The 28-year-old transgender-identifying woman who murdered six people at a Christian school in Nashville in March 2023 hated white people and religion, portions of her newly released writings reveal. 
The FBI <a href="https://vault.fbi.gov/nashville-covenant-school-shooting/nashville-covenant-school-shooting-part-06/view">posted</a> more of the disturbing ramblings of The Covenant School attacker on December 22, including notes that suggest she purchased the weapon used in the killings using federal financial aid. The writings were published after a judge ordered the agency to release documents related to the attack. 
The latest release includes 230 pages of the shooter’s notes and plans leading up to the mass murder. On March 27, 2023, she entered the school and killed three young children and three adults before she was fatally shot by Nashville police officers. 
Among the pages published by the FBI, the attacker listed “advantages” of targeting The Covenant School, where she had attended for a few years. She noted that the school was a “predominantly white school (white pple I hate)” and that it was a “Christian school (hate religion).”
The writings also reveal that the attacker considered targeting a middle school in the Nashville area, but leaned against it because a higher percentage of black students were enrolled there. 
The shooter wrote that school would be in line with her goals because a “massacre” there would be “more notorious/prolific.” Still, she said the “disadvantages” were that it was a “predominantly black school (black people I love),” adding that it would put “black people in dispair + suffering (I don’t want to cause that).” 
Also in the writings, included references that she appeared to use student loan money to purchase the gun used in the attack. In a section of the writings labeled “Account Savings Record,” she listed off various sources of income, including “FASFA [sic] grant checks started at $2,050.86,” followed by entries like “$2,656.87 (x3 checks from Nossi)” and “+$530.00 (x1 check Nossi) ($3,186.87).”
The shooter appeared to be referencing checks from her time at Nossi College of Art and Design in Nashville and from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Those entries followed a list of gun and ammo expenses. The attacker’s parents previously told investigators that she bought the firearm she used in the massacre with Pell Grant funds. 
Most of the newly released pages focus on different types of guns, ammunition, and local gun stores and ranges. Receipts included indicate that just months before the attack, she took several gun classes at the Royal Range in Nashville. She also expounded on “Biden’s horrible gun plans.&#8221; 
The writings also included many references to previous mass shooters and noted the number of victims in each incident. 
The Nashville police department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-in-final-report-downplay-covenant-shooters-transgender-identity-hatred-of-christianity?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Nashville+Police+In+Final+Report+Downplay+Covenant+Shooter’s+Transgender+Identity%2C+Hatred+Of+Christianity">released</a> its final report on the attack in April and downplayed the shooter&#8217;s transgender identity and documented animus toward Christianity, white people, and the wealthy. Instead, the department said that she wanted to gain notoriety.
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This final report didn’t appear to fully take into account the attacker’s transgender identity, which dominated her life.
In journal entries previously published by The Daily Wire, she wrote just weeks before the deadly shooting about her fantasy of having an “imaginary penis” and said that it was a “f***ing curse” that she was born a woman.
“I want to know what that’s like, but I never will because I was damned to be born this way,” she wrote in the journal of her desire to have a penis. “I swear to f*** I hate it so goddamned much. It’s a f***ing curse.”

3 children, 3 teachers fatally shot in US city of Nashville school shooting

The Covenant School Killer Hated ‘Religion’ And ‘White People,’ FBI Files Reveal

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Nashville

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Best Of 2025: A Century Ago, The ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’ Shook The Nation. The Stakes Are Still High.

Best Of 2025: A Century Ago, The 'Scopes Monkey Trial' Shook The Nation. The Stakes Are Still High.

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A Vassar College student says administrators ignored concerns from Christian students and allowed a student burlesque group to mock their faith in a sexual performance in the campus chapel.
Sydney, a Vassar sophomore granted anonymity for this story, told The Daily Wire she first learned about the event when a friend showed her the flyer for a performance titled “Whoreship &amp; Prayer.” The show was produced by Vassar Burlesque, a student group that regularly puts on sexual and drag performances.
“I found the flyer … and I was disgusted immediately,” Sydney said. “The imagery and name of the show made it [clear] &#8230; it was definitely a show that had a Christian theme … clearly mocking Christianity.”
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1013635" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-410x576.jpeg" alt="Burlesque image 1" width="410" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-410x576.jpeg 410w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-213x300.jpeg 213w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-768x1080.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-1093x1536.jpeg 1093w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1.jpeg 1264w" sizes=" (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px" /></div>
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Sydney emailed the dean of student living, the college president, and other administrators to explain exactly why Christian students believed the performance violated Vassar’s stated values of diversity and inclusion. She says she was then contacted by the Office of Institutional Equity, the department that handles identity-based complaints, including those pertaining to religion. She says she met with <a href="https://offices.vassar.edu/institutional-equity/2024/12/19/eoaa-welcomes-brian-van-brunt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Van Brun</a><a href="https://offices.vassar.edu/institutional-equity/2024/12/19/eoaa-welcomes-brian-van-brunt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">t</a>, Vassar&#8217;s Institutional Equity and Title VI Coordinator.
Sydney said Van Brunt acknowledged the event was mocking religious imagery and allegedly admitted it would have been treated differently if Christians weren’t the ones being targeted.
“He basically said … it would be different if it were another religion,” Sydney said. Referring to comments students made on the anonymous social media platform Fizz, she said one hypothetical they talked about was if the flyer had referenced Allah. “If Allah was used … then it wouldn’t have been allowed. And he said, ‘Well, obviously that’s a different situation.’”
Sydney said Van Brunt floated the idea of making minor changes to the flyer, such as removing the image of the Virgin Mary or changing the event&#8217;s name, but even those were rejected by the administration. Despite the number of complaints from Christian students, the administration informed them the event would proceed with no modifications.
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1013637" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-396x576.jpeg" alt="Burlesque image 2" width="396" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-396x576.jpeg 396w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-206x300.jpeg 206w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-768x1117.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-1056x1536.jpeg 1056w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2.jpeg 1249w" sizes=" (max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px" /></div>
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“Whoreship and Prayer” sold out both nights, <a href="https://miscellanynews.org/2025/12/04/arts/whoreship-and-prayer-burlesque-is-a-religious-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> Vassar’s student newspaper, The Miscellany News. In its coverage, the paper described the November performances as a fusion of religious motifs with sexual choreography.
The Miscellany noted some of the acts, including routines called “Touched by the Holy Spirit,” “Red Sea,” and “Blasphemy.”
Muse, one of the group’s co-presidents, told The Miscellany the show explored “the relationship between sexuality and religion — human intersectionalities that exist in a chaotic harmony.” She added, “I grew up very religious … my spirituality is still a huge part of my life, but the relationship between my body, sexuality and my spirituality has always been a bit of a struggle to untangle.”
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1013639" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-446x576.jpeg" alt="Burlesque image 3" width="446" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-446x576.jpeg 446w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-232x300.jpeg 232w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-768x993.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-1188x1536.jpeg 1188w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3.jpeg 1264w" sizes=" (max-width: 446px) 100vw, 446px" /></div>
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Reached for comment, Van Brunt referred The Daily Wire to Victoria Grantham, the vice president for communications, who declined to comment.
Sydney said the Vassar Burlesque group also mocked the backlash from Christian students online, posting memes and celebratory images that used nun costumes, Bibles, and crosses as ironic props. “They actually posted like a tweet … to mock the fact that we were complaining,” Sydney said.
The college sophomore said this was not the first time she saw bias against Christians on campus, but it was the most blatant.
“It made me feel uncomfortable, and I had already felt uncomfortable as a Christian,” she said. “I had heard little comments … little jabs at Christianity before, but I had never seen something this blatantly inappropriate and blatantly hurtful.”
This incident has convinced her that the school’s commitment to “inclusion” does not apply equally.
“They’re outright saying, well, if you are a Christian, you don’t have the same rights as other religions … everyone except you kind of thing. I felt very ostracized.”
The Vassar Chapel continues to host worship nights, Christmas services, and religious gatherings, yet Vassar maintains that it is a “secular space.”
Sydney said that the explanation does not resolve the larger problem: the selective enforcement of respect for religion. “Hopefully, if we bring more attention to it, then it won’t have to be this way forever,” she told The Daily Wire.

Vassar story

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The daughter of an imprisoned Chinese Christian pastor released a tearful video on Christmas Eve, publicly reading a letter to her father as Chinese authorities have cut off direct family communication. 
Grace Jin Drexel read the letter detailing the harrowing experience of her father, Mingri “Ezra” Jin, a prominent underground church leader who has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daughter-of-detained-pastor-warns-of-a-coming-wave-of-christian-persecution-in-communist-china">locked up</a> since October. Jin has been imprisoned in a crowded room that is exposed to the elements and has not been given clean clothes or medication, Grace said. 
“We hear that the room that you are held is crowded with over 30 people, all people you don&#8217;t know. The windows have no glass panels, so the wind and rain flow in, making the room even harsher in this season. Grandma has tried to bring you extra clothes, blanket, and your own medication, but the guards turned her away,” Grace said in the <a href="https://x.com/LantosFndn/status/2003873389552062857?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet">video</a> which was shared by multiple human rights organizations. 
Jin, a pastor at Zion Church, was rounded up alongside 22 other church leaders and locked in a detention center in Guangxi, a region in southern China. Grace said that he was eating dinner when his apartment was stormed by nearly two dozen policemen before being handcuffed, head shaved, and taken away. 
“We are all trying to put on a brave face for each other,” Grace said. “ We probably all look sadder, more worried, and older now.”
Jin has been able to get a Bible while locked up, something that is unusual for imprisoned Christians. 
“Miraculously, we recently heard that they actually gave you a Bible. We praise God for this mercy. We are so thankful that while you are not able to celebrate Christmas with us, and probably won&#8217;t be able to celebrate at all, the Bible will be able to be a comfort to you,” Grace said. 
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Jin first became a Christian after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. After his conversion, Jin initially pastored one of the government-sanctioned churches approved by China, but he soon left after feeling his ministry was being stifled by the Chinese government, which demanded he promote communism. 
Grace said she hoped that those imprisoning her father would turn to Christianity.  
“I also pray that His love will be felt even by those who are persecuting you. May they feel love and forgiveness And may they turn to the Lord as well.  We miss you. We love you. And we hope that we will see you free in the U.S. so soon.”
The video captured the attention of Sam Brownback, the former Kansas governor and religious liberty ambassador for President Donald Trump during his first term. 
“Heartbreaking video of Pastor Jin&#8217;s daughter reading a letter to her father who is wrongly imprisoned in China this Christmas. His crime? Being a man of faith. He has been in jail since October. Pray for him and his family,” Brownback, who has been banned from China, posted on X. 
The arrest of Jin was condemned by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has called for him to be immediately released.

Grace Drexel

Daughter Of Imprisoned Chinese Pastor Releases Tearful Christmas Message To Father

China

It&#8217;s Christmas break, so it seems like an appropriate time <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-251222-member-exclusive?elementPosition=3&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">to discuss</a> one of my favorite books: “The Screwtape Letters,” by C.S. Lewis.
The book is all at once a deep rumination on religion, a high comedy rooted in the hilarity of both humanity&#8217;s flaws and Satan&#8217;s foibles, a tragedy about the nature of death, and a tale of redemption and everlasting life.
It is a spectacularly good book.
When you read “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-Deluxe-C-Lewis/dp/0063487764/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=hmHqX&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.048a6e3c-8d40-4302-8312-26c626af6738%3Aamzn1.symc.050ea944-f1cf-4610-b462-3b604f2f4082&amp;pf_rd_p=048a6e3c-8d40-4302-8312-26c626af6738&amp;pf_rd_r=KNCVRDB5MGRR1B4K95QR&amp;pd_rd_wg=iizDa&amp;pd_rd_r=4e52d04f-0a0b-4d38-95e4-749c6da85b95&amp;ref_=pd_hp_d_btf_ci_mcx_mr_ca_id_hp_d">The Screwtape Letters</a>,” there are a lot of truly funny moments. Lewis himself said, though, “Of all my books there was only one I did not take pleasure in writing,” calling it ‘dry and gritty going.’ &#8220;At the time, I was thinking of objections to the Christian life and decided to put them in the form ‘That’s what the devil would say.’ But making goods ‘bad’ and bads ‘good’ gets to be fatiguing.”
The book is wildly entertaining because he is obviously writing in the voice of one of Satan&#8217;s minions. In Christian theology, Satan has a will of his own, and he&#8217;s rebelling against God, which makes him a really fascinating character.
Lewis opens the book with a couple of epigraphs, one by Martin Luther: “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield the texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn,” and one by Sir Thomas More: “The devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked.”
The book is written from the perspective of Screwtape as letters to his nephew, Wormwood. Wormwood has been given the on-the-ground task of convincing a young man away from his incipient Christianity and Screwtape’s job to advise Wormwood on the best way to procure the young man&#8217;s soul.
This gives Lewis extraordinary leeway to stick and move with Satan, to make fun, to mock, to play with the entire idea. And what emerges is a great work of literature.
There are a bunch of large-scale arguments that Lewis makes in “The Screwtape Letters.” The first one is that Satan&#8217;s best weapon is the “real world.”
That is correct.
If you talk to secular people, they&#8217;ll always say that the spiritual world and God are unreal. The real world is the material world. But then, when you ask them about what&#8217;s important to them, they&#8217;ll talk about their feelings, which, of course, are inherently unreal in the same way the spiritual world is unreal.
This is a point that Lewis makes: the definition of “real” is capacious and changing on a regular basis among secularists. Lewis believes that man&#8217;s draw to the divine can be rooted in reason, and that reason actually guides you toward something beyond yourself. It guides you toward the transcendent.
That&#8217;s an idea that I heartily agree with. I believe that the notion of free will and free choice in the universe guides you toward the idea that there must be something beyond us, that there&#8217;s a logic to the universe that guides you to the question of questions: Who is the Chief Logician, who made the rules?
<div id="attachment_1018735" style="width: 391px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-Deluxe-C-Lewis/dp/0063487764/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=hmHqX&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.048a6e3c-8d40-4302-8312-26c626af6738%3Aamzn1.symc.050ea944-f1cf-4610-b462-3b604f2f4082&amp;pf_rd_p=048a6e3c-8d40-4302-8312-26c626af6738&amp;pf_rd_r=KNCVRDB5MGRR1B4K95QR&amp;pd_rd_wg=iizDa&amp;pd_rd_r=4e52d04f-0a0b-4d38-95e4-749c6da85b95&amp;ref_=pd_hp_d_btf_ci_mcx_mr_ca_id_hp_d"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1018735" class="size-large wp-image-1018735" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/71NsTMMQuGL._SL1500_-381x576.jpg" alt="Credit: HarperOne" width="381" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/71NsTMMQuGL._SL1500_-381x576.jpg 381w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/71NsTMMQuGL._SL1500_-199x300.jpg 199w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/71NsTMMQuGL._SL1500_-768x1160.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/71NsTMMQuGL._SL1500_.jpg 993w" sizes=" (max-width: 381px) 100vw, 381px" /></a>Credit: HarperOne</div>
Lewis makes the same point, and then he says that the job of the secular materialist is to get you to focus on the thing-in-itself.
Screwtape says,
<blockquote>Even if a particular train of thought can be twisted so as to end in our favour, you will find that you have been strengthening in your patient the fatal habit of attending to universal issues and withdrawing his attention from the stream of immediate sense experiences. Your business is to fix his attention on the stream. Teach him to call it real life. Don&#8217;t let him ask what he means by real.</blockquote>
Thus, keep the person focused on the immediate and the now. There&#8217;s nothing that&#8217;s done this more than the internet age, where our attention spans have been reduced to the next 15 seconds. Sitting and ruminating on life leads you to higher ideas, and if you can prevent people from doing that sort of stuff, you end up with a very materialistic society.
So what exactly does reality mean? According to Screwtape,
<blockquote>People ought to be taught that in all experiences which can make them happier or better, only the physical facts are real, while the spiritual elements are subjective and in all experiences which can discourage or corrupt them, the spiritual elements are the main reality, and to ignore them is to be an escapist.</blockquote>
The idea is that when you&#8217;re thinking about death, the only thing that is real is the death itself. You&#8217;re not supposed to look at the spiritual element of death. Or, if you do look at something that makes you very happy, you&#8217;re not supposed to look at the spiritual element of what makes you very happy. Instead, focus on the pure materialism of the thing. The goal is to enmesh mankind in the world.
Screwtape says,
<blockquote>How disastrous for us is the continual remembrance of death with which war enforces. One of our best weapons, contented worldliness, is rendered useless in wartime. Not even a human can believe that he is going to live forever.</blockquote>
The material world, then, is the chief ally of Screwtape because people desire not to think of God. God is a distraction. God has obligations. God has duties. 
Screwtape says,
<blockquote>Human beings hate every idea that suggests Him just as men in financial embarrassment hate the very sight of a passbook. (meaning a checkbook.)</blockquote>
The idea is that if you&#8217;re not thinking about duty, and then you&#8217;re forced to think about duty, you don&#8217;t like it very much.
The other thing that Screwtape tries to get you to focus on is the future — at all times. If you can focus on the future at all times, then people will be very neglectful of the present.
So says Screwtape,
<blockquote>It&#8217;s far better to make them live in the Future. &#8230; The Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most completely temporal part of time — for the Past is frozen and no longer flows and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays. Hence the encouragement we have given to all those schemes of thought like Creative Evolution, Scientific Humanism or Communism, which fix men&#8217;s affections on the Future, on the very core of temporality. Hence, nearly all vices are rooted in the future.</blockquote>
The idea is, if you&#8217;re thinking about the future, then you&#8217;re not thinking about the spiritual consequences of the things you do in the here and now. You&#8217;re thinking about the material consequences of the things that you do in the here and now, and that allows you to do bad things in the name of a “better future.”
Screwtape says the best thing you can do is convince people that their utopian thoughts are the things that are mandated by God. So on the one hand, you try to get people sunk in reality, and this drives them away from God.
On the other hand, Screwtape advises Wormwood that people should be led to examine their own emotions constantly; if you can be narcissistic, checking yourself all the time, you&#8217;re going to end up without God.
Lewis teaches that very often in life, we engage at the beginning of a task with great enthusiasm, and then the enthusiasm wears away. This happens all the time with a variety of tasks, and once that happens, that is when you encourage people to look into being morose, look into being depressed, to reject the spiritual aspect of their duty, to stop trying to take joy in the spiritual aspect of what they&#8217;re doing, and instead focus on the fact that it&#8217;s just sheer drudgery.
Screwtape says that the rule of thumb for seducing mankind away from God is to encourage people to be unselfconscious when considering sin — to be unabashed, unashamed, blasé about your sin, but to be self-conscious and awkward when you consider acts of faith.
This is modern society in a nutshell. The more you sin, the prouder you should be. You should engage in festivals celebrating your sin. When it comes to going to church, you should be shy: “I don&#8217;t want to be judgmental; I&#8217;ll make you feel ashamed. But when it comes to my sin, man, I will tell you about my sins all day long because we can all be comfortable; we can be the boys when we&#8217;re talking about our sins.”
Screwtape also points out that one easy way to hell is to get people to disregard the individual human beings in front of them in the name of Mankind, writ large. This, obviously, is the project of the Left, which is willing to completely run over its neighbors in order to pursue a &#8220;better world&#8221; for everybody else.
The book has wonderful pieces of advice, even for people who are not totally religious, about how to act better in your inner world, how to treat other people better, and how to have better relations with your spouse.
It&#8217;s a beautifully written book.
* * *
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis | Ben Shapiro&#039;s Book Club" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pamEA0RlO7I?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

CS Lewis writing

One Of My Favorite Books: ‘The Screwtape Letters’

One Of My Favorite Books: 'The Screwtape Letters'

Ben Shapiro

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The Bible-based animated film “David,” which was released on December 19 by Angel Studios, has surpassed box office expectations and shattered records for an independent film.
Angel Studios reported on Sunday that “David” earned $22 million over the opening weekend at the domestic box office, per <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/12/21/david-opening-sets-new-record-for-faith-based-angel-studios/">Forbes</a>. This broke the studio’s record set by the hit film “Sound of Freedom” (2023), which earned $19.6 million during its opening, and the animated “The King of Kings” from earlier this year, which raked in $19.4 million.
&#8220;David&#8221; also has the &#8220;highest-grossing faith-based animated theatrical opening of all-time,&#8221; according to a press release from Angel Studios.
The huge results also put “David” second overall at the box office this week, behind only James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
“King David – one of the greatest stories ever told – is powerfully reimagined for the big screen with this epic family musical,” 2521 Entertainment co-founder and Chief Creative and Content Officer David L. Hunt said in a statement. “Kids will grow up fondly remembering how their parents took them to the theater to experience this film. Moments like these become family memories that can last a lifetime.”
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“Families are searching for values-driven films that honor hope, and our Angel Guild members embraced David from the very beginning,” Angel Studios’ theatrical head Brandon Purdie said. “We greatly value the support of our outstanding exhibitors and look forward to a robust, extended theatrical run as this popular animated musical continues to warm hearts and inspire families this Christmas.”
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“David” tells the familiar bible story of David and Goliath. As the film description says, “From the songs of his mother’s heart to the whispers of a faithful God, David’s story begins in quiet devotion. When the giant Goliath rises to terrorize a nation, a young shepherd armed with only a sling, a few stones, and unshakable faith steps forward. Pursued by power and driven by purpose, his journey tests the limits of loyalty, love, and courage — culminating in a battle not just for a crown, but for the soul of a kingdom.”
The movie currently has a 68% critic’s score and 98% audience score on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/david_2025">Rotten Tomatoes</a>.

David

Bible-Based Film ‘David’ Smashes Box Office Records

Biblical Based Film 'David' Smashes Box Office Records

Angel Studios

Box Office

Entertainment

Movies

Actress Jenny McCarthy says the shock of Charlie Kirk’s assassination jolted her into a deeper search for faith, ultimately leading her to embrace Christianity in a way she never had before.
During a recent episode of Culture Apothecary with Turning Point USA podcast host Alex Clark, McCarthy discussed how Kirk’s tragic murder brought her closer to God and made her evaluate her relationship with Jesus. The former Playboy model said God used the horrible event for good, in her case.
“I was so broken…when he was shot, I prayed and prayed and prayed, and then I was calling every doctor I possibly could, saying, ‘Tell me that this wound is something that could be healed…’ It was such a dark day… With every horrible thing, if you find the good, it can help you move forward. Look at the mass awakening. Look at how many people came closer to God, even including myself,” McCarthy told Clark.
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The reality show judge said she was raised Catholic, but added that Kirk’s assassination served as a pivotal moment in her spiritual journey.
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“I have a very deep relationship with God. You know, some people have to work really hard to hear Him. I’ve got a direct line. I mean, Jesus is my homie. I’ve always been a follower of Christ, but when [Charlie Kirk] passed, I completely surrendered. I am so devoted. I started Bible study immediately… [husband Donnie Wahlberg and I] just have become devout since Charlie’s passing.”
The actress went on to say that Kirk’s memorial felt like a “mass awakening.” She said, “I feel like Charlie knew exactly what he was doing. And I know he knew the sacrifice he was making.”
“He changed the world. He saved the world. I mean, imagine having that as your legacy… You brought all those people closer to Christ,” McCarthy added. “What a gift.”

Jenny McCarthy

Jenny McCarthy Says Charlie Kirk Helped Deepen Her Christian Faith

Celebrities

Charlie Kirk

Turning Point USA

U.S.

Imagine if, today, Hong Kong judges declared imprisoned media mogul Jimmy Lai innocent of sedition.
Such a decision would have rehabilitated the reputation of the Chinese Communist Party, which governs Hong Kong. It would have shown that under Xi Jinping, China is capable of rendering justice, a safe place for investors, and a worthy member of the community of nations. 
Of course, none of that happened. On Monday, Lai was declared guilty in a Beijing-controlled Hong Kong court that has long since ceased to behave like a real institution of justice.
This piece could have been written months ago. The verdict was preordained. The performance has been elaborate. And the point could not be more explicit: China intends to demonstrate that even a man of extraordinary achievement, wealth, international attention, and moral courage can be ground down when he refuses to bow.
The question that now confronts us in the West is whether we will continue pretending not to notice.
For nearly four years — over 1,500 days — Jimmy Lai has been held by one of the world’s most powerful states for the “crime” of publishing a newspaper and advocating liberties that were once taken for granted in Hong Kong.
The machinery of repression has been draped in legal garments: national security charges, “collusion with foreign entities,” and a farcical, 140-day trial before three government-approved judges sitting without a jury.
But no one observing this process can confuse it with justice. Lai’s real offense is moral, not legal. He refused to be silent. And more remarkably, he refused to leave Hong Kong, even though he holds British citizenship.
His suffering exposes a larger crisis than Beijing intends. The West’s response — or lack thereof — has revealed a distressing hollowing out of the very values we claim to defend.
It is fashionable in diplomatic circles to speak of Jimmy Lai as a symbol: a symbol of press freedom, a symbol of Hong Kong’s struggle, a symbol of China’s tightening grip. But symbols, by their nature, can be admired at a distance. They do not make demands. They do not interrupt trade deals, unsettle foreign ministries, or challenge ecclesial diplomacy.
Jimmy Lai is not a symbol. He is a man: a husband, father, entrepreneur, Christian convert, and a friend. His imprisonment is not merely a geopolitical incident. It is a moral scandal. And to ignore it is to participate in it.
In a sense, the trial is his. But in a deeper sense, it is ours.
Western democracies often proclaim that human dignity precedes the state, that rights derive not from a party but from a higher moral order. Jimmy Lai believes this too — indeed, he has lived it more courageously than many who declaim it from the safety of parliamentary benches or editorial pages.
What is being tested now is not his resolve, but ours. So far, we are failing.
There have been statements, to be sure. The occasional speech. A scattered diplomatic demarche. But from most governments — and all too often from global institutions that exist to defend human rights — the silence has been strategic. Clear speech about Jimmy Lai would require clear policies toward Beijing. It would impose costs. And modern democracies have grown adept at identifying moral obligations they can safely ignore.
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The Vatican’s silence has been perhaps the most dispiriting. Hong Kong’s elderly cardinal, Joseph Zen, who has stood with Jimmy in the courtroom, sees his Church’s reticence for what it is: a misreading of the Chinese Communist Party by leaders who know persecuted communists but not communist persecutors.
This silence is not neutrality. It is complicity.
The West Kowloon courtroom where Jimmy’s trial unfolded is modern enough: glass boxes, metal detectors, and a gaudy display of armed police meant to intimidate observers. The judges, bewigged in the British manner, give the proceedings the solemn appearance of common law.
But the substance is pure fiat. The prosecution spent 52 days marching the court through subscription lists, emails, tweets, and circulation figures — routine journalism recast as treason.
Apple Daily, the outlet Lai founded, sold a million copies at its height. The state now treats that popularity as evidence of criminal conspiracy. Jimmy steadily denied inciting violence or calling for sanctions, insisting instead that Apple Daily gave voice to Hong Kongers’ desire for freedom.
I watched him from the gallery, sitting behind glass, frail after years in solitary confinement. His wife, Teresa, gripped her rosary. Cardinal Zen, 93 next month and himself under tight state restrictions, sat beside us. When Jimmy caught my eye and nodded, I traced the sign of the cross. His eyes filled with tears.
This is not the behavior of a man plotting insurrection. It is the quiet dignity of conscience under persecution.
The transformation of Hong Kong is part of a wider crisis within China itself. Since the National Security Law took effect in 2020, over 300 people have been arrested for political offenses; 45 pro-democracy activists have received sentences of up to ten years simply for organizing primaries. Beijing recently expanded the NSL to include vague categories like “external interference,” ensuring that any political dissent can be retroactively criminalized.
This is the portrait of a regime tightening control because it has lost the capacity to inspire.
Hong Kong’s extraordinary success was built on precisely the principles Beijing now fears: rule of law, open markets, free expression. Its people created a global entrepôt through ingenuity and liberty.
These habits of freedom do not vanish easily. If mainland Chinese — from tycoons to factory workers — were ever allowed to see that prosperity and liberty are twins, the Party’s foundation would tremble even if the Chinese people (and the world) would prosper.
Perhaps that is why Jimmy Lai is so dangerous.
Now that the official verdict has been handed down, Beijing will claim it is a matter of law. It is not. It is a matter of fear. The CCP — an empire of 1.4 billion — fears a single newspaper publisher because he embodies something they cannot permit: a free man.
Jimmy Lai could have escaped all this. He had the wealth, the passport, and the opportunity. But he stayed because Hong Kong “gave me my freedom,” he said, and he felt obliged to defend it. In this, he resembles other prisoners of conscience: Mandela, Solzhenitsyn, and the unnamed young man who stood before a tank on a Beijing boulevard 36 years ago.
The West has the power to elevate the cost of holding Jimmy Lai. The United Kingdom, of which Lai is a citizen, could apply targeted sanctions. The United States could treat his case with the urgency it affords other political prisoners. The Vatican could speak with the clarity and courage of its own martyrs. And ordinary citizens can demand that their governments act.
Silence, too, is an action.
The British educator Arnold Toynbee once wrote that civilizations do not die from murder but from suicide. The test of our generation is whether we are still willing to defend the principles on which our free societies are built — or whether we will barter them for trade access and diplomatic convenience.
The world will watch Monday’s verdict with predictable outrage. But outrage without action is merely performance. If we abandon Jimmy Lai, we lose more than one man’s liberty. We lose our own moral clarity. We forget what freedom looks like, sounds like, and demands of us.
Jimmy has repeatedly said that the truth will prevail, even if only “in the kingdom of God.” Let us prove that it can prevail in Hong Kong as well — and that the free world still remembers how to act like one.
***
Fr. Robert Sirico is a Catholic priest and co-founder and President Emeritus of the Acton Institute (<a href="https://www.acton.org/">www.acton.org</a>).
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Hong Kong Jimmy Lai National Security Law Court Case

Jimmy Lai’s Guilty Verdict — And The West’s

Christian Persecution

Communist China

Hong Kong

Jimmy Lai

Christmas is the most anticipated holiday of the year, not only because of the family gatherings, gift exchanges, carols, films, and traditions that make it memorable, but mainly because of the story behind Christmas that makes it meaningful.
Every year at Christmas, churches and people of faith blast the message, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” And of course he is, but what is the reason for Jesus? What is the story behind his becoming a man? What is the story behind mankind and its celebration of Christ’s birth?
This December, DailyWire+ members can walk with Dr. Jordan Peterson as he guides them through the foundations of Western faith and meaning, from Genesis to Exodus, from the Gospels to Logos &amp; Literacy, revealing the structure underneath the holiday billions celebrate every year.
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Through these series, viewers are guided back to the story of Christ, the roots of the season, and the texts that shaped our civilization.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/biblical-series-genesis?row=4&amp;elementPosition=14&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Genesis</a></h3>
Explore the first book of the Bible and see it from unique perspectives in Peterson’s 15-episode series, “Genesis.” With a brand new introduction from liturgical artist and Christian thinker, Jonathan Pageau, this biblical series by Peterson explores the psychological significance of the biblical stories from the book of Genesis.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/exodus?row=4&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exodus</a></h3>
Peterson returns to the Old Testament with a cast of Jewish and Christian scholars to uncover the depth of Exodus. For this series, Dr. Peterson gathered a team of formidable scholars for an unprecedented, in-depth analysis of Exodus, an academic work to be taken seriously in the modern era.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-gospels?row=4&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Gospels</a></h3>
Peterson did not stop with exploring the texts of Genesis and Exodus. He followed up with a 10-part lecture series on the texts for which Genesis and Exodus lay the groundwork. In The Gospels, a series that is part of Peterson’s lifelong effort to rescue society from the meaning crisis that seeks to devour our culture, he gathers nine of the world&#8217;s most brilliant minds to unravel the mysteries of the Gospel story and to resurrect the anchoring principles of the text that formed the West.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/logos-literacy?row=4&amp;elementPosition=12&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Logos &amp; Literacy</a></h3>
In this must-see feature-length documentary, viewers can embark on an enlightening journey as Peterson leads them through the Museum of the Bible. Logos &amp; Literacy delves into the depths of the Bible&#8217;s impact on society and how it shapes our understanding of the world. Join Peterson as he meets with experts in history, theology, and philosophy to uncover the rich history of the Bible and its continued relevance in shaping our beliefs and values.

DailyWire+

From Genesis To The Gospels: Understanding The Story Behind The World’s Biggest Holiday

Christmas

Dr. Jordan Peterson

There&#8217;s no bigger sports stage in the United States than the NFL, and this season — thanks to a New England Patriots running back — the NFL shined a spotlight on the plight of persecuted Christians.
Once a year, players can choose any charitable cause to raise awareness and money for through a unique cleat design, which the players wear for their &#8220;My Cause, My Cleats&#8221; game. The Special Olympics, cancer foundations, and youth sports initiatives are all popular picks for players. But TreVeyon Henderson, who in recent years became a Christian, chose to highlight the Global Christian Relief and the work they do to help the 380 million persecuted Christians around the world.
&#8220;When you read the Bible and you look at what Jesus teaches us and warns us about the persecution we will face for following him &#8230; there&#8217;s not much awareness about it,&#8221; Henderson said. &#8220;It really just opened my eyes because the things Christ was warning about are still happening today.&#8221;
Global Christian Relief CEO Brian Orme knows Henderson from his days playing football at The Ohio State University. Orme has followed Henderson&#8217;s rookie year, and noticed earlier this season that the NFL star was sharing the Christian organization&#8217;s posts on X. It was the start of a strong relationship with Henderson and Global Christian Relief. The running back became a monthly donor — then told Orme he wanted to amplify the organization through &#8220;My Cause, My Cleats.&#8221;
Henderson worked with his wife to design the cleats he wore on Monday Night Football on December 1.
&#8220;The blood dripping on the cleats symbolizes the blood that has been shed on the cross, the blood that&#8217;s been shed from people who have lost their lives for pursuing and following Christ,&#8221; Henderson said.
<div id="attachment_1014423" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1014423" class="size-large wp-image-1014423" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: Global Christian Relief</div>
The other side of the cleats show people holding up the Cross.
&#8220;This symbolizes the faithfulness of the persecuted church. Despite the blood that&#8217;s being shed, the one thing they&#8217;re not losing is their faith.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“God has been using these stories to open my eyes and give me this desire to help however I can.”
In a moment when TreVeyon could&#8217;ve focused on himself, he turned his attention to persecuted Christians. 🙏 <a href="https://t.co/hIwqBu0YMv">pic.twitter.com/hIwqBu0YMv</a>
— Global Christian Relief (@GC_Relief) <a href="https://twitter.com/GC_Relief/status/1996362052894629909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
Global Christian Relief has seen greater exposure since Henderson&#8217;s endorsement.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a great example of what it looks like when influence meets conviction,&#8221; Orme told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Him leveraging his platform has a tremendous impact and builds credibility.&#8221;
Orme said Henderson showcasing his faith is part of a bigger movement the country has seen in recent months.
&#8220;God is choosing this moment through President Trump, Nicki Minaj, Bill Maher, all these different voices, to draw attention to what&#8217;s happening. He&#8217;s choosing this time to raise that awareness, and we&#8217;re praying that God will continue to create that momentum for the church.&#8221;
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nicki-minaj-puts-nigerias-christian-persecution-in-the-spotlight">Nicki Minaj Puts Nigeria’s Christian Persecution In The Spotlight</a>
In some parts of the world, Christians are being expelled from their families, imprisoned, and in some cases executed. Global Christian Relief provides safe housing, aid, Bibles, and legal support for Christians in the areas where it is most dangerous for them to profess their faith.
&#8220;We meet with believers in these regions, work through local churches to give them the resources that they need to not only survive, but to thrive as a life of the gospel.&#8221;
Henderson, like so many Christians in America, didn&#8217;t realize the extent of global Christian persecution. But now that he&#8217;s worked with Global Christian Relief and spread their message through football, he wants others to join the fight.
&#8220;I just hope here in the U.S., it encourages us, that it strengthens our faith to be more courageous, to be more bold, but to also have compassion for other brothers and sisters in Christ and to help however God may call you to help,&#8221; he said.
Henderson and the Patriots take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Orme said because of Henderson&#8217;s bold faith, the running back has a lot of new fans rooting for his success.
&#8220;TreVeyon, he&#8217;s a football player, but more than anything, he is a believer in Christ, and he is passionate,&#8221; Orme said. &#8220;Even just a few minutes of conversation with him, he&#8217;s gonna talk about his faith, he&#8217;s gonna talk about what God&#8217;s doing. He&#8217;s been a blessing to us.&#8221;

Credit: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images/Global Christian Relief

NFL Star Shares Gospel, Stands Up For Persecuted Christians

Football

Sports

A tremor is moving through Armenia. It is not shaking its borders or its mountains. It is moving through the spiritual heart of the world’s first Christian nation. The Armenian Apostolic Church, the ancient institution that carried a people through genocide, exile, and the long shadow of Soviet repression, now stands in the center of an escalating national confrontation. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/armenia-order-arrest-senior-priest-over-alleged-coup-plot-triggers-scuffles-2025-06-27/">accused leading church figures</a>, including Catholicos Karekin II, of political meddling and moral misconduct. Church leaders and their supporters insist that the government is attempting to silence a sacred institution that has preserved Armenian identity through centuries of persecution. To understand the significance of this confrontation, it is important to consider how both the government and the Church explain the actions that have unfolded since early summer.
Since June, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has said its actions against senior clerics are lawful investigations tied to alleged criminal conduct and concerns about political destabilization during a sensitive period for Armenia’s security and peace negotiations. Church leaders and critics counter that the arrests, including the recent detention of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/armenian-archbishop-arrested-drug-related-charges-amid-crackdown-clerics-2025-12-05/">Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan</a> on revived drug-related charges, amount to political pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church and raise serious questions about religious freedom and state overreach.
The truth of these accusations remains contested. The facts are intertwined with political tension, historical memory, and the understandable anxieties of a nation that has endured repeated national trauma. Yet this controversy is about more than the conduct of any particular leader. It is about the role faith continues to play in shaping the conscience of a modern society. It is about whether institutions that helped form the Armenian nation can still speak with moral authority in an age that increasingly demands their silence.
In much of the West, faith is often treated as a personal preference or a cultural accessory, reduced to one choice among many in an age defined by individual identity. Yet faith has never been sustained by ease. It is shaped by conflict, sacrifice, and transformation. The Armenian Church has survived empires, invasions, massacres, political manipulation, and ideological pressure that sought to erase it. It has weathered the weakness of its leaders, the failures of its institutions, and the pressures of hostile governments. Through all of this, it has remained a source of identity and hope for its people.
Americans should see something familiar in this moment. We, too, have seen spiritual disappointment in every corner of our own religious landscape. We have witnessed the failures of pastors, priests, bishops, and spiritual leaders who lost their way. Yet the endurance of faith despite human failures reminds us that no institution stands or falls on the perfection of its leaders. A church draws its strength from the conviction of its people and from a shared belief that truth is larger than any one individual.
This insight matters not only for religion but also for politics. Mature societies understand that institutions must outlast personalities. A democracy cannot survive if it relies on the strength of a single figure. A church cannot survive if it places all of its hope in the purity of one clergyman. The resilience of a nation rests in the covenant of shared responsibility, shared belief, and shared accountability.
<div id="attachment_1014245" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1014245" class="size-large wp-image-1014245" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-864x576.jpg" alt="Tatev, Armenia. Sunrise view of 9th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery located near the Tatev village in Armenia." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Tatev, Armenia. 9th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery located near the Tatev village in Armenia. Anton Petrus. Getty Images.</div>
Armenia’s struggle also reveals something essential about freedom. Under Soviet rule, the Armenian Church was monitored, restricted, and infiltrated by state authorities, making open criticism dangerous or impossible. In a free Armenia, citizens can question both political leaders and church authorities. Such questioning might be loud and painful, but it is proof of democratic life. Freedom requires discernment. A society must learn how to confront wrongdoing without destroying the institutions that hold its moral memory.
None of this diminishes the seriousness of the concerns raised on both sides. If the Church has tolerated harmful practices, it must face that reality with honesty and courage. If the state is using the language of justice to exert political pressure, it must stop before it undermines the very democratic values it claims to protect. The state exists to govern. The Church exists to guide conscience. When each respects the purpose of the other, both flourish.
This moment also calls for humility among believers. It is easy to demand perfection from spiritual leaders and then abandon the Church when those leaders fail. Yet the endurance of Christianity has never depended on perfect leadership. It has grown through crises that forced communities to seek renewal, accountability, and deeper integrity. Faith is not destroyed by human weakness. It is strengthened when weakness is confronted with truth.
For that reason, the crisis in Armenia may ultimately bring spiritual renewal. A Church that survived genocide, communism, and the attempt to erase its identity will not collapse because of a political controversy. It may emerge more transparent, more accountable, and more prepared to meet the longing of a new generation that desires authenticity from every institution. And if the government learns that the Church remains an essential guardian of Armenian identity, then this moment of strain may lead to a healthier balance between state authority and spiritual influence.
Americans should pay attention to this moment. We live in a time of deep skepticism toward every institution. We have grown accustomed to believing that a single failure invalidates the entire structure. Armenia offers a humbling reminder. Imperfection is not the opposite of strength. It is the environment in which renewal can take root if people refuse to surrender to cynicism.
The world’s first Christian nation is wrestling with its soul. It is rediscovering a timeless truth. The endurance of faith is not measured by the virtue of its leaders, but by the resolve of its people to preserve what is true even when the ground beneath them is shaking. That is a message America needs to hear now more than ever.
* * *
Bishop Dr. Paul Murray is a global religious freedom advocate and nonprofit executive with more than three decades of experience working at the intersection of faith, human rights, and public life. He serves as CEO of <a href="https://www.savearmenia.us/">Save Armenia</a> and is an adjunct professor at <a href="https://www.indwes.edu/academics/seminary/">Indiana Wesleyan University</a>.
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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Artsakh-Diocese-in-Etchmiadzin-Armenia

Armenia’s Spiritual Earthquake And The Warning America Cannot Ignore

Armenia

Armenians

Church

Communism

genocide

Investigation

Middle East

Persecution

Politics

Soviet Union

“Pints with Aquinas” host Matt Fradd released a special Christmas episode on DailyWire+ on Wednesday, as he prepares to officially join The Daily Wire’s stacked podcast lineup in January.
Fradd was joined by Dr. Scott Hahn, a renowned theologian and Catholic apologist, and the two dove into many theological topics, ranging from the prophecies of Christ, to the story of the nativity and the importance of Mary.
Their discourse started out by addressing the awe-inspiring fact of Jesus Christ choosing to become fully human and beginning his earthly journey as an unborn child.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/pwa-ep-1?elementPosition=0&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowTy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Christmas with Dr. Scott Hahn | Tracing the Fulfillment of Prophecies</a>
“I was thinking about the scandal of the manger and I was reminded of St Augustine&#8217;s words,” Fradd said. “[Augustine] says, ‘He whom the heavens cannot contain the womb of one woman bore. She ruled our ruler. … She gave milk to our bread.’”
Hahn agreed that the concept is often overlooked by Christians. “Because it&#8217;s not just the scandal of the cross that Saint Paul speaks of in First Corinthians 1 and 2. It&#8217;s also the scandal of the incarnation that God becomes man, that God becomes a zygote, that God becomes an embryo, a newborn child, God in the manger, you know, and I can hear my Christian friends saying, ‘So what&#8217;s what&#8217;s the problem?’”
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“And I would suggest that they ought to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and maybe stop by Bethlehem because you&#8217;re surrounded by Jews and Muslims. And if you&#8217;re just wondering… what&#8217;s the scandal of God becoming flesh, God becoming a baby in the womb of the Blessed Virgin? You know, look at it through their eyes… we&#8217;re not even made in [the image and likeness of Allah] according to Islam.”
“And so we recognize in the Christian faith, especially in the Advent season, leading up to Christmas, that we&#8217;re dealing with a God who is personal, who is concerned about us as persons,” he added. “And it&#8217;s almost not fitting for a God that immense.”
Fradd and Hahn also discussed how people can celebrate a beautiful Christmas with their families.
“In Advent and Christmas I would say start small,” said Hahn. “I mean, when I think back to what we&#8217;ve done as a family, what my parents did as non-practicing Christians, every once in a while we began with an Advent wreath with the four candles … and then to gather around it each evening and  sing an Advent song or a Christmas carol.”
Hahn suggested reading scripture together and keeping it short, especially for parents with small children. “That has been an anchor for us as a family, and that is the Advent wreath,” he added.

Matt Fradd

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