The Power of Forgiveness. Ken Parker is a changed man. A year ago, he was one of the white nationalists at the racist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. Recently, he was baptized by a black pastor, William McKinnon III, who reached out to Parker in the months after Charlottesville. Parker was impressed with McKinnon’s genuine concern. The two formed a friendship, and Parker recently made a profession of faith and was baptized. Another man befriended him, too. Arno Michaels, a former neo-Nazi himself is now affiliated with The Forgiveness Project. He helps people like Ken Parker leave white nationalist groups. One of those services: Michaels connected Parker with a facility that uses lasers to help Parker remove his racist tattoos. NBC did a feature on their stories, and you can watch it here.

Pastor Appeals Again. Pastor Andrew Brunson is once again appealing to a Turkish court for release. His lawyer told Reuters today that he has asked to be released from house arrest, and to have travel restrictions on him lifted. Brunson was held for 21 months in a Turkish prison. He was transferred to house arrest last month. Turkish officials say Brunson helped supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric who masterminded a 2016 coup attempt against President Tayyip Erdogan. However, American officials say charges against Brunson are without merit and he should be released immediately. Turkish officials have used Brunson as a bargaining chip in an attempt to get Americans to make economic and other concessions.

Insufficiently Gay? Too much is never enough for the LGBTQIA+ movement. The upcoming Disney movie Jungle Cruise will have an openly gay character “who is hugely effete, very camp, and very funny,” according to the U.K. paper The Sun. (Think the character of Jack in the sit-com “Will & Grace.”) But this discouraging development is not enough for the homosexual activists. They are now insisting that the character be played by a gay man. Disney has been not-so-subtly pushing homosexuality its kid-friendly fare for a while. In 2017, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast featured a character, LeFou, who had “confused” feelings for leading man Gaston.

Delaware Bans “Conversion Therapy.” Delaware became the 14th state to ban any therapy that may help children struggling with same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria to embrace heterosexuality or their biological sex. According to WORLD, “The new law states that licensed professionals may only counsel children with sexual or gender confusion toward a homosexual identity or a gender transition. Any professional who goes beyond that or who refers a family for help out of the state can have their professional license revoked.” According to Nicole Theis, president of the Delaware Family Policy Council, “The law is “part of a larger agenda we are seeing across the country with bills attempting to give government officials the power to unconstitutionally censor the speech of licensed mental health professionals, usurp their professional judgment, and take away the right of parents to raise and care for their children, Regardless of one’s views about sexual orientation or gender identity, government should not have the power to limit therapy options, particularly basic talk therapy, for families.”

Milestones. The Battle of Otranto took place in southern Italy 1480. On Aug. 14, Ottoman troops behead 800 Christians for refusing to convert to Islam. The remains of these martyrs were gathered and are kept in a cathedral there….  William Hutchinson, an early American champion of religious liberty and a founder of Rhode Island, was born on this date in 1586. His descendants include George H.W. Bush, George Bush, Franklin Roosevelt, and Stephen Douglas.

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