Monday, January 26, 2009

Abortion and the Emerging Evangelical Conscience

Tell me that you simply do not believe that abortion kills human beings. I shall disagree with you, but I will understand why you find it reasonable to allow the abortion issue to be eclipsed by other concerns. Tell me that you do not believe in the imago dei or the notion of human dignity. I’ll understand, but wonder what grounds you wish to offer me for any moral concern — such as AIDS or poverty — whatever. Tell me that political affiliation is inconsequential for the abortion issue. I’ll assess the claim, but might suggest that you underestimate the importance of such things as Supreme Court appointments and veto power. But please do not tell me that, even though we have thus far killed fifty million bearers of the imago dei in this nation since Roe v. Wade, this fact must be “juxtaposed” against other important issues. For then I shall fear that you are at risk of losing touch with all that is sacred. The Citizen

Friday, January 23, 2009

Why the Christian Worldview Matters

Increasingly, arguments for "assisted suicide" and euthanasia are moving from claims of a supposed "right" to die to an obligation to die. . . . These arguments reveal the great divide that separates the modern secular mind and the Christian worldview. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more unbridgeable gulf than that which stands between the belief that human beings, made in the image of God, possess both an inherent right to natural life and an obligation to care for others and, on the other hand, the view that some lives are simply not worth living or keeping alive. Crosswalk

History of Euthanasia & Physician-Assisted Suicide

Historical timeline from 1st century B.C. to 2006.

Organizations' Positions on Fetal Research

Do you know where the various advocacy organizations (American Cancer Society, Avon, March of Dimes, Easter Seals, Habitat for Humanity, and so on) stand on important issues such as abortion and human embryo research? Many of them spend time and dollars lobbying Washington for support of positions that you oppose. Save this helpful link for the next time someone requests your donation. American Life League

Americans United for Life Publishes State Rankings

Americans United for Life today released its sixth annual ranking of the most and least pro-life states. Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and South Dakota top the ranking, while California, Hawaii, and Vermont ranked lowest. The complete state rankingsare available and will be featured in the soon-to-be-released Defending Life 2009. Find the current legal status of abortion for your state, including whether or not parental notification, informed consent, etc. are required. Americans United for Life

Comparing Abortion Statistics

I’ve recently updated the chart on our web site that compares statistics from the Guttmacher Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (It hadn’t been done since 1997!) I’ve included totals, through 2005 (the latest year for which there are statistics). Baptists for Life

Why I Hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday!

I hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday because I'm reminded that as I'm preaching there are babies warmly nestled in wombs who won't be there tomorrow. I'm reminded that there are children, maybe even blocks from my pulpit, who'll be slapped, punched, and burned with cigarettes before nightfall. I'm reminded that there are elderly men and women languishing away in loneliness, their lives pronounced to be a waste. Life News

Serious about Your Faith? You’re More Likely to Oppose Abortion

“Individuals exhibiting high levels of religious commitment are much more likely to oppose legalized abortion in all or most cases than those who are less-observant” concludes a recent report by the Pew Research Center. Sixty-one percent of weekly churchgoers, compared with only 31 percent of the general population opposed abortion. Fifty-four percent of those who said they have an “absolutely certain belief in a personal God,” said they believed abortion should be illegal. Pew Forum

Father's Support Key in Abortion Decision

Women whose first child had medical problems or who had difficulty raising a child did not have a higher abortion rate, the researchers found. Women who feel the first child's father has not assumed enough parental responsibility and/or lacks the ability to contribute to their efforts to raise the child, are reluctant to bear another child. Women who had an abortion were more likely to report subsequently being slapped or kicked by the child's father, suggesting that stress after abortion was leading to an increase in domestic violence. Life Site News

Keep on Keeping on

Yes, we are living in desperate days, times where we face tremendous obstacles in fulfilling our mission. However, these are not days filled with problems as much as they are times where opportunities abound to serve our Lord and the people He sends through our doors. By Tom Lothamer, BFL's executive director At the Center magazine

Love sick

It is heartbreaking just how insidious and how prevalent 'love sickness' is among Christian women and men—both single and married. Thankfully, God offers perfect love and freedom through His Son, but learning to transfer our heart's longing to the one true source of contentment is challenging and takes time. At the Center magazine

Reaching the Post-Modern, Abortion-Minded Client

A new wave of abortion-minded clients is appearing at pregnancy care centers across the country. These girls have been taught to reject any form of universal morality. These girls grew up believing that having an abortion is as easy as taking a pill. Therefore, pregnancy care centers will have to dramatically change their methods in order to reach these post-modern young women. At the Center magazine

The Heart

As counselors in pregnancy care centers, we need to remember this basic foundational and biblical truth: God's power of influencing and changing a client's heart is crucial. When we erroneously counsel all our clients in the same manner, utilizing psychological methods, and focus on unbiblical feelings and experiences, we are not helping them. We are to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5) and "to have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). --By Dianne Pomon, director of Genesis PCC, Pottstown, PA. At the Center magazine

Prayer for President Obama

. . . Father, we pray that you will change this president's heart and mind on issues of urgent concern. Bend his heart to see the dignity and sanctity of every single human life, from the moment of conception until natural death. Father, lead him to see abortion, not as a matter of misconstrued rights, but as a murderous violation of the right to life. May he come to see every aborted life as a violation of human dignity and every abortion as an abhorrent blight upon this nation's moral witness. May he pledge himself to protect every human life at every stage of development. He has declared himself as an energetic defender of abortion rights, and we fear that his election will lead directly to the deaths of countless unborn human beings. Protect us from this unspeakable evil, we pray. Most urgently, we pray that you will bring the reign of abortion to an end, even as you are the defender of the defenseless. . . . Albert Mohler, Jr.

'Life' movement evolves

Christians have taken up a fight for global good, targeting human trafficking and the sex trade industry that tortures souls around the world. Consider this a new face of the “pro-life” movement. USA Today