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Battle of Protesters: Westboro Baptist Church v. LBGTQ+ Supporters & Agenda – They both win! – Part III

Posted by :admin On : March 17, 2024
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Category: American Church, Archives, Culture Wars, Homosexuality

Update on the death of Nex Benedict and the Political Aftermath

The death of Nex Benedict on February 8, 2024, was tragic. After Part II of this series was posted about the incident at Owasso High School, the results of the toxicology report revealed that Nex Benedict died of suicide. “The medical examiner’s report listed the probable cause of death as ‘combined toxicity’ from two drugs, one of which is available over the counter and the other by prescription.”[1] Another report indicated the probable cause of death “was a suicide, an overdose caused by a combination of diphenhydramine (commonly known as Benadryl) and fluoxetine (commonly, Prozac).”[2] However, there was no explanation as to how the medical examiner distinguished between death by suicide and death by accidental means.

Many are attempting to fix the blame for Benedict’s suicide on: (1) an alleged bullying incident at Owasso High School and (2) the supposed anti-LBGTQ+ policies and pronouncements of Ryan Walters, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction. In the first instance, Benedict initiated and participated in the fight when she threw water on one or more of the girls. Benedict was guilty of initiating the fight after an exchange of words with the three girls. Also, she was equally guilty along with her friend of fighting in the school bathroom. In the second instance, The LBGTQ+ lobby and the left-wing media have accused Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters as indirectly causing Benedict’s death and have launched a strong campaign to have Walters removed from his office to which he was elected by Oklahoma voters.

(New York, NY – March 12, 2024) GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is announcing the launch of an ad calling out the ways in which Ryan Walters, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction, is unfit for office, and encourages viewers to call their state representatives to advocate for Walters’ removal. The 30-second spot, which will run in Oklahoma starting today, is supported by a five-figure buy. Released just a month after the tragic death of Nex Benedict, the ad highlights a number of actions from Walters that call into question his ability to properly lead Oklahoma’s students. The ad asks viewers to ask their representatives to remove Walters from office.[3]

In Part II of this series, it was noted that Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Ryan Walters, and the great majority of both houses of the Oklahoma State legislature have enacted legislation and established regulations in support of the education, safety, and well-being of students and families in Oklahoma. The homosexual lobby’s litany of supposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and regulations are almost exact counterpoints to Oklahoma’s legislation and regulations enacted to by the State of Oklahoma to protect Oklahoma children from becoming victims of mental and physical abuse by the national and Oklahoma LBGTQ+ juggernaut and its agenda.

As stated in Part I of this series, the homosexual lobby and their supporters in every facet of American culture do not really care about Nex Benedict and multitudes of children and teenagers like her. The priority of the homosexual lobby’s agenda is to impose their actions, ideas, and philosophy on every facet of society and therefore every American. These actions, ideas, and philosophy stand in direct contradiction to the Judeo-Christian/biblical worldview upon which America was founded. This conflict is what the culture wars are about, and the agenda of the homosexual lobby is just one battle in this war of worldviews. It is this war to which the remainder of this article will address.

Homosexuality vs. the Judeo-Christian Worldview

The Judeo-Christian worldview is based on the Bible. The Bible gives a very explicit condemnation of the practice of homosexuality.

24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Romans 1:24-27 [NLT]

The Bible is the Word of God and therefore infallible and inerrant. In other words, the truth of God’s word is objective, not subjective, and therefore unchanging over time.

Homosexuality has been present in societies since the creation of mankind and was often venerated in various civilizations through ages, e.g., ancient Greece and Rome. However, none of those societies and cultures survived. Quoted at the end of Part II of this series, Richard Weaver gave the reason for their destruction in his book Visions of Order-The Cultural Crisis of Our Time written 65 year ago. Weaver stated that when a culture, “…‘by ignorant popular attitudes or by social derangements’ imposes a political concept that creates a different principle of ordering society contrary to universal truths, dissatisfactions arise because society has tampered with the ‘nature of things’.”[4]

Homosexuality is one of those disorganizing concepts with regard to human relationships, and as it becomes successfully imposed on a society, it is ultimately disorganizing in building a stable, enduring society. Where traditional views of marriage and human sexuality declines, so do those societies decline that allow it to occur. In modern America, the homosexual view of human sexuality has become a political concept whose advocates wish to legitimize and impose on American society which is substantially built on the Judeo-Christian worldview and upon which the nation was founded. Only one of these two worldviews will ultimately prevail – the truth of the Judeo-Christian worldview as recorded in the Bible or the lie of humanism’s man-centric interpretations of existence.

Those who advocate for the cultural acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle or variations thereof argue that the biblical two-gender view of mankind (i.e., God created male and female) is outdated in modern times. Therefore, they argue that, “In the 21st century, the gender binary is increasingly considered to be a social construct that reinforces gender roles and stereotypes, a tendency that harms even those who are cisgender (that is, identify with the gender assigned at their birth).”[5]

According to the homosexual worldview, the requirement to limit human sexual relations between a male and a female is merely a social construct. Therefore, homosexuality, transgenderism, and various combinations thereof are not objectively evil as described in Roman 1:24-27. As the narrative typically goes, those that are wedded to the idea that only heterosexual view of human sexuality is allowed can’t accept that the world is moving on from these outdated attitudes.

In William Bennett’s book The Broken Hearth, he describes the battle of worldviews between homosexuality and the Judeo-Christian worldview. The following are quotes from Bennett’s book included in my 2011 book Ye Shall be as gods – Humanism & Christianity – The Battle for Supremacy in the American Cultural Vision.

If the arguments of the proponents of homosexuality fail to diminish the importance and exclusivity of the reproductive act in defining marriage, the proponents fight on other fronts. One tactic with which they have been very effective and successful is casting the proponents of homosexuality and same-sex marriage as commanding the moral high ground. They present themselves and their cause as morally superior to their opponents who are cast as villains in the morality play widely disseminated in popular culture. To oppose homosexuality is deemed the moral equivalence of racism, bigotry, ignorance, and homophobia. Those persons who are not accepting of homosexuality are labeled as intolerant. But Bennett identifies the humanists’ perversion of the concept of tolerance. He calls it “…the disfigurement of the idea of tolerance at the hands of the agenda- pushers of our day…that would brand as bigots those of us who exercise our elementary responsibility…to make firm moral judgments in matters touching on marriage and the raising of our children.” The humanist would force all to worship at the shrine of tolerance, but their price of admission is a tolerance rooted in moral relativism with no room for finding truth or judging something based on the concept of right and wrong. For those that fail to enter the humanist shrine, they become the objects of intolerant harassment through restrictions on free speech (speech codes), coercion, and intimidation. To the proponents of homosexuality, tolerance means forced acceptance, and such acceptance necessitates “normalization, validation, public legitimization, and finally public endorsement.”[6]

Why have so many of the religious elite fallen into the camps of the proponents of homosexuality? Writing 200 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville, the author of Democracy in America, warned of religions that depend upon the principles of this world.

…when religion aims to depend upon the principles of this world, it becomes almost as vulnerable as all other powers on this earth. By itself, it may aspire to immortality but, linked to fleeting powers, it follows their fortunes and often collapses together with those passions which sustain them for a day.[7]

Many of mainstream Christian churches have linked themselves to the humanistic worldview, and their affinity for the cause of homosexuality is one of the principles of this (humanistic) worldview upon which they have come to depend. Those churches which have embraced the homosexual agenda have seen their number of adherents decline dramatically. By contrast, those churches which have grown are the ones that have stood against the assaults of secular culture and taught unequivocal biblical morality and salvation.[8]

Now it appears that the large numbers of evangelical churches have embraced the homosexual agenda or at least become silent in faithfully and regularly preaching the biblical standard against homosexuality as shown in Romans 1:24-27. Franklin Graham said, “Those who are afraid to address moral issues are no better than those who commit transgressions.”[9] This fear of speaking out about homosexuality has silenced much of the evangelical church.

Eric Metaxas, in his 2022 book, Letter to the American Church, captures the essence of how the church has become silent in the face of evil.

…those who behave as though there is really nothing to worry about, who seem to think—as such prominent pastors as Andy Stanley and others do—that we ought to assiduously avoid fighting these threats and be “apolitical” are tragically mistaken, are burying their heads in the sand and exhorting others to do the same …Do we not realize that no good ever can come of such silence and inaction, that human beings whom God loves suffer when His own people fail to express boldly what He has said and why they fail to live as He has called them to live?[10]

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] “Death of Transgender Student Nex Benedict ruled Suicide by Medical Examiner,” NBC News, March 12, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nex-benedict-suicide-death-oklahoma-student-lgbtq-rcna143298 (accessed 3-16-2024).
[2] “The unanswered questions surrounding the tragic death of Nex Benedict,” VOX, 3-13-2024.https://www.vox.com/culture/24092224/nex-benedict-death-what-happened-okhlahoma-anti-trans-laws-backlash (accessed 3-16-2024).
[3] “New Ad Campaign calls for the removal of Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters,” Glaad.org, March 13, 2024. https://glaad.org/releases/new-ad-campaign-calls-for-removal-of-oklahoma-superintendent-of-public-instruction-ryan-walters/ (accessed 3-16-2024).
[4] Richard M. Weaver, Visions of Order – The Cultural Crisis of Our Time, (Wilmington, Delaware: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 1995, 2006), p. 22.
[5] “Nonbinary gender,” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/nonbinary-gender (accessed 3-3-2024).
[6] Larry G. Johnson, Ye shall be as gods – Humanism & Christianity – The Battle for Supremacy in the American Cultural Vision, (Owasso, Oklahoma: Anvil House Books, 2011), pages 356-357. Quoting William Bennett, The Broken Hearth, (New York: Doubleday, 2001), pages 105-107, 121, 138.
[7] Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Translated by Gerald E. Bevan, (New York: Penguin Books, 2003), p.348.
[8] Robert H. Bork, Slouching Toward Gomorrah, (New York: Regan Books, 1996), p. 286.
[9] Mario Marillo, “Is He Right?” MarioMurillo.org, 2-12-2024. https://mariomurillo.org/2024/02/12/is-he-right/ (accessed 3-16-2024).
[10] Eric Metaxas, Letter to the American Church, (Washington, D.C.: Salem Books, 2022), p. 51

Silence in the face of Evil – The Modern American Evangelical Church

Posted by :admin On : February 23, 2024
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Category: American Church, Archives, Culture Wars, Government

Dear Reader – I believe the following article may be the most important one I have written compared to over 250 articles I have posted on CultureWarrior.net over the last eleven years. Please forward this post to your family and friends on social media. Thank you. Larry G. Johnson

On February 7-8, 2024, one thousand Assemblies of God pastors gathered at the “1000+ AG Lead Pastor Connect” conference in Miami, Florida. This gathering was designed for lead pastors from the largest one thousand churches among the thirteen thousand plus AG churches in the United States. John Maxwell was the featured speaker, and the core of his message to the pastors was “to avoid politics, because it is polarizing.” Maxwell’s message has created a firestorm among the faithful inside and outside of the denomination.

Who is John Maxwell? The biography in the 1000+ AG Lead Pastor Connect Internet brochure[1] advertising the conference reads as follows:

John C. Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, speaker, coach and leader who has sold more than 34 million books. He is the founder of Maxwell Leadership—a leadership development organization that has trained tens of millions of leaders in every nation. Having been recognized as the #1 leader in business and as the world’s most influential leadership expert, Maxwell continues to influence individuals and organizations worldwide—from Fortune 500 CEOs and national leaders to entrepreneurs and the leaders of tomorrow.[2]

Here we have an expert on business and leadership advising pastors on what to preach! However, what preachers preach is determined through a process of prayer, rightly dividing the Word, and leading of the Holy Spirit. This is the same John Maxwell who glowingly endorsed Andy Stanley’s new book Not in it to win it-Why choosing sides sidelines the church (2022). Andy Stanley is a false teacher but highly influential evangelical leader who also wrote Irresistible-Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World (2108) which teaches Christians to reject the Old Testament’s teachings (including Ten Commandments) because they are not applicable to Christians today. Maxwell also endorsed Stanley’s book Irresistible in which he states that he was challenged to “do more connecting and less correcting of others…I love how Andy loves people…”

What were General Superintendent Doug Clay and the rest of the Executive Presbytery thinking when they determined to invite Maxwell to speak to and influence one thousand pastors from the AG’s largest churches to stay out of American politics? Where were their discernment, knowledge of the Word, and critical thinking skills?! Mario Marillo asked the question, “Why did these 1,000 AG ministers not drop everything and cry out to God for mercy on America? Is it because they are more interested in the hottest new business model for church growth?”[3]

Effectively, the actions of the AG leadership in allowing Maxwell to speak have encouraged AG pastors to remain silent in their pulpits about politics only eight months prior to the most critical political moment in our nation’s history. The outcome of the November 2024 elections will determine if it will be the last election in which the destiny of America will remain in the hands of the people or be vested in an all-powerful ruling elite of anti-God socialists/Marxists bent on world domination. Apparently, John Maxwell and the AG leadership have been living under a rock and are unaware of what is happening in America.

The Big Lie – Churches must avoid politics inside and outside the church

A brief look at Scripture exposes Maxwell’s lie that the church must avoid all politics, inside and outside the church. That has always been the goal of Satan in American churches. Beginning significantly in the 1960s, churches and Christians have been coerced to keep their opinions inside the walls of the church and not interfere or influence the remaining spheres of American life: government, politics, business and commerce, physical and social sciences, media, arts and entertainment, education, and the family. There is not a single sphere where churches, Christians and Christianity are not under a full frontal assault from Satan and his minions. Without restraint exerted by the church, how would Maxwell and his sycophants combat the carnage that has spread across America? Their typical response is that “we should pray about it.”

Do the scriptures encourage Christians to stay out of politics? The words of Christ and the early church leaders expose the lie that pastors and churches should avoid politics. When Christians speak truth, it is polarizing because Satan is a liar and is the father of lies. Truth can be offensive to many and does not bring peace. Mario Marillo presents three examples that expose the Big Lie.[4]

• In Matthew 10:34-36, Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.” [NKJV]

• John the Baptist confronted King Herod in Luke 3:18-20, “And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.” [NKJV]

• Peter and John refused to obey an evil government in Acts 5:23-29: “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council (Sanhedrin). And the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” [NKJV]

Silence in the pulpits of American churches began long before Maxwell and Stanley arrived on the scene

The modern evangelical church since the 1960s began embracing the Big Lie that the church must avoid politics. Many evangelical churches in the 1960s to the present day ignored the voices of earlier 20th Century giants beyond our shores who defended the freedom to speak truth not only from the pulpits of churches but for all mankind. The following are excerpts from Chapter 12 of my sixth book published in 2020, Defending the Good Society – The Assault on Order, Justice, and Freedom.[5]

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) was born in Russia and studied mathematics, philosophy, literature, and history at the university level. He was a thrice decorated for personal heroism as a Russian Army Officer during the fight against the Nazis in World War II. In 1945 he was arrested for criticizing Stalin in private correspondence and sentenced to an eight-year term in a labor camp. From that experience he wrote One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich which was published in 1962, the first of many books. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In 1974, he was stripped of his citizenship and expelled from the Soviet Union whereupon he moved to Vermont with his wife and four sons.[6]

Solzhenitsyn’s background, experiences, and powerful words in defense of truth speaks far louder than the din of lies shouted by egalitarianism’s Ministry of Truth and its toadies including spineless politicians, the corrupt media, universities in name only, complicit mega-corporation billionaires, ranting Hollywood leftists, self-proclaimed “intellectuals,” and many corrupt voices and false teachers in the church. However, such lies cannot long stand against timeless truth of which God is the author and finisher.

Solzhenitsyn gives both the diagnosis of the plight of the good society and a prescription for preserving its Judeo-Christian cultural heritage and its attendant freedom.

In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it (evil) will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers . . . we are ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.

The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world.[7]

The defenders of the good society must raise their voices in the defense of the language and free speech from the lies and distortions of radical egalitarians. Silence only emboldens the evil doers and digs the graves of our children and grandchildren’s moral and civil order, justice, and freedom.

Martin Niemöller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

At the beginning of 1933, the German church stood at a crossroads. The great majority of German Lutheran churches chose the path of Hitler and the Nazis instead of the teachings of Jesus Christ.[8] There was a minority of Christians and churches in Germany that opposed Hitler and the apostatized German Christians. The resistance centered within the new “Confessing Church” led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemöller, and a few others. As Nazi pressure was ratcheted up against the dissenting churchmen, Bonhoeffer and Niemöller were criticized by their fellow churchmen for opposing Hitler and his policies. Eventually over two thousand would choose the route of appeasement and safety and abandoned support of Bonhoeffer and Niemöller’s efforts in resisting the Nazis. “They believed that appeasement was the best strategy; they thought that if they remained silent they could live with Hitler’s intrusion into church affairs and his political policies.”[9]

In the late summer of 1933, Niemöller wrote a letter to a friend about his opposition to Hitler.

Although I am working with all my might for the church opposition, it is perfectly clear to me that this opposition is only a very temporary transition to an opposition of a very different kind, and that very few of those engaged in this preliminary skirmish will be part of the next struggle. And I believe that the whole of Christendom should pray with us that it will be a “resistance unto death,” and that the people will be found to suffer it.[10]

In early 1934 from the pulpit of his church in the Berlin suburb of Dahlem, Niemöller spoke of the coming trials that faced the German church.

We have all of us—the whole Church and the whole community—we’ve been thrown into the Tempter’s sieve, and he is shaking and the wind is blowing, and it must now become manifest whether we are wheat or chaff! Verily, a time of sifting has come upon us, and even the most indolent and peaceful person among us must see that the calm of a meditative Christianity is at an end…

It is now springtime for the hopeful and expectant Christian Church—it is testing time, and God is giving Satan a free hand, so he may shake us up and so that it may be seen what manner of men we are!…

Satan swings his sieve and Christianity is thrown hither and thither; and he who is not ready to suffer, he who called himself a Christian only because he thereby hoped to gain something good for his race and his nations is blown away like chaff by the wind of time.[11]

In 1937, Niemöller and more than eight hundred other churchmen were arrested and imprisoned for their opposition to the Nazis. Following release from prison after eight months, Niemöller was immediately arrested again as a “personal prisoner” of the Führer himself and spent the next seven years in Dachau, one the Nazis’ most infamous concentration camps. He was freed by the Allies in 1945.[12] After the war, in his sorrow for not recognizing and speaking out in the early days of the Nazi rise to power, Niemöller penned this sorrowful message.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.[13]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was discussed in chapter 8 (Defending the Good Society) with regard to his views on church-state relationships. Bonhoeffer knew well the cost of silence in the church when faced with evil in the public square. His ardent faith and boldness in confronting evil cost him his life. He called silence when faced with evil what it was…sin.

We have been silent witness of evil deeds; we have been drenched by many storms; we have learnt the arts of equivocation and pretense; experience has made us suspicious of others and kept us from being truthful and open…Will our inward power of resistance be strong enough, and our honesty with ourselves remorseless enough, for us to find our way back to simplicity and straightforwardness?[14]

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil, God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.[15]

The words of Solzhenitsyn, Niemöller, and Bonhoeffer all carry the same message. Defenders of the good society must not remain silent. We must speak out with truth and take action to confront the evil of humanism and its handmaidens—egalitarianism’s lies and falsehoods and socialism’s corrupt order.

Silence in the face of evil occurs because of cowardice in the leadership of local churches

Franklin Graham said, “Those who are afraid to address moral issues are no better than those who commit transgressions.”[16] The truth of his powerful words is confirmed in Revelation 21:8, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (emphasis added) [NKJV] In his commentary on this verse, Donald Stamps states that,

The “cowardly” are those who lack faith in God and who fear the disapproval and threat of people more than they value loyalty to Christ and the truth of his Word. Their personal security and status among others on earth mean more to him than faithfulness to God. The “cowardly” include the compromisers among God’s people who give up the spiritual light and do not overcome evil.[17]

There are many facets of cowardice including fear of retribution, fear of being accused as intolerant and judgmental, fear of being culturally exiled, and desire for acceptance. However, in spite of the cost, the church, individual Christians, and other defenders of the Judeo-Christian worldview are called to soldier in a much larger ongoing conflict which I described eight years ago in my book Evangelical Winter – Restoring New Testament Christianity.

In addition to the liberal apostate church of the last 120 years, there is also a faithful but mostly silent church in America that is content to preach the gospel and ignore the culture. But Erwin Lutzer disagreed with hiding behind the gospel while ignoring the culture. He wrote, “whether in Nazi German or America, believers cannot choose to remain silent under the guise of preaching the Gospel…we must live out the implications of the cross in every area of our lives. We must be prepared to submit to the Lordship of Christ in all ‘spheres’.”[18] [emphasis added]

As we live out the implications of the cross in every area of our lives, we must understand that the culture wars in which we soldier for Christ are not about maintaining the American dream however one may define it. Rather, the culture wars are about restoring the biblical understanding of truth in all spheres of our national life. To do so one must speak the truth in the face of lies, stand on biblical principles when others compromise, and take right actions in spite of consequences.[19]

If we are not actively living out our faith by fighting the wickedness in society and the culture of our time (in the schools, government, business, popular culture, arts, entertainment, media, and so forth), God will view our inaction (neutrality) as participation in the enemy’s wicked cause. In other words, God will not find us guiltless. Here we speak of individual and collective guilt.

In closing, we must note that perhaps there is no arena of public affairs where the silence of the local churches is more heartbreaking than their silence with regard to the welfare of our children in America’s K-12 educational system. The very youngest of children in most local schools are being fed pernicious ideas on the subject of sexuality—ideas with which their young minds are quite unable to cope, and to which their own parents object. Older children are being so confused by sexual activists that they agree to have their bodies mutilated, so they can never become the men and women God has created them to be. We cannot help but wonder where are all of the leading American pastors today on the issues of sexuality and transgender craziness. Are they afraid to speak? Like lemmings, it appears that local pastors across the nation have also lost their voices and backbones in their failure to consistently and repeatedly address these issues in their pulpits and at local school board meetings.

Eric Metaxas in his 2022 book, Letter to the American Church, captures the essence of how the church has become silent in the face of evil.

…those who behave as though there is really nothing to worry about, who seem to think—as such prominent pastors as Andy Stanley and others do—that we ought to assiduously avoid fighting these threats and be “apolitical” are tragically mistaken, are burying their heads in the sand and exhorting others to do the same …Do we not realize that no good ever can come of such silence and inaction, that human beings whom God loves suffer when His own people fail to express boldly what He has said and why they fail to live as He has called them to live?[20]

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:
[1] 1000+ AG Lead Pastor Connect, https://churchmultiplication.net/1000plus (accessed 2-21-2024
[2] Ibid.
[3] Mario Marilla, “Politics in the Pulpit?” Mario Marillo Ministries, February 12, 2024. https://mariomurillo.org/2024/02/12/is-he-right/ (accessed 2-22-2024).
[4] Ibid.
[5] Larry G. Johnson, Defending the Good Society – The Assault on Order, Justice, and Freedom, (Owasso, Oklahoma: Anvil House Publishers, 2020), pp. 109-112.
[6] “Biography,” The Aleksandra Solzhenitsyn Center, https://www.solzhenitsyncenter.org/his-life-overview/biography (accessed June 18, 2020).
[7] Solzhenitsyn, AZ Quotes. https://www.azquotes.com/
[8] Erwin W. Lutzer, When a Nation Forgets God, (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 2010), p. 44.
[9] Ibid., pp. 19-21.
[10] Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2010), p. 197.
[11] Lutzer, When a Nation Forgets God, p. 32-32.
[12] Metaxas, Bonhoeffer, pp. 293, 295.
[13] Ibid., p. 192.
[14] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Letters and Papers from Prison Quotes,” goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1153999-widerstand-und-ergebung-briefe-und-aufzeichnungen-aus-der-haft (accessed June 29, 2018 (accessed June 29, 2018).
[15] “20 Influential Quotes by Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” Crosswalk.com. https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/inspiring-quotes/20-influential-quotes-by-dietrich-bonhoeffer.html (accessed June 29, 2018).
[16] Marillo, “Politics in the Pulpit?”
[17] Donald Stamps, Commentary on Revelation 21:8, Fire Bible: Global Study Edition, New International Version, Gen. Ed. Donald Stamps, (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, Copyright 2009 by Life Publishers International, Springfield, Missouri), p. 2565.
[18] Lutzer, When a Nation Forgets God, pp. 31-32.
[19] Larry G. Johnson, “Pornography in Owasso Public Schools – Will local churches remain silent?” CultureWarrior.net, November 8, 2022. https://www.culturewarrior.net/2022/11/08/pornography-in-owasso-public-schools-silence-of-the-local-churches/
[20] Eric Metaxas, Letter to the American Church, (Washington, D.C.: Salem Books, 2022), p. 51

Tenth Anniversary of CultureWarrior.net – March 6, 2013 – March 6, 2023

Posted by :admin On : March 4, 2023
1

Category: Archives, Culture Wars, Homosexuality

CultureWarrior.net was founded on March 6, 2013 when the author published his first article online. The “About” section in the heading of the CultureWarrior.net describes its mission:

The mission of CultureWarrior.net is to participate in the redemption of culture in all of the institutions of American life through sharing the truth of the biblical worldview which was the heart of the American cultural vision upon which the United States was founded.

The mission statement is followed by six strategies for accomplishment of that mission. Over the last ten years more than two hundred articles have been written and posted on CultureWarrior.net.

The first article written for CultureWarrior.net was a prophetic warning about the agenda of homosexual leaders and their supporters. The recognition of marriage between homosexuals was merely the first salvo in their war to utterly transform American culture by destroying the Judeo-Christian moral foundations upon which America was built. Over the last ten years the sin of homosexuality and its many tentacles have been deeply woven into the fabric of every institution of American life – marriage, family, the organized church, education, government, business, media, and arts/entertainment.

During February 2013, there was considerable debate and press coverage of the efforts of the homosexual lobby to overturn all bans against gay marriage. Although marriage between homosexuals was widely supported among liberal politicians, the Democratic leadership was dithering about how to deal with this divisive issue. Vice President broke the dam of opposition when he boldly spoke in support of gay marriage. Sensing a favorable outcome, President Obama cast his support for gay marriage on March 1, 2013.

This was a defining moment of victory for the homosexual lobby, and ten years later, America has become a moral cesspool. Leaders of the American government now require flying the homosexual’s rainbow flag alongside of the American flag at our embassies around the world. Against their moral and religious beliefs, business owners are required to provide services for homosexual-themed products and events. The LGBTQ+ agenda for K-12 schools includes promotion and use of cross-sex hormones, surgical procedures, and puberty-blockers, all based on the child’s perceived gender identity. Drag queen story hours are common in our school houses and public libraries. Vast numbers of people in business, the military, and government offices are schooled in the proper use of pronouns so as not to offend members of the LGBTQ+ crowd. These are just a few examples of the pervasive reach of the homosexual agenda into every nook and cranny of American life.

Printed below is the first article written for CultureWarrior.net. It reveals how the initial 2013 Trojan horse of equality in the battle for cultural acceptance of gay marriage was just the beginning of the homosexual agenda to dramatically undermined America’s moral foundations after March 2013.

Equality – The homosexual agenda’s Trojan horse in its battle for cultural acceptance – March 6, 2013

“Trojan Horse” is a term used to refer to someone or something intended to undermine or subvert from within. The term derives from a tale of the Trojan War in which the Greeks built a giant wooden horse and hid forty soldiers inside. Then, the Greeks, appearing to have abandoned the fight and wooden horse, sailed their ships over the horizon. The unsuspecting Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the hidden soldiers crept out of the horse, opened the gates for the Greek army that had returned under cover of darkness. The Greeks invaded and destroyed Troy, decisively ending the ten-year siege.

America is in the midst of a battle for supremacy in the central cultural vision of the nation. The battle between the biblical worldview and the humanistic worldview (under the guise of secularism, liberalism, progressivism, etc.) is popularly known as the culture wars and has been ongoing far longer than ten years. One of those battles centers on the homosexual agenda’s quest for legitimacy, respect, recognition, acceptance, and affirmation by American culture. The battle has escalated, and the homosexual agenda now requires the removal of all bans against gay marriage.

This past week President Obama, citing the principle of equality that drove the nation’s founding, spoke out against California’s ban on gay marriage and said that the Supreme Court should strike it down.[1] This tactic has been very effective and successful is casting the proponents of homosexuality and same-sex marriage as commanding the moral high ground. They present themselves and their cause as morally superior to their opponents who are cast as villains in the morality play widely disseminated in popular culture. To oppose homosexuality is deemed the moral equivalence of racism, bigotry, ignorance, and homophobia. Those persons who are not accepting of homosexuality are labeled as intolerant.[2]

But William Bennett identifies the humanists’ perversion of the concept of tolerance. He calls it “…the disfigurement of the idea of tolerance at the hands of the agenda-pushers of our day…that would brand as bigots those of us who exercise our elementary responsibility…to make firm moral judgments in matters touching on marriage and the raising of our children.” The humanists would force all to worship at the shrine of tolerance, but their price of admission is a tolerance rooted in moral relativism with no room for finding truth or judging something based on the concept of right and wrong. For those that fail to enter the humanist shrine, they become the objects of intolerant harassment through restrictions on free speech (speech codes), coercion, and intimidation. To the proponents of homosexuality, tolerance means forced acceptance, and such acceptance necessitates “normalization, validation, public legitimation, and finally public endorsement.”[3]

Effectively, the advocates of gay marriage are using the Trojan horse of equality as a means to breach the gates of American culture built on the foundation of a biblical worldview. But the case against homosexuality entails far more than just the argument that it is contrary to the cultural traditions upon which America was founded. The accumulated weight of history> speaks loudly against the homosexual agenda. The author has described this “weight of history” in his book Ye shall be as gods .

The ordered family structure is part of the human constitution, a universal truth, one of the permanent things, and exists in every known society. The family attains status within society—legitimacy, social identity, legal recognition, cultural tradition, and an estate. Humans have fashioned numerous methods by which to organize their societies, but the common link to all is the family unit—a father, a mother, and children living together in bonds of committed caring. It is the fundamental unit upon which societies are built.[4]

By contrast, homosexuality is a disorganizing concept with regard to human relationships and ultimately disorganizing in building stable, enduring societies. Proponents wish to lift the status of homosexuality in society through its attainment of legitimacy, legal identity, and respect as a cultural tradition, a place at the table so to speak. These efforts involve court challenges to long-standing and culturally established norms, enactment of laws which favor the homosexual agenda and that diminish marriage, and promotion of homosexuality in the popular culture.[5]

As marriage is the central organizing concept in society, it is critical for proponents of homosexuality to redefine what it means to be a family, and this has become the primary field of battle. There are two general conceptions of marriage in society. The first is that marriage is at its core about the children born of that marriage and by default is limited to heterosexual marriage relationships. The second concept held by the humanists is that marriage is essentially a private relationship. This is from whence comes the attack by the proponents of the homosexual agenda. The legislative and legal efforts to redefine marriage to include homosexual couples of either gender, whether under the law or in culture, would weaken the idea of a mother and father for every child.[6]

This is a seismic shift not only in how one views life but of culture itself. We have stated that culture is the central vision that binds, unifies, and gives direction to society, without which a society disintegrates. Individuals may think, feel, and act upon their personal and private liberties in any society as long as their actions fall within the limits of the laws that express the central vision of that society.

Heterosexual marriage is a universal, and the strength and unity provided by traditional marriage is the foundation of a strong and enduring society. Although traditional marriage is in broad disarray, as it is in most Western societies, that does not disprove the truth of the heterosexual marriage universal but rather speaks of the ravages caused by the ascending humanist worldview. Where traditional marriage declines, so do those societies decline that allow it to occur.[7]

America continues to invite cultural disintegration if we endorse homosexual marriage hidden within the Trojan horse of equality.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:
[1] Julie Pace and Mark Sherman, “Obama says no way to avoid gay marriage case,” Associated Press, March 1, 2013. On-line source: http://news.yahoo-says-no-way-avoid-gay-marriage-case-172022149–politics.html (accessed March 5, 2013). No longer available.
[2] William Bennett, The Broken Hearth, (New York: Doubleday, 2001), p. 107.
[3] Ibid., p. 121.
[4] Larry G. Johnson’s Ye shall be as gods – Humanism and Christianity – The Battle for Supremacy in the American Cultural Vision, (Owasso, Oklahoma: Anvil House Publishers, 2011), pp. 354.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid. 365.

Vote NO – March 7 – Oklahoma State Question 820 – Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

Posted by :admin On : February 28, 2023
0

Category: Archives, Culture Wars, Government

Oklahomans must not ignore the lessons learned from the approval of Medical Marijuana in 2018.

In 2018, sixty percent of Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly approved legalization of marijuana for medical purposes (SQ 788). Just four years later Oklahoma leads the nation with 2,300 marijuana dispensaries and is also the leading source of marijuana trafficking nationwide due to cheap land, cheap licenses, and the most lax regulations on marijuana in the country.[1]

Beth Wallis, writing in State Impact Oklahoma, call’s Oklahoma the “Wild West” when it comes to marijuana policies and regulations.

With the relatively low cost of starting a business, few regulations on facility placement, and the ease of obtaining a medical card, the Sooner State has become a prime destination for businesses looking to cash in on the Green Rush. Compared to Colorado — a state with legal medical and recreational marijuana — Oklahoma has nearly seven times the number of grow licensees.[2]

Escalation of the carnage by legalizing Recreational Marijuana

Like the 2018 legalization of medical marijuana, 2023’s State Question 820 to legalize recreational marijuana was written by individuals in the marijuana industry and presented through the petition process for a vote. Over $3 million has been spent by organizations and individuals in the marijuana industry to promote SQ820. The complete language of SQ 820 is found at the Oklahoma Secretary of State Website.[3]

Proponents of legalization of recreational marijuana point to the large amount of tax and licensing revenues projected to be generated through sales of recreational marijuana. However, these revenues are dwarfed by the massive societal costs due to loss of life, declining mental and physical health, increased criminal activity, and increased cost of public services (police, judicial system, over-burdened infrastructure and health systems, etc.).

Dumbing Down America

The Center for Disease Control has reported that marijuana is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States, with an estimated 48.2 million people using it in 2019. Marijuana use may have a wide range of health effects on the body and brain. The cannabis plant contains more than 100 compounds (or cannabinoids). These compounds include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is impairing or mind-altering, as well as other active compounds, such as cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is not impairing, meaning it does not cause a “high”.[4]

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Service presents a frightening picture of the destruction of the mental and physical health of a growing number of Americans using marijuana:

Contrary to popular belief, marijuana is addictive. Research shows that:

• 1-in-6 people who start using the drug before the age of 18 can become addicted.
• 1-in-10 adults who use the drug can become addicted.

Over the past few decades, the amount of THC in marijuana has steadily climbed; today’s marijuana has three times the concentration of THC compared to 25 years ago. The higher the THC amount, the stronger the effects on the brain—likely contributing to increased rates of marijuana-related emergency room visits. While there is no research yet on how higher potency affects the long-term risks of marijuana use, more THC is likely to lead to higher rates of dependency and addiction.[5]

Even though the proposed law restricts usage of recreational marijuana by persons under age 21, the ease with which marijuana will be obtainable and used by minors will markedly increase if recreational marijuana usage is approved. Minors are the ones most prone to long-term mental and physical declines due to marijuana use.

Marijuana use can have negative and long-term effects:[6]

• Brain health: Marijuana can cause permanent IQ loss of as much as 8 points when people start using it at a young age. These IQ points do not come back, even after quitting marijuana.

• Mental health: Studies link marijuana use to depression, anxiety, suicide planning, and psychotic episodes. It is not known, however, if marijuana use is the cause of these conditions.

• Athletic Performance: Research shows that marijuana affects timing, movement, and coordination, which can harm athletic performance.

• Driving: People who drive under the influence of marijuana can experience dangerous effects: slower reactions, lane weaving, decreased coordination, and difficulty reacting to signals and sounds on the road.

• Baby’s health and development: Marijuana use during pregnancy may cause fetal growth restriction, premature birth, stillbirth, and problems with brain development, resulting in hyperactivity and poor cognitive function. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other chemicals from marijuana can also be passed from a mother to her baby through breast milk, further impacting a child’s healthy development.

• Daily life: Using marijuana can affect performance and how well people do in life. Research shows that people who use marijuana are more likely to have relationship problems, worse educational outcomes, lower career achievement, and reduced life satisfaction.[6]

Oklahoma must not compound the damage already done to the citizens of Oklahoma by approving recreational marijuana. However, those promoting recreational marijuana are also encouraging a get out the vote campaign in order to pass SQ 820. The Tulsa County Election Board has reported that there has been a significant jump in new voter registrations in the last two months presumably to vote yes on the state question.[7]

Your Personal Action Plan to stop the legalization of Recreational Marijuana in Oklahoma

• Vote on Tuesday – March 7
• Get your family and friends to vote against SQ820
• Use Facebook and other social media to send this post to your contact list.
• Contact your pastor and ask him to publicly encourage congregational members present on Sunday, March 5, to vote against SQ820 on Tuesday – March 7 (Some pastors have given lengthy resentations two or three times to their congregations of the reasons to vote against SQ820.)
• Pray daily for the defeat of SQ820

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:
[1] Karen Hardin, SQ 820 Recreational marijuana vote March 7, Tulsa Beacon, February 23, 2023, 1.
[2] Beth Wallis, “Where does medical marijuana stand in the state legislature?” State Impact Oklahoma, February 17, 2022, https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2022/02/17/where-does-medical-marijuana-stand-in-the-oklahoma-legislature/
[3] Oklahoma Secretary of State website: https://www.sos.ok.gov/gov/questions.aspx (Click in the search box 820 and then click on the number to download the document.)
[4] “Health Effects of Marijuana,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/index.html (accessed 2-27-2023).
[5] “Learn About Marijuana Risks,” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, https://www.samhsa.gov/marijuana (accessed 2-27-2023).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Karen Hardin, Tulsa Beacon, 1.

Pornography in Owasso Public Schools – How it happened and what is being done about it

Posted by :admin On : December 17, 2022
0

Category: Archives, Culture Wars, Education

This is the second article on pornography in the Owasso Public Schools. The first article may be found at CultureWarrior.net website: “Pornography in Owasso Public Schools – Will local churches remain silent?”[1]

Events leading up to Owasso Public Schools change in library policies that deal with pornography

The story began when a Tim Reiland opened a book his 14-year old daughter had randomly checked out from the Owasso Public Schools library. He discovered its contents were blatantly pornographic and lodged a complaint about the offending book with school officials. Reiland attended a school board meeting on October 10th and spoke at the meeting with hope that the board would establish a district policy that addressed his concerns about pornographic materials in the school’s libraries. The board did not establish a policy with regard to the presence of pornographic materials. Reiland was subsequently banned from all Owasso Public Schools’ grounds following his contact with a board member in the parking lot following the meeting. On October 17, 2022, KTUL Channel 8 aired a story about Reiland’s banishment because of his efforts to have the graphic novel removed from the school library.[2]

Reiland obtained legal counsel, and on November 1st, U.S. District Judge John F. Heil issued a temporary restraining order that prevented the Owasso school district from barring Reiland’s access to the campus. Heil wrote, “While it is true that injunctive relief is an extraordinary relief, this Court finds that the First Amendment is an extraordinary right, deserving of extraordinary relief.”[3]

The Owasso school board subsequently met on November 9th and altered Reiland’s ban so it was no longer tied to his interaction with board member Brent England. Instead, the ban was kept in place because of Reiland’s interaction in the parking lot with Art Haddaway of the Owasso Reporter. Subsequently on November 14th, Judge Heil converted the restraining order to a temporary injunction that prevented Owasso Public Schools’ efforts to ban the Reiland from attending school board meetings, dropping off and picking up his children from school, and attending parent-teacher conferences and other extracurricular activities. The judge noted that it “is clear” that Owasso’s ban was “substantially motivated as a response to Plaintiff’s criticism of the Board’s decision and his petition for a redress of grievances” which is protected under the First Amendment.[4]

On that same Monday night, November 14, 2022, the Owasso School Board unanimously approved an update of the school’s library policy and specifically addressed the presence of pornographic books and other associated materials found in the school library. A copy of this policy may be found on the Owasso Public Schools website.[5]

The OPS Board is to be commended for its changes to the School Library Book Selection Policy #1.86 [6]

1. The opening paragraph of the amended policy includes the following statements:

The library media program shall be reflective of the community standards for the population the library media center serves when acquiring an age appropriate collection of print materials, non-print materials, multimedia resources, equipment and supplies…All students shall have access to age appropriate material from any collection in the district, however parents or legal guardians shall have the right to restrict access to library materials for their student(s). [emphasis added]

2. Just as important as the additions may be, the deletions are often just as important.
The following are representative of the deletions:

• Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be prescribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

If continued, this deleted policy statement would have allowed the inclusion of materials promoting Marxism, socialism, critical race theory, and sexualization of children through the radical LGBTQ+ agenda, all of which do not reflect the “community standards for the population the library media center serves.”

• Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

If continued, this deleted policy statement would have allowed OPS administrators to continue to allow pornographic materials in OPS libraries. Likewise, if a state law passed in 2021 had not prohibited teaching and promotion of critical race theory, this policy would have allowed OPS administrators to challenge those who wished to prohibit teaching and promotion of critical race theory (including library and classroom books and materials).

• Materials shall be selected in accordance with the principles established by the School Library Bill of Rights as approved by the American Association of School Libraries. The American Association of School Librarians affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic ideals should guide their services…

The removal of this policy statement effectively replaces the selection principles of the American Association of School Librarians with selections reflective of local community standards. It is highly doubtful that the leadership of any national secondary or university-level education association or organization reflects the community standards of parents and citizens of Owasso, Oklahoma. For decades academia in America at all levels have been indoctrinated with a liberal-progressive-socialist worldview by the vast majority of American colleges and universities which stands in stark contrast to the Judeo-Christian values and worldview of most Americans.

3. The Criteria for OPS’s School Book Selection Policy #1.86 include two
commendable changes:

Paragraph 2. As school library media center resources are finite, the library media program shall be reflective of the community standards for the population the library media center serves when acquiring an age appropriate collection of print materials, non-print materials, multimedia resources, equipment and supplies… [emphasis added]

Paragraph 5. Materials are selected for validity, currency, and appropriateness of content. This includes an inspection of every graphic novel, prior to placing in the collection, for potential material involving sexually explicit content and extreme vulgarity. [emphasis added]

Significant Problem remains with OPS Policy #1.86 as amended 11-14-2022

The problem with OPS Policy #1.86 as amended resides with the person(s) charged with the Responsibility for Selection. Those responsible for book and materials selection remain unchanged. The board of education is the governing body of the school district and is legally responsible for selection of instructional materials including library books and materials. This authority is delegated to the professional personnel of the district for the selection of these books and materials. The policy states that the books and materials for the library are primarily selected by the Library Media Specialist with input from the Selection Review Committee composed of a minimum of three certified staff members which may include the Library Media Specialist, principal, counselor, and classroom teachers(s).[7]

Yet, these are the same people charged with selecting or rejecting library and classroom books and materials under the prior policy that now must select books and materials that reflect community standards (discerning, understanding, and interpreting the community’s values, moral standards, and worldview).

Although the board and professional personnel may or may not personally approve of pornographic material, nevertheless, they allowed significant amounts of pornographic materials to be available to Owasso students. One wonders how many years has this been happening. The enormity of their malfeasance becomes clear when the perniciousness of pornography is understood. Pornography is widely defined as depicting erotic behavior and intended to cause sexual excitement, and is morally reprehensible, offensive, and insidious. Pornography distorts a child’s understanding of healthy human relationships.

Establishment of a Community/Parent Oversight Committee to interact with the OPS Selection Review Committee with regard library and classroom books and materials

The policy continues to state that, “However, no stakeholder has the right to determine the reading material for students other than his/her own children.”[8] Here, stakeholder implies parents of children at OPS. However, given the reference to community standards, the stakeholders must include members of the local community at large.

The only means to insure that pornography does not creep back into the libraries of Owasso Public Schools over time is to establish an oversight committee comprised of parents and community members. Representatives of this committee would interact with the school’s Selection Review Committee. The structural and operational parameters of such oversight committee have been successfully developed and implemented in many other school districts across the nation.

• The Parent/Community Committee will review all books and materials presented to the Selection and Review Committee and make comments and recommendations.
• Although the Parent/Community committee may not always agree with the decisions of the Book Selection Committee, in some cases of significant disagreement, the Parent/Community Committee may appeal to the Superintendent and subsequently, if necessary, to the Board of Education.
• The Parent/Community Committee should be allowed to annually examine the books and materials available to students in the OPS libraries.

An election to select a representative for Owasso School Board Office No. 3 will be held on February 14, 2023. Three candidates are running to fill the position that has a five-year term of office: Vincent Donaldson, Neal Kessler (incumbent), and Kristy Moon.[9] All voters in that ward are encouraged to examine the candidates qualifications, views, and especially their position with regard to recent events surrounding the pornography in OPS libraries. Each candidate should be asked if he/she will support the establishment of a Parent/Community Book Selection Committee to have input and a degree of oversight in selection of books and materials for OPS libraries and classrooms that reflect community standards.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:
[1] Larry G. Johnson, “Pornography in Owasso Public Schools – Will local churches remain silent,” culturewarrior.net, 11-08-2022. https://www.culturewarrior.net/2022/11/08/pornography-in-owasso-public-schools-silence-of-the-local-churches/
[2]Burt Mummolo, “Owasso parent banned from school grounds after asking for pornographic book to be removed,”
KTUL Channel 8, October 17, 2022, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/owasso-parent-banned-from-school-grounds-after-asking-for-pornographic-book-to-be-removed/ar-AA134R0f
[3] Ray Carter, “Court prevents Owasso school from banning parent critic,” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs,November 2, 2022, https://www.ocpathink.org/post/court-prevents-owasso-school-from-banning-parent-critic
[4] Ray Carter, “Parent reaps second court victory against Owasso schools,” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, November 15, 2022, https://www.ocpathink.org/post/parent-reaps-second-court-victory-against-owasso-schools
[5] Owasso Board of Education Regular Meeting, November 14, 2022 at 6:30 PM – Attachment to Agenda item VII.D. Selection of Library materials Policy #1.86 (4), https://meeting.assemblemeetings.com/Public/Agenda/601?meeting=537856
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] “Tulsa County Municipal and School Board filings,” Tulsa Beacon, December 15, 2022, 1.