World Lutheran News Digest from KFUO Radio

On May the 4th, President Trump signed an executive order designed to protect religious liberty. Reaction was immediate, with the ACLU announcing that it would allow bigotry and discrimination. But criticism is also coming in from conservative religious organizations. Although the president pledged to protect religious freedoms that have come under attack from secular forces, the executive order itself was vague. Guest Travis S. Weber, Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council, discuses what the order does and doesn’t do, and what it needs to do.

We like to think that slavery ended in this country in 1865. But human trafficking is a real problem affecting millions of people in the U.S. and abroad. Host Kip Allen speaks with the Rev. Bart Day, Executive Director of the LCMS Office of National Mission, about recognizing and combating this horror. Find resources on human trafficking at lcms.org/social-issues/human-trafficking.

Tax reform is a major issue this year, and the Trump administration and the Republican Congress have pledged tax reform. Many complain about the current tax system, and tax reform will be a complicated process. The more complicated the process, the bigger the unintended consequences, including possible major impacts on charitable giving. The Faith in Giving Coalition is keeping a close eye on tax reform proposals, and guest attorney Brain Walsh from the Faith in Giving Coalition is our guest today on WLND.

Foster care and adoption services exist for the benefit of children. States often partner with private foster care and adoption agencies to help place children with loving families. Many of these private agencies are faith-based. But this system has come under fire, especially since the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision legalizing gay marriage. Secular and LGBT interests have passed legislation in some areas stating that all private foster care and adoption agencies must be willing to place children with same-sex couples. Religious agencies that adhere to the Biblical teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman are faced with the choice of abandoning their beliefs or losing state contracts to place children. Fortunately, some states are taking a stand for religious freedom by passing legislation protecting such faith-based agencies. Guest Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies with the Family Research Council. Learn more about FRC’s work at frc.org.

There’s been a chaplaincy in the military since the early days of the revolution. Chaplains provide spiritual and material comfort for young Americans going in to harms way to protect the country. Many chaplains have put themselves at risk and even paid the ultimate price for their faith. Even in peace time, a chaplain’s task can be trying and even dangerous. The military’s role has always been to protect our freedoms. But what happens when some of those freedoms are denied to the very people who wear the uniform? What happens when the military’s role is changed not just to protect the nation, but to serve as a tool for social engineering? LCMS Director of the Ministry to the Armed Forces Rev. Craig Mueller talks about these topics on today’s WLND.

Whether its a hurricane in Haiti or a tornado in Perryville, Missouri, a typhoon in the Philippines or a tsunami in Indonesia, Lutherans respond with mercy. The LCMS Disaster Response Team helps provide material assistance as well as spiritual help to victims of disasters. The Disaster Teams work with local congregations and missionaries who know the area and help coordinate relief efforts. Helping those in need is one way we witness God’s mercy. We love because Christ loved us first. The Rev. Michael Meyer, Manager of Disaster Response for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, talks about how the LCMS responds to disasters around the globe. Learn more about Disaster Response at lcms.org/disaster.

Sweet Cakes by Melissa finally got their day in court. The Oregon bakery was owned by Aaron and Melissa Klein, a devout Christian couple. Their problems began about four years ago, when a woman asked the Kleins to create a special wedding cake for her daughter, who was planning to marry her lesbian partner. The Kleins declined, saying that as Christians, they could not prepare a special cake celebrating gay marriage. The lesbian couple then filed a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Administrative hearings were held, and they went against the Kleins. They were forced to pay a $135,000 fine that resulted in them closing their shop. They were also given a gag order, preventing them from discussing certain aspects of the case, including their religious opposition to gay marriage. But the Kleins refused to stop fighting even though they lost their business. With the help of the First Liberty Institute, the largest legal organization in the country dedicated exclusively to protecting religious freedom, they were able to move their case away from an administrative organization and into the court system. Their case was finally heard before a judicial body, the Oregon Court of Appeals, earlier this month. Guest Jeremy Dys, senior attorney with the First Liberty Institute, discusses this case.

In times of crisis pregnancy, what about the child’s life? Imagine an 18-year-old woman with an unwanted pregnancy, and she decides to end it. But what of the life she’s ending? What might that child become? Guest Kim Glassman can answer that question. Her birth mother chose life for her and put her up for adoption with a caring family. Hear her story on today’s WLND.

Warfare and unrest is creating a flood of refugees. The United Nations estimates there are more than 21 million refugees worldwide. Resettling them is a controversial topic. President Trump, citing problems in Europe and concerns about terrorism, wants a 120-day delay in accepting refugees into the United Sates until the vetting process is examined. Lutherans have long been involved in helping refugees. In 1939, the National Lutheran Council set up a department to help Lutheran refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. In 1954, the LCMS worked with what would become the Lutheran Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Guest Linda Hartke, President and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, says there is a lot of misinformation concerning refugees, including the exactly the exact definition of what is a refugee, the vetting of refugees as opposed to immigrants, and where they are from. She addresses those topics on today's WLN. Learn more about their work at lirs.org.

Hundreds of thousands of people from around the country joined in the 44th Annual March for Life in Washington D.C. to voice their opposition to abortion on demand. In the past, mainstream media has given the March scant coverage. Was it different this year? Media Research Center writer Katie Yoder talks about how this year's March fared in the media.