OUR COLUMNISTS What If the Supreme Court Isn't to Blame for Its Lack of Moral Clarity? Commentary by Matt Friedeman A Church that wants the Ten Commandments freely displayed on public grounds should perhaps also be a Church that has those imperatives written across her heart and memory and, more to the point, her practice. Abortion Recall Commentary by Jane Jimenez You've probably carried more stories on product recalls than you can count: Ford Pinto, Viagra, Ephedra, Fen-Phen ... and more. Most recently, drugs manufactured by Able Laboratories are front-page news. What's next? Itching Ears Commentary by Brad Locke Failure is inextricably tied to self-esteem for many people, but those who don't fear failure are the ones who succeed most often. When nothing else can cause a person to re-examine his approach and fix it, failure will often do so. It is a great teacher. 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? Preaching a 'Celebrity Gospel' Commentary by Mark Creech A "celebrity gospel" is when a preacher compromises the gospel of Christ in order to achieve or sustain a celebrity status. Columnist Mark Creech offers two examples of preachers he says are proclaiming a celebrity gospel of late.

...It was a joke. That's how Franklin Graham is responding to criticism of remarks his dad made at the recent Billy Graham Crusade in New York. During one of the crusade nights, Rev. Billy Graham was joined on stage by Bill and Hillary Clinton. The respected evangelist suggested that Bill Clinton should be an evangelist himself and that his wife, Hillary, should "run the country." Franklin Graham tells the Charlotte Observer that his father certainly was not endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, and this political views -- along with his father's -- are quite different from those of the Clintons. [Fred Jackson]

...The head of the Family Research Council says Americans must keep a close eye on the impact that Canada's decision to legalize homosexual "marriage" could have in the United States. Perkins believes homosexual activists seeking to eradicate the institution of marriage realized they could accomplish more in Canada than they could in the U.S. He says, "In some cases it appears that homosexual interest groups in this country have taken this agenda to the North of us because they felt the ground was more sympathetic, and are pushing for these measures through both the courts and Parliament only to come back to this country to make reference to them in trying to shape public policy in this country." The pro-family leader says these efforts are about "this elusive desire from homosexuals to get a seal of approval on something that I don't think they could ever be satisfied with; but in the process they will destroy the institution of marriage." Perkins is warning pro-family Americans they can expect the pro-homosexual movement to try using Canada's approval of same-sex marriage to influence the marriage debate in the U.S. [Bill Fancher]

...Catholic Church leaders in Spain say the new law legalizing same-sex marriage "creates a moral and human disorder" in Spanish society. The law took effect on Sunday, a day after its publication in an official government registry. The head of the Spanish bishops says the new law creates a deep wound in the sacrament of marriage and that there should have been other options of respect and safeguard of the possible rights of homosexuals. The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed, adopt children and inherit each other's property, making their legal status the same as that of heterosexual couples. Spain is the third country to grant full recognition to same-sex marriage. Canada is expected to follow suit later this month. Several European countries and a few U.S. states recognize civil unions among same-sex couples, but this falls short of treating them like married couples. [AP]

...Dr. Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention wants Christians in America to know they can be instrumental in positively transforming their culture. For instance, Land says it is vital for the nation once again to respect the value of each human life, and he urges believers across the U.S. to become radical change agents in their culture. "People talk about 'Well, do you think God is blessing America or judging America?' Well, I think God is doing both right now," the SBC leader says, "and part of the judgment of God on America is abortion. We have a Social Security crisis because of abortion. If it weren't for abortion, we'd have 41 or 42 million more Americans working. They wouldn't have been aborted [if abortion were not legal], and they would be contributing to Social Security." In his new book, Imagine! a God Blessed America (Broadman & Holman, 2005), Land looks at several areas where repentance and renewal must take place. "If we had an America where every life was valued," the author contends, "it would be a very different place. We would cut down on one-third of all abortions, and we would start radically altering our extended living and assisted living facilities." It is not too late, Land insists, for widespread revival to take place in America. [Allie Martin]

...American Legion members in the southern Idaho community of Rupert want to resurrect a plan to erect a Ten Commandments monument in front of the local courthouse. Don Murray of the legion post says the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling allows such monuments as long as they do not promote government endorsement of a particular religion. Minidoka County Commission chairman Don Stapelman says he favors a monument, but thinks the Supreme Court ruling is ambiguous on just what is permissible. And American Civil Liberties Union attorney Marty Durand says the civil rights group would likely bring litigation against the county if it were to move forward with the courthouse monument plan. [AP]

...Some conservatives are expressing a degree of optimism when it comes to the battle against pornography. Sex-trafficking researcher Dr. Jeffrey Satinover believes the porn industry in America may be in for rough days ahead, particularly if federal law enforcement officials return to an emphasis on the U.S. Constitution's provisions against obscenity. "Much of the pornography industry would, by existing constitutional standards, be illegitimate and illegal if only we actually held ourselves to our own constitutional standards," Satinover says. And John Richter of the U.S. Justice Department says a new attitude exists within the department -- and the new Obscenity Task Force proves it, he adds. "This task force will be bringing prosecutors to bear," he says, "not only in the obscenity realm but also from our organized crime and racketeering section, from our asset forfeiture and money laundering section, and from our computer crimes section." Pro-family advocates have been asking the Justice Department for years to enforce the obscenity laws already on the books. It is their hope that under the leadership of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the porn industry will finally begin the downhill slide. [Bill Fancher]

...The Colorado-based child development ministry Compassion International is encouraging Christians to become more involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Scott Todd, HIV-AIDS program manager for Compassion International, points out that today there are about 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide. "The reason why it's called a pandemic," he explains, "is because it's global. In terms of the growth of this pandemic, about 14,000 new infections are occurring each day. And of those 14,000 new infections each day, about 2,000 are happening in children who are born to mothers who are HIV-positive." Compassion International has established an HIV-AIDS fund to help children worldwide whose lives have been affected by the disease. [Allie Martin]

...A military expert and Pentagon advisor says the United States should look at Germany if it wants to find a way to solve the long-term military recruiting problem. While President Bush and most Pentagon officials want to avoid a draft, retired Army Lt. Colonel Bob Maginnis says unless the pace of the war on terror decreases, conscription might be America's best recourse. He notes, "I have a half-brother who lives in Germany who, when he was 18, after his high school, had to provide mandatory public service -- either the military or he could go into social service. It was still the same 18-month obligation. He helped invalids in his community, and it was an organized program." While his brother chose the social service option, Maginnis points out that the Germans "fill their army with conscripts who would rather go into the army." The military advisor says unless the current pace of the war decreases, the U.S. might have to reinstate the draft, and he feels the German option would be fair to everyone. [Chad Groening]

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