OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Supreme Court has punished a florist for running her business according to her faith. Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Washington State issued its much-anticipated opinion in State of Washington v. Arlene’s Flowers and Ingersoll v. Arlene’s Flowers. The only way to see this decision is as a major setback for religious freedom. The case involved an anti-discrimination complaint brought against Barronelle Stutzman, the 71-year-old owner of Arlene’s … [Read more...]
Joplin schools reopen Bible study groups
JOPLIN – Bible study groups that were shut down by the Joplin School District here in early January have now resumed, according to the Joplin Globe. The school district suspended the Bible study groups, Jan. 6, after officials received a complaint from the Washington, D.C.-based American Humanist Association (AHA) last December. While investigating the complaint, they realized that the groups didn’t comply with current school board policies regarding student-initiated groups. While they … [Read more...]
Trump administration sending mixed messages on religious freedom
WASHINGTON (WNS) – President Donald Trump promised his administration will defend religious freedom, but conflicting messages from the White House last week left conservatives holding their breath. At the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 2, Trump spoke at length on religious persecution around the world and claimed the United States flourishes when religious liberty flourishes. Those comments followed a leaked executive order draft that would instruct multiple government departments to … [Read more...]
Joplin school district suspends student Bible study group
JOPLIN – A Bible study group meeting in the North Middle School here was shut down Jan. 6 after officials at the Joplin School District received a complaint from the Washington, D.C.-based American Humanist Association (AHA) last December. According to the Joplin Globe, the Joplin School District suspended the Bible study not because officials felt it was unconstitutional, but rather because it did not comply with school board policy regarding student-initiated groups. Indeed, according to … [Read more...]
Missouri State settles suit with Christian student
SPRINGFIELD (WNS) – Missouri State University (MSU) says it will pay $25,000 to a former student who was expelled for his views on homosexuality. The agreement settles a lawsuit filed last April by Andrew Cash, a former MSU graduate student who alleges the university kicked him out of the master’s in counseling program because he expressed a religious objection to counseling same-sex couples. The settlement was finalized in December but became public this week when the Springfield … [Read more...]
Tennessee pastor resigns as IMB trustee over Mosque
MORRISTOWN — A Tennessee Baptist pastor has resigned as a trustee of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board in response to an action taken by IMB leadership last summer. He had another year to serve on his present term. Dean Haun, pastor of First Baptist Church, Morristown, told the Baptist and Reflector his resignation was in response to the IMB’s May 2016 decision to sign an amicus brief in support of a mosque to be built in New Jersey. “I love our IMB … [Read more...]
Telling the truth in a world of utter distrustfulness
Journalists, and particularly Christian journalists, must tell the truth. If one does not tell the truth, one loses credibility. No credibility, no readers. No readers, out of business. However, telling the truth is not enough. Twelve times, the Bible reminds us to not only tell the truth, but to guard the truth and it does so many times and in many ways (Ex. 23:1, Lev. 19:11-16, Lev. 19:35-36; Ps. 82:2-3, Prov. 23:10, Prov. 31:8-9, Rom. 12:9-10, 2 Cor. 12:20, Eph. 4:25, 2 Tim. 3:3, Jas. … [Read more...]
P&G refuses to join fight against religious liberty
CINCINNATI, Ohio (WNS) – Procter & Gamble shareholders shot down a proposal last week to join the surge of corporate backlash against religious freedom and restroom laws. NorthStar Asset Management, which owns $2,000 worth of P&G stock, proposed at an investor meeting the company should join Apple, PayPal, Disney, and others in the political fight against religious freedom laws in Mississippi and Tennessee and should take a stand against North Carolina’s transgender restroom … [Read more...]
Power of a metaphor: Church-state separation
My friend, Dr. Michael Gabbert, senior pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church in the Tulsa, Okla., area, is an excellent researcher. He developed a series of insights in response to those who ask the question, “Pastor, who do we vote for?” Perhaps his careful insights will encourage you to speak out in the days leading up to decision day on Nov. 8: Consider Thomas Jefferson—political theorist, statesman, diplomat. He was a scientist, an inventor, an architect and a farmer. He was also the … [Read more...]
Internet change could threaten religious liberty
WASHINGTON (BP) – When the U.S. government relinquishes control of a nonprofit organization that oversees internet domain names, a California Baptist University software engineering professor says, the potential for religious liberty violations could increase. Since 1998, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has coordinated and administered internet domain names, with oversight from the U.S. Department of Commerce. But as of Oct. 1, when the government’s contract … [Read more...]
Roy Moore suspension said to ignore ‘rule of law’
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP) – Although the nine-judge panel charged with trying Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore did not achieve the unanimous ruling required to remove him from office, it suspended him without pay for the remainder of his term in what Moore’s attorney Mat Staver called a violation of state law. “To suspend Chief Justice Moore for the rest of his term is the same as removal,” Staver, founder and chairman of the nonprofit legal group Liberty Counsel, said in a news release. The … [Read more...]
The freedom two-fer
Is the writing on the wall for religious freedom in this country? Just ask two Arizona calligraphers. Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski met at a Starbucks café in north Phoenix in January 2015. Both were Christians, and both were artists. They decided to go into business together, combining their love for Jesus with their love for making beautiful things. Soon they launched Brush & Nib Studio, a for-profit art business that sells hand-drawn invitations and paintings. According to the … [Read more...]
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