In a world where one outrage seems to follow another, let’s begin this week with some good news.
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In a nice pairing, identical twin Catholic clergy baptized a pair of fraternal twins during a recent Mass in Pennsylvania, The Times’ Sean Salai reports.
The Rev. Ben Daghir and Deacon Luke Daghir baptized Gianna and Andrew Renwick at St. Mary’s Church in Reynoldsville, some 73 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Parents Luke and Kristin Renwick had prayed for twins, and say those prayers were answered after a miscarriage in the fall of 2022.
“We had always prayed for twins,” Mrs. Renwick said. “You just never actually think — will God grant us these prayers? But, certainly, prayers were answered and God is good.”
Top Christian university hit with $37 million fine by Education Department
The Times’ Sean Salai reports the Biden administration this week imposed a $37 million fine on Grand Canyon University, a Christian school that has 100,000 students on campus and online, for allegedly misleading graduate students about the cost of doctoral programs.
“The department’s Federal Student Aid office said in a statement that investigators concluded GCU lied over several years via advertising that suggested the cost of completing some programs would be less than what 98% of students ended up paying for additional ’continuation courses,’” Mr. Salai reported.
The school says it will fight the fine.
Thou Shalt Not Pray at a School Board Meeting: Atheist Group
Congress opens its sessions with prayer, and the Supreme Court opens with the words, “God save the United States and this Honorable Court!” But the school board in Wilmington, North Carolina, should not start its meetings with an appeal to a higher power, a group representing atheists contends.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation sent a “demand letter” to the New Hanover County Board of Education after it learned the board was proposing a policy permitting such prayers and had opened its Oct. 3 meeting with a prayer from the Rev. Joshua Reilly, pastor of the Long Leaf Baptist Church.
“It is beyond the scope of a public school board to schedule or conduct prayer as part of its meetings, even if the prayer is delivered by local religious leaders,” FFRF staff attorney Chris Line wrote to school board Chair Pete Wildeboer.
The school board has yet to respond to the letter, Mr. Line said, nor did they respond to Washington Times reporter Mark Kellner’s request for a comment.
Christian high school student wins $150,000 in “pray to play” lawsuit
A former high school student in Chicago was paid $150,000 after a federal district court judge accepted a proposed settlement of the Christian’s complaint that a meditation program’s “mandated” Hindu rituals violated her religious rights.
When she was a student at Bogan High School, Mariyah Green said she was warned her refusal to participate in a “Puja initiation rite” — part of the school’s “Quiet Time” meditation program sponsored by the David Lynch Foundation — would cost her a spot in Bogan’s basketball program.
The foundation and the Chicago Board of Education each agreed to pay $75,000 to Ms. Green, although neither entity admitted liability.
Ohio vandals steal, deface ‘No on Issue 1’ signs at Catholic churches
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More than a dozen Catholic Church properties in Ohio report that their yard signs opposing the state’s “Issue 1” ballot measure instituting a range of abortion rights have been stolen or vandalized.
Churches, schools and cemeteries have be hit during the fierce political battles in the Buckeye State, Valerie Richardson reports, ahead of the hotly contested vote November 7. A window was spray-painted black at one church to cover the “No on Issue 1” sign inside, and “Vote Yes” was written on the black paint.
Eventbrite loses notable customers after canceling Riley Gaines tickets, allowing anti-Israel events
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Online ticketing service Eventbrite lost the business of Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin after the firm de-listed events for women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines but kept listings for other events critics say are anti-Israel, Ms. Richardson reports.
Ms. Gaines, a collegiate swimming star, has protested the presence of biological males in women’s athletic events, while the anti-Israel events sprang up after the Jewish State responded to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks launched from the Gaza Strip. The San Francisco-based Eventbrite is a market leader in online event management and ticketing services.
“As governor, I have told our political committee that we will no longer use Eventbrite. The governor’s office is no longer using Eventbrite,” Mr. Youngkin said on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton radio show.
VIDEO: Bible’s “End Times” explained by author Jeff Kinley
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A push towards globe-dominating power, wars and crises mark the rise of the “end times,” Bible expert Jeff Kinley explains in an interview with Billy Hallowell. Mr. Kinley’s new book, “God’s Grand Finale,” details last-days events in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation.
In our opinion
Needham: Avoid the ‘hamster wheel’ secular living promotes
There’s more to life than the baubles and distractions our secular age pushes forward, author Kelly Needham says in an opinion column for Higher Ground.
“When our work is the path to meaning, we will never be satisfied because there’s always a new hill to climb, a new goal to meet, a new level of success to chase. When our work is how we find meaning, we’ll always feel exhausted and burnt out because rest is antithetical to our pursuit of purpose,” she writes.
However, Ms. Needham adds, “there is a better way to live a meaningful life and it’s found when we return to the sacred, to the transcendent relationship we were made for!”
Hallowell: New House speaker’s bold Christian faith is what America needs
An unapologetic evangelical Christian, newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson is precisely the tonic our society needs, writes Billy Hallowell.
The low-key Louisiana Republican has spoken openly about his deep faith and how it guides his public life since his surprise election as speaker last month. Observes Mr. Hallowell, “His faith and devotion offer a breath of fresh air in a culture desperately searching for the very truth he claims to hold dear.”
Perry and von Spakovsky: ‘Woke’ ideology threatens Iowa students, parents
The Lin Mar Community School District in Iowa wanted to penalize students who speak the truth about gender, contributors Hans von Spakovsky and Sarah Parshall Perry write, but a federal court blocked the move for now.
According to the now-delayed rules, “Any refusal to ‘respect a student’s gender identity’ would violate the school’s prohibitions against bullying and harassment, which could lead to suspension and expulsion.” The court found that the district’s failure to define “respect” could void the provision on First Amendment grounds.
“What the school board should do instead is realize that it made a grievous error in implementing this restrictive, unconstitutional policy and get rid of it in its entirety,” the authors argue.
Ask Dr. E: Higher education’s purpose may surprise you
Is it enough for a Christian college student to “survive” a secular school without becoming addicted to drugs or contracting a STD? Or is there more to higher education? Everett Piper — our “Ask Dr. E” columnist — counsels parents who are torn whether to send their very bright son to a top secular university or to a Christian college.
He writes, “The educational path we choose says something about what we believe. T.S. Eliot once said, ‘In choosing one definition [of education] rather than another, we are attracted to the one because it fits better with our answer to the question: What is man for?’”
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