Month: January 2022

Lawsuit Forces California Dept. Of Education To Remove Aztec God Chants

In response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of parents, The California Department of Education will no longer be teaching students two religious chants to Aztec gods from its ethnic studies curriculum. The program, was adopted last May, featured a section called “Affirmation, Chants, and Energizers,” which included an invocation of five Aztec deities called “In Lak Ech Affirmation.” The affirmations addressed the deities by their names, acknowledged them as sources of knowledge and power, called on their assistance, and expressed thanksgiving to them. Read more about the lawsuit here.

Supreme Court Questions Boston’s Refusal to Fly Christian Flag

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether Boston city officials wrongfully denied a request to fly the Christian flag at City Hall. The nation’s high court heard arguments in the case of Harold Shurtleff, et al. v. Boston, MA, et al., with the justices expressing skepticism of the arguments on both sides. Shurtleff’s request to fly the Christian flag (which features a cross) outside of City Hall on Constitution Day 2017 was denied based on a policy that gives the city discretion on which flags it can fly on the City Hall flagpoles.  The court will decide if the denial was unlawful discrimination and censorship. Read more about the lawsuit here.

Former Israeli Leader Benjamin Netanyahu Considering Pleas Deal In Corruption Trial

Benjamin Netanyahu, who lost the premiership of Israel last June after 12 consecutive years in power, is accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in a series of complicated cases. He has denied all charges. Now after vowing to fight all charges, he is considering a plea deal which would keep him out of prison but also out of politics for the coming years. The deal would likely limit his sentence to a fine and several months of community service. But it would state that Netanyahu’s wrongdoing amounted to “moral turpitude,” a determination that would ban him by law from holding public office for at least seven years. Read more about the plea deal here.

Group Donates 20 Million Dollars Towards Preservation Of Black Churches

$20 million dollars has been donated towards efforts to preserve, rebuild, and share the stories of historically Black churches. The donation was made by philanthropic foundation Lily Endowment Inc. to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. The money will go to help congregations including one that was slammed during the tornado that killed more than 20 people in Mayfield, Kentucky, last month. Rather than just fixing broken windows or straightening rafters, the project will provide assistance with things including asset management and helping historic churches tell their own stories, said Brent Leggs, executive director of the fund. Read more about the donation here.

Tulsa Pastor Rubs Spit On Face Of Man During Sermon

While we are still fighting the covid  pandemic, a Tulsa pastor is stirring controversy after he was seen wiping spit on a man’s face during his sermon Sunday. Pastor Mike Todd of Transformation Church made some people in the crowd and online uneasy during the demonstration as he wiped spit onto the face of another parishioner to show that “receiving God’s vision can sometimes be nasty.” After receiving backlash Todd stated, “That was gross. I want to validate everybody’s feelings,” he said, apologizing. “That was a distraction to what I was really trying to do.” Read more about the disgusting act here.

Governor Phil Murphy Signs Law protecting Abortion Rights

A bill affirming abortion rights has passed in New Jersey while a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision means that the future of choice remains uncertain nationwide. The Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act was signed Monday by Murphy. In a statement, Murphy praised the “historic legislation” as a necessary precaution with the United States Supreme Court slated to rule on a case that could reverse or chip away at Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. New Jersey Republicans opposed the legislation. “This bill and the rhetoric we’ve heard from the other side is: any abortion, at any time, for any reason,” said Assembly member Jay Webber this week. Read more about the bill here.

How Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker Helped Fellow Jewish Hostages

On Saturday, a stranger knocked on the door of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. The rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker, assuming the stranger needed shelter from the cold, invited him in and made him tea. But moments later, the stranger made clear he had a gun and took the rabbi and three others hostage. The ordeal dragged on for 11 hours. “In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening,” Cytron-Walker said. But the rabbi knew what to do.  a statement provided to CNN. Cytron-Walker waited for the right moment before throwing a chair at the assailant, buying enough time for himself and two others to run out. Read more about his heroic efforts here.

Man comes To Christ After Finding Lost Bible

Victory Church Pastor Paul Daugherty lost his personal bible fifteen years ago, and now that bible has been found and is helping another person. The bible had belonged to Daugherty for many years and he even made it his own journal, filling it with notes, underlines, and thoughts scribbled throughout. Daugherty learned that the bible was found at a local shelter by a man named Clayton many years ago who has treasured it ever since finding it. At the beginning of January, Clayton showed up at Victory showing the bible to Paul, and then started attending church at Victory to hear Paul preach. The Bible remains with Clayton where Pastor Paul says it should stay. Read more about the encouraging find here.