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The Weekly is a highlight of the work the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is doing to strengthen you and our churches for God’s glory.

Key Resolutions from the 2019 SBC Annual Meeting

Last week, messengers to the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, voted to adopt 13 resolutions, eight of which were related to ERLC concerns, issues, and legislative priorities. Here is a recap of the ERLC-related resolutions:

On Celebrating the Advancement of Pro-life Legislation in State Legislatures

This resolution:
• Reaffirms the sanctity of life in the womb; mourns recent actions by state legislatures that roll back protections for human life and expand abortion to the latest stages of a pregnancy;

• Condemns the decisions of Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Ralph Northam of Virginia, J. B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Roy Cooper of North Carolina who have demonstrated their antipathy toward the human dignity of the unborn;

• Celebrates recent bipartisan gains in state legislatures that restrict abortion and promote the sanctity of human life; commends Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana and Republican Govs. Kay Ivey of Alabama, Michael Parson of Missouri, Mike DeWine of Ohio, and Brian Kemp of Georgia for their courage in defending unborn human life against destruction;

• Urges the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn Roe v. Wade so that more states can be empowered to protect by law the human dignity of the most vulnerable.

This Week at the ERLC

Our ERLC policy team met with a number of congressional offices this week, highlighting our recently released Evangelical Statement of Principles on AI and discussing the issue of artificial intelligence in society.

What You Need to Know

Do you remember the names Barronelle Stutzman and Jack Phillips? They each were being sued for not using their artistic expressions to support same-sex marriage. Their cases, in addition to another, are in the news again as the struggle for religious liberty continues. Read Casey B. Hough’s explanation here.

For Christians watching these cases unfold, we should not only pray for Barronelle Stutzman, Jack Phillips, and the Kleins but we should observe their courageous example. Admittedly, it would have been so much easier for them to simply arrange the flowers and bake the cakes. Yet, instead of capitulating to the spirit of the age, they chose to remain true to their religious convictions.

We’re living in a day and age when you can go to church without having to leave your home. More than that, all you have to do is put on a pair of glasses, and you’re transported to the inside of a sanctuary. Jason Thacker writes about this new trend—virtual reality church—and explores its pros and cons. Read his article here.

May the rise of VR spur each of us on to love and serve our communities, not only in Word but also in deed. As we use the tools that God has given us to share the love of Christ across the world, let’s prioritize establishing physical churches.

Courtney Reissig poses an important question to pastors: Do you know who the biblically literate women in your churches are? If not, she says, it’s essential to the mission of God’s Kingdom that you find out and involve them in ministry. Read her important encouragement here.

When men are preparing to enter the ministry, we often talk to them about the importance of surrounding themselves with faithful men. We teach them how to identify future leaders. We teach them how to preach. We encourage them to remain faithful to the Word. But when was the last time you heard a seminary commencement message encourage future pastors to also surround themselves with biblically literate women?

News From Capitol Hill

On Thursday of this week, June 20, the Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, overturned a previous 4th Circuit decision to uphold the constitutionality of a veteran’s memorial cross seated on state-owned land in Bladensburg, Maryland. The Court found that the Establishment Clause of the Constitution aims to foster a society in which people of all beliefs can live together harmoniously, and the presence of the Bladensburg Cross where it has stood for so many years as a part of this local community is fully consistent with that aim.
Russell Moore, president of ERLC, commented on the case:

This is a good, common sense decision from the Court to uphold religious freedom and a nearly century-old memorial. I am thankful the Justices saw through this attempt to amend the Establishment Clause to mean what Madison did not write. As we argued in our brief to the Court, maintaining this memorial cross is hardly an official establishment in law of Christianity. We hope this opinion will lead to clearer, consistent rulings on matters of faith in the public square.

The cross in question is known as the Bladensburg Peace Cross and was erected in 1925 to honor 49 soldiers from the community who lost their lives serving in World War I. The Peace Cross stood for 93 years without objection until in 2014 when the American Humanist Association brought suit claiming that the cross violated the Establishment Clause due to its location and the expenditure of city funds for its upkeep. Jeremy Dys, deputy general counsel for First Liberty, wrote an article for ERLC ahead of the case’s oral argument which tells the story at the heart of this case.
The ERLC commends this decision to maintain the principle of religious freedom in public spaces. The ERLC filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioners alongside a diverse coalition of religious denominations representing more than 55 million Americans. The brief argued for a textualist understanding of the Establishment Clause.
While the decision to uphold this memorial garnered the votes of seven Justices, the Court’s opinion is split into multiple parts and multiple opinions. For more on this Supreme Court win, the ERLC policy team published a Top Quotes article highlighting important pieces from each opinion, concurrence, and dissent.

Featured Podcasts

This week on Signposts, Russell Moore talks to the host of the Happy Hour podcast, Jamie Ivey, about adoption, life in ministry, parenting, and many other things. Listen to their conversation here.

From The Public Square

Marijuana use doubles in US pregnant women to 1 in 14
Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press

Pot use in pregnancy has doubled among U.S. women and is most common during the first trimester, government research shows.

High School Girl Who Lost Race to Transgender Athletes Files Federal Complain
Rachel del Guidice, The Daily Signal

A female high school athlete who didn’t qualify for a track event because two boys who identify as girls ran faster filed a complaint Monday with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

Against commercial surrogacy
Rachel Lu, The Week

The bill has already passed New York's State Senate, but it encountered opposition in the Assembly, where some members have ethical concerns about the practice of paying women to be pregnant.

Supreme Court engages on same-sex marriage cake case, hands win to baker, for now
Devin Dwyer, ABC News

For the second time in as many years, the Supreme Court on Monday engaged on a major religious liberty case involving same-sex marriage, but is sidestepping for now the substantive issue of alleged religion-based discrimination.