Students for Life of America

April 27, 2012 1 Comment

Students for Life of America LogoKristan Hawkins pro-life activist is very enthusiastic and passionate about ending abortion in America in our lifetime. She works to raise up chapters of Students for Life of America on university campuses across the US. Students for Life works

I felt inspired by Kristan Hawkins passion and energy for pushing forward the movement she is heading up. In addition to a true passion for the pre-born person, she has a real compassion for the surviving mother in an abortion situation, or for the pregnant mother who has nowhere else to turn and is looking for some kind of option besides abortion. In her interview with Dr. James Dobson on FamilyTalk on April 2. 2012 Kristan discussed how Planned Parenthood gives out low dose contraception with the expectation that young women will end up getting pregnant and then offering no real healthcare services for young women… just the opportunity to abort their baby. When she was pregnant herself she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to get a sense of what it’s like for pregnant woman to go to such a place. She was given counsel that it would be best to terminate her pregnancy early. She about various kinds of health care opportunities or well baby services that might be available if she chose to keep her baby. She was told that she would need to go elsewhere for that sort of service.

In her FamilyTalk interview Kristan explained how we are seeing victory after victory for life in states across the nation. The fact is that more pro-life legislation has passed since the 2010 election than during any other period since Roe v. Wade. Elections do matter. When your state primary comes up, and in November, get out and vote for pro-life candidates. We can see the holocaust of the American unborn end in our lifetimes.

Ironically it is easier for her to start these chapters on public college campuses rather than Christian campuses. The issue is one of the Christian colleges not wanting to appear to be condoning or admitting to having pregnant young women and therefore premarital sex issues on their campus. This is a sad testimony to some of the leadership of our colleges. Apparently much of that pressure comes from donors.

The work of Students for Life is quite remarkable. Kristan Hawkins’ passion really puts a bright star on this organization. During her FamilyTalk interview she made the statement, “when abortion is no longer legal in America.” She has a real vision for ending abortion in her lifetime in the States. She says don’t imagine it, envision it.

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October Baby

April 20, 2012 Leave a comment

October Baby Screen Shot

October Baby is a well-done film about the victims of abortion. The murdered children, the surviving mothers, and the few surviving babies. The cinematography of the movie is excellent with beautiful shots and excellent framing. The script at times lacks punch with a few squandered moments, but overall the message is clear and brings it home with multiple poignant scenes and an out of the park ending. October Baby Trailer October Baby – Ministry Resources

The movie was inspired by the life of Gianna Jessen, an abortion survivor. She has a difficult but inspiring life story. Hear an interview with Gianna here. You may also be interested in Gianna’s Book.

While the life valuing message of October Baby is clearly Christian, this movie could be termed a cross-over film because it deals with the issue more from a universally human perspective of the pain and confusion stemming from being unwanted and from being confronted with the life and death choice of abortion. Women who have had an abortion will likely feel some heavy feelings upon seeing this story played out on screen, but the movie points toward where we can find true solace.

You can see more of the heart of October Baby at EveryLifeIsBeautiful.com

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2700 Pages?

April 10, 2012 Leave a comment

Washington DC: United States Supreme Court

Washington DC: United States Supreme Court (Photo credit: wallyg)

Justice Scalia retorted “…You really want us to go through these 2,700 pages? And do you really expect the Court to do that? Or do you expect us to give this function to our law clerks? Is this not totally unrealistic? That we’re going to go through this enormous bill item by item and decide each one?” I am thankful Justice Scalia was not ready to take the Obama camp’s arguments hook, line, and sinker. In fact, he showed indignation at being asked to review the 2700 pages of law presumably to consider each point for approval. Even Nancy Pelosi and other Democrat leadership was unwilling to read the prodigious bill before it was passed. Here is a video clip of her stating “But we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it…”

It’s ironic on many levels but the best walk away from this is that Congress has no place passing any kind of legislation with 2000+ pages. Unscrupulous lawmakers can hide any number of provisions in there that now have to be weeded out. The Supreme Court has no responsible choice but to strike down the whole omnibus bill. If liberals want to push their socialist agenda on America they need to attempt to do it in reasonable steps. So people can actually look at things and make intelligent decisions. Perhaps this is the reason why the burgeoning ObamaCare bill was passed in this way to begin with. Read the transcripts of the Supreme Court oral arguments yourself here.

We have to repeal ObamaCare and preserve the limited government laid out in our founding documents.

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Cohabitation means Poverty for Women and Children

April 4, 2012 2 Comments

Robert Rector of The Heritage Foundation

Robert Rector of The Heritage Foundation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I really appreciate what Robert Rector had to say in describing the problem of poverty stemming from unwed mothers, fathers, and cohabitation as opposed to marriage. The biggest factor in determining whether a child is raised in poverty or in security is whether or not the parents stay together. An intact family is a reliable determinant of being in a secure home with shelter and food and not on the public dole.

Listen to the WallBuilders Live! broadcast of his speech at the Pro-Family Legislators conference…

“We will take you to our annual ProFamily Legislators Conference, on today’s Wallbuilders Live!. Robert Rector, an authority on poverty and the welfare system, shares the great secret of child poverty. You may be surprised to learn that there are steps that can be taken to drastically reduce child poverty, yet these steps are not being taken. Why? Tune in, today, to learn more. You will hear from Rector as he addresses our legislators, and describes a link between child poverty and the declining state of marriage. This is a three part series, so be sure to catch each part, this week!” [quoted from WallBuilders Live! broadcast archives]

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The Esther Call

March 18, 2012 1 Comment

Newborn child, seconds after birth. The umbili...

Newborn child, seconds after birth. The umbilical cord has not yet been cut. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Esther Call is a call of repentance. This event will end coinciding with Good Friday and the start of Passover 4/6/12. It is an appeal to Heaven for 54 million babies murdered in our country in the last 39 years. Thirty-nine young women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds (hear their stories) will walk 250 miles from Houston to Dallas, from the largest Planned Parenthood abortion facility in America to the courthouse steps where the original Roe v. Wade papers were filed. From there the 39 young women will walk to a nearby convention center to join thousands of others in a time of solemn prayer for our nation.

If you are interested in this event you can learn more from their website or from the FamilyTalk broadcast where I heard about it.

As teachers why should we be interested? Aren’t we in the education of children business? Would we be having a social security crisis if those aborted babies had grown to adulthood and were paying taxes now? Wouldn’t there be more teaching jobs? When a nation’s birth rate falls below replacement rate, we have what is called a demographic time bomb. Abortion has greatly contributed to many nations falling into a demographic time bomb decline curve. Japan and China are both at different points in this process.

Interestingly, while polls in America and much legislation is pro-life in America now, there is still momentum and money behind the abortion industry. In the Journal of Medical Ethics two Australian doctors argue that post birth abortions should be freely available, basically arguing from a medical point of view that newborns should have no protection under the law. Now while killing newborn babies is abhorrent to most, if we use legalized abortion as a precedent why should there be a difference in taking a life when it is permissible just a few inches away inside the womb?

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ObamaCare vs. Freedom of Religion

February 16, 2012 8 Comments

English: The Department of Health and Human Se...

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Our religious freedoms are under attack. Our first amendment right to freedom of religion is being undermined by ObamaCare. The Health and Human Services department will now require large organizations to supply their employees health insurance that provides contraception and abortifacient (morning after) drugs. At first the Catholic church was told that it would have one year to figure out how to implement this policy. In other words our Catholic brothers have one year to get comfortable with the idea of violating their consciences. Catholic leadership spoke up and explained that this was not an adequate solution. Next religious organizations were told that they would not have to pay for that part of insurance. Instead the government would pay for that part. This is a complete breakdown of our First Amendment rights. The Obama administration is trying to micromanage religious groups and rob people, particularly large groups of people, of their religious convictions. For more details on this fight click here.

This is another opportunity for us to break the Spiral of Silence and let our voices be heard. There are two ways we can help with this process and stand on the side of the righteous in this situation. First, join with me to ManhattanDeclaration.org and sign the petition against the implementation of this policy. Second, sign the Manhattan Declaration yourself to send a message to those in the government who are working to take away our freedoms. Third, contact your legislator and urge them to stand against this assault on freedom of conscience and religion.

“We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.” — excerpt from the Manhattan Declaration.

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Academia Conflicted on Penn State Scandal

February 14, 2012 Leave a comment

Penn State Warms Up

Penn State Warms Up (Photo credit: acaben)

It has been months since the news broke of Penn State’s football organization turning a blind eye to the homosexual abuse of boys by Jerry Sandusky. As the story unfolds these allegations appear have some truth behind them. The pain and suffering of these young men must be recognized and the perpetrator(s) punished.

Unfortunately the academic community has a hard time setting itself up as a prosecutor for these kind of crimes against children. While it is not as yet a popular view, there are some in the academic community who advocate that pedophilia has a proper place in adult sexuality. Thankfully, this position is still abhorrent to most people in our nation including those in the university. I’m afraid the seed belief, that there should be no restrictions on sexual expression between consenting individuals, is being aggressively popularized on the university and high school campus by left leaning academic and student leadership.

Another example of the intentional blurring of these moral lines is in the federal administration. Our president appoints to governmental agencies people who advocate for adult/child sex. Kevin Jennings was appointed as assistant deputy secretary in the Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools in the U.S. Department of Education. He was a founder of GLSEN an organization which recommends literature to teens that encourage them to experiment with sex with adults. Why is our president bringing people like this into the Department of Education and other executive level positions with hardly a blink from the press, while Joe Paterno was vilified for not taking harsh enough measures against his former colleague?

For a good discussion of this topic, WallBuilders Live! this week featured Warren Cole Smith who explained how difficult it is to be a whistleblower when the community at large is actively rubbing out the lines of moral clarity. The crime of silence in these situations is inexcusable but easy to explain with the competing values involved. We Christians must not be silent.

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What is Civilization?

January 14, 2012 1 Comment

English: Newly enfranchised women voting in th...

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I recently heard a presentation by Rabbi Daniel Lapin on WallBuilders Live! He spoke to the question of “What is Civilization?” Lapin asserts that the world today is engaged in a epic struggle between civilization and barbarism. Lapin claims that there is only one civilization. The society built upon the precepts in the Bible. People and society are prone to that third law of thermodynamics otherwise known as entropy. We tend to on our own go toward barbarism as a default state. Only with the civilizing influence of the Biblical principles will we rise from that barbaric inclination.

Some of the defining characteristics of civilization include: respectful treatment of women, private property rights, and sanitation practices. Only in civilized society do women have any place of respect. In barbaric society men relate to women as either hermaphrodites or callous womanizers. In civilized society we find the concept that we can purchase the rights to a particular area of land. In barbaric society we believe that we are simply advanced animals. Animals really have no sense of the ownership of property. Animals only protect their own territory but do not claim it has their own. Communism, socialism and other similar materialistic, humanistic, philosophies denying the place of private property. You can spot marks of civilization by how people deal with waste and filth. In civilization sewage is disposed of safely and properly if you visit an Occupy Wall Street encampment you will quickly see whether you are dealing with civilized people or barbarians.

If you tell legislators they can resolve all teenage problems by painting a blue spot on the left ear of all teenagers, they would implement that policy in short order. However, if you tell legislators you can eliminate virtually all teenage problems by having a strong Bible-based education, they will refuse. They would rather have the problem than that solution. In barbarism there is a primal pleasure that comes with destruction. Many who are in the Occupy Wall Street movement are participating in that wrong minded pleasure. As teachers we want to be part of building up young people and civilized society. According to Lapin (and I tend to agree) the only way to accomplish that end is with Biblically based teaching.

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Spiral of Silence

October 7, 2011 2 Comments

Derogation

Image by CarbonNYC via Flickr

Chuck Colson on his Breakpoint podcast recently discussed the spiral of silence. In a book by the same name, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann explained that groups often marginalize themselves by failing to make their voice heard in the public arena. The spiral of silence is the phenomenon that media elites and opinion leaders have taken advantage of to push their ideas of morality. They broadcast, publish, and display them before our eyes as though they are already accepted into the broad culture. Since people do not like to go against the grain, we silently allow these ideas to push into our culture. For instance, take the opinion that homosexual relationships being legitimate. That people acting out homosexually should be allowed to be in the military. That people engaging in a homosexual relationship should be allowed to “marry”. That the possible homosexual actions of historical figures should be pointed out and taught to school children. As these ideas are pushed by our “friends” in the media, education, and government, over time the culture moves in the direction that they want it to go.

The way to get control of this problem is to get our views back into the public forum. To put our point of view out there so people can see it, hear it, read it, and have an opportunity to agree with it. Only if the message is available can people realize that there are other ways…  some way… a better way to live than what is being pushed by the popular media. If we our silent, however, we are doomed to become ever more marginalized until we have basically no voice at all.

So make your voice heard. Talk to friends and associates about your conservative views. Start a blog or podcast; or comment on other people’s blogs or podcasts. Many people are looking for a way of thinking and living that works.

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Stop SB 48 – Teaching children about homosexual lifestyles is not right

September 13, 2011 2 Comments

On July 14, 2011, California governor Jerry Brown signed SB 48 into law. Mr. Brown along with the liberal state legislature want to force their views of morality on the good people of this state. This bill amends several educational codes to require teachers to include the sexual orientation of historical figures in lessons. Additionally the contributions and sexuality of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) oriented people must be discussed in a positive manner.

The following day, July 15, Capitol Resource Institute supported by Pacific Justice Institute sought a referendum on the bill. The web front of their effort, StopSB48.com has links to donate, volunteer, follow on Facebook and Twitter, and download the petition to stop SB 48.  This referendum effort allows for 90 days to collect over half a million signatures.  If this signature goal is reached, the voters of California will have another opportunity to let their voice be heard in this cultural debate. The good news is that when we the people have had a chance to vote on similar issues, we the people have voted in favor of traditional family values. In 31 out of 31 states we have voted in favor of traditional marriage. The only states enforcing same sex unions have been pushed there by liberal law-makers, as was the case recently in New York.

One of the possible consequences of SB 48 and the affirmation of homosexual LGBT lifestyles in California education is to push Christians out of education. I know I am unwilling to introduce these sexual concepts to children. Why would liberal thinkers and LGBT activists want to push Christians out of education? Because Christians have a standard outside of culture by which to judge ideas, policies, and movements. This standard is based on the Bible and it stands outside culture, government, politics, law, and media. With it we can determine whether something is right or wrong. The very notion of right or wrong is disputed by liberals and many intellectual academic elite today. Unfortunately, even though they are not in vogue, ignoring rightness or wrongness has negative consequences. Repeatedly harnessing the public school system as an indoctrination mechanism for misguided social policies has weakened it severely. It is no wonder we no longer rank well in education.

Currently enactment of the law is on hold until the referendum either passes or fails. Now is the time for all of us to speak up. Before September 30, 2011, please click on this link to go to the Stop SB 48 website. Download the petition, print it, sign it, and send it in.

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