A Christian family that was expelled from their home village in Mexico—because of their evangelical faith–continues to stand firm in their beliefs.

The family of Sebastian Hernandez, which total 11 people (including children and grandchildren), lost their home, a tiny farm and its produce in Chilil, Huixtan because they refused to renounce their evangelical Christian beliefs.

A Christian family that was expelled from their home village in Mexico—because of their evangelical faith--continues to stand firm in their beliefs.

Hernandez, in sharing his experience, told Voice of the Martyrs,Canada, “There was a meeting of the local authorities, and they had finally had us come in and talk to them. [They] told us that we had to renounce our faith if we were to stay there, and people who did not practice the majority religion were not welcome there. But we said no, we were following the word of God.”

Experiences like that of the Hernandez family have been growing in numbers, with 21 expelled from Chilil, another 45 from the village of San Gregorio and 31 from Los Llanos. There have also been incidents of attacks upon evangelicals in Zapatista zones in Ocosingo, Las Margaritas and the Chiapas Highlands.

In the case of the Hernandez family, they and other Christian families were asked by local leaders to renounce their evangelical faith or they would be expelled. Two families recanted and were allowed to stay in the community. Three families, including the Hernandezes, refused.

Julia Maria Hernandez, Sebastian’s wife, had been dragged bodily the distance of 15 meters into the meeting. Her 20-year-old daughter, also named Julia, tried to defend her. Mother and daughter were threatened and manhandled.

The elder Julia Maria Hernandez told VOM Canada, “The police were pushing and shoving me, grabbed my arm and pulled it around and shouted at me and told me to get my things and get out.”

Evangelical Christians face great persecution in these villages, which can include vandalizing buildings where they meet, disconnecting water supply to evangelical Christian homes, beatings and death.

Last year, Mexico’s Commission of Human Rights denounced the violence in Chiapas state and issued recommendations to local authorities urging them to coexist with evangelicals in peace, and to respect their human rights.

Although the recommendations are not mandatory, it did set a precedent for other areas within the country where similar situations may arise.

The younger Julia Hernandez, 20, a single parent to two young children aged three and one, told VOM Canada, “I was physically threatened by the political representative here. He said that if he saw my face in San Cristobal that I would be sorry. I felt very bad because we met all of the obligations that were asked of us. The community service, we paid the fees and we did nothing wrong. We are hoping for justice from the community, and from the state authorities.”

Still, Julia echoes the stance of the rest of the family. She told VOM Canada, “I am very firm in my faith and I know Jesus saved me. And that is what I will continue with. Our God is great and I’m peaceful in trusting him.”

U.S. Constitution, page 1

ACLU attorneys in Florida have been naughty. They’ve been endlessly pursuing the defendants in a Santa Rosa School District freedom of speech case without having any plaintiffs to represent.

This is a fact the courts should have been made aware of – because it would make the ACLU’s position moot and could have changed the outcome of the case.

But I’m still waiting for the ACLU to have their hand slapped.

The Santa Rosa School District had entered into a “Consent Decree” that demanded an end to the freedom of speech for Christian students and teachers. This resulted after the ACLU had approached the School District on behalf of two atheist students who alleged that Christian teachers were forcefully witnessing during class time and within class lessons. “Evidence” of this was subjective and sorely lacking.

The atheists further demanded that the Christian school personnel should not even be able to pray at off-campus, privately sponsored events. More information about the initial case can be seen in previous Underground articles here and here .

School personnel were forced to sign the Consent Decree to cease and desist any Christian free speech on school grounds, and the case could have ended there.

But soon, two school administrators found themselves facing a lawsuit for praying at an off-campus privately sponsored event. They were criminally charged for being “in violation” of the decree.

A school district employee who asked her husband to pray at an event, because she wasn’t allowed, was still included in the suit because – after all – he was her husband.

All were eventually cleared of those initial  charges.

However, as time went by, it turned out the unlawful ordinance was still being enforced – because it’s so worded that the ACLU and the School District are constantly trying to find charges against Christian teachers, other school personnel, students, volunteers and even outside associates for not following demands like these:

• The school board could dictate to local pastors how to seat their audiences for private religious services held at their houses of worship, if the events involve school faculty or students.
• Students could no longer say “God Bless” in any situation – they were told to say “Good Luck.”
• School personnel could not be seen praying, even to themselves – anywhere in public.
• Teachers could not answer parents’ e-mails if anything about God was in the parents’ text; nor could parents and teachers conduct God-led conversations.
• School volunteers could not answer any questions regarding religion.
• Christian groups weren’t allowed to rent school facilities for private religious functions if it involves benefiting the students in any way.
  

A snag in the case for the ACLU:
By this point in time, the ACLU had no clients! The atheist students had graduated, and therefore no longer had legal standing as plaintiffs the last time the case was in court. Without clients, by law, the ACLU should have been barred from continuing litigation. But the ACLU never informed court officials.

Thankfully, Liberty Counsel (legal firm for the defendants) found out about this and brought it to the attention of the District Court. In March, 2010 the Court began demanding an explanation from the ACLU about why they continued to pursue the enforcement of the Decree.

Furthermore, the defendants now have a case against the Santa Rosa School District for the illegalities in the Consent Decree and violations against the students’ and teachers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of religious expression.

Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel states on the law firm’s latest press release that the constitutional violations in the ACLU’s court order have been outrageous; that it directly conflicts with previous United States Supreme Court opinions, and that schools are not religious-free zones.

An injunction against the further persistence and enforcement of the Consent Decree has now been requested.

As these types of things happen more and more around the country, we as Christians can stand firm and pray. While peacefully exerting the avenues we have to petition the government with our grievances (another First Amendment right), we can know that God is with us.

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say” (Luke 12:11-12, NIV).

The multi-faith website Beliefnet was sold recently to a small media group that has a number of evangelicals on their board of directors.

Beliefnet was formerly owned by Rupert Murdoch who also owns Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, CT said.

On June 25 Murdoch sold Beliefnet to Affinity4, a media firm that sells services in wireless, long distance, high speed internet DSL, dial up internet, DirecTV and other services, their website said.

Affinity4 stands out because those who buy its products and services get to donate 10 percent of their fees to their favorite charity.

Its advisors include conservative radio host and lawyer Jay Sekulow and Pentecostal bishop T.D. Jakes, GetReligion said.

Beliefnet was known for featuring wide ranges of spirituality including yoga, monotheism and meditation among others. It was started by Steven Waldman and originally conceived to be a space for theological discourse.

One could learn to differentiate Baptists from Methodists or Sunnis from Shiites through Beliefnet, The New York Times said.

In 2002 it filed for bankruptcy but still continued to publish. Established columnists gave way to bloggers and editors came to better understand the web as a medium. They learned that internet marketing is different from marketing newspapers and magazines, The New York Times said.

For example, Beliefnet realized that it would best be marketed as a community rather than a magazine. The community wanted useful information such as cures for depression, tips on organic cleaning products, and spiritual diet advice, The New York Times said.

They also learned about the marketing value of newsletters and inbox mail. A largely successful ploy was Inspiration which combined an inspirational quote with a sponsor, eDiets.com from Florida. With every subscription to eDiets one could check a box to indicate they wanted a quotation daily to inspire them on their weight loss journey, The New York Times said.

Today Beliefnet has some 23 newsletters including Angel Wisdom, Saint of the Day, and Chicken Soup for the Soul (with a daily selection from the book series) The New York Times said.

Christianity Today said that editorial content will remain at the discretion of the site’s editors. However, Affinity4 will establish a multi-faith advisory board for the site.

Affinity4 is pleased with the direction Beliefnet has already taken, but they are interested in cross promotion of their products with the site’s content.

Beliefnet averages three million visitors monthly, according to Christianity Today.