The 3 - November 29, 2020

Two ongoing stories: COVID-19 and election challenges, have a presence in this week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community.  The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down COVID-19 regulations in the state of New York which treated religious gatherings differently than retail activities.  And, a number of Christian leaders have continued to call for ongoing challenges to the election of 2020 to be explored through legal channels.  Plus, a Tennessee abortion ban centered on Down Syndrome children, as well as decisions regarding race and gender, has been upheld temporarily by a Federal appeals court.

High court overturns New York regulations on COVID disproportionately affecting houses of worship

“Members of this Court are not public health experts, and we should respect the judgment of those with special expertise and responsibility in this area. But even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten..." Those are words contained within the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling against COVID restrictions that had been put into place by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, according to a report on The Christian Post website.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America had sued the governor, according to the article, because of "his executive order limiting worship gatherings to 10 people for those in red zones and 25 for those in orange zones." The Christian Post relates that, "The court said that the are likely to succeed in their arguments that the restrictions violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and that they would cause irreparable harm."

The Supreme Court also said, as the article notes, "The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.”

Justice Neil Gorsuch was very direct in his critique of the governor's actions, writing, according to the story, “the only explanation for treating religious places differently seems to be a judgment that what happens there just isn’t as ‘essential’ as what happens in secular spaces.” Gorsuch also said: “Indeed, the Governor is remarkably frank about this: In his judgment laundry and liquor, travel and tools, are all 'essential' while traditional religious exercises are not. That is exactly the kind of discrimination the First Amendment forbids..."

Christian leaders continue to stress importance of counting legal votes in election

The Facebook Live gatherings called the Global Prayer for U.S. Election Integrity have been continuing on a periodic basis since the day after the Election, with the first one actually announced by organizer Jim Garlow on The Meeting House that day.  Another installment occurred Sunday night.

Christian leaders were part of a statement issued Monday, November 23, about which The Daily Signal states: 

Members of the Conservative Action Project—a coalition of American political, economic, and social activists—say they are standing with those refusing to allow the election to conclude “until every legal vote has been counted.”

Among Christian leaders who signed the statement were: Gary Bauer of American Values, Calvin Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance, Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List, former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint of the Conservative Partnership Institute, Kelly Monroe Kullberg of the American Association of Evangelicals, Marc Little of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, or CURE, Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America, Tony Perkins and Jerry Boykin of the Family Research Council, as well as Ken Blackwell, who serves with FRC and is listed on the letter as being with Constitutional Congress, Inc.  Other signers included: Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty, Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, and Frank Wright of D. James Kennedy Ministries, who also serves as Treasurer of National Religious Broadcasters.  

The statement from the Project, headed by former U.S. Attorney General, Edwin Meese, also included these words:

Ours is a government of laws. Included in those laws are the processes by which elections at every level of government are conducted. The purpose of subjecting the election process to a legal regime is to ensure that results are, and are accepted as, just and accurate. This system works and all Americans should trust it. But, it must be allowed to fully work.

And, recently, an initiative called the Jericho March announced a national gathering in Washington on Saturday, December 12. This is related to events that have been taking place at state capitols. One of the organizers, Arina Grossu, told CBN: "God was calling us to set up these marches and help mobilize our people – saints and patriots – out around their state capitols, especially in the swing states." She added, "We wanted to encourage people to go and peacefully pray, protest and march around their state capitol seven times every single day at noon in collaboration with everyone else until December 14, 2020, when the Electoral College votes..."  CBN reported that around 700,000 people had been involved in these marches since the election.  

Court rules that state of Tennessee can ban abortions based on Down Syndrome, as well as race and gender

The state of Tennessee will be allowed to continue to ban abortions due to Down Syndrome, as well as race and gender, based a ruling from the Sixth Circuit federal appeals court, according to the website, JustTheNews.com, which reported:

The ruling, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, reversed an earlier court order that put an injunction on the law's "reason bans" while legal suits around it play out.

In addition to forbidding Down syndrome-motivated abortions, the "reason bans" would forbid a doctor from performing an abortion if he were aware that the mother sought it for reasons related to the unborn child's sex or race.

The court did allow a ruling against the state's ban on abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy to remain in place. 

The article noted: "Research has suggested that as much as 75% of all mothers whose unborn children are diagnosed with Down syndrome will opt to abort those children." 

The 3 - November 22, 2020

On this week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is news regarding the overturning of a ban in a county in Florida on counseling for minors struggling with same-sex attraction.  Also, an author's book on the harmful nature of the transgender agenda was removed from a large retailer, then restored.  And, a large California church that has challenged government restrictions related to COVID has been given a clean bill of health by a public health agency.

Federal Appeals court removes ban on counseling minors regarding same-sex attraction

Robert Otto and Julie Hamilton are Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists in Florida who have been involved in counseling minors struggling with same-sex attraction. The City of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County had enacted ordinances that Liberty Counsel reports "prohibit minors from voluntary counseling from licensed professionals." So, Doctors Otto and Hamilton filed a lawsuit.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that the bans were unconstitutional; one of the judges wrote, "We hold that the challenged ordinances violate the First Amendment because they are content-based regulations of speech that cannot survive strict scrutiny.” That judge, Judge Grant, also stated, "The First Amendment does not protect the right to speak about banned speech; it protects speech itself, no matter how disagreeable that speech might be to the government. And what good would it do for a therapist whose client sought SOCE [sexual orientation change efforts] therapy to tell the client that she thought the therapy could be helpful, but could not offer it? It only matters that some words about sexuality and gender are allowed, and others are not…" The court pointed out, "What the governments call a ‘medical procedure’ consists—entirely—of words. As the district court itself recognized, plaintiffs’ therapy ‘is not just carried out in part through speech: the treatment provided by Drs. Otto and Hamilton is entirely speech.’"

Liberty Counsel pointed out that, "This is the first federal Court of Appeals decision on such laws since the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision in National Institute of Family & Life Advocates v. Becerra (NIFLA)."  NIFLA said on its website that:

In 2018, the Supreme Court issued a historic ruling in favor of the free speech rights of pro-life pregnancy centers and all Americans. In addition to protecting the work of life-affirming pregnancy centers, this landmark ruling also expanded protections for the free speech rights of medical professionals, Christian counselors and churches.

Retail chain removes, restores book warning against transgender agenda

Abigail Shrier has been sounding the alarm about the advance of the cultural embrace of transgenderism, and wrote a book called, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Girls.  She has even had conversations with what Family Research Council describes in a recent article as "lifelong LGBT supporters" who are "dealing with the fallout of this devastating ideology."

Shirer has written, according to that article:

"Unsuspecting parents are awakening to find their daughters in thrall to hip trans YouTube stars and 'gender-affirming' educators and therapists who push life-changing interventions on young girls -- including medically unnecessary double mastectomies and puberty blockers that can cause permanent infertility."

FRC points out that there are those who wish to silence Abigail, stating:

They bullied Amazon into blocking ad buys for the book. Then, this past week, a single tweet was all it took to persuade Target to pull the title from their shelves. The move hardly came as a shock, since this is the same company that still allows men in their girls' restrooms and changing rooms.

But, the backlash against Target was apparently significant; FRC reports:

Twenty-four hours later, the company released this statement: "Yesterday, we removed a book from Target.com based on feedback we received. We want to offer a broad assortment for our guests and are adding this book back to Target.com. We apologize for any confusion."

Get ready; this battle over normalizing transgenderism will intensify in a projected Biden Administration.  As CBN.com reported, at a town hall meeting during the Presidential campaign, "Biden told a mother who said her eight-year-old daughter was transgender that he supports children who want to change their gender." The article says:

"I would just flat out change the law," Biden replied. "Eliminate those executive orders number one."

"The idea that an eight or 10-year-old child decides you know, 'I decided I want to be transgender. That's what I think I'd like to be. It would make my life a lot easier.' There should be zero discrimination," he continued.

As Michelle Cretella of the American College of Pediatricians stated in a 2017 piece at the Daily Signal website: "...prior to the widespread promotion of transition affirmation, 75 to 95 percent of gender-dysphoric youth ended up happy with their biological sex after simply passing through puberty." She goes on to say that:

Today’s institutions that promote transition affirmation are pushing children to impersonate the opposite sex, sending many of them down the path of puberty blockers, sterilization, the removal of healthy body parts, and untold psychological damage.

These harms constitute nothing less than institutionalized child abuse.

Good news for CA church that has stood against state's COVID restrictions

Grace Community Church in Southern California has continued to challenge public health laws in the state and county and meet together in-person and inside.  This week, according to The Christian Post, the church was found to be in compliance with county health authorities.  The article says:

“We are glad to announce that we received a notice from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health … saying that we have been cleared of COVID-19 outbreak,” the church says on its website.

The article points out that: "L.A. County requires places of worship to report to the Public Health Department when there are at least three COVID-19 cases within a span of two weeks, after which the agency determines whether there is an outbreak."  After three cases were reported last month, the church, pastored by John MacArthur, had restrictions placed on it, but the church has now been "cleared."

The 3 - November 15, 2020

In this week's edition of The 3, there is a development on COVID restrictions being unevenly applied to churches - a lawsuit contends that New York's governor is putting rules into place that restrict worship, but not other similar types of gatherings.  Also, a U.S. Supreme Court justice has spoken out regarding the threat of state coronavirus orders that threaten religious liberty.  And, Nevada voters have decided to change the definition of marriage in its state constitution to include so-called "gay marriage."

Lawsuit filed against NY governor for COVID-19 restrictions on churches

With increased COVID numbers across the country, states that have been under stringent lockdown may continue or intensify their regulations, and states previously under intense lockdown, such as New York, may be expected to introduce or renew COVID restrictions.

The Daily Citizen website of Focus on the Family reports on the efforts of a Catholic diocese in New York to halt Governor Cuomo's attempts to clamp down on church attendance in a more severe manner than other gatherings.  The site reports:

The Diocese argues that Gov. Cuomo “expressly singles out ‘houses of worship’ by that name for adverse treatment relative to secular businesses, and does so in a way that is not narrowly tailored to any compelling government interest, in direct violation of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause.”

After being rejected in Federal district court and on the appeals court level, the Diocese is now taking its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The article says:

The petition adds that Governor Cuomo’s order imposes no capacity limits on businesses that are “essential,” like supermarkets, pet stores, hardware stores and brokers’ offices, “even in the most restrictive ‘red’ zones.” Additionally, in the orange zones, even many nonessential businesses, like department stores, can stay open without in-person limits. Churches on the other hand, cannot.

Supreme Court justice warns against violations of religious liberty in COVID regulations

Speaking of COVID and the Court, one of the U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito, has made some comments that have gained quite a bit of attention in Christian media. Liberty Counsel, on its website, reported on comments that Justice Alito made at the National Convention of the Federalist Society, where he said: "The pandemic has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on personal liberty. We have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020. Whatever one may think about COVID restrictions, we surely don’t want them to become a recurring feature after the pandemic has passed,” and he added, “tolerance for opposing views is now in short supply...In certain quarters, religious liberty has fast become a disfavored right. For many today, religious liberty is not a cherished freedom. It’s often just an excuse for bigotry and it can’t be tolerated even when there’s no evidence that anybody has been harmed.”

The justice made reference to two cases on which the high court ruled earlier this year - he was in the minority on both of them. Liberty Counsel says that in these instances, "...the High Court sided with states while claiming the Coronavirus as the reason for restrictions on the size of religious gatherings." These were two 5-4 rulings in which the court upheld coronavirus restrictions by California and Nevada, ruling against churches in those states that had filed Federal lawsuits. 

Nevada voters affirm gay "marriage"

Nevada voters, when they went to the polls on November 3, approved a constitutional amendment that, as Baptist Press states, "institutionalizes in the state’s constitution a right to same-sex marriage regardless of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, a 5-4 ruling in 2015 that states must recognize marriages between people of the same sex."  Previously, the state had passed an amendment that would forbid so-called "same-sex marriage in the state."

Nevada Baptist Convention Executive Director Kevin White was critical of the amendment, but did express appreciation that there was an attempt to protect clergy who decline to perform a gay marriage ceremony from facing lawsuits.  White said, “We of course strongly support the biblical description of marriage (between one man and one woman),” adding, “We did appreciate the protections that they were putting for pastors who would refuse to conduct same-sex marriage; but at the same time, we’re deeply concerned that these protections could easily be removed and place biblical pastors in legal battles that could destroy churches financially." White added that the change "...saddens my heart greatly as we move so far away from God and His designed plan for our lives.”

The 3 - November 8, 2020

On this week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is election news, centered around an increase in pro-life women being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.  Also, a blind Rhode Island women who had been banned from a public park for sharing her faith has been allowed to return.  Plus, four Alabama Supreme Court justices are calling for the U.S. Supreme Court abortion decisions Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood to be overturned.

Pro-life gains in U.S. House

While votes continue to be counted across the country, it does appear that there have been significant gains on the pro-life front.  As I have pointed out, the life issue is a very important concern, and it appears that there have been at least a dozen pro-life women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

According to an article at LifeNews.com that was submitted by a representative of the National Right to Life Committee: "at least 13 new pro-life women are headed to the U.S. House, and one new pro-life woman will join the U.S. Senate," according to outlets that have called their races. LifeNews.com also reports that, as of Friday morning, "we are still waiting on final results in several races featuring pro-life women;" 8 races were mentioned.

In other pro-life election news, a constitutional amendment in Louisiana was passed by the voters; LifeNews.com reported:

The Love Life Amendment, or Amendment 1, would add the following language to the Louisiana Constitution: “To protect human life, nothing in this constitution shall be construed to protect a right to abortion or the tax payer funding of abortion.”

Blind woman banned from public park regains access

Gail Blair, a blind woman in Westerly, Rhode Island, had visited Wilcox Park in her city, and during her visits, she would take opportunities to share her faith. That is, until..., as First Liberty notes on its website, "Much to her surprise, the Memorial and Library Association, the organization that manages the public park and library, contacted the police and asked them to ban her from the grounds—under pain of arrest, should she trespass—for two years."

First Liberty states: "Public gathering spaces – like parks - have always been a place where diverse communities can come together to freely discuss and exchange ideas." After filing a discrimination complaint with a state commission, the legal organization recently reached a settlement with the Memorial and Library Association, resulting in Gail Blair being able to visit the park again.

Four AL Supreme Court justices call for Roe v. Wade to be overturned

I have reported on the case of a North Alabama man who sued an abortion clinic for damages because his girlfriend, with whom he fathered a child, had gone to the clinic, where the life of the child was terminated.  The Madison County Probate Judge had recognized that the young man, Ryan Magers, could represent the estate of the child.

The case went all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court, which unanimously ruled against Magers on a "procedural basis," according to Yellowhammer News. 

But the case gave one justice the opportunity to weigh in on Roe v. Wade; Justice Jay Mitchell stated in what the news outlet referred to as a "special concurrence", referring to the two abortion decisions, the original ruling, Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood, which affirmed it: “The time has come for the United States Supreme Court to overrule Roe and Casey. I respectfully urge the Court to do so at the earliest opportunity. I also encourage other courts across the country to raise their judicial voices, as appropriate, by pointing out the constitutional infirmities of Roe and Casey and asking the Court to overrule those highly regrettable decisions.”  Three other justices, including the Chief Justice, added their agreement. 

The 3 - November 1, 2020

On this week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is the stark reminder of violence centered around churches, with two incidences within the past week. And, we remember those Christians being persecuted around the world, with the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church being commemorated this past weekend.  Also, a New York adoption agency that uses its Christian beliefs in declining to place children with gay couples has received a positive court ruling. Plus, a student leadership organization president who has been removed from his position for sharing his faith via text messages has been restored.

Philadelphia church vandalized in wave of violence in city

Within the past week, there have been two churches where apparent acts of violence have occurred. In a wave of violent protests in Philadelphia in the aftermath of a police-involved shooting which left one man dead, the Vietnamese Baptist Church was destroyed by fire.

Baptist Press reported that the church was destroyed on Tuesday, October 27, and says that "The city’s police department told Baptist Press the fire is not being investigated as arson." However, church pastor Philip Pham is not convinced of that. The article says that "Pham told Baptist Press he received a call Tuesday night from a church member whose friend had seen the flames and seven fire trucks surrounding the church. He arrived a few minutes later and said he was told by a bystander at the auto parts store that the bystander had seen a group of people throw something onto the roof of the church shortly before the fire started. The man also told Pham he had called 911."  The pastor stated, “I have no idea why they attacked our church,” adding, “They burned it from the roof. They threw flammable chemicals on the roof and [flames] burned through the roof” and down through the rest of the building. He said the facility is a “total loss.”  

The pastor was concerned about three hard drives that were kept in the church. Thankfully, according to Pham, "I saw the routers and modems and things surrounding the hard drives all burned, melted...But that piece of hard drive, no harm. No harm at all. Just two feet above that, all melted. … That is amazing how God knows our needs and answers our prayers. He is an almighty God. He granted our prayer.”

Also, in France, as the BBC reports, three people were killed in what is described as a "knife attack" at a church in Nice, an incident described by President Macron as an "Islamist terrorist attack". The article also notes that:

Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi spoke of "Islamo-fascism" and said the suspect had "repeated endlessly 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest)".

The article states that, "Police have not suggested a motive for the attack in Nice. However, it follows days of protests in some Muslim-majority countries triggered by President Macron's defence of the publication of cartoons that depicted the Prophet Mohammed. There have been calls in some countries for a boycott of French goods."  A suspect, a 21-year-old Tunisian national, has been detained.

New York Christian adoption agency's policy to not place children with gay couples upheld in court

There is a burgeoning issue about whether or not faith-based adoption agencies should be forced by government regulation to place children in the homes of same-sex couples. Liberty Counsel that such an agency in New York received a positive court ruling recently, reporting:

A federal court judge ruled that a New York-based Christian adoption agency cannot be forced to close due to its policy of only placing children with married heterosexual couples.

U.S. District Court Judge Mae D’Agostino issued the preliminary injunction against the New York Office of Children and Family Services’ enforcement of its discriminatory policy. The judge stated that the state’s behavior “demonstrates some animosity towards particular religious beliefs” against the adoption agency, New Hope Family Services.

And, as Liberty Counsel points out:

On November 4, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, regarding a Catholic foster care agency that will not compromise its religious beliefs by placing children with same-sex couples. Several foster parents licensed through Catholic Social Services are plaintiffs, including the late Cecilia Paul, who fostered more than 100 children, and Sharonell Fulton, the lead plaintiff, a single mother who has fostered more than 40 children in 26 years.

The city had terminated its contracts with the agency in 2018 due to its religious beliefs.

As Amy Howe discusses at the SCOTUS Blog, "The court’s decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia could have a significant impact for state and local governments that use private companies to provide services to their residents – if the justices decide to reach the broader issues presented by the case," adding, "The question of how to balance sincere religious beliefs against the government’s interest in protecting LGBTQ rights is one with which the justices have struggled."

She notes that the federal government has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in favor of the agency, and states, "After the Oct. 26 confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, this case will be one of the first cases argued with a new, solidly conservative majority on the court. Two justices have recently reiterated their criticism of the court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell."  Isn't it interesting that a Supreme Court justice who had faced harassment because of her religious beliefs is hearing a case on religious liberty during her first few days as a justice?

University Student Senate president reinstated after court ruling

Congratulations to the former - and current - Florida State University Student Senate President, Jack Denton.  You see, according to Alliance Defending Freedom, that Jack was "sharing his personal religious beliefs in private text conversations with other students." For this, he was removed from his position, so he filed a lawsuit. Recently, FSU's Student Supreme Court made the decision to reinstate Denton as Senate president, even as his litigation moves forward.

ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer said: 

... All students should be able to peacefully share their personal convictions without fear of retaliation. As the FSU Supreme Court concluded, the senators ‘during debate reveal that they were neither tolerant nor respectful’ of Jack’s religious beliefs. Further, the court reasoned, failure to reinstate Jack to his leadership position ‘would only deter participation’ in the university’s student government.”