If the world thought President Obama was detached from the Brussels bombing, he was downright indifferent to the one in Pakistan. A horrific attack on the holiest of days brought parents to their knees, as 29 Christian children and more than 40 others were massacred by the Taliban on Easter. Three hundred were injured — many critically — by the explosives detonated by a suicide bomber next to a park where people had worshipped the risen Christ. “The target,” said members of the Pakistani Taliban, “was Christians.”

Despite the terrorists’ own admission, the administration’s Ned Price couldn’t bring himself to mention the religious nature of the attacks — or the attackers — who killed twice as many as the Belgium terrorists last week. “This cowardly act,” the White House’s surrogate declared, “in what has long been a scenic and placid park has killed dozens of innocent civilians and left scores injured. We send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed, just as our thoughts and prayers are with the many injured in the explosion. The United States stands with the people and Government of Pakistan at this difficult hour.”

Local hospitals and, soon, graves, will be filled with the agonizing evidence that these were not just “citizens,” but Christians, murdered by radical Muslims. Now, a place often filled with children’s laughter is instead a place of mourning, as families weep over the blood that still stains the concrete under the park swings where their sons and daughters spent their last moments. Unlike the United States, Europe is forcefully condemning the faith-based genocide. Prime Minister David Cameron (who did not use a spokesman) urged Britons to stand up for Christian values after the bombing in Lahore. What a contrast to our own president, who refuses to acknowledge that the violence had its bullseye on a religion he claims to profess.

“There was human flesh on the walls of our house,” one man said somberly. And there is blood on the hands of nations who do nothing to denounce this brutality as anything but the attempted annihilation of our brothers and sisters in Christ. In stark contrast to the current White House, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) fiercely decried the targeting. “The evil that is radical Islamism struck in Pakistan today — the very day we celebrate the resurrection of the Prince of Peace — in a shocking display of savagery,” said Cruz. “Once again we are reminded there are no holidays from this enemy, and no one — not commuters going to work in Brussels, not mothers and children celebrating Easter in a park in Lahore — are immune from its wrath. We must redouble our resolve to band with friends and allies to defeat it. Our prayers are with our brothers and sisters in Pakistan.”

With fresh urgency, FRC hopes to draw attention to this and suffering like it in a special emphasis, Sunday, April 17: Stand with the Persecuted. Together with churches across the country, Open Doors USA, the Institute for Religion and Democracy, and Voice of the Martyrs, FRC is encouraging congregations to devote time in their weekend services to prayer for those around the globe who have been targeted for no other reason than their faith in Jesus Christ. While believers face growing hostility in America, we have experienced nothing like the mistreatment, displacement, violence, rape, crucifixions, and beheadings experienced by followers of Jesus in Iraq, Syria, Libya, other parts of the Middle East and beyond. Join us as we stand in solidarity with fellow Christians by visiting our website: FRC.org/Stand.

Originally published here.

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

The devil has gone to Georgia again, but this time it was in the form of Big Business and cowardly politicians. In a staggering announcement [Monday] morning, the two-term governor of the Peach State has capitulated to big business and decided to give the government a blank check to punish Georgia’s men and women of faith. Days after a watered-down religious liberty bill sailed through both houses of the legislature, Governor Deal has decided that even the flimsiest of protections for churches are too much for Georgia’s Christians. Like Hollywood and Big Business, he thinks the state should be able to dictate what people believe — and torment those who don’t conform.

Sound familiar? It should. Any totalitarian regime operates by the same philosophy. And while the persecution takes different forms, the effect is still the same: faith-based oppression. According to Deal, a bill so weak that it wouldn’t even protect the nuns at Little Sisters of the Poor “doesn’t reflect the character of our state or the character of its people.” But apparently, open season on religious liberty does?

All this measure would have done is shield churches and a tiny sliver of faith-based groups from any penalties Georgia might dole out for their beliefs on marriage. Under the bill that Governor Deal thought was too extreme, public officials like Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis could still go to jail, Robert and Cynthia Gifford would have still lost their wedding business, and fire chiefs like Atlanta’s Kelvin Cochran could still be fired. Everyday people like Edie and David Delorme would have still been targets.

Yet even the barest of protections was too much for Deal, who, in vetoing H.B. 757, has managed to align himself with the most radical fringe in America. A full 83 percent of this country — including the majority of atheists — are strongly opposed to punishing people for their beliefs. (And they were polled about much broader protections than H.B. 757!) Less than 17 percent of the nation sides with bullies like Georgia’s governor, who think we should use the government as a club to beat over the heads of believers. A lot must have changed since 1993 when then-Congressman Deal helped pass the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), unanimously, on a voice vote. Now even a cheap imitation is “discriminatory.” But Georgians are about to find out for whom.

Lost in the threats from the NFL, Apple, Disney, Marvel, and Intel is the reality that this isn’t about standing up for LGBT rights — it’s about standing up for everyone’s rights. Instead of taking his cues from Hollywood, maybe the governor should have read the proposal to see how narrow the bill’s scope actually was. If anything, Deal should have vetoed the H.B. 757 for not being strong enough to protect the First Freedom of Georgians. Now, because of his unwillingness to defend even churches, the man who said he wouldn’t allow discrimination just authorized the biggest expansion of it — against Christians. That kind of gutless capitulation may make him more popular with out-of-state activists, but it won’t fly with the state’s conservatives, who hold the keys to the next three years of Deal’s agenda.

If you’re wondering where this kind of cowardice leads, look no further than Indiana, where Governor Mike Pence’s (R) career is hanging by a political thread. Compare that to the strength of places like Houston and Mississippi, where conservatives stuck up for constitutional freedoms, instead of running from them. And guess what? The NCAA and NFL threats turned out to be empty ones. Unlike Pence, Deal won’t have to face voters again — but he will have to face himself years from now when he comes to the realization that he did nothing to protect innocent Georgians from the heavy hand of government.

Although the legislative session ended Friday, Republicans are already floating the possibility of a special session to override Deal’s veto. Contact your leaders in Georgia and urge them to do exactly that. If the governor won’t protect churches, the legislature must.

Originally published here.

San Francisco’s Giants of Intolerance

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (D) may have just given North Carolina the greatest religious liberty thank-you gift ever! The out-of-control leader announced over the weekend that he’s banning travel to the state after the legislature put the brakes on a dangerous transgender bill that would have poses a serious safety risk to everyone in Charlotte. To protest the popular repeal (unanimous in the General Assembly, as a matter of fact), Mayor Lee declared that his city is “standing united as San Franciscans to condemn North Carolina… Effective immediately, I am directing city departments under my authority to bar any publicly-funded city employee travel to the state of North Carolina that is not absolutely essential to public health and safety.” Given the record rates of sexually transmitted diseases in Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D) district, North Carolinians probably aren’t looking to San Francisco for a lesson in public safety!

Governor Pat McCrory (R), who made the bold decision to sign a bill that blocks other cities from trying Charlotte’s stunt, reminded people that he joined a “bipartisan majority to stop this breach of basic privacy and etiquette.” As many as 12 Democrats agreed with North Carolinians that punishing conservative beliefs and turning public facilities into a gender free-for-all was a ridiculously bad idea for the state. Of course, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, who refused to listen to local voters or the state legislature, insists her state is “on the wrong side of progress.”

But if “progress” is letting a grown man shower with our young daughters, then North Carolina should be proud to be on the wrong side of it! In the meantime, people like Lee are only revealing the true meaning of liberal “tolerance” — which is just totalitarianism in disguise. If San Francisco wants to put its population at risk with policies of sexual radicalism, let it. But in North Carolina, real freedom comes first.

Originally published here.