Current Events

The LBGTQ agenda and how it is being forced on those who disagree with it is the focus of this week’s recommended readings on the culture war from around the Internet for Christians living amid an increasingly hostile society.

My mission is to provide help and encouragement to live out our faith amidst the moral decline of our culture. Challenges to religious freedom, free speech, biblical morality, innocent and defenseless human life continue unabated.

Do not fear. Standing firmly on the Word of God, we can resist evil and shine as lights, offering hope to a darkened world.

A Big Victory for Religious Freedom–And Common Sense

I’ve posted several times about the hate speech trial in Finland of Christian member of parliament and a Lutheran bishop. Their crime, publicly stating their support for the biblical teaching that true marriage is between a woman and a man.

As the culture war heats up, progressives are increasingly accusing anyone who disagrees with the LBGTQ agenda of hate speech.

In this case, common sense prevailed, and they acquitted the defendants.

The verdict in the closely watched trial of a Finnish Christian MP was announced on Wednesday. A court in Helsinki dismissed all charges against Päivi Räsänen, a physician and mother of five, and Juhana Pohjola, a bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, after a free speech trial that drew international attention. The court said in a unanimous 28-page ruling on March 30 that “it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts.”

It said that Räsänen had sought to “defend the concept of family and marriage between a man and a woman.” If some people found the statements offensive, it said, “there must be an overriding social reason for interfering with and restricting freedom of expression.” It ordered the state to pay legal costs to the defense of over 60,000 euros.

LBGTQ – Rights a Major Front in the Culture War

As the above article shows, a major battlefield of the culture war revolves around the LBGTQ agenda and how its advocates are forcing it on those who disagree with them. Also, I often share articles on how LBGTQ activists and their ideas are harmful to the culture.

Because of this, I want to make clear what I believe about marriage and human sexuality.

• The Bible’s teaching that true marriage is only between a man and a woman.
• God created only two genders, male and female. This means we are born either biologically male or biologically female.
• Same-sex marriage and homosexual acts violate God’s commands and are sin.
• Heterosexual sex, outside the bonds of marriage, is sin.

I also believe:

• My sins are as grievous as those I mentioned. I am as guilty of violating God’s commands as anyone else. I am no better.
• As a sinner, I need a savior, and I have a savior in Jesus Christ. Jesus won forgiveness for our sins and our salvation on the cross. God’s offers His gifts of grace, forgiveness, and salvation to all people.
• While we should not affirm homosexuality, transgenderism, or the LBGTQ agenda, we believe those who do so are made in the image of God, just as we are, and are due respectful and fair treatment.

Here are some additional articles on the LBGTQ agenda

 

Florida’s New Law Is Only Bad for People Who Think Parents Have No Rights Over Their Kids

The recently enacted Florida parental rights law (wrongly dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill by LBGTQ activists) has drawn a lot of attention. It is not an attack on gays or transgender people, though those pushing the LBGTQ agenda want us to believe it., Instead, it affirms parent’s rights regarding their children’s education and protects children from potential abuse.

“Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students…”

In other words, teachers are instructed not to discuss topics related to sex with children up to grade 3, and anything else needs to be “age appropriate,” as determined by the school board.

Is the Absurdity of the Lia Thomas Saga Hastening a Pro-Sanity Coalition?

Will Thomas a.k.a. Lia Thomas is a man who believes he is a woman. And, as a woman dominated the recent NCAA women’s swimming championships. By allowing him to compete against biological woman the NCAA took a step toward destroying women’s sports. And, hurting many outstanding women athletes. Another way the LBGTQ agenda is harmful and hurtful,

This article provides wonderful insight into this decision by the NCAA.

Are you keeping up? Of course not. No one could, because none of this makes any sense at all, and it’s absolutely insane.

Worst of all, actual women with two X chromosomes are truly suffering because of the insanity that Lia Thomas is imposing upon others. Imagine training your entire life as a female athlete, only to be robbed of a rightful position in the Ivy League finals due to a man, who eclipsed all the competing women’s winning times just a few years back when he was still recognized as a very average male Division 1 college athlete.

Research: Homosexuality

Insightful and informative from the Christian Research Network.

1 Cor 6:9-11 tells us there is no such thing as a homosexual Christian. But the Good News is that Christ’s shed blood covers all sin. Unfortunately, the homosexual agenda’s strategy is to make churches either silent and powerless to speak Truth, or to get them on board as “gay affirming.”

The Homosexual Agenda at its core is a self-centered set of beliefs and objectives designed to promote and even mandate approval of homosexuality and homosexual ideology, along with the strategies used to implement such. The goals and means of this movement include indoctrinating students in public school, restricting the free speech of opposition, obtaining special treatment for homosexuals, distorting Biblical teaching and science, and interfering with freedom of association. Advocates of the homosexual agenda seek special rights for homosexuals that other people don’t have, such as immunity from criticism (see hate speech, hate crimes). Such special rights will necessarily come at the expense of the rights of broader society. The homosexual agenda is the biggest threat to the right of free speech today. (Source)

Disney Has Fallen

My wife and I love visiting Disney World and Disneyland. We’ve enjoyed wonderful times in the Magic Kingdom with all 6 grandchildren and our 3 children and their spouses many times. The characters, the princesses, just the atmosphere make things magical for the kids, not to mention the adults.

On our most recent trip, our 5-year-old granddaughter told me she was having her “best day ever” more than once.

Unfortunately, our Disney experiences may be at an end as the company has caved in to the LBGTQ agenda. This article and the next will tell you why.

Not even the children’s-programming giant could resist the gender agenda.

Ron DeSantis signed a bill that prohibited public schools from offering “instruction” in gender ideology in grades K–3. It was the right bill, protecting young children from falsehoods. His opponents called it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, alleging that it criminalized any acknowledgement of the existence of same-sex couples. Predictably, this week, we discovered that this accusation was a case of projection. In leaked video recordings of an all-hands meeting meant to respond to the Florida legislation, Disney executives revealed that they had banned their theme-park workers from using phrases like “ladies and gentlemen” or “boys and girls.”

Disney, in other words, had instituted a “Don’t Say” policy on the sex binary, forbidding the acknowledgement of a simple truth.

The Sad Collapse and Corruption of Disney’s (Woke) World

In reality, it’s common-sense legislation that recognizes parents reserve the absolute right to decide when and what their children are to be taught about such sensitive issues.

But Karey Burke, president of Disney’s General Entertainment Content, feels strongly that if children aren’t going to be propagandized in school, they should be brainwashed and confused via Disney entertainment.

“I’m here as a mother of two queer children, actually,” Burke told employees. “One transgender child and one pansexual child, and also as a leader.”

Burke went on to say she is committed to Disney producing content that features “underrepresented” individuals.

“We have many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories, and yet we don’t have enough leads, and narratives in which gay characters just get to be characters,” she said.

Episcopal Church Bishops Pledge Transgender and Non-Binary Support

Just in case you’re wondering, the Episcopal Church is no longer an orthodox Christian denomination. In fact, it hasn’t been for some time. It is probably more accurate to call it an apostate church. This article shows us why.

Bishops of the Episcopal Church on Friday adopted a pastoral statement critical of U.S. states that have enacted policies opposed by transgender activists, including laws banning irreversible surgeries on minors to remove healthy reproductive organs.

The bishops’ statement, introduced by Episcopal Diocese of Texas Bishop Suffragan Kai Ryan, voices “love and continued support for all persons who identify as transgender or non-binary and their families.” It goes on to “decry legislative initiatives and governmental actions targeting trans children and their families.”

The resolution specifically names Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, Missouri, Florida, Arkansas, Ohio, North Dakota, Mississippi, South Dakota, Nebraska, Indiana and South Carolina.

Why Have Leftists Replaced Black Rights with Gay Rights and Women’s Rights with Trans Rights?

Insightful comments on how the left has shifted its support in the culture war.

So, why is it that the same group of people (meaning the “progressives” or “the left”) who fought so tenaciously for black rights now make that cause secondary to gay rights? And why is it that the same group of people who fought so tenaciously for women’s rights now make that cause secondary to trans rights?

I believe the answer is staring us right in the face: it was not blacks or gays or women or transgenders who were the ultimate issue. It was challenging the status quo that was the ultimate issue. It was rebelling against the system. It was saying no to the prevailing tradition of the hour, whether that tradition was bad (such as segregation) or that tradition is good (such as the integrity of women’s sports).

Democrats: Party of Child Mutilators & Kidnappers

The Democratic party has already earned the tag: “The Party of Death” because of its unrelenting support of abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia. They have now fallen to a new low as they take the offensive in the culture war.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs released a document Thursday titled “Gender Affirming Care and Young People.” The same day, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Child Traumatic Stress Network–another subset of the HHS—released a parallel document titled, “Gender-Affirming Care Is Trauma-Informed Care.”

This is the latest move from the Biden administration attacking parents and pushing the LBGTQ agenda. Please read the documents for yourself. This is scary stuff. Another attack from the Left in the culture war.

President Biden to trans youth. He’s also planning to kidnap you from your parents to get you surgery (White House)

That ought to send a chill down everyone’s spine. The Biden Administration is laying the policy groundwork for the seizing of minor children from parents, for the sake of jacking those children up with hormones and mutilating their bodies with surgery!

I remind you that this very U.S. government policy document actually states that there are “no scientifically sound” reasons to doubt whether hormones and surgery for minors is harmful, and to say, therefore, that children may be removed from their families so that their bodies can be altered by the state.

This is the Democratic Party at work. This is what it means to have a Democratic government. Does having a Republican government mean reversing all of this? One hopes so.

Folks, they really are coming for our children. It’s right there on the government website. They are propagandizing doctors to act as agents of the state in the seizure of kids. Read the document yourself!

Biden the One -Third Theologian

Joe Biden, competent to lead or not, is a Four-Star General in the culture war. As I read this essay, I wonder if he really understands what he is doing to our country, and our children.

Biden considers himself a “good” Catholic despite his support of abortion-on-demand, and now, the LBGTQ agenda. While he is proving not to be much of a president, he is also not much of a theologian.

There are at least three major components to the Christian gospel–all MUST be affirmed, and if you leave any of them out, you do not have the biblical story but a humanistic heresy. Just what are these three core and fundamental components of the gospel?

Here they are in a nutshell: One. Man was created by God in his likeness and image. Two. Sin and the Fall have separated us all from God and greatly tarnished (but not erased) that image. Three. Only through faith and repentance based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can anyone get right with God, see the image properly restored, and inherit eternal life.

It seems the American President has now become a theologian–but a very bad one. Indeed, he has made it clear that he is a diabolical one, because he wants to affirm only those components that he is happy with. In this case, he has run with Number One, while fully denying the other two. So, he is doing the devil’s work, and leading all his followers to a lost eternity.

He is also causing plenty of damage along the way–especially to our children. So what has sleepy Joe done this time? Being the good lefty and secular humanist that he is, he has come out fully defending the homosexual and trans agendas. And to add blasphemy to all this, he is now quoting the Bible–sort of. Selectively quoting Scripture will always get you into trouble. It will always mark you out as a deceiver and a liar.

More Suggested Reading on the Culture War

 

Why Would a Preacher Cast Doubt on the Authority of the Bible?

 

Do Most Americans Accept the Woke Agenda?

 

Population Bomb Scare

 

What a Tangled Web | Carl R. Trueman

 

If Congress Doesn’t Rein in Big Tech, Censors Will Eliminate the Right

 

The False Gospel of the Enemies Within the Church

 

Socialism: Is It Making a Comeback in the U.S.?

 

The NYT Finally Discovers Free Speech — After Years Calling for Big Tech Censorship

 

Should Americans Be Able to Wear Their Faith on Their Sleeve?

 

Free Speech Above All

 

May God bless you and keep you and yours safe this week.