St. John the Evangelist - Ancient Faith, Modern Relevance

I have a dear brother in the Lord has remarked several times about how ungracious Christians can be - and often are - toward each other. He has also opined that it is necessary for Christians to assume the best about each other.

While preparing for a Bible study recently, I decided to tackle the matter of health care reform. This was prompted by a convergence of two things:

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During Super Bowl 44 (or XLIV, if you prefer), commercials are shown which are highlighted as some of the most creative of the year. My favorite is still the series of "Wassaaap" commercials back in the late 90s.

This year had some notable examples. The Audi commercial with the "Green Police" was sort of funny - did anyone catch the drug-sniffing anteater? The Denny's "Chicken In Space" spot was kind of funny. The...

Tim Tebow is the quarterback of the Florida Gators.  He led his team to two national championships and is expected to play professionally for the NFL.  He is also the committed Christian son of Christian parents.

When Tim's mother, Pam Tebow, was pregnant with Tim in 1987, she contracted ameobic dysentary while on a misssionary trip in the Philippines.  Mrs. Tebow's physician advised his patient to terminate her pregnancy...

In almost any community of ideas, there are topics that are considered forbidden or taboo. For evolutionists, creationism is taboo. For Republicans, any positive comment about welfare is taboo. For Democrats of the Northeastern US variety, laissez-faire economics spells disaster for those in need. For naturopaths, medicine is off limits; and for traditional physicians naturopathy is likewise looked down upon.

Correspondingly, there are...

In the firestorm on Capitol Hill and throughout the United States over the topic of health care reform, it seems that legislators have missed a key issue. As Mike McManus writes (http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1180…): "While abortion and public plan aspects of health reform...

News sources report that senators debating health care legislation are headed for a clash over abortion, the issue that threatened to derail the bill in the House.

Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., plans to unveil an anti-abortion amendment as early as Thursday that abortions rights supporters inside the Senate and out say they can’t support.

In some cases, “abortion rights supporters” are gathering their forces to keep abortions restrictions out of the...

Recently, Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood center in Bryan Texas says she had a "change of heart" after watching an abortion on ultrasound in October. She quit her job and joined a pro-life group in praying outside the facility.

"A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood refused to answer questions about Johnson's accusations, but released a statement noting that a district court had issued a temporary restraining order...

Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan says that he has managed to organize a group of “about 40 likeminded Democrats” who will vote to kill the health-care bill if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not allow a floor vote on his amendment to prohibit federal funds from going to insurance plans that cover abortion.

Under Rep. Stupak’s plan, the 40 pro-life Democrats would vote with House Republicans to defeat the special House “rule” that would set the terms for debating and amending the health-...

I understand the need to protect children. There are horrendous monsters out there.

But I cannot believe the overwhelming power of the state in this case: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/09/22/pn.bathtime.photos.cnn. How ought a Christian respond to the state’s intervention in such matters as when one’s child’s:

• education (...

Simone Davis is a 17 year old British citizen who moved to America with her grandmother in 2000.  Simone was born in Britain but was rejected by her mother at age 3, and her father handed Simone over to her grandmother to care for.  Her grandmother, whom she calls "Nanny", married an American man in 2000 and they both moved to Florida that year.

Unfortunately the United States did not recognize the British adoption, so since their arrival...

A ten year old girl, who has been homeschooled since first grade, has been ordered by a New Hampshire court into the public school system.

The girl, who is academically and socially thriving, was ordered into a government run school in order to expose her to religious doctrines and ideas other than Christianity.  The case arose when the child’s guardian ad litem, the court appointed representative regarding custody issues surrounding the parents’ divorce,...

Oklahoma has become the first state to pass a law banning the use of abortion to select the sex of your child.  The practice of sex selection on behalf of males has long been practiced in Asia.  However, a study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that in Asian-American couples, after having 2 successive daughters, the rate of having a son jumps 50% above the norm.  This is sited as evidence that even in America, female children are being aborted...

Mount Sinai Hospital in New York is being sued by Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo, a Catholic nurse from Brooklyn.  Ms. Cenzon-DeCarlo claims that she was forced to aid with an abortion.

The nurse arrived to work to find that she had been assigned to a patient who was scheduled to undergo a 22 week abortion.  Ms. Cenzon-DeCarlo protested and begged to be reassigned.  She was told that if she didn't assist she risked being reported for...

In a continuing attempt to expose Planned Parenthood, The "Mona Lisa Project" has documented another incidence of non-compliance with sexual abuse and rape reporting guidelines.  This is the sixth Planned Parenthood Clinic, in as many as four states, to be exposed for covering up statutory rape in an attempt to bolster their abortion business.  They also offer to ignore parental consent laws for abortion so as to avoid getting the "...

The 9th Circuit District Appeals Court lifted an injunction in Washington State that was allowing Pharmacists and Pharmacy owners to resist stocking and dispensing the Morning-After Pill. 

The Morning-After Pill can cause the abortion of a newly formed embryo by preventing implantation.  Many pharmacists and owners have refused to stock or dispense the medication on moral and religious grounds.  Washington State had earlier passed a law that forced pharmacists to...

A New York City Council has passed a resolution to observe Islamic holidays with school closings.  The resolution has received praise on Islamic websites.  The resolution states that New York City schools would close on two holidays celebrated by Muslims.

The resolution, which is not binding, requires ratification by the Board of Education.  Mayor Bloomberg is against the idea of any additional days off from school, but admits that the final decision lays with...

A Washington Times editorial on Father’s Day discussed the results from a recent study, performed over 20 years, looking at attitudes and outcomes regarding fathers and abortion.

The study out of Drexel University showed that despite most men reporting that the abortion was a mutual decision, nearly half of men said they had suggested getting married and having the baby.  As many as 1 in 6 men were never told about a pregnancy or an eventual abortion.

...

In a ceremony on Wednesday evening, President Obama is expected to sign an executive order that allows Federal Employee benefits to be extended to gay partners.  This move comes as President Obama has been increasingly criticized by Gay and Lesbian Rights groups who are angered at his inaction regarding issues important to those groups.  The groups were hoping President Obama would have already repealed laws such as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which prohibits openly gay...

After sordid and crude jokes made earlier last week at the expense of Sarah Palin and her 14 year old daughter, New York lawmakers have written letters to CBS Chief Executive, Les Moonves, demanding the firing of David Letterman. Last week, Mr. Letterman made public jokes regarding Sarah Palin and her 14 year old daughter after they had attended a baseball game in New York.  He made reference to Palin’s daughter getting pregnant and made other...

Responding to comparisons made between her uncle, Martin Luther King,Jr, and recently slain abortionist, George Tiller, Dr. Alveda King stated that the comparison is "offensive beyond belief".  The comparison was made earlier this week by fellow abortionist, LeRoy Carhart, in response to the murder of Dr. George Tiller.  Carhart also compared Tiller’s murder to Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the Lusitania in terms of historical significance.

"For...

At Dr. George Tiller’s memorial service, Dr. LeRoy Carhart "called on the federal government to treat as hate crimes all activities by ‘anti-choice domestic terrorists,’ compared the slain Dr. George Tiller to Martin Luther King and said planting crosses was equivalent to actions by the Ku Klux Klan."

He also said that "God gave that fetus a ‘guardian ad litem’ when he chose the mother that fetus is born ...

Gender tests that can determine your baby’s sex as ealy as 8 weeks gestation have become readily available in Australia.  The kits claim 90% accuracy.  The manufacturer expects the product to be available in New Zealand within a couple weeks as well.

The kit requires the expectant mother to mix her urine with the chemicals provided in the kit.  Depending on the resultant color, the gender of the fetus is predicted.

Pro-life groups worry that this...

George Tiller, MD, one of only 3 physicians nationwide who perform abortions after 24 weeks, was shot dead on Sunday, May 31, 2009.  Dr. Tiller, 67,  was serving as an usher at  Reformation Lutheran Church in Kansas, when  Scott Roeder, 51, entered the church and shot him.  Dr. Tiller was later pronounced dead.    Mr. Roeder is being held without bond and has been charged with one count of first degree...

Kuwait’s  general election last month held a few surprises.  First,  Islamist candidiates were rebuffed, losing to democratic candididates.  Second, four women were elected to parlimentary posts.  These are the best showings on behalf of democracy in 4 years.  Kuwait is the most democratic of the Middle East countries. However, Kuwait is also part of the Persian Gulf, where the subordination of women is the norm and the  political process ...

The Church of Scotland has voted to appoint an openly gay minister by a 326 to 267 vote.  Rev. Scott Rennie was first appointed to the ministry 10 years ago when he was married to a woman.  He is now divorced and the father of one child. He is also involved in an openly gay relationship and lives with his male partner.  Mr. Rennie states that he was honest and open with the church’s rulling body regarding his relationship with a man.  ...

For the first time since Gallup has been polling the subject, the majority of Americans are pro-life.  The poll shows 51% of Americans now call themselves pro-life versus 42% that say they are pro-choice.  This shows a major shift in abortion opinion, in-line with a recent Pew poll which was discussed in an earlier blog on this site.  Interesting, as well, is an increase in the pro-life percentage of Catholics and Protestants.  52% of Catholics and 59% of Protestants...

More than 200 Afgan schoolgirls have been hospitalized in the past two weeks, after three separate schools were attacked with poisonous gas.  No group has yet claimed responsibilty, but the Taliban has been known to conduct such attacks in an attempt to stop girls from getting an education.  When the Taliban ruled Afganistan prior to the US invasion in 2001,  it was against the law for girls to be educated.  In the recent...

As a part of Heartbeat International’s campaign, "Babies Go To Congress",  women came to Washington, D.C. to share their crisis-pregnancy stories with Congress.  The women told of how they were helped by crisis pregnancy clinics, which provided caring treatment and education at a difficult time.  Heartbeat International runs over 1000 faith-based pregnancy crisis centers throughout the world.  They brought the...

In March, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning "defamation of religion" as a human rights violation. They stated that "Defamation of religion is a serious affront to human dignity" that leads to "a restriction on the freedom of [religions’] adherents."

The resolution was put forth by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), they say in response to anti-...

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who as recently as April 9th had said he would remain a Republican, has switched political parties, becoming a Democrat.  This gives the Senate Democrats a Filibuster-proof majority with 61 votes if Minnesota’s Al Franken wins his Senate contest as expected. 

Senator Specter was facing an uphill battle in the Republican primary.  His challenger, Pat Toomey, narrowly lost to Specter in 2004, and recent polling showed...