Tag: New York

New York Streets become Forum for Free Speech

New York streets suddenly became a controversial forum for free speech. On Monday, mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted an image of city workers touching up the street mural Black Lives Matter activists painted in front of Trump Tower. The mayor’s tweet included the message, “To whoever vandalized our mural on 5th Avenue: nice try. @NYC_DOT has already fixed it.”

The mayor’s message was decidedly political and divisive. “The #BlackLives Matter movement is more than words, and it can’t be undone,” he wrote.

#BlackLivesMatter is an emotionally-charged topic for most Americans. Far from being an all-inclusive movement aimed at uniting our country following the death of George Floyd, the BLM movement turned into a lightening rod for a Marxist-like revolution characterized by hatred towards civil authority, American history, and now, Christianity.

Mayor de Blasio’s tweet was met with scathing backlash:

https://twitter.com/carrieksada/status/1282826533023825922?s=20

Mayor de Blasio’s use of public funding to endorse divisive political messages is sure to open up a litany of court cases.

As we’ve seen year after year in Christmas nativity display controversies, courts have ruled the public square can not be used to advance one particular viewpoint over another.

In 2008, the ACLU was instrumental in causing Clarksville, Tennessee to lose its live nativity display since the city paid two hundred dollars in animal rental fees.

Similarly, in 2019 Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) claimed Jackson County, Indiana officials overstepped the Constitution by erecting a nativity display on its county courthouse lawn. FFRF sent a letter to Jackson County commissioners claiming, “It is unlawful for the County to maintain, erect, or host a holiday display that consists solely of a nativity scene, thus singling out, showing preference for, and endorsing one religion.”

It’s reasonable to believe the viewpoint discrimination principle likewise applies to Mayor de Blasio’s public endorsement of the controversial Black Lives Matter movement. His use of city workers and public funding to show preference for the revolutionary movement make this an interesting case to watch.

Doug Carter writes about cultural issues from a biblical perspective. Join him live at 9:00 pm EST at pjnet.tv the first Monday of every month. You can also connect with him on Twitter or Parler.

New York’s Abortion Law Deserves a Millstone

Author’s note: This article may also be found at BarbWire.com.

New York State’s new abortion law is deserving of a millstone.

New York’s new abortion law deserves a millstone for its treatment of little children.

Like many of you, I enjoy hiking as a way to get away from it all and to yield to God’s tugging on my heart.  Sometimes I imagine myself walking with the great thinkers of history, listening carefully to the echos of their wisdom. 

On a recent hike through an abandoned millstone quarry, I was deeply moved by the verse ringing in my head:

“It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” Luke 17:2 NIV

As a parent who prayed desperately for a child, a teacher who hears heartbreaking stories from students in despair, and as a Christian man, I love children.  I suspect if you’re reading this, you love children too.

New York, take note.  God loves little children.  Your governor and 130 of your legislators, however, not so much.

In fact, New York’s radical new abortion law deserves a millstone for its treatment of its most vulnerable children.

What does New York’s New Abortion Law Do?

The new bill:

  • Allows abortions to be performed up to the point of birth
  • Enables physician assistants to perform surgical abortions
  • Enables nurse practitioners and licensed midwives to administer non-surgical medicinal abortions
  • Repeals protections for babies born after botched abortions
  • Enshrines abortion in New York’s Constitution

How did the Abortion Law get Passed?

With the New York legislature firmly in the hands of Democrat control, the Senate easily passed the Reproductive Health Act 38-24, while the General Assembly handily passed it 92-47.  Then on Tuesday, the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law.

Horrified outcry following the passage of the radical law on Wednesday shows that even those who are reluctant to speak out on social issues publicly realize they can no longer stay silent.

Nor should they.  After all, the killing of children is an explicit abomination to the Lord.

How the New Abortion Law Provokes God’s Judgment

I imagine if I were hiking with the prophet Ezekiel through that millstone quarry today, he’d stick his finger into my chest and say with prophetic authority, “God sent his messenger to ‘Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.’”  (Ezekiel 9:4 NIV)

“What happens to those who don’t grieve and lament?”

“God sent the others with the messenger and told them, ‘Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.  Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark.  Begin at my sanctuary.’  So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.” (Ezekiel 9:5 NIV)

“So responsibility falls on us- even those of us who don’t like the new law?”

“Yes.”

God’s Judgment Will Come like a Millstone

I wonder what John, the writer of Revelation, would say if he hiked through that quarry with us. 

He’d likely point out that nearly 2,000 years ago he wrote about a day such as this, “Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.’” (Revelation 18:21 NIV)

Who among us will persuade God that New York’s abortion law is not deserving of a millstone? 

The stakes are too high for Christians to remain silent in the face of such a detestable action. 

As stern as these biblical warnings are, there is still hope.

As the moral battle over abortion rages, let us remember that the battle is not our own.  It is the Lord’s (1 Samuel 17:47).  We don’t fight such battles in our own strength and wit, but through the divine power of God that can demolish strongholds of evil (2 Corinthians 10:4).

God simply tells us to repent and turn back to him.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV)

Will you join me and our fellow brothers and sisters in grieving, lamenting, and praying over New York’s anti-godly new abortion law?