| 01/05/2023 | | Presented by ACLJ |
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| | Pro-life groups launch private investigation to find pro-choice vandals | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Thursday, Jan. 5, and today's headlines include an independent investigation to find vandals who attacked pregnancy centers across the U.S. last year, a family of eight found shot dead inside a Utah home, disabilities advocate Katherine Wolf's comments at Passion 2023, and an interview with country singer Granger Smith. | | CompassCare, a network of pro-life pregnancy centers in upstate New York, has announced that it is partnering with the Thomas More Society, a law firm "dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, religious liberty, and election integrity," to hire private investigators to search for the perpetrators of pro-abortion violence. In June of last year, vandals broke the windows of CompassCare’s Buffalo office, lit fires at the facility and spray-painted graffiti on the outside of the building. The pro-abortion group Jane's Revenge, whose members and leadership are anonymous, claimed credit for attacking Compass Care and several other pro-life pregnancy centers. Although the FBI has offered a $25,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of the firebombing of the pro-life organization’s Buffalo office, CEO Jim Harden believes the federal government’s efforts thus far are not in good faith, stating, "If the FBI is interested in quelling the nationwide hate crimes against Christian pro-life organizations, they would offer a reward for information leading to the arrests of all 78 attacks, not just for the pro-abortion terrorists who bombed our facility." | | Multiple attacks were directed at pro-life pregnancy centers and churches in the wake of Politico's publication of a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in early May. The violence continued throughout the summer following the official Dobbs ruling, which overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Harden indicated the current initiative with the Thomas More Society kicked off several weeks ago but that his organization has had a relationship with the law firm for months. Harden also added that the investigation is not only focused on finding the perpetrators of the violent acts committed against the Buffalo facility but also "trying to find the perpetrators for … all these crimes against … specifically pregnancy centers" nationwide. Continue reading. | | P.S. Looking for a way to close out your week? Stay in the know with In Case You Missed It, a Friday-only newsletter that features a roundup of the top stories of the week and a selection of faith-based highlights. Subscribe here. |
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| Family of 8, including 5 children, found shot dead in Utah home | | Eight family members, including five children and an adult described as a "leader" in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were found shot dead inside a home in Enoch City, Utah, on Wednesday. "Each appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds. At this time, we do not believe there is a threat to the public or that there are any suspects at large," city officials said in a statement, adding that an investigation into the deaths remains ongoing. Officers were called to do a welfare check at the home when the dead family members, who have not yet been publicly identified, were discovered inside. Neighbors described the family as loving members of the Mormon church, while city councilman Richard Jensen told The New York Times, "This was a respected community member and church leader, and it is sending shock waves." Court records cited by KSL-TV indicate the wife recently filed for divorce. Read more. | | Lawsuit: International Churches of Christ abused, financially pressured members | | Five California women have filed a lawsuit against the International Churches of Christ, a racially diverse and theologically conservative nondenominational body of co-operating Christian congregations, along with their affiliated organizations. The women allege that the ICOC and affiliates Hope Worldwide, Mercy Worldwide, the International Christian Church and the City of Angels International Christian Church "indoctrinated" them and kept them isolated from the outside world while they were exploited sexually and manipulated through a "rigid" system of belief. The women, who have accused the groups of covering up child sexual abuse, also say members were so pressured for money that some left the church and later killed themselves. Read more. |
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| Major scientific study confirms what we all knew about male, female | | A study first reported widely on Fortune.com found that, "Women are more empathetic than men, study of hundreds of thousands of people finds—at any age and in any country in the world." Dr. Michael Brown discusses two key elements of these findings: the reality that there is such a thing as women and men and that there are real differences between the two sexes. "Yes, presupposed in this major international study, which involved 300,000 participants, is the fact that there is such a thing as males and females. They really exist, and their existence can be defined, despite efforts to make 'woman' (and, by extension) 'man' undefinable," Brown writes. Read more. | | Golden Rule vs. Platinum Rule: How should Christians respond? | | While the Golden Rule calls for a person to treat others as they want to be treated, many people advocate for the Platinum Rule, a corporate invention that calls for a person to treat others as they want to be treated. In this editorial, Rev. Justin Clemente discusses the importance of the Golden Rule and why Jesus is the key, concluding, "Again and again, in the New Testament, Jesus gives us not what we want, but what we need." Read more. |
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| Young Christian SENTENCED TO DEATH | | Matthew, He was a 16-year-old Christian boy when he was falsely accused; now he was JUST sentenced to death for his faith. Shahzad Masih has been sentenced to execution by hanging in Pakistan for blasphemy over statements he didn't even make. Sign Our NEW Petition | | A radical Muslim sectarian group manufactured the charges against this Christian boy when he was a minor and then pressured the judge to have him executed. | | Now this young Christian man will hang for his Christian faith. | | We've mobilized our legal team on the ground in Pakistan to represent him and JUST filed to appeal his case. We must have this vile miscarriage of justice overturned. This is the ultimate abominable human rights violation, and we'll take this case all the way to Pakistan's Supreme Court. | | We've helped free Christians – like Christian mom Asia Bibi who was charged under the same barbaric law – from death row in Pakistan before, but we can't do it without YOU. | | No one should be put to death for their faith. Time is of the essence. Take urgent action with us. Sign Our NEW Petition | | |
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| Disabilities advocate Katherine Wolf poses challenge to Gen Z | | Disabilities advocate and Christian author Katherine Wolf challenged thousands of young attendees at Passion 2023 to see pain as growth and to find the "hidden treasure" in the darkest times of life. Wolf, who experienced a brain bleed from a massive brain stem stroke that nearly killed her at the age of 26, subsequently found herself unable to walk, talk or swallow. She was also left with severe double vision, right ear deafness, and right-side facial paralysis. "I heard early on after the storm, 'Katherine is wheelchair bound,'" she said. "You may have heard this expression, 'wheelchair-bound.' And it just never really settled right with me. And I realized that's because I'm not wheelchair-bound; I'm actually living in wheelchair freedom. And the reason for that is because this wheelchair enables me to go where I need to go … this is my vehicle, the means, to where I live out my story for God's glory. And the same is true for you and your inner wheelchair," she told the crowd. "Life is hard ... But I believe we can live so well in the hard. … You have a stunning capacity to endure incredibly hard because of Jesus in your story." Read more. | | UMC traditionalist group shuts down in response to new denomination | | The Confessing Movement, an unofficial theologically conservative caucus within the United Methodist Church that was formed in 1994, closed down on Christmas Eve in response to the launch of a new conservative Methodist denomination, viewing it as the fulfillment of their work. Patricia Miller, who served as executive director of the Confessing Movement, told The Christian Post in an interview on Tuesday that they felt their work had been "completed" with the formation of the Global Methodist Church last year. "Our goal for a faithful denomination has been met," Miller explained, adding, "We believe our ministry has been completed with the Global Methodist Church. I don’t want it to sound like we’ve given up. I just think we need to be clear that we’ve accomplished a goal that needed to be accomplished." Although the Confessing Movement officially closed on Dec. 31, the group is still undertaking measures to finalize the closure, including closing bank accounts. Read more. |
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| Great American Family the ‘Fastest growing network’ in cable | | Actress Candace Cameron Bure took to Instagram to thank her fans for making Great American Family the "fastest growing network" in all of cable TV. Bure became an executive at GAC Media last year. The network also celebrated the news in a tweet, writing, "Great news for Great American Media’s #GreatAmericanFamily to end 2022 & an even better way to start 2023. Happy New Year to everyone who helped make this happen, from people on-camera & off, but especially our viewers!" In just its second year of existence, the channel ranked "No. 1 in total day ratings growth in households (+113%)," ages 18-49 (+100%) and total viewership (+116%) and No. 1 in "Primetime ratings growth in households (+128%) among all cable networks," per Nielsen. Read more. | | 'Moonrise': Country Star Granger Smith talks grief, finding joy again | | Country singer Granger Smith stars in the new film "Moonrise," which centers on the story of a man grappling with the death of his wife. The AFFRIM Originals movie, which is streaming on PureFlix, depicts the grief and struggles that families endure during the holidays and other important dates, including birthdays and anniversaries. Smith is no stranger to grief following the tragic death of his young son, River, in a pool accident in 2019. "The ultimate message of this film is going to be there is hope," the singer told The Christian Post. "There is peace; there is rest on the other side of grief. You will feel joy again. In fact, you could feel joy now simultaneously with grief. You just don't always see it because we got our face down, and we're just kind of stuck." Smith also discussed coming to the realization that he was a "cultural Christian" and how listening to a Billy Graham sermon on YouTube changed him, inspiring him to "pick up the Bible and start reading and start craving and start going page after page because I didn't want to miss any words in His Word." Read more. | | | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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