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Federal Appeals Court Rejects Christian University’s Request to Overturn ObamaCare

Photo Credit: APA federal appeals court in Virginia on Thursday rejected a Christian university’s bid to overturn the Obama administration’s health care law.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing Liberty University’s lawsuit.

Liberty argued the employer health insurance mandate of the Affordable Care Act violates the school’s religious rights by requiring it to provide coverage for abortion inducing drugs. The appeals court found no merit in the claim.

“Plaintiffs present no plausible claim that the act substantially burdens their free exercise of religion, by forcing them to facilitate or support abortion or otherwise,” Judge James A. Wynn Jr. wrote in the opinion. He wrote the law “allows an individual to obtain, and an employer to offer, a plan that covers no abortion services at all.”

The opinion was joined by Judges Andre M. Davis and Diana Gribbon Motz. Davis and Wynn are Obama appointees, and Motz was appointed by Bill Clinton. The same panel in 2011 ruled Liberty’s lawsuit was premature. The Supreme Court upheld the health care law in another case in June 2012, and in November the justices ordered the appeals court to reconsider Liberty’s case in light of that ruling.

Read more from this story HERE.

Pews Permanently Removed from U. of Chicago Chapel to Allow for Muslim Prayers

Photo Credit: Campus Reform

University of Chicago (UC) administrators permanently removed pews from an 88-year old chapel on campus in order to accommodate Islamic prayers, according to a local news report.

Chicago NPR affiliate, WBEZ news, reported on May 23, the pews, which are now part of display at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago, were “removed in order to provide Muslim students a place to pray.”

Literature describing the artwork that was created by UC Director of Arts and Public Life Theaster Gates, also describes the removal of the pews as symbol of religious tolerance.

“The pews were recently removed from the chapel in order to offer Muslim students a place to pray, a symbolic gesture of religious tolerance,” according to an official description of the exhibit which includes a “set of repurposed pews from the University of Chicago’s campus church.”

A spokesperson for UC also appeared to confirm the reason for the pews’ removal in a statement emailed to Campus Reform on Friday.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Attacks Liberty-Minded Americans During University Commencement Speech (+video)

Photo Credit: senorgloryIn an effort to infect another generation with his socialist views, Obama preached at Ohio State University’s Class of 2013, admonishing them to reject liberty-minded Americans who fight to “gum up the works” of government or who warn of impending tyranny.

He goes on to suggest that these bad people are actually fighting representative government because they really believe “self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted.” Obama concludes that, fortunately, “we understand that this democracy is ours.”

Obama, of course, knows that the Ruling Class has supplanted the people as the power-brokers of the nation. And he also knows – and fears – that the liberty-minded patriots in this nation are seeking to return government to the Rule of Law and oversight of the People.

Obama and his elitist allies – in both parties – are doing everything they can to prevent this type of populist uprising in the next election cycle.

So how do people like Obama fight these threatening forces? You tell the biggest lie about them that you can: that they are enemies of the very liberty that they are trying to preserve.

Unfortunately, this type of dishonesty is exactly what we’ve come to expect from the political class:

[Transcript – Obama attacks liberty-minded Americans:

“Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems.

Some of these voices also do their best to gum up the works.

They’ll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner.

You should reject these voices.

Because what they suggest is that our brave, and creative, and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted . . . we understand that this democracy is ours.”]

University Allegedly Kicks Christian Club Off Campus Over ‘Non-Discrimination Policy’

Photo Credit: Asian InterVarsity/Todd StarnesClashes between Christian clubs and college campuses have been heating up across the country, with numerous schools telling evangelical groups that they cannot require their members and leaders be believers. The latest debate is erupting at the University of Michigan, where the college is being accused of booting an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter off campus for requiring its leaders to be Christians.

According to Greg Jao, InterVarsity’s field director, the university gave the Asian chapter of the group two options — either reverse its constitution to be in compliance or leave campus. The problem apparently began last December when group members were brought before officials to discuss a problematic part of the Asian InterVarsity group’s constitution. The document required club leaders to sign a statement affirming their Christian faith — something the university said was a violation of its non-discrimination policy.

While students were given an option to submit a new constitution that complied with these rules, they decided to refrain from doing so and to stick with their values. From a practical standpoint, it is understandable why a faith-based club would want its leaders to share theological values, something that a statement of faith would ensure.

“The university is sending the message that religious voices are suspect and should be marginalized,” Jao told Fox News’ Todd Starnes. “I think it sends the message that the university does not understand the nature of religious beliefs and the convictions of religious students.”

Read more from this story HERE.