his request, Scardina called the bakery to try to order a …
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Why is it that organizations like the SPLC can designate conservative Christians as hate groups while ignoring radical leftists like Antifa? Why is it that Facebook and Google and YouTube and Twitter appear to punish conservatives disproportionately for alleged violations of community guidelines? The answer is as disturbing as it is simple. The left believes it is so morally and intellectually superior to the right that it can see nothing wrong with its extreme positions and hostile words. Is it wrong to be intolerant of bigots? Is it wrong to hate (or even punch) a Nazi?
The post The Real Reason for the Left’s Double Standard on Hate Speech appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
Illinois' senior U.S. Senator, Dick Durbin, recently introduced legislation in Washington, D.C. to crack down on flavored tobacco in e-cigarettes. He believes Big Tobacco is marketing to children with flavors like cake batter, whipped cream and gummy bears. As a mother and grandmother, I applaud his efforts.
But there’s another industry targeting kids right under our adult noses - Big Marijuana.
The post Addiction: Big Marijuana Targeting Children appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
There’s uncertainty surrounding the future of an Illinois law now that the Supreme Court has ruled against a similar statute in California requiring pro-life pregnancy care centers to inform expecting mothers about the availability of abortions.…
The post Do Not Resuscitate: Illinois SB 1564 appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
In a 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer in April 2015, Bruce Jenner announced he is a “transgender woman,” saying that he had dealt with gender dysphoria since his youth and that, "for all intents and purposes, I'm a woman."
In the summer of 2017, Pastor Paul Williams, who led the conservative church-planting organization Orchard Group for 20 years, announced he is a “transgender woman.”
The post Does Gender Really Matter? appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
We at IFI identify as theologically orthodox, Bible-believing Christians. Our faith is central to our identity. We did not choose this identity. We were chosen. We must act in accordance with our faith in order to be our authentic selves. We believe compassion and love are irrevocably connected to and dependent on truth.
Our Christian identity prohibits us from lying, which means we are not permitted to pretend that men are women or vice versa.
We are not permitted to pretend that the erotic and/or romantic union of two people of the same sex is or ever could be a …
The post Will “Progressives” Affirm Identity of Christ-Followers? appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
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The post Marijuana and Brain Damage appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
Among the reasonable and fairly well-defined criteria Twitter uses to censor content is this more ambiguous criterion: content “that incites fear about a protected group” or that “degrades someone.”
Does Twitter think it’s degrading to say “homosexual acts degrade persons”? What if homosexual acts do degrade persons? What words constitute an incitement to fear? Does it incite “fear about a protected group” to say that allowing biological males in women’s private spaces is an assault on decency and puts at risk the safety of girls and women? Does Twitter think saying “polyamory is wrong, and its normalization harms society” would …
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How did you come to faith in Jesus? For most of us, a parent, grandparent, Sunday school teacher, or other influential person in our life shared the Gospel with us, answered our questions, encouraged and prayed over us, leading us to the point where we were ready to embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior. No doubt we’ve heard of someone who came to faith in Jesus by reading a tract, watching a Billy Graham crusade on television, maybe listening to Ray Comfort ask probing question, or hearing a teaching program on a Christian radio station, but usually decisions to …
The post Radical Islam to Agnosticism to Disciple of Christ appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
Why is it considered "liberal" to compel others to say or fund things they don't believe? That's a question raised by three Supreme Court decisions this year. And it's a puzzling development for those of us old enough to remember when liberals championed free speech — even advocacy of sedition or sodomy — and conservatives wanted government to restrain or limit it.
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This is a story that illuminates the critical importance of sound church leadership informed by unequivocal, courageous commitment to biblical truth.
No Protestant denomination will be spared attacks on theological orthodoxy by apostates and heretics who view Scripture as a means to their pernicious ends of normalizing sexual sin. The attacks will come in fits and starts, and the victories for wolves in sheep’s clothing will be incremental. True Christ-followers need to be steeped in Scripture, led by pastors who know and boldly teach truth, discerning, and committed to suffering for Christ and his kingdom.
The recent Evangelical Covenant Church …
The post Trouble in the Evangelical Covenant Church appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
It’s true that socialist Bernie Sanders is anything but a millennial. And it’s true that socialism was popular long before any millennials were born. But there’s no doubt that socialism is becoming increasingly popular among young people today. Why?
According to the Daily Caller, “Young people view socialism as more attractive than older people. Of people ages 18-29, 55 percent considered socialism favorably compared to other age groups, according to a 2016 Gallup poll. Only 37 percent of people between the ages 30 and 49 viewed socialism as positive. 27% percent of people between 50 and 64 years …
The post Three Reasons Why So Many Millennials Love Socialism appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
We often hear the question, “How does _____ (fill in the blank with some sexually deviant activity) affect you?” Such a question reveals an all-too-common degree of ignorance about how ideas affect culture. Such a question ignores how much time it takes for ideas to percolate through culture. Let’s look at the most recent deviant ideology to capture the dulled imaginations of foolish, self-indulgent people: the “trans” ideology. Despite its relative newness, we’re already seeing the effects of the science-denying, reality-denying, nonsensical assumptions of the “trans” cult, which have been spreading like wildfire, torching everything decent in their path.…
The post Is ANYONE Affected by “Trans” Deviance? appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
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Bifenazate, Trifloxystrobin, Abamectin, Bifenthrin. Do these names sound like healthy ingredients or chemicals you would feel comfortable ingesting in foods or beverages? These are pesticides that have been discovered in laboratory-tested samples of “medical” marijuana and marijuana products that were promoted and sold as pesticide-free by California dispensaries.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Bifenazate has no anticipated dietary exposures. Therefore, an aggregate risk assessment is not warranted.” Additionally, the EPA states that, “the uses proposed for bifenazate are non-food uses and there are no expected dietary exposures. Therefore FQPA [Food Quality Protection Act] safety factor considerations …
The post Insult and Injury: The Problem of Pot and Pesticides appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
Truth is, abortion is not health care. And the truth is the number of taxpayer funded abortions is increasing dramatically in Illinois following Governor Rauner’s signature on House Bill 40.…
The post Legal Abortion At Risk? appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
How could a dude from 1926 have nailed the state of 2018 American culture so accurately in just one simple quote?
The post The Mind of Godless Man is Both Silly and Dangerous appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.
When you look at the history of Christianity in the West, it is largely defined (despite popular anti-Christian myth to the contrary) by Christians promoting social justice and charity for the poor and underprivileged. No other social group has been responsible for more positive social reform and improvements for the underprivileged, sick and downtrodden than Christians.
The post Why Some Conservatives Don’t Like Social Justice appeared first on Illinois Family Institute.