The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bible" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bible</a> has been pulled from the shelves of libraries in a school district in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/utah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Utah</a> after a parent claimed that it could be considered “pornographic.”
Elementary and middle school students in Utah’s Davis School District, located north of Salt Lake City, will no longer be able to find the Bible at school libraries after a district review committee <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/utah-parent-upset-book-bans-gets-bible-pulled-school-shelves-expose-ba-rcna87450" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decided</a> to make it only available at high school libraries. 
School district spokesman Christopher Williams told NBC News that the committee chose to &#8220;retain the book in school library circulation only at the high school level based on age appropriateness due to vulgarity or violence.&#8221; 
The decision came after a parent, upset by a recent state law designed to keep “pornographic or indecent” materials out of school, filed a complaint against the Bible. 
&#8220;I thank the Utah Legislature and Utah Parents United for making this bad faith process so much easier and way more efficient,&#8221; the complaint said. &#8220;Now we can all ban books and you don’t even need to read them or be accurate about it. Heck, you don’t even need to see the book!&#8221;
&#8220;Incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide,&#8221; the complaint continued. &#8220;You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition.&#8221;
Another person has already <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2023/03/22/utah-parent-says-bible-contains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a complaint to put the Bible back into circulation at all school levels, not just high school. 
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The controversy in Utah followed a host of complaints around the country about sexually explicit books being available at school libraries. This has prompted drives from conservative lawmakers and parents to remove the content. 
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), for instance, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/library-group-frames-removal-of-graphic-sexual-content-from-school-libraries-as-record-number-of-book-bans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently </a>pushed to remove volumes such as “Let’s Talk About It,” which shows graphic depictions of how children can masturbate, as well as “Gender Queer,” which includes cartoons of homosexual activity.
In Virginia, a mother named Stacy Langton <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-mother-who-exposed-pornographic-reading-material-in-curriculum-barred-from-entering-high-school-library" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was barred</a> from entering the school’s library after she exposed pornographic reading material available to Fairfax High School students. She made national news when she read from several books available to students that included graphic depictions of sex and pedophilia.

USA, New Jersey, View of Bible and cross

Bible Pulled From Utah School District Libraries Because Of ‘Vulgarity Or Violence’

Bible

Books

Education

School Library

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Utah

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Korean</a> authorities sentenced an entire family, including a two-year-old child, to life in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/persecution" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prison</a> after one of the family members was found to be in possession of a <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/bible" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bible</a>.
The incident, which occurred in 2009 but surfaced in a recent <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/north-korea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> on worldwide religious freedom from the State Department, is one of several harrowing punitive measures levied against Christians and other minority groups in North Korea. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">communist</a> hereditary dictatorship sent the two-year-old child and the rest of the family to political prison camps, where inmates routinely experience harsh physical mistreatment and dire conditions.
There are estimated to be between 50,000 and 70,000 citizens in prison camps for their Christian faith, according to a report from nonprofit ministry Open Doors referenced by the State Department. North Korean officials prompt all citizens to “report anyone engaged in unauthorized religious activity or in possession of religious material,” while those deemed to be guilty of maintaining Christian beliefs undergo secret prosecutions and can face life sentences “imposed on up to three generations of the immediate family of the person found guilty.”
Korea Future, another nonprofit organization, has shared credible reports of Christians who received the death penalty for their faith: one woman and her grandchild were allegedly executed via firing squad in 2011, while a group of six were executed four years later.
North Korea, while famous across the world for the dire poverty and the restrictions on religious freedom which followed the founding of the Kim regime, was once a bulwark of the Christian faith in Asia. Pyongyang, the nation’s capital city, was once called the “Jerusalem of the East” and was home to a number of Christian schools, as well as a Presbyterian seminary.
“Pyongyang once stood as a symbol of faith, evangelical fervor, and theological fidelity,” Joel Kim, the president of Westminster Seminary California, wrote in an <a href="https://www.challies.com/articles/what-city-was-once-the-jerusalem-of-the-east/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> five years ago. “Perhaps naïve, but I join many around the world in praying for Pyongyang that it will once again become the shining light on a hill where Christ is known and proclaimed.”
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Pyongyang has five state-sanctioned churches, three of which are Protestant, one of which is Roman Catholic, and one of which is Russian Orthodox. “One defector said that when he lived in Pyongyang, authorities arrested individuals whom they believed lingered too long outside these churches to listen to the music or consistently drove past them each week when services were being held, on suspicion of being secret Christians,” the report from the State Department noted. “This defector also said authorities quickly realized one unintended consequence of allowing music at the services and permitting persons to attend church was that many attendees converted to Christianity, and therefore authorities took steps to mitigate that outcome.”
North Korea is still estimated to have between 100,000 and 400,000 adherents to the Christian faith, even as spiritual practices like consulting fortune-tellers or participating in shamanistic rituals are “reportedly widespread but difficult to quantify.” Practitioners of the superstitions also face crackdowns from North Korean authorities but are subjected to a separate legal process.

Kim Jong-Un

North Korea Sentenced Two-Year-Old To Life In Prison After Family Caught With Bible: State Department

Christianity

Global Politics

North Korea

Persecution

Religion

Religious Freedom

World

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/canada" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canadian</a> police reportedly arrested a teenager handing out bibles after an altercation broke out between his &#8220;Save Canada&#8221; group and pro-transgender counter-protestors during a demonstration on Wednesday in Calgary, Alberta.
Josh Alexander, 16, was handcuffed for allegedly causing a disturbance and provoking violence because he approached the activists during an organized &#8220;International Walkout&#8221; event supported by the Liberty Coalition Canada, Rebel News reported.
&#8220;Today I was handcuffed and put in a paddy wagon for offering students bibles on a public sidewalk in Calgary,&#8221; Alexander said in a tweet. &#8220;I was released and told if I returned, I would be arrested and charged.&#8221;
&#8220;I continued handing out bibles,&#8221; he added. &#8220;For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today I was handcuffed and put in a paddy wagon for offering students bibles on a public sidewalk in Calgary. I was released and told if I returned I would be arrested and charged. I continued handing out bibles. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. <a href="https://t.co/5y7US5DV6m">pic.twitter.com/5y7US5DV6m</a>
&mdash; Josh Alexander (@officialJosh_A) <a href="https://twitter.com/officialJosh_A/status/1658917117583036418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Alexander said in a separate tweet that Calgary police authorities arrested him because his views were too &#8220;inflammatory&#8221; to be expressed near the Western Canadian high school, adding some of the assailants were charged after the event.
&#8220;I will not yield to the pressure of the woke mob or corrupt state,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We will continue to spread the truth in love.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
According to Calgary police, my views were too &quot;inflammatory&quot; to be expressed near the Western Canada HS. Thankfully some of my assailants were charged after the event. I will not yield to the pressure of the woke mob or corrupt state. We will continue to spread the truth in… <a href="https://t.co/OHqEa7qqcJ">pic.twitter.com/OHqEa7qqcJ</a>
&mdash; Josh Alexander (@officialJosh_A) <a href="https://twitter.com/officialJosh_A/status/1658933716666949633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Maxime Bernier, leader of the People&#8217;s Party of Canada, condemned Canadian authorities in a <a href="https://twitter.com/MaximeBernier/status/1658936885845147648" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweet</a>, accusing law enforcement of displaying a double standard of justice.
&#8220;If you burn a church in this country, the police won&#8217;t devote any resources to catching you,&#8221; Bernier said. &#8220;If you hand out bibles on the sidewalk however — or hold a rally to defend fundamental rights in a time of hysteria — you will be arrested and fined immediately. We&#8217;re a sick society.&#8221;
Alexander said he has faced being detained, arrested, charged, suspended, excluded, threatened, and assaulted on several occasions for taking a stand against progressive ideologies infiltrating the West.
Alexander organized the demonstration after St. Joseph&#8217;s Catholic High School in Renfrew — a town in Ontario, Canada — excluded him from attending school after expressing moral and religious objections in class and on social media earlier this year. According to the Liberty Coalition Canada <a href="https://libertycoalitioncanada.com/i-stand-with-josh-alexander/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>, such views included him stating that only two genders exist, students cannot transition between male and female, and boys&#8217; and girls&#8217; bathrooms should remain separate.
School officials suspended Alexander after organizing a student walk-out to protest the staff&#8217;s alleged failure to address safety concerns for a female student.
Local media <a href="https://www.eganvilleleader.ca/breaking-news/student-arrested-for-trespassing-at-st-joes-following-non-disciplinary-exclusion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Alexander was also arrested earlier this year for trespassing following &#8220;non-disciplinary exclusion.&#8221; Alexander said he tried to attend his Automotive Mechanic class because he couldn&#8217;t &#8220;physically get inside a vehicle&#8221; while &#8220;learning online.&#8221;
&#8220;I told the officer I should not be excluded from attending in-person classes because of religious discrimination against me,&#8221; he argued.
Last week, Alexander <a href="https://twitter.com/officialJosh_A/status/1656761955728650241">tweeted</a> that Canadian authorities attempted to stop him from demonstrating against &#8220;the genocide of the unborn.&#8221;

Rev. Billy Graham Lies In Repose In U.S. Capitol Rotunda

Canadian Police Arrest Teenager Handing Out Bibles During Altercation With ‘Pro-Transgender’ Activists: Report

Canadian Police Arrest Teenager Handing Out Bibles During Altercation With 'Pro-Transgender' Activists: Report

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Actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/you-probably-need-to-watch-it-twice-chris-pratt-reacts-to-criticism-over-mario-bros-accent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Pratt</a> has seen significant backlash over the years for being upfront and transparent about his Christian faith — and when asked how he handles being the target of hateful comments, he doubled down.
Pratt, 43, told entertainment outlet <a href="https://pagesix.com/2023/05/07/chris-pratt-says-jesus-struggle-helps-him-deal-with-haters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Page Six</a> last week that he always thinks back to the story of Jesus and the suffering he endured, which reminds him that for Christians, hatred often comes with the territory.
&#8220;I sure do,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-few-good-men-these-5-hollywood-actors-put-faith-and-family-first" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pratt</a> acknowledged that he got plenty of criticism for being open about his personal faith. &#8220;But that’s nothing new, that’s nothing new, you know?&#8221;
He went on to quote a scripture that reiterated his point, saying, &#8220;If I was of this world, they would love me just like that but as it is, I’ve chosen out of this world. That’s John 15:18 through 20.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s the way it is, nothing new, 2,000 years ago they hated him, too,&#8221; he said of Jesus.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/director-james-gunn-responds-to-calls-to-recast-chris-pratt-over-actors-public-christianity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pratt</a> was rounding out a press tour for his latest Marvel film —&#8221;Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3&#8243; — at the time, and he also told Page Six that thinking of Jesus&#8217; struggles was only part of his process when it came to dealing with hateful comments.
Saying that the trick was to deal with hate &#8220;just how you deal with anything,&#8221; he added, &#8220;Like a rhino, stick your head down, you keep driving forward, you have thick skin and if anyone gets in your way, you stick the horn right up their ass!&#8221;
&#8220;When it comes to rejection, I was trained in the crucible of door-to-door sales some 25 years ago. So, you can’t turn me away,&#8221; the &#8220;Super Mario Bros.&#8221; actor joked, explaining that his experience as a salesman had actually helped him in his film career. &#8220;[Sales] is a very hard job and it’s not dissimilar to acting or at least auditioning. You gotta collect nine ‘no’s’ to get one ‘yes.'&#8221;
The Pratt-led &#8220;Super Mario Bros,&#8221; released the first week in April, was the first 2023 film to gross over $1 billion — and after <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/box-office-guardians-of-the-galaxy-3-opening-weekend-1235605486/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just one weekend</a>, &#8220;Guardians&#8221; has raked in more than $280 million worldwide.

World Premiere Of Marvel Studios’ “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3” – Arrivals

‘2000 Years Ago They Hated Him Too’: Chris Pratt Looks To Jesus When Dealing With Haters

Chris Pratt Says He Looks To Jesus When Dealing With Haters

Celebrities

Chris Pratt

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Marvel

Stories about the decline of Christianity in the Western world have dominated headlines for decades. A secularizing society, however, appears to be a fertile breeding ground for the return of deities which were once worshiped before the successful spread of the gospel.
Attention toward paganism and heathenism, which generally reference the ethnic polytheistic religions that predated Christianity in Europe, has indeed soared in recent years as fewer residents of Western nations direct their worship toward the God of the Bible. There are more than two million <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adherents</a> to paganism, the modern neopagan syncretic religion called Wicca, and other New Age practices in the United States. Asatru, the practice which centers on the <a href="https://icelandmag.is/article/asatru-old-norse-paganism-fastest-growing-and-largest-non-christian-religion-iceland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invocation</a> of Norse deities such as Thor and Odin, is currently the fastest-growing religion in Iceland and the largest non-Christian religion on the island nation, even as virtually <a href="https://icelandmag.is/article/00-icelanders-25-years-or-younger-believe-god-created-world-poll-reveals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">zero</a> young Icelanders believe that God created the heavens and the earth.
New Age practices have also recently <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/witchtok?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advanced</a> through WitchTok, a community on social media platform TikTok in which influencers detail their use of crystals and other occult practices, and various conventions throughout the Western world in which adherents of the movement gather. Cultural figures such as Joe Rogan have meanwhile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-rogan-podcast-with-anticipated-guest-jordan-peterson-finally-drops" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detailed</a> their interest in psychedelic drugs, users of which report disturbing encounters with spiritual beings, even as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-introduces-bill-to-decriminalize-psychedelic-drugs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawmakers</a> in states such as California and Oregon promote their decriminalization.
Many followers of pagan religions insist that their spiritual experiences are real. Doreen Virtue, a former bestselling New Age author who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Doreen_Virtue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became</a> a Christian after reading the Bible, warned that those who seek to summon ancient deities may in fact find themselves successful. 
“Invoking old pagan gods and goddesses is a spiritually dangerous practice, as you’re likely to unintentionally invite fallen angels who will pretend to answer your wishes, but it’s a Trojan horse trick to get people to follow the demons instead of God,&#8221; she said in an interview with The Daily Wire.
Virtue repented of her sins and placed her faith in Jesus Christ after she read the description of fortune-telling, divination, necromancy, and other occult practices as an abomination to God in the book of Deuteronomy. She had previously attempted to invoke Hindu, Buddhist, Celtic, African, and Native American deities, as well as other “ascended masters” in the New Age movement, during her more than two decades as a prominent spiritual teacher who conducted workshops around the world.
“Before I was saved, I visited ‘goddess temples’ in the United States and the United Kingdom in attempts to receive special personal revelation messages from them,” she said. “I went to a sweat lodge in Sedona to try to invoke a Native American goddess who intrigued me. I didn’t realize it at the time, but those invocations were inviting demons into my life.”
Virtue received “messages” from the deities who insisted that the Bible had been corrupted. “As the apostle John taught, this was the spirit of the antichrist,” she noted. “As a result, my personal life was in constant turmoil because I followed the terrible guidance from those demons who were masquerading as deities. I was always trying to find answers, fulfillment, and peace. Yet we can only find those through Jesus.”
Virtue, who appeared on shows such as Oprah and Good Morning America to promote her work, describes the New Age movement as a “spiritual buffet” in which one can “choose your own personal blend of worship like going to a salad bar.” She added that the eclectic practices enable a “spiritual narcissism” and a “self-obsessive focus on your needs, wants, and feelings” which mimic the deception offered by Satan in the book of Genesis.
“The New Age elevates your self-esteem and continually tells you how wonderful you are. You are encouraged to use positive affirmations and tell yourself ‘I am loveable,’ ‘I am a good person,’ and ‘I am successful in all that I do,’ for example,” she commented. “There’s also this craving for secret or hidden wisdom, similar to what the Serpent promised Eve. The New Age and paganism falsely promise that you will get answers that no one else has access to. This appeals to a prideful sense of being special because you have access to so-called hidden secret wisdom. Of course, the only source of wisdom is God and His Word.”
Ignorance of the Bible among professing American Christians, according to Virtue, allows man-centered teaching and spiritual practices derived from paganism to gain footholds in churches. She contended that yoga, contemplative prayer practices like Lectio Divina, and other spiritual acts are irredeemably linked to traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
“It grieves me to see professing Christians being unknowingly involved with New Age practices. Some professing Christians argue that they have Christian liberty and freedom to do whatever they want, but that is antinomianism,” she said. “I would love to see more watchmen on the wall in churches, confronting these Trojan horse pagan practices.”
Virtue also cautioned against the use of psychedelic drugs; she has interviewed many Christians who formerly used the substances while seeking to access the spiritual realm. “I think that people get into psychedelic drugs for the same reason they get into New Age spirituality,” she said. “They are looking for answers, peace, health, and love. The false New Age teachers lure vulnerable people in by giving them false hope and false promises.”
Virtue said that Christianity, unlike the pagan practices which are becoming popular in the Western world, offers true promises found in the Bible.

UK, England, Wiltshire, Stonehenge at sunset

‘WitchTok’ And The Rise Of Paganism In The Western World

Readers Pass

TikTok

An Arizona Democrat state representative was caught on video stealing Bibles from the state house lounge— and she’s an ordained Presbyterian minister.
The Bibles plucked by Democrat state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton — who attended Princeton Theological Seminary —wound up in two places: buried in the members-only lounge furniture and in the community refrigerator.
“When I’m watching that, I’m thinking, ‘Well, this is obviously someone who’s got some purpose and some intent, and they know they’re doing something bad,” Republican Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham told <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/2023/04/26/arizona-democrat-minister-lawmaker-caught-camera-hiding-bibles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KTVK</a>. “For an ordained minister to do that, again, it’s nonsensical. I have no clarity as to why it happened.”
Stahl Hamilton released a statement to KTVK in which she said, “Just a little playful commentary on the separation of church and state,” adding, “I am a Presbyterian minister so I obviously don’t have a problem with the Bible.&#8221;
Stahl Hamilton told reporters that she was frustrated that “the Christian Bible gets used like a weapon around this place.”
‘And so I just took it and put it in the couch cushions,” she continued. “At the time it just felt like a simple little prank.” Two days later she hid a second Bible.  “To my brain, it just felt like it&#8217;s a game &#8230; a peaceful, playful protest,” she said. “I have long been frustrated by the blurred lines between separation of church and state.”
Stahl Hamilton later issued an <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2023/04/26/arizona-rep-stahl-hamilton-apologizes-for-hiding-bibles-at-capitol/70154932007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apology</a> in which she stated, &#8220;I hold Scripture very dear to my heart. It is what guides me. It is what shapes and informs the decisions I make. I have the utmost respect for people of all faiths, and for people for who choose not to have a faith. And because of that respect, I recognize my actions could have been seen something as less than playful — and offensive. &#8230; The intent was never to be destructive, to never desecrate or to offend.”
“No, not at all, the state motto is God enriches,” Grantham responded to Stahl Hamilton’s statement. “I don’t quite understand the issue of having a Bible available for members to read.”
“It makes me a little uncomfortable, and I think it’s kind of offensive to people who believe in and cherish the Bible,” Grantham added. “I feel like a disappointed dad.”

The Holy Bible.

Arizona Dem Rep Steals Bibles From Members’ Lounge. She’s An Ordained Minister.

Arizona

Politics

Celebrity Blac Chyna, whose real name is Angela Renee White, said in a recent interview that she changed her life by giving up OnlyFans, some of the tattoos she had, and other things because she realized that she was living in the fast lane and she had to take care of her young children.
White made the remarks during an interview on Fox News with fill-in host Raymond Arroyo late last week.
&#8220;Honestly, the life that I was living, it was fast paced, you know, money coming in, money going out,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I just honestly kept running into like, all these problems and these issues and this and that lawsuits. And I was like, you know what, like, I need a change, like, I have to change my life. I can&#8217;t be living like this. I have two beautiful babies, I have businesses. And I had to really just get back to myself, I kind of lost myself, honestly.&#8221;
White said that she made the decision to turn her life around on her birthday and that she started by getting baptized.
&#8220;And then from there, I just started putting in the work, you know, people have to also realize once you get baptized, you have to be willing to also change everything about you so you can start moving into the light,&#8221; she said.
White said that she decided to get some tattoos removed after reading the Bible.
&#8220;It&#8217;s so bizarre to me, because at the time, I didn&#8217;t see nothing wrong with it. And that&#8217;s like the issue,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You know, we don&#8217;t see things that we&#8217;re doing wrong, because we&#8217;re actually sitting in that moment. And I just started like praying to God, you know, and taking the proper steps going to church and just really focusing like on myself and my spirit.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Blac Chyna reveals transformation after baptism" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YsRHZ19D_8g?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>RAYMOND ARROYO: On this Good Friday, I want to tell you a story of transformation, and redemption. If you look back at the last few years model Blac Chyna, was starring in tabloids, on OnlyFans, and stuck in some major public feuds. But now, she&#8217;s deactivated her OnlyFans account, she got baptized, and she&#8217;s even started going by her birth name: Angela Renee White. This week, she announced her latest achievement, getting her doctorate from a Bible college. Joining me now is Angela White. Angela, thank you so much for being here. Happy Easter or Holy Week anyway, what was the deciding factor for you to make this change? I mean, you were making great money, you achieved fame. Why did you give that life up?
ANGELA RENEE WHITE: I had to. Honestly, the life that I was living, it was fast paced, you know, money coming in, money going out. I just honestly kept running into like, all these problems and these issues and this and that and lawsuits. And I was like, you know what, like, I need a change, like, I have to change my life. I can&#8217;t be living like this. I have two beautiful babies, I have businesses. And I had to really just get back to myself, I kind of lost myself, honestly.
ARROYO: Was there one moment that you said, &#8216;I&#8217;ve got to I gotta change this now&#8217;? Was it one deciding moment?
WHITE: It was, I mean, the deciding moment was on my birthday. So, I got baptized on my birthday. And then from there, I just started putting in the work, you know, people have to also realize once you get baptized, you have to be willing to also change everything about you so you can start moving into the light.
ARROYO: Yeah and Angela, you talked about removing one of your tattoos on Instagram, I want to talk to you about this. &#8230; Angela, when did you realize how dangerous this was spiritually? And this wasn&#8217;t the only addition that you removed from your body, by the way.
WHITE: The more I started reading the Bible, you know, and it&#8217;s so bizarre to me, because at the time, I didn&#8217;t see nothing wrong with it. And that&#8217;s like the issue. You know, we don&#8217;t see things that we&#8217;re doing wrong, because we&#8217;re actually sitting in that moment. And I just started like praying to God, you know, and taking the proper steps going to church and just really focusing like on myself and my spirit.
ARROYO: Yeah, well, I love that it&#8217;s not only a spiritual transformation, but a physical one. I mean, you&#8217;ve had fillers in your face dissolve, you&#8217;re removing tattoos. What&#8217;s next for Angela White?
WHITE: What&#8217;s next for me? I&#8217;m gonna continue my journey with the Bible for sure. And just work on myself, just honestly work on myself, and work on my businesses and different ways of making income because the way that I was making an income wasn&#8217;t right. So now I have to like really just dive deep into my studies and to my work ethic.</blockquote>

2018 MTV Video Music Awards – Arrivals

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Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro and Dr. Jordan B. Peterson discuss the closeness of God, the consequences of idolatry, and what fearing God really means in the newest episode of “Exodus,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/exodus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">streaming</a> now on DailyWire+.
Peterson, Shapiro, and a panel of nine renowned scholars continue their discussion of Exodus, the second book of the Bible and Torah. While the group has previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/part-two-of-dr-jordan-petersons-exodus-series-premieres-on-dailywire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explored</a> the Ten Commandments in-depth and other major topics, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-jordan-b-peterson-and-exodus-panel-discuss-an-eye-for-an-eye-and-establishing-moral-order-in-new-episode" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including</a> the meaning and restrictions of an eye for an eye, part of this episode focuses on Exodus 29: 43-46, which references God dwelling among His people multiple times.
“The romantic and tremendous yearning that God has to be among His people is so clear from this language,” Shapiro notes. “He specifically says, ‘It’s not just I brought you into the wilderness to serve me,’ which is the language of a king to his subjects. It’s ‘I brought you out here to live with you, to dwell among you.’” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@benshapiro</a> on why God sends the Israelites into the wilderness: &quot;It&#39;s not just &#39;I brought you out to the into the wilderness to serve me&#39;&#8230;it&#39;s &#39;I brought you out here to live with you, to dwell among you.&#39;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/GRT0mjTjFx">pic.twitter.com/GRT0mjTjFx</a>
&mdash; DailyWire+ (@dailywireplus) <a href="https://twitter.com/dailywireplus/status/1643696503863533577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Shapiro explains that it’s a “tremendous sin” against God to disregard Him, because of the significance of God’s desire to be with His people. In response, Shapiro says, God will withdraw from these people. 
“You can see this as well, as an ennobling of human destiny,” Peterson said to Shapiro’s point. “In the nihilistic world, everything is gone in a billion years. Then what the hell difference does it make what you do now anyway?”
“There’s an insistence that, despite our fragility and limitations, there’s something so valuable about proper-ordered free-striving among free men and women, let&#8217;s say, that God himself takes an interest in that,” Peterson says.
Another topic discussed by the panel is wrongdoing and what it means to fear God — a concept that is hard to grasp for many. Shapiro notes that people are called to both fear and love God simultaneously, comparing the fear of God to love and admiration for family.
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“You love them so much that you fear harming them, you fear hurting them,” Shapiro says. “When you love people, you know where all their vulnerabilities are, and that’s deliberately where you don’t prey on them,” he continues, saying that doing so can easily destroy a relationship.
Shapiro explains that to foster strong relationships, a person must love and fear someone else — something that is especially true of a relationship with God.
“You might ask, ‘Well, what’s the best way to live?’” Peterson proposes. “And then you might say, ‘Well, to manifest a personality rooted in love, that is the best way to live.’ And maybe that’s some balance between justice and mercy,” he adds.
“If you want to have great relationships with other people, that’s not a bad starting place, and so you’re likely going to thrive if that’s actually the way you conduct yourself,” Peterson says.
This is the fifth of eight new episodes in the series, which will be released weekly, exploring the importance of Exodus according to theological and literary scholars and showing why the book remains significant thousands of years after being written.
For a deep dive into the Ten Commandments and other important topics in Exodus, you can watch previous episodes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/exodus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
WATCH:
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Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson

‘To Dwell Among You’: Ben Shapiro And Dr. Jordan B. Peterson Discuss The Closeness Of God And What It Means To Fear Him

Ben Shapiro

Jordan Peterson

Former Hillsong <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christianity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">minister</a> Carl Lentz landed a position at Transformation Church, a large nondenominational congregation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Lentz was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hillsong-pastor-carl-lentz-fired-after-moral-failures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> from Hillsong, a global charismatic megachurch based in Australia, three years ago over “leadership issues and breaches of trust” and “revelation of moral failures.” Hillsong founder Brian Houston, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/world/australia/brian-houston-hillsong-resign.html#:~:text=MELBOURNE%2C%20Australia%20%E2%80%94%20Brian%20Houston%2C,behaving%20inappropriately%20toward%20two%20women." target="_blank" rel="noopener">resigned</a> last year himself over inappropriate interactions with two separate women, said in <a href="https://pagesix.com/2020/12/03/fired-hillsong-pastor-carl-lentz-still-getting-a-payoff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaked</a> audio that Lentz was involved with “more than one” extramarital affair, and described the interactions as “significant.”
Tammy McQuarters, who works as “executive pastor of operations” at Transformation Church, said in a <a href="https://religionnews.com/2023/03/28/carl-lentz-on-staff-at-transformation-church-in-tulsa-in-first-church-position-since-hillsong/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that Lentz will start work as a strategist following multiple years of self-reflection. “We gladly welcome Carl Lentz to our Transformation Church staff,” McQuarters commented. “After two years of Carl being in his own discovery and healing process, he has shown readiness to use his God-given gifts towards the local church again. We believe in Carl, his marriage, his skill set, and his restoration.”
Lentz, who led the Hillsong branch congregation in New York City, previously gained worldwide attention as a spiritual adviser to celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Kendall Jenner.
Other ministers have voiced concern about Lentz’s forthcoming return to ministerial work, contending that his apparent restoration as a Christian and husband does not alleviate his disqualification from vocational ministry. Brandon Scalf, a pastor and church planter at Heritage Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said in an interview with The Daily Wire that the Bible calls church leaders to a high standard of moral excellence, especially in light of the apostle Paul’s writings to Timothy and Titus in the New Testament.
“Let me be clear that Carl can be, and likely is, forgiven by both God and his wife. He can be restored in Christ. If he is truly repentant and has worked hard to heal his marriage and own his sin, then the church should welcome him as a brother and friend,” Scalf remarked. “This does not mean that he should be restored to pastoral leadership. Those two things are not the same.”
Scalf asserted that evangelical churches often risk obfuscating the requirements discussed in the Bible for elders and deacons by adding novel roles to church leadership such as directors and coordinators. “God has very serious warnings in his word for those who decide to do church on their own terms,” he continued. “I would still say he’s disqualified from public ministry no matter how one chooses to define his role.”
The onboarding of Lentz occurred shortly after Mike Todd, the lead pastor of Transformation Church and a prolific presence on social media, garnered controversy for asserting that Christians are <a href="https://twitter.com/Kdubtru/status/1636456273414594566" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> to entertain a desire to cheat on their spouses. “It’s okay to feel it. Nobody has ever gotten in trouble for feeling it,” Todd claimed. “I can feel it, I can’t act on it.”
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Scalf countered that the narrative of the Bible centers on humans falling into sin and misery after they acted upon their evil desires. He noted how Jesus said that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” and that “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.&#8221;
“Sin is born from the womb of the heart and mind and then is conceived in our actions,” Scalf observed. “Once we have purposed to do it in our mind, we will have no problem doing it with our hands.”

Elvis Duran Interviews Carl Lentz For iHeart Now

Disgraced Former Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz Assumes Role At Tulsa Megachurch

Disgraced Former Hillsong Pastor Assumes Role At Tulsa Megachurch

Church

Oklahoma

Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro and Dr. Jordan B. Peterson explain the difference between guilt and shame in a larger conversation on sacrifice during the newest episode of Peterson’s “Exodus” series, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/exodus-episode-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">streaming</a> now on DailyWire+. 
In the episode, Peterson, Shapiro, and a panel of nine renowned scholars continue through their study of Exodus, the second book of the Bible and Torah, focusing on chapter 24. Shapiro and Peterson explain the Biblical context of guilt and shame, with Shapiro saying that our culture places more emphasis on guilt – a priority that he believes is leading the culture in the wrong direction. 
“Guilt is generally with regard to others and shame is with regard to yourself before God,” Shapiro says. “And what religion really is about is shifting the source of your feelings of inadequacy from what everybody else thinks of you to your inadequacy before God, which is really something else: That’s really shame.” 
“We have a culture that’s very much focused on guilt, meaning I, as a member of a group, should feel inadequate before members of this other group,” he added, explaining that feeling guilt isn’t rational unless a person has actually committed a sin against a member of said group. 
Instead, Shapiro notes that religion truly says that people should feel shame because of “falling short of God,” which can drive people toward individual action. “I think our society is moving back to almost a pagan sense of guilt, rather than the internalized sense of shame, which is what Biblical religion is really rooted in,” he says. 
Peterson makes a similar point, noting that today’s culture focuses largely on actions toward groups in the past. 
“There is a tremendous amount of guilt in our culture right now in the West about the blood of the past,” Peterson says. “We are inheritors of this brutal colonial enterprise, let’s say, and we bear that weight upon us.” Peterson added that he has some sympathy for those who hold this view because history, in many ways, is a “bloody nightmare.” 
“Then you might ask, well, is the proper response to that a kind of disabling and demoralizing guilt and stasis, which it so often is, or is it a decision to re-sacralize your actions so that everything that you are doing, that is a benefit of the privilege that has been accorded to you by tradition, is now devoted towards the highest possible end?” Peterson said. 
In the episode, Peterson and Shapiro are joined by social critic Os Guinness, Cambridge assistant professor James Orr, president of Ralston College Stephen Blackwood, president of Hillsdale College Larry Arnn, Christian thinker Jonathan Pageau, Dennis Prager, professor of philosophy at Cambridge University Douglas Hedley, and author Gregg Hurwitz. 
This is the fourth of eight new episodes in the series, which will be released weekly, exploring the importance of Exodus according to theological and literary scholars and showing why the book remains significant thousands of years after being written.
For a deep dive into the Ten Commandments and other important topics in Exodus, you can watch previous episodes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/exodus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
WATCH: 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Exodus with Jordan Peterson | Part 2 Official Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bReR1UfsjPY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

‘What Biblical Religion Is Really Rooted In’: Ben Shapiro And Dr. Jordan B. Peterson Discuss The Difference Between Guilt And Shame

The following is a transcript excerpt from Dr. Jordan B. Peterson&#8217;s recent roundtable discussion on Exodus. You can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/exodus-episode-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watch</a> the special on DailyWire+.
Episode time: 01:08
Jordan Peterson: This might constitute a useful prayer. Say you are in despair to the point you are depressed; you are anxious. You are ill enough to see a psychotherapist. One thing that you might do is begin with an offering — and people do this automatically. They say, “Well, what is it that I might be doing wrong?” And [Carl] Rogers, for example, pointed out that before you could enter into the contract of psychotherapeutic transformation, you had to admit that there was a problem and admit that change was necessary. So basically, what you are doing is approaching the problem of being that cannot progress in a spirit of humility. That is an offering. “What am I doing wrong?” is something like, “If I could just find out what wrong was, I might be willing to give it up and change.” Well, that is a sacrifice. That is an offering of the willingness to sacrifice. And then if people search their soul in that manner, what will happen very frequently — sometimes in communication with others, but sometimes just as a subjective, phenomenological experience — they will get a revelation. That is echoed in the gospel phrase that if you knock, the door will open. And if you seek, you will find. And if you ask, it will be given to you. It sounds magical, but it is not magical.
It is no more than what you always do when you set yourself forward to solve a problem. First, you admit that there is a problem. Second, you admit that you have something to learn. The third thing you do is to ask for revelation of the thing that you need to learn. And maybe you open yourself up to receipt of that in dialogue with someone else, but it is also something that can make itself manifest within. And you might say, “Well, you thought that up.” That is not really how it works. You ask the question and if you are extraordinarily fortunate — maybe that means you were on your knees with sufficient intensity — a redemptive answer will make itself manifest, and that is the offering up, the sacrificial offering up, and the descent of something like the unifying spirit, practically speaking.
Ben Shapiro: So, we read the Bible once through — the five books of Moses, — once through every year. I’ve been doing it, you know, since I was [about] 12 — so we have been doing it for quite a while. And these are always the boring sections of the Bible, where you get the very, very detailed descriptions of the tabernacle and, as we’ll see, we actually end up doing it twice. And I will admit that I did not understand, I think, what was going on with the tabernacle until I read “Maps of Meaning.” The reason was — and forgive me, Jordan, if I screw up your book — but when I was reading “Maps of Meaning,” the basic suggestion that struck me is when you were talking about the way that children apprehend the world — that they apprehend objects as having values attached to the objects.
When you teach a kid about a glass, you don’t teach them: “Here’s a glass. Here are the properties of glass. If you drop the glass, it’s going to shatter.” You say, “Don’t touch the glass. Don’t touch the glass because it’ll break.” That’s how you learn about what a glass is, because the rules come embodied in the object. And in the Garden of Eden, that’s also the way that the world is described. “Don’t touch the tree. It’s the tree of knowledge. Don’t touch the tree.” It comes with a set of rules. And that also happens to merge fairly well with the idea of the knowledge of good and evil in an Aristotelian sense, meaning that what is good is that it serves its purpose. A good thing is a thing that serves its purpose.
In the Garden of Eden — and this is where natural law springs from — the idea is that the world is created with a sense of purpose and everything in the world comes with that teleology, with that sense of purpose. Where man fails and is ejected from the Garden of Eden is where he begins to substitute his own judgment of moral good or ethical good — his own judgment of what is good and evil — for the teleological view that God has placed in the world for Him to understand. So as soon as he substitutes his own logic and judgment for that, he has to be thrown out of the Garden of Eden, and the gap emerges between the meaning of the world around us and the meaning that we impose on the world around us.
When it comes to the tabernacle and this section of the Bible, this is the reimposition of the Garden of Eden, and it’s very clear that that’s what’s happening in the language. You can see the words that are used are used only a couple of times in all of the Bible. You’re speaking of the skins — the skins, which are given to Adam, which make their appearance here again. You see the angels with the swinging swords reappearing atop the ark. So the idea here is that what God is saying is that with the commandments and with The Law, I’m reinstantiating the world with rules and meaning that exist in the world, and they’ve been gone for a long time. And now The Law is the way that you are going to be able to re-access a world where the meaning is embedded in the world and not separate from the world. Before, what was behind the angels was the Garden of Eden. Now, what the angels are guarding are the Ten Commandments. It’s the tablets or what’s being guarded. The Law’s being guarded because that’s the pathway back into the Garden of Eden where the world is invested with a new sense of meaning, and that’s what the tabernacle is about.
WATCH: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/exodus-episode-12">Exodus: Episode 12</a>
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‘A Sense Of Purpose’: Ben Shapiro Joins ‘Exodus’ Roundtable In New Episode

For the sixth time in a row, Finland has ranked <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/03/20/finland-declared-happiest-country-for-sixth-time-in-a-row/">happiest country</a> in the world. Ten lucky visitors can even apply to receive a promotional “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/21/finland-free-masterclass-of-happiness.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">masterclass</a>” in happiness from the national tourism department—the theory being that there is something innately happy, and exportable, about Finnish values and lifestyle. But what about the country’s stifling free speech record? Post on Twitter and risk a prison sentence under the country’s “hate speech” law. Can true happiness prevail amidst that kind of censorship?
Crimes of “hate speech” are very much a reality in the so-called happiest land on earth. Longstanding Finnish Member of Parliament, and former Minister of the Interior, <a href="https://adfinternational.org/free-speech-on-trial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paivi Räsänen</a> can attest to it. One year ago, Räsänen was unanimously <a href="https://adfinternational.org/free-speech-victory-finnish-mp-wins-trial-over-bible-tweet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquitted</a> by the Helsinki district court for her “crime” — posting Bible verses to Twitter in 2019 with regard to a debate on marriage and sexuality. Her church was hosting a Pride parade. In a tweet, Räsänen raised the question as to whether this conformed with Scripture. Four years later, she is still facing the crushing force of the Finnish State’s prosecutorial wrath over her tweet.
After her March 2022 acquittal, the prosecution <a href="https://adfinternational.org/prosecutor-files-appeal-against-finnish-mps-major-free-speech-victory/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appealed</a>, revealing the absurd ends that the State is willing to go to silence and sanction speech deemed disagreeable. Strikingly, the Finnish legal system allows a “not guilty” verdict to be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court. Räsänen — dedicated civil servant, medical doctor, and grandmother — will be dragged back into court this August for round two of her <a href="https://adfinternational.org/inside-a-modern-day-heresy-trial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">modern-day inquisition</a>.
The toll on Räsänen has been immense. In her words: “when we have the elections, I am on the list of those who are suspected of crime. So it has been quite hard. I think that the process itself has been some type of punishment even though I got the acquittal from the Court”. Finnish Parliamentary elections are April 2nd.
An acting Parliamentarian of nearly twenty years, Räsänen has had to juggle her political duties alongside the onerous task of defending her basic human right to free speech. She expressed no hate, no venom, and no violence of any sort. And yet her peaceful expression carried a potential threat of two years imprisonment. This is the state of fundamental freedoms in Finland today.
“I have very long days in my parliamentary work and working with this case also. I am sorry that it has taken my time as a mother and grandmother. What has been most difficult has been those lies about my statements and about my views. What I am most worried about is the atmosphere of censorship, especially for young people,” Räsänen adds. In today’s world, she notes, “young people have to be silent about their faith not to hinder their careers or social acceptance.” She is persevering in the pursuit of justice not just for herself, but for all who find themselves at risk of being silenced.
The true absurdity of what has befallen Räsänen is that it is not just her, but Christianity in and of itself that has been put on trial. She was subjected to thirteen hours of police interrogations about her beliefs, much of which centered on her understanding of the Bible. Investigations focused on a church pamphlet that she wrote almost 20 years ago, and a radio interview she gave in 2019. Räsänen describes the efforts of the Prosecutor in Court: “she accused me that I believe in such a ridiculous book as [the] Bible”. Make no mistake about it — Räsänen’s faith itself is on trial, and freedom of religion in Finland hangs in the balance.
Aware of the enormous implications for fundamental freedoms, Räsänen has expressed that she is willing to defend her human rights all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. She has dedicated her life to the people of Finland, and is seizing this moment to defend the right of every person to speak in accordance with their convictions.
When highly visible elected officials like Räsänen are censored, a chilling effect on the rest of society is inevitable. “I am worried that because this continues and goes on for so long, it is some kind of warning to other people as to what can happen if they use their freedom of speech,” Räsänen notes. Indefatigable, she sees her mission as a calling—“it has been an honor for me to defend freedom of speech and freedom of faith.” And this mission is resonating across the world. Her case garnered international outcry, with Räsänen receiving thousands of messages of support, including an open letter from <a href="https://adfinternational.org/us-senators/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Senators</a> likening the Finnish law to a “secular blasphemy law.”
Finland is far from alone in experiencing a wave of repressive censorship. Reminiscent of Räsänen, Mexican Congressman <a href="https://adfinternational.org/petition-congressman-gabriel-quadri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gabriel Quadri</a> has been convicted as a “gender based political violator” for his tweets questioning whether biological men should occupy spaces reserved for women in Mexico’s Congress. Having exhausted all domestic recourse, he is appealing to the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights.
In Nigeria, Sufi Muslim <a href="https://adfinternational.org/nigeria-blasphemy-laws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahaya Sharif-Aminu</a> was sentenced to death for lyrics sent through messaging platform WhatsApp. He is appealing for his life, and the overturning of Nigeria’s draconian blasphemy laws, at the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Although the consequences may vary by country, it is evident that a culture of silencing is sweeping the globe.
Nobody should be punished for peacefully expressing their beliefs. Räsänen succinctly captures the matter at hand: “the meaning of Bible verses should not be judged in a court room”. It is not for the state to interpret theology, and even less so, for it to leverage the force of criminal law to silence speech. As she asserts: “now is the time to fight for these freedoms.” All enthused by the Finnish happiness trend beware. We must guard against the exportation of the insidious trend to censor speech and criminalize expressions of faith.
Elyssa Koren is an international human rights lawyer and director of legal communications for <a href="https://www.adfinternational.org/">ADF International</a>, which is supporting Räsänen’s defense. Follow her on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/elyssa_koren?lang=en">@Elyssa_Koren</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Helsinki, Finland city centre

‘Secular Blasphemy’: Her Tweet Was Considered A Crime In ‘The Happiest Country In The World’

'Secular Blasphemy': Her Tweet Was Considered A Crime In 'The Happiest Country In The World'

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