The 3 - August 4, 2019

In this week's edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there are more instances of Christian websites that are facing opposition: one in the face of removal from a platform, another facing criticism.  Also, evangelicals in Bolivia are beginning to feel empowered by recent government activity.  And, after a long ordeal, a California professor who was removed due to his views on same-sex attraction has won a court victory.

Christian sites face opposition

While sites such as Facebook continue to allow inflammatory rhetoric to be distributed on its site, the website continues to go after people like Todd Starnes or Elizabeth Johnston, who post beliefs that are consistent with their Christian worldview.

And, Facebook is not alone...just recently, LifeSiteNews, after reaching an agreement with Apple News to place content on its site, Apple News then decided to remove LifeSite, which states:

A little over one week ago, Apple approved LifeSiteNews’ application to publish our news on their Apple News platform.

Today, without warning, Apple News abruptly reversed course, telling LifeSite that they had deleted our channel and all of our content from their platform.

The story continues:

Apple claimed that LifeSite’s channel “didn't comply with our Apple News guidelines.” Specifically, they stated that LifeSite’s “[c]hannel content shows intolerance towards a specific group.”

But, Apple News did not identify the "specific group" toward which LifeSite was being intolerant. LifeSiteNews Editor-in-Chief John-Henry Westen said, “...at a time when there is growing evidence that tech juggernauts are engaging in concerted censorship against even mainstream conservative viewpoints, Apple’s decision – made unilaterally, and without opportunity to appeal – is frightening.”

And, for some reason, the fact-checking website known as Snopes has an obsession, seemingly, with the Christian satire site, the Babylon Bee.  Recently, according to Newsbusters, the Bee satirized the recent skirmish at a Publix grocery store in the Atlanta area, in which a state representative initially alleged that another customer told her to go back where she came from, an accusation that he denied.  Newsbusters reports that the Bee:

...inserted the eternally gracious staff at Chick-fil-A into the scene for laughs: “Georgia Lawmaker Claims Chick-Fil-A Employee Told Her To Go Back To Her Country, Later Clarifies He Actually Said ‘My Pleasure.’”

Snopes launched its attack, complaining "We're not sure if fanning the flames of controversy and muddying the details of a news story classify an article as 'satire.'"

The article points out that "Ellie Gardey at the Daily Caller forced Snopes to revise their 'fact check' and add actual facts," which included the representative's attempt to revise her story.  Babylon Bee founder Adam Ford was offended; the Newbusters article stated:

The shameless clickbait-specialists of Snopes slammed the Bee for "an apparent attempt to maximize the online indignation." This spurred a long Twitter thread by Babylon Bee founder Adam Ford. He was offended: "What a subjective and malicious statement! This is a 'fact check'?"

Ford also disliked this claim: "The Babylon Bee has managed to fool readers with its brand of satire in the past." Snopes said "dozens" of idiots on social media believe these satirical posts are real. Ford replied "Doesn't that wording really make it sound as though the Bee is TRYING to fool readers? Like we INTEND to, and sometimes succeed?"

Bolivian evangelicals flex muscle

The South American nation of Bolivia had become a secular nation back in 2009, but the Protestants there believed that they did not receive the proper recognition, according to ReligionNews.com, which reports that, "Protestant denominations have spent the past decade mobilizing their growing numbers of followers, finally forcing a religious freedom law that codifies their tax status and, perhaps more importantly, giving them standing in Bolivian society."

Munir Chiquie, president of the National Association of Evangelicals of Bolivia, also referred to as ANDEB, is quoted as saying, “For the first time, the religious entities have a legal identity, with the rights to self-determination and independence from the State..."

The law came in the aftermath of the government's attempt to enact a new penal code, Article 88, which was "aimed at combating terrorism and trafficking," but "Christians charged that Article 88’s language was so expansive and vaguely written that it could result in the persecution of clergy for evangelizing."  Just two months after its implementation, President Evo Morales "moved to have it revoked."  Christians and government officials began to talk with each other, and this year, a new religious freedom law was signed that, according to the article, "imposes regulations on religious organizations, including a requirement to report their activities to the government annually, but in return no taxes are levied on them. And the very fact of being monitored gives them a legitimacy in the eyes of the government that Protestant churches have never enjoyed."  Protestants now make up 17% of the country's population, up from just over 7-1/2 percent in 1985.

But not all are happy in the religious community. According to the article, in the general election in October, "Morales is being opposed in his pursuit of a fourth term by Víctor Hugo Cárdenas, whose running mate, Humberto Peinado, is pastor of the Church of the Christian Family in Santa Cruz. Both men have criticized the religious freedom law."

California professor wins court victory

Recently, a professor who had been lauded twice over his career at Moreno Valley College in California as "Faculty of the Year," recognized by students, has won a court victory after being removed from his position because of his views on same-sex attraction.

Pacific Justice Institute reported on the case involving Professor Eric Thompson:

In 2014, several students and colleagues complained that Thompson was harming students by exposing them to the view that same-sex attraction might stem from environmental factors rather than a person’s biology. The community college subsequently investigated Thompson three times and, although the investigations concluded that no violation of District Policy or Administrative Procedure occurred, labeled Thompson’s actions “unprofessional.” After multiple hearings, the college put Thompson on paid leave in 2016 and fired him in 2017 for conducting “dangerous” and “immoral” discussions.

A PJI attorney represented Thompson in an arbitration period, which resulted in the termination being reversed and a judge upheld that decision in the face of the school district's petition to overturn the arbitrator's decision.