| | House passes two pro-life measures | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Thursday, Jan. 12, and today's headlines include the House passing pro-life measures on Wednesday, a former Va. Tech soccer player who refused to kneel for a Black Lives Matter event winning a $100,000 settlement, and details on an upcoming stage production of C.S. Lewis' "The Horse and His Boy" at the Museum of the Bible. | | The U.S House of Representatives passed pro-life measures on Wednesday, including one aimed at protecting babies who survive an abortion and one condemning violence against pro-life charities and churches. The lower chamber passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in a vote of 220 yeas to 210 nays. All Republicans and one Democrat—Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas—voted in favor of the measure. If enacted, House Resolution 26 would require an abortion provider to try to save the life of a baby who survives an abortion procedure. Health providers would be required to exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age and ensure that such children are admitted to a hospital. The bill also states that the child's mother "may not be prosecuted" and that she "may, in a civil action against any person who committed the violation, obtain appropriate relief." The bill is unlikely to become law as it would have to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate and even then, would likely be vetoed by Democratic President Joe Biden. | | The Republican majority also passed a resolution condemning acts of violence and vandalism against pro-life pregnancy care centers, churches and other entities that oppose abortion. The resolution passed with a vote of 222-219, with only three Democrats—Vicente Gonzael of Texas, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Marie Perez of Washington—joining all Republicans to condemn the violence. The resolution calls on the Biden administration "to use all appropriate law enforcement authorities to uphold public safety and to protect the rights of pro-life facilities, groups, and churches." Continue reading. | | P.S. Get rewarded for sharing our newsletters! Sign-up for the CP referral program—the more you share, the more you earn. Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to get started today! |
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| Va. Tech soccer player who refused to kneel for BLM gets $100K settlement | | Kiersten Hening, a former soccer player with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University that was allegedly punished by her coach for refusing to kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, has reportedly won a settlement worth $100,000. Hening claimed that soccer coach Charles "Chugger" Adair verbally abused her when she refused to kneel when a "unity statement" was read during a game against the University of Virginia in 2020. She also stated he benched the starting player and pressured her to leave the team. According to the court documents cited by Fox News, while Hening "supports social justice and believes that black lives matter," she "does not support BLM the organization," expressing opposition over the organization's "tactics and core tenets of its mission statement, including defunding the police." Read more. | | Pastor saved by off-duty EMT at wedding | | Pastor Anthony Palmer of Empowered Life Church in New Jersey collapsed after a cardiac arrest while presiding over a wedding, but he survived the ordeal thanks to the quick efforts of an off-duty EMT who sprang into action as they waited for an ambulance to arrive. Palmer told northjersey.com that he remembers presiding over the wedding of the unidentified couple on Dec. 29, then waking up in the hospital. "I said it would require patience, love, kindness, and then I passed out," the pastor told NBC4 New York. Valeria Franco, a 22-year-old EMT who was part of the catering team at the wedding, used her skills to keep the pastor alive until emergency services arrived. Franco was honored by Paterson City Hall on Tuesday where she reunited with Palmer for the first time since the wedding. "I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for your service," Palmer told her. Read more. |
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| No mercy without rules | | In this editorial, professor and author Carl Trueman discusses an article in The New York Times that compared Pope Benedict XVI with his successor. The Times article asserts, "Francis moved decisively to reshape the papacy, firing or demoting many of Benedict’s traditionalist appointees and elevating the virtue of mercy over rules that Benedict had spent decades refining and enforcing," but Trueman warns that society's belief "that rules can neither be motivated by nor embody mercy in themselves" is dangerous. Trueman, who compares the inconsistency of such narratives to the Times pushing vaccinations as following rules for the sake of showing mercy and grace to one's neighbors, ultimately concludes, "Underlying the Times’s selective attitude to rules and mercy is a deeper anthropological shift: We are now required to see life as the be-all-and-end-all of existence, but we are not allowed to prescribe in what that life might positively consist. To do so would be, well, rather distasteful to the modern palate." Read more. | | How to identify the work of the Holy Spirit | | Oscar Amaechina discusses the purpose of the Holy Spirit and how to have a clear understanding of what is expected of believers when they have received the Holy Spirit. "The reason why God gave us the Holy Spirit is to enable us to have the boldness to preach the Gospel of the kingdom," Amechina writes, further noting, "What is surprising to me is that in this generation many Christians are in their churches speaking in tongues while sinners in their immediate environment are left unevangelized." Read more. |
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| The power to choose in a child’s hands | | Some kids wait years to be chosen by sponsors. Now it’s their turn to take action. | | Kids now have the chance to choose you as their sponsor. This puts the power in the hands of our brothers and sisters in developing countries — honoring their dignity as equals and celebrating our belief in Christ by loving our neighbor no matter who they are, or where they live. Read more | | |
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| Police chief: Blanchard should have been tried for prostitution | | Chesterfield County Police Chief, Col. Jeffrey S. Katz of Virginia took to social media to speak out against Commonwealth Attorney Stacey Davenport's decision to drop the prostitution charges against Rock Church International Pastor John Blanchard, arguing that the case should have gone to trial. Blanchard was one of more than a dozen men accused of solicitation of prostitution after an online sting operation by police in Oct. 2021. Blanchard, a married father of two, was arrested at a hotel where he was supposed to meet a detective posing as a 17-year-old girl. He was subsequently charged with solicitation of prostitution of a minor and use of a vehicle to promote prostitution, both of which are both felonies. A report from the Chesterfield County Police Department said Davenport cited a "lack of evidence" in not moving forward with the case against Blanchard. Because the charges against the pastor were withdrawn or nolle prossed, prosecutors could potentially bring those charges again. Read more. |
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| U.K. bans Demi Lovato's poster for being offensive to Christians | | The Advertising Standards Authority, a self-regulatory watchdog agency that regulates advertising in the U.K., has banned a poster of singer, songwriter and actress Demi Lovato following several complaints. The poster shows Lovato in a bondage-style outfit lying on a large, cushioned crucifix-shaped bed with the headline "DEMI LOVATO" and "HOLY FV**," which is the album's title. "We considered that the image of Lovato bound up in a bondage-style outfit whilst lying on a mattress shaped like a crucifix, in a position with her legs bound to one side … was reminiscent of Christ on the cross, together with the reference to 'Holy Fv**,'" ASA wrote of its investigation, adding, "In that context, [the poster] was likely to be viewed as linking sexuality to the sacred symbol of the crucifix and the crucifixion, [and] was likely to cause serious offense to Christians." It also ruled that the language used in the ad was likely to offend adults with children because it alluded to the expression "holy f—." Read more. | | 'The Horse and His Boy' coming to Museum of the Bible | | A stage production of C.S. Lewis' "The Horse and His Boy" is coming to the Museum of the Bible from Jan. 20 through March 3. The timeless tale, which is one of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia series, follows the story of a Narnian boy named Shasta who was stolen from his home and raised as the son of a fisherman in Calormen. When he learns of his adoptive father's plan to sell him into slavery to a wealthy Taarkaan, he plots with the Taarkaan’s talking horse, Bree, captured from Narnia, to run away. The Logos Theatre's production will run more than 40 performances at the Museum of the Bible, including four American Sign Language shows on Jan. 25-26. Learn more and purchase tickets to C.S. Lewis’ "The Horse and His Boy" here. | | | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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