Conference aims to see region 'restored'

   TUALATIN — The roster of nationally recognized speakers is growing for a major conference here next month that seeks to spark a spiritual restoration in the Pacific Northwest.
    Geoffrey Simmons, an author and supporter of “intelligent design” is the latest to be announced as speaker for the Restoring Northwest America conference, March 3 and 4 at Rolling Hills Community Church, 3550 S.W. Borland Road.
    The conference is sponsored by Lake Oswego-based Restore America and will address a wide range of challenges related to religious liberties and spiritual rejuvenation in both the region and nation.
    David Crowe of Tigard, founder of Restore America and conference organizer, says the confernce “is the greatest single event ever planned or held in either Oregon or Washington to reverse the trend toward abominable laws and overreaching government.”
    Crowe says Oregon and Washington have become the “political and governmental playgrounds for anti-God, anti-Christian secular humanists who believe they can move their agenda forward here, since the Christians are either asleep or passive.”
    The conference holds the potential to inspire drastic change in the Northwest, Crowe believes.
   “Whereas the rest of the country, particularly the South, knows God is not mocked and stands up for truth, Christians in the Northwest have virtually believed the lie of our new ‘masters’ that, like slaves, we are to be quiet and serve their plans as subjects, not citizens. This conference is like sunlight in a very dark place, and those who attend will recognize it, maybe for the first time.”
    Topics to be addressed will include church-state relations, the nation’s Christian foundation, protecting parental rights in education, “intelligent design,” judicial activism, the future of stem cell research and cloning, how Christians can change civil government, winning the “war on faith,” and more.
    Host for the event is Georgene Rice, talk personality on KPDQ-FM.
Simmons, a former evolutionist, will present evidence from his years of practice in internal medi-cine that he says supports “intelligent design” not as a theory but as fact.
    Simmons, who lives and practices internal medicine in Eugene and will speak twice at the conference, is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the West, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare and Who's Who in the World.
    Other speakers at the Conference include:
   •Mat Staver, founder and president of Liberty Counsel;
   •Herb Titus— founding dean of Regent University School of Law;
   • Janet Folger, founder & president of Faith2Action;
   •Marshall Foster, founder and president of The Mayflower Institute;
   • Gary DeMar, founder & President of American Vision;
   • Gary Cass, executive director of Reclaiming America;
   •Rick Scarborough, founder and president of Vision America.
    According to Crowe, the conference “will provide an opportunity for pastors, educators, students, parents, and professionals throughout the Northwest to see, hear and visit with the most eminently qualified Christian thinkers and cultural change agents ever gathered in one place in Northwest history.”
    Those interested in attending can register for the conference online and view the four-minute “made for church” promotional video at www.restoringnorthwestamerica.org. Church showings of the video can be arranged by phone at 503-639-7298.