Friend,
Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families. <[link removed]>
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1. COLSON CENTER: Barronelle Stutzman’s Long Obedience and the Failure of the Court
"[Last] Friday, in an act of what can only be described as dereliction, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear the case of Arlene’s Flowers, Inc. vs. Washington. In refusing to hear this case, the Court has failed to bring clarity to a situation it ultimately created.
Despite the utopian thinking of Justice Anthony Kennedy in the Obergefell vs. Hodges decision, legalizing same-sex marriage has led to a crisis of religious liberty. Barronelle Stutzman is the definitive answer to the question, 'How will my gay marriage affect you?'"
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2. NC VALUES: The US Supreme Court dealt a devastating blow to Barronelle
Barronelle appealed to the US Supreme Court, which vacated the Washington Supreme Court's decision with instructions for the Court to decide her case in accordance with Jack Phillips' Masterpiece Cakes case, where the US Supreme Court ruled the state could not display animus towards a business owner's religious beliefs.
However, the Washington Supreme Court cut and pasted its original decision against Barronelle into a new decision, defying SCOTUS. It is that defiant and unconstitutional ruling that SCOTUS refused to rectify.
It is painful and heartbreaking that SCOTUS refused to take Barronelle's case and administer true justice in this case. Now, Barronelle and her husband Darold could lose everything they have worked for all of their lives-their business, their home, their retirement, and all their possessions-just to pay the ACLU's attorney's fees.
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3. FOX NEWS: San Francisco Gay Men's Choir faces backlash for 'we're coming for your children' video
"'We’ll convert your children. Happens bit by bit. Quietly and subtly. And you will barely notice it. You can keep them from disco. Warn about San Francisco. Make ’em wear pleated pants. We don’t care. We’ll convert your children. We’ll make them tolerant and fair.'
Later, the lyrics continue: 'We’ll convert your children. Someone’s gotta teach them not to hate. We’re coming for them. We’re coming for your children. We’re coming for them. We’re coming for them. We’re coming for your children.'
'Your children will care about,' the choir adds, 'fairness and justice for others. Your children will work to convert all their sisters and brothers. Then soon we’re almost certain, your kids will start converting you!'
'The gay agenda is coming home. The gay agenda is here! But you don't have to worry because there's nothing wrong with standing by our side.'"
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4. THE FEDERALIST: "I Shouldn’t Be Forced Into Politics To Play College Sports"
"By the next game, while running out of the tunnel 10 of my 13 Davidson College teammates and all four of my coaches were wearing T-shirts with 'Black Lives Matter' bannered across the front. When the national anthem played and with our U.S. Army veteran team doctor behind us, most of my team dropped to one knee in protest of America’s 'institutional racism.'
The virtue signaling was clear: those wearing the T-shirt and those on their knees supported basic human rights, and the rest of us simply did not.
Political messaging in sports isn’t new, but the grip and scale this possesses over sports is. Administrators providing collegiate athletes the platform to speak out on important issues has transformed athletics into a system of coercive speech. Today, athletes and coaches with fashionable views are pressuring their programs into mirroring their beliefs and being applauded by the media and universities for doing it. But is anyone stopping for a moment to question whether the players protesting really want to be?"
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5. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Local school leaders balk at controversial social studies standards
"At least one local board of education has voted to delay controversial new social studies standards that emphasize race and gender in teaching U.S. history and civics. The Moore County Board of Education voted unanimously June 14 to adopt a resolution, urging the N.C. State Board of Education or lawmakers to delay implementation of the new standards until the 2022-23 school year. If either body fails to act, the board reserved the right to delay implementation unilaterally."
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WEEKLY PRAYER: LIBERTY
LORD, you have blessed us with a spiritual liberty that is so wonderful and beyond description, that it can only be understood through experiencing a life-giving relationship with Christ. However, we also recognize that in your grace, you have blessed our country with a political liberty that enables us to openly proclaim the experience of a life lived in the freedom of the Gospel.
LORD, as individuals and as a nation, may we never take the inalienable right of religious freedom for granted. Right now our country has faced a rapid increase in the number of attacks made against this cherished right. We have seen groups across our public arena increase in boldness and frequency their smears against religious liberty. They claim it is bigotry, when we know it is the security of the greatest of all possible loves.
Be with your people and our country as it continues to protect the constitutional right protected by our nation's Founders. Be with legislators and the Supreme Court, as they determine through their actions the protection of this particular and fundamental freedom.
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)
"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13)
"Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God." (1 Peter 2:16)
Amen
Will you chip in $100, $50, $25, or even $10 to help the NC Values Coalition continue to fight for your rights? You can donate by clicking here. <[link removed]>
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Sincerely,
North Carolina Values Coalition
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NC Values Coalition - 9650 Strickland Rd, Suite 103-226, Raleigh, NC 27615-1902, United States
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