thestream--2020-06-18--People Don’t Want to Defund the Police — But Now Who Wants to Be a Police Officer?

The tragic death of George Floyd has resulted in calls to defund the police .
But what would that entail , and do most people agree ?
Some say it merely means reducing their budgets and reforming the way police departments operate .
It just means defund the police as they now are .
Could be reasonable .
Conservatives have long talked about ways the police could work better .
The famous “ broken windows ” theory applied in New York City was one of those ideas .
But others admit they want to completely abolish the police .
Get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to community groups and social workers .
Polling shows the vast majority of Americans oppose defunding the police .
Only 27 % support it , according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll .
Breaking the numbers down , 19 % of Americans who oppose it thought it meant abolishing the police .
56 % thought it meant “ significantly decreasing the size of police forces and the scope of their work.
” The rest weren ’ t sure .
But what it comes down to is the vast majority of Americans don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that means to them .
Only 29 % of black Americans support defunding the police , not much more than the white and hispanic populations ( 26 % each ) .
In fact , 20 % more black Americans oppose the change than support it .
Why ?
A disproportionately large percentage of crime occurs in black communities .
Disbanding or reducing the police will affect them more .
The Defund the Police movement claims that it ’ s white people who are upset about losing the police , because the police only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of crime in big inner cities do not reflect that cynical view .
Many blacks in law enforcement have spoken up against defunding the police .
Seattle ’ s Police Chief Carmen Best made waves for contradicting her boss , Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkam , on the necessity of the police .
Best warned about the protesters occupying Seattle ’ s Capitol Hill who are keeping the police out .
“ Rapes , robberies and all sorts of violent acts have been occurring in the area and we ’ re not able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She said emergency calls had tripled since the occupation began .
Defunding the Police Has Already Started But some cities have started to move toward defunding the police .
The Minneapolis City Council just voted to abolish the police department .
They ’ re finding it ’ s harder to do than they thought .
The mayors of New York City and Los Angeles have vowed to cut their police departments and transfer the money to community organizations .
How will this work ?
Deadline Detroit looked at Detroit after it reduced funding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new policy cut wages by 10 % , stripped retired officers of their health benefits and deferred pension payments .
It didn ’ t work .
The average starting salary for a new officer is now only $ 40,000 a year .
20 % fewer officers patrol the streets , and the force has been unable to recruit enough officers .
Violent crime has risen .
There have been 100 homicides so far this year , a 25 % over last year at this time .
Nonfatal shootings have increased by 30 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
The Baltimore City Council just voted to reduce funding for the police by $ 22 million for the upcoming fiscal year .
It currently spends more than half a billion dollars per year on law enforcement .
The money will be diverted to things like opening recreation centers on Sundays , increasing trauma services and offering black-owned businesses forgivable loans .
The Democratic candidate for mayor called it a “ process to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety in Baltimore.
” The cuts include $ 7 million for overtime .
Police Commissioner Michael Harrison says this will “ inhibit the BPD ’ s ability to collect and process evidence outside of straight time shift hours.
” He said the cuts will leave the department short hundreds of police officers .
It also reduced funding to their marine unit .
It will have to combine with the fire department ’ s unit , because “ it will take away the department ’ s ability to do security checks , patrol and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People argue for defunding the police in different ways .
An “ organizer against criminalization ” just wrote an article for The New York Times entitled “ Yes , We Mean Literally Abolish the Police.
” In it , Mariame Kaba argues that since the system doesn ’ t handle rapes perfectly , we should eliminate the police from being able to stop or investigate rapes completely .
She sees the police solely as agents of oppression .
“ When you see a police officer pressing his knee into a black man ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s the logical result of policing in America .
When a police officer brutalizes a black person , he is doing what he sees as his job.
” At least cut the number in half , she asks .
“ Fewer police officers equals fewer opportunities for them to brutalize and kill people.
” Brooklyn College sociology professor Alex Vitale says we don ’ t need the police for things like prostitution .
“ We need a system of legalized sex work that ’ s regulated just like any other business.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime , we won ’ t need the police .
Vitale says he has a friend whose car was stolen .
The police found the car and arrested the suspect .
He friend said having the police around to help them demonstrated the need for police .
Vitale disagreed .
Instead , “ we ’ ve got to start trying to address what ’ s driving their [ the criminals ’ ] problematic behavior.
” This sounds good in theory .
But some people can ’ t be rehabilitated .
The police are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them and protect the public .
Think People Will Stay in a City With No Police ?
Think Again It ’ s no secret that without a police force , cities will be left to outlaws and people will flee them .
Only criminals and the wealthy who can afford security will do fine .
The loss of police protection disrupts the entire infrastructure .
This includes grocery stores , pharmacies and other necessary businesses .
For example , 77 % of truckers will not deliver to cities that have defunded the police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other supplies get to the stores .
The trucks can ’ t be replaced .
With the hatred for police increasing , and police at risk for high-profile prosecutions , why would anyone want to become a police officer ?
If you can get attacked , thrown around , have your taser pointed at you , and get immediately fired and prosecuted for taking the guy down ?
Forget it .
That is what happened in the recent shooting of Rayshard Brooks .
And uniformed officers are now becoming popular assassination targets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just going to make it more difficult to get and retain quality officers .
So they ’ re going to be relying on younger officers with less training — more likely to make mistakes .
President Trump has come up with a middle-of-the-road approach .
He has issued an executive order , “ Safe Policing for Safe Communities.
” It includes three things .
There will be certifications and credentialing for training in areas such as use of force .
A national database will be created to track officers with excessive force complaints @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ co-responders ” — will accompany officers on calls that don ’ t involve violence , such as homelessness and addiction .
There is talk of congressional reform , including federally-mandated body cameras for officers and prohibiting chokeholds .
Polling supports the national database directed by Trump at 72 % , and 73 % would ban chokeholds .
There was more modest support for barring the use of “ no-knock ” warrants in drug cases ( 49 % ) and for limiting the transfer of military equipment to police departments ( 46 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken to address the accusations of police brutality against blacks , and others .
Defunding the police is not one of them .
Rachel Alexander is a senior editor of The Stream .
Follow her on Twitter at Rach_IC .
Follow The Stream at streamdotorg .
Send tips to rachel.alexander @ stream.org .

The tragic death of George Floyd has resulted in calls to defund the police. But what would that entail, and do most people agree? Some say it merely means reducing their budgets and reforming the way police departments operate. It just means defund the police as they now are.
Could be reasonable. Conservatives have long talked about ways the police could work better. The famous “broken windows” theory applied in New York City was one of those ideas.
But others admit they want to completely abolish the police. Get rid of them. Leave law enforcement to community groups and social workers.
Don’t Defund the Police
Polling shows the vast majority of Americans oppose defunding the police. Only 27% support it, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll. Breaking the numbers down, 19% of Americans who oppose it thought it meant abolishing the police. 56% thought it meant “significantly decreasing the size of police forces and the scope of their work.” The rest weren’t sure. But what it comes down to is the vast majority of Americans don’t want to defund the police, whatever that means to them.
Only 29% of black Americans support defunding the police, not much more than the white and hispanic populations (26% each). In fact, 20% more black Americans oppose the change than support it.
Why? A disproportionately large percentage of crime occurs in black communities. Disbanding or reducing the police will affect them more. The Defund the Police movement claims that it’s white people who are upset about losing the police, because the police only help them. Polling and the level of crime in big inner cities do not reflect that cynical view.
Black Americans oppose defunding the police by a margin of 20%, with only 29% supporting it, not much different than the general population.
Many blacks in law enforcement have spoken up against defunding the police. Seattle’s Police Chief Carmen Best made waves for contradicting her boss, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkam, on the necessity of the police. Best warned about the protesters occupying Seattle’s Capitol Hill who are keeping the police out. “Rapes, robberies and all sorts of violent acts have been occurring in the area and we’re not able to get to [them].” She said emergency calls had tripled since the occupation began.
Defunding the Police Has Already Started
But some cities have started to move toward defunding the police. The Minneapolis City Council just voted to abolish the police department. They’re finding it’s harder to do than they thought. The mayors of New York City and Los Angeles have vowed to cut their police departments and transfer the money to community organizations.
How will this work? Deadline Detroit looked at Detroit after it reduced funding for law enforcement in 2014. The new policy cut wages by 10%, stripped retired officers of their health benefits and deferred pension payments.
It didn’t work. The average starting salary for a new officer is now only $40,000 a year. 20% fewer officers patrol the streets, and the force has been unable to recruit enough officers. Violent crime has risen. There have been 100 homicides so far this year, a 25% over last year at this time. Nonfatal shootings have increased by 30%, to 271 so far.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
The Baltimore City Council just voted to reduce funding for the police by $22 million for the upcoming fiscal year. It currently spends more than half a billion dollars per year on law enforcement. The money will be diverted to things like opening recreation centers on Sundays, increasing trauma services and offering black-owned businesses forgivable loans. The Democratic candidate for mayor called it a “process to redirect our public dollars and reimagine public safety in Baltimore.”
The cuts include $7 million for overtime. Police Commissioner Michael Harrison says this will “inhibit the BPD’s ability to collect and process evidence outside of straight time shift hours.” He said the cuts will leave the department short hundreds of police officers.
It also reduced funding to their marine unit. It will have to combine with the fire department’s unit, because “it will take away the department’s ability to do security checks, patrol and respond to calls on the water.”
Literally Abolish the Police
People argue for defunding the police in different ways. An “organizer against criminalization” just wrote an article for The New York Times entitled “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police.” In it, Mariame Kaba argues that since the system doesn’t handle rapes perfectly, we should eliminate the police from being able to stop or investigate rapes completely.
She sees the police solely as agents of oppression. “When you see a police officer pressing his knee into a black man’s neck until he dies, that’s the logical result of policing in America. When a police officer brutalizes a black person, he is doing what he sees as his job.” At least cut the number in half, she asks. “Fewer police officers equals fewer opportunities for them to brutalize and kill people.”
Brooklyn College sociology professor Alex Vitale says we don’t need the police for things like prostitution. “We need a system of legalized sex work that’s regulated just like any other business.” In other words, if we legalize crime, we won’t need the police.
Vitale says he has a friend whose car was stolen. The police found the car and arrested the suspect. He friend said having the police around to help them demonstrated the need for police. Vitale disagreed. Instead, “we’ve got to start trying to address what’s driving their [the criminals’] problematic behavior.” This sounds good in theory. But some people can’t be rehabilitated. The police are the only force that can deal with them and protect the public.
Think People Will Stay in a City With No Police? Think Again
It’s no secret that without a police force, cities will be left to outlaws and people will flee them. Only criminals and the wealthy who can afford security will do fine.
The loss of police protection disrupts the entire infrastructure. This includes grocery stores, pharmacies and other necessary businesses. For example, 77% of truckers will not deliver to cities that have defunded the police. Their trucks are the way food and other supplies get to the stores. The trucks can’t be replaced.
With the hatred for police increasing, and police at risk for high-profile prosecutions, why would anyone want to become a police officer?
With the hatred for police increasing, and police at risk for high-profile prosecutions, why would anyone want to become a police officer? If you can get attacked, thrown around, have your taser pointed at you, and get immediately fired and prosecuted for taking the guy down? Forget it. That is what happened in the recent shooting of Rayshard Brooks. And uniformed officers are now becoming popular assassination targets.
The irony is the cuts are just going to make it more difficult to get and retain quality officers. So they’re going to be relying on younger officers with less training — more likely to make mistakes.
More Rational Solutions
President Trump has come up with a middle-of-the-road approach. He has issued an executive order, “Safe Policing for Safe Communities.” It includes three things. There will be certifications and credentialing for training in areas such as use of force. A national database will be created to track officers with excessive force complaints. And mental health experts — called “co-responders” — will accompany officers on calls that don’t involve violence, such as homelessness and addiction.
There is talk of congressional reform, including federally-mandated body cameras for officers and prohibiting chokeholds. Polling supports the national database directed by Trump at 72%, and 73% would ban chokeholds. There was more modest support for barring the use of “no-knock” warrants in drug cases (49%) and for limiting the transfer of military equipment to police departments (46%).
There are reasonable steps being taken to address the accusations of police brutality against blacks, and others. Defunding the police is not one of them.
Rachel Alexander is a senior editor of The Stream. Follow her on Twitter at Rach_IC. Follow The Stream at streamdotorg. Send tips to [email protected].


thestream--2020-06-18--Military Photo of the Day: Welcome Home, Hero!

A U.S. Army soldier reunites with his family and holds his child after returning to Fort Bliss in Texas from @ @ @ @ @ June 6 , 2020 .
Welcome home , hero !
Thank you for your dedicated @ @ @ @ @ Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic @ @ @ @ @ Day .

A U.S. Army soldier reunites with his family and holds his child after returning to Fort Bliss in Texas from a deployment to Afghanistan on June 6, 2020.
Welcome home, hero! Thank you for your dedicated service to our country.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.


thestream--2020-06-18--The Catastrophe of Fatherless America

The Catastrophe of Fatherless America

Much of the mayhem we see today is linked to fatherlessness .
Sunday we celebrate Father ’ s Day .
But fathers in our culture have not recently appeared very important — at least according to Hollywood and other culture-shapers .
We used to have programs like Father Knows Best or Leave It to Beaver with a respectable father figure .
Then we devolved to Archie Bunker on All in the Family .
He was the stereotypical bigoted , benighted patriarch who was not worthy of emulation .
Then we devolved to Homer Simpson , the buffoonish dad , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Of course , in many households today , there is no dad .
And that ’ s a serious problem .
So many of the children in fatherless homes begin life at a serious disadvantage .
The breakdown of the family at large has caused a huge crisis in our society .
For instance , statistics show that the majority of prison inmates come from broken families .
As the Family Goes , So Goes Society Fatherlessness is a serious blight on American life .
As the family goes , so goes society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left says ( who spend much of their energy diminishing traditional gender roles and arguing that whatever “ family you choose ” is just as good as the real thing ) , fathers are integral to the life of a child .
Take an example .
What is it that is devastating the black community today ?
Many in our current climate would say the main issue is racism .
But sociologically , cultural pathologies are linked closely to poverty .
And poverty is linked closely to the structure of the family .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ buys votes ) has created a permanent underclass of people by subsidizing fatherlessness and unemployment .
Prior to the Great Society , the rate of illegitimacy in the black community was relatively low and families were intact .
And as economist Thomas Sowell points out , the poverty rate for African-Americans fell by 40 percent from 1940 to 1960 — just before the “ Great Society ” welfare programs .
Today , the illegitimacy rate is over 75 % , which is devastating — by virtually all accounts .
I remember many years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church ” in Chicago that was a little on the liberal side .
One of the lay leaders , a man , got up and prayed , and he said , “ Our Father , Our Mother….
” I was thinking , “ What ?
!
?
” So I asked him after the service about the unorthodox prayer .
His response was that that church was in the shadow of the most notorious housing project in the city , Cabrini-Green .
Fatherlessness was a huge problem there .
Most people growing up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earthly father because he was absent or drunk or abusive .
Cabrini-Green was such a disaster that it has since been torn down .
In his book , Hearts of the Fathers , Charles Crismier notes that many American children today lack the “ God-ordered earthly anchor for soul security ” because dad is not in the home .
He notes , “ It is well known but seldom discussed , whether in the church house or the White House , that fatherlessness lies at the root of nearly all of the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now post-Christian life.
” For example , take the issue of poverty .
Says Crismier , “ Children living in female-headed homes have a poverty rate of 48 percent , more than four times the rate for children living in homes with their fathers and mothers.
” He points out that fathers are so important in the Bible , beginning with God the Father , that the words “ father , ” “ fathers , ” and “ forefathers ” appear 1,573 times .
Obviously , children in fatherless homes can survive and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what a better thing it is to follow God ’ s design for the family .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
There ’ s also a link between fatherlessness and unbelief .
About 20 years ago , when he was a professor at New York University , Dr. Paul Vitz wrote a book , The Faith of the Fatherless .
In that book he showed how famous atheists and skeptics in history had virtually no father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ negative father .
As examples , he cites Voltaire , Bertrand Russell , H. G. Wells , Friedrich Nietzsche , Jean Paul Sartre , Thomas Hobbs , and Sigmund Freud , among others .
Conversely , Vitz found that strong believers often had positive fathers or father figures .
In an interview for Christian television , he told me , “ I would say the biggest problem in the country is the breakdown of the family , and the biggest problem in the breakdown in the family is the absence of the father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faith , particularly for men , and we ’ ll recover fatherhood .
And if we recover fatherhood , we ’ ll recover the family .
If we recover the family , we ’ ll recover our society.
” If you ’ re a father and you stay with your children and you love your wife , you ’ re a real hero and roll model .
Keep it up —our nation is counting on you .
Jerry Newcombe , D.Min.
, is a senior producer and an on-air host for D. James @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-written 32 books , such as The Unstoppable Jesus Christ , American Amnesia : Is American Paying the Price for Forgetting God ?
, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born ?
( with D. James Kennedy ) and the bestseller , George Washington ’ s Sacred Fire ( with Peter Lillback ) .
Learn more at www.jerrynewcombe.com and follow him on Twitter @ newcombejerry .

Much of the mayhem we see today is linked to fatherlessness.
Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day. But fathers in our culture have not recently appeared very important — at least according to Hollywood and other culture-shapers.
We used to have programs like Father Knows Best or Leave It to Beaver with a respectable father figure. Then we devolved to Archie Bunker on All in the Family. He was the stereotypical bigoted, benighted patriarch who was not worthy of emulation.
Then we devolved to Homer Simpson, the buffoonish dad, who was anything but a role model.
Of course, in many households today, there is no dad. And that’s a serious problem. So many of the children in fatherless homes begin life at a serious disadvantage. The breakdown of the family at large has caused a huge crisis in our society. For instance, statistics show that the majority of prison inmates come from broken families.
As the Family Goes, So Goes Society
Fatherlessness is a serious blight on American life. As the family goes, so goes society. And, contrary to what the left says (who spend much of their energy diminishing traditional gender roles and arguing that whatever “family you choose” is just as good as the real thing), fathers are integral to the life of a child.
Take an example. What is it that is devastating the black community today? Many in our current climate would say the main issue is racism. But sociologically, cultural pathologies are linked closely to poverty. And poverty is linked closely to the structure of the family. Government subsidies (by which the left buys votes) has created a permanent underclass of people by subsidizing fatherlessness and unemployment.
Prior to the Great Society, the rate of illegitimacy in the black community was relatively low and families were intact. And as economist Thomas Sowell points out, the poverty rate for African-Americans fell by 40 percent from 1940 to 1960 — just before the “Great Society” welfare programs. Today, the illegitimacy rate is over 75%, which is devastating — by virtually all accounts.
I remember many years ago when I attended an “evangelical church” in Chicago that was a little on the liberal side. One of the lay leaders, a man, got up and prayed, and he said, “Our Father, Our Mother….”
I was thinking, “What?!?” So I asked him after the service about the unorthodox prayer.
His response was that that church was in the shadow of the most notorious housing project in the city, Cabrini-Green. Fatherlessness was a huge problem there. Most people growing up there had a negative feeling about their earthly father because he was absent or drunk or abusive. Cabrini-Green was such a disaster that it has since been torn down.
Hearts of the Fathers
In his book, Hearts of the Fathers, Charles Crismier notes that many American children today lack the “God-ordered earthly anchor for soul security” because dad is not in the home. He notes, “It is well known but seldom discussed, whether in the church house or the White House, that fatherlessness lies at the root of nearly all of the most glaring problems that plague our modern, now post-Christian life.”
For example, take the issue of poverty. Says Crismier, “Children living in female-headed homes have a poverty rate of 48 percent, more than four times the rate for children living in homes with their fathers and mothers.”
He points out that fathers are so important in the Bible, beginning with God the Father, that the words “father,” “fathers,” and “forefathers” appear 1,573 times.
Obviously, children in fatherless homes can survive and even thrive despite that handicap. But what a better thing it is to follow God’s design for the family.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
There’s also a link between fatherlessness and unbelief. About 20 years ago, when he was a professor at New York University, Dr. Paul Vitz wrote a book, The Faith of the Fatherless. In that book he showed how famous atheists and skeptics in history had virtually no father figure in their life or a very negative father.
As examples, he cites Voltaire, Bertrand Russell, H. G. Wells, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean Paul Sartre, Thomas Hobbs, and Sigmund Freud, among others.
Conversely, Vitz found that strong believers often had positive fathers or father figures. In an interview for Christian television, he told me, “I would say the biggest problem in the country is the breakdown of the family, and the biggest problem in the breakdown in the family is the absence of the father. Our answer is to recover the faith, particularly for men, and we’ll recover fatherhood. And if we recover fatherhood, we’ll recover the family. If we recover the family, we’ll recover our society.”
If you’re a father and you stay with your children and you love your wife, you’re a real hero and role model. Keep it up — our nation is counting on you.
Jerry Newcombe, D.Min., is a senior producer and an on-air host for D. James Kennedy Ministries. He has written or co-written 32 books, such as The Unstoppable Jesus Christ, American Amnesia: Is American Paying the Price for Forgetting God?, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (with D. James Kennedy) and the bestseller, George Washington’s Sacred Fire (with Peter Lillback). Learn more at www.jerrynewcombe.com and follow him on Twitter @newcombejerry.


thestream--2020-06-18--Man Charged With Shoving 92-Year-Old Woman Has Been Arrested at Least 65 Times: NYPD

The man arrested Tuesday in connection to throwing a 92-year-old woman into a New York City fire hydrant has been arrested at least 65 times , the New York Police Department Public Information unit confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation .
The NYPD nabbed Rashid Brimmage , 31 , after the incident .
The elderly victim , Geraldine , who was too afraid to specify her last name , said she ’ s fearful to walk alone in the neighborhood where she ’ s spent the past 50 years in an interview with The New York Post .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state where I ’ m fearful to walk the streets alone , ” she told the New York Post .
“ So my super ’ s trying to find somebody who will walk me to a park nearby or to the supermarket , that kind of thing .
So that ’ s the problem.
” Some local outlets said he ’ s been arrested more than 100 times , citing police sources .
NYPD Public Information confirmed 65 arrests to the DCNF .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Issues of Our Day .
“ He has approximately 65 prior arrests , ” according to a statement from the New York Deputy Commissioner of Public Information .
“ Some include : Assault , Criminal Possession of Controlled substance , Public Lewdness , Criminal Mischief , Resisting Arrest , Sex Abuse , OGA , Criminal Trespass , Criminal Possession of Marijuana.
” Geraldine , who was on her way to a pharmacy , was allegedly flung to the street by Brimmage on Friday .
Her head impacted a fire hydrant and she lay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police .
“ I thought a brick hit me or something hit me on the left side of my head , and I went right down and hit my head against the hydrant , ” she said .
“ Blood was coming out , not spurting blood , but blood was dripping.
” Brimmage has allegedly attacked three other random people since February .
He reportedly punched a man at a pizza shop and struck both a woman and a man at the same Dunkin ’ Donuts in two separate incidents , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daily Caller News Foundation Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

The man arrested Tuesday in connection to throwing a 92-year-old woman into a New York City fire hydrant has been arrested at least 65 times, the New York Police Department Public Information unit confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The NYPD nabbed Rashid Brimmage, 31, after the incident. The elderly victim, Geraldine, who was too afraid to specify her last name, said she’s fearful to walk alone in the neighborhood where she’s spent the past 50 years in an interview with The New York Post.
“This d***** guy put me in a state where I’m fearful to walk the streets alone,” she told the New York Post. “So my super’s trying to find somebody who will walk me to a park nearby or to the supermarket, that kind of thing. So that’s the problem.”
Some local outlets said he’s been arrested more than 100 times, citing police sources. NYPD Public Information confirmed 65 arrests to the DCNF.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
“He has approximately 65 prior arrests,” according to a statement from the New York Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. “Some include: Assault, Criminal Possession of Controlled substance, Public Lewdness, Criminal Mischief, Resisting Arrest, Sex Abuse, OGA, Criminal Trespass, Criminal Possession of Marijuana.”
Geraldine, who was on her way to a pharmacy, was allegedly flung to the street by Brimmage on Friday. Her head impacted a fire hydrant and she lay on the ground until a bystander called police.
WATCH:
On June 12 at 3rd Avenue between 15th and 16th Street, this individual pushed a 92-year-old woman to the ground causing her to strike her head on a fire hydrant. pic.twitter.com/Nr2GaTiqm6 — Chief Rodney Harrison (@NYPDDetectives) June 16, 2020
“I thought a brick hit me or something hit me on the left side of my head, and I went right down and hit my head against the hydrant,” she said. “Blood was coming out, not spurting blood, but blood was dripping.”
Brimmage has allegedly attacked three other random people since February. He reportedly punched a man at a pizza shop and struck both a woman and a man at the same Dunkin’ Donuts in two separate incidents, according to NBC 4.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


thestream--2020-06-18--Thousands of Mexican, Brazilian Christians Reportedly Attend Clandestine Masses in Defiance of Coron

Thousands of Mexican, Brazilian Christians Reportedly Attend Clandestine Masses in Defiance of Coronavirus Orders

Thousands of Catholics and Christians in Mexico and Brazil are reportedly attending clandestine masses in defiance of coronavirus social distancing orders .
“ The bells don ’ t ring , there are no calls to mass , ” Antonio Hernández , who has seen church-goers quietly enter religious services at the Mexican Sagrado Corazón de Jesús church , told The Guardian .
“ You just see the people arrive a few minutes before 6:30 p.m. , enter the temple through the back door and then after that you start to hear their prayers , ” he said .
More than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Catholic , The Guardian reported , making Mexico the country with the largest Catholic congregation in the world second only to Brazil .
Latin America itself is home to more than 40 % of the world ’ s Catholics .
Many of these Catholics have continued to go to mass , despite coronavirus social distancing orders .
Mexico ’ s federal government suspended all religious activities that involve crowds in March after the Mexican Episcopal Conference suspended masses earlier in the month following the nation ’ s first wave of coronavirus outbreaks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church services are “ invitation only , ” Diego Martinez , whose mother attends the services , told The Guardian .
“ They call you and tell you the place and the date.
” Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Some churches , such as the Nuestra Señora de Fátima church in Zacatecas , allow attendance if the mass-goers sit behind the camera while the mass is live-streamed on Facebook .
Vicente Martinez , a Catholic in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all churches have been closed in his area but that his church has hidden activities every Thursday for about 30 to 40 people .
“ They do a callout where they describe it as an exclusive and private mass with refreshments after , ” Martinez told The Guardian .
Mexican authorities raided the Nuestra Señora de la Luz in the middle of mass in late May where they found around 20 people who were mostly elderly women praying .
The authorities kicked the women out of the church and sealed the church ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women had entered .
“ [ But ] they didn ’ t take any measures against the people inside — not even their temperature , ” Martinez told The Guardian .
Evangelicals in Brazil have also been sneaking into church services , though the state governor of Rio banned religious gatherings in mid-March , according to The Guardian .
Brazil ’ s president Jair Bolsonaro has been calling for churches to reopen , the publication reported .
“ Lift up your hands and shout : ‘ I wasn ’ t chosen to hide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rodrigues at a church service attended by about 80 worshippers in Rio , according to The Guardian .
“ I won ’ t accept having to cower in a cave , I won ’ t accept hiding in a hole because I have a calling from God , ” Rodrigues added .
“ You could have stayed at home .
But you needed to be here taking care of your salvation.
” Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

Thousands of Catholics and Christians in Mexico and Brazil are reportedly attending clandestine masses in defiance of coronavirus social distancing orders.
“The bells don’t ring, there are no calls to mass,” Antonio Hernández, who has seen church-goers quietly enter religious services at the Mexican Sagrado Corazón de Jesús church, told The Guardian.
“You just see the people arrive a few minutes before 6:30 p.m., enter the temple through the back door and then after that you start to hear their prayers,” he said.
More than 80% of those in Mexico identify as Catholic, The Guardian reported, making Mexico the country with the largest Catholic congregation in the world second only to Brazil. Latin America itself is home to more than 40% of the world’s Catholics.
Many of these Catholics have continued to go to mass, despite coronavirus social distancing orders. Mexico’s federal government suspended all religious activities that involve crowds in March after the Mexican Episcopal Conference suspended masses earlier in the month following the nation’s first wave of coronavirus outbreaks, The Guardian reported.
The secret church services are “invitation only,” Diego Martinez, whose mother attends the services, told The Guardian. “They call you and tell you the place and the date.”
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Some churches, such as the Nuestra Señora de Fátima church in Zacatecas, allow attendance if the mass-goers sit behind the camera while the mass is live-streamed on Facebook. Vicente Martinez, a Catholic in the city of Gómez Palacios, said all churches have been closed in his area but that his church has hidden activities every Thursday for about 30 to 40 people.
“They do a callout where they describe it as an exclusive and private mass with refreshments after,” Martinez told The Guardian.
Mexican authorities raided the Nuestra Señora de la Luz in the middle of mass in late May where they found around 20 people who were mostly elderly women praying. The authorities kicked the women out of the church and sealed the church’s back door, through which the women had entered.
“[But] they didn’t take any measures against the people inside — not even their temperature,” Martinez told The Guardian.
Evangelicals in Brazil have also been sneaking into church services, though the state governor of Rio banned religious gatherings in mid-March, according to The Guardian. Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has been calling for churches to reopen, the publication reported.
“Lift up your hands and shout: ‘I wasn’t chosen to hide myself!’” shouted Pastor Gilvrando Rodrigues at a church service attended by about 80 worshippers in Rio, according to The Guardian.
“I won’t accept having to cower in a cave, I won’t accept hiding in a hole because I have a calling from God,” Rodrigues added. “You could have stayed at home. But you needed to be here taking care of your salvation.”
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


thestream--2020-06-19--5 Casualties of the Court’s LGBTQ Sex Ruling

“ Sex ” in civil rights law now legally means sexual orientation , or whatever gender you think you are .
That ’ s the result of a surprising Supreme Court decision ( Bostock v. Clayton County ) from Justice Neil Gorsuch .
Problem ?
Yes .
Here are five casualties of this ruling : If you think you have the ability to govern yourselves through your elected representatives , the U.S. Supreme Court has again made a mockery of that Constitutional principle .
You can work to elect the right people and pass all the laws you want , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawyers on the Supreme Court nullify or replace your laws with their own .
That ’ s what six justices did this week .
They changed the 1964 civil rights law into a law that they desired , despite the fact that the very changes they made have been rejected by Congress in recent years .
Now , just like that , “ sex ” no longer means biological sex but sexual orientation and whatever a person thinks their sex is at the time .
As Justices Alito and Thomas wrote in dissent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for what the Court did : “ legislation.
” “ A more brazen abuse of our authority to interpret statutes is hard to recall.
” Now , many actually agree with the result .
( It has some big negatives , which I ’ ll get to in a minute . )
But the means by which this result was achieved should disturb everyone .
It strikes at the very heart of our Constitution and our rights as people to govern ourselves .
It ’ s an injustice for judges to impose their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judges want to change the law , then they should do what any citizen has to do — convince fellow citizens to go through the legislative process to get the law changed .
To merely impose their will on the people is tyranny .
Justice Gorsuch ’ s opinion furthers the Leftist claim that sex is defined not by biology , but by one ’ s state of mind .
Therefore , if a man thinks he ’ s a woman , then the law must treat him as a woman .
Although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has given legal grounds for biological men to gain advantage over actual women — in the workplace , in the bathroom , and elsewhere .
Ladies , you want that promotion ?
All other things being equal , who do you think your employer is now going to promote ?
You , or the man transitioning to a woman who now has heightened legal grounds , as an even smaller minority , to sue for “ discrimination ” ?
Do you want privacy and safety in the bathroom and showering facilities ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to adopt ?
The common sense one , where biological men and women are kept separate , or the one that prevents a costly lawsuit by inviting men into women ’ s facilities ?
Gorsuch has not just made it harder for women .
His reasoning contradicts the very rationale for the existence of women and the LGBTQ people he ’ s supposedly trying to help .
For when someone identifies as a woman , man , lesbian or gay , they are presupposing there is such a thing as objective biological @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sex with someone of the same sex unless one can differentiate that person from the opposite sex ?
And how can a man transition into a woman unless men and women actually exist ?
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
Gorsuch asserts that either one ’ s biology or psychology can determine one ’ s sex .
But if a person ’ s subjective psychology usurps their objective biology , then there is no objective way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or LGBTQ .
Sex and sexual identity are just figments of the imagination ( much like Gorsuch ’ s justification for his opinion ) .
That ’ s why some lesbians , gays , bisexuals and feminists oppose the subjective transgender psychology standard that Gorsuch just affirmed — it defines them out of existence !
Ask anyone in corporate America this question : Are you more likely to experience problems at work for supporting LGBTQ political goals or opposing them ?
It ’ s not even close , as I found out personally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proponents of everything LGBTQ .
And those who identify as such are actually better off than their straight counterparts .
LGBTQ households , on average , earn more than traditional households and gay men earn 10 % more than straight men .
While there are individual exceptions ( hence the lawsuit that brought this case to the Supreme Court ) , there appears to be NO systemic problem of anti-LGBTQ bias in the workplace .
Yet , this Court ’ s decision will employ the strong arm of government to fix a problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision will force companies to give employment preference to a long list of sexual orientations that , at best , 4 % of people claim ( a 4 % that already has a financial advantage ) .
Anyone who claims an LGBTQ identity will now have more job security than John or Jane Doe .
How so ?
Because if a company has to downsize , who are they going choose ?
One of the helpless Doe ’ s , or the person of a new legally-preferenced minority who can bring a costly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reverse discrimination may not be the intent of this decision , it is an inevitable consequence .
As soon as you give preferential treatment to one group of people , you are automatically disadvantaging anyone not part of that group .
Moreover , there isn ’ t any medical consensus as to what sexual orientation or transgenderism is .
But the effect of this decision is that businesses are now forced to give preference to those who identify as ambigender ; bigender ; blurgender ; collgender ; conflictgender ; cosmicgender ; crystagender ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; fissgender ; gemelgender ; gendercluster ; genderfluid ; gendersea ; genderfuzz ; genderfractal ; genderspiral ; genderswirl ; gendervex ; gyaragender ; libragender ; ogligender ; pangender ; polygender ; trigender .
( Whatever that all means . )
How is it possible to even know you ’ re in compliance if you can ’ t define what compliance is ?
How many young workers will claim one of these nebulous labels just to get an advantage ?
( Their claims for special treatment can ’ t be objectively disproven like Elizabeth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Native American . )
In short , this decision doesn ’ t fix an existing workplace problem .
( Thankfully , LGBTQ folks are doing quite well . )
Instead , it creates legal and administrative chaos .
And it legally justifies reverse discrimination against an already underperforming 96 % of the population .
That ’ s anything but “ equality.
” If any group is being discriminated against in corporate America , it is Christians and other conservatives who are hiding under their desks for fear of being outed , excluded and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” police .
Are their First Amendment rights now nullified ?
How about Christian , Muslim and Jewish schools : are they now forced to hire teachers and administrators who contradict their natural law and scriptural views of proper sexual behavior ?
Will religious people now need special permission from the Supreme Court to live as if there are two genders created for one another ?
Judge Gorsuch says those questions are for another case .
Given his faulty reasoning skills and legislative impulses in this case , I ’ m not optimistic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Constitution next time either .
Frank Turek is a Contributor to The Stream , president of CrossExamined.org , coauthor of I Don ’ t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist and the author of Stealing From God : Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case .

“Sex” in civil rights law now legally means sexual orientation, or whatever gender you think you are. That’s the result of a surprising Supreme Court decision (Bostock v. Clayton County) from Justice Neil Gorsuch. Problem? Yes.
Here are five casualties of this ruling:
1. We the People
If you think you have the ability to govern yourselves through your elected representatives, the U.S. Supreme Court has again made a mockery of that Constitutional principle. You can work to elect the right people and pass all the laws you want, only to see a handful of appointed lawyers on the Supreme Court nullify or replace your laws with their own.
That’s what six justices did this week. They changed the 1964 civil rights law into a law that they desired, despite the fact that the very changes they made have been rejected by Congress in recent years. Now, just like that, “sex” no longer means biological sex but sexual orientation and whatever a person thinks their sex is at the time.
As Justices Alito and Thomas wrote in dissent, there’s only one word for what the Court did: “legislation.” “A more brazen abuse of our authority to interpret statutes is hard to recall.”
If judges want to change the law, then they should do what any citizen has to do. To merely impose their will on the people is tyranny.
Now, many actually agree with the result. (It has some big negatives, which I’ll get to in a minute.) But the means by which this result was achieved should disturb everyone. It strikes at the very heart of our Constitution and our rights as people to govern ourselves.
It’s an injustice for judges to impose their legislative will on the people. If judges want to change the law, then they should do what any citizen has to do — convince fellow citizens to go through the legislative process to get the law changed. To merely impose their will on the people is tyranny.
2. Women
Justice Gorsuch’s opinion furthers the Leftist claim that sex is defined not by biology, but by one’s state of mind. Therefore, if a man thinks he’s a woman, then the law must treat him as a woman. Although Gorsuch tries to deny this result, he has given legal grounds for biological men to gain advantage over actual women — in the workplace, in the bathroom, and elsewhere.
Ladies, you want that promotion? All other things being equal, who do you think your employer is now going to promote? You, or the man transitioning to a woman who now has heightened legal grounds, as an even smaller minority, to sue for “discrimination”?
Do you want privacy and safety in the bathroom and showering facilities? What policy is your employer or gym going to adopt? The common sense one, where biological men and women are kept separate, or the one that prevents a costly lawsuit by inviting men into women’s facilities?
3. LGBTQ People
Gorsuch has not just made it harder for women. His reasoning contradicts the very rationale for the existence of women and the LGBTQ people he’s supposedly trying to help. For when someone identifies as a woman, man, lesbian or gay, they are presupposing there is such a thing as objective biological sex. How else can one have sex with someone of the same sex unless one can differentiate that person from the opposite sex? And how can a man transition into a woman unless men and women actually exist?
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Gorsuch asserts that either one’s biology or psychology can determine one’s sex. But if a person’s subjective psychology usurps their objective biology, then there is no objective way to identify anyone as a man, woman or LGBTQ. Sex and sexual identity are just figments of the imagination (much like Gorsuch’s justification for his opinion).
That’s why some lesbians, gays, bisexuals and feminists oppose the subjective transgender psychology standard that Gorsuch just affirmed — it defines them out of existence!
4. 96% of the Population
Ask anyone in corporate America this question: Are you more likely to experience problems at work for supporting LGBTQ political goals or opposing them? It’s not even close, as I found out personally.
HR departments in corporate America are proponents of everything LGBTQ. And those who identify as such are actually better off than their straight counterparts. LGBTQ households, on average, earn more than traditional households and gay men earn 10% more than straight men. While there are individual exceptions (hence the lawsuit that brought this case to the Supreme Court), there appears to be NO systemic problem of anti-LGBTQ bias in the workplace.
Yet, this Court’s decision will employ the strong arm of government to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. The decision will force companies to give employment preference to a long list of sexual orientations that, at best, 4% of people claim (a 4% that already has a financial advantage). Anyone who claims an LGBTQ identity will now have more job security than John or Jane Doe. How so? Because if a company has to downsize, who are they going choose? One of the helpless Doe’s, or the person of a new legally-preferenced minority who can bring a costly lawsuit alleging “discrimination”?
In short, this decision doesn’t fix an existing workplace problem. (Thankfully, LGBTQ folks are doing quite well.) Instead, it creates legal and administrative chaos.
While reverse discrimination may not be the intent of this decision, it is an inevitable consequence. As soon as you give preferential treatment to one group of people, you are automatically disadvantaging anyone not part of that group.
Moreover, there isn’t any medical consensus as to what sexual orientation or transgenderism is. But the effect of this decision is that businesses are now forced to give preference to those who identify as ambigender; bigender; blurgender; collgender; conflictgender; cosmicgender; crystagender; deliciagender; duragender; demiflux; domgender; fissgender; gemelgender; gendercluster; genderfluid; gendersea; genderfuzz; genderfractal; genderspiral; genderswirl; gendervex; gyaragender; libragender; ogligender; pangender; polygender; trigender. (Whatever that all means.) How is it possible to even know you’re in compliance if you can’t define what compliance is? How many young workers will claim one of these nebulous labels just to get an advantage? (Their claims for special treatment can’t be objectively disproven like Elizabeth Warren’s claim to be a Native American.)
In short, this decision doesn’t fix an existing workplace problem. (Thankfully, LGBTQ folks are doing quite well.) Instead, it creates legal and administrative chaos. And it legally justifies reverse discrimination against an already underperforming 96% of the population. That’s anything but “equality.”
5. Religious Freedom
If any group is being discriminated against in corporate America, it is Christians and other conservatives who are hiding under their desks for fear of being outed, excluded and shamed by the “inclusion and diversity” police. Are their First Amendment rights now nullified? How about Christian, Muslim and Jewish schools: are they now forced to hire teachers and administrators who contradict their natural law and scriptural views of proper sexual behavior? Will religious people now need special permission from the Supreme Court to live as if there are two genders created for one another?
Judge Gorsuch says those questions are for another case. Given his faulty reasoning skills and legislative impulses in this case, I’m not optimistic he’ll respect reason or the Constitution next time either.
Frank Turek is a Contributor to The Stream, president of CrossExamined.org, coauthor of I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist and the author of Stealing From God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case.


thestream--2020-06-19--This Week at War: Caring for Others

This Week at War: Caring for Others

With the U.S. military still at war , combat readiness is as important as ever .
This week , training exercises tragically claimed the lives of two American heroes .
According to Stars and Stripes , U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Kenneth “ Kage ” Allen was killed on Monday when the F-15C fighter jet he was piloting crashed in the North Sea off the coast of England .
He was just 27 years old .
The young fallen hero was remembered in a series of emotional Facebook posts by his wife , Hannah Allen .
“ He was so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the grieving military widow wrote .
“ I feel beyond blessed to have loved him in this life and can ’ t wait to love him for eternity.
” Hannah and Kage got married in April , but were unable to do so in a church full of family and friends due to COVID-19 .
“ Now we don ’ t know how or when everything will come together , especially us , so we wanted to announce the joy we feel in having found each other and our excitement for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new bride posted on April 26 .
Please pray for Hannah and the entire Allen family during this hour of unimaginable pain .
In Georgia , a U.S. Marine Corps special operations warrior was killed on Tuesday during a Fort Benning airborne training course commonly referred to as Jump School .
“ Our sincere thoughts are with the family during this difficult time , ” United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command ( MARSOC ) said in a statement .
“ MARSOC is providing care and support to them as they grieve this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Department of Defense identified the departed warrior as Sgt .
Wolfgang Kyle “ Wolf ” Weninger .
The 28-year-old Marine was just days away from graduation .
“ The thing that you want as a parent is that your kids grow up to be a decent human being and to find their niche .
To have the fullness of life and explore all these things that God gave you the talents to do , ” the Marine ’ s father , Ernst Weninger , said in an interview with Associated Press reporter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he found his niche that he ’ d always been looking for.
” Please say a prayer for Sgt .
Wolf Weninger ’ s family , friends and fellow Marines .
With tens of thousands of American troops still battling a deadly pandemic , the coronavirus is also having a huge impact on the way soldiers , sailors , airmen and Marines wage the ongoing war on terrorism .
The below video by Sarah Blake Morgan of The Associated Press shows how deploying U.S. service members are not just required to quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beforehand as well .
“ I volunteered for this .
We don ’ t have a draft .
No one forced me to enlist in the military , ” U.S. Army Spc .
Amy Cloud told Morgan .
“ I did it of my own choice.
” The report goes on to say that the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers will all be screened for COVID-19 again upon arriving in the Middle East , with any soldier testing positive placed in another quarantine .
We thank these brave Army paratroopers and pray for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ East .
America supports you !
Here at home , National Guard service members are facing unprecedented challenges amid the coronavirus , civil unrest and hurricane season .
As the military ’ s war on COVID-19 continues , brave troops are on a variety of missions helping with testing , contact tracing , nursing home security , mental health checks , unemployment aid , and food and supply distribution .
One of my favorite stories this week was about a mother and son who are both helping the territory of Guam fight its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Guam Army National Guard .
“ I ’ m very proud that we ’ re able to work alongside each other , ” Lt. Col. Marleen Tarusan-Legaspi said .
“ For me , I was more concerned about his safety , because COVID-19 is different than anything we ’ ve seen before .
I ’ ve worked several state active duty missions before , but this response is different due to the unknown variables of the pandemic.
” “ It ’ s a good feeling to serve with my mom ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pfc .
Nikolas Legaspi said .
“ Whenever I have a question that I don ’ t know the answer to , I can always turn to her.
” Thank you to each and every member of the National Guard for allowing us to turn to you during this time of continual crisis .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS Lassen returned this week to Jacksonville , Florida , after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
Thank you for your service to our country .
Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream .
He is co-author of 8 Seconds of Courage , Brothers Forever , Fire in My Eyes and the forthcoming Three Wise Men .
Follow Tom on Twitter @ TSileo and The Stream at @ Streamdotorg .

Training
With the U.S. military still at war, combat readiness is as important as ever. This week, training exercises tragically claimed the lives of two American heroes.
According to Stars and Stripes, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Kenneth “Kage” Allen was killed on Monday when the F-15C fighter jet he was piloting crashed in the North Sea off the coast of England. He was just 27 years old.
The young fallen hero was remembered in a series of emotional Facebook posts by his wife, Hannah Allen.
“He was so Christ-like in how he cared for others,” the grieving military widow wrote. “I feel beyond blessed to have loved him in this life and can’t wait to love him for eternity.”
Hannah and Kage got married in April, but were unable to do so in a church full of family and friends due to COVID-19.
“Now we don’t know how or when everything will come together, especially us, so we wanted to announce the joy we feel in having found each other and our excitement for our life ahead together,” the new bride posted on April 26.
Please pray for Hannah and the entire Allen family during this hour of unimaginable pain.
“Our sincere thoughts are with the family during this difficult time,” said a @USMC spokesperson. “MARSOC is providing care and support to them as they grieve this tremendous loss.” https://t.co/ZRkgUSo3rK — Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) June 18, 2020
In Georgia, a U.S. Marine Corps special operations warrior was killed on Tuesday during a Fort Benning airborne training course commonly referred to as Jump School.
“Our sincere thoughts are with the family during this difficult time,” United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) said in a statement. “MARSOC is providing care and support to them as they grieve this tremendous loss.”
On Thursday evening, the Department of Defense identified the departed warrior as Sgt. Wolfgang Kyle “Wolf” Weninger. The 28-year-old Marine was just days away from graduation.
“The thing that you want as a parent is that your kids grow up to be a decent human being and to find their niche. To have the fullness of life and explore all these things that God gave you the talents to do,” the Marine’s father, Ernst Weninger, said in an interview with Associated Press reporter James LaPorta. “And he did, he found his niche that he’d always been looking for.”
Please say a prayer for Sgt. Wolf Weninger’s family, friends and fellow Marines.
Coronavirus
With tens of thousands of American troops still battling a deadly pandemic, the coronavirus is also having a huge impact on the way soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines wage the ongoing war on terrorism.
The below video by Sarah Blake Morgan of The Associated Press shows how deploying U.S. service members are not just required to quarantine after an overseas combat deployment, but beforehand as well.
VIDEO: 2,200 @82ndABNDiv paratroopers are deploying to the Middle East amid the #coronavirus pandemic – but a 2 wk quarantine is required *before* they leave. Married soldiers can hunker down at home off post, while those who are single quarantine in a secluded area on @FtBraggNC pic.twitter.com/DuDIoDgMy3 — Sarah Blake Morgan (@StorytellerSBM) June 17, 2020
“I volunteered for this. We don’t have a draft. No one forced me to enlist in the military,” U.S. Army Spc. Amy Cloud told Morgan. “I did it of my own choice.”
The report goes on to say that the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers will all be screened for COVID-19 again upon arriving in the Middle East, with any soldier testing positive placed in another quarantine.
We thank these brave Army paratroopers and pray for a safe arrival and return from the Middle East. America supports you!
Here at home, National Guard service members are facing unprecedented challenges amid the coronavirus, civil unrest and hurricane season. As the military’s war on COVID-19 continues, brave troops are on a variety of missions helping with testing, contact tracing, nursing home security, mental health checks, unemployment aid, and food and supply distribution.
.@IllinoisNG Soldiers describe their mission serving Soldiers and Airmen activated for COVID-19 response operations. #InThisTogether pic.twitter.com/0Yc0i9kq8R — National Guard (@USNationalGuard) June 18, 2020
One of my favorite stories this week was about a mother and son who are both helping the territory of Guam fight its war on coronavirus. Both are members of the Guam Army National Guard.
“I’m very proud that we’re able to work alongside each other,” Lt. Col. Marleen Tarusan-Legaspi said. “For me, I was more concerned about his safety, because COVID-19 is different than anything we’ve seen before. I’ve worked several state active duty missions before, but this response is different due to the unknown variables of the pandemic.”
“It’s a good feeling to serve with my mom; I always have a mentor,” Pfc. Nikolas Legaspi said. “Whenever I have a question that I don’t know the answer to, I can always turn to her.”
Thank you to each and every member of the National Guard for allowing us to turn to you during this time of continual crisis.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Coming Home
U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS Lassen returned this week to Jacksonville, Florida, after a deployment overseas.
Welcome home, heroes! Thank you for your service to our country.
Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is co-author of 8 Seconds of Courage, Brothers Forever, Fire in My Eyes and the forthcoming Three Wise Men. Follow Tom on Twitter @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-06-19--Military Photo of the Day: Eyes on Old Glory

A U.S. Air Force aviator flies in an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter on May 30 , 2020 at Patrick Air @ @ @ @ @ Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic @ @ @ @ @ Day .

A U.S. Air Force aviator flies in an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter on May 30, 2020 at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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thestream--2020-06-19--No One Will Tell Me What I Must and Must Not Say

Because I love God and my neighbor , I will always try to be respectful and civil in my speech .
At the same time , society will not tell me what words I must and must not say .
Sorry , but I ’ m not playing that very dangerous game .
I urge you not to play that game either .
For years , in order to have dialogue with people with different perspectives , as well as to interact with the younger generation , I have freely chosen to use words like “ gay ” or “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homosexual.
” At the same time , I have had no illusions .
I knew I would be just as hated , just as vilified , just as judged by those whose agenda I rejected .
But that ’ s not what we were told .
We were told that we needed to show sensitivity .
That it was imperative that we used the proper terminology .
That we must go out of our way to not offend with our words .
This is the enlightened way .
But because we resisted the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were branded bigots and homophobes and haters and transphobes , just the same .
Our careful communication did not win us brownie points in the end .
Let that serve as an example today .
Quoting the right phrases will not get you a free pass .
Avoiding the wrong words will not exempt you from attack .
Do not be deceived .
If you do not conform completely to the latest demands of the crowd , you will be reviled , excommunicated and cancelled .
You have been forewarned .
When it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use terms like “ gay ” or “ lesbian ” to interact with those who would otherwise not hear me .
And I choose to use the latest version of “ LGBTQ+ ” to illustrate the point I and others have made for years .
There is no end in sight .
There will always be another term .
Another orientation .
Another identity .
This is what happens when you deviate from “ male and female He created them.
” No One Has the Right to Dictate My Speech But if I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acceptable terminology “ or else , ” I would politely refuse .
No one has the right to dictate the words that you and I use .
Today , we must say “ black lives matter ” to prove our orthodoxy .
Perhaps tomorrow we will have to pay reparations ?
Personally , since some of my black Christian colleagues have conveyed to me what “ black lives matter ” means to them , I ’ m happy to affirm my solidarity , using those very words .
( For more on this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedom and without any sense of coercion , I want the world to know that I truly believe that black lives matter to God and to humanity .
I say that from the heart .
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political , Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day .
But I have no illusions here either .
To the woke crowd , my words are nothing more than virtue signaling .
I will not win them with my words .
And if demands were put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ post the logo to prove my opposition to racism , my answer would be no .
You will not dictate what I say or do not say .
Not only so , but if I want to shout out , “ Black lives matter , beginning in the womb , ” I will do that too .
( For our viral meme , see here . )
And you better believe I will always explain why I do not stand with the Black Lives Matter movement .
I do not bow the knee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Of course , I would never dream of using derogatory terms or racial epithets .
Those are not part of my vocabulary , nor do they enter my thoughts .
At the same time , I categorically reject today ’ s cancel culture that will crucify a young adult for an ugly tweet he posted when he was 15 .
How contrite must he be before he has paid his dues ?
How many apologies must he offer ?
What acts must he perform to prove that he is duly penitent ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In November , 2016 , shortly before his sudden rise to fame , I interviewed Prof. Jordan Peterson on my radio show .
I didn ’ t know a lot about him , only that he had taken a courageous stand on his college campus , refusing to go along with transgender terminology .
No one was going to force him what to say .
But as we spoke by phone that day , I was in for quite a surprise .
He was not a meek , hurting Christian , wounded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Instead , he was fiery and bold , conveying anything but a victim mentality .
Rather , as someone who had studied Communism for years , he saw where enforced speech led .
He would not bow down to a destructive authoritarian system .
Barely 8 months later , in June 2017 , Canada passed a national law , making it illegal to “ misgender ” someone .
And how far would this law go ?
As expressed by Brenda Cossman , a law professor at Peterson ’ s University of Toronto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where an individual repeatedly , consistently refuses to use a person ’ s chosen pronoun ?
It might.
” In fact , according to a 2014 policy in Ontario , “ Gender-based harassment can involve : ( 5 ) Refusing to refer to a person by their self-identified name and proper personal pronoun.
” That ’ s why Cossman thought that failure to use someone ’ s preferred pronoun could make you into a lawbreaker , even though the federal law didn ’ t mention pronouns .
The precedent had already been set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the Canadian Human Rights Act , “ added to a section of the Criminal Code that targets hate speech — defined as advocating genocide and the public incitement of hatred — where it joins other identifiable groups.
” So , refusing to call a biological male by his new female name , or choosing not to refer to him as her , is now in the same category as “ advocating genocide and the public incitement of hatred.
” This is why we resist .
If you choose to use a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ someone , especially at your first meeting , that is certainly your prerogative .
But when you are told you must , at that point you must refuse .
The dictating of our speech today will certainly lead to the dictating of our behavior tomorrow .
I urge you to stand your ground .
Dr. Michael Brown ( www.askdrbrown.org ) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program .
His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads : Will We Pass the Trump Test ?
Connect with him on @ @ @ @ @ @

Because I love God and my neighbor, I will always try to be respectful and civil in my speech. At the same time, society will not tell me what words I must and must not say. Sorry, but I’m not playing that very dangerous game. I urge you not to play that game either.
For years, in order to have dialogue with people with different perspectives, as well as to interact with the younger generation, I have freely chosen to use words like “gay” or “lesbian” rather than only saying “homosexual.” At the same time, I have had no illusions. I knew I would be just as hated, just as vilified, just as judged by those whose agenda I rejected.
But that’s not what we were told. We were told that we needed to show sensitivity. That it was imperative that we used the proper terminology. That we must go out of our way to not offend with our words. This is the enlightened way.
But because we resisted the radical agenda of LGBTQ+ activists, we were branded bigots and homophobes and haters and transphobes, just the same. Our careful communication did not win us brownie points in the end.
If I was forced to use the latest, acceptable terminology “or else,” I would politely refuse.
Let that serve as an example today. Quoting the right phrases will not get you a free pass. Avoiding the wrong words will not exempt you from attack. Do not be deceived.
If you do not conform completely to the latest demands of the crowd, you will be reviled, excommunicated and cancelled. You have been forewarned.
When it comes to homosexual issues, I still use terms like “gay” or “lesbian” to interact with those who would otherwise not hear me. And I choose to use the latest version of “LGBTQ+” to illustrate the point I and others have made for years. There is no end in sight. There will always be another term. Another orientation. Another identity. This is what happens when you deviate from “male and female He created them.”
No One Has the Right to Dictate My Speech
But if I was forced to use the latest, acceptable terminology “or else,” I would politely refuse. No one has the right to dictate the words that you and I use.
Today, we must say “black lives matter” to prove our orthodoxy. Perhaps tomorrow we will have to pay reparations?
Personally, since some of my black Christian colleagues have conveyed to me what “black lives matter” means to them, I’m happy to affirm my solidarity, using those very words. (For more on this, see here.) With absolute freedom and without any sense of coercion, I want the world to know that I truly believe that black lives matter to God and to humanity. I say that from the heart.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
But I have no illusions here either. To the woke crowd, my words are nothing more than virtue signaling. I will not win them with my words.
And if demands were put on me to say the words or post the logo to prove my opposition to racism, my answer would be no. You will not dictate what I say or do not say.
Not only so, but if I want to shout out, “Black lives matter, beginning in the womb,” I will do that too. (For our viral meme, see here.) And you better believe I will always explain why I do not stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.
I do not bow the knee to the crowd. Neither should you.
Of course, I would never dream of using derogatory terms or racial epithets. Those are not part of my vocabulary, nor do they enter my thoughts.
At the same time, I categorically reject today’s cancel culture that will crucify a young adult for an ugly tweet he posted when he was 15. How contrite must he be before he has paid his dues? How many apologies must he offer? What acts must he perform to prove that he is duly penitent? This too is a counsel of despair.
Legally Forced Speech and Preferred Pronouns
In November, 2016, shortly before his sudden rise to fame, I interviewed Prof. Jordan Peterson on my radio show. I didn’t know a lot about him, only that he had taken a courageous stand on his college campus, refusing to go along with transgender terminology. No one was going to force him what to say.
But as we spoke by phone that day, I was in for quite a surprise. He was not a meek, hurting Christian, wounded by the attacks of his own university. Instead, he was fiery and bold, conveying anything but a victim mentality. Rather, as someone who had studied Communism for years, he saw where enforced speech led. He would not bow down to a destructive authoritarian system.
Barely 8 months later, in June 2017, Canada passed a national law, making it illegal to “misgender” someone. And how far would this law go? As expressed by Brenda Cossman, a law professor at Peterson’s University of Toronto, “Would it cover a situation where an individual repeatedly, consistently refuses to use a person’s chosen pronoun? It might.”
In fact, according to a 2014 policy in Ontario, “Gender-based harassment can involve: (5) Refusing to refer to a person by their self-identified name and proper personal pronoun.”
That’s why Cossman thought that failure to use someone’s preferred pronoun could make you into a lawbreaker, even though the federal law didn’t mention pronouns. The precedent had already been set.
Stand Your Ground
This enforced language code is now part of the Canadian Human Rights Act, “added to a section of the Criminal Code that targets hate speech — defined as advocating genocide and the public incitement of hatred — where it joins other identifiable groups.”
So, refusing to call a biological male by his new female name, or choosing not to refer to him as her, is now in the same category as “advocating genocide and the public incitement of hatred.” This is why we resist.
If you choose to use a particular pronoun or name when interacting with someone, especially at your first meeting, that is certainly your prerogative. But when you are told you must, at that point you must refuse.
The dictating of our speech today will certainly lead to the dictating of our behavior tomorrow.
I urge you to stand your ground.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test? Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.


thestream--2020-06-19--Strategy One Against the Lunacy: Protecting Our Loved Ones

We can fight the lunacy in our culture .
Yes , it keeps growing .
More than ever before , it appears poised to roil over into real persecution of Christians .
Still we can fight , and we can win .
But we need to be wise in our strategies .
Earlier this week I wrote a thought experiment suggesting five strategy dimensions the country would follow if another nation invaded and took over a major city .
The same five apply to strategizing against the country ’ s growing madness : • Defeating and driving out the enemy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not one of them is sufficient without all the rest , but we need to consider them one at a time .
Today : Protecting our people from harm .
The harm we must guard against is quite literally lunacy .
The thought experiment is over , and has done its work for us .
This is for real .
Our nation is diving into delusion .
In my youth delusions were common — hallucinogens were the drugs of choice — but they weren ’ t touted as foundations for “ sound ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ celebrated and enacted into law .
This is madness .
It could also go by the name of confusion , lies , deception , and blindness , which points to its origins , which are spiritual .
It comes from the father of lies , whose deceits are infecting America in numbers exceeding the coronavirus .
The harm is both public and private , temporal and eternal .
On the one hand it ’ s driving terrible public policy , and on the other hand it ’ s turning individuals away from Christ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young people , including churched young people , potentially even your own children , grandchildren nieces and nephews .
In other words , it isn ’ t just “ somebody somewhere ” who ’ s sustaining this harm , it ’ s our own family members .
It ’ s our own people who need protection from these lies .
Indeed , in some ways it probably includes you and me .
Because the deceptive fog drifts upon us all to one degree or another .
And it really is murky .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it takes exceptionally clear vision to discern the good from the bad .
Of course people of color need to be treated equally as human beings .
Of course wrongs must be righted .
If that were all the current racial turmoil were about , then every Christian , every person of good will should want to support it .
Those truths are wrapped around with multiple lies and confusions , though .
This step of strategy is very local and highly decentralized — necessarily so , for protection from deceit starts at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parent , it starts with you .
In fact , I hope it ’ s okay if I address you directly in that role .
( If you ’ re not currently raising children , you ’ ll be able to figure out how it applies locally to you , too . )
Rightly speaking the task belongs to the church as well .
I wish I could say it also belongs to the school , too .
But too few of us have schools we can send our kids to that will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , anyway , can you as a parent simply decide to let either church or school do it for you .
They ’ re your kids , not the school ’ s .
This is about deception .
Wrong thinking .
Confused ideas .
So we have to meet the battle right where it ’ s being fought : On the field of ideas , beliefs , opinions , and values .
As 2 Cor .
10:3-5 tells us , it ’ s spiritual battle .
We fight these battles through prayer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and by effectively taking others ’ arguments captive — defeating them , in other words .
This requires a distinct set of skills .
First , we need to know what ’ s true , especially biblical truths .
Second , we need to be able to explain how we know it ’ s true .
Third , we must be able to tell how we know it ’ s good that it ’ s true .
On that last point , let me remind you there ’ s real danger in simply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homosexuality is wrong ” — or transgenderism , or socialism , or whatever the issue may be — without also discussing why it ’ s good that it ’ s true .
We have to show how God uses His instructions to do us good , not harm .
( Often you ’ ll find that answer by studying natural law theory , along with the Bible . )
Otherwise , count on it , your kids are bound to conclude , “ The Bible doesn ’ t like it ?
Then I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s not the message you want to send !
So you can ’ t just leave it with , “ The Bible says so.
” You really have to explain both its truth and its goodness .
And we have to train our loved ones to be able to think these things through themselves .
This goes beyond mere teaching .
Soldiers train in simulated live-fire situations .
Otherwise they ’ re doomed when battle begins .
Your kids are going to need to practice up , too , as if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be .
There are no civilians in this spiritual war .
Are you ready to do that with your kids ?
I get that it ’ s a challenge .
I understand it will put you through some work .
But this is about protecting your loved ones from serious harm .
Isn ’ t it worth it ?
Yes , It Looks Hard .
I ’ m Sorry .
Will You Do It Anyway ?
There ’ s no ducking this responsibility .
There ’ s no safe way to assume @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the lies .
No one is .
Everyone needs teaching and training .
If you can get support in this from your church , then all the better .
In fact , churches should take on exactly the same responsibility .
Even good church support won ’ t absolve parents of their part in it , though .
Even though it ’ s hard .
Where to Begin ?
( Or , It May Not Be as Hard As It Looks ! )
Where do you start , then ?
By deciding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for it ; that you ’ re going to equip yourself so you can equip others .
Okay , but then what ?
Begin with prayer .
Pray and trust God through the whole set of strategies .
Then start studying .
If that doesn ’ t sound fun to you , think of it as a challenge , not a task .
Think of it as fighting the fight for the spiritual lives of your family members .
Here are five key books to get you started .
They ’ re all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you can also find video versions of much of this .
Meanwhile I ’ m publishing a companion article at Thinking Christian that will tell you why these books are good starting points , and what you can expect to gain from them .
• The Story of Reality , by Greg Koukl • So the Next Generation Will Know : Preparing Young Christians for a Challenging World , by Sean McDowell and J. Warner Wallace • Cold Case Christianity : A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels , by J.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions , by Greg Koukl • Keeping Your Kids on God ’ s Side , by Natasha Crain These books are not so much about exposing the lies , but about revealing the truth and its reasons .
That ’ s because even though you need some understanding of the deceptions , you need a much firmer grip on the truth — on reality .
( There ’ s a reason I listed The Story of Reality first . )
And do keep praying .
This is spiritual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) is a senior editor with The Stream and the author or editor of six books , including the forthcoming Too Good To Be False : How Jesus ’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality .

We can fight the lunacy in our culture. Yes, it keeps growing. More than ever before, it appears poised to roil over into real persecution of Christians. Still we can fight, and we can win. But we need to be wise in our strategies.
Earlier this week I wrote a thought experiment suggesting five strategy dimensions the country would follow if another nation invaded and took over a major city. The same five apply to strategizing against the country’s growing madness:
Protecting our people from harm.
Containing the threat.
Defeating and driving out the enemy.
Operating with full intelligence.
Setting ourselves on a wartime footing.
These are simultaneous strategies, and not one of them is sufficient without all the rest, but we need to consider them one at a time. Today: Protecting our people from harm.
The Harm We Face
The harm we must guard against is quite literally lunacy. The thought experiment is over, and has done its work for us. This is for real. Our nation is diving into delusion. In my youth delusions were common — hallucinogens were the drugs of choice — but they weren’t touted as foundations for “sound” public policy. Now they’re celebrated and enacted into law.
This is madness. It could also go by the name of confusion, lies, deception, and blindness, which points to its origins, which are spiritual. It comes from the father of lies, whose deceits are infecting America in numbers exceeding the coronavirus.
The harm is both public and private, temporal and eternal. On the one hand it’s driving terrible public policy, and on the other hand it’s turning individuals away from Christ. That’s especially true for young people, including churched young people, potentially even your own children, grandchildren nieces and nephews.
Our People
In other words, it isn’t just “somebody somewhere” who’s sustaining this harm, it’s our own family members. It’s our own people who need protection from these lies.
Indeed, in some ways it probably includes you and me. Because the deceptive fog drifts upon us all to one degree or another. And it really is murky. It veers just close enough to truth that it takes exceptionally clear vision to discern the good from the bad. Of course people of color need to be treated equally as human beings. Of course wrongs must be righted. If that were all the current racial turmoil were about, then every Christian, every person of good will should want to support it. Those truths are wrapped around with multiple lies and confusions, though.
This step of strategy is very local and highly decentralized — necessarily so, for protection from deceit starts at home. If you’re the parent, it starts with you. In fact, I hope it’s okay if I address you directly in that role. (If you’re not currently raising children, you’ll be able to figure out how it applies locally to you, too.)
Rightly speaking the task belongs to the church as well. I wish I could say it also belongs to the school, too. But too few of us have schools we can send our kids to that will do the job. In no case, anyway, can you as a parent simply decide to let either church or school do it for you. They’re your kids, not the school’s.
Teaching
This is about deception. Wrong thinking. Confused ideas. So we have to meet the battle right where it’s being fought: On the field of ideas, beliefs, opinions, and values. As 2 Cor. 10:3-5 tells us, it’s spiritual battle.
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
We fight these battles through prayer, through knowing and teaching the truth, and by effectively taking others’ arguments captive — defeating them, in other words.
This requires a distinct set of skills. First, we need to know what’s true, especially biblical truths. Second, we need to be able to explain how we know it’s true. Third, we must be able to tell how we know it’s good that it’s true.
Where do you start? By deciding you’re going to man up for it; that you’re going to equip yourself so you can equip others.
On that last point, let me remind you there’s real danger in simply telling youth, “The Bible says homosexuality is wrong” — or transgenderism, or socialism, or whatever the issue may be — without also discussing why it’s good that it’s true. We have to show how God uses His instructions to do us good, not harm. (Often you’ll find that answer by studying natural law theory, along with the Bible.)
Otherwise, count on it, your kids are bound to conclude, “The Bible doesn’t like it? Then I don’t like the Bible.” That’s not the message you want to send! So you can’t just leave it with, “The Bible says so.” You really have to explain both its truth and its goodness.
Training, Not Just Teaching
And we have to train our loved ones to be able to think these things through themselves. This goes beyond mere teaching. Soldiers train in simulated live-fire situations. Otherwise they’re doomed when battle begins. Your kids are going to need to practice up, too, as if they were under attack — because they will be. There are no civilians in this spiritual war.
Are you ready to do that with your kids? I get that it’s a challenge. I understand it will put you through some work. But this is about protecting your loved ones from serious harm. Isn’t it worth it?
Yes, It Looks Hard. I’m Sorry. Will You Do It Anyway?
There’s no ducking this responsibility. There’s no safe way to assume your loved ones will be naturally immune to the lies. No one is. Everyone needs teaching and training.
If you can get support in this from your church, then all the better. In fact, churches should take on exactly the same responsibility. Even good church support won’t absolve parents of their part in it, though. Even though it’s hard.
Where to Begin? (Or, It May Not Be as Hard As It Looks!)
Where do you start, then? By deciding you’re going to man up for it; that you’re going to equip yourself so you can equip others.
Okay, but then what? Begin with prayer. Pray and trust God through the whole set of strategies. Then start studying. If that doesn’t sound fun to you, think of it as a challenge, not a task. Think of it as fighting the fight for the spiritual lives of your family members.
Here are five key books to get you started. They’re all very readable. If you search, you can also find video versions of much of this. Meanwhile I’m publishing a companion article at Thinking Christian that will tell you why these books are good starting points, and what you can expect to gain from them.
These books are not so much about exposing the lies, but about revealing the truth and its reasons. That’s because even though you need some understanding of the deceptions, you need a much firmer grip on the truth — on reality. (There’s a reason I listed The Story of Reality first.)
And do keep praying. This is spiritual battle.
Part of a series on Strategy Against the Lunacy.
Tom Gilson (@TomGilsonAuthor) is a senior editor with The Stream and the author or editor of six books, including the forthcoming Too Good To Be False: How Jesus’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality.