City Wages Soviet-Style Crackdown on Churches

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A government crackdown on churches has Christians in Lake Worth, Fla., wondering if they live in the United States or the former Soviet Union.

Churches in Lake Worth, population 36,000, have been ordered to acquire a business license. As if the church has to get the government’s permission to preach and pray? . . .

City officials were so concerned about one congregation that they dispatched a code enforcement officer cloaked in a hoodie to spy on a Southern Baptist church that was meeting in a coffee house . . .

“Government employees are public servants and prohibited by the Constitution from inhibiting religious freedom,” said Mat Staver, founder of the religious liberty law firm Liberty Counsel. “That is a far cry from sneaking around and into a church and acting like KGB agents.”

Staver is calling on city leaders to immediately rescind the business license mandate on churches. He is also representing Common Ground Church, the congregation that was targeted by the city’s investigator. (Read more about the Soviet-style crackdown HERE)

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Teacher Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail After Showing Graphic Movie to Students

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A Franklin County judge criticized Columbus City Schools on Wednesday for putting Spanish-language classes at East High School in the hands of a long-term substitute who didn’t know Spanish and showed students a graphic movie containing sex and violence.

“This is what happens when you put a teacher in a class that she cannot teach,” Common Pleas Judge Charles A. Schneider said before sentencing the former substitute to 90 days in jail.

“They put a permanent substitute in a high-school Spanish class who can’t speak Spanish at all. Here we are, with the Columbus public schools telling us what wonderful things (they) are doing.”

Sheila Kearns, 58, was convicted in January of four counts of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, all low-level felony offenses. Schneider placed her on probation for three years but made the jail time a condition of her probation.

He ordered her to report to the county jail on April 10 but said he will delay the sentence if she appeals her conviction, which her attorney said she plans to do. (Read more about the teacher showing the graphic movie to students HERE)

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Miscarried at 19 Weeks, Baby Walter’s Life is Changing the Abortion Debate

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“Clump of cells.” “Tissue.” “Just a fetus.” These are common ways people who are pro-abortion describe the preborn in order to diminish the humanity of these new lives. But what people label the preborn is not what defines them, and that is proven by the life of one small child. In the summer of 2013, Walter Joshua Fretz was born at just 19 weeks’ gestation. He lived only moments, but his life has had a lasting impact.

Walter’s parents, Lexi and Joshua Fretz, mom and dad to two girls (who welcomed their third daughter, Mia, this September), were excitedly awaiting the arrival of their newest baby when, according to Lexi’s blog, she began experiencing spotting. This wasn’t unusual for her during pregnancy, but when the spotting turned pink she grew more concerned and called her midwife, who advised her to go to the ER.

In the ER, several pregnant women came in after her and were taken straight to the maternity ward. But since Lexi was not yet 20 weeks – she was 19 weeks and 6 days – the hospital rules required her to stay in the ER. After about an hour, Lexi was able to hear her baby’s heartbeat and felt relieved, but as she waited for an ultrasound, Lexi began to feel the familiar pains of labor. Nearly five hours after arriving at the hospital, Lexi gave birth to her son, Walter Joshua Fretz. She writes:

I was crying so hard at this point, but he was perfect. He was fully formed and everything was there, I could see his heart beating in his tiny chest. Joshua and I both held him and cried over him and looked over our perfect, tiny son.

Joshua’s next decision seemed small and natural, but would end up being a life changer and even a lifesaver for many others. He went to the car to get Lexi’s camera so he could take photos of his son. At first, this was not something Lexi wanted, but the pictures of Walter soon spread across the Internet. The photos reached grieving mothers and helped them through the loss of their own babies, and they were used to help women choose life for their preborn children. (Read more about baby Walter’s life changing the abortion debate HERE)

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Backed by Planned Parenthood and NARAL, Co. Dems Kill Bill Protecting Babies Born Alive After Failed Abortions; W. Va. Goes Opposite Direction

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By Steven Ertelt. Democrats on a Colorado state House panel last night defeated a pro-life bill to ensure babies who survive failed abortions receive appropriate medical care and protection.

In a party-line vote of 7-6, members of the Public Health Care and Human Services Committee killed the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, HB 1112.

Leading pro-abortion groups NARAL and Planned Parenthood encouraged the Democrats on the panel to reject the bill, which they did on a party line vote with Republicans supporting it, by claiming babies are not born alive after abortions in Colorado. That’s despite the fact that the Centers for Disease Control reports at least 1,200 babies born alive after botched abortions in one year alone.

In 2011, the CDC recorded 1,298 cases of infant death in the U.S. due to “Other perinatal conditions,” which includes ICD-10 category P96.4, death subsequent to a failed “termination of pregnancy.”

“If passed, HB 1112 would have required abortionists to provide medical care for a child born alive during a failed abortion. Currently in Colorado, there are no state requirements instructing an abortionist to provide any type of medical attention to the infant,” says Sarah Zagorski of Colorado Citizens for Life. (Read more about the Colorado Democrats shutting down the bill HERE)

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West Virginia House Overrides Governor Tomblin’s Veto of Ban on Abortions After 20 Weeks

By Steven Ertelt. The West Virginia state House overwhelmingly overrode a veto issued by West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin of a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy on unborn babies who studies show can feel intense pain. Tomblin, who claims to be pro-life, has twice vetoed the pro-life legislation to protect unborn babies.


The House voted 77-16 (7 not voting) to override the veto of HB 2568 and the state Senate is expected to follow suit.

More than 18,000 ‘very late term’ abortions are performed every year on perfectly healthy unborn babies in America, but Tomblin issued a veto of the legislation, claiming it is unconstitutional.

The veto was met with outcries from pro-life groups. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Reporters Ask Outspoken Christian MLB Player About Homosexual Teammates, Here’s His Honest Answer

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New York Mets infielder Daniel Murphy, an outspoken Christian, was questioned by reporters on the prospect of gay teammates and his team’s decision to welcome Billy Bean, Major League Baseball’s openly gay “ambassador for inclusion,” to spring training.

In his response, Murphy offered what he feels is Christianity’s “actual stance” on homosexuality. He also said he is definitely ready to have a gay teammate.

“Maybe, as a Christian, that we haven’t been as articulate enough in describing what our actual stance is on homosexuality. We love the people. We disagree the lifestyle. That’s the way I would describe it for me,” Murphy told the Star-Ledger.

He continued: “It’s the same way that there are aspects of my life that I’m trying to surrender to Christ in my own life. There’s a great deal of many things, like my pride. I just think that as a believer trying to articulate it in a way that says just because I disagree with the lifestyle doesn’t mean I’m just never going to speak to Billy Bean every time he walks through the door. That’s not love. That’s not love at all.”

When asked about Bean specifically, Murphy said he disagrees with the homosexual “lifestyle,” but that “doesn’t mean I can’t still invest in him and get to know him.” (Read more about the Christian MLB player and his answer HERE)

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Where an Alabama Pastor Was Reportedly Seen Dropping Off His Wife Has Become Very Controversial [+video]

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The wife of an Alabama pastor is hitting back at her critics after video emerged purportedly showing her husband dropping her off at a local abortion clinic, where she reportedly works one day per week.

Callie Chatman, wife of Pastor Louis Chatman of New Elam Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, told the Christian Post that she believes everyone is a sinner — and that people should look at their own transgressions before criticizing clinic workers and women who seek abortions.

“I feel that we have all sinned. None of us are perfect. No sin is greater than any sin. I don’t know why, other than that’s the only decision [abortion] that a woman could make,” Callie Chatman told the Christian Post. “That’s her right to make that decision, because that’s her body.”

Chatman, a certified medical technician who is employed by Reproductive Health Services, came under fire after David Day Sr., a Christian missionary, posted a brief video to YouTube that he said shows Pastor Louis Chatman dropping her off at the clinic.

“Sadly, this is a Montgomery pastor dropping off his wife who works at the [abortion clinic] here in Montgomery. We have spoken to her often and the only response we get is that God forgives and we are not to judge,” Day wrote in the clip’s description. “Her husband is the pastor of New Elam Baptist Church. Her son works here as well as the security.”

Watch the clip of the pastor dropping his wife off at the abortion clinic below:

(Read more about the Alabama pastor dropping his wife off at the abortion clinic HERE)

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Parents Outraged After Disgusting Poem Read to Class About Homosexual Acts

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Students in one class at South Windsor High School were subjected to a poem that their superintendent and some parents call “highly inappropriate” material. The poem contains language that describes sexual acts.

The teacher, whose name has not been released, read the Allen Ginsberg poem “Please Master” aloud in an English class for high school students. That poem was written in 1968. He had another poem banned in the 1950s for obscenity. Parents were shocked when they heard and read the material for themselves.

“I don’t understand how that actually got into a high school class,” said one parent who wanted to remain anonymous. “I can understand parents being really upset about it” . . .

Two excerpts from the poem include the lines: “please master can I gently take down your shorts,” and “please master can I have your thighs bare to my eyes” . . . (Read more about the disgusting poem HERE)

The disgusting poem is published HERE. WARNING: Contains graphic language.

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Woman Sues Abortionist After He Failed to Kill Her Disabled Son

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By Sarah Zagorski. In Canada, a woman is suing her gynecologist for one million dollars after a failed abortion resulted in the live birth of a five-pound boy with fetal abnormalities, including a smaller brain and a hole in his heart.

The woman, Tania Brown, wrote in her official complaint to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that Dr. Michel Prevost committed “gross negligence and medical malpractice” with respect to her failed abortion.

On October 4th, 2011, Brown she went in for a chemical abortion and Prevost administered a combination of methotrexate and misoprostol to kill her unborn baby. Then the abortionist injected incorrect doses of the drugs, which led to the failed abortion. Now, miraculously, the boy is alive and Brown’s released him for adoption.

Thankfully, in February, Prevost resigned after the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found he was “incompetent in his practice of obstetrics and gynecology.” He’s also decided that he will not reapply to practice medicine in Ontario, and he will never practice obstetrics or gynecology in any jurisdiction. (Read more about the woman suing over the failed abortion for her disabled son HERE)


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‘She’s Not a Monster’: Mother of Cyberbullied Toddler Speaks Out

By Travis Rice. Mariah Anderson has been fighting for her life since she was born and now her family is having to fend off the internet.


Born with a rare condition called Chromosome Two Duplication Syndrome that impairs her learning and motor skills, Mariah turned two-years-old last Saturday. Her mother Kyra posted a photo of her daughter to celebrate the special day, but the web had other intentions for the birthday girl.

The photo of Mariah became an internet sensation, shared by thousands, but not because of Mariah’s smile. Facebook users made various comments on the original post poking fun at Mariah’s appearance. Kyra Pringle, Mariah’s mother, was horrified at some of things people said. Pringle. “The smile that you guys think is funny or the smile that you guys are comparing to a leprechaun,” said Kyra Pringle, “the things you guys are saying about my child, she’s not a monster, she’s real.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Jesus Tattoo Website Sues Texas School for Discrimination

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Is Jesus like a tattoo artist? One group thinks so, and it’s going to court to get its message out.

JesusTattoo.org, a Christian website using a “modern parable” that depicts Jesus as a tattoo artist, asked to advertise their website on a Texas High School’s stadium jumbotron. When the district denied their request last year, the religious group sued, claiming discrimination in Little Pencil v. Lubbock Independent School District.

A federal appeals court will hear the case Tuesday, and the national religious legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom, has taken up representing JesusTattoo.org. ADF Legal Counsel Matt Sharp, who worked extensively on the case, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that this case is part of a trend of contentious religious speech cases they are seeing in schools.

Sharp told TheDCNF that ADF wants to set a precedent to protect this speech in schools nationwide.

“All of these are part of a larger effort to make sure that religious speech can’t be targeted and censored simply because a government official finds it offensive,” he told TheDCNF. ”The courts have consistently held that even local principals are required to follow the first amendment in every regard.” (Read more about the Jesus tattoo website suing HERE)

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Ana Marie Cox: Why I’m Coming Out as a Christian

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I’ve lately observed conservatives questioning Obama’s faith with more than professional interest. Because if Obama’s not Christian, what does that make me?

I have not been public about my faith. I am somewhat tempted to embrace the punk-rockness of being a progressive, feminist, tattooed, pro-choice, graduate-educated believer—and then I have to remind myself that believing in God is about as punk rock as wearing pants, maybe even less so. Almost nine in ten Americans believe in God; in any given moment, how many are wearing pants?

In my personal life, my faith is not something I struggle with or something I take particular pride in. It is just part of who I am.

The only place where my spirituality feels volatile is in my professional life; the only time I’ve ever felt uncomfortable talking about my faith is when it comes up in conversation with colleagues.

It does come up: Since leaving Washington, I have made my life over and I am happier, freer, and healthier in body and spirit and apparently it shows. When people ask me, “What changed?” or, “How did you do it?” or, sometimes, with nervous humor, “Tell me your secret!” I have a litany of concrete lifestyle changes I can give them—simply leaving Washington is near the top of the list—but the honest answer would be this: I try, every day, to give my will and my life over to God. I try to be like Christ. I get down on my knees and pray. (Read more about Ana Marie Cox coming out as a Christian HERE)

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