| | Republicans urge DOJ to investigate cyberattacks on pro-life websites | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Friday, September 30, and today's headlines include Republican lawmakers who are urging the Justice Department to investigate cyberattacks on pro-life websites, a letter by Catholic League's president calling out the Air Force for pushing gender ideology "fiction," and Museum of the Bible leaders returning a 1,000-year-old handwritten manuscript to a monastery in Greece. | | Thirteen Republican members of the House Oversight Committee have written a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Justice Department to investigate cyberattacks on pro-life websites. The lawmakers expressed concerns about recent attacks on Christian websites and charitable donation portals "due to their support of conservative values and causes" and inquired about the Justice Department's efforts to "enforce federal law related to these politically-motivated cyberattacks intended to chill the speech of religious and conservative Americans." | | The letter further cited a news article reporting on the illegal hacking and publication of the pro-life Christian legal organization Liberty Counsel’s list of donors that occurred shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that triggered the rage of abortion supporters. In publicizing the list, the criminal hackers wrote, "We decided to bring about some much needed radical transparency by taking it upon ourselves to make your list of donors public." The lawmakers' letter emphasizes that citizens "should be free to exercise their rights without fear of malicious cyberattacks." It further stresses that such cyberattacks are illegal and a violation of federal law, asserting such attacks are "clearly intended to chill the right of our citizens to peacefully express their opinions on matters of public importance as well as donations to conservative or religious organizations." Continue reading. | | 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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| Senators demand answers over arrest of pro-life activist | | Twelve Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the Justice Department and the FBI suggesting that federal agents may have violated use-of-force policy when they arrested a Catholic pro-life activist last week. Mark Houck is accused of assaulting a man who was a volunteer reproductive health care clinic escort, but Houck and his supporters say that the father was protecting his 12-year-old son because the escort was attacking them and allegedly got into the son's face after they tried to walk away. When the escort followed them and continued yelling at Houck's son, a fundraiser description for the family says that "Mark pushed him away." The fundraiser further reported that FBI agents showed up at the Houcks' home and "had guns drawn and shields up in the faces of Mark, his wife, and their seven young children," which the FBI denies. The senators' letter asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland if the FBI's actions went against his May 20 memo advising DOJ employees to use "de-escalation tactics and techniques" to gain "voluntary compliance from a subject before using force." It further questioned why the use of force was necessary when Houck's attorney had already "made clear" that he was cooperative with the Justice Department. Read more. | | Museum of the Bible leaders travel to Greece, return 1,000-year-old manuscript | | Leaders from the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. traveled to Greece this week to formally return a handwritten, 1,000-year-old Gospel manuscript looted by Bulgarian troops in 1917. The Museum of the Bible purchased the "Evangelistary Manuscript 220" at a Christie's auction in 2011 without knowing it had been one of the hundreds of priceless objects that were looted from the Theotokos Eikosiphoinissa (Kosinitza) Monastery in Greece during World War I. Museum of the Bible Founder Steve Green, who is also the president of the craft store chain Hobby Lobby, participated in the formal return ceremony on Thursday at the historic monastery in Drama. The event was officiated by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and also attended by Agathangelos Siskos, archivist of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Following the ceremony, Green was awarded the "Grand Cross," which is the highest honor of Metropolis of Drama, by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Xanthi. Read more. | | Catholic League calls out Air Force gender ideology ‘fiction’ for fellowship excluding ‘cisgender’ men | | Catholic League, the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, is criticizing the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) for what it calls a "problematic" fellowship offered only to students who belong to a "gender minority." Catholic League President Bill Donahue expressed concern over the Brooke Owens Fellowship in a Sept. 28 letter sent to USAFA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, writing, "Why is the Air Force Academy peddling this fiction? There is no need to call women ‘cisgender women.’ Nature, and nature’s God, have made it crystal clear that there are only two sexes: man and woman." An application on the fellowship's website states that only students who identify with a gender minority, such as "agender, bigender, two-spirit, demigender, genderfluid" are "eligible to apply" and goes on to state, "If you are a cisgender man, this program isn’t for you." A "cisgender man" is a term coined by transgender activists for a biological male who identifies as a man. The fellowship’s host institutions include Amazon, Boeing, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | Former Marine colonel criticizes military's focus on gender ideology amid Ukraine invasionBiden's trans military policy reversal will have catastrophic consequences, opponents warnMilitary works to boot Christian 'extremists' from its ranksThe surprising roots of gender madness |
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| 3 reasons why Christians shouldn't avoid engaging in politics | | Terri Hasdorff, a former congressional candidate, outlines three reasons Christians should not avoid engaging in politics as supported by Scripture. Hasdorff, who recently penned the book, Running Into the Fire: Why More Christians Need to Be Involved in Politics, asserts, "[P]erhaps our nation, states, cities, counties, and school boards look as they do because we have allowed others to take the role we are supposed to have— a role that God has uniquely equipped us for over anyone else. By abdicating that role, perhaps we have allowed someone else, who is not equipped, to take it instead." Read more. | | But this isn’t how God works | | Much as physical strength doesn't improve overnight, neither does spiritual strength, writes Sarah Freymuth. Slow but steady spiritual growth is experienced in humility, finding strength in submission and the wisdom gained by leaning into God's Word to develop a richer biblical understanding that enables believers to assess situations through a spiritual lens, Freymuth says. Read more. |
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| Former RZIM VP shares regrets during live panel | | Amy Orr-Ewing, the former RZIM senior vice president, recently shared during a live panel discussion that she regrets not "pushing harder" when sexual abuse allegations against the late apologist Ravi Zacharias first emerged. Orr-Ewing, who is now a senior fellow at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, admitted that said had "failed in many ways," explaining that she did not believe she advocated enough or questioned the ministry organization as much as she should have in response to 2017 allegations of sexual misconduct made by Zacharias' former follower Lori Anne Thompson and her husband. A 2021 independent investigative report detailed credible allegations that Zacharias, who passed away in 2020, had engaged in "sexting, unwanted touching, spiritual abuse, and rape" during his lifetime with multiple women. Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | Ravi Zacharias’ daughter launches new apologetics ministry; former employees express concernRZIM can be sued by donors over Ravi Zacharias' sexual misconduct, judge rulesRZIM leader Vince Vitale announces resignation in wake of Ravi Zacharias scandalRZIM says it 'does not agree' with entire explosive Guidepost report, but vows to 'learn' from mistakes |
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| Jamie Grace on being told she's 'not black enough' | | In a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, Christian singer and YouTube star Jamie Grace discussed how she's been ridiculed by those who have accused her of not being "black enough." The Dove Award-winning singer also shared how damaging it is to associate "things like intellect or articulation" with "being anything but black" and explained how people have frequently made comments such as, "You're not black enough" and "You talk like a white girl." In recent years, some of the singer's followers have taken issue with comments she's made about racial issues on social media. Grace revealed in 2020 that she'd lost followers as a result of vocalizing her encounters with racism. Read more. | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again on Monday! -- CP Editors |
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