ThePeopleOfTheCross

I shed light on the persecuted church, forced labor in CCP & elsewhere, & human trafficking. #IAmN #FreeUyghurs

[curtolson]

Liberty University needs full leadership change, not just Jerry Falwell Jr.

About the author: Curt W. Olson is a 1991 graduate of Liberty University, with a degree in communications that launched me into journalism. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at LU and the friendships I developed there remain people with whom I have close contact. I do not live in Lynchburg, VA and have no “inside information.” As a journalist, I have been a reporter and served as Religion Editor, copy editor, Editorial Page Editor, and investigative reporter. I spent about 20 years in journalism. More recently, I have been teaching English at a Christian school in Upstate New York. I am married and have two children.

An Open Letter to the Liberty University family by Curt W. Olson of the LU Class of 1991,

Everyone in the Liberty University family should desire a humble leader in Jerry Falwell Jr. after a certain period of time for his “indefinite leave of absence” that was announced August 7. If he continues being the President and Chancellor, he needs our prayers and Galatians 6:1-5 provides the biblical footprint for restoring someone.

Why wasn't restoring Falwell Jr. identified in the news releases from LU? It’s a glaring omission. The AP reported needing “time with family,” not having someone who will work with him to restore him to being a humble leader and past the issues that  have surfaced over the past decade. The short statements from the Trustees on August 7 leave far more questions than answers and that is unfortunate. That’s a common chorus with this cast. A lack of clarity and transparency will do that.

It is a separate issue whether Jerry Falwell Jr. could emerge as a different leader and those on campus he has made enemies of would suddenly call him “a new man.” Has Falwell Jr. done way too much damage? This is the question that looms over LU as the new academic year begins. 

For many in the LU family, this question has already been asked and answered: There’s too much water that has gone under the proverbial bridge. After all, we now have signs of failure. David French reported in a column on Aug. 9 something is beginning to impact LU’s freshmen applications and transfer students. If you can’t see the obvious correlation, you don’t want to to see it.

Poor judgment

Two events occurred the past three months that created problems. In June, Falwell Jr. said he would wear a face mask only if it looked like the “blackface” that caused problems for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Falwell Jr.’s  effort to mock the governor drove a couple football players to transfer from LU and got him in hot water with African-American LU alumni. What did Falwell Jr. think was going to happen? Then on August 3, an Instagram photo emerged, which was deleted, of Jerry Jr. pictured with a female who was not his wife and his pants were unzipped. The “costume party” was a parody of the Trailer Park Boys. Falwell Jr. explained the beverage in his hand was not alcohol. That did not help Falwell  when he was on a Lynchburg radio show later in the week explaining what happened and sounding as if he was drunk during the interview. This led to the “indefinite leave of absence.” The deleted Instagram photo and the “blackface” face mask displayed a shocking level of poor judgment for a man leading any Christian ministry, let alone the largest Christian university in the world.

Pleasant image

As an alum from the Class of 1991, I understand the emotions we have for our alma mater. “Liberty is training Young Champions for Christ” and “if it is Christian it should be better” are two of the common statements we heard from LU’s founder, Jerry Falwell.  We have this pleasant image of our time there, our friendships we developed, our spiritual growth, and we want a Christian college faithful to biblical teaching and a top-level NCAA sports program. The idea of controversy, chaos, confusion, and lack of certainty is not what we envision for LU.

Harsh reality

It is time, however, to face some harsh facts. Jerry Falwell Jr.’s current leadership is toxic,  with a culture of fear and intimidation that has been felt by multiple faculty members, staff, and students. That just begins the list of grievances that have arisen dating back to around 2012. Aside from the bad judgment from the June and August incidents, we also have the following issues that could serve as the catalyst for Jerry Falwell Jr.’s dismissal as President and Chancellor. 

They include:

Self-dealing on some real estate transactions;

Self-dealing on some of the construction projects to benefit friends;

Harming the reputation of Liberty University through real estate ventures and other incidents;

Displaying a lack of justice and mercy with many faculty and editors of The Liberty Champion; 

Having a faculty member who had a muddied position on homosexuality; and 

Neglecting his role in setting the spiritual direction of the campus. 

While these would be the key indictments to compel LU Trustees to terminate Falwell Jr., in addition to the outrageous poor judgment that harms the reputation of Liberty University, these may not be a complete list of the issues. These are the known issues through prominent reporting by various entities.

‘Fake news’

I want to address the reporting by POLITICO’s Brandon Ambrosino, Reuters, a column by Will Young in the Washington Post, and others because we live at a time of the common refrain of “fake news.” It puts folks in the position of screaming “fake news,” that while perhaps the information is true, people refuse to accept anything regarded as “bad” to their tribe. Every sentence of reporting by the sources above that resembles the truth opens up a series of brand new questions for Jerry Falwell Jr., and in some cases, the LU Board of Trustees. Perhaps both of those scenarios are long overdue, and the LU family should be demanding answers to those new questions.

Additionally, Ambrosino has admitted to being a homosexual and was one at LU. His sex life has no bearing on his ability to report truth. Anyone who uses that as an excuse to distrust the information he reports has a “see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil” mindset when there’s a five-alarm fire unfolding at Liberty University. 

There are many good things happening at LU, but they are happening in spite of Jerry Jr., not because of him. 

Real estate deals 

Reuters reported in August 2019 on a real estate transaction with a gym owner in Lynchburg, VA

It reported: “In 2016, Falwell signed a real estate deal transferring the sports facility, complete with tennis courts and a fitness center owned by Liberty, to Crosswhite. Under the terms, Crosswhite wasn’t required to put any of his own money down toward the purchase price, a confidential sales contract obtained by Reuters shows.

“Liberty committed nearly $650,000 up front to lease back tennis courts from Crosswhite at the site for nine years. The school also offered Crosswhite financing, at a low 3% interest rate, to cover the rest of the $1.2 million transaction, the contract shows.” 

A real mess

Less than two weeks later, Ambrosino wrote a damaging piece in POLITICO that detailed the self-dealing, building contracts going to friends, his autocratic leadership of fear and intimidation, and activities that would only harm the reputation of LU. Those activities include:  Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen dealing with racy personal photos, a Falwell appearance at a Miami nightclub, with photos he wanted to keep from becoming public, and the notorious Miami South Beach hostel with a seedy reputation that was owned by Trey Falwell, Jerry Jr.’s son. There are numerous things to be outraged by in Ambrosino’s lengthy report (the full article being the second comment in this FB post). When I read it for the first time a year ago some things surprised and shocked, and other things just confirmed things that I had been hearing. I know people--they will not be named--who work or had worked at LU in various capacities. They grew increasingly alarmed by Jerry Jr.’s autocratic leadership style, which I challenge anyone to make the case is condoned in Scripture. I had read Ambrosino’s previous report on the Miami area hostel, so nothing would shock me about things that Jerry Falwell Jr. did. As an alum, I was more hurt about what his actions were doing to the reputation of LU. Jerry settled a lawsuit in Miami related to that property.

The revelation that bothered me the most from Ambrosino’s September 2019 POLITICO report was the apparent lack of any, or at least sufficient, oversight of major construction on the campus. What follows is an excerpt of Ambtrosino’s reporting:

 “At the outset, some in Falwell’s inner circle were not so confident in the arrangement with (Robert) Moon. Before his CMA Inc. (Construction Management Associates Inc.) became Liberty’s go-to contractor, the school bid out its construction work through an office on campus. (‘Free enterprise tends to do pretty well,’ one high-ranking university official said.) The prospect of changing that—giving CMA control over campus construction and its associated costs—rankled some senior university officials.

“Early on in the CMA partnership, before CMA became the university’s single-largest contractor, Charles Spence, the school’s then-vice president of planning and construction, expressed unease about the high costs Moon was quoting for certain school projects. ‘Jerry I am very concerned about cost control on all the projects,’ he wrote to Falwell in a November 2014 email. ‘[Over the last couple of weeks we have had a lot of meetings and conversations on cost and cost overruns. We are just seeing the information begin to trickle in and there really don’t seem to be good answers just a response that the cost we are seeing are fair, and being handled appropriately.’ ‘I hope that I am over reacting,’ Spence continued, ‘but I assure you I am concerned.’

“ ‘I am fine with going back to bidding every project out if CMA can’t run with the big dogs!’ Falwell replied. ‘Let’s hold their feet to the fire!’

“In each of the two years that followed, Liberty paid CMA more than $62 million, part of at least $138 million in contracts from Liberty since the company was formed, according to publicly available tax documents.

“Senior Liberty officials might whisper about the propriety of these business deals, but they told me that Falwell’s decisions on campus are rarely ever challenged by the school’s board of trustees. ‘There’s no accountability,’ a former high-ranking university officer said. ‘Jerry’s got pretty free reign to wheel and deal professionally and personally. The board will approve an annual budget, but beyond that … he doesn’t go to the board to get approval. … It simply doesn’t happen.’ “

Trustees a problem too

You read that right. Jerry Falwell Jr. not only has a family friend as the assigned contractor of capital projects, but few, if any, of them have gone to the LU Board of Trustees for review. The Trustees pass an annual budget and that’s about it. These revelations open up a litany of questions for both Jerry Falwell Jr. and the Trustees on their financial stewardship of Liberty University. 

It also creates the issue of whether LU’s leadership needs wholesale change--at President/Chancellor and Board of Trustees. Consider the following for the Trustees: Isn’t it the responsibility of the Board of Trustees to make sure the President is doing the right thing for and by the university?  If Trustees were doing their job, this should never have come this far.  Since they have now done something, why did they do it now? Are they too embarrassed by repeated Falwell Jr. revelations? What took them so long to come to their collective senses?

In November 2019, Michael Poliakoff of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni chastised LU Trustees in Forbes.  He wrote the following: “And Liberty University has serious problems that could benefit from more board oversight. Although Liberty has increased its endowment exponentially under Falwell and has built a massive online degree program, this expansion has come at a cost: According to HowCollegesSpendMoney.com, Liberty spends 86 cents on administration for every dollar it spends on instruction, roughly three times as much as its self-selected peer institutions. Has the board demanded a thorough audit and review?”

Issues stemming from the Trustees are simply added to the overall picture of Liberty University’s leadership. If you can’t see that something’s amiss, you have to be blind.

‘Culture of fear’

Meanwhile in July 2019, former Liberty Champion editor Will Young wrote a lengthy column in the Washington Post titled, “Inside Liberty University’s ‘culture of fear.’ ” Young’s column outlined numerous stories that gained scrutiny upon Jerry Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump in 2016.  He explained multiple events over a couple of years where the editors were constantly second-guessed and looking over their shoulder of what would offend Falwell’s political sensitivities. After Champion coverage of the Red Letter Christians event in Lynchburg, the student-led, directed, and written newspaper since 1983 had two editors fired from their positions in a complete reorganization of The Liberty Champion. It was a shocking turn of events.

This has always been a tension with The Liberty Champion. In my three years writing or serving in an editorial capacity, two years as the News Editor in 1989-90 and 1990-91, invariably, the faculty adviser, and for us it was Ann Wharton, would use a teachable moment to talk about boundaries that can’t be crossed. But we never, ever had a pattern of being second guessed or looking over our shoulder that Young outlined in his column.

The culture of fear that has developed under Falwell Jr.’s leadership “is a thing” as kids like to say. At some point, folks must draw the conclusion where there’s smoke there’s fire. 

Spiritual issues

Lastly, we have a couple of spiritual issues. Karen Swallow Prior was a long-time English professor at Liberty University before recently joining Southeastern Baptist Seminary. I read an interview Prior had with Julie Roys. Prior talks about her affirmation of the biblical definition of marriage. However, she has had some connections with a couple of conferences, including Revoice, that could lead one to draw a different conclusion. The Revoice conference has advocated that same-sex attraction is alright as long as the folks involved remain celibate. All one can do is take Prior at her word, even though that leads to some muddy water. If LU allowed her to remain as a professor for numerous years, one can’t help but wonder how many other professors snuck in under poor vetting that do not hold biblical views on any number of issues. Folks would say the slippery slope argument is a logical fallacy. The slippery slopes in American culture we were told to not be concerned about, are now issues we are concerned about.

Then, one pairs that with Falwell Jr.’s own tweet where he underscored that his responsibility is not the spiritual direction of the campus. Yet, if one goes to the Leadership page at liberty.edu there are Doctrinal and Mission/Purpose statements that have clear spiritual focus, and a photo of Jerry Falwell Jr. is there with those tabbed links on the left side of the page. So which is it? Does he have any responsibility for spiritual direction of the university, or does he not have that responsibility?

Dr. John Maxwell has said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” With certain aspects of enrollment trending downward, it would appear that some parents are voting with their wallets. How much longer are Trustees willing to go with Falwell Jr.? There’s much at stake in the answer to that question. It’s a question that demands answers and full transparency with the entire Liberty University family.

The best-case scenario is Jerry Falwell Jr. resigns on his own and most, if not all, of the Trustees follow him. It would be the right thing to do. And for heaven’s sake, bring Mark DeMoss back.

[curtolson]

An AI-generated 'holy text’ would bring greater misery

World Economic Forum-connected Yuval Noah Harari is an atheist and transhumanist who believes science and technology is the savior of mankind.

So, it should be no surprise that Harari, in a Lisbon, Portugal interview on May 19, stated that AI could “write a new Bible,” producing “religions that are actually correct.”

Imagine a future where the countless “Nones,” people having no religious affiliation, in the U.S. and around the world would get their ears tickled by an AI producing virtual spirituality.

It’s pretty obvious where an AI holy text is headed:

No sin;

No spiritual accountability;

No need for forgiveness or repentance;

No need for the Great I Am  when man, with science and technology at his disposal, has great machines and great data that produce a great eternity.

Harari is an Israel-born author, philosopher, and historian who confesses to being an atheist and gay. Harari was interviewed in Portugal by journalist Pedro Pinto for a program titled, “Humanity is not that simple.” During the early stages of the interview, Harari stated the following:

It’s the first technology ever that can create new ideas. You know, the printing press, radio, television, they broadcast, they spread the ideas created by the human brain, by the human mind. They cannot create a new idea. You know, [Johannes] Gutenberg printed the Bible in the middle of the 15th century; the printing press printed as many copies of the Bible as Gutenberg instructed it, but it did not create a single new page. It had no ideas of its own about the Bible: Is it good? Is it bad? How to interpret this? How to interpret that? AI can create new ideas; [it] can even write a new Bible. Throughout history, religions dreamt about having a book written by a superhuman intelligence, by a non-human entity. Every religion claims our book; all the books of the other religions, humans wrote them, but our book no, no. no, no, no. It came from some super-human intelligence. In a few years there might be religions that are actually correct. Just think about a religion whose holy book is written by an AI. It could be a reality in a few years.

Many people were quick to point to the rebukes in Deut. 4:2 and Rev. 22:18-19 regarding adding to Scripture. That is valid. But an atheist like Harari doesn’t care about that because Christianity isn’t correct for him and others.

Harari is renowned for his books Sapiens, Homo Deus, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. He’s been on the WEF main stage in Davos more than once in recent years.

Harari wants spirituality, but not religion. I have spent my entire life in Baptist churches under the reformed theology tradition. We would agree with Harari. However, the real issue is not religion, rather faith. Where Harari has faith in science, technology, machines and data, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob says something very different. Hebrews 11:6 states, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.” Harari’s faith in science and technology leaves no room for Yahweh or any form of a relationship “His only Son.”

Upon the time AI writes a new ‘holy text,” as Harari forthrightly predicted, it’s hard to guess the nation’s spiritual state. Will the wokeness in race and gender prevail, potentially driving a deep wedge into some churches? Or would there be a backlash in American culture where there is a renewed priority of faith and spirituality on objective truth as defined by the Bible? Would there be a greater interest in the Nones above the nearly one-third of all Americans who now identify with this group?

Any AI “holy text” would be a world and reality devoid of God, purpose, and meaning for  the big issues of life. Sin would be purged as a relic from a time when religion wasn't correct. Additionally, the priority of forgiveness and being reconciled to one another would be replaced by something to make people feel good, rather than having a transformation of one’s life that causes them to be good before God and man.

Jesus Christ said the two greatest commands are to “love God” and “love others.” Multiple faith traditions around the world have a focus on treating others the way you would want to be treated. They are likely to be replaced by other priorities, such as helping people confront suffering.

If the future involves humans with machines, or humans as machines, there are countless scriptural ideas that would be “replaced,” especially for a religion that is ”actually correct.” I sense a religion that is the science and technology version of prosperity theology, a current false teaching in some charismatic circles. Think Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, and Creflo Dollar, among others. You can have it your way–as long as science and technology authorize it.

Whatever they will call it, this “actually correct” religion will be something with no objective reality or truth. It will be a soft, commitment free, false religion and end up like everything else that opposes genuine, Scriptural Christianity.

While lovers of all things science and technology would relish this future, millions of others would reject it because it will offer no meaning, no purpose, and no peace.

[curtolson]

Why I am a former Republican

The Christianity Today editorial by Mark Galli has stirred up folks amid Big Evangelicalism--the Christian leaders often connected to the President. No matter if it is Franklin Graham, Tony Perkins, Richard Land, JFJr., Robert Jeffress, Eric Metaxas, or others, each makes the mistake of contending we have just two choices--the standard R or D--in any election for POTUS.

None of them, that I have seen, have responded to John Piper, who said the following the Sunday before election 2016:

“The right to vote in America is not a binding duty (without regard to other factors) for Christians in every election.

“’The children are free.’ ” We are free from human institutions. As citizens of heaven, we are not bound in every situation to participate in the processes of human government. This is not our homeland. We vote — if we vote — because the Lord of our homeland commissions us to vote. And he does not absolutize this act above all other considerations of Christian witness.

“In this election, with the flagrant wickedness of both party candidates, the logic that moves from “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” (1 Peter 2:13) to the necessity — the binding duty — of voting, has lost sight of three things:

--the radical meaning of the words, “for the Lord’s sake,” and how it relativizes all human authority and how it brings to bear many other considerations;

--the radical freedom of the children of God from the inherent authority of human institutions like government; and

--the aim of every citizen of heaven in all human engagements to display our allegiance to the values of another world.

“I am not saying we are bound not to vote. I am saying that the children of God are free to hear the voice of their Master about how to best witness to his supremacy. . . .”

I turned 18 in the latter part of the Reagan Administration: 1986. My first Presidential election was 1988. I had voted for the Republican nominee each time. And yes, there were times I believed I had to settle for "the lesser of two evils" because, after all, isn't that how Christians are conditioned to accept political reality? A seat at the table. Get whatever influence you can. Always engage in the left-wing-right-wing banter. Any fighting is winning. I subscribed to all of it.

Sometime after election 2012, I began critically examining what the GOP had been feeding me for nearly 30 years as a voter. The GOP tells Christians they are the party of a strong national defense, lower taxes, expanding liberty, strong families, and the party that would bring the federal leviathan under control, not to mention judicial appointments that will stand for the rule of law.. And this is where they also promote themselves as being pro-life.

"You can trust us," we are repeatedly told.

Unfortunately, their rhetoric and actions are too often polar opposites. "Talk is cheap," as the saying goes. We see several things happening over time, but they accelerated after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Prior to 9-11-01, we had former President George HW Bush get crushed politically by his failure to follow through on a tax cut. Remember, "Read my lips. No new taxes"? We also had Reagan high court appointees Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy relish in their swing-vote roles, frequently acting activist, not defending the Constitution's plain simple language. Kennedy emerged as a nominee after Robert Bork's character assassination by the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy.

When the GOP emerged with the Contract for America in 1994, it seemed as if Republicans genuinely cared that their word was their bond. It did not last, however. After the terrorist attacks in NYC and DC, we witnessed genuine assaults on liberty and freedom, and it is accelerating. 

The following are just a partial list of the grievances I have with the GOP, which compelled me to become a former Republican (I will never be a Democrat.) within the past 5 years:

During the Bush 43 administration (I voted for him in 2000 and 2004), the GOP passed Medicare Part D, which launched the feds further into healthcare policy. The government doesn't do much very well, let alone thinking it's smart and benevolent enough to regulate medicine and healthcare for seniors. The Bush 43 administration also gave us No Child Left Behind, which was the federal government sticking its nose further and further into education policy. The more the feds mandate, the less power that exists for local school boards and parents. Republicans should know this, but they "had to do something."

The Patriot Act that emerged from the Bush 43 administration following the terrorist attacks has been one of the most significant assaults on liberty and an ability to live without the government intruding on American citizens. It could very well be the most tyrannical piece of legislation passed in American history. It has been tweaked here and there, but nearly two decades later it has survived as the NSA and other federal agencies monitor the phone calls and emails of Americans, complete with the assistance of corporate America. The passage and reauthorization of The Patriot Act (there are some in Congress who consistently vote against its reauthorization) is perhaps the clearest sign the GOP has no problem with tyranny triumphing over liberty and freedom. It is inexcusable.  And just because the government hasn't called me in for questioning doesn't make it right or just.

Nation building--The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq compelled us to eventually engage in nation building, which is not the role or function of the US military. We have spent trillions of dollars in both nations. A recent Washington Post investigative piece revealed billions--or perhaps more--of American dollars lost on corruption in Afghanistan and political promises from three administrations--Bush 43, Obama, and Trump (notice that wonderful bipartisanship)--that was just hot air. I was initially in favor of both wars. As time has passed I have come to a hard conclusion: no amount of force can compel folks to prefer freedom and self-government if they have no idea what it will mean to sustain it. I believe freedom and self-government require a knowledge and acceptance of spiritual truth because our founders warned us that to keep the system we had would require people living by biblical principles. We are imposing this on Muslims, who do not believe the Bible. As much as I was moved by women voting in both countries, Islam will not allow freedom and self-government to be sustained. PS. I am not a neocon and do not believe we should be finding places to engage in warfare. Many neocons have their sights set on Iran. That would be a disaster. PSS I do believe the US should be actively engaged in defending persecuted religious minorities and insisting other countries protect those folks. Religious freedom either is a priority or it isn't. This s determined by actions, not rhetoric.

Department of Homeland Security--A new federal agency behemoth--DHS--surfaced as an expansion of the federal government after the terrorist attacks. Again, Republicans had no problem expanding government.

National Debt--The National Debt, which is now $23 trillion and climbing, has been doubling every 10 years since Bush 43. Note that we grew government (DHS) and funded two wars on a credit card. And of course President Obama grew government with ObamaCare. When is Big Evangelicalism (I remember JFJr. said Trump was needed to get the debt under control. Trump is spending like Barack Obama.) going to start treating the national debt like the moral issue that it is? We are stealing from future generations of Americans. Worse, the more both parties kick the can down the road, the options they will have when something is forced upon them will be extremely limited. And this doesn't account for all of the unfunded liabilities, which some estimate to be . . . $122 trillion. This. Is. Not. Sustainable.

Lack of transparency in budgeting and legislation--The leadership of both parties love to use Omnibus spending bills just before the Christmas recess to justify the crafting of bills behind closed doors, with little, if any, ability to amend these bills. Additionally, there's no ability for any member of the House or Senate to read the details of these spending bills that typically arrive in a late afternoon and they have less than 24 hours to read over 2,000 pages. Th Rs and Ds actually expect members of the House and Senate to just line up and vote and not consider the details of which they vote. It's tyrannical. The spending of money this way ensures no accountability. Taxpayers learn about the stupid ideas later. Why can't they have an honest debate and siphon the garbage out of these bills? That makes too much sense.

Planned Parenthood/Abortion--There has been more rhetoric from the Republican party attached to this issue and the premier organization promoting infanticide than any other issue. The dirty little secret is most of the "changes" coming from DC surface as executive orders that a Democrat will change with the stroke of a pen. Kermit Gosnell commits his crimes in PA and there's nothing that surfaces mandating inspections of abortion clinics. PP is caught on film bragging about the harvesting of organs from aborted babies and the GOP does nothing. No prosecution of the guilty. No accountability, Nothing. Yes, PP opted out of Title X funding when the Trump administration changed rule (this was a very good thing). But PP still gets hundreds of millions of dollars off American taxpayers for killing babies. The GOP has threatened de-funding PP multiple times. They never follow through on the threats. They are all bark and no bite.

Former President Obama and others perpetuate the lie that administration was "scandal free." Fast and Furious. The IRS weaponized to go after political opponents of President Obama. The rollout of ObamaCare. Benghazi. All we ever received from Republicans were congressional hearings that allowed members of the House or Senate to play to the cameras of C-SPAN and others This is not accountability. The lack of accountability flourishes all across the three branches of government.

Judges--The Trump administration has now put its stamp on the lower federal courts. This is a good thing. But I would remind everyone who utters the phrases, "But Gorsuch." or "But Kavanaugh." that judges are bound to make a lousy decision. When they do what will happen to the high court argument regarding judicial appointments?  Additionally, all of this attention on the courts leaves me wondering is this the new fail safe for losing the White House or Congress? "At least we can rely on the courts." Can we?

I do vote for Republicans at the local and state levels. 

I have been challenged by Exodus 18:21 where Jethro instructs Moses on the attributes to seek for judges for the growing Israelite population. There are four requirements: able men who fear God, men of truth, and men who hate dishonest gain. The argument is this is a group of people who were not elected and it automatically ignores women. Really? Are you really going to suggest these four attributes don't apply to the 21st century for Americans seeking character traits of elected officials? How myopic and insulting. Yes, even women can possess these traits.

Christians have been aiding and abetting the dumbing down of the American electoral process. We should, can, and must be better. We owe our allegiance to the King not of this world, yet our rhetoric in America reveals something very, very different.

[curtolson]

After Kim Davis, do we really want no Christians working in the public sector?

By Curt W. Olson

Kim Davis won! New Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, has now done by executive order what could have and should have been done long ago: make a religious accommodation for county clerks who are Christians and who object to same-sex marriage. Bevin announced after his election in November that he would make this change. The governor-elect signed an executive order on December 22 that eliminates the name of county clerks on the state marriage certificate. It’s a simple move for the state to prevent people from violating their faith and conscience related to the June U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision on same-sex marriage. Remember in September when pundits across the political spectrum proclaimed a common theme regarding Davis, the Rowan County, Kentucky clerk who refused to sign marriage certificates after the high court ruling, that she resign from office? The people who made those arguments missed two far deeper issues: What about the other Kim Davises? And why were there no demands made of Kentucky officials who could have done what Bevin just did? The Apostolic Pentecostal Christian, who converted to Christianity within the past five years, stopped issuing all marriage licenses after the high court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision on June 26, 2015. She spent one week in jail in early September after failing to comply with a court order to issue the marriage licenses to homosexuals. Davis said she could not do it because it would violate her conscience regarding what the Bible says regarding homosexuality. Advocates for the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) agenda make no apologies for being loud, in your face, and compelling you to not only care about gay “marriage,” but if you disagree with them, they get to destroy you. Too many Americans scoff at that notion today. After Davis, consider Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Oregon, who refused to bake a cake for a homosexual wedding. They closed the bakery shop and lost their freedom to speak about the issue. Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Washington state who refused to arrange flowers for a lesbian wedding, was punished by Washington officials. Also, former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired for his beliefs on gay “marriage” published in a book. There are multiple other examples. It’s frightening and chilling to watch belief, conscience, and faith ignored in the 21st century in a nation that supposedly has religious freedom as a bedrock principle of our rights. Many commentators have argued Davis is no martyr. I agree. For a real discussion about Christian martyrs, go to Nigeria, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, India, North Korea, China, and any number of other nations in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds. The current Christian genocide is real and President Barack Obama and other Western leaders don’t see it with the moral clarity and moral outrage that is necessary to respond the right way. But back to Davis. Many have contended that because Davis was someone employed in government, she was obligated to comply with a court decision because it is “settled law.” This stems from the faulty notion among Americans that if the U.S. Supreme Court makes a ruling, it compels obedience no matter the cost because the rulings of those justices are perceived to be infallible. If she could not do her job, as the argument goes, her only viable option was resigning from her office.

”Ergo- I’m fascinated by someone who is an official representative of the United States Government not resigning from her position, when asked to give licenses to gay couples. It’s sort of like complaining someone gave you regular Coke, instead of Diet, and making a huge scene at an Applebees.”

The blog where this quote is taken addresses spiritual issues surrounding cultural events in Christianity in America. It caught my attention because people I know who are believers shared it on Facebook. I’ll refrain from the critique of Davis being a Rowan County employee, not one of the federal government. Yet, countless writers, no matter their philosophical background, drew the same conclusion that Davis should have resigned. Several county clerks who are Christians resigned after the Obergefell decision. That was their decision. However, it is quite rational to consider the high court’s majority in Obergefell created a right for same-sex “marriage” just as the court created a woman’s right to abortion in Roe v. Wade in 1973. In doing so, the court’s majority overstepped its boundaries. The lawmaking of a majority of justices exposes them as frauds for not following the law. Consider the comments by John Piper, former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minn. and the author of 50 books, made about Davis.

“Was she legally bound to resign instead of obstructing the licensing process? Now there are two angles on this question — two ways to come at it. One is to observe that perhaps she is not the one breaking the law, but that that Supreme Court broke the law by their ludicrous claim that they found in the Constitution a right to the non-existent illusion called ‘same sex marriage.’ That is absolutely ludicrous that they could find such a thing in the Constitution. They came up with that out of thin air, because they want it to be. There comes a point when people with eyes look at the Supreme Court and say: This strutting court has no clothes on. They may wear a tiny little one-inch-across tyrannical crown on their heads, but they are not robed with the royal power to make the Constitution condone the killing of children nor to condone so-called same sex marriage. It cannot be done. Out of nothing they create mirages. The insistence Davis resign her county clerk position also neglects two poignant points: Do we really want no believers serving in government? And why was there so little discussion about 'religious accommodation’ and a legitimate exemption for Davis based on her faith?”

What must the other Kim Davises do? Surely, they will have different names, and more than likely, be located in different states. But there will be more public officials who have the same conflict of conscience with giving their stamp of approval to gay “marriage.” But follow the resignation argument to its logical conclusion because judges and elected executives can be called on to perform weddings. Additionally, as states craft laws to accommodate the gay-marriage “right” created by the U.S. Supreme Court, there will be a multitude of public employees, including mayors, county commissioners, other executives, other elected officials, and even appointed officials, who could face the same question that Davis faced and respond the same way. For example, Vance Day, a Marion County, Oregon judge has already told his staff to tell homosexual couples to find another Marion County judge to get married. Day also has been allowed to establish a legal defense fund because he believes he will be targeted by homosexuals for his Christian faith. Again, talk to the Kleins, Stutzman, Cochran, and others. There are more than 30 magistrates in North Carolina opting to do what Davis did: not issue any marriage licenses. Yet we won’t hear of them because North Carolina already passed a law that exempts court officials with a “sincerely held religious objection,” a law designed for those opposing gay marriage. Utah also has a similar law. With the Obergefell decision, the U.S. Supreme Court left an obvious message that was underscored by their demand to Davis, and backed by the imprisonment decision by federal Judge David Bunning. Any Christian who believes the Bible to be true had better park that worldview at the door of their home and not take it with them to work. In the new normal, if you have a problem with politically-correct decisions and rights created out of thin air, you better not speak up or you will be punished in whatever way deemed necessary to gain compliance. I personally know at least one county judge in Ohio who is a Christian. What about him, Judge Day, and hundreds, perhaps thousands of others? What about the governors, county commissioners, mayors, and other executives who will be asked to marry homosexuals or be forced to put their signature to new policies, rules, procedures, and other official documents to accommodate gay marriages, couples, and employees? What about the believers who serve in appointed government positions and their job title requires them to implement those policies, rules, and procedures? Do they get a “religious accommodation” or legitimate exemption for their religious beliefs? Or will we hear a continuing drumbeat they should simply resign? Do we really want no Christians at all serving in the public sector? Do we really want a government where there is no one providing salt and light for decisions and actions in government? Do we really want public decisions being guided by people who will claim they have a conscience, ethics, and morality, but their actions reveal something very different? Do we really want government entities at all levels being guided by people who have no grasp of a Biblical worldview? If you think civil disobedience by Christians in government is problematic, just get a whiff of no Christians in government because they resigned en masse.  I guarantee it will not be pretty.

Curt W. Olson is a former professional journalist of 22 years. He also has written one book: “A Grace Discovered: Perseverance During Our Season of Loss.” He lives with his wife and two children in South Carolina.

[curtolson]

After Kim Davis, do we really want no Christians working in the public sector?

By Curt W. Olson

Kim Davis won! New Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, has now done by executive order what could have and should have been done long ago: make a religious accommodation for county clerks who are Christians and who object to same-sex marriage. Bevin announced after his election in November that he would make this change. The governor-elect signed an executive order on December 22 that eliminates the name of county clerks on the state marriage certificate. It’s a simple move for the state to prevent people from violating their faith and conscience related to the June U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision on same-sex marriage. Remember in September when pundits across the political spectrum proclaimed a common theme regarding Davis, the Rowan County, Kentucky clerk who refused to sign marriage certificates after the high court ruling, that she resign from office? The people who made those arguments missed two far deeper issues: What about the other Kim Davises? And why were there no demands made of Kentucky officials who could have done what Bevin just did? The Apostolic Pentecostal Christian, who converted to Christianity within the past five years, stopped issuing all marriage licenses after the high court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision on June 26, 2015. She spent one week in jail in early September after failing to comply with a court order to issue the marriage licenses to homosexuals. Davis said she could not do it because it would violate her conscience regarding what the Bible says regarding homosexuality. Advocates for the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) agenda make no apologies for being loud, in your face, and compelling you to not only care about gay “marriage,” but if you disagree with them, they get to destroy you. Too many Americans scoff at that notion today. After Davis, consider Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Oregon, who refused to bake a cake for a homosexual wedding. They closed the bakery shop and lost their freedom to speak about the issue. Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Washington state who refused to arrange flowers for a lesbian wedding, was punished by Washington officials. Also, former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired for his beliefs on gay “marriage” published in a book. There are multiple other examples. It’s frightening and chilling to watch belief, conscience, and faith ignored in the 21st century in a nation that supposedly has religious freedom as a bedrock principle of our rights. Many commentators have argued Davis is no martyr. I agree. For a real discussion about Christian martyrs, go to Nigeria, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, India, North Korea, China, and any number of other nations in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds. The current Christian genocide is real and President Barack Obama and other Western leaders don’t see it with the moral clarity and moral outrage that is necessary to respond the right way. But back to Davis. Many have contended that because Davis was someone employed in government, she was obligated to comply with a court decision because it is “settled law.” This stems from the faulty notion among Americans that if the U.S. Supreme Court makes a ruling, it compels obedience no matter the cost because the rulings of those justices are perceived to be infallible. If she could not do her job, as the argument goes, her only viable option was resigning from her office.

”Ergo- I’m fascinated by someone who is an official representative of the United States Government not resigning from her position, when asked to give licenses to gay couples. It’s sort of like complaining someone gave you regular Coke, instead of Diet, and making a huge scene at an Applebees.”

The blog where this quote is taken addresses spiritual issues surrounding cultural events in Christianity in America. It caught my attention because people I know who are believers shared it on Facebook. I’ll refrain from the critique of Davis being a Rowan County employee, not one of the federal government. Yet, countless writers, no matter their philosophical background, drew the same conclusion that Davis should have resigned. Several county clerks who are Christians resigned after the Obergefell decision. That was their decision. However, it is quite rational to consider the high court’s majority in Obergefell created a right for same-sex “marriage” just as the court created a woman’s right to abortion in Roe v. Wade in 1973. In doing so, the court’s majority overstepped its boundaries. The lawmaking of a majority of justices exposes them as frauds for not following the law. Consider the comments by John Piper, former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minn. and the author of 50 books, made about Davis.

“Was she legally bound to resign instead of obstructing the licensing process? Now there are two angles on this question — two ways to come at it. One is to observe that perhaps she is not the one breaking the law, but that that Supreme Court broke the law by their ludicrous claim that they found in the Constitution a right to the non-existent illusion called 'same sex marriage.' That is absolutely ludicrous that they could find such a thing in the Constitution. They came up with that out of thin air, because they want it to be. There comes a point when people with eyes look at the Supreme Court and say: This strutting court has no clothes on. They may wear a tiny little one-inch-across tyrannical crown on their heads, but they are not robed with the royal power to make the Constitution condone the killing of children nor to condone so-called same sex marriage. It cannot be done. Out of nothing they create mirages. The insistence Davis resign her county clerk position also neglects two poignant points: Do we really want no believers serving in government? And why was there so little discussion about 'religious accommodation' and a legitimate exemption for Davis based on her faith?”

What must the other Kim Davises do? Surely, they will have different names, and more than likely, be located in different states. But there will be more public officials who have the same conflict of conscience with giving their stamp of approval to gay “marriage.” But follow the resignation argument to its logical conclusion because judges and elected executives can be called on to perform weddings. Additionally, as states craft laws to accommodate the gay-marriage “right” created by the U.S. Supreme Court, there will be a multitude of public employees, including mayors, county commissioners, other executives, other elected officials, and even appointed officials, who could face the same question that Davis faced and respond the same way. For example, Vance Day, a Marion County, Oregon judge has already told his staff to tell homosexual couples to find another Marion County judge to get married. Day also has been allowed to establish a legal defense fund because he believes he will be targeted by homosexuals for his Christian faith. Again, talk to the Kleins, Stutzman, Cochran, and others. There are more than 30 magistrates in North Carolina opting to do what Davis did: not issue any marriage licenses. Yet we won’t hear of them because North Carolina already passed a law that exempts court officials with a "sincerely held religious objection," a law designed for those opposing gay marriage. Utah also has a similar law. With the Obergefell decision, the U.S. Supreme Court left an obvious message that was underscored by their demand to Davis, and backed by the imprisonment decision by federal Judge David Bunning. Any Christian who believes the Bible to be true had better park that worldview at the door of their home and not take it with them to work. In the new normal, if you have a problem with politically-correct decisions and rights created out of thin air, you better not speak up or you will be punished in whatever way deemed necessary to gain compliance. I personally know at least one county judge in Ohio who is a Christian. What about him, Judge Day, and hundreds, perhaps thousands of others? What about the governors, county commissioners, mayors, and other executives who will be asked to marry homosexuals or be forced to put their signature to new policies, rules, procedures, and other official documents to accommodate gay marriages, couples, and employees? What about the believers who serve in appointed government positions and their job title requires them to implement those policies, rules, and procedures? Do they get a “religious accommodation” or legitimate exemption for their religious beliefs? Or will we hear a continuing drumbeat they should simply resign? Do we really want no Christians at all serving in the public sector? Do we really want a government where there is no one providing salt and light for decisions and actions in government? Do we really want public decisions being guided by people who will claim they have a conscience, ethics, and morality, but their actions reveal something very different? Do we really want government entities at all levels being guided by people who have no grasp of a Biblical worldview? If you think civil disobedience by Christians in government is problematic, just get a whiff of no Christians in government because they resigned en masse.  I guarantee it will not be pretty.

Curt W. Olson is a former professional journalist of 22 years. He also has written one book: “A Grace Discovered: Perseverance During Our Season of Loss.” He lives with his wife and two children in South Carolina.

[curtolson]

America trusts ruthless killers?

By Curt W. Olson The U.S. State Department has taken an asinine turn as it now regards oppressive requests or demands that are nothing short of extortion as “choices” the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have given Christians to remain alive. At issue is the official American designation of “genocide” being committed against Arab Christians in Iraq and Syria, as well as all religious minorities in those two war-torn countries. A secondary issue is which Arabs should gain access to America under new Muslim migration President Barack Obama has promised under the new flow of Muslims headed to the West. Muslims are storming Western and Eastern Europe. At least 10,000 “Syrian refugees” are headed to America under a refugee program that is managed by the United Nations. Some believe the U.S. should give priority to religious minorities, including Christians, who have faced persecution by ISIS. But one report indicates the U.S. State Department is prepared to grant Yazidis the “genocide” designation that would open them up to some U.S. protections, which including asylum and some aid. That, however, will not extend to Christians and a few other religious minorities who have also experienced the savagery of ISIS. The argument is ISIS has been harsher to Yazidis than they have to Christians because ISIS has given Christians the choice of paying a jizya, which essentially is extortion or an exorbitant tax that few, if any, are able to pay. This forces Christians to flee their homes where ISIS steals all of their possessions other than what they have on their backs or could take with them. So, why would the U.S. State Department regard the leaders and members of ISIS as honorable, noble, and trustworthy people? It’s laughable the U.S. State Department would regard paying the jizya as a choice, which puts the State Department brass in the position of regarding ISIS as benevolent and charitable people who keep their word and have the best interest of others at heart. There is a mountain of evidence out of Syria and Iraq that prove otherwise. The jizya tax that gets charged a Christian who has faced the ISIS decrees of convert to Islam, pay the jizya, or die has been reported to be as high as $500 twice a year. Meanwhile, the income of the average Iraqi in 2014 was $7,100, which would make a single ISIS tax the equivalent of just less than an average month’s income. But once the Christian family believes it must flee, they leave everything--community, church, school, work, everything. So, there goes the ability to eke out a living and you now join the thousands of others as displaced Christians on the run from ISIS. Some of them succeed in finding safety and others don’t. One can understand U.S. State Department leaders would want clear and convincing evidence of the atrocities committed by ISIS to identify Christians, Yazidis, or any other group as facing a “genocide.” That opens a door for some significant American protection, which includes the granting of asylum in the United States and various kinds of financial aid. But the genocide facing Christians in Iraq and Syria is only an issue for debate among American government diplomats who are not in the circumstances thousands of Christians face. Meanwhile, numerous church leaders in the two countries have pleaded with Western governments to do something for more than a year. And that doesn’t necessarily mean military action. It can be anything that will help these newly-displaced Christians. Also, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has called on the State Department to designate the atrocities committed by ISIS against religious minorities in Iraq and Syria as a “genocide.”   Also, leaders from various theological backgrounds sent a letter to Kerry on December 4 calling for the State Department to designate a “genocide” against Christians in Iraq and Syria. Christian communities in Iraq and Syria have been subject to the following, as the National Review reported: “Christians have been executed by the thousands. Christian women and girls are vulnerable to sexual enslavement. Many of their clergy have been assassinated and their churches and ancient monasteries demolished or desecrated. They have been systematically stripped of all their wealth, and those too elderly or sick to flee ISIS-controlled territory have been forcibly converted to Islam or killed, such as an 80-year-old woman who was burned to death for refusing to abide by ISIS religious rules. Pope Francis pronounced their suffering 'genocide' in July. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and a broad array of other churches have done so as well.”

The State Department has placed itself in an indefensible position against clear and compelling evidence. It is time for John Kerry to act and do the right thing for the United States, but more importantly, for persecuted Christians.

Curt W. Olson is a former professional journalist of more than 20 years. He lives in South Carolina.

[curtolson]

Bold action required against indifferent American leaders to help displaced Christians

Note: Glenn Beck, the radio talk show host and founder of Mercury One Inc., and Johnnie Moore, the author of “Defying ISIS,” have collaborated to establish The Nazarene Fund, which will rescue persecuted Christians from regions of the world and resettle them in new nations. The following is an open letter to both men. Dear Glenn Beck and Johnnie Moore, I applaud both of you for your moral clarity to establish The Nazarene Fund for the purpose of evacuating displaced Christians from countries such as Syria and Iraq and giving these persecuted Christians an opportunity to restore their lives in a new nation. Christians throughout the world should applaud you because you are creating an avenue for people to practically help persecuted Christians in this war-ravaged area of the world that is now home to the savages of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). There are several excellent organizations doing work for the persecuted church, including Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors USA, Barnabas Fund, International Christian Concern, and others. So, while I single out The Nazarene Fund with my remarks, I want to be crystal clear that several other organizations do spectacular work to help persecuted Christians in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds. While all of that work is important, the letter raises the urgency of the persecuted church at a time when the prominent posture of American public officials is gross indifference. I do not believe we can wait for elected leaders in the U.S. to do the right thing. We have approached the time the plight of the persecuted church must be forced into the public discussion of American public policy. I believe the two of you must take that bold step. The catalyst for this letter is your recent announcement that a displaced Christian community will be relocated in Slovakia. This comes during the current project to raise $10 million by December to resettle 400 Christian families. Some of this information comes from the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for The Nazarene Fund.

“Donations to The Nazarene Fund will be used to resettle Christian families who have been displaced by conflict in the Middle East, primarily at the hands of ISIS. Should it become impossible or impractical to resettle families, the contributions will be used to provide additional humanitarian support where they are forced to stay.”

The website’s information clearly indicates the intent to resettle some displaced Christians in the United States. “However, the United States remains closed to Christian refugees,” the website states. So, I beg you, gentlemen. I plead with you to force this issue into public discussion in America because it is long overdue. We have seen a growing number of non-profit organizations pushing the issue of persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq. Many, if not all, of these groups have concluded that a “genocide” indeed is unfolding at the hands of ISIS. We recently learned the U.S. State Department apparently is prepared to identify what ISIS is doing to the Yazidis as a “genocide,” but not extend that to Christians and other religious minorities. Also, President Barack Obama avoided bombing the ISIS oil supply, which provides these blood-thirsty thugs millions, perhaps billions of dollars, because of concerns of what would happen to the environment. So we start airstrikes in late summer or early fall 2014 and one would expect an effort to end, thwart, or choke off the enemy’s major money source—oil. Yet, it was more than one year later the U.S. gave oil tanker drivers 45 minutes advance notice via dropped leaflets that their tanker trucks would be destroyed. We also have an investigation unfolding about intelligence on ISIS being cooked to make it look better as that intelligence climbed the national security advisors from the Pentagon to the White House. And the Congress hasn’t exactly applied intense political pressure on the White House to have a greater sense of urgency regarding a clear human rights crisis unfolding in the Middle East. The U.S. House of Representatives has a resolution by Nebraska Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, House Concurrent Resolution No. 75, which calls on the U.S. to recognize a “genocide” against Christians and all religious minorities in Syria and Iraq. A resolution that now has 154 co-sponsors, including numerous liberals in the Congress, can’t even get a hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. That is why this public debate must be forced down the collective throats of our elected officials. Some see this issue for what it is, but too many people in positions of power to stop ISIS do not possess that level of moral clarity, outrage, or will. Perhaps the two of you should go to the U.S. Capitol and conduct a press conference about what you’re doing for the persecuted church. And during that press conference, demand the debate in America because you seek the United States as the next home for displaced Christians. Force them, yes, force all Americans, to have the conversation. Force them to stop avoiding the facts of beheading, crucifixions, sex slavery, rape, torture and murder of men, women, and children. And what I find so shocking is that no one is talking about the obvious. We already have found mass graves created by ISIS. How many more are going to be found? Does anyone really think ISIS has not utilized mass graves for their medieval rampage that not only is forcing Christians to be martyrs for their faith, but 2,000 years of Christian history to be destroyed. Force President Obama and members of Congress to have this conversation. Exert your moral clarity and outrage to force America to finally do the right thing and allow displaced Christians to resettle here. All of the events surrounding this issue demand it for such a time as this.

[curtolson]

Bold action required against indifferent American leaders to help displaced Christians

Note: Glenn Beck, the radio talk show host and founder of Mercury One Inc., and Johnnie Moore, the author of “Defying ISIS,” have collaborated to establish The Nazarene Fund, which will rescue persecuted Christians from regions of the world and resettle them in new nations. The following is an open letter to both men. Dear Glenn Beck and Johnnie Moore, I applaud both of you for your moral clarity to establish The Nazarene Fund for the purpose of evacuating displaced Christians from countries such as Syria and Iraq and giving these persecuted Christians an opportunity to restore their lives in a new nation. Christians throughout the world should applaud you because you are creating an avenue for people to practically help persecuted Christians in this war-ravaged area of the world that is now home to the savages of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). There are several excellent organizations doing work for the persecuted church, including Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors USA, Barnabas Fund, International Christian Concern, and others. So, while I single out The Nazarene Fund with my remarks, I want to be crystal clear that several other organizations do spectacular work to help persecuted Christians in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds. While all of that work is important, the letter raises the urgency of the persecuted church at a time when the prominent posture of American public officials is gross indifference. I do not believe we can wait for elected leaders in the U.S. to do the right thing. We have approached the time the plight of the persecuted church must be forced into the public discussion of American public policy. I believe the two of you must take that bold step. The catalyst for this letter is your recent announcement that a displaced Christian community will be relocated in Slovakia. This comes during the current project to raise $10 million by December to resettle 400 Christian families. Some of this information comes from the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for The Nazarene Fund.

“Donations to The Nazarene Fund will be used to resettle Christian families who have been displaced by conflict in the Middle East, primarily at the hands of ISIS. Should it become impossible or impractical to resettle families, the contributions will be used to provide additional humanitarian support where they are forced to stay.”

The website’s information clearly indicates the intent to resettle some displaced Christians in the United States. “However, the United States remains closed to Christian refugees,” the website states. So, I beg you, gentlemen. I plead with you to force this issue into public discussion in America because it is long overdue. We have seen a growing number of non-profit organizations pushing the issue of persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq. Many, if not all, of these groups have concluded that a “genocide” indeed is unfolding at the hands of ISIS. We recently learned the U.S. State Department apparently is prepared to identify what ISIS is doing to the Yazidis as a “genocide,” but not extend that to Christians and other religious minorities. Also, President Barack Obama avoided bombing the ISIS oil supply, which provides these blood-thirsty thugs millions, perhaps billions of dollars, because of concerns of what would happen to the environment. So we start airstrikes in late summer or early fall 2014 and one would expect an effort to end, thwart, or choke off the enemy’s major money source—oil. Yet, it was more than one year later the U.S. gave oil tanker drivers 45 minutes advance notice via dropped leaflets that their tanker trucks would be destroyed. We also have an investigation unfolding about intelligence on ISIS being cooked to make it look better as that intelligence climbed the national security advisors from the Pentagon to the White House. And the Congress hasn’t exactly applied intense political pressure on the White House to have a greater sense of urgency regarding a clear human rights crisis unfolding in the Middle East. The U.S. House of Representatives has a resolution by Nebraska Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, House Concurrent Resolution No. 75, which calls on the U.S. to recognize a “genocide” against Christians and all religious minorities in Syria and Iraq. A resolution that now has 154 co-sponsors, including numerous liberals in the Congress, can’t even get a hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. That is why this public debate must be forced down the collective throats of our elected officials. Some see this issue for what it is, but too many people in positions of power to stop ISIS do not possess that level of moral clarity, outrage, or will. Perhaps the two of you should go to the U.S. Capitol and conduct a press conference about what you’re doing for the persecuted church. And during that press conference, demand the debate in America because you seek the United States as the next home for displaced Christians. Force them, yes, force all Americans, to have the conversation. Force them to stop avoiding the facts of beheading, crucifixions, sex slavery, rape, torture and murder of men, women, and children. And what I find so shocking is that no one is talking about the obvious. We already have found mass graves created by ISIS. How many more are going to be found? Does anyone really think ISIS has not utilized mass graves for their medieval rampage that not only is forcing Christians to be martyrs for their faith, but 2,000 years of Christian history to be destroyed. Force President Obama and members of Congress to have this conversation. Exert your moral clarity and outrage to force America to finally do the right thing and allow displaced Christians to resettle here. All of the events surrounding this issue demand it for such a time as this.

[curtolson]

John Kerry must make Pakistan a Country of Particular Concern regarding religious freedom

By Curt W. Olson It’s one thing to produce an annual report on international religious freedom.

It is something far different to take the information in that report and call out the nations, predominantly in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds, that actively discriminate against religious freedom. The world is witnessing a greater degree of discrimination against religious minorities in those parts of the world, and more often than not that discrimination is against Christians.

“Religious freedom extends way beyond mere tolerance,” Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters at a news conference when he released to report in mid-October. The concept, he said as reported by the Associated Press, “demands that the practitioners of one faith understand that they have no right to coerce others into submission, conversion or silence, or to literally take their lives because of their beliefs.”

So, it is not nearly enough for Kerry to release the congressionally-mandated report with all of the ugly details of terrorism and nations that use blasphemy and apostasy laws against religious minorities. It is the 17th year this report has been released publicly under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The report also identifies spots where governments displayed hostility against religious minorities, frequently directed at Christians.

Kerry must display some courage and boldness to identify the worst offenders of religious freedom and not pay mere lip service to defending the freedom of conscience and beliefs with a report and a speech. With all the world sees occurring in the Muslim world, we cannot fear what other nations will think of the United States.

The 15-page Executive Summary of the U.S. State Department report on international religious freedom begins the ugly trek with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It states that when ISIS rolled into Mosul, which is modern-day Nineveh from the Bible, Christians were given the order to convert, pay a ruinous tax to ISIS, or die. The report’s narrative describes the kidnapping of a woman’s 3-year-old daughter from her arms at an ISIS checkpoint. To this day no one knows what happened to the child.

The U.S. State Department’s report also exposes Shiite attacks on Sunnis in Iraq and Boko Haram’s targeting of Christians, and even some Muslims, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Along with slaughtering Christians and others, Boko Haram has also engaged in attacks on churches and mosques. Since this report is from 2014, it identifies Boko Haram’s kidnapping of more than 200 girls in spring 2014, who have yet to be freed, although some of the girls escaped. Boko Haram declared its allegiance to ISIS earlier this year.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on Kerry to be tougher on certain nations, specifically Pakistan. The IFRA allows the U.S. State Department to identify “countries of particular concern,” or CPC.

“In July 2014, the State Department designated nine nations as CPCs under IRFA: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.  USCIRF’s 2015 annual report, released in April, recommended that these countries be re-designated as CPCs, and also called for eight additional designations:  Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Vietnam,” a news release from the USCIRF states.

“USCIRF urges the State Department to continue the current nine CPC designations,” said Chairman Robert George in the news release.  “We also urge the State Department to further expand its CPC list to reflect the severe violations occurring in other countries, such as Pakistan, which USCIRF has called the worst situation in the world for religious freedom for countries not currently designated by the U.S. government as CPCs. The just-released IRF Report leaves no doubt that the egregious nature of the violations in Pakistan warrant a CPC designation.”

The State Department international religious freedom report states the following about Pakistan:

Government policies did not afford equal protection to members of minority religious groups, and due to discriminatory legislation such as blasphemy laws and laws designed to marginalize the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, minorities often were afraid to profess freely their religious beliefs. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), police registered 12 new cases under blasphemy laws during the year and the courts sentenced three individuals to death, six individuals to life imprisonment, and three individuals to two-years of imprisonment for blasphemy. The government did not carry out any executions for blasphemy during the year. The government announced it would create a national council for minorities with Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh representatives.

Meanwhile, a Muslim mob in Pakistan accused a Christian couple of desecrating the Quran in November 2014. That Muslim mob burned the couple alive in a brick kiln in Punjab province.

  Also, Walid Shoebat started a group called Rescue Christians, which has people in strategic spots, including Pakistan, attempting to remove Christians from conditions of slavery, rape, and torture. Shoebat’s team reports there are about 20,000 Pakistani families that are enslaved making bricks at concentration-camp-style locations in Pakistan. If Shoebat’s team is accurate, does anyone really think no one in the Pakistani government can possibly know this is going on? Worse, they have been doing nothing to stop it.

It seems nonsensical for anyone to suggest Pakistan doesn’t deserve some negative attention because the nation has much work to do to shift this persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.

Also, David Saperstein, the State Department’s Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, casts light on Vietnam.

The report states the following regarding Vietnam:

Police, local authorities, and hired men in Binh Duong Province began a campaign of harassment against an unregistered Mennonite group in June, according to their pastors. Church leaders reported government forces throughout the year raided Bible classes, detained and beat congregants, and harassed members of the religious community. Reports also state that hired men prevented the movement of church members, vandalized a Mennonite church, and barred followers from leaving their houses “In my travels to Vietnam, I saw firsthand how religious groups are forced to undergo onerous and arbitrary registration processes to legally operate,” Saperstein said, as reported by the Christian Post.

All of this also comes at a time when U.S. Rep. Jeffrey Fortenberry, R-Neb., has proposed House Congressional Resolution No. 75, which has nearly 150 bipartisan co-sponsors now, which calls on the Congress to call the actions in Iraq and Syria against Christians and religious minorities to be called a “genocide.” There’s no reason House Speaker Paul Ryan doesn’t bring this to a swift vote for the U.S. House of Representatives to make a statement.

This is the least the U.S. House and Senate can do. They also should maintain pressure on Kerry to follow through on the request by the USCIRF.

The United States of America must stop issuing an obligatory annual report on religious freedom if its leaders refuse to display some moral clarity and outrage for the events in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds.

Anyone can talk tough. The question is will you act tough when circumstances demand it. We are well past the point of circumstances demanding it.

[curtolson]

John Kerry must make Pakistan a Country of Particular Concern regarding religious freedom

By Curt W. Olson It’s one thing to produce an annual report on international religious freedom.

It is something far different to take the information in that report and call out the nations, predominantly in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds, that actively discriminate against religious freedom. The world is witnessing a greater degree of discrimination against religious minorities in those parts of the world, and more often than not that discrimination is against Christians.

“Religious freedom extends way beyond mere tolerance,” Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters at a news conference when he released to report in mid-October. The concept, he said as reported by the Associated Press, “demands that the practitioners of one faith understand that they have no right to coerce others into submission, conversion or silence, or to literally take their lives because of their beliefs.”

So, it is not nearly enough for Kerry to release the congressionally-mandated report with all of the ugly details of terrorism and nations that use blasphemy and apostasy laws against religious minorities. It is the 17th year this report has been released publicly under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The report also identifies spots where governments displayed hostility against religious minorities, frequently directed at Christians.

Kerry must display some courage and boldness to identify the worst offenders of religious freedom and not pay mere lip service to defending the freedom of conscience and beliefs with a report and a speech. With all the world sees occurring in the Muslim world, we cannot fear what other nations will think of the United States.

The 15-page Executive Summary of the U.S. State Department report on international religious freedom begins the ugly trek with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It states that when ISIS rolled into Mosul, which is modern-day Nineveh from the Bible, Christians were given the order to convert, pay a ruinous tax to ISIS, or die. The report’s narrative describes the kidnapping of a woman’s 3-year-old daughter from her arms at an ISIS checkpoint. To this day no one knows what happened to the child.

The U.S. State Department’s report also exposes Shiite attacks on Sunnis in Iraq and Boko Haram’s targeting of Christians, and even some Muslims, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Along with slaughtering Christians and others, Boko Haram has also engaged in attacks on churches and mosques. Since this report is from 2014, it identifies Boko Haram’s kidnapping of more than 200 girls in spring 2014, who have yet to be freed, although some of the girls escaped. Boko Haram declared its allegiance to ISIS earlier this year.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on Kerry to be tougher on certain nations, specifically Pakistan. The IFRA allows the U.S. State Department to identify “countries of particular concern,” or CPC.

“In July 2014, the State Department designated nine nations as CPCs under IRFA: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.  USCIRF’s 2015 annual report, released in April, recommended that these countries be re-designated as CPCs, and also called for eight additional designations:  Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Vietnam,” a news release from the USCIRF states.

“USCIRF urges the State Department to continue the current nine CPC designations,” said Chairman Robert George in the news release.  “We also urge the State Department to further expand its CPC list to reflect the severe violations occurring in other countries, such as Pakistan, which USCIRF has called the worst situation in the world for religious freedom for countries not currently designated by the U.S. government as CPCs. The just-released IRF Report leaves no doubt that the egregious nature of the violations in Pakistan warrant a CPC designation.”

The State Department international religious freedom report states the following about Pakistan:

Government policies did not afford equal protection to members of minority religious groups, and due to discriminatory legislation such as blasphemy laws and laws designed to marginalize the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, minorities often were afraid to profess freely their religious beliefs. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), police registered 12 new cases under blasphemy laws during the year and the courts sentenced three individuals to death, six individuals to life imprisonment, and three individuals to two-years of imprisonment for blasphemy. The government did not carry out any executions for blasphemy during the year. The government announced it would create a national council for minorities with Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh representatives.

Meanwhile, a Muslim mob in Pakistan accused a Christian couple of desecrating the Quran in November 2014. That Muslim mob burned the couple alive in a brick kiln in Punjab province.

  Also, Walid Shoebat started a group called Rescue Christians, which has people in strategic spots, including Pakistan, attempting to remove Christians from conditions of slavery, rape, and torture. Shoebat’s team reports there are about 20,000 Pakistani families that are enslaved making bricks at concentration-camp-style locations in Pakistan. If Shoebat’s team is accurate, does anyone really think no one in the Pakistani government can possibly know this is going on? Worse, they have been doing nothing to stop it.

It seems nonsensical for anyone to suggest Pakistan doesn’t deserve some negative attention because the nation has much work to do to shift this persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.

Also, David Saperstein, the State Department’s Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, casts light on Vietnam.

The report states the following regarding Vietnam:

Police, local authorities, and hired men in Binh Duong Province began a campaign of harassment against an unregistered Mennonite group in June, according to their pastors. Church leaders reported government forces throughout the year raided Bible classes, detained and beat congregants, and harassed members of the religious community. Reports also state that hired men prevented the movement of church members, vandalized a Mennonite church, and barred followers from leaving their houses “In my travels to Vietnam, I saw firsthand how religious groups are forced to undergo onerous and arbitrary registration processes to legally operate,” Saperstein said, as reported by the Christian Post.

All of this also comes at a time when U.S. Rep. Jeffrey Fortenberry, R-Neb., has proposed House Congressional Resolution No. 75, which has nearly 150 bipartisan co-sponsors now, which calls on the Congress to call the actions in Iraq and Syria against Christians and religious minorities to be called a “genocide.” There’s no reason House Speaker Paul Ryan doesn’t bring this to a swift vote for the U.S. House of Representatives to make a statement.

This is the least the U.S. House and Senate can do. They also should maintain pressure on Kerry to follow through on the request by the USCIRF.

The United States of America must stop issuing an obligatory annual report on religious freedom if its leaders refuse to display some moral clarity and outrage for the events in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds.

Anyone can talk tough. The question is will you act tough when circumstances demand it. We are well past the point of circumstances demanding it.

[curtolson]

John Kerry must make Pakistan a Country of Particular Concern regarding religious freedom

By Curt W. Olson It’s one thing to produce an annual report on international religious freedom.

It is something far different to take the information in that report and call out the nations, predominantly in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds, that actively discriminate against religious freedom. The world is witnessing a greater degree of discrimination against religious minorities in those parts of the world, and more often than not that discrimination is against Christians.

"Religious freedom extends way beyond mere tolerance," Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters at a news conference when he released to report in mid-October. The concept, he said as reported by the Associated Press, "demands that the practitioners of one faith understand that they have no right to coerce others into submission, conversion or silence, or to literally take their lives because of their beliefs."

So, it is not nearly enough for Kerry to release the congressionally-mandated report with all of the ugly details of terrorism and nations that use blasphemy and apostasy laws against religious minorities. It is the 17th year this report has been released publicly under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The report also identifies spots where governments displayed hostility against religious minorities, frequently directed at Christians.

Kerry must display some courage and boldness to identify the worst offenders of religious freedom and not pay mere lip service to defending the freedom of conscience and beliefs with a report and a speech. With all the world sees occurring in the Muslim world, we cannot fear what other nations will think of the United States.

The 15-page Executive Summary of the U.S. State Department report on international religious freedom begins the ugly trek with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It states that when ISIS rolled into Mosul, which is modern-day Nineveh from the Bible, Christians were given the order to convert, pay a ruinous tax to ISIS, or die. The report’s narrative describes the kidnapping of a woman’s 3-year-old daughter from her arms at an ISIS checkpoint. To this day no one knows what happened to the child.

The U.S. State Department’s report also exposes Shiite attacks on Sunnis in Iraq and Boko Haram’s targeting of Christians, and even some Muslims, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Along with slaughtering Christians and others, Boko Haram has also engaged in attacks on churches and mosques. Since this report is from 2014, it identifies Boko Haram’s kidnapping of more than 200 girls in spring 2014, who have yet to be freed, although some of the girls escaped. Boko Haram declared its allegiance to ISIS earlier this year.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on Kerry to be tougher on certain nations, specifically Pakistan. The IFRA allows the U.S. State Department to identify “countries of particular concern,” or CPC.

“In July 2014, the State Department designated nine nations as CPCs under IRFA: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.  USCIRF’s 2015 annual report, released in April, recommended that these countries be re-designated as CPCs, and also called for eight additional designations:  Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and Vietnam,” a news release from the USCIRF states.

“USCIRF urges the State Department to continue the current nine CPC designations,” said Chairman Robert George in the news release.  “We also urge the State Department to further expand its CPC list to reflect the severe violations occurring in other countries, such as Pakistan, which USCIRF has called the worst situation in the world for religious freedom for countries not currently designated by the U.S. government as CPCs. The just-released IRF Report leaves no doubt that the egregious nature of the violations in Pakistan warrant a CPC designation.”

The State Department international religious freedom report states the following about Pakistan:

Government policies did not afford equal protection to members of minority religious groups, and due to discriminatory legislation such as blasphemy laws and laws designed to marginalize the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, minorities often were afraid to profess freely their religious beliefs. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), police registered 12 new cases under blasphemy laws during the year and the courts sentenced three individuals to death, six individuals to life imprisonment, and three individuals to two-years of imprisonment for blasphemy. The government did not carry out any executions for blasphemy during the year. The government announced it would create a national council for minorities with Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh representatives.

Meanwhile, a Muslim mob in Pakistan accused a Christian couple of desecrating the Quran in November 2014. That Muslim mob burned the couple alive in a brick kiln in Punjab province.

  Also, Walid Shoebat started a group called Rescue Christians, which has people in strategic spots, including Pakistan, attempting to remove Christians from conditions of slavery, rape, and torture. Shoebat’s team reports there are about 20,000 Pakistani families that are enslaved making bricks at concentration-camp-style locations in Pakistan. If Shoebat’s team is accurate, does anyone really think no one in the Pakistani government can possibly know this is going on? Worse, they have been doing nothing to stop it.

It seems nonsensical for anyone to suggest Pakistan doesn’t deserve some negative attention because the nation has much work to do to shift this persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.

Also, David Saperstein, the State Department’s Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, casts light on Vietnam.

The report states the following regarding Vietnam:

Police, local authorities, and hired men in Binh Duong Province began a campaign of harassment against an unregistered Mennonite group in June, according to their pastors. Church leaders reported government forces throughout the year raided Bible classes, detained and beat congregants, and harassed members of the religious community. Reports also state that hired men prevented the movement of church members, vandalized a Mennonite church, and barred followers from leaving their houses "In my travels to Vietnam, I saw firsthand how religious groups are forced to undergo onerous and arbitrary registration processes to legally operate," Saperstein said, as reported by the Christian Post.

All of this also comes at a time when U.S. Rep. Jeffrey Fortenberry, R-Neb., has proposed House Congressional Resolution No. 75, which has nearly 150 bipartisan co-sponsors now, which calls on the Congress to call the actions in Iraq and Syria against Christians and religious minorities to be called a “genocide.” There’s no reason House Speaker Paul Ryan doesn’t bring this to a swift vote for the U.S. House of Representatives to make a statement.

This is the least the U.S. House and Senate can do. They also should maintain pressure on Kerry to follow through on the request by the USCIRF.

The United States of America must stop issuing an obligatory annual report on religious freedom if its leaders refuse to display some moral clarity and outrage for the events in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds.

Anyone can talk tough. The question is will you act tough when circumstances demand it. We are well past the point of circumstances demanding it.

[curtolson]

I fully understand what the Eddings say about their loss

Curt W. Olson Author of “A Grace Discovered”

When the accident occurred in late May, I wrote and encouraged those who like the Facebook page for my book, “A Grace Discovered: Perseverance During Our Season of Loss,” to follow the story of Gentry and Hadley Eddings of Charlotte, N.C. This is the worship leader at Forest Hills Church and his wife who had two children die in a motor vehicle accident near Wilmington, N.C. on May 23 and May 25. Their toddler son, Dobbs, died in the accident, and Reed, who was delivered by an emergency C-section with Hadley eight months pregnant, also died later from the trauma caused by the crash. Their story is one of forgiveness. The Eddings quickly forgave the man charged in the crash. But this story also is about perseverance during loss. The Eddings receive their strength to carry on from their relationship with Jesus Christ. No one who has experienced deep loss, no matter what that is, will regard it as fun or easy. Hadley Eddings, the wife and mother, stated the following to the Charlotte Observer about two months after the crash. “I hate that this happened. I don’t like it at all. But I can trust God even when it’s really hard. I just trust it. I have to, I have to.” A story also was published by the Daily Mail in England. Gentry Eddings stated the following in these articles. “God has our boys in a place of peace, so I am in a place of peace. God has a plan. The situation is a frustrating one. We don’t want to be here. We don’t like it. This is not a fun situation. We’re mad at the loss. But we know God is good and has a plan and we believe that.” He also said: “We can’t just plow through. We’re on a journey and it’s going to be a long one.” This young couple was transparent and vulnerable at their most vulnerable moment. And yet, any follower of Jesus Christ who has gone through hardships, trials, loss, deep disappointments, and discouraging times can empathize with the Eddings. You don’t need two children to die in a vehicle accident to understand what they are saying. In two weeks it will be six years from the time this season of loss started for Lynette, Samuel, Olivia, and me. Over that six years, I have been unemployed or underemployed for more than half that time. It is frustrating and exasperating. It isn’t fun at all. We don’t want to be here. We don’t like it. We’re mad at all of the losses we have experienced, which range from ending my career in journalism and seeking God to know what’s next, to the death of Lynette’s father and moving far away from our families. Frankly, there have been times in the past year where it seems as if there’s been a wall, and then an obstacle, and then a hurdle, and then something else that prevents the breakthrough I so desperately seek. All we have ever desired is to be in the center of God’s will and it seems so elusive, so unclear, filled with questions without answers, and much confusion. God has been extremely good to us and we are grateful for His constant provision. He has done it over and over and over again, including keeping us safe during an historical flood in South Carolina that occurred on October 4. But I am weary of survival mode. It’s very difficult to think of thriving in the place where God calls you to be when day after day, after week, after month has been all about surviving. I have cried out to God many times. I have wept and sobbed many times. And the waiting continues because we believe God has a plan, His word can be trusted, His timing is perfect, and the waiting is where more faith and trust take root like an oak tree planted near a river or lake. Our loss hasn’t been the loss that Gentry and Hadley Eddings have experienced (and no one can wish that on another human being), but we fully understand what they are saying. And any Christ follower who has walked through tremendous valleys will also relate to what they say.

[curtolson]

I fully understand what the Eddings say about their loss

Curt W. Olson Author of “A Grace Discovered”

When the accident occurred in late May, I wrote and encouraged those who like the Facebook page for my book, “A Grace Discovered: Perseverance During Our Season of Loss,” to follow the story of Gentry and Hadley Eddings of Charlotte, N.C. This is the worship leader at Forest Hills Church and his wife who had two children die in a motor vehicle accident near Wilmington, N.C. on May 23 and May 25. Their toddler son, Dobbs, died in the accident, and Reed, who was delivered by an emergency C-section with Hadley eight months pregnant, also died later from the trauma caused by the crash. Their story is one of forgiveness. The Eddings quickly forgave the man charged in the crash. But this story also is about perseverance during loss. The Eddings receive their strength to carry on from their relationship with Jesus Christ. No one who has experienced deep loss, no matter what that is, will regard it as fun or easy. Hadley Eddings, the wife and mother, stated the following to the Charlotte Observer about two months after the crash. “I hate that this happened. I don’t like it at all. But I can trust God even when it’s really hard. I just trust it. I have to, I have to.” A story also was published by the Daily Mail in England. Gentry Eddings stated the following in these articles. “God has our boys in a place of peace, so I am in a place of peace. God has a plan. The situation is a frustrating one. We don't want to be here. We don't like it. This is not a fun situation. We're mad at the loss. But we know God is good and has a plan and we believe that.” He also said: “We can't just plow through. We're on a journey and it's going to be a long one.” This young couple was transparent and vulnerable at their most vulnerable moment. And yet, any follower of Jesus Christ who has gone through hardships, trials, loss, deep disappointments, and discouraging times can empathize with the Eddings. You don’t need two children to die in a vehicle accident to understand what they are saying. In two weeks it will be six years from the time this season of loss started for Lynette, Samuel, Olivia, and me. Over that six years, I have been unemployed or underemployed for more than half that time. It is frustrating and exasperating. It isn’t fun at all. We don’t want to be here. We don’t like it. We’re mad at all of the losses we have experienced, which range from ending my career in journalism and seeking God to know what’s next, to the death of Lynette’s father and moving far away from our families. Frankly, there have been times in the past year where it seems as if there’s been a wall, and then an obstacle, and then a hurdle, and then something else that prevents the breakthrough I so desperately seek. All we have ever desired is to be in the center of God’s will and it seems so elusive, so unclear, filled with questions without answers, and much confusion. God has been extremely good to us and we are grateful for His constant provision. He has done it over and over and over again, including keeping us safe during an historical flood in South Carolina that occurred on October 4. But I am weary of survival mode. It’s very difficult to think of thriving in the place where God calls you to be when day after day, after week, after month has been all about surviving. I have cried out to God many times. I have wept and sobbed many times. And the waiting continues because we believe God has a plan, His word can be trusted, His timing is perfect, and the waiting is where more faith and trust take root like an oak tree planted near a river or lake. Our loss hasn’t been the loss that Gentry and Hadley Eddings have experienced (and no one can wish that on another human being), but we fully understand what they are saying. And any Christ follower who has walked through tremendous valleys will also relate to what they say.

[curtolson]

By Curt W. Olson (Image Credit: Assyrian Christian woman credited to latinpost.com of two days ago.) According to the Shoebat Foundation, the numbers of abducted Assyrian Christians climb higher each day. When word first surfaced on Monday and Tuesday that Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)…

[curtolson]

By Curt W. Olson (Image Credit: Assyrian Christian woman credited to latinpost.com of two days ago.) According to the Shoebat Foundation, the numbers of abducted Assyrian Christians climb higher each day. When word first surfaced on Monday and Tuesday that Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)...

[curtolson]

Numbers of abducted Assyrian Christians keep climbing; ISIS may have already beheaded 15 people with mass killing expected

By Curt W. Olson (Image Credit: Assyrian Christian woman credited to latinpost.com of two days ago.) According to the Shoebat Foundation, the numbers of abducted Assyrian Christians climb higher each day. When word first surfaced on Monday and Tuesday that Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has abducted Assyrian Christians from Hasaka province in northeast Syria, most estimates were less than 100 people. It then rose to about 120 people by Tuesday and about 220 by Wednesday, with several reports indicating women and children were among those kidnapped. USA Today reported Friday, citing members of the Sweden-based Assyrian Network for Human Rights and England-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as sources, the number of Assyrian Christians abducted by ISIS was more than 250 people. Shoebat.com reported Friday the number is 350 people that were targeted because they were from known Christian villages in Syria. Shoebat.com obtained some graphic footage of a video of someone being beheaded (WARNING: GRAPHIC Footage), which are believed to be 15 members of a Christian militia defended Christian villages. Theodore Shoebat quoted the Catholic Herald, which quoted Abbot Emanuel Youkhana who detailed the numbers of people abducted from specific towns, including the following:

"ISIS captured 14 Christians from Tel Hormizd, 81 from Tel Jazira, 21 from Tel Gouran, five from Tel Feytha and three from Qabir Shamiya.

"ISIS captured 51 families, all of whom were Christians, from the village of Tel Shamiram, leaving the whole village deserted."

Meanwhile, Bartlesville, Oklahoma-based Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), a Christian organization that focuses on the persecuted church, has also been trying to gain information about these abducted Assyrian Christians. It created a Facebook post Wednesday that informed people how they can pray for Assyrian Christians who have been abducted and other who escaped and are now refugees. That VOM Facebook post stated the following: "In light of the kidnapping of dozens of Christians yesterday in Syria, we received an email from a Syrian Christian leader giving specific ways to pray. Will you join our Syrian brothers and sisters in lifting up the requests he shared?

1. Pray the Lord will encourage Christians in Syria so they can be a living testimony, in the midst of war, to others around them.

2. Pray for God's protection of the Christian community in Syria.

3. Pray young Christian men will turn to God and put their hope in Jesus.

4. Pray for children and women who are being taking hostage by IS.

5. Finally, pray for peace in Syria."

Prayers are obviously critical for these people, but it is possible ISIS intends to waste no time with a mass killing of “infidels.”

“The charity reports that another source claimed that people in the Sunni Arab village of Bab Alfaraj have been told to attend ‘a mass killing of infidels’ at Mount Abdul Aziz tomorrow,” the Catholic Herald also reported.

The Catholic Herald story was written Thursday. If that announcement of "a mass killing of infidels" is accurate, that may have already occurred.

This article also is posted at my website curtolson.weebly.com under the tab Religious Persecution.

[curtolson]

By Curt W. Olson

Christians are on the run in Iraq and Syria, fleeing the savage attacks from the terrorist organization Islamic State.

Many Christians in war-torn Iraq and Syria have seen loved ones, or friends tortured, assassinated, or crucified by Islamic State terrorists.

Christians in...