The 3 - October 4, 2015

On this week's edition of The 3, my week-in-review feature, there is the story of a Louisiana school board that has stood up to charges from a civil liberties organization that wants to curtail religious expression at a high school in its district.   Also, Planned Parenthood was back in the news, with its president testifying before a Congressional committee and another vote taken in the U.S. House to keep from sending taxpayer money to the organization.  And, it appears that Christians were being targeted by the Oregon college shooter last Thursday.

3 - LA School Board stands up to ACLU

A Louisiana school board has rejected a claim by the American Civil Liberties Union that Airline High School in Bossier City engaged in what it calls “a pattern of religious proselytization” by allowing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a student-led club, to post “prayer boxes” throughout the school, according to an article on the WORLD Magazine website.   In addition, a letter to the district targeted the school’s principal, Jason Rowland, for using the phrase “God bless you all” in a school newsletter.

The letter demanded that the school remove the prayer boxes, erase any references to prayer from its website, reeducate its employees concerning religious indoctrination, and inform all students and parents of the changes.  The report says that the school board had initially issued a statement saying it would investigate the claims and respond to the ACLU after the Oct. 1 board meeting, the Shreveport Times reported.

WORLD cites a report from NBC affiliate KTAL, which reported that the next day, at a Friday night football game, hundreds of parents and students showed their support for the principal, with some folks wearing homemade T-shirts stamped with “We support Mr. Rowland” or “#IStandWithAHS,” 

Last Thursday, the school board met behind closed doors to discuss the ACLU’s demand letter and issued a unanimously passed resolution: Its investigation found the accusations of high school staff engaging in religious proselytization to be “without a factual or legal basis.”

“The board wishes to publicly reaffirm its intent to operate a successful school district in which equal access is recognized and the legal rights of all students are respected, including those of its students who wish to engage in student-lead, student-initiated religious expression,” the statement said.

Freedom Guard, a legal organization headed by state Rep. Mike Johnson, had offered to represent Rowland pro bono, should the ACLU sue the school. He wrote in a letter to the school board that, "[The ACLU’s] alarm is as misplaced as it is ridiculous,” adding, “The Supreme Court has always acknowledged that simple references to God, even by officials of the state, are an essential part of our culture and deep religious heritage in this country and are in no way a violation of the Constitution.”

2 - House votes against funding Planned Parenthood, organization's leader testifies before Congress

Planned Parenthood was back in the news this past week, as its President was testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, and the U.S. House took another vote to keep from using taxpayer money to fund the abortion giant.

CitizenLink has a story on the week's activities.  It reports that:

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to defund Planned Parenthood for a second time after a day of testimony by the group’s president. Hearings in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee highlighted what videos from the Center for Medical Progress has shown – that Planned Parenthood takes money in exchange for aborted baby parts. And it’s not the full-service “women’s health care provider” that supporters often claim.

CitizenLink also reported that the hearing documented that many of the top executives in the organization make six-figure incomes, including President Cecile Richards who takes home more almost $600,000 each year in salary alone.

And, despite the fact that Richards has stated that the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 would, “block access for folks who deserve high-quality, compassionate care,” Rep. Dianne Black, the bill's author, is quoted as saying, "It does not reduce public health funding by a single dime,” adding, "and it would, in fact, increase that funding for community health centers by $235 million dollars.”

During debate on the bill, Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas said that Planned Parenthood has never done mammograms...“because they are not certified to do mammograms. They bring people in and refer them out to get their mammograms. Look, I want good women’s healthcare. So, let’s fund it, but, let’s give it directly to the facilities that will do the mammograms and not Planned Parenthood – for them to take their cut.”

1 - Christians apparently targeted in Oregon mass shooting

Across the nation, there are many who are still reeling for what unfolded at Umpqua Community College in Oregon last Thursday, where a lone gunman took the lives of 9 people, and he died on the site, as well.

One of the particularly disturbing elements of the shooting rampage has to do with the gunman's apparent targeting of Christians.  CNN.com reports that Stacy Boylan, the father of Anastasia Boylan, who was wounded, said she told him the gunman singled out Christians.

She said the gunman entered her classroom firing, told the professor teaching the class, "I've been waiting to do this for years," and shot him point blank, Stacy Boylan said.  His daughter told her family that while reloading his handgun, the man ordered the students to stand up and asked whether they were Christians.  The gunman reportedly said to the Christians: "Good, because you're a Christian, you're going to see God in just about one second." Stacy Boylan reports that he then shot and killed them.

Anastasia Boylan was hit in the back by a bullet that traveled down her spine. While she lay bleeding on the floor, the gunman called out to her, "Hey you, blond woman," her mother said. She played dead -- and survived.

The shooter was identified as 26-year-old Chris Harper-Mercer, who was enrolled in two classes at the school, according to CNN.

This is certainly concerning for Christian believers.  Dr. Michael Brown on TheStream.org wrote this:

Yet the secular media, for the most part, is focusing more on gun laws than on the shooter’s alleged anti-Christian motivation. Why?'

Can you imagine what would have happened if the shooter went into a creative arts class, asked the students to declare their sexual orientation, and if they said “gay,” shot them in the head?

There would be a massive media frenzy with instant accusations of national homophobia and pulling of quotes from Christian leaders whose failure to support same-sex “marriage” would somehow make them complicit in the deaths.

The same thing would have happened if the killer had targeted Muslims with immediate charges of “Islamophobia” shouted from coast to coast.

Not so though when it’s Christians who are killed for their faith.

Is it any surprise then that hours after the eyewitness accounts had been released and well after conservative news outlets were reporting the alleged targeting of Christians, liberal news outlets had not said a word about the alleged anti-Christian connection?

And, Christians stood up for their faith, led by Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson.  According to WND.com, it only took four hours on Friday for an image of the Republican candidate holding up an “I am a Christian” sign to be shared close to 80,000 times and receive over 625,000 “likes” on Facebook.

The post was so successful that retired neurosurgeon shared an #IamAChristian hashtag. Supporters could make the image their Facebook profile picture.

And, I don't know who Armando Hall is, but he is being quoted regarding the Oregon massacre, that the bravest person in America is the second to admit being a Christian, after the UCC gunman murdered the first.