With so many issues swirling around us, it’s good to remind ourselves of the reality of Jesus Christ.
“We are all flawed and have all messed up,” writes Christian mathematician and philosopher John Lennox of Oxford University. “The cross also speaks of a place where I can receive forgiveness and new life by repenting and trusting the one who died for me. Christianity competes with no other philosophy or religion since no one else offers me such a radical solution to my human problem.”
Representations of the cross of which Lennox writes are being destroyed at hundreds of churches in China, and thousands who claim the cross are being murdered by ISIS, Boko Haram, and other Islamist terrorists. The irony is that those who hate the cross so much need it so greatly. And the calm, unbending testimony of their victims speaks to the power of that cross across time, culture, and circumstance.
In his book simply titled, Don’t Waste Your Life, pastor John Piper writes, “What was once foolishness to us—a crucified God—must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world.”
Our only boast, indeed. Let’s tell of it with the same lack of shame or cowardice as our brethren, persecuted in so many regions across the world, are doing so today.
Sincerely,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
P.S. For more information about international religious persecution, watch Lt. Col. (ret) Bob Maginnis’s recent FRC lecture, “Never Submit: Will the Extermination of Christians Get Worse Before It Decreases?”
Religious Liberty
“Free to Believe” –
- The Case of Former Atlanta Fire Chief Fired Over Marriage Views Goes to Court – Leah Jessen, Daily Signal
- Marriage Litigation in the Wake of Obergefell v. Hodges – Ronald Rotunda, Verdict
- Why Bakers Won't Pay Fine over Gay Wedding Cake – Abigail Robertson, CBN
- No Greater Harm – Rick Plasterer, Institute on Religion and Democracy
International Religious freedom-
- U.S. international religious freedom interest downgraded to special “advisor” from “envoy” - Kelly Ledbetter, Christian Examiner
- Islamic State, Extremist Groups Are World’s Chief Religious Persecutors, U.S. State Dept. Report Says - Felicia Schwartz, Wall Street Journal
- Breakpoint this Week: Modern Persecution – John Stonestreet, Breakpoint
Military Religious Freedom
- Religion: A Missing Component of Professional Military Education - Thomas G. Matyok, U.S. Army War College
- In Defense of Our Defenders: Responding to Religious Freedom in the US Military - Daniel Briggs, Berkley Center, Georgetown University
Religious Liberty in the public square –
- Is There a Wall of Separation Between Church and State? – Bruce Frohnen, Crisis Magazine
- Westerners Plagued by Occasional References to Scripture – Alan Sears, Alliance Defending Freedom
- Hillsborough Community College (FL) advisory council drops Pledge of Allegiance from meetings - Caitlin Johnston, Tampa Bay Times
- 4 Reasons the War for Your Religious Freedom Just Got Hotter – Liberty Institute
- Christian Victims in Oregon – John Stonestreet, Breakpoint
- “Debunking the SPLC ‘Hate Group’ Myth - Matt Staver, Liberty Counsel
- America’s Identity Crisis: National Character & Political Disorder – William B. Allen, The Imaginative Conservative
Life
Abortion
- Let’s Pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act – U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), Washington Examiner
- At Planned Parenthood, Abortion Is Up, Health Care Is Down – Anna Poprocki, The Federalist
- How Many Women Are Pressured Into Abortions? – Greg Scandlen, The Federalist
- Former abortionist describes horrific dismemberment abortions during Planned Parenthood hearing – Becky Yeh, Lifesite News
Adoption
- Adoption Agency Gets Techie – Maize Pyburn, FRC Blog
- New Law Forces Mother Teresa’s Order Out of Adoption Services in India – Thomas D. Williams, Breitbart
Federal funding of abortion
- AUL says Planned Parenthood Refusal to Forego Harvesting of Infant Body Parts One More Reason to Defund – Americans United for Life
- Disentangling the Data on Planned Parenthood Affiliates’ Abortion Services and Receipt of Taxpayer Funding - Jamie Bryan Hall and Roger Severino, Heritage.org
- Congress should end funding to Planned Parenthood and Redirect it to other Health Care Options - by Sarah Torre, Heritage.org
Obamacare
- The HHS Mandate: The Legal Argument that Should Prevail at the Supreme Court – Matthew J. Franck, The Public Discourse
- Halfway Through My Obamacare Pregnancy - Ester Bloom, The Atlantic
- 56 Changes to ObamaCare, So Far -by Grace-Marie Turner, Galen.org
Family
Human Sexuality (Homosexual/ gender issues)
- A Pastor's Journey from Gay Pride Parades to the Pulpit – Morgan Lee, Christianity Today
- ‘Demon’ of Gender Theory – Academia.org
Human Trafficking
- Prostitution victim leads charge against Amnesty International - Wendy Wright, Lifesitenews
- Law Enforcement Agencies Recover 149 Child Sex Trafficking Victims- CBS Local
- Sex Trafficking Victims Branded by a New King – Hannah Wegman, Christian Post
Marriage
- Baptist leader Al Mohler: Christians should boycott gay weddings – Andrew Wolfson, USA Today
- Why Are Married Couples With Kids Wealthier Than Other Americans? – Terry Jeffrey CNS.News
- Legal Scholars Rise Up Against Supreme Court's Gay Marriage Decision – Dr. Michael Brown, Christian Post
- Money Can’t Express A Mother’s Value – Ashley Bateman, The Federalist
Pornography
- How ‘Playboy’ Magazine Legitimized Pornography—and Destroyed Itself in the Process – Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition
- End of an Era for Playboy – Gina Dalfonzo, Breakpoint
- Porn for the Privileged – Melinda Selmys, First Things
FRC Publications
Blogs
- A Planned Parenthood Lectionary – Rob Schwarzwalder
- Constitutional Resistance to Obergefell v. Hodges - Travis Weber
Op-eds
- Kim Davis and the Rule of Law – Ken Blackwell, Townhall.com
- Condemned If You Do: Sgt. Charles Martland – Ken Blackwell, Townhall.com
- Indeed Black Lives Matter-- Especially the Unborn! – Ken Blackwell, Townhall.com
- How to Overcome Planned Parenthood’s Wall of Lies – Rob Schwarzwalder, The Stream
- Bedtime, School Time and Families – Rob Schwarzwalder, South Jersey Courier-Post
Lectures
- Dr. Joe Loconte, A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918
- For J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, the Great War deepened their spiritual quest. Both men served as soldiers on the Western Front, survived the trenches, and used the experience of that conflict to ignite their Christian imagination.
- Lt. Col. (ret) Bob Maginnis, Never Submit: Will the Extermination of Christians Get Worse Before It Declines?
- Never Submitchallenges readers to launch a campaign that seeks not only to save Middle Eastern Christians from genocide but also to defend the rest of the world from Islamic extremism.
Policy publications
- A Legal Perspective: Does Same-Sex Marriage Mean the End of Tax Exemption for Churches and Religious Institutions? – Travis Weber
- In the wake of Obergefell, in which the Supreme Court held that states must icense same-sex marriages and recognize such licenses issued by other states, some advocates quickly moved on to new territory, calling for the revocation of tax exemption for religious institutions and churches that do not support same-sex marriage. But do those calling for tax exempt status to be revoked really have a case?
