Instagram Brands Christian Worship 'Harmful'
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.
My sense is that the multi pronged leftist/progressives/neo socialist/anti-Christ agendas continue exerting their influence upon politicians, media and tech companies, businesses, etc. and are gaining momentum. As a result of their growing bravado they bring under their self righteous scrutiny, all who will not bow their knee to their definitions, demands and decrees.
Thursday I was on a conference call in which Tony Perkins (president of the Family Research Council) shared what he thought Father was saying and doing during this time. At the end of his sharing the moderator, Joseph Mattera asked him 3 questions. The 1st question pertained to his reaction/response to the USA Supreme Courts' decision to change the definition of sex from gender (male/female) to any new designation. Tony Perkins' response was that it was a "kick in the gut"not just to him but which reverberated through the Body of Christ, especially the "religious right".
As Tony Perkins shared I was reminded that the majority of the nine (9) supreme court judges are Republican/conservative appointees and the last 2 justices (Gorsuch & Kavanaugh) are Trump appointees. Ronald Regan coined a phrase "trust & verify" which Republicans/conservatives applied in many scenarios including the appointment of USA supreme court judges. "Trust & verify" like many other things man says sounds good on the surface but is backwards according to Kingdom standards which say "verify and trust". Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. Matt 7:20
What Tony Perkins was in effect saying is that we (Christsons/Ekklesia) had been hoodwinked and led to believe that the majority of USA Supreme court judges who are Republican/conservative appointed could be trusted to bring forth judgements/rulings that would more closely reflect God's heart and kingdom standards. When push came to shove on Monday, June 15th many of the trusted but not verified Supreme court judges determined that as regards discrimination in the workplace the word "sex" has greater meaning than gender (male/female). The ruling first applies to L.G.B.T.Q. but it opens the doors for applications and rulings yet unimaginable.
After the call I shared with another brother who attended that what Tony Evans shared in regards to the Supreme court judges contains a much larger lesson than just the courts and judges and has far reaching implications. We/xtns have thought and lived as if we are exempt to what Jesus meant when He said He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters Luke 11:23. Christsons are going to have to make some hard calls as to who, what and why we/they support/aid and abet many things that have been trusted but not verified and at their root are really anti/instead of/opposed to Christ and His kingdom.
What Sean Feucht, Dennis Prager and many other xtns/conservatives have found out is that many media and tech companies, businesses, etc. are increasingly siding with and speaking for the multi pronged leftist/progressives/neo socialists/anti-christs who will stop at nothing to silence a VOICE of Truth/reason.
Matt 5:10-12 Blessed and happy and enviably fortunate and spiritually prosperous (in the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions) are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake (for being and doing right), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account. Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great (strong and intense), for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you
Now refer back to Martin Niemöller's quote and substitute when "Instagram, YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Amazon, BLM, Green New Deal, PETA, Covid-19, vaccines, etc., etc.) came for me I did not speak out. It is becoming increasingly clear that those who do speak out will be persecuted for righteousness' sake, reviled and will have evil things said about and against them as did Martin Niemöller, Sean Feucht, Dennis Prager, etc.
Saints we are are chosen, called, and commissioned by Christ to be His voice in the world. Let us not be silenced by fear of man's reprisal but let us stand with as corporate Christ and raise our voices loud and ROAR with/as the Lion of Judah.
Blessings in Christ
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Instagram Brands Christian Worship 'Harmful'Michael Brown
The headline to this article is not sensationalistic. It is not click bait. It is truth. Shocking truth. Yes, Instagram has designated videos of live worship on the streets to be in violation of community guidelines, calling the content "harmful." Let the outrage be felt and heard.
Sean Feucht is a worship leader and songwriter who recently ran for political office in California. He is also a conservative Christian.
On June 23 he tweeted, "This is what we've come to in America! Instagram is now classifying my WORSHIP videos as 'harmful or false information.' Religious Liberty? Freedom of Speech? Big
Included in the tweet was a screenshot from Instagram, explaining that the company had removed his video post because it was violation of Community Standards. (Oh, those dreaded community standards again!)
Specifically, Instagram stated, "Story removed for harmful or false information."
What on earth does this mean? What can it possibly mean?
Feucht's tweet got the attention of Missouri's Senator Josh Hawley who tweeted, "Cancel culture meets #BigTech. Now @instagram is censoring a Christian worship leader who wants to post videos of praise and worship from places where there has recently been unrest. And that doesn't meet 'community standards'? Can't wait to hear the explanation for this."
As of this writing (late Thursday night, Eastern Time, June 25), we are still awaiting explanation.
A few years ago, I repeatedly challenged Facebook for censoring some of my posts for alleged violation of community standards, exposing the rank hypocrisy of their decisions.
For example, my factual, fairly worded post dealing with LGBT issues would be deemed hateful, while the most blasphemous, unimaginably profane, anti-Christian Facebook pages were allowed to operate without restriction. Seriously?
Thankfully, in most cases, with the help of an internal contact, Facebook reinstated my posts (or, restored my status). But other colleagues of mine did not fare so well, having their pages permanently shut down for alleged violation of the dreaded (and oh so ambiguous) community standards.
It seems that "hate" meant one thing for one group and something entirely different for the other. (For a recent, video exposé, see here.)
When it comes to YouTube and Google, the battle continues, with large channels like Prager U still experiencing discrimination and unequal treatment. (Where are all the social justice warriors calling for equality? Somehow, they don't seem to be raising their voices for Prager U.)
In my own experience, after havingover 1,000 of my channel's videos branded unsuitable for advertising in a single stroke, YouTube has actually been fair with me, even surprising me at times by what it approves for monetization. At the same time, we know that the other shoe could drop at any moment and suddenly, we could be banned.
It is a big mistake to put our trust in Big Tech.
What happened with Instagram, though, seems even more bizarre and extreme. What on earth were the all-powerful censors thinking?
There are endless videos on Instagram showing disturbing clips from the recent protests and riots, all of them somehow in conformity with community standards. (Right now, over on Twitter, I'm watching a video of the "CHOP" call from Seattle, with specific reference to guillotines. I imagine similar videos can be found on Instagram.)
But when a video is posted showing Christian worship in the midst of these protests, it is removed for alleged "harmful or false information."
Since there is nothing "false" about the video, then it must be considered "harmful" —hence the headline to this article.
Is this actually what Instagram meant? Could they possibly be claiming that worshiping the Lord on the streets of our divided cities is harmful?
If so, I would encourage every worship leader and every worship team to hit the streets of their own communities, posting similar videos and sharing them as widely as possible, starting on Instagram. (Hey, it's a great thing to do anyway and just what America needs.)
If Instagram has made a mistake, I hope they own up to it and say, "We totally blew it! There is no excuse." Otherwise, this means war—as in spiritual war.
So, no hatred. No carnal aggression. No fleshly anger. And, of course, of course, of course, no violence.
But lots of prayer. Lots of worship. Lots of preaching. And lots of standing up and being heard. If not now, then when?
Ironically, as if to drill the point home, as I was writing this article, I spotted another tweet from Sen. Hawley from a few hours ago. He wrote, "Now @Twitter is actively censoring Bible verses? Seriously? Why?"
Hawley retweeted another tweet from Sean Feucht, stating, "Not only is big tech blocking worship videos, now they're blocking Bible verses about PEACE! RT if you believe socia media needs more peace, more worship, and less censorship of Jesus followers."
Feucht included a screenshot of tweets from Beni Johnson, then using the handle @prayfor5,which at present is not appearing on Twitter. Her tweets,posting Bible verses, were blocked, with the note, "This Tweet may include sensitive content."
So worship is deemed "harmful" and Scripture verses about peace are deemed "sensitive content." Really?
Let us, then, flood Big Tech with the Word and worship. And let us report and challenge every unjust infraction about the practicing of our faith.
It's beyond time.