More than 14,000 people have signed a prayer pledge in support of Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish Member of Parliament facing prosecution for her role in creating a pamphlet promoting biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality. The 14,000 signatures were contained within a letter crafted by the Family Research Council and delivered by religious freedom advocate Pastor Andrew Brunson. Alliance Defending Freedom International sent out a series of tweets summarizing the closing arguments in the trial, which took place Monday. The prosecution insisted that “The Bible cannot overrule Finnish law,” slammed her comments about homosexuality as “degrading,” and maintained that describing homosexuality as a “sin” can have a “harmful” effect.

Catholic school enrollment in the U.S. is up slightly for the 2021-2022 academic year compared to 2020-2021 figures, marking a rebound from an enrollment decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the National Catholic Educational Association. The 3.8% boost is still 2.7% lower than the 2019-2020 school year's pre-pandemic numbers.

Jason Jimenez, author and president of Stand Strong Ministries, writes about the importance of having disagreements that are thoughtful and questionable in light of Jamar Tisby's stance on racial reconciliation, particularly as it pertains to racism, equality, and justice. In discussing Tisby's views, Jimenez says that, while he admires and appreciates the Evangelical leader's passion, he also sees a series of red flags. Among the bunch: Tisby aligning with anti-Christian thought and his mistreatment of biblical text to advance a racial ideology. Read the full list here.

In this op-ed, Michael Brown highlights several secular voices speaking out against cancel culture. From Bill Maher, a liberal atheist, to anti-Trump actor Alec Baldwin and UFC head Dana White, many popular personalities are stepping forward to say enough is enough. To quote Baldwin, “Cancel culture is like a forest fire in constant need of fuel. Functioning objectively. No prejudice. No code. Just destroy. The deserving and the undeserving alike.” Read more.

Sometimes criminals have ordinary lives. They have a home in a nice part of town. They have a steady job. They raise a family. Sometimes criminals look a lot like you and me. Our book this week is “A Murder in Searcy” and our guests are its authors Deana Nall and Mike Allen. They investigated and wrote a book about the murder of Fern Rodgers in sleepy Searcy Arkansas in 1974 and the trial of Fern’s husband Dr. Porter Rodgers the following year. Decades later there are still some folks who don’t want to talk about it, or at least they don’t want their name mentioned if they do talk.

The unlovely truth is that with a few bad decisions and the wrong people around us, each one of us is capable of acts we would never dream we might commit. That’s why King David asked God in Psalm 141 to help him stay away from evil acts and those who commit them. If only Dr. Porter Rodgers, Sr, had prayed that same prayer. Listen Now

A judge in the United Kingdom has granted a request for judicial review filed by two Christian parents who say they were forced to pull their children out of a church-run school over policies requiring teachers and classmates to use the preferred names and pronouns of trans-identified students. When children began cross-dressing in their 6-year-old son’s Church of England primary school on the Isle of Wight in 2017, Nigel Rowe, 48, and his wife, Sally, 47, said they were given the choice of affirming transgender ideology or being labeled as “transphobic.” The couple believes gender identity affirmation is “harmful” for children.

In this video interview with The Christian Post, "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson talks cancel culture and his new book, "Uncanceled: Finding Meaning and Peace in a Culture of Accusations, Shame, and Condemnation." The author and TV personality discusses being suspended from his popular A&E show after he was asked about his beliefs about homosexual behavior, explaining, "I quoted 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ... So it took him two weeks to figure out all I did was quote a Bible verse. He asked me a question … and I just quoted [the Bible]. And when I quoted it, he took it and ran with it, because he thought I was just blowing smoke just off the top of my head.” Click here to watch the full interview.

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