Beauty from Ashes: Faith & Justice Fall/Winter 2017

FAITH NOVEMBER 2017

JUSTICE Vo l u m e X , I s s u e I I I

Beauty FOR ASHES Even ISIS couldn't destroy these survivors' faith

Jeff Sessions on Why Now is the Time to Defend Religious Freedom PAG E 7

10 Highlights Your Support Made Possible This Year PAG E 5

How to Protect Your Church from Government Intrusion PAG E 1 9

Mollie Hemingway: Bring it On PAG E 2 1

Alliance Defending Freedom

CONTENTS COVER STORY 9

Beauty for Ashes

Even ISIS couldn’t destroy these survivors’ faith

COLUMNS 2 Minutes with Michael

The Beauty Of Perspective

3 News & Quick Takes

Case Updates from Around the World 5 Special Feature

Here’s What Your Support Has Made Possible This Year

Letters to the Editor

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y husband and I modestly support Alliance Defending Freedom and receive your publications ... The latest issue of Faith & Justice, dated August 2017, was of great interest. We appreciated all the articles, but especially “Refuse to be Intimidated” by Ben Shapiro. May God bless your part of the ministry for the U.S. — Mr. and Mrs. King —

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am delighted with all Alliance Defending Freedom is doing.

I read the magazine thoroughly each issue. The article about the fire chief this month was especially heart wrenching. Moreover, these Christians inspire us to be bolder in standing up for God’s truth no matter what the cost. Your organization coming alongside them must give them much strength and hope to endure. I am grateful to have His blessings to give your group some support.

Your organization is doing a superb job in these hard times, rest assured!

— Patrice C . —

I

read your Q & A article in Faith & Justice with Ben Shapiro. I thought it was great! The quality of the publication and the subsequent interview really blew me away. I am a big fan of Ben Shapiro and I was so excited to see you reach out to him for this interview, especially when it comes to being intimidated and speaking your beliefs. Thanks again for the good work, and I look forward to reading the next edition.

— Ben K. —

7 Opinion

Jeff Sessions on the Department of Justice’s Role in Upholding Freedom of Religion 17 Alliance Profile

How Saying Yes to “One Thing” Led Nicolle Martin to a Landmark Case at the Supreme Court

Facebook.com/AllianceDefendingFreedom Twitter - @ AllianceDefends

November 2017 Vol. X, Issue 3

Instagram.com/AllianceDefendingFreedom

Editor Emily Conley

YouTube.com/AllianceDefends Questions or comments on this issue?

Email Editor@ADFlegal.org.

15100 N. 90th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

19 My View

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800-835-5233

Chris Potts

Art Director/Photography Bruce Ellefson Jonathan Marshall

Contributors

Facing Goliath: How I Led My Church to Stand Against the State

Esteban Carrasco Emily Conley Michael Farris Chris Potts Jeff Sessions Charles Snow

21 Q&A

Journalist Mollie Hemingway on the Mainstream Media, Feminism, and the Source of Her Hope

Senior Writer

Referral to websites not produced by Alliance Defending Freedom is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement.

Minutes With Michael

The Beauty Of Perspective

By Michael P. Farris

I

t was a difficult meeting, dealing with the ongoing reverberations of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s decision last summer to brand Alliance Defending Freedom a “hate group.”

It’s not an unusual charge, coming from the SPLC—a group that uses the hate label to tar anyone they disagree with. Nor has it gone unrefuted: more than 40 organizations have spoken out in recent months against the SPLC’s slander-for-profit agenda.

Unfortunately, in these tumultuous times, such accusations don’t just persuade our opponents… some friends of our ministry have distanced themselves from us, too. Some—but not all.

I left that meeting frankly discouraged at how much harm one lie can do; a glance at my phone showed a slew of missed calls and voice messages… that probably wasn’t good news, either.

Wrong. It was very good news—amazing news— an extraordinary answer to prayer. A gracious friend of ADF had just given us one of the most generous gifts in the history of the ministry. I nearly fell to the floor with delight and gratitude. God’s timing is always so remarkably right.

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ratitude is catching; one look at the bright side, and you can’t stop thinking how much there is to be grateful for. In that moment, I realized what a great first year this has been for me at ADF. So many

crucial court victories: the Supreme Court decision in Trinity Lutheran; a tremendous win for Amy Lawson in Wisconsin, affirming her right to run her business in keeping with her faith; a huge victory at the European Court of Human Rights, ensuring the right of churches to operate without government interference. That decision alone could affect more than 800 million people.

But not only does ADF impact people’s lives… people’s lives affect us. A while back, my mom was in the hospital. She happens to live in the same small Washington town as our client, Barronelle Stutzman.

Somehow, Barronelle learned of her illness and went to see her, bringing flowers, prayers, and a great deal of comfort. She didn’t have to do that. And if ADF were the kind of organization SPLC thinks it is… she wouldn’t have.

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his fall, our attorneys will argue the Masterpiece Cakeshop case at the High Court, a landmark religious freedom case for U.S. history. Thinking of the enormity of that, I’m reminded of what Joshua asked the Lord’s angel (Joshua 5:13-15), on the eve of the battle for Jericho: “Is God on our side?”

"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come."

He’s got our back. And the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ.

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News & Quick Takes Case Updates from Around the World

Wisconsin The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has agreed to drop its unconstitutional policies that deny credit to students who fulfill its community service requirement by volunteering in faith-based activities. Last year, the university denied student Alexandra Liebl service-learning credit for the hours she volunteered at her local Catholic church. “Community service— whether it’s religious or not—is still community service,” says ADF Legal Counsel Travis Barham.

Hawaii A new state law forces pro-life pregnancy care centers to essentially provide free advertising for the abortion industry. ADF is representing the pro-life organizations in a lawsuit against the state. “For years, the abortion lobby has preyed on women and girls to generate profits,” says ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot.

“Now pro-abortion politicians are trying to restrict women’s options by requiring pregnancy care center employees, under threat of severe fines, to refer women to the abortion industry.”

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Michigan A judge ordered the City of East Lansing to allow Country Mill Farms to return to the city-run farmer’s market while his case against the city goes forward. City officials had ousted Steve Tennes’ family farm after they read a post on his Facebook page that expressed his religious beliefs on marriage. ADF attorneys, joined by John Bursch, the attorney who argued the marriage cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, requested this order from the judge and will continue to seek to change the city’s unconstitutional policy.

Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania A federal court’s detrimental decision allows a Pennsylvania school district to continue violating the bodily privacy rights of students while their lawsuit, Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, proceeds. ADF and the Pennsylvania Family Institute are challenging the district’s gender identity policy on behalf of four high school students and their families.

The school opened the locker rooms and restrooms to the opposite sex without notifying students or parents.

On December 5, ADF will argue at U.S. Supreme Court that the government cannot coerce an artist

ADF Senior Counsel Kristen Waggoner will argue the case of Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cake Shop before the U.S. Supreme Court on December 5, asking the Court to rule that the government cannot coerce an artist to communicate a message or participate in an event in which he fundamentally disagrees. Twenty states, 86 members of Congress, 479 creative professionals, and a variety of legal experts, advocates, and religious groups signed or filed briefs with the Supreme Court in a massive show of support for Jack’s freedom.

Get the latest on Jack’s case: ADFlegal.org/Jack-Phillips The Supreme Court will consider hearing the case of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA). ADF is defending this pro-life organization from laws that would force their pregnancy centers to advertise for abortions.

Colorado A federal judge ruled that Lorie Smith, a Christian graphic and web designer, can’t challenge a law that forces her to use her artistic talents to promote same-sex weddings. Lorie received a request from a couple with the first names “Stewart” and “Mike,” but the judge claims it isn’t sufficient to prove that a same-sex couple has asked her to help them celebrate their wedding. ADF attorneys, representing Lorie Smith and her studio, 303 Creative, are appealing this decision.

Strasbourg, France

New Delhi, India

London, England ADF International celebrated the opening of a new office in London, which was followed by a symposium for highprofile journalists, influencers, and government leaders to familiarize them and equip them to write and speak about religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the importance of the family.

The highest chamber of the European Court of Human Rights affirmed the freedom of churches to govern their own affairs as a basic right, deserving protection in all of the Council of Europe’s 47 member states. The case began in 2009, when a man who was removed from his pastoral post following church disciplinary proceedings complained to the state courts.

“The government has no place interfering in the relationship between a church and its leaders,” said ADF International Executive Director Paul Coleman. “ADF International intervened in this case to highlight that time-honored principle.”

Last summer, a woman who was both a U.S. citizen and an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) was deported to the U.S. by officials claiming that she had been “blacklisted” for missionary activity in India. As an architect, she was working for a Christian agency providing consultancy services. Following her deportation, she had to quit her job in New Delhi. She was also separated from her family, including her ailing mother. ADF India lawyers immediately got involved and filed a case before the Delhi High Court, arguing that the deportation was illegal and our client must be allowed back into the country.

On September 11, 2017, the High Court ruled that the government’s actions were unconstitutional. The Court ordered her to be removed from the “blacklist,” her OCI card must be returned, and the government must compensate her for any losses incurred.

This case will significantly assist Christian charity workers entering India.

Budapest, Hungary ADF International Executive Director Paul Coleman participated in the International Consultation on Christian Persecution, an event sponsored by the Hungarian government, with government officials, religious community leaders, and non-governmental organizations to discuss opportunities to increase collaboration to end religious persecution.

“ADF International is honored to be part of this important initiative,” said Paul Coleman.

“Our team works tirelessly to advocate for the rights of persecuted religious communities.

We are pleased to be part of the vital evidence gathering process.”

New Delhi, India After three months in prison, seven pastors who were arrested while accompanying children to a Christian summer camp were released on bail. ADF International is defending the Christian ministers, who are falsely charged with kidnapping, violence against the children, and forceful conversion.

The children were also initially detained for three days and rigorously questioned before being returned to their parents. The parents all testified in court that they wanted their children to attend the Christian camp, but the court still refused to release the pastors for three months.

Americans do not give up their freedom of religion by participating in the marketplace, partaking of the public square, or interacting with government … free exercise of religion includes the right to act or abstain from action in accordance with one’s religious beliefs.

‘‘

Guidance on religious freedom issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on October 6th 4

Special Feature

10 Highlights Your Support Has Made Possible This Year

By Emily Conley

The entire ADF and ADF International Team want to thank you for your faithful prayers and support as we seek to defend and protect the right of people to freely live out their faith. Your support has made possible:

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Telling College Students About Alternatives to Abortion

When college student Norvilia Etienne tried to register a Student's For Life club on campus at Queens College in New York, the school rejected her application, even though the college had multiple pro-abortion clubs. After ADF filed a lawsuit on her behalf, the college quickly caved. Today, the pro-life club is able to reserve meeting space on campus and invite speakers. They are continuing to fight for their right to receive equal access to funding. Thousands of students are now hearing the life-giving message of alternatives to abortion.

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Defending a floral artist at the U.S. Supreme Court

After the Washington State Supreme Court ruled against floral artist Barronelle Stutzman, ADF attorneys appealed Barronelle’s case to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to preserve the First Amendment rights of all Americans. Pray for Barronelle and the Supreme Court, that justice will be served and that her freedom, and the freedom of other creative professionals, will be protected and affirmed.

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Protecting 25,000 Students’ Free Speech

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A Victory for Trinity Lutheran Church at the U.S. Supreme Court

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the government cannot exclude churches and faith-based organizations from a secular government program simply because of their religious identity.

ADF represented the church, which was excluded from a Missouri program that provides grants to purchase rubberized surface material (made of recycled tires) for children’s playgrounds. Although the state ranked the center as highly qualified for the program due to its preschool and daycare, it denied the center’s application solely because a religious organization runs the daycare.

This decision set an important precedent that the government should never treat people of faith like second-class citizens.

Student group Turning Point USA (TPUSA) was told by school officials at Grand Valley State University that they could not talk to other students about the First Amendment or have them write messages on a large beach ball dubbed a “free speech ball” outside of one of the school’s two “speech zones.” The college students were threatened with arrest if they did not comply. A few weeks later, one of the students saw a large crowd of students protesting the presidential election results outside of the Student Services Center and noticed that school officials did not order them to stop, or require them to stay in the “speech zone.” After ADF got involved, Grand Valley agreed to revise its policy to respect the free speech of all students.

Your tax-deductible gift today enables ADF to defend people of faith, like those you’ve read about in this issue. On behalf 5

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1.3 Million People Watched Religious Freedom Video.

More than 1.3 million people watched a video shot by the ADF media team. The video captured a series of oncamera conversations that ADF Social Media Manager Louie Christensen had with college students and faculty about freedom of conscience. The students and faculty agreed that fashion designers and Muslim singers should be free to abide by their beliefs in what art they create and events in which they participate. But Christian photographers?

Perhaps not. Watch: ADFlegal.org/FJ-Madison

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Win at the Kentucky Court of Appeals for Christian Printer

Blaine Adamson, the owner of Hands on Originals, won at the appellate court level; the court’s ruling affirms his freedom to decline orders that would require him to promote a message in conflict with his religious beliefs. Although the opposing party has since appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court, this is an encouraging sign for religious freedom.

Defunding Planned Parenthood in Arkansas

On August 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a 2-1 opinion that permits Arkansas to terminate Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid contract after videos surfaced of senior staff negotiating the sale of baby body parts. Because of this decision, Planned Parenthood’s ability to use federal courts in opposing other states’ defunding efforts is reduced, and the state will have more authority to determine which providers it chooses to participate in its state Medicaid program. For years, ADF has devoted resources to researching, reporting on, and litigating against Planned Parenthood’s waste, abuse, and potential fraud using taxpayer dollars and its violations of other state and federal laws. These efforts have provided our allies with a wealth of information in support of defunding efforts.

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Training 160 Law Students

This summer, ADF concluded the eighteenth session of the Blackstone Legal Fellowship. With the conclusion of this session —the largest Blackstone class to date—1,962 students total have graduated from this transformative program that is making an impact on legal systems around the world.

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Launching the Church Alliance

Churches in America face legal challenges that were unimaginable even a few years ago.

From clarifying the details of the law to providing litigation support in the most critical cases of the day, ADF wants to serve your church. The three-fold mission of the new membership program called the Church Alliance is “Engage, Empower, and Protect.” For more information on how your church can join Visit ADFChurchAlliance.org, or call 1-833-ADF-ALLY.

Defending Midwife’s Right to Not Perform Abortions

ADF International supported Swedish midwife Ellinor Grimmark in her case before the European Court of Human Rights. This spring, the Swedish Appeals Court ruled that the government can compel medical professionals like Ellinor to perform abortions or force them out of their profession.

A win at this level could impact the 47 member countries governed by the ECHR.

of our courageous brothers and sisters, thank you for giving generously! Donate today: ADFlegal.org/FJ-Donate 6

Opinion

We Will Defend Religious Freedom Resolutely

By The Honorable Jeff Sessions

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered an address at Alliance Defending Freedom's Summit on Religious Liberty event in July.

The following is from his address, originally published in its entirety at TheFederalist.com.

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ur concepts of religious freedom came to us through the development of the Western heritage of faith and reason. In America, Madison and Jefferson advanced those concepts. Their victory was to declare religious freedom to be a matter of conscience inherent in each individual, not as a matter of toleration granted from the top. I propose that in America our understanding of religious freedom can only be understood within that heritage.

Our Founders wisely recognized that religion is not an accident of history or a passing circumstance. It is at the core of the human experience, and as close to a universal phenomenon as any. Each one of us considers with awe the stars in the sky and the moral code within our hearts. Even today, in a rapidly changing world, a majority of the American people tell Gallup that religion is “very important” in their lives.

With this insight into human nature, the Founders took care to reserve a permanent space for freedom of religion in America. That space is the very first line of the Bill of Rights.

And not just that line. Twelve of the 13 colonies authored state constitutions that protected the free exercise of religion. Six of the original 13 states had established churches, but almost every state made accommodations for religious minorities like Quakers or Mennonites. They did not insist that all follow the same doctrines. Every state constitution at the time of our Founding—and now—mentions God. Our first president, George Washington, called for a national day of prayer. And he wrote to a Jewish congregation in Rhode Island that in America, “all possess alike liberty of conscience.”

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In his farewell address, President Washington famously called religion the “indispensable support of political prosperity [and a] great pillar of human happiness.” He warned, “Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion…Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

And Thomas Jefferson did not mention on his tombstone that he had served as president. He named three accomplishments: that he had founded the University of Virginia, authored the Declaration of Independence, and authored the statute of religious freedom in Virginia.

This national commitment to religious freedom has continued throughout our history, and it has remained just as important to our prosperity and unity ever since. When Alexis de Tocqueville visited this country, he noted “in France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country.”

And of course it was faith that inspired Martin Luther King Jr. to march and strive to make this country stronger yet. His was a religious movement. The faith that truth would overcome. He said that we “must not seek to solve the problem” of segregation merely for political reasons, but “in the final analysis, we must get rid of segregation because it is sinful.” It undermined the promise, as he described it, that “each individual has certain basic rights that are neither derived from nor conferred by the state…they are gifts from the hands of the Almighty God.”

A lot of people are concerned about what this changing cultural climate means for the future of religious liberty in this country. The challenges our nation faces today concerning our historic First Amendment right to the “free exercise” of our faith have become acute. I believe that this recent election was significantly impacted by this concern and that this motivated many voters. President Trump made a promise that was heard. In substance, he said he respected people of faith and he promised to protect them in the free exercise of their faith. This promise was well received.

How, then, should we deal with this matter?

America has never thought itself U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to be a theocracy. Our Founders, at least the most articulate of them, believed our government existed as a protector of religious rights of Americans that were essential to being a created human being.

The government did not exist to promote religious doctrine nor to take sides in religious disputes that had, as they well knew, caused wars and death in Europe. Nor was it the government’s role to immanentize the eschaton, as Bill Buckley reminded us. The government’s role was to provide the great secular structure that would protect the rights of all citizens to fulfill their duty to relate to God as their conscience dictated and to guarantee the The Honorable Jeff Sessions citizen’s right to exercise that faith.

The government would not take sides, and would not get between God and man. Religious rights So our freedom as citizens has always been inextriwere natural rights, not subject to government infringecably linked with our religious freedom as a people. It ment, as the Virginia Assembly once eloquently declared. has protected both the freedom to worship and the Any review of our nation’s policies must understand freedom not to believe as well. this powerful constraint on our government and recogTo an amazing degree, the value of religion is totally nize its soundness. Yet this understanding in no way can missed by many today. Our inside-the-beltway crowd has be held to contend that government should be hostile to no idea how much good is being done in this country people of faith and is obligated to deprive public life of every day by our faith communities. These communities all religious expression. teach right behavior, they give purpose to life, and they In all of this litigation and debate, this Department support order, lawfulness, and personal discipline while of Justice will never allow this secular government of comforting the sick, supporting families, and giving support ours to demand that sincere religious beliefs be to those in need. They are there at birth and death. abandoned. We will not require American citizens to give But the cultural climate has become less hospitable to intellectual assent to doctrines that are contrary to their people of faith and to religious belief. And in recent years, religious beliefs. And they must be allowed to exercise many Americans have felt that their freedom to practice those beliefs as the First Amendment guarantees. their faith has been under attack. This feeling is underWe will defend freedom of conscience resolutely. standable. Just last year, a Harvard Law professor publicly That is inalienable. That is our heritage. urged judges to “take aggressively liberal positions…The

We will not require American citizens to give intellectual assent to doctrines that are contrary to their religious beliefs. And they must be allowed to exercise those beliefs as the First Amendment guarantees.

‘‘

culture wars are over. They lost; we won…Taking a hard line is better than trying to accommodate the losers.”

Read in its entirety at TheFederalist.com. Search "Jeff Sessions Speech."

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Beauty 9

FOR ASHES Even ISIS couldn't destroy these survivors' faith

By Chris Potts and Emily Conley, Photography by Anton Fric

The summer of 2014 marked the beginning of a dark time for Christians in Iraq.

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hat June, the Islamic State (ISIS) launched a major military offensive against the northern part of the country. Their jihad swept across the region so rapidly that state security forces were quickly overwhelmed.

The government, paralyzed, offered little help to minorities—including Christians—who stood in the path of the oncoming violence.

In August, as ISIS forces converged on the towns with the largest Christian populations — Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella, and Karamlesh — they issued an ultimatum to those living there: convert to Islam, or die.

Most chose, instead, to flee.

Tens of thousands fled, their numbers swamping Erbil and other places that were completely unprepared for the massive influx of refugees. Those who tried to stay to save their homes or help friends and loved ones paid a terrible price. Many were slaughtered; others were raped or tortured before being shot, burned, or buried alive.

According to estimates, the Christian population had shrunk from 1.4 million to under 250,000 in Iraq.

ISIS destroyed everything in its path, including churches, monasteries, monuments, and history that had been preserved since first century after Christ. The surviving Christians reeled from the losses. Families were torn apart; most were astonished at how quickly friends and neighbors they had known for many years turned on them rather than suffer the wrath of the terrorists.

Meanwhile, the governments of the world looked on with horror, debating, unable to agree on what measures to take or even whether to call the wholesale destruction of Christians, Yezidis, and other religious minorities “genocide” — a term rife with political implications too many nations were hesitant to embrace or even to investigate.

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ow, three years later, ISIS has been driven back from the territory it conquered during that bloody, tumultuous summer.

Some of the Christians have come home and begun to rebuild, but they remain wary of the extremist ideology that is still widespread, and doubtful of what the world can or will do to help if they are attacked again.

And many thousands of the refugees remain in limbo, trying to live some kind of normal life in strange lands or refugee camps, working at whatever job they can find, struggling to cope — and help their children cope — with the lingering physical and psychological wounds of their experience.

This photo essay is a snapshot into this traumatic period of these survivors’ lives.

Some names have been changed for security reasons.

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The Cost of Faith “When the Islamic State gave them three options: convert to Islam, pay the tribute, or ‘the sword will speak,’ our people didn’t do those three options,” says Father Raf, a priest from Qaraqosh who escaped. “They said, ‘We will leave our money, and our homes, and all we own, because we will keep our faith.’ And I am happy for that. Because my people, they have great faith.”

But survival has been difficult.

TOP LEFT: Jandark and her fourteenyear-old son Ismaeel were captured

by ISIS. ISIS beat and tortured her repeatedly, and they routinely gave Ismaeel 25 lashings with whips made of wires. After two years, they escaped when the Iraqi army came to liberate the city; they now live in a Christian refugee camp.

BOTTOM LEFT: Nadia and her three daughters escaped ISIS, but her husband was captured. Three years later, she has not had any news of him. She cleans the bathrooms in the camp to support her daughters and pay for medicine for the youngest (bottom center) who suffers health issues as a result of an ISIS soldier hitting her head on a table when searching her diaper for money.

TOP RIGHT: Badria and Zefania could not flee when ISIS came. The two women were imprisoned, stripped and robbed, routinely beaten, and kept under house arrest for over two years, where they nearly starved to death before they were liberated by Christian fighters. Zefania’s husband was tortured and imprisoned for those two years, and passed away before they could be reunited.

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An Unshakable Foundation ISIS’s objective wasn’t limited to exterminating Christians—they sought to destroy all historical evidence of what is considered one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.

ISIS didn’t stop at beheading statues and chiseling the names of God, saints, and biblical figures from the fourthcentury walls of the Santa Barbara Monastery in Bartella—they filled the rooms with over eight feet of dirt.

In Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Qaraqosh and other churches in the area, ISIS scrawled messages of hate on the walls (left) and set fire to the ancient sanctuaries.

But the Iraqis’ faith is not easily extinguished.

TOP RIGHT: When Father Naadir fled Qaraqosh, all he packed were ancient Christian manuscripts. When the roads were blocked, strangers rallied to help carry the volumes, fleeing on foot as bullets rained around them.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Father Bajes returned alone and immediately set up the altar, to make it, once again, “a place of prayer.”

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LOWER LEFT: Efforts are underway in Bartella to excavate the monastery and preserve as many historical artifacts as can be found.

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Making the Case for Action In fall of 2016 when ADF International visited (top left), Shlomo, a nonprofit organization, had documented over 65,000 testimonies from the Christians and other religious minorities targeted by ISIS, and evidence, like the prices for Yazidi and Christian women and girls (left).

But more meaningful action is needed at the international level.

“I think the Christian community, the European and American people, they can do something for us so that we can stay here,” says Father Raf (bottom left). “But I ask them, ‘Why, until now, didn’t you do anything?’”

Numbers are giving up hope of returning to their homes and are trying to emigrate — a difficult process that can take up to three years. Those who remain are dependent on relief organizations (top right) and trying to hold onto hope.

“It’s not just about food, and a place to stay,” says Father Alman, a priest in Erbil (right) “These refugees need certification papers for travel, money to buy provisions, a job. And they need a sense of security – the assurance that the United Nations and the governments of the world will protect us if ISIS comes again.”

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10 Ways You Can Pray for Your Brothers and Sisters in Iraq 1. Pray that families will be reunited 2. Pray that they would sense God’s presence and experience His comfort 3. Pray that they would know that we are praying for them and have not forgotten them 4. Pray for healing of physical and psychological wounds, and 5. Pray for their financial and physical needs to be met 6. Pray for doors to open to for them to share the Gospel 7. Pray for peace in their communities and that the rule of law would be established so they can rebuild their lives in safety 8. Pray for world leaders to fully recognize the persecution of Christians and hold their attackers accountable 9. Pray that world leaders would respond to refugees with wisdom and compassion 10. Pray that the refugees’ faith would be strengthened in the midst of their suffering

Donate today to help defend the freedom to live according to our faith: ADFlegal.org/FJ-Donate 16

Alliance Profile

Nicolle Martin

How Saying Yes to “One Thing” Led to a Landmark Religious Freedom Case

By Charles Snow

Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, has faced a lawsuit, public scrutiny, and lost business for politely declining to design a custom wedding cake that celebrates a same-sex marriage. But just across Highway 285 from Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, is ADF Allied Attorney Nicolle Martin’s office. From there, God called Nicolle to play a pivotal role in Jack’s case, an important case at the U.S. Supreme Court that presents a historic opportunity to protect freedom for generations.

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egulatory compliance, corporate contracts, insurance defense, and First Amendment litigation ­­— thus reads the specialties on attorney Nicolle Martin’s LinkedIn profile. One of these things is not like the others.

Nicolle, a married mother of three, has been practicing law since 1997, after graduating from Oklahoma City University School of Law. A longtime listener of Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, she happened to be listening in one day in the spring of 2011 when ADF Founder Alan Sears was a guest on the show. “When I heard Mr. Sears talk about [ADF], I knew I had to get involved … In that moment, God’s purpose for me became clear … I knew I wanted to do something that mattered to me, to my children, and to God,” Nicolle says.

Nicolle decided to attend an Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Academy in 2012. The Legal Academy brings together Christian attorneys from around the world and equips them to advocate for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family. That year, ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco encouraged the attorneys attending to do “one thing” to advance or protect religious freedom and free speech. This “one thing” could be something as simple as helping a church set up its bylaws, or writing a letter to a school on behalf of a student whose rights had been violated.

Nicolle left the event encouraged, and resolved to find the “one thing” that she could do to advance religious freedom in the Denver area.

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ADF Allied Attorney Nicolle Martin with cake artist Jack Phillips

In that moment, God’s purpose for me became clear. I knew I wanted to do something that mattered to me, to my children, and to God.

‘‘

Nicolle Martin, ADF Allied Attorney

Within days of returning from Academy, Nicolle read news headlines about a Christian cake designer who had declined to create a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding because of his faith. “The coverage suggested that Jack denied service to homosexuals across the board, when, in fact, he denied a specific event. The coverage was overwhelmingly one-sided and negative,” Nicolle says.

She decided to make reaching out to Jack her “one thing.” She sent Jack an email, but quickly realized that he was most likely being inundated with negative calls and emails, so she decided to pay a visit. “I just wanted him to know he wasn’t alone,” she says.

When she arrived, Jack was “quietly steadfast.”

Unbeknownst to Nicolle, Jack had already been in touch with ADF, and when she let Jack know that she was an ADF Allied Attorney, the dots all began to connect. After they discussed his situation, Nicolle told Jack to call her if he received an official complaint. Once a complaint was filed, he called Nicolle and ADF. Thinking back on that conversation, Nicolle recalls, “I told him I was sorry that this was happening to him.”

Initially, Nicolle did not foresee Jack’s case going far.

When she looked at the facts of the case, she assumed that the controversy would die and that common sense would prevail. Now, she says, “I see my assumption was wrong.”

For Nicolle, it was important that Jack’s true character wasn’t lost in the media frenzy surrounding the case.

“Jack taught me what it means to be a faithful and obedient servant,” she says. “I have learned what it means to truly love your neighbor.”

The freedom to live out our faith is being challenged.

Donate today to support Jack Phillips’s crucial case at the U.S. Supreme Court: ADFlegal.org/FJ-Jack

Nicolle says that it is routine practice in any case for the attorneys and clients to call those on the other side the “opposing party.” “Jack has always, from the beginning, referred to [Charlie and David] by their first names. And I don’t think that’s an accident.” He knows, she says, they are people simply “trying to make their way in this broken world.”

“I wish that [having] opposing views wasn’t [labeled] ‘bigotry,’” Nicolle states. While she fears the harm that losing Jack’s case could cause to conscience rights, she is equally concerned with what could happen to Jack personally. With a high school education, creating and designing one-of-a-kind cakes is his only trade, and he’s put it all on the line. After being forced to give up designing wedding cakes, he lost approximately 40 percent of his business and most of his employees. If Jack loses at the Supreme Court, Nicolle worries that the public interest that has kept him in business so far might move on.

Yet, she remains confident in the Supreme Court.

“It’s not just Christians who are at risk,” Nicolle says, “Everyone should be concerned when the government attacks people for ‘wrongthink,’ as they have Jack.”

When Jack’s case is argued at the Supreme Court, Nicolle will be there. So will ADF Senior Counsel Kristen Waggoner, who will be arguing the case.

When the dust settles, what began as “just doing one thing” will end with a Supreme Court case that has the potential to secure broad religious freedom for generations — a remarkable outcome for someone’s first foray into defending religious liberty.

“I’ve grown in my faith,” Nicolle says of the experience. “[Jack] has shown indefatigable resolve in standing firm in his convictions and his desire to serve Jesus Christ, without bitterness or resentment toward the complainants. I am humbled by his example of love and forgiveness.”

Are you an attorney? We equip attorneys worldwide with the resources, training, and support they need to stand boldly for religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family in an increasingly hostile legal culture. Apply today to become an Allied Attorney: ADFlegal.org/FJ-Attorney 18

Pastor Esteban Carrasco pushed back against a law that threatened his church's women's center.

My View

Facing Goliath:

How I Led My Church To Stand Against The State

By Pastor Esteban Carrasco

I

’ve always been drawn to the underdog. The Davidand-Goliath stories. Tales of those who get in the ring, even when everybody counted them out.

Every day in ministry, I meet people who are counted out. I pastor a church in Southbridge, a small community of 18,000 in central Massachusetts, and a melting pot of many nationalities. Our town experiences the challenges of poverty. Many parents work more than 40 hours a week, multiple shifts. We have our share of drug issues and crime.

I grew up in one of those low-income families—an underdog, just trying to survive. When I was 13, a pastor took me under his wing. He knew I’d already made some mistakes, but he looked beyond my sins and spoke life to me. Now I’m trying to do for others what he did for me.

As a young minister in a small community, I’m still an underdog. But I’m an underdog with a passion to serve and love on people and tell them that there is hope, and a way forward. And to offer them, through our church, a safe place to heal and grow.

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Facing Our Goliath

I

n 2016, that ministry was challenged by a towering Goliath: a new state law passed that threatened to end our church’s service to the community.

Our church had just bought property for the M. Pauline Outreach Center—named for my wife’s grandmother, a survivor of domestic violence. There’s a lot of that violence in our area, and few city resources to help. Our church wanted to start a shelter for battered women and children.

About that same time, Massachusetts passed a new gender identity law that said all places open to the public would have to open restrooms to individuals who choose to identify with the opposite sex. Although the law didn’t specifically mention churches, state officials interpreted the law to include so-called secular gatherings on church property, including “spaghetti suppers.”

That opens up all kinds of problems for a churchrun domestic violence shelter, where women come to be

safe. As victims of abuse, these women already have trouble trusting men — and now they would know that a man could walk in on them in the restroom at any moment. A shelter that can’t ensure the safety of those inside it isn’t going to draw many wounded souls.

Our church saw that our government was trying to control how we operate — a clear violation of our constitutional protections. Challenging state agencies was a scary proposition, but we had to stand up if we were going to be able to keep ministering effectively to our community. So, with three other churches, and represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, we chose to sue the state.

Churches across the country need help to protect their freedom to share the Gospel and minister to their communities in the face of government overreach. Donate today to protect churches: ADFlegal.org/ FJ-Church or call 800-835-5233.

Staying in the Ring

I

knew that would set us up for attack from the media and LGBT activist groups. I wrestled with that, because I didn’t want it to affect my church, my family, my wife, and my children. I didn’t want people to look at me differently, like someone who was out to pick a fight.

On the other hand, I wanted to know I’d done everything I could to pass the mantle of religious freedom on to the next generation. I want them to be free to preach the gospel, to live out their faith, to be the Church in their community, their work, their schools—wherever they are. There was more at stake for them than what I had to lose.

By God’s grace, the officials who were trying to force this public accommodations law on our houses of worship decided to back down. They now say they’re going to interpret the law to recognize religious freedom for churches.

I can’t say enough about Alliance Defending Freedom. They understood what we were facing, and they wanted us to be able to follow our passion and serve our community. They prayed, watched over us, protected us. And they’re still watching — protecting our freedom so that the church can be the people God has called us to be.

The Underdog’s Reward

E

very Friday during the lawsuit, my nine-year-old son would ask, “Dad, have we won?” He was concerned. He loves to talk about his faith, and invite his friends to our church and to everything we do. One Friday, I was finally able to tell him, “Son, we won.”

“Yes!” he said. “Awesome!”

Seeing his excitement—his faith rewarded—I knew we did the right thing. When we stay in the ring, we win. And I knew, in a way I never had before, that “if God is for us, who can be against us?”

I wanted to know I’d done everything I could to pass the mantle of religious freedom on to the next generation.

‘‘

Introducing:

The Church Alliance Your church can freely minister to your community with an extra layer of protection from government overreach by joining the Alliance Defending Freedom Church Alliance. In October 2017, ADF launched the Church Alliance, a membership-based program that engages, empowers, and protects churches around the country. From the details of the law to the most critical cases of the day, we are serving churches of all sizes and denominations with focused and practical legal help.

Member churches receive: • Expert legal review of church bylaws and policies that relate to protecting the church’s religious liberty • Direct access to attorneys to answer your questions about protecting the church’s religious liberty • Consultation for legal issues involving the church’s religious liberty (prior to litigation) • Legal representation in cases involving the church's religious liberty • Specialized resources such as webinars and newsletters tailored to protecting the religious liberty of the Church

Join TODAY at ADFChurchAlliance.org.

Pastor Esteban Carrasco 20

Q&A

Mollie Hemingway

Mainstream Media, Feminism, and the Source of Her Hope

By Emily Conley

Mollie Ziegler Hemingway is a senior editor at The Federalist and a contributor at Fox News.

Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, CNN, National Review, GetReligion, Ricochet, Christianity Today, and many other publications.

F&J: From studying economics at the University of Colorado, what led you to become a journalist in D.C.?

MH: Well, mostly, it was that I got fired from a job [laughter]. I didn't think I could afford to be a journalist. But then I found myself out of work, and all of a sudden, I thought, "OK, I'm gonna go for it." I got a job as a receptionist at a newspaper, and after that first job, I went to a publication that covered the federal government, and it had a lot of trouble finding people who could come up with story ideas on the waste, fraud, and mismanagement beat. And I had no trouble coming up with ideas for stories on waste, fraud, and mismanagement. I noticed that my natural instinct on stories is just in a different direction than the vast majority of other reporters. I like working with numbers, and I like doing research and just thoroughly understanding an issue before writing on it.

F&J: And, I'm guessing that federal government and waste and spending was probably something of an interest for you, as a libertarian.

MH: Yes, in a couple of different ways. I am interested in limited government, but also I've found myself well outside of the typical binary conversation where you have people on the Left saying this and people on the Right saying that. And libertarians bring a different perspective to these things. And so just being able to listen to what people have to say, or being able to introduce competing arguments or push back with either sides’ line of argument—that definitely helps as a reporter. And just being open to brand-new ideas.

F&J: One of the ways that you've introduced another perspective has been on religious freedom stories. Why is it that the media have such a hard time covering those?

21

MH: It's so weird because, at the end of every year, the top ten big stories will have religion angles. Whether its wars with Muslim countries or anything happening at the Supreme Court, or just cultural issues, there always is a strong religious component to it. I think partly people don't cover it because it's difficult. It takes years of study to understand a given religion very well. And so, reporters aren't well trained in these things; you just kind of get nervous and you back off. And that makes the stories less good than they could be.

I think also studies have shown that people in the media tend to be far less religious than Americans outside of the media industry. And it's just sad, because when you think about most Americans in their day-to-day lives, religion plays a huge role. Even if they're not going to church weekly, they're organizing their lives around their religious values. And so to not have that even be mentioned is something that impoverishes our national conversations, I believe.

F&J: You've been described as a “lightning rod” in debates on religious liberty and feminism, in particular.

Do you think that's a fair descriptor?

MH: So, I think the big issue with feminism, at least, is that most female voices in the media all inhabit this same narrow space that leaves out the vast majority of women in the country. At The Federalist, I try to publish many women who represent that massive number of women that are basically invisible in our media, frequently women who are stay-at-home moms. Maybe they're even homeschooling moms. They are experts on a given topic. They're just some of our best writers. And they provide this unique and fresh perspective that's different from all these older feminist ladies that dominate

Find Mollie at TheFederalist.com Twitter: @MZHemingway

F&J: When you think about your kids and the world that they're going to grow up in, what keeps you up at night?

MH: Frankly, nothing. You think of the worst-case scenario that we all die, my family and I are going to Heaven, so I'm not worried, and I don't see any benefit in worrying. Having said that, I'm raising my kids very similarly to how I was raised, and it's certainly more dramatic now than it was when I was raised … I just hope they find good spouses, and all that. Your normal parental worries, probably. the media landscape. And so when you introduce these voices, people get upset because they want to present an image of women as a bunch of monolithic liberals. And that's not actually accurate.

But feminism sort of has built into it a system where people are conditioned to be disappointed, because your sex, contrary to what you may have heard, is something that is not changeable, and it is a gift from God. And whether you are given the gift of being male or given the gift of being female, that does influence how your life will be, and it's in good ways. Ideally, we would have a system set up to honor and respect these distinctions.

Frequently, for feminism, it's just a constant battle. It's a battle against your biology. And that's just destined to make you disappointed, I think.

I know with confidence that nothing will prevail against the Church … Even if we are put through horrible persecution, then we still have this glorious end. So, bring it on.

‘‘

Mollie Hemingway

F&J: What values or ideals are most important to you to pass on to your daughters?

MH: The only thing I care about for them is that they have their faith. And that's what I pray for, that God would strengthen their faith and preserve it. When we are confirmed in our faith, we say something like, “that we may suffer all up to and including death, rather than fall away.” And so I hope that they have the confidence, and I pray that for myself too, that when things get tough, if they get tough, that they'll be able to withstand pressure to recant.

F&J: What gives you hope for the future?

MH: Well, a lot of things. The classical education movement is clearly just en fuego, on fire. That probably gives me more hope than almost anything else going on … I think this is the best work we've done as a people in a really long time. But mostly, my hope is in Jesus. When you think about the history of the Christian Church, there have been so many bad times, when the world was at our doorstep, murdering us and otherwise, and the Church prevails. So, I know with confidence that nothing will prevail against the Church. And, again, what's the worst that could happen? Jesus already died, saved us from our sins, we get to join Him in glory. Even if we are put through horrible persecution, which is promised us in Scripture, then we still have this glorious end. So, bring it on, you know?

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“As an artist,

I invest myself into every project I create.

But the government is telling me what to create.”

—Jack Phillips

Because of his religious beliefs, Jack Phillips may be forced to close the doors of his family business. Because of “tolerance,” we may be at risk of closing the doors on what it means to be a truly free society.

Help Alliance Defending Freedom protect his freedom of conscience ... and yours.

ADFlegal.org

A l e g a l a l l i a n c e o f m o re t h a n 3 , 0 0 0 a t to r n ey s d e d i c a t e d to p ro t e c t i n g yo u r f re e d o m’s f u t u re .