The 3 - April 1, 2018

This week on The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance for the Christian community: a Christian ministry received flak on an HBO show regarding its belief in traditional marriage.  Also, the Administration has issued a policy on transgender people serving in the U.S. Military.  And, a number of evangelical leaders have issued a statement against the recent omnibus spending bill that continued to fund Planned Parenthood.

3 - Vice-President daughter's and wife's appearance at Focus on the Family draws comedian's rant

This past Monday, Vice-President Pence's wife Karen and daughter Charlotte appeared at Focus on the Family for a book signing.  Charlotte has written and Karen has illustrated a book from the viewpoint of the Pence's pet rabbit, Marlon Bundo.

The book and the appearance at Focus drew the attention and a resulting rant from comedian John Oliver, host of Last Week Tonight on HBO.  According to ChristianHeadlines.com:

According to The Christian Post, Oliver mocked the book, titled Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President, which was created by Pence’s daughter Charlotte and is based on the Pence’s real-life pet rabbit. Although the book is not political in nature, Oliver used it to mock the Vice President’s views on abortion and gay marriage.

Oliver changed the book’s title and created a scenario in which Pence, portrayed as a stink bug, tries to stop two gay rabbits from getting married.

Responding to Oliver’s attack, Focus on the Family President Jim Daly wrote, "Social media is abuzz today concerning HBO's John Oliver's Sunday night attack on Vice President Mike Pence and Focus on the Family. The 'satirical' late-night talk show host's screed was not just vicious in tone, but also vulgar and vile in every sense of the word and way.”

At his blog site, Daly also invited Oliver to attend the book signing.  You can read more in my blog post on the subject over at The Front Room.

2 - Administration announces plan for transgender service in military

Even since last summer, when President Trump announced his intent to reinstate the ban that was removed the previous year on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. Military, there has been all sorts of controversy, including a number of court cases attempting to prevent the President and the Defense Department from changing the policy.

Recently, the Administration issued a memorandum that, according to a press release from Liberty Counsel, disqualifies...

...“transgender” individuals from serving in the military, stating that the defense secretary and the homeland security secretary should “exercise their authority to implement any appropriate policies concerning military service by transgender individuals.”

The memorandum said individuals with a history of gender dysphoria, defined as “those who may require substantial medical treatment, including through medical drugs or surgery,” are disqualified from military service “except under certain limited circumstances.” Those who are currently in the United States military may remain in the ranks, but the Pentagon could require them to serve according to their gender at birth.

One of the concerns of opponents of allowing transgender individuals to serve is that it would adversely affect the effectiveness of the military.  Liberty Counsel reports:

In a memo to the president, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis cited “substantial risks” about military personnel who seek to change or who question their gender identity. He found that individuals with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria presented a risk to military effectiveness and “could undermine readiness, disrupt unit cohesion, and impose an unreasonable burden on the military that is not conducive to military effectiveness and lethality.”

1 - Omnibus spending bill continues to fund Planned Parenthood, evangelical leaders protest

It is commonly believed and reported that certain evangelical leaders will support President Trump no matter what he does.  Now, they generally fail to explain what they expect those who have complimented the President on his policies to do, but the perception is created that you have evangelical Christians who turn a blind eye to anything that Trump does that may not line up with Biblical principles.

Well, a number of such leaders have called the President and Congress out for the recent omnibus spending bill that a majority of lawmakers passed and the President reluctantly signed.  According to CBNNews.com, "...a group of evangelical leaders issued a statement criticizing the White House and Republican lawmakers for passing an 'immoral' spending bill." The report said that the statement was originated by Johnnie Moore, who is the de facto spokesman for the evangelical advisory group for the President and was retweeted by others, including Eric Metaxas.  The article related that the statement said...

...the budget "constitutes an immoral betrayal by the leadership of the Republican party."

It criticized the $1.3 trillion budget for significantly adding to the national debt, providing funding for Planned Parenthood and failing to protect "Dreamers," people brought to the United States illegally as children.

The statement acknowledged the importance of keeping the government open for the sake of the military and national security but the leaders who signed it don't think it was worth the cost of approving an "immoral budget."

Greg Laurie of Harvest Crusades tweeted out the statement, and added:

It is hard to believe that this spending bill was just passed by Congress and signed by the President. $500 million to Planned Parenthood? Below is a statement I signed along with other Evangelicals expressing my disagreement.

CBN News reports that the statement said:

"Next time the administration should send a different message - 'look me in the eyes; this is no longer business-as-usual.'"