Consider the Gift

The size of the average American family is shrinking.  The decreasing US birth rate hit an all-time low during the pandemic.  The year 2020, was the greatest decline since 1965 when the baby boom ended.  In 1957, the birthrate was 3.77 births per woman.  The birthrate has drastically dropped to 1.73 births per woman.  3.6-million babies born in 2020 is the lowest number of births since 1979.

A recent Pew Research Center survey reports that 44% of non-parent adults younger than 50 say they are unlikely they will have children.  56% of these say their top reason is they just don’t want to have kids.  43% of those saying they are unlikely to have children answered: medical; no partner; financial; partner doesn’t want children; and the state of the world (including climate change), as reasons.

On the flip side, some predict that millennials have been in a holding pattern and are now preparing for births in 2022.  Pregnancy test sales are up 13% over 2020.  There was a 3% increase in births in 2021.  That is the highest growth since 2013.  Will the “hoped for” boom be enough to render the bust impotent?

Psalm 127:3-5 proclaims that children are a heritage of the Lord and considered a reward and a man is blessed if he has a “quiver full” of children.  Jesus entered the world as a baby.  He went through the stages of childhood.  Mary and Joseph had other children to whom we can assume Jesus was a helpful big brother.  Jesus wanted children to be near Him.  Even amid His taxing schedule of preaching and teaching, He was aware of the children.  

In Mark 13 we read that He wanted the children to come to Him.  When the disciples tried to stop parents from bringing their children to Jesus, He was “indignant.”  The Greek word translated as “indignant” is a combination of two words: “much” and “to grieve.” Jesus was grieved that they would deny Him access to the children (verse 14).

Jesus elevated the position of children.  Romans of that time had full control over their children, even in life and death.  Children were more of a commodity in the pagan world. Contrarily, it was the custom of Jewish parents to bring their children to the patriarchs for special blessings.  Children were desired and acknowledged as important.  Jesus extolled children when He said in Luke 18:15, “do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

What is the Christian response to childbearing?  Going back to the survey by Pew Research Center, “white evangelicals are the only religious subgroup analyzed in which a majority (56%) say that prioritizing marriage and having children is better for society.” 

Ask yourself what Jesus would do.  Does God want you to fill your quiver, whatever number that is for you?  Will you support those around you who have children and help nurture them to Christ?  Children are a gift from God.  Consider the gift.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Does Gov't Power Supersede Faith-based Speech?

Emilee Carpenter is a New York-based photographer targeting a state law she says forces her to create messages that violate her beliefs – specifically, those regarding same-sex “weddings.”

Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse is an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the law firm representing Carpenter.  “Unfortunately, the New York District Court has said that the government can compel her to speak messages that she disagrees with because her art is a product of her unique artistic style and vision,” the attorney explains. “That doesn’t square with the First Amendment – so we’ve appealed to the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, asking them to vindicate Emilee’s fundamental right to freely live and work according to her beliefs.”

This is a pre-enforcement challenge, meaning Carpenter has not yet been brought up on charges.  Even so, New York still expects Carpenter and others to comply.  “She faces up to $100,000 fines, a revoked business license, and could be thrown in jail for up to a year under this law,” explains Widmalm-Delphonse.  “So, we went to court on her behalf because no government should have the unchecked power to violate these basic rights.”

It's up in the air as to when the Second Circuit may take up the case, but ADF hopes to get a time soon as to “vindicate her rights.”  “Everyone should care about this, no matter what side of an issue you land on,” says Widmalm-Delphonse.  “This case is actually similar to another case in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals called 303 Creative v. Elenis.”  In that case, says the attorney, the Tenth Circuit came to the unprecedented conclusion that a graphic designer could be forced to speak messages that she disagrees with because her art is custom and unique.  “[But] again, that doesn’t square with the First Amendment,” the ADF attorney emphasizes, “and so we filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States asking them to overturn the Tenth Circuit decision.”

As of now, Carpenter is operating her business, but under what ADF calls these “draconian threats” of fines, loss of license, and jail time.  “And she has been forced to restrict speech,” adds Widmalm-Delphonse.  “She can’t speak freely about her beliefs or about the services that she’s willing to provide on her website or in person to her customers.  So even though she’s able to operate her business, the law’s affecting her right now and violating her freedom of speech right now.”

As ADF explains in the filed complaint, the laws of the state of New York give Carpenter a “multiple choice test with only bad answers”— violate the law, ignore her faith, or end her business.  But the First and Fourteenth Amendments, says the legal firm, give her another option: “none of the above.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

WI Supreme Court to Hear parents’ Challenge to School's Gender Transition Policy

Parents suing a Wisconsin school district over a policy that allows officials to withhold knowledge of students’ efforts to change their gender identity from their families will have their case brought before the state supreme court.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court (WSC) has agreed to grant a motion for review in the case of Doe v. Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD).  The case centers on the school district’s policy guidance related to trans-identified students.  The unnamed parents suing the school district are represented by the conservative legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL).  “We are pleased the WSC agreed to hear this important case,” WILL Deputy Counsel Luke Berg said in a statement.  “The MMSD cannot make decisions reserved for parents.”  

ADF and WILL filed the lawsuit against MMSD in February 2020 over its 2018 directive— “Guidance & Policies to Support Transgender, Non-binary & Gender Expansive Students.”  The policy seeks to make the school district more inclusive of trans-identified students.  “In MMSD, we will strive to model gender-inclusive language that affirms the gender diversity of our MMSD students, staff, and families and disrupts the gender binary,” page 26 of the document states.  The document says that school officials will help guide students through their “gender transition.”  The policy allows the student to decide if their parents should be informed of these changes.  Additionally, the guidance says that children “will be called by their affirmed name and pronouns regardless of parent/guardian permission to change their name and gender in MMSD systems.” “Transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive students are disproportionately targeted for teasing, bullying, harassment, and physical violence.  MMSD staff must consistently confront and report suspected bullying or other behaviors that contribute to an unsafe school community,” added the guidance.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

A Christian Being Prosecuted for Tweeting Bible Verse on Homosexuality

A Christian politician in Finland who faces the possibility of six years in prison for sharing her deeply held biblical beliefs on sexuality and marriage says it’s “quite a privilege” to be interrogated for her religious beliefs.

Parliament Member Päivi Räsänen, who was interrogated by police for over 13-hours and questioned on how she interprets the Apostle Paul’s letters in the Bible, will appear in court this week over criminal charges for voicing her belief on marriage and sexuality. She authored a 2004 booklet on sexual ethics describing marriage as between one man and one woman.  She also expressed her views on a 2019 radio show and tweeted church leadership on the matter.  

“I thought it was quite a privilege to have these kinds of discussions with the police,” Räsänen said in an interview with Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADFI), a legal nonprofit that specializes in religious freedom cases and is supporting the 62-year-old former interior minister.  “I had many times during these hours the possibility to tell to the police the message of the Gospel, what the Bible teaches about the value of human beings, that all people are created in the image of God and that is why they all are valuable.”  It was like “giving Bible studies to the police,” she remarked.

Räsänen, who worked as a physician before going into politics and is married to a pastor, said it was absurd and shocking to be interrogated and claims it feels like “Soviet times.”  “I could never have imagined when I worked as the minister of the interior and was in charge of the police that I would be interrogated and asked that kind of questions in a police station,” the lawmaker who led the Christian Democrats Party from 2004 to 2015 said.  

She said police also asked her if she was ready to “renounce” her writings.  “But I answered that I will stand on what I believe and I will speak about these things and write about these things also in the future because they are a matter of conviction, not only an opinion,” she said.

Räsänen has been charged with three counts of ethnic agitation over statements expressing her beliefs about human sexuality and marriage.  

Evangelical Lutheran Mission Bishop Juhana Pohjola has been charged with one count of ethnic agitation for publishing Räsänen’s booklet.  Prosecutors in Finland determined that Räsänen’s previous statements disparage and discriminate against LGBT individuals and foment intolerance and defamation.  

The mother of five maintains that her expressions are “legal and should not be censored.”  “I cannot accept that voicing my religious beliefs could mean imprisonment,” said Räsänen in a statement previously issued by ADFI.  “I do not consider myself guilty of threatening, slandering or insulting anyone.  My statements were all based on the Bible’s teachings on marriage and sexuality.”

In November, Pohjola warned that his prosecution illustrated that “the Gospel of Christ is at stake” because of post-modernism and “cancel culture.”  He said hate speech laws had been unfairly used against him.  “When post-modernism first swept over Western countries, its basic core was denial of absolute truth.  The only truth was that you must allow everyone to have his or her own subjective truth,” Pohjola said.  “This hyper-individualism continues, but it has now a different tone.  If you are against LGBTQ+ ideology, so-called diversity, equality and inclusiveness, you are not only considered to be old-fashioned … but rejected as morally evil.  This is what the prosecutor general understands her duty to be, to protect fragile citizens and victims from the intolerant and hateful Christians.”

Six members of U.S. Congress have condemned the prosecution as “infringements on religious freedom.”  Led by Rep. Chip Roy (TX-R), the lawmakers urged the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (US-CIRF) to consider these prosecutions when recommending which countries the U.S. State Department should place on a special watch list of countries that engage in religious freedom violations.

Last May, professors from Ivy League institutions like Harvard University, Yale University and Princeton University were among legal scholars to urge US-CIRF to pressure the State Department to sanction Finland’s prosecutor general for prosecuting Pohjola and Räsänen.  “No reasonable balance of the goods of public order, civil equality, and religious liberty can ever support this suppression of the right to believe and express one’s beliefs.  The prosecutions are straightforward acts of oppression,” they wrote.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

While Ohio Law Requires Dignified Disposition of Aborted Babies, Abortion is #1 Cause of Death Worldwide

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a new complaint against Ohio over a state law that, among other things, requires the proper cremation or burial of aborted babies’ remains.  

Last week, the national ACLU, its Ohio chapter, and Planned Parenthood (PP) filed for a second preliminary injunction against the law on behalf of five abortion clinics in the state.  The second injunction request comes after the plaintiffs received a temporary injunction against the law last April; at present, the clinics have until next month to comply with the law.  Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement that she believed the law would have “a devastating impact on the ability of patients to have autonomy over their own lives.”  “The effect of the law will be to delay procedural abortions, forcing patients to carry an unwanted pregnancy for weeks or months and then to undergo riskier and more expensive procedures,” stated Levenson. “Finally, the law imposes a funeral ritual on every patient, regardless of their own religious and spiritual beliefs.  Judicial relief is critical to ensure patients are able to exercise their constitutionally protected right to obtain essential health care and determine the course of their own lives.”

Mark Harrington, president of the pro-life group Created Equal, said in a statement emailed to supporters that he believed the “courts ought to uphold this law and the dignity of human life.”  “Laws requiring aborted babies to receive a dignified final disposition in some ways pose a bigger threat than many abortion bans do,” stated Harrington.  “Because abortionists are the dregs of medicine, they will be unable to comply with these new regulations.  That is why the abortion industry is fighting so hard to challenge this law.”

In late December 2020, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Unborn Child Dignity Act into law, which mandates “final disposition of fetal remains from a surgical abortion at an abortion facility [to] be by cremation or interment.”  Other provisions included requiring abortion facilities to “document in the pregnant woman’s medical record the final disposition determination made” and “maintain evidentiary documentation demonstrating the date and method of the disposition of fetal remains from surgical abortions performed or induced in the facility.”  Anyone failing to comply with the provisions of the law “is guilty of failure to dispose of fetal remains humanely, a misdemeanor of the first degree.”

As we approach the 49th anniversary (January 22, 1973) of the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Roe vs Wade decision which has resulted in the murder of 63-million fellow Americans, it is noteworthy for the second year in a row, abortions have been the leading cause of death worldwide— with more than three times as many people losing their lives to abortion than the second leading cause of death.

Worldometer, a database that keeps track of statistics on health, the global population, and other metrics in real time, determines the number of abortions performed worldwide based on data obtained from the World Health Organization.  The last available snapshot of the Worldometer, as it appeared on New Year’s Eve, captured by the internet archive tool The Wayback Machine, revealed that approximately 42.6-million abortions were performed worldwide in 2021.  

By contrast, only 13-million people perished of communicable diseases, the second-leading cause of death last year.  The other leading causes of death paled in comparison to abortion: 8.2-million people dying of cancer worldwide, nearly 5-million deaths caused by smoking, approximately 2.5-million alcohol-related deaths, nearly 1.7-million people succumbing to HIV/AIDS, more than 1.3-million people dying in traffic accidents, and nearly 1.1-million suicides worldwide.  Additionally, water-related diseases caused approximately 850,000 deaths, the seasonal flu killed nearly half a million people, nearly 400,000 perished because of malaria, and over 300,000 mothers lost their lives during childbirth last year.  

A separate set of coronavirus statistics also compiled by Worldometer revealed that 3,524,139 people died with complications from COVID-19 in 2021.  Note: Approximately 58.7-million people died in 2021.  That figure does not include those who died from abortion.  If abortion as a cause of death was included, the number of deaths last year would have surpassed 100-million.

2021 is not the first year that abortions were the leading cause of death worldwide.  Data from the Worldometer obtained by the Wayback Machine on New Year’s Eve 2020 revealed that more than 42.6-million abortions were performed that year.  Once again, the number of abortions was three times the number of people who died of communicable diseases.  In 2019, Worldometer found that 42.4-million abortions occurred.  As of four days into 2022, more than 400,000 abortions had been carried out worldwide.  

In addition to its status as the leading cause of death globally, abortion is also the leading cause of death in the United States.  The Guttmacher Institute, an abortion advocacy group, reported that 862,320 abortions were performed in the U.S. in 2017.  That same year, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the leading cause of death in the U.S. besides abortion, heart disease, took the lives of 647,457 people.  The total number of deaths in the U.S. in 2017, not including abortions, was 2,813,503.  Including abortions increases the number of deaths to nearly 3.7-million. In 2019, the CDC reported that 625,346 abortions were carried out in the U.S.  However, that statistic only includes data from 47 of the 50 states and New York City.  Additionally, the number of abortions reported did not include data from California, the nation’s most populous state.

The latest data about abortion comes as the issue has emerged front and center in American politics because of the SCOTUS’ upcoming ruling in the case of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health.  In the Dobbs case, the justices will decide whether Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban violates the U.S. Constitution.  A ruling in favor of the state of Mississippi, which is seeking to uphold the ban, would significantly weaken the precedent set by Roe vs. Wade decision determining that women have the right to an abortion.  

In addition to the new developments surrounding the ongoing litigation over the Mississippi law, as well as a Texas law that bans abortions after a baby’s heartbeat can be detected, usually at around six weeks gestation, a multitude of pro-life laws passed at the state level in 2021.  The Guttmacher Institute published multiple reports expressing concern about the pro-life trend across the states, concluding with a year-end report describing 2021 as “the worst year for abortion rights in almost half a century.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Ashes to Ashes—Dust to Dust

In the apocalyptic book of Joel, it describes a swathe of destruction: “Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes.  Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste— nothing escapes them” (Joel 2:3).

This vision of desolation was typical of the type of literature that would have been written at the time.

In the state of Colorado, a similar vision of desolation tragically came to pass as many Coloradoans were displaced by a freakish December inferno that torched homes in the suburban cities of Louisville and Superior.  Such a fire is stunning, not only because of the breadth of destruction, but because of the rarity with which such fires claim lives and property in our modern era.

Once a far more common problem, the number of fires recorded since 1980 has decreased between 40 and 64 percent.  Modern American life often desensitizes us to the violence and power of the fallen created world.  Fires, floods, and frost do not threaten our daily existence in the way they did for so many of our ancestors.

Nonetheless, in the wake of Colorado’s destruction, we are reminded of the oft-quoted idiom from Ecclesiastes 3:20, which says, “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.”

Obviously, this is a reference to the creation narrative (Genesis 2:7), where Adam is formed from the dust of the earth.  It is a message to us all that we are mortal and our lives are transient.

Events like the Colorado fire and the current pandemic have served as apocalyptic-type events that show us how frail a human life can be.  Even the mortality rate reflects this sobering reality.  According to Centers for Disease Control data released in 2020, the provisional mortality rate in the United States jumped by almost 16 percent.

The point of raising these issues is not to promote morbidity or an obsession with death. Instead, it is a call to appreciate the meaning behind the life that we have.

John 11:25-27 records the promise of eternal life in a dialogue between Jesus and His follower Martha: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.  Do you believe this?’  ‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied,  ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’”

Would that we could all be reminded of Martha’s simple declaration.

Listen: We all will die.  Having been reminded of this fact by fires and pandemics, the most important decision we can make (now) is how we will choose to spend our life after death.

What will you decide?

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

Over the history of mankind, we see times when the evil prosper and the righteous suffer. What is important is that we are ready and prepared to act and to lead when God moves. Let us pick up some cues from Joshua.  There is a theme to, “Be strong and courageous…Be strong and very courageous” (Joshua 1:6-7).

Now we in America find ourselves facing “unconquerable walled cities.”  Our cities have many names including: Spiritual Suppression, Educational Falsehoods (CRT), Political Correctness, and many more.  

Recently, we have seen a few stones fall from the walls around these “cities.”  Only a few, but they are falling.  God’s people are moving with strength and courage as in the new “Momma Bear” movement where parents are standing up to their local School Boards and calling them out for their educational and moral atrocities.  Politicians are leading their cities and states against federal mandates.  These, and many more, are returning freedom and power back to the people.

The keys for success in Joshua’s time are still valid for today.  In Joshua 1:2 we see that the Israelites were instructed to prepare, to get ready for the battles before them.  At the same time, they were reminded that God was moving ahead of them.  

As church leaders we are to prepare our congregations through teaching, practicing, and giving inspiration for the tasks before us.  Then we all must get involved in the battles. The Israelites, one and all, marched forward to Jericho to participate as God had instructed.  In our congregations we have those who can run for offices of various types: state legislature, city council, local school board, and a multitude of various commissions are all in need of God’s people leading our communities in godly living.  

Not only has the Bible and prayer been banned in most of our public settings, but basic morality has become a withered and tattered standard.  God promised the Israelites that He would give them every place where they set their feet (Joshua 1:3).  We set our feet in His name by entering these battle grounds.

This all may seem very frightening.  We may not feel qualified.  Neither did the Israelites feel qualified.  Yet forward they marched together.  As they did, they had God’s blessings moving along with them (Joshua 1:4-5).  They remembered that God did not hold back the waters of the Jordan River until they stepped into it.  

We are God’s people— placed here for these times.  What are we waiting for?  

When the priests stepped forward with the Ark of the Covenant, the Israelites were ready to move with them.  The principle for us today is…see what God is doing and join Him (Joshua 3:3).  Secondly, consecrate yourselves (Joshua 3:5).  Simply put, set unnecessary things in your life aside.  Trim off the extras that are using your time, energy, and resources.  Focus on the tasks at hand.  And follow God’s leading.

“Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.  This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites [insert the names and organizations for today].  See, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you” (Joshua 3:10-11).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Socialist China Put New Restrictions on Christian Content on the Internet; How Long Till in America?

The Chinese Communist Party, which has been criticized for targeting Christians and wielding its power of internet censorship through big tech companies, is putting even more restrictions on the religious freedom of its citizens with a new law regulating online religious content, according to a report.

The new legislation, known as Administrative Measures for Internet Religious Information Services, which was promulgated last month, will be enacted on March 1, reports Bitter Winter, a publication produced by the Center for Studies on New Religion which covers human rights issues in China.  The law mandates an “Internet Religious Information Service License” for any religious group that wants to disseminate religious content on the internet.  But it says only “legally established” organizations can do so, which practically means only groups that are part of the five authorized religions in China can use the internet to distribute religious content.

Open Doors USA, which covers persecution in over 60 countries, estimates that China has more than 97 million Christians, many of whom worship in unregistered or so-called “illegal” underground churches.  

The five state-sanctioned religious groups in China are (1) the Buddhist Association of China, (2) the Chinese Taoist Association, (3) the Islamic Association of China, (4) the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement and (5) the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.  Even the organizations within the five authorized religions are subject to surveillance and limitations, Bitter Winter reports.

As per the new law: “[T]hey can broadcast sermons and lessons, but these would be checked by the authorities for their ‘Sinicized’ content, making sure they promote socialist values and support the party, and are not intended as proselytization tools. Religious universities and colleges may disseminate content via the internet only to their students.  Any attempt to spread religious content to minors or ‘induce minors to believe in religion’ will lead to the termination of the license.”  Without the license, it will be severely prohibited to share images or comments on “religious ceremonies such as worshiping Buddha, burning incense, taking ordination, chanting, worship, mass and baptisms.”

The law follows complaints by President Xi Jinping that prohibitions on the use of the internet to “advertise” religion are not enough to prevent “religious propaganda.”  Last May, when another set of regulations on religion went into effect in China, communist authorities removed Bible apps and Christian WeChat public accounts, including “Gospel League” and “Life Quarterly,” the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC) reported at the time.  Bookstores owned by the state-sanctioned Three-self churches had increasingly been selling books that promote President Xi Jinping’s thoughts and communist ideology, ICC added.

In October 2020, internet censorship targeting Christians in China became so severe that even official government-sanctioned Christian groups started using the Chinese Pinyin initials “JD” to replace Chinese characters for “Christ,” China Aid reported at the time.  In 2018, the Chinese government banned the sale of Bibles at online bookstores across the country to comply with a “white paper” that dictated compliance with the “core values of socialism.”  Australia's ABC News reported at the time that copies of the Gospels had been removed from online retailers following the release of a regime document titled “China’s Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief.”  The white paper declared that Chinese faith communities “should adhere to the direction of localizing the religion, practice the core values of socialism, develop and expand the fine Chinese tradition and actively explore the religious thought which accords with China’s national circumstances.”

China ranks as the 17th-worst country globally when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USA’s 2021 World Watch List.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

For Progressives: Less Religion, More Government

Star Parker for American Family News (AFN) said it best: “One great mystery is the persistent refusal of those on the left to abandon what is clearly not true.  That is, that the means for reducing the burden of poverty is more government spending.”

It all really started in the 1960s under President Lyndon B. Johnson.  He declared in his State of the Union address in January 1964 an “unconditional war on poverty in America.”  Despite tens of trillions of spending since then, poverty remains and so does the conviction of progressives that it can be wiped out with government spending.

Worth recalling is that the avalanche of government spending launched in the 1960s was followed in the 1970s by runaway inflation.  We now face the latest round of this misguided idea with the expansion of the Child Tax Credit in the Build Back Better Act – now derailed thanks to Sen. Joe Manchin.  Fellow Democrats are now all over the beleaguered senator for allegedly not caring about child poverty.

Build Back Better would have increased the credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000, or $3,600 for children under 6.  In a particularly destructive move, they detached any work requirement from receiving the Child Tax Credit.

A team of University of Chicago economists estimates providing a new generous Child Tax Credit, with no work requirement, would result in 1.5 million parents leaving the workforce.  More government, less work.  This is somehow the answer that Democratic Party leadership is serving up to us for how to build a better future for our nation.

Where does the passion of Democrats really lie – in improving lives of Americans … or in dramatically expanding government?  Equally revealing is what does not interest progressives at all.

A little more than a decade ago, Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill at the Brookings Institution publicized what they called the “success sequence.”  The success sequence consists of three steps in behavior to avoid poverty: (1) complete at least a high school education, (2) work full time, and (3) wait until age 21 before getting married and then having children.  According to testimony of Haskins in the U.S. Senate in 2012, those following the “success sequence” have a 2% chance of being in poverty and a 75% chance of reaching the middle class.

But the success sequence doesn't much interest progressives because the focus is about individuals taking personal responsibility for their lives in a free country.  The “personal responsibility” part and the “free country” part have little standing in the Democratic Party.  Also of little interest to our progressive friends is that larding down our economy with massive amounts of government retards economic growth.  Why would anyone think slow economic growth is good for the poor, let alone any American?

As Americans allow themselves to be convinced that government is the answer to their lives, they become more likely to abandon faith and religion, which provide the light and principles for individuals to take control of their own lives.

New data from the Pew Research Center shows the toll that secularization is taking on our country.  According to Pew, 63% of Americans in 2021 identify as Christians, compared with 78% in 2007.  In 2021, 29% indicated they have no religion, compared with 16% in 2007.  Whereas in 2007, 56% said religion was “very important” in their lives, in 2021 this was down to 41%.

Perhaps as we begin 2022, we should again recall the words of America's first president, George Washington, in his farewell address:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports …. And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.  Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Judge Sides with Navy SEALs Seeking Religious Exemption for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

A federal judge has ruled in favor of Navy personnel suing the Biden Administration over the Department of Defense’s (DoD) COVID-19 vaccine mandate— concluding that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their claim that the requirement violates their religious freedom.

Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction Monday, arguing that the Navy has failed to respect the religious objections of service members.  “The Navy provides a religious accommodation process, but by all accounts, it is theater.  The Navy has not granted a religious exemption to any vaccine in recent memory.  It merely rubber stamps each denial,” wrote O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee.  “The Navy servicemembers in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect.  The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms.  There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment.  There is no military exclusion from our Constitution.”

The lawsuit was filed in November on behalf of 35 U.S. Navy personnel, including 26 Navy SEALs.  They are represented by the First Liberty Institute (FLI)— Texas-based conservative legal nonprofit that specializes in religious liberty cases.  FLI General Counsel Mike Berry, who served for seven years as an attorney in the Marine Corps, said he was “pleased” with the injunction.  He contends that the mandate forces military personnel “to choose between their faith and serving their country.”  “[It’s] abhorrent to the Constitution and America’s values,” he said in a statement.  “Punishing SEALs for simply asking for a religious accommodation is purely vindictive and punitive.  We’re pleased that the court has acted to protect our brave warriors before more damage is done to our national security.”

The lawsuit stated that multiple plaintiffs “hold the sincere religious belief that all life is sacred, from conception to natural death, and that abortion is the impermissible taking of an innocent life in the womb.”  “As a result of their sincerely held religious beliefs regarding life and abortion, multiple Plaintiffs are unable to receive any of the COVID-19 vaccines due to what they believe and understand is a connection between these vaccines and their testing, development, or production using aborted fetal cell lines,” the complaint states.

The Pentagon announced in August that it would require U.S. military personnel to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-September, citing combat readiness as a justification.  “Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved, the department is prepared to issue updated guidance, requiring all service members to be vaccinated,” stated Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby at the time.  “These efforts ensure the safety of our service members and promote the readiness of our force, not to mention the health and safety of the communities around the country in which we live.”

According to a report by the U.S. Naval Institute published last week, approximately 8,000 active duty and reserve Navy personnel are unvaccinated, with around 3,000 requests for religious exemptions being sent to the Navy.  Multiple plaintiffs received a formal “COVID-19 Vaccination Administrative Counseling/Warning,” stating that those who refuse to get vaccinated based on personal or religious beliefs will be disqualified from special operations duty unless their disqualification is waived, the court filing shows the provision doesn’t “pertain to medical contraindications or allergies to vaccine administration.”  “Plaintiffs also have been informed that any religious accommodation that will be offered will preclude them from deploying,” the lawsuit reads.  

There has been debate in some religious circles about the ethics of taking a vaccine that has utilized aborted fetal cell lines in their testing or development.  Dallas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress argued in September that there is no “credible” religious argument against COVID-19 vaccines.  He suggested that those troubled by the use of a fetal cell line for testing of the vaccines “would also have to abstain from the use of Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Ibuprofen, and other products that used the same cell line if they are sincere in their objection.”

Roman Catholic Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy P. Broglio released a statement in October stressing that “no one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience.”  “The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were tested using an abortion-derived cell line.  That type of a link has been for centuries considered remote material cooperation with evil and is never sinful,” Broglio wrote.

A poll released last month from the Washington, D.C.-based Public Religion Research Institute found that most Americans support some level of religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccines, though their views on when religious exemptions should be granted differ.  39% of respondents said they either completely or mostly agree that “anyone who simply says that receiving a COVID-19 vaccination goes against their religious beliefs” should be granted a religious exemption.  55% said anyone who “has a record of refusing to receive other vaccinations” due to their religious beliefs should be able to claim a religious exemption.  Additionally, 57% agreed that anyone who “belongs to a religious group that has a record of refusing to receive other vaccinations” should be able to claim a religious exemption.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Is It Goose vs Gander?

Here is a humorous (but sadly true) example of the liberal left’s hypocrisy in the mandate to be vaccinated.  Check out this restaurant exchange between the establishment’s hostess and a patron—

Hostess: Hello.

Patron: Hi, table for two, please.

Hostess: Sure, and your name.

Patron: Tracy

Hostess: Great.  And do you and your guest have your vaccination cards?

Patron: We do.  Can you tell us who our server will be?

Hostess: Um, looks like Tom will be your server tonight.

Patron: Great.  Can you show us Tom’s vaccination card?

Hostess: Um...

Patron: And also, can you provide me with proof that Tom is not a carrier of HIV, Hepatitis A or B, or any other communicable diseases such as VD?

Hostess: Um...

Patron: Also, we would prefer not to be served by someone who is on or uses recreational drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, meth, fentanyl, etc., so if you could provide us with Tom’s most recent tox screen, that would be great.

Hostess: Um... Let me get the manager for you.

Patron: That would be great, thanks.

We’ve all heard the saying: “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”  A gander is a male goose.  So, we have a male and female goose.  The idea is: If it is good for one then it is good for the other.  Fairness is implied in that one should get similar treatment as the other.

I thought of that statement as I read this Bible text: “And they asked Him, ‘Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?’  And He said to them, ‘Elijah does come first to restore all things.  And how is it written of the Son of Man that He should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him’” (Mark 9:11-13).

Jesus had just reminded the disciples that He would rise from the dead.  They didn’t understand it.  They had just seen Elijah with Him on the mountain, and they didn’t understand that either.  Rather than asking about His suffering/death/resurrection, they chose to ask Him about Elijah because they were remembering prophecy from the Old Testament (Malachi 4:5-6).

Jesus answers their question (Elijah does come first and has come), but throws in this statement that is vital: “And how is it written that the Son of Man that He should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?”  You see, the disciples were willing to understand Old Testament Prophecy about Elijah but were not yet willing to understand Old Testament Prophecy to understand about the suffering of Jesus.  He is pointing this out to them.  If Prophecy is good for Elijah then it is good for Jesus too.  What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Many times, we take some of Scripture and hang onto it but reject something right next to it because we don’t like it.  It just doesn’t work that way.  We take the good with the difficult and we take the commands with the promises.  

Are there parts of the Bible that you ignore or run from?  Do you use it like an A La Carte Menu— taking only what you prefer for the day?  

As you grow this new year, learn to accept the ‘full council’ of God in His Word.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Banality of Heroism

We often like to say that there are acts of everyday heroism that define us— whether it is giving haircuts to the homeless or offering a ride to someone in need or sitting with a person in crisis.  Acts of kindness like this are often extolled.  Nonetheless, there are still extraordinary examples of human courage that deserve extraordinary recognition.

On the Monday after Christmas, a man went on a rampage in Colorado, shooting and killing four people.  However, before he could take any more lives, a Lakewood police officer confronted him.  Despite being shot herself, the officer returned fire and managed to put an end to the killer’s spree of horror.

Although it is quoted to the point of triviality, this officer’s heroic actions exemplify the verse in John 15:13— “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

It does not matter whether the officer is, herself, a Christian.  The courage and bravery that she demonstrated ought to be commended.  Remember, Jesus said that gentiles have an intuitive understanding of what is morally good.  As Luke 11:12-13 says, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”

This serves as a reminder that there are times when we are called to be brave beyond what our daily lives can comprehend.

Far from a superhuman feat, these acts of heroism may be outside the ordinary, but the people who perform them are just like the rest of us.  One common misconception of “heroic” individuals is that heroism only occurs when one combines, “individual skill, willingness to sacrifice, and stoicism in the face of physical and emotional hardship.”

But that is not the whole story.

As one article on the medical profession elaborates, each person’s individual skills are cultivated through the support structure of a community, choosing to be self-sacrificial is not an easy decision, and heroes are not emotion-less stoics who have no feelings. Many of these heroes are normal people.

If you ever need a reminder of how commonplace these acts of heroism can be, just take a look at the “Heroes” headlines on the Good News Network.  Stories like: “Hero Jumps Into Maryland Bay to Save Toddler’s Life After Crash Flings Her Car Seat Into the Water” and “70-Year-Old Veteran Battling Cancer Hailed as an ‘Angel’ After He Charged into Burning Home to Save Neighbors.”  These stories should strengthen your own conviction.

Most of us lead boring day-to-day lives that bear little resemblance to the superhero movies that blow out the box office.  Still, we should always be prepared for those extraordinary moments in which we may be called on to perform the supreme demonstration of love.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Come— Long-Expected Jesus

Expectation is defined as “something that will happen or be the case in the future.”  Expectation of health and financial success and that of years to live and events to come. The last couple of years has left the most common of expectations in uncertainty.  From supplies we normally expect to purchase at our favorite store to missed life events such as weddings, reunions, and for some even their livelihood.

There is joy and travail in expectation.  The joy of the culmination of an event is heartily expected as in the birth of a child.  The travail of expected goals not met and with little hope to transpire.  One survey reported that “62% of practicing Christians shared they had altered, skipped or canceled major events and milestones they were looking forward to as a result of the pandemic.”

Unsettling for many was the lack of goods normally available for Christmas.  As reported by Forbes in October “More than 70 ships along the West Coast have been waiting for three months in a 40-mile line to dock and unload.  According to the report, each ship has about 14,000 containers each valued at $100,000 in goods, for a total of $106,400,000,000 of merchandise in shipping limbo.”  The expectation was for the cargo to be unloaded as usual with the expected labor needed.  The expectations for the consumer were to receive these items in a timely manner.  The expectation is for someone to do something about it.

We are so comfortable with having what we want at our fingertips that we may forget to place those fingertips folded in prayer.  What is our path to a relationship with the long-expected One?  Perhaps laying aside what we don’t have and concentrating on the greatest gift ever given man is the secret to expectation joy.

The Bible is a story told of great expectation.  A story of a coming Savior and King— One who would save His people.  Many still expect Him to return.  Jesus’ birth was foretold in Isaiah 700-years before His birth— “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).  Micah prophesied as to His birth 800-years before He was born and told of Bethlehem as the birthplace (Micah 5:2).  Micah believed and expected Jesus to come.  Maybe in his lifetime.

Long, long-expected Jesus came to earth as a tiny baby.  Born to live as man lives and feel the joys and sorrows of life.  Jesus who gave His life for us so that we can expect more.  We can expect His coming again to take us home.  We wait for the promise of the 2nd Coming. How many more years?  In perspective, that item tucked away and floating on a ship at sea seems like nothing.

Come thou long-expected Jesus— Come!

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel