The Weekly is a highlight of the work the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is doing to strengthen you and our churches for God’s glory.

What George Floyd’s Death Should Remind Us About Justice and the Gospel

Here we are again. After the country, just weeks ago, saw a shocking video of Ahmaud Arbery shot to death in Georgia, now a video has emerged showing us George Floyd dying with a policeman’s knee on his neck, protesting “I Can’t Breathe.” The officers involved have been fired, and protests are underway, while a nation asks, “How can this keep happening?” As with every other issue here, the problems underlying all of this will need to be addressed both to consciences and to institutions.

The powers-that-be have a biblical responsibility to be just in the way that they wield the rightful use of the law. That is why John the Baptist said to the soldiers and tax collectors after they had repented of sin and been baptized, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do” and “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation” (Lk. 3:13-14). Why was this addressed to the tax collectors and soldiers and not to the general population of those at the Jordan River? It was because they were the ones responsible for making such decisions, decisions that could exploit vulnerable people unjustly. In our system of government, that responsibility rests, ultimately, with all citizens.

This Week at the ERLC

Helpful Resources On COVID-19

What You Need to Read

The coronavirus pandemic has brought up many conversations in our home about suffering. The children are hearing about sick people, job loss, and isolation. They know the disruption and disappointment in their own lives. Try as we might, we can’t shelter the children from the reality of this present suffering. Nor should we want to.

Particularly in this time of crisis, the Church has a unique calling to care for the vulnerable and the marginalized and to elevate the strength and value of all people made in the image of God. This reality of racial injustice and the debilitating effects of the pandemic for people of color should bring us to our knees before our Heavenly Father and compel us to compassion for those in need.

As the nation’s mental health has suffered under the weight of COVID-19, it’s important to remember that pastors and ministry leaders are human. The personal emotional and mental health of ministry leaders is regularly and severely stretched, even when times are good. Prior to COVID-19, 23% of Protestant pastors surveyed said they had personally struggled with some form of mental illness. And unfortunately, ministry leaders are not immune to deaths by suicide, as seen with the recent tragic losses of pastors Darrin Patrick and Jarrid Wilson.

News From Capitol Hill

This week, there were significant foreign policy developments from Washington, D.C., important for the defense of human rights including the fundamental right of religious freedom.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday his report to Congress the U.S. State Department’s determination that “Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China, given facts on the ground.” Pompeo concluded his momentous tweet, “The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong.” This is huge news for the future of U.S., Hong Kong, and China relations.

Chelsea Patterson Sobolik wrote an explainer about this U.S. announcement and what it means for Hong Kong and China. Patterson Sobolik writes about how Hong Kong has operated under a system of law that guaranteed a “one country, two systems” arrangement for the city.

“Under this system, Hongkongers have enjoyed economic and civil freedoms that people in mainland China do not. China’s increasingly aggressive posture in Hong Kong, most recently by proposing such a sweepingly expansive security law that would criminalize sedition, foreign influence, and secession, threatens the global economy, human rights, and freedom in the island-city.”

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which was approved by unanimous consent in the Senate earlier in May. The ERLC urges President Trump to sign this bill as we have long advocated for the U.S. government to hold China accountable for religious freedom abuses, including calling attention to the Chinese Communist Party’s horrific persecution in Xinjiang.

According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the act would “make U.S. concerns about the persecution of Uyghurs part of official U.S. policy toward China. It would direct the administration to impose financial sanctions and visa bans under the Global Magnitsky Act against Chinese government officials responsible for the persecution of Uyghur and other Muslims. In addition, the bill would require the State Department to report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang—including formal estimates of the number of individuals detained in concentration camps—and the FBI to submit a report to Congress on attempts by Chinese government agents to intimidate and harass Uyghurs and Chinese nationals legally residing in the United States.” Learn more about this bill from USCIRF’s press release.

Featured Podcasts

On this episode of the Russell Moore Podcast, which is titled “First Word: The What and Why of Humanity (Gen. 1:26 – 2:17),” we continue our journey through Genesis by looking at the creation and meaning of humanity. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? What does it mean to have intrinsic dignity? Join Moore as he talks about what this passage has to say on these questions. Listen here.

In light of the killing of George Floyd, we’re highlighting the Capitol Conversations podcast from last week. Jeff Pickering and Travis Wussow welcomed Dr. Kevin Smith to the podcast to talk about the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and why Christians should lament this tragedy and work to seek justice in their communities. Listen here.

From The Public Square

June 7 designated Southern Baptist Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
Ann Lovell, Baptist Press

In recognition of the persecution faced by Christians around the world, the Southern Baptist Convention last year designated the first Sunday in June as a Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This year, that's June 7.

Virginia school board defends transgender bathroom ban
Associated Press

A Virginia school board is defending its policy of blocking transgender students from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity.

Churches grapple with whether to require masks
Tobin Perry, Southern Baptist TEXAN

As Texas churches make plans to gather once again, pastors across the state are wrestling with issues that have become controversial and mired in politics.

For as Long as Our Love Shall Last: How the Soulmate Myth Makes Marriage Less Stable and Less Happy
W. Bradford Wilcox, Family Studies Blog

What happened during the divorce revolution of the 1970s and its immediate wake is that average marital quality in the United States actually fell from the early ‘70s through the late ‘80s.