I started following Charlie Kirk the moment he stepped on the stage of American politics. I watched him mature in his role as founder of Turning Point USA, and I distinctly remember admiring him for shifting its mission with the realization that the battle for America was not just a political battle, but a spiritual one as well. I was so enamored that I used to imagine being on Charlie’s show — but who was I?
And then it happened. God gave me a chance to be courageous. As a teacher in Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, one of the most controversial school districts in the country, I realized God’s truth was more important than my job security, and I took a stand. Alliance Defending Freedom represented me in a <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/cross-v-loudoun-county-school-board/?utm_source=dailywire&amp;utm_medium=oped">lawsuit</a> against LCPS’s transgender policy. We sued to protect free speech and religious freedom, and to advocate for the truth of God’s design.
Charlie Kirk was the first major media personality to invite us to share our story.
Charlie used his platform to take someone considered a “nobody” and elevate her. That is the kind of man he was. He looked to elevate others rather than himself. I have no doubt that, though I was represented by a prestigious legal organization, it was talking with Charlie on his show that made my witness visible and opened other opportunities for me to see God’s goodness in the midst of spiritual battle.
I’m a high school government teacher. I knew, even as I cried over the loss of Charlie and grieved for his wife and children, that I had many students who loved him. I needed the courage to go into school and talk with my classes about this tragic moment for our nation.
Here is what I said to all of my classes:
<blockquote>“One of Charlie Kirk’s repeated themes was how important it is to talk to one another. He often said when people stop talking, that’s when bad things happen. In a marriage, when people stop talking, divorce follows. In society, when people stop talking, that’s when violence happens. One of Charlie’s missions was to train a generation—your generation—how to do politics the right way, how to engage in honest, respectful civil discourse, especially with those whom you disagree.
“One of the things we’ll be learning in studying the Constitution is that there are two ways to govern people: by talking or by force. Democracies govern by talking. That means engaging respectfully with each other, arguing to persuade one another, discussing, negotiating, compromising, and deciding together how to move forward knowing not everyone is going to agree on everything but figuring out how to live together well even in our differences.
“Over the last few days we’ve learned about healthy and unhealthy civil society. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is the epitome of unhealthy civil society. Charlie believed in faith, family, and freedom. Because he was so confident in what he believed and spoke boldly about it, he was silenced…. Again, there are only two ways of governing people: by talking or by force. If we stop talking, there is only one other option.”</blockquote>
In 30 years, I’ve taught four generations of youth. In many ways, the kids of each generation have been the same — trying to grow up, find their identity, and navigate teenage angst. But over the last two years, I’ve noticed a shift.
For almost a decade, when it was time to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, almost no students recited it. Some even refused to stand. Now everyone stands and recites the pledge. I’ve noticed a hunger for truth and a desire for more than slogans.
Now, more students courageously express their faith in school. It’s not every kid, but it is enough to inspire hope, and I believe that Charlie Kirk’s mission is part of the reason for it. His movement has had a ripple effect, even on the kids who have not necessarily followed him. His footprint is that big.
Charlie Kirk was hated because he was confident in what he believed, gifted at persuading others, and a man of integrity. Proverbs 29:10 says, “The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright.” Jesus told his followers that “the world hates me, and they will hate you because of me.” Goodness evokes one of two reactions from people: hostility or attraction. Those who are attracted want to embrace and merge with that goodness. Those who are hostile to goodness see it as a threat. Simply living right and being a person of integrity will invite hostility.
To our youth: You have a choice. Now is the moment for courage, the time to decide to do what is right, even knowing that it may cost you greatly. My prayer is that this generation, inspired by Charlie Kirk, will stiffen their spines and stand to fight for the same virtues that he stood for so that we may win back the soul of America.
* * *
Monica Gill is a government teacher at Loudoun County High School.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Charlie Kirk Speaks At The Cambridge Union

A Teacher’s Tribute: What Charlie Kirk Taught Me And My Students

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Charlie Kirk

Christianity

Education

Free Speech

Loudoun County

Students

Teachers

Turning Point USA

Virginia

The issue of religious freedom has become one of the most pressing global challenges of our time. While in Western countries debates often revolve around ensuring that Muslims can freely practice their faith, in many parts of the Islamic world, Christians continue to face harsh restrictions, discrimination, and even persecution. This striking contrast raises fundamental questions about reciprocity, human dignity, and the future of coexistence between different faiths.
Few stories illustrate this brutal reality more vividly than that of Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek — known as Saeed Abu Mustafa, a 30-year-old man, who has <a href="https://x.com/DanBurmawy/status/1961379307487437064">been arrested</a>, endured <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@saidabumustafa?_t=ZN-8zg1GnAN5yo&amp;_r=1">torture</a>, isolation, and persecution. During his detention, he was allegedly suspended with his arms tied to a wall in a <a href="https://www.copticsolidarity.org/2025/08/21/egypts-hidden-persecution-the-cost-of-leaving-islam/">crucified position</a> for hours each day, a deliberate mockery of the very faith he embraced. He has been beaten, humiliated, and forced to undergo procedures to burn away a small Christian tattoo. They stripped him of his wife and child. Saeed now sits in a prison cell, together with <a href="https://www.christiandaily.com/news/christian-convert-charged-with-terrorism-in-egypt-after-requesting-new-identification">Islamic terrorists</a>, accused of crimes as absurd as “membership in a banned group” and “contempt of the Islamic religion.” In truth, his only crime is that, in 2018, he converted to Christianity.
In the Roman Empire, Christians were thrown to lions, crucified on wooden beams, and burned alive in public squares. Their crime was simple: they refused to worship Caesar and chose to follow Christ instead. Twenty centuries later, the forms have changed but the substance has not. What the Roman Empire once accomplished with crosses and amphitheaters, Egypt — a nation that receives billions of dollars in aid from the United States — now accomplishes with courtrooms, prisons, and a bureaucracy steeped in Sharia law.
<h3>A Journey From Curiosity To Crucifixion</h3>
Saeed’s path to Christ began with a hunger for knowledge. As a teenager, he immersed himself in comparative religion, asking the questions Islam dared not answer. By 2018, his search ended with baptism into the Russian Orthodox Church. But his conversion would prove costly. His family harassed him. His neighbors denounced him. But above all, Egypt’s National Security marked him as a threat.
Desperate, Saeed fled to Russia in 2019, where he sought asylum. For a time, he breathed free air. But when provoked by Muslims on social media, he responded and lashed out. Russia responded not with tolerance but with jail. Eleven months later, they deported him — despite a UNHCR refugee certificate that should have guaranteed his protection.
Back in Egypt, his persecutors were waiting for him. They detained him, tortured him again, and warned, “If you want to be a Christian, so be it. But you must remain silent.” Silence, however, would prove impossible for this man.
<h3>The Arrest That Sealed His Fate</h3>
In July of 2025, Saeed did the unthinkable. He attempted to exercise his constitutional right to file a lawsuit to <a href="https://www.csw.org.uk/2025/07/24/press/6584/article.htm">update his official identity card</a> to reflect his Christian faith. In Egypt, religion is stamped on every official document: your driver’s license, your job application, even membership to a sports club. It is not merely paperwork; it is a mark of identity and, for converts, a mark of danger.
That step was enough to seal his fate. On July 15, 2025, plainclothes National Security agents stormed his apartment in Cairo’s Matariya district and arrested him. Days later, he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution, charged with membership in a banned group, disturbing public order and peace, and contempt of the Islamic religion.
It is difficult to overstate the absurdity of these accusations. When asked how he could be accused of joining a banned group, Saeed responded simply: “How can I be? I am Christian.”
<h3>A Legal Farce, A Human Tragedy</h3>
Saeed’s hearings were conducted over video conference. His lawyer was not allowed to see him. He could not review the charges or the investigation files. Even basic rights guaranteed by Egypt’s own constitution were stripped away.
His lawyer, Saeed Fayez, stated:
<blockquote>“I am immensely worried for Saeed’s safety, because he is locked away in Institute Number 6, where Islamic extremist terrorists are held. He is in danger. Recently, Osama — an Islamist terrorist who desecrated Christian faith — posted a video showing Saeed being beaten. This is torture.”</blockquote>
Meanwhile, Saeed’s fiancé, Sophie, is heartbroken:
<blockquote>“This should not be happening in 2025. His treatment is not human. Egyptian interpretation of terrorism is very different from the rest of the world. When Egypt says he has joined a banned group, what do they mean? Are Christians a banned group? Why cannot these people convert and enjoy their freedom like everybody else? It is a matter of freedom.”</blockquote>
<h3>The Pattern Of Persecution</h3>
Saeed’s story is part of a long line of shattered lives. He is not the first, nor will he be the last.
In 2007, Mohammed Hegazy openly demanded recognition of his conversion. For that, he was arrested, tortured. He first stated that he had abandoned Christianity to return to Islam, but once released from prison, he revealed he had remained a Christian all along, explaining that his supposed conversion had been extracted from him under torture.
Decades earlier, Maher El-Gowhary had tried the same. Judges even admitted his case was valid, but they ruled conversion a “threat to public order.” He has lived ever since as a fugitive in his own land.
More recently, the stranglehold on religious expression continues. In early 2025, Abdulbaqi Said Abdo — a Christian convert detained since 2021 for speaking about his faith and aiding fellow converts online — was released after years behind bars on blasphemy charges. His fellow detainee, Nour Gerges, was also freed, yet both men still face pending accusations. Abdo spent months in solitary confinement, suffered deteriorating health, and even declared a partial hunger strike in protest.
Others have suffered in quieter ways, their names whispered in churches and exile communities. A young woman named Naglaa had her head shaved by her brother and her Bible burned before her eyes. Amir Ibrahim, a professor, was fired and charged for daring to declare himself Christian. A teenager called Andrew has changed homes seven times in six months to escape his family’s wrath. Mirna, a mother, lost custody of her daughter the moment she embraced the Cross. Karim Abu El-Kheir, at 19, was jailed for writing on Facebook: “Christ is my salvation.”
These are not isolated incidents.
Egypt’s constitution, however, contains a fatal contradiction. Article 2 enshrines Islamic Sharia as the source of law. Article 46, on the other hand, promises freedom of belief. And whenever they collide, Sharia wins.
That is why Saeed is in prison. That is why converts live as “ghosts,” hiding in basements, carrying fake names, unable to marry, work, or claim their children. Egypt’s notion of religious freedom appears paradoxical: one may hold personal beliefs, provided they never stray from Islam.
<h3>Why The West Must Act</h3>
Every year, America sends billions of dollars in aid to Egypt. Washington calls Cairo a “partner” and a “moderate.” But what moderation is this? A nation that jails a man for following Christ is no partner in freedom.
This is not simply a matter of cultural difference — it is a matter of right and wrong. If America believes in liberty, it must advocate for the release of Saeed and others like him. It must place conditions on aid when it comes to genuine freedom of religion. It must remind Egypt that partnership with the United States comes with moral obligations.
Saeed’s crucifixion may not be on Golgotha, but it is no less real. And it demands a response. If America still believes in the dignity of the human soul, then it must raise its voice. Because the true test of freedom is not how we protect the majority — it is how we defend the lone man in a cell, whose only crime was to whisper the name of Jesus.
In the early centuries of Christianity, martyrs faced lions with hymns on their lips. Today, in Cairo, they face prison walls and torture cells. But the hymn remains the same: Christ is Lord.
* * *
Paolo Gambi is an Italian multimedia artist, poet, and contributor to “Il Giornale,” Italy’s primary conservative newspaper. He is the founder of Poetry Renaissance, one of the main networks of poetry in Italy, present in various countries. He has published more than thirty books.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-13-Sep-2025-03-12-PM-7969

He Left Islam For Christianity. Now He’s Being Tortured In A Prison In Cairo.

Egypt

Prison

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Religious Freedom

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Photos have been circulating online of L.A. Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen honoring conservative Charlie Kirk at last night&#8217;s game against the San Francisco Giants.
Treinen wrote the name &#8220;Charlie Kirk,&#8221; sandwiched between two crosses, on the side of his hat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Blake Treinen with ✝️Charlie Kirk✝️ on his hat tonight 🙏 <a href="https://t.co/ZKApLCDO1m">pic.twitter.com/ZKApLCDO1m</a>
— decoy (@decoyposts) <a href="https://twitter.com/decoyposts/status/1966726435466604785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
Kirk, 31, was assassinated while answering questions at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Kirk had massive influence with young conservatives, founding Turning Point USA at just 18 years old. The conservative was known just as well for speaking openly about his faith in God as he was for talking politics.
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Kirk was asked before his death about how he wanted to be remembered. Unsurprisingly, he pointed to his faith in Jesus Christ.
“How do you wanna be remembered? … [If] everything just goes away [and] you could be associated with one thing, how would you want to be remembered?” Kirk was asked.
“I want to be remembered for courage for my faith,” Kirk responded. “That would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith in my life.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Charlie Kirk on how he wanted to be remembered.
Question: “How would you wanna be remembered?”
Charlie: “I wanna be remembered for courage for my faith. That that would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith in my life.” <a href="https://t.co/fwBV9UVefc">pic.twitter.com/fwBV9UVefc</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1965974414748692572?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
Treinen, too, has been outspoken about his Christian faith. When the Dodgers won the World Series in 2024, for example, the pitcher <a href="https://churchleaders.com/news/500008-god-is-absolutely-god-says-pitcher-blake-treinen-after-dodgers-win-world-series.html">said</a>, &#8220;God is absolutely good.&#8221;
&#8220;I gotta give a shout out to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for this moment, man. It’s a lot of hard work, what I’ve gone through,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;This moment is such a blessing.”
Taking on questions from the press, Treinen said it was &#8220;God&#8221; on his mind after the final game. &#8220;Everything I’ve been through, it’s just so good to be here and have this platform,&#8221; he said.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dodgers-ace-clayton-kershaw-adds-bible-reference-to-rainbow-hat-for-pride-night">Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw Adds Bible Reference To Rainbow Hat For Pride Night</a>

World Series – Los Angeles Dodgers v New York Yankees – Game 5

Star Dodgers Pitcher Pays Tribute To Charlie Kirk On Mound

General

Los Angeles Dodgers

Major League Baseball

Sports

U.S.

Avowed leftist author Stephen King was forced to admit his error and apologize after being caught spreading lies about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
As other &#8220;progressives&#8221; on social media tried to justify the brutal assassination of Kirk at a free speech event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, King piled on by sharing a tweet that said, “He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin.’”
Multiple accounts swarmed the comments with evidence of Kirk being civil towards gay people while presenting socially conservative viewpoints and maintaining a biblical view of marriage in his personal life. 
Kirk’s fans and friends went after King, sharing clips of the TPUSA founder speaking with gay people and welcoming them to the conservative movement.
“Hey [Stephen King], you are more monstrous than any of the characters you ever came up with. Charlie was never anything but kind to me and my husband,” conservative commentator Dave Rubin <a href="https://x.com/RubinReport/status/1966299918202540515">replied</a> on X.
“We broke bread many times, and he never treated us with anything other than respect. He even came to our house not too long ago and plot twist, didn’t throw rocks at us. Write about that sometime, you hack,” he added.
“Why would Stephen King post something so blatantly false?” X owner Elon Musk wondered.
Others shared screenshots of Kirk’s previous tweets, including one that said, “I believe marriage is one man one woman. Also gay people should be welcome in the conservative movement. As Christians we are called to love everyone. I will always stand against people who wish to establish their own personal values as a reason to kick others out of the movement.”
The backlash and facts became so severe that King backtracked and apologized on Friday morning.
“I apologize for saying Charlie Kirk advocated stoning gays. What he actually demonstrated was how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages,” the horror author <a href="https://x.com/StephenKing/status/1966474125616013664">wrote</a>.

Stephen King

Stephen King Walks Back Lie About Charlie Kirk With Half-Hearted Apology

Twitter

An assistant high school football coach who is also a school resource officer (SRO) in Clarksville, Tennessee, was removed from the coaching staff over complaints that he was proselytizing to players.
Trey Campbell, a volunteer assistant coach for Northwest High School, was escorted out of last week&#8217;s game at halftime by the school&#8217;s principal after he was holding a Bible and leading players in prayer, according to local news outlet, <a href="https://clarksvillenow.com/local/northwest-sro-put-on-leave-during-review-of-proselytizing-complaint-while-coaching-football/">Clarksville Now</a>. Campbell, a deputy with the Montgomery County Sheriff&#8217;s Office, was also placed on paid leave from his job as an SRO at the school.
The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) said that it had received complaints about Campbell doing more than just leading players in prayer and was attempting to convert players to his faith while in his official capacity as a school employee. The school district said it is currently investigating the incident, WKRN <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/clarksville/northwest-high-school-assistant-football-coach-removed-form-team-after-prayer-sparking-debate-over-faith-in-schools/">reported</a>.
&#8220;It’s my understanding that the concern was not with private prayer, but that the principal received a concern that an employee was proselytizing in their official capacity,&#8221; a CMCSS official added in a statement. &#8220;We will investigate, and I can share more when that investigation has concluded. We are not able to conduct interviews or comment further until after the investigation has concluded.”
According to the school district, &#8220;multiple witnesses observed and video footage corroborated Campbell spending significant time throughout the game on the sidelines with players and other students, quoting scripture, holding a Bible up to spectators, and leading prayers.&#8221;
The school district alleged that Campbell &#8220;became visibly emotional and confrontational&#8221; when he was asked to keep his prayers private. The district added, &#8220;However, multiple witnesses stated that when asked to stop causing a disruption and to put his Bible away, Campbell stated loudly that &#8216;I can’t do it, won’t do it,&#8217; and &#8216;my job is to save these babies.'&#8221;
CMCSS said that witnesses found Campbell&#8217;s behavior last Friday &#8220;uncharacteristic,&#8221; adding, &#8220;Campbell has otherwise been an outstanding SRO, coach, and valued member of the Northwest High School community. He has built positive relationships with students, families, and staff, and has contributed to the safety and well-being of the school.&#8221;
Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson told Clarksville Now that the department &#8220;firmly stands behind any citizen who chooses to lawfully exercise their constitutional rights. This includes our employees.&#8221; Fuson added, “As a man of faith, I was equally concerned about the initial information regarding this and how it appeared to have been handled.&#8221;
The sheriff, however, acknowledged that &#8220;there are always two sides to consider,&#8221; referring to the school district&#8217;s review of the incident involving Campbell. The deputy was placed on leave for &#8220;a couple of paid days off to process all of this,&#8221; according to the sheriff. Fuson added that Campbell&#8217;s position as an SRO at Northwest High School has not changed. When asked to provide further details about the incident and where the sheriff stands on the issue, the Montgomery County Sheriff&#8217;s Office told The Daily Wire that it did not have any further comment at this time.
The issue over Campbell&#8217;s religious practices at the football game comes as President Donald Trump moves to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-promises-fresh-push-to-defend-prayer-in-public-schools">protect prayer</a> in public schools. Trump said on Monday that he has directed the Department of Education to &#8220;issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in our public schools.&#8221;
&#8220;America has always been a nation that believes in the power of prayer,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/">said</a>. &#8220;Together we will make our Country greater, stronger, more united, and more faithful than ever before!&#8221;
The controversy in Tennessee shares some similarities to a major Supreme Court case that was decided in 2022, when high school football coach Joseph Kennedy was pressured by a public school system in Bremerton, Washington, to stop his practice of praying on the field after each game; a practice that many of his players joined. Kennedy&#8217;s contract was not renewed after the controversy over his post-game prayer, and the coach sued the school board. The case made it all the way up to the Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 in Kennedy&#8217;s favor.
In a phone call with The Daily Wire, Marc Wheat, General Counsel for former Vice President Mike Pence&#8217;s organization, Advancing American Freedom, brought up the Kennedy v. Bremerton School District case. Wheat, however, said that the issue in Tennessee appears to differ from the famous 2022 decision based on what&#8217;s been reported so far.
&#8220;My understanding is that Campbell&#8217;s prayer time was during a game where the football players are there to be coached on strategy, tactics, getting them pumped up to go back on the field,&#8221; Wheat said. &#8220;So that&#8217;s pretty different from the Coach Kennedy case.&#8221;
Wheat added that an important question that must be answered is whether the players were required to be present and listening to their coaches when Campbell was exercising his faith. He said that the arguments for and against Campbell practicing his faith at the game could change as more information comes out about the incident. Another aspect that Wheat pointed out that could add to a legal dilemma is that Campbell was acting as a volunteer football coach, while his employment was with the sheriff&#8217;s department.
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, director of the Conscience Project — a religious liberty advocacy group — told The Daily Wire that &#8220;often what&#8217;s reported isn&#8217;t what&#8217;s really going on&#8221; when it comes to religious liberty cases.
&#8220;Sometimes something becomes very sensational and school administrators often act, throwing the net wider than they should and disciplining people for exercising legitimate rights out of fear and ignorance,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;Obviously, there are elements to what&#8217;s been reported that look like religious activity was possibly going on during the game, during what would normally be the coaching of young people. And I think that&#8217;s where the record has to be developed more,&#8221; Picciotti-Bayer continued, adding, &#8220;There isn&#8217;t a problem unless there&#8217;s a level of coercion.&#8221;
Picciotti-Bayer said that new guidance from Trump&#8217;s Education Department could be vital for further protecting religious liberty. She said that she expects the guidance to allow school employees &#8220;to actually live your faith, say your prayer at lunch time. Maybe not over an intercom, but to let that be a part of your life. You don&#8217;t have to leave your faith at the parking lot of the school or the parking lot of the football stadium.&#8221;
This story has been updated to include additional comment from the school district.

Football Field, Bible

High School Football Coach Loses Gig, Placed On Leave After Carrying Bible, Praying With Players

School Resource Officer Loses Coaching Gig, Placed On Leave After Carrying Bible, Praying With Playe

High school sports

Public Schools

Religious Liberty

Tennessee

This summer marked the end of an era in American Christianity. Within weeks of each other, pastor John MacArthur and psychologist James Dobson, two of the most influential evangelical leaders of the past half-century, passed away. MacArthur died on July 14 at the age of 86, followed by his friend Dobson on August 21 at 89. Their distinct but complementary approaches to faith and culture reshaped churches, families, and politics in profound ways.
Both men launched their ministries into the national spotlight in 1977, debuting radio programs at a time when evangelical broadcasting was entering a golden age. MacArthur’s verse-by-verse exposition of Scripture with &#8220;Grace to You&#8221; and Dobson’s biblical counsel on marriage and parenting with &#8220;Focus on the Family&#8221; would eventually reach tens of millions of households across the globe.
Troy Miller, president of the National Religious Broadcasters, told The Daily Wire that both men not only mastered radio but also foresaw the digital transition. “They were pioneers in adopting MP3s, moving into podcasts, and building digital platforms,” Miller said. “Grace to You and Focus on the Family became models for how to keep Christian teaching at the center of new technologies. And part of the legacy that these two men are going to leave was their insistence on being quality communicators, whatever the medium. Both of them worked very hard at their communication skills, whether it be preaching, speaking at conferences, or on the radio. They set the bar.”
<h3>Two Vocations, One Foundation</h3>
Although their ministries often intersected, MacArthur and Dobson took distinct paths to engaging culture. While the two men held the same positions on life, marriage, and sexuality, MacArthur avoided joining political coalitions, famously declining to sign the Manhattan Declaration, a 2009 statement that affirmed the sanctity of life and traditional marriage, because of his doctrinal differences with some of the statement’s authors.
Dobson, in contrast, leaned into politics. Not only was he one of the Manhattan Declaration’s most prominent signatories, in 1995, he also founded the Family Research Council, a Washington-based policy group that quickly became a central voice in the religious right.
Miller said the difference came down to vocation, not conviction. “John MacArthur understood he was a pastor,” he said. “That was his primary calling in life. And as a shepherd, his deepest desire was for people to understand the Word of God better. His expository preaching and teaching, his commentaries, his books were all meant to bring people closer to God. Dr. Dobson understood he was a psychologist. So he was concerned about culture and where culture was headed as a psychologist. They took these two different approaches, but behind both of them was a biblical foundation.”
Grace to You executive director Phil Johnson, who worked closely with MacArthur for more than 40 years, echoed that assessment. “John was always clear that he wasn’t opposed to political involvement by Christians and that there are Christians who are called to all sorts of vocations, including politics.” 
Dobson used his political vocation to tremendous effect.
Political science professor Hunter Baker, who first met Dobson while working as a religious liberty lobbyist, pointed out that by the late 1990s, the radio host had begun to eclipse the influence of the Moral Majority’s Jerry Falwell and the Christian Coalition’s Pat Robertson, in part, due to his academic credentials.
“Robertson and Falwell were essentially televangelists, and they had their influence. But then comes James Dobson. And a lot of people don&#8217;t remember this, but Dobson had an appointment at the USC Medical School as a child psychologist. He was there for 14 years in a very prestigious sort of position.” That credibility allowed Dobson to gain a hearing with audiences that would be less likely to tune into Robertson’s 700 Club or Falwell’s Old-Time Gospel Hour.
After he grew Focus on the Family into a cultural juggernaut, his mobilization of his Christian listeners helped secure the Republican Party’s transformation into a staunchly pro-life party.
“People want to think the Republican Party has always been this great pro-life party,” Baker said, “but Ronald Reagan was really the first one to decisively move in that direction. Yet his advisors were constantly wanting him to take pro-life rhetoric out of his speeches. And so that&#8217;s the Republican Party that Dobson was dealing with in the 90s. And in the late 1990s, Dobson, in his frustration, said, ‘I&#8217;m going to leave this party and I&#8217;m going to take as many people with me as I can.’ That was a threat that could not be ignored.”
<div id="attachment_969125" style="width: 898px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969125" class="size-large wp-image-969125" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688-888x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON - MAY 03: Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family (L), shakes hands with U.S. President George W. Bush (R) as Dobson's wife, Shirley Dobson, looks on during the National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House May 3, 2007 in Washington, DC. The program included prayers and meditations from Christian and Jewish leaders and a performance by the US Army Chorus. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)" width="888" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688-888x576.jpg 888w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688-300x195.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688-768x498.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 888px) 100vw, 888px" />Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</div>
After Dobson took his stand, Baker said, the GOP was forced to commit to the sanctity of life as a key issue. “I would argue that was really decisive. In 2008, even though he was the tremendously popular former mayor of New York City and viewed as a hero of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani got nowhere in that Republican primary process. Why? Because he would not become pro-life in order to run. Then, in 2012, Mitt Romney, who had previously been pro-choice, ran as a pro-life Republican. And I really put all of that at the feet of James Dobson more than anybody else.”
In 2016, Dobson would endorse Donald Trump at a time when few Christian leaders were willing to, helping to shore up Trump’s evangelical support that was vital to winning the election.
<h3>Standing Firm in Cultural Storms</h3>
Though MacArthur resisted joining formal political movements, when politics encroached on the church, he, too, did not hesitate to take a stand.
In 2018, when social justice and critical theory were infiltrating churches and ministries, MacArthur, just as he’d done when he publicly opposed segregation in the 1960s, spoke out. At the time, many nationally known pastors were <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/black-lives-matter-southern-baptist">promoting</a> Black Lives Matter and its <a href="https://x.com/JonathanLeeman/status/1269646035095375874">mission</a>. MacArthur, in contrast, <a href="https://statementonsocialjustice.com/">joined a statement</a> against the Marxist ideology the movement is based on, explicitly rejecting “any teaching that encourages racial groups to view themselves as privileged oppressors or entitled victims of oppression.”
<div id="attachment_138416" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138416" class="size-full wp-image-138416" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/IMG_1038.jpg" alt="John MacArthur" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/IMG_1038.jpg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/IMG_1038-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />Courtesy John MacArthur</div>
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he <a href="https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/2254">openly defied</a> California’s restrictions on in-person worship, telling his congregation, “Whatever this virus is, it does not overpower First Amendment rights.” One of his final public acts came in 2022 when he sent a <a href="https://www.gty.org/blogs/B220928/an-open-letter-to-governor-newsom">scathing letter</a> to Governor Gavin Newsom addressing his use of Scripture to promote abortion:
<blockquote>[Y]ou revealed to the entire nation how thoroughly rebellious against God you are when you sponsored billboards across America promoting the slaughter of children, whom He creates in the womb (Psalm 139:13–16; Isaiah 45:9–12). You further compounded the wickedness of that murderous campaign with a reprehensible act of gross blasphemy, quoting the very words of Jesus from Mark 12:31 as if you could somehow twist His meaning and arrogate His name in favor of butchering unborn infants. You used the name and the words of Christ to promote the credo of Molech (Leviticus 20:1–5). It would be hard to imagine a greater sacrilege… My concern, Governor Newsom, is that your own soul lies in grave, eternal peril.</blockquote>
Johnson said both stances were consistent with MacArthur’s lifelong approach. “He believed the church must keep its focus on the gospel. And the letter to Newsom is a classic example of that because though he&#8217;s addressing a political leader, like John the Baptist did, with a very strong &#8230; gospel appeal.”
<h3>Generational Impact</h3>
Perhaps the clearest measure of MacArthur and Dobson’s legacies lies in the generations they shaped.
MacArthur’s influence can be seen in pulpits across the country. Thousands of pastors trained at the school he founded, The Master’s Seminary, or influenced by his preaching, now carry forward his model of expository preaching. Johnson shared that in his hometown of Tulsa, he once struggled to identify churches that offered sound, biblical preaching. Today, he said, he can point to many who trace their roots to MacArthur’s ministry. “All of them are connected somehow to John MacArthur. And that&#8217;s just one city. I think the whole country has benefited from the men who&#8217;ve been sent out from Master’s Seminary and men who&#8217;ve been influenced by people who&#8217;ve been influenced by John MacArthur.”
Thirty-two-year-old Nashville pastor, Jonny Ardavanis, is one such man. He recalled MacArthur’s advice when asked how to “pick your battles.” MacArthur’s answer was simple: “I pick every battle where gospel clarity and biblical authority are at stake.” Ardavanis said that principle continues to guide his ministry, and he believes the many comparisons to Charles Spurgeon that poured out on social media at news of MacArthur’s death were apt.
“Spurgeon is known as the prince of preachers, and John MacArthur is known for championing the authority and the sufficiency and the inerrancy of God&#8217;s word. That&#8217;s one of the things that John MacArthur really pushed on to the next generation of preachers—open up the Word of God and let it speak. It&#8217;s living and active…Both fought off the liberal drift of their day. Spurgeon was known for the downgrade controversy, where, at the time, the union was drifting in regards to the inerrancy and authority of God&#8217;s word. He stood staunch against that. MacArthur was known for the lordship debate, saying ‘Hey, you can&#8217;t call Jesus your savior without calling him your Lord,’ meaning that it was a rejection of cheap grace. And so both were known for preaching, but for standing firm on issues of doctrinal clarity.”
For Dobson, too, controversy was the cost of conviction, with critics frequently accusing him of turning from family counseling to the culture war. But Baker rejects that assessment. “People say Dobson spoiled his legacy by getting political,” he said, “but what if the issue had been slavery or segregation? We wouldn’t fault someone for standing up against those. Dobson saw abortion in that same category—a fundamental issue of justice.”
As Phil Johnson put it, “[MacArthur and Dobson] were both trying to stand astride the progress of history and say, ‘Wait a minute.’ They saw that a lot of what passed for progress was actually destructive, and they weren’t afraid to fight it.”
<div id="attachment_969131" style="width: 833px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969131" class="size-large wp-image-969131" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928-823x576.jpg" alt="PHILADELPHIA - JANUARY 8: Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, gestures while speaking at the Justice Sunday III rally on January 8, 2006 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by the Family Research Council, the rally was held one day before the start of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. (Photo by Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)" width="823" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928-823x576.jpg 823w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928-300x210.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928-768x538.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 823px) 100vw, 823px" />Jeff Fusco/Getty Images</div>
<h3>A Shared Legacy</h3>
Since their deaths, many of MacArthur and Dobson’s listeners have expressed a measure of fear over what will happen to American Christianity now that the men they viewed as lions of the faith have gone. But Johnson feels that’s a failure to remember what both men taught.
“I understand,” he said, “because it seems like a string of men who we respect and trust, whose voices we want to hear have died. Yet I comfort myself with Christ&#8217;s words that he&#8217;s going to build his church and the gates of hell are not going to prevail against it. So he&#8217;ll raise up new voices and new people with new courage, people who actually are standing on the shoulders of these men. We lament the loss of their voices, but we also understand that all of them believed in the sovereignty of God, that they didn&#8217;t die by mistake, and that their time is in God&#8217;s hands and their shoes will be filled by someone who maybe we don&#8217;t even know yet that the Lord will raise up.”
Their voices may now be silent, but the pastors filling pulpits trained under MacArthur and the activists inspired by Dobson testify that their influence endures.

MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-09-55-AM-3515

Lions Of The Faith: The Legacies Of John MacArthur And James Dobson

The Legacies Of John MacArthur And James Dobson: Giants Of The Faith

Bible

Church

Focus on the Family

James Dobson

John MacArthur

Obituaries

Pro-Life Movement

Republican Party

A task force created by President Donald Trump has revealed countless examples of apparent government weaponization against Christians and other faithful Americans during the Biden administration years.
The Task Force to Eradicate Anti‑Christian Bias &#8212; which was created through an executive order and is chaired by Attorney General Pam Bondi &#8212; concluded in a preliminary report that during the Biden era, there were &#8220;numerous instances of anti-Christian bias.&#8221;
The report details the incidents, which came from a number of government entities, as <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-task-force-finds-numerous-instances-anti-christian-government-bias-under-biden">outlined</a> by Fox News.
The Department of Defense, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Department of Labor, for example, mishandled or denied requests for religious exemptions to the Biden COVID shot mandate. Notably, the Biden administration stood by the mandate until it was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court following a Daily Wire legal challenge.
Biden&#8217;s Department of Education also seemed to target Christian colleges, like Liberty University and Grand Canyon University, with outlandish multimillion-dollar fines. The report also noted Biden&#8217;s Department of Treasury de-banking many pro-Christian groups.
Other well known acts of anti-Christian bias were addressed in the report, such as the Biden administration&#8217;s clear weaponization of the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act against pro-life Christians. As reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-doj-rolls-back-bidens-aggressive-prosecution-of-pro-lifers">The Daily Wire</a>, Biden was able to lock up nearly a dozen peaceful pro-life protesters by, in part, using the FACE Act. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/2023-witnessed-continued-attacks-on-pro-life-pregnancy-centers-churches">dozens</a> of pro-life pregnancy centers and dozens of churches were vandalized or even set ablaze &#8212; with few delayed repercussions. &#8220;[The Biden] DOJ refused to apply the FACE Act to protect places of worship and crisis pregnancy centers,&#8221; the report asserts.
Another well-known example highlighted in the report is the Biden FBI memo targeting &#8220;radical-traditionalist&#8221; Catholics as &#8220;domestic terrorism threats.&#8221;
The report&#8217;s &#8220;conclusion&#8221; says that numerous investigations &#8220;remain in their early stages,&#8221; however, &#8220;the evidence uncovered is unmistakable: during the Biden Administration, people of faith, particularly Christians, were repeatedly subjected to anti-religious bias at the hands of their own government.&#8221;
&#8220;Attorney General Bondi and the Task Force are resolved to end that pattern once and for all,&#8221; it continues. &#8220;Over the next twenty months, the Task Force will pursue its mandate with vigor, conducting robust investigations, enforcing the rule of law, and ensuring that the Trump Administration’s commitment to equal treatment of all faiths is fully realized.&#8221;
&#8220;By eradicating anti-Christian bias in the federal government, the Task Force is reaffirming a principle older than the Republic itself, that freedom of religion is not granted by government but guaranteed against it,&#8221; the report adds. &#8220;America must remain One Nation Under God if she is to remain Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for All. The Task Force will never permit the federal government to be used as a weapon against faith.&#8221;
&#8220;The days of anti-Christian bias in the federal government are over. Faith is not a liability in America—it is a liberty,&#8221; the report says.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-doj-rolls-back-bidens-aggressive-prosecution-of-pro-lifers">Trump DOJ Rolls Back Biden’s Aggressive Prosecution Of Pro-Lifers</a>

Pam Bondi

Bombshell DOJ Report Details Biden-Era Anti-Christian Attacks, Vows To End Weaponization

Abortion

Biden Administration

Department of Justice

Executive

Freedom of Religion

A devout Christian baker in California — harassed by the state for eight years over her refusal to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple — is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to put an end to lower courts defying rulings that protect people of faith from being forced to violate their religious beliefs.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Cathy Miller, a devout Christian baker, asked the Supreme Court to protect her right to create custom-designed wedding cakes aligned with her faith. After nearly a decade of California punishing Cathy’s religious beliefs about marriage, it’s time for the Supreme Court to let… <a href="https://t.co/HRrpNu7Gl8">pic.twitter.com/HRrpNu7Gl8</a>
&mdash; BECKET (@becketfund) <a href="https://twitter.com/becketfund/status/1960773247076852191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Catherine Miller was sued by the California Civil Rights Department in 2017 for alleged violations of the state’s public accommodation laws after she refused to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. In the aftermath of her decision, her bakery, Tastries, was flooded with angry social media posts, death threats, and harassing emails and phone calls.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
After a week-long bench trial, the state trial court ruled in favor of Miller under the Free Speech Clause, but the state appeals court reversed the decision. The state’s Supreme Court then declined to review the case. Miller is represented by the Becket law firm.
The <a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20250827094241/Tastries-Cathy-Miller-Cert-Petition.pdf">petition</a> explains:
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After Miller opened her bakery in 2013, she began receiving requests for custom projects that “were not in line with” her faith. These requests included “gory” cakes, “marijuana” cakes, “adult” cakes and cookies featuring genitalia, and a cake announcing a divorce that a husband was going to surprise his (then) wife with. Miller turned these requests down. She then consulted with her pastor to create Tastries’ Design Standards, which she uses to communicate her policies to both employees and customers.
The Design Standards refer to Miller’s mission to create “custom designs that are Creative, Uplifting, Inspirational and Affirming,” and that are “lovely, praiseworthy, or of good report.” Miller’s mission is rooted in the Bible. The Design Standards state that Tastries “do[es] not accept requests” for baked goods “portraying explicit sexual content,” “promoting marijuana or casual drug use,” “featuring alcohol products or drunkenness,” “depicting gore, witches, spirits, and satanic or demonic content,” or “that violate fundamental Christian princip[les].”    
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“California still wants to put Cathy Miller to the test,” the petition to the Supreme Court states. “If she does not agree to design and create cakes for same-sex wedding ceremonies despite her undisputedly sincere religious objections, California says she must give up her cake-design business altogether.”
The petition refers to “two well-established splits of authority among the lower courts. The first is a 3-3 split over whether compelled speech must be viewed as an endorsement by a reasonable observer in order to qualify for First Amendment protection, or whether all compelled speech triggers strict scrutiny. &#8230; The second split divides the lower courts 7-4 over whether, when determining general applicability under the Free Exercise Clause, courts must consider all secular exemptions to the relevant law.”
“Without this Court’s intervention, these splits will continue to vex lower courts and litigants alike,” the petition warns. “A litigant’s First Amendment rights will vary dramatically by location, even between state and federal courts within California. Failing to resolve the splits will not just needlessly prolong the national battle over accommodations for religious believers when it comes to same-sex wedding ceremonies—it will make those conflicts worse, because it will reward government officials for continuing rather than resolving these conflicts.”

Newlyweds cutting wedding cake

Christian Baker Persecuted By California For 8 Years Urges Supreme Court: Protect People Of Faith

Bakersfield

Bakery

California State University

Courts

Politics

Supreme Court

Anyone who watched TV in the 1990s is familiar with the slow-motion “Baywatch” run meant to highlight the enviable physiques of the lifeguards at Malibu beach.
The most famous slow-motion jogger, of course, was Pamela Anderson, who went on to have a public profile laced with several high-profile rock romances, a blonde bombshell image, lots of makeup and tight clothing, and, predictably, a sex tape.
Her long-running sex symbol status is what makes Anderson’s newest iteration so extraordinary. Gone are the over-plucked eyebrows, glittery makeup looks, and skimpy outfits. And instead of simply toning down her look into a more polished yet styled version of the 90s version, the actress did a complete 180 and started walking around with a totally bare face that appears natural and shows signs of aging.
Anderson, 58, now looks more like a kindly grandmother at the grocery store than she does like the <a href="https://www.biography.com/actors/a65563161/playboy-pamela-anderson-against-porn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record holder</a> for most times posing nude for Playboy (14, if you were wondering). She’s also enjoying what appears to be a later-in-life romance with Liam Neeson, which looks sweet enough to melt even the most cynical hearts.
Anderson has been discussing her change in appearance openly ever since it began. She described her over-styled &#8217;90s look as a “defense mechanism.”
Spurred in part by the death of her longtime makeup artist Alexis Vogel in 2019, the celeb said her decision to ditch the cosmetics was “freeing, and fun, and a little rebellious too.&#8221;
&#8220;Because I did notice that there were all these people doing big makeup looks, and it’s just like me to go against the grain and do the opposite of what everyone’s doing,” she <a href="https://www.elle.com/fashion/a44775298/pamela-anderson-interview-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Elle in 2023.
She also spoke about being confronted with her own reflection, saying, &#8220;I’m kind of laughing at myself when I look at the mirror. I go, ‘Wow, this is really&#8230;what’s happening to me?’ It’s a journey,&#8221; she told the magazine. &#8220;But I feel rooted for. I feel good. I’m in a good place.”
In a Vogue interview about going makeup-free at Paris Fashion Week, she explained that her transformation wasn’t a protest. It was personal.
“I just thought, ‘I’m doing this for all the girls out there.’… This is it.”
&#8220;You kind of have to challenge beauty sometimes,&#8221; she told the outlet. &#8220;You know, if we all chase youth, or we&#8217;re chasing our idea of what fashion magazines [want] and everything, we&#8217;re only gonna be disappointed or maybe a little bit sad. So I feel like this is it.&#8221;
Anderson also discussed her plan to forge a path for other women in her age bracket.
&#8220;I feel as a woman and a woman of my age, and a woman in the public eye&#8230;it&#8217;s also your job to be a model of everything,&#8221; she shared. &#8220;Just all sorts of choices. So I am just being me, kind of who I am, in all these great clothes running around Paris.&#8221;
Other celebrities celebrated the move, with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Anderson’s bare face “an act of courage and rebellion” and Scarlett Johansson saying it was a “powerful message for women to see other women rejecting standard beauty norms.”
It’s true that there’s something especially powerful about the unmasking of a star who once embraced the beauty industry to such an extreme. Anderson also seems to reject Hollywood’s relentless obsession with looking young, saying the pursuit is ultimately “futile.”
It stands in stark contrast to some of Anderson’s contemporaries, who are still dancing, dressing, and acting like they did in their 20s, often with mixed results (ahem, Madonna).
Followers are also rooting for Anderson’s relationship with Neeson, who was seemingly drawn to that same sincerity. Their relationship carries the same refreshing quality as Anderson’s beauty revolution.
That’s saying a lot, considering that Anderson has been married five times.
People started noticing the chemistry between Anderson and Neeson on the set of “The Naked Gun” reboot, where Neeson <a href="https://www.glamour.com/story/pamela-anderson-and-liam-neeson-are-dating-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praised</a> Anderson by saying “I can’t compliment her enough, I’ll be honest with you. No huge ego. She just comes in to do the work. She’s funny and so easy to work with. She’s going to be terrific in the film.”
Anderson offered a glowing review of her own, calling her co-star “the perfect gentleman.”
Recently, the pair even pretended to make out on Today as rumors of their romance persisted. Neeson called their connection “lovely,” while Anderson <a href="https://people.com/pamela-anderson-and-liam-neeson-pretend-to-make-out-on-the-today-show-11780821" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> of their connection, &#8220;I think I have a friend forever in Liam. And we definitely have a connection that is very sincere, very loving, and he&#8217;s a good guy.&#8221; So far, the duo has brushed off any attempts to define their relationship, but it’s obvious just by looking at them that their connection is strong.
To be clear, this isn’t about Anderson becoming some sort of saint. She’s still contradictory. The celeb has been criticized for railing against pornography while insisting that posing nude in Playboy is acceptable because it’s “<a href="https://www.biography.com/actors/a65563161/playboy-pamela-anderson-against-porn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highbrow</a>.” She was married to avid Trump supporter Kid Rock for a year, but she’s also a fervent supporter of PETA and an animal rights activist. And despite <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/pamela-anderson-says-she-once-wanted-to-be-a-nun.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> she once considered becoming a nun and says prayers every morning, Anderson does not openly practice any specific faith.
To sum up, Anderson isn’t becoming a right-wing influencer anytime soon, but her transformation does point to a very Christian concept: redemption.
Pamela Anderson’s transformation from a sex symbol defined by tabloid headlines to an introspective, grounded woman who has openly reflected on her past mirrors, in many ways, the Christian concept of forgiveness of sin. In Christianity, forgiveness isn’t about erasing history, but about redemption: a cleansing that allows a person to step forward no longer bound by who they once were.
Anderson has spoken candidly about her mistakes and struggles, yet her new chapter embodies grace, renewal, and the reclaiming of dignity, which is very much like the believer who, after confessing and repenting, is restored to a new life in Christ.
Her story shows how a person can be fully known, flaws and all, and still be met with compassion, transformation, and a fresh start free from judgement. And that is a truly beautiful thing to behold.

Late Night with Seth Meyers – Season 12

Bombshell Redeemed? Pamela Anderson And The Power Of Grace

Feminism

Hollywod

Pamela Anderson

Women

In the most recent flashpoint in the culture war, American Eagle showcased actress Sydney Sweeney in an advertisement with the caption “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
The ad is overtly sexual, with the camera highlighting sexual features more than the denim itself, with suggestive poses that frame Sweeney as an erotic object of desire.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” Sweeney says, back arched, while zipping up her pants. “My jeans are blue.”
The reaction to the ad was a Rorschach test. The Left, locked into a hermeneutic of suspicion with a reflex to read nefarious messaging into things that seem anodyne at a cursory glance, were outraged at the perceived fascist signaling of the ad (Sweeney is thin, blonde, and blue-eyed). Some on the Left interpreted it as a dog whistle for eugenics and white supremacy.
The Right, which often settles for cultural scraps, celebrated the ad as a win against “woke” culture for featuring an attractive, thin white woman after years of brands being influenced by the Left’s ideological fixations with inclusivity. One commentator <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-war-on-hot-women-why-the-woke-mob-hates-sydney-sweeney/ar-AA1Jz1Vf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> the ad was a sign that “the American people are done with ‘woke,” and another said it meant that “woke is dead, and beauty is back.” The X account <a href="https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1948383505974510061" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End Wokeness</a>, juxtaposing a picture of an American Eagle ad featuring a heavy-set black woman with a picture of Sweeney immodestly posing, commented, “woke is dead.”
For us social conservatives, much of the Right’s reaction was a bleak cultural bellwether. One can argue that the big-budget designers who created the ad knew exactly how the “great jeans” innuendo would be received, and that it was intended to create the media buzz it has. I personally don’t believe that American Eagle, which has a <a href="https://www.aeo-inc.com/inclusion-diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pride flag on its website</a>, is engaged in Nazi dog-whistling.
The Right’s reaction, however, should alarm conservatives who are concerned with the erosion of family-friendly culture. The celebratory reaction to the ad demonstrates just how steeped in liberal paradigms and assumptions the American Right is today. The ad treats sexuality as public, performative, and consumable. It’s revealing and immodest, something I would try to shield my children from seeing at the mall. It’s not a rupture from “woke” in the slightest, rather an embrace of the liberal anthropology that detached sexuality from marriage and procreation during the 1960s sexual revolution.
Much of the contemporary Right now swims in these waters, too steeped in liberalism to even realize that by cheering the American Eagle ad as an “anti-woke” victory, they’re participating in and enabling a culture that the left created.
The ad demonstrated the triumph of liberalism and its assault on the religious right in particular, which, through different kinds of grassroots activist groups, has long campaigned against the kind of sexualized media that brands like American Eagle promote because of the harm it inflicts on families and children.
At the heart of Christianity is the belief that each person is made Imago Dei, in the image of God, and that the human body is not an object of consumption. Pope Saint John Paul II expresses this in “Theology of the Body,” a set of teachings he delivered between 1979 and 1984. He explained how sexual pathologies like pornography distort human dignity and invert the body’s purpose of self-giving love. When this fundamental truth is rejected, it comes as no surprise that the prevalence of sexualized media<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2016.1142496?src=recsys&amp;journalCode=hjsr20" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> leads to</a> consequences like higher levels of body dissatisfaction, a greater tolerance of sexual violence toward women, and diminished views of women’s humanity.
For social conservatives who believe moral guardrails are necessary for human flourishing, mainstream culture is still hostile terrain, and the American Eagle Sydney Sweeney ad exposes the cultural captivity of much of the Right.
Being “anti-woke” is not enough, even if the campaign against wokeness generally aligns with the objectives of any socially conservative movement.  Anyone serious about making the public square welcoming to children and families must work to reclaim modesty as the standard cultural norm, and they must have the courage to oppose the liberal foundations of our sexualized marketplace itself.
Marlo Slayback is the Executive Director of the Collegiate Network for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
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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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Sydney Sweeney

Sex Sells, And The Right Bought It: The Hollow ‘Victory’ Of The Sydney Sweeney Ad

advertising

Conservatives

Liberalism

Wokeness

Several clips of actress Cynthia Erivo performing as Jesus Christ in the stage production “Jesus Christ Superstar” have been circulating online, with many viewers taking a negative view of that particular casting decision.
The “Wicked” actress played the role in the famous Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice 1971 rock opera — opposite “American Idol” contestant Adam Lambert, who played Judas Iscariot — for a three day showcase at the Hollywood Bowl.
Commenters also pointed out how once again Christianity was being openly mocked while other religions are almost never targeted in the same way.
“It’s no surprise she looks exactly like how demons have always been portrayed,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, wrote in response to one of the clips on X. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Cynthia Erivo plays Jesus in the, Jesus Christ Superstar.
I want to know why does this feel evil? Why does her left hand feel as if it’s a demonic claw? <a href="https://t.co/goNoGcnpu2">pic.twitter.com/goNoGcnpu2</a>
— Mary 🤦🏼‍♀️🇺🇸 (@Mary_McMuffin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mary_McMuffin/status/1952033414120644824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“And let’s be real … if you dress like a demon, act like a demon, and mock God like a demon … don’t be shocked when people call it what it is,” she added. “This is intentional blasphemy from Hollywood.”
“Let’s do Muhammad Superstar next … Oh wait &#8230;,” another commenter <a href="https://x.com/SobrietyCM/status/1952683613251899761">replied</a>.
“Far closer to Nosferatu&#8217;s shadow than the divine light of Christ,” another person <a href="https://x.com/DigitalGal_X/status/1952331624256782737">replied</a>. “God will not be mocked.”
“They mock faith for applause. Cynthia Erivo plays Jesus, wears the crown, gets praised like it’s ‘progress.’ Try pulling that with any other religion &#8230; they’d burn Hollywood to the ground overnight,” echoed another.
Lambert addressed the backlash to Erivo’s casting, <a href="https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/adam-lambert-jesus-christ-superstar-cynthia-erivo-1236034244/">telling</a> Billboard that “Jesus Christ Superstar” is meant to “provoke and challenge.” 
“I’m excited by the challenge of presenting the audience with a production led by a female, Black ‘Jesus’ and encourage the audience to expand their minds a bit,” Lambert told the outlet. “And shouldn’t the teachings of Jesus transcend gender?”
“You can’t please everyone,” Erivo <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/features/cynthia-erivo-billboard-cover-story-1235985902/">told</a> Billboard during a June interview. “It is legitimately a three-day performance at the Hollywood Bowl where I get to sing my face off. So hopefully they will come and realize, ‘Oh, it’s a musical, the gayest place on Earth.’”
“Jesus Christ Superstar” has been controversial since its Broadway debut more than 50 years ago, with many Christians denouncing it as blasphemous.

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