News

Anne Miller of AOL News wrote a story on Wednesday about a conservative that says the Bible is too liberal.  At least the newer translations are.

Attorney and teacher Andy Schlafly, in response to what he has called “liberal,” “offensive” and “incorrect” translations, formed the Conservative Bible Project, a Wiki software-based site devoted to “clean(ing) up” the Bible.

While Schlafly has his critics, he has denounced their criticisms, calling them “liberals who are unhappy that their game is up.”

Am I alone in thinking how stupid this is?

On September 30, England’s Guardian reported that Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy was second on the American Library Association’s most banned book list.

The list ranks the top 10 books and authors which are successfully banned from schools or frequently challenge, usually by parents concerned about what their children read or by religious groups, such as the Catholic League.

Pullman has come under fire for his atheist views and in particular for one scene in his final book where his protagonists kill a character called “God.”

The first of Pullman’s books was made into a movie, “The Golden Compass,” in 2007 starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig of “James Bond” fame.

ALA’s rankings came in the middle of the annual “Banned Books Week,” where libraries across the country celebrate freedom of speech.

In its Thursday editorial, the New York Times laid out a case for a universal health care plan to pay for abortions, regardless of whether the abortion would save the pregnant woman’s life.

The Times, often criticized by the Right for having a Liberal bias, said that, “Democrats who support the compromise must find a way to prevent it from being used later to go after other tax subsidies and thus further deny Americans’ rights to make their own health-care decisions.”

This editorial is interesting in two ways.  First, abortion most of the time is not a medical procedure per quo. Pregnancy is not a disease or an injury or something necessitating an operation, such as a facial reconstructive operation for a burn victim. It is a choice the woman makes to end a pregnancy than in most cases is not life-threatening or a “condition.” It’s the creation of life.

The diction the Times uses in calling it a health-care decision makes it seem like going in to a doctor to treat a problem with your health.

Second, in a roundabout way, this column is a little bit conservative. While government-funded health care expands the role of the feds, government denying abortion is too liberal for Liberals. It’s a private decision that government should not intervene in.

But if they expect the public to fund health care, for the government to ensure that people get health care, than that same government has the right to affirm or to deny what its nation-wide insurance plan covers. Abortion is not health care and government is not obligated to kill babies for the sake of convenience.

The purpose of medicine is to save lives, not terminate them.

On November 19, the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” Way of the Master’s Kirk Cameron will be handing out 100 free copies of the book, complete with a 50-page introduction by Ray Comfort.

This introduction will include a timeline of Darwin’s life, thoughts on God by other “top scientists,” “Hitler’s undeniable connection to the theory,” and more content in hopes to turn students away from the “brainwashing of their students.”

You can read more on this story at AOL and at the book’s giveaway site.

Albert Mohler and Mark Driscoll comment on Christians fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  Read as the USA TODAY article, Muslims find new Ramadan fast partners: Christians, allows Mohler and Driscoll to bring a reformed biblical perspective on this new trend.

[B2C] – boundtochrist.com

Collin Hansen, John Piper, and Carolyn James all spoke at the Religious Newswriters Association annual convention on September 11, 2009. The discussion entitled On The New Calvinists includes opening remarks by each of the speakers and a Q&A session with the news reporters.

The discussion answers several questions about the reformed movement, so anyone wanting clarification on some of the big questions should enjoy this.

1) Mexico is considering using drain water to offset the effects of the drought plaguing the region.
2) The body of a Yale University grad student is believed to have been found buried in a wall in Los Angeles.
3) A report ranks Louisiana as having the most corrupt political system in the country.
4) Two men were killed in a nightclub shooting in Jackson, Tenn.
5) Johnson Bible College hopes its $2 million, 12,000 square-foot facility will more effectively teach prospective ministers how to preach sermons.

NASA recently released images from the newly repaired Hubble Space Telescope, and the Christian world is in awe.

John Piper, Between Two Worlds and Al Mohler all linked to the page or offered commentary on the telescope’s stunning images of deep space this week, telling their readers to look at their Creator rather than just marveling at the beauty of the Creation itself.

“The cosmos does reveal the glory of the Creator — indeed it is inevitably so,” Mohler said.  ” The heavens — and Hubble — are telling the glory of God.  He who has eyes to see, let him see.”

While it does not surprise me that the images are capturing evangelical hearts, I think it surprises me just a little that more Christians are not inspired to look at Creation a little closer.  Romans 1:20 says, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.”  We need more Christian scientists, and not merely ones out to prove a young-earth creationist view, but Christian scientists who worship God by studying the things that have been made.

Biology, astronomy, geology, physics–all of these are ways that, according to Scripture, God has revealed Himself.  Should we not take a closer view at what God has shown us?  Let us lay aside our presuppositions and let the stars do the talking.  After all, they are groaning to be free like us.

Here’s this week’s newswire, a day late because of the Labor Day Holiday:

The Nashville Tennessean ran an article Tuesday about the first Buddhist army chaplain, a former Southern Baptist who will head to Afghanistan without a Bible.  Thomas Dyer said that his goal as a chaplain is to “bring serenity and calm, honed by months of intensive meditation.”  The article discusses the major shifts in American religious culture, including the decline of mainline Protestantism and the rise of secular citizens in the army.

AOL news reported on Saturday the arrest of a Florida pastor who faked his own kidnapping to commit adultery. Wikler Moran-Mora had called his wife on August 25 saying he had been captured and his wife called the police after her husband told her not to.  For more in depth coverage, read the local news.

In other news:

• Some Texas schools are having a hard time trying to interpret a state law mandating biblical literacy.
• A Maryland church horrified at the direction of the Episcopal church was accepted into full communion with the Catholic Church.
• A drought is sweeping across Kenya, making resources there scarce.
• A woman is fined for wearing trousers in Sudan.

All last week, every media outlet has been giving extensive coverage of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s death and funeral.  After a long battle with terminal cancer, Kennedy died on August 25 in Massachusetts.

Though some bloggers have described the Democratic party as being “atheist,” Kennedy was a devout Catholic.  His funeral was at a Catholic Church and conducted in a traditional liturgical fashion.

Because of this, the Catholic News Service wrote an obituary for the late senator on August 26. Jesuit Father William J. Bryon titled the article, “Nobody’s perfect–Remembering Ted Kennedy.” Of Kennedy, Bryon wrote,

“Upon hearing the news of the senator’s death, a priest I know asked whether or not he would be buried in the church. Of course he will, I said; he was a Catholic in good standing. True, he was divorced and remarried. But there was an annulment and he had the benefit of the sacraments.”

It is not surprising but still disappointing that at the end of this senator’s life, what the Church chose to focus on was not the gospel but the sacraments.  While marriage, confession, baptism, communion and all the others have their benefits, this would not be enough for a standing before God.  True, Kennedy was divorced and remarried.  But Kennedy had the imputed righteousness of Christ. And that clears the guilt of past sin where no annulment can.

Perhaps Bryon could learn from the wisdom of Kennedy’s mother, whom he quotes in the last part of his obituary:

“The most important element in human life is faith. If God were to take away all his blessings, health, physical fitness, wealth, intelligence and leave me with but one gift, I would ask for faith, for with faith in him and his goodness, mercy and love for me, and belief in everlasting life, I believe I could suffer the loss of my other gifts and be happy.”