Tennessee lawmakers are considering a restrictive fetal “heartbeat” abortion bill that some pro-life advocates fear will not survive a legal challenge and could set the movement back for years.

Both sides shared their thoughts during an Aug. 12 state Senate Judiciary Committee working session called a “summer study.” The session was called after the measure stalled earlier this year because advocates failed to garner support from prominent pro-life leaders.

“Tennessee Right to Life continues to express sincere concerns at the proposed passage of this legislation,” Brian Harris, president of the group, said during the gathering. “There is not a single state where a heartbeat bill has been upheld or enforced. Not a single child has been saved or a mother helped as a result of this legislation.”

The session centered on a proposed amendment introduced by state Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, who hopes to redefine fetal viability from when a fetus can survive outside the womb to the moment of conception.

“Our bill is trying to do things in a different way,” Pody told The Tennessean. “A baby is a live human being and should be entitled to any of the constitutional rights as any other person.”

Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, brought thousands of petitions supporting the measure…

Actor Cameron Arnett is one of the more well-known names in faith-based and family-friendly entertainment – he’s starring in the new Christian movie Overcomer– but his career nearly took a different turn two decades ago. 

Arnett was climbing the Hollywood ladder in the 1980s and 90s, landing roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Doogie Howser M.D., Miami Vice and China Beach.

“I was in California and things were going well. And I thought that was going to be my path,” Arnett said this month after a red-carpet premiere for Overcomer. 

Then he was asked to do something that conflicted with his faith: partial nudity. 

“They brought me in, and I auditioned… and I got the role,” Arnett said. “… They were happy [and] the money was going to be really nice. For the first time, things are happening. And right before I signed, they said to me, ‘Oh by the way. We need you to do partial body nudity.’ And so it kind of like put a halt on everything. And I felt God tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘You know, it’s time to get out of the system.’”

He told the crew about his hesitancy, and they countered with an offer he thought would fix the problem: A body double would be used for the scene.

Arnett, though, felt God pointing him to a Bible verse: “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). 

“People are going to think…

After being detained for eight months, an elder at the Early Rain Covenant Church in China was released from prison this week.

According to the Pray for Early Rain Covenant Church Facebook page, Li Yingqiang was arrested with 160 other church members – including the church’s pastor Wang Yi – some eight months ago. The government had raided the Early Rain Covenant house church near the end of 2018, but it wasn’t until Sunday that Li was let out on bail and reunited with his family, the Christian Post reports.

“Yesterday, Elder Li Yingqiang was released from jail after eight months in criminal detention. He was sent back to his hometown, where he was reunited with his wife and children,” the Facebook post read.

Pastor Wang Yi and his wife, Jiang Rong were also arrested in a December 11 raid – just days before Li would be imprisoned. 

Jiang was released on bail after being held for six months, but Wang’s whereabouts are still unknown, Asia News reports.

The Chinese government’s raid on the church is just one incident among many following 2018 legislation that placed stricter regulations on religious freedom.

This was particularly damaging for Early Rain members as, according to BBC, the church members worship very openly and publicly. 

Pastor Wang has also publicly criticized the Chinese government’s interference in religion, the Christian…

When Cedarville University welcomed its record-breaking freshman and transfer student class this fall, no one was more thankful to begin her college experience than Lauryn Gibson. Gibson nearly died when she was six weeks old and received a heart transplant three days before her first birthday, WFMJ reports.

When she was six weeks old, Lauryn’s mother Heather noticed that she was struggling to breathe and took her to the pediatrician. The pediatrician told Heather that Lauryn was dying of congestive heart failure and told her to transport her to Clinton Memorial Hospital where an emergency helicopter would take them to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

“While we were in the helicopter, Lauryn’s heart stopped beating,” Heather recalled. “The pilot turned off the intercom so I couldn’t hear the medical staff talking, and then he began talking with me about what we’d experience when we landed, the sea of people who would be waiting for us, and to try and remain calm. He was phenomenal, “Heather said about what had happened on the flight to the hospital.

According to CBN News, the team revived Lauryn, but her family received the devastating news that her heart function was only at 8%. They were also told that she would not be able to leave the hospital unless she received a heart transplant. Heather refused to believe that she had to go…