Is Brotherly Love MIA?

Ephesians was a widely circulated letter to the early churches that emphasized a spirit of Christian unity and “brotherly love” or agapē; unsurprisingly, verse 4:32 taught that Christians ought to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

This message is one that our society desperately needs, especially since we do not seem to idolize such kindness.

Like the fallible Greco-Roman gods of the ancients, it seems that many American celebrities (who are often unironically referred to as “idols”) embody the same character flaws that were described in Hellenistic deities.

For example, in Greek mythology, Hermes cursed Chelone by turning her into a tortoise after she committed the “grave sin” of failing to attend the wedding of Hera and Zeus.

Similarly, it seems American celebrities have a habit of overreacting to minor slights. This phenomenon filled the news after Will Smith stormed the stage of the Oscars to slap comedian Chris Rock after a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia (a medical condition causing baldness).

Surprisingly, the event polarized the nation, as opinions split evenly among Americans over which party was more responsible: When asked “which side was more wrong,” 52.3% of respondents answered Rock was in the wrong in regards to his joke about Pinkett Smith while 47.7% said Smith was for his reaction.”

What does this say about the state of American moral sensibilities? … Especially since our nation still has a powerful Christian heritage.

This problem was not only obvious in the Smith-Rock conflict but also in the recent manslaughter conviction of an idolized rapper named Kidd Creole, who stabbed a homeless man to death in 2017 after the homeless man allegedly made a pass at Creole.

Sadly, some Reddit.com threads on the topic were filled with comments implicitly excusing Creole’s behavior because the homeless man was “a registered sex offender.”

Reading stories like this reminds us that the world is filled with evil, perversion, and violence.  But what we should find astonishing about this is the fact that these types of people are held up as some kind of Olympian ideal for the average American.

Psalm 1:1-3 advises that we should carefully choose the paths we choose to walk and the role models we exalt:

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”

The fact that Will Smith still received his Oscar, despite his behavior, demonstrates how little moral courage our country exhibits.  Americans should not celebrate or excuse the immorality and immaturity of celebrities.  We should choose better examples for our nation to emulate.  Christians ought to believe in free will, including the free will to choose morally positive icons to applaud.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Ordered to Stop Wearing Prayer Shirts

What began as an effort by some students at a Virginia high school to support the people of Ukraine has grown into a battle over free speech.

Blacksburg High School girls lacrosse players had been wearing shirts that said “Pray for Peace” and bore the Ukrainian flag.  The shirts were worn during warmups and not games. But Montgomery County school officials, with the shrugging consent of the school board, have said that the slogan is in conflict with district policy on political displays, according to The Roanoke Times (RT).  

“The Girls Lacrosse Team is no longer permitted to wear the Pray for Peace t-shirts at home or away events as warm up gear,” a school email told the students, according to TownHall. “The message conveyed by the shirts, although positive in nature and well meaning, can be interpreted as religious and political in nature.”  Even a more neutral slogan saying “Play for Peace” was rejected.  

“I find it hard to believe that our interpretation of some of the policies would politicize peace, if that’s what we’re doing here,” board member Linwood Hudson said, RT reported.

Interim Superintendent Annie Whitaker was adamant that calling for peace was a polarizing political statement.  “What is the peace from?” Whitaker said.  “A war.  And a war is rooted in what?  It’s a political war, from people who have differing views.” Whitaker said sports teams should stick to sports.  “There isn’t really a reason within a sports team to be wearing school issued uniforms that are promoting anything other than the sport,” she said.  “The purpose of that sport is to play that sport.”  Whitaker also said that because an adult gave students the shirts, even if they agree with the sentiment upon them, banning them does not become a free speech issue.  “If students weren’t being led by an adult and they said ‘hey, we’re doing this, and it’s not a time when we typically wear uniforms,’ then yes, that’s their individual speech,” Whitaker said.

Parent Clare Levison, whose daughter is a senior captain on the lacrosse team, issued a fiery Facebook rebuttal: “And the winner of today’s Insult to My Intelligence Award goes to…Montgomery County Public Schools, for telling the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team that they can’t wear their Pray for Peace t-shirts while warming up before their games,” she posted on her Facebook page.  “Pray for Peace is not a religious statement that requires separation of church and state.  It is one that all Presidents in power, regardless of political party, reference on a regular basis,” she wrote … later adding, “Pray for Peace is neither a religious nor political statement.  It is a universally accepted sentiment.”  In response to Whitaker’s claim that the war in Ukraine is about differing views, she talked about the history of genocide.  “Could someone please let the Jews know that Hitler just had a different view than they had?  Could someone please let the Buddhists know that Pol Pot just had a different view than they had?  And could someone please let the Russians who were sent to the Gulags know that Stalin just had a different view than they had?” she wrote.  “Furthermore, peace is not just freedom from war.  Peace is harmony; peace is serenity; peace is tranquility.  And don’t we all want more harmony, serenity, and tranquility in the world?” she wrote.  She then put it all in a nutshell: “When the top administrator of our county’s education system takes the stance that even peace is controversial, our moral compass hasn’t just been broken … it’s been shattered into a million tiny pieces,” she wrote, writing elsewhere, “When there is no one who will stand up for even universally accepted truths, we inch ever closer to 2+2=5.”  “Apparently, the administration of Montgomery County Public Schools wishes to remain neutral on Praying, Playing, or even Standing for Peace,” she also wrote.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

FL Law Isn’t ‘Don’t Say Gay’ But Anti-Indoctrination

The radical left just can’t stop talking about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-“grooming” law.

The left’s warped worldview prevents them from understanding why DeSantis signed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill into law March 28, or why parents don’t want their children being indoctrinated into LGBT ideology.  The rabid response to the bill’s passage has been just as telling as the left’s initial opposition.

Consider Hollywood’s response at the Oscars on March 27, the night before DeSantis signed the bill.  Hosts Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall opened the awards telecast by saying, “We’re going to have a great night tonight—and for you people in Florida, we’re going to have a gay night.”  They then repeated the word “gay” repeatedly.  

Similarly, a new ad campaign from New York Mayor Eric Adams saw several billboards erected in Florida cities such as Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach aimed at luring LGBT Americans to move to New York City.  One billboard features the text “Come to the city where you can say whatever you want,” surrounded by the word “gay” in bright, colorful letters.  Another billboard reads: “People say a lot of ridiculous things in New York.  ‘Don’t Say Gay’ isn’t one of them.”  

Douglas Blair of the Daily Signal said, “It’s comical how one-dimensional this line of attack is. In a childish criticism of genuine parental concern, woke activists accuse anyone in favor of the new Florida law of trying to ban the word ‘gay’ from the collective vocabulary.  More insidiously, they claim that trying to ban classroom instruction of LGBT topics to young kids in kindergarten through third grade is the same as banning gay people from existing at all. That’s a lie.  Americans concerned with LGBT indoctrination in schools don’t want to ban gays from existing or saying the word ‘gay.’  Their concern lies squarely with activists in classrooms grooming children.  Try as they might to pretend this type of wildly inappropriate instruction isn’t happening, the radical left can’t resist showing their hand.”

Starting in September, New Jersey’s first graders will be required to learn about gender identities, and how boys can be girls if they want.  A lesson plan, titled “Pink, Blue, and Purple,” would have students “discuss the range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may limit behavior.”  The lesson plan suggests teachers tell students that their biological sex doesn’t matter, and that they can identify as however they feel.  “You might feel like you are a boy; you might feel like you are a girl,” New Jersey’s lesson plan reads.  “You might feel like you’re a boy even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ‘girl’ parts.  You might feel like you’re a girl even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ‘boy’ parts.”

This is the sort of indoctrination that the Florida law is trying to explicitly avoid.  It’s not the word “gay,” nor is it gay people in the wider world.  It’s leftists infecting kids’ classrooms with LGBT propaganda and grooming your child before he or she can understand what’s happening.

Thankfully, Americans are beginning to wake up to the rot inflicted by gender ideology. And as much as the left tries to pretend that concerned parents are just homophobic bigots and that Florida’s legislation is aimed at denying gays exist, that argument just doesn’t hold water.

Polling data from Politico shows that a majority of Americans favor banning the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation to kids from kindergarten through third grade. That number includes 46% of independents who also support the ban, making it difficult to claim this is an effort led purely by “evil” Republicans.

The “Don’t Say Gay” label is unfair.  The bill stipulates no such thing.  Leftists should feel free to say, shout, or whisper the word “gay” as much as they want.  Just leave the kids out of it.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Can’t Target Churches for Closure in a Pandemic

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed a new law Tuesday that deems houses of worship as “essential” during an emergency and prevents any government agency from banning religious services.  It’s called The Church is Essential Act.

Kentucky Today (KT) reports the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Shane Baker (R-Somerset), called HB 43 a measure to protect religious liberty that’s a response to restrictions imposed during the recent COVID-19 emergency.  The Republican-led Kentucky House passed the bill 83-12 on March 1.

HB 43 has three main provisions, and KT described them in the following way:

• It ensures that a governmental entity shall not prohibit or restrict a religious organization during a declared emergency, to the same or greater extent than other organizations or businesses deemed essential or vital.

• The government will not take adverse action against a religious organization for being religious.

• It provides a cause of action for religious organizations that have been harmed by a discriminatory act by the government.

David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation, told KT, “The Church is Essential Act is a victory for religious freedom in our Commonwealth.  Thanks to HB 43, churches will rightfully be recognized as essential in Kentucky, and the governor’s emergency powers will never again be abused to shut down churches or discriminate against religious organizations,” Walls continued.

WDKY-TV reports the bill was modeled after similar legislation that has passed in at least four other states.  “It was after that situation there in Kentucky where we had the Supreme Court address the issue and make clear where their line should be drawn when states are using emergency powers,” Alliance Defending Freedom Attorney Greg Chafuen told the television station.

The ACLU of Kentucky doesn’t like the new Church is Essential Act.  The left-wing organization argued the bill might allow religious groups to violate emergency laws with impunity, The Courier-Journal reports.  “We believe the law, perhaps unintentionally, puts churches, or anyone loosely affiliated with one, above the law,” Kate Miller, the advocacy director for the ACLU, said.  “The First Amendment does a fine job protecting religious liberty and we don’t need Kentucky lawmakers tinkering with our constitutionally protected liberties.”

In a statement on the signing of HB 43, Beshear spokesperson Scottie Ellis said, “HB 43 does not eliminate, but instead sets parameters and a process for regulation of religious services and organizations in times of pandemic, which could provide a path for future leaders to take the necessary steps to protect Kentuckians without having those actions challenged in court.  During the pandemic, the majority of Kentucky’s clergy and houses of worship went virtual and provided counsel on vaccines, prioritizing the health and safety of their people.  As a person of faith, and also a Governor who has served during this pandemic, Gov. Beshear believes this is a workable framework for his administration and future leaders,” the statement concluded.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Tragedy

The most unrealistic thing about the Marvel superhero movies is not the fact that there are super soldier serums or literal gods from outer space … it is the fact that Marvel storylines don’t seem to believe in tragedies.  In some capacity or another, everyone gets a happy ending.

That’s a nice thought, but it doesn’t match with reality.

If the pandemic has done anything, it has driven home the fragility of society and how easily it is disturbed by something as small as a virus.  This was emphasized by a story out of Europe, which is dealing with hospitals that are at capacity and unable to treat patients due to the overwhelming number of individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 over the last two years.

“At the Royal Free Hospital in London, Dr. Leye Ajayi described a patient who faced delays in his initial cancer diagnosis.  ‘Unfortunately, when we eventually got round to seeing the patient, his cancer had already spread,’ Ajayi told Sky News.  ‘So we’re now dealing with a young patient in his mid-50s who, perhaps if we’d seen him a year ago, could have offered curative surgery.  We’re now dealing with palliative care.’”

This is the embodiment of a real-world tragedy: “a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force … having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror.”

Genesis 3:22-23 recounts the “Fall” of humanity from grace and into the curse of sin that covers the entire earth.  There God says, “‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.  He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’  So the Lord God banished Adam from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”

Death is an ever-present part of our world, no matter what many anti-aging cream and hair replacement advertisements will tell you.  We are incredibly vulnerable creatures. Our modern way of life is a major anomaly in the course of human history.  Historically, roughly 46.2% of people died before reaching adulthood.

As Job 14:1-2 proclaims, “Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble.  They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.”

The movies we consume, like Avengers, rarely close with a sad or unhappy ending (Avengers: Infinity War excepted).  All of us want to feel good when we leave the movie theater but, sometimes, we need to face up to life.

In the real world, there are not always third options and happy endings.  Decisions have consequences, even well-intentioned ones like re-directing medical resources toward fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.  The cost of these decisions is told in the lives of people like the unfortunate cancer patient in London.

Let this serve as a reminder that the choices made by leaders have real and, yes, tragic consequences.

Not everyone lives; not everyone gets to walk off into the sunset.  Humanity is fallen and fragile, always at the mercy of death that was introduced through sin.

Nonetheless, Revelation 19:11 gives us prophetic assurance that Jesus will return: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.  With justice he judges and wages war.”

Let us never forget this sobering fact, even as we live in the hope of the resurrection to come.  We will never see perfection achieved in our earthly lives.  Perfect justice, peace, and tranquility will only happen when the King returns.

Let us all eagerly await that day.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Pride Goeth Before the Fall

Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”  No more apt a phrase could be used to describe the conceit of Russia’s dictator.

Vladimir Putin recently appeared wearing a $13,160 jacket, $11,582 watch, and $796 trainers.  In sharp contrast, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has been viewed in numerous interviews wearing a simple green T-shirt.

The image of Putin’s out-of-touch opulence invokes the embarrassing decadence of the spoiled princes of bygone centuries.  Zelensky’s humble image is one of bare-knuckled, popularly supported resilience that is reminiscent of America’s patriots in 1776.

As an opinion article recently reported:

“Though right now, Zelensky is likely less concerned with his legacy and more focused on keeping his citizens alive.  It’s one thing to arm your soldiers with advanced weaponry – the importance of which is unquestioned.  But it’s a gifted leader’s responsibility to arm their people with something equally powerful: inspiration, motivation and national pride.”

Zelensky has given his people hope.

That is an idea that is hard to grasp in a cynical post-modernist world.  But hope is exactly what President Zelensky has provided for his nation.

Zelensky has also provided hope to the rest of the Western world.  As one Ukrainian philosopher put it, the conflict over Ukraine’s borders is “about whether democracy, rule of law, are spreading farther to the east.”

For too long the West has sleepwalked through the world in a stupor, hesitant to believe in the beauty of freedom.  But maybe it is time to finally rid ourselves of the autocrats like Putin who live in their gilded cages and dress in fine clothes bought with stolen wealth.

There is a piece of artwork being circulated on Facebook of a pregnant woman who represents the nation of Ukraine.  One Ukrainian user captioned the image, saying, “it portrays that Ukraine is pregnant with the new world [where freedom is the norm] … Ukraine is fighting for it under missile attacks, with blood, sweat, and tears.  And it will give birth, because we know that when the time comes, labor cannot be stopped.”

This imagery is reminiscent of the way the Apostle Paul describes his efforts to spread the Kingdom of God to the gentiles in Galatians 4:19: “I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”

Although Christians know this world will always be clouded by evil and darkness, there are times when the light can shine through.  The “darkest hour” will not last forever.  It is time for people to stand up with a renewed hope in freedom.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Paying Dearly for Discriminating Against Churches

California was – and continues to be – one of the most regressive states in the U.S. when it comes to COVID related restrictions— coming down especially hard on churches.  While bars and superstores and other establishment venues were permitted to open up, churches and other places of worship were still being shut down, and their congregants required to mask up or be vaccinated.

Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) tells American Family News it made no sense.  “Governors cannot treat churches differently than other essential entities and organizations,” he argues.  “If they’re going to allow a hardware store or a marijuana dispensary or a liquor store to open up, they better also allow a church to open up.”

Being a law firm focused on defending religious freedom, PJI did what it knows best to do: it went to court.  “We first had to seek an emergency writ from the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in order to get the governor of California – and the county of Santa Clara, specifically – to allow churches to reopen,” Dacus explains.  “After liquor stores and pot shops and department stores were allowed to open, these churches were still closed.”  None other than the SCOTUS eventually weighed in about a year ago, and agreed with Dacus.

PJI and five churches in Santa Clara County last week reached a six-figure settlement – the PJI founder couldn’t share the exact amount – and obtained a ruling that allowed churches to exercise their biblical mandate of meeting together.  The legal victory, according to Dacus, ensures those churches will continue to offer opportunities for individuals to secure their eternal destinies – which is “the best kind of remuneration,” he says.  And the financial settlement, he adds, should be a warning to other jurisdictions. “Hopefully this will send a signal loud and clear to governments across America that when they decide to shut churches down, there may be a price they have to pay,” the attorney concludes.  

The Santa Clara County churches represented by PJI – in a joint effort with the Cannistraci Law Firm and McAllister Law Group – are Gateway City Church, The Home Church, The Spectrum Church, Orchard Community Church, and Trinity Bible Church.

 

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

Don’t Be Ignorant of Evil

Proverbs 22:3 says that “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.”

Ignorance is not only physically dangerous, it also has spiritual pitfalls.  Ephesians 4:18 says, “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”

Ignorance is the exact danger faced by the Russian people in light of the Ukrainian invasion.  A Slavic media expert now based in the United States stated that many Russian people remain ignorant of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.  As he put it: “On one side, they’re the victims of the propaganda.  But on the other side, it’s their decision to trust the propaganda and to deny even not just the alternative Information, but even the fact that alternative information exists.”

While comparisons with the Nazis are overused, in this situation, it is not unfair to say that the Russian people ought to think carefully about their own potential complicity in Putin’s violence, lest they be remembered like the German people who claimed ignorance of Hitler’s concentration camps.

As one Guardian article put it: “Conventional wisdom among post war historians has been that – as Lord Dahrendorf, ex-warden of St Antony’s College, Oxford, says in his study Society and Democracy in Germany (1966) – ‘It is certainly true that most Germans ‘did not know’ about National Socialist crimes of violence; nothing precise, that is, because they did not ask any questions.’”

The Russian people should not stay silent or ignore information about the war in Ukraine, especially in a nation where almost 60% of the population identifies as Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Fortunately, a brave few have risen up in protest.  Unfortunately, they have paid a high price, as one article reported: “One woman stood quietly just a few meters from a corner of the Kremlin with a paper sign reading ‘No to war.’  She lasted just a few minutes before riot police trundled her off to a waiting van.”

As sad as these stories are, God promises in James 1:12 that Christians will be rewarded for our adherence to the truth: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

In the United States, Christians ought to do everything in our power to support not only Ukrainians but also Russian expatriates, many of whom are fleeing now that the police are cracking down on those who dare to protest Putin’s war.  

CNN reported on the dire situation that such dissidents face:

“New legislation was passed in Russia in early March that can send people to prison for up to 15 years for posting or sharing information about the war that the authorities deem to be false.”

Nonetheless, these odds should not discourage Christians across the globe.  No matter what ultimately happens in Ukraine, God is in control.  As we are promised in Romans 8:38-39, good will ultimately prevail:

“Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

God’s Creation of Women is Definable

Proverbs 12:22 says, “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.”

Duplicity has always been opposed to Christian virtue, even if one’s words or actions are not outright lies.  Christians must always endeavor to speak the truth, no matter what it costs us personally.

Our belief in God and faith in the hope of the resurrection ought to make us fearless in the face of death or other tribulations thrown at us by the world around us.  Unfortunately, many self-proclaimed Christians fail this test of fearlessness in the face of political scrutiny.

This is no more evident than in the political side-shows that the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices have become.

When Justice Brett Kavanaugh was pressured over allegations of attempting to sexually assault a woman at a teenage house party in the 1980s, this was clearly a duplicitous political proxy war between the parties instead of a genuine effort to scrutinize his character.

Why?  Because similar amounts of scrutiny were not leveled at Bill Clinton, the then President of the United States, when more credible allegations of sexual assault were made against him.

The only difference was what could be gained, politically, from pursuing those allegations.

Thomas Aquinas once wrote that “it is more in opposition to truth, considered as a moral virtue, to tell the truth with the intention of telling a falsehood than to tell a falsehood with the intention of telling the truth.”

It is hard to believe the Senators asking about Justice Kavanaugh’s history genuinely cared about “believing” women.  Especially since so many of them stood to gain a great deal from discrediting him.  They denied the “truth” about what motivated their actions.

Similarly, for the newest Supreme Court justice, when she was a nominee before her Senate Judiciary hearing, she used a current ideology that denies the “truth” of the existence of women.

This idea is erasing the female half of the male/female dynamic created by God in Genesis 1:27, which “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s asserted before the United States Senate that she was “unqualified” to define what a woman was when she was being cross-examined.

Unlike Justice Kavanaugh’s case, the Senators in this instance were asking about her legal opinion, which is legally relevant to Brown Jackson’s potential adjudication on Title IX and Fourteenth Amendment claims regarding sex.

In the wake of the Lia Thomas swimming scandal, there are ridiculous articles being written asserting that there are no biological differences between men and women: “there is a lack of scientific evidence that conclusively demonstrates a direct link between testosterone and athletic performance.”

In light of current events surrounding women’s sports, it is reasonable to ask for the opinion of a legal scholar who has certainly been closely following the Title IX cases across the country regarding trans-athletes.

Brown Jackson knows full well that the goal of this hearing is to say as little as possible in order to avoid saying anything controversial.  As a result, the truth of “womanhood” and the truth of women’s rights have taken a back-seat to an attempt at political theater.

Brown Jackson, a self-proclaimed Christian of some sort, needs to be better.

As a collective, Christians need to be less afraid of their angered political parties, less afraid of the donations they’ll lose, less afraid of disgrace, and less afraid of angry constituents, less afraid of public embarrassment.  The truth that women are under attack is being exchanged for a lie.

Women are real.  They deserve the dignity of having their existence recognized and their rights protected.

If “Christian” Supreme Court justices will not do that, who will?

As Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Discrimination on Display

Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas expanded the lawsuit – as well as the preliminary injunction the court issued in January – to now prevent punishment of any Navy personnel who (1) have religious objections to the Department of Defense’s vaccine mandate and (2) have requested a religious accommodation from the mandate.

In his decision, Judge Reed O’Connor stated:

“Here, the potential class members have suffered the ‘same injury,’ arising from violations of their constitutional rights.  Each has submitted a religious accommodation request, and each has had his request denied, delayed, or dismissed on appeal.  Exactly zero requests have been granted.  And while Defendants encourage this Court to disregard the data, it is hard to imagine a more consistent display of discrimination.  As previously explained in this Court’s preliminary injunction order, Plaintiffs have suffered the serious injury of infringement of their religious liberty rights under RFRA and the First Amendment.”

The original injunction was issued in favor of dozens of elite Navy SEALs.  Mike Berry of First Liberty Institute (FLI) explains that from the get-go, his legal group hoped to support more than the roughly three dozen elite Navy personnel in the original lawsuit – and specifically asked O’Connor to allow that.  “We knew early on that we wanted to expand the relief from just the 35 SEALs that we represent,” Berry tells American Family News. “We wanted to help as many people as we could.  So, we submitted a motion to the judge asking him to expand this to a class action for the entire Navy – and that’s what he did.”

Berry, who is director of military affairs for FLI, says according to the latest data more than 4,000 sailors have requested religious exemptions from the vaccine mandate.  “I think the law is in our favor – and the facts are in our favor … so I have a high degree of confidence,” the attorney shares.  “I mean, no lawyer is ever going to tell you that they’re a hundred percent confident – but I feel as strongly about this case as I have about any other case that we have.  We just need to make sure that the judges are also in our favor.”

Berry expects it will still be several months before the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on their case.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

‘MOLDY’ CHRISTIANS

Definition of Mold:

#1. Cavity used to shape a substance.

#2. A fungus that grows on decaying material.  Intransitive verb: to become moldy.

Either definition can be used to describe some Christians and churches today.  Some have been “pushed” into the world’s way of thinking by outside forces (parents, professors/teachers, movies, T.V., music, etc.).  Without a solid pattern of Christ in their lives, these people easily conform to faulty thinking and behavior for simply “not knowing any better.”

Others have allowed a decaying of their Christianity to occur from living unhealthy spiritual lives.  Lack of consistent study in the Bible and of a prayer life, unhealthy relationships all shut off the Holy Spirit’s teaching, directing, and empowering them to build and grow in Christ.  Hence, their inner structures are vulnerable to rot, decay, and the moldiness of the world’s philosophies.

1 Timothy 3:16 assures us that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  Without these as constants in our lives we may miss the errors of our ways.  Our wrong thinking, believing, behaving will continue without the aid of rebuke, or correction— much less the on-going training needed.

Have you wondered why many Christians are so accepting of worldliness? or so easily caught up in sexual immorality, liberal philosophy, materialism, and the like?  They have probably become “moldy” in their Christian lives.  If they do not understand their faith in Christ, then they have no means for standing against the “fiery trials” (1 Peter 4:12) or the “wily schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

Are we prepared to be serious in the war against the mold that is creeping into and growing in the lives of our young and old alike?  Are we giving them the knowledge and tools to break the ungodly molds of this world to break free and be transformed in Christ? Only then will we see the spiritual resolve to resist, to stand firm, and to inform our lost and dying world with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Without this our churches will continue to be lukewarm and feeble, and our nation will continue to fail.

In the structure of a house, mold and mildew (fungus) must be removed, cleaned out and eliminated or the structure will soon collapse.  

It is time to begin anew.  It is time to fight back with God’s truth.  It is time to begin a new and strong plan for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.  Start in the nursery and work it through all ages.  Do not bypass anyone.  Make your church the neighborhood Bible school and seminary for teaching and training— to instruct for change and real Christlikeness.  Measure all teaching by God’s Word, and none other.  It must be the standard.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

A Mandate for Heroism

Deuteronomy 31:6 paints a portrait of courage to inspire Christians in the face of evil: “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Although modern Christians are not living through the same trials and tribulations as the Jewish people in the book of Deuteronomy, these words serve as a goal to which all of us can strive.

In a similar way, the “portrait” that has grown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been inspiring because of the ideals this portrait depicts.

The Russia-Ukrainian conflict has been described as the “'first war fought on TikTok” as President Zelensky, along with the Ukrainian people, has spread real-time information about the conflict to people across the globe.

Zelensky’s image of courage has almost single-handedly shifted western expectations of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.  As one article reported:

“The Ukrainian leader’s defiance has inspired and shamed the United States and the European Union into going far further – and far faster – in turning Russia into a pariah state than it appeared they were ready to go.

This is not the time for hesitation.  Now is not the time for cowardice.  Now is the time for decisive action against a tyrannical leader who wants to expand his despotic regime.

The example of courage set by the leadership of Zelensky ought to inspire westerners and spur them to action.

George Washington can be genuinely described as a modern-day Cincinnatus (the Roman statesman who willingly resigned from his power over Rome and returned to his farm). Nonetheless, the real-life George Washington did not sheepishly admit to his father that he had chopped down a cherry tree, but this apocryphal tale nonetheless serves as an example of honesty for American schoolchildren.

The epic tale of Ukrainian heroism ought to be an inspiration for all of us to stand up to Vladimir Putin.  As Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Christianity is not a religion of pacifism.  The Church Fathers were proponents of Just War Theory because they understood that to stand silent in the face of evil is to become complicit in its action.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

1st Amendment Victory for Religious Convictions

Catholic Charities (CC) West Michigan will remain open after state officials agreed under court order to pay the nonprofit’s attorney’s fees and acknowledged that taking actions against the charity for its beliefs would violate the 1st Amendment.  

CC prioritizes placing children up for adoption or in foster care with a married mother and father.  The group filed a lawsuit with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) after Michigan officials gave the nonprofit the ultimatum to either close its adoption and foster care ministry or change its policy prioritizing a married mother and father to receive a child.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MIDHHS) agreed to pay Catholic Charities $250,000 in attorney’s fees and costs associated with the lawsuit, the ADF announced.  The agency also conceded in court that it cannot take adverse actions against the nonprofit for not approving a same-sex or unmarried couple for foster care or adoption.  “More adoption and foster care providers mean more children have the chance to be adopted or cared for by a foster family,” ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus said in a press release.  “Catholic Charities West Michigan meets a critical need as one of the region’s largest social service providers, reuniting children with their birth parents and placing foster kids in loving homes,” Galus said.  “We are pleased Catholic Charities can continue its vital mission serving vulnerable families in Michigan without being punished by the government simply because it’s operating according to its religious beliefs — the very reason the ministry exists in the first place.”

The western Michigan nonprofit helps more than 30,000 people annually and has placed about 4,500 children in homes, the ADF said.  When the lawsuit reached a settlement earlier this month, MIDHHS announced that it would create a new task force “to support LGBTQ+ families who want to adopt or foster children.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

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

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel