June 21, 2026

04a Faith

Hollywood Bowl will have Black Lesbian Play Christ in “Jesus Christ Superstar”

pgnewser February 21, 2025 0

Hollywood Bowl will be casting a man now presenting as a woman to be Jesus in the upcoming production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The actor is also African American, causing some to accuse Hollywood Bowl of “blackwashing” Jesus.

‘Wicked’ Star Cynthia Erivo Cast as Jesus in Hollywood Bowl’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’– legalinsurrection.com
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Oh, look. Hollywood is being Hollywood.

Wicked star Cynthia Erivo will play Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl. Official Broadway World posted:

The Hollywood Bowl’s musical performances return in August after a hiatus that began in 2020.

According to Deadline, Sergio Trujillo will direct and choreograph the production. Stephen Oremus will act as the musical director and conductor.

They have not announced the rest of the cast. It cannot be all female because that has already happened!

Erivo starred as Mary Magdalene in the all-female rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar: She Is Risen. Broadway alum Morgan Kames played Jesus.

But Erivo is black and a lesbian.

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California Appeals Court Rules Christian Bakery Must Design Gay Marriage Cake

pgnewser February 21, 2025 1

A California Appeals Court has ruled that a Christian bakery in Kern County does not have a right to refuse cake decorating service to a gay couple. The company offered the couple, Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez, a three-tiered non-symbol-added cake.

Court rules against antigay bakery in California – Advocate.com
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An appeals court in California ruled a Kern County baker violated the rights of a gay couple when she refused on religious grounds to bake a cake for their wedding, Cal Matters reports.

The case started in August of 2017 when Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio visited Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield to purchase a cake for the upcoming wedding. According to court documents, the couple were helped by staff and chose a pre-designed cake with “three tiers with white buttercream frosting without any writing, symbols, engravings, images or toppers.” Staff told the couple it was a popular choice for “birthdays, baby showers, weddings, and quinceaneras,” but then refused to sell the prepare or sell the cake when they learned it was for their same-sex wedding.

California’s Civil Rights Division filed suit against Tastries and its owner, Catharine Miller, in 2018.

Tastries Bakery has 18 employees and is owned by Catharine Miller, a devout Christian.

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Missouri AG Files Lawsuit to Overthrow Local “Conversion Therapy” Bans

pgnewser February 21, 2025 0

Missouri’s Attorney General, Republican Andrew Bailey, is seeking a remedy from the courts to end the ban on so-called “conversion therapy,” therapy designed to direct people away from LGBTQ lifestyles.

Republican AG sues cities for Christian counselors’ right to turn LGBTQ+ youth straight – LGBTQ Nation
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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Christian counselors seeking to overturn conversion therapy bans in Kansas City and Jackson County. The bans, passed in 2019 and 2023 respectively, forbid practitioners from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors, but Bailey’s lawsuit argues that the bans violate the counselors’ First Amendment rights.

The city and county have pledged to defend their bans in court, which punish conversion therapists with $500 to $1,000 fines and up to 180 days in jail if they offer services promising to turn kids straight or cisgender. However, Bailey’s lawsuit follows a recent executive order by President Donald Trump pledging to prosecute anti-Christian bias, something that could aid Christian conversion therapists in their legal battles against the bans.

University of Michigan Fights Woman they fired for not Affirming Transgenderism

pgnewser February 21, 2025 0

Legal fight continues for Christian healthcare worker fired over transgender policy – Standing for Freedom Center– www.standingforfreedom.com
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Valerie Kloosterman, a physician’s assistant who was fired by the University of Michigan Health System (UMHW) after she requested a religious accommodation to refrain from using pronouns that conflict with biological sex and from referring patients for gender transition treatments, had her case heard earlier this month before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit…

As part of this, Kloosterman told Fox News that she was required to complete a diversity training module that mandated her to affirm statements about sexual orientation and gender identity that conflicted with her Christian faith.

“Two of those questions specifically stated that gender was fluid. I couldn’t put, ‘No, I don’t believe that, as we were made in the image of God, it’s something that God designed us to be. It’s not something that we’re assigned with at birth.’ But I couldn’t put, ‘No.’ It wouldn’t let me complete the mandatory survey, and they had already stated you would be terminated if you didn’t fill it out,” she said.

She also refused to use pronouns that conflicted with biological reality and for declining to refer patients for transgender medical procedures — both decisions rooted in her deeply held Christian faith and medical judgment. She then asked for a religious exemption to the requirements…

Less than a month later, she was fired. Kloosterman was devastated, tearfully explaining that “I wanted to work there my entire career.”

In response, First Liberty  Institute filed a lawsuit in October 2022 against Michigan Health on her behalf, arguing that the University of Michigan had violated her First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion and free speech and that health officials had engaged in religious discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Although a federal judge found in favor of Kloosterman, allowing her lawsuit to proceed, Michigan Health appealed the case by invoking its right to use arbitration as a way to fight against Kloosterman. As a result, the case has continued to wind itself through the courts and ended up before the Sixth Circuit appeals court in early February.

 

 

The Federalist Touches The Obergefell Problem

pgnewser February 21, 2025 0

SCOTUS Needs To Reevaluate Problem It Created In Obergefell– thefederalist.com
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In late January, the Idaho House of Representatives passed a memorandum calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to “reverse” its 2015 gay marriage decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, “and restore the natural definition of marriage, a union of one man and one woman.”

The memo passed 46 to 24 in the House and is heading to the Idaho Senate. If it passes the senate, it will be sent on to the Supreme Court as one more formal encouragement that it take up a case that might overturn Obergefell.

The memo excoriates the “illegitimate overreach” in Obergefell, arguing that the decision redefined marriage in direct opposition to its natural, age-old definition, one also enshrined in Idaho’s state constitution.

The argument might seem 10 years late, but it comes at a time when — after the 2022 repeal of Roe v. Wade and the reinstallation of Trump — the Supreme Court might be receptive to such a call.

Back in 2020, sitting justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito argued that the Obergefell decision should be overturned — or at least fixed. The justices agreed that Obergefell had no basis at all in the 14th Amendment. The decision functions as law, overriding state and previous federal law to redefine the essence of marriage in a manner at odds with all major religions on earth. Obergefell rode rough-shod over these religions and dozens of state constitutions on the bases of a moral — not legal — opinion that the traditional definition of marriage espouses “a bigoted worldview,” at the dissenting opinion described it.

“The court has created a problem that only it can fix,” the justices wrote. “Until then, Obergefell will continue to have “ruinous consequences for religious liberty.’”

In California, the Girls’ Basketball Championship may be decided by the “Boys”

pgnewser February 21, 2025 0

California Forces Girls Into Basketball Playoff With Boy– thefederalist.com
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State basketball tournaments are underway around the country. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order is supposed to keep boys out of girls’ sports. Instead, California’s defiance will enable the rich, beautiful people of one school to unfairly dominate Christians from a small school in playoffs this Saturday — unless it’s stopped.

The president’s order would withhold and rescind “all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.” While the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which runs California’s postseason tournaments, appears to be a private organization, it is a typical private-public partnership that masks public authority.

Public schools join the CIF. Representatives of California’s Department of Education sit on its board by charter. School board members make up its board. Many sponsors are federal grantees. CIF received Covid money. Schools in the CIF receive federal funds for disabled students and free-reduced school lunches, among many other things. These schools are sponsoring boys to participate in girls’ sports—and state authority abets it.

Not every school in CIF receives federal funds, though. Tucked in at the border of Saint Francis Woods’ historic neighborhood and residential West Portal lies the tony San Francisco Waldorf School. This mostly white and Asian school uses the Waldorf educational style, a progressive system developed by the Austrian occultist and clairvoyant Rudolf Steiner.

Who are the frontrunners to be elected next pontiff after Pope Francis? – New York Post

pgnewser February 20, 2025 0

Who are the frontrunners to be elected next pontiff after Pope Francis? – New York Post
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As Pope Francis, the oldest pope in over a century, continues to decline in health, speculation is percolating as to who will next be elected as the most powerful Catholic in the world.

The 88-year-old pontiff developed pneumonia in both lungs over the weekend and will remain hospitalized as he battles the infection, according to the Vatican.

Technically any Roman Catholic man can be elected as the heir to St. Peter, though invariably one of the 253 cardinals from around the world will don the papal tiara.

Woman Defends Ending Lives of Three Babies in Abortions: “I Never Felt I Was Doing Them Harm”– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser February 20, 2025 0

Woman Defends Ending Lives of Three Babies in Abortions: “I Never Felt I Was Doing Them Harm”– www.lifenews.com
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A woman who had three abortions describes saying goodbye to two of her preborn children. She says of her first aborted baby:

“I was young and much more centered on myself and my life circumstances than on the baby. I was not really in contact with this baby.”

Later on, she had two more abortions, 18 months apart. She says:

“I was able to go inside myself and have an intimate relationship with these two babies. I was older, wiser, and able to focus on the meaning of these two close experiences…

Actually, I felt I was talking to the same being both times. I felt gratitude because he/they accompanied me during difficult times. I never felt I was doing them harm.

Just before the abortion for each of them, I asked the lady who showed me the ultrasound screen to give me five minutes alone with the baby, before the intervention. I spoke to each of them in a fluid, soft manner, more like saying, “Thank you, see you later…”

No, Pro-Life Laws Have Not Increased Infant Mortality– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser February 20, 2025 0

No, Pro-Life Laws Have Not Increased Infant Mortality– www.lifenews.com
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Last week, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a study that purportedly shows that recently enacted pro-life laws were causing higher infant mortality rates.

The study analyzed the impact of 14 state-level pro-life laws that either effectively banned abortion or protected preborn children after six weeks’ gestation. It considered state-level infant mortality data from 2012 to 2023. This study has received a great deal of uncritical coverage from many mainstream media outlets including the New York Times, CNN, BBC, The Hill, Time, and USA Today.

Not surprisingly, there is less here than meets the eye. The data indicate that overall infant mortality rates increased in 2022 but declined in 2023. Additionally, 2023 saw infant mortality rate declines in both the group of states with strong pro-life laws and the group of states with permissive abortion policies. There is no consistent upward trajectory in infant mortality. Furthermore, infant mortality rate trends appear fairly similar in both groups of states.

Texas Church Invited Drag Queen Who Threatened Trump Supporters– www.louderwithcrowder.com

pgnewser February 20, 2025 0

Texas Church Invited Drag Queen Who Threatened Trump Supporters– www.louderwithcrowder.com
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Even if voting for Kamala was the morally superior thing to do, which it was not, a church should never be advocating for violence against anyone who disagreed with them. However, one Texas “church” took this opportunity to mock Christianity and hold a “Drag King’s” Sermon.

What was even the point besides virtue signaling how much they despise half the country? How can these people claim to be inclusive of everyone while mocking the people they are supposed to lead?

According to the “Cathedral of Hope’s” Facebook page, this sermon was intended to share a message of “love, welcome, and inclusion.” However, it’s unclear how one does that while calling to Kill Trump Voters and mocking Texas Governor Greg Abbott because he is in a wheelchair.

The church also claimed the event was so that they church can “bless and affirm those who use drag as an art form and affirm their transgender siblings made in the image of God.” And the most insane thing about that claim is that to accept transgenderism as truth, you would have to accept the notion that God makes mistakes, which he does not.

New hate speech laws tackling antisemitism to be introduced in NSW parliament today – ABC News

pgnewser February 20, 2025 0

New hate speech laws tackling antisemitism to be introduced in NSW parliament today – ABC News
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New laws will be introduced into the New South Wales parliament on Tuesday which the government says will “confront hate speech”, and establish a new criminal offence for intentionally inciting racial hatred.

Attorney-General Michael Daley said the legislation is designed “to crack down on the really unacceptable spate of escalating and troubling graffiti, racial hatred and antisemitism we’ve seen lately in New South Wales”.

It would create a new criminal offence for intentionally inciting racial hatred, with a maximum penalty of up to two years’ jail, or fines of up to $11,000, if found guilty.

Vance Challenges Europe to Embrace Dangerous Free Speech

pgnewser February 17, 2025 1

U.S. Vice President JD Vance stood before world leaders in a Munich, Germany speech in which he challenged Europe’s resistance to free speech. He highlighted the arrest of a British citizen for silently praying outside an abortion clinic.

Vance stated, “I can tell you plainly: There can be no security if you are afraid of the voices, the opinions, and the conscience that guide your own people. What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.”

JD Vance rebukes anti-free speech, anti-Christian discrimination in Munich speech – The Christian Post
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Delivering a speech in Germany, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance criticized European governments for suppressing free speech and discriminating against Christians. He urged leaders across Europe to reverse the ongoing crackdown on conservative voices and religious freedoms.

In his address at the Munich Security Conference in Munich on Friday, Vance noted that conservatives have been investigated, arrested, prosecuted or fined for protesting abortion and posting views on social media.

He also criticized attempts to exclude populist parties from political collaboration, saying they pose a threat to democracy.

Last month, the European Union introduced fresh measures to enforce the Digital Services Act, which limits American speech on social media platforms. While EU lawmakers claimed the initiative was to target “foreign interference” and “illegal content,” it raised concerns among free speech advocates in the U.S. The Act compels social media companies to remove “illegal content” or face penalties of up to 6% of their global annual turnover.

Paul Coleman, executive director of the legal advocacy group ADF International, warned at the time that a “new bipolar order of speech” was unfolding. “On the one hand, Europe is doubling down on censorship, while the U.S. is recommitting to its free speech heritage.”

“I can tell you plainly: There can be no security if you are afraid of the voices, the opinions, and the conscience that guide your own people,” Vance said in Munich. “What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.”