Clergy content casting Mary as the “main character” of the Christmas story, infers she possessed the power to abort Jesus. This recast provides a revealing case study of a broader theological and jurisprudential shift. Drawing on constitutional theory, natural law, Christian theology, and historical precedent, the Article argues that such framing reflects the ascendancy of a secular progressive humanist worldview grounded in radical personal autonomy rather than unalienable r

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with chi

In December 2025, the White House released its National Security Strategy (NSS) , a document that does more than outline foreign-policy priorities—it signals a fundamental rethinking of the purpose of American power. Departing from decades of globalist assumptions, the Strategy rejects the notion that the United States exists to manage the world’s problems and instead reasserts a more traditional understanding of national security as the protection of a sovereign republic, it

There is a real problem with the media in our country. A staggeringly low 28% of people say that they trust the news media. How did we move away from serving the people that we are reporting for? This number is at an all-time low, down from a high of 72% in 1976 and more recently 45% in 2018. With the polarized state of our country, the number is likely to decline. But how have we, as the news, come so far from where we began? There are numerous issues that I have with the me

In this powerful episode of the Faith & Freedom Podcast, Hon. William Wagner (ret.) hosts an honest and deeply biblical conversation on one of the greatest injustices of our time: sex slavery. He is joined by Faith & Freedom Fellows Murphy McCool and Roman Kortman, as well as the WFFC Chief Operating Officer Salvatore Biondo. Drawing from David Platt’s Counter Culture, the team explores what sex trafficking really is, why it persists, how Scripture speaks to this crisis, and

By the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.) Executive summary Nigeria stands at a crossroads between social collapse and constitutional renewal. The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), in its statement “Peace in Nigeria: Moving from Fragility to Stability,” offers an urgent, morally lucid, and legally grounded diagnosis of Nigeria’s spiraling insecurity and repression. The instant Issue Brief amplifies this warning and calls the international community to attend to it. This

By Hon. William Wagner (Ret.) “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1 Each Thanksgiving, we American citizens do something quietly radical: we pause a nation that never stops moving, and we give thanks—publicly, communally, and often in language that acknowledges God. That custom is older than stuffed turkey and older than the football. It is woven into the culture and the deeply rooted cultural history and

By Hon. William Wagner (Ret) WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom, Spring Arbor University Executive Summary Violent attacks and hate crimes against Christians in Europe rose sharply in 2024, according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) —data first brought to international attention through reporting by The Christian Post. While the total number of incidents decreased slightly from the previous year, the severity

By the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.) WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom, Spring Arbor University Abstract This Issue Brief contends that Federal involvement in education rests on unstable constitutional ground and that renewed efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (ED) highlight, rather than resolve, deep structural questions about federalism, ordered liberty, and religious freedom. Drawing on constitutional text, original meaning, historical practice,

The Michigan Department of Education’s most recent revision of the Health Education Standards represents not merely administrative fine-tuning, but a wholesale ideological shift in the purpose and scope of health instruction in Michigan schools. The Board voted to approve the updated health-education/sex-education standards on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The magnitude and nature of these changes raise profound constitutional concerns—particularly regarding parental rights, l

Dr. Rubina Feroze Bhatti, a renowned Pakistani human-rights and peace activist, is this month’s featured speaker at the Christian International Professors Forum, hosted jointly by the Instituto dos Juristas Cristãos do Brasil and the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University. Known for her decades of work advancing communal harmony, gender equality, and the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan, Dr. Bhatti brings a deeply practical and hard-won perspective

November 1, 2025 Washington, D.C. / Abuja The United States Department of State announced that Nigeria has been designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC)  under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, citing what it called “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”  President Donald Trump, in a social-media post on October 31, asserted that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being kil

October 31, 2025 In this compelling episode, Hon. William Wagner (Ret) exposes the ongoing humanitarian and religious freedom crisis facing Christians in Nigeria. Over the past six years, more than a million Christian families have been displaced  and an estimated 29,000 believers have been killed  amid violent attacks amidst government inaction. Wagner examines why the U.S. State Department’s “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC)  designation matters—and how reapplying it to

The Hon. William Wagner, Distinguished Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University, participated in the 2025 Education Freedom Legal Network (EFLN) Annual Summit held October 23, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. The EFLN—an initiative that convenes attorneys, scholars, and policy advocates focused on protecting and advancing the freedom to educate—brought together leaders from across the country for a day of high-level strategy and collaboration.  Advan

For many years, people have been saying that Christianity is on the decline in America. Church attendance is dropping and data supporting evidence that people are identifying as “non religious” when asked about their faith. However, something different seems to be happening. According to the Barna Group, there has been “a 12-percentage-point increase since 2021, when commitment levels reached their lowest in more than three decades of Barna tracking.” This means that more peo

Lansing, MI — October 20, 2025 This past Sunday, the Honorable William Wagner , Distinguished Chair for Faith and Freedom at the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center , addressed the congregation of South Church in Lansing  with a message centered on courage, conviction, and compassion . Speaking to a packed room, Wagner challenged Christians to live out biblical truth boldly—yet with the humility and respect that reflect Christ’s character. Courage Rooted in Truth Drawing from Scri

Marshal Michigan, October 19, 2025 This past weekend, men from across Michigan gathered at the Historic Withee Farm  for the Annual Bonfire Event , a tradition that blends fellowship, faith, and the renewal of purpose. Set against the crisp autumn backdrop of rural Michigan, the two-day gathering offered both reflection and challenge for those committed to living out their faith in public and private life. Fellowship Around the Fire The event opened Friday evening with the li

Lansing, MI — October 11, 2025 This past weekend, the Freedom Embassy in Lansing hosted Go Local: School Board Training , a daylong event equipping current and aspiring school board members to lead their districts with truth, courage, and a firm grounding in constitutional governance. The training was sponsored by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy , the Leadership Institute , and SLG. The program offered practical, faith-informed instruction on issues central to good gove

As violence and persecution against Christians and other believers intensify across the globe, America’s moral clarity and courage are being tested once again. In Nigeria, religious freedom is under siege. Villages are burned, pastors kidnapped, families massacred, all while the Nigerian government looks away. It is time, indeed, it is past time, for the United States to act. The President must immediately redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern under the Inter

In a free and just society, the liberty of conscience, to believe, worship, and live out one’s faith, stands as a pillar of human dignity. Its suppression is among the gravest violations of human rights, for it denies the individual’s inherent worth and moral agency before the Creator. Today, that fundamental freedom faces renewed assault in the People’s Republic of China. The Case of Pastor Jin Mingri The world’s attention is once again drawn to China’s ongoing persecution o