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Good afternoon! It's Tuesday, December 6, and today's headlines include the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in the case of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, how Twitter is removing content that includes child sexual abuse from its platform, and the U.K. launching an investigation into an LGBT charity that allegedly gave chest binders to teens.
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The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in the case of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a case that is expected to have major implications for religious liberty and freedom of expression. Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing plaintiff Lorie Smith in the case, held a rally outside the Supreme Court as oral arguments took place inside. The case stems from Christian website designer Lorie Smith of 303 Creative challenging the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act out of concern that the law could characterize her objection to creating websites celebrating same-sex marriages as a violation of nondiscrimination protections for LGBT-identified individuals. ADF has argued that the Colorado law is a violation of Smith's First Amendment
rights, which protect her from having to promote a message she disagrees with. Other business owners who have faced such violations of their rights by states and local governments took to the rally to speak out in support of Smith. Meanwhile, counterprotesters, many of whom were affiliated with LGBT activist groups, attempted to drown out the speakers by chanting through megaphones, blowing whistles, broadcasting sirens and profane songs. Continue reading.
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Michael New, an associate scholar at the pro-life research group Charlotte Lozier Institute and assistant professor of social research at The Catholic University of America, says disparities between two reporting institutions' data on abortion highlight the need for federally-mandated reporting requirements. While the Guttmacher Institute's recent report found that the abortion rate increased by 1% in 2020, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted approximately 114,000 fewer abortions than Guttmacher did, "an undercount of more than 16 percent," New explained. The researcher believes the disparities demonstrate "the weakness of federal abortion-reporting requirements." Read more.
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Under Elon Musk, Twitter has nearly doubled its suspension of accounts posting images and videos exploiting child sexual abuse on the platform, according to a cybersecurity expert. However, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation's Lina Nealon says there is still much work to be done. "Any effort Twitter is taking to combat child sexual abuse material and other illegal content on the platform is a step in the right direction. ... However, addressing the bare minimum and making some ethical decisions does not a hero make. It’s easy to say that child protection is a top priority, but Twitter’s actions point to profit being the top priority," Nealon cautioned. Read more.
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More than 400 congregations in Texas have voted to leave The United Methodist Church amid the denomination's ongoing schism over LGBT issues. UMC regional bodies voted to approve the disaffiliation votes of hundreds of churches, with most planning to join the recently created Global Methodist Church. The Dallas Morning News reports that the total number of departing congregations includes 294 of the 598 churches belonging to the Houston-based
Central Texas Conference and 145 of the 201 churches belonging to the Lubbock-based Northwest Texas Conference. Read more.
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Anne Young writes about American Girl publishing a book that teaches young girls about the use of puberty blockers, making permanent changes to their bodies, and going behind their parents' back to organizations that can "help" them. While American Girl was once a beloved toy brand for millions of girls across the country, Young asserts the brand's LGBT activism and promotion of gender ideology is manipulation, stating that their subtle tactics under the guise of body acceptance have much darker undertones. "[T]he book offers more suggestions: 'Parts of your body may make you feel uncomfortable and you may want to change the way you look. That's totally OK! You can appreciate your body for everything it allows you to experience and still want to change certain things
about it' ... Taken together with the advice about how to obtain puberty blockers, it is not a leap to think this is paving the way for more invasive interventions," Young cautions. Read more.
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In this editorial, Medi-Share/Christian Care Ministry Chief Operating Officer Brandon Harvath discusses the importance of fulfilling the Great Commission. Havarth reflects on a recent mission trip to South Asia where approximately 50 people were saved and the privilege it was to serve and participate in bringing the Gospel message, writing, "I promise you, If I can do it, you most certainly can do it… and it will change your life for the Glory of God." Read
more.
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This ‘2021 State of Church Technology’ Report breaks down midsized churches’ evolving relationship with technology. With a regular attendance between 200 and 800 members, the 600 churches we surveyed share their most powerful insights about ministry and technology in this enlightening report. Get Your Free Guide
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Jamey Chadwell, the former coach of the Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers, has been named as the new football coach at Liberty University after Hugh Freeze announced that he was leaving the prominent Evangelical school for Auburn University. Chadwell served as lead coach of the Chanticleers since 2017, having an overall winning record of 39-22, and earning the 2020 Walter Camp Coach of the Year award, according to Liberty. The school's athletics director, Ian McCaw, said he is "grateful that God has opened the doors to allow one of the very best football coaches in the country to come to Liberty University." Read more.
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A regulatory body in the United Kingdom has launched a formal inquiry into a charity for trans-identified youth over reports that the organization supplied chest-binding devices to minors and that a trustee spoke at an event focused on support for pedophiles. The Charity Commission announced Friday that it launched a formal inquiry in late November into Mermaids, which says it has supported "transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children" since 1995. The organization also trains adults and professionals on accommodating "gender-diverse young people." The commission opened a regulatory compliance case into Mermaids in September over allegations about the charity's activities but reports that it is now focusing on newly identified issues with the group's management.
Read more.
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