I was at work when I learned that Karoline Leavitt, President Trump’s viral press secretary, will be stepping down from her position.
“Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!” wrote President Trump <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Ftruthsocial.com*2F*40realDonaldTrump*2Fposts*2F117084211457388624&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401918627*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=nD77BtewLQfiFspqviKJ8gNMo*2FQY1cqAPWgv*2F8AYbhA*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSU!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-uFyJ5pA$">on Truth Social</a>.
As a Gen Z woman who works full-time in the pro-life movement, I knew what would come next: some on the political Right telling women to follow in her footsteps, using Christianity as justification.
The irony of young Christians telling women to go back to the kitchen and care for the kids as the Good Word commands is that Scripture does not actually say that — it says the ideal wife is a working mom.
Everyone has heard of the “Proverbs 31 woman,” especially if you are young and single like me. On every dating app, Christian men pick a prompt saying they’re looking for one of these rare women before asking for a stay-at-home mom who will bake homemade sourdough and birth 12 kids.
I am not here to argue that women’s roles as mothers and wives are not important. They clearly are, and they are indispensable. I would also like to make bread for my dozen kids one day.
However, the conservative political narrative that women must be stay-at-home moms is not reflective of scriptural teachings.
<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Fwww.biblegateway.com*2Fpassage*2F*3Fsearch*3DProverbs*252031*26version*3DESV&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401932304*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=ApuuEB2W62ak8Xp6d3wYhvitmf0cgNgQDZK3mdvEVfk*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUl!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-n8DgDA1$">Proverbs 31:10–31</a> describes “The Woman Who Fears the Lord,” who is said in verse 10 to be “far more precious than jewels.” The first three verses, 10–12, describe the nature of a good relationship between man and wife, one filled with trust and service.
The next section, verses 13–24, describes the behaviors of this ideal woman.
The woman portrayed in verses 13–15 fits the image young conservatives find appealing: a woman who makes clothes for her family, collects food and prepares it for her household, and finds joy in her service. Young men and women grasp these verses while watching trad wife and homesteading reels on Instagram.
While providing necessities like this is an expectation of a biblical wife, the description does not end with her using their resources to maintain a home. Scripture expects her to conduct business and earn money outside the home to support it.
Verses 16–24 portray a woman who is active outside the home. She purchases land and cultivates it, pursues physical strength and health, creates products and sells them, and helps the needy in her community. Her role is not only in the home. In fact, it necessitates leaving.
Leavitt is a great example of this. She continued to work in this position after the birth of her kids, as it worked for her family.
However, she is working with intention: Leavitt is not leaving the workforce entirely, but forging a path that lets her serve her country and family best.
“Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections,” continued President Trump <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Ftruthsocial.com*2F*40realDonaldTrump*2Fposts*2F117084211457388624&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401945689*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=UY6TwV*2FZxBZfRnuYihqBUkM7Jfq4eq6*2Bh6b2BGjiAV8*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSU!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-vuH6oB2$">on Truth Social</a>. “Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty, and Freedom, since 2018, including our Historic Re-Election Campaign of 2024. Karoline has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office. Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!”
Leavitt figured out what worked for her and her family at this time, and she did it. This move is an example of biblical balance.
I can understand why some conservative Christian women of my generation want to be housewives. We grew up in the throes of fourth-wave feminism, teaching women to reject their God-given traits in favor of the corporate image of masculinity. We’ve been forced into a role we could never fill, and <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Fwww.forbes.com*2Fsites*2Fdeloitte*2F2026*2F05*2F21*2Fmental-health-is-improving-for-gen-z-and-millennials-but-more-needs-to-be-done-to-address-chronic-stress-at-work*2F&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401958640*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=VbFGoktaV0DtaPq5qbI83EjpRerVe4eJp*2FBueD1yKS0*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJQ!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-mxwew5q$">the chronic stress of feminist work culture is destroying our mental health</a>.
Similarly, I can understand some men wanting a housewife as they navigate a man-defeating culture. The imagery of a 1950s housewife — a dress-wearing woman with carefully styled hair, a clean home, a plate of hot food, and a warm smile — is intoxicating to men starved for healthy femininity as <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Fwww.brookings.edu*2Farticles*2Fthe-growing-gender-gap-among-young-people*2F&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401971733*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=5A7oVvREkosP7EfIGdXDezHn102qd45FwuXVv*2B65uT0*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUl!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-gqrQtEq$">the majority of Gen Z women embrace modern feminism and liberalism</a>.
This is why young Christians cannot look to the world’s culture for fulfillment. Whether that culture is politically conservative or liberal does not matter. Peace can only be found in the Word of God.
What stands out in Proverbs 31 is the mutual respect shown between man and wife. Proverbs shows a man trusting in his wife and praising her. A woman is encouraged to serve her family and community in both care and business, and her husband is elevated as a result.
To young women, I say: use Scripture as your roadmap. Serve your family through care and work. Find ways to serve your community. Listen to the lessons of Proverbs 31:25–31 and clothe yourself in strength and dignity, be kind with your words, and fear nothing but the Lord.
And to men: do not give up hope on women. Be the leaders God asks you to be. Value the role God has truly given her, and you will see Christian women respond in kind.
***
Olivia D’Angelo is a policy analyst, writer, and strategic project coordinator for Students for Life of America, studying biblical leadership at Fruitland Baptist Bible College. Follow her on X: @olivia_dangelo

1960s HAPPY COUPLE MAN…

Dear Gen Z Christians: It Is Biblical For Women To Work

christianity

donald trump

gender roles

karoline leavitt

opinion

proverbs 31

What makes a movie Christian? Some reviewers have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-christopher-nolan-couldnt-bring-himself-to-do">argued</a> Christopher Nolan&#8217;s &#8220;Odyssey&#8221; was shaped by Christian themes. Daily Wire host <a class="css-1unrqcp">Michael Knowles has called both the horror film </a><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dont-believe-reviews-mother-thought-provoking-michael-j-knowles">&#8220;Mother!&#8221;</a> and the coming-of-age story <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/review-lady-bird-brutally-honest-christian-michael-j-knowles">&#8220;Lady Bird&#8221;</a> Christian, though neither film purported to be. Can a film be Christian if it doesn&#8217;t explicitly mention God, and even if it depicts behavior that Christians find objectionable?
I was listening to a <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/016-the-power-of-1-minute-with-russ-devos/id1549028686?i=1000637979057">podcast</a> recently when the topic of “Christian” movies came up. Not titles that explicitly depict the life of Christ, such as “The Passion of the Christ” or the show “The Chosen,” but movies which one might group under the umbrella term of “Christian.” Leadership coach Russ De Vos said his favorite movie, and the one which pointed him toward Jesus, was the 1995 blockbuster “Braveheart” starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace.
This choice surprised me, though it turns out it should not have. “Braveheart” apparently routinely ranks high, if not at the top, on lists of people’s favorite “Christian” movies, especially among men, who find in its depiction of William Wallace an example of heroic and sacrificial manliness. Yet this got me thinking: What do we mean when we describe a movie as not just inspiring, but as “Christian”? 
I don&#8217;t have a definitive answer, but I can tell you why “Braveheart” doesn&#8217;t make the cut for me. It is unquestionably a rousing, beautiful film, and a good piece of dramatic art. But it fails my “Christian” test because, gratuitous violence aside, it is unabashedly historically inaccurate.
All historical movies take a degree of historical license; essentially, they have to. Verifiable facts about the historical past are so sparse, especially when it comes to 13th-century Scotland, that anyone wishing to dramatize the story must embellish certain details and invent others simply to fill in the missing pieces of the historical jigsaw puzzle. Yet surely a line should be drawn at inserting details that we know for sure could never have happened. And “Braveheart” is full of such <a href="https://scotlands-stories.com/braveheart-historical-check/">inventions</a>, some of which are laughable, some defamatory. 
One of Christianity’s claims to truth concerns its rigorous historical accuracy. The New Testament does not introduce the Incarnation, that moment when Christians believe that God entered into the historical timeline as a man, in a vague way — as in, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” — but with a historical precision that is worth noting. Indeed, distinguished Cambridge philosopher <a href="https://justinbrierley.beehiiv.com/p/conversion-classicist-reading-greek-new-testament-led-james-orr-christ">James Orr</a> came to Christian faith precisely because he recognized the historical accuracy of biblical accounts of the birth of Christ. Therefore, if historical accuracy mattered to the writers of the New Testament, then any movie that merits the term “Christian” must display a similar respect for historical truth.
For some, a “Christian” movie encapsulates wholesome content: no sex, no swearing, minimal violence, and no lauding of illegal acts. Think of the kind of movie you can show to your church youth group without concern. There is an obvious logic to this viewpoint. A “Christian” movie is one that Christians will choose to watch, that aligns with their values, and resonates with the kind of lives they are trying to lead. Such a movie might typically show people praying, quoting the Bible, making right moral choices, and seeing the fruits of these choices in greater blessing and flourishing in their lives. Examples of this kind of movie could be the classic 1981 British movie “Chariots of Fire,” or the more recent 2015 sleeper hit “<a href="https://youtu.be/mIl-XY9t_Lw?si=oJsdxUNE4__kV-mS">War Room</a>,” and its 2024 spin-off, “<a href="https://youtu.be/s4aCsaDvagw?si=vtusA_tjskKp9iux">The Forge</a>,” co-written by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, both of whom are also pastors.
As popularity for such faith-based movies grows, the big studios have taken <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-oct-02-la-ca-religious-films-20111002-story.html">notice</a>. The Christian movie company <a href="https://www.affirmentertainment.com/about">Affirm Films</a> was set up in 2007 as a subsidiary of <a href="https://deadline.com/2016/11/affirm-faith-based-label-promotions-sony-1201850273/">Sony</a>, with its stated mission to produce content that “inspires, uplifts, challenges and captivates.” This brings up the question of what is meant by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/faith-religion-films-tv-bible-stories-c53a47a0fb3a5a4020d225a65aac0075">faith-based content</a>, and who the target and actual audiences are for such openly Christian movies. Is it people who already believe, or people who are not sure and need a vision of what the Christian life looks like in real life? If the latter, how accurately can the fictional medium of storytelling replicate reality? 
It is routine for movies with a direct Christian message to be challenged by mainstream movie critics as “preachy.” Another criticism is that they are formulaic and use clichéd tropes. Essentially, critics find such wholesome stories to be boring and unoriginal. It is worth noting that if one did classify as “Christian” only those movies with no bad language, sex, or violence, and which were safe for a church youth group, then the astonishing “Dead Man Walking,” which explores extreme sin, repentance, and atonement, probably would not qualify. 
Another faith-based studio, Angel Studios, which started in 2013 under the name VidAngel, operates independently of an established studio format, preferring to crowdfund its movies. Its breakout film was 2023’s “Sound of Freedom,” based on a true story and starring Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ.” Yet the success of that movie led to Angel Studios getting sucked into the culture wars, receiving <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240619-christian-studio-eyes-culture-wars-challenge-to-hollywood">criticism</a> that likened the plot to a QAnon fever dream. Controversy notwithstanding, that film’s healthy box office receipts have allowed Angel Studios to break into mainstream movie making. The studio now routinely attracts well-known actors, and its upcoming movie “<a href="https://youtu.be/m8JUmBgHejI?si=SDiDzMp1v1IETQcQ">Runner</a>” features action man of the moment Alan Ritchson with Owen Wilson as the comic relief. 
Amid the rise of films for Christian audiences, there is no definitive answer to what qualifies as a &#8220;Christian&#8221; movie. Unlike, say, action movies or rom-coms, which must follow a generic plot line, what makes a movie “Christian” is surely more personal. For those interested in outside-the-box contenders, though, I have a few.
For starters, “<a href="https://youtu.be/MF7JH_54d8c?si=n5VtwoipA1ZdlaeZ">Casablanca</a>.” Yes, the previous love affair between Rick and Ilsa was adulterous, but neither knew it at the time, so that must surely count for something. Plus, once they realized the truth of the situation, they refused to rekindle their passion. Their selfless choices at the end of the movie — which seem to be pretty accurate depictions of the Pauline concept of “dying to self” — lead to them both having happier and more fulfilled futures than had they furtively run away together. If you are still skeptical, compare “Casablanca” to its hedonistic doppelgänger, “<a href="https://youtu.be/Xk_LRcOFT0c?si=gmnp6TStYCuPJu2T">The English Patient</a>,” in which the lovers choose each other over “doing the right thing,” and everyone dies. Horribly. 
Another movie that gets my “Christian” rating is “<a href="https://youtu.be/Ftkmhs8BEms?si=D6GFOKC1uRWS9_PZ">The Painted Veil</a>.” Again, adultery is the plot twist, but here the selfishness, immaturity, and infatuation that caused it are burned up in a crucible of suffering, leading to our hero and heroine gaining a genuine knowledge of and love for each other, which in turn leads to profound repentance, self-sacrifice, and ultimately self-fulfillment. 
A very different movie that also qualifies is the strange but brilliant “<a href="https://youtu.be/WWoDBcSW4_c?si=AkhBExvq0BEhyHZ8">Moon</a>,” directed by the late David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, and starring Sam Rockwell alone in a space station on the Moon. Spoiler alert: Rockwell’s character gradually realizes he is not the human he believes himself to be, but a clone whose function is to supervise the robots and harvesting machines on the space station, which are mining the Moon’s rare minerals and sending them back to Earth. He discovers he can only live for three years before starting to physically degrade, whereupon he will be euthanized and replaced by an identical and equally oblivious clone, who will supervise the mining colony before similarly starting to decompose.
Now why is this one “Christian?” Because just as C.S. Lewis used the artistic medium of sci-fi in his adult fiction series, “<a href="https://transform.westernseminary.edu/resources/cs-lewis-space-trilogy">The Space Trilogy</a>,” to explore man’s relationship to the divine, “Moon” shines a spotlight on the wonder of our human uniqueness. It reminds us that each person is a created being and designed to be fully autonomous, not an anonymous commodity fabricated in a lab for commercial profit. Each time I watch “Moon,” my response is to thank God for giving us humans true freedom, which is something I guess William Wallace from “Braveheart” could understand.
So now, over to you. What do you think makes a movie “Christian,” and what is at the top of your list?
***
Bridget Riley studied modern history at Oxford and completed a Ph.D. in medieval history at the University of Reading. She writes on history, culture, and the philosophy of religion.
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.

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Three Unlikely Films That Carry Surprising Christian Themes

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arts

braveheart

film

sound of freedom

Actress Anna Faris admitted this past week that she challenges her 14-year-old son, whom she shares with ex-husband Chris Pratt, on his pro-life and conservative beliefs.
Speaking to comedian Chelsea Handler on her &#8220;Dear Chelsea&#8221; podcast, Faris spoke lovingly of her son, Jack, but noted they have some differences when it comes to religion and politics. She told Handler that she challenges Jack&#8217;s beliefs, specifically bringing up his pro-life views.
“I try to challenge him. I’m like, ‘Do you think it’s a luxury that you get to be pro-life?’” Faris said. “He’s like, ‘Maybe.’”
“He is &#8230; religious,” the 49-year-old said, sounding hesitant. Faris said she did not grow up with religion herself, but that Jack has developed strong religious beliefs. When she challenges him on his faith, she said she brings up what she views as religious “hypocrisy.”
“I’ll say, ‘So, what do you think of this mega pastor that’s kind of a grifter?’” Faris said. “He’s like, ‘Oh, mega pastors are the worst.’ So it’s like, okay, he&#8217;s getting there.”
Faris also praised her son, saying she&#8217;s impressed by his responses and calling him as “solid as a tugboat, emotionally. &#8230; He just doesn’t get easily jarred — he handles situations really well.&#8221; She added that she was &#8220;appreciative that he’s examining religion the way he is, in terms of recognizing hypocrisy.”
The &#8220;House Bunny&#8221; actress also revealed that Jack has asked her to become a Christian and accept Jesus as her savior. Faris, who has said she did not grow up religious, indicated she isn&#8217;t currently a believer herself but suggested she&#8217;d consider becoming one for her son. “It’s gonna take a whole lot of long conversations,” Faris said she told Jack.
Faris was married to Pratt in 2009 and gave birth to Jack in 2012. Pratt has been very open about his Christian faith, including discussing how Jack’s premature birth strengthened his belief in God. The actor routinely supports our veterans and has been piled on by liberals online for apparently secretly holding conservative views, though Pratt has generally stayed out of politics.
After his split from Faris in 2017, Pratt married Katherine Schwarzenegger, daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, in 2019. The pair have three children together. Faris married cinematographer Michael Barrett in 2021.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-pratt-goes-viral-after-proving-gentlemen-do-still-exist-in-hollywood?author=Katie+Jerkovich&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Chris+Pratt+Goes+Viral+After+Proving+Gentlemen+Do+Still+Exist+In+Hollywood">Chris Pratt Goes Viral After Proving Gentlemen Do Still Exist In Hollywood</a>

Premiere Of Disney And Marvel’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2” – Arrivals

Chris Pratt’s Ex Admits She Grills 14-Year-Old Son Over His Pro-Life, Conservative Views

abortion

anna faris

chris pratt

entertainment

A nationally growing ministry for female athletes is launching new chapters across the country this fall, countering attacks on gender integrity with formative, feminine, Christian encounters.
<a href="https://fierceathlete.org/why-fierce-2">FIERCE Athlete</a> reaches women and girls in sports through clinics, retreats, and coaching that strive for whole-person formation. The organization has had impressive growth since 2019, with reach in more than 20 states, impacting 24,000 people, and 5,200 female athletes. Several schools are launching or continuing in-house chapters this fall and engaging in mentorship programs to raise up student leaders.
Programs typically run full-day or after school in lieu of practice and are commonly attended by coaches. This year’s expansion of chapters marks significant progress in the ministry.
A “toxic world”
Female athletics has been targeted by the transgender industry with particular malice, played out on the world stage at the <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2024/08/08/olympics-boxing-fiasco-is-more-proof-men-dont-belong-in-womens-sports/">2024 Olympics</a>, and through recent<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403269732112"> threats </a>of discriminatory action by transgender men demanding entrance into professional women’s leagues. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11569523/">Mental health</a> challenges plague elite female athletes at higher rates than males. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11370166/">Violence</a> is becoming more <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/10/the-nba-is-enabling-the-wnbas-anti-white-violence/">flagrant</a>.
A former Division I soccer player and competitive rower, Samantha Kelley designed FIERCE to combat the obstacles she witnessed in women’s sports years before abuses of biological integrity became standard. Elite athletes are extremely driven, exhibiting extraordinary mental and physical capacities, and achieving insurmountable gains. They train hard, set best records, and can suffer identity loss when off the field or court.
Sidelined by a 13-month injury recovery as a freshman at the University of Connecticut, Kelley became depressed. For years she had lived and breathed success as a multi-sport high school state champion living in a legacy household. Then an encounter with Christ reshaped her understanding of authentic self and dignity as a woman.
“There’s a lot of confusion regarding identity and femininity,” Kelley said. “[FIERCE] is teaching truth because truth sets free. Your identity is not in your appearance, your body weight, or performance, but in the beauty of being designed as a woman.”
After five years as a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvDd9X87294">FOCUS missionary</a> and a thorough study of John Paul II’s landmark speaking series, <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/theology-of-the-body-21271">Theology of the Body</a>, Kelley was inspired to confront the “toxic world” of female athletics in a way that male-dominated leadership had failed. Developing female athletes through Christ-centered training clinics and retreats became her mission field.
Quenching a thirst
FIERCE offers an intimacy with a God who calls each by name, quenching what Kelley calls a “thirst” amongst female athletes, who too often define themselves within the confines of their sport. Breaking down barriers allows for more difficult discussions around struggles with body dysmorphia and same-sex attraction, and healing.
Kelley’s ministry is crucial, working from the ground up. In nearly half of the states, women are not protected within their sports, adding excessive external pressure where internal pressure is already high.
New York and California maintain state policy and education promoting men in women’s sports. They are two of the states where FIERCE chapters are developing a permanent presence. A New York school will continue its FIERCE chapter this school year; chapters in California, Ohio, and Tennessee are just launching.
Uniquely woman, uniquely FIERCE
The Supreme Court’s <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/court-rules-that-states-can-exclude-transgender-athletes-from-girls-and-womens-sports-teams/">June rulings</a> on states’ rights to exclude men from women’s sports were a crucial defining step, but nearly half the states still promote biological non-realities. As Kelley says, the victory still leaves a lot of work to be done, and “there are going to have to be a lot more Supreme Court cases.”
Kelley is hopeful a cultural shift reclaiming the protection of children is underway.
In a culture that has degraded women to nothing more than mislabeled men, FIERCE offers something desperately needed: a sisterhood celebrating the unique strength and beauty of women as created with a definitive purpose, and the ability to excel in God-given, female bodies.
***
Ashley Bateman is a policy writer for The Heartland Institute. Her work has been featured in The Washington Times, The Daily Caller, The New York Post, The American Thinker, the Ascension Press blog, and numerous other publications. She previously worked as an adjunct scholar for The Lexington Institute and as editor, writer, and photographer for The Warner Weekly, a publication for the American military community in Bamberg, Germany. She and her brilliant engineer/scientist husband homeschool their six children.

Portrait of female runner getting ready

FIERCE Female Athletes Are Flipping The Script On Transgender Athletes And Women’s Sports

fierce athlete

lifestyle

samantha kelley

transgender athletes in womens sports

womens sports

The family of an 83-year-old devout Christian grandmother who opposed euthanasia said the elderly woman was killed through Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, a process that was initiated while her family was on a brief scheduled vacation.
The family of Brigitte “GG” Stegemann said the grandmother strongly opposed euthanasia and told doctors she did not want to be killed after she developed Stage IV stomach cancer. Despite Stegemann&#8217;s objections, and the family&#8217;s objections, medical staff claim the grandmother consented privately to be euthanized while her granddaughter Brigitte Kranendonk, who was also her power of attorney, was on a brief scheduled vacation with her husband. Stegemann died through MAID a week later on July 10, notably without providing verbal consent, instead remaining silent and keeping her hands clasped in a prayer position.
<div id="attachment_1155841" style="width: 1162px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1155841" class="wp-image-1155841 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM.png" alt="" width="1152" height="824" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM.png 1152w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-300x215.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-805x576.png 805w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-768x549.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px" />Facebook: Brigitte Frances Kranendonk</div>
A Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10165694418302871&amp;set=our-familys-experience-with-medical-assistance-in-dying-maidthis-is-our-familys-">post</a> published by the family outlines their experience with doctors, nurses, and staffers pushing MAID on Stegemann. The program is part of the nation&#8217;s &#8220;free&#8221; publicly-funded healthcare system.
When she returned from vacation, Kranendonk was told that the staff had &#8220;met privately with GG on two occasions during Brigitte&#8217;s 10-day vacation to discuss MAID.&#8221; When Kranendonk asked why these discussions were taking place after Stegemann explicitly objected to MAID because of her Christian faith, Kranendonk was met with anger and pushback. She said one nurse told her, &#8220;I don&#8217;t need to tell you anything.&#8221;
When Kranendonk asked her grandmother privately if she really wanted to be euthanized, Stegemann appeared &#8220;confused&#8221; and responded, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to die Friday? They&#8217;re going to kill me Friday?&#8221;
Still, the home where Stegemann was staying for supposed care went ahead with the procedure. The family was told Stegemann would give consent to be killed at the start of the process, but she did not. Stegemann was killed anyway.
&#8220;[The doctor] attempted to speak with GG. By this point, GG was silent, her hands tightly clasped together in a fixed prayer position,&#8221; the family wrote. &#8220;GG never provided a verbal response to Dr. K.&#8221;
&#8220;Our family had been strictly assured that GG would be asked for a final, explicit verbal confirmation on the day of the procedure to ensure she still wished to proceed,&#8221; the family added. &#8220;When GG remained completely silent and gave no response, Brigitte felt a sudden wave of relief and a big smile came over her face, believing that the procedure would finally be halted because the strict requirement for final consent had not been met. Tragically, we were left alarmed and horrified when the clinical team completely ignored her silence and carried the procedure forward regardless.&#8221;
The incident is fueling more criticism of the MAID program, which was legalized in 2016 and has dramatically expanded since, with the total number of assisted deaths set at roughly 100,000.
Critics of MAID argue about its ethics and the financial incentives for Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system, which can save money when patients are euthanized rather than receive long-term care. Notably, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that the 2021 expansion of MAID under Bill C-7 would result in approximately $149 million in net healthcare savings in its first year.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-catholic-priest-walks-into-a-canadian-hospital-they-offer-to-kill-him-twice">A Catholic Priest Walks Into A Canadian Hospital. They Offer To Kill Him, Twice. </a>

Ending life concept collage art

The Latest Horror Story Out Of Canada’s ‘Free’ Healthcare System

canada

euthanasia

health care

medical assistance in dying

world

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton is currently recovering in the hospital following an incident earlier this week in which he appeared to harm himself during a livestream. But before that happened, the 48-year-old single father of three sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity for an interview, discussing a variety of topics including his conversion to Christianity, his medical concerns, and his biggest professional regrets.
The conversation was published Thursday on the “Hang Out with Hannity” YouTube Page. The Fox News host added a disclaimer to the intro, confirming that he spoke with Hilton before the dramatic events of Tuesday evening. 
Hilton talked about his faith journey, discussing how he was always “jealous” of believers during his own struggle to figure out the truth.
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“I had been calling out to God for a while before this year,” Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, told Hannity. “I was always jealous of people that believed. I wanted to believe, and I didn&#8217;t … I was on a Christian podcast, and they asked me, ‘Do you believe in God?’ I said, ‘No, but I would like to.’ They were like, ‘What do you believe in?’ I said, ‘Oh, I believe in science. I believe in facts. But I&#8217;m jealous of people that believe.’”
“Now I believe,” he went on. “At first, there&#8217;s the honeymoon period of believing, and now it&#8217;s like, all right, I&#8217;m in the trenches, and having faith is hard. But it&#8217;s not a belief now — it&#8217;s a knowing. It&#8217;s still hard. Knowing that God is real requires work. I&#8217;m putting in the work. I&#8217;m reading the Bible. I am going to church and taking my kids with me to church. I am praying. I&#8217;m even learning how to pray.”
Hilton also talked about turning his life around professionally and having regret for the very thing that made him famous. The blogger made his name posting celebrity gossip with a heavy side of snarkiness, sharing rumors about A-listers. He’s already said he did it for attention and wished it could have been different. 
“I mean, I have a lot of regrets,” Hilton said during the interview. “It&#8217;s hard to have people really accept this, but if you like attention, attention is like a drug. I was definitely an attention addict back then. I mean, I still am, but I think now I do a better job of keeping it in check.”
He said a turning point for him occurred in 2010 during a time when he recalls gay teenagers committing suicide. “There was this movement called It Gets Better, which is a very simple concept — making videos encouraging young people that it will get better.” 
“I made a video, and the response I got to that really shook me to my core because I thought, ‘Oh, in this time of darkness, I&#8217;m doing something to spread light,'&#8221; he shared. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t received that way. I said, ‘Wow, if this is how the masses view me, then I need to change because that&#8217;s not who I am in my heart.’ But it is who I had become. That was a big wake-up moment for me.”
He said it was “wrong” of him to comment on the bodies of celebrities and speculate on their sexuality. “I realized what I was doing was wrong. I realized I could still be fun, but I didn&#8217;t have to be so cheap, and I didn&#8217;t have to be so cruel. It was cruel. It&#8217;s something that I carry with me. It&#8217;s like my scarlet letter, and it&#8217;s very heavy baggage,” he said.
Hilton’s family released two updates on his status following the livestream incident, thanking fans for their prayers. The statement <a href="https://perezhilton.com/perez-hilton-health-update-from-family/">said</a> they have, “been able to confirm that Perez is able to communicate, which has given our family hope.”

Perez Hilton

What Perez Hilton Told Sean Hannity Just Days Before He Was Hospitalized

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Coca-Cola is facing backlash for allowing customers to order Coca-Cola cans with personalized messages, including &#8220;Allah Is King&#8221; and &#8220;Satan Is King,&#8221; but when customers try to write &#8220;Jesus Is King,&#8221; they are rejected.
A video shows customers are able to order bottles with custom phrases through the Coca-Cola website which allows slogans like &#8220;Allah Is King&#8221; and &#8220;Satan Is King&#8221; to advance to the company’s review, but &#8220;Jesus Is King&#8221; is immediately declined. The Coca-Cola website also did not allow users to create cans with Christian names such as &#8220;Holy Trinity,&#8221; &#8220;Virgin Mary,&#8221; or &#8220;Holy Spirit.&#8221;
The website cited restrictions on religious figures for why it wouldn’t create the can with Jesus&#8217; name on it. It did, however, allow users to generate the messages &#8220;Jesus is bad&#8221; and &#8220;Jesus is evil.&#8221;
Coca-Cola has not issued an official statement in response to the backlash but has made changes to its website so that all online submissions undergo review for compliance with its content guidelines.
Coca-Cola did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment. 
The controversy is not the first time Coca-Cola has faced public criticism from conservatives. In 2021, the company’s former CEO James Quincey slammed new voting laws in Georgia, where the company’s headquarters is located, after Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed voter ID requirements into law. Quincey stepped down from his CEO position in December of 2025. 
The company that sometimes ventures into politically charged topics and conversations has also faced backlash from the other side of the aisle when the far-Left group, “The Latino Freeze Moment,” <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/coca-cola-boycott-explained/">called</a> for boycotting the beverage company after it scaled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts last year. 
“Latinos and Latinas stop spending money. Hold the line. We can all collectively make a big impact by simply holding and not spending our money,” the Latino Freeze Movement said on its website.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Said No To Jesus But Yes To Satan

boycott

censorship

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corporate diversity policies

Abdul El-Sayed has campaigned on reaching across the religious divide with an appeal to Christians and Muslims alike, and he boasts that over two dozen Christian leaders back his bid to replace Michigan Senator Gary Peters. Those leaders include a pastor who suggested conservative activist Charlie Kirk deserved to be shot and the senior pastor of a church that hosted a drag event for kids.
El-Sayed, who once <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/24/next-obama-abdul-el-sayed-first-muslim-governor-michigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hoped</a> to be America&#8217;s first Muslim governor, is locked in a competitive primary race with Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens. While many of his positions on topics from abortion to so-called &#8220;gender-affirming care&#8221; directly conflict with the Bible, that has not deterred some Christians from backing his campaign.
Included among El-Sayed&#8217;s supporters is Larry Davis, the pastor of Christian Tabernacle Baptist in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Davis, who believes that President Donald Trump faked the multiple assassination attempts, had no kind words for Charlie Kirk after his murder.
“He is being held as a hero. We shouldn&#8217;t be happy that he got killed. But we shall embrace that you REAP what you SOW,” Davis <a href="https://www.facebook.com/logosmediator/posts/pfbid02RVYALdHTR2JVwFz7KctircVUXk8dE2xCjZSq5asDDfvxwyncGSWZuKQh5sXwvGJBl">posted</a> on Facebook alongside an anti-Kirk meme the day after the popular conservative activist was gunned down at an event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
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<div id="attachment_1142261" style="width: 872px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1142261" class="size-full wp-image-1142261" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.26.27-AM.png" alt="" width="862" height="920" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.26.27-AM.png 862w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.26.27-AM-281x300.png 281w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.26.27-AM-540x576.png 540w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.26.27-AM-768x820.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 862px) 100vw, 862px" />Larry Davis Facebook.</div>
In another post, Davis shared a clip of Kirk criticizing DEI and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/logosmediator/posts/pfbid0Jajkv4JjjFt7QpvXLSt6CKcjc1Jwe8bySvguuSjNNpV8BRWAZgMWrVmXsK5qXkaxl">asked</a>, “Would you give a racist out of his own mouth the medal of freedom.”
On September 19, the pastor again spread his message that Kirk reaped what he sowed.
“No man should take it on himself to take the life of another. But the scriptures says be not deceived God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man show [sic] that shall he also reap,” Davis said alongside an AI-generated image of Kirk and Jesus Christ.
The Daily Wire sent a message to Davis to ask about his support for El-Sayed. His church, which has no listed email address, did not answer multiple phone calls.
Pastor Terrance Johnson, another religious leader who endorsed El-Sayed, shared a similar animus toward Kirk. He suggested that he was not sad about Kirk’s assassination because he was a “racist bigot.”
“You will accept a black man refusing to mourn his own father but you wil [sic] not accept a black man refusing to mourn a racist bigot because….. We all know why,” Johnson posted in a long screed quoting Tupac song lyrics a day after Kirk’s killing.
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1142269" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.40.58-AM.png" alt="" width="1003" height="495" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.40.58-AM.png 1003w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.40.58-AM-300x148.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.40.58-AM-768x379.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1003px) 100vw, 1003px" /></div>
When someone commented on his post, “is this the heart of Christ,” Johnson responded by saying, “what is the heart of Christ.”
In another post, Johnson claimed that ICE was equivalent to the Ku Klux Klan.
“So ICE is the KKK rebranded. Still wearing mask it’s just that the badges are now out instead of being hid under the sheets,” he said.
Johnson’s Church, Second Missionary Baptist Church in Monroe, Michigan, recently <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Da5Kv7hgwwr/">hosted</a> El-Sayed for an event. In a Facebook post, the church <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/1008191515327976">said</a> the event was for the Democrat to share “why he’s running for office.”
During the appearance, El-Sayed claimed to attendees that he was the only candidate who could “guarantee you healthcare” and attacked America’s history as “sordid,” according to a video posted by the church.
“We just commemorated 250 years. And I know there&#8217;s a lot of sordid history in those 250 years, but I also know what my life would have been had I been born in a place that I was supposed to be born. But for an accident of history, I get born here,” El-Sayed said. “Are we willing to put ourselves back in to correct that system so that the next 250 look a lot better than the last ones did?”
“It is the many versus their money. We got a choice. Do we want them to come in and buy an election?,” he added.
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<div id="attachment_1142273" style="width: 1581px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1142273" class="wp-image-1142273 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.46.01-AM.png" alt="" width="1571" height="1115" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.46.01-AM.png 1571w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.46.01-AM-300x213.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.46.01-AM-812x576.png 812w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.46.01-AM-768x545.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-23-at-10.46.01-AM-1536x1090.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1571px) 100vw, 1571px" />Facebook: Second Missionary Baptist Church.</div>
“Second Missionary Baptist Church of Monroe does not endorse or oppose any political candidate or party,” the church posted on July 17. “Our prayer is that every voter takes time to seek wisdom, research the candidates, and make an informed decision at the ballot box.”
Another pastor backing El-Sayed’s campaign is the ultra-woke Nathan Dannison of Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, which recently hosted a “queer prom” for adults and youth that <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FountainStChurch/posts/pfbid0jKRtWoLiCbmbVCfLggmD7JiVrBDH99WCEtbi8S6THySZAqP78MAx7cNLHYGJnvt1l" target="_blank" rel="noopener">featured</a> “12 drag performances.”
Dannison, who recently <a href="https://nathandannison.substack.com/p/preaching-about-psychedelics">said</a> that psychedelics have been part of his “spiritual discipline” for the last twenty years, said that abolishing ICE is a baseline position any candidate supported by him needs to take. In recent Facebook posts, Dannison has defended El-Sayed over his strong anti-Israel positions.
Dannison <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nscottnorth/posts/pfbid0keXseMToK1b6q7uxnda7z8Ad6MyDkAPSG3F3zWYwC48srDutvR1FUFNtJqCGpGcvl">said</a> that he’s “pretty horrified by a lot of the anti-Abdul posts I&#8217;m seeing from center-left Michigan voters that are obviously mashing the ‘fwd:fwd:fwd’ button or the copy-pasting ad copy from astro-turfed emails/sms/etc from defense lobbyists.”
“Dr. El-Sayed is not antisemitic. To the contrary, one of the reasons I support him is because he understands the real and present dangers facing Jewish Americans who are being blamed for foreign policies and wars that have absolutely nothing to do with their religion and history in this country,” he added.
Fountain Street Church <a href="https://fountainstreet.org/justice/choice-fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raises funds</a> for women to end the lives of their unborn children and says it is “proud to be the State&#8217;s longest standing abortion fund.”
Other pastors backing El-Sayed’s campaign included Detroit Rev. Horace Sheffield III of New Destiny Christian Fellowship and Rev. Keith Whitney of Sanctuary Fellowship Baptist Church.
Sheffield, who unsuccessfully <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Horace_Sheffield">ran</a> for Congress in 2014 and <a href="https://www.horacesheffield.com/projects/)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> in the anti-white documentary “White With Fear,” sells anti-Trump t-shirts on his ministry website that say “I will take Biden in a wheel chair over Trump standing up.”
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1142979 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-21-at-11.37.41-AM.png" alt="" width="1250" height="974" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-21-at-11.37.41-AM.png 1250w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-21-at-11.37.41-AM-300x234.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-21-at-11.37.41-AM-739x576.png 739w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-21-at-11.37.41-AM-768x598.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px" /></div>
Whitney is the <a href="https://www.mosesaction.com/boardmembers/blog-post-title-one-gd3dr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">president</a> of Moses Action, an advocacy group that pushes for left-wing criminal justice reform and <a href="https://www.mosesaction.com/reproductive-freedom-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supported</a> a ballot initiative to make the right to end the life of your unborn child a constitutional right.
“Throughout black history, government officials — most of them white men — have made decisions about black women’s bodies and health that have been harmful, traumatizing, and often deadly. Granting our current lawmakers the ability to dictate personal health decisions feels like a dangerous step backwards,” the group said in a statement.
Several of the pastors listed on El-Sayed’s campaign website, including Bishop Alan Evans and Pastor Parris McMurray, appear to be affiliated with the Church of God In Christ, Inc. The denomination <a href="https://www.cogic.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/SOLife-Resolution-11_12_19-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted</a> a &#8220;sanctity of life” resolution in 2019 that “abortion is the killing of the innocent” and describes abortion as “genocide.”
The denomination did not respond to questions about its pastors endorsing the pro-abortion El-Sayed.
El-Sayed wants to codify the right to an abortion in federal law and suggested he will fight back on efforts to crackdown on abortion pills.
“Everyone has the right to make personal decisions about their healthcare,” his campaign <a href="https://abdulforsenate.com/priority/medicare-for-all-the-path-to-a-healthier-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> says. “That includes reproductive and gender-affirming care. I’ll fight to codify the rights once protected by Roe v. Wade into federal law.”
Earlier this month, El-Sayed earned the endorsement of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity, which said it supported his emphasis on “affordability” and “human dignity.” It did not respond to questions about El-Sayed leftist advocacy on social issues.
“Pastors attend to their communities in the best and worst of times, and their support is about trusting me to show up in those moments with them,” El-Sayed said. “Together, we’re building a Michigan that brings people together across faiths, regions, and backgrounds in the work of offering dignity, opportunity, and respect for every Michigander.”
The Democratic primary is on August 4.

Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed Holds Rally In Detroit With Sen. Bernie Sanders And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Meet The Christian Pastors Who Endorsed Pro-Trans Muslim Abdul El-Sayed

abdul el-sayed

islam

michigan

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Scholars have discovered two previously unknown sermons by St. Augustine of Hippo while translating an 11th-century manuscript from a German monastery, shedding new light on one of Christianity&#8217;s most influential theologians.
University of Würzburg Latin scholar Christian Tornau discovered the sermons while translating a manuscript originally from Bad Doberan Abbey in Germany. The manuscript contained copies of six sermons attributed to Augustine.
&#8220;Two of the six sermons are previously undiscovered writings by Augustine,&#8221; Professor Tornau <a href="https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/news-and-events/einblick/single/news/two-new-sermons-augustine-discovered/">said</a>.
Because forged works attributed to Augustine are common, Tornau and his colleagues initially suspected the sermons were inauthentic,  The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/29/science/saints-lost-sermons-reveal-secrets-of-the-witch-of-endor/">reported</a>. 
After identifying Augustine’s trademark humor, references to his North African Christian tradition, and a distinctive style of prayer, however, Tornau and a panel of 20 Latin scholars concluded: “they are indeed authentic.” 
Augustine, who was born in what is now Algeria, is regarded as one of Christianity&#8217;s most influential theologians. His writings, including Confessions and The City of God, helped shape medieval philosophy and Western thought. 
The newly discovered sermons focus on the biblical account of King Saul and the Witch of Endor from the First Book of Samuel. In the story, Saul seeks guidance from God before a battle but instead turns to the Witch of Endor, asking her to summon the prophet Samuel, who foretells Saul&#8217;s death.  

Tornau <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/travel/lost-sermons-christianitys-greatest-saints-discovered-after-1600-years">told</a> Fox News Digital that Augustine’s interpretation of Saul&#8217;s repentance was the &#8220;most remarkable element” of the sermons.
While many Christian scholars throughout history viewed Saul as an unrepentant villain, Augustine interpreted the story as suggesting Saul made peace with God before his death.  
&#8220;In any event, it is indicative of Augustine’s [independence] of mind and his willingness to think everyone, even those who appear most evil, [is] capable of salvation through the grace of God,&#8221; Tornau said.
&#8220;This combines intellectual honesty and episcopal humility in a remarkable and very Augustinian way.&#8221;
The sermons also revisit one of the Bible&#8217;s longstanding theological questions.
“The story [also] raises a theological question: ‘Why can a necromancer summon the spirit of a prophet?’” Tornau said. “This in turn opens up the theodicy problem: ‘how can an omnipotent God allow this or is he not really omnipotent?’” 
According to Tornau, Augustine explored whether the encounter was merely an illusion or whether God permitted it, using the account to examine the relationship between divine providence and evil. 
Tornau is working with the publisher Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (CSEL) to bring Augustine’s sermons to the public.

Screenshot 2026-07-29 at 2.20.30 PM

Lost Sermons From One Of Christianity’s Greatest Saints Finally Come To Light

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A fortress is not always conquered by an army battering down its walls. Sometimes it is lost because those entrusted with guarding the gate fail to recognize the motivation of the one asking to enter.
That is the danger confronting America in 2026.
Not because God’s throne is in danger. He remains sovereign over every ruler, every nation, and every election. Not because a political party can redeem America. No party died on the cross. No candidate rose from the grave. Jesus Christ alone is Savior and Lord.
The importance of 2026 lies in this sobering reality: Islamist political influence is moving from agitation to organization, from protest to electoral power, and from temporary coalitions to institutional footholds.
Listen carefully. The concern is not that Muslim citizens vote, organize, donate, or run for office. Those are constitutional rights, and Christians should defend them. Many Muslims came to America to escape the very Islamists about whom I am warning.
The issue is not Muslims.
The issue is Islamists.
Biblical authority and Constitutional duty
The Constitution is not supreme over the Bible. For the Christian, God’s Word is our final authority. When government commands what God forbids — or forbids what God commands — the Biblical answer is clear: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29).
At the same time, the Constitution is the highest human civil charter governing the exercise of American public office. An officeholder who swears to support it is not declaring it divine. He is promising to discharge his office truthfully and not secretly substitute another legal order for the one he has sworn to uphold.
Biblical Christianity therefore holds two Truths together: God is supreme over government, and God commands believers to honor lawful government.
Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Caesar has real authority — but limited authority. Government may punish wrongdoing, preserve public order, and protect the innocent. It may not claim worship, command sin, or silence the Gospel.
When Daniel was forbidden to pray, he did not pretend to comply while praying secretly. He opened his windows. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded to worship an idol, they refused publicly. When the apostles were ordered to stop preaching Christ, they answered openly and accepted the consequences.
That is Biblical civil disobedience.
The Christian does not conceal his convictions. He does not infiltrate government under false pretenses. He does not lie for the Kingdom. Paul declared, “We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception” (2 Corinthians 4:2). Christ’s Kingdom advances through Truth, proclamation, prayer, service, sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit — not through forced conversion, concealed infiltration, or the sword.
This is precisely where Biblical Christianity and Islamism part company.
Political Islam seeks to unite religious, political, judicial, and social authority beneath Sharia. In its entryist form, it may use constitutional freedoms as temporary instruments for acquiring the power necessary to reshape the constitutional order itself.
Entryism and Taqiyya
Entryism is the strategy by which an ideological movement enters a larger party, coalition, school system, civic institution, or government body without fully disclosing its final objectives. The entryist adopts the language of the host institution, gains confidence, places personnel, acquires influence, and redirects the institution from within.
Entryism does not begin with a candidate announcing, “I intend to replace the Constitution with Sharia.” That would expose the objective.
It begins with language the secular West celebrates: inclusion, representation, social justice, civil rights, tolerance, and pluralism. These words may express legitimate concerns. But in the hands of an entryist movement, they become the key that opens the gate.
Taqiyya is <a href="https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004378872/B9789004378872_s021.xml">the doctrine of concealment</a>, historically developed most prominently among Shiite Muslims living under persecution. <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-new-muslim-brotherhood-in-the-west/9780231151269/">Islamist movements have operationalized its logic politically</a>: conceal or soften the ultimate objective until sufficient legitimacy, access, and power have been accumulated.
Entryism is the strategy. Taqiyya is the mask.
This is not conjecture. In a <a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/document/20-an-explanatory-memorandum-on-the-general">1991 internal memorandum</a> later introduced in the Holy Land Foundation prosecution, Muslim Brotherhood figure Mohamed Akram described the Brotherhood’s work in North America as “a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within.”
This does not mean every Muslim practices deception. It means that when an Islamist movement repeatedly uses dual messaging, concealed relationships, and strategic ambiguity, we should call the method what it is.
Pattern recognition is not prejudice.
Europe has already shown us the playbook
Europe is not a hypothetical warning. It is the precedent.
In Birmingham, England, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/birmingham-schools-education-commissioners-report">investigators documented coordinated efforts</a> to influence public-school governing bodies, install sympathetic leaders, marginalize resistant headteachers, alter curricula, and introduce a conservative Islamic ethos into schools that were not legally Islamic schools. The project advanced through appointments, personnel decisions, and institutional pressure — not through an openly declared Sharia platform.
Tower Hamlets revealed another stage of the method. Religious sentiment, communal loyalty, political patronage, and public grants were manipulated to consolidate electoral power. A letter signed by 101 imams told voters that supporting Lutfur Rahman was their religious duty; <a href="https://fieldcourt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Erlam-Ors-v-Rahman-Anor-2015-EWHC-1215-QB-23-April-2015.pdf">the Election Court found undue spiritual influence</a>. Rahman later returned to office after his disqualification ended.
A court may expose the machinery without dismantling the machine.
<a href="https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/actualites/dossiers-de-presse/publication-du-rapport-freres-musulmans-et-islamisme-politique-en-france">France has investigated</a> an ecosystem of political Islam operating through mosques, schools, charities, associations, and local partnerships. Germany has banned organizations openly promoting a caliphate and rejecting its constitutional order. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/5/pro-palestine-candidates-including-corbyn-secure-wins-in-uk-election">British elections have demonstrated</a> how concentrated electorates mobilized around Gaza and communal identity can overturn supposedly safe political assumptions.
The pattern is clear: recognition produces access; access produces influence; influence produces appointments and funding; dependency makes scrutiny politically dangerous; and when honest scrutiny becomes forbidden, freedom is already dying.
The pattern at America’s gate
The same mechanisms are emerging in the United States.
In New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, Adam Hamawy <a href="https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-election-2026-primary-12th-congressional-district-2/">won a crowded Democratic primary</a> after <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00932723/">American Priorities</a>, a new pro-Palestinian super PAC, <a href="https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/pro-palestine-super-pac-plans-to-spend-2-million-supporting-hamawy/">announced an approximately $2 million effort</a> supporting him. Hamawy’s Muslim identity is irrelevant. His historical associations are not.
As a young man, he <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/new-jersey-playbook/2026/05/05/the-history-of-hamawy-and-the-blind-sheikh-00906080">traveled with and translated for Omar Abdel-Rahman</a>, the “Blind Sheikh,” and<a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-blind-sheikh-and-the-candidate-0a37e742"> later testified in his defense</a>. He also performed <a href="https://jewishinsider.com/2026/05/adam-hamawy-benevolence-international-foundation-bosnia-al-qaida/">humanitarian work through the Benevolence International Foundation</a>, which the U.S. Treasury <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/po3632">later designated as a financier of terrorism</a>.
These facts do not prove that Hamawy knew of criminal activity or presently holds Islamist convictions. His later service as a U.S. Army combat surgeon is important. But unresolved associations, concentrated outside spending, and a path into Congress demand complete answers: What did he know? Did relationships continue? What are his positions on the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Sharia, apostasy, blasphemy, and freedom to convert?
In Texas, <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-takes-legal-action-part-landmark-investigation-alleged-effort-impose">the attorney general has investigated</a> an organization calling itself the Islamic Tribunal over allegations that it represented religious decisions as final judgments carrying judicial approval. The organization <a href="https://www.keranews.org/government/2026-04-06/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-islamic-tribunal-dallas-sharia-law-muslims">says its guidance is voluntary and nonbinding</a>. The proper question is whether its conduct matches its public description. Were participants free to refuse? Were women pressured? Were religious rulings used to discourage access to civil courts?
Words must be tested by conduct.
The 2026 election is the most important election of our lifetime because it may determine whether Islamist entryism is confronted before it becomes entrenched—or normalized after it acquires institutional power.
For the Christian, ultimate allegiance belongs to God alone. For every officeholder, the civil test is honest constitutional fidelity: Will you protect the right to leave Islam, become a Christian, evangelize Muslims, criticize Muhammad, reject penalties for apostasy and blasphemy, and preserve equal protection under civil law?
Christians must love Muslim people, defend their liberties, and proclaim to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But love is not blindness. Tolerance is not surrender.
Our weapons are not hatred, slander, fear, or violence. Our weapons are Biblical Truth, prayer, lawful action, constitutional vigilance, and the Gospel.
Europe has shown us the playbook. Entryism opens the institution. Taqiyya conceals the destination.
The question is whether those entrusted with guarding the gate will recognize it before the gate is lost.
*** 
Michael A. Youssef, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist, bestselling author, and internationally respected Bible teacher who brings more than 50 years of insight to the global stage. Born in Egypt under socialist and Islamist systems, Dr. Youssef witnessed firsthand the realities of spiritual and political darkness. He later lived in Lebanon and Australia before immigrating to the United States, fulfilling a childhood dream by becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1984. This unique personal history fuels his distinct perspective on Middle Eastern geopolitics and current events in the West.
Entryism succeeds only when someone inside opens the gate. In my new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unholy-Alliance-Progressivism-Islamist-Invasion/dp/B0G1G3X797">An Unholy Alliance: How Progressivism Brought About an Islamist Invasion</a>, I name who has been opening it—and why: a &#8220;Red-Green&#8221; partnership in which secular progressivism ushers political Islamism into our schools, our media, and our halls of government. I wrote this book for those entrusted with guarding the gate, and I offer a twelve-point plan for responding with Biblical Truth, courage, and the Gospel.

Manhattan, Midtown Manhattan, people walking at Times Square

Why Western Fortresses Fall From Within

DW Opinion

Islamists

On the campaign trail, Democrat candidate James Talarico often describes his faith as “biblical Christianity.&#8221; But the Senate hopeful once credited Islamic mystics with shaping his faith just as much as Christian writers, audio unearthed by The Daily Wire reveals.
In a recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html">interview</a> with The New York Times, Talarico asserted that his faith was rooted in “biblical Christianity.” During an appearance on The State of Belief podcast in April 2024 alongside Muslim state Rep. Salman Bhojani, Talarico praised Islam for shaping his religious beliefs. Those comments could come into play as debate heats up in Texas about Islam&#8217;s growing presence in the state. 
“I know personally that I&#8217;ve learned as much about my faith from Salman&#8217;s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors and Christian writers,” he said. “This kind of interfaith dialogue, it doesn&#8217;t water down your tradition, in fact it strengthens it, it brings out new flavors and new colors.” 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Faith and Public Service with Texas Reps Salman Bhojani and James Talarico" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ph72LCduP8I?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>
Talarico later quoted the 13th-century Islamic mystic as saying “in every religion there is love, yet love has no religion.”
Talarico, looking to become the first Democrat to win statewide election in Texas in decades, has faced much scrutiny over his leftist version of Christianity and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-james-talaricos-church-its-offensive-to-respect-gods-pronouns-but-abortions-ok">uber-woke</a> church he attends in Austin. That scrutiny comes as the legacy media speculated that Talarico could sway Christian voters who ordinarily vote Republican.
On the 2024 podcast, Talarico celebrated Bhojani’s election as the “true fruition of multi-racial, multicultural, multi-religious democracy” and “a threat to those who don&#8217;t believe in a pluralistic democracy” and “those who are pushing a sectarian exclusive Christian nationalist vision for our country.” He also said that “Texas is proud to be the home of more Muslim Americans than any other state in the union” and that advocating for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms was “deeply unchristian.”
The creep of Islamic ideology into Texas has been a hot issue over the last few years, with Governor Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-welcome-in-our-state-texas-governor-designates-radical-muslim-groups-as-foreign-terrorists">designating</a> the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a foreign terrorist organization in November 2025. Abbott accused CAIR of attempting to impose Sharia law on the Lone Star State. State officials have also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-says-its-halted-construction-of-muslim-centered-epic-city-outside-dallas">moved</a> to challenge planned Islamic cities, keep schools promoting Sharia law from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-bans-schools-tied-to-americas-adversaries-from-education-freedom-program">receiving</a> state dollars, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-of-americas-most-iconic-symbols-now-islamic-the-new-history-fight">pushed</a> backs on efforts to brand the Alamo as an “Islamic building.” 
Talarico, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-audio-thats-blowing-a-hole-in-talaricos-christian-persona">describes</a> himself as a “Christian who hates Christianity,” has said he believes God is “nonbinary” and that Jesus was a “radical feminist.” During a recent commencement speech at Paul Quinn College, Talarico appeared indifferent to whether people believed in God or attended church. 
“I&#8217;m not asking you to join an organized religion. I&#8217;m asking you to join something bigger than yourself. Find a spiritual practice that works for you, whether it&#8217;s meditation or fasting, gardening, or bird watching, whether it&#8217;s in a church, or a temple, or a book club, or a neighborhood group, find a community that can help you touch the ground of your own being.”

Democratic Senate Candidate Talarico Participates In Juneteenth March

James Talarico Says ‘Islamic Mystics’ Shaped His Faith ‘As Much’ As Christians

2026 Midterms

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An LGBTQ activist is doubling down, blaming white men after a Muslim man with known Islamist associations rammed a vehicle into Berlin’s Pride festival on Saturday before attacking bystanders with a machete, leaving one person dead and several others injured.
A viral video circulating online shows an <a href="https://x.com/iAnonPatriot/status/2081229875361325146?s=20">unidentified pink-haired woman</a> lamenting not the terror attack, but the public&#8217;s reaction to it.
“I&#8217;m getting really, really sick of this. I&#8217;m getting really tired of having to repeat myself over and over again,” she said. “So the suspect is an Islamic extremist. That&#8217;s their suspect right now. That&#8217;s what I read. Okay, I&#8217;m not going to say anything about the rest of the Muslim population because of actions of this one person.”
Then, the leftist shifted her focus and hurled unfounded accusations towards another demographic: white Christian men.
“But what I can say is the people who were celebrating about this were all white men, young white men with crosses in their profiles because we&#8217;ve all seen it. We&#8217;ve all seen how you guys react towards gay people, and how you wish harm on them constantly,” she said. “I get a constant hate on my videos, especially about trans people. You&#8217;re not going to hide behind another scapegoat group and pretend that they&#8217;re actually the violent ones when it&#8217;s you.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
OMG. Liberal women are blaming “white men” for the Islamic extremist who ran over people at an LGBTQ parade in Berlin.
“You’re not going to scapegoat the Muslim community like they’re the violent ones, when it’s actually you (white men).”
Can’t make this sht up. 💀💀 <a href="https://t.co/0nbsKYgqys">pic.twitter.com/0nbsKYgqys</a>
— American AF 🇺🇸 (@iAnonPatriot) <a href="https://x.com/iAnonPatriot/status/2081229875361325146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
The woman claimed white Christian men share the same ideology as Abdul Ballout, who police say deliberately drove a white van into Berlin’s Tiergarten Park around 10 p.m., killing one woman and injuring at least 29 others before attacking festival goers with what authorities said may have been a machete. The 21-year-old convicted terrorist had previously attempted to join the Islamic State in Syria and was released from German custody just months before Saturday’s attack, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/known-islamic-terrorist-on-the-run-unleashed-machete-attack-after-plowing-van-into-crowd?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Known+Islamic+Terrorist+On+The+Run+Unleashed+Machete+Attack+After+Plowing+Van+Into+Crowd">The Daily Wire reported</a>.
Migration levels in the European Union remain high, with approximately <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20260227-1">4.2 million</a> immigrants arriving in 2024 and total foreign-born residents reaching roughly 64 million. Spain and Germany recorded the largest absolute numbers of new arrivals, according to the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Migration_to_and_from_the_EU">European Commission</a>.
“You hold the same exact beliefs that this man who did this attack did, and you&#8217;re trying to distance yourself from it. And you know why you&#8217;re trying to do that? Because you&#8217;re ashamed, and you should be,” she said in the video.
The passionate defense highlights the growing, confounding alliance between LGBT activist groups and Islamic ideology in Western countries.
“Ahmad attacks people at a Pride Parade because Islam. White liberal woman with aposematic hair coloring concludes white men are to blame. Suicidal Empathy is a fatal disease of the human spirit,” Gad Saad, an evolutionary behavioral scientist, <a href="https://x.com/GadSaad/status/2081359046775275807?s=20">said</a> on X.
“Queers for Palestine real quiet about this one,” Kangmin Lee, a conservative digital content creator, <a href="https://x.com/kangminlee/status/2081243091629904336?s=20">reacted</a> on social media.
Germany’s latest terror attack, which is said to have left a “horrific scene,” left Pride attendees reeling, including Ricarda Hofmann, a presenter at one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ celebrations.  “What happened today has changed something in me,” she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DbPTNq6iDz4/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1">wrote on Instagram</a>.
On Sunday, organizers of the Berlin Pride festival vowed not to allow the Islamic terror attack to be used &#8220;for political ends.&#8221;
&#8220;People are trying to divide our society and set some people against others. As the CSD in Berlin, we will not allow this,&#8221; a representative for the group <a href="https://x.com/SkyNews/status/2081393662244646936?s=20">said</a> at a press conference.

NYC Pride

WATCH: Pink-Haired LGBT Activist Blames White Christian Men For Islamic Terror Attack

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