WHAT IF I MADE YOU BUY A GUN?

 

I won’t.  Because I know the difference between a right and mandate.

The federal government demands that you buy coverage which covers abortions and contraception.

Townhall:

Single-Payer System Stops Religious Freedom Challenges to Abortifacient Mandate

U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton ruled last week that the federal government cannot force Paul and Teresa Wieland — an American mom and dad — to violate their religious beliefs by compelling them to purchase a health insurance plan that covers sterilizations, contraceptives, and abortion-inducing drugs and devices.

But in making the Obama administration’s case that the government should be able to do so, lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department made a telling claim: A single-payer health care system would effectively put a stop to such arguments in defense of religious liberty.

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Now, are these folks being forced to pay for abortions and contraception?  In a way, yes.  If their insurance must cover these things, then a portion of their premiums must fund these procedures and medicines for others.

The Obamacare law is designed to change the basic relationship between citizens and the government.  Our privacy, our responsibility and our religious freedoms are slipping away. Every week or so I see a case of state legislatures battling over “religious freedom laws” which are designed to protect the jobs of religiously faithful government employees.

Very soon, people of faith will no longer be able to serve with good conscience in certain government positions.  This is not an accident.  This is a plan.

God help us.  No, really.  God, help us.

Yours in Christ  —  Dave Alexander

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N.C. Pastor in Hot Water Over Wine

The MountainXpress:

For more than 56 years, the Rev. William Paul Austin has addressed the spiritual needs of others. For the last 29, that’s included celebrating Communion at the old Craggy state prison [Asheville, NC]  and Mass at the New Craggy medium- and minimum-security facilities, complete with sacramental bread and wine. Until recently, says the ordained Episcopal priest, there’d never been a problem.

But on April 28, Austin explains, he was approached by two guards who wanted to inspect the box in which he keeps his chalice. They found a bottle containing 3 ounces of wine and asked Austin if he’d brought it for himself. He answered that it was for Communion at the Thursday night Episcopal Mass.

A week later, Austin received a letter from the N.C. Department of Public Safety informing him that he’d been dismissed as a community volunteer for serving alcohol to inmates in violation of departmental policy. According to the Policy & Procedure Manual, “Only the religious official leading the rite may consume alcohol. Inmates are not allowed to consume ANY alcoholic beverages while in the custody of the Department of Public Safety.”

The article goes on to say that state law is on the pastor’s side.

Dear Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump, do you pledge to help persecuted Christians if you win?

David Curry is the President of Open Doors USA. This is from Fox News:

In April of 2014, 276 women were kidnapped in Chibok, Nigeria by Boko Haram. They were taken from a school and held as prisoners or sold as sex slaves.

In May of that same year, First Lady Michelle Obama posted online a photo of her holding a sign encouraging us to #bringbackourgirls.

Many people at the time sensed that it marked the beginning of something different in foreign policy. But what exactly? Why would the first lady of the United States need hashtag diplomacy to move a country to action when the Obama administration was in power and presumably had the ability to influence action?

Perhaps Mrs. Obama was simply trying to raise public awareness of an important issue. But the question remains: why didn’t the United States government put more action behind the appeal to #bringbackourgirls

It didn’t work.

Neither of the leading candidates in the 2016 presidential campaign has seriously addressed the issue of the persecution of Christians around the world and its impact on religious freedoms as a whole.

I’d say the entire issue of religious freedom has slipped off the political radar.  I claim no special status for Christians, except to say that they are being slaughtered by this century’s monsters — ISIS.  I pray for religious freedom and personal liberty for all the people of the world, regardless of their faith.

Read the whole thing.

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Freedom of religion is a canary in the coal mine for other freedoms. When this fundamental freedom is extinguished, all other freedoms are at imminent risk. — David Curry

Is The Western World at War With Islam?

From TheLocal:

1 in 3 Danes believe Denmark is at war with Islam

The survey found that 33 percent of Danes believe that Denmark is at war with Islam, while 56 percent disagree with that view.

The survey asked respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement that “Denmark, together with the rest of the Western world, is at war with the religion of Islam and not just radicalised Muslims”.

11 percent of the 1,045 respondents answered that they did not know.

The findings were published in the wake of a string of attacks on civilian targets across Europe and the United States in recent weeks, many of which the Middle Eastern terrorist organisation Isis has taken credit for.

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An equally important question would be “Is Islam at war with the west?”

As Christians, we are called to love, even our enemies.  Especially our enemies.  I don’t think it is correct to view this current struggle as Islam vs. Christianity.  On the other hand, it may really be a struggle between Anarchy and Civilization.

The statement in the poll was very direct.  A third of Danes thing the Western world is at war with the religion of Islam.  How would you vote?  I actually can’t say “yes” to the poll question, but I can answer “yes” to my followup question in green above.

King James Bible, Matthew 5:44:
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Does a Shepherd Have an Obligation to the Sheep?

Especially when he supports policies which support the importation of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

A secular article about recent attacks in Europe questions the Pope’s attitude toward Islam:

Pope Francis, whose liberal views on Muslim migrants are well known, condemned the atrocity. But The Pope is an enormously influential personality whose opinions carry extraordinary weight and persuasive moral authority. Yet he has inexplicably chosen to adopt a viewpoint that has Europe teetering on the brink and could very well lead to its demise.

It is a virtual certainty that many of the Muslim migrants are wolves in sheep’s clothing and are members of ISIS or otherwise harbor extremist Islamist views and are just one degree of separation from full-fledged murderers. Indeed, many of the recent attacks, including last year’s Paris attacks that claimed the lives of 130, were perpetrated by individuals who claimed refugee status and sought asylum.

They Shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’

Il n’y a pas de plus grand amour que de donner sa vie pour ses amis .  Jn 15:13 *

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The Daily Mail:

Elderly priest, 86, is ‘beheaded’ by two ISIS knifemen shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ after they took nuns and worshippers hostage at French church: Police shoot both attackers dead then search for bombs

• Priest had throat cut while another hostage is fighting for life after knifemen burst into Normandy church at 9am
• Reports that one of the attackers shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they launched attack at Gambetta Church near Rouen
• Vatican has condemned the ‘barbaric’ killing of the 86-year-old priest and an anti-terror investigation is underway
• ISIS claim responsibility for the atrocity while Francois Hollande says France is ‘at war’ with the terror group
• One attackers lived locally and had electronic tag having been jailed in France for trying to travel to Syria in 2015

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Father Jacques Hamel is a martyr for Christ.   Sadly, the people of the free world may not be able to help the masses of refugees from Islamic nations, as the price is too high.

What is the solution?

*There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. – John 15:13

Russia Cracks Down on Religion

According to Christian Today (a British site, not the similarly titled American magazine)

Russia’s new anti-terrorism laws, which include measures imposing sweeping restrictions on Christian evangelising and teaching the faith, have officially come into force.

The ‘Yaroyava’ package, named after their sponsor in the Russian Duma, has been fiercely condemned both by Russian Christians and rights activists and internationally. It makes house churches illegal and limits religious activity to registered buildings.

Russia and the Soviet Union have poor records on human rights in general, so I don’t expect much better.  What does surprise me is this:

However, while the new laws have the potential to be extremely disruptive for Protestant Christians and other religious minorities in Russia, some observers believe their implementation may be patchy. Release International chief executive Paul Robinson said: “Let’s wait and see what actually happens in terms of implementation on the ground. There is often a temptation in these situations to immediately fear the worst.”

 

I’m too young to have experienced anything like the Holocaust, except through movies.  In every film set in 1930’s Germany there’s always that one Jewish character saying something like “It’s just a star. So, they paint on my shop windows.  Don’t complain.  This will pass.”

Sometimes it just gets worse.

“It’s just a few windows.”

 

 

 

 

A Win for Religious Freedom on Campus

N.C. State Settles Free-Speech Lawsuit by Revising Disputed Policy

A Christian student group has withdrawn a lawsuit alleging that North Carolina State University administrators violated the group’s free-speech rights after the university revised a disputed policy, The News & Observer reported.

Under the policy, the Christian group was required to obtain a permit to speak or distribute its literature on the campus.

A federal judge last month ordered the university to temporarily cease enforcing its policy while the lawsuit by the student group, Grace Christian Life, was heard. Such orders are often a sign of how a court is likely to rule on the merits of a case.

But now the university has changed the 23-year-old policy so that no permit is needed for noncommercial speech, the newspaper reported. North Carolina State also agreed to pay $72,500 in legal fees accumulated by Grace Christian Life.

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On the same day this  was resolved, I finally heard back from NC State on my Freedom of Information Request regarding the number of groups and types of groups which were required to fill out a form to appear on campus.  From the email satisfying the request:

The figures below represent the number of requests for campus activities during the 2015-16 fiscal year. Campuswide requests reflect all requests made on campus during the last fiscal year. “Student Involvement” requests reflect all requests made through Student Involvement.

Campuswide (2015-16)
Religious Groups – 1919
Total – 23060

Student Involvement (2015-16)
Religious Groups – 248
Total – 860

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To me, the last two numbers still seem suspect.  The previous batch of requests I received from the university also showed a large percentage of the overall requests were from religious groups.

As you can see, roughly two thousand religious requests were filed campus wide, against a total of twenty-three thousand requests.  That actually seems logical.

This indicates that the university was requiring many other groups to fill out requests.  My cynical self thought for sure that religious groups were being singled out, and the lawsuit made that allegation.

I would call this a win for free speech and religious expression.  We don’t get these everyday.

Together…

A very sweet thought, and something to remind us to cherish those in our lives.

Cops Lives Matter

 

So do black lives, white lives and human lives.

That said, I’m sorry I have not made a bigger deal of the deaths of black men — from all causes.  The media sometimes make it seem that it is open season on black young men.  Because their experiences are vastly different from my own, I cannot imagine the actual rage and fear involved in the deaths of black youths  involved with police.

Young black men die in conflict with police too often.  Most murders of black men are by black men.   By far.  

On the other hand.  There is no justification, no mitigation and no excuse for shooting down police and members of the public.

Black Lives Matters and the many agitators who either love conflict, or who want to benefit from that conflict…those folks should be looking to their consciences today.  They didn’t pull the trigger, but they may have helped fuel the hatred toward police, and white people.

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Anthony Baker of The Recovering Legalist says it better:

He wrote it a while back, but reposted his own essay after last night’s shootings. – Dave

Let me reiterate. ALL LIVES MATTER.

Yes, I said it, and I will not back down. Why? Because to do so would be un-biblical and un-Christlike. Regardless how one might want to politicize the issue, as a follower of Jesus, as one who believes God made all mankind in His image, I must stand firmly on Truth, not catchphrases.

Racism is wrong. Bigotry is wrong. And taking a statement that excludes the inherent value of all human life as your mantra is also wrong.

Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/08/during-deadly-dallas-shooting-confusion-swirled-around-armed-man-carrying-a-rifle/

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I would not have agreed on several things, particularly in areas of theology and what is called the “social gospel.” Nevertheless, I believe Dr. King and I would have seen eye-to-eye regarding the “Black Lives Matter” thing. He would have said, “NO! NO! NO!” to all the violence and hatred. I believe he would be heartbroken at all the calls for unrest. He would certainly be ashamed of those who have used race as a tool for their own gain. Was it not Dr. King who envisioned a “color-blind” society?

If a person can’t say that “all lives matter” in public without being condemned, without being forced to apologize, then what does that say about the lives of others? What about my family? What about the Asian family down the road? Or the Indian woman that walks down the street with her husband and son? What about the Native American?