Pastors Imprisoned for their Faith in Eritrea

Two elderly persecuted Christian pastors are being held in the East Africa country Eritrea’s maximum-security interrogation center— one of the world’s most repressive and closed countries.

“Pastor Girmay Araya (75) and Pastor Samuel Okbamichael (74) were taken from their homes in the middle of the night and brought to an unknown location,” the news agency Church in Chains reported, according to the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC).  “It later emerged that the two pastors were taken to the maximum-security Wengel Mermera Central Criminal Investigation Interrogation Centre …”  Police intended to also arrest 72-year-old Pastor Georgio Gebreab “but they found him sick in bed and told him he was under house arrest until he is well enough to be taken into custody.”

When arrested, Eritrea’s persecuted Christians often disappear without a trace, leaving their loved ones with no information on their whereabouts or safety.  Prison conditions are some of the harshest in the world, with inmates kept in shipping containers and believers often tortured in an attempt to get them to renounce their faith.

Eritrea’s President Isaias Afewerki is a member of the Eritrean Orthodox Church in Asmara — belonging to the largest among the only three Christian denominations allowed to function in the country: the Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches.

Afewerki (75), who’s the leader of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice Party, also has a reputation of being an alcoholic and a ruthless autocrat.  Afewerki’s policy of restrictions is more about his fear that religion will mobilize people as a political force than religion itself.

In March, authorities raided two separate prayer meetings in Asmara and the city of Assab and imprisoned 13 of the 35 Christians, including several women, who were taken into custody, ICC reported at the time.  It’s not known if the 13 Christians have been released.

In February, 70 Christians from evangelical and Orthodox backgrounds, including women, were released from three prisons in Eritrea— some after being held without charge for more than a decade.

Since last September, at least 160 Christians had been released from prisons in Eritrea at the time, but the news arrests “dampened hopes that the government was easing its harsh repressive policy against Christians,” Barnabas Fund said at the time.  “In Eritrea, citizens have a duty to report anything untoward happening in their community,” Release International added.  “This can turn ordinary neighbors into spies.  In some cases, their own family members have reported Christians.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

US Troop Withdrawal Will Likely Increase Persecution

President Biden’s plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year could lead to increased persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.

Rev. Johnnie Moore, the President of the Congress of Christian Leaders and former Commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, recently spoke with conservative commentator Glenn Beck on his podcast and discussed the situation for Christians in the Middle East.  The interview comes over a month after Biden announced that the U.S. will end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year but will continue to train and advise the Iraqi military.

Considering all the despair surrounding the pullout of U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year and the rise of the Taliban in that country, Beck asked Moore, “should we be trying to convince those people [in Iraq] ... get out right now?”  “I’m always hesitant to say, ‘Get out right now.’  But these are decisions for these people to make,” Moore responded. “But I’m telling you if I were sitting there in northern Iraq, watching the exact same people in Washington, D.C., do the exact same thing with another country ...”  “So if I’m a Christian or Yazidi or another threatened community sitting in Iraq, yeah, I would be getting out of there as quickly as I could,” he continued.

Moore, the author of Defying ISIS: Preserving Christianity in the Place of Its Birth and in Your Own Backyard, warned that “we could see” what took place in Afghanistan “all over again.”  “But once this genie is out of the bottle, you thought ISIS was bad five or six years ago, you haven’t seen anything yet,” he said— referencing the Islamic State terrorist group that killed and enslaved thousands after it conquered large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

According to estimates, there were about 1.5-million Christians in Iraq in 2003, and the number has reduced to fewer than 250,000.  Even after the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq in December 2017, many of Iraq’s Christians haven’t found their homeland livable. They have either not returned home or have continued to leave the country.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Having a Positive Feeling About the Bible Isn’t Enough

A recent poll by George Barna showed that, “Americans have a positive view of the Bible.  And many say the Christian scriptures are filled with moral lessons for today.”  Well, that sounds good.  The problem arises when we see that Christians are not far from the same opinion.  There is a big difference between a “positive feeling” regarding the Bible and a belief that the Bible is God’s inspired Word to us.  The culture in which we live today believes in MTD (Moral, Therapeutic, Deism)— a belief that we (all humans) are on this earth to “feel good about ourselves without sacrificing cultural relevance,” a “cake-and-ice cream” theology.

How often do we hear these words— “Be yourself”?  Dale Partridge, founder and president of Relearn.org, says this idea of ‘you be you’ is Satan’s counterfeit to God’s, ‘Be holy as I am holy.’  Partridge says, “I don’t want to be me!  God had to save me from me!  I stand with the Apostle Paul who said, ‘I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’ (Galatians 2:20)  I fear that Christians have been sucked into the MTD theology also.  We tend to slip into our own personal definitions of God and His Truth rather than taking the time and effort to know what God has actually said about any given subject.  What is deemed to be right or wrong by any one individual is more important than what God has actually said.  We are fearful of hurting other’s feelings or countering their definitions.  If we dare to counter the LGBTQ or BLM or CRT believers, we may very well be attacked for what we say.  We could be called names or even be ‘cancelled’ in public.  The world defines sin as getting in the way of someone’s personal truth.  The Bible defines sin as anything that does not give glory to God, our Creator.” (Romans 1)

Not only do some (many) Christians struggle with these issues, but even some Pastors are skittish about speaking out the truth.  Perhaps we have all become too careful in speaking Truth to our world.

Jesus did not come to this earth, die on the cross, and rise again, just to tell us to always be nice.  Being nice is often a good thing, but sometimes it can get in the way of telling someone the truth— which can have eternal consequences.  According to God’s Word there is no “your truth” and “my truth”.  There is only “The Truth,” and it has the power to set us free.

“Most Americans don’t know first-hand the overall story of the Bible— because they rarely pick it up,” said Scott McConnell, Executive Director of Lifeway Research.  “Even among worship attendees less than half read the Bible daily.  The only time most Americans hear from the Bible is when someone else is reading it.”

Real, solid Biblical literacy is needed in our churches if we are expecting to make any real impact on those around each of us— those God has put in our lives to reach with His Gospel.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

E PLURIBUS UNUM

The Latin phrase E pluribus unum is translated as, “out of many, one.”  It appears on the Great Seal of the United States of America.  [To be clear: It is NOT the motto of the United States of America.  That is “One Nation Under God.”]  Its focus is the ideal to form and keep a nation strong, though made up of many cultures and backgrounds.  It continues to give permission and importance for all to be heard.  In our U.S. Constitution it is protected by the 1st Amendment.

In today’s America, however, it is in jeopardy of being eliminated.  Many progressive left activists are working feverishly to eradicate the entire 1st Amendment.  We see it in the rush to cancel opposing views, in major news media, and in most social media to ban views that have been labeled as dangerous, bigoted, etc.  They no longer are allowing for freedom of speech and the free exchange of ideas.

Have you ever tried splitting something?  Certain objects are quite simple like splitting firewood.  Others are much more difficult as in splitting hair and atoms.  Can it be done? Yes.  But for what purposes?  Wood is split for firewood, producing heat.  Atoms are split to produce a great amount of energy.  However, splitting hair does not have many purposes.  Of what use is half a hair?

Our nation is in the process of being split.  What would be the purpose?  E pluribus duorum (two) does not give the same effect.  Or worse, E unum plurimus (out of one, many).  That is called a breakdown, an erosion, a decaying of something toward nothing.

Peggy Noonan in her opinion piece titled, “How Two Great Friends Overcame Politics,” told the story of how Thomas Jefferson and John Adams survived their journey from a close friendship, to a bitter political battle; and then, after many years of estrangement, back to a renewed friendship.  Interestingly, the battle was fueled by the contested “election results” of 1800.  Controversy fueled the fire, but when the fire subsided and the dross was removed, they were able to resolve their differences.

Once again, we need to allow the heat of the fire to burn away the dross, so the real results are seen.  Then a foundation of truth may again be built upon to support this great nation.  This will not be an easy task, but we must never give up trying.

We are currently in the heat of battle, sometimes experienced as a raging fire.  If we are careful, honest, and true to our beliefs, the purity of the U.S. Constitution may once again come to the forefront.  Let us work and pray together for the Refiner’s fire to purge us as Christians and as a nation (Jeremiah 9:7; Zechariah 13:9).  “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver … then the Lord will have men who bring offerings in righteousness…” (Malachi 3:3)

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

California Students Praying to Aztec gods

A state lawsuit against California (CA), its Board of Education and Department of Education seeks to ban prayers to Aztec and Yoruba gods that were approved in the state’s ethnic studies “model curriculum.”

Californians for Equal Rights and several parents of current and former students claim the state approved the prayers to counter the “theocide” committed by Christianity and Catholicism against indigenous tribes. 

These are far from academic exercises, according to the suit, which alleges violation of the free exercise and establishment clauses of the CA Constitution, which the plaintiffs claim is stricter on separation of church and state than the U.S. Constitution.

The prayer to five Aztec gods – Tezkatlipoka, Quetzalkoatl, Huitzilopochtli, Xipe Totek, and Hunab Ku – repeatedly invokes their names, makes “intercessory requests” and gives them thanks using a “hip hop song form.”  The suit includes the full prayer and extensive descriptions of the gods and their role in Aztec society.  Thus, the state is favoring “religion ... petitionary forms of prayer,” public prayer and “religion that addresses anthropomorphic, male deities,” which account for four of the gods.

This is “not a philosophy, dead mythology, historic curiosity, general outlook on life, or mere symbol,” but rather a “recognized living faith practiced today both by descendants of the Aztecs and by others,” the suit states.  “The fact that it is not large, institutional, or well-known does not change its status as a religion.”  The “Ashe Affirmation” honors the Yoruba religion and directs children to seek assistance from these “divine forces” for the school day.  “Reasonably informed observers would conclude that this ‘affirmation’ involving Ashe is a prayer that violates the establishment clause,” the suit also states.

Before its approval, investigative journalist Christopher Rufo published images of the curriculum and emphasized it would have students chant to “the Aztec god of human sacrifice” (Tezkatlipoka) to help them become “warriors” for “social justice.”

The final-approved version describes these as “chants, proverbs, and affirmations” intended to “bring the class together, build unity around ethnic studies principles and values, and to reinvigorate the class” after an “emotionally taxing” or low-engagement lesson.

“The rituals performed by the Aztecs in relation to these beings were gruesome and horrific, involving human sacrifice, cutting out human hearts, flaying the sacrificed victims and wearing the skin, sacrificing war prisoners, and other inhuman acts and ceremony,” the suit claims.  “Any form of prayer and glorification of these beings in whose name horrible atrocities were performed is repulsive to Plaintiffs and to any reasonably informed observer.”

Yet students are expected to participate in this prayer or “face the social implications of declining to participate,” a violation of their free exercise.  “Printing and disseminating the prayer” also violates the no-government-aid provision of the CA Constitution.

The Thomas More Society said in a press release the public interest law firm filed the suit after Superintendent Tony Thurmond failed to respond to its letter asking for the Aztec prayer’s removal.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

False Allegations of Hate Speech by Street Preacher

A female street preacher in the United Kingdom— who was arrested last year for allegedly threatening members of the public— was exonerated by a district judge.

Police detained Hazel Lewis, 49, on February 12, 2020, outside Finsbury Park tube station in North London for reportedly making homophobic and racist comments. Several community members defended her during the arrest, asking police “What law has she broken?”

Allegations against Lewis included making a child cry and using hostile language toward a citizen.  Police also charged her with harassment, causing alarm, and provoking distress.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the preacher faced a full trial at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court.

In a recent ruling, District Judge Julia Newton noted, “The defendant is alleged to have said, ‘you are an advocate of Satan and I rebuke you in Jesus’ name.’  I don’t find those words threatening.  These words were certainly disagreed with.  I do not find that they were abusive either.”  “Further, in relation to distress, it is clear that (a witness) was disturbed and found them to be unpleasant.  She said that other people were distressed. She said that she was distressed and found these words were unpleasant.  However, that does not amount to harassment, alarm or distress,” she remarked.  “In addition, there is no evidence as to why the children were crying.  Whilst there was a lot of noise, there were a lot of things that could have led the children to cry.  I find that there is no case to answer.”

After 18 months of ongoing legal proceedings, Lewis is now planning to sue the police.  “All I was doing was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I was arrested for it,” she said.  “There are dangers out on the streets—I have had urine thrown at me and have been threatened, but Christians are called to preach the Gospel of salvation and hope in any situation, no matter how tough, so I am not afraid.  Despite this experience, I am determined to keep preaching.  Since the pandemic began, I have seen more and more Christians taking to the streets of London to preach.”

Andrea Williams Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre called Lewis a “courageous Christian woman” for her determination to disprove the baseless accusations of hate speech brought against her.  It is chilling that one false accusation to the police can see a woman preaching on her own handcuffed, arrested, and prosecuted,” Williams stated.  “The police were determined to charge her no matter what the evidence, and we are relieved that the courts have seen through it.”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Arrested for Blasphemy!?

Police in the Muslim-majority country of Indonesia arrested a Muslim cleric for allegedly blaspheming against Christianity by calling the Bible fictitious and false in one of his sermons.

Police arrested Muhammad Yahya Waloni, a former Protestant who became a Muslim in 2006 and later an imam, from his home in the national capital of Jakarta, UCA News reported.  The arrest on charges of blasphemy and hate speech came in response to a complaint filed by a civil group, which was not identified.

“Investigations are still ongoing,” police spokesman Brig. Gen. Rusdi Hartono was quoted as saying. “It will be explained in more detail later, we are waiting for data from the Criminal Investigation Department.”

Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas recently called for a crackdown on people accused of committing blasphemy and hate speech.  “All are equal before the law.  Therefore, there must be fair treatment in all cases, including blasphemy and hate speech,” he said.

However, Christians complain that law enforcement doesn’t treat accused from the majority community the same way they deal with members of religious minorities, including Christians.  “In cases of blasphemy, police and law enforcement officials must be fair instead of siding with a certain group. Christians have been arrested and brought to court in blasphemy cases, while those insulting Christianity or other religions have been left alone,” Philip Situmorang, spokesman of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, said in a statement.

Three days earlier, a Muslim convert to Christianity, identified as Muhammad Kace, was arrested in Bali on charges of blasphemy.  He allegedly uploaded videos on YouTube saying that the Islamic prophet Muhammad was “surrounded by devils and liars.”

The Southeast Asian country is home to the world’s largest Muslim population.  Its Constitution is based on the doctrine of Pancasila — five principles upholding the nation’s belief in the one and only God and social justice, humanity, unity and democracy for all.  However, there are many extremist groups in Indonesia that oppose Pancasila.

Churches often face opposition from local groups that typically question the authenticity of the signatures by area residents — a requirement as per law — to obstruct the construction of non-Muslim houses of worship.

The Human Rights Watch previously said that more than 1,000 churches in the archipelago had been closed due to pressure from such groups.  Indonesia is ranked No. 47 on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most extreme levels of persecution.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Get Real! You’re Male or Female

In Luke 8:17, Christians are promised that ultimately “…there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”

In our post-modernist age, even basic truths are being hidden that will be brought to the light.  One of them being that there is something indelibly different about males and females.  This has become even more obvious as an internal report released by the American Medical Association recommending that “sex” be removed from the public portion of birth certificates.  The report stated that, “removal of sex designation from the birth certificate would have little to no impact on vital statistics data collected for medical, public health, and statistical purposes.”  

This point is further driven home as up-and-coming scientists have moved to argue in favor of this highly impractical view of humanity.  For example, take PhD student Darren Incorvaia, who blogged that sex cannot be reduced to male or female because: “there are documented cases of intersex individuals–including true hermaphrodites–reproducing (see here, here, and here) … whether you define sex based on chromosomes, gametes, [or reproductive features], two categories just doesn’t cut it.”

His argument runs rings around itself to ignore the fact that all three documented cases of intersex individuals reproducing were people who acted female and got pregnant.  In essence, they did favor one side of the “reproductive binary.” 

Genesis 3:16 reports God’s clearest distinction between man and woman: “To the woman he said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children…’”

Assuming you are young and healthy, if you would be capable of giving birth, then you are a woman.  Assuming you are young and healthy, if you would be capable of siring children, then you are a man.  This simple and useful distinction provides order and structure for society.

As to the American Medical Association’s claims that there is no “medical, public health, [or] statistical” value in having a legal document that records your sex, this completely ignores the fact that one’s reproductive system can have vast implications for the sake of one’s health and life.  For instance, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, “[the effectiveness of drugs] in women is affected by lower body weight, slower gastrointestinal motility, less intestinal enzymatic activity, and slower glomerular filtration rate.”

Even though the above sentence is a scientific mouthful, it is enough to clearly demonstrate that there are legitimate medical differences between males and females. The need for an efficient method of ruling possible medical needs in or out based on sex becomes incredibly clear in the tragic 2019 case of a pregnant transgender female-to-male who showed up at an Emergency Room complaining of abdominal pain.

In life-or-death situations, mere seconds can count.  A simple piece of information (like sex) that can quickly aid in identifying the medical needs and possible ailments of a patient should be prominently included on their identification.

Unfortunately, that information was not accurately conveyed by the transgender man’s online medical information, which listed them as male.  Consequently, doctors did not immediately triage the patient for pregnancy-related problems and the individual’s unborn baby was still-born.

No matter what your personality is like, no matter how you dress, you cannot avoid this reality: You’re either able to carry children, or you’re not.  The American Medical Association would do well to reconsider that fact. 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Another Possible Supreme Court Hearing on Abortion

The issue of abortion may once again come before the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2017 Texas law outlawing a second trimester procedure.

The Texas Dismemberment Abortion Ban, which passed with bipartisan support, outlaws the method of D&E (dilation and evacuation) from being performed in the second trimester statewide.

Nine judges on the New Orleans-based appeals court ruled in favor of the Texas statute— five against, and three recused themselves.  They overruled their own court’s 3-judge panel— which last October upheld a lower district court’s ruling blocking the law from going into effect.

In January, in an unusual move, the full 17-member court threw out the panel’s decision and agreed to rehear the case before the full court.  Eight months later, in an en banc review, it reversed the decisions of the panel and the lower court in their entirety.  The en banc review, usually reserved for unusually complex or important cases or when a significant issue is before the court, can only be overruled by the SCOTUS.

“It is uncommon for the Fifth Circuit to grant en banc rehearing on a panel opinion,” said Robert Henneke, general counsel at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, to Just The News.  “So, when the Fifth Circuit grants rehearing en banc, it’s then common that the court will reverse at least in part the panel’s decision.”

D&E makes up roughly 11% of all abortions in the U.S.  Unless the SCOTUS were to overrule the Fifth Circuit’s decision, abortionists performing D&E in Texas could serve up to two years in prison for violating the law.  However, the law does include an exception if “dismemberment abortion is necessary in a medical emergency.”  Abortionists describe the procedure as safe and common.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded the circuit court’s decision.  Describing D&E as a violent procedure “in which a doctor rips an unborn child apart with forceps while the child is still alive in her mother’s womb,” Paxton said, “These abortions are carried out on unborn babies as old as 22 weeks, and Texas put on evidence at trial that they may feel pain while being dismembered.”

After the law passed and before it was to go into effect, Whole Women’s Health, several Planned Parenthood groups, several doctors and others sued in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.  The plaintiffs argued that the law is unconstitutional, because it imposed an undue burden on a large number of women, essentially amounting to a ban of all D&E procedures.  The district court and the 3-judge panel agreed.

The full Fifth Circuit said the plaintiffs not only failed to prove their argument, but proved the opposite, saying they presented a “false dichotomy.”  Noting “the record shows that doctors can safely perform D&Es and comply with [the Texas law] using methods that are already in widespread use,” the majority opinion held, “The plaintiffs have failed to carry their heavy burden of proving that [the Texas law] would impose an undue burden on a large fraction of women.”

Judge James L. Dennis, one of the three judges on the panel who ruled against the Texas law last year, argued in the dissenting opinion that D&E was “the most common and safe abortion procedure employed during the second trimester” and making it a felony “further burdened abortion access.”  Many “abortion providers will likely decline to perform later-term abortions,” Dennis argued, “rather than face the dilemma today’s ruling foists upon them, become a felon or do a risky procedure that is contrary to the doctor’s medical judgment regarding the patient’s best interests.”

The lower court ruled the law was unconstitutional on the grounds that “live dismemberment is a common abortion method in the second trimester.”  The circuit court majority deemed this reasoning “exactly backwards.”  Citing another case, they said the court has recognized “that abortion doctors do not get to set their own rules.  They are not permitted to self-legislate or self-regulate simply by making an abortion method ‘common.’”

But the minority disagreed, arguing the majority opinion “misconstrues the district court’s reasoning, which merely considered what proportion of abortions would be affected” by the Texas law when “evaluating the burden the legislation places on a woman's right to choose.”  Texas Right to Life said the ruling was a “long awaited victory.”  Planned Parenthood said it and its partners “will continue fighting this dangerous ban in every way possible.”  Similar D&E bans have been blocked or have been prevented from being fully enforced in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma, Planned Parenthood notes.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

TX Declares Trans Surgery ‘Child Abuse’

After a request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services (TXDFPS) has declared that performing sex reassignment surgeries on minors with gender dysphoria constitutes child abuse.

In a letter, TXDFPS Commissioner Jaime Masters asserted that “genital mutilation of a child through reassignment surgery is child abuse, subject to all rules and procedures pertaining to child abuse.”  According to Masters, “Such mutilation may cause a ‘genuine threat of substantial harm from physical injury to the child.”  Masters agreed with Abbott’s earlier assessment that “this surgical procedure physically alters a child’s genitalia for non-medical purposes potentially inflicting irreversible harm to children’s bodies.”

The state official clarified that “when medically necessary, this surgical procedure may not constitute abuse.”  “It may be warranted for the following conditions including, but not limited to, a child whose body parts have been affected by illness or trauma; who is born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development, such as the presence of both ovarian and testicular tissue; or who does not have the normal sex chromosome structure for male or female as determined through genetic testing,” she added.

Masters outlined the legal requirements for professionals such as teachers, nurses, day-care employees, doctors and other state employees that work with children who have “cause to believe” that a child has experienced any form of abuse, including genital mutilation.  Specifically, they must report that belief to DFPS within 48 hours of first suspecting the abuse.  Failure to do so could result in a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine of up to $4,000.  Masters vowed that “allegations involving genital mutilation of a child through reassignment surgery will be promptly and thoroughly investigated and any appropriate actions will be taken.”

Earlier, the governor wrote to Masters requesting that her agency “issue a determination of whether genital mutilation of a child for purposes of gender transitioning through reassignment surgery constitutes child abuse.”  Abbott announced in a tweet Wednesday that “the determination and subsequent enforcement of Commissioner Masters’ conclusions are effective immediately.”

Masters’ determination follows an unsuccessful attempt by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature to pass a bill banning chemical and surgical sex change procedures for minors with gender dysphoria.  While the Texas Senate approved the bill, it stalled in the state’s House of Representatives.  Supporters of the effort to ban the genital mutilation of minors allege that pressure from corporate America caused Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives to derail the measure.  Before the Senate approved the bill, nearly four dozen companies that do business in Texas expressed opposition to the effort to “criminalize or ban best-practice medical care that is proven to save lives.”

The Republican-controlled Arkansas legislature passed a similar bill over the objections of the state’s Republican governor, but it was later struck down by a federal judge.

Texas’ embrace of the idea that transgender surgeries for minors are a form of child abuse could put it on a collision course with the Biden Administration.  Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit against the Arkansas law, indicating that it views efforts to restrict minors’ access to puberty blockers and crosssex hormones as unconstitutional.  “Federal law bars the State of Arkansas from singling out transgender minors for specifically and discriminatorily denying their access to medically necessary care based solely on their sex assigned at birth,” the department argued.  “Such action would violate the Equal Protection Clause.”

Critics of such legislative efforts claim that children are not undergoing sex reassignment surgeries as the Endocrine Society recommends not having surgeries until they at least hit the age of 18.  Puberty-blocking drugs are not prescribed until minors start puberty.  Critics contend that the recommendation for young children with gender dysphoria is to begin social transitioning.

Members of the executive branch have explicitly expressed support for allowing minors to undergo gender transitions.  When questioning Dr. Rachel Levine, who now serves as assistant secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), noted that the trans-identified cabinet official had “supported allowing minors to be given hormone blockers to prevent them from going through puberty as well as surgical destruction of a minor’s genitalia.”  Paul discussed the situation of Keira Bell, a 23-year old British woman who was “confused with her identity” and was prescribed puberty blockers in addition to having her breasts amputated.  The senator explained that Bell later regretted making such drastic changes to her body, which she retrospectively characterized as a “brash decision” she made as a teenager.  During the confirmation hearing, Levine refused to directly answer Paul’s question about whether minors have the capacity to make such life-changing decisions.

According to the American College of Pediatricians, additional side effects of puberty blockers include “osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility.”  

Others who regretted undergoing gender transitions testified on a recent episode of the CBS newsmagazine program “60 Minutes” that the operations they underwent made their mental health worse, not better.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Legal Victory for Catholic H.S. Firing Employee in Same-Sex Marriage

A federal court has ruled against a counselor who was fired from a Catholic high school in Indiana because she was in a same-sex marriage, citing the legal standard of ministerial exception.

Lynn Starkey had sued the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis and Roncalli High School for firing her for being in a marital relationship that conflicted with Church teaching. 

United States District Judge Richard Young ruled that the Catholic institution was free to fire Starkey on the basis of its religious standards for employment and that a secular court had no place to interfere in the decision.  “When the state interferes with these types of employment decisions, it violates both the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment,” wrote Young.  “The ministerial exception is not limited to claims of religious discrimination; it bars all claims of discrimination under Title VII, including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”

The court went on to note that Starkey’s “work in helping shape Roncalli's educational and spiritual environment weigh heavily in favor of applying the ministerial exception.”  “[Starkey] helped plan all-school liturgies, she delivered the morning prayer on at least a few occasions, she worked with other Administrative Council members to identify ways in which Roncalli can differentiate itself from the local public schools, and she participated in discussion groups about books aimed at enhancing faith formation,” continued Young.  “Moreover, that Starkey characterizes her work as a guidance counselor in purely secular terms does not change the result because it would be inappropriate for this court to draw a distinction between secular and religious guidance offered by a guidance counselor at a Catholic school.”

Becket, a law firm that handles religious liberty cases and helped to represent the archdiocese during the litigation, celebrated the ruling in a statement.  “Today’s ruling is common sense: religious groups have a constitutional right to hire people who agree with their religious beliefs and practices,” said Luke Goodrich, Vice President and Senior Counsel at Becket, as quoted in the statement.  “At all levels of the judiciary, courts have made clear that the government has no place interfering with a religious organization’s decision about who can pass on the faith to the next generation.”

Kathleen DeLaney, the attorney representing Starkey, expressed disappointment at the ruling and is considering the possibility of filing an appeal, for which she has 30 days to decide.  “We’re disappointed with the court's ruling and concerned about its potential impact, not just on Lynn Starkey, but on all educators in religious schools,” said DeLaney, as quoted by the Indianapolis Star.

Starkey and another Roncalli guidance counselor named Shelley Fitzgerald were both terminated from their positions at the high school for being in same-sex marriages.  Regarding the Fitzgerald case, which led to a lawsuit against the archdiocese, the result of which is still pending, Roncalli posted a statement on its Facebook page in 2018 explaining that its staff must adhere to Catholic teaching.  “As role models for students, the personal conduct of every teacher, guidance counselor and administrator and staff member, both at school and away from school, must convey and be supportive of the teachings of the Catholic Church,” stated the school in 2018.  “These teachings include, but are not limited to: honoring the dignity of each human life from conception to natural death, care for God’s creation, and the belief that all persons are called to respect human sexuality and its expression in the sacrament of marriage between a man and a woman as a sign of God’s love and fidelity to His Church.” 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Rainbow Art of Deception

There is a saying that goes— “If something is a good thing, then no one should need to be forced into it.”  We might also add, “… or apply shifty and deceptive methods to coerce others.”

The LGBTQ crowd are mastering the art of “deceptive, furtive and subversive” methods to bring their lifestyle into the public— and into our children’s lives.

A recent article by Bob Unruh documents these methods being applied to a 10-year-old girl when she went to a school counselor/therapist for help with her anxiety issues. During the “counseling” process, she was removed from her parent’s supervision to keep them from realizing what was going on.  The counseling staffer “diagnosed” her with “gender dysphoria,” changed her name to a boy’s name, and changed her pronouns and wardrobe.  Praise God, the parents were eventually able to rescue their daughter away and bring her back home.  They were successful in defeating the “therapist’s” goals of turning this child into a transgender.

In a not-so-deceptive fashion, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus released a video including one number stating— “We’ll convert your children, happens bit by bit … We’re coming for them, we’re coming for your children.”

It is observed that “Major medical associations have changed position statements as well, to advocate for political ideology over sound medical practice.  In twenty states, counselors can lose their license if they question a client’s transgender identification instead of reinforcing it.”

It is interesting that sinful beliefs and lifestyles always work to discredit and change God’s design.  Satan is the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).  Beware of things done in secret, of those who are deceptive, of those who call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20; Psalm 90:7-8; Ephesians 5:11-14).  Warn parents, educate the children in God’s truth, be diligent to protect those whom God has put under your care.  Shine His light so truth is known.

“Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God.  On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:2) 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Taliban Are Evil! Period!

AP News recently published an article on the Taliban’s seizure of Afghanistan.  In it, they posed the hotly terrifying question “What does the Taliban takeover mean for women?”— but followed it with a passive lukewarm answer by saying: “…Many are worried they will once again be confined to their homes.  The Taliban have said women’s rights will be respected under Islamic law, without providing much detail.”

It is interesting to see that a news organization that has no qualms with editorializing President Biden’s speaking style as “speaking volumes by whispering” seems scared to condemn what is sure to be a holocaust against women’s rights.

If you want proof of the threat the Taliban poses, take their unashamed public demand that parents gift children as young as 15 to be “wives” for the Taliban or the fact that women have been legally forced to veil their faces, and impoverished mothers who refused to feed Taliban fighters have been beaten to death.

The unwillingness of AP News to unequivocally condemn the Taliban’s vicious intentions toward women is pathetic.  It violates the very notion of divine justice that permeates creation.  As Psalm 82:3 said: “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.”

The Taliban’s actions are evil. End of story.

The lip service paid by Taliban spokesmen to women’s rights is qualified by one key phrase “we are guaranteeing all their rights within the limits of Islam.”  In case no one has noticed, the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam decrees that women are inherently less valuable than men and can be treated like property.

In the words of human rights activist Malala Yousafzai:

“I cannot help but think of my own childhood.  When the Taliban took over my hometown in Pakistan’s Swat Valley in 2007 and shortly thereafter banned girls from getting an education, I hid my books under my long, hefty shawl and walked to school in fear.  Five years later, when I was 15, the Taliban tried to kill me for speaking out about my right to go to school.”

This kind of evil must be attacked openly and outright.

The wisdom literature of Psalm 94:16 provides testimony that victims of oppression should take comfort in the fact that “[God] will rise up for me against the wicked…[God] will take a stand for me against evildoers…”  However, human beings that know something of God should not offer such weak responses in the face of violent extremists. 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel