OUR COLUMNISTS Cast Your Vote: Who Is More 'In the Bubble' – George W. or Newsweek? Commentary by Matt Friedeman "Bush's World," reads the front cover of this week's Newsweek. "The Isolated President: Can He Change." Hilarious, really. Failing the Treadmill Test Commentary by Jane Jimenez There's a treadmill made for everyone. Just push the button and start walking. So, why, out of all the tests our children can take, are they failing to pass treadmill 101? On the Same Team? Commentary by Brad Locke What sports ultimately teaches us is that the only way to succeed is through unity. Individuals must learn to harmonize their efforts so that the team can achieve great things. The body of Christ is no different. The Church Joins the World -- and Almost No One Notices Commentary by David Sisler In the spirit of the season, churches all over our nation will have a very spiritual experience by being closed in celebration of the birthday of our Savior. No matter how you phrase it, no matter how you spin it, that is a prime example of evangelical Christianity having lost its way. Hawaii Supreme Court: The Unborn Are 'Not Human Beings' Commentary by Mark Creech The ruling in the case and Hawaii's penal code clearly define personhood on the basis of functionalism. The Holy Scriptures, however, define one's personhood not by what one does but by what one is.

...Researchers at the University of Louisville have reported a breakthrough with adult stem cells. Dr. Mariusz Ratajczak, leader of the research team and director of the University's James Graham Brown Cancer Center, says the investigators have found a counterpart for embryonic stem cells in adult mouse bone marrow. The cells look like embryonic stem cells and appear to mimic their ability to reproduce and develop into different kinds of cells. Ratajczak's team grew some of these cells and made them change into nerve, heart, and pancreas cells. He says the next step in the research is to reproduce the experiment with similar cells in adult humans. The research scientist says his team is very excited about the treatment possibilities stemming from this discovery, although these medical applications are likely still many years off. But Ratajczak says if these cells can be reproduced on a larger scale, then the need for embryonic stem cells could be reduced or even eliminated. [Mary Rettig]

...Years of hard work have paid off for a lawmaker from New Jersey whose recently passed bill has the potential to save millions of lives. Republican Congressman Chris Smith has led the effort to establish a national bank to collect and store umbilical cord blood and placentas, which contain millions of stem cells. His dream has now become law, and he says he is feeling "very thrilled and very grateful for the president's leadership as well in signing the bill, but also the good support he gave it throughout." The legislation mandates $79 million for the umbilical cord blood bank program and includes bone marrow research as well. "I think more people know now than ever, and hopefully it'll increase, that there is this incredible lifesaving capability from non-controversial stem cells that are really, right now, medical waste," Smith says. There are four million births in the United States each year, and the cord blood from each contains millions of stem cells that can be used to treat more than 70 maladies. [Bill Fancher]

...A lawsuit has been filed in an effort to stop Illinois from requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception that may work by causing abortions. The lawsuit was filed by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) in a U.S. district court in Springfield, Illinois, on behalf of five pharmacists who were suspended indefinitely by Walgreens drug stores for refusing on religious or moral grounds to dispense the drug known as "the morning-after pill." Frank Manion, senior counsel with the ACLJ, believes the case will have a big impact. "It's not just limited to situations involving the morning-after pill," he explains. "It could also be applied to the abortion pill, RU-486; it could also be applied to a time perhaps not too far in the future when assisted-suicide drugs and prescriptions are being sent out all over the country. People should not be forced to participate in other people's choices which they find morally objectionable." Manion says the lawsuit names Illinois' Governor Rod Blagojevich and other state officials as defendants. Blagojevich imposed new regulations earlier this year forcing pharmacies to sell federally approved contraceptives to fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill. [Allie Martin]

...A pro-family leader in Pennsylvania is calling on a Catholic university to rethink its decision to allow the formation of a homosexual activist student group on campus. Just before Christmas break, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh became one of 50 Catholic universities to allow a Gay Straight Alliance on campus. Diane Gramley, who heads the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, feels the move indicates Duquesne is heading in the wrong direction. "This is very concerning," she says, pointing out that Duquesne University disciplined student Ryan Minor in October for stating personal views on homosexuality on a personal web log -- view consistent with church teaching. "He took the Catholic stance, the Catholic teaching about homosexuality, and put that on the web log," the AFA of Pennsylvania spokeswoman notes, "and he was punished for making those statements." Gramley believes homosexual students who attend Catholic schools have an agenda to change existing policies. [Jim Brown]

...Denver's mayor is asking more religious congregations to become mentors for homeless families and seniors as part of his ten-year plan to end homelessness in the city. Mayor John Hickenlooper hopes to recruit more volunteers at a January 10 luncheon. Already, 172 people from 89 Denver-area congregations have pledged time and money. Hickenlooper has challenged every church, synagogue, mosque and place of worship in Denver to work with at least one homeless family. [AP]

...A noted Bible teacher and author says there are lessons to be learned from some of the most notable women of the Bible. In his new book, Twelve Extraordinary Women, Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, examines the lives of a dozen women from the Old and New Testaments. He says although most of the women featured were common, ordinary people, and in some cases came from the lowest social class of their society, God worked through them. "These 12 extraordinary women all had a remarkable and, almost in every case, very surprising connection to God's redemptive purpose in sending Jesus Christ," MacArthur points out. "The Bible is finished, but redemptive history is still going on. And it's going on with the same power, the same saving grace, the same advance of the kingdom that it always has, and so God is still writing His redemptive story ... and He's still doing it through very ordinary men and women." MacArthur is president of the Master's College and Seminary in California. He says the lives of those biblical figures featured in Twelve Extraordinary Women should serve as inspiration to men and women today. [Allie Martin]

...Since the Indian Ocean tsunami killed more than 200,000 people one year ago, Christians have been helping survivors in places that had been closed to the gospel, like Buddhist Sri Lanka and Muslim Indonesia. Compassion International vice president Paul Moede says Indonesians intent on quashing any effort to convert Muslims "were monitoring the activities of all the ministries that were there." But he says months of working together "broke down walls of mistrust" between Muslims and Christians. Moede says Compassion's primary goal in Indonesia has been mercy rather than evangelism. He says the child relief ministry has provided tuition and transportation to keep children in school, and no-interest loans to help people restart businesses. [AP]

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