CBN News reports:

The man, identified only as Brett, is a 28-year-old U.S. Army Iraq war veteran. For the safety of his family, he's requested that his last name remain unknown.

Brett returned to Iraq six months ago to join a Christian militia fighting ISIS. He's involved in a battle near Mosul.

"I may not know them before, but they're my people -- the Assyrian Christians of this world -- they're indigenous to this part of the world," Brett said. "People are hell-bent on erasing them in the history."

"People ask me, 'Why you?' I come back, and I say, 'Why not? Why just me? Where's everyone else at?'" Brett told ABC News, according to CBN.

Yaron Steinbuch reports at the NYPost:

"Jihadi John" has been unmasked.

The infamous masked ISIS madman seen in gruesome videos beheading Western hostages was identified by media outlets Thursday as Mohammed Emwazi -- who has been on the British terror watch list.

The BBC reported that the Kuwaiti-born Emwazi is in his mid-20s and from West London. British authorities chose not to identify him earlier due to operational reasons.

"The ruthless thug first appeared in a video in August as he apparently killed American journalist James Foley," according to the Post.

"It is believed he later was seen in videos as he beheaded US journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines, British cabdriver Alan Henning and US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter," the Post reports.

Read the press release below :

Don't Think, Just Believe?
FINDING TRUTH
5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism,
and Other God Substitutes

“Don’t Think, Just Believe”? That’s the mindset in many circles today -- whether the church, the classroom, or the media.

Nancy Pearcey, bestselling and critically acclaimed author, provides a reality check. In Finding Truth [published by David C. Cook], she offers five powerful principles that penetrate to the core of any worldview to uncover its deepest motivations and weigh its claims.

A former agnostic, Pearcey unmasks the presumed certainties of atheism, secularism, and other God substitutes. She demonstrates that a robust Christian worldview matches reality -- that it is not only true but attractive, granting higher dignity to the human person than any alternative.

Pearcey’s bestselling Total Truth made the case for Christianity as a comprehensive worldview. Now Finding Truth shows that Christianity provides a unique strategy for testing truth claims, responding critically yet respectfully to competing worldviews.

What Do You Mean, Atheism Is a “God Substitute”?
Atheist websites like to claim, “Atheism is not a belief. Atheism is merely the lack of a belief in God or gods.” But no one can think without some starting point. Most atheists propose matter or nature as the ultimate reality, the cause and source of everything else. That is what functions as their God substitute.

Finding Truth demonstrates that every secular philosophy makes an idol out of some part of the created order, turning it into a false absolute. But false gods are too small to give dignity and value to human life. They lead inevitably to inhumanity and violence. History is replete with the broken lives and shattered communities that result from following counterfeit gods, whether Nazism, Communism, materialism, or postmodernism.

Insight into the dynamics of idolatry gives readers the skills to identify and critique the idols at the heart of the isms competing for allegiance in today’s pluralistic, multicultural world.

How Can I Be Sure? A Real-World Training Manual
Drawing on her own experience as an agnostic, Nancy Pearcey is a sure guide to answering the questions that trouble many young people today. Studies confirm that the age when people are most likely to reject Christianity is in the late high school and early college years. And the reason they give most frequently is that they could not get answers to their doubts and questions.

Finding Truth demonstrates that a Christian worldview gives answers that are both true and testable. The bedrock truths that everyone wants and needs -- from atheists like Richard Dawkins to hip hop artists like Lecrae -- are uniquely found in historic Christianity.

With her trademark clarity, Pearcey bring themes to life with personal stories and real-world examples. Finding Truth has a built-in study guide, making it an ideal training manual for schools, colleges, seminaries, homeschools, and church groups.

Note: To arrange an interview with Nancy Pearcey, please email pearcey@thepearceyreport.com or contact publisher David C. Cook at 719-536-0100 or 1-800-708-5550.

"A new poll shows that Gabby Giffords’ home state of Arizona is abandoning gun control, partly because fears of imported jihadism are growing," A.W.R. Hawkins reports at Breitbart.com.

"According to the Arizona Daily Star, the poll was conducted by the Behavior Research Center (BRC), which found that a large portion of the 48 percent of Arizonans who supported more gun control in the wake of Sandy Hook have now changed their position, with only 33 percent favoring more gun control," Breitbart reports.

"Forty-eight percent of Arizonans 'think the current level of gun control is just fine.' That figure represents a 10-percent increase from the poll taken after Sandy Hook," according to Breitbart.

"BRC found that support for gun control 'dropped among all political and age groups'," Breitbart reports.

Greg Richter reports at Newsmax:

A new video released by the Islamic State (ISIS) on Sunday claims to show young children being trained as the next generation of fighters.

The Daily Mail reported than some of the boys in the video appear to be as young as 5 years old.

According to NBC News, the video was shot at Al Farouk training camp for "cubs," in Raqqa, Syria, where ISIS claims its capital.

"NBC reported that recruits under 15 are being trained to use AK-47s and are given dolls to teach them how to behead people," according to Newsmax.

"'They make them watch a beheading, and sometimes they force them to carry the heads in order to cast the fear away from their hearts,' an Iraqi security official told NBC," Newsmax reports.

Ken McIntyre writes at the Daily Signal:

A conservative group’s new online ad portrays Jeb Bush as "unelectable" to the presidency because the Republican presented a public service award to the Democratic favorite, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton received the award, the video emphasizes, on Sept. 10, 2013 -- one day short of the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead and stained her legacy as secretary of state.

"The group ForAmerica released the one-minute video this morning. ForAmerica is one of several Virginia-based educational nonprofits run by L. Brent Bozell III, perhaps best known for heading the Media Research Center," according to the Daily Signal.

"It’s bad enough that Hillary Clinton will likely use footage from this event against any Republican nominee," Bozell reportedly said to the Daily Signal. "But if Jeb Bush is her opponent, she will make him look ridiculous."

"The Daily Signal has sought comment from a Bush spokeswoman, but she has not responded," McIntyre reports.

Leo Homann reports at WND:

Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Wednesday against the city alleging he was wrongfully terminated simply because he holds unpopular religious views.

Cochran wrote a devotional book geared toward Christian men in which he mentioned homosexuality in an unfavorable light. Mayor Muhammad Kasim Reed fired Cochran in January, he says, because of Cochran’s “bad judgment,” alleging that Cochran did not come to him for permission to write the book.

Ironically, the mayor also said that Cochran’s book could have caused a lawsuit against the city, a clear reference to Atlanta’s politically powerful LGBT community, some of whom serve within Reed’s own administration.

"'Let’s stop trying to make this about religious freedom, when it’s about making sure we have an environment in government where everyone can come to work,' Reed told WSB-TV in Atlanta," according to WND.

"Cochran and his lawyers say that’s a false argument the city has concocted merely as cover for its own act of intolerance," WND reports.

"I was fired simply because of what I believe. I could not allow this unjust act toward me to go unchallenged, and I will not be passive and leave this fight for someone else," WND quotes Cochran as saying during a news conference Wednesday at the state capitol.

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Memo to Supreme Court: Who Respects the Human Body? Not Homosexuals Rosie O'Donnell's Oppressive Coat

"CNN’s religion editor dubbed last week 'religion's week from hell'," John Sexton writes at Breitbart. "Religion in this case is just a weasel word being used in place of another word which would be accurate: Islam."

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Muslims to Hold "Stand With the Prophet" Conference in Metro Dallas
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Breitbart.com reports:

Conservative activist and reality TV star Phil Robertson will be the second recipient of the annual Citizens United "Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award" at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference, Breitbart News Network CEO Larry Solov and Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon along with Citizens United President David N. Bossie announced today.

"I want to thank Citizens United and Breitbart for this award. When one does not have the freedom to speak out loud and anywhere what one believes, freedom is dead," Breitbart quotes Robertson as saying.

"As both Andrew’s business partner and lifelong friend, I can definitively say that he would have been thrilled to give this award, that bares his name, to Phil Robertson for his unflinching conviction in the face of an adversarial media," Solov said, according to Breitbart.

"In fact, I’m fairly certain Andrew would have grown a beard for the award presentation," Solov is quoted as saying.

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Gilbert T. Sewall writes at American Spectator:

On December 27, 2014, at 2:30 in the afternoon in suburban Baltimore, the inebriated Episcopal Bishop Heather E. Cook's Suburu struck and killed a much loved 41-year-old married father of two, cyclist Thomas Palermo, shattering her front windshield. She drove away, a hit and run, returning about 30 minutes later.

Arrested and charged with driving under the influence, causing an accident due to texting while driving, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, she was later released on $2.5 million bail. Now a grand jury has issued an indictment including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

Cook, 58, registered a shocking .22 breathalyzer reading shortly after the fatal collision, close to the .27 reading she registered in a 2010 arrest that Episcopalian leaders failed to reveal to the delegates who elected her last September to the high-ranking position.

Bishop Heather -- in today’s Episcopal Church many bishops prefer the first-name address -- and her enablers create a fascinating tableau of the sketchy contempo Episcopagans."

This is a paganism where so-called "Love is not working," Sewall observes.

"Since the 2003 ordination of celebrity narcissist Bishop V. Gene Robinson (of New Hampshire), the Church has been drying up, going from 2.3 to 1.9 million active members in the last decade, with 40 percent fewer baptisms than in 2003," Sewall writes.

"Our laws do not come from God, your honor, and you know that. They come from man," said Chris Cuomo, co-host of CNN's New Day, to Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, according to Jeffrey Poor at Breitbart.

In addition, Cuomo stated, "Our rights do not come from God. That’s your faith. That’s my faith, but not our country. Our laws come from the collective agreement and compromise."

Moore replied, "It’s not a matter of faith, sir. It’s a matter of organic law, which states, 'We hold these truths to be held equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'

"And the only role of government is stated in the next sentence is to secure those rights for us. The government starts taking those rights away from us, then it’s not securing and it is defiling the whole purpose of government."

Dustin Siggins reports at LifeSiteNews.com:

The House of Representatives now has two bills before it aiming to protect all unborn children from the moment of conception.

On January 21, Rep. Jody Hice, R-GA, introduced the "Sanctity of Human Life Act," or H.R. 426, which would define human life as beginning at conception.

That bill, introduced by former Rep. Paul Broun, R-GA in past Congresses, has now been joined by H.R. 816, the "Life at Conception Act," which was first introduced in 2007.

"I have always believed the greatest duty of society is to protect the most defenseless among us," said Alex Mooney, R-WV, who introduced the bill.

"There are thousands of unborn babies who need us to fight tirelessly on the issue of human life. A human life is a precious thing and anything I can do to fight for the most vulnerable among us, I will," LifeSiteNews quotes Mooney as saying.

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Why Pro-Abortion Is Anti-Science

G. Murphy Dovovan writes at American Thinker:

Brian Williams has been the face of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and now he seems to be the face of shamelessness, too. Williams has regaled his gullible Media colleagues for a decade or more about a brush with death in Iraq that never happened. . . .

Note How Williams Was Exposed: "NBC and Williams were exposed by ordinary soldiers in a GI newspaper. . . . Williams was not outed by the White House. A President that consistently apologizes for terror culture is unlikely to criticize an ally like NBC. Williams was not outed by other media regulars like network crew members and colleagues at PBS, ABC, or CBS. Williams was not exposed by the brass at the Department of Defense either, the institution with the true record of aircraft movements and combat incidents.

"Williams was outed by the very grunts he pretends to support. In short, the most popular network anchor in America was exposed by his antithesis -- real soldiers telling the truth. . . ."

Note Who Defends Williams: "No surprise then that the first media standard bearer to come to the defense of Brian Williams was 'Gunga' Dan Rather. What’s to defend? A lie. . . .

"Rather and Williams at the top of their networks are a symptom of more fundamental media problems: the conflation of news and entertainment, sub rosa anti-military sentiment, and political pandering. Clearly, Williams and so many of his colleagues are more Kardashian than journalist, professional celebrities. . . ."

Journalism Decapitated: Journalism is literally losing its head. On a global scale, Islamists decapitate the very media cowards who apologize for Muslim behavior. At the same time, too many reporters at home are willing to commit professional perjury, frequently in the name of Islam. Withal, the message is clear. Neither side can trust journalists these days. . . ."

What to Do About Stolen Valor: If Ash Carter and Martin Dempsey at DOD want to do something serious about stolen valor, they might start by revoking the military press credentials of NBC and Brian Williams. Media jock sniffers don’t deserve a free ride on any military conveyance or protection in war zones at taxpayer expense. If sanctions can be imposed on Russia, Iran, and Cuba; surely, sanctions against a dishonest journalist and a network that defends frauds is not too much to ask. American warriors and veterans deserve to be covered by men like Ernie Pyle, not by liars and milksops like Dan Rather at CBS and Brian Williams at NBC."

Final Word from Christopher Hitchens: "I became a journalist because I didn’t want to rely on newspapers for information."

Related
Sharyl Attkisson: Journalism, Media Manipulation, and "Outright Propaganda"
Albert Camus on Politicians and the Purpose of Journalism

"Louisiana governor and potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal is continuing to voice his growing outrage over the Common Core state education standards, which the federal government played an influential role in encouraging most states to adopt," Samuel Smith reports at Christian Post.

"Speaking at a Thursday luncheon at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. hosted by the American Principles Project, a conservative organization rallying opposition to Common Core, Jindal argued that the Common Core standards stand against American values and causes local communities to lose control over how they educate their own children," according to Christian Post.

"Local parents, local teachers, local leaders need to make these decisions," Jindal is quoted as saying. "The idea that through Common Core, that we would allow for the first time the federal government to be making curriculum decisions, in violation of the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution and violation of long-established federal law."

"In June, Jindal tried to pull Louisiana out of Common Core, but the state education board, education superintendent and state legislature opposed such a move," Christian Post reports.

"In our entire history as a country, we've never allowed the federal government to make these decisions for us. Now is not the time to start," the Post quotes Jindal as saying. "Trust these moms. I have more confidence in the moms in this room than I do in any collection of bureaucrats."

Billy Hallowell reports at the Blaze:

Property battles that result from churches and dioceses splitting with denominations can become contentious, especially when there are millions of dollars on the line -- and as the battle over homosexuality continues to cause theological rifts, additional separations are likely.

In the latest property war, a court ruled Tuesday that the Episcopal Church no longer has rights to the breakaway Diocese of South Carolina’s property, nor can the Episcopal Church use or control the diocese’s associated names or symbols.

"We are grateful that Judge Goodstein’s decision protects South Carolina churches from being added to the long list of properties that [the Episcopal Church] seized then either abandoned or sold-off," Jim Lewis, Canon to the Ordinary, is quoted as saying. 

"The decision protects our freedom to embrace the faith Anglicans have practiced for hundreds of years -- and not the new theology being imposed on [the Episcopal Church's] dwindling membership," Lewis is also quoted as saying.

"According to Charisma News, theological differences were cited as the reason for the split, including disagreement over the traditional definition of marriage, as the Episcopal Church now supports same-sex relationships," Blaze reports.

"Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence said that the split was a long time coming," according to the Blaze.

"We’ve been on a collision course with the Episcopal Church for 20 years for issues such as trustworthiness of the holy Scriptures, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, issues of anthropology -- including what is a human being -- questions of marriage and who receives the sacraments. All of those things are of theological concern to us," the Blaze quotes Bishop Lawrence as saying.

"This in mind, the Diocese of South Carolina sued the Episcopal Church in January 2013 to obtain the rights to its property. And with the conclusion of the court battle this week, 36 churches that are a part of the Diocese of South Carolina were officially granted an exit from the church, granting the diocese the rights to $500 million in property," the Blaze reports.

Leonardo Blair reports at Christian Post:

Christian owners of a bakery in Gresham, Oregon, who were forced to close their business in 2013 due to backlash over their refusal to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding based on religious objections, were found guilty of discrimination Monday.

Melissa and Aaron Klein "now have to pay the couple up to $150,000 in fines," according to Christian Post.

"We're facing in excess of $150,000 in damages for this, just for simply standing by my First Amendment rights," Christian Post quotes Aaron as saying. "My attorney likens this -- he calls it economic terrorism."

Comment: The Kleins are not guilty of discrimination. What they are guilty of is thinking for themselves and making choices consistent with the U.S. Constitution (freedom of religion) and the Declaration of Independence (the unalienable right to liberty).

The real discriminators here and the real haters here are the homosexualists manipulating American law to impose a deeply intolerant and profoundly un-American belief system.

The Kleins, as free human beings capable of self-determination, are under no legitimate obligation to recognize and submit to counterfeit marriage imposed by homosexuals, any more than they are obligated to recognize and submit to counterfeit money plied by organized crime.

Yes, the mob might harm the Kleins if they refuse to accept phony money. And yes, the state is harming them for refusing to accept phony "marriage."

In fact, the state government of Oregon has lost its way, and the people of Oregon would do well to rise up and throw off, peaceably, this fascist use of government power. Economic terror is unacceptable.

By the way, I do mean fascist, for fascism occurs when an authoritarian state plays at being deity and seeks to impose pretended absolutes and relativistic values upon the body politic.

Do not be bamboozled by media talk of "liberation" and "equality" or by carefully crafted sob stories offered up as justifications.

Underneath that camouflage are weapons of war and hate directed at unalienable rights and human dignity sourced in having been "created equal" and "endowed" by the Creator with "certain unalienable rights."

It is a hatred in which the state is god and homosexuals are its prophet.

But it is a hatred that cannot stand. You cannot reject the rules of freedom today and expect to remain free tomorrow. He who sleeps with fascism awakes in chains.

"Black History Month is dumb. And it provides no value for black Americans or anyone else," states Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson.

"Focusing on color is a losing proposition," he writes. "The obsession with race leads to anger, blame and bitterness, which ultimately destroys people. The time and energy wasted on hatred leaves little time and energy for productive living; whereas building a life based on character and love will help one succeed in life."

Instead of obessing on skin color, Peterson recommends that blacks take up his "'Get Over Your Blackness' challenge."

"I urge you to question everything you see and do during Black History Month and ask yourself, 'Is this helping to develop my character or is it sucking me in to focus on my race and making me a resentful person?'"

Jeffrey Poor reports at Breitbart.com:

In an appearance on Steve Malzberg’s NewsMax TV show, former Rep. Allen West (R-FL) proposed that Congress act by censuring President Barack Obama for his perceived shortcomings in dealing with radical Islam.

"This is what happens because weakness is enticing for your enemy, and let us go back and remember even in 2009, when President Obama went to speak in Egypt at that university there in Cairo, he requested for the Muslim Brotherhood members to be front and center for his speech," West is quoted as saying. "There comes a time when we really have to honestly say, you know, whose side is President Obama on?”

West is also quoted as asking whether Obama is "an Islamist sympathizer" and as stating that "if there’s one thing that the House and Senate could do -- they need to bring up a resolution to censure the president for some of these actions."

Read the entire report on Allen West's remarks at Breitbart.com.

Go here to watch Youtube video of the former congressman's statements.

"While Madison Avenue is paying close attention to the effectiveness of ads debuting on the Super Bowl, it’s also marveling at the appeal of a series of new commercials from the name that has become synonymous with disposable diapers  -- Pampers," according to WND.

"One ad on YouTube that debuted in the last month -- 'A Newborn Journey of Firsts' -- has already racked up nearly 1 million views," WND reports. "And the commercials are enjoyed internationally -- like one called 'Mom’s First Birthday,' targeted at the Japanese market."

WND states that the "ads show the first sonogram, the baby’s first word, the first detection of a heartbeat and the first tears of joy."

"From the first scan to the first cuddle, every first is significant no matter how small they seem. For both baby and mom, it’s a journey full of firsts," WND quotes from one of the ads. "And there’s nothing more rewarding than experiencing each and every one together."

"One previous ad from Pampers called babies 'miracles' who 'deserve protection' and referred to a baby on an ultrasound screen as a 'he' instead of an 'it'," WND reports.

As of the publication of this post, a "Newborn Journey of Firsts" has garnered 1,303,541 views and can be seen here on YouTube.