I just finished reading the statement That They May Have Life which is a very impressive, and timely statement that come from Evangelicals and Catholics Together. It was published in the October edition of First Things It is a statement of joint values between Evangelicals and Catholics. I love it for two reasons:

1) More people need to know that Evangelicals and Catholics all come from the same ingrained belief that life is valuable. We disagree on some points (birth control), but we all should gain value and synergy from sharing in our efforts to save lives.

2) It reminds people that being pro life is not just about abortion. Euthanasia, Embryo harvesting etcetera are also very real, very important battles for the value of life. I encourage you to Read the whole article. My favorite quotes from the statement are:

"To be Christian is to be associated with a historical movement bearing public witness to universal moral truths"

"In our common humanity, we share a God given capacity to reason, to argue, to deliberate, to persuade, and to discover moral truths regarding questions related to the right ordering of our life together."

Please take some time to comment and to see who all has signed onto this statement. It is a who's who list of the Evangelical and Catholic Community.

Imagine this scenario:

You are booked on a full flight to LA, coach class, of course, window seat. The middle seat next to you remains vacant right up to departure. At the last moment, in comes a twenty-something young fellow to claim his seat. You notice he is carrying an odd looking bundle. Once seated, he proceeds to unwrap his python (emotional support pet, that is). Horrified, you say, "Isn't there a law against this?" Actually, thanks to a 2003 ruling by the Department of Transportation, scenes like this happen regularly. I used the snake for shock effect, but airlines report accommodating (in the passenger cabin) dogs, of course, but also cats, monkeys, miniature horses, goats, and yes, even an emotional support duck.

Here is an excerpt summarizing the 2003 ruling:

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Well, tomorrow is primary day, and after much consideration, I believe that fact merits a posting for today. If I wait until tomorrow, I'll have waited too long! I think the best way to approach this post is to start by quoting one of our Founding Fathers:

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may treasure the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. (John Adams)

This is the sort of politics I can appreciate! This is not a vote based on polls or trying to guess who can win. This is honestly analyzing the candidate or the bills (I would suggest Scripture as the litmus test) and then voting accordingly, regardless of the consequences.

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Today, March 31st, marks the 1 year anniversary of the death of Terry Schiavo. I actually hate to call it an anniversary because the term is usually used to denote something that is joyful. This was not a joyful day. This day was a tragedy, one that we have repeated many times since. One only has to look at little Haleight Poutre the 11 year-old in Massachusetts who was almost left to die by the "caretakers" of the state. She is alive now because of nothing less than a miracle. We cannot say the same for Terry.

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On February 18, 2006, Darrow Miller, director of Food for the Hungry, was the plenary speaker at Trinity Church in Charlottesville. The Missions’ Conference topic was “The Problem of Poverty.” Full of preconceived notions, I attended his talk about Africa. I expected to hear all about the “Dark Continent” and the need to send more money and more missionaries. I was surprised and intrigued by what he had to say.

He affirmed that the continent is the world’s poorest. The indices of Poverty (infant mortality, HIV, life expectancy, debt, corruption, human suffering) are startling. The average life expectancy of an African is 51 (28.6 if you live in Sierra Leone). Thousands are dying daily of AIDS. In countries ranked highest in human suffering, 24 out of 30 are in Africa. And so the sorry tale continues...

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As the New Year begins to come around again I have embarked on the painful introspection and self assessment that comes with setting a New Years Resolution. The following 10 character traits of a knight (1) pose some character traits that are worth a little introspection and contemplation. If one of these traits does not leave a person feeling at least a tinge of inadequacy, they probably need to spend a little more time defrosting their heart by the fire. Any time you read the word knight, insert your name instead. It will make it a little more real.

1. Prowess: To seek excellence in all endeavors expected of a knight, martial and otherwise, seeking strength to be used in the service of justice, rather than in personal aggrandizement.

2. Justice: Seek always the path of right, unencumbered by bias or personal interest. If the right you see rings true with others, and you seek it out without bending to the temptation for expediency, then you will earn renown beyond measure.

3. Loyalty: Be known for unwavering commitment to the people and ideals you choose to live by. There are many places where compromise is expected; loyalty is not amongst them.

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Jeff of Dawn Treader fame sent me this article from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire.

As I read the article I was reminded of my own experience as a Resident Advisor. During my four years of college, I was a Resident Advisor for 3 of those years. I lived all four of my college years in the same dormitory. Needless to say, I have a bit of experience in residence life and have seen my share of incidents (good stories!).

Perhaps I will approach this article differently than even the article was written. I see the issue a bit differently. It seems the article tries to divide the issue on Church-State lines but I see it as fundamentally about established policies and Mr. Steiger's responsibility to follow those policies as an employee.

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I have recently been reading Life Before Birth: The Challenges of Fetal Development by Peter W. Nathanielsz, M.D., PhD. This book is a fascinating narrative and textbook on fetal development. It is well written and provides a factual account of the development of the unborn.

I made it to the end of the second chapter and was presented with a very thought provoking conclusion to that chapter:

The knowledge, for instance, that when the egg meets the sperm the resulting cell contains all the genetic information necessary to set in motion a process that will result in a unique human being, is knowledge that challenges many traditional philosophies, religions, and folklore. We shall see that the expression of this unique capability of the egg and sperm is dependent on environmental conditions within the uterus and interactions with the maternal organism. Thus, some may consider that the individual capacities of the sperm and unfertilized egg constitute life just as much as the fertilized egg. We know that the fertilized egg has many developmental hurtles to jump before it becomes a viable fetus.

The intellectual and philosophical repercussions of this knowledge have still to be properly absorbed and digested. Our moral philosophy has yet to evolve a system of thought that fully accepts man's physical being as being a product of a relentless and predictable process of cell growth and differentiation.

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Much of the news over the past 2 weeks focused on the latest power turnover in Gaza, as well as the continued turmoil in Iraq. It is hard to open the paper, or watch the news, without being assaulted by the most recent body count of those wounded in suicide or roadside bombings. I was overwhelmed one day last month, when, during my lunch break at work, I turned the breakroom TV to CNN. The focus there was on the small Ohio town which had recently lost 12 men in battle in Iraq. In addition to that was the story of two sisters killed in the Gaza area. Turning from the TV to the newspaper, I hoped to find something more upbeat to read. Instead I found the latest update on the area child abuse cases and kidnappings in Florida. I thought my heart would break. Now for me, this is unusual----I can often watch the latest world turmoil, and stomach it with the knowledge that these events are part of a fallen world, and that one day true peace will come with Jesus. But this day last month was too much----too much needless hurt and death in the lives of communities around the world.

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At first glance, the current political skirmish over Supreme Court nominee John Roberts appears to be focused on his opinions and attitudes towards hot button social issues such as abortion, and homosexual rights. Yes, those issues are important, but I would argue that Judge Robert’s underlying philosophy of constitutional interpretation is of far greater significance.

At the risk of over-simplifying the matter, there are essentially two schools of thought on constitutional interpretation. The members of the first school are often referred to as “strict constructionists”; they limit their analysis to the Constitution itself. Any ambiguity must be resolved in favor of the original intent of the framers. On the opposing side are those who believe that the Constitution must be interpreted in the light of “evolving” societal norms(unless they are interpreting the Second Amendment, but I digress). If you hear someone say that they believe that the Constitution is a “living document” you have found a member of this camp.

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I was recently thinking about when I rededicated my life to the Lord, about 21 years ago. I was married with three children and the world was a very different place. It was easy to talk about what it meant to believe in truth and absolutes. Back then, I never heard anyone question what truth was or if absolutes even existed. It wasn’t until about 12 years ago that I noticed that the world I lived in had changed drastically from my early life as an active Christian, our language had become different, and being politically correct took on new meaning.

As I am preparing to engage the culture I live in today and stand for absolute truth, against current trends that are eroding life as I have known it, I am also acutely aware of the condition of my own heart.

It would be too easy to take on the current issues of our day and become adversarial in my attempts to persuade individuals of the rightness of my beliefs. When media contends that there are two camps, regardless of political persuasion, I am aware I belong to one of those camps, and those who disagree with me are in the other camp. This necessarily sets us up as adversaries, with opposing views. It is also in my nature as a fallen person to be adversarial. If I believe I am right or if I believe I possess any kernel of truth, that is going to be reflected in my attitude towards those who have a different opinion. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1, “though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. Being right must not be the motivator of my actions, but love must govern all I do.

But how do I go about loving those who are so oppositional, so “in your face”, so….adversarial (like me)?

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During the past several years I have had some exposure to college students, with three children in three different universities, and several other opportunities to spend time in the classroom with business school students around the country. I am continually amazed at how attentive they are to the challenge of ensuring that they know what they truly believe before heading into the working world. In other words, challenging them to know what the values and principles are in their lives that they are committed to upholding, without regard to circumstances, pressures, etc. I have challenged students with this concept in a number of settings and I am also amazed at how few students have truly thought about what those uncompromising values may be in their lives.

In addition, I am struck by some of the content in current college textbooks that is not factually based, and in fact, dangerous driving home the point that students must know what they believe to ensure they are not swept up into myths that are factually absent and have no foundational basis.

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I often find myself wishing we lived in a more clear-cut, black and white world. Some of the questions I seem to wrestle daily with are: What is the appropriate way as a follower of Jesus to respond to the pain and suffering in our culture and in our world? Specifically, how do I live out a biblical response to illness and death, a response that is full of mercy and integrity?

A quick Internet search will lead you to pages of Christian and non-Christian responses to human death and suffering. Perhaps the topic that would stand out the most in American culture is the debate over the life of Terri Schiavo. Those of you belonging to one of the many American Christian fellowships could probably easily recall the well-published discussions of human dignity, sanctity of life and euthanasia that filled the airwaves and newspapers of both the Christian and non-Christian media this past spring. I come from a strong community of believers, many of who are quite active in the pro-life movement, and who also did not hesitate to declare the “wrongness” of Terri’s death. I think, however, that as a community of Jesus-followers, we need to honestly admit that there is no one right answer to the case of Terri’s life and death. And I think that the uproar in our believing community surrounding the Terri Schiavo case was an indicator of the terror and fear which death sparks in non-Christians and Christians. Did we as a believing community, respond to our unbelieving world in a way that fully represented God’s heart toward the dying? Did we represent ourselves as people who don’t live with a fear of death, or did we appear to be, like the rest of culture, digging in our heels and doing everything we could to prevent the natural end of earthly life? How will we choose to respond to the MANY individuals who even now are living lives like Terri’s, waiting for their last day to come?

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Consensus can be a great thing. It fulfills the natural human longing to belong to a community that shares common beliefs or values. These “communities” may exist in specific locations, like a local church, or across continents in the form of economic systems like capitalism.

The political world, too, is filled with ideological consensus. Democrats have their agreed-upon platforms and Republicans have theirs. In a similar vein, marriages live or die based on the consensus of both spouses on a variety of issues. Major corporations also stand or fall based on consensus in the boardroom. Religions remain unified because of theological consensus, just as government flourishes when its politicians share common goals.

No one could successfully argue that consensus is an optional component of a stable home, business, community or nation. In the words of Christ: “A house divided cannot stand.” We need consensus to get along.

However, the modern view of consensus has taken a ghastly turn for the worst. Though it once was thought to be a celebrated commonness among individuals, it is now considered the criterion for determining “truth” as well as the “right” course of action.

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