| | Stanford University adds 'American' to its list of 'harmful language' | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Wednesday, December 21, and today's headlines include Stanford University adding "American" to its list of "harmful language," a New York appellate court ordering an Orthodox Jewish university to officially recognize an LGBT student group, and details on A Jesus Mission's documentary, "Into Ukraine: A Story of Being The Church in a Warzone." | | Stanford University, one of the nation’s most prestigious academic institutions, is urging its students not to use the term "American" to avoid "insinuating that the U.S. is the most important country in the Americas." Yet it’s not the first time Stanford or other institutions have altered language policies to reflect the political or cultural climate. This list from CP highlights seven other times political, religious, educational and government entities have tried to strip certain words or gendered language from our lexicon. On the list: the U.S. National Archives Records Association adding a warning alert to the U.S. Constitution, the Episcopal Church dropping gendered pronouns for God, and the Biden administration replacing the word "mother" with "birthing people." Read the full list now. | | P.S. Looking for a way to close out your week? Stay in the know with In Case You Missed It, a Friday-only newsletter that features a roundup of the top stories of the week and a selection of faith-based highlights. Subscribe here. |
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| Court: Jewish university must recognize LGBT student club | | The First Department Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan issued an order last week demanding that Yeshiva University formally recognize the YU Pride Alliance chapter, upholding a lower court ruling. The court concluded that the university is not legally considered a religious body and thus cannot be exempted from being required by law to recognize the LGBT student club, despite its religious objections to homosexuality. The Orthodox Jewish university plans to "continue on appeal to defend against the claim that we are not a religious institution," Yeshiva University spokesperson Hanan Eisenman said in a statement shared with CP. Read more. | | Hillsong founder calls father a ‘serial pedophile' | | Brian Houston, the founder and former global senior pastor of the Hillsong Church network, told a court in Australia that his father, Frank, was a "serial pedophile" but received a retirement package after being defrocked by the Assemblies of God. Australia's ABC News reports that Houston told the Downing Centre Local Court, "I have no doubt now that my father was a serial pedophile, and we'll probably never know the extent of it." Houston was charged last August with failing to report his father's abuse of a young boy following a two-year investigation by the New South Wales Police. Houston, who has denied any wrongdoing, also told the court that he thought his father was not "a danger" due to his failing health, asserting, "There's no evidence that after that season, in the early [1970s] and so on, that he continued to abuse minors." According to court documents, Houston knew about his father's abuse as early as 1999, but he claims that he respected the wishes of his father's victim by not reporting the allegation to authorities. Frank Houston died in 2004. Read more. | | Arkansas church sues UMC conference after disaffiliation rejected, pastor suspended | | A United Methodist Church congregation in Arkansas has filed a complaint seeking a declaration that the UMC does not have "any legal, beneficial, or equitable interest in any of the real or personal property held" by the church. The move comes after First UMC Jonesboro's vote to leave the UMC in July was rejected by the denomination, despite 69% of members voting in favor of disaffiliation. After the UMC Arkansas Conference rejected the disaffiliation, First UMC Senior Pastor John Miles held a second vote where members again voted in favor of disaffiliation. In response, the regional body suspended Miles for holding the Dec. 15 meeting, with Arkansas Bishop Gary Mueller arguing that the vote violated the UMC Book of Discipline. Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | UMC pastor suspended after Arkansas Conference rejects second disaffiliation voteUMC conference rejects 3 Arkansas churches’ disaffiliation requests: 'Uncharted territory' |
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| How God uses dreams and dreamers | | Rev. Samuel Rodriguez reflects on the story of Jacob and Esau and how the past is left behind when you embrace your calling as a Christ follower. Highlighting how God uses dreamers to accomplish His purposes, Rodriguez concludes, "This Christmas, follow the example of Joseph on that first Christmas and all the brave people of God who came before him. Courageously follow the dreams God has placed in your heart." Read more. | | Cambridge Dictionary un-defines ‘man’ and ‘woman’ | | After more than 800 years, the second-oldest English-speaking university has redefined "woman" to appease transgender ideologues, writes Family Research Council's Joshua Arnold. "Cambridge Dictionary’s heterodox re-definition threatens its own purpose for existence. What is the point of a dictionary if definitions are unfixed, if words can mean everything and nothing at any given moment, if a passing emotion supersedes the authority of a printed and published volume? Or, alternatively, what is the point of a dictionary that doesn’t understand the fixed meaning of words? What use can it possibly serve to anyone?" Arnold asks. Read more. |
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| A Story of Divine Intervention | | At 3:30 PM an unsuspecting Marjie received a call that her husband Larry, was hit by a school bus and was in grave condition. Bloody, and in and out of consciousness, Larry was fighting for his life while his family watched. A story of true divine intervention — Pastor Larry and his family witnessed first-hand, the miracle-working power of God and how He can take what the enemy meant for evil, and turn it for good. Read more. | | |
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| Artist could face prison for saying men can't be lesbians, get pregnant | | Lesbian artist Tonje Gjevjon of Norway could face criminal charges and a possible prison sentence for posting on Facebook that men cannot be lesbians, a statement that placed the artist in conflict with Norway's hate speech law. The artist learned on Nov. 17 that she was under investigation by police after she countered the claims of trans-identifying males, who called themselves lesbians, in an October Facebook post. "It’s just as impossible for men to become lesbian as it is for men to become pregnant," Gjevjon wrote. "Men are men regardless of their sexual fetishes." She also criticized trans activist Christine Jentoft, taking issue with "[h]eterosexual lesbian men" like Jentoft speaking as women for "queer" organizations and for using the law to report women like her. Gjevjon believes Norway’s politicians are adopting "gender identity" legislation at the expense of women’s rights. She claims she posted the statement on Facebook to draw attention to the country's hate speech law. Norway's parliament voted to expand the country’s penal code in 2020 to outlaw "hate speech" against individuals that identify as transgender. Read more. |
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| Podcast: Filmmaker talks glorifying God | | Alex Kendrick, one-half of the Kendrick brothers filmmaking team, recently took to "The Women in My World" podcast to discuss the importance of glorifying God and clinging to biblical truths. Kendrick, who reflected on success, delivered a convicting message about not trying to seek worldly accolades. "The more I got into telling stories in the form of feature films and books, Scripture was jumping out at me, and the Lord was pointing to the passages that talk about when you see a Pharisee or someone praying on the street corners to be seen by men, Jesus said that's the only reward they'll ever get," he explained. Listen to the episode now. | | 'Into Ukraine' reveals God's faithfulness, resilience of Church | | A Jesus Mission, a Christian missionary organization that partners with local churches to evangelize, disciple and minister to the lost, is standing in the gap in Ukraine to distribute aid to remote villages impacted by war. With just seven vans, the organization has managed to deliver over one million pounds of food within 5 miles of Russian occupation, and the organization's Andy Zeissman says "the goal is to just keep taking food as close to the frontlines as we can. When we go to villages they have no food, no water and electricity half the time." To encourage the Western church to help those in need both in their own countries and beyond, the organization has released "Into Ukraine: A Story of Being The Church in a Warzone," a documentary that captures their mission of delivering food to the frontlines of the war. The film features footage from trips into villages being shelled, as well as the insights of delivery drivers and missionaries who have worked in Ukraine for years. "Going to Ukraine and seeing families and hearing about their lives firsthand—it changes you," says Zeissman. Learn more and watch the official trailer here. | | | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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