Family Life Noon Report – 07/17/24
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Family Life Noon Report – 07/17/2024
The Attack on Trump — Political & Christian perspectives from Jason McGuire – 7/16/24
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The Attack on Trump — Political & Christian perspectives from Jason McGuire – 7/16/2024
As part of the Family Life News continuing coverage of Saturday’s shooting attack which hit Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and three other people, anchor of our Noon Report Bob Price talks with a Christian pastor and political commentator.
Jason McGuire is executive director of the New York Families Foundation.
Family Life Noon Report – 7/12/24
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Family Life Noon Report
Friday
7/12/2024
Family Life Noon Report – July 4, 2024
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Family Life Noon Report – July 4, 2024
“Freedom & Faith”
On this special edition of the Family Life Noon Report:
- Actor Gary Sinise tells his story of how portraying Lieutenant Dan changed his life, and how he and his movie character has changed the lives of those in military service, their families, veterans, and — especially — disabled veterans.
[Spoiler alert: Forrest Gump’s commanding officer became a paraplegic because of his military service in Vietnam.]
The award-winning, generational-touchstone movie Forrest Gump entered America’s consciousness — and our national conscience — when it debuted 30 years ago this weekend.
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- Christian professor Caleb Verbois gives us insight into how the Christian faith shaped America’s founding generation and their documents. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S Constitution are rooted in Biblical tradition and Christian priorities.
- Political History professor Jeff Bloodworth talks about the extreme personal risks taken by Colonists who chose to rebel against the British king. He also told us that modern-day political turmoil and divisiveness is nothing new. Debate, derision and name-calling are a quintessial aspect of being a democracy — and has been throughout two and a half centuries of U.S. history.
- The “free exercise” and “establishment” clauses are the parallel protections of religious freedom in the First Amendment. But, as we hear from Biblical scholar Paul Kemeny, the United States might have come close to having one official religion for at least some colonies in the new nation, but it was stopped by protests in the decade between the Declaration and the Constitution. Without that early advocacy for full religious liberty without government entanglements, freedom of religion would have been shaped very differently.
Our guests for this Faith & Freedom-themed holiday special:
Dr. Caleb Verbois is Professor of Political Science at Grove City College (Erie, Pennsylvania)
Dr. Jeff Bloodworth is Professor of History and Director of the Public Service and Global Studies Program at Gannon
Dean Paul Kemeny leads the School of Arts and Letters, as well as teaching Bible and Religious studies at Grove City College
Academy-award-winning actor Gary Sinise portrayed Forrest Gump’s commanding officer (and First Mate on Gump’s shrimp boat) in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump. His Gary Sinise Foundation is active in supporting current and previous American service personnel.
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- The American Veterans Center conducted the Gary Sinise interview. You can listen to or watch his longer conversation about Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, his full acting and directing career, and how disabled veterans have given him spiritual renewal and a meaningful life purpose.
Family Life’s News Producer Greg Gillispie hosts this July 4 half-hour special.
Inside Out: What do people mean when they say “Christian Nationalism”? – 6/26/24
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What do people mean when they say “Christian Nationalism”?
Christian nationalism is in the news, but what is it?
Nationalism is different from feeling patriotic or making sure to vote every November. Part of what defines nationalism in general is its goal to reserve privileges for only one group in a country that has many groups. Christian nationalism, to be specific, aims for the government to privilege Christians.
Dr. Paul D. Miller believes Christian nationalism is a danger to the Church. That’s because it makes a Christian’s citizenship in a country a higher priority than a Christian’s citizenship in God’s Kingdom.
“If we start to orient our hearts towards America as if it were an ultimate thing, well, that’s actually idolatry, and we misunderstand the entire Gospel, as if the Gospel is all about making America great. And that’s just not why Jesus came,” Miller says. “He said very clearly, ‘My Kingdom is not of this world.’ I’m grateful for America, but it’s really important that I don’t confuse America for Jesus’ Kingdom.”
He believes that Christian nationalism not only threatens the Church, but also our democracy.
“It is a danger, I think, in a more mild sense of being in tension with the principles of liberty and equality for all citizens, Christian and non-Christian alike.”
And while not all Christian nationalists are violent, some are. Those waving Christian symbols and calling on God as they broke into the nation’s capitol on January 6, 2021 are an example of the movement’s violent minority. “That kind of mixing of religious rhetoric with a violent assault on the citadel of democracy is, I think, clearly dangerous for American democracy,” Miller says. “Again, that’s a small minority, but it is there, let’s not ignore it.”
Miller wants the Church to be aware of the danger of Christian nationalism, even as he points out that it’s not the only threat.
“This is part of a much bigger conversation. While we’ve talked about the dangers on the Right, there’s dangers on the Left as well.”
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Dr. Paul D. Miller is Martha’s guest for this Inside Out discussion on Christian nationalism. Dr. Miller is a former member of the National Security Council staff who has served as an intelligence analyst for the CIA and as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. Currently Dr. Miller is a professor of the practice of international affairs at Georgetown University. Read a more detailed biography of Dr. Paul D. Miller discover more about his book The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism.
SCOTUS ruling on FDA “Mail-Order Mifepristone” – 6/24/24
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A Special Family Life Interview
The U.S. Supreme Court, at least temporarily, has allowed continued mail-order distribution of abortion-inducing pills. A group of pro-life physicians had sued to stop the practice, after FDA regulations were revised to eliminate a requirement to meet with a doctor before starting the process to end the pregnancy. The latest FDA rules say even a video visit with a prescriber is no longer needed.
Opponents of widespread use of the two-pill “cocktail” of Mifepristone and Misoprostal quote the FDA’s own statistics that 1 of every 25 women who take these drugs end up in an emergency department with complications. Other physical and emotional-health consequences are likely more numerous.
Attorney Katie Daniel of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America gave Family Life News her reaction to the SCOTUS decision, predictions on where the case goes next, and why these pills can be so harmful to women, especially with no required followup with a medical professional.
For further information:
- More from Katie Daniel: In-depth polling, conducted by CRC Research for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, reveals that 75% of Americans believe the FDA should have performed studies focused on girls under the age of 18 before approving these pills for minors.
- Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America: That organizations official website
- SBA on WPLG: Women’s safety, in light of sexual trafficking and domestic abusers
- Click the picture of the Court building to read the full June 13 decision.
Faith Under Fire – NY’s AG v Pregnancy Resource Centers – 6/20/24
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“Faith Under Fire” – New York’s Attorney General v Pregnancy Resource Centers – 6/20/24
Pregnancy Care Centers are suing State Attorney General Tish James, to prevent the AG from suing the pro-life centers who want to share medical information about the dangers of two abortion-triggering pills.
Gabriella McIntyre of the Alliance Defending Freedom joins Sarah Harnisch to discuss the issues underlying these current and proposed legal battles, plus what the courts will be asked to consider about Freedom of Speech, government regulations, and the public’s access to appropriate medical information.
“Faith Under Fire” is our weekly interview feature which listens to the voices at the center of today’s religious battlegrounds. Hear these conversations each Thursday during our Noon Report and 5 O’Clock Report — and anytime from FamilyLife.org, on the Family Life Now app, or by searching “Family Life News” on your favorite podcast feed.
Transgender Athletes & Female Sports – An Update from PA
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Transgender Athletes & Female Sports – An Update from Pennsylvania’s State Capitol
An extended Family Life interview with State Representative Valerie Gaydos, who represents District 44 in Western Pennsylvania.
A former college athlete herself, Rep. Gaydos emphasizes fairness and safety as valid reasons to limit girls’ and women’s sports to those who were born female
Family Life News Producer Greg Gillispie spoke with her at the recent Pennsylvania Family Institute event in Moon Township.
Inside Out: Christian Accountability and/or Cancel Culture – 6/12/24
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Cancel Culture
A Christ-centered vantage point, from the “Inside Out” podcast
In a culture without agreed-upon standards, people across the faith and political spectrum sometimes hold others accountable by “cancelling” them. Christian attorney and apologist Abdu Murray believes the impulse to correct a wrong is natural and biblical.
“What Cancel Culture has become is the–I think a quite biblical–act of holding people accountable, but run amok,” he says. According to Murray, Cancel Culture and Christian accountability have different goals. “Cancel Culture is public erasure. There’s almost nothing redemptive in it. It’s an act that looks a lot more like revenge than it looks like accountability.”
Murray is the founder of Embrace the Truth, a non-profit dedicated to Christian apologetics and evangelism. He reminds us that when you feel that the wrongs of others should be addressed, cancelling is not the only choice.
“If you refuse to cancel them,” he says, “you can still hold them accountable.”
We need to know our motivation: do we want wrongdoers to take responsibility and repent, or do we want to ruin them?
“We always have to think redemptively,” Murray says. “How can this be redeemed? A good friend of mine once said this, ‘that I always want to make it easier for someone to sincerely apologize rather than harder.’ And sometimes Cancel Culture makes it harder for someone to sincerely apologize.”
Cancelling, of course, goes both ways, and it is possible that you could be cancelled and feel that it is because of your faith in Jesus Christ.
“The phrase that’s been repeated many, many times: ‘You can’t always control your reputation, but you can control your character.’ And as painful as it can be to be rejected, the real issue is: are we looking to Jesus to say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’?”
Learn about Abdu Murray and Embrace the Truth here.
Learn about his books here.
Capital Connection – 6/07/24
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Family Life’s “Capital Connection” – 5/07/24
NY: Safe 4 Kids Act
PA: Saving Women’s Sports, locally and nationally
What to Watch for at the U-S Supreme Court this month
Christian watchdogs Jason McGuire and Michael Geer “weigh in” on the “weighty” issues in the news from Albany and Harrisburg
