World Views

Poland Chooses Life

Last Tuesday February 9th., a majority of European  Parliament lawmakers decried Poland's near total abortion ban as a fundamental violation of women's rights. I always thought that fundamental rights were natural rights bestowed upon us by the Creator and as outlined in the U.S. Constitution and accepted today by most western nations and free peoples around the world. Is it now a word wide fundamental right to kill the unborn? Not in Poland it isn't, the Polish people have spoken. Poland is a staunchly Roman Catholic country and allowed abortion until recently, only in the case of rape or incest; a threat to a woman's health; and fetal abnormalities. The Polish high court ruled that abortion for fetal abnormalities is unconstitutional. 

A German member of the Green party Terry Reintke accused the conservative Polish government of turning the country into "a place where men will have control over women's bodies."  She called on the European Commission to act in defense of women and democracy in Poland. A Danish leader Karen Melchior said women will be forced "to give birth to corpses."  Robert Bierdon a left wing Polish lawmaker denounced the decision saying, "The rights of women in Poland have been curtailed so much that they have fewer rights than women in Iran."  Even though some praised authorities  in Warsaw for what they called a defense of Christian values and human life, the majority denounced it. EU equality Commissioner Helena Dalli acknowledged that the EU has no legal authority over how member states regulate abortion,  but she viewed the decision as evidence of of the deterioration of sexual and reproductive rights of women in the central European nation. 

Abortion in our country is still a very contentious issue and the battle lines are drawn similarly as they are in Europe. There is no greater example of a clash of world view's than abortion and now it is even a global issue. The stakes are high and the issue could not be clearer. Do you choose life or death? Thank God for the people of Poland for embracing life. 

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Danish Law Requires Submission of Sermons for Government Approval

 Shocking news coming out of Denmark, the government has announced that it is considering a law which would require the transcription and prior approval of the manuscripts of all sermons  preached in Denmark and translated by anyone speaking a language other than Danish into Danish. This is a law that is clearly intended to crackdown on Islamic extremists within their country but tramples on the religious liberties of English speaking Anglicans and German speaking Lutherans in Denmark. Most of the "shock and awe" concerning this law is coming from outside of Denmark itself. It seems that the Danish denominations biggest complaint is the added cost and inconvenience of complying with the proposed law. 

The population of Denmark is about 5.8 million souls, the vast majority 75%, belong to the state Lutheran church , but only 3% attend regular Sunday services. About 20% of the population are not religious at all. So what we have there is really a secular state. The state Lutheran church is very liberal and recognized same sex marriages in 2012. The vast majority of people in Denmark don't seem to think much of religious liberty or for that matter, of religion at all.

Americans should take note of this, one of the founding principles of our government was religious liberty and freedom. Could we lose it? Elton Trueblood a Quaker theologian said that the United States was becoming a cut flower civilization. It had been cut off from its Christian roots, but the flower is still there. As he said, "When you cut a flower off from its root, it can look beautiful on the table for some time, but it's destined to die. Cut off from its roots, it will eventually wilt and fade." The metaphor here is very clear, and I appreciate it but what Trueblood fails to take into account is that God always has a remnant of the faithful left.

The 48th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Pictured above is a 16 week fetus.

On January 22nd we passed another grim milestone, 48 years since the Roe v. Wade decision was foisted upon the American people by the Supreme Court. Albert Mohler wrote a informative article on abortion past and present that is an excellent review and analysis from the Christian perspective of this ongoing problem that has moral, cultural and political implications. This is a must read! This week in the Adult Christian Education Class we will be tackling this very topic. So prepare yourself and read the article ahead of time and attend this important class.

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