The Price of Overplaying the Pandemic

The coronavirus has at least been a factor in the deaths of more than 700,000 people in the United States.  Some 43.7-million Americans have had and recovered from the virus, whose mortality rate is about 1.6% – a more likely outcome for people with comorbidities and a less likely one for those who are otherwise healthy.

According to a report from The Well Being Trust, about 75,000 people have died from what is called “deaths of despair” – which includes suicide and drug abuse because of COVID-19.  71% of students are suffering from increased stress and anxiety because of the pandemic, and the virus cost the economy an estimated $16-trillion in 2020.

Dr. Jeff Barrows of the Christian Medical Association thinks the death count is too high for him to say the country overreacted to the coronavirus.  “Just looking at mortality overall from all diseases and the number of excess deaths – and it’s mainly been due to COVID – in this country it’s been probably close to 750,000 to a million excess deaths in the year 2020,” he tells American Family News.  He has no doubt, though, that a measure of the pain has been caused by politics.  So, while it will be left to historians to give the final verdict, Dr. Barrows says a million excess deaths is a serious loss and a tragedy by any standard.  “This pandemic – as inconvenient as it is, as much trouble that it’s causing, the amount that it’s costing – we have to recognize that it’s associated with a large number of deaths,” he reiterates.

Meanwhile, a Republican lawmaker has revealed information that he fully expects will invite attacks from those who favor and push mandatory COVID shots.  During a recent floor speech, Senator Ron Johnson (WI-R) presented documents that he says dispel President Biden’s notion that COVID-19 is a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

During a seven and half month period beginning in February of 2021, data from Public Health England shows about 750,000 new virus cases were reported, and roughly 600,000 (80%) of those were the Delta variant.  “In England, of the 600,000 new cases of Delta of the over 2,500 deaths, 63% of those deaths, 1,613 people were the fully vaccinated,” Senator Johnson cites.  “28% were with the unvaxxed.  This is information the American people have probably never heard.  By conveying it, I will get attacked.  I will be vilified.  I will be censored.  I will be suppressed.  That's one of the reasons I came to the floor of the Senate to reveal this information – American people need to know.”  Given that information, along with the effectiveness of natural immunity, Johnson wants to know the justification for shot mandates.

Meanwhile, an immigration border enforcement organization is taking Dr. Anthony Fauci to task for his dismissive attitude regarding illegal immigrants’ impact on the spread of the coronavirus.

Recently during an appearance on CNN, Fauci – President Biden’s chief medical – discussed the impact of COVID-19 at the southern border and the role of Title 42. [That’s a public health order started under President Donald Trump that enables U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to quickly return illegal aliens to Mexico – often in minutes and without detention – in order to mitigate the public health risks from COVID-19.]  But Fauci dismissed the notion that the influx of illegal aliens has an impact on the spread of COVID in the U.S.

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, says Fauci is offbase.  “You don’t need to be an epidemiologist to understand that if you have a wide-open border and have lots of people coming across that border – especially from countries where vaccination rates are pretty low and people have been travelling in large groups – that it is going to pose a threat of spreading that virus,” says Mehlman.  “Dr. Fauci can talk all he wants about how this is not a factor.  It is.”  And Mehlman says the Biden Administration is essentially giving illegals a pass on getting the injection.  “People are not being vaccinated in many cases they’re not even being tested for COVID,” he notes.  “In some cases, they are being tested for COVID – and even if they test positive, they’re still being released [into the U.S.].”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

COVID’s Double Dose

When we think of a double dose related to COVID-19, we think of the vaccine.  But let me suggest a different double dose— stress related overeating and poor nutrition.  The American population’s crawl to obesity was gaining speed before the pandemic, but now it’s racing at high speed with no indication of slowing down.

In 2016 a CDC report revealed that over the last 20-years Americans have been gaining weight.  The average American woman’s weight increased from 152 to 169 since 1988. Children also gained weight.  Eleven-year-old girls gained an average of seven pounds during the period researchers analyzed, while boys gained more than 13 pounds.  In most of these cases weight gain occurred even when heights remained nearly the same.  Enter the pandemic and we are horrified at the climb in weight in just 2 years.

A survey was conducted by The Harris Poll between February 19-24, 2021.  The survey included 3,013 adults of all age groups.  Those who reported undesired weight gain during the pandemic gained an average of a whopping 29-lbs.  Responders who were parents reported an average of 36-pound gain and those considered essential workers 38-pounds.  There was a slightly higher gain for people of color than Caucasian.  78% of responders report COVID as a major stress for them.

COVID is deadly for those who are obese.  The CDC now reports that having obesity increases the risk of severe illness from COVID-19.  Those who are overweight may also be at risk.  Having obesity triples the risk of hospitalization as it is linked to impaired immune function and decreased lung capacity.  Scarier, still, is that death from invasive mechanical ventilation increases with BMI (body mass index).

With the rise of specialized medicine, the family physician is less and less likely to address nutrition in a patient’s health care.  In fact, only 29% of medical schools offer the recommended 25-hours of nutrition education.  Nurses, who are on the front line of patient care, receive even less training.  One nurse reported that she received only a half day of training regarding nutrition.

Genesis 1:29 God says— “I give you every seed-bearing plant … and every tree that has fruit … they will be your food.”  The American diet is loaded with salt and fat and preservatives.  Most Americans do not eat the daily recommended number of green vegetables.

I Corinthians 6:19 reminds us— “do you not know that your bodies are temples?”  As a witness to the work of the Holy Spirit in you, be aware of what you eat.  

Be involved by how you choose to spend your food dollars.  It will make a difference at the cash register and in your health.  Educate your children in simple ways to make changes necessary to stay healthy through nutrition.  

Americans with diabetes will cost our health care system millions of dollars this year— not to mention the loss of life.  

Don’t give COVID a victory over your life.  Make decisions in this area that you can control, and trust God’s Word for your living of these days.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Keep Calm and Carry On

Ecclesiastes 9:10 exhorts people to do everything to the best of their abilities— “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”

Philippians 2:14-15 echoes the value of hard work by teaching: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”

Both verses exhort believers in the One True God to recognize the sacred nature of the work we are given to do on this earth.  We should do our work to the best of our abilities without complaint and without an expectation of reward— since we are merely performing our God-given duties.

Unfortunately, this sentiment does not appear to be universally understood or shared.

In July of 2021 it was announced that many teachers in the United States were receiving “thank-you” bonuses (also called “hazard pay”) for having to “juggle teaching in-person and online, with erratic schedules as schools had to shut down due to outbreaks.”  This bonus came after teachers’ unions across the U. S. and around the world demanded that teachers receive special hazard pay.  In the words of one union representative from Tennessee, teachers were deserving of this special bonus because “educators [are] going into a work situation that is more dangerous than it has ever been.”

Unsurprisingly, this demand was met with derisive comments from numerous others who were forced to accept the exact same risks and pandemic working conditions as teachers without any expectation of special compensation.  In the words of Irish writer Larissa Nolan: “I am thinking of taking the teachers’ unions lead and throwing my hat into the ring for an ol’ pandemic bonus.  Going by their criteria, I’m eligible for consideration. Like the unions, I could also argue I’m not looking for the payment, per se, but don’t I deserve the opportunity to make my case?”

While the snarkiness in this case may be a bit excessive, it points to a simple reality: The Biblical ethos of uncomplaining duty is still strong enough that people expect teachers’ unions to show the same virtue.

By the end of 2020, 33% of Americans had contracted COVID-19 and as of September 2021, 80% of Americans had detectable antibodies to COVID-19 based on data from blood donor studies.  With a new COVID-19 pill like Tamiflu on the horizon, it is high time all of us kept calm and carried on.

As the Bible teaches, all of us have jobs to do and roles to play.  We should no more reward people for doing their jobs than we should applaud them for not stealing from others.  Instead, as we know from Romans 5:3-4, “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

The pandemic is old news … now.  So, let’s get on with our lives.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Character Over Comfort

The past two years have taught people the value of comfort and the distressing feeling of discomfort.  The discomfort barometer ranged from the lack of toilet paper to fear of death … and everything in between.  Is the Christian perspective prepared to embrace the idea of discomfort as God building character in us?

We see many of God’s own in the throws of uncomfortable character building.  Noah, most likely, received unending criticism of his gigantic construction monstrosity.  He worked for years and years on an Ark and a promise.  He was 600 years old when the flood waters began. (Genesis 7:6).  That’s plenty of time for character building.  Joseph was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.  Yet, “the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor” (Genesis 39: 21)  The Lord was with him?  Can you escape character building if the Lord is with you?  Was Joseph faced with discomfort? I’m reasonably sure of it, based on what a prison of the day would be like.  Would Joseph have become the leader he became if he had not faced the trials of being wrongly convicted and jailed?  Yet, the Lord was with him through it all.

What did Christians learn during the past 2 years of discomfort?  What did we spend our time on?  Many of us did not have a daily commute to work.  Did we eat our way through the shut down?  Did we sleep more and watch television?  According to an American Time Use survey, after sleeping, Americans spent most of their time watching television.  Was the Lord with us during those television hours?

Church going was halted during the pandemic— with many churches going to online services.  Church leaders rallied to bring worship to at-home congregations.  A poll taken in April of 2020 reported “one-quarter of the U.S. adults overall, 24% say their faith had become stronger because of the coronavirus pandemic.”  Does that sound like a low percentage?  Should not all Christians be in a state of growing stronger daily in good times and in hardship?  Proverbs 24:10 predicts, “if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”

How do we examine personal character building?  What test can we take to know if we have grown?  James 1:2-4 speaks of trials as being a test that produces steadfastness. Our reward is to be “lacking in nothing.”  That is the opposite of how we would consider pandemic life wherein we felt “lacking in much.”  Were we steadfast in our faith?  Did we take the Lord with us?  Did we develop character that will take us to great leadership as the world sheds the cocoon of the past two years and begins to spread its wings?  Those are the questions we can ask of ourselves and prayerfully consider our desire for growth in character over comfort.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

God’s Reality in A World of Confusion

In Matthew 24:6, it says, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”

While there is scholarly and denominational disagreement about how to interpret this “apocalyptic” Bible verse, one thing is agreed upon by almost everyone: This verse assures believers that, although trouble will come, God’s kingdom will eventually reign on earth.

Although every century has its own problems, the ones of the 21st Century feel more acute because of the spread of cross-continental information and the 24-hour news cycle.  Even if this is just the result of magnification, it does not change the difficulty of the situation or the fact that action must be taken.

If there is one thing that can be said for our current socio-political climate it is this: Members of our society no longer look to shared sources of authority on news, science, religion, or politics.  We read different news websites, believe different scientific authorities, follow mutually exclusive belief systems (including atheism), and trust politically opposed leaders.

As one meta-analysis noted, studies using data tracing have found that social media users are prone to mainly see posts and content with which they agree.  In other words, people experience a social media “echo chamber” that leads them to believe more people agree with their opinions than they actually do.  This fact is more concerning when read in light of Pew Research Center’s 2019 data indicating that 55% of Americans received at least some of their news from social media.

In yet another example, on September 15, 2021, World Net Daily and CNN, two news sites on opposite ends of the political spectrum, ran the following contradictory headlines:

“Florida vaccine advocate loses 6 unvaccinated family members to Covid-19 within 3 weeks” and “News station gets flooded with vaccine horror stories: Startling turn after reporter sought to shame the unvaccinated.”

Who is to say which story is more true than false?  For an average person, being a moderate is no longer an option.  Sides have to be picked and lines drawn in the sand— especially when it comes to the issue of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Political polarization on matters like voting access has reached new heights as the distance between Republican and Democrat perceptions of the issues continues to increase.

From a religious perspective, there is even less religious commonality among believers.

What is a Christian to make of this mess?  An answer is found in the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:43-45:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.  He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Our only hope is to act in good faith, praying for our “enemies,” lest our nation tear itself apart.  We know that our salvation is assured.  However, we also have a duty to reduce the suffering experienced by our society in the course of this life.  Salvation was made for all, not just the people we currently like.  

We can change our social media accounts, our news sources, our churches, our party affiliation, but we can never change the reality of God.

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

An Overlooked Christian Controversy in CA

There has recently been a largely-overlooked religious controversy in California (CA) that is no laughing matter.

We have seen in recent decades the massive attempt to rewrite American history and to erase God from it.  Whole books have been written on this subject, like Dr. James S. Robbins’ Erasing America or Jarrett Stepman’s War on History.  We have seen how heroes in America’s past, like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and even Abraham Lincoln, have been turned into virtual villains by the forces of political correctness.  And now the anti-Christian elites in CA are engaging in a quiet war to dishonor the memory of a humble, Catholic priest who, for all practical purposes, founded CA.

Much of early CA was carved out in the second half of the 1700s by Father Junipero Serra (died 1784).  He has been dubbed the “Apostle of California.”  Father Junipero Serra created a series of 21 Catholic missions, each of which would be accessible to the next by a one-day horseback ride.  Beginning with San Diego, these missions stretch northward to Sonoma, the final mission in the series.  Sonoma was the mission just north of San Francisco, named after St. Francis of Assisi.  The best known of these missions is Los Angeles, i.e., “the angels” — technically its full name is “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the River Porciúncula.”  It’s worth noting that America’s second largest city (Los Angeles) is named after the mother (“Our Lady”) of Jesus.  These missions include: San Juan Capistrano, San Jose (named after Mary’s husband, Joseph, the step-father of Jesus), San Gabriel, San Carlos, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Barbara.

To this day, Father Serra’s missions are, in effect, the backbone of the state of CA.  They also include the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo — best-known as Carmel-by-the-Sea.  It’s in that particular mission’s church where Father Serra is buried.  

It was in one of these missions that, for the first time ever, CA wine was produced.  The purpose of that was to celebrate Holy Communion.  Even CA’s state capital harkens back to the influence of Father Serra and company, Sacramento; as in the sacrament of Holy Communion.  

But today, the politically correct folks who are bent on stripping America of any of its godly heritage have aimed their sites against Father Junipero Serra, whose statue graces Statuary Hall in the U.S Capitol.  His is the only image of someone holding up a cross.  Now Junipero Serra High School in San Diego seems poised to disown its namesake, but critics charge that the decision to change the name was made surreptitiously.  In fact, the Thomas More Society (TMS) is suing over this name change because they maintain it was done illegally.  TMS, a legal group which fights for religious liberty, writes: “The principal of Junipero Serra High School and the San Diego Unified School District Board of Trustees violated citizens’ rights when they voted to rename the school without giving the public sufficient notice of their intent to do so.”

Why the potential change?  In effect, Father Serra is being blamed for abuses against the indigenous people that followed in the wake of his missionary work.  Not to different then blaming the Pilgrims who were peace-loving people who had a great relationship with the Indians, for abuses committed later by other European settlers.

Paul Jonna is a special counsel for TMS in this case.  He said: “It’s not up to debate what kind of man this was.  This man would wash the natives’ feet, yet he’s now been likened to conquistadors, who did bad things to the native population.”  Dr. William Donohue of the Catholic League, who calls Serra “the greatest missionary in U.S. history,” wants Gov. Newsom (CA-D) to veto a bill that would tear down a statue of Serra in Sacramento. Donohue writes: “The bill is not only based on bad history, it is a slanderous attack on the one man who actually did stand up for the rights of Indians at the time.”

It seems like the ongoing effort of historical revisionism — to tarnish American history and its heroes in service of political correctness — continues unabated.

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

Afghan Christians Living in Fear of Taliban

Afghan Christians are living in fear as the Taliban has declared they will carry out executions and other brutal punishments, including amputations, under Islamic Sharia Law as part of their rule in Afghanistan.

“Cutting off of hands is very necessary for security,” Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, a member of the Taliban’s interim government and chief enforcer of the group’s strict interpretation of Sharia Law, told The Associated Press.  “Everyone criticized us for the punishments in the stadium, but we have never said anything about their laws and their punishments,” he continued.  “No one will tell us what our laws should be.  We will follow Islam and we will make our laws on the Quran.”  Turabi, who is under U.N. sanctions, also said the new government may consider carrying out such punishments in public.  

Turabi’s announcement has many Afghan Christians bracing for persecution, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC) reported, explaining that the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Sharia is a threat to Afghan Christians due to their conversions from Islam to Christianity.  “As apostates, Afghan Christians will be subject to Sharia’s deadliest consequences, including execution,” ICC said.

Almost all Afghan Christians — estimated to be between 8,000 and 12,000 — are converts from Islam and remain largely closeted and hidden from the public eye due to severe persecution.  When the Taliban took control of much of Afghanistan following the drawing down of U.S. troops in August, many ministries working with the country’s underground church worked tirelessly to evacuate at-risk Christians, William Stark, ICC’s regional manager for South Asia, told The Christian Post earlier this month.  “Christians are now in hiding because of active threats against their community,” Stark said.  He shared stories of how Christians continue to face threats from members of the Taliban.

In one situation, an Islamic extremist threatened to kidnap a Christian man’s daughters and marry them off to members of the Taliban.  In another, a Christian man received a letter from the Taliban saying his house belonged to them.  

Christians have also been warned to refrain from gathering.  “Even within the networks that we have, a number of people have changed their phone numbers because it’s simply not safe anymore,” Stark said.  “Their work to lie low in the country makes it hard for someone on the outside to stay in contact.”  As persecution continues to increase, Afghan Christians need “help from the outside” to escape their circumstances, he said.

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

Facebook—Bans Christians, But Allows Sex Traffickers

While Facebook (FB) is known for cracking down on accounts linked to Christians and politically conservative individuals and groups, the platform is doing little to stop criminal organizations that use the networking site to profit off sex trafficking, said entertainment critic Ted Baehr.  The connection between human trafficking and drug cartels on social media is a “gigantic” problem, Baehr told CBN News.  “I was one of the founding board members of the National Coalition on Sexual Exploitation.  It’s been a bigger and bigger problem, especially when we talk about the crackdown on conservative sites or Christian sites,” he said.  “Because they say on Facebook that the cost of doing business in Africa and the Middle East is allowing all of these different businesses to use it.  These businesses are sex slavery.  These businesses are trafficking.”

FB employees sent numerous alerts to their bosses to report on human traffickers in the Middle East and armed groups in Ethiopia that are using the platform for sex trafficking and inciting violence against ethnic minorities, according to internal documents released by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an investigative report.  FB was informed that a Mexican drug cartel was using the platform to recruit, train and pay hitmen, but the company didn’t stop the cartel from posting on FB or Instagram, the documents show.

“Anybody will tell you who’s concerned about this issue that there’s more slavery today than there’s ever been in terms of sex slavery,” Baehr said.  “So these cartels are using Facebook.  Facebook has said, ‘We are going to address the issue.’  They’ve never really addressed it.”

For FB, harm in developing countries is “simply the cost of doing business,” Brian Boland, a former FB Vice President who oversaw partnerships with internet providers in Africa and Asia before resigning last year, told the WSJ.  FB’s safety efforts are focused on wealthier markets with powerful governments and media institutions, he added, noting that more than 90% of monthly users are now outside the U.S. and Canada.  “There is very rarely a significant, concerted effort to invest in fixing those areas,” he added.

In the U.S., FB and other social media platforms use Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act to protect themselves from lawsuits over what users post online.  One of the clauses of Section 230 states that what users say or write online is not akin to a publisher conveying the same message.  However, the same clause that shields online platforms from liability is often used to ban conservative viewpoints.  

In 2018, FB restricted Republican congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng’s campaign from placing a video ad, deeming it too “shocking, disrespectful or sensational” because it featured her American immigrant parents who survived brutalities by the Khmer Rouge communists during the Cambodian Civil War.

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

C.G. Chaplains Ordered to Interrogate Guardsmen

Religious, athletic, and medical professionals in North America are facing increasing pressure to not only get vaccinated against COVID-19, but also censor their concerns to keep getting paid.

The U.S. Coast Guard developed an accusatory script for chaplains to use when quizzing service members on their requests for religious exemptions from vaccines.  For example, the script directs chaplains to challenge service members with “visible tattoos” if they cite 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, which tells Christians to keep their bodies pure as “temples of the Holy Spirit.”  Chaplains must grill service members who object to vaccines developed with aborted fetal cells on whether they also abstain from “Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Benadryl, or Claritin, all of which were developed using fetal cells. ... Note response in memo.”  Another document includes a list of quotes by religious leaders in several faiths promoting COVID vaccination.  

The First Liberty Institute (FLI) told Just the News (JTN) it obtained them from a service member who said they were distributed to chaplains by judge advocate generals.  “We know with certainty that chaplains received” the script, which is marked “draft,” putting them “in the untenable and unconstitutional position of deciding which religious beliefs are legitimate and which ones are not,” Mike Berry, FLI General Counsel for this public interest law firm, told JTN.

Lt. Cdr. Brittany Panetta declined to comment on the authenticity of the documents, or whether the script was approved, except to say the Coast Guard “adjudicates requests for religious accommodations on a case-by-case basis,” providing an Aug. 31 directive. “This adjudication is informed by input from the member’s command, medical, judge advocate, and military chaplain, in accordance with relevant Coast Guard policy, which is itself informed by law, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the U.S. Constitution,” she said.

Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman argued such intrusive questions violate the Founders’ individual conscience framework that led to the First Amendment.  “People who decide first that they don’t want to be vaccinated, and then search online for religious authorities who might back them up ... are doing what many before them have done — and exactly what religious liberty is supposed to protect,” he said in a Bloomberg column.

JTN shared the Coast Guard documents with Feldman, but he didn’t respond to a request to analyze them.

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

TN HS Football Team Defies School Board and Holds Post-Game Prayer

After a school board in Tennessee (TN) told teachers and coaches they could no longer lead students in prayer, members of the football team and their parents took matters into their own hands.  

Administrators with Putnam County Schools (PCS) told staffers they would be barred from leading students in prayer in the future—a decision that came as a result of a letter from the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, according to WZTV-TV.  After consulting with an attorney for the school board, a spokesperson for PCS said case law disallowing prayer or proselytizing “is clear,” noting, “Courts have consistently ruled that prayer and proselytizing cannot be sponsored by schools or school personnel.”

An attorney for PCS enjoined district schools to comply with all laws and rules regarding prayer at school sponsored events.  The admonition followed several instances of post-game prayers at the Cookeville and Upperman high schools.  The district, for its part, acknowledged “the importance of prayer in the lives of our students, faculty, and staff members,” saying in a statement to the press that administrators “support the right of students to participate in and lead spontaneous prayers.”  “That right is and will continue to be protected,” the district added.  “We also understand that faculty and staff members cannot lead or participate in the spontaneous student-led prayers.”  

And that’s exactly what happened: The school board’s action sparked a faith-filled response from students and their parents, who planned a prayer event after Upperman High School’s game against Stone Memorial.  One father, Dustin Whitefield, told WZTV-TV that, while he understands Upperman is a public school, post-game prayers should not be a problem because participation “has always been optional for players.”  “After the game, players and cheerleaders that choose to will be on the field praying on their own,” he said of the event.  “A group of parents will be going out on the field to support them. We will join hands and encircle them from a distance as a sign of protection and solidarity in choosing to continue to pray.  This is a parent led event!  We are encouraging anyone that would like to show their support to please join us.”  The players and their parents came together for prayer after the game.

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

ADDICTIONS

DEFINITION: “Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward…the individual pursuing reward and/or relief by substance abuse and other behaviors…characterized by impairment, craving and diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships…”

Most therapy is focused on physical addiction like drugs and alcohol.  A few also look at behaviors like abusiveness and eating.  Much harder to find in the lists are addictions to pornography and the internet.  No one lists addictions to welfare or subsidized housing. An article quoted from healthyplace.com, describes addictions as “characterized by craving, compulsion, an inability to stop using the drug and lifestyle dysfunction…”  Most of the time the cures are focused on psychological and alternate drug treatment to curb the dysfunction.  Maybe that is the “fight fire with fire” approach, but too often our world of experts ignores the best solutions.  The possible solutions listed above are not necessarily wrong or bad, but they definitely leave out the spiritual aspects of all these dysfunctions.  The world is afraid of defining anything as sin, so instead, all of these things are merely diseases of the mind and body.

If the experts are not believers in Jesus Christ, then their spirit is, by Biblical definition, dead (Ephesians 2:1-2).  They cannot see sin as sin unless the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to see it.  They are left with only the traditional means for helping those who are caught in sin’s death traps.  There is an old saying that says, “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight” (quoted in movies such as: The Untouchables and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).  Truly, the weapons or tools or instruments you utilize should always be appropriate for the task and need at hand. Using a pocketknife saw blade to cut down a tree pales in comparison to a 4-foot, two man crosscut saw or a chainsaw.  The point is obvious but so often missed in the world around us because of spiritual shortcomings.

When we encounter those that are suffering from any of the many addictions our world entraps them in, we need to bring the best resources that God offers to us for breaking those chains.  Always begin with the power of the Holy Spirit through salvation in the name of Jesus; the life-giving words of the Holy Bible; the support and encouragement of a body of believers (the church); and through it all, prayer.  Substances including the oils of the Bible or alternate drugs can also be helpful, and the help and direction of doctors in many fields of expertise should also be consulted.

People of this world are entrapped in the slavery of addictions of all types and forms. Always begin by bringing them to the One who sets us free—Jesus.  Remember the song by Zack Williams, Jonathan Lindley Smith and Mia Fieldes—“If you’ve got pain, He’s a pain taker.  If you feel lost, He’s a way maker.  If you need freedom or saving, He’s a prison-shaking Savior. If you’ve got chains, He’s a chain breaker.”

Ephesians 2:1-10 reminds us our world needs Jesus and He has appointed us to show Him to them.

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

Incentivize Women to Protect the Unborn

The newly-minted Texas ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy drew a flurry of headlines in early September, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) refused to grant a request for a temporary injunction on the law’s enforcement.

While the SCOTUS did not officially rule on the merits of the law itself—instead, they merely declined on the basis of procedural matters—this was taken by many to be an indicator that the high court is sympathetic to undermining the precedent set in Roe v. Wade in a different case set to be heard later this year.

At the heart of this debate about abortion is a simple question: Are young children in the womb human?  Are they mere “fetuses” or are they babies?  These questions make a world of difference in how one approaches abortion’s legality—especially as a Christian.

From a scientific perspective, we know that babies have unique DNA that identifies them as a separate entity from their mother.  Although babies in the womb are totally dependent on their mother’s bodies for sustenance and protection, they are still genetically distinct.

We already know that children in the womb can respond to stimuli (with current estimates recording reactions as early as 16 weeks of age) and we have Biblical evidence that supports their sentience.

Take Luke 1:41-44: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.’”

Thus, it is not quite true to say that abortion is solely about a woman choosing what happens to her own body.  It is also about whether she decides to destroy another person’s body to avoid being pregnant, giving birth to them, and potentially being responsible for their care.

In truth, becoming a parent demands a level of selflessness that we, as Christians, know that human beings in their fallen state generally fail to possess.  As it says in Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

While the TX abortion law is a step in the right direction, there will only be real change when we change the incentive structures around becoming a mother.  As the Guttmacher Institute noted in their research in 2005, the most cited reasons for why women had abortions were because giving birth would obstruct or prevent them from pursuing an education, working a job, or caring for dependents (elderly parents, disabled spouses, prior children, etc.).

As Christians, if our goal is to protect the lives of the unborn, we must individually choose to make it as easy as possible for women to go through pregnancy, give birth, and raise children or connect them with adoption services.  This includes supporting the hundreds of pregnancy care centers which are located across the United States.  They provide resources for mothers and their children before they are born and after their birth. Pregnancy care centers are not well known, but they have helped, literally, millions of women already and are always in need of more resources to be ready for every woman who faces the difficult situation of giving birth and raising a child on their own.

As it says in John 15:12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”  That means being accommodating professors, compassionate employers, and supportive friends/family members.

Regardless of the laws penalizing abortion, if we also change the incentive structure in positive ways, fewer and fewer women will even consider having abortions in the first place. 

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

Hindu Mob Attacks Pastor Summoned to Police Station

A Christian pastor summoned to a police station in India’s Chhattisgarh state was brutally beaten by a mob of 50 Hindu nationalists who were waiting for his arrival.

The mob falsely accused Pastor Ankush Bariaya of converting Hindus “illegally” and began beating the pastor with shoes and fists inside the Purani Basti Police Station in the state capital of Raipur, claims U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern.

A witness at the scene was quoted as saying that the attack seemed to be “well planned.”  “I think the police knew about the attack before it took place.  It is sad that Christians are not safe even inside the police station,” said the witness— believed to be one of the two pastors who accompanied Bariayar.

The pastor who was attacked was quoted as saying: “They told me to my face that they would kill me.  I thought I was safe, being with the police in their premises, but I was wrong.  In the beginning, the police did not do anything to protect me from the attack.  After they hit me with the shoe and punched me in my face, the police then tried to stop them from beating me.”

Police registered a case against only seven of the people who were part of the mob, but then identified and arrested only two of them.

“Don’t we have the right to go to the police station and talk to the police?” Dr. Arun Pannalal, President of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, asked when speaking to journalists.  “Why didn’t the police stop the attackers and protect Pastor Bariayar?”  He continued: “We have the right to choose any religion and propagate that religion. … The government must take the strictest action against the attackers who brazenly attacked the pastor.  This needs to be taken to the highest level of law and order in the state.”

The attack “indicates the impunity enjoyed by many radical Hindu nationalists,” William Stark, ICC’s regional manager for South Asia, said.  “This is a symptom of a larger problem in India,” he added.  “Religious intolerance and religiously motivated violence have become so normalized that attacks on Christians in the presence of police, outside the station, have come to be expected.  The only thing that has shocked Christians here is the location of the attack and not the attack itself.”

Christians make up about 2.5% of India’s population, while Hindus comprise 79.5%.  India ranks as the 10th worst country globally when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s 2021 World Watch List.  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged the U.S. State Department to label India as a “country of particular concern” for engaging in or tolerating severe religious freedom violations.  Open Doors USA warns that since the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party took power in 2014, persecution against Christians and other religious minorities has increased.  The group reports that “Hindu radicals often attack Christians with little to no consequences.”  “Hindu extremists believe that all Indians should be Hindus and that the country should be rid of Christianity and Islam,” an Open Doors fact sheet on India explains.  “They use extensive violence to achieve this goal, particularly targeting Christians from a Hindu background.  Christians are accused of following a ‘foreign faith’ and blamed for bad luck in their communities.”

Several Indian states, including Chhattisgarh, have “anti-conversion” laws, which presume that Christian workers “force” or give financial benefits to Hindus to convert them to Christianity.

While the anti-conversion laws have been in place for decades in some states, no Christian has been convicted of “forcibly” converting anyone to Christianity.  These laws, however, allow Hindu nationalist groups to make false charges against Christians and launch attacks on them under the pretext of the alleged forced conversion.  Some of these laws state that no one is allowed to use the “threat” of “divine displeasure,” meaning Christians cannot talk about Heaven or Hell, as that would be seen as “forcing” someone to convert.  And if snacks or meals are served to Hindus after an evangelistic meeting, that could be seen as “inducement.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel