The Case for Early Marriage

After years of studying the sexual behavior and family decision-making of young Americans, I've come to the conclusion that Christians have made much ado about sex but are becoming slow and lax about marriage—that more significant, enduring witness to Christ's sacrificial love for his bride. . . . While our sexual ideals have remained biblical and thus rooted in marriage, our ideas about marriage have changed significantly. For all the heated talk and contested referendums about defending marriage against attempts to legally redefine it, the church has already ceded plenty of intellectual ground in its marriage-mindedness. Christian practical ethics about marriage—not the ones expounded on in books, but the ones we actually exhibit—have become a nebulous hodgepodge of pragmatic norms and romantic imperatives, few of which resemble anything biblical. . . . Most young Americans no longer think of marriage as a formative institution, but rather as the institution they enter once they think they are fully formed. Christianity Today, Washington Post

Health care is on the brink

. . . of something monumental. Or maybe monstrous. Call or email your congressperson and Senators. Now. After August recess, it is too late. You need to do it now (and probably in September also, depending on how the debate goes). Key point: any healthcare legislation "MUST EXPLICITLY EXCLUDE ABORTION COVERAGE." If this is not explicitly stated, abortion is automatically included. That is the way legislation works. How to contact your elected US officials:

Contact my Senator http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm
Contact my Representative http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Or, try http://www.frc.org/contact-elected-officials

Baby with no face? Ultrasounds were wrong!

Abby's mom was offered a termination of her pregnancy as several ultrasounds showed she may be missing a face and her right heart ventrical. Her mom believed God would help her with the challenges of caring for a disabled child, and chose life for her. Abby definitely has a face (and hands, and good health)! What a beautiful baby! Sylvia Rhodea Life Art

White blood cells created in lab

Six different types of white blood cell that have been created in laboratory conditions by scientists could soon be used for the safety screening of new drugs in a bid to develop new treatments.Produced from embryonic stem cells, the white blood cells could be valuable tools for finding the genetic causes of blood cancers and other diseases. Pharmacy Europe

Late-term Abortionist: Man is "Malignant Eco-Tumor"

Dr. Warren Hern, one of the last abortionists willing to perform very late-term abortions in the United States, has written published works describing man as a "malignant eco-tumor" destroying the earth. Esquire magazine reports in a story entitled "the Last Abortion Doctor," that Hern, the director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic since 1975, argued in a work called Urban Malignancy: Similarity in the Fractal Dimensions of Urban Morphology and Malignant Neoplasms that growing human populations act like a "malignant ecotumor." Pressed by to explain why he would compare human beings with cancer tumors, Hern replied, "I do think that helping people control their fertility is highly consistent with helping people be responsible citizens of the planet." LifeSiteNews

Abstinence brochures available from CBH

CBH Ministries (Children's Bible Hour) offer abstinence brochures for young teens that are biblically based, as well as other helpful gospel tracts.

Many Americans don't believe in hell, but what about pastors?

Only 59% of Americans believe in hell, compared with 74% who believe in heaven, according to the recent surveys from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. At the recent annual Beeson Pastors School, Kurt Selles led two workshops to discuss "Whatever happened to hell?" He asked how many of the pastors had ever preached a sermon on hell. Nobody had, he said. The soft sell on hell reflects an increasingly market-conscious approach. "When you're trying to market Jesus, sometimes there's a tendency to mute traditional Christian symbols," Selles said. USA Today

A grief conserved

Perinatal hospice offers an alternative to the trauma of aborting a disabled child. World

Angels or savages - who would have children?

A new book is causing a storm of controversy by labelling children as annoying and pointless - a charge made all the more inflammatory by the fact that its author is a mother. Entitled No Kid: 40 Reasons Not To Have Children, Corinne Maier's book has sparked fury in France, where it was published. Here, Corinne argues her "no kid" case while another mum, Ursula Hirschkorn, stands firm for parenthood. Daily Mail

Disturbing Statistics on World's Youth

OneHope, a children-oriented Christian ministry, found through research that 91 percent of youths in Costa Rica say they do not believe they will go to heaven despite claiming to have accepted Jesus Christ. In Spain, 74 percent of the youth say they do not want to be a virgin when they marry. And in Russia, 42 percent of the youth report having tried to commit suicide. In Sub-Saharan Africa the Christian population is above 50 percent but many nationals continue to engage in idolatry while attending church. Included in the research findings are insights on the daily lives of youths and their cultural beliefs regarding their relationships with families; behaviors and morals influencing their relationships with the opposite sex; social influences and future goals; and worldviews, beliefs and religious affiliations. Christian Post

Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it

Next Sunday when you go to church look around — two-thirds of the young people there are already disengaged from the message. And it’s not just happening on the nominal fringe; it’s happening in the most solid “Bible-believing” churches. Why? Answers in Genesis

The New Testament and the Sanctity of Life

I want to suggest that the New Testament affirms the immeasurable value of human life in four primary ways: (1) its depiction of Jesus’ kingdom ministry, (2) the theological implications of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, (3) the impact of Jesus Christ on the human condition, especially in the lives of those who are his followers, and (4) its depiction of the expansive reach and inclusive ethos of early Christian communities. CBHD

The Old Testament and the Sanctity of Life

I keep my working definition of the sanctity of human life in front of me as a plumb line: "The sanctity of life is the conviction that all human beings, at any and every stage of life, in any and every state of consciousness or self-awareness, of any and every race, color, ethnicity, level of intelligence, religion, language, nationality, gender, character, behavior, physical ability/disability, potential, class, social status, etc., of any and every particular quality of relationship to the viewing subject, are to be perceived as sacred, as persons of equal and immeasurable worth and of inviolable dignity. Therefore they must be treated with the reverence and respect commensurate with this elevated moral status, beginning with a commitment to the preservation, protection, and flourishing of their lives." CBHD

The One Who Smiles A Lot

Twenty five years or so ago, as a family physician in a Christian mission practice in London, I used to help out at a monthly afternoon clinic with the now dated and politically incorrect name: “Handicapped Fellowship.” Patients with various physical and mental disabilities would be transported in by church members to receive health care, and would then enjoy a British afternoon tea, some entertainment, and a spiritual message. It was there that I met two sisters. CBHD

The Rights and Responsibilities of Pregnant Women

Is it ethically permissible for a woman to forego potentially life-saving treatment for her unborn child? CBHD

Medicine's Public Enemy Number One: Prevailing Attitudes towards Those with Down Syndrome

Utilization of ultrasound for dating and following a child’s progress during pregnancy was in its own “infancy” when I was a student. At that time, my experience also reflected the nascence of amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling. Recent forays into standards of care for obstetric practitioners forced me to confront a less than brave new world of contemporary practice--one that targets vulnerable humanity with technology. The covering of the womb, itself made by a Divine Weaver, no longer protects those with Down syndrome as it had prescriptively in Psalm 139. CBHD

An Overview to Reproductive Technologies

The inability to have a child is a true burden. Would-be parents often ask both God and themselves why their innate desire to have children continues to be unfulfilled. This kind of self examination reflects how deeply emotional and traumatic infertility can be. Sometimes a couple may even keep the situation secretive to avoid embarrassing themselves in front of family and/or friends. An Overview to Reproductive Technologies

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An Overview to Reproductive Technologies

An Overview to Reproductive Technologies

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Grandparents are funding their children’s IVF

Grandparents have been subsidising school fees and providing a free baby-sitting service for years. Now research shows that they are also footing the bill for the conception of their grandchildren. Times Online

Abortion and the echo of eugenics

What do Richard Nixon and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have in common? Not much linked the former president, who died in 1994, and the associate justice now in her 17th year on the Supreme Court. But each was in the news recently with a cringe-inducing comment about abortion. Those comments - one spoken privately long ago, one uttered publicly this month - are a reminder of the ease with which educated elites can decide that some people’s lives have no value.
Abortion and the echo of eugenics - The Boston Globe

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Those Aren’t Fighting Words, Dear

Never, in your wildest nightmares did you think you would hear these words from your husband one fine summer day: “I don’t love you anymore. I’m not sure I ever did. I’m moving out. The kids will understand. They’ll want me to be happy.” But wait. This isn’t the divorce story you think it is. Neither is it a begging-him-to-stay story. It’s a story about hearing your husband say “I don’t love you anymore” and deciding not to believe him. And what can happen as a result. NY Times

'It was all a bit scruffy, but it didn't seem to matter'

Then we went off to the famous flat in Zurich, which was an ordinary modern block. Some chap who worked for Dignitas introduced himself. They're continually asking the whole time if you want to go through with it, saying it's fine if you want to pull out, even right to the end, when they're mixing up the poison. But no, she was absolutely determined to do it. It wasn't soft lights and soft music, it was all a bit scruffy in a way, but it didn't seem to matter. I can't remember quite what we said to each other in those last minutes, something like, 'Good luck, have a good trip,' or, 'Thank you for the happy times we've had.' Guardian

Is the Soul Mate Mentality a Sham?

If you are looking for someone else to complete you, to fill your life, to be the source of your contentedness, then you will be searching in vain your whole life. And you are placing an unreasonable expectation upon everyone with whom you develop a serious, romantic attachment. Crosswalk

Ethics are ill-conceived

The main character of My Sister's Keeper was conceived by IVF and selected specifically as a genetic match for her dying sister. The ethical controversy arises from the reasons she was conceived, but the core of the story revolves around who has the right to choose whether or not the resulting person must donate - her or her parents. The savior child solicits a lawyer to try to achieve medical emancipation when her parents move past requiring tissue donation from her and decide a kidney should be taken. The mish-mash of emotional knots the family finds itself in are the complex consequences of conceiving a so-called savior baby. Courier Mail

Dying for a baby: the lethal risks of donating eggs

When Sarah Matthews heard Britain’s infertility industry watchdog suggesting last week that women be paid up to £3,000 a time to donate eggs, she could barely contain her anger. “I was left paralysed and lost four years from my life as a result of this treatment. I will never be the same again. I have been to hell and back because I wanted a child. I can’t believe they are suggesting young women take that sort of risk just for money.”
Matthews is one of many women who have been damaged — some fatally — by the drugs used to stimulate women’s ovaries to produce unnatural numbers of eggs.
Dying for a baby: the lethal risks of donating eggs - Times Online

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