Why Are So Many Kids Being Told Public Prayer Is Against the Law? - TODD STARNES CHARISMA NEWS

Prayer is important at Florida's Cambridge Christian School. (Courtesy/Liberty Institute)

Why Are So Many Kids Being Told Public Prayer Is Against the Law?

1/26/2016 TODD STARNES   CHARISMA NEWS

Prayer is important at Florida's Cambridge Christian School.

"We train our students that prayer is foundational to their walk with Christ," Head of School Tim Euler told me. "Our faith is founded in prayer."

So when Cambridge Christian faced off against University Christian School last December in the 2A state championship football game, they asked the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) if they could begin with a word of prayer.

The FHSAA said no.

They told both Christian schools that offering a pre-game prayer was against the law—that it could be viewed as an endorsement of religion since the schools would be praying on government property.

"This is ridiculous," said Jeremy Dys, an attorney with Liberty Institute. "We've got two Christian schools being told they can't pray."

Liberty Institute, a law firm that specializes in religious liberty issues, is representing Cambridge Christian.

Dys said the FHSAA broke the law when they forbade the Christian schools from praying last December at the Citrus Bowl.

"We have the state trying to impose strictures upon the church," he told me. "I think we've gone a long way away from who we are as a country when the state starts telling Christian schools they can no longer pray in public."

Liberty Institute sent a demand letter to the FHSAA demanding a written apology for what they call a "gross violation" of the law. Should they fail to do so, the law firm has threatened to file a federal lawsuit.

The FHSAA has yet to respond to their demands.

The prayer ban disturbed not only the administration but also the football team.

Jacob Enns, the team's 17-year-old kicker, told me the prayer is extremely important.

"It's something we did before every game this season," he said. "It's been our tradition ever since I've been on the team, and our tradition was ruined. It made me wonder, is it wrong to pray?"

Still, the team gathered on the field and recited "The Lord's Prayer" before the game—and some spectators joined in.

"Prayer is something we've been taught to do and to do no matter what—even in public," Jacob told me.

For Cambridge Christian, prayer is a means to glorify God in all that it does—including on the gridiron.

"We are raising godly young men that can make a difference in the world they live in," head coach Bob Dare said. "This is why CCS is so committed to praying before every home football game."

It serves as a reminder to the young men on the field, Euler said.

"Football is great, but in reality their walk with Jesus and prayer is vitally more important," he said.

Todd Starnes is host of "Fox News & Commentary," heard on hundreds of radio stations. Sign up for his American Dispatch newsletter, be sure to join his Facebook page and follow him on Twitter. His latest book is God Less America.

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Navy Chaplain: 'Best Thing for Church is Persecution' - CBN News

Navy Chaplain: 'Best Thing for Church is Persecution'

By Paul Strand

CBN News Washington Sr. Correspondent

Friday, October 16, 2015

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WASHINGTON -- Navy Chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Wes Modder never expected counseling service members on what the Bible says would put him in the fight of his life.

But that's what happened after a group of those he counseled complained a few months ago about what he had to say on subjects like homosexuality and other sexual matters.

Worsening matters, Modder's direct commander sided with his accusers and decided to take legal action against the chaplain.

"It was shocking. You feel a lot of emotion," Modder told CBN News in a recent interview. "You feel natural feelings like betrayal."

His opponents at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina didn't just want the Assemblies of God pastor corrected. They were after his job, which would have meant the loss of his military pension as well.

"They wanted to kick me out, remove me from a promotion list," Modder recalled. "Having a family with four children, not knowing what I'm going into, sacrificing 19 years of honorable military service --  all of it was on the line, everything."

Then recently his attorney, Michael Berry with the Liberty Institute, got surprising news from the Navy: Modder was cleared of all the charges.

"When we found out that the Navy, that this two-star admiral had completely exonerated Chaplain Modder, I was blown away," Berry told CBN News. "It was not what I was expecting. I was preparing myself for a dogfight."

Berry said he was elated and could hardly wait to tell Modder the good news. The chaplain and his family were overjoyed. But he admits he's still hurting.

"There's a huge sense of victory and relief, but the emotional capital is overwhelming," Modder said.

Still, he suggested as more and more Christians face similar battles over their beliefs, they have to fight because the cause is crucial.

"I think it's paramount," he said. "I think the best thing for the Church is persecution. And I know that sounds counterintuitive, but we need to stand for religious liberty."

"It's not really about bakers. It's not really about florists. It's about validating something that is national," he explained.

Berry said he's distressed by the un-American nature of this Christian persecution.

"It could be people of any other faiths, too, but unfortunately right now the majority of attacks are coming against Christians in this country," Berry said. "That's not what our country is about."

As a combat veteran, Berry's particularly frustrated military commanders are thrust into the middle of these battles.

"When a commanding officer has to worry about whether or not somebody in his unit is going to be offended because a chaplain is praying or because a chaplain dares to speak from their religious worldview to another service member, that commanding officer now, his attention and his focus is taken away from the external threat and he has to worry about things he should never have to worry about," he said.

Modder and his family will soon be out of the uncomfortable environment he found himself in at Joint Base Charleston. They're transferring to one of their favorite duty stations, San Diego.

Wathc here: Chaplain's Interview on CBN News

Marine Court-Martialed for Displaying Bible Verse

Marine Court-Martialed for Displaying Bible Verse

CBNNews.com

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

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A U.S. Marine has been convicted at a court-martial for displaying a Bible verse. Now her case is being appealed to the military's highest court.

When Lance Cpl. Monifa Sterling has was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, she posted Isaiah 54:17, which reads, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper."

Liberty Institute reports she printed out the verse and posted it in her workspace. Her supervisor complained about it, reportedly cursing at her and telling her to remove it.

Sterling contended she had a First Amendment right to religious expression and did not take down the verse. She says the next day her supervisor tore down the verse and threw it in the trash.

The U.S. government then criminally prosecuted Sterling.

In the case, Sterling argued her First Amendment rights to religious expression, as well as her protection under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA.

Both the trial court and the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals said the RFRA did not apply because displaying a Bible verse does not constitute religious exercise.

"If the government can order a Marine not to display a Bible verse, they could try and order her not to get a religious tattoo, or go to church on Sunday," said Liberty Institute Director of Military Affairs and Senior Counsel Mike Berry.

"Restricting a Marine's free exercise of religion is blatantly unconstitutional," he charged.

Now former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement and Liberty Institute are appealing on Sterling's behalf, asking the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces to take the case and protect Sterling's right to religious freedom.

Anti-Faith Sentiment Growing at Alarming Rate

By Paul Strand
CBN News Washington Sr. Correspondent
Tuesday, October 15, 2013

WASHINGTON -- Hostility against Christian Americans is growing at an alarming rate, according to a new survey from the Family Research Council and Liberty Institute.

The Liberty Institute's Jeff Mateer noted that while last year's survey was based on 600 cases, "this survey that we're releasing right now is almost 1,200. So we've almost doubled in just one year."

Audrey Jarvis

One such case involved college student Audrey Jarvis, who was asked twice to remove her cross, or at least hide it, at a student orientation.

"My supervisor came up to me out of nowhere and asked me to remove my cross necklace because he thought it would be offensive to incoming freshmen," she recalled.

Jarvis received an apology from her college, but couldn't forget how hurtful the man was who found her cross so objectionable.

"I think he was just kind of ignorant to the fact that his words could offend me in attempting to not offend somebody else," she said.

In another case, Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk got in trouble with his lesbian commanding officer when she ordered him to answer how he felt about gay marriage.

"This is about religious freedom because I expressly stated that I had a religious conviction that wouldn't allow me to answer the question the way it was posed to me," Monk said.

Former NFL running back Craig James found himself a victim of growing anti-faith sentiment when just one hour into a new job as a FOX Sports analyst, he was booted off the air.

James and the Liberty Institute insist it was because a top network manager disapproved of a statement James made about gay marriage 15 months before in a political debate.

"They knew who I was, what I stood for," James told CBN News. "And I'm being punished -- I was fired -- for my religious beliefs."

FOX says James just wasn't a good fit, but Liberty Institute is fighting to get James his job back.

"This is not about Craig James," the former NFL running back said. "This is about an American who had a job and someone came back -- a big corporation -- and said, 'Hey, we can't allow you on our network because of your belief and definition of what marriage is.'"

With some 1,200 cases like these documented in the new Religious Hostility Survey, Mateer says he's frightened for his country.

"The threats are increasing at a dramatic rate, and this survey demonstrates that," Mateer said.

Mat Staver's Liberty Council also fights for the rights of people of faith.

"What we're seeing is instead of religious liberty being protected as it is affirmed by the First Amendment, people of religious faith, particularly Christians, are finding themselves the targets of discrimination," Staver said.

Sgt. Monk says now when Christians facing hostility must hold steady, mostly for other believers.

"They need to see us stand firm in our faith," he told CBN News. "And when they see that, I think we'll see a turn of events."

Mateer noted that when believers fight back, they almost always win. So only by meekly accepting defeat will they let the enemies of religion triumph.

"They've stated their objective is to remove God from our public life. Well, if we remain silent, that's going to happen," Mateer warned.

Click here: CBN News - full article and video

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