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WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY - MARCH 23, 2022
In this week's Intersect, read about:
Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas Wins Women’s 500-yard NCAA Title
“Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, won the NCAA championships in the 500-yard race on Thursday. Thomas defeated Virginia freshman Emma Weyant by 1.75 seconds with a time of 4:33.24. Thomas swam for three years at Penn as a male before transitioning, sat out a year while undergoing testosterone suppression treatment and returned to compete as a woman.” read more at the New York Post
THINK.
Abraham Lincoln once posed the question: ‘If you call a dog’s tail a leg, how many legs does it have?’ and then answered his own query: ‘Four, because calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it one.’” And yet, according to the worldview of postmodernism, true reality can’t really be known by anyone, because we each are trapped in our individual perspectives. This is where the mindset, “live your truth” comes from. As we are seeing, this idea taken to its logical conclusion has profound consequences for people in the real world. One of USA Today’s “Woman of the Year” is a man: Admiral Rachel Levine, the first transgender assistant secretary of health and human services in the Biden administration. In bestowing an honor on a man that should have been reserved for a woman, USA Today has erased the distinct honor of what it means to be called ‘a woman.’ The only solid ground in which to base our identity is in our Creator, who created us as both body and soul, male and female, in His image. In contrast, the wisdom of this age roots our identity in ourselves. In an interview, Levine’s advice to transgender people was “[Y]ou have to be true to yourself and I think that you have to be who you are…And then everything else will follow.” His words are similar to Lia Thomas’, who described his identity shift in almost spiritual terms. “In a way, it was sort of a rebirth, for the first time in my life, feeling fully connected to my name and who I am and living who I am. I am Lia,” he stated. Ironically, not everyone is allowed to ‘live their truth.’ The Christian Post, a news site, and Christian satire publication The Babylon Bee both had their account activity restricted on Twitter for referring to Levine as “a man.” Embracing transgender ideology may be en vogue, but before jumping on the bandwagon and giving a pass to something that is wrecking ball to the hearts, minds, bodies and relationships of an entire generation of children, society should take a step back and listen to the warnings of Dr. Michelle Cretella.
PRAY.
Father, we know that Satan delights in deceiving people, leading them away from worshiping their Creator and into slavery to sin. It grieves us, as those who once were also separated from You but now are united with You in Christ. We pray that Lia Thomas and Rachel Levine would be born again and truly come to know who they were made to be—in body and soul. Help us to speak the truth in love and preserve the freedom to do so.
ACT.
If you are struggling with knowing how to raise your children to stand for biblical truth in an identity-confused world, this article by Ana Samuel, Academic Director of the pro-marriage organization CanaVox, may be edifying: In Rebel Parenting in an Age of LGBTQ Overreach, Ana shares several helpful tactics to use, including her experience of teaching her children to “respect the person; resist the ideology.”
Senate Confirmation Hearing Begins for Supreme Court Pick Ketanji Brown Jackson
“President Biden's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, is getting her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate this week. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman to serve on the high court. Biden is filling the seat that will be vacated by Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring at the end of the court's term this summer. The President has called Jackson ‘one of our nation's brightest legal minds’ saying she ‘will be an exceptional Justice.’” read more at CBN News
THINK.
Since Judge Jackson’s nomination would not change the ideological balance of the Court, why should we pay attention? Albert Mohler points out the implications of Judge Jackson’s confirmation and issues Christians should take note of: “There are huge questions at stake here about the interpretation of the Constitution. There are huge questions here about the future of our nation. There are massive questions here related to something as basic as to whether an unborn child demands protection or may be aborted in the womb.” Regarding the interpretation of the Constitution, there are two main camps of judicial philosophy with which judges align. The conservative philosophy is centered on a fixed point of truth–-it sticks closely to the text of the law, what the words mean, and what the authors intended them to mean at the time they were written. The liberal philosophy tends to hold a progressive view of truth—the judge interprets the law based on what he or she believes is best for society, often reinterpreting the law’s words to achieve that goal. As the oral arguments progress, it will be interesting to see how much Judge Jackson reveals about her own judicial philosophy. Several of her previous decisions, however, reveal that she is not a moderate. Early on in her career, she co-authored a brief in favor of restricting the ability of pro-life sidewalk counselors to minister outside abortion clinics. First Liberty Institute also notes that her record on religious liberty is concerning. America, like no other nation in the world, enshrined religious liberty in our Constitution as a platform from which every individual has the right to publicly and privately exercise their faith without the fear of government reprisal and to publicly display and use their religious influence whether they serve God or not. As we have seen in several cases, the Supreme Court has a major influence on how free we really are to exercise our faith.
PRAY.
Read Exodus 18:21-26 and pray that our judges—at all judicial levels—would be equipped for the job, fearing God, trustworthy, and hating bribes. Pray that American Christians would take the opportunity of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings to think deeply and biblically about our responsibility to promote the election and appointment of judges who base their decisions on God’s standard of justice.
ACT.
We encourage you to watch the confirmation hearings live or recorded on CSPAN.
Kansas Weighs Protecting Rights of Children, Families in Education
“Special-interest groups don’t want parents to know when a student in Kansas public schools ‘identifies as’ a gender not aligned with his or her biological sex. And school officials are prepared to keep this information from families, even when it involves children who are minors. Now, Kansas lawmakers are considering a proposal to create a parents’ bill of rights, similar to a proposal recently approved by Florida lawmakers. These parental bills of rights put parents back at the center of intimate questions regarding a child’s mental and physical health. The proposals also empower parents to make decisions as they protect their children from radical, explicit sexual teaching content—along with racially discriminatory material—being used in state public schools.” read more at the Daily Signal
THINK.
It was revealed this week that the Eau Claire Area School District in western Wisconsin held a training session for their staff in February, and a slide from a presentation during that training told teachers that “parents are not entitled to know their kids’ identities.” Money, media buy-in, and progressive activists and organizations may be able to carry a narrative that is dominating institutions of learning and the halls of government, but it does not make their narrative true. We have been told in scripture that a lie will be exchanged for the truth and now it is happening in our neighborhood schools. Parents are being deemed unsafe and unsupportive of their children simply because they have a long-term investment in the overall health and well-being of their own children. School District leadership is invading the parent-child relationship by teaching teachers to encourage children to hide information from their parents and live a lie while away from home. This “wolf in sheep’s clothing” action is leading children into the darkness of deceit, insecurity, and isolation…the type of place that increases the potential for suicidality. Lawmakers in at least a dozen states are considering these sorts of parental bills of rights. Indiana’s Attorney General’s Office released a guidebook explaining what rights are important to include and offering policy ideas to protect parental rights over medical and education decisions for their children. This is as it should be. School leaders should not be allowed to withhold information from parents about their children. State lawmakers must make sure public officials are not displacing families as the primary caregivers and decision-makers in a child’s life. And parents, we need to remember we have a huge home court advantage. We have quality time with deep love for, and a specialized understanding of our children that the activists don’t. Will we use it wisely?
PRAY.
As Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Lord, You have given parents the tremendous honor, blessing and responsibility to raise children. Let us not grow weary in this role and let us not abdicate that role to others. The battle for our children’s lives is waged on our knees. When we don’t pray, it’s like sitting on the sidelines watching our children in a war zone getting shot at from every angle. When we do pray, we’re in the battle alongside them. Help us to be fully in the battle, praying Your Word over our children unceasingly.
ACT.
An organization called It Takes A Family is part of a coalition who are fighting for parental rights and the protection of children from sexual indoctrination. Its founder, Monica Cline, was a former Planned Parenthood educator who found Jesus. Her transformation led her out of that industry, and she now advocates for the protection of families and children from graphic sex education and abortion. Monica encourages families to use the Word of God to teach about identity, marriage, sexual intimacy and the creation of family. Watch her powerful testimony about “Restoring Parenthood” here.
Same-Sex Kiss Will be Featured in Disney Film 'Lightyear' Following Backlash from Gay Employees
“Disney's Pixar announced that it will include a same-sex kiss in the upcoming animated film Lightyear amid outcry from the gay community. The movie, which is scheduled for debut on June 17, will feature the affectionate moment between two female characters who are in a relationship, Variety reports. Pixar's LGBTQ employees reportedly sent a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek condemning his original decision to cut the scene, along with other ‘overtly gay affection’ from previous Pixar films.” read more at CBN News
THINK.
As we covered in last week’s Intersect on the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, misinformation, mis-labeling, and false narratives regarding this bill is causing even more cultural uproar, including threats
of mobilizing against those who oppose it. Surely Walt Disney could not have foreseen that his company, America’s most successful and beloved generator of family-friendly fun, would threaten to boycott states because of pro-life laws or that it would condemn a bill that stops teachers from talking about gender-switching and sexual orientation to 5-year-olds. In fact, the Disney organization that used to purposefully hire people involved in ministry and dedicated one night a year for its theme park to be open for family night through the Greater Los Angeles Sunday School Association is continuing to bow to the throne of the aggressive secular progressive agenda. Walt Disney once said, “Deeds rather than words express my concept of the part religion should play in everyday life,” “I have watched constantly that in my work the highest moral and spiritual standards are upheld, whether my productions deal with fable or with stories of living action.” Sadly, Walt’s vision for Disney is not what we see coming from the propaganda driven organization today. As Rod Dreher points out, “Can you imagine what it’s like to work at Disney as a political, social, or religious conservative under the reign of this mob of tyrants?” But Disney executives are not backing down. In a town hall meeting, CEO Bob Chapek said the entertainment behemoth would put together a task force to ensure that more LGBTQ-awareness content is available for children. And a public Facebook post confirmed, “We oppose any legislation that infringes on basic human rights and stand in solidarity and support our LGBTQIA+ Cast, Crew, and Imagineers and fans who make their voices heard today and every day.” This week a group of anonymous Disney employees that describe themselves as religious and political conservatives released an open letter asking the company’s leadership to keep the company politically neutral. As noted in the online publication of World, “It may be that Christian defiance against these destructive forces will not accomplish the changes we seek, but we should stand up anyway because the fight is worthy, and it glorifies God. Doing good work while speaking the truth in love is exactly what we are called to. We should fulfill that calling with boldness.”
PRAY.
Lord, You call us to proclaim the truth and beauty of Your design and the redemption of sexual brokenness in our lives and culture through Jesus Christ. We pray that parents would lovingly help their children to embrace a biblical sexual theology that glorifies Your design and reject a sexual worldview that goes against Your Word.
ACT.
If you’d like to signal your support of the conservative Disney employees asking for a neutral workplace, click here to read the open letter as well as “sign” it.
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