07/15/2022
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Curated for you byCP Editors
Good afternoon! It's Friday, July 15, and today's headlines include a poll on America's views on religious freedom, details on World Vision's mission to address the growing global hunger crisis, and a CP Exclusive from Dr. Richard D. Land.
A report from Lifeway Research shows that more than half of all Americans say religious tolerance for Christians is on the decline, yet more than a third also believe Christians complain too much about how they are treated in society. The study, which surveyed more than 1,000 Americans last September, showed that nearly 60% agreed that "Christians increasingly are confronted by intolerance in America today." Those who attend a worship service at least four times per month (64%) are more likely to believe religious liberty is on the decline in the U.S. than those who attend less than once per month (53%). The religiously unaffiliated, or "nones," were the least likely (40%) to agree religious liberty is on the decline.
Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, noted, "Freedoms are not limitless. As some groups seek more freedom, it often encroaches on another's freedom. It's not surprising those who are more religiously active are the ones noticing reductions in religious freedom compared to those who don't practice religion." Read more.

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World Vision President and CEO Edgar Sandoval, Sr., recently visited several food insecure communities in Kenya. Sandoval says the pandemic, compounded by the war in Ukraine, climate shocks and inflation, has turned a once looming hunger crisis into a present danger for nearly 4 million people in the East African nation and millions more around the globe. Now, Sandoval is seeking to raise $2 billion to meet the increasing needs of growing food insecurity in at least 25 countries. "We are putting the full force of our 70-plus year experience and all our resources into this response. This is job number one. We're doing food distribution; we're doing cash transfers. We're enabling treatments to malnourished children," he explained. Read more.
The family of 8-year-old Cooper Roberts, who was shot during the Fourth of July shooting in Highland Park, Ill., is asking for prayers and support as the child's condition deteriorated on Tuesday, requiring him to undergo a complex surgery. A bullet severed Roberts' spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed below the waist. Although his condition was upgraded to "serious" over the weekend and he was taken off the ventitaltor, Roberts briefly gained the ability to speak before he became critical again on Tuesday, with one of his lungs collapsing and an infection bringing on a fever. He was forced to undergo another surgery, his seventh operation since the shooting. Read more.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed House Bill 972 last week, a bill that would have banned boys who identify as female from competing in scholastic sports designated for girls. Wolf said he believed the proposed legislation was "discriminatory, unnecessary, and incredibly harmful." Wolf accused the state's Republican-led General Assembly of trying to "bully and oppress vulnerable children." Last month, Louisiana became the 18th state to pass a law prohibiting male athletes from competing in girls' sports due to in part to concerns over fairness in athletic competitions because they have a physical advantage over female athletes. Wolf's veto comes amidst the debate of trans-identified University of Pennslyvania swimmer Lia Thomas, formerly known as Will Thomas, who has won multiple titles and broken records for National Collegiate Athletic Association women's swimming despite objections from multiple groups and fellow members of the Pennsylvania university's women's swim team. Read more.
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In this CP Exclusive, Dr. Richard D. Land discusses Americans' lack of knowledge regarding Roe v. Wade and abortion around the world, noting that most Americans are unaware that, "prior to last month’s Dobbs decision, the United States was 'one of only seven nations—including China and North Korea—that allowed abortions on demand after 20 weeks of pregnancy. In fact, 75% of the nations limit abortions after 12 weeks.'" Highlighting Roe as an exercise in "raw judicial power" that "was so flawed that even the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the most liberal justices to ever grace the Supreme Court, labeled Roe 'unnecessary' and 'heavy-handed judicial intervention,'" Land discusses why its reversal is a "tremendous victory" for the unborn and mothers, as well as where Americans go from here. Read more.
In this op-ed, Westside Christian Fellowship Pastor Shane Idleman writes about the desire to truly experience God. Drawing on Scripture, Idleman highlights the importance of using prayer to seek God, explaining how God fills an empty vessel, permanently changing them. "Full surrender is the only way to recapture the power of the Spirit. Like Isaiah, we’ve been bought with a price, and we must surrender to our King’s will," he writes. Read more.
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Are you looking to build a life of purity and devotion to Christ? The first show on our list is the "Let's Talk Purity" podcast, which will help you do just that. Richard and Brittni De La Mora are back to inspire you to think deeper about your faith.
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Michael J. New, a researcher and associate scholar at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, noted in a piece for National Review that he doubts a recent Gallup poll's findings suggesting an increase in the number of Americans that support abortion. New explained that most of the increase in support for legal abortion appears to have occurred among racial minorities, but this opinion seems too sudden, especially when compared to the lack of change one way or the other for white respondents. In a statement to The Christian Post, New said, "It makes little sense that the leak of the Dobbs decision would have a large impact on the views of racial minorities but only a marginal impact on the attitude of whites." The poll found that just 10% of "people of color" thought abortion should be "illegal in all" circumstances, while previous Gallup polls indicated that 23% of "total Hispanic or non-white Americans" believed abortion should be "illegal in all" circumstances." The researcher expressed doubt that a 13% drop could have taken place while the overall attitudes of non-minorities on abortion appear to have stayed the same. New also noted its "unusual findings" regarding attitudes of low-income earners. He has asked Gallup to provide a detailed racial breakdown of the results of their 2022 abortion poll and that they consider commissioning another poll on abortion attitudes. Read more.
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Christian leaders took to social media on Thursday to offer condolences following the death of Bethel Church leader Beni Johnson. From singer Natalie Grant to worship leader Sean Feucht, multiple pastors, leaders, and performers offered prayers and words of comfort. Popular worship leader Brandon Lake, who also got his start at Bethel, said he is "grateful Beni's fingerprints are on my life." Read more.
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