URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS: From the Florida Family Policy Council( May 21) :Boy Scout Vote On Admitting Homosexual Scouts : "Homosexual activists, having convinced BSA leadership to spearhead the proposed change in policy (which would force every Scouting unit to allow open homosexuality among its boys), know that losing this issue would be the biggest set-back for the homosexual agenda in America yet, also affecting literally millions of young Boy Scouts. They also know if they can win this BSA battle on THURS. May 23rd , this will likely to be taken into consideration by some U.S. Supreme Court Justices as they deliberate and announce their decision on whether to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in June, which currently defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Also, if gay activists win, you can bet they will be celebrating their victories in all the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) parades in a few weeks – June is Gay Pride month. And trust me, they are pulling out all the stops to win!" May 24 - In lieu of the majority of the leadership voting to admit homosexual Scouts on Thursday, PRAY 1) that somehow the Scouts will somehow maintain their long history of developing true character in boys and young men and not furthering sexual and political agendas, 2) for the millions of Scouts and their parents who must now decide whether to stay in the program, and 3) that a safe alternative may somehow be created for those boys who do leave the program.
Same -Sex "Marriage"- PLEASE PRAY WITH ME (every day untill the decision is revealed around mid-June) THAT THE SUPREME COURT WILL VOTE TO UPHOLD THE 2 LAWS REVIEWED SUPPORTING A TRADITIONAL DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.. PRAY that the Court will resist any pressure to MAKE new law based on "cultural trends." PRAY as though the very future of the institution of the family is at stake because it is. PRAY! - for the sake of possibly millions of children, and for our country if it is to continue to be shown any more favor by our Heavenly Father, who I promise you will be very displeased if homosexual marriage is legalized; "GOD IS NOT [TO BE] MOCKED..." - (Gal. 6:7) - Stan [Be sure to check out my brief essay at post #478.]
"All About Babies - The Culture of Life," by Eric Metaxas: May 14, 2013 http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/breakpoint-commentaries-archive/entry/13/22220
If I say the word “culture” to you, what other words come to mind? Art? Morals? Perhaps politics in its broadest sense? Here’s a word that probably doesn’t come to mind: babies. Yet, as the recipient of the 2013 Wilberforce Award, Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York, argued, it’s probably the first word that should come to mind.
In accepting the award at the Colson Center’s annual Wilberforce Conference, Dolan told the audience that his “most joyful event” in recent months was neither receiving the award nor even participating in the election of a new pope. No, that distinction went to baptizing his great-nephew, Charlie. He noted that the most inspirational part of this event was observing the “profound change” that becoming parents had worked in the child’s mom and dad. He saw how their “attention and interest, their very lives, were now totally absorbed, not in themselves, not even in each other, but in their baby . . . No longer were they living for themselves, but for that baby.”
To which he added “that’s exactly how God intended it to be. That’s what we call a culture of life. The human project is about babies. A man and a woman are made for babies. Culture is all about babies. Our lives are at their best when centered not upon ourselves but upon babies.”
Culture, in Cardinal Dolan’s words, “is simply humanity’s best effort to protect the baby, the mother, and the father.” Its “purpose is to embrace, nurture, and protect the baby, the mom, the dad, and to see that this precious infant has the embrace of the community to grow in age and wisdom until . . . that baby, as an adult can tenderly and faithfully love a spouse, have his or her own baby, and the sacred cycle begins again.” Thus, as the historian Christopher Dawson put it, “culture was actually humanity’s attempt to ‘extend the womb.’”
By these standards, ours is not a culture—certainly not one worthy of the name. A culture, as Cardinal Dolan said, that “claims the right to redefine the very nature of the relationship that procreates the baby [and] . . . puts conception, pregnancy and childbirth under the domain of the Center for Disease Control” is waging war on the womb, not extending it. Likewise, a “culture that inhibits the mom and dad from passing on faith, their convictions, its expression, to their child; [and] considers a mom’s desire to remain home to raise her child as less than liberated and fulfilling . . . might be a brave new world, but it sure is not a culture.”
There’s a lot more great stuff in Dolan’s remarks. Please, come to BreakPoint.org to watch the speech in its entirety—and then please share it with your friends and family. Dolan’s diagnosis of our cultural predicament is spot on. Another name for the “brave new world” he describes is the “culture of death.” While the most obvious example of the culture of death in action is abortion, this culture deals out death in many ways, both physically and spiritually. The Christian response is to lovingly make clear what most people would prefer remain obscure. Thus, we can and should expect criticism and worse.
So when you come to BreakPoint.org to watch Cardinal Dolan’s speech, I hope you’ll also watch my Wilberforce Conference address on, appropriately enough, William Wilberforce himself—a man Chuck Colson often referred to as his “hero.” You’ve probably heard about Wilberforce’s decades-long struggle to end the slave trade, but in my talk, I’ll fill you in on Wilberforce’s passion to tackle a host of social ills in his day—all in the name of Christ, and with a stunning graciousness that we would do well to emulate in our time.
For Further Information - Articles:
Baby, You’re the Greatest , Kathryn Jean Lopez | National Review | May 5, 2013 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/347435/baby-you%E2%80%99re-greatest
Cardinal Dolan's -- er -- Defense?, lan Eason | BreakPoint Blog | April 29, 2013 http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/tp-home/blog-archives/blog-archives/entry/4/22093
"...As he continued to speak it suddenly dawned on me. Rather than standing and defending traditional doctrines concerning the sanctity of life, Christian teachings of the one-man-one-woman nature of marriage and the freedom to teach and protect the same in public life, Dolan had already moved past that to celebration of the genius of God in creating marriage and new life. His was no behind-the-walls siege mentality like that which we have seen many religious conservatives adopt. This was more of a "Glory-to-God-look-how-MAGNIFICENT-this-is" outburst. It was not a stodgy stand on centuries-old dogma or historical studies. It was, rather, a testimony full of smiles and laughter, and totally in the moment. I looked around the room. Even the young people were mesmerized."
"This is what has been missing in the debate. Not so much what marriage isn't, but what it is. Not so much what a beating heart in the womb isn't, but exuberant celebration of what it is. Not so much a defiant 'You can't force me to violate my conscience' as a 'How could I do anything but shout to the world the WONDER of what it IS!'"
"I left the room shaking my head and smiling to myself. What I had witnessed was about as much a "defense" as sending in RG III with his best receivers against a high school team would be. To the cardinal, it is not about winning an argument, even winsomely. The argument is won. It is time to shout it to the world with joy -- and celebrate!"
To which he added “that’s exactly how God intended it to be. That’s what we call a culture of life. The human project is about babies. A man and a woman are made for babies. Culture is all about babies. Our lives are at their best when centered not upon ourselves but upon babies.”
Culture, in Cardinal Dolan’s words, “is simply humanity’s best effort to protect the baby, the mother, and the father.” Its “purpose is to embrace, nurture, and protect the baby, the mom, the dad, and to see that this precious infant has the embrace of the community to grow in age and wisdom until . . . that baby, as an adult can tenderly and faithfully love a spouse, have his or her own baby, and the sacred cycle begins again.” Thus, as the historian Christopher Dawson put it, “culture was actually humanity’s attempt to ‘extend the womb.’”By these standards, ours is not a culture—certainly not one worthy of the name. A culture, as Cardinal Dolan said, that “claims the right to redefine the very nature of the relationship that procreates the baby [and] . . . puts conception, pregnancy and childbirth under the domain of the Center for Disease Control” is waging war on the womb, not extending it. Likewise, a “culture that inhibits the mom and dad from passing on faith, their convictions, its expression, to their child; [and] considers a mom’s desire to remain home to raise her child as less than liberated and fulfilling . . . might be a brave new world, but it sure is not a culture.”
There’s a lot more great stuff in Dolan’s remarks. Please, come to BreakPoint.org to watch the speech in its entirety—and then please share it with your friends and family. Dolan’s diagnosis of our cultural predicament is spot on. Another name for the “brave new world” he describes is the “culture of death.” While the most obvious example of the culture of death in action is abortion, this culture deals out death in many ways, both physically and spiritually. The Christian response is to lovingly make clear what most people would prefer remain obscure. Thus, we can and should expect criticism and worse.
So when you come to BreakPoint.org to watch Cardinal Dolan’s speech, I hope you’ll also watch my Wilberforce Conference address on, appropriately enough, William Wilberforce himself—a man Chuck Colson often referred to as his “hero.” You’ve probably heard about Wilberforce’s decades-long struggle to end the slave trade, but in my talk, I’ll fill you in on Wilberforce’s passion to tackle a host of social ills in his day—all in the name of Christ, and with a stunning graciousness that we would do well to emulate in our time.
For Further Information - Articles:
Baby, You’re the Greatest , Kathryn Jean Lopez | National Review | May 5, 2013 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/347435/baby-you%E2%80%99re-greatest
Cardinal Dolan's -- er -- Defense?, lan Eason | BreakPoint Blog | April 29, 2013 http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/tp-home/blog-archives/blog-archives/entry/4/22093
"...As he continued to speak it suddenly dawned on me. Rather than standing and defending traditional doctrines concerning the sanctity of life, Christian teachings of the one-man-one-woman nature of marriage and the freedom to teach and protect the same in public life, Dolan had already moved past that to celebration of the genius of God in creating marriage and new life. His was no behind-the-walls siege mentality like that which we have seen many religious conservatives adopt. This was more of a "Glory-to-God-look-how-MAGNIFICENT-this-is" outburst. It was not a stodgy stand on centuries-old dogma or historical studies. It was, rather, a testimony full of smiles and laughter, and totally in the moment. I looked around the room. Even the young people were mesmerized."
"This is what has been missing in the debate. Not so much what marriage isn't, but what it is. Not so much what a beating heart in the womb isn't, but exuberant celebration of what it is. Not so much a defiant 'You can't force me to violate my conscience' as a 'How could I do anything but shout to the world the WONDER of what it IS!'"
"I left the room shaking my head and smiling to myself. What I had witnessed was about as much a "defense" as sending in RG III with his best receivers against a high school team would be. To the cardinal, it is not about winning an argument, even winsomely. The argument is won. It is time to shout it to the world with joy -- and celebrate!"
No comments:
Post a Comment