RATHEREXPOSETHEM

THE CHURCH MILITANT Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.

Friday, August 30, 2019

NEW FEC COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST REP. ILHAN OMAR OVER ALLEGED AFFAIR WITH CONSULTANT~OMAR WANTS U.N. IN CHARGE OF SOUTHERN BORDER

NEW FEC COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST REP. ILHAN OMAR OVER ALLEGED AFFAIR WITH CONSULTANT

A conservative watchdog group has filed a complaint with the FEC in connection with congresswoman Ilhan Omar's alleged affair with a Democrat consultant. One America's Jack Posobiec has more on the freshman lawmaker's latest scandal.

Rep. Omar dismisses questions on alleged affair

Ilhan Omar: Let’s Put the UN in Charge of the Southern Border

BY LUIS MIGUEL

SEE: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/immigration/item/33278-ilhan-omar-let-s-put-the-un-in-charge-of-america-s-migration-crisis?vsmaid=5782&vcid=3987; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Wednesday told a South Minneapolis audience that she wants to see an overhaul of U.S. immigration policy that would include bringing in the United Nations to handle the mass migration at the southern border.

Claiming that Americans are “losing our moral high ground” on immigration, the Somali-born congresswoman argued that the UN would run migration flow more “humanely.”

“We should do what any other country does, by dealing with this situation in a serious way,” she said. “So we have to bring in the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees — an agency that has the expertise and the training to handle massive flows of refugees humanely.”

Such a move would undermine American sovereignty and place our immigration system in the hands of a UN leadership that seeks to create open borders and erode our nation’s autonomy.

Omar made her comments while speaking at a town hall. She countered the rhetoric of President Trump and his supporters, disputing characterization of current migration levels as an “invasion.”

“What we face is not an invasion,” Omar said. “This is not an invasion, it’s an immigration crisis.”

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), apprehensions at the southwest border during fiscal year 2019 alone have been over 750,000 — and that doesn’t include illegal aliens who escaped apprehension and have successfully entered the country.

“We’re all here tonight because we all recognize that immigration is one of the defining civil rights and human rights issue of our time,” Omar added.

As a member of “The Squad,” a group of four freshman Democratic congresswomen pulling their party further leftward, Omar holds a progressive stance on migration, favoring policies that would relax enforcement and allow greater entry of illegal aliens.

“There is no good way to detain immigrants,” Omar told her audience. “We are treating people like criminals when they have not committed a crime.”

The logical conclusion of such rhetoric is the decriminalization of illegal border crossings — a platform of some Democratic presidential candidates, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

The decriminalization of illegal border crossings, along with an end to detainment of illegal aliens, would effectively create an open border.

Omar has also called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and co-sponsored legislation this summer that would prohibit federal agencies from using the word “alien” to refer to persons in the country illegally.

Jennifer Carnahan, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, criticized Omar and defended the Trump administration’s focus on stopping illegal migration through stricter enforcement.

“President Trump and Republicans in Congress have been working to address the crisis at the border while Democrats have been more interested in obstructing to score political points,” Carnahan said in a statement.

Omar’s remarks on migration surfaced at the same time she is involved in another controversy: A possible campaign-finance violation related to Omar’s giving of travel reimbursements to a consultant who is alleged to have been her paramour.

Despite not having a full congressional term under her belt, Omar has become notably adept at drawing media attention.

______________________________________________________________

Teaching Kids to Hate: Minnesota Children Instructed to Color Cards of Anti-Israel and Anti-American Ilhan Omar for Class Assignment

SEE: http://www.stationgossip.com/2019/04/teaching-kids-to-hate-minnesota.html

Minnesota Students Assigned to Color Reverential Photos of Rep. Ilhan Omar

Scandal-ridden congresswoman is treated as an icon

BY SARA DOGAN

SEE: https://www.stopk12indoctrination.org/minnesota-students-assigned-to-color-reverential-photos-of-rep-ilhan-omar/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

In her short time in Congress, freshman U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar has made a name for herself as a vehement anti-Semite. She infamously invoked age-old anti-Semitic tropes when she tweeted “It’s all about the Benjamins [$100 bills], baby,” accusing the pro-Israel organization AIPAC of donating to politicians in order to secure favorable treatment of the Jewish state. Omar is also an ardent supporter of the Hamas-funded Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Now it appears that despite her highly controversial record and short career in public service, schoolchildren in Minnesota are being taught to venerate the fledgling politician.

John Hinderaker the President of the Center of the American Experiment located in Omar’s home state of Minnesota, reports on Powerline’s blog that a public elementary school in the state assigned its students to color in reverential pictures of Omar and also to write a report on the Congresswoman.

“This photo came from a public elementary school in Minneapolis,” Hinderaker reports, citing an image featuring a display of coloring pages that each depict Omar standing with an almost military bearing, face upturned, staring off into the distance. She is wearing a headscarf and keffiyeh (prayer shawl). Several detailed floral designs are arranged around her face. “I’ve been told that the same coloring project has been reported in at least one suburban school district, but I don’t have definite confirmation of that yet,” Hinderaker adds. He does not identify the school districts participating in the assignment.

As Hinderaker points out, Omar is a highly successful politician, who has raised “three to five times as much” in campaign donations as other U.S. House members from Minnesota. Apparently, Minnesota’s public schools are doing whatever they can to cement her reputation as an icon.

“Omar is being raised to heroic status in her district’s public schools,” writes Hinderaker. “Elementary school students are apparently being taught to revere her, much as, in recent years, they have been taught to see Martin Luther King, Jr. as a kind of secular saint. Someone has distributed an Ilhan Omar card that students are instructed to color, while writing a ‘report’ on the inside. I assume those reports are paeans to the Congresswoman.”

Congresswoman Omar’s questionable actions and comments extend well beyond her hatred of Israel. She served as the keynote speaker at a recent event to benefit the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization known for its strong ties to Islamic extremism. Steven Pomerantz, the former chief of counter-terrorism at the FBI has baldly stated that “CAIR, its leaders and its activities effectively give aid to international terrorist groups.”

At that event Omar shared the stage with CAIR-Florida executive director Hassan Shibly, who refuses to classify Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations. During her speech, Omar notoriously referred to the 9/11 attacks in which approximately 3000 American citizens died as “some people did something.”

Omar’s record in the Minnesota State House of Representatives, where she served as a representative from 2016-2018, is also troubling. In 2017, Omar voted against a bill that would allow life insurance companies to refuse to pay benefits in cases where the insured party died while committing an act of terrorism—one of only two state representatives to do so. She also opposed a bill which would make it a felony for parents to make their daughters undergo female genital mutilation.

Other allegations against the Congresswoman are deeply disturbing. The Minnesota Sun reported in October 2018 that “probable cause” existed to show that Omar together with her campaign committee to elect her to the state legislature in 2016 had committed “at least three separate [campaign finance] violations, including the alleged use of campaign funds to pay off legal fees related to her divorce.”

Online encyclopedia of the left, Discoverthenetworks.org, also reports that during her run for the Minnesota House in 2016, Omar “faced highly credible allegations that – in an effort to perpetrate immigration fraud and/or student loan fraud – she had married her own brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, in 2009 and was still legally his wife.” Omar responded by claiming these reports were “disgusting lies” made by those who are “deeply invested in stopping a progressive, black, Muslim, hijab-wearing, immigrant woman.”

Congresswoman Omar is establishing her own legacy—one in which scandals percolate and anti-Semitism, and apologetics for Islamic extremism take center stage. Minnesota’s public schools are attempting to give her a very different one.

To learn more about the Freedom Center's campaign to halt indoctrination in K-12 schools, please visit www.stopk12indoctrination.org. __To read the K-12 Code of Ethics CLICK HERE. __To order the Freedom Center’s new pamphlet, “Leftist Indoctrination in Our K-12 Public Schools,” CLICK HERE. __To donate to the Stop K-12 Indoctrination campaign, CLICK HERE.

_____________________________________________________

VIDEO: CRUCIAL QUESTIONS FOR ILHAN OMAR

Suggestions for Seth Meyers when Omar returns on his show

SEE: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274778/video-crucial-questions-ilhan-omar-frontpagemagcom;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:







Subscribe to the Glazov Gang‘s YouTube Channel and follow us on Twitter: @JamieGlazov.

In this new Glazov Gang episode, Jamie Glazov puts forward: Crucial Questions for Ilhan Omar, offering suggestions for Seth Meyers when Omar returns on his show.

Don’t miss it!



And make sure to watch John Guandolo discuss Ilhan Omar’s Sharia Hate and Deception, where he asks: Is it really shocking that a Muslim congresswoman adheres to Sharia and hates Jews?













____________________________________________________________

SEE ALSO:

https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/08/ilhan-omar-we-have-to-bring-in-the

-united-nations-high-commissioner-on-refugees-to-handle-us-border-crisis

ETHIOPIAN MUSLIM STABS WOMAN TO DEATH IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

ETHIOPIAN MUSLIM STABS WOMAN TO DEATH

IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Intern, 27, is knifed to death by man who ‘targeted her at random’ – Margery Magill was fatally stabbed while she was walking a dog in Washington, DC Tuesday night

SEE: https://konniemoments.com/2019/08/28/intern-27-is-knifed-to-death-by-man-who-targeted-her-at-random-margery-magill-was-fatally-stabbed-while-she-was-walking-a-dog-in-washington-dc-tuesday-night/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

Margery Magill was fatally stabbed in Washington, DC, on Tuesday night, while she was walking a dog in Washington, DC

The suspect targeted the 27-year-old capitol hill intern ‘at random’ police said

Police say 24-year-old Eliyas Aregahegne attacked Magill as she was walking a dog for a family who hired her through the Rover app

Aregahegne was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder while armed

Neighbors heard Magill scream and ran outside to find her lying on the sidewalk

The victim from Yuba City, California, was interning in DC for the summer

A 27-year-old woman was fatally stabbed while walking a dog in Washington, DC, in what police say was a random attack.Margery Magill, a California native who was interning the capital for the summer, suffered multiple stab wounds and bled out on the sidewalk just before 9pm on Tuesday.Police say 24-year-old Eliyas Aregahegne randomly targeted Magill as she was walking a dog for a family who hired her through the Rover app.Aregahegne is facing charges of first-degree murder while armed.For no reason authorities can immediately discern, a man repeatedly stabbed the 27-year-old Magill about 8:45 p.m. and then ran, the District’s police chief said.
Police said the incident did not appear to be an attempted robbery or sexual assault, and there was nothing to indicate that he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Magill’s father, Jeffrey Magill, said his daughter [left], was “minding her own business and somebody just decided to attack her.” The family said the California native had been interning in DC for the summer

Chris Chambers, who lives on the street where the attack occurred, said he ran outside after hearing someone scream and yell “Oh, no!” and “Help me!”’
‘Came downstairs and came out with my wife and all we saw was a dog across the street with a leash and no human and we knew something was wrong,’ Chambers told NBC4.
‘We looked down and we found the young lady on the sidewalk in front of our house bleeding.’
Police arrested 24-year-old Eliyas Aregahegne on Wednesday in the fatal knife attack.
He was charged with first-degree murder while armed.

Police arrested 24-year-old Eliyas Aregahegne, within hours, for the murder of Margery Magill in Northwest Washington DC

Magill grew up in Yuba City, near Sacramento, and recently graduated from the University of California, Davis

Magill recently graduated from the University of California’s Davis campus and was in DC working as an intern while dogsitting for Rover on the side.

‘It’s absolutely tragic. I still can’t wrap my head around it,’ the victim’s sister, Raeann Magill, told NBC4.

‘You know, out walking a dog and to be attacked like that. How can anyone even fathom that? I mean, it’s truly tragic and I even think to myself, why her?’
The family said Magill had a passion for animals and loved to travel.
She also loved living in DC, according to her sister.
‘She loved the city. She loved the energy. She really wanted to build her career here and thrive off of the energy that was Washington,’ Raeann said.

_____________________________________________________________

SEE ALSO:

Eliyas Aregahegne: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

https://heavy.com/news/2019/08/eliyas-aregahegne/

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: 20 YEAR OLD FREEDOM ACTIVIST GETS 15/24 YEARS JAIL SENTENCE FOR "SPREADING PROSTITUTION BY TAKING OFF HER HIJAB"

Anti-compulsory hijab campaigner Saba Kordafshari's fight for women's rights

White Wednesdays campaigner Saba Kordafshari's fight for women's rights in Iran. She was sentenced to 24 years in prison for demanding an end to compulsory hijab. She is one of millions of Iranian women to protest against compulsory hijab.

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: 20 YEAR OLD FREEDOM ACTIVIST GETS 15/24 YEARS JAIL SENTENCE FOR "SPREADING PROSTITUTION BY TAKING OFF HER HIJAB"

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/08/islamic-republic-of-iran-freedom-activist-20-gets-15-years-for-spreading-prostitution-by-taking-off-her-hijab;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

American feminists were too busy with preparations for their next Hijab Day to

take any notice.

“Iranian women’s rights activist, 20, is jailed for 15 years for ‘spreading prostitution by taking off her hijab,'” by Chris Pleasance, MailOnline, August 28, 2019:

An Iranian women’s rights activist has been jailed for a total of 24 years – including a 15-year term for ‘spreading prostitution by taking off her hijab’.

Saba Kord Afshari, 20, was handed the sentence Tuesday by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court after being found guilty of removing her headscarf as well as ‘spreading propaganda against the state’ and ‘assembly and collusion’.

Afshari and her mother, Raheleh Ahmadi, had been prominent members of the White Wednesdays protest group, which spoke out against the compulsory hijab.

The pair routinely posted videos of themselves walking around the streets of Tehran without their headscarves to encourage other women to flout the law.

She was first arrested in the Iranian capital in August last year and jailed for a year, according to Iran Human Rights Monitor.

Afshari was released in February but continued to protest against human rights abuses by the Iranian regime, which saw her re-arrested in June.

She eventually ended up in the women’s wing of Evin Prison, in Tehran, where human rights groups say she was pressured into making video confessions of her crimes.

Despite her mother also being arrested, Afshari refused to record the videos….

______________________________________________________________

ISLAMIC "CAIR" TOUTS PARTNERSHIP WITH U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

ISLAMIC "CAIR" TOUTS PARTNERSHIP WITH

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

BY STEVEN EMERSON

SEE: https://www.investigativeproject.org/8045/breaking-news-cair-touts-partnership-with-census;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:

Update Aug. 30: Following this IPT report, the Commerce Department confirms that it dropped the partnership with CAIR. Click here for details.

Federal law enforcement knows enough about the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to order its agents not to engage with the group outside of criminal investigations. But despite that, the U.S. Census Bureau believes the conservative, Sunni-dominated Islamist organization is a trustworthy organization to partner with in next year's national population count.

"CAIR is proud to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure American Muslims are fairly and accurately counted in the 2020 Census," Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a CAIR news release. "Full participation in the census ensures that American Muslims will be better represented in Congress and that their communities receive an equal share in state and federal programs."

It isn't clear what CAIR or the Census Bureau will do as part of the partnership. The statement indicated CAIR will promote participation in the Census and advise people how to avoid scams. The Census Bureau did not respond to a request for comment.

"CAIR wants to ensure that that not only are American Muslim communities being fairly counted – but that their neighborhoods are getting a fair share in federal and state funding," the CAIR release said.

Internal documents seized by the FBI show that CAIR and its founders, Omar Ahmadand Nihad Awad, were deeply involved in a Hamas-support network in America created by the Muslim Brotherhood. A committee report described the group's missionas "defending the Islamic cause in Palestine and support for the emerging movement, the Hamas Movement."

Both Ahmad and Awad appear on the "Palestine Committee" telephone list (Ahmad is listed as "Omar Yehya"), and CAIR is listed on a meeting agenda which named the committee's branches.

"[U]ntil we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS," a senior FBI official wrote in 2009, "the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner."

The policy remains in effect a decade later. The FBI's conclusion was shared by federal prosecutors and a U.S. District Court judge who reviewed the evidence.

Records seized by the FBI "do create at least a prima facie case as to CAIR's involvement in a conspiracy to support Hamas," U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Solis wrote in 2009.

"CAIR," prosecutors wrote, "has been identified by the Government at trial as a participant in an ongoing and ultimately unlawful conspiracy to support a designated terrorist organization, a conspiracy from which CAIR never withdrew."

CAIR has never acknowledged its Palestine Committee connections or tried to argue that it moved away from that support. Its leaders refuse to condemn Hamas, often angrily. Awad continues to promote anti-Israel rhetoric, as in 2014, calling the Jewish state "the biggest threat to world peace and security."

Awad publicly expressed support for Hamas in 1994 – the year CAIR was founded – over the Palestine Liberation Organization.

In a 1998 speech, Awad openly referenced Jewish advisers in the Clinton administration as the driving force behind U.S. foreign policy: "Look at their names. Look at their ethnic, their ethnic or religious or racial background. You will see that these are the same groups that belong to the same interest groups in the (Clinton) Administration...they are the same people who are opposing the peace agreement (with Iraq)."

But aside from its roots in a Hamas-support network, CAIR has a history of grossly inflating the American Muslim population. It issued a report in 2001 claiming there were 6 million Muslims in the United States.

Six years later, however, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press analyzed Census Bureau data to estimate "the total population of Muslims in the United States at 2.35 million." That number increased to 3.45 million people in 2017.

CAIR's partnership is a problem, said Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. But there's a deeper concern, which is found on the Census Bureau's website.

"The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect data on religious affiliation in its demographic surveys or decennial census. Public Law 94-521 prohibits us from asking a question on religious affiliation on a mandatory basis; in some person or household surveys, however, the U.S. Census Bureau may collect information about religious practices, on a voluntary basis."

Given that, Jasser asked, why is the Census Bureau partnering with a religious organization at all?

CAIR's announcement perpetuates a stereotype that Muslim Americans are not engaged in society. "It's counting all Americans as equals," Jasser said, "not as faith groups."

The notion that Muslims need to be encouraged to participate in the national census treats an entire population as "naïve immigrants," Jasser said. "They claim we're well-integrated. If that claim is true, why is this project necessary?"

It is important that Muslim Americans participate in the Census. CAIR's history, however, raises questions about whether the Census Bureau has partnered with an organization deserving of its trust.

Research Analyst Teri Blumenfeld contributed to this report.

IS MERCK'S MEASLES VACCINE MONOPOLY A CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

IS MERCK'S MEASLES VACCINE MONOPOLY

A CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

First, how did Merck become the country’s sole supplier of these measles vaccines, and is that a problem? Well, is it a problem depends on who you talk to. But Merck became the sole supplier because the vaccine market is highly concentrated. It’s incredibly expensive to make vaccines. It takes a lot of time to go through all the testing procedures. So, Merck was the first to the table. They developed a vaccine, got approval. They got government contracts and they, essentially, monopolized the market.

DAVID CLOUD'S WAY OF LIFE ARTICLES

IMPORTANT RULING FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGION BY THE U.S. EIGHTH CIRCUIT COURT

(Friday Church News Notes, August 30, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from David French, “A Federal Court Strikes a Powerful Blow for Freedom of Speech and Religious Freedom,”National Review, Aug. 24, 2019: “Earlier today, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutional order, limited the reach of expansive nondiscrimination laws, and protected a Christian couple from having to choose between their business and their conscience. The facts of the case are simple. The plaintiffs, Carl and Angel Larsen, are videographers who create ‘commercials, short films, and live-event productions.’ While they work with anyone of any race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion, they will not produce videos that advance viewpoints that violate their Christian beliefs. That includes videos that ‘contradict biblical truth; promote sexual immorality; support the destruction of unborn children; promote racism or racial division; incite violence; degrade women; or promote any conception of marriage other than as a lifelong institution between one man and one woman.’ The Larsens hoped to begin producing wedding videos, but Minnesota interpreted its human-rights act to require them to ‘produce both opposite-sex- and same-sex-wedding videos, or none at all.’ Minnesota would also require them to produce videos that depicted ‘same- and opposite-sex weddings in an equally positive light.’ This raised the possibility that a gay couple who didn’t like the subjective quality of a video the Larsens produced for them could seek state sanctions based on alleged sexual-orientation discrimination. With the assistance of my friends and former colleagues at the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Larsens filed suit, claiming that Minnesota’s rule would compel them to speak in support of messages they oppose. The trial court ruled in favor of the state, and the Larsens appealed. One of the key constitutional questions of our time is whether the First Amendment will retain its supremacy and potency even as nondiscrimination rules and regulations expand in scope and reach. In this case, the Eight Circuit answered with an emphatic ‘Yes,’ and it did so through a majority opinion that provided a clear roadmap for future courts and future controversies. Judge David Stras’s majority opinion begins with a simple, obvious, but crucial conclusion. The Larsens’s wedding videos are a ‘form of speech that is entitled to First Amendment protection.’ ... To put it plainly, Minnesota was attempting to engage in one of the most intrusive state actions on the First Amendment. It was attempting to compel the Larsens to deliver a message they opposed. ... Judge Stras understands this reality quite clearly. ‘Even antidiscrimination laws, as critically important as they are,’ he writes ‘must yield to the Constitution. And as compelling as the interest in preventing discriminatory conduct may be, speech is treated differently under the First Amendment.’ ... We can expect that Minnesota will appeal to the Supreme Court, and if the Court accepts review it will be difficult to see SCOTUS reversing the court of appeals. The case that wedding videos represent protected speech is very strong, and once it’s deemed to be protected speech, the Court would have to contradict key prior precedents to overcome the Larsens’ rights of conscience and compel their speech as a condition of doing business. One should always be cautious when projecting case outcomes, but the Eighth Circuit has laid the judicial foundation for a ruling that should, ultimately, reaffirm the primacy of the Constitution in American law.”

POOREST 20% OF AMERICAS ARE RICHER ON AVERAGE THAN MOST NATIONS OF EUROPE

(Friday Church News Notes, August 30, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from James Agresti, “Poorest 20%,” The Stream, Aug. 27, 2019: “A groundbreaking study by Just Facts has discovered that after accounting for all income, charity, and non-cash welfare benefits like subsidized housing and Food Stamps--the poorest 20% of Americans consume more goods and services than the national averages for all people in most affluent countries. This includes the majority of countries in the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including its European members. In other words, if the U.S. ‘poor’ were a nation, it would be one of the world’s richest. Notably, this study was reviewed by Dr. Henrique Schneider, professor of economics at Nordakademie University in Germany and the chief economist of the Swiss Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. After examining the source data and Just Facts’ methodology, he concluded: ‘This study is sound and conforms with academic standards. I personally think it provides valuable insight into poverty measures and adds considerably to this field of research.’ [This refutes] a July 1st New York Times video op-ed that decries ‘fake news’ and calls for ‘a more truthful approach’ to ‘the myth of America as the greatest nation on earth,’ Times producers Taige Jensen and Nayeema Raza claim that the U.S. has ‘fallen well behind Europe’ in many respects and has ‘more in common with developing countries than we’d like to admit.’ ... The high consumption of America’s ‘poor’ doesn’t mean they live better than average people in the nations they outpace, like Spain, Denmark, Japan, Greece, and New Zealand. This is because people’s quality of life also depends on their communities and personal choices, like the local politicians they elect, the violent crimes they commit, and the spending decisions they make. Nonetheless, the fact remains that the privilege of living in the U.S. affords poor people with more material resources than the averages for most of the world’s richest nations. ... The Times closes its video by claiming that ‘America may once have been the greatest, but today America, we’re just okay.’ In reality, the U.S. is so economically exceptional that the poorest 20% of Americans are richer than many of the world’s most affluent nations. Last year, the Times adopted a new slogan, ‘The truth is worth it.’ Yet, in this case and others, it has twisted the truth in ways that can genuinely hurt people. The Times makes other spurious claims about the U.S. in this same video, which will be deflated in future articles.”

EVANGELICAL HOMESCHOOLING CLASSICAL EDUCATION

(Friday Church News Notes, August 30, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The cover story for the August 2019 issue of Christianity Today is “The Rise of the Bible-Teaching, Plato-Loving, Homeschool Elitists” by Louis Markos. It describes the growth of evangelical homeschooling curriculum that provide a classical education that aims to “raise up a generation of Christians who know the Bible and who live virtuous lives, and who are also firmly grounded in the pagan classics of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as the Roman Catholic classics of the Middle Ages.” An example is Mars Hill Academy, which “balances pagan (i.e., Homer, Aristotle) and medieval Christian (i.e., Dante, Chaucer) authors with major authors from the last 500 years of European and American literature (i.e., Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Faulkner).” The author claims the movement began in the 1940s with Dorothy Sayers, who was influenced by C.S. Lewis and “was a lover of all things classical and medieval.” Based on Sayer’s work, Douglas Wilson founded Logos School in 1981. The mention of C.S. Lewis is a loud warning to those who have ears. Christianity Today thinks it is a good thing that “increasing numbers of evangelicals” have “followed Lewis” to “fantasy lands populated by wizards” and “to the Catholic Middle Ages” and to the pagan “works of ancient Greek and Rome.” Christianity Today thinks it is a good thing that “Lewis helped unlock in the evangelical soul a longing for things of which they had been taught to be suspicious: tradition, hierarchy, liturgy, sacrament, numinous awe, and literature that was not specifically Christian.” We consider this, rather, to be evidence that C.S. Lewis was a dangerous man. To be familiar with pagan works can be helpful to the Christian life and ministry (in the sense of understanding world history, for example), if carefully examined through the lens of Scripture, but to sit at the feet of pagans and to search for light in their gross darkness is unscriptural foolishness. Christianity Today admits that “this tectonic shift in the evangelical world has led significant numbers of conservative Protestants to become Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican--not only out of a longing for liturgy and sacrament but because the classics brought with them a re-encounter with the early church fathers.” But that’s OK, they say, because “they maintain much of their passion for the Bible” and “stand at the forefront of a new conservative ecumenism.” This is nonsense. To accept false sacramental gospels that damn souls to eternal hell is neither biblical nor “conservative.” Christianity Today has been leading God’s people astray since its founding by Billy Graham in 1956. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:1-3).