Robert P. George: Religious Freedom Matters
Posted on February 8, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
Editor’s Note: The following article appeared at CNN last month and was written by distinguished Princeton professor Robert P. George. Dr. George also serves as the chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
National Religious Freedom Day, being marked today in the United States, reminds us that freedom of religion or belief is a pivotal human right, central to this country’s history and heritage. It is also recognized as such by the United Nations and other international bodies. Yet the issue frequently sparks debates that too often generate more heat than light.
That the mere mention of religious freedom triggers such powerful emotions, in the United States and overseas, helps explain why this critical right has not been accorded the centrality and respect it deserves, especially as a component of U.S. foreign policy. But whatever the reason, the United States must still look closely at the issue – and why it is key to successful U.S. foreign policy.
Back in 1948, the United Nations affirmed religious freedom as a core right in Article 18 of the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” Further affirming this right, the governments of 156 nations in 1966 signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCRP, which the U.S. ratified in 1992, includes language similar to Article 18.
Yet supporting religious freedom or belief abroad is not just a legal or moral duty, but a practical necessity that is crucial to the security of the United States – and the world – as it builds a foundation for progress and stability. Continue reading…
Should This “Jesus Tattoo” Advertisement Be Banned?
Posted on February 7, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
The Blaze reports: “A Texas man is suing a local school district after officials refused to display his Christian advertisement featuring a tattooed Jesus during high school football games. David L. Miller’s lawsuit against the Lubbock Independent School District in Lubbock, Texas, comes after he alleges that officials denied his digital billboard advertising the website www.JesusTattoo.org in October.”
Should the advertisement, featuring the image below, be banned or refused simply because it is religious in nature? Isn’t that the definition of religious discrimination prohibited in the Constitution?
The video below the image is an incredible reminder of what Jesus for each person. He willingly took the sins of every person that is willing to ask forgiveness and seek redemption. Watch the video and share it with others that need this amazing message of forgiveness. If the video doesn’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.
Mentoring: Where Older Folks Can Impact the Younger Generation
Posted on February 7, 2014 in Family by Nathan Cherry
We live in a society where the family structure has changed dramatically from what it was even just 50 years ago. There are far fewer homes with a father and mother and their biological children. There are many more homes with second marriages, step-children, and single parents. We can sit and debate the pros and cons of this social paradigm shift all we want, but the fact remains that as the church we need to stand ready to love and support every family that walks through the doors.
Of course we never want to condone sin. It seems the word sin as it relates to people’s relationships has become very blurry in our culture of “acceptance.” But the Bible still lays a blueprint for the right and the wrong way to do things. To this end we must uphold that Biblical truth regardless of shifting cultural opinions.
I can think of no better way to share Jesus with someone (outside the Gospel message) than offering practical advice and support for where they are today. The old saying “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” is both relevant and applicable here.
A good example of what I mean is found in this article by Kendra Fleming called “Getting it Right.” The article offers some practical ways mothers can help their daughters to be a better mother by supporting their efforts, encouraging them, offering advice, and jumping in to help with the work load. These are all very good suggestions that can be applied whether it is our child or not. Continue reading…
U.S. Abortion Rate Drops to Lowest Level in Decades
Posted on February 6, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
The AP reports: “The U.S. abortion rate declined to its lowest level since 1973, and the number of abortions fell by 13 percent between 2008 and 2011, according to the latest national survey of abortion providers conducted by a prominent research institute.”
This despite living under the most pro-abortion president in U.S. history. Even though the Obama administration has done everything in its power to advocate for abortion, abortion numbers are falling. The Obama administration has partnered with Planned Parenthood to promote abortion, fund abortion, and do everything possible to see abortion advance. But the message of life is winning.
LifeNews.com wrote: “The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, a former research arm of Planned Parenthood, released the report on the abortion rate today — noting that it declined to 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 in 2011, well below the 1981 peak of 29.3 per 1,000 and the lowest since 1973 (16.3 per 1,000). Between 2008 and 2011, the abortion rate fell 13%, resuming the long-term downward trend that had stalled between 2005 and 2008. The number of abortions (1.1 million in 2011) also declined by 13% in this time period.”
I believe this is happening because technology and science is proving what we’ve known all along about the unborn, that they are indeed human. Science continues to definitively prove the humanity of the unborn with 4D ultra-sound images, fetal pain science, and more.
With these advances in science the lies of Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates have been exposed as…lies. Women know now, more than ever, that they are carrying a human life and that abortion will end that human life.
And before anyone argues that the slew of pro-life laws passed on the state level between 2011 and 2013 are responsible for this decline in abortions. Let me point out that this study sample, conducted between 2008 and 2011 was done before those laws were passed or went into effect. What do you think the next study sample of 2012-2015 will show?
IRS Attacking “Political Speech” by Conservative Non-Profits
Posted on February 6, 2014 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
Have you ever read a voter guide? Have you ever perused a legislative scorecard? Maybe you are one of the many Americans that have helped with a voter registration drive because you believe every citizen should be involved in electing their lawmakers.
The next question is who should be allowed to perform these tasks?
Putting together a voter guide or a legislative scorecard seems fairly mundane. Few people or organizations bother with it because it’s a straightforward activity that leaves no room for subjective opinion. A voter guide show how specific candidates rank based on their views of certain issues. So, for example, a pro-life organization might put together a voter guide that shows how candidates voted on bills relating to life issues. If candidates vote in favor of defending life as sacred the pro-life organization will rank them higher and urge support for such candidates. If a candidate votes in favor of measures that support abortion they will receive a lesser ranking.
Legislative scorecards work the same way and are generally done by state groups seeking to inform voters on how their state lawmakers voted during the legislative session. Click here to view a legislative scorecard from a group in Illinois.
So, back to that original question, who should be allowed to compile and distribute information like voter guides and legislative scorecards?
The logical, common sense answer is that anyone should be allowed to distribute such information. As long as the information is verifiable and true there should be no regulation stipulating who can and cannot distribute a voter guide or legislative scorecard. Furthermore, anyone should be allowed to state who they support as a candidate and urge others to educate themselves before voting. And yet, the IRS is proposing new rules that would limit such activities for non-profits. Continue reading…
Movie: Liberty Counsel Movie “Uncommon” Sends Strong Message
Posted on February 5, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
No other group is more attacked for their religious belies that our public school students. It’s one of the reasons home schooling is the fastest growing form of education. The Christian legal group Liberty Counsel has been on the forefront of defending religious beliefs in culture and has now jumped into the realm of movie making.
The movie “Uncommon” chronicles the fight of students at a fictitious high school seeking to express their religious beliefs at school. A press release explains:
“‘Uncommon’ explores the issues surrounding religious liberties in public schools and examines specific questions, such as: Can students pray aloud in their schools? Can students conduct their own Bible studies on school grounds? Can they mention God or wear Christian-themed clothing at their schools?”
Watch the movie trailer below to see how this powerful film has the potential to send a strong message to those who would seek to infringe on student’s religious freedoms in our public school. If the video doesn’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.
Will You Join the Girl Scout Cookie Ban?
Posted on February 5, 2014 in Family, Life by Nathan Cherry
The Girl Scouts will soon be selling their cookies door to door in an annual fundraiser that’s become a regular tradition for many supporters. Considering the current ideological leanings of the Girl Scouts, it might be time to stop buying those cookies.
First, the Girl Scouts has partnered with Planned Parenthood to teach sexual experimentation at a young age as well as abortion to many girls. The very fact that the Girl Scouts would find it acceptable to partner with the nation’s largest abortion business should be cause enough to stop supporting the organization.
Next, the Girl Scouts recently honored both Wendy Davis and Kathleen Sebelius for being “women of courage” and put them among their 2013 “Women of the Year.” Wendy Davis has done nothing more than lie about her life story, divorce her husband after he paid her student loans, abandon her children, and support abortion. Kathleen Sebelius has done nothing more than give millions in funding to Planned Parenthood, and advocate for abortion. Are these really the “women of the year” the Girl Scouts want their girls emulating?
Whatever the Girl Scouts once were, they are now an organization that advocates sexual activity in minors, homosexuality, and abortion. And every box of cookies bought helps them continue their social agenda of immorality.
Of course the Girl Scouts claim that every not one dime of money from the cookies goes to the national office and that all the money stays with the local troops. But a recent article explains this semantic trickery: Continue reading…
BREAKING: W.Va. Senate President Kessler Introduces Dangerous ENDA Bill
Posted on February 4, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
AP: “A bill introduced in the West Virginia Senate would make it unlawful for employers and landlords to discriminate against individuals based on their sexual orientation. Senate President Jeff Kessler, the sponsor, introduced similar bills in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The bills passed the Senate each year but stalled in the House of Delegates. The West Virginia Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment and housing based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness or disability.”
Even though the water crisis has dominated the legislature up to this point, anyone with an ounce of insight into West Virginia politics knew that it was a matter of time before a bill like this hit the floor. The tide is changing in West Virginia and true conservatives that do more than talk are gaining seats in the state house. Knowing this, liberals seeking to veer away from the values that has made our state great are desperate. This bill from Kessler is just another example of that desperation.
Either Kessler is ignorant of the implications or simply does not care that ENDA laws are used to punish conservative and religious non-profits, schools, and even churches. These laws set the stage to allow the state to prosecute a Christian school that refuses to hire a homosexual on doctrinal grounds. Furthermore, these laws open the doors to prosecution of religious charities and children’s services that refuse to compromise their religious convictions.
Ultimately, the so-called “non-discrimination” laws (ENDA) are used to punish, persecute, and discriminate against people with religious convictions. I’ve already called out our state lawmakers for ignoring the abortion industry and the harm it’s doing to women while claiming to be pro-life. (Click the link to see my article in The Journal.) Now I’m calling out our state lawmakers for claiming to support religious freedom while pushing anti-religious freedom bills.
I encourage you to contact your state lawmakers and let them know how much you oppose anti-religious freedom ENDA bills. You can find a directory of all elected officials here.
Complementarianism: A Biblical Model of Marriage
Posted on February 4, 2014 in Marriage by Nathan Cherry
I’m going to make an astonishingly unsurprising admission: I do dishes.
When I was in college my brother and I had an apartment off campus. While this might conjure up visions of wild parties and clothes strewn all over the place, nothing could be farther from the truth. The people that came to our apartment would invariably ask “do you live here with your parents?” I guess the fact that the place was spotless, fully furnished complete with drapes and slip covers, had a stocked pantry with a full set of dishes and never smelled bad gave the impression that older, more mature people lived there.
Since that time I have only added to my “domestic engineering” skills. I can cook, clean, sew, grocery shop, do laundry and more. In fact, even today I do the majority of the grocery shopping for my family because I enjoy it. I can see eyes rolling and heads shaking as I speak. To offset all of this let me also tell you that I own a number of guns, shoot very well, still work on my own car, and golf. Better?
I could spend a lot of time talking about biblical gender roles. In fact, I spent over a year studying them before compiling a teaching outline and writing a number of articles on the subject. I believe the Bible lays out specific responsibilities and guidelines for men and women if they desire to be a biblical husband/father and wife/mother. Continue reading…
Disney Show for Kids Features Lesbian Couple
Posted on February 3, 2014 in Marriage by Nathan Cherry
The Disney kids show “Good Luck Charlie” recently featured a lesbian couple in an episode that some loved and others did not. The episode featured the “parents” of one of Charlie’s friends that happen to be two women.
What is most concerning to me was actually articulated by Miley Cyrus as she praised Disney for the episode. She tweeted:
‘I commend Disney for making this step into the light of this generation. They control…so much of what kids think!
Ding ding! That’s the point. Disney has significant influence in the lives of children. To promote homosexuality to young kids watching this show isn’t appropriate. This is a subject parents ought to be discussing with their kids when the parents are ready. Sensitive subject matter such as this should not be forced into homes because Disney wants to make a political statement. Disney has now played their hand and let everyone know where they stand on this issue. I suppose we will see Disney advocate for marriage redefinition in the near future, perhaps with a new animated movie featuring two princesses.
Image credit: Disney Channel