The big debate, of course, is still embryonic stem-cell research. (Voted in our poll yet?) And despite all the breakthroughs in biotechnology, the fundamental question is still the same: when does human life begin? As noted in just about every major news publication, several key prolife politicians are saying it’s possible to be antiabortion and support embryonic stem cell research. Lots of folks have commented on this argument, but rather than summarize, Weblog would rather simply point to the best analysis: that of Slate‘s William Saletan.
If Bush accepts the arguments of Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon, and former Sen. Connie Mack of Florida that it’s possible to be both prolife and pro-stem-cells (Saletan calls them “pro-pros”), “he’ll be what they are: functionally pro-choice.” In a brilliant deconstruction of the pro-pros argument—for which he largely depends on Hatch’s letter to President Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson (which is not online yet)—Saletan argues that it all sounds awfully familiar. The pro-pros want us to believe that personhood is situational, it’s OK to dismember an embryo if it’s unwanted, embryo dismemberment should be safe and legal, embryo dismemberment is prolife and profamily because it prolongs lives and helps families, and embryo dismemberment is the parents’ choice. Most telling is the conclusion of Hatch’s letter: “It is significant to point out that no member of the United States Supreme Court has ever taken the position that fetuses, let alone embryos, are constitutionally protected persons. To do so would be to thrust the courts and other governmental institutions into the midst of some of the most private of personal decisions.” As Saletan notes, “It’s hard to imagine how anyone who wrote those words could truly believe in an unborn child’s right to life.” No kidding. Let’s hope that actual prolife voices will point out the fallacies of the pro-pros argument on the Hill, in the White House, and in the shaping of publicopinion.
More articles
Religious freedom:
- Couple wins religious freedom case | Federal judge says officials unconstitutionally limited the number of people who could attend prayer meetings at their home. (Associated Press)
- Also: Home prayer sessions OK (The Connecticut Post)
- Suit claims man fired over religious issue | Former air-traffic controller said he was fired because he refused to work on the Sabbath (The Denver Post)
- French ‘sect lists’ criticized in House hearing | “French law has been misinterpreted,” says French official (The Washington Times)
- China’s French connection | China’s Communist leaders have finally found a Western human rights model they like: France’s new anti-cult law making “mental manipulation” a crime. (Joseph A. Bosco, The Washington Post)
- Converts charged with violating Religion Act | 19 new Christians didn’t notify district administration before converting (The Hindustan Times)
- U.S. won’t block China’s bid for Olympics | Victory for Beijing could encourage an improvement in its human rights behavior (The New York Times)
- Sin squad on patrol in Malaysia | Making busts in bars, bedrooms, the nation’s religious cops aim to preserve Islamic values. (Los Angeles Times)
Faith-based initiative:
- The dwindling ‘armies of compassion’ | President Bush’s faith-based initiative is in deep trouble because it lacks a constituency committed to its success, and because every move the administration makes to appease the idea’s opponents weakens support from likely allies. (E.J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post)
- Bad faith | That the president’s strongest ally is suddenly disillusioned with the faith-based plan is a good indication of just how dismal its prospects are and just how broad the disaffection is among black clergy. (The American Prospect)
- Conflict resolution starts on faith-based plan | Search for Common Ground is more used to working in Rwanda and Macedonia than navigating Washington party politics (The Washington Post)
- Faith-based ‘warm-up’ passes House | Resolution urges corporate foundations to give more money to religious charities (UPI)
Church and State:
- Court flunks tolerance test | It is not the place for state pols or courts to tell the church which policies are kosher (Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle)
- Greek Orthodox reject Israel’s advice | Government accused of meddling after one-third of the candidates for the church’s next top clergyman in the Holy Land are “disqualified” (Associated Press)
- ‘The Navy has created a state church’ | Evangelical chaplains’ lawsuit continues (Associated Press)
Education:
- State panel rejects teaching Creation | Science standards endorse evolution (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Also: Pa. schools revise science standard (Associated Press)
Religion and politics:
- Ten Commandments’ sponsor finds demons chasing him | Rep. Gary Condit is a strong pro-life, family values, Bible-quoting son of a Baptist minister who is rated highly by the Christian Coalition and flunks out with the ACLU (Robert Scheer, syndicated columnist)
- Idaho’s Christian Coalition ends its operations | Organization’s demise marks the second major religion-based political action group to fold in the past year. (Associated Press/Idaho Statesman)
- Also: Idaho Christian Coalition completes mission (Idaho Christian Coalition newsletter)
Sexual ethics:
- Coalition wants marriage amendment | Backers say declaration would prevent judges from setting family policies that lack public support (Associated Press)
- Also: Marriage-strengthening constitutional amendment proposed (Fox News)
- Bureau discounts big rise in number of same-sex couples | In 1990 the government had placed many of those homes in the married-couple category (Associated Press)
- Lesbian has brother’s IVF baby | Woman wanted to have a child that had some “genetic likeness” to herself and her family. (The Times, London)
- Gay law proposal survives | Effort to change language defeated (Houston Chronicle)
- No sex for two years, Moi urges Kenyan people | President will also import 300 million condoms to fight AIDS (Reuters)
- Father owing child support loses a right to procreate | Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds probation order that bars a man from having more children unless he shows that he can support all his offspring (The New York Times)
Missions and ministry:
- Chasing Bible balloons in North Korea | Voice of the Martyrs sometimes sends as many as 50,000 helium-filled orange vinyl bags imprinted with the Gospel of Mark (UPI)
- Telling the new old story | Missionaries try technique more like Jesus’ own (Newhouse News Service)
- Brazilian bar is heaven on earth for evangelicals | Espaco Gospel House was a popular gay bar before Lucia Gouveia urged her husband to convert the bar following her bout with cancer (Reuters)
- In Sudan, ancient and evil slave trade persists | But controversy persists over practice of redemption (Fox News)
Church life:
- Freeze lifted on churches’ size | Mayor could veto council’s historic legislation (The Seattle Times)
- One last song | Whatever can the folks at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence have been thinking to forbid singing “Danny Boy” at Irish funerals? (The Denver Post)
- Grace Christian to sell property to repay disgruntled investors | Several hundred thousand dollars lost in plan run former pastor W. Michael Altman (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Prayers reveal churches’ values | The words you use to communicate with God depends on which church you belong to, new research shows. (The Advertiser, Adelaide, Australia)
- Threat to clergy as Church of England trims funds by £4m | Unpaid, part-time and retired clergy will increasingly share the burden of running the Church. (The Times, London)
- Also: ‘These cuts could be the final straw’ (The Times, London)
- Doctrine and diversity | Is schism in the works for the Episcopal Church? (The Hartford Courant)
Catholicism:
- Milwaukee’s altar of controversy | Archbishop has another tangle with Vatican over church renovations (The Washington Post)
- African bishops consider condom use | A proposal by the AIDS office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference seeks to allow the use of condoms as part of a wider program to stop the spread of HIV (Associated Press)
Media:
- When Jesus saves, his followers like to spend | Gifts, apparel, software and other products make up about $1.5 billion of the $4 billion Christian retail industry (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
- Religious books: Divine popularity, heavenly sales | General book sales are down, but sales of religious books are up more than 4 percent. (CNN)
- Christian books selling hot | Industry experts at the CBA convention said Christian authors are writing more compelling books – fiction and nonfiction – about more relevant topics (Associated Press)
- BBC puts faith in an agnostic to run religion | Alan Bookbinder is the first non-Christian to hold the post since it was created in 1933 (The Times, London)
- Also: A BBC appointment that beggars belief | Anticipating trouble, Bookbinder’s bosses said his remit would extend beyond religion to “ethics”. This is like telling the head of sport that his job will extend to cricket. (Simon Jenkins, The Times, London)
- Also: BBC appoints an agnostic as head of religious programs |. (The Independent, London)
- Also: BBC appoints ‘agnostic’ head of religion (BBC)
- Lifehouse’s ‘Moment’ lingers on | Debut hit stays on charts for more than 30 weeks (USA Today)
Crime:
- Expert says ex-Klansman is faking | But defense expert says Cherry is suffering from a form of dementia and can’t stand trial for 1963 church bombing (Associated Press)
- Earlier: Judge considering ex-Klansman’s competency in 1963 church bombing trial | Bobby Frank Cherry was indicted last year along with Thomas E. Blanton Jr., who was convicted in May (The New York Times)
- Pastor in sex-ring case still under investigation | Roby Roberson is suing City of Wenatchee, police, over 1994-95 investigations (Associated Press)
- Elsewhere: The Wenatchee “sex rings”: An overview (ReligiousTolerance.org)
- Church youth leader pleads guilty to molestations | Faith has been sorely tested in Middleton, Massachusetts, since St. Agnes Church’s Christopher Reardon was accused in the state’s largest child-molestation case. (Associated Press)
- B.C. court awards damages to aboriginals for sex abuse at residential school | But $500,000 judgment makes both sides unhappy (Canadian Press)
- Also: Anglicans’ Waterloo | Long before it became enmeshed in more than 1,000 lawsuits by natives over allegations of sexual, emotional, physical and cultural abuse at residential schools, the Anglican Church of Canada was deeply in the red thanks to a combination of its own management techniques (Editorial, National Post, Canada)
- Church embezzler faces prison time | Greek Orthodox bookkeeper sentenced to 2.5 years for stealing more than $100,000 (WESH, Orlando)
History:
- Oldest Christian find in Norway | New discovery hints that Christianity may have had a foothold in Norway centuries earlier than previously thought (Aftenposten, Oslo)
- Also: A Severe Salvation | How the Vikings took up the Christian faith (Christian History, issue 63)
Fatal church van crash:
- Van crash kills 4 on church trip | Group of Westminster Hmong was headed to retreat in Idaho (The Denver Post)
- Confusion and sorrow reign after Idaho crash of church van (The Denver Post)
- Also: Feds have warned of rollover danger | Dangerous 15-passenger vans are often used by churches (The Denver Post)
- Van crash claims 5th life | Westminster teen had parents at his bedside (The Denver Post)
- 17-year-old driving van that rolled | Young Hmong church member may have fallen asleep at wheel (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
- Denver mourns 5 who died in crash (Associated Press)
Other stories of interest:
- High-profile leaders dispute plagiarism and slander charges | Supporter says Hank Hanegraaff is ‘not guilty’ of D. James Kennedy’s charges (Charisma News Service)
- What it means to be ‘born again’ | For some,the change hit like a lightning bolt; for others, it came quietly and gradually. Readers share their stories. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Giving in different denominations | Religious giving has reached all-time lows (Philanthropy)
- U.S. Marshals to protect abortion doctor | Ashcroft had been accused of ignoring requests ahead of protests in Kansas (The Washington Post)
- Also: Ashcroft orders U.S. Marshals to protect abortion doctor
Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere
See our past Weblog updates:July 12 | 11 | 10 | 9
July 6 | 5 | 3 | 2
June 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25
June 22 | 20 | 19 | 18
June 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11
June 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4
June 1 | May 31 | 30
May 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14
May 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7