Best of the Month: November's Top Ten News Stories

 A South Carolina woman called 911 on her parents after her father asked her if she wanted to go to church with them. According to Union County police, Ashley Shanell Fuller, 30, told emergency operators that her parents were “harassing” her.

Reportedly, Fuller’s father entered her bedroom in the house that he owns and asked her if she “wanted to go to church and have communion.”

When officers arrived on scene Fuller told police that she wanted them to “make her parents leave the house and leave her alone.” Police informed her that what she was describing was not harassment as she claimed. 

According to the Sheriff’s Department’s report, Fuller then became “upset” and started using profanities. Fuller was promptly arrested and charged with breach of peace. Fuller was released the next afternoon. There was no indication that she was under the influence during the incident.

Photo courtesy: Pexels/Pixabay

Saddleback Mega Church pastor Rick Warren was rushed to the hospital last month for emergency surgery. Warren shared a letter with his church detailing the emergency. He wrote, “By now you may have heard that I needed an emergency surgery early Thursday morning. At about 7 pm on Wednesday evening while at home by myself, I suddenly doubled over in an attack of excruciating abdominal pain.” 

Warren’s son Josh brought him to an Urgent Care facility when his body started to shake uncontrollably. The pastor was then rushed to the ER. 

The letter continued, “At the hospital, the staff got my CT scan which revealed that my intestine had perforated (torn) and was releasing infection into the abdominal area. So I quickly had emergency surgery and I am now recovering.”

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla

The popular morning news show Good Morning America welcomed an 11-year-old “drag kid” on their show this month where they called him a trailblazer and deemed him an inspiration. As Host Michael Strahan introduced Desmond Napoles, as “Desmond Is Amazing” the 11-year-old boy strutted down a runway toward the two hosts boasting a long blonde wig and a mod style yellow and white dress. The show’s decision to feature the 11-year-old caused quite a controversy for both conservative and LGBT advocates, many people noting the overt sexualization of a child. One person who saw the video commented, “Welcome to 2018 where we sexualize children. What a time to be alive.”

Another wrote, “He's just a little boy, call it whatever you like, you know he's being used as eye candy for incredibly sick and twisted people, God forgive us all for allowing this…”

Photo courtesy: Charisse Kenion/Unsplash

A Humanist group called for all people and organizations to cease the support of Samaritan’s Purse’s international Christmas ministry initiative, Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child works to give kids in developing countries gifts for Christmas. A UK Humanist group, however, thinks that the whole operation is simply a scheme to force “anti-Muslim proselytizing” and a Christian agenda on children. Samaritan’s Purse Canada responded to this criticism by noting that they have never hidden the fact that bibles were being sent in the boxes. They said, “We provide aid regardless of whether it results in opportunities to share our faith. And like the Good Samaritan, we bring hope and help to hurting people regardless of their religion or race.”

Photo courtesy: Operation Christmas Child Facebook

November rang in the Mid-Term elections which put the Democratic party in charge of Congress. Following the Mid-Terms, many House Democrats banded together in an effort to overturn the 1993 Supreme Court Decision to rule the Religious Freedom Restoration Act constitutional. The bill, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, works to protect employers’ religious liberty by rejecting the idea that employers must provide medical insurance that covers abortion-inducing contraception. House Democrats are moving to support the H.R. 3222 bill which would make it so that progressive causes such as LGBT rights and pro-abortion beliefs would trump religious freedoms and beliefs.

The Examiner wrote, “Pushing this are progressive groups which claim that religious beliefs are just a cover for discrimination, bigotry, and hate.”

Senator Ted Cruz noted that this H.R. 3222 was a blatant attack on the constitutional right to freedom of religion. If the H.R. 3222 bill passes into law it would overturn the Supreme Court’s decisions in two landmark faith-based court cases, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Joe Raedle/Staff

Pop sensation and dedicated Christian Selena Gomez took to Instagram to encourage her fans who are dealing with anxiety and depression to listen to Lauren Daigle’s music. Gomez, who was diagnosed with Lupus in 2013, was reported by TMZ to have an “alarmingly low white blood cell count in the wake of her kidney transplant” in early November. The singer was reportedly “despondent and emotional,” after getting these results, the outlet even reported that she ripped her IV out of her arm. 

Following this incident but before she checked herself into a rehab facility for her mental health, Gomez logged onto Instagram to answer fan questions and offer some advice on her Instagram story. Gomez said, “A lot of you asked about anxiety and depression... and I wanted to suggest a song that you can listen to. As some people know I like to listen to worship music and this song makes me feel like I'm talking about that feeling.”

“It's really hard to not get worked up or upset when you feel like you're constantly doing the right thing and you're showing up for people... but you're like why am I not feeling good," she continued.

“I'll stop talking and just suggest the song that I really love. Of course, it's by Lauren Daigle. Don't get annoyed that I keep talking about her but she's speaking my language.” Gomez then gives Daigle a shout out by encouraging her fans to listen to the chart-topping artist's song “This Girl.” 

Photo courtesy: Getty Image/Jesse Grant/Stringer

End Times prepper Jim Bakker said during a telecast that God told him that He put Donald Trump on Earth to give the church time to prepare for the rapture. Bakker questioned the audience saying, “Have you ever seen a time when we hate our president like the people do now?” He added, “Literally half the nation hates the president and would probably kill him if they got a chance.” He continued noting that God told him, “you are in Revelation, chapter 6” and the first of the four horsemen spoken of in Revelations, has begun to ride. 

Bakker said, “There is such a hatred for the gospel. This is the Antichrist spirit loose,” so, “God has given us a man who is not afraid to fight. We have a president people think is crazy. They call him crazy, but he’s making peace treaties, he’s doing all the things to try to solve the world’s problems and God has put him on earth—God spoke to me the other night, He said, ‘I put Donald Trump on earth to give you time, the church, to get ready.’”

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Pool

Chicago Pastor Antonio Rocquemore was under fire last month after he kicked a man dressed like a woman out of his Power House International Ministries church. Rocquemore called out the man during a Sunday night service and told him to leave and not come back until he put on men’s clothes. Rocquemore pointed at the man and firmly asked, "Can you leave my church and go put on man clothes?"

He continued, "And don't come here like that no more.”

"I hold a standard in here. Whatever you do on the outside is your business, but I will not let drag queens come in here. And if you're gonna come in here you're gonna come in here dressed like a man... If you're a man, dress like a man. If you're a woman, dress like a woman. I'm not going to allow it. My salvation is more important, and God is holding me accountable," he added. "... you will not be wearing weaves and heels and fooling people up in here."

According to Rocquemore, the man had previously been asked in private to dress according to his biological gender while at church.

After the sermon video was posted to social media, many people had harsh words for the pastor. 

One person commented on the video saying, “This is the kind of bullsh*t that causes people to go home and commit suicide.”

Another said, “In a place that is supposed to be a place of change, a place of deliverance, whatever you want to call it why would you destroy someone in front of a room full of people?”

Rocquemore also received support from other believers, however. 

One person wrote on Facebook, “The Pastor did nothing wrong, the man was given an appropriate chance to go home and change his clothes. He disregarded the words of God's servant. I am proud of this Pastor for sticking up to the WORD of GOD! NO DISCIPLINARY WORDS OR ACTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN TOWARDS THIS PASTOR.”

Photo courtesy: Pexels/Dean Shim

In late November, a Texas court barred a father from teaching his 6-year-old son that he is a boy. After the mother, who insists her young son is transgender, took the father of their son to court he was ordered not to dress his son, James, in boy clothes or share his religious or science-based views on gender with his son. 

According to the father, when James is at his dad’s house, he violently refuses to wear girl clothes and refuses to go by his female name Luna, which is what his mother, school teachers and classmates call him. 

Walt Heyer, an expert on gender change wrote in a blog post that it is possible that James is simply a confused child who is caught in society’s debate over gender. He added that it is also possible that James’ mother and therapist are pressing him to be something he is not.

Though many, including experts, believe that James was falsely diagnosed with gender dysphoria, others, the boy’s mother included, vehemently believe that the 6-year-old is transgender. The divorced parents are currently fighting for full custody over their children.

Photo courtesy: Unsplash/Michal Parzuchowski

At the end of October, chart-topping Christian singer Lauren Daigle appeared on The Ellen Show where she sang her song “Still Rolling Stones.” After appearing on the show Daigle received harsh backlash because the show’s host, Ellen DeGeneres, is openly gay. Daigle was called everything from a false prophetess to an enemy of God. 

Following the backlash, the singer did a radio interview with WAY-FM Radio where she encouraged her critics to think about God’s word. She said, “I think the second we start drawing lines around which people are able to be approached and which aren't, we've already completely missed the heart of God.”

She continued, "I don't have all the answers in life, but one thing I know is that I can't choose who I'm supposed to be kind to and who I'm not, because that's the mission right? Be who Christ was to everyone as well."

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Jason Kempin/Staff