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GREENVILLE, Mississippi, April 16, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― After a warning from the Department of Justice, the mayor who fined Christians $500 for attending drive-in church services has reversed his ban on the practice. Mayor Errick D. Simmons of Greenville, Mississippi attracted sharp criticism, lawsuits, and national notoriety after members of Temple Baptist Church were given citations for attending a worship service from the safety of their cars last Wednesday. In the wake of the controversy, Simmons first waived the $500 fine on Easter Monday. Now he has also rescinded his April 7 order banning any kind of church service, including...

Three southern California churches who want to remain open amid the coronavirus pandemic filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials on Monday, arguing that stay-at-home orders violate their First Amendment right to freedom of religion and assembly. The Center for American Liberty, a conservative non-profit, filed the lawsuit in the federal court for the Central District of California on behalf of three pastors and one parishioner in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, east of Los Angeles. Attorney General Xavier Becerra and officials of San Bernardino and Riverside counties are also named as defendants. Newsom, a Democrat, and...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (April 14, 2020) — Three Southern California churches that want to keep their doors open during the coronavirus outbreak sued Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials on Monday, arguing that social distancing orders violate the First Amendment right to freedom of religion and assembly. The suit, filed in the federal court for the Central District of California, also names state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and officials of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The suit seeks to block Newsom’s month-old stay-at-home order and two county orders designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 by having people mostly stay at...

Kentucky Christians who attended drive-in services on Easter — despite warnings from the governor to stay home over the coronavirus pandemic — were met by police presence and nails dumped in the road, the pastor of a Kentucky church said. Democratic Kentucky Andy Beshear had announced that the state would enforce a stay-at-home measure by recording the license plates of any person attending Easter services. Americans in other states, such as in Nevada, Colorado, California, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, similarly gathered to observe the Christian holiday through drive-in church services. “This is a time and weekend, a whole week for multiple...

The city council of Greenville, Miss. and Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons issued an executive order that banned all in-person church services, effective from April 7 until Missouri Gov. Tate Reeves lifts the state’s stay-at-home order. Fox News reported many churches planned to drive-in services as a means of negotiating the need for social distancing with in-person services, especially during Easter week.

Many — including the defiant pastor, Rev. Jack Roberts — arrived with their plates covered, with officers instead recording their VIN numbers, the paper said. Even more desperate measures appeared to have been taken to keep the faithful away — with “piles of nails” blocking each entrance, according to photos shared by the Courier Journal. It was not clear who had left the nails, which were eventually cleared by church volunteers in time for the main arrivals, the paper said. Kentucky State Police troopers then left large signs on every car left in the church lot, the paper said —...

A judge denied a request for a temporary injunction in a lawsuit that states Virginia’s stay-at-home order violates religious freedom. Southern Virginia Russell County Circuit Court Judge Michael Moore ruled in favor of Democratic Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring on Thursday and denied a request for a temporary injunction in Russell County resident Larry Hughes’s lawsuit, Hughes v. Northam, the Virginia attorney general’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Friday. “The equities do not weigh in [petitioner’s] favor based on this pandemic,” Moore said in a statement, according to the AG’s office. “And to say that this injunction...

The Muslim persecution of Christians that occurred in just one month. Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.   Reprinted from the Gatestone Institute. The following are some of the abuses Muslims inflicted on Christians, categorized by theme, throughout the month of January, 2020: The Slaughter of Christians in Nigeria During several separate incidents, militant Muslims—whether Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, or generic terrorists—continued to attack and massacre several Christians. As one example, on Friday, January 17, Muslim Fulani tribesmen on motorbikes raided a Christian village at a time they knew people were congregating at the village square...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) defended deeming churches as “essential” in his stay-at-home order, telling reporters during Thursday’s press conference that the government does not have the authority to close a church and adding that they play an important role, particularly “in times like this.” DeSantis formally issued a stay-at-home order on Wednesday after days of mounting pressure. The order is designed to “limit their [Floridians’] movements and personal interactions outside of their home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities.” Essential activities include picking up groceries, going to doctor appointments, and, notably,...

There is precedent in Scripture for godly people saying no to the governing authorities. There are times when, to use the words of Peter, “We must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). Is today one of those times? One of the slogans of the American Revolution was, “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” Is our government being tyrannical when it forbids us to gather? Is this the right time to rebel, despite the Bible’s clear teaching that, generally speaking, we are called to obey the authorities? (See Romans 13.) Let’s examine this from several angles. First, are local...

As Coronavirus Deniers Katherine Stewart couldn’t be bothered to find out, as a good journalist would, what the Cornwall Alliance or plenty of other conservative, evangelical Christians think about the coronavirus. Slander sufficed. “Stop denying science!! … There is a special place in hell for you folks!! If any of your ilk get COVID-19 I hope you stick to your ‘non-science’ beliefs and let someone else have a ventilator.” These are examples of messages the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation received recently. What could stir up such anger?These and similar messages were prompted by Katherine Stewart’s March 27...

Rarely are Christians in the United States confronted with the kinds of challenges faced by believers around the world whose governments regularly persecute the faithful. Yet, both are now facing the coronavirus. Churches around the world – even those in places where persecution abounds – have been forced to adapt to this unexpected and unnerving external pressure, meeting in new and creative ways in the era of social distancing. As churches across America begin to wrestle with new challenges, we can be inspired by the church in China, which has managed be a light to their society during the coronavirus...

Question: Should churches comply with government mandates to not hold worship services during the coronavirus pandemic?In the last few weeks, social media and the internet in general have been replete with debates about whether or not churches should comply with government mandates to suspend worship services and related church group activities as the country seeks to stem the spread of the incredibly contagious coronavirus.Many have said, “Yes, we have an obligation to obey the civil magistrate for conscience sake” (Rom 13:7). Others have responded, “No, we have special freedoms and protections under the First Amendment, and our ultimate loyalty must...

Virginia churches could face criminal penalties for holding services during the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, Gov. Ralph Northam, a pro-abortion Democrat who defended infanticide last year, is allowing abortion facilities to continue killing unborn babies in elective abortions unhindered. “Ralph Northam is putting the profits of the $1 billion abortion industry ahead of the health, safety, and well-being of all Virginians,” said Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia. “His decision to allow abortions to continue when other elective procedures have been suspended is anti-science, anti-health, and anti-life.” Pro-lifers all across the country are outraged by the situation in...

The Chinese communist government continued its campaign against Christianity during the country's coronavirus outbreak by destroying crosses and demolishing a church while people were on lockdown.On March 13, a church in Guoyang County, Anhui Province saw its cross removed by authorities. A video shared by the Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness documented the moment when the crane removed the red cross from the church's rooftop. 2020?3?13???????????????????? pic.twitter.com/RUnrAMgrpP— ????????? (@ccfr2017) March 13, 2020 A Christian with the surname Chen told persecution watchdog group China Aid that this church usually has 40 churchgoers attending its services. Authorities used the lockdown as an...

NEW YORK — On the first Sunday after the coronavirus began upending American life, some religious institutions – including two churches whose pastors are close to President Donald Trump – held in-person services amid public health worries over the pandemic. That picture already looks different this week. Pastor Robert Jeffress, a stalwart evangelical ally of Trump, held services at his First Baptist megachurch this past Sunday in accordance with Dallas-area limits on gatherings of more than 500 people but said in an interview that this week, he would hold online-only worship. The Florida church where Paula White, Trump’s personal pastor...

Biden, 77, was welcomed by applause at New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, where he was accompanied by NAACP national president Derrick Johnson and Rep. Bennie Thompson. . . . During a speech, Biden mentioned former President Barack Obama several times and said the country was at 'an inflection point' that reflected the Civil Rights era more than 50 years ago.

A couple of decades ago, churches split in a grand debate over worship. Contentious arguments raged over every aspect of worship style, components, decorum, and practically everything else. Every church seemed to be choosing between opposites—organ or praise band, historic liturgy or rock liturgies, contemporary songs or historic hymns. The fallout was ugly. Assemblies erupted in dissonance and members on the losing side transferred out.Years later, the voices have calmed and the dust has settled. Some pastors declared a sort of “separate peace” by establishing rival worship services—one traditional, one modern. Others went the “blended worship” route. While this...

America has lost a voice that strongly and consistently provided the road map to steer us away from the political and cultural abyss we currently face. That voice belonged to historian Gertrude Himmelfarb, who died Dec. 30 at age 97. Gertrude spoke passionately about how our most important institutions—families, communities, churches, and private enterprise—must be “remoralized,” as it is only through a strong civil society that we can have a strong nation. In her words, people learn to function as “free, responsible, moral adults” in these institutions and apply that responsibility and morality as citizens of a nation. But she...

The Nonprofit Security Grants Program (NSPG) allows houses of worship and other nonprofits to apply for grants of up to $100 thousand for each institution. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday he would push to quadruple the budget for the Nonprofit Security Grants Program (NSPG) from $90 million to $360m. a year. The program allows houses of worship and other nonprofits to apply for grants of up to $100,000 for each institution. The money can be used for security measures such as fencing, cameras, stronger doors and hiring of security personnel.