Dear Friends,
This week, FRC is holding two important events of which I wanted you to be aware. Also, we continue to produce op-eds and studies relevant to everyone concerned with the intersection of Christian faith and public policy. Our latest contributions and information about our events this week are found below. Please forward to others who might have interest, as well.
Gratefully,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
(202) 393-2100
EVENTS:
The Link Between Pornography, Sex Trafficking, and Abortion – July 22, 12:00 Noon EST
Is there a connection between the pornography and sex trafficking industries? The data say there is: Pornography use has been shown to fuel the demand for sex trafficking. And what about the incidence of abortion in the sex trafficking industry? The gruesome intersection between these three evils has seldom been explored, but this week, the Director of FRC's Center for Human Dignity, Arina Grossu, will shed light on the links between pornography, sex trafficking and abortion. Register to attend or watch online, both at no charge, here.
The Court and the Classroom: How the Supreme Court's Redefinition of Marriage Affects Religious Schools – July 23, 1:00 PM EST
The recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court which redefines marriage for legal purposes is a landmark decision that has wide-ranging implications for religious liberty. Join Family Research Council as we explore how this decision will particularly affect religious schools and affiliated institutions in a special webcast program on July 23, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. EST. You'll hear from legal experts, education leaders, and U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) as they equip you for the road ahead for religious education in light of Obergefell v. Hodges. Register to attend or watch on-line, both at no charge, here.
FEATURING
Cohosts: Travis Weber, Esq., Director, Center for Religious Liberty, Family Research Council, and Greg Baylor, Esq., Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Guests:
- U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah)
- Dr. Albert Mohler — President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Dr. Samuel "Dub" Oliver — President, Union University
- Dr. Bill Thierfelder — President, Belmont Abbey College
- Maureen Van Den Berg — Policy Analyst, American Association of Christian Schools
- Jamison Coppola — Legislative Director, American Association of Christian Schools
- Kim Colby, Esq. — Director, Center for Law & Religious Freedom, Christian Legal Society
- William W. Kirk, Esq. — VP for Legal Affairs and General Counsel, Ave Maria University
PUBLICATIONS:
On Clear Biblical Teaching, Non-Essentials and Homosexuality
Christians disagree about many things, some more important than others. Among Evangelical Protestants, there is universal concurrence on the core issues of the faith. The key aspects of our theology are well-expressed in the historic Lausanne Covenant, for example ... On secondary issues, disputes begin. The covenantal versus dispensational hermeneutic, eschatology, and so on: People using sound expositional and exegetical principles can come honestly to different conclusions about these types of things ... (However), one of the Bible's unmistakable (perspicacious, to use a theological term) teachings is that man was created in two sexes and that sexually intimate conduct must be reserved for monogamous marriage with a member of the opposite sex. From Genesis to Revelation, this is what the Bible says, unambiguously. Some professing Evangelicals claim that homosexuality is an area where Scripture speaks with ambivalence or that historic Christian teaching about homosexuality has been in error. This is wrong. Dissembling exegesis cannot change what the text says.
Same-Sex Marriage Will Affect the Pews Before the Pulpit
The Supreme Court has asserted that the U. S. Constitution mandates all 50 states to license civil "marriages" between same-sex couples. You are a pastor who believes that God ordained marriage to be exclusively the union of one man and one woman. You know research shows that, on average, husbands and wives—and children raised by a married mother and father -- are happier, healthier, and more prosperous than people in other living situations. What should you do now?
Valley of the Shadow of Death: A Meditation on Planned Parenthood and the Sale of Infant Organs
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."
Recently ... Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Senior Director of Medical Services cavalierly discussed their harvesting and selling of babies' organs. She ate and drank casually while describing which parts of the babies' bodies would be crushed by the forceps and which would not, depending on which organ(s) needed to be kept intact in order to be sold. In great detail, she spoke of how babies would be manipulated into the breech position with ultrasound guidance in order to allow certain organs to be removed more easily. The method she described is suspiciously similar to partial birth abortion. Without shame, she stated that while there is a partial birth abortion ban, "Laws are up to interpretation. So if I say on day one I do not intend to do this, what ultimately happens doesn’t matter."
Is this really what we have come to? In America, are we literally walking through the valley of the shadow of death? It certainly feels that way ... We must fight with love and compassion but also with incredible resolve. This is a deep and dark valley, yes, but love, truth, and compassion can transform it. Death can be overcome with life, darkness with light. We can raise this valley and clear it of shadows, allowing light to once again shine on it and purify this blood-stained ground.
