Here are some good posts about current events and issues related to the church and culture:
The Transgender Movement and Government Overreach: Why it Matters – Andrew Walker (ERLC) – In response to the Education Department’s rejection of an Illinois school policy.
The Blind Eyes of Abortion – John Knight (DG) – In response to the latest undercover video release about Planned Parenthood.
Christmas Is Not For Cranks – Kevin DeYoung – In response to the Starbucks red coffee cups.
Here are some more helpful posts about Planned Parenthood. That our nation still funds them, and that many actively defend them, speaks volumes about our country’s moral bankruptcy.
I Thought Planned Parenthood Protected Family Values – Rosaria Butterfield (TGC)
Meet the 38 Companies That Donate to Planned Parenthood – Melissa Quinn (TDS)
3 Reasons Why It’s Nearly Impossible to Defund Planned Parenthood – Joe Carter (TGC)
Their Respective Beheadings – Douglas Wilson
Looking Away From Abortion – Ross Douthat (NYT)
Here are some helpful posts on the Planned Parenthood video and the atrocities so chillingly discussed over a salad:
Planned Parenthood Uses Late-Term Abortions to Harvest Fetal Organs – Justin Taylor
Planned Parenthood: How Much Longer?– Jonathan Parnell (DG)
Planned Parenthood and the Atrocity of Corpse-Selling – Russell Moore
“A Lot of People Want Intact Hearts These Days” — Planned Parenthood, Abortion, and the Conscience of a Nation – Albert Mohler
How to Talk to Your Pro-choice Friends About the ‘Fetal Parts’ Video – Joe Carter (TGC)
The Devil is in the Details – Erik Raymond
This Kind Cannot Be Driven Out by Worldview Training and Legislation: The Place of Prayer and Fasting for the Pro-Life Movement – Justin Taylor
Here are some updates on some important current religious freedom issues:
Saeed Abedini, American pastor jailed in Iran, denied medication, family says – Fox News Iranian jailers have denied crucial medication to Pastor Saeed Abedini, the American citizen imprisoned there for his faith, according to the Idaho resident’s family and legal team.
Here are some ways you can help.
Home School Legal Defense Association Files Romeike v. Holder with U.S. Supreme Court – CrossMap
HSLDA Chairman and principal author of the petition, Michael Farris, said that the Court should intervene for the sake of justice. “The United States should be a place of asylum for those who are persecuted because of their decision to follow their core religious beliefs,” he said. “Parents, not the government, decide first how children are educated. Germany’s notorious persecution of families who homeschool violates their own obligations to uphold human rights standards and must end.”
Farris has called for a day of prayer on November 17 in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s November 26 decision on whether to hear this case as well as Hobby Lobby’s case.
Hobby Lobby asks US Supreme Court to take up case over federal birth-control coverage mandate – Fox News
Lawyers for the Oklahoma City-based craft store chain and its sister company, Mardel Christian bookstore, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case because of what they say are conflicting decisions by other courts regarding religious freedom.
And in related cases, Freshway Foods wins its initial lawsuit, and Cornerstone University – one of the schools I attended – adds its own lawsuit.
This week: a step in the right direction for the home-schooling parental rights story I featured a few weeks ago, abortion as a failure to love, and a religious freedom story that is really more and needs our prayers.
Wunderlich Children Returned on Condition of School Attendance – HSLDA
Abortion and the Negation of Love – Joe Carter (Gospel Coalition)
Free Saeed: A Wife’s plea to Iran’s President – Nahgmeh Abedini (Desiring God)
An Open Letter from Billy Graham – Samaritan’s Purse
As Graham’s letter notes, Saeed is a U.S. citizen, which raises not only religious freedom issues, but also international relations issues, and the ethical question of why our government isn’t doing more to bring Saeed home.
Here are some more reflections on a variety of current moral issues:
Abortion as the Ultimate Exploitation of Women (Interview with Brian Fisher by Trevin Wax)
Embryonic Stem Cells: Where Are the Cures? – David Murray
And recent developments in the area of homeschooling and religious persecution:
Justice Department Ordered to Respond to Romeike Appeal – HSLDA
Justice Department: “Tolerance Trumps Freedom” – HSLDA
Sixth Circuit Denies Romeike Rehearing, HSLDA Promises to go to Supreme Court
The abortionist Kermit Gosnell was convicted and sentenced this week for killing babies after they were born, but the battle against infanticide is just beginning:
Kermit Gosnell Sentenced – Fox News
9 Things You Should Know About the Gosnell Infanticide and Murder Trial – Joe Carter (Gospel Coalition)
Kermit Gosnell and the Logic of “Pro-Choice” – Matthew Franck (Witherspoon Institute)
Infanticide: The Coming Battle – Mike Bird (Bible Society)
Here are some good posts regarding some important recent news items:
Massachusetts Eliminates Gender Distinctions in Public Schools – Gospel Coalition
The long and short of it is that a boy can now claim to be a girl and shower with the girls, and the girls will be disciplined if they complain….
Arkansas Adopts Restrictive Abortion Law – NY Times
New law prohibits abortion after 12 weeks, but the lawsuit is coming….
Why Should Evangelicals Care About the Contraceptive-Abortifacient Mandate? – Gospel Coalition – Good overview for those who have missed past posts on this important issue.
An Evangelical Looks at Pope Benedict XVI – Russell Moore
With the choosing of a new pope yesterday, here is a helpful reflection on the last one.
Since Roe vs Wade 40 years ago, over 50 million babies have been killed by abortion. Fifty million. That is a number hard to grasp. 50 million people we should be rubbing shoulders with, working with, going to school with, going to church with. Gone. Killed.
Instead of Passion Points this week, here are some good posts to explore and ponder as we remember those who have died and cry out to God for mercy and change.
10 Questions a Pro-Choice Candidate Is Never Asked by the Media – Trevin Wax
Why Your Friends Are Pro-Choice (And What To Do About It) – Scott Klusendorf
Do Pro-Life Policies Even Matter – Kevin DeYoung
Washington Post Article Shows Pro-Life Progress – Michael New
9 Things You Should Know About Roe v Wade – Joe Carter
It Has Fingernails – A brief clip from the movie “Juno”
Thank You, Mr. President, for these Pro-Life Marching Orders
Okay, so our president was talking about another tragedy, but it fits remarkably well.
Brian J. Mikul 