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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.

Explainer: What you should know about childhood malnutrition

What just happened?

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently published its flagship report, The State of the World’s Children 2019, examining the immense risks posed by malnutrition. According to the report, across the globe 1 in 3 children under the age of 5 is not getting the nutrition they need to grow well.

What is malnutrition?

Malnutrition is a lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to process the nutrients in the food that one does eat. According to UNICEF, the “triple burden of malnutrition” is undernutrition, hidden hunger, and overweight.

What is undernutrition?

Undernutrition is a lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough food or not eating enough food containing substances necessary for growth and health. In 2018, almost 200 million children under the age of 5 suffer from stunting or wasting because of undernutrition.

This Week at the ERLC

What You Need to Know

If you don’t want to be “lonely at the top,” you need people who truly know you and are actively engaged in caring for your well-being. Like all of God’s people, leaders are called to live in intimate relationship with others (Prov. 13:20; 27:5-6; 27:17).

There are several perverse ironies in this case. First, in nearly any other context David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt would be hailed as heroic protectors of human rights. . . . But when investigators go undercover to expose potential infanticide StemExpress has the temerity to go to court and some people raise eyebrows of disapproval against the whistleblowers. This demonstrates just how protected the abortion industry is in our culture.

Our children are watching us. What is our life teaching them? Can we honestly say, “Imitate me?” When our children eventually leave home, may they know Christ and walk in his truth because, in part, they saw it modeled by us.

News From Capitol Hill

The ERLC policy team gathered with advocates for immigration reform for a series of events this week in Washington. On Wednesday, Travis Wussow spoke on a panel at an event with the Evangelical Immigration Table and ministry leaders from around the country. On Thursday, Russell Moore joined in a conversation with Cherie Harder of The Trinity Forum and moderated by Michael Wear of the And Campaign on immigration, culture, and the ever growing need for civil discourse.

In recent years, few issues have dominated the headlines as frequently and divided the country as deeply as immigration. Many Americans—including many Christians—feel conflicted as they think about such a complex issue: They want the United States to be a secure country with just and fair immigration laws that welcome those immigrants who want to contribute to our communities and become a part of the American story.
This is why we worked with the Evangelical Immigration Table to publish a two-part article series, A biblical view of immigrants and Applying biblical principles to immigration reform, to equip Christians with how Scripture calls us to treat immigrants and to explore how these principles can apply to a policy framework for needed reforms.

For the latest in this advocacy work, see this week’s press release from the EIT, Evangelical Leaders call for a Restitution-Based Immigration Plan. In the release, Russell Moore notes the importance of this policy approach, because, “the security of our nation requires both a strong border and a society healthy enough to encourage those living in the shadows to come into the light.”

Featured Podcasts

Historian Thomas S. Kidd joined the Capitol Conversations podcast for a roundtable conversation on evangelicalism and politics with Jeff Pickering, Travis Wussow, and Chelsea Patterson Sobolik. Most importantly for the ERLC, he tells the story of our office namesake, John Leland. Listen to the discussion here.

From The Public Square

Senate unanimously passes bill making animal cruelty a federal felony, sending it to President Trump's desk
Matt Zarrell, ABC News

The U.S. Senate has passed a bill making certain types of animal cruelty a federal felony.

Study finds there's been an increase in parents claiming religious exemptions for vaccines
Catherine Garcia, The Week

A new study published Monday found that more parents are claiming that due to religious beliefs, their children must be exempt from vaccinations.

What Is an Embryo Worth?
Scott Klusendorf, Desiring God

Rather than refute the scientific evidence for the humanity of the unborn, some justify abortion with a direct appeal to intuition.

When You Are Persecuted in One Place, Flee to Another. But Not to America
Jayson Casper, Christianity Today

Both US policy and Middle East wisdom discourage suffering Christians from resettling in the West.