Pray for the Brethren in India

It is reported that there have been 1,000 attacks on Christians or churches in the last 500 days in India. We need to keep our brothers and sisters over there bathed in prayer.

Already Taken

Imagine that I invented a new sport. This sport involves throwing darts at balloons. I'm very excited about this sport. I want to market it and make it a mainstream hobby in America. I hope that one day it will even become an Olympic sport. But first, I need to give my dart-throwing sport a name. Would I call it "Bowling?" Of course not. Why not? There is already a sport called bowling and it is nothing like the one I have invented. "Bowling" involves rolling a ball down a lane to knock down pins. Whatever I call my new sport, it can't be bowling. Bowling is already taken.

Likewise, there is an institution called marriage. The defining quality of marriage is fidelity. However, this is not so with so called "gay marriage." There's an editorial in today's Baptist Press about the nature of "gay marriage" that does a marvelous job of demonstrating just how different the traditional understanding of marriage is from what is being advocated by those who attack it. You can read the article HERE.

Here's Proof

My favorite movie is Casablanca. In it, there is a scene where Captain Renault says he is "shocked" to discover that there is gambling in Rick's saloon...just as someone hands him his winnings. Likewise, I am "shocked" by a quote today from a member of the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ginsburg argued that the second amendment's right to bear arms is really not a fundamental right that should be honored and protected. To support her conclusion she said, "If the notion is that these are principles that any free society would adopt, well, a lot of free societies have rejected the right to keep and bear arms."

There you have it. Two things I bet you didn't know. First, because other societies oppress this right, it's not really oppression if we do as well. Secondly, international precedent can trump the constitution. Isn't that nice to know?

I'm shocked, but should I be? Here's what doesn't shock me...Ginsburg's quote is proof that you don't have to be a genius to serve on the Supreme Court.

My Two Cents

The arrest and detainment of ten Baptist missionaries in Haiti for attempting to transport thirty-three Haitian children to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic is generating a lot of waves in the media this week. I want to make a few observations...

* Their actions were rash and somewhat careless. There are disputing reports regarding whether or not they had paperwork which authorized, at least in their minds, the transfer of these children. Nevertheless, you cannot leave any stone left unturned when the guardianship of children is at stake. They were caught with children and did not have their legal "ducks in order." I read where the family members of one detainee are claiming that they did have paperwork, simply not enough. Since the earthquake, the Prime Minister's signature is now required for international adoptions, so they may have been unaware that the paperwork they possessed was obsolete.

* These are Southern Baptists who were attempting to save lives. Even the fiercest critics of these missionaries, those wanting them locked away for years, dare not deny that some of these thirty-three children would have starved had it not been for the intervention of this group. I can't help but wonder, if these very children had died of starvation, would the critics have been just as angry? Of course not.

* I wonder how many of those criticizing the missionaries have donated one red cent to help Haiti? Many are asking why they did not help orphans here instead of travelling to Haiti? While there is poverty in the United States and many children do without, to insinuate that the misery here can be compared with that of post-earthquake Haiti is completely disingenuous. We should be concerned with international needs, not just domestic ones. We should pity those who have so small a moral compass that they would even make such a criticism.

* The leader of this group, Laura Silsby, has no real legal representation. I say no "real" representation because her state appointed attorney has basically thrown her under the bus. What kind of chance do you have when your own lawyer is criticizing you in front of the international media? Every person deserves a defense. I believe that is a human right. It is time for Hillary Clinton to speak out on this point. She can do so without endorsing the actions of the missionaries.

* According to a friend of mine who just returned from Haiti last night, this has captured the attention of the Haitian people as well. The man on the street, according to my source, is very angry because they haven't even restored ambulance service yet and the government is devoting time and energy to prosecuting these missionaries. Meanwhile, Haitians are needlessly dying. The Haitian Prime Minister is more concerned about scoring political points (and probably a bribe from the United States government) than he is the welfare of his own people. This is the absolute height of corruption.

* It is clear that laws were broken and I would not suggest for one moment that any sovereign nation should suspend its laws just because the transgressors are Americans. But if the Haitian government even thinks about handing down the kind of sentences that are being proposed, they are going to regret it. For one, many will (unfortunately) use this as an excuse to withhold much needed support. (If you're think about that, please don't.) Second, God, the Righteous Judge, will ensure that everyone involved reaps what they have sown.

I Couldn't Have Said It Better

A report has been in the news this week indicating an increase in teen pregnancies for the first time in a decade. This, of course, is being used by many in the media to discredit the use of abstinence education programs funded previously under the Bush administration. Once again, the source of this research is the Guttmacher Institution, which was founded by a former president of Planned Parenthood, making its findings automatically suspect, at best. Is the slight increase the result of an overemphasis on abstinence education as we're being told?

I like what Richard Ross said. He is the cofounder of True Love Waits. "Should we expect the Guttmacher Institute, the research arm for Planned Parenthood, to support abstinence messages?...Here is a similar question: Should we expect General Motors to work hard convincing the public to abandon cars for mass transit? Abstinent teenagers don't get pregnant and thus they don't contribute millions of dollars to the abortion industry. If you want to understand new directions in Washington related to abstinence, follow the money."

Amen!

$20

John Sullivan has been negotiating a deal to ship rice to Haiti in the wake of the recent earthquake. So here's the result: $20 will purchase a 100 pound bag. That will feed a family of four for a good while. So now the question becomes: How many bags will we send? I can't wait to see how many pounds our church can send. Let's do this!

Not Good Enough

Today, pro-life democrats in the US Senate agreed to a health care bill that will allow federal dollars to subsidize abortion. I had hoped in particular that Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., would have the intestinal fortitude in the senate that Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., had in the house. Stupak's amendment to the house version does not allow any federal funds to pay for elective abortions...period. The agreement that Nelson conceded to, however, allows states to decide whether or not federally funded health plans will pay for elective abortions. It also claims to "segregate" funds that are paid by the insured from funds provided by the federal government, only allowing the private funds to pay for abortion.

These differences may be intricate, but they are important. Let's say, for example, that my neighbor comes over and asks for me to pay for her abortion. I say that I'm opposed to abortion and decline to pay her anything. She replies, "That's fine. I have a car payment due which happens to be the same cost as the abortion. Why don't you make my car payment for me so that I can pay for my own abortion?" Needless to say, I'm still not going to give her a dime, because at the end of the day, it's an accounting gimmick. If I give her the money, I'm paying for her abortion.

Likewise, if federally subsidized health insurance pays for an abortion, it really doesn't matter where the money came from on paper. All the abortionist knows is that he got money from Uncle Sam to pay for an abortion. This will likely result in an increase in abortions across America.

There is another problem with the senate version. If you live in a liberal state that votes to approve federal funds for abortion, you no longer have any say in the matter. Dollars will be taken from you to pay for the destruction of innocent human life.

Stupak is maintaining his stand and says that the senate compromise is not enough. At least now we know where to go to find pro-life democrats who are true to their convictions and where to find those who merely give lip service to the rights of the preborn.