The forthcoming film “The Banker” should motivate the church to address the issues of financial literacy, caring for the “least of these,” and perseverance in the face of adversity, according to stars Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, and Nia Long. 

Based on historic events that took place in the 1950s and ’60s, “The Banker” tells the true story of Bernard Garrett (Mackie) and Joe Morris (Jackson), a pair of African American entrepreneurs who made themselves part of the real estate game in Los Angeles, California, and Texas.

Due to racial inequality, the two men decide to hire a white man, a home-repair worker named Matt Steiner (Nicholas Hoult), to act as the head of their company while they posed as a janitor and a chauffeur and ran the business.

Thanks to their savvy and financial ingenuity, Garrett and Morris made it possible for black citizens to move into formerly all-white neighborhoods before the Fair Housing Act of 1968 made discrimination unlawful. Their success ultimately drew the attention of the federal government, which threatened everything they had built.

Directed by George Nolfi, “The Banker” brings to life a fascinating true story of financial gamesmanship and racial discrimination in a segregated America. The film premiered at a special event at the National Civil Rights Museum on Monday that was attended by The Christian Post.

Mackie (the “Avengers” series), told CP he hopes the film motivates church leaders to address the issue of financial literacy from the pulpit.

“Financial literacy is something that we need to talk about in the church weekly,” he stressed. “I feel like when we go to church, we look for guidance and leadership. So we need the spiritual understanding of our day to day lives, but also our financial security so that we can take care of our families.”

The actor added that Scripture often addresses the importance of stewarding one’s money wisely, adding: “Tithing is there to build and grow the church and spread the Lord’s work. So in order for me to be a vehicle of the Lord, I need to have a home and a strong family system so that I can go out and live by His Word. That’s why it’s so important to talk about financial literacy.”

Jackson, who grew up in segregated America, told CP that while the country has come a long way, there’s still a “serious wealth gap” that makes it difficult for many African American and low-income families to achieve the “American dream.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett

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A Colorado pro-life group collected over 138,000 signatures in the hopes of getting an initiative on the state ballot to ban late-term abortions in most circumstances.

The Due Date Too Late campaign announced that they turned in the signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday, putting them one step closer to getting their initiative on the ballot.

In order to be added to the Colorado ballot, the proposed measure needs to have at least 124,632 valid signatures. The state has 30 days to review the petitions.

The campaign noted in a Facebook post on Thursday that they were able to get around 43,000 of the signatures over the past week alone.

“We reached the minimum for submission and are now waiting for an official count. We have the best volunteers in the world! Thanks for speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves,” they stated.

Lauren Castillo, a spokeswoman for the campaign, told Colorado Public Radio that she was “confident” that the measure has “enough to qualify” for the ballot.

“It was an all-volunteer effort,” said Castillo. “I think it was really indicative of the grassroots movement. As word-of-mouth continued to spread, the momentum just continued to build.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski

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A Christian apologist laid out three ways Christians can judge whether an idea is “biblical or bogus” in a speech that was part of a student-centered apologetics event in Allen, Texas.

Alan Shlemon, author and speaker with the apologetics group Stand to Reason, gave remarks at the reTHINK Apologetics Student Conference, held last week at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen.

During his talk last Friday, Shlemon laid out three steps that help guard against false religious ideas.

The first step is to “seek to study scripture,” which involved reading the Bible. Shlemon told students that when they “come across an idea or some kind of claim, we need to test it against Scripture.”

The second step is to “seek wise counsel,” with Shlemon giving examples of parents, young group leaders, and pastors, among others.

“Chances are, you don’t know the Bible entirely, you don’t have perfect theology, you don’t understand the Christian worldview completely, and guess what? That’s OK. I don’t either. Nobody does,” he explained.

“But what that means is you can and should seek wise counsel. People who might be more biblically mature than you or walked with Jesus longer.”

Shlemon said his counsel was his boss, Stand to Reason founder and President Greg Koukl, who hosts a radio program that invites people to call in and ask spiritual questions.

The third and final step in determining the validity of an idea, according to Shlemon, is to “seek the consensus of historic Christianity.”

“What has the Church taught for 2,000 years?” asked Shlemon. “If the idea or the claim that I am considering right now is contradicted by 2,000 years of church history, or it is a completely new idea, then it causes me to become suspicious.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski

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Martyr’s Free Church in Edinburgh is part of the rich history of Christianity in Scotland. Today it’s “Frankenstein,” a bar that describes itself as a family-friendly venue but also a place for stag parties, bar top dancers and monsters.

St Paul’s Church in Bristol, England is now a school for circus performers.

And in Llanera, Spain, the Church of Santa Barbara is now “Kaos Temple,” a skateboard park.

But before you get angry at the new owners, understand that Europe today has more empty church buildings than it knows what to do with because Europe is, by and large, no longer Christian.

You could say these churches are the remnants of a “lost civilization.” Christian civilization. It was once at the very heart of Europe’s life and culture. Those days are over.

Belief in the Christian God Has Plummeted

“In Britain, something like 70 or 75% of British [people] under 30 say they have no religion,” says theologian Stephen Bullivant, author of Mass Exodus.

And Bullivant has more bad news: Europe’s move away from Christianity is accelerating.

SOURCE: CBN News, Dale Hurd

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Children are enticed into underage drinking by alcohol advertisements on television and social media, research suggests.

A U.S. study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that children were often exposed to alcohol advertisements on apps and during television programs.

Evidence showed that for each additional hour of television viewed by children per day, the risk of starting to drink increased by 9%. For films the figure was even higher, at 15%.

Smoking

Authors Michael Weitzman and Lily Lee drew comparisons to teenage smoking, where tobacco ads were regulated in the U.S. when it was concluded they caused children to smoke.

Weitzman said: “Advertising changes teens’ attitudes about alcohol and can cause them to start drinking. Just as tobacco advertising causes teen smoking, exposure to alcohol ads causes teens to drink.

“The young are particularly vulnerable due to their potential for forming brand loyalties, limited scepticism and high use of social media—where alcohol marketing is increasingly found.”

The researchers called for alcohol ads on television and social media to be regulated in a similar way to tobacco.

SOURCE: The Christian Institute

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Senator Chuck Schumer’s threats against Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh are not only outrageous and dangerous. They could well be a precursor of what we can expect should the Supreme Court advance the pro-life cause. There will be rage. There will be intimidation. There will be threats. And there will be violence.

The same people who were scratching and pounding the Supreme Court doors during the Kavanaugh hearings will not sit quietly should Roe v. Wade be overturned.

The same people who violently attack peaceful pro-life protesters will turn all the more violent should pro-life legislation be passed.

In terms of physical attacks and verbal attacks, it could get very ugly very quickly.

Let’s remember that Senator Schumer delivered his remarks at a pro-abortion rally in front of the Supreme Court. He was preaching to an already-angry choir for whom Roe v. Wade is a sacred right (or should I say rite?).

And he singled out the two SCOTUS appointees of President Trump, getting more animated with each line: “From Louisiana to Missouri to Texas, Republican legislatures are waging a war on women, all women, and they’re taking away fundamental rights. I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

It’s true that the lines following referred explicitly to the November elections.

And it’s true that, having been rebuked by none other than Chief Justice John Roberts, along with political leaders and media pundits, Schumer has apologized in part for his remarks. “I should not have used the words I used yesterday,” he said. “They didn’t come out the way I intended…In no way was I making a threat.”

But the facts remain that: 1) he called out two Supreme Court justices by name; 2) he threatened them with consequences should they rule against abortion; and 3) he said they will “have released the whirlwind.” And the pro-abortion crowd ate up every word. (For the record, it’s also worth asking how would a Democratic wave of victories in the November elections cause Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to “pay the price”? How would election results “hit” them?)

SOURCE: Charisma News

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On February 27, 2020, I attended a White House Roundtable discussion that included other black influencers and leaders.  The meeting concluded in prayer, which I was honored to lead.

Following this rare opportunity came the black leftists’ ad hominem attacks to bully or dictate black thought in America and dampen support for the president.  This is a hard task on both scores and they now know it.  This president has demonstrably changed the lives of all Americans with record low unemployment created by 6.7 million new jobs so far. President Trump resuscitated our HBCUs by approving multi-year funding of $250 million per year.  Prior presidents made our black college presidents grovel for funding each year. Under the First Step Act’s prison reform, more than 3,000 prisoners were released; 91% were black. The act reduces recidivism and gives judges more discretion in mandatory minimum sentencing, among other things.

President Trump also established Opportunity Zones “designed to spur economic development and job creation in distressed communities throughout the country.” Black communities are being revitalized. He deserves our thanks and our prayers.

Our prayers seemed to have an effect on black leftists who, with the sycophantic media, used a photo of the faithful attendees praying for President Trump along with such words and phrases as “White House negroes“ (Chris Redd), “Uncle Toms” (Keith Boykin), “Massa, We Gonna Pray Fo’ You Massa” (Spike Lee), and unqualified (Leo Terrell).  These attacks will no longer go unanswered. This racist and bigoted ridicule has no place in the mainstream media.  Moreover, this episode is a direct attack on Christians who would dare pray for the president. Why else would the media pair the photo of the faithful in prayer with such terms as “White House Negro”? Are there no decency standards anymore?

Seventy-nine percent of blacks in America are Christians. Black Christians understand the importance of prayer. The Bible exhorts [that] supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made…for all who are in authority. (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Prayer is a key element in black life.

SNL’s Chris Redd in his attempt at humor said, “Look at these White House negroes.  Who are you all praying to?  The ghost of blackface past?”  This is a mockery and attacks all Christians.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Marc T. Little

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Question: Should our elected political leaders pray, and call for the nation to pray, or is that a violation of “separation of church and state?”

This seemingly endless debate in modern America has erupted once again as Vice President Mike Pence, in his capacity as leader of the federal government’s Coronavirus Task Force, called the nation to pray for wisdom for the task force and for the task force to be enabled to protect the U.S. from grievous harm from a potential pandemic.

At first I had decided to just ignore the snickering and mockery with which he was immediately bombarded, and instead to pray for his critics.

However, I was moved to respond as I continued to read eruptions of ignorance and bias scattered across the “twitter-sphere.” The final straw was when I read a tweet attached to a picture of Vice President Pence and the assembled task force’s scientists with their heads bowed in prayer. The tweet dripped with sarcasm, mockery, and anti-religious prejudice. The general twitter theme seemed to be that scientists praying mean they really weren’t being “scientific” and that the Vice President, a devoutly religious man, was somehow therefore disqualified to lead the task force. Sadly, “scientism” is still flourishing in America.

America’s political leaders have a long tradition of praying and calling the nation to pray in times of crisis and national peril. Our Puritan forefathers did both with eloquence and regularity throughout the colonial era.

When our forefathers led the American Revolution in the 18th century, they sought divine guidance and called upon the people to ask God to provide wisdom and deliverance from British oppression.  Most Americans have historically believed that God answered their prayers and gave them the incomparable United States Constitution, the greatest self-governing document yet produced on this planet, protecting both the divinely endowed right to “life” and “liberty” (as the Declaration put it).

Furthermore, American history since the founding of the Republic has been replete with stirring and inspiring examples of American political leaders calling for divine guidance and the blessings of Providence on our nation.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Richard Land

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After the U.S. Supreme Court sent his case back to a lower court last year, a federal judge ruled this week that a school district in Washington state was within its right to prohibit high school football coach Joe Kennedy from kneeling in prayer on the 50-yard-line after games.

Federal Judge Ronald Leighton granted Bremerton School District’s motion for summary judgment in Kennedy’s case on Thursday.

Kennedy was suspended from his role as head coach of the Bremerton High School football team in 2015 after he refused to stop praying on the field after games, something he had done since 2008.

Kennedy sued in 2016 on grounds that his right to religious expression as a school employee had been violated by the school district.

However, his request for an injunction was denied by Leighton in 2016. Kennedy also suffered defeat when his case was heard by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2017.

Last January, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Even though conservative justices led by Samuel Alito thought there could be serious constitutional issues in Kennedy’s free speech claim, they concurred with the refusal because there were unanswered factual questions surrounding the school district’s reasoning for banning the prayer.

According to the Kitsap Sun, Leighton argued this week that the school district has a right to restrict religious expression if it feels the expression creates an illusion of government endorsing religion.

Under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, governments are prohibited from establishing an official religion.

“Although the court is sympathetic to Kennedy’s desire to follow his beliefs, the former right must give way to the latter in this case,” Leighton wrote.

The nonprofit legal group representing Kennedy, the First Liberty Institute, vowed to again appeal to Leighton’s ruling to the Ninth Circuit.

SOURCE: Christian Post, Samuel Smith

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