California Can Be Redeemed; God Has a Calling on the State
Lifelong Californian Kathy Looper argues in her new book, “Redeem California” that her state has a calling to be a “Promised Land,” and that calling can still be restored.
Looper, who is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from central California, says the core issue affecting the Golden State right now is lost identity.
“I think it is both an individual thing and a corporate thing in how far perhaps we have strayed from our faith. And so the book came with such an urgency to get the message out, to remind people of who they are” as a child of God, Looper told The Western Journal.
The evidence of how far California has fallen can be seen in the radical left agenda that has been implemented in the state.
Californians just passed Proposition 1 last fall by an overwhelming majority, which proponents say “enshrined the fundamental right to an abortion” in the state’s constitution, while opponents argued “will allow late-term abortion at taxpayer expense without limitation for any reason at any time up to the moment of birth.”
California law had already provided that abortion was legal up to the time of viability of the child outside the womb, which is generally about 24 weeks into the pregnancy.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 107 into law last fall in order to help turn California into a “trans refuge state” for kids seeking “gender-affirming” medical care.
Additionally, “In 2019, the state of California began providing guidance to teachers on how to introduce transgender and LGBTQ+ topics to elementary school kids,” Looper wrote in “Redeem California.”
“Why Is All of This Happening? I can think of many reasons, but as a family counselor and a proud citizen of the state of California, the primary goal that the devil — Satan — has in all of this is to strip identity and purpose from men and women, boys and girls, and our state,” she contended.
“Satan does not want God’s people to live as His image bearers,” she continued. “He does not want families to live the way God designed. He does not want children to live healthy and productive lives,” Looper added.
“He wants to strip us of freedom and identity, and then control everything we do. And Satan really does not want California to live up to the dream God had for it when it was settled.”
California is to be a Promised Land of opportunity where people are free to pursue their God-given dreams, Looper contended.
Such is no longer the case.
“California is one of the most beautiful states of the union, and people are fleeing in mass exodus. I cannot blame them. It’s the cost of living, the taxes, the moral depravity, state lawmakers legislating away our freedoms, and most recently, the demand for Christ followers to stop worshiping in song and the forced closure of churches across the state,” Looper wrote.
KABC-TV reported in February that California’s population dropped by more than a half a million people over the last two years.
“It’s the flow of Californians to other states that’s so unusual. Throughout the 20th century, people from the Midwest and South — from all over America — flocked here for jobs, opportunities, sunshine and a better life,” columnist George Skelton wrote in the Los Angeles Times in March.
“Entering the 21st century, when California’s population was about 34 million, we were predicted to reach 45 million by 2020 and 59 million by 2040. So much for that. We hit a peak of 39.6 million in 2019 and have been losing population ever since,” he added.
Looper argues in “Redeem California” part of the solution in rescuing the state is changing the political makeup of its government.
I had the pleasure of presenting my book and Redeem California to the Southeastern Tulare County Women’s Republican Group! Tulare County is organizing, and all of our various cities to win back our state. Thank you so much for having me today!! pic.twitter.com/eCn5B6szAf
— RedeemCalifornia (@RedeemCali) April 12, 2023
“As I began to research, I identified where the real breakdown is in California — it is in the political makeup of the California State Legislature. The number of liberals who have been elected to office compared to the number of conservatives is the issue,” Looper wrote.
“Both chambers of the California legislature have been controlled by the Democratic Party since 1959 except from 1969 to 1971, when the Republican Party held both chambers, and from 1994 to 1996, when Republicans briefly held a majority in the Assembly,” she explained.
Currently, Democrats hold the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature with supermajorities.
In other words Christians and conservatives face a Goliath if they ever want to start moving the state in a more life-affirming direction, based on a biblical worldview.
Looper said that is where faith comes in.
“David had such righteous indignation about the lies and accusations. He was so simple in his faith,” she said.
“He didn’t stop to consider his opponent, and he didn’t stop to consider his own self in terms of his age and his inability. He didn’t compare himself against Goliath whatsoever,” Looper continued. “He just saw that ‘Who do you think you’re talking to, Goliath? You must clearly not know who my God is.'”
“And that’s what I was trying to convey in the book is like, it doesn’t matter what is happening in California. None of that stands against who God is. None of that stands against who we are as a church,” she said.
The church in California is actually quite substantial.
Sixty-three percent of the state’s adult population are either Protestant, Catholics and other Christian religions, according to the Pew Research Center.
Further, one-in-five adults in the state are evangelicals, Looper pointed out, which works out to over 6 million people.
There are in fact more megachurches in California than any other state, according to Lifeway Research.
When those churches rise and do “the righteous thing,” it can have a big impact.
Looper pointed to pastors like John MacArthur with Grace Community Church, Che Ahn with Harvest Rock Church and Jack Hibbs with Calvary Chapel as examples.
All resisted Newsom’s draconian COVID-19 shutdown policies and kept their churches open during the pandemic.
Ahn’s church successfully sued the state, taking his case all the way the U.S. Supreme Court.
“They did the right thing,’ Looper said. “They spoke out in truth and they they they stood on the word of God…kind of like Daniel did. And God came through for them against [a] monumental task.”
“Whether they were going to win or lose, they still stood up and had a voice and fought the battle. And God gave them the victory,” she added.
The right to religious liberty and freedom to worship were restored.
Ahn wrote in the forward to Looper’s “Redeem California” book that the state has a rich history of Christian revivals going back to the Azusa Street in the early 1900s, then Billy Graham’s crusade in the late 1940s, and on to the Jesus People movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which was portrayed in the “Jesus Revolution” movie released earlier this year.
“In this book, I believe Kathy Looper has caught the vision of what God wants to do in this great state — and the momentum has already started. If you will embark on this journey of faith, I am convinced that we are going to see historic revival and reformation sweep across California, and ultimately all of America. The best is yet to come!” he wrote.
Looper’s overall message is if you can restore the people; you can restore the state.
Jesus’ instruction to the church is “occupy till I come” again, she said.
If the large remnant that makes up the Christian community in California can be educated and activated in the right direction, the state can be redeemed.
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