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PETER SMITH
November 12, 2022·5 min read

The United Methodist Church moved toward becoming more progressive and LGBTQ-affirming during U.S. regional meetings this month that included the election of its second openly gay bishop. Conservatives say the developments will only accelerate their exit from one of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations.

Each of the UMC's five U.S. jurisdictions — meeting separately in early November — approved similarly worded measures aspiring to a future of church where “LGBTQIA+ people will be protected, affirmed, and empowered.”

They also passed non-binding measures asking anyone to withdraw from leadership roles if they're planning to leave the denomination soon — a category that almost entirely includes conservatives moving toward the exits.

The denomination still officially bans same-sex marriage and the ordination of any “self-avowed, practicing homosexual,” and only a legislative gathering called the General Conference can change that.

But this month's votes show growing momentum — at least in the American half of the global church — to defy these policies and seek to reverse them at the next legislative gathering in 2024.

Supporters and opponents of these measures drew from the same metaphor to say their church is either becoming more or less of a “big tent,” as the United Methodists have long been described as a theologically diverse, mainstream denomination.

“It demonstrates that the big tent has collapsed,” said the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the conservative Wesleyan Covenant Association, which has been helping churches that want to leave the denomination.

“For years, bishops have told traditionalists that there is room for everyone in the United Methodist Church," he said. "Not one single traditionalist bishop was elected. Moreover, we now have the most progressive or liberal council of bishops in the history of Methodism, period.”

But Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, which works toward inclusion of Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities, applauded the regional jurisdictions. She cited their LGBTQ-affirming votes and their expansion of the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of bishops.

Jurisdictions elected the church's first Native American and Filipino American bishops, with other landmark votes within specific regions, according to United Methodist News Service.

“It is a big tent church,” Lawrence said. “One of the concerns that some folks expressed is that we don’t have leadership in the church that reflects the diversity of the church. So this episcopal election doesn’t fix that, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, elected in the Western Jurisdiction meeting, agreed. He is the first openly gay African-American man to be elected bishop. The vote comes six years after the Western Jurisdiction elected the denomination's first openly lesbian bishop, Karen Oliveto of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area.

The LGBTQ-affirming resolutions point "to the alignment of the denomination more with the mainstream of our country,” Bridgeforth said. “It can also help us begin to center our conversations where we have unity of purpose, rather than centering on divisions.”

Bridgeforth will lead churches in the Greater Northwest Area, which includes churches in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and small parts of Montana and Canada. He said he has always worked across ideological lines in his administrative duties and would continue to do so.

“I have used our differences as an opportunity for us to come together,” he said. “It creates more space for a different kind of conversation than, ‘That’s different, that’s bad, we can’t be together.'” If some churches under his jurisdiction do choose to leave the United Methodist Church, Bridgeforth said he would help them make that transition.

“I would not want anybody to be where they don’t want to be,” he said.

Progressive groups have said the church should be open to appointing bishops and other clergy, regardless of sexual orientation, who show they have the gifts for ministry and a commitment to serve the church.

Conservatives, however, say the church needs to abide by its own rules.

“I am sure Bishop Bridgeforth is a person of sacred worth, but he does not meet the qualifications to hold the office of elder, much less bishop, and should not have been elected,” Therrell said.

At least 300 U.S. congregations have left the denomination this year, according to United Methodist News Service. Hundreds more are in the process of leaving, and Therrell predicted that number would be in the low thousands by the end of 2023. Overseas conferences in Bulgaria and Slovakia have ended their affiliation with the denomination, and churches in Africa are considering it, he said. Many are bound for the newly formed conservative denomination, the Global Methodist Church.

The UMC is a worldwide denomination. American membership has declined to about 6.5 million, from a peak of 11 million in the 1960s. Overseas membership soared to match or exceed that of the U.S., fueled mostly by growth and mergers in Africa. Overseas delegates have historically allied with American conservatives to uphold the church's stances on sexuality.

Support for a compromise measure that would have amicably split the denomination, negotiated in 2020, fell apart after that year's legislative General Conference was postponed three times due to the pandemic. The next General Conference is now scheduled to begin in April 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A vote by a 2019 General Conference was the latest of several in recent decades that reinforced the church's ban on gay clergy and marriage. But that vote also prompted many local conferences to elect more liberal and centrist delegates, whose influence was felt in this month's regional votes.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/lgbtq-friendly-votes-signal-progressive-140907765.html

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11:00AM EST 11/8/2022
SHAWN A. AKERS

What once may have been seen as an unattainable goal for those fed up with public school curriculum might become a reality in the near future.

Texas Republicans, bankrolled by prominent Christian conservative donors, are looking to appease angry parents opposed to such issues like critical race theory and the teaching of sexuality in schools. Funded in large part by Defend Texas Liberty, these donors have given millions of dollars to Republican candidates in Texas who hope to win key races in today's midterm elections.

Media reports say that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to make school choice a priority in the next legislative session, provided he defeats Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke on Tuesday.

For months, Abbott has voiced support for a school voucher plan that would effectively allow parents to use taxpayer dollars to send their kids to nonpublic schools.

"We can fully fund public schools while also giving parents a choice about which school is right for their child," Abbott said recently during a campaign event in San Antonio. "Empowering parents means giving them the choice to send their children to any public school, charter school or private school with state funding following the student."

Defend Texas Liberty has been described by liberal media sources as a "Christian nationalist-aligned political action committee" led by former Texas state lawmaker Jonathan Strickland. It is reportedly bankrolled by two West Texas oil tycoons, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who have spent nearly $10 million to back political candidates in Texas who support funding for private education and "attacking those who oppose it."

The state of Florida already has begun an assault on teaching sexuality in schools. In March, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parents Rights in Education Bill into law, which prohibits schools from officially instructing students about sexual orientation and gender identity through K-3rd grade, ages 5-9.

In a tweet, O'Rourke chastised Abbott saying the Texas governor was for "defunding public schools." "I'm for fully funding our kids' classrooms and fully supporting parents, teachers and students," O'Rourke says.

But Abbott quickly debunked O'Rourke's remarks, insisting that a voucher plan "does not mean that public schools will not be fully funded—whether they are urban, rural or suburban."

"If you like the public school your child is attending, it will still be fully funded."

Abbott publicly came out in support of private school vouchers two months after winning the primary with 66.5% of the vote.

Allan Parker, president of The Justice Foundation—a Texas nonprofit whose mission is to "restore proper respect for God's Word and law to American jurisprudence"—lamented what he viewed as the spread of liberal ideologies in public schools, The Dallas Morning News reported.

"Now that abortion is illegal in Texas," Parker said, "I believe that the greatest injustice in Texas today is that we compel a family to pay taxes for the education of their children, to send them to a school that teaches them things that aren't in line with their family's values."

The Texas Tribune reported that Defend Texas Liberty supported Republican Nate Schatline with $168,000. Schatzline is a former pastor running for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives on a campaign to give parents more freedom to decide how and where their children are educated.

https://www.charismanews.com/culture/90626-why-public-funding-for-private-and-christian-schools-could-soon-become-reality

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By Brandon Showalter, Senior Investigative Reporter

As gender ideology continues to pervade every realm of culture, legislators and public policy experts alarmed by its effects on children have taken numerous steps to thwart it from taking root in state laws.

When Arkansas state Rep. Robin Lundstrum learned that children in her state were undergoing experimental gender medicalization, she knew she had to act.

“At first, I was very surprised,” Lundstrum said in the fourth installment of The Christian Post’s documentary-style investigative podcast series, "Generation Indoctrination: Inside the Transgender Battle,” which was released Friday.

“I thought ‘surely not,’ and the more we investigated, the more we realized it was happening here in Arkansas,” she continued, upon being told by one of her legislative colleagues that this was not limited to the East and West Coasts where she knew it was occurring.

Moved to action, Lundstrum was the lead sponsor of the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, prohibiting the chemical and surgical trans-ing of minors in that state. The bill was passed overwhelmingly through both chambers, but then Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, vetoed the measure. With sizable majorities in the House and the Senate, Lundstrum and her colleagues then overrode the veto. The law is currently being contested in federal court.

“It’s a lot like seeing a car accident. Do you not dial 911? What adult looks the other way when you know this is happening to children?”
Lundstrum posited. “In every state, we set parameters for children under 18. You can’t buy spray paint or cough syrup. But we would look the other way while they’re cutting themselves? I don’t think so.”

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the number of gender-dysphoric females who have undergone medically unnecessary cosmetic surgeries to appear more masculine as they attempt to identify as opposite sex quadrupled from 2016 to 2017.

Jeremy Carl, a Trump administration official who worked in the Department of the Interior and is a contributor to American Greatness, believes that people should face criminal charges and that Americans should put aside politics to prevent children from being harmed.

“I think there need to be legal consequences,” Carl tells CP in the podcast interview, speaking of those who — if discovered through a subpoena process in a legal context — repressed science and facts in service to an ideology where children wound up abused and permanently maimed.

“And ultimately, I think that is a very significant part of where we need to go if we really match the outrage we say we have,” he said.
Aside from laws prohibiting the chemical and surgical trans-ing of children, another development on the legal front has been increased protections for parental rights.

Earlier this year in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parents Rights in Education Act, which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The law forbids teachers from instructing young students on sexuality and gender identity topics at young ages, from kindergarten through the third grade. The law also requires schools to inform parents if their child expresses an interest in identifying as the opposite sex or is struggling with their “gender identity.”

For Florida resident January Littlejohn, who was featured in episode one of CP’s podcast series and was a proponent of the bill, the legal measure was a welcome development, particularly after the approximately year-and-a-half long “nightmare” she endured with her daughter mired in gender confusion.

“I was happy to see steps being taken to further solidify and protect parental rights in our school system,” Littlejohn said, adding that she doesn’t “think this is going to be the end of what we see.”

These laws should not even be necessary in light of current statutes and constitutional provisions, she lamented. “It’s really going to come down to … holding the schools accountable when their rights are violated.”

Littlejohn’s attorney, Vernadette Broyles, believes the law was needed and that it was to make explicitly clear that schools cannot withhold the information. School officials should have already recognized the rights of parents. But in recent years, they have not, particularly when it comes to gender. The new legislation was to make it “unmistakably clear” that these rights must be sacrosanct, she said.

That critics have seized upon one sentence in the bill forbidding the instruction of sexual orientation and gender for young ages shows that the agenda of these teachers really is about ideological indoctrination of children into “gender identity,” she said.

“It’s an appropriate piece of legislation to ensure parents have the critical information they need to watch over their children while they’re in school.”

The final episode of the "Generation Indoctrination" podcast series will be released on Friday and feature the story of a young woman who has detransitioned.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/how-some-states-are-blocking-gender-ideologys-influence-on-laws.html

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BY MICHAEL SNYDER/END OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
NOVEMBER 05, 2022

Are we living in the days just before the return of Jesus Christ to this planet?

Right now, there is a tremendous amount of chatter about the "end times" all over the Internet. So many really crazy things are starting to happen all over the world, and many people correctly recognize that we were specifically warned that a lot of these crazy things would happen in the last days.

For example, in Matthew 24 Jesus specifically told us that there would be "wars and rumors of wars", "famines" and "pestilences" just prior to His return. As global events continue to spiral out of control, speculation that prophetic events described in the Bible are happening will only intensify even more.

Of course there are plenty of skeptics out there. In particular, there have been quite a few articles in the mainstream media lately that portray Christians that believe that we are living in the "end times" as a bunch of nuts.

But even though they think that such Christians are crazy, mainstream pundits openly admit that there are lots and lots of people out there that are interested in learning what the Bible has to say about the "end times". The following comes from a Slate article entitled "Why Growing Parts of the Christian Right Are Convinced It's the Apocalypse"...

If you peruse the list of recent releases in Christian publishing, you'll get the sense that "the end times" are upon us. This summer saw the release of survival guides, books about current events, and prayer manuals all oriented around a rapture, a second coming of Christ, or an otherwise cataclysmic event at the hands of God. (Subtitles included 12 Megaclues That Jesus' Return Is Nearer Than Ever; An End Times Guide to Survival; Do Current Events Point to the Antichrist and His Worldwide Empire?; and Prayer Strategies That Unlock the End-Time Armory of God.)

According to Publishers Weekly, this spate of end-times books is being printed to meet demand. It's what the readers want. (At least some of them; editors at the imprint Harvest Prophecy, which was founded last year, told Publishers Weekly they had seen "a strong surge of interest because there is so much happening in today's world that parallels End-Times signs given in the Bible.")

And survey after survey has shown that a surprisingly high percentage of the U.S. population actually believes that Jesus will come back in the relatively near future. For instance, a survey that was conducted by the Pew Research Center discovered that 41 percent of all Americans believe that Jesus will "definitely" or "probably" return by the year 2050...

By the year 2050, 41% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ definitely (23%) or probably (18%) will have returned to earth. However, a 46%-plurality of the public does not believe Christ will return during the next 40 years. Fully 58% of white evangelical Christians say Christ will return to earth in this period, by far the highest percentage in any religious group. Only about a third of Catholics (32%) and even fewer white mainline Protestants (27%) predict Christ's return to earth by 2050. One-in-five religiously unaffiliated Americans also see Christ returning during the next four decades.

Many pastors appear to believe that Jesus is coming back soon too. In fact, a LifeWay survey found that a whopping 56 percent of them "expect Jesus to return in my lifetime"...

According to LifeWay, nearly nine out of 10 pastors see at least some current events "matching those Jesus said would occur shortly before He returns to Earth."

According to the data, 56 percent of pastors either strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement: "I expect Jesus to return in my lifetime." Twenty-four percent said they were "not sure," while 20 percent either strongly or somewhat disagreed.

It is so important for all of us to understand the times that we are living in, because God put us here for a reason.

He could have placed us at any time throughout human history, but He deliberately chose to put us at this specific moment. All of human history has been building up to a grand crescendo, and we get to be here for it.

And God has a specific role for you to play in this drama. But if you don't realize what He is trying to do, you could potentially miss out on fulfilling your destiny.

Yes, the years ahead are going to be incredibly challenging. But they can also be the greatest years of your life if you fully embrace what God is trying to do through you. From this point forward, Bible prophecy will be the number one tool that we have to turn people to Jesus. Once people realize that many of the things that are happening in the headlines today were foretold in the Scriptures, everything changes. I believe that we are on the verge of the greatest move of God and the greatest harvest of souls in all of human history. I want to be part of that. Don't you?

We are the Book of Revelation generation, and we get the privilege of preparing the way for the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is no other time in all of human history that I would have rather lived than right now. If what I am sharing is resonating with your heart, then I encourage you to help me get this message out. There has never been a time like this before, and there will never be a time like it again. Our world is about to go through immensely painful years, but it is when times are the darkest that the greatest heroes are needed. And you can be one of those heroes if you understand what God is trying to do and you fully embrace it.

The "end times" are here, and nothing will ever be the same again. So rise up and become the person that God created you to be, because now is the time for the people of God to move forward in victory.

Originally published at End Of The American Dream

https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5708

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Jon Brown
November 13, 2022·2 min read

An instructional assistant at a Florida high school has reportedly complained about her co-worker's parking space that quotes a verse from the New Testament, saying it offends her as Jewish person.

Marina Gentilesco, who works at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Pasco County, Florida, said she has been angered every day she passed by her co-worker's parking spot that is painted with Philippians 4:13, which reads, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me," according to local Fox affiliate Fox 59.

"I feel like it’s attacking me as a Jew," she said, according to the outlet.

Gentilesco, whose parents told her stories of the Holocaust, said the quote from an epistle of St. Paul brings back painful memories.

"It brings me to the verge of tears because it brings me back to the 6 million that perished," Gentilesco said. "Six million perished because of our faith — because we’re Jews."

Gentilesco maintained that she would not mind such a biblical display at a church but believes it is out of place on state-funded school ground.

"You put it on a state-funded property," she said. "I’m not OK with it."

Gentilesco reportedly took her concerns to her principal, who then went to the district. Citing freedom of expression, Pasco County Schools decided against ordering the removal of the Bible verse.

"It’s not a violation," said Pasco County Schools Public Information Officer Stephen Hegarty. "This is personal expression."

Hegarty noted that "there is no proselytizing going on" and that the parking spot is "not compelling students to do anything one way or the other."

Noting that the parking space had nothing to do with instruction, Hegarty said that "it's just a teacher expressing themselves just like they might wear a crucifix on their shirt."

Teachers and students are free to express themselves," Hegarty added.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-high-school-employee-complains-201958892.html

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BY MICHAEL SNYDER/END OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
NOVEMBER 09, 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping has just announced that China will be "preparing for war", and that should deeply alarm all of us. Needless to say, nobody is going to be attacking China any time soon. So why would the Chinese need to prepare for war if there is zero chance that they will be attacked?

Unfortunately, the answer is obvious. The only reason China would be engaged in a military conflict any time soon is if it chooses to invade Taiwan. The moment such an invasion is launched, the United States and China will be at war. The Chinese know this, but Chinese President Xi Jinping is going ahead with preparations for war anyway...

China will focus on preparing for war with the country's security 'increasingly unstable and uncertain', President Xi Jinping has declared. Beijing will now comprehensively strengthen its military training and preparation for any war, Xi said today, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

This is the very first time in decades that China has been on a war footing. Not too long ago, the Chinese were our new best friends and we were doing all that we could to deepen trading relationships with them. Now our economy is deeply, deeply dependent on goods from China, and once a military conflict erupts that flow of goods will come to grinding halt.

So let us hope that such a war does not materialize any time soon.

Sadly, it has become exceedingly clear that Chinese President Xi Jinping is strongly considering the option of "reuniting" with Taiwan by force...Xi's announcement that China will focus on preparing for a war will raise fears that the nation may invade the self-governing island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

China, which has the second-largest economy and military in the world, has repeatedly threatened to annex Taiwan by force if necessary. A lot of people out there seem to assume that a conflict with China is not an imminent threat. But just last month, the top ranking officer in the U.S. Navy warned that it could come "as soon as this year"...

Last month, US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday warned that China could take Washington and the world by surprise and invade Taiwan as soon as this year. Amid the military exercises by air and sea of Taiwan's coast, Admiral Gilday said: 'It's not just what Jinping says, it's how the Chinese behave and what they do.

'What we've seen over the past 20 years is that they have delivered on every promise they've made earlier than they said they were going to deliver on it.' Personally, I don't think that we will see war between the United States and China in 2022.

But 2023 is a very real possibility.

And it turns out that many officials in Japan also see the need to prepare for a coming conflict with China...If China were to attack Taiwan, it wouldn't just have to face a hostile superpower. It would also likely have to confront its longstanding regional rival, Japan. For centuries, Japan and China have vied for hegemony in East Asia; at times, they have threatened each other's survival. Today, as I found from three days of meetings with Japanese officials and analysts in Tokyo, the threat of Chinese aggression is producing a quiet revolution in Japanese statecraft -- and pushing the nation to get ready for a fight. Tensions just continue to intensify month after month. As I discuss in my brand new book, eventually a breaking point will be reached.

Meanwhile, North Korea and South Korea are also getting closer to war.

In recent days, North Korea has test-fired over 30 missiles, and that includes an ICBM which prompted "an evacuation alert in northern Japan"...

The North has test-fired more than 30 missiles this week, including an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday which triggered an evacuation alert in northern Japan -- a response to an aerial military exercise between South Korea and the US.

Of course North Korea has test-fired lots of missiles before, but in this case the North Koreans are actually admitting that they just conducted "simulated strikes on South Korea"...North Korea said on Monday that its recent missile launches were simulated strikes on South Korea and the United States as the two countries held a "dangerous war drill," while the South said it had recovered parts of a North Korean missile near its coast.

War between North Korea and South Korea is coming.

But my personal opinion is that it won't happen until China invades Taiwan first. Speaking of missile tests, it is being reported that the Russians will soon conduct another test of the new RS-28 Sarmat...

Russia is reportedly plotting to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile for a second time. Moscow first tested the RS-28 Sarmat in April. It is capable of carrying 10 or more warheads and decoys, striking targets at 16,000mph.

Russian politician Aleksey Zhuravlyov previously threatened to use the deadly weapon as Finland and Sweden were poised to join NATO. He said Satan-II could hit the UK in 200 seconds if fired from Russia's European province, Kaliningrad. It has been claimed that a single RS-28 Sarmat possesses enough firepower to destroy an area the size of Texas.

The U.S. does not have anything comparable.

In fact, the aging Minuteman missiles that currently form the backbone of the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal are not scheduled to be replaced by something new until sometime around 2030. Unfortunately, the world will look completely different by 2030.

I believe that World War III has already begun, and several new conflicts are likely to erupt over the next 12 months.

In this article I haven't even talked about Israel and Iran. Personally, I think that is probably the most likely conflict to erupt next.

This truly is a time of "wars and rumors of wars", but most people out there still do not understand what is happening.

Originally published at End Of The American Dream - reposted with permission.

https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5717

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BY BEN JOHNSON/THE WASHINGTON STAND
NOVEMBER 12, 2022

One of the most legendary soccer players of his time received a jail sentence and a fine for posting "transphobic" social media messages citing the Bible's creation account.

"God created Adam and Eve," wrote retired Greek football legend Vassilis Tsiartas in the second of two Facebook posts opposing a law that would have lowered the age to legally change one's gender to 15 and removed other legal barriers.

The 49-year-old initially responded by saying, "I hope that the first sex changes will be made to the children of those who voted for this abomination." Members of Parliament may as well "legalize pedophiles and complete their crimes" against nature, he wrote.

While citing the Book of Genesis, the 18-year soccer standout explained his faith-based objection to extreme gender ideology and the redefinition of marriage. "Anyone can have his preferences whether he is a man or a woman, and I completely respect that.

For me, however, a couple is only a man and a woman, the rest are just together. I'm not going to accept all the weddings, all the parades, and anything else they do as normal," Tsiartas wrote. He said he had no time for anyone who claims "those who don't agree are racists."
Human "dignity," he said, came from a higher power than mankind. "God created Adam and Eve. The rest of gender identities were manufactured for consumption," he concluded.

Tsiartas received a 10-month suspended prison sentence and a suspended fine of 5,000 euros from the Single-Member Misdemeanor Court of Athens. The Transgender Support Association, which brought the lawsuit, called punishing his biblical views "particularly important for the transgender community." Tsiartas plans to appeal the decision.

The ruling marks at least the second time a European court has ruled that biblical values violate the human rights of transgender individuals.

In 2019, a British court ruled that "belief in Genesis 1:27, lack of belief in transgenderism, and conscientious objection to transgenderism in our judgment are incompatible with human dignity and conflict with the fundamental rights of others." Genesis 1:27, often cited as the cornerstone of human rights, states: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

"This I understand to be legalese meaning that my belief in God and the dishonesty of using transgender pronouns is akin to Nazism," wrote Dr. David Mackereth, a Reformed Baptist physician who was fired from his job with the UK's Department for Work and Pensions in 2018 for theoretically declining to refer to "any six-foot tall, bearded man" as "madam."

"The teaching of Genesis 1:27 is repeated throughout the Bible, including by Jesus Christ himself," said Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which represented Mackereth. "It is fundamental to establishing the dignity of every human person but is, in a bizarre ironic twist, being branded as incompatible with that dignity."

On June 29, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that the lower court had erred in saying that Mackereth's "belief in Genesis 1:27 did not amount to a protected characteristic" covered by the freedom of religion secured by the UK's 2010 Equality Act. It also took aim at the lower court's contention that Mackereth's views were "likely to cause offence" to others. "The fact that a belief is likely to cause offence cannot, however, mean that it is automatically excluded from protection," ruled EAT.

But EAT ruled that Mackereth's actions stemmed from his "belief in Genesis 1:27, not the present state of information available" on transgenderism. Ultimately, EAT let his termination stand, saying that Christians have the right to practice their faith, but only if it does not conflict with the "rights" of others, such as LGBTQ provisions.

"I am grateful to the court for recognizing that a belief that we are made by God, both male and female 'in His image' is not incompatible with human dignity," said Dr. Mackereth, while he opposed its decision that religious liberty ranks below other putative rights.

Mackereth announced he will take his case to the Court of Appeal, because "my case affects everyone, not just me and Bible-believing Christians, but anyone who is concerned by compelled speech and transgender ideology being enforced on the NHS and other public services."

"As Christians, we are not trying to be unkind to people in any way. As Christians we are called to love all people with Christian love," Mackereth concluded. "But we cannot love people truly when we live and disseminate a lie."

Ironically, the controversial bill's supporters also invoked God while arguing for its passage. "What God is it that has us take decisions that push children into bullying, humiliation and suicides?" asked left-wing then-Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, promoting a bill the Greek Orthodox Church called "Satanic." Tsipras lost his position in 2019 to the more conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who opposed the measure.

U.S. President Joe Biden has also cited the Bible to argue in favor of transgender injections and surgeries for minors.

Originally published at The Washington Stand

https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5721

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CP VOICES | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2022
By Thom S. Rainer, Op-ed Contributor

“If our members did not let their kids play on travel leagues or Sunday sports, our attendance would increase by 25%.”

A pastor in Texas recently said that to me. I’ve heard that sentence or similar sentences countless times. Sunday used to be the day for church and only a few other businesses. Now Sunday is a day for almost anything and everything. And church leaders are often frustrated that some of their most committed members are among those whose children are in Sunday sports.

Let’s look at the issue as objectively as possible. I get the angst. When I served as a pastor many years ago, we would lose 25% of our attendance when members and their extended families went on a weekend camping excursion twice a year. I immaturely dreaded preaching to the more vacuous room on those frustrating days.

Here are five considerations. I would love to hear your perspectives as well.

1. Many members are less committed to the church today. From the second chapter of Acts to the third chapter of Revelation, that entire part of the New Testament is either to the local church, about the local church, or written in the context of the local church. The local church is God’s plan A for His mission on earth until Jesus returns, and He did not give us a plan B. Sadly, many church members view the gathered church as just another activity from which to choose. Sometimes sports win. Sometimes sleeping in wins. And sometimes, taking a day off wins. By the way, what do you call a church member who attends only once a month? An elder (or deacon). Yes, that was my weak attempt at humor.

2. Churches expect less today than they did a few decades ago. It’s not just that members are less committed; churches have lowered the bar of biblical expectations of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. It’s analogous to a wedding ceremony where the groom tells the bride that he loves her, but that he does not plan to spend much time with her. We have dumbed down church membership in many of our churches. We don’t even expect our members to spend time with the bride of Christ.

3. Cultural norms have changed. Have you ever heard of “blue laws”? Those were real laws of cities, counties, and states that restricted most businesses from opening on Sundays. I grew up with those laws. You either went to church or hid in your home so no one would know you weren’t in church. The culture was largely pro-church and pro-Christian then. Yes, the times have changed. But we can’t blame culture for our low-commitment churches. The problem is best seen in the mirror.

4. Churches have adapted to cultural changes in the past. It is likely that Sunday morning worship times, particularly the sacrosanct (at least for a season) 11 a.m. service, was an accommodation to an agricultural society. Get the farm chores done, then go to church. Do we leaders in churches need to reconsider our times and days? Is there anything heretical about offering a Thursday night service in addition to the Sunday morning service? Are we being too rigid with our own schedules? Should we consider accommodating the Sunday sports schedules at least part-way?

5. The frustration has been exacerbated by COVID. Since the quarantine and re-opening of churches, attendance has fallen by a median of 20%. It feels like we lost one of five members and attendees overnight. In reality, we did lose them! Now, when those three kids are playing soccer, softball, and flag football on

Sunday morning, we really get frustrated. There are even fewer people gathered for worship than before.

I doubt we will solve this challenge with this short article. But I would really like to hear from you. Does your church have the Sunday sports challenge? Are you trying to address it positively? If so, what are you doing?

Originally published at Chruch Answers.

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/church-leaders-frustration-with-sunday-sports-five-considerations.html

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CP LIVING | MONDAY, NOVEMBER 07, 2022
By Nicole Alcindor, CP Reporter

"Duck Dynasty" stars Sadie Robertson Huff and her mother, Korie Robertson, shared their thoughts on where they believe some Christians have gone wrong preaching modesty and how judgment over what people wear could lead some people away from the Church.

On the Nov. 1 episode of the "WHOA That's Good" podcast, the mother-daughter duo focused their discussion on modesty at a time when the cultural trend is "less is definitely more" when it comes to the way people dress.

"To live modestly is to live completely counterculture right now. And [being modest is] to be like, 'Hey, I'm actually OK with being quiet-spirited.

I'm actually OK with sitting here and being content with who I am without having to prove myself by what I wear,'" the 25-year-old Huff said.

While Huff advocates for Christians to dress modestly, she warned, "Modesty culture in the Church can actually be pretty dangerous."

Huff said she experienced "hurt from modesty culture and Christianity," saying she received backlash for wearing blue jean shorts when the "Duck Dynasty" reality show began.

"I would wear my blue jean shorts on the show, and we would have so many Christians be like, 'Are you a Christian? The way that you dress is so immodest?' Or people would say to me that 'I'm setting a bad example for this generation because of the immodesty,'" Huff recalled.

"It honestly made me feel so much pressure and also so sad and confused because I'm like, 'Wait, does that make me not a Christian?' When that's actually not at all what Christianity really is. And plus, as a teenager, hearing people say that. I remember thinking, 'I can see why so many celebrities who grew up in the Church turn and just go,'" she continued.

"Because it honestly makes you want to. … Because it kind of makes you want to rebel."

Huff also starred in an episode of "Dancing With The Stars" in 2014 wearing short-cut jean shorts and said she received backlash for how she dressed on the show.

"It was really hard. … I truly felt like I was being a light. And representing Christianity and who Jesus is and showing people God's love there.

And I mean, I would pray over CBS Studios, like every Monday night. I just really believed God was going to do something there and God did do something," Huff recalled.

"Even the judges kept saying, 'You're such a light,' and I don't even know how to describe it. It's like this light. And it's like the world was noticing that, and Christians were noticing my short shorts," Huff said, adding that she cried many times that week.

"That's hurtful. I'm not the only one that's gone through that. … That is something that needs to be addressed. I [don't] think you should ever be shaming people or picking people apart. If we're going to be like Jesus, [He] didn't judge from the outward appearances. He looked at the heart and people's lives."

"The shorts weren't anything different than what anyone would wear to the mall or whatever," Robertson added, in agreement with her daughter. "But, you got a lot of hate for that, and it was very hurtful. It made you question everything."

Although Robertson and Huff agree that modesty culture in the Church can "shame" others, they both agree that dressing modestly is vital for Christians. And they said dressing in an immodest fashion could be "dangerous" in its own way.

The duo cited Romans 14:13-23 about not passing judgment on others but also making sure not to be a "stumbling block" to another brother or sister in Christ.

"It's also really dangerous to dress super provocatively. And there are a lot of consequences that do come with that. So I do think you have to be wise," Huff said.

"I don't want people to notice me — outside of my husband — sexually," Robertson added. "I want people to notice me because I'm smart or funny or kind or joyful, those kinds of things. And sometimes, as women, we do put that out there. We're like, 'Oh, notice me for my brain,' but then, we're putting these sexual images out there. And so I think we have to be thoughtful of that."

"If you feel convicted about something that you wear, … whether it's because that's provocative or sexual or whatever, then that's sin," Robertson continued. "You need to be aware of that and be careful of that. But also, don't condemn others and don't be judgmental of others because of something that God has not yet convicted them about."

Huff said one question Christians should ask themselves before they choose what to wear is, "are you dressing out of a place of contentment or to get something?"

"If I'm dressing from a place of contentment, I'm dressing the way that I want to dress because I feel comfortable. I feel beautiful. … You want to feel beautiful. I feel like myself. I feel authentic to who I am. And I'm not trying to dress in such a way to get attention. I'm not dressing in such a way to get approval. I'm not dressing in such a way to get people to notice me," she added.

"I think if you're dressing in such a way to get attention, to get people to notice you, I think that's immodest. But to dress in such a way that comes from contentment, … to feel like you are being totally authentic to who you're created to be, I think that's a modest way to dress."

It's not just about what you wear, Huff said, but it's about what comes from the heart and the motive behind why a Christian chooses to dress in certain ways.

"I think you can't say: 'Oh, well, is it a tank top? Is it short? Is it this? Is it that? I don't even think that's the right way to look at it. I think it's like, 'Are you content? Or are you trying to prove something?'" she said.

Huff cited 1 Corinthians 10:31, which says, "whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

According to Huff, two other questions people should ask themselves when choosing their clothing are "are you glorifying yourself or are you glorifying God?" and "are you reflecting culture or are you reflecting Christ?"

"It's not that you can't be trendy. I want to dress trendy. I want to dress cute, actually. I like fashion. I think it's a fun way to represent who you are," Huff shared.

"But, it's like, 'Do I care more about fitting into culture, and am I really representing my ultimate mission? … What am I actually trying to represent?' I think that just comes with respecting yourself enough to say, 'I don't need to show that part of my body because that's private. … And it's for me and my husband, not for anybody else to see."

https://www.christianpost.com/news/sadie-robertson-warns-church-modesty-culture-can-be-dangerous.html