Babies from Skin Cells and Other News of End Times
Yesterday our Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Sochi with Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov. High on their agenda was the increasing tensions in the Persian Gulf region. Two US aircraft carrier strike forces have now entered the Persian Gulf. B-52 bombers have arrived at US airbases in Qatar. This in response to highly placed intelligence reports of an imminent Iranian attack upon American interests in the Middle East. Iran has also begun the process of blackmailing the European Union with threats of renewing their uranium enrichment program if the EU does not remove some of its sanctions. We know the Iranian economy is almost in a free-fall position right now because of the increased American sanctions. And the United States has declared that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is a terrorist organization. Iran is like a wounded animal ready to lash out at anyone. Our President has decided that a show of strength now is better than appeasement later. I have not heard many of the specifics from the Pompeo-Lavrov discussions, but hope the Russians will take a hard look at their involvement with Iran. Although, if I am reading Ezekiel 38-39 correctly, the Russian-Iranian connection will remain pretty strong until God intervenes.
Meanwhile, here at home the political rhetoric continues to escalate. We now have 22 Democratic contenders facing off against each other. Most of them are either moderately left-of-center or radically left-of-center. Right now the polls have Joe Biden as the front-runner, but does he have the staying power and ideas to remain there. Anyway, it is going to be a long slugfest until the primaries begin early in 2020.
Part of the political rhetoric concerns the topic of abortion and the right to life issues. I read a powerful article, written by Robin Smith which was posted at: www.patriotpost.us/articles/62967-when-does-life-begin. Allow me to quote from that article. "Americans honored moms on Mother's Day yesterday, as we're all thankful for the significant roles that mothers fulfill in our society. Yet, in today's political climate, the value of mothers has been cheapened by the heralding of access to abortion on demand. After rebranding the practice as some type of health procedure that women must have as a right, abortion has become a foundational issue that unites leftists in the belief that motherhood is, somehow, equated with being a burden and a disruption to a professional pathway to success.
"In an October 2017 Washington Post fact-check of a statement by President Donald Trump applauding the House's Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a stunning fact was revealed as true. It's a fact that of 198 nations reviewed, only seven permit elective abortions after five months, or 20 weeks, of pregnancy. Listed in alphabetical order, these nations are Canada, China, Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. That's it. Of the almost 200 nations that permit abortions, 3.5% of them still think it's a good idea to end the life of a baby after 20 weeks of gestational age, and three of those nations are repressive communist regimes.
"To put that gestational age in perspective, an intrauterine heartbeat is typically detected around six weeks of pregnancy. By 90 days after conception, a heart with four distinct chambers has formed, permitting blood to enter and exit a baby's tiny circulatory system. By 20 weeks of gestation, not only is there a beating heart, but there are other vital organs and functions supporting the science of life in the womb."
The article then goes on to relate the jubilant attitude expressed when Virginia's Governor Ralph Northam advocated abortion after 20 weeks and then added these words: "Third-trimester abortions are 'done in cases where there may be severe deformities. There may be a fetus that's nonviable. So, in this example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.'" As I have shared before, that is nothing less than infanticide - the murder of children.
Georgia became the latest state to pass legislation that bans abortion after the detection of a heart beat. One sentence within Georgia's "heart beat bill" reads: "Unborn children shall be worthy of recognition as natural persons under the laws of this State." I applaud those courageous members of the Georgia legislature for protecting the lives of the unborn.
As the political rhetoric ramps up over the course of the next months, pay attention to the emphasis put upon broadening the scope of abortion. And, if your state is seeking to pass legislation such as a "heart-beat bill", please give it your full support. Remember, the attitude with which we treat the unborn is usually a very good indicator of how we will treat those at the end of life. If a child's life is determined by his or her viability, then what about a 90 year old who lies in a hospital bed unable to take care of himself or herself? What is that viability quotient?
I want to share one final article found at: www.worldisraelnews.com/hebrew-university-takes-giant-leap-toward-creating-human-embryos. "While it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, researchers in Israel recently made major discoveries related to stem cell growth that are leading to the creation of entire human embryos outside the body, without the need for sperm and eggs.... At the heart of this breakthrough is a method 'to transform skin cells into the three major stem cell types that comprise early-stage embryos,' according to a statement released by HU (Hebrew University) summarizing the Cell Stem Cell article. The team explained that this method could 'solve certain infertility problems' and 'paves the way to create whole embryos from skin cells' in 'a petri dish,' separate from the human body.... In addition to opening up new horizons for embryonic growth, the HU team's discoveries also may significantly improve our current understanding of diseases and dysfunctions that occur during pregnancy, leading to new treatments and eliminating major fertility challenges."
Wow! Babies made out of skin cells! No need for marriage any longer. No need for a spouse. Actually, no longer any need for sexual intimacy for reproductive purposes. Just some skin cells in a petri-dish. As I read this article I asked myself this question: would such a person have an eternal soul? Oh the ethical and theological questions this article raised for me.
Friends, as I remind you almost weekly, keep looking around you to see the signs, then keep looking up because our Redemption is coming very soon!
Meanwhile, here at home the political rhetoric continues to escalate. We now have 22 Democratic contenders facing off against each other. Most of them are either moderately left-of-center or radically left-of-center. Right now the polls have Joe Biden as the front-runner, but does he have the staying power and ideas to remain there. Anyway, it is going to be a long slugfest until the primaries begin early in 2020.
Part of the political rhetoric concerns the topic of abortion and the right to life issues. I read a powerful article, written by Robin Smith which was posted at: www.patriotpost.us/articles/62967-when-does-life-begin. Allow me to quote from that article. "Americans honored moms on Mother's Day yesterday, as we're all thankful for the significant roles that mothers fulfill in our society. Yet, in today's political climate, the value of mothers has been cheapened by the heralding of access to abortion on demand. After rebranding the practice as some type of health procedure that women must have as a right, abortion has become a foundational issue that unites leftists in the belief that motherhood is, somehow, equated with being a burden and a disruption to a professional pathway to success.
"In an October 2017 Washington Post fact-check of a statement by President Donald Trump applauding the House's Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a stunning fact was revealed as true. It's a fact that of 198 nations reviewed, only seven permit elective abortions after five months, or 20 weeks, of pregnancy. Listed in alphabetical order, these nations are Canada, China, Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. That's it. Of the almost 200 nations that permit abortions, 3.5% of them still think it's a good idea to end the life of a baby after 20 weeks of gestational age, and three of those nations are repressive communist regimes.
"To put that gestational age in perspective, an intrauterine heartbeat is typically detected around six weeks of pregnancy. By 90 days after conception, a heart with four distinct chambers has formed, permitting blood to enter and exit a baby's tiny circulatory system. By 20 weeks of gestation, not only is there a beating heart, but there are other vital organs and functions supporting the science of life in the womb."
The article then goes on to relate the jubilant attitude expressed when Virginia's Governor Ralph Northam advocated abortion after 20 weeks and then added these words: "Third-trimester abortions are 'done in cases where there may be severe deformities. There may be a fetus that's nonviable. So, in this example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.'" As I have shared before, that is nothing less than infanticide - the murder of children.
Georgia became the latest state to pass legislation that bans abortion after the detection of a heart beat. One sentence within Georgia's "heart beat bill" reads: "Unborn children shall be worthy of recognition as natural persons under the laws of this State." I applaud those courageous members of the Georgia legislature for protecting the lives of the unborn.
As the political rhetoric ramps up over the course of the next months, pay attention to the emphasis put upon broadening the scope of abortion. And, if your state is seeking to pass legislation such as a "heart-beat bill", please give it your full support. Remember, the attitude with which we treat the unborn is usually a very good indicator of how we will treat those at the end of life. If a child's life is determined by his or her viability, then what about a 90 year old who lies in a hospital bed unable to take care of himself or herself? What is that viability quotient?
I want to share one final article found at: www.worldisraelnews.com/hebrew-university-takes-giant-leap-toward-creating-human-embryos. "While it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, researchers in Israel recently made major discoveries related to stem cell growth that are leading to the creation of entire human embryos outside the body, without the need for sperm and eggs.... At the heart of this breakthrough is a method 'to transform skin cells into the three major stem cell types that comprise early-stage embryos,' according to a statement released by HU (Hebrew University) summarizing the Cell Stem Cell article. The team explained that this method could 'solve certain infertility problems' and 'paves the way to create whole embryos from skin cells' in 'a petri dish,' separate from the human body.... In addition to opening up new horizons for embryonic growth, the HU team's discoveries also may significantly improve our current understanding of diseases and dysfunctions that occur during pregnancy, leading to new treatments and eliminating major fertility challenges."
Wow! Babies made out of skin cells! No need for marriage any longer. No need for a spouse. Actually, no longer any need for sexual intimacy for reproductive purposes. Just some skin cells in a petri-dish. As I read this article I asked myself this question: would such a person have an eternal soul? Oh the ethical and theological questions this article raised for me.
Friends, as I remind you almost weekly, keep looking around you to see the signs, then keep looking up because our Redemption is coming very soon!
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