OUR COLUMNISTS Thanksgiving: Thanking God for That Dead, Liberal Church Commentary by Matt Friedeman If nothing else happened with those I remember while growing up in a dead, liberal church, those holy moments of righteousness and the sweet community that I shared them with helped seal me for God. An Impure Thought Commentary by Jane Jimenez Fifty years ago, a plain brown paper wrapper delivered one magazine across hundreds of miles. Today, the family is entertained nightly on television with more than our grandparents could have imagined. Getting the Straight Story Commentary by Brad Locke Objective reporting can at times seem heartless, even detached, to the reader. But objectivity should not be confused with negativity. All that to say, the messenger needs to stop getting shot. Amnesia Commentary by David Sisler What would it be like to wake up and not remember the evil that you had done, the people you had hurt, the sins you had committed? What would you pay for a little selective amnesia? A Lighthouse for the Great Ships of Zion Commentary by Mark Creech Few sins have done more of late to wreak havoc among God's people as homosexuality. The State Baptist Convention of North Carolina recognizes that, and has essentially agreed that no member church should ever show sympathy to the homosexual agenda.

...The battle over Christmas political correctness has erupted into an international incident. For years the Canadian province of Nova Scotia has been donating a huge Christmas tree to the city of Boston, all part of the province's gratitude for Boston's help in 1917 when a tremendous explosion killed close to 2,000 people in the city of Halifax. This year, the tree is a 48-foot spruce -- but the Nova Scotia logger who donated it says he wishes he could take it back. What has Donnie Hatt so upset is that for the first time, the city of Boston is refusing to call it a Christmas tree, opting instead for the politically correct name of "holiday tree." As Hatt puts it, "If it was a holiday tree, you might as well put it up at Easter." And it seems most Boston residents feel the same say. Reuters quotes a CBS poll in which 64 percent of the respondents said Christmas has become too politically correct. Evangelist Jerry Falwell says the Boston incident is just the latest in a "concerted effort to steal Christmas," and he is pressing the city to change the name back. [Fred Jackson]

...Pro-family groups are charging the White House with not going enough to push for a Federal Marriage Amendment. The amendment will have to wait until next year for action, and supporters are asking the White to do more. Senator Sam Brownback agrees. "I hope we get the White House to engage much more aggressively on the marriage amendment," the Kansas Republican says. The amendment was passed in subcommittee by a narrow party-line vote, but has not make it to the floor for action yet. Brownback maintains that is where President Bush can make a difference. "It's my hope that next year, even in the [president's] State of the Union message ... that he will encourage and state strong support for defining marriage in the Constitution as a man and a woman," he says. Brownback feels that until the president takes a more aggressive stance, the amendment will languish -- and the courts, not the people, will define marriage. [Bill Fancher]

...Roman Catholics in Missouri are being urged to oppose a petition calling for a state constitutional amendment allowing stem cell research. Priests at Sunday masses denounced the petition drive, which was launched after unsuccessful legislative efforts to ban "therapeutic cloning," or somatic cell nuclear transfer. The procedure involves replacing the nucleus of a human egg with a cell from something such as skin. The revised egg is then grown in a lab dish, and researchers harvest stem cells. Advocates note that the egg is neither fertilized by sperm nor implanted into the uterus. But the priest at a Catholic church across the street from Missouri's state Capitol compared the procedure to experiments performed in Nazi concentration camps. He said researchers should instead use adult stem cells harvested from bone marrow, umbilical cords, placenta, and cadavers. [AP]

...A Tennessee couple says they are especially thankful this year for their two babies who were given to them as tiny, frozen embryos. Adam and Kim Lewis found out after four years of trying to get pregnant that Kim was very unlikely to conceive. Last year, the Lewises decided to apply for embryos from the National Embryo Donation Center in Knoxville. They were the first couple to receive and conceive with the donated embryos. This past March, Kim gave birth to two healthy babies: Sam and Katie. Kim says it allowed her an experience like no other. "I was able to carry the babies," the new mom says. "I went through a pregnancy, morning sickness and al; -- and there's a bond there that I'm so glad that I was able to experience, to have my children inside of me, that with traditional adoption you don't have." Adam says he and his wife believe that life starts at conception, and they are very grateful to God and to the anonymous donor parents who gave them the chance to be parents. And the process, he says, was complementary to their Christian faith. "I guess from early on we saw that the embryo adoption is definitely a process that celebrates life," Adam says. "And at the same time we wanted to do something to benefit the people who were going through the IVF cycles and were successful with pregnancies and really had a hard decision on what to do with their leftover embryos, whether to discard them or donate them to science. Embryo adoption gives another option." The new dad says they wanted to share their story so others could have the same opportunity. [Mary Rettig]

...Southern Baptists in a variety of states have been forced to make some tough choices lately with regard to long-time ties with schools of higher learning. In Kentucky, the state Baptist convention agreed to a peaceful separation with Georgetown College earlier this month. As a result, Georgetown College will choose its own trustees -- including some non-Baptists. But the Kentucky Baptist Convention will phase out its more than $1.3 million in annual funding to the college. That amicable agreement was in contrast to bitter fights elsewhere between state Baptist conventions and Baptist colleges. In Georgia, the state Baptist convention voted recently to sever ties with Mercer University over a "gay pride" event. A convention spokesman said most troubling was the disclosure that supporters of a homosexual group on campus included faculty and members of Mercer's Department of Christianity. And the Tennessee Baptist Convention voted recently to cut funding to Belmont University. That school wants to include non-Baptists on its governing board. [AP]

...A Christian publishing house is challenging believers to share God's Word with others. Earlier this year, Thomas Nelson, Inc., issued what it called "The Million Bible Challenge." The goal was simple: encourage people to buy Bibles for $1 each, then give them away to friends, family, and other acquaintances. Wayne Hastings, executive vice president and publisher of Nelson Bibles, says the goal has hit a milestone. "We went to God with sort of a thimble, asking Him for a thimbleful of water -- and He came back with a bucket," he shares. Hastings explains that initially the publisher thought a million Bibles in one year was a lot to give away, so that is what they set their goal for. But they have discovered, God had a bigger goal in mind. "Through the end of October ,we had hit 2.8 million Bibles that have been given away," he says. He adds that it has "been fun to watch" as Christian retailers, individuals, and churches have come alongside Thomas Nelson and "decided that they want the gospel of Christ in more people's hands." The Million Bible Challenge runs through Easter. [Allie Martin]

...A missionary to Uganda says people are hungry for God's Word in the African nation. John Fulks spent years as a teacher and a youth pastor before he and his family were called from Ohio to become missionaries in Uganda. Now Fulks, his wife, four sons, and one daughter live in Jinja, Uganda, where they spread God's Word and also run the Global Theological Seminary. Fulks says there is a big need for pastoral training in Uganda. "Major challenges we face are cultural barriers," he says, "getting to the people in the best way, being able to reach them and have them start and continue indigenous church ministries without being dependent upon us too much. That's one of our biggest challenges." But there are other challenges as well to ministering in Uganda, he says. "Pray that barriers may be broken down so that we may get the Word of God into the hearts of men who will then be able to pass it on to other men," he shares. "Our theme verse at the seminary is II Timothy 2:2, where Paul told Timothy to teach what he had learned to others who would then be able to teach others -- and that's what we're trying to do." The Fulks, who are affiliated with Global Outreach International, say hundreds of new churches have been started by GTS graduates. [Allie Martin]

...Three Indonesian women have received prison sentences for allowing Muslim children to attend a Christian Sunday school program. Under the Child Protection Act of 2002, the women were each given three-year sentences after judges found them guilty of attempting to convert children. Reports say the three Sunday school teachers had instructed the children to get permission from their parents before attending the program called "Happy Sunday." Those who did not have permission were asked to go home. Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs, says there are reports of the women's witness in prison. "One of the three ladies is a medical doctor and has been given the opportunity to assist some of the other prisoners with medical needs and through that has had the opportunity to talk to them about Christ, to share the gospel with them," Nettleton says. "So we know good things are happening in the prison in a spiritual sense." Nevertheless, the VOM spokesman says the fact that Islamic extremists made threats both inside and outside the courtroom shows that Christians in Indonesia must be ready for persecution. "Literally their lives were in danger," he says. According to Nettleton, on the day of the verdict "some radical Muslims showed up in the courtroom with a casket" and threatened to kill and bury the three women if they were not found guilty by the court. "So in some ways they have things to be thankful for," he says, "but obviously we're hoping that this sentence is overturned and that justice is done on their behalf." The women plan to appeal the sentences. [Allie Martin]

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