The 3 - July 28, 2019

This week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, involves two stories out of South Carolina - one with a rather happy ending involving a memorial to police officers that contained the name, "Lord," and another that is related to graduation speech, specifically religious content.  And, the U.S. House passed a resolution recently, by a wide margin, that shows support to Israel.

Flap over police memorial in SC city: city officials restore monument and the name, "Lord"

A statement from the South Carolina city said it well: "This was a tough week in Tega Cay." That is from a Fox Carolina report.  That "tough week" was the result of a series of unforced errors by the city in response to a Fallen Officer’s Memorial, which was situated outside the city’s police department.

Inscribed on the monument was the Police Officers' Prayer, and according to Fox Carolina, the city had "initially painted over the word 'Lord,' which appeared in several places on the monument, because city leaders were fearful of a lawsuit after a resident complained."

Then, a statement released to The Herald by the city on Thursday stated: “At this time, we have removed the monument while we continue to seek a solution that expresses our unwavering support and gratitude to those who risk their lives every day for ours...We will continue to welcome feedback from our residents and seek further guidance from our legal team until we can find a viable solution for all concerned.”

All of this came about as the result of this, as the Herald reported: "A Tega Cay resident protested at the July 15 city council meeting."

The city released a statement on Friday, saying, according to Fox Carolina:

After careful consideration and much conversation with people on both sides of the discussion, City Council has made the decision that the Police Officer's Prayer will be restored to its original condition and returned to the Fallen Officers’ Memorial located at the new police station. We want to thank everyone for voicing your opinion, as it’s not always easy to do so on such a sensitive subject.

SC school district forces graduation prayer restrictions

More news out of South Carolina this week, where a judge has placed restrictions on graduation speech in the Greenville school district, according to the Greenville News website.  The site says:

Graduation ceremonies at Greenville County Schools will no longer be allowed to include official student-led prayer or language that asks the audience to stand or bow after the U.S. District Court of South Carolina ruled in favor of a humanist group in a longstanding lawsuit.

The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Bruce Hendricks, said, according to the newspaper, that, "Schools will not be allowed to play religious music and students cannot submit prayers for review by school officials prior to the event, as has been done in recent years, but students who choose to pray during time allotted for student remarks may still do so provided it’s done without the knowledge or guidance of school officials, without asking the audience to participate and without pre-planning as part of the program."

The lawsuit was brought by the American Humanist Association. Beth Brotherton of Greenville County Schools said, "We are pleased that the Court has upheld the fundamental issue of the case and supported our position that students selected to speak at graduations based upon religiously neutral criteria have the right to share their personal stories, even if those include a religious message,” adding, “We are also pleased that the Court refused to grant AHA’s request to prevent all remotely religious messaging or prayer at School District events.” But, AHA was doing a victory lap, with spokesperson Monica Miller saying, "We are thrilled that the court is finally putting an end to flagrant school-sponsored prayers and Christian hymns at public school graduation ceremonies..."

U.S. House overwhelmingly votes for pro-Israel, anti-BDS resolution

The U.S. House of Representatives demonstrated support for Israel in a resolution that passed last week by a large margin, according to ChristianHeadlines.com, which described the resolution as "calling Israel a 'key ally' and criticizing a prominent movement to boycott the Jewish state."

The bill passed 398-17; 16 opposing votes came from Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib, three of the four members of  the "Squad;" the other member, Ayanna Pressley, voted in favor of the resolution.

The article states...

...the pro-Israel resolution that passed the House explicitly criticizes the BDS movement. That resolution calls Israel a “democratic, Jewish State” that is a “key ally and strategic partner of the United States.”

“The Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) targeting Israel is a campaign that does not favor a two-state solution and that seeks to exclude the State of Israel and the Israeli people from the economic, cultural, and academic life of the rest of the world,” the pro-Israel resolution says. “... [T]he BDS Movement does not recognize, and many of its supporters explicitly deny, the right of the Jewish people to national self-determination.”

Meanwhile,  according to Christian Headlines, Rep. Omar had announced her own resolution, “affirming that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights.” The story says that, "Omar’s resolution doesn’t mention Israel, but she told reporters it was the intended target. The resolution does, however, mention boycotts of Nazi Germany and South African apartheid as positive examples from U.S. history." According to The Hill, Pressley is a co-sponsor of that resolution.

The 3 - July 21, 2019

This week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is news that has emerged from a special conference this week on religious freedom, the formation of a new alliance from a variety of nations to address that topic.  Also, school children in a British city will no longer be allowed to congregate at a public library, due to their inclusion of Christian songs in a group meeting.  And, the chaplain of the U.S. House offered a prayer this week incorporating elements of spiritual warfare following a tumultuous week.

Secretary of State announces International Religious Freedom Alliance

This past week, the U.S. State Department sponsored its second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. ReligionNews.com reported on the events, stating that there were "two days of meetings where survivors shared their stories of persecution and some of the almost 900 religious leaders and activists in attendance made plans to foster interfaith understanding."

The article also said:

Before a gathering of representatives of 106 countries, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced plans to create the International Religious Freedom Alliance.

During the event that spanned three days, according to the article, "speakers hailed religious freedom victories that had occurred since the first ministerial a year ago. That included the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson, an American evangelical detained in Turkey for two years." Brunson prayed at a Thursday luncheon for "heads of delegations," and said, "I bless you in the name of my king, Jesus Christ."

About this new alliance, Pompeo said, “We hope that this new vehicle — the first-ever international body devoted to this specific topic – will build on efforts to date and bring like-minded countries together to confront challenges of international religious freedom,” adding, “It will provide a space for the work that we do here to flourish throughout the year.”

Other speakers included Vice-President Mike Pence, who declared, “The United States stands with all victims of religious persecution and the American people have them in our hearts — and in our prayers...”

British library bans church group from assembling

In Great Britain, a children's group that has been prevented from meeting at the public library, as it has done for the past eight years.

According to ChristianHeadlines.com:

The volunteers at Noah's Ark playgroup says it had been meeting at the Burgess Hill Library in the British county of West Sussex for eight years – they had never encountered any issues until now.

Despite the group serving the local community for free, library officials demanded that they move elsewhere after some parents complained that they were unhappy with the Christian message contained within the songs.

The article quoted from the Mid Sussex Times, which had reported on a statement from a "spokesperson from the West Sussex County Council," who said: “Rhyme time sessions are held every week in all West Sussex libraries and are open to everyone including families of any faith or no faith. In Burgess Hill, a partnership was formed with a local faith group some years ago before rhyme time sessions were offered across all libraries.”

The Christian Headlines piece said that, "Many of the regular attendees were absolutely outraged at the decision to cancel the group." A spokesperson for The King’s Church Mid-Sussex said that the church was “sad that our involvement in Baby Rhyme Time is coming to an end after eight years," but that "we respect the decision of West Sussex Library services and we will continue to do all that we can to serve them and our local community.”

Meanwhile, Liberty Counsel reported on the recent American Library Association annual conference, attended by some 21,000 people, stating that it "provided librarians from across the country with strategies for bringing LGBT propaganda, pornography, and “drag queen story times” for children into primarily taxpayer-funded public libraries while avoiding parents’ knowledge. The report says that the ALA "also provides librarians 'crisis communication plans' to 'shield themselves' from events or materials they provide using public resources that generate a public backlash, such as the 'drag queen story hours.'"

U.S. House chaplain prays against "spirits of darkness"

It was certainly a contentious week in the U.S. House of Representatives, as lawmakers passed a resolution denouncing the President for his criticism of 4 members of the House, and an attempt to impeach Mr. Trump was turned back.  No doubt, those events contributed to the content of a prayer by U.S. House Chaplain Patrick Conroy as he opened up the session on Thursday.

FoxNews.com reports that Conroy started out by declaring, “This has been a difficult and contentious week in which darker spirits seem to have been at play in the people’s House..." The story continues:

Then, in a dramatic moment, Conroy raised both hands and said, "In Your most holy name, I cast out all spirits of darkness from this chamber. Spirits not from You. I cast out the spirit of discouragement which deadens the hope of those who are of goodwill...

The Chaplain closed with these words:

May your spirit of wisdom and patience descend upon all so that any spirit of darkness might have no place in our midst. Rather, let Your spirit of comity, of brother-and-sisterhood, and love of our nation, and all colleagues in this chamber, empower our better angels to be at play in the common work to be done, for the benefit of all Your people. May all that is done within the people's House be for Your greater honor and glory. Amen."

This can be a reminder to pray for public officials and to recognize that there is a spiritual dimension to the work that they do. 

The 3 - July 14, 2019

In this week's edition of The 3, with three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is news out of Oklahoma, where a ban on a particular abortion procedure has been upheld by a judge. Also, Veterans' Administration facilities will have new rules on religious displays, thanks to a new policy announced by the VA secretary.  And, over a hundred churches in Egypt have been officially legalized there, bringing the total to over a thousand since a new law was enacted in 2016.

OK ban on abortion procedure OK'ed by Federal judge 

In 2015, the state of Oklahoma passed a new law called the Oklahoma Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act. This bill was intended to ban dilation and extraction abortions, described in a story at The Washington Times as a common but controversial procedure typically used in pregnancies after 14 weeks.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Tulsa Women’s Clinic and just last week, Oklahoma County District Judge Cindy Truong allowed the law to stand. The article said that the procedure is "typically used in pregnancies after 14 weeks." In a statement, Attorney General Mike Hunter stated, “Dismemberment abortions are barbaric, brutal and subject unborn children to more cruelty that we allow for death row inmates,” adding, “It is unconscionable to think that we would allow this practice to continue.”

The law now goes into effect, but it is unsure how long - the Oklahoma Supreme Court, as the Times states, "has blocked various anti-abortion measures in the past few years, including in April when it blocked a law that restricted access to drug-induced abortions in a 7-1 decision."

New Bible distribution rules put in place at VA hospitals

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced new regulations regarding religious expression in the aftermath of the Peace Cross ruling in June from the U.S. Supreme Court.  A Christianity Today article said that, "The VA said the case 'reaffirmed the important role religion plays in the lives of many Americans and its consistency with Constitutional principles.'"

The article states:

The revised policies “allow the inclusion in appropriate circumstances of religious content in publicly accessible displays at VA facilities.”

They also permit patients to request and be provided with sacred texts, symbols and religious literature during treatment at facilities or visits to VA chapels. And they allow the VA “to accept donations of religious literature, cards and symbols at its facilities and distribute them to VA patrons under appropriate circumstances or to a patron who requests them.”

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said, "We want to make sure that all of our Veterans and their families feel welcome at VA, no matter their religious beliefs. Protecting religious liberty is a key part of how we accomplish that goal." Mike Berry of First Liberty, which had contacted Wilkie about allowing Bibles to be part of POW/MIA remembrance displays, said, "This new VA policy is a welcome breath of fresh air...The Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of religious displays with historic roots such as those commonly found in VA facilities. We commend the VA for taking this necessary and positive action.”

Over a hundred churches recognized as legal in Egypt

In 2016 in Egypt, a law had passed that promised that churches in the nation would have a smoother process to be approved by the government, and now that law may be starting to bear fruit, based on a a CBN.com story, which says that, "Since the law passed, some 1,021 have been granted permits by the committee, according to International Christian Concern."

That includes the "legalization of 127 churches which were previously being run in an illegal capacity."  The article also says:

While the committee still has many churches to legalize, this is a promising start for a country in which Coptic Christians have faced fierce levels of violence and persecution for decades.

According to Persecution watchdog Open Doors USA, the country's Christians still face daily persecution from groups within the Islamic-majority population, as well as mistreatment from the government itself.

The Islamic culture "fuels discrimination and creates an environment causing the state to be reluctant to respect and enforce the fundamental rights of Christians," Open Doors explains on its Egypt fact page.

The CBN article notes that prior to the passage of that 2016 law, "it was notoriously difficult to approve state approval and, therefore, congregations could find themselves at risk of prosecution."  Perhaps there is now some measure of relief.

The 3 - July 7, 2019

This week's edition of The 3 includes the action of a denomination in removing a church and its pastor which had embraced homosexuality, in opposition to church teaching.  Also, the Blandensburg "Peace Cross" case has resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court sending a Pensacola case involving a veterans' memorial in the shape of a cross back to a lower court.  And, a British student has received positive court action in the U.K. after being removed from school due to social media content opposing homosexuality.

Evangelical Covenant Church removes MN church and pastor relative to same-sex marriage beliefs

It seems as if denomination after denomination is dealing, to some degree, with the issue of homosexuality.  It's not just the so-called "mainline" denominations, either.  Recently, Southern Baptists and the Presbyterian Church in America, in their annual gatherings, passed statements regarding the topic.

And, now, you have this dramatic move from the Evangelical Covenant Church, which, according to ReligionNews.com, recently "voted to remove a congregation from its roster over its position on LGBTQ inclusion." This was the first such occurrence in the 134 years the denomination has been in existence. The story states:

The vote to expel the First Covenant Church, a prominent and historic Minneapolis congregation, for being “out of harmony on human sexuality,” took place at the denomination’s annual meeting in Omaha on Friday (June 27).

The Minneapolis church has never performed a gay marriage, though a lesbian couple had an off-site wedding performed by its music director in 2014, which produced a series of conversations about its future over the past few years.

The denomination also expelled from its roster the Rev. Dan Collison, the church’s pastor.

The actions come after First Covenant said it would treat LGBTQ members as equals, allow married gay clergy and would be open to hosting same-sex marriages.

According to the article, the denomination's position is "that heterosexual marriage, faithfulness within marriage and abstinence outside of marriage constitute the Christian standard."

U.S. Supreme Court sends Pensacola cross case back to appeals court to reconsider

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of a large veterans' memorial in Maryland in the shape of a cross, there will no doubt be implications for religious displays all across the country.

Case in point: a memorial in a Pensacola park that was ordered to be removed by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  As Liberty Counsel reports on its website, the high court...

...ordered a lower court to reconsider its earlier ruling that a World War II-era memorial cross in Pensacola must be removed. In Kondrat’yev v. City of Pensacola, a federal appeals court had ruled that the 78-year-old cross must come down, with two of the three judges saying that the outcome was “wrong” but that their “hands were tied” because of the so-called “Lemon Test.”

Referring to the Maryland decision, the website states:

In its 7-2 decision last week, the High Court made it clear that the so-called “Lemon Test” was not useful for cases involving ceremonial, celebratory or commemorative monuments that include religious imagery. Instead, the justices adopted a “strong presumption of constitutionality” for longstanding monuments. The ruling recognized that “a government that roams the land, tearing down monuments with religious symbolism and scrubbing away any reference to the divine will strike many as aggressively hostile to religion” which the Constitution does not require. The Supreme Court said that although “the Cross is undoubtedly a Christian symbol. . . the Cross does not offend the Constitution.”

British student expelled for views against homosexuality wins court victory

Felix Ngole was a student in Great Britain at the University of Sheffield until 2016, when he posted opinions opposing same-sex marriage on Facebook.  An article at the ChristianHeadlines.com website traces the timeline:

In 2017, after mounting a legal battle against his dismissal and arguing that his human rights had been violated, the UK’s High Court ruled in favor of the University.

Now, in a momentous decision, the Court of Appeals has overturned the previous ruling and slapped down the university for its discriminatory action, urging them to reconsider Ngole’s case.

What did Felix do that was so egregious? According to the article: "Ngole shared Bible verses which supported the traditional view that marriage is God-ordained and should be exclusively between one man and one woman. He also asserted that 'the Bible and God identify homosexuality as a sin,' according to the BBC.

In the story, "Christian Concern, the UK-based advocacy group helping Ngole with his case," is quoted, saying,“The mere expression of religious views about sin does not necessarily connote discrimination..."  The Christian Concern website states, "the Court of Appeal held that it was the university that was ‘lacking insight’ in not understanding a Christian viewpoint."  The site also says:

The Court ruled that: “The mere expression of views on theological grounds (e.g. that 'homosexuality is a sin') does not necessarily connote that the person expressing such views will discriminate on such grounds.” It was further recognised that Felix had never been shown to act in a discriminatory fashion.

The outcome of this case will have significant implications not only for Christian freedom of speech, but in relation to all free speech. For example, comments made by people on social media (often many years ago) have recently been arbitrarily used to silence viewpoints that people dislike or disagree with.

The 3 - June 30, 2019

This week's edition of The 3 includes more madness from California, where politicians are attempting to tell church leaders what to do regarding homosexuality.  Also, a Federal appeals court has ruled that a Trump Administration policy barring undocumented teens receiving abortions is unconstitutional.  And, a Spokane pastor's attempt to observe a Drag Queen Story Hour has resulted in his arrest.

California lawmakers pass resolution calling on church leaders to reject Scripture on LGBTQ

The continued advancement of the LGBTQ agenda is quite apparent in the state of California, where the state Assembly attempted to assert its will over community leaders, including church leaders.
WORLD Magazine reports that:

The California State Assembly passed a resolution on Monday calling on religious leaders and others with “moral influence” to affirm homosexuality and transgenderism. The resolution asks counselors, pastors, churches, educators, schools, legislators, and others to avoid supporting traditional and Biblical views of sexuality, which the measure claims can cause suicide and depression.

Over 25 Christian leaders, according to WORLD, "signed a letter condemning the resolution, which they said violates religious freedom." One phrase they wrote stated that: “...politicians have no right to tell clergy what is moral, dictate the content of their sermons, or instruct them in religious counseling.”

One chaplain from a Christian university, however, took the other side, according to California Family Council, whose president, Jonathan Keller, signed the letter.   However, Peter Mannoia of Asuza Pacific University and former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, wrote a letter of support and testified before a committee.  The Council's site stated:

During Mannoia’s testimony in favor of ACR 99, before the judiciary committee, he reiterated his relationship with Jesus Christ as “my friend and guide” and his commitment to live “under the authority of God’s word.” But again Mannoia didn’t explain how he could believe this while supporting a resolution condemning Christian efforts to help those with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion.

Appeals court allows for abortions for undocumented teenagers

The immigration issue and the issue of abortion have met together, and a Federal court has ruled in favor of abortion for undocumented teenagers.  TheHill.com reports that "The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals...ruled against the Trump administration’s policy of blocking undocumented pregnant teenagers in federal custody from obtaining abortions."

The judges stated that they “are unanimous in rejecting the government’s position that its denial of abortion access can be squared with Supreme Court precedent.”  The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 against the Administration.  They stated that the ruling applies to teens in "federal custody," and that those undocumented teenagers who are 18 years of age and up can obtain abortions.

The judges rejected the Administration argument, according to the article, "that the teenagers could have sought to be deported voluntarily in order to obtain an abortion, and that an unaccompanied pregnant minor could be released to a sponsor and then have the procedure."

Pastor arrested during Drag Queen Story Hour in Spokane

These inexplicably popular Drag Queen Story Hours are popping up in cities all across America, and in Spokane, a public library had an increased police presence, complete with snipers, according to ToddStarnes.com, referring to a report in the Spokesman Review.

Onto the scene walked a Baptist preacher, Afshin Yaghtin, who is pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church in Spokane.

Starnes relates that:

Several hundred critics of the drag queen event were protesting outside — frustrated that the taxpayer funded library was being used to indoctrinated [sic] small children.

Pacific Justice Institute says the pastor tried to enter the library to observe the event but was barred by police.

Brad Dacus of PJI stated, “He did not carry signs or preach and he did not consider himself to be a protester..." Yet, after he, as Starnes put it, "asserted his First Amendment rights," he was arrested and taken to jail.

While the protesters were separated, supporters were allowed to stay on public property, according to Dacus, who said: "This arrest in Spokane is one of the clearest examples yet of viewpoint discrimination, and we will be vigorously contesting the charges,” adding, “We must be able to peacefully disagree and voice our concerns in public places without fear of arrest and prosecution based on viewpoint.”