Commentary

Liberal Religious Leaders Sue Missouri Over Abortion Ban

They are dead wrong.

Thirteen clergy from six faith traditions filed a lawsuit against the State of Missouri on January 19, claiming that the state’s ban on abortion constitutes an imposition of a Christian belief and thus violates the separation of church and state. The clergy members also stressed that the abortion ban violates their religious beliefs.

I will get to a couple quotes from these religious leaders in a moment, but here is what the Missouri ban, House Bill 126, says:

“In recognition that God is the author of life and that Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of Missouri provides that all persons have a natural right to life, it is the intention of the general assembly of the state of Missouri to [grant]: (1) Defend the right to life [to] of all humans, born and unborn [and to]; (2) Declare that the state and all of its political subdivisions are a ‘sanctuary of life’ that protects pregnant women and their unborn children….”

The bill goes on to state that, “no abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman, except in cases of medical emergency.”

God bless the people of Missouri and their stand for righteousness.

By enacting the abortion ban, the lawsuit claims that legislators “imposed their preferred religious doctrine on everyone, forcing the citizens and taxpayers of this State to fund the establishment of that doctrine and to obey it regardless of their own faith and beliefs, and irrespective of the resulting grave harms to those seeking abortion care.”

As for the “religious leaders,” they clearly showed their willful ignorance of the Bible.

Rabbi Jim Bennett, head of Congregation Shaare Emerth, Creve Coeur, said, “Deeply rooted in Jewish scripture and tradition is the understanding that the life, safety, and well-being of a mother have priority over that of an unborn fetus. Missouri’s state-sponsored bans on abortion are based on one narrow Christian view of abortion, which is wholly inconsistent with Reform Judaism.”

Rabbi Andrea Goldstein, also with Congregation Shaare Emeth, said, “My faith demands safe, equitable access to all forms of reproductive care, including abortions.”

The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson, Eleventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, said, “I believe that abortion, which is based in reason and science, is not incompatible with scripture and is supported by my faith.

Rev. Jan Barnes, with the United Church of Christ, said, “Missouri’s abortion bans legislate a religious view of abortion that is entirely at odds with my religious beliefs and the reproductive counseling I’ve offered as a United Church of Christ minister.”

The Bible does teach that life begins at conception.

Bible aside, the science is clear,  human life begins at the time of conception. From the moment fertilization takes place, a baby’s genetic makeup is already complete. Its gender has already been determined, along with its height and hair, eye and skin color. The only thing the embryo needs to become a fully-functioning being is time in the womb to grow and develop.

God reveals to us in His Word that not only does life begin at conception, but He knows who we are even before then. The Jewish scriptures (Old Testament)  state, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you (Jeremiah 1:5).

In a prayer, King David said this about God’s role in our conception: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb . . . your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be,’ (Psalm 139:13, 16).

Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but when churches and synagogues spout religious nonsense that is contrary to their own founding documents (the Bible), someone needs to call them out.

What Authentic Justice Looks Like

The following is from a book I am presently writing…

Social Justice. It is the current phrase that seems to define liberal activists the world over. But beware: social justice is not to be confused with the justice that America was founded upon, which is the type of justice found in the Bible.

According to the ATS Bible Dictionary, this divine and authentic justice is, “that essential and infinite attribute which makes his nature and his ways the perfect embodiment of equity, and constitutes him the model and the guardian of equity throughout the universe.”

Authentic justice is an absolute, defining something as completely right or wrong; there is no wiggle room. It is to be practiced with kindness and humility.

Justice is a major theme in Scripture. Behavior that is just aligns with what is morally right and fair.  For followers of Jesus, justice has to do with conduct in relation to others.  Jesus speaks of this in Luke 6:31 when He shares what is often referred to as The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you.”

Since the fall of mankind society at large has progressively veered from moral absolutes. It became so bad back in the days of Noah that God did a total re-boot via the Flood. But, despite that judgement, in no time humanity started once again rolling down sin’s dark road. The result is a world filled with injustice manifesting with partiality, discrimination, unfairness and outright lawlessness.  In many cases, systems of justice have been corrupted; this is especially troubling in America where the pillars of justice were founded upon Biblical principles.

The U.S. Supreme Court today is often quite decidedly liberal but in an 1892 statement the court declared, “Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian,” (Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 1882).

When the Biblical underpinnings of morality, right behavior, religious freedom and political independence are loosened, redefined, and removed from a nation’s justice system, due process can become weaponized and fundamental freedoms smothered. This is what we are witnessing today.

Advocates of social justice seek to use the laws of the land to oppress certain members of society.  Judging others based on net worth, status, race, color, creed or family history is acceptable.  Reverse discrimination is acceptable. Intolerance towards Christians is unobjectionable.

Activists use the public education system to further their long term agenda. Politicians and facets of government are used to deliver prescriptions for intervention, aid, and even punishment. Big Tech media conglomerates have become willing gatekeepers who maintain the societal message.

God’s system of justice is counter to liberal ways. He does not just want bad people to receive punishment and good people to be rewarded. Instead, God desires everyone on this planet realize how much He loves us all and discover the unique purpose for which He created each one of us.  Though the laws of the land may require unjust behavior to be punished, God’s justice finds it is unacceptable for anyone to be written off, no matter what they have done, because He desires each of us become the man or woman He fashioned us to be. Remember, He is the God of another chance as we are reminded by Peter, The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

Seeking God’s justice requires a major paradigm shift.

Some wrongly assume that God wants or needs to give people the hell that they deserve, but Jesus didn’t die to appease an angry God; the cross was God’s self-sacrifice through Jesus to appease an angry crowd of humans who needed salvation.
God’s justice is better represented by the impartial, blind-folded, Lady Justice, who carries her scale of fairness in one hand, and her sword of authority in the other.

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Going with the Flow? Might Want to Rethink That

Please Note: The following is a snippet from a book I’m working on about the Proverbs of Solomon as found in the Old Testament.

Perhaps you have been in that awkward situation where you received a peculiar Christmas gift from an eccentrically odd, but otherwise nice, classmate, cousin, co-worker or neighbor, and you were not sure how to react.

Is this a joke, or is she serious, you silently wonder?

You quickly put on your best face and go with, “Oh, thanks for the gingerbread man tree ornament…with the little bite taken out of the head.”

Which brings me to Proverbs 1:3,

To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity.

Wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity—I refer to these as the Big Four. Solomon prompts us “to receive” the Big Four. Receive means “to take,” but this is not a polite taking, like the gingerbread man with a chunk of missing skull. “Receive” can also mean “to seize.”

You see, we are living in an age where wisdom, justice, judgment and equity have become relative terms, veering far from their original interpretations and their use within Scripture. The Bible is the sole objective source of all the revelation God has given us about Himself and His plan for humanity. It runs contrary to the fluffy rhetoric flaunted on various media platforms by quasi coaches and counselors who advise their faithful followers, “We’re all on a journey,” or, “It’s your karma,” or, “Go with the flow.”

Solomon is not dishing out such delusion.

True, we’re are all on a journey, but the journey ends at a destination that determines one’s place in eternity.

And karma? It sounds so edgy, but in reality, it pertains to pagan religions that believe good intent and deeds contribute to happier rebirths, or reincarnations, while bad intent and deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths. In other words, bomb in this life and you might come back as an amoeba.

And we should be always be wary of going with the flow; that’s what dead fish do.

Solomon is referring to heartily seizing his specific instruction regarding wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity. These are personality traits of the only, and Holy, God.

Hebrews 4:12 provides us with an important reminder,

For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Talk about cutting edge!

Liberals and Election Fraud, When They Lose

Liberals and Election Fraud, When They Lose

Liberals are so predictable. When we conservatives bring up the subjects of election integrity or election fraud, like well-programmed robots those on left immediately spout, “Denier,” or, “Conspiracy theorist!”

However, in the not so distant past, when democrats have made similar complaints about election results it is a completely different story that they, and their cozy friends in the media, insist must be taken as fact.

Here are a few poignant examples.

To this day democrats refuse to accept the results of the 2000 presidential election, when democrat Al Gore lost to republican George W. Bush. As you recall, the state of Florida’s electoral votes would eventually declare Bush the victor of that tight election, which ended up being decided by a very strictly regulated hand count. The decision was even upheld by the Supreme Court.

Al Gore never got over it.

In 2002, he finally did a post-election interview; it was with the Washington Post, which began its article by saying,

In his first interview since conceding the presidency to George W. Bush almost two years ago, former vice president Al Gore calls the outcome of the 2000 election “a crushing disappointment” and criticizes the 5-4 Supreme Court decision that put Bush in the White House as “completely inconsistent” with the court’s conservative philosophy.

“I believe that if everyone in Florida who tried to vote had had his or her vote counted properly, that I would have won,” Gore said.

In that same article, Gore’s wife, Tipper, also said, “I believe we won.”

Over a decade and a half later, in 2016, while campaigning for Hillary who was running for president against Donald Trump, Gore brought up the 2000 election during a rally. The crowd burst into a “Gore won, Gore won,” chant. Al basked in the glow of the moment.

The election in 2004 was no different than 2000 (John Kerry trying to unseat Bush), with Democrats once again vehemently denying the results of an outcome they did not agree with. In fact, then-Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and then-Representative Stephanie Tubbs (D-OH) filed an objection to the certification of Ohio’s electoral college votes. Thirty-one House democrats flatly rejected the electoral votes from the state of Ohio, authoring a report of “numerous and serious election irregularities.”

John Kerry hit the talk show circuit in 2005 touting a report authored by House democrats, claiming people were “denied their right to vote; too many who tried to vote were intimidated.”

2016 was no different, when Trump trounced Hillary. House democrats immediately objected to the electoral vote tally. In fact, sixty-seven congressional democrats boycotted Trump’s inauguration, claiming his election was “illegitimate.”

Fast forward to May 2019, when Clinton said, at an event in Inglewood, California, that the 2016 election was “stolen” from her.

In September 2019, in an interview on C-SPAN, Clinton dismissed Trump as an “illegitimate president,” saying “he knows” he “stole” the election from her.

In October 2020, Clinton continued to claim, in a Grabien podcast, that the 2016 presidential election was not conducted legitimately. “We still don’t really know what happened,” she screeched.

Meantime, the Bible puts all of this into tremendous perspective:

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight.
When pride comes, then comes dishonor,
But with the humble is wisdom.
The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.
The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
Proverbs 11:1-5.

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