Some in the pro-choice community are certainly breathing a deep sigh of relief as Mississippi's Personhood Amendment, which would have defined life as beginning at conception, was soundly defeated on Tuesday, November 8. With nearly 60 percent of the state's voters rejecting Initiative 26, there is no doubt that a celebration is in order.

But, before anyone gets too euphoric about the results of Mississippi's Constitution, it should be noted that sponsors of personhood amendments in Mississippi and other states are vowing to soldier on.

In the early seventies, when I entered seminary, I had not heard much of the doctrine of 5- point Calvinism.  I was remotely familiar with fatalism, but found the idea of people not having a choice as to whether or not to believe in God was absurd.  In 5-point Calvinism the concept is taught that the sovereign nature of God means He allows some to receive him and programs the rest to not respond to His call to salvation.   I found in my large school that this doctrine was almost universally rejected with a scant couple of adherents to an old view some Baptists had clung to. The recent exploding of the numbers and per cent of young Baptist ministers who now adhere to this is remarkable.  I am not sure as to whether or not this view contributed to the growth of the Religious Right or vice versa.  Needless to say, there are legions of new recruits to the viewpoint.  The majority of the speakers at the most recent Southern Baptist Convention Pastor's Conference promoted this concept.

What are the sources of the narratives in which President Obama is a Muslim and/or Marxist? No doubt there are many, but one source that is promoting this message across the nation is the Oak Initiative.  This is a relatively new religio-political entity co-founded in 2009 by Rick Joyner, Samuel Rodriguez, and others, which now claims to have a presence in all 50 states and played a leadership role in TheCall Detroit.

[Author's note 11/15/11: I've embedded video with the audio and transcript.]

In case you've been on another planet, holed up in an Occupy tent somewhere, or just plain too stubborn to care, Dr. Conrad Murray has been found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson.

And one of the more interesting pieces of information that surfaced during the trial was the role played by Christian conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz, the head of the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the company that was chiefly responsible for setting up Jackson's comeback tour.

It has already been widely reported, that Father Frank Pavone, head of the militant anti-abortion group Priests For Life, has been suspended from active ministry outside of his home diocese of Amarillo, Texas.  His Bishop Patrick J. Zurek said he acted in the face of "persistent questions and concerns" about the group's finances.

TheCall Detroit ended its 24-hour event at Ford Field last night. I watched about 18 of the 24 hours and will post a more extensive follow up article tomorrow (Monday). In an article posted in local media since the event, an attendee said there were about 2000 people in the stadium. It did appear that the seats were almost empty. Participants also reported being impressed with the repentance of a former Muslim terrorist.  That was Kamal Saleem, one of several debunked "ex-terrorists", who claim to be experts on counter terrorism and speak to groups on the "Islamization of America."  The "reconciliation ceremony" was part of a choreographed ritual that is widely used by the apostles and prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and does appear quite impressive if you don't know more about the underlying agenda.

In the run up to elections at all levels, candidates or their proxies often say that God called them to run.  But if experience is any guide, pols should be wary if they get the call from on high.  They might consider the line from the Biblical book of Matthew, "Many are called, but few are chosen."

This year, we have no less than four God-called GOP candidates for president,  former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), (Mrs. Perry agrees) and now Herman Cain. So far.

Following are links to articles from several Talk2action.org contributors about TheCall Detroit, which begins tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Ford Field and continues to 6:00 p.m. tomorrow evening.  God TV is advertising live streaming of the event beginning at 6:00 p.m. (ET) this evening. Several of the following links include audio and video documentation.

[Update 11/12/11: Detroit Free Press article.]

Christian leaders on the ground in Detroit are increasingly pushing back against TheCall Detroit. The extremist agenda behind the event is finally being understood by pastors in Detroit and every frantic effort by TheCall leaders to sanitize this event as a loving prayer rally will not dissuade those in Detroit who now can see it for what it is--a deceitful attempt by leading New Apostolic Reformation leaders to use the language of racial reconciliation to market this event to black leaders in Detroit after having spent months framing the event as a fight against Islam to their national and international networks.

During a May 17, 2010 appearance on a rolling series of conference calls in preparation of TheCall Detroit, Michigan State Senator Mark Jansen emphasized the need to fight domestic partnership benefits at all levels, telling call listeners (see here for audio and transcript from 5/17/2010 call),

"There's always this tension of, you know, one man-one woman and, you know, the biblical belief of marriage and there's always pressure to say it's OK to have gay marriage or it's OK to have a partnership or whatever it happens to be.

...You know, things that happen among even state employees or public employees. They'll want their insurance to cover their partner... that's an issue that we all, we really all need to be fighting really in our own back yards and at the state level and at the federal level. `Cause they are aggressive yet quietly aggressive when it comes to things like that."

While TheCall event is taking place inside Ford Field, there will also be a gathering of clergy marching from the Occupy Detroit base at Grand Circus and Woodward to Ford Field under the banner of "Crusade against Hate," according to the Detroit News.

Many public schools are finally taking an overdue look at the problem of bullying. A number of state legislatures have even weighed in to address the issue.

That's good news. After all, it's impossible for a young person to do well in school if he or she is being bullied or is worried about being bullied.