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Good afternoon! It's Wednesday, November 30, and today's headlines include research on Americans' giving habits, reactions to the Senate passing the Respect for Marriage Act, and calls from Iran for the U.S. to be booted from the World Cup for posting an altered image of the Iranian flag on social media.
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A report from The American Bible Society has revealed that Scripture engaged Americans donated more than $100 billion to charity in 2021, outpacing the other subgroups surveyed. The research, which was based on responses from nearly 2,600 U.S. adults in January 2022, found that charitable giving among Scripture engaged Americans accounted for 44% of all donations given to charity last year. While Scripture engaged Americans gave an average of $2,941 to charity, their counterparts, the "movable middle" and the Scripture disengaged gave an average of $649 and $924 to charity last year, respectively. The findings also showed that a majority of donations made by the Scripture engaged went to their church, parish or temple, followed by national religious charities, other
religious organizations and local non-religious charities. Practicing Christians (81%) also donated money to charity at a higher rate than their non-practicing (61%) and non-Christian counterparts (52%). Continue reading.
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The United States Senate passed the "Respect for Marriage Act" on Tuesday, legislation that would codify federal legal protections for same-sex marriage, despite religious liberty concerns voiced by many conservative groups. The measure was passed in a vote of 61-36, with 12 Republicans joining all Senate Democrats in supporting the measure. It is expected to be signed by Democrat President Joe Biden. This article from CP highlights five
reactions to the Senate vote, including Family Research Council President Tony Perkins declaring "the (Dis)Respect for Marriage Act" will make "people prime targets for government harassment, investigation, prosecution, even civil action" and Alliance Defending Freedom's Ryan Bangert stating, "It does nothing to change the legal status of same-sex marriage anywhere. But it undermines religious freedom everywhere and exposes Americans throughout the country to predatory lawsuits." Read more.
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Also of Interest...
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Becket Law is declaring victory after the Biden administration failed to appeal a court decision blocking a federal mandate requiring medical facilities and staff to perform body mutilating gender transition surgeries, despite religious objections. Becket Law's Luke Goodrich took to Twitter to announce that the administration had not filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court regarding an earlier decision blocking the mandate, tweeting, "[T]his win is FINAL." An Obama-era rule under the Affordable Care Act that required healthcare providers to perform so-called gender transition procedures has been at the heart of much litigation from religious groups and others. While former President Donald Trump moved to repeal the 2016 rule, some courts restored parts of the
mandate, and Biden revived the rule upon taking office. In August, a Fifth Circuit three-judge panel released a unanimous decision in favor of the Franciscan Alliance in the case of Franciscan Alliance, Inc. et al. v. Xavier Becerra, upholding a lower court’s permanent injunction against the mandate. Read more.
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Also of Interest...
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Timothy Jason Jeltema, 31, a former student minister at a Southern Baptist church in Texas, has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to online sexual abuse of a child. Jeltema was arrested and charged with several charges of online sexual abuse of a minor in 2018 after an unnamed minor accused him of sending her nude photos of himself over a period of several months and asked her to send him sexually explicit photos in return. Authorities at the time believed that Jeltema had asked for photographs from around two dozen minors, ABC News 13 reported at the time of his arrest. Jeltema’s charges came just one month after he was fired from Champion Forest Baptist Church in Harris County for an unrelated issue regarding communication with an 18-year-old. Read more.
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Exclusive columnist Wallace B. Henley writes about delusions surrounding socialism, explaining that modern idealists mistakenly believe there is little need for borders and limitations. "Satan detests boundaries that establish a zone where he is not in charge," Henley explains, adding, "The spirit of chaos is thus opposition and imposition. All spiritual warfare is therefore about displacement and all displacement has to do with boundaries." Read more.
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In this op-ed, Dr. Michael Brown reflects on the film "Miracle on 34th Street" and how Kris Kringle promoting a spirit of brotherly love ultimately inspired customer loyalty for Macy's. Brown cautions that the Republican Party must behave similarly, asserting, "If the Republicans tear each other apart for the next two years in the lead-up to the primaries and the general elections, the Democrats could win decisively. If the Republicans can show a united front, the Democrats could lose by a landslide." Read more.
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After Jesus completes a sermon that turns the world upside down, all 12 disciples (including newcomer Judas) are ready to follow him to the ends of the earth. But problems remain. Matthew wrestles with estrangement from his family. Andrew visits an imprisoned John the Baptist. Mary and the women must find a source of income. Simon and Eden face the costs of following Jesus.
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If you haven't seen Seasons 1 & 2, search " The Chosen" wherever you get your apps and on your streaming devices. |
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Data published by the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics show that just 46.2% of the country's more than 67 million people say they are a Christian, a drop from 59.3% when the last census was done in 2011. This marks the first time since 1801, when the United Kingdom took its first census, that less than half of the population has identified as "Christian." Meanwhile, 22.2 million people (37.2%) reported that they had "no religion," a sharp uptick from the 14.1 million people (25.2%) who reported having "no religion" in 2011. Read more.
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On Saturday, the U.S. Soccer Federation posted photos on social media of an altered image of Iran's flag, removing the Islamic Republic emblem and showing only the flag's colors, as a show of support for protesters in Iran. The Iranian Football Federation now plans to file a complaint with FIFA's ethics committee. Iran's state media agency, Tasnim News Agency, has also called for the U.S. to be suspended from the tournament due to the social media post, tweeting, "By posting a distorted image of the flag of the Islamic Republic of #Iran on its official account, the #US football team breached the @FIFAcom charter, for which a 10-game suspension is the appropriate penalty. Team #USA should be kicked out of the #WorldCup2022." U.S. Men's National Soccer Team head coach
Gregg Berhalter apologized for the image during a Monday news conference, adding that the team "had no idea" what the U.S. Soccer account posted. Read more.
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"Strange World," the latest Disney animated movie with a pro-LGBT subplot is expected to lose at least $100 million in its theatrical run after a dismal box office performance over the Thanksgiving holiday. The sci-fi comedy about a family of explorers on a mission to save the planet from a mysterious ecological crisis features a subplot about a gay 16-year-old boy named Ethan—voiced by comedian Jaboukie Young-White—who is romantically attracted to another boy. Ethan marks the first openly gay character in a Disney film, according to Yahoo News. The film's opening weekend, which grossed just $18.6 million, marks one of Disney's weakest opening weekends in recent memory. Young-White, who was raised Catholic, hasn't shied away from making controversial comments about Christianity, once referring to Jesus Christ as "looking cute as f— on the cross." Read more.
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Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors
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