The 3 - May 24, 2020

In this edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is good news concerning an American pastor who was detained in India for over half a year, who has recently been released.  Also, one of the familiar names in the pro-life movement has been mischaracterized in a television documentary, say some who knew her well.  And, a Mississippi church that had sued its city regarding worship services during COVID-19 was apparently burned by arsonists.

American pastor held in India released

An American pastor who had been detained in India and held in prison for seven months has finally been released, according to a story on the ChristianHeadlines.com, which reported on what had happened to Bryan Nerren of Shelbyville, TN, who leads Asian Children’s Education Fellowship.  The article states:

According to The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), a Christian advocacy non-profit law group which has been representing Nerren, noted that the pastor was detained and arrested upon his arrival at the airport in Bagdogra, India for allegedly “evading a duty on funds.” Nerren was carrying a sum of money that he intended to use to cover the expenses of his trip and the conference, but according to the ACLJ, the sum was not enough to make transporting it a crime.

Nerren had declared the funds when he flew into New Delhi, but when he arrive in Bagdogra, he was arrested and held until his release on May 15.  The article notes:

Nerren garnered the support of U.S. Congress members, the State Department, the U.S. Embassy and the National Security Council.

More than 200,000 ACLJ members also signed a petition urging for Nerren to be released and allowed to return home.

Friends defend pro-life stance of "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade

The late Norma McCorvey is an icon in the pro-life movement - she was the "Jane Roe" in the landmark Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade, and professed Christianity, was baptized by Flip Benham, father of Jason and David, and spoke on behalf of the unborn.

Now, the FX documentary, AKA Jane Roe, is claiming that McCorvey said it was all an act.  The
New York Post reported that McCorvey said late in life:

“I took their money and they took me out in front of the cameras and told me what to say,” she says, without specifying.

“I did it well too. I am a good actress. Of course, I’m not acting now.”

According to the documentary, she said that it essentially didn't matter to her whether or not a young lady wanted to have an abortion.

McCorvey was on staff of Operation Rescue after her embrace of pro-life principles. A press release on the Christian Newswire website quotes current president Troy Newman:

"I knew Norma well, and at one time, she lived with my family in the Wichita, Kansas, area for several months. I knew her to be a straightforward, down-to-earth woman who was witty and kind. She loved children and adored my own five children," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "There is no way her Christian faith or her pro-life beliefs were false. The makers of 'AKA Jane Roe' should be ashamed that they took advantage of Norma in the vulnerable last days of her life, then released their spurious movie after she passed away when she could not defend herself."

Another press release on the Christian Newswire website, from The Justice Foundation, quoted from its Founder and President Allen Parker, who said, "In view of my many conversations with Norma and considering the sworn testimony she provided to the Supreme Court, I believe the producers of the newly-released FX documentary 'AKA Jane Roe' paid Norma, befriended her and then betrayed her. This documentary can not be trusted and the perception it attempts to create around my friend and former client, Norma, is patently false."

The release pointed out several facts that contradict the narrative of the FX documentary:

• Norma's sworn testimony provided to the Supreme Court details her efforts to reverse Roe v. Wade.

• Norma changed her mind from being pro-abortion to being pro-life after working in the abortion industry. The actual reality of the callous disregard for women led her to change her mind on abortion.

• Once she became pro-life, Norma fought to the end of her life with all of the power and effort she could muster to reverse Roe v. Wade, including asking the Supreme Court to hear her case again. McCorvey's arguments in her Rule 60 Motion which she filed have still not been ruled on by the Court to this day.

• Norma McCorvey loved the women of Operation Outcry, the women who had been injured by abortion and who helped Norma collect testimonies of women injured by abortion.

• Every year on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, she felt the grief, sorrow and burden of another million babies killed in America. Even though she knew she was forgiven, still felt legally responsible for the deaths. She felt used and abused by the legal system, including her lawyers and the Supreme Court.

Mississippi church vandalized

A few weeks ago, a Bible study at the First Pentecostal Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi was raided by police based on the city's Coronavirus restrictions and the church filed suit against the city, according to the Daily Citizen website of Focus on the Family, which reported that:

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order allowing the church to hold drive-in services, and the city agreed to revise its ordinance to permit them. The state and local ban on in-church services, however, remained.

This past week, the church burned to the ground; arson is suspected.  The Daily Citizen notes that:

Spray-painted on the parking lot in front of the destroyed house of worship were the words: “Bet you stay home now, you hypokrits.”

The article says that the pastor is perplexed over who would commit such a heinous act.  Bruce Hausknecht of Focus on the Family, who wrote the Daily Citizen article, stated:

It’s hard to believe that anyone could commit such an unspeakable act of domestic terrorism simply as an objection to Christians wanting to meet to together in worship, but that’s what it looks like at this point.

We need to pray that the perpetrator will be found and brought to justice, and for the congregation’s needs to be met as it rebuilds, and that ultimately the name of Jesus be glorified through this situation.

Meanwhile, this past Friday, a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California Governor Gavin Newsom's order that keeps churches from reopening for in-person worship in the state.  According to the website of Grace Community Church, pastored by John MacArthur:

Late Friday night, the Ninth Circuit, which is generally known as the most left-wing and anti-biblical circuit court in the nation, ruled 2-1 in favor of California Governor Newsom's statewide stay-at-home order, rejecting an emergency motion to allow for religious services to proceed.

To say that we strenuously disagree with this decision would be an understatement. All credible data show that this coronavirus is far less dangerous than initially projected, even while the economic, mental, and spiritual toll of an extended lockdown order is far more dangerous. Meanwhile, although the initial response arguably might have been somewhat even-handed, as the situation has developed, religious organizations have increasingly been unfairly treated, even targeted.

The church was originally planning to resume in-person worship this past Sunday, according to a tweet from Phil Johnson of Grace to You and changed direction after the ruling.