The 3 - September 26, 2021

Morality in the educational system is front and center in this week's edition of The 3, featuring a skirmish at a high school football game in Tennessee, where parents and students decided to pray after the game in the face of a challenge to school faculty leading prayers.  Also, in Virginia and Ohio, there are charges that local school boards are promoting pornography in school curriculum. 

But first up, there is an egregious example of the neglect for the sanctity of human life out of the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed a bill that would allow abortion during the entirety of a pregnancy and prevent states from protecting life with legislation.

U.S. House narrowly passes bill allowing abortion throughout the country

The U.S. House has passed a dramatic new pro-abortion piece of legislation that would not only allow abortion during the entirety of a woman's pregnancy but also block pro-life laws passed by individual states.  According to LifeNews.com:

Pro-life leaders said the Abortion Without Limits Up to Birth Act is a more accurate name for the bill. The legislation would erase basically all restrictions on abortion and prevent states from enacting even modest protections for unborn babies. Limits on late-term abortions and bans on sex-selection abortions would be gone.

The legislation would get rid of laws that protect women and girls, too, including parental consent for minors and informed consent laws that ensure mothers receive basic facts about their unborn baby’s development before going through with an abortion.

The article quotes from pro-life champion lawmaker Chris Smith of New Jersey; it says: "He pointed to a 2021 Marist poll that found 65 percent of Americans support allowing states to enact restrictions on abortion – something the bill would stop them from doing."

Football team and parents lead prayer at TN football game

Football season has the potential to bring legal challenges regarding the permissibility of prayer at school events, and this year, a flashpoint has occurred in Tennessee, according to Faithwire, which reports that recently "...administrators with Putnam County Schools told staffers they would be barred from leading students in prayer in the future, a decision that came as a result of a letter from the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, according to WZTV-TV."

But, parents were not deterred from stepping in to lead students in prayer. The Faithwire article said:

The district, for its part, acknowledged “the importance of prayer in the lives of our students, faculty, and staff members,” saying in a statement to the press that administrators “support the right of students to participate in and lead spontaneous prayers.”

After a game involving Upperman High, Bob Vick, described as "a graduate of a PCS school and a fan of the Upperman football team, posted a now-viral image of the demonstration." He wrote, “Satan’s power was defeated tonight, as the threat of legal action to forbid prayer after the game was overwhelmed by player lead prayer, supported by parents and fans in solidarity on Overall Field..."

Fighting back against porn in schools

Across America, parents have been showing up en masse to confront school boards on a variety of issues, from mask mandates to the teaching of critical race theory to inappropriate material being taught to students, as was the case in Fairfax County, Virginia, where a parent, Stacy Langton, spoke up; a report from The Daily Wire said:

A Virginia mom found that books graphically depicting pedophilia were in her child’s school as part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion — so she read from them, verbatim, to the school board.

The school board’s reaction was ironic: It silenced her, citing that there were children in the room.

And, in Hudson, Ohio, a mayor took the local school board to task for allowing the promotion of pornography in the local schools. The Akron Beacon Journal reported that:

Some Hudson City Council members want the mayor to apologize for calling on school board members to resign or potentially face criminal charges over mature content in a book at the high school.

Mayor Craig Shubert gave the resign-or-be-charged ultimatum to the Board of Education on Sept. 13 after multiple parents complained about some sex scene writing prompts contained in a book called "642 Things to Write About" provided to high school students taking a college credit course. The book has been removed from the course by school officials.

The head of the school board said the members did not intend to resign, and the mayor said he would not back down, even after being chided by the county's prosecutor, who said that the material was not "child pornography."

The 3 - September 19, 2021

This week's edition of The 3 highlights two examples of "cancel culture," with a pro-life organization's ads banned from a social media site and two flight attendants fired because they dared share their beliefs on an issue that disagreed with the company line.  Also, there is a case out of Texas in which the U.S. Supreme Court became involved, in which a convicted criminal's death was postponed because a requested religious accommodation was not granted. 

Pro-life organization's ad banned by Google

The pro-life ministry of Live Action, which was founded by Lila Rose, has long been known for its devotion to protecting the lives of the unborn.  One way, as highlighted by a Live Action News story, is to reverse the effect of the so-called "abortion pill."  As the news article related:

On May 10, 2021, Live Action placed strategic ads on Google that informed women of the possibility of reversing the abortion pill process, which involves treatment with a safe pregnancy hormone called progesterone, which has been safely used for decades as standard treatment to prevent miscarriages. The APR treatment’s goal is to outcompete the progesterone-blocking effects of mifepristone, also known as the abortion pill. The treatment has reportedly saved the lives of over 2,500 children and has a 68% success rate.

However, Google made the decision recently to pull the ads.  The story says:

On September 13, without warning, Google “disapproved” all of Live Action’s Abortion Pill Reversal ads. The ads had been approved by Google and running for over four months, spending over $170,000 and directing thousands to the abortion pill reversal hotline.

This was followed by a story described by Live Action as a "hit piece" on the Daily Beast website. 

The article goes on to say:

As Live Action founder and president Lila Rose notes, Google continues to run advertisements for the abortion pill. She noted on Twitter, “Meanwhile, Google is permitting abortion facilities to advertise next-day abortions & abortion via mail. This is a blatant, political double standard: Google is ok with ads promoting life-ending drugs, but not life-saving treatments. Where’s the “choice?” for women, @Google?”

Flight attendants claim they were fired for opposing Equality Act

Corporate advocacy for unbiblical positions seems to be a growing concern.  One such example involves two flight attendants for Alaska Airlines.  Seems the airline placed a statement supporting the Equality Act, which opens the doors to all sorts of special treatment for LGBTQ individuals at the expense of people who embrace deeply held religious beliefs. The airline also asked for comments, and a CBN.com story says that these flight attendants responded:

Flight attendant Lacey Smith posted a question, asking, "As a company, do you think it's possible to regulate morality?"

In the same forum, First Liberty's second client, who remains anonymous, asked, "Does Alaska support: endangering the Church, encouraging suppression of religious freedom, obliterating women's rights and parental rights? …." She then copied and posted information about the Equality Act that she received from the Heritage Foundation.

First Liberty says both clients were subsequently investigated, questioned by airline officials, and fired from their jobs.

The article says that the law firm First Liberty has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, stating: "Alaska Airlines discriminated against them on the basis of religion, perpetuated a hostile work environment, failed to grant them a religious accommodation allowing them to express their opinions on the same basis as other protected classes, and retaliated against them." 

U.S. Supreme Court to review religious accommodation for death penalty inmates

While quite a bit of attention among members of the Christian community has been focused on the U.S. Supreme Court hearing a case soon that considers the ban on abortion after 15 weeks enacted by the state of Mississippi, it has been pointed out that there is a "religious freedom" case that bears watching.

FoxNews.com reports on a death row inmate in Texas, John Henry Ramirez, who requested a touch from a member of the clergy prior to his execution. The article reports that the attorney for the convicted murderer...

...had argued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice was violating the death row inmate’s First Amendment rights to practice his religion by denying his request to have his pastor touch him and vocalize prayers when he was executed. He called the ban on vocal prayer a spiritual "gag order."

In court documents, he had said, "It is hostile toward religion, denying religious exercise at the precise moment it is most needed: when someone is transitioning from this life to the next..."

The Supreme Court stayed the execution by lethal injection and said it would be receiving briefs in the case soon. The Fox story notes: 

In recent years, the Supreme Court has granted stays halting several executions in Texas and Alabama over the presence of clergy or spiritual advisers in the death chamber. The only execution stays the Supreme Court has granted in recent years have been related to issues of religious practice or discrimination.

The article says that:

Dana Moore, Ramirez’s spiritual adviser the last four years, said the request to let him touch Ramirez was about letting the inmate practice his Christian faith and treating him "with a certain amount of dignity."

Current Texas law allows a member of the clergy to be in the chamber, but physical contact and prayers are not allowed.  

The 3 - September 12, 2021

This week's edition of The 3 includes the recent announcement of a new faith advisory board for a former U.S. President, and the story of one of several former officials who were asked to resign their posts on behalf of U.S. service academies. Plus, a Satanic organization that uses abortion in its rituals has come out in opposition to the Texas Heartbeat Bill.

Former President assembles faith advisors

The former President of the United States, Donald Trump, had assembled a team of faith leaders during his campaign for the 2016 election, and kept a faith advisory committee active during his Presidency; a number of those members were evangelical Christian leaders.

Now, as WORLD Magazine reports, the President has assembled another group of faith leaders, called the National Faith Advisory Board. It is comprised of over 70 "executives," according to the article, which concludes by saying that at the end, "...meeting organizer David Kubal of Intercessors for America unmuted all the attendees’ microphones and everyone prayed out loud...Kubal urged attendees to return weekly for more prayer."

On Saturday, a video with comments from Mr. Trump was shown at the "Let Us Worship" event on the National Mall in Washington.  His representative, Liz Harrington, related some of the comments on Twitter, including:

"I want to thank Let Us Worship for calling Americans to 21 days of prayer in the coming weeks. America is a Nation strengthened and sustained by God and the prayers of all His children."

Harrington retweeted Natalie Harp of One America News, who tweeted out this excerpt:

“Your faith is a force that our enemies can never extinguish. Your love of God, Family, and Country is more powerful than any adversary’s hatred, or malice, or scorn.”

Former OMB director subjected to religious questioning in Senate hearing asked to resign from military board

Does the name Russell Vought ring a bell?  He was the former Director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Trump Administration.  During his confirmation hearing for the role of Deputy OMB Director, according to a Family Research Council press release, Vought's religious beliefs were questioned by Senator Bernie Sanders.  The release quotes FRC President Tony Perkins:

"It was a shocking moment to watch a United States Senator declare that holding to a central tenet of Christianity that Jesus is the only way of salvation is enough to render a well-qualified nominee unfit for public service. Vought's biblical view of salvation is no different than what Billy Graham preached for more than six decades.

"Thankfully, 49 senators and Vice President Pence in his tie breaking vote sent a message that public servants can express their biblical views on salvation without fear of being held to an unconstitutional religious test.

Vought is back in the news now, as one of over a dozen former Trump officials who were asked to resign from positions on the boards of military academies, according to Politico, which reported:

On Wednesday, Cathy Russell, the director of the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office, sent letters to 18 individuals on three different boards, asking for them to resign. The list includes the Board of Visitors to the Air Force Academy, Military Academy and the Naval Academy, the White House said.

In one letter to Russell Vought, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump administration, Russell advised him that he’d be fired from his post on the Naval Academy’s board of visitors unless he chose to resign.

The article goes on to say: "Vought, who earlier this year founded the Center for Renewing America, tweeted out his refusal to comply. 'No,' he responded. 'It’s a three year term.'  Other former officials who received similar letters include H.R. McMaster, Jack Keane, Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer. 

Independent Women's Forum quoted Meaghan Mobbs, who was likewise asked to resign; she said, "When I was first appointed to the board, there were four Obama appointee holdovers that were there serving out their three-year terms. I was graciously welcomed. I was treated with dignity and respect. That type of non-partisan engagement is exactly what we need in America right now." 

Satanic church protests new TX abortion law

The Texas bill protecting life in the womb once a heartbeat is detected is intended to save lives, but it has already generated its share of controversy.  It has even brought a negative response from The Satanic Temple, according to CBN News, which reported:

The TST argues the law imposes an "undue burden" on any of its members to undergo its "satanic abortion ritual."

"The Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (TRFRA) provides a mechanism to seek an exemption from any law that restricts the free exercise of religion," the organization posted in a statement to its website. "Because S.B. 8 imposes an undue burden on the ability of TST members to undergo the Satanic Abortion Ritual, the first step in defending the rights of its members is to seek an exemption under TRFRA. If the state declines to provide such an exemption, TST can then seek judicial relief from the law."

The article notes that, "TST claims their abortion ritual as practiced by its members is exempt from the existing abortion regulations on the basis of religious liberty." They cite the 2014 Hobby Lobby decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. CBN states, "TST says all abortions by its members are religious acts of Satanism and protected under the ruling."

The 3 - September 5, 2021

In this week's edition of The 3, highlighting three significant stories of relevance to the Christian community, pro-life people and groups across America are celebrating the Texas law banning abortion after a heartbeat is detected, which was allowed by the U.S. Supreme Court to be implemented this past week.   And, the southern California church pastored by John MacArthur received financial compensation from county and state officials after the church faced opposition for its rejection of COVID protocols and was open for a number of months during the pandemic.  And, two teachers in Virginia would would not call students by pronouns not corresponding to their biological gender are seeking relief in the court system in the state; one recently received a positive ruling from the VA Supreme Court. 

Texas abortion law goes into effect; SCOTUS rejects appeal

As planned, the bill passed by the Texas Legislature that would prevent abortion from the moment that a heartbeat can be detected in an unborn child, somewhere around 6 weeks' gestation, went into effect on September 1, despite a last-ditch effort by abortion advocates to have the U.S. Supreme Court prevent its implementation.

A FoxNews.com story featured comments from both sides of the debate. Jeanne Mancini, President of March for Life, stated: "The law currently in effect in Texas highlights the humanity of children in the womb who have a detectable heartbeat by six weeks of development," adding, "States have the right to act on what science and ethics clearly tell us, which is that these children have their whole life ahead of them and deserve our protection. Pro-life legislators in Texas and Governor Abbott deserve credit for their efforts to defend vulnerable human life."

Opponents of the bill swung into action. LifeSiteNews.com reported that:

Web domain hosting giant GoDaddy is deplatforming a website run by Texas Right to Life through which people can submit tips about violations of the Lone Star State’s robust new pro-life law that protects babies with beating hearts from being aborted.

A GoDaddy spokesman said in an email to the New York Times and The Verge, “We have informed prolifewhistleblower.com they have 24 hours to move to another provider for violating our terms of service.”

And, President Biden, who has experienced setbacks at the high court due to actions the court has found to be unconstitutional, has unleashed Justice Department to try to blunt or shut down the law, according to LifeSiteNews.com, which reports that: 

During a press conference at the White House, Biden noted that he has asked his Justice Department to investigate whether the federal government can restrict a provision in Texas’ new fetal heartbeat law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who facilitates an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

The President, who had previously said the Texas law was an “unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade...," also noted, “I respect those who believe life begins at the moment of conception,” adding, “I don’t agree, but I respect that. I’m not going to impose that on people.”

MacArthur's church to receive $800,000 payment over COVID debate

The congregation of Grace Community Church in southern California, pastored by John MacArthur, who is heard weekdays at 1:30pm on Faith Radio, believing the state's restrictions on public gatherings due to COVID were unconstitutional, had met for several months during the pandemic, which placed the church at odds with public health officials. ReligionNews.com reported that the church's actions were indeed allowable under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in February. The article said that Los Angeles County and the state of California would each be paying the church $400,000, and related:

This agreement, county officials said, was reached in the context of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in February that told California it couldn’t enforce a ban on indoor worship because of the coronavirus pandemic. LA County modified its health order and lifted the indoor worship ban after the ruling.

The story, released last week, stated: 

MacArthur on Sunday said the settlement money would go to the Thomas More Society, which represented the church in this court case.

“Nothing will come to us except the affirmation that the Lord preserved and protected us through this,” MacArthur said.

Virginia Supreme Court sides with teacher who stood against transgender pronouns, another case on the way

Teachers who have taken a stand against calling students by pronouns based on their so-called "gender identity," rather than their biology, are now working through the court system in Virginia.

Tanner Cross of Loudoun County received a major victory from the Virginia Supreme Court, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing him.  The ADF website reports that: 

The Virginia Supreme Court issued an order Monday that affirms a lower court’s decision to temporarily reinstate Leesburg Elementary School physical education teacher Tanner Cross after Loudoun County Public Schools suspended him for voicing objections to a proposed policy during the public comment period of a school board meeting. The lower court ruled that the school district’s actions were likely unconstitutional, and the state high court agreed.

ADF has added two other teachers as plaintiffs in their challenge to the policy, which was approved by the local school board.

Meanwhile, a case involving a teacher in the County of King William, Peter Vlaming will be heading to the state's Supreme Court after his case was dismissed by a lower court. Alliance Defending Freedom reports that: 

The West Point School Board fired Peter Vlaming, who taught French in the district for seven years, after he stated he couldn’t in good conscience comply with the superintendent’s order to refer to a female student as a male. Vlaming consistently used the student’s preferred name instead of the student’s given name, and although he attempted to avoid the use of any pronouns in an effort to accommodate the student, he was nonetheless directed to cease “avoiding the use of male pronouns” to refer to the student, even when the student wasn’t present.