Western culture — and its roots in Judeo-Christian values — is a phenomenon worth celebrating, according to Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies.

The famed “Lord of the Rings” star recently spoke with CBN News, explaining the Western world ought to be “so proud” of the culture it has created, noting its mooring in Christian principles.

He described the current generations as “the inheritors of one of the most glorious accomplishments that mankind has ever had,” referring to “Western, European, Judeo-Christian civilization.”

“Has it got flaws, yes,” he said. “But let’s not forget it was actually those Christians who said, ‘Slavery is morally wrong and we must get rid of it. … We must extirpate it in the world,’ and they did so. … Our whole democracy comes from those early Christians.”

Speaking of Western styles of government — which, in the U.S., is a constitutional republic — Rhys-Davies credited Christians and deists with establishing the freest form of self-governance in the world.

Early believers, he said, argued, “Surely, what I believe in and my devotion to my God must trump the emperor’s insistence that I worship him.” The actor explained Christians advocated for the “right of individual conscience,” to “associate with people who think the way you think,” the freedom “to express what you think,” and the “right not to be imprisoned for your beliefs.”

Those values, Rhys-Davies said, are the underpinnings of democracy, the “glory of mankind” and “unquestionably the finest way of organizing people in a political and social manner that we’ll ever have.”

While Rhys-Davies doesn’t consider himself a believer, he certainly has an affinity for the faith with which he was raised. It was that, in part, that led him to serve as narrator for a re-released podcast retelling 19th-century novelist Charles Dickens’ classic story, “A Christmas Carol.”

Any actor worth his salt, Rhys-Davies explained, should seize the chance to work on Dickens.

“The opportunity to do Dickens, even if you’ve done different versions of him before, you always grab that,” he said. “Any actor knows that the performance is really controlled by the word — the script — and anytime you get to work with a world-class writer, you should take it — no matter whether you can do it or not; just take it and learn.”

The universal appeal of “A Christmas Carol,” Rhys-Davies said, is its redemptive thread — a fruit of its author’s likely Christian faith.

“We love that idea that, no matter how much we fail, we can change, we can start again,” he said. “There is hope. In the dark of winter, there is hope.”
Sources:faithwire

http://theendtimeradio.com

One vote can make an enormous difference. In Texas, it was a single vote that allowed Biblical material to be included in the local public schools through the state-authored curriculum, Bluebonnet Learning (BL). On Friday, eight of 15 Texas State Board of Education members voted it through. Although it was not free from controversy, last week’s decision means the new curriculum will be available starting in the spring and likely put to use within the 2025 to 2026 school year.

Notably, the Biblical material included in BL is optional. As The Texas Tribune summarized, “The curriculum was designed with a cross-disciplinary approach that uses reading and language arts lessons to advance or cement concepts in other disciplines, such as history and social studies.” Some of the specific Christian references and teachings integrated into BL is Jesus’s parable of “The Good Samaritan,” which can be found in Luke chapter 10, and the “Golden Rule,” found in Matthew 7. The Tribune noted that these parables are “about loving everyone, including your enemies.” The Golden Rule, as stated in the Bible, says, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.”

Those who voted against this curriculum included all four Democrats who are on the board, as well as three Republicans. According to The Daily Wire, several Democrats who voted against it felt concerned it would “force Christianity on public school children.” Of those Democrats, Staci Childs verbalized her belief that the curriculum will eventually find itself in court. She told NBC News, “[I]f a parent or a teacher who didn’t feel comfortable teaching this were to bring this up to a court, I believe they would be successful.” Childs also noted that, in her opinion, “these materials are [not] yet reflective of the experiences and the nuance of Texas students.”

Conversely, Republican board member Will Hickman celebrated the future of Texas public schools now that BL has been approved. “In my view,” he said, “these stories are on the education side and are establishing cultural literacy. … [R]eligious concepts like the Good Samaritan and the Golden Rule and Moses [are ones] that all students should be exposed to.” Apart from the board members, it appears parents were also divided on the topic. However, The New York Times reported on one mother’s opinion, in which she stated that the incarnation of Jesus “is and always will be the hinge of all of history.” This mother also posed the question: “How would the canceling of such fundamental facts serve the education of our children or contribute to shape them morally?”

To add to the conversation, Joseph Backholm, Family Research Council’s senior fellow for Biblical Worldview and Strategic Engagement, offered a comment to The Washington Stand. “The classroom will never be values neutral,” he said. “We’ve seen the aggressive way some classrooms have pushed the Sexual Revolution, which is essentially just a different religion. [So,] the fact that the curriculum includes Biblical stories doesn’t mean its teaching Christianity, just that they aren’t pretending there is something dangerous about Biblical stories anymore.”

Backholm agreed that “the history of America is largely Christian. It’s not possible to have a clear understanding of American history without understanding the role faith played in the lives and beliefs of our founders.” According to Backholm, “This is just one of the many ways that Biblical knowledge is [simply] part of a basic education. If you learn American history, you’ll learn about the Bible.”

Ultimately, Backholm believes parents should “be the primary shapers and guardians of children, [but] we don’t want our fear of ‘religious instruction’ to make us afraid of giving a real education. [Because] in the American context, knowing about our history and culture requires knowledge of the Bible.”

FRC’s Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow of Education Studies, also weighed in with TWS. “The folks who are concerned about ‘teaching Christianity’ in classrooms have likely never batted an eye over mindfulness lessons or practice for children, Greek and Roman mythology, and other types of religious content in schools.”

She continued, “Biblical or overtly Christian content is too controversial for use in the classroom when viewed through the ‘lens of inclusivity.'” Agreeing with Backholm, she noted, “There is simply no way to separate America from its expressly Christian foundation, [even] though the educational industrial complex continues to try.” At the end of the day, Kilgannon said she’s “grateful for the Texas school board members who voted to support this measure. We must continue to pray for America’s schools, families, and school children. We must also support local leaders who take a stand for God and country.”

Kilgannon concluded, “Education has always been about state and local control. It’s our duty to pay attention to local matters and make sure our perspectives are heard.”
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS

http://theendtimeradio.com

A Virginia real estate agent claims he’s facing “professional ethics charges and could even lose his Realtor status” over past statements about marriage.

Wilson Fauber has been a broker and agent for over four decades, but he told CBN News he risks potential fines or even losing his real estate status after complaints over a social media post about same-sex marriage.

Fauber is also an ordained minister, making the case even more complex, according to his attorneys with The Founding Freedoms Law Center.

His plight began last year, when he decided to run for the Staunton City Council in Virginia.

“During my journey running for Staunton City Council, some of the opposition from a different party decided that they were going to scour my Facebook pages and see if they could find any dirt on me,” Fauber said. “And they went back to 2015 and they found a Scripture that I posted from Leviticus … where the Lord clearly states that homosexuality is an abomination to Him.”

The eight-year-old post was then fodder for online furor and messages “perceived as threats,” forcing the then-candidate to go to the police for help.

Fauber lost the election and, months later, purportedly received an email from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) explaining a complaint had been filed against him. The Virginia Association of Realtors, the local chapter of the NAR, is reportedly handling the complaint and Fauber’s ethics case.

“My complainant said that they thought that posting that Scripture and other Scriptures that I’ve posted is hate speech,” he said. “And taking me to task with the National Association of Realtors. … It’s very bizarre, in a way, but, as we look at what’s happening around the world, it’s not.”

Fauber said he has never had problems with the NAR over the past 44 years and has “served the Lord” in his work and treatment of others.

The realtor’s attorney, Michael Sylvester, a lawyer with The Founding Freedoms Law Center, said his client posted messages about the Bible and these issues “on behalf of his ministry.” The post from 2015 came to light, he said, after a journalist was made aware of it by the “opposition.”

“Then the journalist tries to bring the issue into the campaign by asking Wilson whether he still stands by his post,” Sylvester said. “It’s really incredible that this whole situation comes out of a Christian being asked whether he still stands by the Bible.”

Some might wonder why private speech has become a potential ethics issue for a realtor. Sylvester explained it’s all rooted in the NAR’s rules.

“The National Association of Realtors has a series of ethics rules that guide real estate agents on how they engage in their practice in a way that’s beneficial to society and not harmful,” he said. So, that’s the goal. But, in 2020, the [association] implemented a hate speech rule.”

This rule, he said, could be seen as governing what real estate agents do, even outside their jobs. Sylvester added the “rule suggests that it controls that minister’s activity and therefore that individual activity.”

“Even a minister preaching from the pulpit could violate this rule just by speaking on the Scriptures the way that it’s been implied in certain situations,” he added.

With the ethics hearing coming Dec. 4, both Sylvester and Fauber said there are potentially sweeping ramifications ranging from fines of $5,000 to $15,000 to losing his license.

“The way I see it is — it’s persecution and certainly trying to silence my free speech,” Fauber said. “When I can’t post these things on my social media or even speak of certain Scriptures from the pulpit.”

Being a member of the NAR provides benefits to realtors, including access to the multiple listing service (MLS), a clearinghouse of housing information that benefits clients and offers a full range of information on properties.

“They have the right to remove me from the membership of the National Association of Realtors, the Virginia Association of Realtors, and my local Association of Realtors, which then cuts me off from the multiple listing service,” Fauber said.

Sylvester said the hearing “should not be happening” and that Fauber didn’t do or say anything that qualifies as hate speech.

“It should have been dismissed right away,” he added.

Sylvester plans to appeal within the NAR ethics process if his client loses in any way. As for Fauber, he said he has no plans to back down or apologize for publicly sharing his religious and biblical beliefs.

“I’m sure I’m going to be asked if I’m remorseful; I expect that to happen,” he said. “And the answer is, ‘No.’ I am not remorseful. I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I will continue to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Fauber continued, “I’m adamant about pursuing the case. I believe the Lord has called me for such a time as this to be His voice in this particular matter and He has given me His peace.”

A section of the NAR website addresses the issues at the center of Fauber’s case. A frequently asked question posed after an explanation of hate speech regulations reads, “Doesn’t this mean that, if I post my opinion online and someone doesn’t agree with it, that I can lose my membership and be forced out of the business?”

Here’s how the NAR responded to this inquiry:

As with any alleged Code violation, ethics complaints alleging a violation of Article 10 as interpreted by Standard of Practice 10-5 will be processed consistent with the local or state association’s professional standards enforcement process, which affords all parties a full and fair opportunity to present their case, defend themselves, provide evidence and witnesses, and be represented by counsel.

Additionally, membership in an association of REALTORS® is voluntary, and any discipline imposed does not automatically impact an individual’s ability to hold a real estate license.

A representative for the NAR offered no comment when reached by CBN News, instead referring all questions to the Virginia Association of Realtors, which is handling the case. The Virginia Association of Realtors has not yet responded to a separate request for comment.
Sources:faithwire

http://theendtimeradio.com