Birth Control and Abortion

Hello all!

Anybody who reads my blog regularly knows that I'm ardently pro-life. I believe our country is facing many challenges and questions of a distinctly and inherently moral and "worldview" nature and that for all its many virtues our country has frequently fallen short of what I believe it can and should be in many, many ways. But, to me, the single greatest failing of our country from a values perspective is abortion…specifically that we allow and encourage it.

The purpose of this post is not to expound on why I believe abortion to be fundamentally wrong and even evil. As always, I believe when one is seeking to advocate a certain value, view or position, the people you should first try to convince are those that share some measure of common ground with you. So, in keeping with that principle, the purpose of this post is to highlight an avenue through which people unwittingly risk aborting a baby and perhaps to help sway those why may differ with my views.

As is common on this blog, I'm going to share someone else's work on the matter instead of writing up my own. I never hesitate to highlight others work when it exceeds mine in quality and expertise. :-)

The question I would like to raise is "does "birth control and specifically "the pill" contribute to abortion?"

Randy Alcorn offers keen insight into the matter. Please watch the linked video and pass it on to friends and family you believe would be benefited by it. It's on 7 minutes and 2 seconds long. :-)

Is There a Connection Between Birth Control & Abortion?

Please note that this post is not arguing against all methods of birth control, only certain kinds. I have a more detailed article on the "the pill" and the new "ELLA" pill that I would like to post in the next several days. I'm keeping things bite-sized though. :-)

God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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New study: 85% of Big Pharma's new drugs are "lemons" and pose health risks to users

Hello all!

I debated whether to post the article linked below for awhile but obviously decided to go with it in the end. My hesitation had mostly to do with the fact that articles such as this one are very frequently dismissed as "wacko" and not given reasonable consideration or attention. Unfortunately, the "wacko" designation is often prescribed to those that recommend material and not just the material and its author. However, I think this is important enough an issue that it needs to be discussed and examined even if I might be dismissed as a wacko for posting it. :-P

New study: 85% of Big Pharma's new drugs are "lemons" and pose health risks to users

God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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Kathy Ireland on Abortion

So much for models supposedly being dumb. Kathy Ireland makes as good a case for being pro-life as I've heard a public figure make in a long time. It's definitely worthy listening to if for no other reason than that the way she presents her message is to the point and short while being full of grace.

I don't necessarily agree with her on the life of the mother issue, but I don't discount the rest of what she says because of that.



By the way, I never had thought models were dumb, just so there is no confusion on that point. ;-)

God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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Congressional Research Service: Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Permitted under Health Care Reform Law

Hello all!

Many of the American public, perhaps the majority, are not aware that the so called "ObamaCare" healthcare legislation is not settled law at this point, but such is definitely the case, as illustrated by the recent and significant developments in the state of Virginia's suit against the Federal Government. For this reason, it's important that all people who care about our country's future, irrespective of their political inclinations, remain involved in and aware of the ongoing debate over healthcare and the evolution of the political battle. To this end, I would like to recommend the following article from the American's United for Life (AUL) blog:

Congressional Research Service: Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Permitted under Health Care Reform Law

I've posted information from Charlene Yoest (President and CEO of AUL) before (read it here) and continue to recommend AUL's work to those seeking to keep abreast of the situation.

God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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For this purpose the Gospel has been preached

Hello all!

I was on a mission’s team that went down to Mexico in early January to serve for a week alongside eight others. One of my team mates, Daniel, is sharing at his church about the trip and asked if I would write down some of my thoughts concerning the trip and in retrospect. After writing it I thought that I would post it here for y’all so you could hear a portion of what the Lord has been teaching me lately. The below is by no means the full extent of what I learned and have been learning from the Mexico trip. It is only a small part, but it’s deeply impacted my life and I hope you will receive some blessing from it.

I could literally talk all day and into the night about the lessons I learned and things I experienced on what was my first short term missions trip. I’ll just stick to one theme though and hope that I can communicate clearly.

I think it’s really easy for people (Christians in particular) to separate their life and actions into different categories, the two most basic categories being the “holy” where all the actions are “Christian” (going to church, visiting the nursing home, writing your Grandmother, etc) and the normal category (school, housework, etc). But, for Christians, all things we do are to be done for the glory of God. I have to confess that I’m guilty of separating my life into different categories.

The trip to Mexico was an amazing experience for me in too many ways to mention here or now. Suffice it to say that I felt God’s presence powerfully virtually every minute of the trip, even when encountering sobering situations I had never encountered before. I felt that everything I did was positively confirmed by the Holy Spirit and the richness of that confirmation was truly incredible to feel. I knew then that when I returned home it would be difficult to maintain the spiritual “mountain top” I felt on the trip but by God’s grace I hoped to at least not crash and burn.

Thankfully, His grace has as always been sufficient to meet my needs and I can truthfully say that He has continued to evidence Himself to me in powerful and confirming ways. But, it would not be truthful of me to say that I usually feel the same level of confirmation in the daily and mundane tasks of life. I’ve thought much about this in trying to understand the heart of the matter - both the problem and the solution - in a way that cuts past the clichés and gives true understanding of my human condition.

As I’ve wrestled with the issue it has become abundantly clear that the answer is extremely simple. My actions and daily life are not confirmed because they are not dedicated. Because I am not doing things for the glory of God He is not confirming them through the Spirit. Shocking, no? Not really. I Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Likewise Colossians 3:17…“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Clearly, as Christians each of us is called to do all things for the glory of God, which, on a side note, should eliminate doing anything that clearly is dishonoring to God. But there is more to it than the simple command to do all things to His glory. I Peter 4:6 says, “For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.”

Doing things to God’s glory isn’t just about doing good things. It isn’t about not doing bad things. The Gospel transforms and renews our minds and hearts so that we “may live in the spirit according to the will of God.” All of our actions have Gospel significance even if we don’t always realize it and nothing less than the very purpose and glory of the Gospel hangs in the balance.

So, I guess if I could sum up the trip and the following lessons I learned from it into one focused lesson, I would say that I have a more mature understanding of the Gospel significance of all my actions great and small. Simply put, during the trip to Mexico, because I was there “for missions” my focus was on living out the Gospel, and God blessed that focus. The challenge for me is to keep that Gospel focus at all times throughout the day every day.

By God’s grace I pray I will be able to build on the lessons I was shown during the trip to Mexico and live my life to God’s glory so that He will confirm my life and actions for His glory and honor.

God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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How trustworthy are scientists anyway?

Great post from Mr. Dreher!

How trustworthy are scientists anyway?

God bless and veritas supra omnis

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Lukewarm and Loving It! - Francis Chan

Hey all!

I was tremendously challenged by a straight shooting message from Francis Chan called "Lukewarm and Living It!” It's just less than 40 minutes long and I watched most of it while folding clothes and tending to a few other items that didn't require much attention. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you make the time for it. :-)





God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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God and how architecture helped music evolve (David Byrne)

Hello all!

David Byrne has a neat presentation/lecture on "How architecture helped music evolve". Ultimately, Mr. Byrne seems to be an evolutionist and isn't seeking to make a statement on origins, but listening to him from a Christian creationist’s perspective I thought he made some neat and relevant connections between creation, man, technology and even politics. His thoughts on environments connection to music also have implications on the theology of songs and their emphasis within a theological context.

I think it's worth a watch. :-)





God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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Malachi Dads: Angola Prison

Hey all!

This video was shared with me and I found it extremely touching, edifying and thought provoking, so naturally I would like to share it with my readers. :-)






God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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Albert Mohler: After IVF, Abortion?

Hello all!

Sadly for me, it's been awhile since I've posted due to more than a little busyness with school, work, family, and such. I don't have time now for a proper post either, but I wanted to pass along an article by Al Mohler that I believe is well worth reading concerning shocking revelations of abortions terminating IVF pregnancies. It certainly provokes thought. This passage in particular jumps out at me:

"... — on average, 80 British women each year abort their babies after having conceived them through the ordeal of IVF treatments. The British government, along with the British public, seems to be outraged at this discovery, made possible through the nation’s freedom of information rules. But, what is the basis of the outrage?

The Times [London] reported on June 6, 2010 that the discovery has shocked many in the medical community, but not all who are abortion providers. Professor Bill Ledger, a member of Britain’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, pointed to the obvious: “These women can’t be surprised to be pregnant; you can’t have an IVF pregnancy by accident.”"

When we hold life to be anything less than sacred and believe that morality is a matter of relativity, or if we as a society compromise on our most fundamental moral beliefs so as not to offend others or "impose" our beliefs on them, the floodgates are opened for just such travesties and gross injustices as are inherent to all the many "types" of abortion. When we hold one person to be of less value or humanity than another it is only natural that the stronger will infringe on the most fundamental rights of the weaker, often with deadly results.

Please read the rest of the article here.

God bless and veritas supra omnis!

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