Abortion Casualties in the US

Abortion proponents deny they actually kill children.   That everything is for the good of all.  That abortion drugs are safe.  That legal abortions are better because they are done in clinics. They talk in terms of rights.  Well, last rites are all that is left for a 6 pound 4 ounce baby killed last week.

 

Another botched abortion.  At least before Roe V Wade you had to seek out the hit man on your baby.  They lived in back alleys and were hard to find.  Fewer babies were killed then.  They didn't have websites and were advertised in magazines.

 

Abortions providers are, write this down now, in it for the money. Period.  Nothing they do is caring or altruistic.  Think about what happens in an abortion.  If you are a provider and you kill 50 or 60 babies do you become 1. More Caring or 2. Hardened and Cynical.  The same people who rail against the killing in Iraq by both sides quietly accept this without a peep.  Hypocrisy??

 

If this mother had just brought this baby into the world (I didn't say to term, it was already to term) there would have been hundreds, maybe thousand of parents ready and willing to adopt that child instead of going to Asia or Romania to find one.

 

Summit Healthcare Abortion Sevices shiny corporate persona lives under the 73 legalized murder ruling allowances.  It buys nice cars and homes for legalized terminators.  The website shows caring doctors, concerned pregnant women and happy post abortion testimonials.  This is the abomination of calling good evil and evil good.

 

A few exerpts from the story:

 

That happened when a member of the staff gave a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug.

 

It resulted in a botched abortion and the woman later delivered a 6-pound, 4-ounce stillborn child at a hospital.

 

According to the suspension order LifeNews.com obtained, the woman had a "critical and dangerously high" blood pressure reading of 182/129.

"That in and of itself would have demanded immediate medical attention," Williamson said. Instead, the staff went ahead with the abortion.

Summit is the abortion business that employed Malachy Dehenre, who lost his medical license in both Alabama and Mississippi because of botched abortions.

 

This is all thanks to a supreme court supremely out of touch and a gutless congress that won't tackle this issue out of fear.  I only can hope and pray that abortion is outlawed nationwide again in my lifetime.  This travesty has to stop.

 

 

 

 

Marcia Mason in Euripides

Last night Peggy and I went downtown to the upper level of the Shakespeare Theater in Chicago. Very intimate. Probably 75 people in the whole thing. We saw Hecuba.

I’m not going to bore you with the plot. That’s what Wikepeida is for. Sufficient to say this is a story about the end of the Trojan wars, slavery, sacrifice, death. Helen of Troy, Brad Pitt’s butt.

Not really anything related to the dumb movie TROY. Actually Hecuba is pretty gory and depressing stuff. Oh, and, Mr. Euripides, I got the not so hidden meanings. Thank you.

So I’m waxing all eloquent about reading Euripides other great work to my wife, Oedipus Rex. Impressing my gir you know. Except, Euripides didn’t write Oedipus Rex. He wrote an Oedipus play. But not the Rex. That was Sophocles; Which I did read in High School I think.

But, apparently Euripides is pretty rich source material for plagiarists. I guess that was OK in Greekdom. Electra was a Euripides story. An opera came from that. I’ve seen it. Don’t remember it. Must have been boring or I was tired.

All in all Hecuba was wrenching. Marsha Mason was OK. But we have tremendously talented classical actors and actresses in Chicagoland. She had a hard time standing above the others. Nothing taken away from her, but her lead in this play had more to do with star value and less with her ability.

I guess Ms Mason is married to Neil Simon. She was in Goodbye Girl. She has a book. She’s from New York City. I guess we second citiers (actually we are third after LA) are supposed to be impressed. I wasn’t.

There probably won’t be a movie made from this play. Unlike in Shakespeare stuff, there was 0 comic relief. We like to chuckle a little once in a while. At least I like to.

Syttende Mai

I almost missed it.  Syttende Mai.  I am part Norwegian.  Growing up the Scandahoovian part of my family celebrated Norwegian Independence day.  17th of May.  Today.  So we just got home from the theater and I ate some Lefse.

 

I don't have to turn in my heritage just yet.

 

Almost blew it.

 

Our Very Popular President

I confess. I am an unrepentant social conservative. I like George Bush. For lots of reasons but mostly that I trust him to do the right thing. Turns out I am not in the minority. Among social conservatives (Anti-Abortion, Anti Gay Marriage Etc) my beloved President has a 95% approval rating.

Since I mostly only hang out with other Social Conservatives I am always amazed that the polls of Bush’s popularity are so low. Turns out his popularity is huge (among people I hang out with).

This is not a Christian thing. Several people I know are very socially conservative and not believers in Jesus. Big Deal? I don’t know. But I do know, social conservatives are very committed and they vote. That gives me hope for fall 2006. I think no matter what they say about the war and spying and all, when the crunch comes Americans are basically socially conservative. So, don’t lose hope.

This all comes from an Economist Article (Not Complementary to Bush at all) it concedes the support he does have:

Besides, most social conservatives still like Mr Bush. He enjoys approval ratings of more than 95% among Republicans; he also enjoys something that his father never had: trust. Mr Weyrich, the man who invented the “moral majority”, thinks that Mr Bush's record on social issues is even better than the sainted Ronald Reagan's. This trust is there largely because Mr Bush has fought harder on the other big social issue, abortion.

Mr Bush has done other righteous things. His judicial nominations have included several evangelical Christians, such as Charles Pickering and Claude Allen, a leading advocate of abstinence-education.

Mr Bush is better placed than anybody else in his party to manage the religious right. But some spouses are not amenable to even the most enlightened management. The Republican Party currently looks like an extraordinary electoral machine. But it would be foolish to forget that the party is an amalgam of lots of different groups—and that one of the most important of these groups, the social conservatives, has a mind and a will of its own.

On the other hand, we have shot ourselves in the foot before. I will not allow by my anger or threat to not vote to potentially elect any pro gay pro-abortion liberals. I’ll hold my nose and vote for the right.

My guess is so will others when the time comes.

Music in the Church

Peggy and I spent much of the weekend with a man and his wife who were here as candidates for the position of Music Worship Arts director at our Church.

I have no purpose in spending any time on him since there are people who read this who attend and that wouldn’t be fair. I was exhausted spiritually Monday from the experience. For lots of reasons. My antenna was up all the time. No downtime. That’s hard work. But I got what I needed.

It did give me a chance to reflect on the place music has in the prophetic environment of a Church. I will admit, to me worship is best exemplified in a strong back beat, good lead guitar and a Hammond B-3 Organ. A little wild dance is good too. I’m not a traditionalist in this area.

But this article really said what I have felt in my heart. I found it because of a conversation I was having about changes in Churches with a nice man by the name of Justin. He was/is struggling with modern inroads to the modern Church. My thought was, you must speak the language of the culture. Paul said that, “In order to reach them I must be all things to all people”. (Gene’s Living Translation)

If that includes a Starbucks in the Lobby, Downloads to people’s IPODS, wearing Hawaiian Shirts, and nice buildings, let’s do it. What we were doing wasn’t working very well. This might. If not, it’ won’t work long.

From the article mentioned above:

In 2 Kings 3:13-15, the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom were preparing to go to war against Moab. They heard that Elisha was closely connected with God, and sent for him.

The prophet first addressed the king of Israel:
“What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician.”

Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

Elisha calls for a musician. The text doesn’t say why, but it does say that, “When the musician played the hand of the Lord came upon him.” Was it just a mood setting moment? I think there is something more to it.

In 1 Samuel 10:5-6, Saul was given instructions from Samuel:
“After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.”

Notice it says that the prophets are carrying musical instruments. It doesn’t say whether they are prophesying with their voices or with their instruments, but they were obviously musicians.

After David became king, there is an account in 1 Chronicles 25: 1, 2 where musicians are separated for the service of prophecy:

“Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was:

Take note of the reference to, “who should prophecy,” and, “skilled men” (men is generic and does not eliminate women) in verse 1 and “who prophesied according to the order of the king,” in verse 2. Harps, stringed instruments and cymbals used in David’s time could just as well in our day be guitar, bass and drums.

From these accounts, I believe that God uses music as prophecy. The definition of the Hebrew word used for prophecy in the Strong’s Concordance is: to speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse). God is pleased when we play music, even if we don’t acknowledge it as a gift from Him.

God’s pleasure returns to me in the form of divine inspiration that can be used to speak hidden words to the soul of anyone who has ears to hear. If you have a personal relationship with God through Jesus, His Son and Messiah, ask Him to speak through your music every time you play. When people talk to you afterwards about how your music moved them, it is a perfect time to introduce them to the Creator of all music and show them how their future can be changed by God’s love. This is prophecy.

I think of times in a worship service where there have been 5 or 10 minute drum solos. Not exactly “A mighty Fortress”. But God used some of those times to reveal something about him and his nature to help me get over my bad self and more hidden in him.

Not all music in the church is prophecy, some is performance. It depends on who’s bringing it. Skill isn’t everything either. The anointing of God can be on a person who brings a song and it can bring you to your knees.

I loved the movie The Apostle. In one scene an old black gentleman plays a trumpet solo. It’s not very good. But God is in it. I would rather hear that then some slick rehearsed “Presentation” without the power of God behind it.

Evenso, Come Lord Jesus.

Why I have decided not to see Da Movie Vinci

Talk about a full-blown hype machine. There’s going to be Da Vinci Code Toothbrushes soon, DaVinci Code Vitamins, DaVinci Code Underwear for kids. This is not star wars people.

I have decided to forgo attending this movie, paying my 8 bucks and being irritated. I can do that at home.

WHY?

1. I don’t want to support the people who made this movie or wrote this book. They’ll get along fine without my encouragement to make more
2. I don’t attend showings of most horror movies and I spend little time in XXX rated emporiums. DaVinci code to me is no better than this.
3. My brain is full of things I wish it weren’t. Killings, murders, wars, anger, fear, images that I want to push the delete button on. I don’t need to add to the list of images I am dealing with.
4. I know it’s only a movie, but so were movies during the 3rd Reich accusing Jews of destroying the world and propagating the belief that the white Aryan race was superior to all. Only a movie but filled with lies, half-truths and outright accusations. DaVinci code is that. Lies, half-truths and fiction passed as reality. Junk food (maybe poison) for the gullible soul.
5. I know that in many ways I am a sum total as a human being of every thought I think, every book I read, every movie I see, every experience I have, and every person I know. When I ask myself if this adds or subtracts to the person I wish to become, this subtracts.

I have friends who have suggested that to be able to defend or debate the truth and fiction of the DaVinci code I need to see the movie and read the book. Really? I didn’t see people who have no belief in God running to see the Passion (Mel Gibson’s movie) because they wanted to be able to defend and debate. I’ll make a deal with all the open-minded people out there. We’ll go together. I’ll go see the DaVinci Code with you right after you go see the Passion of the Christ with me. I made that offer with Moore’s Fahrenheit 9-11. No takers. So much for open-mindedness.

This is not a fair argument. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll have my opinions based on impressions I have about the heresy and evil intents resident in the DaVinci Code and you go right ahead and have your erroneous opinions about the Evil and banality of an unconditional belief in a Living God. I mean you’ve never read the book either and you have opinions based on what others say about the Bible. I am allowed to have opinions based on what I have heard and read that others say about the Code.

If you will read the Bible, I’ll read the DaVinci Code. Tit for tat.

Any takers? I didn’t think so.

Open-minded? HA!