A federal judge has temporarily blocked a recently passed Louisiana law that would require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.

U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles issued a lengthy ruling and order on Tuesday in the case of Darcy Roake et al. v. Cade Brumley et al.

At issue is Louisiana’s House Bill 71, signed into law in June, which would require Decalogue displays in public school classrooms. The law was slated to take effect on New Year’s Day.

“Plaintiffs have established a viable Free Exercise claim,” wrote deGravelles. “H.B. 71 is not neutral toward religion, and this is evident from the text of the statute, its effects, and the statements of lawmakers before and after the Act’s passage.”

The judge took issue with the defendants’ claim that the Ten Commandments were a historically integral part of public education in United States history.

“In sum, the historical evidence showed that the instances of using the Ten Commandments in public schools were too ‘scattered’ to amount to ‘convincing evidence that it was common’ at the time of the Founding or incorporation of the First Amendment to utilize the Decalogue in public-school education,” deGravelles continued.

“That is, the evidence demonstrates that the practice at issue does not fit within and is otherwise not consistent with a broader historical tradition during those time periods.”

The American Civil Liberties Union, which helped to represent nine Louisiana families with children in the state public school system, released a statement celebrating the ruling.

“This ruling should serve as a reality check for Louisiana lawmakers who want to use public schools to convert children to their preferred brand of Christianity,” said Heather L. Weaver, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, as quoted in the statement.

“Public schools are not Sunday schools, and today’s decision ensures that our clients’ classrooms will remain spaces where all students, regardless of their faith, feel welcomed.”

Signed into law by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, HB 71 requires public school classrooms to display “certain historical documents,” among them the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance.

“Recognizing the historical role of the Ten Commandments accords with our nation’s history and faithfully reflects the understanding of the founders of our nation with respect to the necessity of civic morality to a functional self-government,” stated the legislation.

“Including the Ten Commandments in the education of our children is part of our state and national history, culture, and tradition.”

Soon after, the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit against the law on behalf of an interfaith group of parents.

“[F]or nearly half a century, it has been well settled that the First Amendment forbids public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in this manner,” read the complaint.

“Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that the Act is unconstitutional and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent Defendants from (i) implementing rules and regulations in accordance with the Act, (ii) otherwise seeking to enforce the Act, and (iii) displaying the Ten Commandments in any public-school classroom.”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill championed the new law on social media in June, explaining that she would be honored to defend the legislation in court.

“The 10 Commandments are pretty simple (don’t kill, steal, cheat on your wife), but they also are important to our country’s foundations,” she tweeted.

“Moses, who you may recall brought the 10 Commandments down from Mount Sinai, appears eight times in carvings that ring the United States Supreme Court Great Hall ceiling. I look forward to defending the law.”

In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 opinion in the Stone v. Graham ruling that Kentucky could not mandate that public schools display the Ten Commandments because it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Sources:Christian Post

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Some 12,000 Christians, young, old, male and female, and of various ethnicities, walked through the center of the city of Dublin in excited solidarity for the faith at the first-ever “March for Jesus.” All Nations Church and Betania Church, both based in the city, organized the event on Oct. 26, supported by other churches in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.

They gathered to affirm the Christian identity which has enfolded the peoples of Ireland since missionary St. Patrick first arrived in the fifth century AD, according to organizers.

Starting at the Garden of Remembrance, the crowds sang and prayed as they walked, holding wooden crosses, waving flags and placards saying, “March for Jesus,” “Jesus is the Way,” “Jesus is Lord,” “Jesus is King,” “Jesus can change your life,” “Jesus loves Dublin” and “Jesus loves Ireland.”

A worship team on an elevated platform located upon one of the city streets led participants in singing popular songs and hymns, such as “Praise the Lord, Oh my soul” and “How Great Thou Art.”

“We lift that name,” said Andy Campbell, of Healing the Land charity, in front of the crowd. “That Jesus is King over Ireland and God, we thank you today you are still King over Ireland.”

“How many of you believe that Jesus is alive?” asked Pastor John Ahern of All Nations Church from the platform. His question was met with an exuberant cheer in response.

Ahern read aloud from Jeremiah 1:10: “See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

The pastor then spoke out seemingly about political decisions and societal choices on the island, both north and south, which stood contrary to Gospel values. “I want to pray for the family, I want to pray for our children. I think that it’s significant that in the providence of God, that God ordained that we would be here on this day. It was arranged months ago but here God says before you were born I knew you.

“We are here to bless our city, we are here to bless this island both north and south. But we’re not just here to bless because God will not and cannot bless everything. God will not bless the shedding of innocent blood. God will not bless euthanasia. God will not bless the sexualization of children. God will not bless the erasure of women. And God will not bless churches that are so cowardly they refuse to call evil exactly what it is.”

Ahern then pleaded to God, “standing in the gap for this nation,” asking for blessing on Ireland and Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Europe and the wider world.

Referring to Jesus as the light of the world, he pleaded in prayer for the Irish people to return to God: “that the Irish people are going to come back to you, to faith in you, to honoring you, to worshiping you, to declaring that you are Lord.”

Several other church and ministry leaders, both male and female, from across the island also spoke and prayed at the event.

Nick Park, executive director of the Evangelical Alliance Ireland, expressed his hope for a future Irish government that will return its focus on values that align with the Bible.

“I pray for the next government for this nation to be one that you can use to roll back tides of darkness and bring in a restoration of truth and godliness in this nation.”
Sources:Christian Post

http://theendtimeradio.com

One of the challenges to supporting persecuted Christians abroad is that many in the West don’t realize just how much their brothers and sisters in Christ suffer for their faith, according to the head of a leading advocacy group.

Global Christian Relief (GCR) is an advocacy group dedicated to uplifting persecuted Christians through practical support and providing the Gospel to those in need. The organization serves five regions worldwide, including Central and East Asia, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

GCR also seeks to remind Christians to stand in solidarity with their oppressed brothers and sisters and not to remain ignorant of their sufferings.

“There has been a rise in the persecution and oppression of Christians over the last 15 years or so,” GCR President and CEO David Curry told The Christian Post. “And we need to awaken to that and do a couple of things.”

Last Sunday, GCR hosted a livestream for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, an observance for Christians around the world who are subjected to violence and discrimination for their beliefs.

The event included a kit with short stories about several individuals who overcame adversity, including a survivor of Boko Haram massacres in Nigeria and an advocate for the underground church in North Korea. The kit also features testimonies from persecuted Christians whose stories of oppression might not be as well-known, such as a woman from Nepal who faced discrimination for leaving Hinduism.

While many in the West are familiar with the plight of Christians in Nigeria, considered by various advocates to be one of the “deadliest” places in the world for people of faith, Curry noted that Nepal doesn’t appear to be on most people’s radar.

One reason for this, he suggested, is that reports of Christian persecution in Nigeria typically involve more physical violence, which tends to draw more attention. Even if the level of violence is not the same in Nepal as it is in Nigeria, Curry emphasized that Christians in the South Asian country still face persecution.

“We don’t want to see people get hurt, but what we really want is to start at the top and say, ‘Do you know what’s happening to your brothers and sisters around the world?’” Curry said.

“Including Nepal and the pressures they face just to do the simple things like read Scripture, go to church peacefully and practice their faith. That’s not a given in Nepal.”

As GCR and other advocacy groups like Open Doors have noted, while Nepal is no longer a Hindu State, Nepali Christians face the threat of being attacked by their families or even forced out of their homes for believing in Christ. The government also oppresses Christians through anti-conversion laws and the shuttering of churches.

Another challenge is that many people in Nepal are illiterate and rely on oral communication, making it difficult for Nepali Christians to read the Bible. GCR has tried to help by working with local partners in the area to distribute audio Bibles in local languages to Christians throughout the country. Last month, GCR reported delivering around 40,000 audio Bibles to Nepal.

Still, Curry stressed that one way Christians in the West can continue to stand up for their persecuted brothers and sisters is to pray.

“Because we have to recognize this is a spiritual battle,” Curry stressed. “First, we’ve got to start with prayer. It’s life or death. So we’ve got to understand it’s more than just politics; that’s why we start with prayer, and then there’s advocacy.”

“I think once people get into this and they see that their voice makes a difference, then we can start talking about this with our representatives, having our churches pray about it, and we can move the needle on Western governments, the U.S., the U.K., France, speaking out for Christians who are being persecuted for their faith.”
Sources:Christian Post

http://theendtimeradio.com