A federal court ruled that the church Dad’s Place can continue its ministry of providing shelter for the needy in the City of Bryan, Ohio, as its court case moves forward.

In March 2023, Pastor Chris Avell began opening the doors of the church to those in need, but the city has harassed him and worked to stop his care for disadvantaged men and women.

A panel of judges from Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals reversed a previous court ruling that closed the ministry, noting that the trial court failed to consider Avell’s religious liberty as set forth in the Ohio Constitution’s Conscience Clause.

That clause states, “All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience,” adding that “interference with the rights of conscience” is not permitted.

For Pastor Avell, keeping the church open  literally 24 hours a day, seven days a week — to care — for the vulnerable in his city is an integral part of practicing his faith.

First Liberty Institute, which represents Pastor Avell along with the law firms Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP and Spengler Nathanson PLL, quoted Pastor Avell in their summary of the case.

“The ministry of the church is not confined to Sunday morning at 11am. We welcome anyone to experience the love and truth of Jesus, regardless of the time of day.”

First Liberty explained that the church began opening its doors as a shelter because it saw a need in the city.

Alleged murderer Luigi Mangione’s defense fund exceeded $1.36 million in donations this week as assassination culture continues infecting American minds.

A shocking number of people defended Mangione last December after he allegedly shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson to death on a Manhattan street. The insurance executive’s slaughter, Mangione fans argue, was an appropriate, necessary response to insurance companies’ greed.

Justifications like these are a product of assassination culture — an ideology which accepts and glorifies political violence against the rich, powerful and politically conservative.

Assassination culture poses a grave threat to the moral and social fabric of America.

A growing number of American adults feel political violence can be at least partially justified in some circumstances, per a recent survey conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab.

The survey concluded failure to “explicitly confront and condemn” assassination culture would result in “real-world escalation.”

Five months later, a gunman assassinated Charlier Kirk. His alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, claimed he’d “had enough” of the conservative leader’s “hatred.”

Parents can turn the tide against assassination culture and protect their kids from radicalization in these four ways.

President Trump declared the return of “Merry Christmas,” an open invitation for Americans to be bold and unafraid to share their Christian faith this Christmas season.

“We’re saying MERRY CHRISTMAS again!” the White House posted on X on Dec. 1, alongside a picture of the smiling president beside a fully decorated Christmas tree in the Oval Office.

During his first campaign for president, then-candidate Trump would regularly assure crowds that “We’re going to be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again.”

“You go into a department store. When was the last time you saw ‘Merry Christmas?’ You don’t see it anymore,” Trump contended during a speech at Liberty University in January 2016.

“They want to be politically correct. If I’m president, you will see ‘Merry Christmas’ in department stores, believe me, believe me.”

The president, known for speaking in generalities and hyperboles, certainly recognized a very real cultural phenomenon.

According to a 2022 report produced by the International Institute for Religious Freedom, Christians often engage in “various forms of self-censorship” in response to secular intolerance.

The report, focused on France, Germany, Columbia and Mexico, found secular intolerance has a “chilling effect on Christians, which directly affects their capacity to express their faith freely in society.”

That reality is surely present in the United States as well.

Human relationships with the opposite sex are a fundamental part of being human.

We have them at work, school and in our community. They are nice and make our lives interesting, for sure. But opposite sex relationships really reveal their most consequential and rewarding richness in romantic, marital, and sexual relationships.

Of course, this brings to mind the topic of love, for that is what draws together and enlivens such relationships. And after all, civilization does not work without love and procreative sexuality, and marriage is all about these two essential virtues.

That is why a new article over at the Institute for Family Studies entitled “The Other Side of Marriage” is so important. It addresses two seemingly competing truths that marital love is one of the most wonderful and difficult things in the world.

This piece, although coming from a secular, psychological approach, contends with this important observation. The author explains, “The difficulties of marriage offer both the opportunity and the imperative to develop abilities — patience, discipline, self-awareness, curiosity, generosity — that are essential to strong and lasting love.”

This comes down to living in the wonder of falling in and remaining in love with one’s spouse, but also, like anything else that is important in life, working on and maintaining that love. This second part is the secret of marriage. This article explains, “We overvalue uncomplicated romantic bliss, individuality, control, choice, and comfort — all things that an intimate, committed relationship is likely to disrupt.”