The 3 - August 29, 2021

This week's edition of The 3 reminds of persecution - and prosecution - of pro-life individuals in the United States and religious persecution in China.  In between, there's an update on how Christians and Christian groups are involved in helping people escape from Afghanistan.

Court victory for pro-life protestors outside Brooklyn abortion clinic

One could call activity in front of an abortion clinic a "protest" because of what goes on inside, but you could also use the term, "sidewalk counseling," because you will find people who stand in front of clinics have also been known to compassionately share information with women who are there in order to get an abortion.

At a facility in Brooklyn in New York City, people have been doing just that, according to CBNNews.com, which stated:

Reuters reports members of Brooklyn's Church@TheRock, were accused by the state of violating laws meant to ensure patients' access to abortion clinics without interference or harassment.

The Thomas More Society, representing the ten church members and their pastor, Rev. Kenneth Griepp, said their clients only offered information on life-affirming alternatives to abortion-bound women which is their right under the First Amendment.

And, just last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the pro-lifers right to stand in front of the clinic and to, as the article says, "peacefully protest." 

Thomas More Senior Counsel Stephen Crampton characterized the prosecution as "about politics," stating, "The New York Attorney General has wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money pursuing bogus claims and persecuting law-abiding Christians. The real crime here is not the actions of the defendants, but the actions of the Attorney General in ever filing this case."

Christian groups involved in evacuating people from Afghanistan

While it seems like a significant number of Americans and sympathetic Afghan partners apparently remain trapped in Afghanistan ahead of the Tuesday deadline for withdrawal set by the Taliban, Christian groups and groups with Christian participation are going in to extract those in need.

FoxNews.com reported on the activities of recent Meeting House guest Victor Marx and his ministry,  All Things Possible, which was successful in getting a family of eight converts from Islam to Christianity out of the country. He said, "I'm thankful for everyone involved," adding, "We may be running point on some operations, but it's a huge network and it's a lot of people that care to get these people out." He also stated, "We were able to be part of a mission that got the children safe, got the moms freed, put them together, and then they came to our safe house in Iraq..." Fox adds:

In Afghanistan, All Things Possible is still working to evacuate more people – including a group of 300 orphans that made it all the way into the Hamid Karzai International Airport earlier this week but remains trapped in Kabul after the plane scheduled to carry them out wasn’t able to land.

Another group of refugees attempted to reach the airport and ATP warmed them about the high-risk situation outside one of the airport’s gates. They stopped about 300 meters away before the bombs went off.

In total, Marx and a partner group, Save Our Allies, have helped some 5,000 people escape.

One of the partners in Save our Allies is the Mighty Oaks Foundation, headed by another former Meeting House guest, Chad Robichaux. Including refugees, the group has extracted more than 12,000 people.

Samaritan's Purse reports on its website:

These Islamic extremists are poised to force Afghanistan back into a dark and brutal state where Christians, anyone who associated with Americans, women, and others face severe persecution and death. Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ are running from place to place, trying to stay safe.

Samaritan’s Purse has been partnering with organizations on the ground to get men, women, and children out of this horrific situation. We have been able to sponsor flights that have brought hundreds to safety—one of our partners made three trips that brought out 700 people in one day! We have also supported the evacuation of 80 missionary families via land routes.

And, Free Burma Rangers reports on its Facebook page: 

Right now we are praying for the Afghans and we are coordinating with like-minded friends to get people out and assistance in. Thank you for all your prayers and your help in this as well as our ongoing missions to the people of Burma, Iraq and Syria. I am including some pictures of our family in Afghanistan a few years ago when we were visiting friends there. We love the Afghan people and are helping and will stand with them as God leads us.

The movie spotlighting the work of that organization in Burma, or Myanmar, and beyond, will be in theaters on September 13, including the AMC Festival Plaza in Montgomery.

More trouble for Chinese church

While we remember the Christians who are in danger in Afghanistan, we also continue to focus on the persecution of the Church in China.  The government there has targeted a congregation called Early Rain in Chengdu; International Christian Concern reports on its website that it "has learned that on August 22, the heavily persecuted house church, Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC), was once again violently raided by the local authorities in Chengdu, China. Twenty-eight members from a small group were taken away during a worship service." The article goes on to say: "An ERCC member told ICC that many people were beaten by the police in detention. When the children were rowdy, the police officers threatened to hit them on their heads."  The pastor who brought the message that day and his brother were placed in "administrative detention" for 14 days.

The Evangelical Focus website shared that 10 children were among those detained. It also shared this information:

Children ages 6 - 14 years of age are requires by the Chinese government to join a group called Young Pioneers of China, which is sponsored by the Communist Youth League.

China Aid President Bob Fu explains that "no one under the age of 18 is allowed in a church building, or they will face serious consequences. In every school, children are not allowed to get any religious education or participate in religious activities".

This is not the first skirmish with Early Rain, according to Evangelical Focus; it states:

Chinese authorities had already shuttered the 5,000-member church ERCC over two years ago. They broke down the doors of church members’ and leaders’ homes, and arrested more than 100 people, including main pastor Wang Yi and other leaders.

Wang was later sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of subversion of power and illegal business operations.

The ICC website reports:

Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said, “The latest raid against ERCC, though nothing novel, shows a worrying trend that house churches are frequently subjected to harassment like this in the name of ‘law enforcement,’ where legally flawed Revised Regulations on Religious Affairs have been employed by Beijing to crack down on house churches around the country. The Chinese Communist Party’s constant fear of unregistered churches is both pathetic and preposterous, as it underscores President Xi’s insecurity toward any critical mass. There is absolutely no regard for religious freedom.”

The 3 - August 22, 2021

We live in a world that is full of conflict, and this week's edition of The 3 reminds us of turbulent circumstances that Christians face.  In Afghanistan, the Taliban is ramping up its mistreatment of Christians as it spreads its territory across that nation.  In the state of Virginia, Christian teachers are standing up a against a new policy that grants special privileges to LGBTQ students.  And, a major retailer has just been fined thousands of dollars in a case involving an employee who demanded that he be allowed to use the women's restroom at a store location.

Christians' lives in danger under Afghanistan Taliban rule

We continue to observe the situation halfway around the world, as the United States and other nations struggle to extract their citizens out of the quagmire known as Afghanistan.  And, an already tenuous situation for Afghani Christians has intensified in this latest round of violence

The Christian Post reports that Frontier Alliance International shared a statement sent to the organization by an underground church leader in the country. It says: “The Taliban has a hit list of known Christians they are targeting to pursue and kill. The U.S. Embassy is defunct and there is no longer a safe place for believers to take refuge," adding, “All borders to neighboring countries are closed and all flights to and from have been halted, with the exception of private planes. People are fleeing into the mountains looking for asylum. They are fully reliant on God, who is the only One who can and will protect them.”

Also, the statement said, "...the Taliban are going door-to-door taking women and children."

The article also quoted from SAT-7 President, Rex Rogers, who stated, “We’re hearing from reliable sources that the Taliban demand people’s phones, and if they find a downloaded Bible on your device, they will kill you immediately..." He went on to say, "It’s incredibly dangerous right now for Afghans to have anything Christian on their phones. The Taliban have spies and informants everywhere."

The Christian Post also noted that:

...World Evangelical Alliance Secretary General Bishop Thomas Schirrmacher stressed that “we should not pretend as if everything was well in Afghanistan before the Taliban taking control of the country.” Schirrmacher asserted that because “the constitution of 2004 stated that Afghanistan is an Islamic republic with Islam as its state religion,” religious minorities never fully received equal rights in the country.

Lawsuit against VA county over new LGBTQ-friendly regulations expands

Loudoun County, Virginia, to a certain extent, has become "ground zero" regarding the attempt to inject ideology into the public schools that has motivated parents and teachers to stand up and speak up. WUSA Television reported that new regulations friendly to transgender students, which had already resulted in a teacher who spoke up against the policy being suspended temporarily, also yielded a resignation from another teacher. Laura Morris announced, "School board, I quit. I quit your policies. I quit your trainings and I quit being a cog in a machine that tells me to push highly politicized agendas on our most vulnerable constituents -- the children..."

The board passed the new policies by a 7-2 vote; it also discussed mask mandates and critical race theory at the meeting.

Now, Alliance Defending Freedom reports on the addition of new plaintiffs to a lawsuit that it had filed on behalf of the previously suspended teacher, Tanner Cross. The teachers are Monica Gill and Kim Wright; ADF has now expanded the suit to challenge the new policy; the site relates:

The amended complaint filed with the Loudoun County Circuit Court in Cross v. Loudoun County School Board, pending the court’s approval, explains that if Gill, Wright, and Cross were to comply with the school board’s demands, “they would be forced to communicate a message they believe is false—that gender identity, rather than biological reality, fundamentally shapes and defines who we truly are as humans, that our sex can change, and that a woman who identifies as a man really is a man, and vice versa. But if they refer to students based on their biological sex, they communicate the views they actually believe—that our sex shapes who we are as humans, that this sex is fixed in each person, and that it cannot be changed, regardless of our feelings or desires.”

Court rules against Hobby Lobby in transgender bathroom case

Meanwhile, a state appeals court in Illinois has fined craft store chain Hobby Lobby in excess of $200,000 in a case in which an employee identifying as a gender other than his biological one claims he was not able to use the women's restroom at the store at which he was employed.

CBN.com stated:

Bloomberg reports the Second District Appellate Court ruled the retailer violated the Illinois Human Rights Act by not allowing Meggan Sommerville, a biological man, to use the women's restroom at the East Aurora store where Sommerville is employed.

The court ignored biology and plainly stated that Sommerville "is female." The article says:

Sommerville, who still works for the retailer, filed a complaint with the Illinois Human Rights Commission eight years ago after being disciplined for using the women's restroom. The store management told the transgender employee to use the unisex bathroom instead.

The commission later ruled the company's policy was against state law, awarding Sommerville $220,000 for emotional distress and attorney's fees in 2019.

That fine was upheld by the state appeals court.  

Meanwhile, the Montgomery City Council defeated a proposal to implement a so-called "non-discrimination" ordinance, which grants special rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  For the past decade or so, the city has experienced dynamic economic growth, yet now there seems to a belief that not endorsing homosexuality and transgenderism, the city is no longer deserving of future growth.  That's the essence of a Montgomery Advertiser article about the 5-4 vote defeating the ordinance, which would provide for a 10-member commission to provide special protection for homosexuals and transgender individuals, but apparently not for people of faith who believe that this behavior is contradictory to Scripture. This seems to be a city-level attempt to enact the same agenda that is being tried on the Federal level with the so-called "Equality Act," which tramples on religious freedom and introduces harmful policies that ignore science and perpetrate a radical LGBTQ agenda.  

The 3 - August 8, 2021

This week's edition of The 3, with three relevant stories to the Christian community, includes the latest from a Christian college that received a negative court ruling for enforcing its own employment policy, in the case of a professorial candidate who admitted that she disagreed with some of the faith beliefs of the college.  Also, there were a number of Christian Olympians who have given glory to God for their athletic achievements. And, it's up to two media hosts who have been suspended by Twitter for calling biological males who identify as women biological males.

Massachusetts college asks SCOTUS to uphold employment policy

Gordon College is located in Massachusetts, near Boston. According to the Alliance Defending Freedom website, "the college requires students and faculty alike to sign a statement of faith and agree to abide by biblical standards of living. Professors are the primary means through whom Gordon teaches the faith to its students, and those professors must integrate Christian teaching into every academic discipline."

In 2016, Margaret DeWeese-Boyd, who was an associate professor at the time, applied for a full professorship and was denied "because her performance fell short of the college’s expectations for faculty scholarship and institutional service."  She also said that she disagreed with some of the college's beliefs.  She sued, and according to ADF:

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded that Gordon College can indeed require her, as with other Gordon professors, to be a genuine Christian teacher and scholar, yet the court concluded that it was not necessary for her position to perform functions that are sufficiently religious, in the court’s view, and ruled in her favor. It did so even though Gordon’s professors are required to train their students in the Christian faith, and despite clear precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that such a narrow definition of an employee’s “ministerial functions” at a religious educational institution is unconstitutional.

I checked - the Our Lady of Guadalupe School decision was just handed down last summer. Gordon College recently announced it would be seeking relief from the high court. 

Christian Olympians testify to faith in Christ

The Tokyo Olympics have concluded and a number of the world's best athletes compete in the Games, which were delayed by a year due to COVID.  There are a number of athletes who are known to be Christians, and they have handled their athletic achievement by giving testimony to the One who had gifted them.

Some of the highlights include:

Allyson Felix, whose bronze medal on Saturday gave her the title, according to Sports Spectrum, of "the most decorated female Olympian ever."  Her 10 medals is the most for any track-and-field Olympic competitor, male or female.  The article about her said, "The bronze, to go with six previous golds and three silvers, gave her 10 Olympic medals, surpassing Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey, who won three silvers and six bronzes from 1980 to 2000." Before the Games, Felix wrote on Instagram: “It might sound cliche, but getting to that starting line is an incredible victory for me,” adding, “I’ve experienced the hardest years of my life in this journey and by God’s grace I’m here. With a heart full of gratitude I’m taking space to remember all it took to get here.

I mentioned gold medalist Sydney McGlaughlin last week; Sports Spectrum reports that she wrote on Instagram:

“Let me start off by saying, what and honor it is to be able to represent not only my country, but also the kingdom of God,” she wrote. “What I have in Christ is far greater than what I have or don’t have in life. I pray my journey may be a clear depiction of submission and obedience to God. Even when it doesn’t make sense, even when it doesn’t seem possible. He will make a way out of no way. Not for my own gratification, but for His glory.

On a Front Room original commentary last week, I featured U.S. runner Keni Harrison and swimmer Caeleb Dressell.  Here's an excerpt:

...we shouldn't allow the "distractions" to keep us from rejoicing with athletes who profess Christ who have exhibited and attained incredible achievement.

One example is U.S. runner Keni Harrison, who won the silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles. A Christian Headlines article reports:

After the race, Harrison ran around the track draped in an American flag, wearing a big smile. Despite owning multiple medals in other world races – including the world record at 12.21 seconds – it was her first Olympic medal.

"I learn from my mistakes," she told NBC in a post-race interview. "For this to be my first Olympics and to come here on this world stage, and represent my country to the best of my ability – all the glory goes to God just to have this opportunity. … Just to get a silver medal at this stage, it's amazing."

Her story includes being adopted and surviving a health scare early in life.

Then, there's swimmer Caeleb Dressel, who garnered five gold medals at this year's Olympics. CBN.com relates that:

A large eagle tattoo covers the top of his left shoulder, which represents one of his favorite Bible verses, Isaiah 40:31, which says, "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

"It's the reason I'm in the sport — not just to go fast times, but to inspire people and show them where I find my happiness with what God's given me," Dressel said after the 2015 U.S. Nationals, via the Baptist Standard.

Other professing Christian athletes featured over the past few weeks by SportsSpectrum.com include:

Jrue Holliday, who won Olympic gold with the men's basketball team after winning the NBA Championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.

U.S. wrestler Kyle Snyder, who won silver.

And, the website profiled the "Christian core" of the silver medal-winning U.S. softball team, stating: "The U.S. squad is led by a strong core of outspoken Christians, including two of its standout performers in the gold-medal game: pitcher Cat Osterman and outfielder Janie Reed."

"Misgendering" will yield social media penalty

Earlier this year, the Twitter account from The Daily Citizen, a website of Focus on the Family, was suspended because it issued this tweet: “On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden announced that he had chosen Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of HHS. Dr. Levine is a transgender woman, that is, a man who believes he is a woman.”

On The Meeting House, I have talked about Christians being banned from social media, and this is one example.  It seems that the subject matter - of men identifying as women - is too much for the overlords of the Twitterverse.  Just last week, a well-known commentator and podcast host, who is a Christian and has appeared at the last two National Religious Broadcasters conventions, Allie Beth Stuckey, found herself in what she calls "Twitter jail."

CBNNews.com reported that: 

Stuckey’s offense was an Aug. 2 tweet in which she commented on New Zealand Olympic weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, a biological male who identifies and competed in the Tokyo Games as a female. In the offending tweet, the “Relatable” host referred to Hubbard using male pronouns.

Upon her return, she tweeted out, according to the article:

"Remember, you can threaten, dox, harass, post porn, spread Chinese propaganda and tweet as a member of a terrorist regime here on Twitter, but you cannot call a man, “he,” because that is 'promoting violence.'”

The article says that she told Faithwire in an e-mail: “As a Christian, I know two things to be true...One, all people are made in God’s image, no matter their stated identity and, therefore, have immense value and, two, men are men and women are women.”

Well, it's happened again - to a professing Christian talk show host based in Atlanta, Erick Erickson. Not the Bee reported: 

All he said was "Laurel Hubbard is a man even if Twitter doesn't like it." He had to delete the tweet to even regain access to his account and he's banned from tweeting to his 200K followers for 12 hours.

As, Newsbusters.org related, Erickson was actually tweeting on Stuckey's suspension.  The article quotes Erickson: 

“Well, it seems post-modernity has caught up to me. Twitter has suspended me for a statement of fact that Twitter’s woke employees do not like,” Erickson said. “In defending Allie Beth Stuckey, who was previously suspended from Twitter for a statement of truth, I reiterated that, in fact, the New Zealand transgender weight lifter is a man.”

“Twitter has suspended me for stating the truth,” he added.

The 3 - August 1, 2021

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three relevant stories to the Christian community, highlights recent action in Congress, where legislation has progressed that would authorize taxpayer funding of abortion.  Meanwhile, a church in Washington state has received court relief from having to provide abortion in its health care plan.  Plus, a web designer in Colorado has been denied in her quest to be exempted from a law which could force her to display messages that violate her religious beliefs.

U.S. House not allowed to vote on taxpayer funding of abortion, House votes to fund abortion in other countries

For some 45 years, year after year, on a bi-partisan basis, members of Congress would agree not to allow taxpayer funding of abortion.  But no more, apparently.  According to LifeNews.com, for the 52nd time just over the previous month alone, the request to vote on what is known as the Hyde Amendment was turned back by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies. 

The bill in question would, according to the story, "would make the Hyde Amendment permanent law and protect taxpayers from being forced to fund the killing of unborn babies in abortions." The article goes on to say:

The Hyde Amendment, which has strong public support, prohibits taxpayer funding for elective abortions in Medicaid and other federal programs. Since 1976, it has saved an estimated 2.4 million babies’ lives, including about 60,000 each year, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

And, the story relates that the budget submitted by the President for 2022 excludes the Hyde Amendment.  

Furthermore, there are members of Congress who want you to fund abortions overseas.  Again, from LifeNews.com, a State Department funding bill passed the House last week that "removes or weakens four longstanding pro-life protections, including the Helms Amendment, which prevents taxpayer funding from being used to fund abortion overseas."

As LifeNews pointed out, John McCormack of National Review indicated that it would still take 60 votes in the Senate to move forward legislation that would not include the Hyde or Helms Amendment.

Federal appeals court says a church does not have to include abortion in health insurance coverage

A church in Washington state has been released by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from having to fund abortion in its health insurance plans, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom website, which states:

The 9th Circuit recognized that Cedar Park Church, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys, suffered an injury after Washington state Senate Bill 6219 was signed into law in March 2018. The law requires Cedar Park to provide coverage for abortion if the church also offers maternity care coverage to its employees or face fines and criminal penalties, including imprisonment.

With this affirmation in hand, the church and its attorneys now return to district court; the ADF site states that the appeals court said that the "lower court was wrong to dismiss the church’s free-exercise claim." ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch said, “Today’s decision is a big step forward in preventing the government from targeting churches and we look forward to continue challenging this law at the district court.”

Web designer cannot refuse to display pro-gay messages, federal appeals court says

Lorie Smith is a web designer in Colorado, who owns 303 Creative. She believed that the so-called Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act could force her to display messages that violate her deeply held beliefs, so she, aided by Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a lawsuit, seeking a religious exemption from the Act.  Christian Today stated that:

303 Creative had wanted to put a notice on its website stating that it would not make websites for same-sex weddings, but the court concluded this would amount to "unlawful discrimination", and was not covered by free speech protections in the First Amendment.

The ruling was handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, according to ADF, 
which quoted the Chief of the 10th Circuit Timothy Tymkovich, who wrote, “The Constitution neither forces Ms. Smith to compromise her beliefs nor condones the government doing so,” adding, “In fact, this case illustrates exactly why we have a First Amendment. Properly applied, the Constitution protects Ms. Smith from the government telling her what to say or do..."

Christian Today quoted from Judge Mary Beck Briscoe, who said, "Colorado has a compelling interest in protecting both the dignity interests of members of marginalized groups and their material interests in accessing the commercial marketplace."