| | Court upholds Washington state ban on conversion therapy | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Wednesday, September 7, and today's headlines include a federal appeals court upholding a Washington state law banning LGBT conversion therapy on minors, legal documents that reveal Dave Ramsey's Ramsey Solutions didn't treat an employee's admission of oral sex as a fireable offense, and UMC bishops denouncing the "idolatry of guns." | | A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Washington’s conversion therapy ban for LGBT minors is constitutional, rejecting Christian therapist Brian Tingley's claims that the ban violated his free speech rights to counsel patients with unwanted same-sex attraction. Circuit Judge Ronald Gould authored the panel opinion, stating that the law "does not violate the First or Fourteenth Amendments" because the state has the power to regulate medical practices. Gould further wrote that state law "does not prevent health care providers from communicating with the public about conversion therapy; expressing their personal views to patients (including minors) about conversion therapy, sexual orientation, or gender identity; practicing conversion therapy on patients over 18 years old; or referring minors seeking conversion therapy to counselors practicing ‘under the auspices of a religious organization’ or health providers in other states." The judge also cautioned that striking down Washington's law on First Amendment grounds "would endanger other regulations on the practice of medicine where speech is part of the treatment." The Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Tingley, plans to file an appeal, with attorney Roger Brooks telling Reuters that "the government has no business censoring conversations between clients and counselors." Read more. | | P.S. Get rewarded for sharing our newsletters! We are excited to announce the CP referral program—the more you share, the more you earn. Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to get started today! |
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| Legal docs show oral sex wasn't a fireable offense at Dave Ramsey's company | | A former administrative assistant at Ramsey Solutions was fired for having premarital sex, which led to pregnancy. The former worker, Caitlin O'Connor, has since filed a lawsuit against the company where employees are expected to adhere to a "righteous living values" policy based on Judeo-Christian principles or face discipline. However, court documents show that one employee's oral sex outside marriage was not treated as a fireable offense by Evangelical CEO Dave Ramsey and his board because it didn't qualify as "intercourse." During a 2021 video deposition, Ramsey told lawyers for O'Connor that reviewing the other employee's case was difficult because company leaders had not had much experience dealing with a case where an employee had confessed to just oral sex. That employee, Chris Hogan, eventually confessed to more than just oral sex, which ultimately led to the end of his relationship with Ramsey Solutions. Read more. | | UMC bishops support assault weapons ban | | The United Methodist Church Council of Bishops unanimously approved an open letter last month that denounces what they call the "idolatry of guns" and calls on measures to be taken to curb gun violence in the United States, including restoring a ban on so-called assault weapons. The "A Call to Prayer and Action in Response to Gun Violence" letter, which was officially released to the UMC last week, encourages prayer through the month of September on the issue of gun violence, labeling it "a call to action for all to weep with those who weep and demand, insist on, and push for positive change from our elected officials." Read more. |
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| An open letter to young men and women in ministry (part 3) | | In part three of his multi-part series, Wallace B. Henley shares advice with young men and women in ministry. Henley urges young people to remain continual students and to "plant wherever you are, no matter how you got there, and whether you like it or not." Read more. | | The teen mental health crisis: How do we respond? | | John Stonestreet and Kasey Leander write about the teen mental health crisis and how technology and social media have contributed to teens' anxiety, depression, and self-harm. In discussing how best to help teens, the duo quotes New York Times journalist Matt Richtel's recent comments on "The Daily" podcast: "We are prescribing medications in the absence of dealing with … fundamental structural changes that we have not addressed as a society." Read more. |
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| Have Millions of American Christians Confused Politics with the Gospel? | | In this penetrating, carefully documented, no-holds barred book, biblical scholar and cultural commentator Dr. Michael Brown explains how millions of sincere Christians wrapped the gospel in the American flag and got so caught up in partisan politics that President Trump, almost more than Jesus, became the rallying point of their faith. Learn More | | |
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| Podcast: Colton Dixon talks faith, music | | In this episode of "The Crossmap Podcast," Dove Award-winning singer Colton Dixon talks about trusting God amid the uncertainty of his career. Colton discusses career highs such as becoming an "American Idol" Top-7 finalist, releasing three No. 1 contemporary Christian albums and winning two Dove Awards, as well as the unexpected roadblock he faced when his record label dropped him. With support and prayer from his wife, Colton eventually signed a new record deal and released an EP that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Christian charts. Listen now. |
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| Britney Spears: ‘I'm an atheist y’all’ | | Pop superstar Britney Spears is making headlines for declaring "I'm an atheist, y'all" in a profanity-laced audio recording posted on Instagram that was reshared on YouTube Monday after "60 Minutes Australia" aired an interview with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, and their son, Jayden. Spears claimed that if God really existed, she wouldn't have suffered or lost the autonomy to make her own decisions for 13 years, saying, "God would not [have allowed] that to happen to me if God existed. I don't believe in God anymore because of the way my children and my family have treated me." The singer's father, James "Jamie" Spears, was awarded a conservatorship that included control of her estimated $60 million finances following her 2008 mental breakdown in which she allegedly contemplated suicide following a custody battle a year earlier when Federline was awarded sole custody of their two sons. That year, Spears was photographed by paparazzi shaving her head after she left a Los Angeles rehab center. Spears, who is now free from the conservatorship and recently remarried, released her first song in six years last week. Read more. | | | | Also of Interest... | | Britney Spears Shares Bible Verses With FansJamie Lynn Spears says God helped her mental illness struggles after daughter’s near-death experienceBritney Spears pleads to end 13-year conservatorship; doesn’t believe in therapy, 'takes it to God' | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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