Good Morning!
Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the ancient Roman poet better known as ‘Horace,” once wrote:
“It is courage, courage, courage that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor. Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity.”
Dr. Robert George, a friend of the family, suggests Christians will need to muster great courage in the coming years to face culture’s current onslaught:
1. The tables can still be turned on the marriage debate
Dr. Robert George writes in the Deseret News:
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court held that there is no right to abortion implicitly protected by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment or any other provision of the Constitution, thereby overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should reconsider the precedents that similarly rely on what has come to be known as “substantive due process.” Among the cases he specifically mentioned was Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that announced the discovery of a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
In response, Democrats in the House of Representatives, joined by 47 Republicans, passed the misnamed “Respect for Marriage Act,” which essentially imposes on states a federal requirement to recognize same-sex partnerships as marriages.
The Respect for Marriage Act — like the Obergefell decision — does not merely expand eligibility for marriage, as is often claimed; it changes the definition and meaning of marriage.
Having gotten their way in law, at least for now, the forces who wish to redefine marriage are seeking to secure their victory, setting it in stone, making it irreversible, by demoralizing their opposition. This means demonstrating their power at every turn and making opponents fear to express their dissent. One must admit, this strategy has been highly successful.
The tables can, however, be turned. Just as the pro-life movement, with persistence, grit and determination, prevailed in its nearly 50-year-long battle to overturn Roe v. Wade — despite the overwhelming support for abortion among cultural elites — the battle for marriage reality and sexual sanity can be won.
But it will take courage.
2. “The Soul of the Nation” Should Be Marked By a Love of Life, Religious Freedom and the Pursuit of Happiness
From the Daily Citizen:
Now the talk has turned to what constitutes the “soul of the nation” – a familiar phrase that pops up from time to time.
Christians, of course, are intimately familiar with the “soul” – the mysterious essence that made man a man – that we first read about in Genesis. When God created Adam, we learn that He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7). In Hebrew, “soul” is translated as “to breathe” – so when we talk about the soul of a country, we’re talking about what gives it life.
We certainly know what doesn’t give America life – abortion, religious persecution, the distortion and corruption of human sexuality. The reason so many have literally risked their lives to get here is because we’ve been willing to do what few other countries have ever done.
Make no mistake – the soul of our nation is currently sick, because we have turned our back on those very principles our founders once elevated and emulated.
When over sixty million babies are lost to abortion, when corporations and individuals are forced to violate their religious convictions to pay to cover abortifacients and other immoral medical procedures, and when parents aren’t told about their school age boys wanting to “identify as girls” (and vice versa), something is clearly wrong.
Many scholars suggest ancient Rome bore a resemblance to modern-day America. It was wealthy and advanced on many cultural levels. It was the center for the arts. But it was also overrun by pagan temples and other troubling forms of worship. It was into this environment that the apostle Paul, once a persecutor of Christians, stepped to minister and try to make a difference. What did he tell them?
“Do not be conformed to this world,” he wrote the early believers in Rome. “But be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
We must embrace Paul’s directive. To accept what God detests is to inhale the toxic breath of a dying nation. It’s spiritual poison. Instead, we need to protect our minds and hearts (and our children’s) by breathing in all that is godly and good.
- Christian High School Club Can’t be ‘Derecognized’ For Requiring its Leaders to Affirm the Bible’s Teachings, Federal Appeals Court Rules
From the Daily Citizen:
In an important ruling for religious freedom, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the San Jose Unified School District (District) in California to re-instate the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) as an officially recognized student club.
The case illustrates the increasing tension between Christian beliefs and the LGBT agenda in our nation’s schools, and the importance of the First Amendment in protecting our foundational freedoms.
In a majority opinion written by Judge Kenneth K. Lee, an appointee of President Donald Trump, the 9th Circuit reversed a lower court decision from June, ruling that FCA was entitled to an injunction because it was likely to succeed in its legal claims that the District had violated the club’s First Amendment rights.
FCA had been a recognized club in the District for over two decades when, in 2019, a history teacher at one of its high schools named Peter Glasser learned of the club’s Statement of Faith and its requirement that its leaders abide by it, including biblical beliefs about marriage and human sexuality.
- Christian Wedding Photographer May Refuse Same-Sex Events, Kentucky Federal Court Rules
From the Daily Citizen:
In a case whose facts closely parallel another religious freedom case that will be argued at the U.S. Supreme Court this fall, a federal judge in Kentucky has ruled that a Christian wedding photographer has the right to restrict her clientele to opposite-sex couples and explain her religious beliefs about marriage on her website.
In Chelsey Nelson Photography v. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton issued an injunction prohibiting the city of Louisville, Kentucky and the surrounding county government from punishing Nelson for restricting her wedding photography clients in keeping with her religious beliefs. The judge’s order also allows her to advertise her religious beliefs about marriage on her business website. A local ordinance would have prohibited Ms. Nelson from doing both.
The judge acknowledged that although one of government’s legitimate goals can be to eliminate discrimination in public accommodations – which typically includes most businesses – he said the free speech provisions of the First Amendment limit the government’s authority in that regard.
“So although Louisville may require restaurants and hotels and stores to provide services regardless of the proprietors’ views or their customers’ legal status, the government may not force singers or writers or photographers to articulate messages they don’t support,” Judge Beaton wrote.
- Villanova University Releases Guidelines Pushing Students and Staff to Use ‘Preferred Pronouns’
From the Daily Citizen:
Villanova University, a private Roman Catholic research university, has issued new guidelines to students and staff informing them how to use “best practices” to be “gender inclusive.”
The new Gender Inclusive Practices Guide states that Villanova has already made it possible for students to “enter chosen first name and personal pronouns into Banner,” one of the university’s website applications.
“Chosen first name and personal pronoun will now appear on class lists and other university communications,” the guide states.
“This guide introduces Villanova faculty and staff to best practices for being gender inclusive in our work spaces, laboratories, and classrooms – especially for those who identify within transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and/or gender questioning communities,” the document states.
RELATED:
U.S. Forces Ordered to Stop Using Gender Pronouns to Improve ‘Lethality’
From the Washington Free Beacon:
A division of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), the branch tasked with confronting China, has ordered its senior leaders and commanders to stop using gender pronouns in written formats, saying the shift to more neutral language will help improve the fighting force’s “lethality.”
“In accordance with the Diverse PACAF priority, ‘We must embrace, promote and unleash the potential of diversity and inclusion,” states a May email sent to senior leaders and commanders at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, which operates under the Pacific Air Forces, according to a partial copy of the order obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Leaders at the base are instructed, “Do not use pronouns, age, race, etc.” when writing performance reviews or other materials, such as recommendations for awards. “Competition against near-peer adversaries requires a united focus from the command, the joint team, and our international partners. Welcoming and employing varied perspectives from a foundation of mutual respect will improve our interoperability, efficiency, creativity, and lethality.”
The policy change is part of a larger effort by the Biden administration and U.S. military to foster what it says is a more culturally sensitive environment. The U.S. Navy, for instance, recently published a video instructing its sailors on proper gender pronouns. The Army also mandates gender identity training and trains officers on when to offer subordinates gender-transition surgery, the Free Beacon first reported in March. Critics of these moves say a woke cultural agenda is handicapping America’s fighting forces and distracting it from pressing global challenges, such as terrorism and China’s aggressive war moves.
- ‘There Is No Youngest Age At All’: California Doctor Admits To Performing ‘Affirming Surgeries’ On Transgender Children As Young As 13
From the Daily Wire:
A California doctor who reportedly makes millions performing sex changes told a conference last year no child is too young to consider for “gender affirming” operations and said he has performed them on kids as young as 13.
The comments and slideshow that came from Dr. Robert Mosser, the founder of the Gender Confirmation Center in San Francisco, were part of a presentation at the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference, which took place virtually in July 2021. The shocking remarks, first reported by Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo, drew fresh scrutiny after former Tennessee congressional candidate Robby Starbuck tweeted about them Wednesday.
Dr. Mosser said he’s “super committed” to gender surgery and has always been “drawn to things that are deeply impactful.”
He went on to describe how the GCC has “secret missions,” which he admits are not secret anymore since the slideshow has been created. Dr. Mosser said at the center they try to “live with our values 30 to 40 years in the future,” which is necessary to put them “in a mindset of extreme affirmation.”
RELATED:
MLB’s Unseemly Support for Youth Gender Transitions
From National Review:
Like most of the nation’s major sports leagues, Major League Baseball (MLB) has embraced a number of left-wing causes in recent years. The league’s website now boasts a “social justice” section that promotes texts such as the 1619 Project and White Fragility — as well as authors such as Ibram X. Kendi and Angela Davis — and a number of players knelt for the national anthem during the George Floyd protests in summer 2020. In the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays partnered with the progressive gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety to tweet “facts about the impacts of gun violence” rather than the usual clips and game updates during their May 26 game. Major League Baseball’s decision to pull its 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to Georgia’s election-integrity law, meanwhile, was the subject of bitter criticism from conservatives.
For all the controversy, these high-profile fights surrounding professional baseball’s flirtation with progressive cultural causes, thus far, have been largely symbolic. But one far less-noticed — and much more significant — aspect of the league’s leftward shift concerns its promotion, directly and indirectly, of gender transitions for minors.
Under the auspices of LGBT-themed “Pride Nights” — fundraisers and charity partnerships that began in the early 2000s and were embraced, over the course of two decades, by almost every team in the league — many of MLB’s most prominent franchises have begun to promote or fund groups that encourage or provide sex-change procedures and gender-transition hormone treatment for minors as young as 12. Other organizations promote “social transitions” — i.e., nonmedical changes in “gender expression,” including the adoption of new names, pronouns, and clothing — for children as young as three.
7. Millennial British Feminist Makes Damning Case Against Sexual Revolution
From the Daily Citizen:
Reading Louise Perry’s scathing judgement on the bitter fruit of the sexual revolution, you would think she is a conservative Christian with a long history in the culture war. But you would be wrong.
Perry is a British 30-year-old woman, a self-described “proud feminist,” who has spent her entire working life helping women of sexual abuse and exploitation. She is any second-wave feminist mother’s dream of a daughter. But she is speaking some very heterodox truths, straying from her pedigree, and doing so with a resolute moral boldness that few men possess. And Perry is writing such things as a feminist because many things are changing in our current cultural debate over sexuality and new voices are feeling emboldened to speak out.
That is a very good thing.
Perry is making these important declarations in her new book, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution and the countless press promotions she is doing for the book scattered across the internet.
Perry explains, “It’s precisely because I’m a feminist that I’ve changed my mind on sexual liberalism.” From the experience of her work with victimized women, she has come to the conclusion that the sexual revolution was “an ideology premised on the false belief that the physical and psychological differences between men and women are trivial, and that any restrictions placed on sexual behavior must therefore have been motivated by malice, stupidity or ignorance.” Perry adds, “The problem is the differences aren’t trivial. Sexual asymmetry is profoundly important.”
- Coalition of pastors declaring ‘never again’ to church shutdowns grows to more than 1,200
From TheBlaze:
A coalition of American pastors who have declared they will “never again” comply with government orders to close their churches grew from just over 90 to more than 1,200 less than a week after TheBlaze first told its story.
As of publication, a total of 1,212 Christian church ministers from a wide range of denominations have now signed on to the Acts 5:29 Statement, a declaration that denounces the restrictions imposed on houses of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic as unconstitutional. Affirming biblical commands taken from Acts 5:29 and Hebrews 10:25, these pastors say, “We must obey God rather than men” and that they will not “neglect to meet together” by ceasing to assemble for worship.
“As a national coalition of pastors and churches, we reject any presidential or gubernatorial decree requiring us to disobey the will of God. We will resist any attempt by a federal state or local official to restrict or prohibit the free exercise of our religion or place restrictions thereon,” the statement reads.
It is a call to action for Christian ministers to resist what in their view are unlawful edicts by governments to prevent their congregations from meeting to worship God.
9. Was the Inventor of the MRI Machine Blocked from the Nobel Prize Because of His Christian Faith?
From the Daily Citizen:
Dr. Raymond Damadian, the inventor who built the first ever magnetic resonance imaging scanner (MRI), died earlier this month at his home on New York’s Long Island. He was 86.
The idea for Dr. Damadian’s breakthrough invention reportedly came to him back
No matter the industry, pioneers and innovators are often ridiculed, criticized and sometimes even dismissed as cranks. Dr. Damadian is no exception.
But ignored?
Why is it that you’ve likely never heard of him – and why was he passed over for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine?
Dr. Damadian was a strong believer in Jesus Christ. His life verse was John 14:14, and he loved to quote the words of Jesus to family, friends and colleagues: “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
When the Nobel Committee finally acknowledged the invention and impact of the MRI machine in 2003, but gave the coveted prize to two other scientists whose contributions helped move the technology forward, the doctor was nearly beside himself. He felt ignored, cheated and dismissed. When asked why he was passed over, the committee said they only comment on winners.
As it would turn out, many have suggested Dr. Damadian was passed over because he was a vocal and committed creationist, believing in a literal six-day creation. According to his biographer, the famed inventor believed evolution is a “tragic hoax foisted upon mankind” and that anyone who embraces it rejects the idea that we’re “creations of a gracious God.” He once participated in a highly successful, convincing and spirited debate about the subject with anti-creationist and media personality Dr. Bill Nye and Dr. Ken Ham, the CEO and founder of “Answers in Genesis.”
Raymond Damadian took the snub from the Nobel Committee hard, but eventually assumed an extremely gracious posture about it all.
“The [invention of the] MRI was the Lord’s doing, but He gave it to me because I was willing to give the glory of the discovery to the glory of God and Jesus Christ,” he said. “I was honored to be the inventor.”
- Midway to Heaven in Concourse C
Bob Greene writes in the Wall Street Journal:
I’d heard the announcements hundreds of times in Chicago airports: “In 15 minutes a nondenominational worship service will begin in the airport’s chapel. . . . Everyone is welcome.” I’d never taken the disembodied voice up on the offer; airports aren’t places to tarry. But in this summer of cancellations and long delays, on a recent Sunday at Midway International Airport I heard the voice and decided to drop in.
The chapel was in Concourse C. It took me a few minutes to figure out it wasn’t on the main floor, but down a short hall and up an elevator. One level above the boarding gates, I found the chapel door, a few yards from a Chicago Police Department substation office.
In the chapel, a pastor was introducing himself and his wife as Dave and Evelyn Pearson. He wore a laminated green security badge. At Midway, some 20 million travelers a year pass through the concourses. On this Sunday there were five of us in the seats of the chapel.
It was a rather spartan setting, with more the feel of a conference room than a church. Mr. Pearson stood at a lectern with a 1980s-style boom box behind it, in case any of the volunteer clergy who rotate in and out of the chapel chose to include music in their services.
Mr. Pearson welcomed us and assured us that he wouldn’t take offense if anyone had to get up and leave to make a flight. He said the chapel was intended as a place of comfort, and asked if anyone presenthad family members for whom they wished him, and us, to say prayers. Two did.
The pastor led the group in the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm. The acoustics weren’t perfect; as Mr. Pearson recited the prayers, we could hear standard airport announcements from the boarding level beneath us.
At one point Mr. Pearson referred obliquely to the sadness, violence, discord and divisiveness that have become a constant part of the nation’s life. He said his wish wasn’t a matter of politics: “Lord, I’m not asking you to take sides. I’m asking you to take over.”
He had promised to keep the service to 30 minutes, and he did. We returned to the jammed, noisy main terminal to make our ways to our respective gates.
