July 10, 2019: New human rights commission, Amazon censorship, discovery of Ziklag
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— State Dept. launches Commission on Unalienable Rights
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The U.S. State Department launched a Commission on Unalienable Rights amid concerns that human rights discourse is being hijacked for other purposes.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that international human rights agencies have “drifted from their original mission” and that some human rights claims “have come into tension with one another.”
The commission consists of human rights experts, philosophers, and activists, including those from various political parties. They have been tasked to re-examine how to determine whether something is a human right and to advise Pompeo on human rights grounded in the nation’s founding principles and the principles of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
— Amazon scraps books by formerly gay authors
Amazon has removed books in which authors Anne Paulk and Joe Dallas describe their former struggles with same-sex attraction.
The latest removal comes just days after it stopped selling books by the late clinical psychologist Joseph Nicolosi, who wrote about reparative therapy, amid pressure from LGBT activists.
Dallas told The Christian Post, "Amazon's decision is no surprise since today's culture is caving to the goals of the LGBTQ political movement, which have always included the silencing [of] any disapproval of homosexuality.”
— Appeals court rules against Florida county’s prayer policy
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously ruled on Monday against a Florida county’s prayer policy that bans atheists and other religious groups from giving invocations.
The court ruled that the Brevard County Board of Commissioners violated the Establishment Clause by favoring certain monotheistic religions while excluding others.
Brevard commissioners had approved a ban on atheist invocations at their public meetings in 2015.
— HarperCollins warns tariffs on China will ‘damage’ Bible sales
HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., which oversees the largest Bible publishers in the U.S., warned that imposing tariffs on printed books and Bibles could force price increases and thus “would seriously and disproportionately damage our business and our customers.”
The company noted that many Bible consumers are churches, nonprofits, schools and ministries and price increases would affect their outreach efforts.
Trade talks between the U.S. and China were put on hold but are expected to resume this week. The Trump administration is seeking correctives for what it says are China’s unfair trade practices that hurt America’s workers and innovative industries.
— Archaeologists discover biblical city of Ziklag
The Israeli Antiquities Authority and Hebrew University announced the discovery of what archaeologists believe is the biblical city of Ziklag. According to the Bible, Ziklag is the Philistine city that David and his followers fled to as King Saul sought his death.
The excavation site is near Kiryat Gat in Israel and contains evidence of continuous settlement and of having been destroyed by a fire. Pottery vessels that were discovered have been carbon-dated to the time of King David.
To read more stories from a Christian perspective, visit christianpost.com.
![[Ready to PUB] Christian psychologist: Kids must develop 'resilience' to fulfill God's purpose for them](https://cdn.christianpost.com/images/cache/thumbnail/25/92/259219_a_300_200_658_146.jpg)
