Newsmax CEO on DIRECTV removal: 'Blatant' censorship

A former employee at a pediatric gender clinic has come forward to speak out about the "appalling" things that took place at her former place of employment as doctors were allegedly too reliant on promoting gender transition for children despite the risks of "permanently harming the vulnerable patients." In an op-ed for The Free Press, Jamie Reed describes how she identifies as a "queer woman" who is "politically to the left of Bernie Sanders." She spent four years as a case manager at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. "By the time I departed, I was certain that the way the American medical system is treating these patients is the opposite of the promise we make to 'do no harm.' Instead, we are permanently harming the vulnerable patients in our care," she wrote. Calling the rush to embrace surgical and chemical interventions for children with gender dysphoria "morally and medically appalling," Reed described the effects of prescribing testosterone to teenage girls, including sterility, writing that she began to see that "teenagers are simply not capable of fully grasping what it means to make the decision to become infertile while still a minor." She pushed back on the center's website claiming that gender dysphoria "goes away" post-treatment, asserting that "there are no reliable studies showing this." She also described witnessing severe side effects experienced by teenage patients taking puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, including one teenage boy who experienced liver toxicity and breast development after taking a medication intended to treat prostate cancer. In another case, a teenage girl's vaginal canal ripped open after she had intercourse because testosterone "thins the vaginal tissues." Read more.

The Beaufort County Board of Commissioners recently received a complaint letter from Americans United for Separation of Church and State because the county allows elected officials to give open prayers at their official meetings. The church-state watchdog also took issue with citizens being asked to stand for the prayer, which Beaufort County Board of Commissioners Chairman Frankie Waters explained happens in succession with the Pledge of Allegiance. Waters told CP on Thursday that the practice is not part of a "written policy" but rather a "tradition." Now, the county is considering whether to invite clergy to give invocations instead of elected officials. "We do not believe that we were in violation of church and state separation," Waters said, noting that the only complaint he could recall was an email sent last week from someone living in Ohio. A local pastor was invited to pray ahead of Monday night's meeting. Read more.

A second New Jersey Republican council member has been shot dead over the span of a week. Milford Borough Councilman Russell Heller, 51, was found shot to death in a car outside of a Public Service Enterprise Group facility where he worked as a distribution manager. His body was found Wednesday morning. The shooter was believed to be 58-year-old Gary T. Curtis, a former employee at the facility, per a statement from Somerset County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities located Curtis several hours after discovering Heller's body. Curtis died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police have yet to determine a motive for the killing. Sayreville Republican Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, a 30-year-old pastor, was found murdered in her vehicle days before Heller was killed. Police have not tied the two murders together. Read more.

In this editorial, John Stonestreet and Shane Morris discuss "Frankensteinian organ exchange" efforts to transplant a woman's uterus into a man's body in a so-called bid to make men who identify as women "complete" women. Citing author Abigail Favale, who has pushed back on the idea that being a woman can be reduced to a mere function, the authors conclude, "No amount of medical mangling or foreign organs can change a man's body into a woman's, even if it allows him to gestate, because his body-plan remains male in every cell, every chromosome, every organ, and every bone. A transplanted uterus no more makes him a 'complete woman' than sewing on gills would make him a fish." Read more.

Pastor Dan Delzell pushes back on Pastor John MacArthur's teachings on the concept of Limited Atonement. Delzell asserts that MacArthur uses flawed logic that goes against Scripture, especially 1 John 2:2, which states, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." While MacArthur claims that Jesus "didn't actually die for everyone," Delzell cautions that MacArthur's statement is troubling and false, writing, "Jesus did in fact die for every sinner, regardless of who refuses to accept this precious biblical doctrine. Tragically, many people will spend eternity in Hell, but the reality of Hell in no way corroborates the pastor's opinion that Jesus 'didn’t actually die for everyone.'" Read more.

The U.S. State Department has reaffirmed its decision to remove Nigeria from its list of countries of particular concern for religious freedom violations after conducting a "careful review" following objections from Nigerian Christians and human rights activists. In a statement to CP, a State Department spokesperson wrote that Nigeria does not meet the "legal threshold for designation under the International Religious Freedom Act." The act declares that it must be U.S. policy to "condemn violations of religious freedom, and to promote, and to assist other governments in the promotion of, the fundamental right to freedom of religion." The State Department said it continues to have concerns about the religious freedom situation in Nigeria and will keep pressing the government to address them. Read more.

The Church of England has voted to officially endorse plans for priests to offer prayers of blessing for same-sex couples. The Thursday vote saw 36 bishops in favor, with four opposed and two abstentions. Meanwhile, as reported by The Telegraph, the denomination is considering whether to offer "more inclusive language" in its liturgy by teaching that the God of the Bible is gender-neutral. Rev. Michael Ipgrave, the vice chair of the Liturgical Commission, said the panel, working with the Faith and Order Commission, has "been exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years." Prof. Helen King, a reform advocate who is the vice chair of the General Synod's gender and sexuality group, says such debates "have been around for decades, if not centuries," asserting, "God as father may reinforce a bad experience of a strict disciplinarian as their father. If we dig deeper, clearly God is not gendered, so why do we restrict our language for God in gendered ways?" Read more.

In this interview with CP, John Bolin, creator of "The Thorn," shares how the live stage production of Jesus' life, death and resurrection is changing lives and saving people from suicide ideation, mental illness and addiction. "We've seen God deliver people from depression, from addiction. We've seen healing happen, we've seen certainly emotional healing, physical healing, marriages coming together again, people just encountering God in a way they haven't before," he said. Now, the production is set to reach an even larger audience when it hits the big screen for a special two-day Fathom event on March 6 and 7. Learn more and watch the official trailer here.

An ad campaign titled "He Gets Us" is set to reach millions watching Super Bowl LVII this year. The campaign, which highlights the humanity of Jesus, was first launched in 2022 to reach people with the truth of the Gospel through TV, radio, digital ads, billboards and experiential platforms. Haven, a Michigan-based firm, has reportedly spent $20 million to run a 30-second "He Gets Us" ad in the first half and a 60-second ad in the second half of the Super Bowl. An estimated 100 million-plus people are expected to watch the broadcast on Sunday. "Our hope is that you see how Jesus experienced challenges and emotions just like we have. We want to provide a safe place to ask questions, including the tough ones," the campaign's website states. The ads are reportedly funded in part by the family that owns Hobby Lobby as well as other Evangelical groups, including the Kansas-based foundation The Signatry. The Luis Palau Association and the National Association of Evangelicals are also among those that have joined the movement, CBN reports. Read more.