| | House Republicans will hold special order hour to discuss the importance of prayer | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Thursday, April 28, and today's headlines include House Republicans holding a special order hour to discuss the importance of prayer, two sets of Massachusetts parents who have filed a lawsuit over claims that school officials secretly helped their children adopt new gender identities, and research insights on parents of preteens. | | Around three dozen House Republicans will take to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday to discuss the importance of faith and prayer as the nation finds itself in the midst of "spiritual warfare." The special order hour, which is being hosted by Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., and the House Republican Conference, falls exactly one week before the May 5 National Day of Prayer. Allen told The Christian Post that the event, where members of Congress will have the opportunity to discuss the impact prayer has on their lives, will take place after the House finishes with "the business of the day" and will be live-streamed on C-SPAN. | | "[John] Adams said that our Constitution is for a moral and religious people only" and that "it will do for no other," the 70-year-old politician said. "Some people take offense to that, but again, the Constitution was written for people of virtue … [and] we have to continue to fight for that ... I believe that it’s time for people of faith to step forward in this country and to make our vote count and to put those very values that our founders put forth in the Constitution on the center stage." Continue reading. | | P.S. Did you hear? We’ve launched The Christian Post Daily, a podcast featuring the day’s top headlines. Listen now on Apple, Google, Spotify, Edifi, or wherever you stream your favorite podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe so that you never miss an update. Stay in the know with In Case You Missed It, a Friday-only newsletter that features a weekly roundup of the top stories of the week. Subscribe here. |
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| City approves church's private school after allegations of stonewalling over religious beliefs | | Somerville Public Schools in Massachusetts approved the creation of the Real Life Learning Center at its regular meeting on Monday. The private school is a project of Vida Real Church, a congregation largely made up of Hispanic immigrants, which accused the committee of stalling the school's application. Last month, the First Liberty Institute and the Massachusetts Family Institute sent a letter of concern claiming that the school district was going to reject the application because committee officials disliked the church’s beliefs. In response to the district's approval, First Liberty attorney Ryan Gardener stated, "We are grateful that Somerville officials recognized that the government cannot ban a religious school because they disagree with its religious beliefs." Continue reading. | | SC bill protects churches from closure during pandemics | | South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed House Bill 3105 into law on Monday in a move aimed at protecting houses of worship from forced closure during a state of emergency. The bill states that the government "may not limit the ability of a religious organization to continue operating and to engage in religious services during a state of emergency to a greater extent than it limits operations or services of other organizations or businesses that provide essential services." It also specifies that the state can "require a religious organization to comply with neutral health, safety, or occupancy requirements during a state of emergency" provided they are "applicable to all organizations or businesses providing essential services" and "do not impose a substantial burden on religious services" unless a "compelling state interest" exists. Continue reading. | | Also of Interest... | | DC to pay $220K for restricting Baptist church's in-person worship during pandemicSupreme Court orders California to lift restrictions on at-home worship gatheringsFederal court sides with Ohio Christian schools suing to stop COVID-19 closuresCourt blocks COVID-19 restrictions against California priest | | Parents file suit, claim school officials secretly helped kids adopt new gender identities | | Two sets of parents are suing the staff of a Massachusetts middle school for allegedly encouraging their children to adopt new gender identities without their knowledge or consent. One set of parents says they were unaware of the "transitioning" of their young son and daughter and only became aware after their daughter's teacher sent an email indicating she was struggling with self-esteem and referring to herself as "genderqueer." The parents say they contacted the school and requested that school officials not discuss the issue with their children and allow the parents to "direct [their] mental health care," including by providing their daughter with help from a "mental health professional," but they believe the school disregarded their instructions. The other set of parents also claims that they "are deliberately hindered from ascertaining whether their children are being secretly counseled about and affirmed in discordant gender identities without their knowledge or consent." Continue reading. |
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| Stop sexually grooming children and quit gaslighting parents | | Senior Investigative Reporter Brandon Showalter calls out the disturbing cultural trend of grooming children. Asserting the problem is systemic and not merely the collection of a handful of infrequent accidents, Showalter details 12 recent examples that demonstrate grooming is a pervasive issue and it's time for the media and businesses to quit gaslighting parents. Among his examples is Hasbro's troll doll that was removed from shelves in 2020 after consumers found a button located in the crotch area of the doll that, when pressed, elicited gasps and giggles, Nickelodeon's "Blue's Clues" episode featuring a cartoon beaver sporting bilateral mastectomy scars and a pink and blue transgender armband ("beaver" is crude slang for female genitalia), and the recent onslaught of so-called "queer" books featuring lurid prose and graphic illustrations of minors fellating adults being stocked in the public school libraries of middle schoolers. Continue reading. | | Freedom from addiction | | In this op-ed, World Challenge writer Rachel Chimits writes about finding freedom from addiction and the steps people need to follow to find freedom from all life-controlling sins. "It’s frustrating to admit that we don’t have the control over ourselves that we might wish in order to avoid being embarrassed or to maintain a good image in church or among our friends. In Christ’s upside down kingdom, however, freedom is found in seeing our chains for what they are and submitting ourselves to God," she explains. Continue reading. |
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| Report: Parents experiencing 'spiritual distress' as biblical Christianity fades | | Parents of preteens, defined as children under the age of 13, "are in a state of spiritual distress" as American adherence to biblical Christianity fades even in churches, according to new data from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University and the American Worldview Inventory 2022. Researchers suggest a "tragic crash" is coming as a result of the situation, with CRC Director George Barna explaining, "While the warning signs are identifiable and unmistakable, it appears that parents, as well as their support system (i.e., churches, extended family, and parachurch ministries), are too distracted or disinterested to acknowledge and address the parenting crisis. It seems that a tragic crash is in store." Barna also suggested that one explanation for the current faith crisis is the American Church's focus on thewrong indicators of faith, such as focusing on church attendance and participation in prayer instead of "core developmental efforts." Continue reading. |
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| Tisby chides college for calling speaker invite 'a mistake' | | Jemar Tisby, a well-known Christian author and president of The Witness, a multimedia platform about race, religion, politics and culture, chided leaders of Grove City College in Pennsylvania for calling a decision to allow him to speak in the school’s chapel about race in 2020 "a mistake." A special GCC committee comprised mainly of board members of the unaffiliated Christian liberal arts college released a 23-page report on April 13. They defended the college from "allegations of mission-drift," a move that came after the college was accused in a petition launched by a group of parents and former students of promoting critical race theory. The report highlighted the dangers of critical race theory and several reasons the theoretical framework is incompatible with a biblical worldview. It also noted what leaders considered to be several missteps that led to the theory's promotion on campus, including allowing TIsby to speak at the chapel. "Most of those in GCC leadership with whom we spoke observed that ‘the Jemar Tisby that we thought we invited in 2019 is not the Jemar Tisby that we heard in 2020 or that we now read about.’ They allow that, in hindsight, inviting Mr. Tisby to speak in chapel was a mistake," the committee wrote." Continue reading. | | | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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