Archaeologists in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jerusalem</a> have reportedly unearthed steps descending into the Pool of Siloam, where Biblical records show Jesus Christ healed a blind man over 2,000 years ago at one of the most significant heritage sites in the world.
&#8220;It&#8217;s exciting to be a part of a story that&#8217;s bigger than ourselves — to be a part of bringing a story to life that has significance not for millions, but for billions,&#8221; Ze&#8217;ev Orenstein, director of international affairs for the City of David Foundation, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6336698717112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News Digital.
The discovery comes amid an excavation project in the ancient city of the Middle East carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation, which works to preserve and develop the city and its environs by connecting people through different faiths and backgrounds in Jerusalem.
Construction crews and archaeologists began working on an excavation project at the historic site of Biblical Jerusalem in 2004 after a large water pipe south of Jerusalem&#8217;s Temple Mount, at the southern end of the ridge known as the City of David, burst, according to the Biblical Archaeology Society.
In recent weeks, however, archaeologists discovered a set of eight steps at the project site — about the size of two Olympic swimming pools — dating back to the days when Jesus and millions of others used the pool as an ancient ritual bath.
According to the <a href="https://www.bible.com/bible/114/JHN.9.6-10.NKJV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gospel of John</a>, the story of Jesus and the blind man at the pool began when Jesus and His disciples encountered a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples asked Jesus if the man or his parents caused him to be born blind. Jesus answered that neither caused his disability, but rather, the man had been born blind so that God&#8217;s work might be revealed in him.
&#8220;We must do the work of him who sent me while day lasts; night is coming when no man can work,&#8221; Jesus said. &#8220;While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.&#8221;
Jesus then put clay made from the ground and his saliva over the blind man&#8217;s eyes and said to him, &#8220;Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam.&#8221;
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The blind man went to the pool, washed the clay from his eyes, and returned with his vision restored.
Construction of the pool reportedly began more than 2,700 years ago when Judean King Hezekiah first ordered the digging of a 1,750-foot tunnel under the City of David to bring water from the Gihon Spring, which lay outside the city wall, inside the city to a pool on the opposite side of the ridge, according to the <a href="https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/the-siloam-pool-where-jesus-healed-the-blind-man/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biblical Archaeology Society</a>.
Hezekiah foresaw the likelihood of a looming attack from the Assyrians and presumed the water supply would help the Judeans survive. The tunnel continued to carry fresh water into the part of Jerusalem that would lead to the construction of several different pools, including the Second Temple pool that Jesus knew.
More than 2,000 years later, the biblical site revered by Christians and Jews worldwide marvels at the discovery.
&#8220;The ongoing excavations within the City of David — the historic site of Biblical Jerusalem — particularly of the Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, serve as one of the greatest affirmations of that heritage and the millennia-old bond Jews and Christians have with Jerusalem,&#8221; Orenstein said.
The site, which runs from the Pool of Siloam in the south along the Pilgrimage Road and up to the footsteps of the Western Wall, Southern Steps, and Temple Mount, represents the most significant half-mile on the planet, he added.
&#8220;There is no half mile that means more to more people that affirms Jerusalem&#8217;s biblical heritage not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;And obviously living in a time where so much of biblical heritage is being questioned — to be able to be unearthing all of this historical heritage and antiquity that shows that whether for Jews or Christians, that you could see it, you could touch it, you could walk on it, that really our heritage in Jerusalem going back thousands of years, not simply a matter of faith, but a matter of fact, being unearthed here in the city of David,&#8221; he added.
In January, Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/steps-where-jesus-walked-and-healed-a-blind-man-unearthed-for-first-time-in-2000-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News Digital, &#8220;In the Pool of Siloam, we find evidence of history preserved for us, revealed at just the right time.&#8221;
&#8220;Theologically, it affirms scripture, geographically it affirms scripture, and politically, it affirms Israel&#8217;s unquestionable and unrivaled link to Jerusalem. Some discoveries are theoretical,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This one is an undeniable. It is proof of the story of the Bible and of its people, Israel.&#8221;
Visitors have accessed a small section of the pool previously excavated, but the City of David plans to open the entire historic site once crews complete the project.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a big responsibility. And it&#8217;s also a big privilege, and the best is truly yet to come,&#8221; Orenstein said.

Archaeological excavations in the City of David, Jerusalem, aerial

Steps Descending Into 2,000 Year Old Biblical Site Where Jesus Healed A Blind Man Unearthed By Archaeologists: Report

Archaeologists Unearth 2,000 Year Old Biblical Site Where Jesus Healed A Blind Man: Report

Archaeology

Bible

Christianity

Israel

Jerusalem

Jesus Christ

World

The member of the Finnish parliament facing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/christian-politician-in-finland-grandmother-of-six-on-trial-after-posting-bible-tweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prosecution over her religious beliefs</a> was back in court this week, facing a trial for expressing her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christianity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian</a> views on marriage and sexuality.
Parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen <a href="https://adfinternational.org/trial-about-censorship-of-finnish-politicians-bible-tweet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> before the Helsinki Court of Appeal on Thursday and Friday to defend her beliefs after she was charged with “hate speech” violations, including for a 2019 tweet that included pictures of Bible verses and a pamphlet she wrote on marriage back in 2004.
“Everyone should be able to share their beliefs without fearing censorship by state-authorities. I know that the prosecution is trying to make an example of me to scare others into silence. Yet, you do not have to align with my views to agree that everyone should be able to speak freely. With God’s help I will remain steadfast and continue defending everyone’s human right to free speech,” Räsänen said on the first day of her new trial, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom International, which is supporting the parliamentarian’s defense. 
She was unanimously acquitted by the District Court of Helsinki for the same charges back in March 2022.
Bishop Juhana Pohjola is also being prosecuted for publishing the pamphlet under charges related to “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in the criminal code of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/finland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Finland</a>. 
Prosecutors have argued that they “can limit freedom of expression in the outward expression of religion.” They also said that the 2019 tweet was criminal because of Räsänen&#8217;s interpretation of the verse. “You can cite the Bible, but it is Räsänen’s interpretation and opinion about the Bible verses that are criminal,” the prosecutor said. 
Paul Coleman, the executive director of ADF International and a member of Räsänen’s legal team, said that Finland’s hate speech laws were a danger to democratic societies. 
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“In a democratic society, everyone should be free to share their beliefs without fear of state prosecution. Criminalizing speech through so-called ‘hate-speech’ laws shuts down important public debates and endangers democracy. Cases like Päivi’s create a culture of fear and censorship and are becoming increasingly common worldwide. We hope the Helsinki Court of Appeal will uphold the fundamental right to freedom of speech and clear Päivi Räsänen of these baseless charges,” he said. 
The case has garnered international attention <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-lawmakers-slam-prosecution-of-finnish-politician-over-religious-beliefs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with Republicans urging</a> State Department Officials to step in and support Räsänen. Earlier this month, Republican representatives sent a letter to Douglas Hickey, America’s ambassador to Finland, and Rashad Hussain, the ambassador for the U.S. Office of Religious Freedom, in her defense.

Screen Shot 2023-09-01 at 8.04.37 AM

Finnish Politician Back In Court For ‘Criminal’ Interpretation Of Bible Verses

Finnish Politician Back In Court For 'Criminal' Interpretation Of Bible Verses

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Finland

Homosexuality

Religious Liberty

Social Issues

A couple months ago, on the first day of a major Islamic religious holiday, a man casually <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/sweden-police-koran-protest-turkey-nato-b2365807.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">walked</a> up to a mosque in Stockholm, Sweden. With hundreds of people looking on, he produced a Koran and began ripping out the pages. He wiped a few of these pages on his shoe. Then, the man set the Koran on fire.
Five thousand miles away, at the U.S. State Department, Joe Biden&#8217;s diplomats sprang into action. Within hours, the State Department issued the strongest possible <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-state-dept-says-it-condemns-burning-koran-sweden-2023-06-29/#:~:text=WASHINGTON%2C%20June%2029%20(Reuters),an%20endorsement%20of%20the%20action." target="_blank" rel="noopener">condemnation</a> of the Koran burning. &#8220;I will say that we do condemn it,&#8221; said a State Department spokesman. The spokesman added that the demonstration had created &#8220;an environment of fear&#8221; that &#8220;will impact the ability of Muslims and members of other religious minority groups from freely exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief in Sweden.&#8221;
Whatever you think of that response, you have to admit it&#8217;s a bit surprising. It was just two years ago that criminals torched, vandalized, and looted more than 80 churches across Canada. Unlike Sweden, Canada sits directly on the border of the United States. Some churches that went up in flames are a ten-minute drive from major population centers in this country. And yet, as the churches were razed, Joe Biden&#8217;s State Department didn&#8217;t say a word. One Koran burning in Sweden gets their attention. The destruction of dozens of churches a few miles north of the U.S. border? They can&#8217;t be bothered.
Neither could Canada&#8217;s prime minister, Justin Trudeau. As his country witnessed a historic campaign of anti-Christian terrorism two years ago — a campaign that, somehow, led to just one arrest — Trudeau said the violence was unacceptable but also &#8220;understandable.&#8221; Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="&#039;Unacceptable and wrong&#039;: PM Trudeau condemns church vandalism" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PxKMNTMPhhs?start=55&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It&#8217;s &#8220;understandable,&#8221; Justin Trudeau says, as thugs torch Christian churches. He ignores the attack on Christianity in his country, just as politicians in the United States ignored the deadly mass shooting by a trans terrorist at a Christian school in Nashville earlier this year. And just as they ignored the campaign of terrorism directed against pro-life pregnancy centers. 
In all of these cases, elected officials didn&#8217;t simply excuse violence against Christians. Instead, for years, with the help of corporate media, these officials engineered hoaxes for the purpose of demonizing Christians. The point of these hoaxes was to create a pretext for the violence that inevitably followed. In the U.S., the hoax took the form of disingenuous warnings about &#8220;trans genocide” and an entirely fictional epidemic of anti-trans murders — murders that turn out, in nearly every case, to be related to domestic disputes, drugs or prostitution and had nothing to do with the fact that the victim identified as trans.
In Canada, the hoax that prompted the church burnings began in earnest in May 2021, when Canadian media reported that ground-penetrating radar had found the unmarked graves of more than 200 children near an Indian Residential School in Kamloops, which is located in British Columbia. Many of the media reports and social media posts referred to these alleged sites as “mass graves.” The Canadian government had established these residential schools in the 19th century to assimilate native Canadian children into Canadian culture. They were mainly operated and funded by the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican churches.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1209-canada-s-mass-graves-hoax-is-yet-another-fabricated-narrative-to-demonize-christians-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
Leftists in Canada have long maintained that these schools mistreated children. That&#8217;s been conventional wisdom for some time in Canada; it&#8217;s one of the reasons Canadian activists now argue that Canada should strip Catholic schools of all provincial funding. These supposed “mass graves” were the confirmation that they needed. The evidence to support the narrative they already believed. 
Now, to be clear, it’s long been suspected that children did die of diseases like tuberculosis and influenza at these schools. It’s also true that, in that time period, countless children of all races and ethnicities across the world died of these diseases. But the discovery of supposed “mass graves” at one of these schools, to the media and the Canadian government, meant something very different. The finding, they suggested, meant that Christians had systematically murdered children at these schools and then covered up the evidence. 
The Toronto Star reported, &#8220;The Remains of 215 Children Have Been Found.” The AP <a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2021/06/24/bodies-found-indigenous-school-canada-240926" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, &#8220;Over 600 bodies found at another Catholic school for Indigenous children in Canada.&#8221; U.S. News and many other outlets <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2021-06-04/canada-recognizes-genocide-except-against-its-own-indigenous-peoples" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> it confirmation of &#8220;genocide.&#8221; Within days, there were reports that ground-penetrating radar had found unmarked graves at residential school sites all over Canada. Here&#8217;s a Bloomberg report on an additional discovery:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="600+ Unmarked Graves Found At Indigenous Residential School in Canada" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aBXQykkSEUM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
There were dozens of reports like this, all throughout the summer of 2021. This was the reporting from the entire news media in the United States and Canada. In response, Justin Trudeau knelt at one of the supposed grave sites and pretended to cry. Canada Day celebrations were canceled. The government pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to investigate. There were mass protests. Statutes were toppled. 
One outlet that says it &#8220;serves&#8221; indigenous communities, APTN News, reported that &#8220;Demonstrators toppled statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth in Winnipeg during rallies honouring the children discovered in unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools over the past month.&#8221; Here&#8217;s what that looked like:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Demonstrators toppled statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth in Winnipeg this afternoon during rallies honouring the children discovered in unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools over the past month. <a href="https://t.co/Zx0aqPGcOW">pic.twitter.com/Zx0aqPGcOW</a>
&mdash; APTN News (@APTNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/APTNNews/status/1410753619431919618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the eyes of these rioters, Queen Elizabeth represents colonialism, and colonialism means taking advantage of the natives, not helping them. This anti-colonialist narrative is absurdly simplistic, and ignores the actual facts of history. So naturally they want to destroy all remnants of that history, starting with the statues. This was the mainstream position on the Canadian Left. Harsha Walia, the executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association — Canada&#8217;s version of the ACLU — encouraged the vandals. She declared, &#8220;Burn it all down.&#8221; 
Two years later, the lies that these barbarians have been telling have completely fallen apart. No mass graves have been found at these supposed &#8220;unmarked grave sites&#8221; that have been allegedly uncovered with ground-penetrating radar. No bodies, no remains have been unearthed. None at all. It was all a hoax. 
The alleged gravesite in Kamloops, it turns out, was the site of a <a href="https://www.dorchesterreview.ca/blogs/news/the-kamloops-discovery-a-fact-check-two-years-later" target="_blank" rel="noopener">septic field,</a> which was used to dispose of the school&#8217;s sewage. The school dug a massive line of trenches three-feet deep for this purpose, but the &#8220;researchers&#8221; who scanned the site with ground-penetrating radar somehow weren&#8217;t aware of that. How could they miss that little detail? How could they fail to consider other potential reasons why a school might dig trenches? How was a “mass grave” the very first and only assumption? Remember that the radar never detected bodies. It detected “anomalies.” Anomaly just means something unexpected or strange. If there is something unexpected in the ground, why would you assume that the thing must be a mass grave of dead children?
In two years, no one in Canadian state media has bothered to ask that question. Instead, they&#8217;ve sought to discredit anyone who doubts the false narrative. As recently as this summer, the state media outlet CBC ran this headline: &#8220;Residential school denialists tried to dig up suspected unmarked graves in Kamloops.&#8221; The Toronto Star wrote last year, &#8220;Genocide deniers ask: Where are the bodies of the residential schoolchildren?&#8221; 
One senior member of parliament, Marc Miller, argued that Canadians who ask questions are, “part of a pattern of denialism and distortion.&#8221; In other words, seeking verifiable evidence of the media&#8217;s claims is now &#8220;denialism.&#8221; It&#8217;s precisely what they do with climate change. They make these outlandish, unsupported claims, and then when you look into those claims at all, they call you a &#8220;denier.&#8221; What happens to deniers? You can probably guess. If you&#8217;re not on their side of the issue, then you might go to prison. This summer, as Jon Kay reported at Quillette, the investigator appointed by Trudeau to investigate these graves called on the government to give “urgent consideration” to “civil and criminal sanctions” against residential school “denialism.&#8221;
If we take that proposal seriously — and there are signs the Canadian government will — then, ironically, it could mean a lot of natives are about to go to prison. In their efforts to prove their theory of residential school mass graves, these natives are inadvertently debunking it.
Chief Derek Nepinak of one Indian tribe just decided to dig up some graves at a residential school in Manitoba. This is a school that, just a few weeks ago, was <a href="https://www.indigenouswatchdog.org/update/anishinabe-nation-in-manitoba-prepares-to-excavate-14-anomalies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> to be the site of 14 &#8220;possible burial sites.&#8221; Here&#8217;s what the Chief found:
<iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="Chief Derek Nepinak says no evidence of human remains found on church&amp;apos;s grounds" src="https://rumble.com/embed/v36s3mo/#?secret=v3OQn8WyW1" data-secret="v3OQn8WyW1" width="360" height="640" frameborder="0"></iframe>
&nbsp;
There&#8217;s a big buildup and all the disclaimers before he gets around to the reveal, which is that the &#8220;ground-penetrating radar&#8221; hadn&#8217;t picked up unmarked graves. In fact, it picked up a bunch of oddly shaped rocks. Alas, more than a dozen children had not been buried under this school.
You&#8217;d think that would be a cause for celebration. This man just confirmed that children had not, in fact, been murdered and stuffed underground while attending a school many years ago. To most people, that&#8217;d be an uplifting development. A relief. But that&#8217;s not what you see in that video. Instead, the &#8220;Chief&#8221; is clearly bothered by the discovery or lack thereof. He says he&#8217;s worried &#8220;denialists&#8221; might use reality to undermine his activism and his quest for victimhood. The lack of dead children in the ground worries him. Think about that. And he concludes by insisting that, despite this little setback with his theory, everyone knows the Canadian residential school system was abusive. Everyone knows the Christians treated these kids horribly, he says.
Do we know that? What reason do we have to believe that, exactly? The Canadian government and media just spent two years lying about an obviously falsifiable story, which is that there were mass graves at these schools. They lied about genocide when they knew people could simply dig up the graves and prove them wrong. So why should we believe anything they have to say about how horribly these schools were run for centuries? If these schools were so horrible, why did they have to concoct a blatant, grotesque lie about them?
If you didn&#8217;t want people to ask those questions, you&#8217;d be honest with them. You&#8217;d do the exact opposite of what these cretins are doing. Lying like this creates chaos and derails any possibility of a reasonable, fact-based conversation about what actually happened at these schools. It&#8217;s almost as if they&#8217;re doing it on purpose.
It&#8217;s tempting to dismiss all of this and say it&#8217;s only happening in Canada, which is a uniquely godless place. And at some level, that&#8217;s true. Canada is one of the few nations on earth to permit abortion up to the moment of birth. They&#8217;re one of the only places on Earth where people who don’t even have terminal illnesses can be euthanized like stray dogs. That level of savagery is exceptional.
But on this issue, as with so many others, the Left in this country agrees with Canadian liberals. Recall that, a year before the Canadian church burnings, rioters in this country torched St. John&#8217;s church across from the White House. No one on the Left pretended to care. When Donald Trump tried to tour the damage, they called him a fascist.
The kind of people I&#8217;m talking about here are not confined to Canada. And their goal is not simply to win elections. Their goal is destroying the foundation of Western civilization, most notably Christianity. And in the face of this effort, virtually no one is pushing back — not even the Vatican. In fact, the Pope has <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/29/1114468497/in-canada-the-pope-delivers-an-apology-to-indigenous-peoples#:~:text=In%20Canada%2C%20The%20Pope%20Delivers%20An%20Apology%20To%20Indigenous%20Peoples,-Listen%C2%B7%2013%3A51&amp;text=via%20Getty%20Images-,Pope%20Francis%20comes%20to%20Canada%20to%20apologize%20to%20Indigenous%20peoples,in%20the%20residential%20school%20system.&amp;text=via%20Getty%20Images-,This%20week%2C%20Pope%20Francis%20has%20been%20in%20Canada%2C%20on%20what,a%20%22Pilgrimage%20of%20Penance%22." target="_blank" rel="noopener">apologized</a> to these Canadian activists. He went on a &#8220;pilgrimage of penance&#8221; over Canada&#8217;s residential schools.
What did that accomplish? Nothing, of course. Cultural vandals will forget their own lies the moment they&#8217;re disproven. They&#8217;ll just move on to the next lie. But they&#8217;ll never forget weakness once they see it. They&#8217;ll never be deterred by anyone who doesn&#8217;t tell the truth about what they&#8217;re doing. So here&#8217;s the truth. Like Justin Trudeau, Joe Biden&#8217;s handlers hate Catholics, hate Western civilization, and they&#8217;ll use whatever hammer is available to beat us over the head. They are spiritual enemies. It&#8217;s time to stop giving them the upper hand.
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Matt Walsh 1

Canada’s ‘Mass Graves’ Hoax Is Yet Another Fabricated Narrative To Demonize Christians

Canada

Catholic Church

indigenous

Justin Trudeau

Matt Walsh

Readers Pass

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ohio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ohio</a> Right to Life has fired Elizabeth Marbach, the organization’s communications director, following a viral exchange on X with Congressman Max Miller (R-OH), whose wife is a Member Trustee at the pro-life organization, according to <a href="https://republicsentinel.com/articles/exclusive-ohio-right-to-life-fires-christian-after-republican-lawmaker-blasts-her-for-sharing-the-gospel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sentinel</a>.
On Tuesday, Marbach posted to X: “There’s no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone.”
Miller reposted Marbach’s message, stating: “This is one of the most bigoted tweets I have ever seen. Delete it, Lizzie. Religious freedom in the United States applies to every religion. You have gone too far.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is one of the most bigoted tweets I have ever seen.
Delete it, Lizzie.
Religious freedom in the United States applies to every religion.
You have gone too far. <a href="https://t.co/QCx8oAT1Kr">https://t.co/QCx8oAT1Kr</a>
— Max Miller (@MaxMillerOH) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaxMillerOH/status/1691564395342488045?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
Marbach then reposted Miller, writing that “these are the words of Jesus himself,” further quoting scripture.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sorry, Congressman, but these are the words of Jesus himself.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
No one has hope outside of Jesus Christ and every knee will bow one day declaring that Jesus Chris is Lord. <a href="https://t.co/23txJgEZMa">https://t.co/23txJgEZMa</a>
— Lizzie Marbach (@LizzieMarbach) <a href="https://twitter.com/LizzieMarbach/status/1691566624640270452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
Following further exchange, as well as backlash from numerous people, Miller offered an <a href="https://twitter.com/MaxMillerOH/status/1691617105924272208" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apology</a>, saying his tweet “conveyed a message” that he “did not intend,” adding, “I sincerely apologize to Lizzie and to everyone who read my post.”
Congressman Miller’s wife, Emily Moreno Miller, is a <a href="https://ohiolife.org/who_we_are/emily_moreno_miller/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Member Trustee</a> at Ohio Right to Life. According to <a href="https://republicsentinel.com/articles/exclusive-ohio-right-to-life-fires-christian-after-republican-lawmaker-blasts-her-for-sharing-the-gospel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sentinel</a>, Marbach was provided the option to resign or “receive a transition period,” but reportedly declined.
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The Sentinel also notes, however, that Marbach’s dismissal follows not only her viral interaction with Congressman Miller, but a post on X in which she called abortion activist Rachel Coyle a “<a href="https://twitter.com/LizzieMarbach/status/1689650866792636417" target="_blank" rel="noopener">murderous liar</a>,” which reportedly troubled a senior Ohio Right to Life employee.
Ohio Right to Life CEO Peter Range issued a <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterRange12/status/1692368045971226751" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on X regarding Marbach’s ouster on Thursday evening.
“Ohio Right to Life can confirm that Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Marbach is no longer employed at Ohio Right to Life,” Range said in a statement attributed to the pro-life organization. “This decision was not based on any single event as some on social media claim. We appreciate Lizzie&#8217;s service and wish her the best in future endeavors.”
Speaking with The Sentinel, Marbach said she prays that Ohio Right to Life doesn&#8217;t allow &#8220;politics&#8221; to distract the organization from &#8220;abolishing abortion.&#8221;

Pro-life

Ohio Pro-Life Org Ousts Comms Director After Viral Christian Social Media Exchange

Abortion

Media

Ohio

Pro-Life Movement

U.S.

A Christian community in Pakistan found itself under attack on Wednesday as a Muslim mob reportedly vandalized churches, torched homes, and burned Bibles after two Christians were accused of blasphemy. 
At least two churches were vandalized and one was burned in Jaranwala, a largely Christian area in the Faisalabad district in eastern Pakistan, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-muslim-attack-churches-blasphemy-christian-faisalabad-bc671037bdd389af6b67e0292cc18582" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Associated Press. In addition to the mob – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/16/churches-attacked-faisalabad-pakistan-blasphemy-claim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">armed</a> with rocks and sticks – attacking places of worship, at least one home was demolished while several others were vandalized, though some reports say more churches were damaged. Many Christians were forced to flee their homes for safety. 
“We, Bishops, Priests and lay people are deeply pained and distressed at the Jaranwala incident in the Faisalabad District in Pakistan,” Bishop Azad Marshall, the moderator bishop of the Church of Pakistan, <a href="https://twitter.com/BishopAzadM/status/1691729068889354251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted to X</a> Wednesday. “A church building is being burnt as I type this message. Bibles have been desecrated and Christians have been tortured and harrased (sic) having been falsely accused of violating the Holy Quran.”
“We cry out for justice and action from law enforcement and those who dispense justice and the safety of all citizens to intervene immediately and assure us that our lives are valuable in our own homeland that has just celebrated independence and freedom,” Marshall added.
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Words fail me as I write this. We, Bishops, Priests and lay people are deeply pained and distressed at the Jaranwala incident in the Faisalabad District in Pakistan. A church building is being burnt as I type this message. Bibles have been desecrated and Christians have been… <a href="https://t.co/xruE83NPXL">pic.twitter.com/xruE83NPXL</a>
&mdash; Bishop Azad Marshall (@BishopAzadM) <a href="https://twitter.com/BishopAzadM/status/1691729068889354251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Two Christian members of the community were accused by the mob of blasphemy, alleging that they desecrated a Quran by tearing out pages and writing insulting things in others, according to the AP. Pakistan has notoriously harsh laws relating to blasphemy, and those convicted of it can be sentenced to death. 
The AP notes that even a simple accusation of blasphemy is enough for a mob to lynch and kill the accused, who are often Christians. According to <a href="https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/persecution/countries/pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Open Doors</a>, a Christian organization committed to serving persecuted Christians worldwide, roughly 25% of blasphemy accusations are levied against Christians, who make up less than 2% of Pakistan’s population.   
Videos on social media have emerged showing the scenes in Pakistan, with the mob toppling crosses from the tops of churches, throwing furniture from windows, and burning fires in the streets. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Pakistan🚨 Alarming situation in Faisalabad. Christian community under attack over charges of Blasphemy.
Majority muslim mob has already burned 3 churches. Mob is heading to the 4th church in Faisalabad.
Several Christian homes, properties and churches have been burned down.… <a href="https://t.co/qjPjPFKaFf">pic.twitter.com/qjPjPFKaFf</a>
&mdash; Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghUpdates/status/1691744360906506433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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France24 news <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230816-mob-burns-pakistani-churches-vandalises-cemetery-over-alleged-blasphemy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that some videos showed mosque loudspeakers encouraging followers to demonstrate: &#8220;Christians have desecrated the Holy Koran. All the clerics, all the Muslims should unite and gather in front of the mosque. Better to die if you don&#8217;t care about Islam,&#8221; a Muslim cleric reportedly said.
&#8220;They broke the windows, doors and took out fridges, sofas, chairs and other household items to pile them up in front of the Church to be burnt. They also burnt and desecrated Bibles, they were ruthless,&#8221; one Christian who fled his home <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230816-mob-burns-pakistani-churches-vandalises-cemetery-over-alleged-blasphemy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> AFP.
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Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the interim Prime Minister of Pakistan – which is 97% Muslim – posted to X that “Stern action would be taken against those who violate law and target minorities. All law enforcement has been asked to apprehend culprits &amp; bring them to justice.” However, as the AP notes, earlier video shows police officers failing to promptly intervene to stop the attacks. 
The crowd was eventually dispersed by police firing into the air and with assistance from Muslim clerics and Pakistani troops – and the promise to arrest the accused Christians. Police chief Rizwan Khan said that all people involved in the mob would be prosecuted. 
According to Open Doors, the police force in Pakistan “is more interested in appeasing local strongmen than implementing the law and protecting minorities.” The organization notes that Christians often sit in prison for years before the courts determine their fate. 
According to the <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghUpdates/status/1691744360906506433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 Open Doors World Watch List</a>, of the top 50 countries that most severely and frequently persecute Christians, Pakistan ranks number 7, with the most frequent types of persecution being Islamic oppression, ethno-religious hostility, dictatorial paranoia, and organized crime.

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Muslim Mob Attacks Christian Churches And Homes In Pakistan Following Blasphemy Allegations

Muslim Mob Attacks Several Christian Churches And Homes In Pakistan Following Blasphemy Allegations

Christians

Pakistan

Religion

Republican lawmakers slammed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-global-freedom-of-speech-win-court-clears-finnish-official-of-hate-speech-for-sharing-faith-based-views-on-marriage-sexuality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prosecution of a Finnish politician</a> who is facing punishment for expressing her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christianity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian</a> views on marriage and sexuality, saying that the prosecution was indicative of an “open war on Christianity.”
The representatives sent a <a href="https://adfinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Signed_Finland_Letter_August_2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Douglas Hickey, America’s ambassador to Finland, and Rashad Hussain, the ambassador for the U.S. Office of Religious Freedom, in defense of Parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen. Räsänen is <a href="https://adfinternational.org/paivi-us-legislator-support-letter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facing a trial</a> before a Finish appeals court after she was previously acquitted by a lower court of charges including “agitation against a minority group” related to her faith-based views on marriage and sexuality, including a 2019 tweet that called homosexuality a “sin.”
“Finnish Christians once again stand trial for simply being Christians. For more than four years, a rogue Finnish prosecutor has unjustly targeted Member of Finnish Parliament Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola for tweeting a Bible verse critical of her own church and publishing a twenty-year old booklet on marriage,” a letter from 16 House Republicans read.
Signers included Reps. Chip Roy (Texas), Michael Cloud (Texas), Mike Johnson (Louisiana), Andrew Clyde (Georgia), Jim Banks (Indiana), Jeff Duncan (South Carolina), Mary Miller (Illinois), Doug Lamborn (Colorado), Debbie Lesko (Arizona), Michael Guest (Mississippi), Andy Ogles (Tennessee), Ralph Norman (South Carolina), Anna Paulina Luna (Florida), Randy Weber (Texas), Keith Self (Texas) and Alex X. Mooney (West Virginia).
“This case will have worldwide ramifications. For years, we and many others have raised the alarm that the West was experiencing a hostile takeover by radical secularists — guided by open hostility and rancid antagonism toward Christianity — and that one-day people of faith would face trial for merely living out their beliefs,” the letter continued.
Räsänen&#8217;s legal defense is being supported by the Global Religious Freedom at Alliance Defending Freedom International. Her second trial will be before the Finnish Court of Appeal after she was unanimously acquitted by the District Court of Helsinki in March 2022.
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&#8220;The state is attempting to criminalize the peaceful expression of my Christian faith. By continuing its campaign to censor these beliefs, the prosecution is setting a dangerous precedent of intolerance. I hope for another acquittal at the Court of Appeal. The state of free speech in Finland hangs in the balance,” Räsänen said in a statement.
Multiple Republican senators, including Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, have previously expressed their support for Räsänen’s right to express her faith.

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Republican Lawmakers Slam Prosecution Of Finnish Politician Over Religious Beliefs

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House Republicans

An American woman working as a nurse in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/haiti" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haiti</a> was kidnapped last week alongside her child, according to the Christian aid group El Roi Haiti.
On Saturday, the group <a href="https://www.elroihaiti.com/news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that Alix Dorsainvil and her child were kidnapped around their campus in Port au Prince on July 27. The State Department is coordinating with Haitian authorities to deal with the situation. 
&#8220;Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,&#8221; El Roi Haiti said. &#8220;Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.&#8221;
The group, which says it “exists to raise up Haitian leaders who will strengthen families, restore relationships, and build healthy communities that function according to God&#8217;s design and purpose,” asked people to refrain from speculating on social media about the incident. 
Dorsainvil is married to the group’s director, Sandro Dorsainvil. The age of their child is not known. 
In previous videos for the organization, Alix has spoken of her love for Haitians. &#8220;Haitians are such a resilient people. They&#8217;re full of joy and life and love,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/30/1190975869/new-hampshire-nurse-kidnapped-haiti-alix-dorsainvil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;I&#8217;m so blessed to be able to know so many amazing Haitians.&#8221;
El Roi Haiti runs a Christian <a href="https://www.elroihaiti.com/elroi-academy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">school</a> with about 390 students from pre-K to 12th grade. Additionally, the group <a href="https://www.elroihaiti.com/outreach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has</a> adult discipleship groups and education programs. 
The State Department <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/31/world/americas/haiti-kidnapping-nurse.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it was “aware of reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti” and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/americas/haiti-kidnapped-nurse-alix-dorsainvil/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had</a> “no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas.”
U.S. authorities have told Americans not to travel to Haiti as the country has been rocked by political unrest and violence in recent months. 
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“Kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens. Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked,” the State Department <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/haiti-travel-advisory.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a travel advisory.
Christian missionaries have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/haitian-gang-releases-remaining-12-kidnapped-american-missionaries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">targeted in the past</a>, with 17 from Christian Aid Ministries being held for several months in 2021 before eventually being released. The abducted, which included missionaries and their family members, were taken hostage in October in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince by the 400 Mawozo gang.

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American Nurse With Christian Aid Group Kidnapped In Haiti Alongside Child

Americans

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Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and the Biden administration are saying there’s an epidemic of loneliness among Americans.
That’s true. There is an epidemic of loneliness in the country. But their proposed solution is, “What if we actually use the government to fix loneliness?”
Murphy is positing some sort of legislation to establish a national strategy to combat loneliness and promote social connection. He says kids are addicted to algorithms and that evidence shows a decade ago, when teenagers actually had to do more work to find things they cared about or to make connections with their peers rather than depend on the algorithm, they were actually happier.
That’s true — but it’s not the real reason why kids are lonely. Yes, the algorithm is addictive. No, I would not give my kids cell phones with apps on them or access to social media. But blaming it on the decline of parental capacity to stop kids from accessing social media is wrong. The loneliness is really about the decline of community.
Where is that decline of community coming from? Obviously, it’s coming from a decline in religious affiliation.
According to <a href="https://mailer.dailywire.com/click?fre=N36s1Hss3T6SGt9RObrEEIYiyjcmRhgBbXz7_ZzltVTsYrOXGwuyAt3KBVLtErbQA47c1IEEkmoV_I5UXcbpolAO1ml_fj9_KSKCE4Y13SeMgWqEIPHIjILRcpLBl_m3e-6WV9kNlcOL3YKnDFJWLKTPEYbAHUCj88qMKKsQCe-ivuI4PN35qL0zGouaFpnwSVfSkxz14g==" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a brand new Gallup poll</a>, the percentages of Americans who believe in five religious entities (God, angels, heaven, hell, and the devil) “have edged downward by three to five percentage points since 2016.” 74% believe in God right now, which is down from 90% in 2001. That is a marked decline.
And there is a very strong correlation between political affiliation and religious belief. The poll data shows, “Between 78% to 87% of Republicans believe in the five entities.” Only 56% to 66% of Democrats believe in God, angels, and heaven. Further, “less than half say they believe in Hell and the devil,” which makes perfect sense.
Less than half of Democrats believe in hell and the devil, because that might actually imply actual punishment for doing bad things.
If you believe there is no punishment in the afterlife, there goes one of the incentive structures for not committing sins in this life for hedonistic purposes. The decline in religious affiliation is not just a matter of “do you believe in God or not?” I don’t believe in the phrase “believe in God.” I don’t think anybody sits around and mulls about God other than philosophy majors. Even people who are religious don’t sit around thinking about God all the time.
They act in God. They live in God. They live based on certain godly principles, and then they enact those in their daily lives.
Many agnostics and atheists are operating from religious principles. They just don’t acknowledge it. If they believe there’s a moral right and wrong, that is a religious principle; it is not discernible from evolutionary biology. If they believe the universe is a place you can actually understand, that your brain reflects eternal truths in the universe, that’s a religious principle. You can’t get that out of evolutionary biology or deterministic biology. You just cannot.
So if you live in that world, you’re living in a religious world. If you acknowledge that, then you might form communities of interest around those values. That’s where churches come from. The decline of church is directly correlated to the rise in loneliness because church is where people used to get together. It still is for a huge number of people.
My family is not lonely because, not only do we have kinship connections, but my parents, my wife’s parents, and two of my sisters also live close. We have an incredibly close friendship group. We have a religious community with hundreds of families, all of whom are generally religiously like-minded; that allows for a certain commonality of interest. I have people for my kids to play with.
It gives you a social safety net. It makes you feel as though you’re involved. When you atomistically remove people from their church, which is the only place that has been durably proven to actually have social connection, then you end up with loneliness.
However, Democrats like that loneliness because church comes with strings.
But every community comes with strings.
Everybody likes to pretend community is just you and your friends being nonjudgmental with each other. But that’s not true. Even you and your friends have a judgmental set of values with regard to people who are not you and your friends. Every group requires a buy-in. Every group requires skin in the game.
What the Democratic Party and many members of the Left believe is, there should never be skin in the game. They believe if you require skin in the game to be part of the group, that’s an inherent imposition on you and your authentic identity. That’s going to break down into atomistic individualism pretty quickly, which breaks down into loneliness because now you are removed from the commonality of interest, the skin in the game, the sacrifice necessary to be part of a group.
And then you’re shocked when loneliness abounds? Yes, social media has exacerbated all of this, but one of the things I’ve noticed is that there are a ton of kids in the community where I live, and some of them have social media. But loneliness rates aren’t anything like what they are like in secular society, where the kids don’t associate with each other outside of school, where there isn’t a 25-hour period every week where kids go to synagogue or church together. And when I say there’s no substitute for church, I mean there is no substitute for church, synagogue, mosque. There isn’t.
But there’s been an attempt to create ersatz communities of interest. You see that sometimes in college groups, a country club, or a bowling league. It is not the same thing.
Secular humanism does not fill the gap because religious observance is more than simply the relationship between you and God. One of the things Judaism makes very clear is that there are commandments oriented between you and God. You can do them on a personal level. If I say a blessing over food, that is between me and God.
But there is also a question of me and my fellow man.
The relationship between me and my fellow man and my relationship with God are two separate commandments, but the idea is that God is involved even in the relations between men. If you’re talking about how you treat your fellow man, that has to exist within the context of God. There’s a third player. When you remove the third player, it turns out the relations between you and your fellow man tend to disintegrate.
This should not be a shock, but that’s exactly what the Democrats cannot allow because it might actually require a religious obligation — and that might undercut a lot of the arguments they like to make about value systems. So they are simply going to pretend it’s about the algorithm. It’s not about the best way to fight the algorithm, which is religious church attendance.
It’s amazing that this idea even has to be said.

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The Democrats Think They Can Fix Americans’ Loneliness Without Church. They’re Wrong.

Ben Shapiro

Church

Democrats

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Mosques

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ben Shapiro</a> discussed biblical justice and masculinity with Dr. Voddie Baucham, a Christian pastor and author, on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-140-voddie-baucham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest episode</a> of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/sunday-special" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“The Sunday Special.”</a> 
Baucham, the dean of theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia, spoke with Shapiro on the biblical view of social justice and how woke ideology has taken over some Christian churches. 
“When you have weak and faulty worldviews and then seductive language, and then you have leaders with unclear voices, you end up in the mess we’re in,” Baucham told Shapiro, pointing out that many Christians did not use critical thinking when discussing terms such as “social justice.” 
As Baucham explained, Christians believe in God’s justice, which is “the righteous and equal application of God’s law, but not equal outcomes.” In 2021, Baucham wrote a book dealing with the subject called “Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism&#8217;s Looming Catastrophe.”
Baucham was raised by a single Buddhist mother in South Central Los Angeles and had tendencies toward black nationalism before he converted to Christianity, which he said completely changed his worldview. He said he was converted after coming to realize that he was a sinner and needed redemption after a man came up to him and shared the gospel. 
Shapiro and Baucham also discussed the crisis of masculinity across the United States, with many young men seeming to struggle to find purpose. 
“We have to call men back to this understanding of manhood that is outside of themselves. And you being a man is not just about who you think you are or even who you want to be. It’s about you pointing back to the one who made you. It’s about you pointing back to the purpose for which [God] made you,” Baucham said. 
He added that the result of the war on marriage and traditional roles left women unprotected because it left men unchecked. 
Baucham explained that young men need mentors to help point them to the “God who made them, and to point them to Christ who wants to redeem that manhood. Christ who is the ultimate picture of manhood.” 
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After visiting Zambia for many years, Baucham moved there in 2015 to help form African Christian University, which focuses on training students with a Christian worldview and the humanities.
Shapiro asked Baucham about how he responded to people who object to belief in the Bible and God on an intellectual level. Baucham said he would challenge their presuppositions, saying they also needed faith to get where they were.
Their &#8220;presuppositions have been tried before and they’ve led to catastrophe. My [worldview] is based on presuppositions as well, but my presuppositions have led to Western civilization,” Baucham said.
Shapiro’s full conversation with Baucham can be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-140-voddie-baucham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watched</a> here.

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Voddie Baucham Discusses Biblical Justice, Masculinity On Latest ‘Sunday Special’

Masculinity

Social Justice

Sunday Special

The Daily Wire

North American youth face a growing identity crisis: over 300,000 American teenagers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-young-people-in-u-s-have-nearly-doubled-recently-report-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identify</a> as the opposite sex, while drug overdoses and suicide are the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/animated-leading-causes.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leading causes</a> of death for younger Americans — claiming over 72,000 young lives in 2020 alone — as loneliness <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-gen-z-is-turning-to-dating-apps-to-find-friends-fight-loneliness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spreads</a> among Gen Z.
These social contagions are fueled by declining numbers in church attendance nationwide, especially among young people. Surveys by <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gallup</a> and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pew Research</a> show that increasing majorities of Millennials and Gen Zers do not belong to a church or attend services at all, and a sizable minority are now “religiously unaffiliated” — leading one writer to question if Gen Z should be called “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/generation-z-generation-atheist-paul-bois" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Generation Atheist</a>.”
Yet, in the midst of these problems, many youth have found purpose and identity in something greater — 36,000 teens and young adults from across the continent gathered last week for <a href="https://northamericanyouthcongress.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North American Youth Congress</a> (NAYC), a <a href="https://upci.org/nayc-2023-downtown-st-louis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biennial event</a> that seeks to inspire young people to find purpose in faith and community service. NAYC is organized by the <a href="https://upci.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Pentecostal Church International</a> (UPCI).
“The teenagers and young adults who attend NAYC give us hope for the future,” said UPCI <a href="https://upciyouth.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Youth Ministries</a> President Michael Thomas. He said NAYC is “a beacon of light and hope in a world that is being overrun by problems and strife.” 
The event took place last Wednesday through Friday in St. Louis, consisting of worship services, practical training sessions, and a community service project, in which attendees packed thousands of disaster relief buckets in partnership with <a href="https://www.reachoutamerica.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reach Out America</a>.
Thomas described the event as a “counterculture” in that “we try not to allow societal trends to mold or shape our thinking and beliefs” and directly <a href="https://fb.watch/m2li1AI2Vf/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">addressed</a> transgenderism at the event Wednesday night, stating that “Biblical holiness” protects against “gender confusion.”
“How you were born is how you were intended by your Creator to be.” Thomas passionately proclaimed. “God did not put a question mark after your DNA — God put an exclamation point after your DNA! The Word of God says you were fearfully and wonderfully made. Don’t let the world erase how God made you!”
UPCI Superintendent Dr. David K. Bernard contrasted the event’s attendees with broader American culture, which he described as “increasingly secular and even hostile to Christian values.”
Despite the overall decline of religiosity in American youth, Thomas said his organization is experiencing rapid growth, especially among teenagers and young adults.
Meanwhile, author and NYU professor Johnathan Haidt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyu-professor-says-fragile-gen-z-causing-national-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">points to</a> “extraordinarily high rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide and fragility” among Gen Zers as a “national crisis.” Haidt linked the rise of “isolating” activities like social media use to increased rates of depression, particularly among teen girls.
A 2016 <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5127763/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> by the National Institute of Medicine, however, suggests that membership in a religious group can decrease one’s risk of depression and other mental health problems. NAYC’s organizers and attendees echoed the study, saying the conference helps youth connect with others and find their purpose in faith.
When asked about the mental health crisis, Thomas said that for these young Christians, “purpose and identity can be found in the Word of God.” 
“This purpose and identity are given to us by a loving Creator,” Thomas told The Daily Wire. “In a world of increasing loneliness and isolation, this event solidifies to a young person that they are not alone in their journey or their walk with God.” 
“NAYC helps me find community … in the power of coming in unity with people from all over the United States and worshiping the same God,” said 15-year-old Kayleigh Stephens. Anita Sullivan Lewis, of Cross Plains, Tennessee, told The Daily Wire that NAYC “gives my nonverbal son who has Down Syndrome and autism a sense of belonging. All the kids in our youth group include him, pray with him, make room for his wheelchair, and give him high fives to let him know he’s loved.”
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Back home, many of these students and parents face intense cultural battles in their school districts. Recent protests have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/christians-and-muslims-unite-in-michigan-to-fight-sexually-explicit-material-in-school-libraries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broken out</a> over new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-muslim-and-christian-parents-show-up-in-force-to-protest-lgbt-books-at-maryland-school-board" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mandates</a> in favor of teaching transgenderism and sexually explicit material to kids, uniting Christian and Muslim parents alike. Meanwhile, other religious <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/church-of-england-allows-blessings-for-same-sex-civil-marriages" target="_blank" rel="noopener">groups</a> openly embrace Left-wing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-100-florida-churches-fleeing-denomination-over-lgbtq-issues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ideologies</a>.
“It is through our relationship with God and His Word that certain questions about our identity can be settled, our direction and purpose in life can be answered, and we can live the whole and complete life we were intended to live,” Thomas concluded.
As cultural battles intensify across the country, many people of faith are conflicted about how to proceed. Yet, the organizers of NAYC see a path forward.
Dr. Bernard said that Christians can be both “loving and firm” in these battles. “We should seek to uphold important values for life, marriage, family, and society; and we should partner with others who share these goals,” he said.
“We should respect everyone as created in God’s image and as souls for whom Christ died.” he continued. “We shouldn’t be antagonistic, harsh, hateful, or bigoted, even when provoked. At the same time, we [should] be firmly committed to truth, and doing so isn’t bigotry.”
Thomas echoed Bernard’s call for a firm stand for Biblical values while loving those with whom they disagree. He said that “Jesus showed us the perfect model for this in the New Testament.” 
“Jesus told us to love everyone, but this does not mean we condone or endorse their lifestyle if it is contrary to His Word. Every word and action that we as Christians display should be motivated by and saturated with love,” Thomas said. “Disagreement should never become hatred.”
This form of love resounds with young Stephens, and she said her mission as she returns from the conference is “to impact my community and school by showing the love and compassion of Christ, to see people filled with His Spirit, [and] their families renewed and restored. … I want lives to be changed and miracles to be performed.”
Amid the cultural <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/middle-schoolers-accused-of-homophobia-after-chanting-usa-tearing-down-pride-decorations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">battles</a> in public schools across the country, attendees told The Daily Wire how NAYC inspires them to be strong in their faith despite facing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bible-pulled-from-utah-school-district-libraries-because-of-vulgarity-or-violence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opposition</a> in their schools.
“I have been inspired in many ways,” said Talyha Bonny, 14, of Worcester, Massachusetts, who teaches Bible studies at her school over fierce ridicule by her classmates. “NAYC inspired me to put God first because when I do that, I will be strengthened, and I won’t be afraid.”
Stephens, from Troy, Missouri, described being a Christian in her public school as “a hard thing to do in the world we live in.” She said, “NAYC empowers me to tell my school about Jesus and the good he has done for me. It is hard to speak out and tell people about Jesus and the ‘why’ behind my acts,” she said, “but it is beyond rewarding seeing my friends go to church with me and ask me questions about my faith.”
NAYC was last held in 2019 with a pre-pandemic record of 37,000 attendees and took place virtually in 2021 due to the virus. The event will be held next in 2025 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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36,000 Young Christians Gather In St. Louis To Find ‘Purpose & Identity … In God’s Word’

36,000 Young Christians Gather In St. Louis To Find 'Purpose & Identity ... In God's Word'

Gen Z

Millennials

Three North American <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christianity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian</a> pastors who endured legal punishment from state and federal governments for defying authoritarian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a> orders to keep their churches open amid the pandemic are featured in a new documentary set to hit select theaters nationwide on Friday.
&#8220;The Essential Church,&#8221; produced by Grace Productions and starring Grace Community Church Pastor Dr. John MacArthur, is a feature-length documentary that explores the struggle between Church and government throughout history.
&#8220;This upcoming feature-length documentary explores the ancient struggle between the Satanic World System and Christ&#8217;s people through the story of Grace Community Church&#8217;s legal battle, church history, and the church during worldwide lockdowns,&#8221; according to the film&#8217;s <a href="https://essentialchurchmovie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>.
Beginning with the Scottish Covenanters back in the 1600s and interwoven with stories about modern-day pastors, the film details through scientific, legal, and Biblical perspectives why gathering in person remains essential, especially at a time when the world faced unprecedented health fears exacerbated by federal agencies, state-run media outlets, and politicians at every level of government.
Shannon Paul Halliday, the film&#8217;s director, told The Daily Wire that he wanted his debut documentary to focus on presenting a timeless element for viewers about a moment in history that will stay relevant for years to come.
&#8220;I really wanted it to transcend the lockdowns or transcend COVID,&#8221; Halliday said. &#8220;I think a lot of people have COVID fatigue — I have COVID fatigue — so I didn&#8217;t want it to be just a completely science based type of argument. We needed to tell the story of the church, and when you do that you&#8217;re dealing with theological concepts.&#8221;
In the Summer of 2020, Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, garnered national attention after becoming the center of controversy when MacArthur and church elders stood up against state and local health guidelines by returning to in-person church gatherings. While the church reopened and members of the congregation returned to the sanctuary, the film gives an inside look at division MacArthur and Grace Community leaders faced with the government and among each other.
&#8220;There&#8217;s never not any drama or anything like that,&#8221; Halliday said. &#8220;So to show our elder board and the division they had and how they worked through it I think is going to be really interesting to people out there and might entice them to want to see the film.&#8221;
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After months of battling with Los Angeles County officials, the Southern California church was ultimately rewarded with an <a href="https://twitter.com/JennaEllisEsq/status/1432791164151865349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1432791164151865349%7Ctwgr%5Eca9d0a7a23e8a83243c7b430112c7ec1c04c653e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.cbn.com%2Fnews%2Fus%2Fjohn-macarthurs-church-receives-massive-settlement-after-defying-covid-health-orders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$800,000 settlement</a> based on Supreme Court rulings earlier that year, which declared that churches in California could be exempt from enforcement of some of the state’s coronavirus policies.
Also included in the documentary are Canadian ministers Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary and James Coates of GraceLife Church of Edmonton in Alberta. Both pastors were among several clergymen imprisoned in Canada for refusing to shutter their churches as ordered by the Crown, receiving legal fines, public scrutiny enhanced by legacy media outlets, and more than 20 days of imprisonment.
Halliday said that tying in Coates and Stephens was crucial to the story because they communicated the real stakes when church leaders stood up to totalitarianism.
&#8220;They made a sacrifice for conviction — a Biblical conviction — that Jesus Christ is the head of the church,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And there isn&#8217;t any context or any emergency act that we should ever compromise for that.&#8221;
Actor and outspoken evangelist Kirk Cameron said the film will &#8220;open your eyes to the darkness of our cultural moment and shine bright rays of hope and courage for the Family of Faith.&#8221;
&#8220;When churches in the communist state of California were closed under COVID house arrest by order of Governor Newsom, Grace Community Church courageously opened their doors to help the hopeless and the hurting and hold back the storm of authoritarian control,&#8221; Cameron said, according to <a href="https://hanfordsentinel.com/events/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event%2F1803586-movie-screening-the-essential-church" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hanford Sentinel</a>.
Halliday urged &#8220;anybody and everybody&#8221; to watch the film.
&#8220;People shouldn&#8217;t just assume they know what went on with Grace Community Church and with the global church,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;The Essential Church&#8221; opens on July 28, 2023, in select theaters nationwide.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Essential Church Official Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ez20oh_x3Vg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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‘Resist Tyranny, Honor God’: New Documentary Explores The Struggle Of Three Christian Pastors Fighting Pandemic Health Orders

'Resist Tyranny, Honor God': New Documentary Explores The Struggle Of Three Christian Pastors Fighting Pandemic Health Orders

California

COVID

Gavin Newsom

Pandemic

The following is a transcript excerpt from one of Dr. Jordan Peterson’s lectures during the 12 Rules for Life Tour. You can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast/who-dares-say-he-believes-in-god" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listen to</a> or <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/who-dares-say-he-believes-in-god" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watch</a> the full podcast on DailyWire+.
Start time: 43:56
There are only a couple of ways you can be a Christian and a Marxist. One is that you just want to be all things that are good at once regardless of their internal contradictions. So, that would be one reason. Another reason would be that you do not know anything about Christianity or Marxism. The next would be that you are just compartmentalized.
There is this idea that people cannot hold two contradictory thoughts in their mind at the same time. That idea was formulated by someone who has never met a human being because you can hold about 50 contradictory thoughts in your head at the same time, as you know whenever you argue with someone that you love. You love them, and maybe you even like them, but you also hate them and you wish that you could just crush them right then and there. That is a lot of contradictory ideas, and that is probably only half the contradictory ideas that are running through your mind at the moment. You are so full of contradictions that it is just beyond belief. 
I know this because I read undergraduate essays. The undergraduate will make a claim in paragraph one and then in paragraph seven will make the opposite claim. And they will not notice that they are intellectually incommensurate. That might happen 30 times in the essay. The reason that works is because they have not been called on the paradoxes, but also because they have not had to live the paradoxes through. Because you really only straighten out your thoughts when you have Impulse A and Impulse B, and they conflict at the same time, and you can either do one or the other but not both. If it is A today and B tomorrow, then you can hold those ideas simultaneously. But if it is A or B right now, then you have to decide: Is A more important or is B more important? You have to put them in a hierarchy. Then you have to act them out, and you have to see what happens. Then you find out if you are full of contradictions.
Part of the way that you iron out your contradictions, which is very hard to do, is that you go out and you do a whole bunch of things in the world, like Socrates did. You have your adventure in the world, and you put your ideas to the test. Those that work out in a paradoxical or counterproductive manner you dispense with, or put lower on the priority list, or something like that. That is how you discover that you cannot hold incommensurate views simultaneously. Carl Jung said that paradoxical views that are not made conscious will be played out in the world as fate. That is really worth thinking about too. So, if you have your typical negative experience — this thing that seems to just keep happening to you, bad luck, let’s call it — it is highly probable that there is a set of ideas that is occupying you, preoccupying you, possessing you, that is driving you in this direction continually. And you cannot or will not work out the contradiction. Maybe you think every woman is your mother, and you have not noticed that you think that. It is something that people think because mothers are women, and it is not a bad initial template, but you have to modify it to some degree. If that is an unconscious idea that you have, and you continue to play it out, you may run into your continual, habitual, negative experience with women, and you will wonder what the hell is wrong with women. But it is not the women who have the problem; it is you. If you run into problems with women all the time, then it is highly probable that the problem is you — not always, but generally. 
To discuss this Marxist and Christian idea, we will start with some of the ideas of Marx. Marx believed that people were basically socially constructed, so that we were blank slates and our nature was given to us, essentially, by our surroundings, but even more importantly by our social class. Marx was a theorist of social class and believed that the primary motivator of human history — the primary driver of human history — was the rich versus the poor or the bourgeoisie versus the proletariat. That was a consequence of your social upbringing and your group identity was paramount. There is nothing about that that is vaguely Christian. That is not how the Christian worldview works. That is not how the Judeo-Christian worldview works because in that worldview, you are fundamentally an individual. Your nature is fundamentally attributable to you by God. You are fundamentally responsible to God. And history itself is something like the playing out of your relationship to the transcendent. So those are not the same. They are not commensurate. You cannot believe both of them at the same time. 
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LISTEN: Catch all the episodes of the Jordan B. Peterson podcast on DailyWire+.</a></h4>
Marxism is a materialistic philosophy. It is predicated on an idea that [Fyodor] Dostoevsky criticized in great depth — that if you just made people rich enough, if you deprive them of their privation, if you equalize their economic status, then the utopia would come to light upon earth. I have a certain amount of sympathy for a viewpoint like that because who likes starvation and misery? There is nothing positive to be said about that. But I think Dostoevsky was right too in his criticism of Marxism. He was not directly aiming this at Marx in “Notes from Underground,” but he noted that if you gave people what they wanted in terms of bread and circuses, and they had nothing to do but eat cakes and busy themselves with a continuation of the species, which is kind of a nice phrase, the first thing they would do is take a hammer and smash things just so that something improbable and strange would happen, just so that we could have our way. 
It is kind of a recapitulation of the idea of original sin in Dostoevsky’s subtle manner. He said we are the sorts of creatures that are ungrateful. That is the thing that primarily distinguishes us from animals is that we are ungrateful and we can curse. That was what he thought made us different than animals. And that even if we got what we wanted materially, that would not satisfy us because we are not the sorts of creatures that can be satisfied with material possessions or material comfort because it is not even obvious that we are after comfort. What do you want? Do you want to just lay in a feather bed and eat peeled grapes all day? Maybe for an hour or so that might not be a bad idea, but it is going to get dull pretty quick. You are going to go out looking for trouble. It is certainly possible that the more material resources — and the easier they are to get — that you have at your disposal, the more creative ways you are going to find to cause yourself trouble when you go out and look for trouble. That is a testament to the human spirit, and Dostoevsky knew this. Whatever we are here for, it is not the utopia of equal material distribution. We are not looking to be fed and asleep. I do not know what it is that we are looking for. God only knows. Maybe what we are looking for is to continually keep looking. That is the sort of creatures we are. But the materialist philosophy is, if you just provided for people economically the problem is over. No. Wrong. 
Given that you are going to be ill in one way or another and that you are still subject to mortality and all of the terrible natural limitations that human beings are characterized by, you are about as well off as you are going to get. The economic data already showed that once you have enough money so that bill collectors are not chasing you (which basically puts you in the upper reaches of the working class or maybe the lower end of the middle class) additional money has absolutely no effect whatsoever on your self-reported well-being, which is something like a combination of positive emotion and absence of negative emotion. You might like to think that if you were rich, your life would be better. And maybe it would be somewhat better, but it would not be as much better as you might hope. That is because you would still have most of the problems that people have. You would still not get along with your sister, and you would still get divorced. Maybe you would even be more likely to. There would still be illnesses that would beset you. You would be able to deal with them perhaps with some degree of more urgency. But you still have the problem with what the hell your life is for and what you are doing on the planet and how to conduct yourself in the proper way. So we do not want to be too naive about materialism, even though we do not want to be ungrateful for its advantages. 
Marx also believed that history was basically characterized by the war of socioeconomic groups. That has been transformed more recently into the war of identity groups, which is the same damn thing. It is the same old wolf in new sheep’s clothing: The best way to conceptualize human beings is whatever your damn identity is. Maybe it is sex for you, and it is ethnicity for you, and it is gender for you, and God only knows what it is for you. And that is who you identify with and all there is in the world. And this is the postmodernist view: Hierarchies of people in these identity groups struggling for dominion. That is a quasi-Marxist viewpoint. It is just a variant of the bourgeoisie versus proletariat theory of history, which is a foolish theory as far as I am concerned and certainly not one that we need to take forward into the 21st century, although we seem destined to insist that we do so. He believed that the revolutionary overthrow of the oppressor class was necessary and morally demanded. That turns out to be a little bloodier than I would say the typical Judeo-Christian ethic might require because it does not require you to take up arms against your evil overlords and put them in gulags and kill them by the millions, for example. That, to me, seems to be an important difference. 
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, there is no group guilt. You are guilty and you are guilty of different things. And that is your problem. But maybe you are also innocent. Who knows? But, it is on you. It is not a consequence of your racial heritage or your ethnicity or your gender or any of those things. It is between you and God, or it is between you and the state even. But at least it is between you and the state or God. It is not as though your father or grandfather was a factory owner. It was perfectly reasonable during the Russian Revolution and the Red Terror to vacuum you up along with your whole family and do away with you because you would had been irredeemably tainted by your bourgeoisie past. That is another place where Marxism and Judeo Christianity are not just different; they are opposite. It is not just Variant One and Variant Two. These are seriously different ideas. So there is another reason you cannot be a Marxist and a Christian. 
To hear the rest of the lecture, continue by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast/who-dares-say-he-believes-in-god" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listening</a> or <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/who-dares-say-he-believes-in-god" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watching</a> this episode on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire+</a>.
<a href="https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Jordan B. Peterson</a> is a clinical psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. From 1993 to 1998 he served as assistant and then associate professor of psychology at Harvard. He is the international bestselling author of Maps of Meaning, 12 Rules For Life, and Beyond Order. You can now<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> listen to</a> or<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/watch/jordan-peterson" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> watch</a> his popular lectures on DailyWire+.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>

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Why You Cannot Be A Christian And A Marxist

Jordan Peterson

Marxism

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