Month: July 2005

The August 2005 issue of Reader’s Digest, a special issue that examines “14 Amazing Trends That Will Change Your Life”, identified as a societal trend the growth of Christian merchandizing.

From GodPods to holy golf balls, marketers have found religion

Note the following short excerpt from the feature:

A lot of conservative Christian’s don’t like the fuzzy line that’s been drawn between believers and nonbelievers. They want to be able to tell the secular from the sacred, Young says. But more and more young believers “enjoy obliterating the lines and appreciate the mystery in that and feel it gives a lesson in not judging.”

So Christian entrepreneurs have found their formula for success, and it’s in stretching the traditional bounds, if not obliterating them. For every person who fells that the shirts being sold – or the books or the gadgets – are a betrayal of the faith, there are plenty of others who see a faith that’s speaking to today. In this age of market evangelism, the ring of a cash register can be sacred music.

Page 185, August 2005 Reader’s Digest

Analysis:

“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself… For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:3-5, 10).

The report in Reader’s Digest is without bias, noting that some are agreeable to the merchandising of the gospel while others are not. As can be seen from the text above, the Holy Spirit is not so understanding. It is shameful that some are so ready to make a profit from faith. The Catholic church was doing it centuries ago with the sale of indulgences to fund the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This is just more of the same. Those who do such things should be ashamed.

Promising but still unproven new approaches to creating human embryonic stem cells have suddenly jeopardized what once seemed to be certain Senate passage of a bill to loosen President Bush’s four-year-old restrictions on human embryo research.

The techniques are enticing to many conservative activists and scientists because they could yield medically valuable human embryonic stem cells without the creation or destruction of embryos.

Embryonic stem cells are coveted because they have the capacity to become virtually every kind of body tissue and perhaps repair ailing organs, but they are controversial because days-old human embryos must be destroyed to retrieve them.

”The new science that may involve embryo research but not require destruction of an embryo is tremendously exciting,” Senate majority leader Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, said recently. ”It would get you outside of the boundaries of the ethical constraints.”

Ceci Connolly and Rick Weiss
Washington Post

Analysis:

We have written about the morality of stem cell research in the past. While there is some evidence that the research can benefit and potentially cure some individuals suffering from paralysis and a number of other diseases, the process of extracting stem cells from human embryos results in the destruction of the embryo.

Continue reading “Stem Cell Legislation at Risk” →

Matthew, chapter 3, describes the ministry of John the Baptist, who was called to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.”

(Matthew 3:1-3)

John must have been quite a sight, coming out of the wilderness, wearing camel’s hair clothing, with a leather belt and a diet of locusts and wild honey.

Continue reading “John the Baptist” →

Patrick Guerriero, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, noted that the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court was appointed by Ronald Reagan. He praised O’Connor for her role in lifting state sodomy laws, “Which confirmed that the principle of individual liberty extended to gay and lesbian families.”

“Justice O’Connor’s retirement is a clarion call to every American that our rights are in grave dangers,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “The loss of [ her ] moderate voice is a serious threat to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, to women’s right and to protections for racial, ethnic and religious minorities.”

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, called O’Connor’s retiring “a sad day for the Supreme Court and for America.” He urged the President “to honor the advice and consent role the Constitution gives the Senate” through a meaningful interaction with that body.

Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, expressed her shock and fear “about the direct impact Justice O’Connor’s retirement will have on each of our lives. Despite her very conservative philosophy, she has been a powerful swing vote on critical reproductive, women’s and LGBT issues.”

Some groups are even taking action in response to the resignation. The state and local chapters of the National Organization for Women ( NOW ) planned to stage rallies July 5 throughout Illinois to call for the nomination and confirmation of fair justices on the Supreme Court. Terry Cosgrove of Personal PAC, an Illinois pro-abortion group, added that concerned citizens should contact President Bush and urge him to select a nominee who will protect abortion rights and Roe v. Wade. Cosgrove also suggested contacting U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Barack Obama and ask them to support only a nominee who believes Roe should stand.

by Bob Roehr 2005-07-06

Analysis:

The news that Sandra Day O’Connor will step down from the U.S. Supreme Court has panicked social liberals who now have to contend with two new, potentially conservative appointments before President Bush’s second term as President expires. The above article appeared in the Windy City Times, which bills itself as “The Voice of Chicago’s Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Trans Community Since 1985.”

It is doubtful that any individual picked by the President will please the ungodly. However, it would be a shame if Bush bowed to pressure, and appointed someone who would not protect the family, and the morals upon which this country was founded and has thrived for over two centuries.

We should pray to God for Bush, as our country’s leader, as per 2 Timothy 2:1-2, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”

A recent issue of Reader’s Digest contained an article entitled, Hidden Danger on the Road (How to Survive). The article noted that the government estimates at least 1.6 million car accidents a year involving trees, animals, and vehicle debris. These accidents caused over 600 deaths in 2003, and most experts believe this number is increasing.

Note the following incident in the story regarding one motorist: “As the 70-year-old Pakula neared exit 49 on the Long Island Expressway just before noon, a vehicle ahead of him drove over a seven-foot steel rod in the road, kicking it into the air. Within seconds, the rod shot through Pakula’s windshield, smashing into his forehead and killing him almost instantly. Authorities never determined where the rod, the kind used to secure a tractor-trailer’s load, came from.”

This is just one of the many hazards, including sudden illness, crime, etc., which may take the life of the unsuspecting. It brings to mind the following passage from James:

“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (2:14-16)

Brethren, may we always be prepared for our death and Christ’s coming, knowing our life is but a vapor.

Even with Kenny Rogers on the mound, the Texas Rangers faced the daunting task of catching the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West.

Now they might be without their ace left-hander for a quarter of their remaining games.

Rogers was suspended Friday for 20 games and fined $50,000 by Major League Baseball for throwing an angry fit that sent a television cameraman to the hospital and prompted a police investigation…

…In a statement, commissioner Bud Selig said: “Mr. Rogers’ behavior was unprofessional, unwarranted and completely unacceptable. Major League Baseball is a social institution and all of us in the game have an important responsibility to act with reason and good judgment.”

The suspension was among the most severe imposed by the commissioner’s office for on-field conduct in decades. Only the 30-day penalty given Cincinnati manager Pete Rose in 1988 for pushing umpire Dave Pallone was longer.

Jim Cour
AP Sportswriter

Analysis:

The story has become old, as again and again professional athletes and entertainers engage in self-destructive and impulsive behavior. Rogers deserves the 20 game ban, (though it will be appealed, and while under appeal, he may be allowed to pitch in the upcoming all-star game). In fact, it could be argued that he deserves to be fired, forfeiting his present contract.

Continue reading “Rogers Suspended for 20 Games by MLB” →