Here’s the video, featuring my favorite pro-life speakers Scott Klusendorf. Scott is the founder and President of the Life Training Institute. LTI’s mission is to make a rigorous, rational defense for pro-life positions with respect to a variety of ethical issues. If you listen to Scott, you will learn a lot, and learn it from someone who has been tested on the battlefield of ideas.
Three topics:
right to life of the unborn
reproductive technologies
end of life questions
40 minutes of guided discussion, 20 minutes of Q&A. This video was apparently recorded in the summer of 2016.
Abortion:
the 1-minute case for the pro-life position (excellent)
dealing with those who dismiss the pro-life case as religious
how and when do people win arguments?
how does one get better at discussing moral issues?
who are some of the best books to get informed about life issues?
what are some of the best books from the other side?
what is the SLED test? do pro-abortion scholars accept it?
if abortion were illegal, who should be punished and how much?
is it inflammatory and dangerous to say that abortion is killing?
Assisted reproductive technologies:
how should we speak to people considering ARTs?
what is the underlying issue in ART discussions?
should pro-lifers be opposed to all use of ARTs?
what should pro-lifers think about surrogacy?
which books provide an introduction to ART ethics?
End of life issues:
what is the central issue in end of life discussions?
should treatment always be continued or are there situations where treatment can be withdrawn?
Final issues:
if a student wants to take courses in bioethics, where should they go to take courses or do a degree?
what is the policy situation for pro-lifers in terms of legislation and SCOTUS decision-making?
what are some policies that pro-lifers can support as incremental measures that move the issue in the right direction?
I liked this discussion. I tried to listen as someone new to the issue and he did a good job of not assuming any prior knowledge of the debate. My favorite part was his survey of books and arguments on the other side, and what they say. I don’t think that most people realize what the implications of the pro-abortion worldview really are for things like infanticide, and so on. The discussion about who should be punished for abortion and how much was new to me – and that actually came up during the last election, during the GOP primary. Personally, I would let the woman get off, and just prosecute the doctor.
It’s very very good to listen to crystal clear thinking on these controversial issues from someone who has encountered the other side in their writings, and in public debates with them. Not to mention having to interact with people making decisions in these areas.
Well, it’s that time of year again, when corporations bully their employees into donating to the United Way. I thought it might be a good idea to urge all Bible-believing Christians to avoid donating to the United Way. Please share this post if you agree with it!
Let’s start with abortion. The United Way gives TONS of money to fund abortion providers.
In 2008, United Way affiliates send $1.9 million to Planned Parenthood:
The national United Way does fund Planned Parenthood; their website states:
United Way funded programs through Planned Parenthood include community health maintenance, e.g. communicable disease prevention; medical care service; family planning; health education; public awareness services; and family preservation and strengthening services, e.g. counseling and family life education.
Nationally in 2008, local United Ways distributed an estimated $1.9 million to Planned Parenthood agencies.
Any finances being donated to Planned Parenthood (even if not specifically for abortion services) will free up more of their money to be used toward abortion services.
In 2015, United Way sent $3 million to Planned Parenthood:
Last year, on the heels of shocking videos showing the Planned Parenthood abortion business selling the body parts of aborted babies, a new expose’ from a group that monitors corporations that finance the abortion giant reveals the United Way is a major donor. That expose found United Way agencies giving $2 million to the abortion giant.
A new expose’ released this week shows that figure has increased to $3 million.
In 2016, United Way sent $3 million to Planned Parenthood:
Analysis of the most recent IRS Form 990 filings and other documentation found 62 United Way affiliates sent $2,756,799 to Planned Parenthood abortion organizations in tax year 2016. 2ndVote’s latest findings indicate an increase of $168,806 from the $2,590,994 United Way funneled to Planned Parenthood in 2015.
We’re living in a time when abortion rights involves such issues as sex-selection abortions, race-selection abortions, covering up statutory rapists, Democrat support for infanticide, attacking Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, selling the body parts of unborn babies, etc. I don’t think we can count on United Way to come down on the right side of these issues. We’re already being forced to fund abortions with our tax dollars, thanks to Democrats. I don’t think we should give any more money to abortion providers and their secular leftist allies.
That’s abortion. What about gay rights? We’ve seen a lot of pressure on traditional values coming from the secular left lately. They redefined marriage AGAIN to deprive children of their biological mothers or fathers. They’re pushing for the Equality Act, which would have huge religious liberty repercussions for Christians.
The Equality Act is more draconian that any state or city conversion therapy ban to date because it takes away the traditional constitutional exemption for religious freedom. The act specifically states that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) may not be invoked as a defense, marking the first time in history that Congress has limited the reach of RFRA. This means that it could become illegal for Christian pastors, churches, schools, and ministries to communicate a message that sexual orientation or gender identity can change. The Equality Act is unprecedented in its overreach, impacting even adults who are willingly seeking counseling.
By contrast, therapy of any kind that pushes a person toward same-sex attraction or gender transition is not impacted by the law at all.
Banning counseling isn’t the only thing the Equality Act will do:
Parents could lose custody of their children if they decline to assist in their gender transition. Parents in Ohio recently lost custody of their female child because they would not give her testosterone supplements to help her “transition” to look like a male.
Doctors and hospitals could be subject to lawsuits for refusing to perform so-called “sex change” surgeries. In California and New Jersey, Catholic hospitals are already being sued for discrimination for refusing to perform these surgeries.
Battered women’s shelters could be required to admit members of the opposite sex. In Anchorage, Alaska, a male who was refused access to a shelter for abused and trafficked women sued the shelter for “gender identity discrimination.”
Faith-based adoption and foster care agencies that believe that children do best with both a mother and a father could be forced to shut down. This has already occurred in at least six states in this country.
I wonder what United Way thinks about attacks on Bible-believing Christians by LGBT activists? I posted what they shared on Facebook at the top of this post, and this is what I found on their Twitter:
United Way Twitter Gay Rights Pride Month LGBT
I don’t find that very encouraging, do you?
As a Bible-believing Christian, maybe I would be better off giving money to an organization that protects religious liberty, like Alliance Defending Freedom. I understand that many people who call themselves Christians think that the United Way’s positions are compatible with the Bible. But not everyone who calls herself a Christian actually takes the Bible seriously. Especially when it interferes with their career advancement and peer approval. This is especially true of people who work in Human Resources.
Please, don’t give money to the United Way
You don’t HAVE to give money to the United Way, just because the godless progressives in your office try to bully you into it. Instead, why not send the money to the Life Training Institute, or Ratio Christi, or Alliance Defending Freedom? These are groups do operate on Bible-based principles. I do think that Christians need to be careful about who they donate their money to. It doesn’t make sense for Christians to get up and go to work and earn money, and then give it away to anti-Christian groups who want Christianity to disappear from American life. Paul talks about how God rewards those who give gifts to partner for the gospel in Philippians. Make sure that you are not wasting your money on anything less.
VP candidate Kamala Harris was able to get picked for cushy high-paying jobs by having an affair with a married man. She used the resources of the state to persecute pro-lifers simply because she disagreed with their pro-life views. And she thinks that Joe Biden sexually assaulted women, but that’s no big deal.
Let’s start with having affairs for career advancement. The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown broke his silence on his relationship with Democratic senator Kamala Harris on Saturday, admitting in his weekly column that he used his powerful post to boost her young career when they dated.
Brown… was openly in an extramarital relationship with Harris when he was speaker of the California State Assembly and running for mayor…
[…]Brown goes on to address the fact that he appointed Harris, who was just a few years out of law school and working at the Alameda County district attorney’s office, to two well-paid posts on California state commissions and later helped her in her first election.
This isn’t a problem for Democrats, because they don’t believe in chastity, fidelity, or marriage. Whenever I see people voting for someone like Kamala Harris, I try to imagine what their personal life must be like. Democrat voters aren’t Christians. They don’t believe the Bible. They don’t believe in chastity. They think infanticide is no big deal. And they have an extremely high rate of out-of-wedlock births, together with an extremely low marriage rate. So, these are not people who are successful at marriage and family. These are not people who do fidelity, honor and lifelong married love well.
Second, what about using the power of the state to attack people who you disagree with? Kamala Harris is an expert in fascism and the persecution of moral reformers.
David Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress filed a lawsuit Wednesday against some of California’s most powerful politicians for prosecuting him for exposing Planned Parenthood’s aborted baby body parts harvesting practices.
The lawsuit accuses U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Planned Parenthood and others of conspiracy to violate First and Fourteenth Amendment civil rights.
“The California Attorney General first admitted that they are enforcing the video recording law solely based on how they feel about the message being published, and then further admitted they are not even trying to follow the text of the law as written,” Daleiden said.
The lawsuit says Harris, the former attorney general, and Becerra used state video-recording laws as a “political weapon” to silence speech that they disagree with.
[…]Becerra and Harris both are pro-abortion Democrats who have received campaign donations from Planned Parenthood.
Documents reveal that Harris, while running for U.S. Senate in 2016, had a secret, in-person meeting with Planned Parenthood leaders to discuss the investigation; two weeks later, the California Department of Justice raided Daleiden’s home.
According to the lawsuit, Daleiden “seeks justice for a brazen, unprecedented, and ongoing conspiracy to selectively use California’s video recording laws as a political weapon to silence disfavored speech.”
Again, this isn’t going to be a problem for Democrat voters who think that murdering children who dare to get in the way of their recklss pursuit of sexual pleasure is perfectly fine. And that’s every single Democrat politician, and every single Democrat voter. Their god is sex. They sacrifice their innocent children to their god.
Third, Kamala Harris thinks that the multiple accusations of rape and sexual assault against Biden are credible, but these things are not really important parts of a man’s character.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that she believes women who say they felt uncomfortable after receiving unwanted touching from former Vice President Joe Biden.
“I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it,” Harris said at a presidential campaign event in Nevada.
But now she’s Biden’s VP. Because women being sexually assaulted or even raped by their bosses in the workplace is no big deal for Kamala Harris. In fact, that’s how women get ahead, right?
This woman has no moral character. She’s an exemplary Democrat, and Democrat voters will support her as Vice President, and eventually as President.
WINTERY KNIGHT 