How should the Church respond to jihad?

It appears to me as though we have two choices: we can take the path of pacifism, which aims at separating from any involvement of military action; or we can pursue a just war theory that aims at instilling the most overall peace long-term by confronting aggression through sufficient and responsible military action. What do you think? Post your comments immediately below this post.

Is Church Discipline for Today?

By Jonathan Leeman of 9Marks.org

Where’s the love? Where’s the gospel? Think Church Discipline is tough? You’re not alone! But why do we all find it so tough? Read on to consider the many objections to church discipline and begin to better understand how the whole Bible speaks to these challenges. This is the first in a series of articles on Church Discipline.

Republicans Exhibit Weak Leadership in Pro-Life Cause

Despite a Republican-dominated Senate and House, a pro-death bill was able to make its way through Congress and onto the President’s desk. H.R. 810/S. 471, also known as the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, would earmark taxpayer money for the intentional destruction of human life. As reported by AgapePress:

Judie Brown of the American Life League, one of America's most powerful pro-life organizations, is unhappy with the Republican-controlled Senate, and her dissatisfaction begins at the top. "I think when you've got somebody as 'pro-life' as Bill Frist defending the killing of these babies, nobody should be surprised at anything the Senate does," she says.

"The Republican Party is not pro-life," Brown contends. "It wears this veneer; it's a cloak that it puts on and takes off, individual Republicans or the party as a whole, when it suits them." However, when it comes down to "where the rubber meets the road and every single baby has to be protected from the moment his life begins," she says, "the Republican Party falls off the face of the Earth."

Thanks to President Bush and his pro-life backbone, however, this pro-death bill will not become law. For the first time since becoming president, he used his veto powers and killed the bill instead of babies.

Bush: “These boys and girls are not spare parts.” watch video download RealPlayer here
Read the President’s letter to the House of Representatives
To see how your representatives in Congress voted, click here.

Simplifying the Stem Cell Research Debate

From a practical standpoint:
Adult Stem Cell Research is superior to Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
(Click pic. for more info.)

From an ethical standpoint:
Adult Stem Cell Research is superior to Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
(You don’t have to kill one life to cure another.)

MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: Compassion International

Compassion President Wess Stafford says, “This is the time to be who we are – to live out our faith.” Watch this 5-minute video where you see how a wave of Compassion reaches tsunami victims in Indonesia.

More on this great organization:

• Compassion ranks in top 1 percent for financial integrity.
• Join the fight against AIDS! Sponsor an African Child.

CALL TO ACTION: Call your elected representatives today!

Of course, you are not going to hear about this much in the mainstream media. However, this week is a monumental week for those issues about which Christians care deeply. At center stage, the U.S. House of Representatives will be considering protecting marriage as members vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment tomorrow (Tuesday). The goal of this amendment is to prevent any further attacks to the institution of marriage by codifying into the U.S. Constitution that marriage is – simply stated – a social contract that can be established only between one man and one woman.

Take Action! (Matthew 5:13-16) Please contact your representative immediately and urge him or her to support this important piece of legislation. To find out your representative’s number, visit www.congress.org and plug in your zip code. To find out how your elected representative voted on issues you care about, click here.

If you make this call, please consider addressing the following other pieces of legislation as well:

BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS:

Contact your elected representatives in both houses of Congress and urge them to:

…support S.3504. This crucial piece of legislation will prevent the further abuse of scientific research and preserve human dignity by expanding protections against scavenging fetal organs by prohibiting gestation of human fetuses for exploitation of their body parts.

…mandate that cable providers offer “a la carte” television programming to its viewers, so consumers are not forced to pay – and thereby support – channels they find morally detrimental to their families.


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

Contact your member in the House of Representatives and urge him or her to:

…support H.R. 2679 (main sponsor: Rep. John Hostettler): Congress needs to act to take away the financial incentive from groups like the ACLU to sue schools and local governments in cases of religious expression.

U.S. SENATE

Contact your two senators and urge them to:

…oppose the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act S.471/H.R.810--sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). Senator Brownback (R-Kansas) said the legislation is wrong and must be defeated. “This would be breaking through a new barrier,” he explained. “This would be the first time that we've paid, with taxpayer dollars, the intentional destruction of young human life for research.”

Also, urge your senator to support and fund ethical stem-cell research -- adult and cord-blood stem-cell research – that does not destroy human life.

…support the Child Custody Protection Act which make it a federal offense to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion if this action circumvents the application of a state law requiring parental involvement in a minor’s abortion.

For those in Ohio:

Senator Mike DeWine (R)

800-205-6446 202-224-2315 614-469-6774 513-763-8260
216-522-7272 419-259-7536 937-376-3080 614-469-5186 740-373-2317

Senator George Voinovich (R)

202-224-3353 614-469-6774 614-469-6697
513-684-3265 419-259-3895 216-522-7095

NEA flip-flops. Teachers Can Opt Out Of Union

Unfortunately, the NEA has done a policy-type about-face and is returning to supporting homosexuality nation-wide. There are options, however, for teachers who do not want to financially support this union's political goals. For options, click here.

Tell the FCC to Implement Cable Choice

The FCC wants to hear from you right now. There’s a window of opportunity for you to make your views count in a big way by taking 1 minute right now and filling out a simple FCC public opinion web form. Tell them to support "a la carte cable programming". For more information, click here.

A Call to Evangelical Unity

The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration is a manifesto of sorts, compiled by leaders within the evangelical community and published in Christianity Today in 1999. Those leaders who compiled or endorsed this statement of faith included the following: R.C. Sproul; D.A. Carson; Erwin Lutzer; J.I. Packer; Kay Arthur; Chuck Colson; Jerry Falwell; Wayne Grudem; Woodrow Kroll; John MacArthur; Beth Moore; Charles Swindoll; Bill Hybels; and Ravi Zacharias. Here are a few excerpts from this statement:

Unity in the Gospel

Christians are commanded to love each other despite differences of race, gender, privilege, and social, political, and economic background (John 13:34-35; Gal. 3:28-29), and to be of one mind wherever possible (John 17:20-21; Phil. 2:2; Rom. 14:1-15:13). We know that divisions among Christians hinder our witness in the world, and we desire greater mutual understanding and truth-speaking in love. We know too that as trustees of God's revealed truth, we cannot embrace any form of doctrinal indifferentism, or relativism, or pluralism by which God's truth is sacrificed for a false peace.

Doctrinal disagreements call for debate. Dialogue for mutual understanding and, if possible, narrowing of the differences is valuable, doubly so when the avowed goal is unity in primary things, with liberty in secondary things, and charity in all things.

Affirmation and Denial – Point 18:

We affirm that Jesus Christ commands his followers to proclaim the Gospel to all living persons, evangelizing everyone everywhere, and discipling believers within the fellowship of the church. A full and faithful witness to Christ includes the witness of personal testimony, godly living, and acts of mercy and charity to our neighbor, without which the preaching of the Gospel appears barren.

We deny that the witness of personal testimony, godly living, and acts of mercy and charity to our neighbors constitutes evangelism apart from the proclamation of the Gospel.

Jesus Is Not a Liberal Evangelical

- the evangelical outpost

Navy Chaplain Ordered Not To Pray “In Jesus Name”

Watch 10 minute video here.

download Windows Media Player here

“Basic Survival Gear” for the Culture Wars

In my last post, I shared with you some “intelligence information” you should find extremely useful in the Culture Wars. Today, I write to suggest to you some “basic survival gear” you can also grow to depend on for “battle”. For those of you who download mp3 audio content to your computer, may I suggest getting an mp3 player or iPod. Then you can listen to your favorite programs wherever you go (i.e. working out in the gym, mowing grass, jogging, commuting to work, etc.). I personally recommend an mp3 player; I think the iPod is overrated. For a closer look at the exact model of my mp3 player, click the post heading above.