Major League Baseball has officially warned San Francisco Giants players who counter-signaled or rejected the team&#8217;s LGBT &#8220;Pride Night.&#8221;
Starting pitcher <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/giants-pitcher-refuses-to-hide-christian-faith-during-pride-night">Landen Roupp</a> on Friday etched a Bible passage found in Genesis onto his Giants cap, right next to the LGBT-themed rainbow logo he was directed to wear. Other players, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker, followed suit in standing up for their Christian faith, also adding Bible verses. And relief pitcher Sam Hentges refused to wear the rainbow cap altogether, stating, &#8220;I don&#8217;t morally support it.&#8221;
MLB’s chief communications officer Pat Courtney told The Athletic on Monday that these players have been &#8220;warned&#8221; about &#8220;future violations.&#8221; He said that writing on the team&#8217;s baseball caps &#8220;violates our rules.&#8221;
The Giants also addressed the Christian players. In a statement ironically about &#8220;inclusion,&#8221; the team apologized for its players apparently causing &#8220;pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community.&#8221;
“The San Francisco Giants are proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;Baseball should be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued.&#8221;
&#8220;We also respect that individuals may make personal choices about participating in team activations,&#8221; the team continued. &#8220;We understand that the choices by individual players have caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community and we are sorry for that.&#8221;
&#8220;Those choices do not change our organization’s commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all,&#8221; the statement closed. &#8220;We remain grateful to our fans, partners, employees, players, and coaches who help make Pride Night a meaningful celebration.”
<div id="attachment_1116807" style="width: 833px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1116807" class="wp-image-1116807 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2281423727-823x576.jpg" alt="" width="823" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2281423727-823x576.jpg 823w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2281423727-300x210.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2281423727-768x538.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2281423727.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 823px) 100vw, 823px" />Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images</div>
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet reacted to the MLB &#8220;warning&#8221; with his own warning — a sentiment widely expressed online.
&#8220;MLB should tread carefully,&#8221; he posted. &#8220;There’s a lot more us fans that agree with the pitchers than with the league when it comes to pride night propaganda. Let the MLB be warned, not the pitchers. Be careful, MLB.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
MLB should tread carefully. There’s a lot more us fans that agree with the pitchers than with the league when it comes to pride night propaganda.
Let the MLB be warned, not the pitchers.
Be careful, MLB. <a href="https://t.co/pCeHh009y5">https://t.co/pCeHh009y5</a>
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) <a href="https://x.com/AndrewKolvet/status/2066740999737770208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham noted that the rainbow symbol is Christian based. &#8220;The LGBTQ movement appropriated the rainbow symbol from Christianity. Now Christians are taking it back. Deal with it,&#8221; she wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The LGBTQ movement appropriated the rainbow symbol from Christianity. Now Christians are taking it back. Deal with it. <a href="https://t.co/i2XmwXeyQR">https://t.co/i2XmwXeyQR</a>
— Megan Basham (@megbasham) <a href="https://x.com/megbasham/status/2066754376543429037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
Actor Rob Schneider called the MLB &#8220;anti-Christian&#8221; and said he&#8217;d &#8220;pay the fines for any [MLB] Christian player who wears a Bible verse on their uniform.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I will pay the fines for any <a href="https://x.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a> Christian player who wears a Bible verse on their uniform.<a href="https://x.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a> is ANTI-CHRISTIAN <a href="https://t.co/miAT89eXJu">https://t.co/miAT89eXJu</a>
— Rob Schneider 🇺🇸 (@RobSchneider) <a href="https://x.com/RobSchneider/status/2066796902021210190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/giants-pitcher-refuses-to-hide-christian-faith-during-pride-night">The Daily Wire</a>, the Giants&#8217; &#8220;Pride Night&#8221; was held on Friday. The game was dedicated as a “celebration of Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community” and included “pregame festivities, in-game celebrations, and appearances,&#8221; <a href="https://www.mlb.com/giants/tickets/specials/pride-celebration">according</a> to the MLB. Same-sex couples renewed their marriage vows on the field in the presence of a drag queen, and the Giants celebrated the LGBT community <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/san-francisco-giants-pitcher-writes-bible-verse-hat-defiance-pride-night">through rainbow-colored hats</a>, Fox News reported.
Roupp inscribed a Bible passage from Genesis 9 on his cap. The verses describe God’s promise to Noah and all future generations that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood, with the rainbow serving as the sign of that covenant:
<blockquote>And God said, &#8220;This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.&#8221; — Genesis 9:12-16</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/giants-pitcher-refuses-to-hide-christian-faith-during-pride-night">Giants Pitcher Refuses To Hide Christian Faith During Pride Night</a>

Giants Final

MLB Targets Christian Players Who Rejected LGBT ‘Pride Night’

MLB Targets Giants Players Who Rejected LGBT ‘Pride Night’ 

Bible

Christianity

LGBT

Pride Month

San Francisco Giants

<div>
One of the oldest and most sacred Christian monasteries in the world was set ablaze overnight Monday when Russia launched a massive <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/14/europe/kyiv-pechersk-lavra-monastery-fire-russian-attack-intl-">missile and drone assault</a> on Kyiv, damaging the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra — a site that has stood as the spiritual heart of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for nearly a thousand years.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Russia hit Kiev Pechersk Lavra tonight—intentionally or not doesn’t matter.
Lavra is one of the most important monasteries in Russian Orthodoxy. It was founded in a cave in the 11th century and important historical personalities are buried there, including Nicholas II Prime… <a href="https://t.co/7lI9XPmFj8">pic.twitter.com/7lI9XPmFj8</a>
&mdash; Katya Sedgwick (@KatyaSedgwick) <a href="https://x.com/KatyaSedgwick/status/2066396581751075237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div>
The Lavra, founded in 1051 by a monk named Anthony who had trained on Mount Athos, is not merely a Ukrainian landmark. It is among the founding institutions of Christian civilization in the Slavic world, the monastery where the region&#8217;s earliest written histories were composed, where saints are entombed in underground caves, and where pilgrims have traveled for centuries from across the Orthodox world. UNESCO had already placed it on its World Heritage in Danger list since Russia&#8217;s full-scale invasion began.
</div>
<div>
Ukraine&#8217;s emergency services reported that 800 square meters of the Dormition Cathedral&#8217;s roof were destroyed in the blaze, with a separate fire consuming 1,000 square meters of an adjacent national cultural complex. Firefighters battled through the night beneath the monastery&#8217;s iconic towers and domes. At least nine people were killed across Ukraine in the overnight assault — four in Kyiv, and five rescue workers in Kharkiv responding to an earlier strike — after Russia launched 611 drones and 70 missiles.
</div>
<div>
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the smoldering site Monday, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/russia-attacks-fire-kyiv-pechersk-lavra-ukraine-monastery-rcna350077">calling</a> the attack &#8220;one of Russia&#8217;s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date.&#8221; Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv called it &#8220;a crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity.&#8221; Ukraine&#8217;s foreign minister called Russian dictator Vladimir Putin &#8220;the 21st century&#8217;s worst barbarian.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
Russia denied responsibility, claiming a stray Ukrainian Patriot missile caused the damage. Ukraine&#8217;s security service rejected that, citing drone wreckage recovered at the scene.
</div>
<div>
The attack carries a grim historical echo. This is not the first time the Dormition Cathedral has been destroyed on Moscow&#8217;s orders. In 1941, retreating Soviet NKVD operatives mined much of central Kyiv before abandoning it, demolishing the cathedral and killing thousands of civilians in the process. The Soviet Union blamed the Nazis for the Katyn massacre — and that lie held for decades. The cathedral was only fully rebuilt after Ukrainian independence, consecrated in the year 2000.
</div>
<div>
The monastery has endured Mongol sackings, Golden Horde raids, Soviet secularization, and World War II destruction. Each time, it was rebuilt. Its underground caves still hold the naturally mummified remains of medieval saints, including Nestor the Chronicler, author of the region&#8217;s earliest histories. Its bell towers and baroque churches have defined the Kyiv skyline for centuries.
</div>
<div>
Whether this latest assault represents another wound from which the Lavra will recover — or something more final — will depend on how the war ends. What is not in question is what was attacked: not just a Ukrainian building, but one of the living roots of Christian civilization.
</div>

Russia Strikes Kyiv in Large Scale Drone and Missile Attack

Russia Sets One Of Christianity’s Holiest Sites Ablaze In Bombing

Kyiv

Russia

Ukraine

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp stood up for his Christian faith by inscribing a Bible verse in silver next to the rainbow logo on his cap.
On Friday, the baseball team held &#8220;<a href="https://www.mlb.com/giants/tickets/specials/pride-celebration">Pride Night</a>,&#8221; dedicating the game to a “celebration of Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community” that included “pregame festivities, in-game celebrations, and appearances.” The event featured same-sex couples renewing their marriage vows on the field in the presence of a drag queen, and the team celebrated the LGBTQ community <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/san-francisco-giants-pitcher-writes-bible-verse-hat-defiance-pride-night">through rainbow-colored hats</a>, according to FOX. 
A few players, however, took a stand — including Landen Roupp, who was raised in rural North Carolina and attended a <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/12/sports/giants-pitcher-landen-roupp-wears-pride-night-hat-with-bible-verse/">private Christian school</a>. Before heading to the mound, he inscribed the Bible passage from Genesis 9 on his cap.
The verses describe God’s promise to Noah and all future generations that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood, with the rainbow serving as the sign of that covenant.
&#8220;And God said, &#8216;This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.'&#8221; Genesis 9:12-16
An article from The Athletic <a href="https://x.com/nytimes/status/2066229208305594545?s=20">expressed outrage</a> over their decision, saying the Bible verses “missed the point”  during a night that was &#8220;supposed to be dedicated to support and belonging.&#8221; 
After the game, Roupp said his Biblical gesture reflected his moral convictions. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Why was it important to write that verse tonight?
ROUPP: &#8220;The rainbow is a symbol of God&#8217;s covenant to us, and us as believers stand firm in that&#8230; There&#8217;s no hate at all.&#8221;
What would say if somebody considered that derogatory toward them as a community?
ROUPP: &#8220;As a… <a href="https://t.co/jaEs3ikn4U">https://t.co/jaEs3ikn4U</a> <a href="https://t.co/yYOaJ0UvE7">pic.twitter.com/yYOaJ0UvE7</a>
— KNBR (@KNBR) <a href="https://x.com/KNBR/status/2065672807498015185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
“The rainbow is a symbol of God’s covenant with us, and we as believers stand firm in that … There’s no hate at all,” he told reporters. “It’s just what I stand for and what I stand in, I believe in God.”
“What would you say if somebody considered that derogatory toward them as a community?” a reporter asked him.
“As a believer, I would push them to read the Bible. God has blessed me in so many ways, and I don’t think I’d be here right now if it wasn’t for Him.” 
Roupp was not alone. His reliever, Sam Hentges, refused to wear the hat at all, for a very similar reason. 
“I don’t morally support it,” <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giants/article/sf-giants-sam-hentges-explains-decision-not-wear-22304312.php">he said.</a> 
<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/710810/support-lgbtq-issues-remains-down-peak.aspx">A recent Gallup poll</a> showed that Roupp and Hentges are not alone, revealing declining support for LGBTQ+ issues across the board. 
The poll said same-sex marriage support dropped to 65%, which is down 6 points, and moral acceptance of gay/lesbian relations stood at 62% — the lowest since 2016. 
The decline in support was driven largely by Republicans, with only 35% approving of same-sex marriage, the lowest level since 2011. The percentage of Americans who view gender transitions as morally acceptable also fell to 38%.

A rainbow flag

Giants Pitcher Refuses To Hide Christian Faith During Pride Night

Faith

News

Steven Spielberg’s new alien thriller, “Disclosure Day,” is leaving some moviegoers laughing their way out of theaters. This is an issue for the legendary filmmaker, as that movie was never intended to be a comedy.
The film’s official logline says, “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?”
Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O&#8217;Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, &#8220;Disclosure Day&#8221; has earned average but not great reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. But the vibe on social media is decidedly more negative, with commenters saying they believe Spielberg has lost the golden touch that made films like “Jurassic Park” and “E.T.” so magical.
“So&#8230; is Disclosure Day meant to be a comedy or something? Because I was laughing my ass off during most of it,” one X user <a href="https://x.com/thecriticaldri2/status/2065099752694296781?s=43">wrote</a>. 
Other commenters mentioned how the film was rumored to run counter to the Christian faith, which they said was ultimately ineffective.
“Just got back from Disclosure Day. I went with the intention of debunking what I heard was a manipulation of Christian theology to leave room for aliens in God&#8217;s creation,” another person wrote. 
“I expected a high-quality movie with a dangerous messaging that would be planting a seed for the Great Deception. What I watched was an embarrassingly bad movie. Predictable. Cliche. The climax was laughable. It would have been semi-shocking two decades ago. The only thing that sort of saved it was the great acting despite the horrible script.”
The commenter went on, “As for debunking it spiritually, no need. It was so ham-fisted with its attempt to work aliens into theology that none of the elect could easily be swayed. I wasted two-and-a-half hours.”
“145 minutes for pretentious overacting in scenes intended for Oscar nomination clips. Disclosure Day was made by people who enjoy sniffing their own farts, and, boy howdy, did this movie sh*t the bed,” <a href="https://x.com/reallifefakewiz/status/2065266433659974050?s=43">echoed another</a>. “Pack it up, Grandpa. Spielberg is done.”
&#8220;It was mid at best. Jumbled, predictable, unbelievable, a garbage soundtrack, plot holes a plenty, and good acting. I’ve rewatched so many of Spielberg movies joyfully. This is a one and done,&#8221; another <a href="https://x.com/Variety/status/2065443513190187102">wrote</a>.
The movie debuted on June 12. It currently has an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 74% audience score. 
Spielberg previously mentioned how the discovery of intelligent extraterrestrial life could challenge people&#8217;s understanding of faith. 
“The movie takes the position of the believers, or the curious, the ones that have been deeply affected by this,” Spielberg said in an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/disclosure-day-director-steven-spielberg-on-alien-visitations/">interview</a> with CBS News. “And the movie also takes the position of the church. What does this do to the fundamental beliefs that many of us have? Is God our God only on this planet? Or is God a god for every system where there’s civilization and intelligent life, and even developing life?”
However, faith leaders and religious folks are pushing back on that idea, saying the existence of aliens wouldn’t be a faith-shaking moment even if the movie were perfectly executed. And they say it’s just not.

Disclosure Day

Spielberg Said ‘Disclosure Day’ Would Challenge Christian Faith. Instead, Many Find It Laughable.

Entertainment

Hollywood

Movies

Steven Spielberg

Making faith a center point of his Senate campaign, James Talarico says he doesn’t want to “claim” Jesus for the Democratic Party. Yet the woke church that molded him uses Christ to justify support for abortion, transgender procedures on kids, and protesting immigration enforcement.
A review of Talarico’s Texas church and its activist pastor — who Talarico calls a “mentor” — shows how closely his political views have been shaped by a leftist conception of Christianity. These positions, such as the promotion of abortion and acceptance of transgenderism, put Talarico at odds with many of the Texas voters the media have suggested could be amenable to the Democrat’s religious pitch against Republican Ken Paxton. 
Talarico’s church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Austin, has pushed leftist activism for years while undermining traditional Christian beliefs such as the historical resurrection of Jesus. The church’s theological and political positions face scrutiny as Talarico looks to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas for decades on a platform of defeating Christian nationalism and removing faith from “partisan politics.” 
“I&#8217;ve been the chief opponent of Christian nationalism in the Texas legislature. I believe the separation of church and state is a sacred boundary that doesn&#8217;t just protect the state, but also protects the church,” Talarico told religious leaders during a podcast earlier this year. “I&#8217;m trying not to claim Jesus for the Democratic Party. I&#8217;m trying to wrestle away Jesus from partisan politics.”
From a review of the church&#8217;s website, one would hardly guess that Talarico is interested in a non-partisan Jesus. St. Andrew’s, whose webpage features a cross draped in an LGBTQ flag, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">maintains</a> a “banned books” library filled with sexually explicit material aimed at young people and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-talaricos-church-funds-abortions-trans-summer-camps">donates</a> part of its annual budget to abortion giant Planned Parenthood. 
<div id="attachment_1108063" style="width: 1076px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1108063" class="wp-image-1108063 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM.png" alt="" width="1066" height="810" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM.png 1066w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-300x228.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-758x576.png 758w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-768x584.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1066px) 100vw, 1066px" />St. Andrew&#8217;s Presbyterian</div>
In the name of <a href="https://www.staopen.org/inclusive-language">inclusivity</a>, Talarico’s church avoids referring to God as “Father” as Christians have done for thousands of years. Instead, the church recommends using “non-gendered” language for God. 
“Inclusive language, when used to refer to God, is non-gendered. Therefore, God is not referred to as ‘He’ or ‘Father’, nor as ‘She’ or ‘Mother,’” the church’s website says. 
This contradicts the Bible’s description of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples to refer to God as “our Father” when praying. In the biblical Gospels, Jesus refers to God as “Father” well over 100 times. 
The “Inclusive Bible” used by St. Andrew’s makes awkward gender revisions. The version changes the Lord’s Prayer, one of the most beloved and ancient Christian prayers, from “our Father who art in heaven” to “our Father-Mother in heaven.” 
Talarico appears to have adopted this belief during his time in the legislature, saying that “God is non-binary” while arguing against a Texas law keeping males out of female sports. 
In addition to not calling God &#8220;Father,&#8221; St. Andrew&#8217;s avoids referring to Jesus as “king,” as Christians have done for thousands of years. 
“When referring to God, we do not use the words ‘King’ and ‘Lord,’ because that would make God male,” the church says on its website. “When referring to Jesus, we do not use ‘king’ and ‘lord,’ because it hints at a hierarchy that we believe Jesus repudiated.”
&#8220;To say that our divine source is male is perhaps the most sexist comment a person can make,” the inclusive language guide says. “To equate the Almighty with masculinity might or might not hurt a particular victim of abuse, but it will definitely teach a view of life where our little girls will be more likely to be abused in the future.&#8221;
Many of the heterodox positions taken at St. Andrew&#8217;s come from Jim Rigby, Talarico’s “mentor” and a pastor at the church. In addition to his leftist political positions, he diverts from historic Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead in a historic event called the resurrection. 
In a Christmas Day Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/957972940944180">post</a> from 2015, Rigby suggested that resurrection could actually be understood as “a poem about the whole life process.”
“Apparently, because I don&#8217;t believe in a literal resurrection, I&#8217;m not really Christian. This unfortunately also means I won&#8217;t be going to heaven with many of you,” he said, adding that he was told by a Christian that “we have to LITERALLY believe Jesus&#8217; corpse got up. If you believe all the above you will get to be with God in heaven. Let&#8217;s just hope God has a handle on that anger problem by now.”
Talarico, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html">told the</a> New York Times that he believes in a historical resurrection unlike his mentor, said his faith is a “biblical Christianity.” 
Despite this difference of opinion, Talarico greatly credits Rigby for his worldview and closely mirrors his political positions. 
“Our pastor, Dr. Jim Rigby, who I&#8217;ve known since I was 2 years old, he married my parents. He baptized me,” Talarico said during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4832vfsmf4">podcast</a>. “He is still my pastor today. And he showed me what it means to act with courage from the pulpit.”
In 2023, Rigby and St. Andrew’s <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2023/01/17/social-justice-sermons">worked</a> to oppose legislation supported by Texas Republicans to shield kids from transgender procedures. 
“Anyone who preaches hate in Jesus’ name and we remain silent, then we are complicit,” Rigby said during the time of his involvement in the campaign against a bill to protect kids from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender surgeries. 
Talarico has taken a similar approach as a state lawmaker. He <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">voted against</a> the 2023 law that protected kids from transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormone procedures.
Talarico also <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVD-Gi-FbWh/?hl=en&amp;img_index=3">attacked</a> Republicans for passing a bill in October 2021 keeping males out of female sports.
“Texas Republicans have passed their anti-trans bill. Over and over, Christians used scripture to justify bullying trans kids,” he said at the time. “I told them in my faith, God is non-binary.”
Abortion is another issue where Talarico closely follows Rigby. In 2016, Rigby cited the so-called &#8220;constitutional right to an abortion” in an <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Rigby-New-fetal-remains-rule-is-a-Trojan-Horse-10689637.php">op-ed</a> lamenting proposals requiring the dignified burial of fetal remains and ultrasounds before ending the life of their unborn child. 
“It is chilling to witness politicians overriding science and medicine to impose their own beliefs on women,” he wrote. “The real reason politicians are pushing this seems to be the belief that a soul enters the body at conception, therefore making the fertilized human egg the moral equivalent to a fully gestated human being.”
Unlike many Christians, Rigby said he disagreed with that position. 
“Where is the religious freedom for the millions of us who believe that women&#8217;s bodies are not community property simply because they get pregnant? Where is the religious freedom for those of us who respect the moral agency of women?” he wrote. 
St. Andrew’s is a “reproductive freedom congregation,” meaning that it <a href="https://justtx.org/rfc/">affirms</a> that abortion is a “blessing” and a “moral and social good.” 
Talarico, running on a platform of enshrining Roe v. Wade into federal law, argues that Christianity is silent on abortion and actually supports the life-ending procedure. He grounds his support for abortion in the biblical account of an angel visiting the Virgin Mary and telling her that she would miraculously conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ. 
“I say all this in the context of abortion, because before God comes over Mary, and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent,” he said during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. “You cannot force someone to create … so that’s how I come down on that side of the issue.”
In 2016, St. Andrew’s became part of a <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/faith-leaders-pledge-offer-sanctuary-immigrants-facing-deportation/">movement</a> of woke churches offering to shelter illegal immigrants, and Rigby was <a href="https://www.fox7austin.com/news/pulpit-to-soapbox-austin-preacher-wants-immigration-reform">arrested</a> for trespassing inside the state capitol in 2017 while protesting a proposed law targeting sanctuary city policies. 
If elected, Talarico says he will go after ICE and ban them from shielding their identity while conducting operations. 
“We have to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, from kidnapping people off our streets without a warrant,” he said on a podcast. “We have to require them to identify themselves like any law enforcement official. And we have to end this policy of mass deportations that again is terrorizing our communities across Texas and across this country.”
Another issue that has plagued the Talarico campaign is the question of veganism. While he once boasted about having a meat-free campaign, he now says he proudly consumes Texas barbecue. His church <a href="https://www.staopen.org/earth-care">encourages</a> people to “eat a plant based diet for the planet’s health and yours.”

Screenshot 2026-06-03 at 11.14.56 AM

At James Talarico’s Church, Its Offensive To Respect God’s Pronouns — But Abortion’s OK.

Abortion

James Talarico

Senate

Texas

U.S. Politics

A Washington Nationals executive was fired this week after he claimed on a hidden-camera video that an outspoken Christian pitcher was excluded from some of the team&#8217;s promotional content because of his religious views.
The Nationals fired Sean Hudson, its director of community relations, after undercover journalist James O&#8217;Keefe posted a video showing Hudson admit to blacklisting pitcher Trevor Williams from the team&#8217;s social media content.
&#8220;One of our pitchers, Trevor Williams, he is very Catholic,&#8221; Hudson said on the hidden camera video.
The former Nationals executive then provided an example of why he avoided featuring Williams for the team&#8217;s promotional content.
&#8220;The Dodgers had a group out to the stadium who were drag queens who sometimes dressed up as nuns. He went on social media [and wrote], ‘This is wrong. This is my religion. You all are mocking it.&#8217; Because of that, we don&#8217;t use him on social [media],&#8221; Hudson said.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/l-a-dodgers-will-honor-drag-group-mocking-catholics-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence">condemned</a> by Christians across the country, including multiple MLB players, for inviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag queen group that mocks Jesus Christ and Christians, to perform at one of their games in 2023.
After Hudson was canned, Washington Nationals President of Business Operations Jason Sinnarajah went on live TV to <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/2060560136804954555">apologize</a> to Williams and the team&#8217;s Christian fans for Hudson&#8217;s remarks. He also said Hudson&#8217;s comments were false and &#8220;don&#8217;t reflect us as an organization, our values, who we are.&#8221;
&#8220;We took action right away, and [Hudson] is no longer employed by the team,&#8221; Sinnarajah added.
&#8220;We do not hide players from social media. Even just last week, we featured several players, including Trevor Williams, as part of their visit to the Museum of the Bible,&#8221; Sinnarajah <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/2060560136804954555">said</a>.
In the hidden-camera video, Hudson also talked about his disdain for War Secretary Pete Hegseth and said that he prevented some Nationals players from meeting Hegseth after they expressed interest in talking to the top Trump official when he attended a game.
&#8220;We had Pete Hegseth at Space Force Day last year &#8230; and a few players texted me and they were like, &#8216;Is he going to be here after the game? I want to say hi.&#8217; And I&#8217;m like, &#8216;Oh, no he left, he&#8217;s gone, sorry.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING NEWS: Washington <a href="https://x.com/Nationals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nationals</a> Director of Community Relations Admits on Hidden Camera to Active Religious Discrimination Against Starting Pitcher Trevor Williams, Surveillance of Nationals Fans’ Google History, and Segregated LGBTQ+ Corporate Meetings to an O’Keefe… <a href="https://t.co/AWqlq6wXV9">pic.twitter.com/AWqlq6wXV9</a>
— James O&#8217;Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/2059322421371605039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
One of the team&#8217;s social media stunts that Hudson claimed specifically excluded Williams was a video of Nationals players being asked whether a hot dog is a sandwich. Williams posted a photo on Instagram on Friday that appeared to reference Hudson&#8217;s comment about the hot dog video. The post showed numerous photos, including one that features a hat that reads &#8220;Bad Day to Be a Hot Dog.&#8221;
In the post, Williams also discussed his reading of 1 Peter chapter four and wrote, &#8220;This entire chapter really addresses the social costs of the faith &#8230; As my friend Fr. Joshua said &#8216;Sometimes we lean into it and bravely bear witness to Christ’s truth; sometimes we dodge it and regret it later, feeling we’ve let Jesus down.'&#8221;

Trevor Williams

MLB Exec Fired After He Claimed To Exclude Christian Player From Team’s Social Media

Baseball

Catholics

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
Catholicism is having a moment, and now the church is getting even more good press.
On Saturday, beauty brand founder Scott-Vincent Borba, 52, will give up his former life of fame and fortune to begin life as an ordained Catholic priest in his hometown of Visalia, California. 
&#8220;I have never been happier in my life,&#8221; Borba <a href="https://abc7news.com/post/former-elf-beauty-founder-scott-vincent-borba-preparing-become-catholic-priest/19083729/">told</a> ABC 7 of his massive life change. &#8220;Once I started to reorient myself, recalibrate myself with God&#8217;s help to the focus to Him, the joy started coming.&#8221;
Borba co-founded the makeup brand e.l.f. Cosmetics (“eyes, lips, face”) in 2004 with Joseph Shamah. The brand became a huge success in the mid-2010s thanks to clever marketing campaigns and affordable prices. Per <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2026/02/22/management-without-managers-elfs-influencer-driven-beauty-revolution/">Forbes</a>, it reached $100 million in sales in 2014, and Borba was living a lifestyle to match his newfound success.
&#8220;We ran around with the likes of Paris Hilton and partying with Kardashians and just doing up the Hollywood life,&#8221; the brand founder told ABC 7. &#8220;I was a poster boy for luxury living. I was not in any which way humble. I was very prideful,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;I was vapid. I had a perverse life,&#8221; Borba <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moo80FP9M_Q">told</a> CBS 47 during another interview. &#8220;I went to L.A., I got sucked into the Hollywood lifestyle — it was almost to a point where I was trying to sell my soul, right, for all of the riches of the world, which is not what we&#8217;re supposed to be … I was living for myself.&#8221;
Borba is currently living as a deacon and, because he’s becoming a priest so late in life, is in the minority. But what makes his story so remarkable is how he lived with such success and turned away after realizing the money never delivered true joy.
Instead of turning to sex, drugs, and alcohol or chasing more success, Borba gave away all his earthly possessions and tried something radically different. 
&#8220;I asked our Lord to help me be the man that he created me to be. And upon that instance, I had this massive flood of love and mercy that came into my life,” Borba told ABC. “It was a very mystical experience.”
&#8220;I live in a little tiny room with &#8230; it&#8217;s sparse, nothing in it,&#8221; Borba said of his current seminary life. &#8220;I have a few bits of clothes and a few pairs of shoes. And my life has been culled down to the bare minimum.&#8221;
The e.l.f. brand founder said he always felt called to become a priest but ignored it until a few years ago, which is when he finally discovered that the treasures of the world would never fill the void in his soul.
This story couldn’t come at a more critical moment for the Catholic Church. While there has been a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-americans-are-finding-faith-but-social-media-is-changing-what-that-looks-like">massive uptick in converts</a> to Catholicism, including among young adults who have a particular interest in the traditional Latin Mass, there is also a huge shortage of priests. Parishes are merging and closing even as the number of interested congregants continues to grow.
According to the Church’s statistical yearbook, the number of priests worldwide fell to 406,996 in 2023, representing a multi-year decline that doesn’t appear to be changing. Older priests are retiring or dying, and not enough young men are coming to replace them, despite the massive number of Catholic converts.
Dan Monastra, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, said he has a theory about this. 
&#8220;One reason is the overall lack of desire in our culture to commit oneself to something permanent, especially among younger generations. We see this not only with the priesthood but with marriage as well. Another reason is that the priesthood is antithetical to what modern culture offers: namely, comfort,&#8221; he told Fox Business during an <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/revival-pews-crisis-altar-why-churches-closing-amid-catholic-comeback">interview</a> on the topic last month.
That explains why the global Catholic population has surpassed 1.4 billion, but there is still a critical shortage of men willing to step up and join the priesthood. People in Borba’s position are even rarer. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the average age for new priests is 33. Only 3% of current seminarians are over 50, according to Zach Flanagin, a professor of theology and religious studies at Saint Mary&#8217;s College of California.
&#8220;We are entering into a different time with new challenges. The world is constantly changing, and it is up to the Church to find ways to bear witness to Christ in the midst of these changes while still upholding the ancient faith,&#8221; Monastra said of the new reality.
With stories like Borba’s being reported, it could inspire more men who feel the call to change their lives to consider entering the priesthood, even if it’s a second act.
&#8220;I think that a story like his is a great opportunity to inspire people,&#8221; theology and religious studies professor Zach Flanagin told ABC 7 of Borba’s journey. &#8220;And certainly, his call, I hope it&#8217;s genuinely successful because if it is, then he will hopefully bring in people to know Christ.&#8221;

Gemini_Generated_Image_r0dmgyr0dmgyr0dm

He Lived The Hollywood Dream. Then He Found God.

Catholicism

Upstream

Thousands of believers gathered in the nation’s capital on Sunday for an all-day prayer and worship service honoring America’s Christian heritage ahead of the country&#8217;s 250th anniversary.
The event — <a href="https://freedom250.org/celebration/rededicate-250-a-national-jubilee-of-prayer-praise-and-thanksgiving">Rededicate 250</a>, part of the Trump administration’s Freedom 250 initiative — featured a host of political, Catholic, and evangelical leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary Pete Hegseth, Bishop Robert Barron, and Franklin Graham, who did not hold back in condemning what he described as America’s moral decline.
&#8220;People have become lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God,&#8221; Graham said, painting a dire picture of the country&#8217;s biblical literacy. &#8220;America has become morally rotten, completely sick with sin, transgenderism, same-sex marriage, opening women&#8217;s locker rooms to men are just the tip of the iceberg.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfyAL0e6ei0">In a recorded address,</a> Trump struck a similar tone, reading a passage from 2 Chronicles that calls for repentance and urges people to turn from their wicked ways.
Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., thousands braved 80-degree heat and waited in hour-long lines that stretched for blocks to call on their fellow Americans to repent and join each other in prayer and worship. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Large crowd waiting in line for Rededication 250 event <a href="https://t.co/eJCZwAM5Ft">pic.twitter.com/eJCZwAM5Ft</a>
— Jacob Wheeler (@JWheelertv) <a href="https://twitter.com/JWheelertv/status/2056072888407507331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
Grammy-winning Christian artist Chris Tomlin performed &#8220;Holy Forever&#8221; to the thousands on their feet.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
HOLY FOREVER
&#8220;Your name is the highest 
Your name is the greatest 
Your name stands above them all 
All thrones and dominions 
All powers and positions 
Your name stands above them all&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/christomlin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@christomlin</a> <a href="https://t.co/7ie11Vtn9z">pic.twitter.com/7ie11Vtn9z</a>
— Real America&#8217;s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealAmVoice/status/2056139300798877984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
In front of a crowd wearing Bible-themed shirts and waving Jesus-inspired flags, top Trump administration officials and Republican leaders offered historical and personal reflections.
&#8220;On this day, two and a half centuries ago, our forefathers gathered for the second time in as many years for a national day of fasting and prayer,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/StateDept/status/2056011858201764095?s=20">Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Roman Catholic, said.</a> &#8220;They knew that what they were trying to do had never been done before in human history, but with the dark storm clouds of war looming on the horizon, they did what Christians have always done across place and time for 2000 years. They turned their eyes to heaven and placed their faith in the hands of God.&#8221;
&#8220;This is who we are. It is who we have always been. America is still a young nation, measured against the record of history, and from the beginning, we have carried the belief that our country represents something new in the world, but the soul of our nation has always been rooted in an ancient faith,&#8221; Rubio added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
On this day 250 years ago, our forefathers gathered for a national day of fasting and prayer. Today, Americans will come together again as one Nation under God.
This is who we are and who we’ve always been. <a href="https://t.co/0r4QUsy1hY">pic.twitter.com/0r4QUsy1hY</a>
— Department of State (@StateDept) <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/2056011858201764095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) spoke about Christianity in personal terms.
&#8220;I stand before you as living proof that prayer, the power of prayer, changes lives,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/Freedom250/status/2056090057812111708?s=20">Scott said.</a> &#8220;It&#8217;s prayer that inspires our nation. It&#8217;s prayer that transforms our world. There is no way to grasp the last 250 years of America without looking to the power of prayer.&#8221;
Actor Jonathan Roumie, best known for portraying Jesus Christ in “The Chosen,” urged Americans to recommit to the idea of being “one nation under God.”
&#8220;No matter who you are, or what you&#8217;ve done, or how long it&#8217;s been, or how bad things might all seem when you get stuck in the doom scroll of it all, simply stop and pray,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RSBNetwork/status/2056079289926259196?s=20">Roumie said.</a> &#8220;And if you still feel burdened, maybe it&#8217;s time to go to confession. There is power in repentance.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
FULL SPEECH: Actor Jonathan Roumie Provides Testimony and Reflects on Portraying Jesus &#8211; 05/17/26 <a href="https://t.co/8DFzOZSYZz">pic.twitter.com/8DFzOZSYZz</a>
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/RSBNetwork/status/2056079289926259196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
The nod to faith comes amid increasing signs of a religious revival in America, especially among young men.
About 42% of men aged 18 to 29 now say religion is “very important” in their lives, up from just 28% two years prior, according to a<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/708410/young-men-religious-young-women.aspx"> new survey from Gallup</a>. The 14-point jump marks the steepest increase measured across any demographic group in the poll’s recent history and returns young men to levels of religiosity not seen since the early 2000s.
Vice President JD Vance said the trend is defying what the expert class had predicted.
&#8220;Defying predictions, the experts said that religion and faith were dying. Today, a wave of young Americans is returning to the pews, and we know that they&#8217;re looking for meaning, for authority, for direction, and of course, for closeness with God,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;That should give all of us hope for our future together.&#8221; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
WATCH: Vice President JD Vance&#8217;s Rededicate 250 message:
“I always ask people to pray for wisdom and for courage for their leadership. Pray for wisdom that we know the path God wants us to walk. Pray for courage that we have the ability to walk that path.” <a href="https://t.co/5hKNESi7hV">pic.twitter.com/5hKNESi7hV</a>
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) <a href="https://twitter.com/VP/status/2056135528752234892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/05/14/how-americans-feel-about-religions-influence-in-government-and-public-life/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">A Pew Research poll</a> this week showed 37% of U.S. adults believe religion is gaining influence in America, the highest share since 2002.
&#8220;No one saw this coming, and this is something that the world, I think, wasn&#8217;t really prepared for but is in awe of watching,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/foxandfriends/status/2055993621027905540?s=20">The Daily Wire host Isabel Brown</a> said of<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/bible-sales-surged-following-killing-of-charlie-kirk-7da17aec"> rising Bible sales</a> and <a href="https://www.barna.com/research/young-adults-lead-resurgence-in-church-attendance/">Gen Z leading a resurgence in church attendance.</a> &#8220;I think because of the secularism and the moral relativism we&#8217;re living through every single day in our secular culture. We&#8217;re finding the answers in God.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
REDEDICATE 250 🇺🇸 <a href="https://twitter.com/theisabelb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@theisabelb</a> joins <a href="https://twitter.com/RCamposDuffy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RCamposDuffy</a> at the event to discuss the Gen Z revival in attending church! <a href="https://t.co/rNs4YidI4y">pic.twitter.com/rNs4YidI4y</a>
— FOX &amp; Friends (@foxandfriends) <a href="https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/2055993621027905540?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2026</a></blockquote>

IMG_2579

America’s Spiritual Revival Just Sent A Powerful Message

America 250

Trump Administration

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is waging a war against faith, a war that it could win if we don’t wake up and start fighting. With everything we have.
And this is a war that China must lose.
Because what China is doing — what we are permitting China to do — brings back chilling memories of the Holocaust.
The campaign was fought for many years on the local level. Now it is coordinated at the very top of the Chinese government and with the kind of technology that should make all of us terrified.
Not just on a moral level. Because we care about the Chinese believers who are the victims of horrifying persecution today.
We should be terrified because China’s war on faith can come here. To the United States. I can make the case that it already has.
The Chinese have taken the war to authoritarian countries like Iran and Nicaragua, where surveillance technology enables the persecution of Muslims who object to Islamist repression of women and Catholic priests who offer a creed different from Marxism.
The CCP is also winning here, in free capitalist America, where two huge businesses, Hollywood and the National Basketball Association, have become willing enforcers of Chinese censorship. Censorship that has shielded China’s crimes against humanity — the internment of hundreds of thousands, forced abortion and sterilization, organ harvesting from living victims — from international notice and protest.
The movie industry is in bed with the Chinese because it often relies on the Asian market to make a profit.
The NBA’s star players sell shoes in China. How hypocritical it was several years ago when these incredibly well-paid athletes never uttered a negative word about what was going on in China, while often condemning our own society.
Only one player has called out the Chinese Communists — Enes Kanter Freedom, the third overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, whose story I tell in this book. He no longer plays in the league, and that’s because he had the audacity to speak out against China’s oppression. Yes, Black Lives Matter, but what about Chinese lives? Don’t they matter, too?
Look, I’m as fervent a believer in the capitalist system as the next guy, siding with big business throughout my years as a congressman, senator, and governor. That does not mean, however, that we should be doing business with everyone.
Certainly not with a regime that is waging a war against religion and conducting genocide against the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, the members of Falun Gong, and the Buddhists in Tibet — and persecuting Christians who refuse to put the CCP above the Bible.
With their relentless pursuit of the almighty dollar and cheap products, a number of American businesses are acting as accomplices. U.S. companies’ investment in China, as of 2025, totaled $127 billion. That’s billion with a B. Those companies include Apple, BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, and Tesla. Here’s a quote attributed to Karl Marx: “We will hang the capitalists with the rope they sell us.”
China has been waging this war — in one form or another, against one religion or another — for nearly eighty years, since 1949, when Mao Zedong defeated the Nationalist forces, and Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan. Today, the war on faith is being fought more aggressively than ever by a government led by a Mao-like dictator, Xi Jinping.
Let me share with you a few examples of what China has been doing:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Pressuring Christians to replace pictures of Jesus with posters of Xi Jinping</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arresting priests who do not acknowledge the Chinese Communist Party as the ultimate authority. Catholic bishops in China are in prison or have disappeared, or live under house arrest or surveillance</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Detaining Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group who live in the northwestern province of Xinjiang, in concentration camps — at least one with a crematorium attached, as Ethan Gutmann, a senior fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, reported to Congress in 2022</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Harvesting organs from prisoners who are still alive — both Uyghurs and practitioners of Falun Gong — to support the country’s billion-dollar organ export industry</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Subjecting Uyghurs to pregnancy tests, forced intrauterine devices, and forced abortions</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Demolishing sacred religious sites. Chinese authorities destroyed five thousand mosques over a single three-month period, and 97% of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries are now gone</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Forcing teachers to give up Christian beliefs and practices</li>
</ul>
Time is not on our side. Every day, innocent people in China are being imprisoned, tortured, raped. Killed.
These people of faith are similar to the Jewish refuseniks of the 1970s and ’80s (so named because the Soviet Union refused their request to emigrate to Israel), incredibly brave souls such as Natan Sharansky, who spent nine years in a Siberian prison. While small in number, they challenged the legitimacy of the Russian Communist regime and helped crush the Soviet Union. Or, as President Ronald Reagan rightly put it, “the Evil Empire.”
Some of these men and women have suffered for years behind bars, others enduring physical torture. They lost family members and friends and were subjected to unimaginable assaults on their privacy and their personal integrity. Every story demonstrates the cruelty of the regime that poses the greatest threat to freedom in our lifetime. Even greater than the Soviet Union during the Cold War, something I never thought was possible. But none of this horrific persecution deterred them from fighting for their right, and the rights of others, to practice their faith.
The war is being conducted by the CCP, not by the Chinese people themselves, whom I have admired since my first visit in 1985 (my wife Mary and I are blessed to have a brilliant daughter adopted from China), and led by Xi Jinping, the president of China since 2013 and general secretary of the Communist Party since 2012. It reminds me of the Soviet Union at its worst and even of the Holocaust. In fact, the CCP has killed more of its own people than any regime in history — more than Adolf Hitler’s Germany or Joseph Stalin’s Russia. By far. Let that sink in for a little bit.
For the longest time, I could not understand how so much of the civilized world, armed with overwhelming evidence from eyewitnesses, could be silent while Hitler’s Third Reich carried out the Final Solution against the Jews of Europe.
Now I understand. I understand too well.
Because it is happening again, before our very eyes — in the twenty-first century, no less, in a world where everyone has a smartphone, with access to the facts and the pictures at their fingertips. Facts and pictures from three genocides that China has perpetrated: Uyghurs with shaved heads loaded on trains to concentration camps, Tibetan Buddhist monks in chains, the face of a thirty-seven-year-old woman burned with electric batons for practicing Falun Gong. The consequences for freedom everywhere — and that includes the United States of America — will be dire if we fail to act. I pray that it is not already too late.
Adapted from: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chinas-War-Faith-Sam-Brownback/dp/1645721132/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GGfY2swQbHYVnUMulvWUaRGRqN5fjk5y9kgTxleLwG29lbD0L30zLTnhJWx49tp64QwY8uV34t4nHU7Q7wIDg8i5SVLOU0IE5GRSNOV8fLg98OzodOg467kajZnOL-XBPA_IXRca1HVVdPoZgAaGD8XGgJaIzG0i1GMvVHVwPXGIVuvZg52yTd1g0U5ULKMYtQpfv8cO-E7AofRD9MrTSPPNf9zAMez_9y-SzpD5SoM.PYKc8TKZCuMIlA0r_zr2gwqXAy4sD0ZbGa0LJYzTOwY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;qid=1778706504&amp;refinements=p_27%3ASam+Brownback&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-2">China&#8217;s War on Faith by Sam Brownback</a> (Author), Michael Arkush. Republic Book Publishers.

(Photo by Eduardo LEAL / AFP via Getty Images)

Sam Brownback: If You Believe In God, China Wants You Dead

China

DW Opinion

Freedom of Religion

Agriculture Department employees sued USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday, alleging she subjected workers to “government-sponsored religious coercion” by promoting an Easter message.
<a href="https://www.au.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1-NFFE-v-USDA.pdf">The lawsuit, filed by a union representing 19,000 USDA employees,</a> centers on an Easter message Rollins shared, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and other faith-based holiday messages.
On Easter Sunday, Rollins shared a memo with the roughly 100,000 USDA employees, saying, “Happy Easter — He is risen indeed!”
&#8220;From the foot of the Cross on Good Friday to the stone rolled away from the now empty tomb, sin has been destroyed. Jesus has been raised from the dead. And God has granted each of us victory and new life. And where there is life — risen life — there is hope,&#8221; Rollins wrote, <a href="https://www.au.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Happy-Easter.pdf">according to Politico</a>.
That message, according to the lawsuit, violated the First Amendment&#8217;s Establishment Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act.
&#8220;Secretary Rollins’s practice and policy of subjecting agency employees to proselytizing messages conveys the expectation that USDA employees share in the Secretary’s religious beliefs, even when doing so would betray an employee’s own beliefs,&#8221; the lawsuit reads. &#8220;It is exactly the sort of government-sponsored religious coercion, religious sermonizing, and denominational preference that the Establishment Clause prohibits.&#8221;
For nonreligious USDA employees, the Christian message amounted to religious indoctrination.
&#8220;Secretary Rollins’s Easter Sermon draws heavily on biblical references that promote a particular religion — Christianity — which the Secretary’s message evangelizes as fact. The denominational favoritism conveyed in Secretary Rollins’s communications indoctrinates USDA employees and has caused them to feel coerced, unwelcome, excluded, and like outsiders to the agency,&#8221; the lawsuit said. 
The organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the progressive legal advocacy group Democracy Forward also joined the case.
In a striking request, the plaintiffs ask the court to block Rollins and any other USDA official from issuing “such religious communications” and to declare the secretary’s religious messages unlawful.
“While we do not comment on pending litigation, we will keep the plaintiffs in our prayers during this process,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement to The Daily Wire. 
A vocal Christian, Rollins regularly speaks about her faith and has said she holds a Bible study with other members of the Trump Cabinet.
&#8220;We are very deep into studying service and being servants of God and servant leaders, but also being able to resist the temptation that comes with power — staying humble and serving God in these positions,&#8221; <a href="https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/articles/fighting-for-the-soul-of-america">she said in June 2025</a>.

Vice President JD Vance Speaks At A Manufacturing Facility In Des Moines, Iowa

‘He Is Risen’ Message Sparks Meltdown Against Top Trump Official

brooke rollins

The problem of evil is the greatest emotional obstacle to belief in God. It simply doesn’t feel right that God should allow people to suffer, or at least to suffer as much as they do. 
The late atheist philosopher J. L. Mackie, a fellow Aussie, maintained that belief in God was irrational, for if God were all-knowing, He would know that there was evil in the world; if He were all-powerful, He could prevent it; and if He were all-good, He would wish to prevent it. The fact that there is evil in the world proves that God doesn’t exist, or if he does, that He is “impotent, ignorant, or wicked.”
I’ll be honest: when I think about the kinds of evil some people endure, and are enduring even as I speak, I find myself feeling as though an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good God may not exist after all.
But feelings, however powerful, are not arguments. And since we are engaged in philosophy here, we ought to be more concerned with right thinking than with how we are feeling. In fact, when I step back and consider the problem of evil from a rational point of view, rather than simply reacting to it emotionally, I do not think it succeeds as an argument against God’s existence.
Mackie was wrong. The existence of God and the existence of evil aren’t mutually exclusive. And to see why, let’s look at the three attributes of God that Mackie named.
Omnipotence
Omnipotence does not mean the ability to do what is logically impossible because what is logically impossible is nothing at all. God cannot make a square circle, for instance, or a married bachelor, not because his power is limited, but because there is nothing there to be made. Logical contradictions are not difficult tasks awaiting divine power; they are empty descriptions.
As St. Thomas Aquinas put it, &#8220;Whatever implies contradiction does not come within the scope of divine omnipotence, because it cannot have the aspect of possibility. Hence it is better to say that such things cannot be done, than that God cannot do them.” It follows then that while God can create beings with free will, capable of choosing between good and evil, He cannot both grant that freedom and simultaneously override it by forcing creatures always to choose the good. A forced choice is not a free one.
C.S. Lewis captured the point succinctly: “If you choose to say, ‘God can give a creature free will and at the same time withhold free will from it,’ you have not succeeded in saying anything about God.” 
Omniscience
If God has infinite knowledge, then he knows many things we don’t. This means that He may, in fact, have good reasons for permitting evil and suffering that seem inexplicable to us. Human beings have a very limited vantage point, and we often lack knowledge of things of true significance. What appears to us to be a tragedy may have effects that bring about great good, and conversely, what appears to us as a good thing may, in the long run, prove harmful.
Consider the analogy of a small child being taken to the doctor for his immunization shots. He knows the needle hurts, and he can’t understand why his own parents are allowing the doctor to cause him such pain. The child is unable to grasp that the inoculations will help prevent the much greater suffering of disease. He’s unable to perceive the greater good. Likewise, we should recognize that a being with more knowledge than us, like God, may have good reasons for things, even pain and suffering, of which we are unaware. He allows evils to exist because of His omniscience, not despite it.
Omnibenevolence
As we think about the goodness of God, we must be careful not to impose on Him our inadequate understanding of what goodness is. In his book “The Problem of Pain,” C. S. Lewis writes:
<blockquote>By the goodness of God we mean nowadays almost exclusively His lovingness; and in this we may be right. And by Love, in this context, most of us mean kindness. . . . What would really satisfy us would be a God who said of anything we happened to like doing, “What does it matter so long as they are contented?” We want, in fact, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven, a senile benevolence who, as they say, “liked to see young people enjoying themselves” and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, “a good time was had by all.” 
Furthermore, most theists do not believe that God created us merely for happiness in this life. He created us most importantly for eternal happiness with Him in the next. So, His omnibenevolence should be judged neither by our limited human standards of goodness nor by what happens in this world alone.</blockquote>
Putting all this together, we can recognize that an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent creator might have good reasons for tolerating abuses of human free will that lead to evil and suffering. We may not know what all His reasons are, but we sense the value of freedom, including the value of being able to choose good freely rather than by compulsion. We can see how God&#8217;s power and knowledge can bring good out of evil in ways that our limited minds aren’t able to comprehend. In faith, we can say along with St. Paul, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Rom. 8:28).
Evil: An Argument for God
Evil, rather than disproving God’s existence, can actually point toward it, at least indirectly. To call something evil is not merely to register a feeling of dislike or pain, but to make a moral judgment. And moral judgments presuppose the reality of moral norms that are not reducible to individual preference or social convention. If such objective moral norms exist, then they must have an origin that transcends human opinion.
The theist would say that this origin is God. Moral laws point beyond themselves to a moral lawgiver. Only within such a conceptual framework does it make sense to say that suffering is not merely unfortunate, but unjust, that it cries out for explanation, and that it ought, somehow, to be answered. This does not dissolve the mystery of why an all-good God permits suffering and evil. It doesn’t tell us the meaning, but it does tell us that it’s not meaningless. On this view, God can bring good out of evil, ensure that injustice does not have the final word, and ultimately bring about justice in a way that the bare facts of suffering alone never could.
This is essentially St. Thomas Aquinas’ response to the problem of evil. Citing St. Augustine, he writes: “&#8217;Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works, unless His omnipotence and goodness were such as to bring good even out of evil.&#8217; This is part of the infinite goodness of God, that He should allow evil to exist, and out of it produce good.”

Silhouette of Man Praying Outside

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Matt Fradd

Religion

Theology

An illegal immigrant hid in the ceiling of a women&#8217;s bathroom in a Florida church while recording video on his phone, according to authorities.
The Fort Walton Beach Police Department arrested Panamanian illegal immigrant Aquilino Sanjur Ortega on Sunday after receiving a call about a possible armed person at Grace Church during a religious service. One woman said that while she was inside the women&#8217;s restroom, &#8220;she observed a mobile phone positioned above the ceiling with its camera pointed downward in her direction,&#8221; police <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fwbpd/posts/pfbid02BeudRCiPUCdk3ycUCELR71UDLdc3pPm2gD3TxEgviCoxoXhmPNGUGVznTBJq7iPMl?rdid=GIAivwzSYIKbGnwu#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The woman &#8220;immediately&#8221; left the restroom and informed church staff.
Parishioners evacuated from the building before officers arrived at the scene, according to authorities. Witnesses told the officers that a man was hiding in the women&#8217;s restroom ceiling, which they confirmed after entering the church.
Ortega, who was unarmed, was swiftly arrested.
Ortega is charged with video voyeurism and disturbing a religious assembly.
Ortega came to the United States in March 2007 with a tourism visa that expired that September, federal law enforcement sources told The Daily Wire. Because Ortega overstayed his visa by nearly two decades, he&#8217;s considered an illegal immigrant.
As a result, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer with the Okaloosa County Jail. Local authorities are likely to honor the request and hand Ortega over to federal authorities for eventual deportation.
He is being held on a $250,000 bond.
&#8220;Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,&#8221; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told The Daily Wire in response to the case.
Upon his return to the White House, President Donald Trump stripped churches, schools, and hospitals of protections that prevented ICE from entering. They were previously considered &#8220;sensitive&#8221; locations that ICE could not enter or go near.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP [Customs and Border Protection] and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” DHS <a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-sensitive-locations-trump-ab0d2d2652e9df696f14410ebb52a1fc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time of the policy change.
Trump&#8217;s border czar, Tom Homan, has said that ICE attempts to avoid those institutions. But if an illegal immigrant criminal tries to hide inside a church, ICE may go in to arrest them, Homan <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/2609704789400477" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> while leading immigration operations in Minneapolis in February.
&#8220;Those locations are not off the table. I&#8217;ve said from day one, there&#8217;s no sanctuary for a significant public safety threat or a national security threat,&#8221; he said at the time.

Untitled design – 2026-05-08T095623.726

EXCLUSIVE: The Creepy Church Bathroom Discovery Now Fueling A Bigger Immigration Debate

Church

Crime

Florida

Immigration

Menu