| | Arizona gov. signs law prohibiting discrimination against faith-based adoption, foster care agencies | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Friday, April 8, and today's headlines include Arizona's new law aimed at protecting faith-based adoption and foster care agencies, a discussion on how churches can do more to address mental illness, and details regarding GLAAD CEO Sara Kate Ellis' call for more LGBT stories in children's programming. | Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a bill prohibiting discrimination against faith-based foster care and adoption organizations, including forcing them to place children in same-sex households when it goes against their religious beliefs. Senate Bill 1399, which was signed on Wednesday, says the state government or anyone suing to enforce a law "may not take any discriminatory action against" a person or group that "declines to provide" adoption or foster care services due to "the person’s religious belief or exercise of religion." In response, Scottsdale-based Alliance Defending Freedom released a statement praising the state for "enacting these critical protections and keeping kids first." In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in the case of Fulton v. City of Philadelphia that a Catholic charity could not be excluded from a government foster care program because they would not place children with same-sex couples for religious reasons. In Case You Missed It ...Hillsong Worship pulls out of Casting Crowns tour: 'The church is hurting'Fasting for financial breakthroughLecrae on prayer, new app partnership | | P.S. Will you stand with us? Here's how you can help: Support us with a paid subscription to CP Magazine, Follow us on social media (Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, GETTR), and Subscribe to and Share our newsletters with your family and friends. We're only getting started—stay tuned, stay involved, and stand firm in truth with us. |
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| Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed to SCOTUS | | The United States Senate voted 53-47 on Thursday to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the first African American woman to get a seat on the highest court in the nation. Jackson will replace Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer when he retires at the end of the current session later this summer. The vote primarily fell along party lines, though Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine joined 50 Democrat senators to support the nomination. In a statement emailed to supporters, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel denounced Jackson as an activist who would advance a radical agenda, writing, "Jackson has proved to be in lockstep with the far left’s political agenda, even refusing to define what a woman is. The RNC will hold Democrats accountable this November for supporting Biden’s radical pick." Continue reading. | | Swimmer: NCAA made me take lesser trophy for photo op with trans athlete | | University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines says the National Collegiate Athletics Association showed preferential treatment to biological male Lia Thomas at a recent women's championship. Gaines, who tied for fifth place with trans-identified swimmer Lia Thomas (formerly known as Will) of the University of Pennsylvania in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship in Atlanta, Ga., says the association "handled everything extremely poorly." She explained, "When we finished and I went behind the podium to collect my fifth-place trophy … they kind of blatantly told me that Lia would hold the fifth-place trophy and that I could pose with the sixth-place trophy for photos and would be mailed a fifth-place trophy in the mail," she recalled. When Gaines challenged the decision to give Thomas priority over her, an NCAA official told her, "We’re just going to give the trophy to Lia, we respect and admire your swim, but Lia needs to hold the trophy." Continue reading. | | Also of Interest... | | Trans-identified swimmer breaks women's records after competing for 3 seasons on men's team Penn female swimmers speak out against trans-identified teammate breaking women's recordsNCAA opens door for trans-identified swimmer Lia Thomas to compete in women's national championshipsTrans-identified swimmer Lia Thomas sets record at Ivy League Championships |
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| The church should do more to address mental illness | | It is time for churches to be more vocal about mental illness, writes Sam Rainer. With approximately one in five U.S. adults experiencing mental illness in a given year, and the median church size sitting at around 75 in attendance each week, this means that approximately 15 people in a congregation will experience some type of mental illness in a year. If your church averages 300 people, that figure quadruples to 60, Rainer notes. How can churches help? Rainer's advice includes removing the "taboo" label, learning to understand the warning signs, and recognizing the spiritual struggle of mental illness. Continue reading. | | The trailblazer every American should know | | Dr. Mildred Jefferson was the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School in 1951. She became the first female surgeon hired at Boston University Medical Center and was awarded 28 honorary degrees. Why do few speak of her? "There’s one simple answer for that. Dr. Mildred Fay Jefferson was pro-life," writes Ryan Bomberger. "She never fit their mold for a trailblazer. She fought racism, sexism, and fake feminism. It’s the latter that kicked her to the periphery of American history. She rejected the violence of abortion, co-founded the National Right to Life Committee, crusaded against the racism of eugenics, and exposed the evils of Planned Parenthood," he explains. Continue reading. |
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| Insured Nation may save you up to $500 a year on your auto insurance. And it only takes 60 seconds. | | If there’s one thing we all dislike, it’s overpaying. And it really doesn’t matter what it is you’re overpaying for. If you paid $2 for a pack of gum you could find elsewhere for $1, that feeling of getting ripped off sticks in your craw like nothing else. It’s not only the money itself…at least, not usually. It’s also about the principle. | | That feeling is amplified when you’re searching for a good price in a market that traditionally isn’t always so transparent. That includes things like medical costs, as well as the often-complex realm of insurance policy pricing. Read More | | |
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| How can churches reach out to youth? | | Jessica Olsen is a Youth for Christ ministry director in Oregon who believes churches need to do better when it comes to meeting young people where they are. In this interview with The Christian Post, Olsen discusses her experiences growing up in youth groups, why she believes churches oversimplify Sunday School lessons, and the inaccurate preconceptions found among many youths about the Christian faith and church itself because of the things they read online. "You have a lot of people saying, ‘Here's why Christians are wrong,' 'The Bible is wrong or contradicts itself,’ and so you see a YouTube video or a TikTok of someone ranting about ‘this is why I know.’ But, very few people are going to follow up and look into that review or even just Google ‘is this in the Bible?’" Olsen added. Read the full interview here. |
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| GLAAD CEO: Put more LGBT stories in children's programming | | Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) CEO Sara Kate Ellis took to the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday to advocate for more LGBT representation in children's media. "Don’t wait until you’re in the hot seat," Ellis said. "There’s no more time to sit on the sidelines. We need Hollywood on the front lines, fighting for our rights and telling our stories." The activist stated the organization "will soon convene the biggest brands, agencies, studios and streamers together with two goals: one, to commit to improving the quantity, quality and diversity of LGBTQ images, especially in kids and family programming. And, two, to speak out against anti-LGBTQ legislation in favor of rights like the Equality Act." In 2019, GLAAD called for one-fifth of all television characters to be LGBT by 2025. Continue reading. | | Disney execs should remember that pride goeth before a fall | | "What government gives, government can take away, and Disney has a lot that can be taken away," Bowyer Research President and financial economist Jerry Bowyer writes. Bowyer breaks down the "severe backlash" the company is receiving in the wake of its decision to come out swinging against Florida's Parental Rights bill. From Disney employees asking the company to stay out of divisive issues to Florida questioning its special legal privilege in the state, it's time for company leaders to recognize they are engaging in "risky mis-management" and have given the brand "over to a monomaniacal devotion to the 'pride' agenda above the interests of more traditional groups. Perhaps they've forgotten that pride goeth before a fall." Continue reading. | | | | Also of Interest... | | Disney, reverse discrimination, and "Respect of Persons"American tradition of economic liberty comes from covenant theologyChristians talk about Disney, but not to Disney | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again on Monday! -- CP Editors |
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