The Coming Persecution

From Chuck Colson and Breakpoint.

How Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Will Harm Christians

 

“It is all about equal rights, the gay “marriage” lobby keeps telling us. We just want the right to marry, like everyone else.

That is what they are telling us. But that is not what they mean. If same-sex “marriage” becomes the law of the land, we can expect massive persecution of the Church.

As my friend Jennifer Roback Morse notes in the National Catholic Register, “Legalizing same-sex ‘marriage’ is not a stand-alone policy . . . Once governments assert that same-sex unions are the equivalent of marriage, those governments must defend and enforce a whole host of other social changes.”

The bad news is these changes affect other liberties we take for granted, such as religious freedom and private property rights. Several recent cases give us a sobering picture of what we can expect if we do not actively embrace—and even promote—same-sex “marriage.”

For instance, a Methodist retreat center recently refused to allow two lesbian couples to use a campground pavilion for a civil union ceremony. The state of New Jersey punished the Methodists by revoking the center’s tax-exempt status—a vindictive attack on the Methodists’ religious liberty.

In Massachusetts, where judges imposed gay marriage a few years ago, Catholic Charities was ordered to accept homosexual couples as candidates for adoption. Rather than comply with an order that would be harmful to children, Catholic Charities closed down its adoption program.

California public schools have been told they must be “gay friendly,” as Roback Morse notes. But it will not stop with public schools. Just north of the border in Quebec, the government told a Mennonite school that it must conform to provincial law regarding curriculum—a curriculum that teaches children that homosexuality is a valid lifestyle. How long will it be before the U.S. government goes after private schools?

Even speaking out against homosexuality can get you fired. Crystal Dixon, an associate vice president at the University of Toledo, was fired after writing an opinion piece in the Toledo Free Press in support of traditional marriage . . . Fired—for exercising her First Amendment rights!

Promoters of same-sex “marriage” seem to go out of their way to target Christian businesses and churches. Their goal, it seems, is not the right to “marry,” but to punish anyone who disagrees with them.

Clearly, there is a spiritual battle going on here: Christians are under attack because they are a public witness to the fact that a holy God created us male and female, and we will always put obedience to Him and His laws above obedience to any earthly demand for loyalty.

The coming persecution of Christians is one more reason why we need to get involved with efforts to pass laws at the state and federal level defining marriage as a legal relationship between one man and one woman. We must protect, not only genuine marriage, but also many of the freedoms we now take for granted: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom to use private property the way we see fit—all are under threat.

And we must tell our friends and neighbors why gay “marriage” is not just about equality: It is about forcing religious believers to accept the validity of the homosexual lifestyle—or else.”

A Call to Action

From Wallbuilders.com.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
(2 Peter 1:2)

In the latter months of 2007, there was a flurry of incidents attempting to censor America’s religious heritage (e.g., the capstone at the Washington Monument, the flag folding ceremony in the Veterans’ Department, the flag certificates from the Architect of the Capitol, etc.). In each case, citizens learned of the incidents and in large numbers made their feelings known; each policy was promptly reversed.

In response to those (and other) incidents, Congressman Randy Forbes of Virginia introduced a Congressional Resolution affirming America’s Godly heritage through dozens of documented historic examples.

That measure, H.Res.888, declares its two-fold purpose:

Affirming the rich spiritual and religious history of our Nation’s founding and subsequent history and expressing support for designation of the first week in May as “American Religious History Week” for the appreciation of and education on America’s history of religious faith.

The House has agreed to consider and debate this excellent resolution. There are three things you can do to help:

1. Call your Member of Congress and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.Res.888 (to identify your Member of Congress, click here, enter your zip code in the upper left hand portion of the page, and hit “GO.”)
2. Call Randy’s office (202.225.6365) and thank him for standing up for our religious heritage. (All folks appreciate encouragement, but especially those on the front lines of battle.)
3. Forward the resolution to others (it is downloadable). It will remind Americans what God has done for them and instruct the next generation about God’s hand in America’s history.

God bless!

Pro-life advocate accuses politicians of using faith for political means

From Rusty Pugh and One News Now.

“Pro-life advocate Judie Brown says many politicians — including the two leading Democratic presidential contenders — claim to be Christian, while supporting things that are clearly contrary to Christian beliefs. During an election year, politicians frequently appear in the pulpits of churches, professing to be believers. Such was the case recently when Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) spoke to a Baptist church in Memphis, and Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) appeared at a United Church of Christ in Macon, Georgia. Both Democrats openly support abortion — and the former first lady even argued earlier this month in a campaign mailing that she is more pro-abortion than her opponent. American Life League president Judie Brown says there is a disconnect in the public mind with regard to what God teaches about the sanctity of human life versus what has become the political rhetoric of Christianity. “It is one thing to profess to be a believing Christian, and another to, by your actions, either confirm that you are indeed a believing Christian, or that you are using your so-called Christianity for the purpose of political gain,” says Brown. Brown says that in many cases — such as Obama’s and Clinton’s — she sees politicians “using their professed Christianity for political ends, without even recognizing what it means to be a Christian, and I find that rather sad.”

Teachers Told Not To Say “Mum” Or “Dad”

From Gary Randall and Faith & Freedom Network & Foundation.

“Guidance materials have been sent out to all teachers, instructing them to avoid assumptions that pupils will have a conventional family background.

It says primary students as young as four should be familiarized with the idea of same-sex couples to help combat homophobic attitudes.

It also states that children who call classmates “gay” should be treated the same as racists as part of a “zero-tolerance” crackdown on the use of the word as an insult.

The instruction includes telling teachers to avoid telling boys to “be a man” or accuse them of “behaving like a bunch of women.”

This guidance was produced for the Government in the UK by the gay rights advocacy group, Stonewall, and was launched day before yesterday.

The DAILY MAIL reports that the new material tells teachers that they should, “Not assume that their pupils have a “mum and dad.” And should avoid using those words in favor of “parents.”

It also instructs teachers, when discussing marriage with secondary students, to educate pupils about civil partnerships and gay adoption rights.

It is suggested that English lessons for teenagers could focus on the emotions of the gay Italian soldier, Carlo, in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

What is concerning about this, and the reason I bring it to you, is because five years ago, gay lobbyists and lawmakers were having much the same dialog that we are having in Washington State.

The gay lobbyists assured the lawmakers that they only wanted to be protected and would never use the repeal of SECTION 28 as a vehicle to teach homosexuality. SECTION 28 banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools. The lawmakers conceded and repealed the law.

Now, five years later, under the guise of an anti-bullying campaign, they are indoctrinating using information.

Every one would agree that children, under no circumstances, should be allowed to bully other kids.

I think many would also agree with a growing number of concerned citizens in the UK that this appears to be a near reverse bullying tactic, force feeding kids certain information, then having schools, “Encourage gay role models among staff, parents and governors.”

The material further states that, “Homosexual staff should be able to discuss their private lives after consultation with the head teacher.”

People are now becoming aware that the gay lobby has grown significantly in influence and are expressing concern.

Take a mental picture and make a note to yourself. Unless the gay lobbyists and activist lawmakers are restrained in Washington State, you are looking at the future.

It is not about benefits, bullying, rights or even “marriage,” it is about affirming a lifestyle that has been rejected by every major religion in the history of the human race.”

____________________
Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom

A Call to Action

From wallbuilders.com.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
(2 Peter 1:2)

In the latter months of 2007, there was a flurry of incidents attempting to censor America’s religious heritage (e.g., the capstone at the Washington Monument, the flag folding ceremony in the Veterans’ Department, the flag certificates from the Architect of the Capitol, etc.). In each case, citizens learned of the incidents and in large numbers made their feelings known; each policy was promptly reversed.

In response to those (and other) incidents, Congressman Randy Forbes of Virginia introduced a Congressional Resolution affirming America’s Godly heritage through dozens of documented historic examples.

That measure, H.Res.888, declares its two-fold purpose:

Affirming the rich spiritual and religious history of our Nation’s founding and subsequent history and expressing support for designation of the first week in May as “American Religious History Week” for the appreciation of and education on America’s history of religious faith.
The House has agreed to consider and debate this excellent resolution. There are three things you can do to help:

Call your Member of Congress and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.Res.888 (to identify your Member of Congress, click here, enter your zip code in the upper left hand portion of the page, and hit “GO.”)

Call Randy’s office (202.225.6365) and thank him for standing up for our religious heritage. (All folks appreciate encouragement, but especially those on the front lines of battle.)
Forward the resolution to others (it is downloadable). It will remind Americans what God has done for them and instruct the next generation about God’s hand in America’s history.

God bless!

Clinton vs. Obama: A New Twist In The Fight For Life And Power

From Gary Randall and the Faith and Freedom Network and Foundation.

“It may be worse than you think. We have known for a long time that many liberal, secularists will do just about anything to get elected. Including running and hiding from their voting records. However, as voters have become more sophisticated and started actually looking at voting records, some lawmakers have taken creativity to a new level.

A few weeks ago Hillary accused Obama of not being as “pro-abortion” as she is. To prove it, she pointed to his voting record on the subject while he served in the Illinois State Legislature. She said he voted “present” instead of voting “no” on anti-abortion issues.

As his defense surfaced, you won’t believe who was orchestrating and planning his vote.

That’s right. Planned Parenthood.

In defending his pro-abortion position, the Obama people said, “Oh, no. He is actually more pro-abortion than Hillary, because he was voting “present” on those bills to further the cause.” Planned parenthood confirmed that they had actually devised the plan to have him and other Democrats vote “present” because there was a threat to some of their offices.

The threat?

Well, Pam Sutherland, CEO of Illinois Planned Parenthood, explained it to the press. She said, “We had a very astute and devious Republican leader that we knew was using abortion votes as wedge issues, putting those votes into mailers to help defeat pro-choice Democrats. It was our strategy, Planned Parenthood, to decide that a ‘present’ vote was the same as a ‘no’ vote.”

Astute? Probably. Devious? Who is devious? The astute republican leader who publicizes a lawmaker’s voting record or the lawmaker who decides that “present” means “no”?

This is another case of lawmakers getting elected by saying one thing during elections, then doing something very different once in office. Voter beware.

So, who is more pro-abortion, Obama or Clinton? We’ll let the abortion people fight that out.

This does cause one to wonder if either of these folks actually got to the White House, what kind of “code” voting Planned Parenthood would devise for them.

Keep in mind that Planned Parenthood just announced a campaign to raise $10 million to defeat pro-life candidates at the state level.

We need real change.”

Answering Objections from Homosexuals

From Frank Turek and Impactapologetics.com.

What about equal rights? 

Answer: First, everyone in America has the same rights. We all have the same right to marry any qualified person from the opposite sex. What homosexuals want is special rights– the special right to marry someone of the same sex. But why stop there? If homosexuals have a right to get married, then how can they say a man has no right to marry his daughter, his dog, his father, or three women and a poodle? Should bisexuals be permitted to marry two people?

Second, the government is not taking away the “rights” of homosexuals to have relationships. Homosexuals can relate any way they want, but they have no “right” to have that relationship recognized by the state. That’s why the same-sex marriage movement has more to do with respect than rights. Greg Koukl puts this very well: “Same-sex marriage is not about civil rights. It’s about validation and social respect. It is a radical attempt at civil engineering using government muscle to strong-arm the people into accommodating a lifestyle many find deeply offensive, contrary to nature, socially destructive, and morally repugnant.” Same-sex marriage advocate Andrew Sullivan understands this. He writes, “Including homosexuals within marriage would be a means of conferring the highest form social approval imaginable.”

Indeed. Homosexuals want the courts to grant them legal and, therefore, social approval for their lifestyle because they know that they cannot win such approval by a fair vote of the people. Until the Massachusetts Supreme Court overstepped its authority, “we the people” have decided which sexual relationships are worthy of legal recognition and which are not. And “we the people” have done so not on arbitrary grounds, but in light of the natural biological design and compatibility of a man and a woman and all of the benefits that come from their union. In other words, we legally recognize and confer benefits on marriage because marriage benefits our society at large. Americans, like virtually every civilized people before us, have put marriage alone in privileged class because marriage alone is supremely beneficial.

Finally, while proponents of same-sex marriage cast this as a moral issue (that’s why they use the word “rights”), they lack any moral authority for their position. By whose standard of morality must same-sex marriage be legalized? Certainly the Constitution says nothing about same-sex marriage. Is there a standard beyond the Constitution? Yes, God– but God is the last subject homosexual activists want to bring up. If they appeal to God and His absolute Moral Law– the Moral Law the Declaration of Independence says is “self-evident”– then they have to make the case that God believes same-sex marriage is a right. That’s anything but self-evident as the entire history of religion, human civilization, and the design of the human body attests.

 Opposition to same-sex marriage is a violation of the Separation of Church and State 

Answer: Even if one were to accept the erroneous, court-invented claim that the constitution requires a strict separation of church and state, it would not mean that state opposition to same-sex marriage violates the constitution. Churches also teach that murder, rape and child abuse are wrong, but no one says laws prohibiting such acts comprise a violation of the “separation of church and state.” In fact, if the government could not pass laws consistent with church teachings, then all criminal laws would have to be overturned because they are all in some way consistent with at least one of the Ten Commandments.

Second, there are churches on both sides of this issue. In other words, some churches actually support same-sex marriage. So if there is a strict separation of church and state, then I suppose we can’t put the pro-same-sex marriage position into law either, right? Homosexual activists don’t want to go there.

This separation-of-church-and-state objection involves a failure to distinguish between religion and morality. Religion involves our duty to God; but morality involves our duty to one another. Our lawmakers are not telling people how, when, or if to worship—that would be legislating religion. But lawmakers cannot avoid telling people how they should treat one another— that’s legislating morality.

Contrary to popular opinion, all laws legislate morality. Morality is about right and wrong, and every law legally declares one behavior right and its opposite wrong. So the question is not whether we can legislate morality. The question is, “Whose morality should we legislate?”

 

For thousands of years, we’ve legislated the self-evident truth that man is meant for woman. Now suddenly homosexuals—long critical of conservatives for trying to “legislate morality”—are trying to legislate their own morality in the form of same-sex marriage. They want to ignore self-evident truths and impose their own moral position on the entire country. The only question is, should we continue to legislate the morality that nurtures the next generation (traditional marriage), or the new one that entices it to destruction (same-sex marriage)?

 Don’t write Discrimination into the Constitution 

Answer: Too late. It’s already there. In fact, all laws discriminate. But it’s discrimination against behavior, not persons; and it is discrimination with cause not without. For example, the First Amendment’s freedom-of-religion protections discriminate against the behavior of Muslims who want to impose Islam on the entire nation, but it does not discriminate against Muslims as persons.

And the Thirteenth Amendment discriminates against the behavior of some businessmen who might like to improve their profits through slavery, but it does not discriminate against businessmen as persons. Likewise, our marriage laws discriminate against the desired behaviors of homosexuals, polygamists, bigamists, adulterers, and the incestuous among us, but they do not discriminate against them as persons. People who have homosexual desires want to be considered a special class of people that deserves special legal rights. But if we begin to classify people according to their desires or personality traits, where does it end? Should we have a special class for shy people? After all, they’re at a social disadvantage to extroverts. No, that would be absurd.  If we start to classify people by what they desire to do sexually, then we would have to give all sexual preferences and all sexual behaviors special legal status, including polygamy, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, adultery, rape, etc. “But those behaviors are harmful!” you say. Exactly, and so is homosexuality. So why is it legitimate to carve out a special case for homosexuality but not for those other behaviors? Are there any desires people ought not act on?

Perhaps we should use our common sense and classify people according to the way they were designed—male and female. In other words, we should be classified by our humanity and gender, not our feelings. We are men and women, not hetero-or-homosexuals. Therefore, limiting marriage to a man and a woman does not discriminate against people of any kind because our population consists of only two kinds of people: men and women!

 Preventing Same-sex marriage is Bigotry. 

Answer: Opposition to same-sex marriage is not based on bigotry, but on good reason. Consider murder, rape and incest. Our laws rightly discriminate against those behaviors because those behaviors are harmful. Imagine murderers, rapists or the incestuous calling us “bigots” for enacting those laws. Such laws are the antithesis of bigotry. Bigotry involves pre-judging something for no good reason. But laws against murder, rape, and incest are based on good reason. Namely, we reasonably conclude that the health and welfare of the public are higher values than allowing individuals to do whatever they want.

The same holds true with preserving marriage. The health and welfare of the public are higher values than allowing individuals to marry whomever they want. We don’t discriminate in favor of traditional marriage and against same-sex marriage out of “bigotry” or bias, but because we are sensible human beings who draw on thousands of years of evidence to conclude that one sexual relationship is more beneficial than any other. Some behaviors are better than others. That’s not bigotry, but wisdom!

Of course, proponents of same-sex marriage will continue to call us bigots, which may be

considered evidence that their case is flawed. Since they can’t win on the merits, their only recourse is to divert attention through name calling.

By the way, the bigotry charge is another case of selective morality on the part of homosexual activists. While resistance to same-sex marriage is clearly not bigotry as they claim, we might ask them, “Why is bigotry wrong? From what moral standard are you arguing? Why can you recognize that bigotry is absolutely wrong, but refuse to admit that homosexual behavior is wrong as well?” Indeed, homosexuals acknowledge the Moral Law when it comes to the immorality of bigotry, but they conveniently ignore it when comes to their own homosexual behavior.

 Same-sex marriage is Like Interracial Marriage. 

Answer: No, interracial marriage was opposed without any valid grounds. Opponents hid their prejudice with false speculation about birth defects and the like. But since all “races” interbreed, there is no such thing as interracial marriage. Actually, there is only one race– the human race. At best, there is inter-ethnic marriage which is still between men and women. Same-sex marriage is between man-man or woman-woman. That’s completely different. Interethnic couplings are benign—the man and woman are still designed for one another. But homosexual couplings are harmful because they go against the natural design. In other words, ethnicity is irrelevant to marriage—gender is essential to it.

Ironically, it’s same-sex marriage proponents who are reasoning like racists. Instead of asking the state to recognize the preexisting institution of marriage, homosexuals are asking the state to define marriage. Well, that’s exactly the line of reasoning racists used in their effort to prevent inter-racial marriage. Racists wanted the state to define marriage as only between same race couples, instead of having the state recognize what marriage already was—the procreative union of a man and a woman regardless of their racial/ethnic background. While racists and homosexuals may want to alter the legal definition of marriage, they cannot alter the laws of nature that helped produce the recognition of legal marriage in the first place.

 Homosexuality is Like Race. 

Answer: No, it’s not. Sexual behavior is always a choice, race never is. You will find many former homosexuals, but you will never find a former African-American.

This analogy falsely assumes a homosexual act is a condition rather than a behavior. Skin color is a condition; a sexual act is behavior. Someone could be a “homosexual’ in the sense of having gay feelings, but not act on them. The same can be said of a celibate person with heterosexual feelings. So technically speaking, there are no heterosexuals or homosexuals—there are only males and females. For convenience we call people heterosexuals or homosexuals, when it would be more accurate to refer to such people as “people who desire to engage in heterosexual acts” and “people who desire to engage in homosexual acts.” In other words, we are males and females by condition, and heterosexuals or homosexuals by behavior.

 But Homosexuals Were Born that Way! 

Answer: If there is a real genetic component to homosexual desires, it has not been discovered. But even if there is a genetic component to desires, that would not give license to behavior. All of us have desires that we ought not act on. There have been genetic links made to a desire for alcohol, but who would advocate alcoholism? If someone has a genetic attraction to children, does that justify pedophilia? What homosexual activist would say that a genetic predisposition to violence justifies gay-bashing? Desires do not justify behaviors. In fact, there’s a word we use to describe the disciplined restraint of destructive desires– it’s called civilization.

But homosexual activists will have none of this. Instead of restraining negative behaviors,

homosexual activists are asking us not just to tolerate, but to endorse them. If we adopt their narcissistic demands—as J.D. Unwin documented by his study of 86 civilizations– it may be just a few generations before our nation is destroyed from within.

 But Same-sex marriage is About Love. 

Answer: Even if that were true, so what? Our culture associates marriage with love, but love is not the central purpose the state recognizes marriage. The state recognizes marriage because it is the best way to produce children and propagate a stable society. Homosexual unions by nature cannot do that.

But even if love is seen as a reason for marriage, we must ask, “What kind of love typifies a homosexual relationship?” Are there men who really feel drawn romantically to other men? No doubt. Are there men who really have a deep sense of commitment to other men, wish to care for them, and be intimate with them? No doubt.

But the same might be said of a man and his daughter, a man and a child, or three men and a woman. Should those people act on their sexual desires? If they did, would their actions truly be seeking the ultimate good of the person or persons they were trying to “love?” No. Sometimes sexual acts can be unloving. In fact, even sexual acts inside of marriage can be unloving—when they are medically dangerous for example. This is the very case with homosexual acts. They are medically dangerous. When sex is medically dangerous, the most loving thing you can do is not have sex with that person.

Some may argue that, “When two adults consent to engage in homosexual acts they are

each seeking the good of the other. Each person wants it and chooses it.” But if you truly love someone, will you do something that will seriously hurt or kill them? Having homosexual sex with someone does just that. It’s been documented to cause disease and to shorten life spans dramatically (one study showed the median age of death in the early 40’s for gay men and women without AIDS26). With the consequences so severe, if a man really “loved” another man, he wouldn’t engage in homosexual acts with him. Besides, sex isn’t the only way you can demonstrate your love for someone. Men can demonstrate their love for one another without having sex. In fact, most of our loving relationships are non-sexual.

 I Know Loving Homosexuals Couples with Children Who Have Been Together For Years 

Answer: Yes, some homosexuals live long healthy lives, and some homosexuals turn out to be better parents than some heterosexuals. But the data shows that such people are the exception rather than the rule. And laws cannot be based on exceptions. For example, we don’t stop warning people about the dangers of smoking just because some smokers outlive non-smokers. Nor should we stop warning people about the dangers of homosexual behavior just because some homosexuals outlive some heterosexuals. And if we’re not going to warn them, at the very least, we ought not endorse homosexual behavior.

If laws were based on exceptions, we would have to do away with virtually every law we

have. It would require that we do away with all laws against running red lights because sometimes you can run a red light without hurting anyone. It would also require that we do away with all laws against theft because a starving man may need to steal a loaf of bread to feed his family. In fact, it would require that we do away with marriage itself because spouses in some marriages abuse one another and their children. But in doing that we’d be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Traditional marriage, as a whole, is great for society. We can’t let its exceptions prevent us from experiencing the overall benefits it produces. So, traditional marriage must remain our legal norm despite any exceptions to the rule.

 Some Marriages Do Not Produce Children 

Answer: Yes, but that is the exception rather than the rule. The state recognizes marriage

because marriage in general procreates and provides the most stable and nurturing environment for children. But by the facts of nature, no homosexual act can do this.

Second, sterile heterosexual marriages still affirm the connection to childbearing because

sterility is not generally known on the wedding day. And on those few instances where sterility is known (e.g. with older couples), the man-woman union still symbolizes what is generally a procreative relationship.

Furthermore, since it would not be possible or desirable for the state to attempt to determine which men and women are capable of procreation and which are not, it allows all men and woman to marry. But since no homosexual relationship produces children, no homosexual relationship deserves to be called a marriage.

 Opposition to Same-sex marriage is Hate Speech 

Answer: Nonsense. If that were the case, then homosexual activists would be guilty of hate speech toward heterosexuals for trying to change the definition of marriage. Political disagreement is not hate speech. And disagreement with the radical gay political agenda does not make someone an enemy of homosexuals. I am opposed to the legal endorsement of a particular behavior. I am not opposed to the people who engage in that behavior. Just because we disagree about political ends, does not mean we ought to demonize those who disagree with us.

Ironically, those of us who are reasonably pointing out the known dangers of homosexual

activity should be considered friends of homosexuals, not foes. After all, we’re the ones trying to spare homosexuals from further disease and death by telling the truth about the issue. The activists who are suppressing that truth are their real enemies.

 The President is Politicizing the Constitution 

Answer: President Bush didn’t create this controversy because he wanted to “energize his base.” Four members from the activist Massachusetts and New Jersey Supreme Courts have created the need for a constitutional amendment by making up rights that aren’t in their constitution. Their rulings now have the potential to become the law of every other state through the full faith and credit clause of the United States constitution. Think of that—four unelected justices can change the laws of the entire country! Talk about discrimination—that’s discrimination against the other 300 million people in this country who are entitled to govern themselves! When any court oversteps its bounds and usurps the will of the people by legislating from the bench, the only sure remedy is what the President has suggested—a constitutional amendment.

 

We need to set aside emotion and look at the facts. When we do, we can see clearly that a

constitutional amendment is necessary to protect our national immune system. Vote YES.

Design Found, Intelligence Lacking in Latest Attack by Darwinians

From the Family Research Council.

“The National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine have mounted yet another attack on the scientific theory of intelligent design, publishing an 89-page book titled Science, Evolution, and Creationism. The new publication falsely equates “intelligent design” (a scientific theory which infers the necessity for intelligent design from scientific evidence) with “creationism” (a term usually used for a theory of origins that begins with the Bible or some other religious text). It also lumps together concepts of microevolution within species (such as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria), which are not controversial, with the more contested theory of macroevolution, which seeks to trace all existing forms of life to a common ancestor. It appears to dodge altogether the crucial question of how living things could have arisen from non-living things in the first place. It also slanders intelligent design as “unscientific” despite peer-reviewed articles on the concept and the credentials of 700 doctoral-level scientists who have publicly questioned Darwinism. Perhaps the biggest problem with the defenders of Darwinian evolution is that, ironically, they have reversed the roles in the supposed historical “war between science and religion,” by declaring Darwinism to be inerrant dogma, and punishing its doubters by burning them at the academic stake.”

National Academy of Sciences Report on Evolution is Long on Assertion, Short on Evidence

From Anika Smith and evolutionnews.org.

“The National Academy of Sciences has published yet another report on evolution, titled “Science, Evolution, and Creationism.” In the ample space of 89 pages, the NAS manages to celebrate evolution as an unassailable truth, completely misrepresent intelligent design, and rehash the same standard Darwinist arguments which have been refuted by critical scientists time and again.

The NAS exaggerates the success of evolution, hyping it as “the foundation for modern biology.” This outrageous claim continues to meet a growing skepticism from scientists around the world. Over 700 doctoral scientists have publicly declared their disagreement by signing a list dissenting from Darwinism, including National Academy of Sciences member Phillip Skell.

In 2005, Dr. Skell wrote in an article published in The Scientist that “the claim that [Darwinian evolution] is the cornerstone of modern experimental biology will be met with quiet skepticism from a growing number of scientists in fields where theories actually do serve as cornerstones for tangible breakthroughs.”

Instead of treating evolutionary theory as an area open to further scientific inquiry, the NAS report canonizes evolution as perfect and immutable, “so well established that no new evidence is likely to alter it.”

“Under their definition, a theory is not a testable area of science but rather an unquestionable dogma,” said CSC program officer Casey Luskin.

Of course, this should come as no surprise, given the NAS’s bias against intelligent design, which challenges Darwinian evolution on scientific grounds. Rather than addressing the science of ID, the report misrepresents the theory as an untestable religious belief. While the report ignores what design theorists actually claim, it chooses to cite the Kitzmiller ruling instead, apparently trusting a judge who copied the ACLU and disregarding the academic freedom of the scientists who stake their reputations and careers on the scientific merit of intelligent design.At bottom, this report does little more than reveal a tired and weary voice of an establishment unwilling to actually address the scientific claims or the thoughtful skepticism of a growing number of scientists who disagree.”

Discovery Institute recently published its own guide for educators, “The Theory of Intelligent Design: A briefing packet for educators to help them understand the debate between Darwinian evolution and intelligent design.” It is available at www.discovery.org.

God and the Presidential Election

From Bill O’Reilly and billoreilly.com.

Any republican who dares mention God or faith on the campaign trail will be vilified as full of “fetid hypocrisy”…

“You’ve got to hand it to the committed left media, they are ruthless and fanatical – much more so than the relatively few right-wingers currently inhabiting America’s newsrooms. The latest leftist tactic is to put the “hypocrite” label on any Republican presidential candidate that dares mention his “faith.”

Leading the charge is The Washington Post, a newspaper that is densely populated with secular-progressives. Their chief anti-religion hatchet man is columnist Harold Meyerson, a self-proclaimed “non-believer” who routinely smears public people that demonstrate spirituality.

Earlier this month, Meyerson wrote a column entitled: “Hard-liners for Jesus,” and it was a beauty. The lead paragraph went like this: “As Christians across the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, it’s a fitting moment to contemplate the mountain of moral, and mortal, hypocrisy that is our Christianized Republican Party.”

But Meyerson was just warming up. He then went on to assassinate the characters of GOP politicians including the President: “Bush whose catechism is a merry mix of torture and piety…”

Blood dripping from is keyboard, Meyerson ended his brutal diatribe this way: “The most depressing thing about the Republican presidential race is that the party’s rank and file require their candidates to grow meaner with each passing week. And now, inconveniently, inconsiderately, comes Christmas, a holiday that couldn’t be better calibrated to expose the Republicans’ rank, fetid hypocrisy.”

Joy to the world, Harold, right?

The strategy here is obvious. Any republican who dares mention God or faith on the campaign trail will be vilified as full of “fetid hypocrisy” if the man has ever done anything wrong in his entire life. Using this tactic, the secular American media hope to get any faith-based issues out of the campaign.

That would be good news for the democrats, of course, because a Pew Research Study shows that only 29% of Americans believe the Democratic Party is friendly to religion. Thus, discussions about faith and values aren’t going to help the democrats very much.

But there is a larger issue in play for The Washington Post, The New York Times and other committed left media. Standing in the way of gay marriage, legalized drugs, unfettered abortion, and other sacred liberal causes, are people of faith. They are the primary opposition to the social liberal agenda fervently embraced by the leftist press. If you can demonize (sorry) people of faith, if you can shut them up by playing the hypocrisy card, then say hello to a Swedish social system.

Ah, Sweden, a country of nine million people enjoying, perhaps, the most “progressive” political system on earth. The quasi-socialistic government provides cradle-to-grave entitlements, most people never get married, and just about anything goes socially. By the way, about 85% of Swedes do not believe in God.

Harold Meyerson would love Sweden. The Washington Post should begin publishing there. What a country! None of this God stuff, none of this vile “fetid hypocrisy.” Just an enormously high suicide rate while everybody does his or her own thing.

But back to the USA. In the months to come you will hear and read countless news commentaries about the moral hypocrisy of the GOP. The secular-left media will hammer Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee et al., while Senators Clinton and Obama will get a pass. Unless, of course, they start up with this God stuff. Then, all bets are off.

So a word to the wise: The upcoming presidential election will not only be about important issues facing America. It will also be a test of faith.”