OUR COLUMNISTS Discipleship, Training, Holiness -- Greater Needs Than Prosperity Commentary by Matt Friedeman Discipleship and theological training aren't nearly as exciting as a million shouting Nigerians with hands lifted to heaven in pursuit of healing, financial prosperity. But, exciting or not, it is the real need of the hour in Africa. The Pregnant Elephant in the Room Commentary by Jane Jimenez "Comprehensive" has come to mean "condoms and birth control" in debates about sex education. The next time an educator promotes comprehensive sex education to you, ask them if they present the harmful consequences of abortion to young people. Loathing Leon Commentary by Brad Locke Leon, of beer commercial fame, hyperbolically epitomizes our current superstar athletes. Even Randy Moss isn't that arrogant and ingrown -- I don't think -- but as with all good humor, there is an underlying truth present in the Leon character: individuality is the god of many an athlete. Christmas As It Was Originally Celebrated Commentary by David Sisler Christmas used to mean more than great deals on computers and peripherals. The conception of Christmas used to be a teenaged girl, pregnant before marriage, drenched in sweat. She had just pushed her first child into the cold night air of an unheated, smelly barn. The 'Monkey See, Monkey Do' Approach to Science Commentary by Mark Creech The scientific community and the public educational system have essentially embraced a "monkey see, monkey do" approach to science, which is justified by a court's distortion of the First Amendment that establishes evolutionary humanism as the quasi-official religion of the public schools.

...The Marriage Protection Amendment is before the U.S. Senate again. Less than one month after convening the 109th Congress, lawmakers in the Senate have reintroduced legislation preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman. On Monday (January 24), Republican Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado -- along with 22 co-sponsors -- proposed a joint resolution calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would protect traditional marriage. Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family Action, says he applauds the swift action taken by the defenders of marriage in the Senate -- and says it is clear how people across the nation feel about the issue. "Last year, voters in 13 states...left no doubt where they stood by passing marriage-protection amendments to their state constitutions," Dobson says in a press release. "Those amendments prevent state courts, but not federal courts, from redefining marriage. Insulating this most basic institution from judicial tyrants beyond the state level can only be accomplished by a federal marriage amendment." And because of numerous challenges to state marriage laws and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Dobson says "the stakes have never been higher" in the battle to protect marriage. The Allard measure, S.J. Res. 1, has now been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. [Jody Brown]

...The United Methodist bishop for the Florida Annual Conference has publicly denounced abortion as a "moral horror" -- and one Methodist activist calls that a "historic moment" for the denomination. Speaking on Monday (January 24) to a UMC pro-life group in Washington, DC, Bishop Timothy Whitaker said he regretted that some United Methodist agencies are members of the pro-abortion Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC). The bishop stated his denomination has fallen in step with the culture's preoccupation with "private rights." But Christianity, he said, believes in both rights and responsibilities. "We cannot endorse a woman's right to abort an unborn child as a morally neutral decision," Whitaker said, "because we understand that the child also has a right to live and the community has a responsibility to care for this child if the mother is unable to rear it." Mark Tooley, director of the UM Action committee of The Institute on Religion and Democracy, likes what he heard. "Bishop Whitaker's public espousal of a pro-life position is a historic moment for the 8.3-million-member United Methodist Church in the U.S., and for all mainline denominations whose leaders have defended restricted abortion rights for 30 years," he says. The United Methodist Board of Church and Society, a founding member of the RCRC, owns the building where Whitaker spoke. The pro-life group Lifewatch hosted Bishop Whitaker's sermon as part of the March for Life events in and around the nation's capital. [Jody Brown]

...Even though they've passed muster in other states, "Choose Life" license plates may be in jeopardy in South Carolina. The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a ruling by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down a law that allows the plates in South Carolina. The court said the law violates the First Amendment because pro-abortion supporters cannot offer their own plates. Under the South Carolina program, drivers pay $70 to purchase the pro-life plates, with the money going to local crisis pregnancy programs. South Carolina officials say 11 other states offer "Choose Life" plates -- and that lawmakers in another 11 states are considering providing them -- because drivers have requested them and have not requested pro-abortion plates. The ruling in the South Carolina case is at odds with one of Louisiana, where a federal appeals court has ruled that abortion advocates had no standing to sue the state over its pro-life plate. [Rusty Pugh]

...Most Arab nations have skipped a United Nations special session marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps. The session, featuring Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, was aimed partly at refuting charges that the U.N. General Assembly is anti-Semitic. But few nations attended the commemoration, and Jordan was the only Middle East country delivering a speech. Those who did speak remembered the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, and how the U.N. was founded to prevent such evils from recurring. Wiesel said Holocaust survivors are still haunted by memories of "babies used as target practice" and "parents watching their children thrown into burning pits." U.N. officials allowed a Jewish memorial prayer, breaking with 59 years of protocol against allowing prayers at the United Nations. [AP]

...A recent survey of senior citizens revealed that as much as 70 percent of those sampled were gambling regularly. A spokesman for an organization that helps problem gamblers says the percentage is even higher for the entire U.S. adult population, which includes those in the Church. While the number of potential at-risk senior gamblers is alarming, it only mirrors a growing trend among the 85 percent slice of the American population who are regular gamblers. Keith Whyte of the National Council on Problem Gambling says that demographic segment is not getting help with recovery treatment from the faith community. "In our experience, most of the mainline U.S. churches are pursuing more anti-gambling efforts than treatment and support services," Whyte explains. The NCPG spokesman says that is probably because church leaders do not realize just how many of their members are in the gambling majority. "I think they are unaware of the amount of gambling that's going on -- and neither the treatment folks, which we represent, nor the faith communities have really been able to put their hands around how to respond to this surge," he says. The ability to do that and to make people less reliant on gambling, says Whyte, could ultimately move states to stop relying on lottery revenues to bolster their state budgets. [Ed Thomas]

...A lecturer for Answers in Genesis, a creation apologetics group, says the recent discovery of the fossil of a prehistoric mammal that apparently devoured a tiny dinosaur only affirms the biblical account of creation. The scientists who made the discovery say the dog-sized mammal is the first proof that mammals hunted small dinosaurs. Dr. Terry Mortenson says this discovery needs more study -- but it does not go against the Christian concept of creation. "It certainly is another black mark against the theory of evolution because they're once again saying [that] this overturns all ... previous thinking about the subject," he notes. "I have numerous quotes over the last ten years or so of evolutionists making statements like that." Mortenson says scientists always seem to be shocked when new fossil discoveries do not fit their ideas of how evolution is supposed to work. "There was a book published back in 1985 by an agnostic scientist in New Zealand called Evolution: A Theory in Crisis," Mortenson says. "It's more in crisis today than when that was published ... because there's more and more scientific evidence that is incompatible with the evolutionary theory." The lecturer says "basing your faith on evolution is like building your house on quicksand" because the foundational truths are constantly changing. [Mary Rettig]

...The leader of a taxpayer advocacy group says it is foolish for the government to maintain the status quo with Social Security when many younger workers can expect a negative rate of return on their contributions. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, believes Social Security reform will be a major priority of President Bush's second term. And the president, he says, has political support for change. "Members of the House and Senate know that the American people voted for this president because of that," he says, noting the strength of support shown for both Bush and the Republican Party in the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections. "Those people who have opposed [Bush] have ended up losing elections," he points out. Norquist says younger Americans will lose the most if Social Security is not revamped. "Right now, if you're a younger American, you will get maybe a one percent rate of return on your Social Security FICA taxes," he says, "and, in fact, many people get a negative rate of return." Norquist says if U.S. workers were allowed to shift some of their Social Security contribution to treasury bills, for example, they would get a much higher guaranteed rate of return than under the current system. [Chad Groening]

...Authorities investigating the stabbing deaths of a Coptic Christian family in New Jersey say they haven't found any evidence so far that they were slain by Muslims in a religious dispute. Shortly after the bodies of Hossam Armanious, his wife and two daughters were found -- they had been bound and gagged, and stabbed multiple times in the throat -- friends suggested the Egyptian immigrant had angered Muslims by sharing his faith and trying to convert them. The claims have led to widespread tension between Christians and Muslims in Jersey City. There were numerous scuffles at the family's funeral earlier this month. Authorities say the brutal slayings do not appear to have been a simple robbery, but nothing so far suggests an anti-Christian motive. Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families notes that with the exception of Fox News and some local news outlets, the media has pretty much ignored the brutal slaying of the New Jersey family. "Call me skeptical," says Bauer, "but if a Muslim imam and his entire family were the victims of such a horrible act, charges of 'hate crime' would already fill the air. [AP/Jody Brown]

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