The 3 - March 31, 2019

This week's edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to Christians, includes another story of Christian persecution in China.  Also, a ministry organization has received a positive court decision over the contraception mandate.  And, a Trump Administration official has announced another pro-life move.

3 - Chinese government shuts down major church

The oppression of the Church in China is certainly a lesson in futility; the more persecution, it seems, that Christians receive, the more the Church is driven underground and its numbers swell.  But, we can still be watchful about the action taken by the Chinese government.

China Aid reports that a major church has been essentially shut down. Its website reports that on March 23, "the Chinese government formally banned the entire church, including its many branches, and confiscated its property, claiming it had carried out religious activities without registering with the government. However, the church had attempted to register in 2006 but was rejected on the grounds that its pastor, Jin Tianming, had not undergone government training as a clergy member."

The article points out that "Jin has been under continuous house arrest for more than seven years." And, a report last Thursday says that the oppression continues.  For example...

...One meeting place, located in the Changyuan Tiandi Building in Beijing’s Haidian District, was closed down. According to a ban notice from the Haidian District Ethnic and Religious Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, its pastor, Zhang Xiaofeng, had conducted religious activities there. The notice also cited a cross hanging on one of the interior walls, a podium placed within the venue, a prayer request box, numerous folding chairs, a piano, Bibles, hymnals, microphones, and sound equipment, concluding that 'It is an illegal place to conduct religious activities.'"

2 - Christian ministry receives victory in Obamacare lawsuit

It certainly seems to be a never-ending saga, as non-profit organizations continue to deal with legal issues surrounding the mandate dating back to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, forcing them to provide free contraception and abortion drugs in their health care plans.

Alliance Defending Freedom was involved in a number of lawsuits against the mandate, including representing a man who was involved in ADF's founding, Dr. James Dobson of Family Talk.  The ADF website reported:

Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, Dr. Dobson and Family Talk filed a lawsuit challenging the abortion pill mandate. The district court granted a preliminary injunction to Dr. Dobson and Family Talk, finding that "providing the coverage required by the Mandate would violate their religious beliefs."

In March 2019, A federal district court issued an order that permanently prevents the federal government from enforcing the Affordable Care Act’s abortion-pill mandate against the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute and its “Family Talk” radio show. The order also declared that the mandate violates the organization’s rights protected by the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

In a statement responding to the good news, Dr. Dobson said:

“Because of this ruling, every religious institution—not just ours—has greater legal standing to combat the threats of extinction unless they provide a health plan that includes abortion-inducing drugs. In addition, precedents are now set in the law that will make it much harder for governments, whether federal, state, or local, to attempt to so brazenly disregard our religious liberties in the future. Yet, it is still true that the price of liberty is determined vigilance.

We have won this battle and give God all the glory in it, but the forces arrayed against us are still fighting an ongoing war. There will be more battles. Now, more than ever, we must stand together with those defending life and the freedom of religion in the public square. We cannot afford a moment of apathy. Nevertheless, had our ministry not survived this fight, it would have still been the right decision to fight. Thank God, we won.”

1 - Secretary of State takes strong step to prevent abortions internationally

When President Trump took office, he restored the Mexico City Policy, which prevented taxpayer funding of abortions overseas.  Now, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that rule has been expanded, according to WORLD Magazine.  It reports:

The Global Protect Life policy, formerly called the Mexico City policy, already blocked funding to any nongovernmental organization (NGO) engaged in the abortion business, and Pompeo said the new policy expands that rule.

The Secretary is quoted as saying, “We are also making clear that we will refuse to provide assistance to foreign NGOs that give financial support to other foreign groups in the global abortion industry,” adding, “We will enforce a strict prohibition on backdoor funding schemes and end runs around our policy.”

The article points out an initial move, stating: "the State Department announced plans to cut about $210,000 in funding for the Organization of American States because at least one of its affiliated institutions has lobbied for abortion availability in the Western Hemisphere."