Planned ‘Murderhood’ Sues Over Law Requiring Parental Consent Before Abortions

Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK), along with the ACLU, filed a lawsuit last week over a law that would take effect in July which requires abortion providers to obtain written consent from a legal guardian before an un-emancipated minor can get an abortion.

 

PPINK claims that part of the new law preventing someone from assisting a minor to obtain an abortion without parental consent will prevent their organization “from advising its minor patients and persons seeking abortion services that they can travel to other states to obtain their abortions.  The compelled silence demanded by the Act violates the First Amendment.”  PPINK also considers the parental consent requirement to have a “chilling effect on teenagers already dealing with a difficult situation,” according to Betty Cockrum, President and CEO of PPINK.  “We encourage teenagers to have open and honest conversations with their family members, but unfortunately not every teenager is in an environment where that is safe,” she added.  “Patients should know all options regarding their pregnancies.  It is blatantly unconstitutional and is entirely without compassion for vulnerable Hoosiers.”

 

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb said before signing the legislation in April that he sees it “as a parental rights issue and responsibility and common sense.”

 

The new law does give a minor who objects to obtaining parental consent the ability to petition a juvenile court to waive parental consent and notification if the court finds that to be in the minor’s best interests.

 

PPINK argued in their lawsuit that minors will be deterred from this because the court will inform the parents of the proceedings if their petition is denied.

 

Currently 37-states have parental consent or notification laws for minors obtaining abortions.

 

Hats off to the Indiana legislators and governor; shame on PPINK and the ACLU; and may God’s guidance be sought by these parents of minor girls bearing life … and their grandchildren.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Special Displaying of U.S. Flag on Memorial Day

This is a reposting of my May 25, 2015 blog posting.

The United States Flag Code stipulates that as the symbol of a living country, the flag is considered in itself a living thing and should be properly displayed and cared for.  The code outlines the proper ways to display the American flag:

·         Raise the flag briskly.  Lower it ceremoniously.

·         Never allow the flag to touch the ground or floor.

·         Do not fly the flag in bad weather, unless it is an all-weather flag.

·         The flag can only be flown at night if properly illuminated.  Otherwise, it should only be flown from sunrise to sunset.

·         The flag should always be allowed to fall free.

·         The flag should never be used to carry, store, or deliver anything.

·         Never fly the flag upside down except to signal an emergency.

On this Memorial Day, people commonly fly the flag at half-staff all day.  However, Memorial Day is the only day in which the flag should be hung at half-staff from dawn until 12-noon … when it should be raised to the top of the staff until dusk.  Why?  Because the first half of the day pays tribute to the armed forces service members who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms; while the second half of the day represents the commitment of living citizens to the preservation of life and liberty for all.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Boycotts Inflicting a Full Year of Losses for Target

The Target Corporation released its first quarter 2017 earnings statement and reported a drop in comparable sales for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Since Target’s announcement in April of 2016 welcoming men to use women’s restrooms and fitting rooms based on how they feel, the retail giant has been unable to stem the loss of customers who would rather not do business with a company that has aggressively promoted the liberal agenda.  It appears that conservative movements like the American Family Associations’ #BoycottTarget campaign [https://www.afa.net/target], 2ndVote’s #AnywhereButTARGET campaign [https://www.2ndvote.com/anywherebuttarget/], and many others have staying power and customers are simply turning to alternative options for their shopping dollars.

An article in The Wall Street Journal last month explained how Target’s leadership has been unable to undo the damage and suggests that CEO Brian Cornell has never had the situation under control:

Mr. Cornell, 58 years old, expressed frustration about how the bathroom policy was publicized, and told colleagues he wouldn’t have approved the decision to flaunt it, these people said.  Target didn’t adequately assess the risk, and the ensuing backlash was self-inflicted, he told staff.  Now, it was too late to reverse course.  “You can’t take it back,” said one of these people, adding that Mr. Cornell “felt very stuck.”

The latest quarterly earnings report showed a 1.3% decrease in comparable sales from 2016 citing “declines in both traffic and basket size.”  These declines seem to fall in line with an earlier statement by Cornell that blaming a poor Christmas season performance on “unexpected softness in our stores.”

2ndVote’s Executive Director Lance Wray issued a statement addressing Target’s woes:

Target’s financial support for liberal organizations like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) shows they care more about the LGBT movement’s political goals than they do about their investors or customers.  However, Target’s dismal sales numbers are evidence that customers would rather do business with companies that do not promote the left’s radical agenda.

Indeed, 2ndVote’s research indicates Target is one of the most liberal companies in the country having supported LGBT activist groups like HRC, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).  And Target’s advocacy isn’t limited to sexual orientation and gender identity politics; Target helps fund liberal policy positions on immigration, the 2nd Amendment, and even environmental issues.

At the end of the day, Target’s past 12-months should be a warning for any company aligned with the activist left.  Conservatives are showing they don’t want their shopping dollars to end up funding an agenda that doesn’t match their values.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

American Colleges Majoring in Insanity

Parents, taxpayers and donors who ignore or are too lazy to find out what goes on in the name of higher education are nearly as complicit as the professors and administrators who promote or sanction the lunacy, evil and lawlessness found on campuses. 

Walter E. Williams writes for Townhall.com:

“As for the term ‘institutions of higher learning,’ we might start asking: Higher than what? Let’s look at a tiny sample of academic lunacy.  During a campus debate, Purdue University professor David Sanders argued that a logical extension of pro-lifers’ belief that fetuses are human beings is that pictures of ‘a butt-naked body of a child’ are child pornography.  

“Clemson University’s chief diversity officer, Lee Gill, who’s paid $185,000 a year to promote inclusion, provided a lesson claiming that to expect certain people to be on time is racist. 

“To reduce angst among snowflakes in its student body, the University of California, Hastings College of the Law has added a ‘Chill Zone.’  The ‘Chill Zone’ (located in its library), has, just as most nursery schools have, mats for naps and beanbag chairs. Before or after a snooze, students can also use the space to do a bit of yoga or meditate.  

“The University of Michigan Law School helped its students weather their Trump derangement syndrome – a condition resulting from Donald Trump’s election – by enlisting the services of an ‘embedded psychologist’ in a room full of bubbles and play dough.  

“To reduce pressure on law students, Joshua M. Silverstein, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, thinks that ‘every American law school ought to substantially eliminate C grades and set its good academic standing grade point average at the B- level.’”

Today’s academic climate might be described as a mixture of infantilism, kindergarten and totalitarianism.  The radicals, draft dodgers and hippies of the 1960s who are now college administrators and professors are responsible for today’s academic climate.  The infantilism should not be tolerated; but more important for the future of our nation are the totalitarianism and the hate-America lessons being taught at many of the nation’s colleges.  For example, led by its student government leader, the University of California, Irvine’s student body voted for a motion (which the faculty approved) directing that the American flag not be on display because it makes some students uncomfortable and creates an unsafe, hostile environment.  The flag is a symbol of hate speech, according to the student government leader.  He said that the U.S. flag is just as offensive as Nazi and Islamic State flags, and that the U.S. is the world’s most evil nation.

In a recent New York Times op-ed, New York University provost Ulrich Baer argued:

“The idea of freedom of speech does not mean a blanket permission to say anything anybody thinks.  It means balancing the inherent value of a given view with the obligation to ensure that other members of a given community can participate in discourse as fully recognized members of that community.”

That’s a vision that is increasingly being adopted on college campuses, and it’s leaking down to our primary and secondary levels of education.  Baer apparently believes that the test for one’s commitment to free speech comes when he balances his views with those of others.  His vision justifies the violent disruptions of speeches by Heather Mac Donald at Claremont McKenna College, Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley and Charles Murray at Middlebury College.  Baer’s vision is totalitarian nonsense.  The true test of one’s commitment to free speech comes when he permits people to be free to say and write those things he finds deeply offensive.

Americans who see themselves as either liberal or conservative should rise up against this totalitarian trend on America’s college campuses.  Perhaps the most effective way to do so is to hit these campus tyrants where it hurts the most -- in the pocketbook.  Lawmakers should slash budgets, and donors should keep their money in their pockets.

If you’re a graduate of a school of higher learning, you are no doubt approached (at least annual) to make a donation as an alumnus.  If that is your experience, think (again) about writing that check.  It may not be the school you fondly remember nor share the values you hold dear.  Consider your check as casting a ballot.  

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Insanity Knows No Bounds

Over the past several weeks, campus incidents … illustrating leftist intolerance and brutality … have appeared throughout the news.  At the same time, the Washington Post (adopting a new motto: “Democracy Dies in Darkness”) is living up to its growing “fake news” reputation.

The College Campus:

At Bethune-Cookman University’s commencement, U.S. Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, was booed throughout her address and many graduates turned their backs on her. Apparently, free speech and good manners are not part of the academic experience at the historically black college in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Mrs. DeVos’ main crime is that she’s part of the hated Trump Administration.  That’s enough to trigger the heckler’s veto.

At Harvard University … which once championed a colorblind society … will stage an all-black graduation ceremony.  More than 120-students have registered for the event, which Courtney Wood, a Master’s degree candidate in education policy and management, more or less defined as revenge for having to live in the fascist U. S. and attend this hellhole.  “There is a legacy of slavery, epistemic racism and colonization at Harvard, which was an institution founded to train rising imperialist leaders,” said Ms. Wood.  [FYI: Harvard was founded by the Puritans in 1636 to train Christian clergy.]

All-black graduation ceremonies will be held at several other universities, including Stanford, which is staging its version (the same day) as Stanford’s “LGBT graduation.”

The University of Arizona is offering students $10 per hour to act as “Social Justice Advocates,” snitching on those who fail to spout leftist orthodoxy.  [This is right out of Mao’s ‘cultural revolution.’]  The informants’ job is to search out “diversely insensitive behavior,” according to an online description uncovered by CampusReform.org.  “The position also aims to increase understanding of one’s own self through critical reflection of power and privilege, identity and intersectionality, systems of socialization, cultural competency, and ally-ship as they pertain to the acknowledgement, understanding and acceptance of differences.”

The Network News:

The headlines are full of nonstop hysteria at how Trump or the Republican Congress is wrecking the country.  

The Metro section of the Washington Post (WP) recently featured a five-column photo and article headlined “Woman Told Not to Nurse in Church.”  It took two WP writers to chronicle the horrifying saga of a woman who was asked to go to a more discreet place to nurse her baby rather than whip out, without cover, and in view of men and boys around her, something that tends to distract the male mind.  The woman and her attorney “are pressing the church leaders to issue a statement and reverse their policy,” citing a state law that allows women to breast feed anywhere they have a legal right to be.  As the WP gleefully notes, “there is no exemption for religious institutions.”  

Elsewhere in the WP – the Sports section bemoans the slightest breech of leftwing orthodoxy.  Over on the Editorial page, “Censorship Comes to the U.S. Senate” lamenting the removal from a U.S. Capitol tunnel a student’s painting in January depicting police officers as vicious, gun-toting pigs preying on black people.

It’s hard to say which is farther gone – college campuses or “mainstream” media.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

A Court Ruling in Favor of An Uncompromising Christian Business Owner

Back in 2012, a Lexington, Kentucky T-shirt shop called Hands On Originals was approached by the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization about printing shirts for a local gay pride parade.  The T-shirt company politely declined and even sought out quotes and gave the group referrals to other T-shirt printers, along with comparable prices.  Shop owner, Blaine Adamson, was targeted by the city’s Human Rights Commission after turning down a job to print the rainbow T-shirts.  At the time, the Commission’s Executive Director, Raymond Sexton, infamously said it’s time for Christians in the marketplace “to leave their religion at home.”  Adamson was promptly sued by the group under Lexington’s anti-discriminatory laws and forced to comply with a lengthy investigation.

However, just recently the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that Adamson, owner of Hands On Originals, has the freedom to decline orders that force him to promote messages contrary to his faith.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:

“We are pleased to learn today that the Kentucky Court of Appeals has an understanding that the freedom of the press also includes T-shirt presses.  This is a case in which it is difficult to overstate the enormous implications for both free speech and religious freedom. The court was presented with this question: Does government have the power to force citizens to engage in speech they disagree with.  The answer is a clear ‘no.’

“This ruling affirms our nation’s long history of protecting Americans from being compelled by the government to advocate a message to which one objects.  We applaud our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom for prevailing over the notion that surrendering First Amendment rights is just the ‘price of doing business.’

“We hope to hear soon that the U.S. Supreme Court will accept the Masterpiece Cakeshop case and ensure that the owner, Jack Phillips, will be free to follow his religious beliefs without fear of punishment by the government,” concluded Perkins.  [For an understanding of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case read my blog postings of December 23, 2013 – “Going to Jail for Not ‘Frosting the Cake” and June 13, 2014 – “‘Big Brother’s’ Brainwashing of America …” and November 4, 2015 – “Christian Baker Takes Case to Colorado High Court.”]

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Not All Immigrants Support ‘Sanctuary Cities’

In a city of Howard County, Maryland, a bill to make it a safe haven for illegal aliens was stifled – not by conservative Republicans – but by legal immigrants … some of whom supported Hillary Clinton.  This drives the ‘sanctuary city’ liberals nuts!

One might think, legal immigrants and illegal immigrants should pretty much be together on this issue, right?  Not so!  Legal immigrants see ‘sanctuary city’ status as something that denigrates and cheapens their long road to legal status or naturalization.

It’s no secret that for those who want a green card or become U.S. citizens, the process could take years.  Yet, these people who entered illegally – who have broken federal immigration laws – get a free pass … because that’s what liberal Democrats want? Correct!

Right now, ‘sanctuary city’ legislation is being considered as a way to fight President Trump’s agenda.  Yet, in deep blue Maryland, naturalized citizens torpedoed that initiative. Who could have guessed that people who came here legally and went through the process would act so negatively?

To make the irony more explicit, even former illegal aliens, who in their lifetimes have worked their way to green card status and eventually citizenship, say that they’re opposed to ‘sanctuary city’ ordinances.  

The New York Times (NYT) reported:

“At first blush, making Howard County a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants had seemed a natural move: The county has twice as many Democrats as Republicans and a highly educated population, full of scientists and engineers.  One in five residents was born abroad.  But the bill met stout opposition from an unlikely source: some of those very same foreign-born residents.”

In passionate testimony before county legislators, and intense debates with liberal neighbors born in the United States, legal immigrants argued that offering sanctuary to people who came to the country illegally devalued their own past struggles to gain citizenship.  Some even felt it threatened their hard-won hold on the American dream.

Their objections stunned Democratic supporters of sanctuary here and helped bring about the bill’s demise in March.  A similar proposal for the state collapsed recently in the Maryland Senate, where Democrats also hold a two-to-one advantage.  Some of the same immigrants spoke out against it.

The NYT then went through various stories from legal and naturalized citizens, where both groups also emphasized the rule of law and the growing crime rates when gangs like MS-13 entered the picture.  Here is one such account:

“Many Hispanics welcomed Democrats’ efforts to make Maryland a sanctuary.  Stanley Salazar, 37, did not.  A carpenter in Silver Spring, he compares living in the country illegally to being a guest in someone’s home: Be on your best behavior.  Make your bed and do the dishes.  Any misbehavior — drinking and driving, for example — could mean you are no longer welcome.  Mr. Salazar, who is from El Salvador, knows this because he himself was illegal.  His journey back, and to American citizenship, was long, but compared with more recent immigrants’, relatively painless.  He left law school in El Salvador in 2001 and traveled to Maryland on a tourist visa, but violated its terms by painting houses for cash.  After several extensions, his visa expired.  But he spoke English, thanks to his mother’s tireless teaching.  She had a green card.  And he had a driver’s license, a bank account and a car.  By 2007, he had his own green card.  Now, he lives in a small house with his wife, their daughters and his mother, 73, who rides the subway into Washington every morning to her job serving sandwiches in a museum.  Mr. Salazar thinks sanctuary would be bad for Maryland.  He bases this on what has already happened in Montgomery County, where he has been part of a Hispanic population boom.

The Salvadoran gang MS-13 has gained strength in the area recently, the authorities say, partly because of an influx of undocumented children arriving without their parents.  The young arrivals are more susceptible to recruitment by gangs.

Well, that’s odd.  When conservative Republicans talk about border security in relation to enforcing existing federal immigration laws, fighting crime, and how it’s unfair to legal immigrants — they’re labeled racists, anti-immigrant, and xenophobic.  As a naturalized citizen, I’m [Salazar] for enforcing federal immigration laws because that’s what societies based on law and order do.  They enforce the laws.  They protect and define its borders. And if you come here illegally, you’re out. It’s refreshing to see Immigration and Customs Enforcement begin to do their jobs again.”

It seems that even some in the immigrant communities have the same concerns exhibited from those who want to see our immigration laws enforced.  Yet, since they opposed ‘sanctuary cities,’ they’ll be called racists and hypocrites because well, it’s easier for liberals to do that than persuade them to their view.  And the reason they can’t is because ‘sanctuary cities’ are very, very bad aspects of social policy.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

LGBT Activists: So Much for “I Think, Therefore, I Am”

A recent study released from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science refutes propaganda from LGBT activists who detach gender completely from sex and promote that men can become so-called “women” by merely “identifying” as female, and vice-versa.

Professor Shmuel Pietrokovski and Dr. Moran Gershoni, both researchers from the Weizmann Institute’s Molecular Genetics Department, “looked closely at around 20,000 protein-coding genes, sorting them by sex and searching for differences in expression in each tissue.  They eventually identified around 6,500 genes with activity that was biased toward one sex or the other in at least one tissue, adding to the already major biological differences between men and women,” according to the study.

Pietrokovski and Gershoni found genes that were highly expressed in the skin of men relative to that in women’s skin, and they realized that these were related to the growth of body hair.  Gene expression for muscle building was higher in men; that for fat storage was higher in women.  Aside from the sexual organs, the researchers discovered quite a few sex-linked genes in the mammary glands, about half which were expressed in men. Because men have fully fitted but basically nonfunctional mammary equipment, the scientists believe that some of these genes might suppress lactation.

The researchers also found genes “to be expressed only in the left ventricle of the heart in women.  One of these genes, which is also related to calcium uptake, showed very high expression levels in younger women that sharply decreased with age; the scientists think that they are active in women up to menopause, protecting their hearts, but leading to heart disease and osteoporosis in later years when the gene expression is shut down.”

Additionally, they found another gene that was mainly expressed in women, was active in the brain, and may protect the neurons from Parkinson’s – a disease that is more prevalent in men.  The researchers also identified gene expression in the liver that provides molecular evidence for the known difference in drug processing between women and men.

“This recent study from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science further proves that you cannot fool Mother Nature,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.  “The saying, ‘I think, therefore, I am’ is best left to philosophy and not science.  Gender confusion is mental, not physical or biological.  God made male and female, and no amount of protestation will change the natural created order.  The fiction that a person can chose their gender does not help those who are confused.  These Israeli scientists identified over 6,500 genes with activity that was biased toward one sex or the other in at least one tissue.  That clearly validates the genetic differences between men and women,” said Staver.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Why the Persecution of Christians?

A study from the Europe-based Center for Studies on New Religions recently confirmed that “Christians continue to be the most persecuted believers in the world, with over 90,000 followers of Christ being killed in the last year [2016],” which computes to 1-death every 6-minutes.  The study also found that as many as 600-million Christians around the world were prevented from practicing their faith.

Which group is most prone to persecute Christians around the world?  The answer to this was made clear by another recent study; it found that, of the 10-nations around the world where Christians suffer the worst forms of persecution, nine are Islamic, though the absolute worst — North Korea — is not.  [read my blog posting of May 8, 2017 – “North Korea’s Leader Orders Execution of 33-Christians”]

What is it about Christians that brings the worst out of some people – Muslims in the majority?  Three main reasons come to mind, though there are more:

1. Christianity is the largest religion in the world.  There are Christians practically everywhere around the globe, including in much of the Muslim world.  Moreover, because much of the territory that Islam conquered throughout the centuries was originally Christian — including all of the Middle East, Turkey, and North Africa — Muslims are still confronted with vestiges of Christianity.  In Egypt alone, which was the intellectual center of early Christendom before the Islamic invasions, at least 10-million Christians remain. [read my blog posting of May 5, 2017 – “Copts – A Long-Persecuted Christian Minority With Ancient Roots”]  In short, because of their sheer numbers alone, Christians in the Muslim world are much more likely to suffer under Islam than other “infidels.”

2. Christianity is devoted to “proclaiming the Gospel” (literally, “the good news). No other major religion — not Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism — has this missionary aspect.  These faiths tend to be co-extensive with certain ethnicities and homegrown to certain locales.  The only other religion that has what can be described as a missionary element is Islam itself.  Thus, because Christianity is the only religion that actively challenges Muslims with the truths of its own message, so too is it the primary religion to be accused of proselytizing, which is banned under Islamic law.  And by publicly uttering teachings that contradict Muhammad’s — including Christianity’s core message — Christians fall afoul of Islam’s blasphemy law as well.  This is why most Muslims who apostatize to other religions — and get punished for it, sometimes with death — apostatize to Christianity.

3. Christianity is the quintessential religion of martyrdom.  From its inception — beginning with Jesus, and followed by His disciples and countless others in the early church — many Christians have been willing to accept death rather than to stop spreading the Gospel — or, worse, renounce the faith.  This was evident in ancient times at the hands of the pagan Roman Empire and in medieval (and modern) times at the hands of Muslims and other persecutors.  Practically no other religion encourages its adherents to embrace death rather than abjure the faith.  Thus, whereas Christ says “But whoever denies Me before men, I will deny him before My Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:33; see also Luke 14:33), Islam teaches Muslims to conceal and even publicly renounce Muhammad, rather than die.  Moreover, other religions and sects approve of dissimulation to preserve their adherents’ lives.  Christianity demands public profession.  Of course, many outspoken Muslim apostates in the West who never converted to Christianity must fear execution should they ever fall into the hands of their former Islamic extremists.

It is (in fact) Christianity’s strong inclination to refuse to toe the line that, from its beginnings till now, has caused fascists and supremacists of all stripes — from the ancient Roman Empire (whence the word fascist is derived) to modern day North Korea — to persecute Christians.  The latter have a long history of refusing to be silent and paying the sort of lip service that everyone else is willing to offer to get by.  Just as Jesus peeved Pilate by refusing to utter some words to save his life — “Don’t you realize I have the power either to set you free or crucify you?” asked the bewildered procurator (John 19:10) — Jesus’ disciples and countless other ancient Christians defied the Roman Empire, prompting several emperors to launch what, at least until now, were deemed history’s worst persecutions of Christians; and today, countless modern day Christians continue grieving and thus being punished by their totalitarian and supremacist overlords — from North Korea to every corner of the Muslim world — for the very same reasons.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Most Likely Christians to Be Persecuted

Evangelicals and Pentecostal Christians are most at risk among worldwide persecuted Christians (in part) because of their zeal to evangelize.  This is the conclusion of a new study – “In Response to Persecution” – of Notre Dame’s Under Caesar’s Sword project.

The study was recently revealed at the National Press Club where panelists mentioned several times during a discussion that evangelicals and Pentecostals are targeted for persecution more intensely than mainline, Catholic, and Orthodox believers for several reasons.

In many nations, the report reads, “evangelicals and Pentecostals are comparatively recent arrivals and thus have not established patterns relating to surrounding populations and government to the same degree with churches with centuries of history in a given region.”  They are also perceived as being supported by likeminded believers in the West, the research finds.  But perhaps most importantly, because evangelicals and Pentecostals understand evangelization and the necessity of conversion as “verbal, urgent, and sometimes dramatic processes,” they actually anticipate being persecuted.

Both governments hostile to Christianity and non-state actors like terrorist groups and militant varieties of other religions thus view them as more of a threat.

While a pattern and not an exact correlation (since other churches also evangelize sometimes and in some cases evangelicals and Pentecostals seek cooperative relationships with the state), the trend does hold in several nations.  In Central Asian Republics and in Russia, where ever since the conclusion of the Cold War extensive missionary activity has risen dramatically, persecution is strong.  The repression of evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity is particularly severe in Iran; Christians in that country routinely “disguise their faith in public, aiming to appear little different from the surrounding Muslim culture.”  Such a survival strategy is not at odds with their faith, the report notes in another of its key findings.  Yet many Christians are willing to profess their faith publicly and contend for their rights, and thus risk being killed, which comports with their theology.

When Christians in repressive countries do dare to confront regimes opposed to their faith they do so with the expectation of harsh consequences.  The word “martyr,” the study notes, is derived from the Greek for “witness” and those who die for their faith “embody the fullest expression of Christian freedom, testifying with their lives to the ultimate triumph of the God in whom they hope.”

“When Chinese Catholic and Protestant leaders accepted decades of imprisonment for their refusal to join the Communist government’s official church structures, and when Pakistan’s Shahbaz Bhatti stood for persecuted minorities, knowing that a form of martyrdom was their likely fate, they bore witness not only to their God but also to the dignity of all, Christians and non-Christians alike,” the report reads.

The Under Caesar’s Sword project is a 3-year research endeavor and a collaboration of 17-scholars and academic centers including the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, the Religious Freedom Institute, and Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Research Project.  Read the report for yourself at http://ucs.nd.edu/assets/233538/ucs_report_2017_web.pdf

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

North Korea’s Leader Orders Execution of 33-Christians

Earlier this year, persecution watchdog group Open Doors USA (ODUSA) ranked North Korea as the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian.  Sadly, this is a good example of why the repressive country landed in the # 1 spot for the 12th consecutive year.

Via The Daily Mail: “Thirty-three North Koreans face execution after being charged with attempting to overthrow the repressive regime of Kim Jong-un.”

These Christian Koreans have landed themselves in hot water after it emerged they had worked with South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook and received money to set up 500 underground churches.  It is understood they will be put to death in a cell at the State Security Department.

Experts believe the North Koreans are being punished more harshly than usual as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un combats a wave of dissatisfaction at the regime’s isolationist “juche” doctrine.  Juche, usually translated as “self-reliance,” sometimes referred to as Kimilsungism, is the official political ideology of North Korea, described by the regime as Kim Il-Sung’s “original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought.”

Missionary Kim Jung-wook was arrested and jailed in 2016 for allegedly trying to establish underground churches.  Last week he held a press conference at which he apologized for committing “anti-state” crimes and appealed for his release from North Korean custody.  He told reporters that he was arrested in early October after entering the North from China and trying to make his way to Pyongyang with Bibles, Christian instructional materials and movies.

A South Korean intelligence source in China took issue with Kim’s account, saying that the missionary did not enter North Korea voluntarily, but was kidnapped by agents of the Pyongyang government in China.

And as PJ Media’s Rick Moran notes, we shouldn’t be using the word ‘executed’ here. “Using that word would lend some legality and moral framework to Kim’s action,” he writes.  “This is nothing less than a massacre of innocent human beings — a slaughter that should raise an outcry in every civilized nation of the world.”

According to ODUSA, there is approximately 50,000-70,000 Christians currently imprisoned in the North Korea’s notoriously brutal labor camps.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Copts – A Long-Persecuted Christian Minority With Ancient Roots

Bombings at two Coptic Christian churches (St. George Church in Tanta and St. Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria) on this past Palm Sunday in Egypt – killing more than 40-people and injuring dozens of others – have brought attention to a long-persecuted religious minority with ancient roots.

The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks, and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi declared a 3-month state of emergency in response.

“Egyptians will mourn this event and they will mean it, but many of them will also fail to recognize the fundamental challenge of religious discrimination that rests as the foundation of [its] violence,” wrote political analyst Timothy E. Kaldas in a CNN op-ed. “The widespread perception of Christian Egyptians as lesser citizens with lesser rights creates fertile ground for those who seek to incite violence against them.”

Due to misunderstandings regarding their theology and political allegiances, Coptic Christians (CC) have been persecuted for centuries. 

Here’s what you need to know about this religious minority:

The Coptic Orthodox Church split away from the broader Christian community in 451 A.D.  The CC Church diverged from other Christians during the 5th century … in part due to differing beliefs about the nature of Christ.  CC believe that Christ had two natures ― one human and one divine ― united as one “without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration.”  Roman Catholics (RC) and other Christian denominations believe in the incarnation of Jesus … which similarly holds that Christ was both fully human and fully divine.  But at the time of the split, CC were accused of believing in monophysitism ― the belief that Christ had only one, divine nature.

Coptic Christians trace their founding to the apostle St. Mark.  Tradition holds that Mark brought Christianity to Egypt and founded the Coptic Church during the 1st century. It is one of the oldest Christian churches in the Middle East and was the first founded in Africa.

They comprise the largest Christian community in the Middle East.  In Egypt, CC make up the majority of the country’s roughly 9-million Christians.  There are some 12-million members worldwide, according to the World Council of Churches.

Coptic theology and practice have much in common with the Catholic Church ― but diverge in several major areas.  Like RC, CC believe in the Ten Commandments, and they practice the sacraments of baptism, confession and confirmation.  But unlike RC, CC don’t believe in the infallibility of the pope or in purgatory; and CC priests can marry.

Copts have their own pope.  The head of the Coptic Church is the Pope of Alexandria, a position that is now based in Cairo.  The current leader is Pope Tawadros II, a trained pharmacist who studied theology and was ordained a priest and later a bishop.  His papacy began in 2012.

The Coptic calendar is slightly different from that of the rest of the Christian world.  CC follow the Julian calendar, and their Christmas falls on January 7.  CC practice a 40-day period of fasting from red meat, poultry and dairy products leading up to their Christmas.  They also observe a 55-day fast preceding Easter.

Coptic Christians have experienced persecution for centuries.  Since the time of their split from the rest of the Christian community up through modern times, CC have been the targets of violence and aggression.  They experienced persecution through shifting power structures in the Middle East, particularly under the Byzantine Empire and after the Arab conquest in the 7th century.  There were long periods of peace, too; but these were invariably followed by eras of discrimination and oppression.

Coptic Christians continue to face persecution.  Conditions for CC in Egypt have worsened in recent decades following a series of Middle East wars.  Millions of CC have left Egypt due to rising religious tensions and currently live as expatriates, according to AP.  CC face restrictions on inter-religious marriage and on converting Muslims to Christianity, and activists hold that discrimination also keeps them from attaining positions of high office.

Violent attacks like Palm Sunday’s have become more common in recent years.  A bomb targeting an Alexandria church killed over 20-people on New Years’ eve in 2011. It was the first major attack with a high death toll in recent history and remains unsolved to this day, according to AP.  In December 2016, an ISIS suicide bomber killed 30-people at Cairo’s Coptic Cathedral.  And in February, hundreds of Coptic families fled after a series of ISIS-claimed killings in northern Sinai.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Planned Parenthood’s Medical Director Caught Again Selling Body Parts

A Medical Director at Planned Parenthood (PP) – who was caught on tape once already discussing the sale of aborted baby body parts – is at it yet again.  This time, Dr. Mary Gatter is not joking about wanting a Lamborghini out of the money she would earn from the exchange process, but she is debating the appropriate pricing of organs like the lungs, brains and livers of aborted babies.

The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released their first set of videos a couple of years ago; but this is brand new footage.  Each time, CMP employees have posed as alleged buyers of the baby parts and spoken with executives at PP about the exchange.  Dr. Gatter is shown in this latest video asking what kind of volume the buyer needs and the specific gestational age desired.  In response to a quota of $50 per specimen (totally dehumanizing the innocent baby), she tells the buyer that amount is on the low-end.

As LifeNews points out, keep in mind that “federal law permits reimbursement for specified costs in a fetal organ or tissue donation, but prohibits the purchase and sale of the organs and tissues themselves.”

PP performs over 300,000 abortions every year in the United States.  Not only are they ending countless human lives, but they are also illegally profiting from their procedures. Surprisingly, corporations are still willing to back PP despite its growing reputation for corrupt practices. Among these companies are Starbucks and Nike.  Get a complete listing of companies that fund abortions through PP at https://2ndvote.com/plannedparenthood/.

Question: Have you ceased to do business with these accomplices of Planned ‘Murderhood’?  If not, don’t kid yourself – You’ve got blood on your hands! … and you will give as account on Judgment Day before the All-knowing and Righteous Judge!

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel