May 20, 2019
Monday, May 20, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Evangelical leaders are responding to President Trump’s proposal for a merit-based immigration system that would prioritize skilled workers over family-based immigration.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The administration’s plan for a points-based immigration system would be similar to the Canadian and Australian models that award more points to younger workers who have an advanced education and speak English.
The White House has yet to release the plan in legislative form, but the president said the new system would promote “integration, assimilation, and national unity.”
The Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said the proposal is “a comprehensive plan that can fix our long-broken system.”
But Matthew Soerens, national coordinator at the Evangelical Immigration Table, fears the administration’s proposal could hurt naturalized families who have waited years to reunite with their loved ones.
— In California, parents across the state kept their children out of school Friday to protest the state’s controversial new sex-ed curriculum adopted earlier this month.
The organized group Informed Parents of California held rallies to protest the teaching of “gender-fluid theory” in grades K-12, and curriculum materials they described as sexualizing children and undermining families.
Parents who protested also said the curriculum is too sexually graphic.
While students can opt out of lessons about sexual intercourse, the state prohibits students from opting out of lessons about same-sex marriage and gender identity.
— In Pennsylvania, a man who set two fires at a church that banned him from attending said he committed the crimes because he was “mad at God.”
Wilmer Jose Ortiz Torres was charged with twice setting fire to Iglesia Pentecostal De Bethlehem last April. He was also charged with burglary and criminal trespass.
The fires caused damage to both the church’s sanctuary and its roof.
Ortiz Torres’s sister said her brother suffers from mental illness.
— Conservative Christians have expressed concerns that the Equality Act passed by the Democrat-controlled House Friday will restrict First Amendment religious freedom rights of individuals and organizations that uphold traditional teachings on marriage, abortion and sexuality.
The bill passed by the House would expand the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to also ban discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation and gender identity” in housing, public accommodations and hiring.
The legislation seeks to codify LGBT non-discrimination protections into federal law and expand taxpayer funding of abortion.
A group of 21 Christian conservative pastors and activists had urged members of the House to vote against the bill.
Idaho Republican Congressman Russ Fulcher who voted against the bill said the Equality Act would eliminate women’s rights by allowing male inmates to be incarcerated in women’s prisons and male athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Kristen Waggoner, the Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer who defended Christian baker Jack Phillips at the U.S. Supreme Court, said the bill undermines “constitutionally guaranteed freedoms,” and would force Americans to participate in events and speak messages that violate their core beliefs.”
While the bill was passed by the House, it is not expected to be voted on by the Republican controlled Senate.
— Joel Osteen Ministries is warning the public about a fake social media account featuring the pastor’s image that is offering prayers in return for monthly donations.
The scam circulating on Facebook claims people can submit prayer requests to the ministry in exchange for monthly donations of $24.99 or $49.99.
Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, posted the alert about the scam on its Facebook page. The church said the ministry “never requests money for prayer.”
To read more stories from a Christian perspective, you can visit christianpost.com.
