Wednesday, May 25th, in the year of our Lord, 2016.
By Mark Robinette
If a new bill passes in Hawaii, the island state could be the first in the union to enter the names of gun owners into a government database. The FBI database, called “Rap Back,” is usually only used to list people holding positions of trust such as schoolteachers and bus drivers. According to Fox News, the bill has some people worried that “Big Brother is watching us,” and others are praising it.
An unopposed Donald Trump picked up 44 more delegates by winning Washington State’s GOP presidential primary race, taking him up to 1,213 delegates. Bernie Sanders won the state big in March, beating Hillary Clinton 2 to 1.
Lawmakers in New York are moving a bill forward that would allow the terminally ill to request a lethal prescription to end their lives. Democratic Representative Amy Paulin introduced the “Medical Aid in Dying Act” earlier this month, and now it has passed committee. J.J. Hanson, president of Patients Rights Action Fund, told The World View that he thought the bill was part of a national trend: “This is happening when you have a time in our society where you’re having significant increases in our suicide rate. It was just released two weeks ago that there was a study that there’s been a 24% increase in general suicide rates across the United States between the years of 1999 to 2014. And yet, instead of trying to deal with that and offer people more counseling to improve suicide rates, etc., people are making this argument that we should be opening the door to assisted suicide for those who are going through one of the most difficult experiences in life.”
Oklahoma Republicans worked hard to get a bill passed making abortion a crime punishable by prison time, only to have it vetoed Monday by their Republican governor. Gov. Mary Fallin, who has signed 18 other pro-life measures, said that she did so because the bill was too vague and would not hold up in court.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement that has many Bible-believing Christians troubled. Trudeau announced an amendment to the Canadian Human Rights Act. It now includes the same protections for homosexual and transgendered people as it does for ethnic minorities. This law protects them from discrimination and so-called “hate speech” by making these things criminal offenses. This law could lead to ministers being imprisoned for sermons or other Christians going to jail for standing by what the Bible says.
According to Christian Headlines, the daughter of Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, relinquished her ministry position after marrying a woman. Her father, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, attended the ceremony offering his daughter what he called “a father’s blessing.” The former archbishop has often spoken in favor of homosexual marriage, saying that he would refuse to go to a “homophobic heaven.”
Perhaps he’d rather join the ungodly “in the lake the burns with fire and brimstone, prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Revelation 21:8).
With Memorial Day coming next Monday, Teresa Philyaw, the mayor of Hiram, Georgia, wanted to honor the county’s fallen soldiers to “make sure their sacrifice was not forgotten,” she said. So she and a few others worked hard. They handmade 79 white crosses, which were posted on public property along Highway 92 honoring the dead. Unfortunately, someone complained. Within hours the memorial was removed. Mayor Philyaw told FoxNews.com, “It was never about religion—it was just to honor them. I was devastated when it had to come down.” Local officials surrendered to the pressure of one phone call. The call was not even from a family member of the veterans. Lord, give our godly leaders courage.
“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous is as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).
Over the weekend, officials of East Liverpool (Ohio) High School also caved in to pressure. This time it came from atheists who halted their 70-year tradition for graduating students to recite the Lord’s Prayer. They removed it from the program, saying that they didn’t want a legal battle. Fortunately, their class valedictorian, Jonathan Montgomery, was bold as a lion. When he took the stage for his speech, he led the entire class in reciting the Lord’s Prayer. A raucous crowd cheered and would not be quelled.
People of God, never be silenced by the fear of man.
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