Biden: It’s ‘Morally Wrong’ to Stop Underage Trans Surgeries

An LGBT activist documenting his gender transition on TikTok went to the White House to question President Joe Biden about state laws on gender transition surgeries as the American public demonstrates skepticism of such procedures heading into the midterm elections. Dylan Mulvaney, a biologically male activist who identifies as female, announced on TikTok that he was meeting with President Biden at the White House.

 In the interview, Biden reiterated his belief that states are “morally wrong” to ban gender transition surgeries on minors and other procedures described by LGBT activists as “gender-affirming.” “I don’t think any state or anybody should have the right to do that as a moral question and as a legal question,” the president said. The exchange with Mulvaney was part of a larger forum moderated by NowThis where the LGBT activist and five other “young change-makers” asked the president questions about what the progressive media outlet described as “the most critical issues facing their generation ahead of this pivotal election.”

 Those issues include abortion access, transgender rights, criminal legal reform, gun legislation, economic instability and climate change.

 In a video presented shortly before Mulvaney began asking Biden questions, the LGBT activist introduced himself as a “trans woman” who is “documenting my transition publicly on TikTok for the world to see.” Mulvaney lamented that “lawmakers in many states want to exclude us from participating in sports or getting proper healthcare” and that “some folks want to decide where we can use the bathroom.” According to the LGBT Movement Advancement Project, 18 states have passed laws banning trans-identified youth from competing on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity instead of their biological sex. The most common justification for such policies focuses on the biological differences between men and women that give biological males, on average, an unfair advantage over biological females in athletic competitions.

 Mulvaney gave Biden the floor to share his thoughts on the ongoing debate about whether trans-identified individuals should be able to use bathrooms that correspond with their stated gender identity instead of their biological sex. “I feel very, very strongly that you should have every single solitary right, including use of your gender identity bathrooms,” the president said. Biden also described state-level efforts to limit trans individuals’ access to bathrooms, sports teams, gender surgeries and hormones as “outrageous” and “immoral.”

 Currently, Alabama, Arizona and Arkansas have banned medicalized gender transitioning of minors, while the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the Texas Attorney General have classified them as a form of child abuse. Biden concluded his remarks on LGBT issues by stressing that “just because it’s different, there’s nothing to be fearful about.”

 The president’s comments provoked a reaction on social media, with postings on Twitter that “the official Democratic Party position now is that puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery for kids is good.” Polling conducted by Summit Ministries in conjunction with McLaughlin & Associates suggests widespread discontent with the “transgender movement.” Based on responses collected from Oct. 12-17, the poll found that 65% of respondents believed that “the transgender movement has gone too far by encouraging minors to use drugs and surgery to transition to the opposite sex.” Twenty-one percent disagreed with that statement, while the remaining 14% said they did not know.

 Biblical Connection: Isaiah 5:20 states “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” America is walking a very dangerous path when the President calls actions that would have been condemned as morally reprehensible even ten years ago as good and attempting to stop those actions immoral.

 PRAY: Pray that these attempts to change God’s created design will be stopped and children will be protected.

Persecution Continues to Rise Against Jews in Academia

Recently, Law Students for Justice in Palestine (LSJP) at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law promoted a bylaw  that would create what critics have characterized as “no-go zones for Jews,” “LSJP is so excited to announce that multiple student affinity groups and clubs at Berkeley Law have adopted a pro-Palestine bylaw divesting all funds from institutions and companies complicit in the occupation of Palestine, and banning future use of funds towards such companies!” the group wrote in an Instagram post in August. “LSJP is calling ALL student organizations at Berkeley Law to take an anti-racist and anti-settler colonial stand and adopt the bylaw into their constitutions ASAP!”

 In addition to urging student groups to support the ongoing BDS campaign against Israel, the bylaw also included troubling language to expunge any speech by individuals who might be considered pro-Israel or pro-Zionist, especially speech meant to correct the many factual and historical inaccuracies in the pro-Palestinian bylaw. “In the interest of protecting the safety and welfare of Palestinian students on campus,” the suggested language read, groups who adopt this bylaw “will not invite speakers that have expressed and continued to hold views or host/sponsor/promote events in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.”

 And in language which is Orwellian in its attempt to paint bigotry as virtue, cooperating student groups, the bylaw read, will proclaim that they are “publicly stipulating the organization’s position of anti-racism and anti-settler colonialism to speakers, ensuring that proposals for speakers emphasize the organization’s desire for equality and inclusion,” all of this for the purpose of creating “a safe and inclusive space for Palestinian students and students that are in the support of the liberation of Palestine.”

 The implementation of a litmus test of ideological allegiance — only targeted at Jews who support Israel — is part of a decades-old campaign to malign Israel and transform it into a pariah state. It excludes its supporters from progressive groups, by falsely alleging Israel is an apartheid, racist regime of white supremacy that continues to oppress innocent Arabs who were the actual indigenous residents of the land now called Israel.

 Imagine if a student government yanked accommodations for halal food on campus because Islam can be linked to terrorism, the same spurious linkage these social justice cretins have created for “apartheid” Israel, Zionism and kosher food from pro-Israel companies. The campus-wide howling about Islamophobia and bigotry would be deafening.

 The Berkeley situation is, of course, part of a broader effort to marginalize Jewish students, malign Israel and Zionism without debate or counter-argument, contort history and facts to elevate the Palestinian cause and denigrate the Jewish state, and promote hatred and hostility to any supporter of Israel. The real intention of pro-Palestinian radicals, now encompassing a large swathe of academia, is to exclude Israel and Zionism as reasonable topics of discussion and to prevent supporters of the Jewish state from even defending it or offering counterarguments. While Israel is not a perfect country and when they do make mistakes they should be called out on those mistakes. However, the immense hatred of the Jewish people that has arisen to almost pre-World War 2 levels is a sign that Satan is continuing his attacks.

 Biblical Connection: In Revelation 12, the nation of Israel, depicted symbolically by a woman figure, is attacked by both Satan and the forces of the Antichrist.

 PRAY: Pray that the Jewish people will be protected from these types of unjust attacks in the public square.

Red Heifers Sent to Israel in Possible Preparation for a Third Temple?

Five perfectly red heifers, required for the ritual purification of those who have touched a dead body, arrived in Israel from a ranch in Texas, as the Jewish Temple Institute continues preparations to lay the ground for the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.

 The heifers are all under one year old and if they remain 100% red and avoid any blemishes which would disqualify them, they will each be eligible to be used to create the ashes required by Jewish law to purify those who have been in contact with a dead body, explained the Temple Institute. This level of purification would be needed in order to allow the priests to carry out their work in a future Temple.

 The prized cattle were immediately transported to Haifa where they will sit in quarantine for no less than seven days, in accordance with the regulations of the Israel Veterinary Authority. After the quarantine, they will be released to two separate locations in Israel, one of which will eventually be opened to the public. The heifers will be fed and cared for at these locations until they can be slaughtered and rendered into ashes from their third year onwards.

 The heifers were greeted by a ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport. Temple Institute officials Rabbi Chanan Kupietzky, Rabbi Tzachi Mamo, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel and Rabbi Azaria Ariel participated in the ceremony, alongside Stinson and Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry director-general Netanel Isaac.

 The Jewish Temple Institute has been working for years on creating all the necessary elements to rebuild the Jewish Temple. Their website states that their goal is to educate, research, promote activism and to even prepare for actual rebuilding and dedication.

 What is a red heifer? The red heifer is first mentioned in the Book of Numbers 19:3, when God tells Moses and Aaron “This is the ritual law that God has commanded: Instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid.” The Bible goes on to explain how the heifer is processed and burnt and its ashes mixed into sanctified water. Those who became impure due to touching a human corpse would be purified by having the water mixed with the ashes sprinkled on them twice: once three days after they came in contact with the corpse and a second time seven days after contact. The Torah relates that a red heifer was brought to Elazar the Priest, the son of Aaron, and was processed for its ashes for the ritual.

 Biblical Connection: Why is the red heifer important to prophecy? 2 Thessalonians 2:4 says that the Antichrist will one day go the temple and claim to be God. Since the 2nd Jewish Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., this would require a 3rd temple to be built. Critics of eschatology have argued for centuries that this passage cannot be referring to a future time because there would be no temple for the Antichrist to go to or try to spiritualize the temple in some manner. However, these types of headlines show that it is clear that the orthodox Jews in Israel would not only like to rebuild the temple, but are actively creating elements and planning for a time when they can rebuild a future temple. Presumably, it will be this temple that will one day be rebuilt that the Antichrist will enter and declare himself God.

 PRAY: Pray that God’s timetable will continue to occur. While we as Christians should not necessarily cheer the construction of a temple, it does show that some of the prophetic elements that God promised could come to pass soon.

Signs of Apostasy on the Rise?

At least a third of senior pastors in the United States believe one can earn a place in Heaven by simply being a good person, according to a nationwide survey. The findings were among several surprising responses as part of a survey conducted earlier this year by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. The American Worldview Inventory 2022 examined more than three dozen beliefs held by pastors.

Researchers found that in addition to believing that people can merit salvation based solely on their good works, one-third or more of senior pastors surveyed also believe the Holy Spirit is not a person but rather “a symbol of God’s power.” Others said that moral truth is subjective; sexual relations between two unmarried people who love each other is “morally acceptable” and biblical teaching on abortion is “ambiguous.” At least a third of those surveyed also said they believe “socialism is preferable to capitalism and that allowing property ownership facilitates economic injustice,” which researchers say could point to the “increase of cultural and political influence into the church.”

After data reported earlier this year found just 37% of Christian pastors have a biblical worldview, the latest CRC report analyzed that research across all major U.S. denominations. They found that a “loss of biblical belief is prevalent among pastors in all denominational groupings.”

 The current report focuses on roughly half of those beliefs, revealing that a shockingly large percentage reject biblical teaching on some of the most basic Christian beliefs. Among Evangelical pastors, for example, around 43% said they do not believe that the personal accumulation of wealth is provided by God for the individual to manage those resources for God’s purposes.

 Another 39% of Evangelical pastors surveyed said there is no absolute moral truth and that “each individual must determine their own truth.” Roughly the same percentage (38%) didn’t answer in the affirmative when asked if “human life is sacred,” while 37% said having faith, in general, is more important than in what — or more specifically, Whom — one has faith. Perhaps most startlingly, three in 10 Evangelical pastors (30%) didn’t answer in the affirmative if their salvation is based on having confessed their sins and accepting Jesus Christ as their savior.

George Barna, CRC’s director of research, said the results could be linked to another trend he observed in the data. “While studying the spiritual behavioral patterns of pastors, it became evident that a large share of them do not have a regular spiritual routine,” Barna said. “There was a correlation between possessing biblical beliefs and a consistent regimen of Bible reading, prayer, worship and confession. In some of the denominational groupings, a majority of pastors do not engage in those foundational spiritual practices on a regular basis,” he added. “Yet, among the pastors who have the most consistently biblical beliefs, there is also a daily routine that incorporates all of those disciplines.”

 Biblical Connections: 2 Thessalonians 2:3 talks about a falling away or apostasy (Greek, apostasia) that will occur before the Tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist. While there has always been a segment of Christianity that has dealt with false teachers and falling away, it seems that increased secularization in the West has dramatically increased this push away from Biblical truth that has been accepted for centuries to the point that even many pastors have now fallen into this deceptive trap. These are not interpretive challenges that good people can disagree on but are instead the very core of the Christian faith. Perhaps we are seeing the beginnings of this falling away. Only time will tell.

 PRAY: Pray for the pastors that have turned away from the truth of God’s Word. Pray for a return to the faith that has stood for over 2,000 years.

Russia and China Moving to Create a New Global Threat?

A top Chinese official said that his country will continue its partnership with Russia in the hopes of creating a new international order that will rival western influence. “The Chinese side is willing to work with the Russian side to continuously implement high-level strategic cooperation between the two countries, safeguard common interests and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction,” Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Yang Jiechi recently stated.

 The comments come amid Russia’s ongoing war with neighboring Ukraine, which has resulted in international outrage and an effort by many western governments to sanction Russia and cut off its influence around the globe. But the international influence campaign has seemingly brought Russia and China closer together, with Chinese President Xi Jinping set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Xi’s first foreign trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While China has not provided Russia with direct support or relief from sanctions, it has extended its trade partnership with a Russian economy struggling to find international partners. About 81% of Russian car imports during the second quarter came from China, Bloomberg reported, while China’s Xiaomi phone brand became the most popular in Russia during the same time period. China has also been a dependable consumer of Russian fuel, buying up liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a steep discount from Russia. The arrangement has benefited both countries, giving Russia a buyer for its energy resources while China has used the windfall to sell energy sources at a markup to a European economy that has found itself short of resources amid sanctions against Russia.

 “Russia and China are building a massive $55 billion pipeline called the ‘Power of Siberia,’ delivering gas from Siberia to Shanghai,” Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News Digital. “This is a major development of strategic importance as Putin is pivoting to Asia in a big way. The Kremlin has concluded that Russia-U.S. relations are irreparable and that the U.S. and Western sanctions are here to stay indefinitely.”

Russia and China have also worked together to send money transfers to China in yuan without using the SWIFT messaging system, which helps Russia bypass international sanctions and works toward the Chinese goal of devaluing the influence of the U.S. dollar. “Russia already has established a method of transferring payments to convert wire currency into Chinese yuan, bypassing SWIFT,” Koffler said, adding that the Russian Finance Ministry also announced the country is “transitioning to yuan, playing into China’s strategic goal of replacing the U.S. dollar with the Chinese yuan as the dominant international reserve currency by 2049.”

 This is yet another example of Russia moving away from Western relationship and making strong connections with other more savory nations. Western sanctions of the war in Ukraine have driven Russia into stronger trade and military relationships with Iran, North Korea and now China. If these nations continue to grow closer and gain more strength and power in the international community, it could spell trouble on a global scale.

 Biblical Connections: Russia has always been seen as a problem in biblical prophecy because of the Gog-Magog prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39. Making strategic alliances with other nations like Iran and China do not help to alleviate fears that they could once again become a major problem not only in the global community, but specifically in the Middle Eastern theatre, where they already have influence with both Syria and Iran.

Doctors Refute Abrams' Claim there is No Fetal Heartbeat at 6 Weeks

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is being accused of spreading "misinformation" after she stated that the unborn do not have a heartbeat at six weeks gestation, despite evidence from medical journals. During an event at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center in Atlanta, Abrams asserted that "there is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks," adding that she believed the sound of a fetal heartbeat at that stage is "manufactured" to convince people that men have a right to "control" women's bodies.

 Abrams' comments were in response to Georgia's heartbeat bill, also known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act. She claimed the legislation shouldn't be called a "Fetal Heartbeat Bill" because "that's medically false, biologically a lie." The bill bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat becomes detectable but includes exceptions for rape, incest, or if the mother's life is in danger or the fetus is unviable. The law was passed in 2019, but a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, returning authority over abortion laws to the states, a federal appeals court overturned the lower court ruling on July 20, allowing the law to go into effect.

 Dr. Donna Harrison, CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, an organization that boasts over 7,000 pro-life doctors, disagreed with Abrams. Harrison stated that Abrams' claims are an example of "misinformation" that ignores evidence from "basic embryology." "In fact, at six weeks' gestation, the embryonic heart rhythmically contracts to pump blood through its arteries, which flows to the placenta to exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen," she wrote. "To call this anything other than a beating heart is dishonest, and serves only to dehumanize preborn people. ... Playing semantics with the definition of a heart does nothing to serve science or the public, but rather only advances a pro-abortion agenda."

 Tara Sander Lee, the director of Life Sciences at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute who studied heart development at Harvard Medical School, said in a statement that the human heart starts beating 22 days after fertilization. "A baby's heart is actively beating at six weeks gestation and will have already beat nearly 16 million times by 15 weeks," said Lee. "In fact, at six weeks, when Stacey Abrams says a heartbeat doesn't exist, that baby's heart is actually beating at about 110 beats per minute (bpm)." Lee cited peer-reviewed research published by the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a 2019 study published in the National Library of Medicine titled "The Transitional Heart: From Early Embryonic and Fetal Development to Neonatal Life."

 Another study, published in October 2019 by the Department of Radiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, also affirmed that cardiac activity begins as early as six weeks gestation. In addition, the absence of a detectable heartbeat is a sign of pregnancy failure, according to the study. "Most American parents have seen their baby's beating heart during prenatal ultrasound and discussed it with their obstetrician," she continued. "The mainstream media can perform Olympic-level semantics gymnastics all they want, but most Americans instinctively understand that a developing human organ which beats rhythmically and pumps blood throughout the body is, in fact, a heart."

 As The National Review reported in February, up until recently, Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, stated on its webpage that a "very basic beating heart and circulatory system develop" during the fifth to sixth week of pregnancy. Now, the website states that at five to six weeks, "[a] part of the embryo starts to show cardiac activity. It sounds like a heartbeat on an ultrasound, but it's not a fully-formed heart — it's the earliest stage of the heart developing," the website states. This is yet another example of people attempting to go against God’s plan for life.

 Biblical Connection: The Bible clearly teaches that life in the womb is “knit together” by God (Psalm 139:13).

 PRAY- Pray that those who want to continue to kill the lives of unborn babies will be stopped and the unborn will be protected.

Iran Declares It Can Use Nuclear Missiles to Turn “New York into Hellish Ruins”

“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

Revelation 6:8

  The Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps recently said that it can develop a nuclear weapon within a rapid-fire amount of time and obliterate New York with ballistic missiles. The London-based Iran International news organization reported that the Bisimchi Media (Radioman Media) Telegram Channel aired a short video titled, “When Will Iran’s Sleeping Warheads Awaken.” The video said the Islamic Republic of Iran is capable of building nuclear bombs in a compressed period of time “if the US or the Zionist regime make any stupid mistakes.” The Iranian theocratic state refers to Israel as the “Zionist regime.” The IRGC-affiliated video said that Iranian ballistic missiles have the capability of “turning New York into hellish ruins.” 

 The video said, “the nuclear facilities of Fordow have been built deep under mountains of Iran and are protected against trench-busting bombs and even nuclear explosion… all infrastructures required for nuclear breakout have been prepared in it.” According to the Iran International report, the video said Iran has advanced its uranium enrichment process to develop a nuclear weapons device in the underground facilities of Fordow, near the holy city of Qom. Some other key takeaways from the IRGC-affiliated videos include Iran’s dangerous proximity to developing nuclear weapons, joining the club of nuclear powers.

 “These threats are a direct result of a weak and unclear foreign policy coming from the White House,” stated Lisa Daftari, an expert on Iran and the editor-in-chief of the website The Foreign Desk. “The Iran regime would not be so brazen as to make threats toward the U.S. if it did not feel that it has the upper-hand in dealing with the US and world powers….”

The Biden administration kept going back to the negotiating table for a deal making it clear that Iran did not have to show any good behavior or change in demeanor to get a deal.” Daftari noted that “Iran is playing out the clock and taking advantage of the current White House’s policies.” 

 The Biden administration seeks to cut a deal with Iran’s clerical rulers that would impose temporary restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for massive economic sanctions relief. President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid the United States will never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon as Tehran seeks stronger guarantees from Washington for the revival of a nuclear deal with world powers. Israel opposes a return to the 2015 deal, which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for the lifting of U.S., European Union and United Nations sanctions on Tehran.

 The Trump administration designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. The second IRGC-affiliated Telegram channel Sepah-e Qods republished Bisimchi Media’s video with the caption: “Iran Prepared to Carry Out Top Secret EMAD Project. Building First Nuclear Warhead if Natanz Comes Under Attack.” Natanz is one of Iran’s principal nuclear sites and EMAD is an Iranian weapons program.

 Biblical Connections: The rise in the desire to proliferate nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction should not shock readers of the Scriptures. The Book of Revelation makes it clear that in the last days there will be massive war and bloodshed unlike any seen in the history of the world. For example, the horseman of Revelation 6 bring war and destruction to the globe and a fourth of the world is killed. The presence and prominence of these types of weapons make this a very real possibility.

 PRAY: Pray that either negotiations will prevent Iran from creating nuclear missiles or something will stop their potential nuclear capabilities.

UN Seeks to Declare Abortion “Human Right”

Delegates at the United Nations General Assembly are finalizing negotiations on a resolution that would require all U.N. agencies to declare abortion a human right, reportedly due to pressure from the European Union and the Biden administration. The resolution contains language about abortion that has reportedly been rejected in other resolutions over the past decade. As the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam) earlier reported, it’s being considered for adoption soon.

 According to C-Fam, the resolution declares that governments should secure “access to safe abortion” as a matter of policy and “ensure the promotion and protection of the human rights of all women and their sexual and reproductive health.” Western countries backing the resolution reportedly forced the inclusion of this language. Although a Japanese diplomat leading the negotiations stated that delegations could not alter the language on abortion, it remained despite repeat objections, according to C-Fam. The resolution’s language does not outright declare abortion an international human right and includes the caveat “where such services are permitted by law.”

 “The European Union and the U.S. government are trying to undermine the long-standing consensus of the General Assembly that abortion is an issue that should be decided at the national level without external interference from the United Nations,” Stefano Gennarini, vice president for legal studies at C-Fam, said in a statement. Gennarini said that both had done this “intermittently” for over 30 years, but he believes they have made it a priority now due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June. The high court upheld Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban in a 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, declaring that the U.S.  Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. The decision returned the power to make laws governing abortion back to the individual states. “The issue isn’t just whether abortion should be accessible as a matter of human rights or not. It is about protecting the integrity of international aid,” Gennarini wrote. “Until now, the General Assembly consensus was that governments should help women avoid abortion.”

 Gennarini believes there will be pressure on women to abort if the U.N. considers adopting the resolution as part of its response to sexual violence. “Abortion is cheaper than providing healthcare and social support to mothers and their children. There is an inherent tension here. No woman should ever feel pressured to abort by governments or international agencies.”

 Delegates noted that the EU appeared to be rather aggressive in its negotiations, which is not standard protocol, according to C-Fam. The main sponsors of a resolution typically facilitate negotiations, and they do not negotiate it themselves.

Another apparent break from tradition is the term “safe abortion,” which appears in the resolution, as U.N. member states have not widely accepted the phrase. Roughly half the voting members of the Human Rights Council supported Egypt, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s proposed amendments to delete the term. Currently, those countries ban or impose restrictions on abortion.

 Progressive Western countries’ efforts to promote “safe abortion” is at odds with the consensus of the General Assembly, defined during the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, according to C-Fam. The caveats adopted during the Cairo conference state that the U.N. shouldn’t make any determination on the matter of abortion. They add that governments should help women avoid abortion and focus on helping them provide for their children before and after birth.

 Biblical Connection: This is yet another example of the United Nations, along with the European Union and unfortunately the United States, to promote secular ideas throughout the globe. If the Antichrist one day will control a revived Roman Empire, then the European Union and the United Nations could certainly be a focus of power.

 PRAY: Pray that the West would stop trying to force secular ideas onto the world stage.

Iran is Becoming a World Leader in Drone Technology

Iran has made steady advances in the design and production of military drones in recent years and has stepped up their transfer to militant groups across the Middle East as it seeks to shift the dynamics of battlefields from Yemen to Gaza. Those efforts now extended far beyond the region.

 Iran is now seeking to build its global clout and sell increasingly sophisticated weapons-capable drones commercially to other nations, including those that have been subject to various sanctions in recent years, like Venezuela and Sudan, according to Iranian news media, satellite images and defense experts inside and outside Iran. That has provided an important source of funds and political influence for Iran, which is itself isolated and struggling under U.S. financial restrictions.

 “Iran is increasingly becoming a global player in terms of drone exports,” said Seth Frantzman, a Jerusalem-based defense analyst and drone expert. The fact that newer drones, such as the Mohajer-6, are now being seen in places like the Horn of Africa shows that countries see them as a potential game-changer,” he added, referring to an advanced Iranian drone claimed to have a range of about 125 miles and the ability to carry precision-guided munitions.

 Tehran began drone development in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war. Despite crippling sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear and missile programs in recent years, it has managed to produce and field a vast array of military drones, used for both surveillance and attack, according to experts.

That program has become a major concern for Israel and the United States in recent years. Israel has targeted drone production and storage sites in its escalating shadow war with Tehran. And the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement on July 21 that “the Iran-proliferated network of attack unmanned aerial systems,” or drones, was a key topic of discussion at a recent regional security meeting in Qatar.

 A United Nations embargo aimed at preventing Iran from selling and buying weapons expired in 2020, despite protests from the United States, which wanted it extended, removing a significant legal obstacle, analysts said, for Iran to export its drones and carve out its status as a global player in drone technology.

 Hossein Dalirian, a military analyst with close ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, posted a video on his YouTube channel in January in which he said that Iran was exporting drones to Ethiopia and Venezuela. “The Islamic Republic has long reached mass production level in the production of various drones including military surveillance and suicide drones and now has a very large stock,” Mr. Dalirian said by direct message. “Because the drones are effective and some countries have been enthusiastic about the drones, in recent years Iran has been exporting drones such as New Mohajer-2 (M2-N) and Mohajer-6 (M6) and even Ababil (AB-2).”

 Iran has both political and financial incentives to sell drones to such countries, as well as supplying them to proxy groups as part of its regional policy in the Middle East. The sales allow Tehran to build international links in defiance of Western efforts to isolate it and provide an additional source of revenue alongside oil sold in contravention of sanctions. “They have created this viable drone capacity, so it is no surprise that other countries are interested in obtaining such technologies,” said Farzin Nadimi, a military analyst and associate fellow at the Washington Institute who specializes in Iran’s defense industry. “Iranian drones should be taken seriously as a weapon,” he said.

 PRAY: Pray that Iran’s continual sale of drones to people with bad intentions will be stopped and peace will reign in the region.

World Economic Forum Pushes for End to Private Ownership

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a paper calling for the end of “wasteful” private car ownership. The WEF argued that communal sharing of cars would lessen global demands for precious metals and fossil fuels. The WEF’s July 18 paper titled “3 circular economy approaches to reduce demand for critical metals” began by saying, “We need a clean energy revolution, and we need it now.” The article continued, “But this transition from fossil fuels to renewables will need large supplies of critical metals such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, to name a few. Shortages of these critical minerals could raise the costs of clean energy technologies.”

 The WEF went on to state that while mining more is one route, doing so could produce “unintended consequences,” and therefore “it is time to look beyond” the current solution and consider “three mindset changes” that can “help reduce demand for critical metals.” The WEF stated “Be honest, you likely have at least one old mobile phone tucked in the bottom of a drawer. Possibly an unused hard drive taking up space too. You aren’t alone.” According to the paper, “The average car or van in England is driven just 4% of the time.”

 The WEF argued for people to sell their cars, walk or share vehicles because “Car sharing platforms such as Getaround and BlueSG have already seized that opportunity to offer vehicles where you pay per hour used.” However, the organization which promotes the “Great Reset” did not stop there. They went on to say this theory could be applied to everything from cars to private homes. The first change encourages people to “Go from owning to using. More sharing can reduce ownership of idle equipment and thus material usage. To enable a broader transition from ownership to usership, the way we design things and systems need to change too.” The group suggested items such as cars could utilize “user profiles” that “create a distinction for work and personal use on the same device” allowing for the “number of devices per person” to be reduced.

 The WEF added, “A design process that focuses on fulfilling the underlying need instead of designing for product purchasing is fundamental to this transition. This is the mindset needed to redesign cities to reduce private vehicles and other usages.” The group continued, “This transition to a fully circular model is now more urgent than ever. If we are to move forward, we need to reconsider at a systemic level how much we use, as well as how we can reduce usage. Unless we can dramatically reduce current metal usage, the debate and tension on finding new mines will not go away.”   

 Biblical Connection: While Christians should want to be stewards of God’s world, a push away from private ownership is contrary to the God’s Word. The Old Testament Law made private property an important feature of Israelite society. While Christians should help others in need, there is nothing in the Bible that states Christians should not have their own property and goods. However, this push should not come as a shock to readers of Biblical prophecy. Revelation 13:16-17 states “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Policies like these, if successful, could make it much simpler for the Antichrist and the False Prophet to strip away property and ownership rights in a future Tribulation time.

 PRAY: Pray that these types of pushes that go against the Word of God will be stopped.

The Taliban and Russia Cozying up Over Oil Sales

While many in the West thought that sanctions against Russian goods, including oil, would bring Russia to the negotiating table with Ukraine, Russia has been able to remain afloat financially because of their relationships with less than desirable nations, first Iran and now Afghanistan. Taliban officials and Moscow are finalizing a deal that would allow the isolated rulers of Afghanistan to purchase much-needed fuel while helping prop up Russia's heavily sanctioned economy. A delegation of Taliban officials met in Moscow to negotiate a deal with their Russian counterparts to secure imports of wheat, gas and oil. The negotiations come as the Taliban seek to thaw the diplomatic freeze that followed their armed takeover of Afghanistan last year and as Russia sidesteps Western sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine. An unnamed source in Afghanistan's office of the Minister of Commerce and Industry told Reuters that the contracts are expected to be finalized soon.

 No government has formally recognized the Taliban's government after the hardline Islamist group seized power after the U.S. withdrew its presence last year. But Russia, China and other countries antagonistic toward the U.S. have kept their embassies open in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul. Saddled with severe economic sanctions since the war began in February, Russia has also hosted talks with Taliban trade officials. Afghanistan already gets the majority of its food and oil from Russia and trade between the two amounts to $200 million annually, according to Afghanistan's TOLOnews. Russia already offers less expensive wheat and oil, the news outlet reported, citing the country's Chamber of Commerce and Investment.

 Oil exports have been a key economic lifeline for Russia. Despite the sanctions, Russia saw roughly $93 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports during the first 100 days of its invasion of Ukraine. Demand for Russian energy was driven primarily by China and India. Additionally, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France and Poland also helped keep demand for Russian energy high despite the sanctions.

 While Russia has not sold as much oil as previous years, because of the rising cost of oil globally over the summer, they have actually made greater revenue. "Import volumes fell modestly in May, around 15% compared with the time before the invasion, as many countries and firms shunned Russian supplies.” However, reduced demand and lower price for Russian oil cost the country about $200 million a day in May but rising demand globally for fossil fuels has meant Russia's average export prices remained 60 percent higher than last year. Thus, any thought that a lack of oil sales would force Putin to negotiate will definitely not come to pass, especially with the winter months coming to Western Europe and a greater need to oil to possible break oil sanctions.

 While trade deals between Russia and the Taliban may be near, other barriers may prevent the two from exchanging goods. Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban's acting minister of Commerce and Industry, told TOLOnews that most of the Afghan and Russian banks remain under sanctions, meaning a third country will facilitate the exchange of money. "Some of our technical teams are still in Russia and they want to work on the details, such as what kind of money transfers we may have," said Azizi. Even still, nothing good can come from Russia making deals with the Taliban.

 Biblical Connection: Russia getting more and more involved with the Middle East instead of the West makes complete sense from a biblical perspective. One day in the future, Russia will make an alliance with several Middle Eastern nations in an attempt to destroy Israel (Ezekiel 38-39). We can only expect Russia to continue to push towards the Middle East in the future.

 PRAY: Pray that God’s will, even in areas that we sometimes do not understand, will continue to be accomplished and His plans will push forward.

Court rules Christians can’t be forced by the government to perform abortions, gender reassignment surgeries

Last week, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule that would have required doctors to perform abortions and gender reassignment surgeries. In a unanimous opinion, the Fifth Circuit Court upheld a 2021 permanent injunction by a lower court that shielded Christian groups from anti-discrimination lawsuits under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race and national origin.

 The Department of Health and Human Services had been working on implementing the Biden administration’s “Notice and Guidance on Gender Affirming Care” agenda. This would have forced doctors to perform abortion and body mutilating “gender transition” surgeries, even if they were morally opposed to the practices.

 HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra claimed “This proposed rule ensures that people nationwide can access health care, free from discrimination. Standing with communities in need is critical, particularly given increased attacks on women, trans youth, and health care providers. Health care should be a right not dependent on looks, location, love, language, or the type of care someone needs.”

 In 2016 the Obama administration tried to require healthcare providers to perform gender transition procedures, including on minors, even if the providers held sincere religious objections. The Obama-era mandate was challenged in court by multiple groups, and was eventually repealed during the Trump administration, only to be revived by the Biden administration.

 In August 2021, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a permanent injunction against a similar mandate that required medical facilities and health insurers to cover or to provide abortions and gender transition procedures. O’Connor issued the permanent injunction in the case of Franciscan Alliance, Inc. et al. v. Xavier Becerra, concluding that the mandate violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. “No party disputes that the Transgender Mandate threatens to burden Christian Plaintiffs’ religious exercise … by placing substantial pressure on Christian Plaintiffs, in the form of fines and civil liability, to perform and provide insurance coverage for gender-transition procedures and abortions,” he wrote.

 Luke Goodrich of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty was critical of the proposed rule, telling The Christian Post that it was “yet another proposal to force doctors and hospitals across the country to perform gender transitions and abortions in violation of their conscience and medical judgment. This has been the announced policy of the administration since the first day President Biden took office.”

 Goodrich commented that if they had lost, the Biden administration would have declared “open season” on religious hospitals that objected to gender transitions.

 Joseph Davis, also of the Becket Fund, called this ruling “a major victory for conscience rights and compassionate medical care in America. Doctors cannot do their jobs and comply with the Hippocratic Oath if the government requires them to perform harmful, irreversible procedures against their conscience and medical expertise.”

 Biblical Connection: One of the many sins that the Canaanites committed that caused God to bring judgment on them was sacrificing their children for their benefit and pleasure (Leviticus 18:21, Deuteronomy 12:29-31).

 PRAISE: This is a major victory reinforcing the rights of Christian medical groups and providers to not to be forced into performing surgeries going against their sincerely held religious beliefs.

Israeli Persecution in the Media

When President Joe Biden visited Israel and Saudi Arabia, the eyes of the global mainstream media were trained on the citizens and leaders of the epicenter as they covered the Biden trip every step of the way. Yet an exclusive new poll commissioned by ALL ISRAEL NEWS reveals that Americans have a staggeringly low degree of trust in the mainstream media, and a significant degree of outright anger at journalists and their editors for how they cover events and trends affecting the Jewish state.

 What’s more, the survey reveals that a large number of Americans describe themselves as downright “angry” at the mainstream media and want to find a new source of news and analysis to help them understand what’s happening in Israel and why it should matter to them. Among American Evangelicals, the survey revealed far lower trust in the mainstream media than the general population. That said, the survey also found there is a noteworthy gap between how Evangelicals of different races view the media. The term “mainstream media” generally refers to well-known news gathering corporations and organizations in the U.S. and around the world operating in the print, broadcast, cable, and/or digital spaces. These include The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, and the major broadcast news networks, among others.

 Here is the specific question that were asked in the survey: When it comes to media coverage of Israel, which statement best reflects your view? The results show that only 30% of Americans age 18 and old who were surveyed say they trust the mainstream media’s coverage of Israel. Half of all Americans (49%) say they do not trust the mainstream media’s coverage of Israel or are downright angry about the media and looking for an alternative source of news and information about Israel. Of these, nearly a third of all Americans (31%) say they do not trust the media’s coverage of Israel because they find such coverage is too often “unfair, dishonest, and biased against Israel.” Nearly 1-in-5 Americans (18%) say that they are angry at the media and looking for a news service covering Israel that they can trust.

 Particularly significant is the fact that 18% of Americans are so turned off by the mainstream media’s dishonesty and bias against Israel that they are interested in finding a news service covering Israel that they can trust. That means 46 million Americans of all religions, races and regions wish they could find a credible, honest, trustworthy alternative source of news and analysis regarding Israel and the Middle East. When it comes specifically to born again Evangelical Christians, the numbers are even more striking. Only 25.6% of American Evangelicals say they trust the mainstream media’s coverage of Israel. Almost 6-in-10 Evangelicals (57.4%) say they do not trust the mainstream media’s coverage of Israel or are downright angry about the media and looking for an alternative source of news and information about Israel. Of these, 38.7% say they do not trust the media’s coverage of Israel because they find such coverage is too often “unfair, dishonest, and biased against Israel.”

 Biblical Connection: While antisemitism in the media comes as no real surprise, it is significant that Israel consistently is treated unfairly in both the media and the United Nations. This type of mindset will make it very easy for the Antichrist to persecute the Jewish people during the Tribulation period (Revelation 12-13), just like Hitler was able to use a similar mindset during the events of the Holocaust.

 PRAY: Pray these antisemitic tendencies will continue to be called out and the media will treat Israel in a fairer manner.

Morocco Opening New Embassy in Israel

After a year of waiting, Israel announced the new opening of a Moroccan embassy in the country as confirmed by Yair Lapid, head of Israeli diplomacy. No exact details have yet been given as to when this new phase of good diplomatic relations will officially begin, but it will be available from this summer onwards. Lapid did say that Nasser Bourita, the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister, is expected to pay an official visit to the Hebrew state to welcome the embassy in September. Thus, the relationship between the two peoples, which is constantly developing, is again being consolidated.

The opening of the embassy has been on the table for a year now. Moreover, this coincided with the Kingdom’s decision to transform its liaison offices into official embassies. These changes corresponded with Yair Lapid’s visit to the Alawi kingdom in the summer of last year. This trip was a historic moment in Moroccan-Israeli relations, marking a turning point in ties between the two nations. “Following our visit to Morocco, we have decided, together with the Moroccan Foreign Ministry, to raise the level of diplomatic relations with the Kingdom and transform the two Liaison Offices into two Embassies,” Lapid said on his visit to the country.

The head of Israeli diplomacy stayed in Morocco for two days, where he took it upon himself to accentuate relations between the two sides. In addition to the announcement of the opening, Lapid also inaugurated the Israeli diplomatic mission in Rabat and was responsible first-hand for signing several cooperation agreements. This move is very groundbreaking, as Morocco is roughly 99% Muslim. Many foreign policy experts think that as more and more predominately Muslim nations continue to create international relationships with Israel, it will open the door for other nations to create these relationships as well. However, some do caution that if Israel continues to make new friends in the Middle East and Northern Africa, Iran could feel threatened to quicken their plans for any attack on Israel.

Although the opening of the embassy comes later than expected, the two countries began working on the next steps to establish the embassy last year. In October 2021, Israel announced that Morocco already had an ambassador on its territory. David Govrin accepted his new position as ambassador after moving from being the director of the Israel Liaison Office in Rabat.

The Abraham Accords pushed to establish relations between the two countries. The two countries jointly signed the normalization and restoration of their relations after years of tension and no contact. This new treaty, orchestrated under the administration of former US President Donald Trump, has allowed the Hebrew state to improve ties with some Arab nations and has developed new ties and forms of cooperation between all parties involved. Since that time, the two countries have not stopped establishing agreements and treaties in key sectors of their economies. These have been determining factors that have shown that Morocco and Israel have left the past behind and see a joint future of peace and stability.

In early July, there was hope in Israel that Saudi Arabia was warming to relations when they agreed to open their airspace to Israelite travel planes. However, Saudi Arabia’s decision to grant Israeli airlines the right to fly through its airspace is not a step in the direction of normalization, the country’s deputy ambassador to the UN Mohammed Al-Ateeq said. “The decision to allow the use of our airspace to all airlines is in line with our international obligations,” Ateeq told the UN Security Council on during its monthly meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “This step will not be a prelude to other steps,” he said.

Biblical Connections: Genesis 12:3 states, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

PRAY: Pray that more nations will continue to open relations with Israel and they will be able to create allies in their region.

China’s Rapid Expansion a Problem for the West?

House Republicans are warning that China’s “rapid expansion and militarization” of the Indo-Pacific is a “significant threat” to the United States and allies around the globe, while the Biden administration maintains it has made its concerns “clear” about Beijing’s “shadowy, unspecified deals” in the region. Republican Rep. Lance Gooden led Republican colleagues Nancy Mace, Ken Buck, Lisa McClain and Louie Gohmert in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. It warned that if China is “left unchecked,” the U.S. and allies “will be unprepared and unable to respond to China’s presence in the region…China’s rapid expansion and militarization of the Indo-Pacific region is a significant threat to the United States and our allies across the globe.” They noted that, in recent years, China “has used coercion and intimidation to demand policy changes, assert illegal maritime claims, and threaten countries that work with the United States or our allies.

One example Gooden gave was Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visiting several Indo-Pacific countries in recent weeks to “expand China’s military presence in the region” — specifically the Solomon Islands, which recently signed a security agreement with China allowing the PRC to “send military personnel and Chinese warships to utilize their ports for ‘logistical replenishment…This agreement establishes a concerning precedent and could begin a domino effect destabilizing the entire region,” Gooden wrote. Gooden and Republicans demanded Blinken “undertake all necessary measures to strengthen existing and foster new relationships in the strategic Indo-Pacific region to counter China’s growing influence.”

Gooden pointed to the U.S. treaty with the Republic of Kiribati, which has been in place since 1979, and prohibits Kiribati from “making facilities for military purposes available to third parties except with the agreement of the United States…Despite this treaty, the PRC has previously had a military operation under the guise of a space tracking station on Kiribati’s South Tarawa Island,” they wrote. “Due to China’s growing influence in the region, there are concerns that this facility may reopen in direct violation of our agreement with the Republic of Kiribati.” 

A State Department spokesperson stated that the department “appreciate(s) the bicameral and bipartisan support from Congress for deeper engagement in the Indo-Pacific…As we have said before, we must match action with our policies,” the spokesperson told Fox News. “The president has urged Congress to pass the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which would authorize over $3.25 billion in diplomatic and foreign assistance resources for the Indo-Pacific.” The State Department spokesperson said the Biden administration envisions an Indo-Pacific that is “open, connected, prosperous, resilient and secure — and we are ready to work together with each nation to achieve it.”

The Biden administration is continuing to broaden engagement in the region, the spokesperson said, referring to President Biden’s recent trip to Japan and Blinken’s trip to the Pacific Islands. “As we have said, each nation will make its own sovereign decisions,” the spokesperson told Fox News. “We, along with allies and partners, including those in the region, have made our concerns clear about China’s shadowy, unspecified deals with little regional consultation.” The administration welcomes “contributions by the PRC to regional development, so long as it adheres to high standards, including in areas such as transparency, the rule of law, sustainable financing and respect for the autonomy of development aid recipients.”

Biblical Connection: While China is not necessarily named in the Bible, the fact that they represent a secular society that continually persecutes Christians should warn believers of the types of governments and political movements that will occur during the Tribulation, where Christianity will be outlawed and massive persecution and martyrdoms will occur (Revelation 6:9-11). 

PRAY: Pray that China’s continual push to expand and persecute will be stopped and religious freedom will be restored in the region.

Britain Continues Attack on Traditional Christian Beliefs of Gender

A London-based employment tribunal has ruled that the British Equality Act protects Christians’ beliefs that do not affirm transgenderism, but they cannot express those beliefs in the workplace. The Employment Appeal Tribunal in London delivered the judgment in a case concerning a Christian doctor whose work contract was terminated over his refusal to refer to a man as a woman.

 In July 2018, Dr. David Mackereth, an A&E doctor with 30 years of experience, was forced out of his job in the Department of Work and Pensions. He subsequently took his case to the tribunal which ruled that biblical beliefs on gender are “incompatible with human dignity” and not “worthy of respect in a democratic society.” The doctor then sought to challenge that ruling.  At first read, this judgment sounded very favorable. It means that the belief that God created humans as male and female and not transgender is a protected belief under both the Equality Act and the Human Rights Act, said the British charity Christian Concern, whose legal arm, the Christian Legal Centre, represented the Christian doctor. “Furthermore, it means that more narrow beliefs flowing from that core belief, such as that affirming a transgendered person in their gender identity belief is harmful, are also protected. The right not to believe in transgenderism is also protected,” Christian Concern added.

 However, the appeals tribunal also affirmed that “while the belief, or lack of belief, in transgenderism was protected, its manifestation in the workplace was qualified.” Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, called the judgment “confusing and muddled…The way in which the judge has driven a wedge between holding a belief and manifesting it means these basic Christian beliefs are protected on paper but not in practice,” Williams said. “The freedom to hold a belief, but not be able to express it, is no freedom at all,” he added.

 Mackereth said during proceedings that he was asked in a conversation by his line manager: “If you have a man 6 foot tall with a beard who says he wants to be addressed as ‘she’ and ‘Mrs,’ would you do that?” And Mackereth replied that in good conscience, he could not. His contract was subsequently terminated.

 Mackereth said he was grateful to the court for at least “recognizing that a belief that we are made by God, both male and female ‘in His image’ is not incompatible with human dignity.” However, he also said he will be taking the case to a higher court. Mackereth said everyone in the NHS should be able to say “publicly without fear that a person cannot change sex, but instead we are being forced to accept a massive change to our concept of the medical reality of sex, with no scientific basis for that change.” He continued: “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. But we cannot love people truly when we live and disseminate a lie. If we are to tell patients that they need to ‘follow the science’, then we must not tell them that they can change sex.”

 Biblical Connections: Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 that, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” We are clearly seeing a change in Western culture in which Christianity is tolerated only as long as it does not offend someone else. The moment someone becomes offended, religious freedom is placated.

 PRAY: Pray that this drive in Western culture toward ungodliness would stop and Christian principles and truth would be put back into the public square.

Woke Culture is a Great Threat to Religious Freedom

The head of a noted religious freedom advocacy organization cited “the dominance of woke culture that thinks it’s OK to silence people who disagree” as the greatest threat to religious freedom in the United States and around the world. Michael Farris, president and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, explained that many people, especially Christians, find themselves on “the receiving end of efforts to silence them, to cause them to lose their careers” and “not have the ability to even get their opinions out in public society,” Farris said “the dominance of woke culture that thinks it’s OK to silence people who disagree is very dangerous in many respects for freedom of speech and freedom of religion” in the U.S.

 Farris stated that “in some sectors of the world,” the greatest threat to religious freedom is “the same as the United States,” specifically, “the imperialism of woke culture.” He maintained that the “totalitarian mood” behind woke culture extends to the dominant orthodoxies in other countries as well: “In India, for example, Hindu nationalism operates on a very, very egregious basis and tries to close down people that are differing…I was in India just a few weeks ago and met with a young man who was beaten by the police for simply praying out loud on a neighborhood balcony of an apartment,” he said. “He was charged with a crime of forcible conversion. All he was doing was praying for his uncle’s healing.”

 Farris cited the intolerance of Hindu nationalists in India as well as woke culture in the U.S. as examples of how “we’re in a mood of the world where diversity of opinion is not being tolerated. There’s pressure to adhere to whatever the prevailing viewpoint is in a particular country, whether that’s Hindu nationalism or left-wing cultural wokeism. Get in line or face the consequences is the mood in way too many places in the world,” he said, stressing that “it’s relatively a small, very vocal, very vicious minority that wants to silence people, especially in this country.

 “I don’t think that the majority of Americans support this,” he added, noting that “waking up the big middle of the country to what’s happening” is a necessary step in reversing the trend of intolerance because “most Americans still believe in their heart that everybody should be able to say whatever they want and not suffer the consequences of being subjected to mob violence.” Farris recalled that earlier this year, one of his colleagues, ADF General Counsel Kristen Waggoner, had a mob try to “drown her out” as she addressed students at Yale Law School. At the same time, he expressed hope that “America can listen to its better angels and not listen to people who really want to pursue what I believe to be an un-American position of silencing those that you disagree with.”

 Agreeing that “Christians who hold biblical views on sexuality, gender and abortion are not being tolerated in the public square,” Farris identified “most college campuses or most public schools” as the most hostile environments for those with such beliefs: “It is very, very difficult to be able to communicate your views as a Christian and there is punishment being metered out.” Farris elaborated on his concerns with American education, noting that he had been “litigating cases” involving a tug of war between parents and schools and teachers over what is taught in public schools surrounding sex and gender for 40 years. “There has been some level of this that’s been going on at least that long,” he asserted. Farris said one change in education policy that has already materialized is a doubling of the homeschool population in the last couple of years: “It went from 5 percent of the school-aged population to about 10 percent.”

 Farris attributed the ascendance of critical theory and other concerning curriculum in schools to the fact that “school districts are organized in a way that the teachers’ union has an outsized influence in a number of ways.” He also explained that “the general education establishment, if you’re starting with the teachers’ colleges in the country that control a lot of what happens downstream, has pretty much bought into the culturally woke agenda.”

 Biblical Connection: The early church faced a similar issue when first the Jews and then the Romans tried to silence their voices through persecution and even death. However, the believers stood strong in their faith and continued to spread the Gospel.

 PRAY: Pray for those who are in danger of persecution but also pray that this tide will shift, and many parts of the world will turn back to religious freedom.

What Is the Impact of Reversing Roe v. Wade?

At any moment, the Supreme Court will release their decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case over a Mississippi law which bans abortion after 15 weeks. In 1973, Roe v. Wade establish abortion on-demand as a federal right. In the almost 50 years since, the Supreme Court has repeatedly blocked a multitude of commonsense pro-life state laws from going into effect.

 When Roe v. Wade was decided, babies were considered viable (able to survive) at 28 weeks. Today, with aggressive medical care, premature babies are able to survive at 22 weeks or even earlier.

 God’s Word reminds us, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Since 1973, medical science has “caught up” to prove that an unborn child is indeed a human life. As early as 5 weeks, babies in the womb have a heartbeat, blood vessels forming a circulatory system, and the brain and spinal cord are begining to develop. At 10 weeks babies have arms, legs, fingers and toes. And at 15 weeks, babies have a fully developed heart, nose, lips, eyelids and eyebrows. They can yawn, hiccup and suck their thumbs … and they can feel pain.

 This momentous decision could immediately enact pro-life laws across America. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 10 states have provisions to ban all or nearly all abortions; four states have passed an amendment declaring their state constitution does not secure or protect the right to abortion or allow the use of public funds for abortion; and 17 states have laws banning abortion at or before 20 weeks.

 Last month, after a draft of Dobbs was leaked, crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life advocacy groups, and churches were targeted. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America released a report listing over 40 incidents of violence and vandalism including activists throwing Molotov cocktails and setting fire to the offices of Wisconsin Family Action in Madison and the offices of Oregon Right to Life.

 Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group’s president, commented “Every abortion is an act of violence – violence against the unborn child who is killed and violence against the mother who is wounded in one of the deepest ways possible. In contrast to that inherent violence, the vast network of pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and other organizations across America exist to peacefully and lovingly serve women and families.”

 Also upset with the Dobbs leak, Nicholas John Roske, armed with a gun and a knife, was arrested near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and was charged with attempted assassination. Just yesterday, Roske, who has admitted to flying across country to kill Justice Kavanaugh, pled not guilty. A tentative trial date has been set for August 23, but it remains to be seen what the outcome will be.

When the final Dobbs decision is released, there is a very real threat of escalating violence and destruction. Jane’s Revenge, a radical pro-abortion group, has declared “open season” on pro-life institutions that do not shut down threatening, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.” They have promised additional attacks saying it “will not stop” or “hesitate to strike” until abortion’s legality is secure.

 PRAY: Pray for safety for the justices of the Supreme Court. Pray for the protection of crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life advocacy groups. In addition to praying, commit to coming alongside those groups who provide pregnant mothers and their children and families with much needed resources that help them embrace life.

46 Retired Generals, Admirals Urge Against Iran Nuclear Deal

In an open letter to President Biden, 46 retired U.S. generals and admirals voiced their opposition to the ongoing negotiations with Iran on striking a nuclear deal. “In Ukraine, we are bearing witness to the horrors of a country ruthlessly attacking its neighbor and, by brandishing its nuclear weapons, forcing the rest of the world largely to stand on the sidelines,” the letter, penned in coordination with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), said. “The new Iran deal currently being negotiated, which Russia has played a central role in crafting, will enable the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism to cast its own nuclear shadow over the Middle East.”

 Retired Air Force Gen. Charles Wald, who also formerly served as deputy commander of U.S, European Command, said he supports finding a solution to the nuclear issue in the Middle East through diplomacy, but argued no deal is better than a bad deal.

 “The idea of an agreement is a good idea. We agree with diplomacy,” Wald told Fox News. “But we agreed with a fair agreement that would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon breakout and then have weapons delivery systems that would then change the dynamic in the Middle East – particularly for Israel but all other countries too.” Wald said one of his chief concerns with the latest deal is that the Biden administration is not considering Iran’s role in fueling terrorism and backing rebel groups in the war in Yemen – a war that has prompted one of the greatest humanitarian crises.

 President Biden made re-entering a nuclear agreement with Iran a chief priority of his administration and indirect talks through European allies have been on and off for roughly a year. But reports surfaced suggesting the administration was considering a request from Iran to remove its top military branch, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. In exchange, the U.S. has called on Iran to end its support for terrorist organizations fueling unrest in the region – but several groups from Iranian American scientists to retired military commanders have little faith Iran will live up to this commitment. “That’s a red flag,” Wald said in reference to removing the IRGC as a designated terrorist group. “That just doesn’t sit well with us because the IRGC is the most malicious group in the region.”

The retired general said the death of 600 U.S. military members could be attributed “directly” to IRGC, and noted they continue to attack U.S. and allied forces in the region. Talks between western nations and Iran appeared to be stalled and officials involved in the negotiations remain tight-lipped on deal specifics. Wald said he would need to see “unfettered access by the IAEA” and assurances that Iran will not continue with its ballistic missile system even if a nuclear agreement is reached, in order for him to support a deal with Iran.

 “The Iranians will push up to the point where they know something bad is going happen to them,” Wald continued. “So the more difficult we make for them to operate with impunity, the more they’re going to take advantage of it.”

 Just last week it was reported that thankfully the Biden administration will not agree to removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the State Department’s list of foreign terrorists, thus stalling negotiations for the time being. However, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has warned the world that Iran is weeks away from having the necessary materials for a nuclear weapon.

 PRAY: Pray for President Biden to heed the warnings about Iran and to work to keep them from nuclear capability.

America More Indifferent to Religion but More Accepting of Jesus

According to a new poll by Ipsos, nearly four out of 10 adults living in the United States believe that religion makes the country stronger, while fewer than one in 10 believe it makes it weaker. In a study titled “Jesus in America” released and written as a partnership between Ipsos and the Episcopal Church, 38% of respondents said they believe that religion in the U.S. “makes the country stronger,” which was the most popular response.

 By contrast, 28% of respondents said they believe religion in the U.S. “divides the country,” while 20% said they did not know, and 7% said it had “no effect.” Only 6% said they believe religion “makes the country weaker.” Those who said they believe religion “divides the country” included 21% of Christian respondents, 38% of respondents belonging to other religions and 50% of non-religious respondents. For their data, they used a survey of 3,119 U.S. adults conducted from Nov. 22 to Dec. 2, 2021, with a margin of error of +/- 2.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

 This 38% number is substantially smaller than previous polling. For example, according to a Pew Research Center report released in November 2019, 55% of respondents believed that religion did “more good than harm” to society. Thus, in only three years, a 15 percent decrease has occurred in the American mindset based on this data. It is also important to note that this is not Christian specific data, but shows that Americans are more hesitant to think any religious beliefs are of value. Certainly, events such as September 11th and the War on Terror have impacted these figures as well. Many Millennials have grown up with America at war for much of their lifetime and blame religion for much of that situation.  

 The data in the study backs up this idea. The study reported that Generation Z Americans — those born after 1996 — were slightly less likely to be non-religious than millennials (Gen Y), who were born between 1981 and 1996. According to the survey, 24% of Gen Z respondents identify as non-religious, while 28% of millennials identified the same. By contrast, 12% of baby boomers and 18% of Generation X identify as non-religious. If this data holds up, then Generation Z would be the first generation to slow this rapid decline in several generations.

However, one of the dangers that comes with both Millennials and even Gen Z is that they tend to be more “spiritual minded” than religious. They may believe in a higher power or different aspects of spirituality, such as karma, meditation, etc., but not necessarily in an organized religion. Interestingly, even though the numbers believing religion is helpful for the nation have declined, the views on Jesus have shifted in a much more positive direction. Among respondents who said their opinion of Jesus had shifted within the last five to eight years, 76% of Gen Z said their opinion changed to be positive, while 65% of millennials said the same.

 Therefore, there clearly seems to be a disconnect in younger generations between religion, even Christianity, and Jesus Himself. There is a much stronger acceptance of Jesus than Christianity or religion at large. Perhaps this has occurred from a misunderstanding of Jesus, viewing Him as a sage or teacher instead of God Himself, or this could be simply a reaction to the many scandals that have unfortunately played Christianity over the past decade. Regardless of the reason, the data, while alarming at first, may actually point to a more acceptance of Jesus in the new generations.

 PRAY: Pray that younger generations will continue to show a positive acceptance of not simply the Jesus of culture, but the true Jesus of the Bible, the Son of God and Savior of the world.