Tag Archives: Dallas

Texas raids Planned Parenthood offices in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio

Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Texas Governor Greg Abbott

This is from Life News. (H/T ECM)

Excerpt:

After a Houston-based Planned Parenthood abortion clinic was caught selling aborted baby body parts, state investigators conducted a raid today on multiple Planned Parenthood abortion clinics across the state.
Texas officials raided several Planned Parenthood facilities today in an unprecedented move that follows on the heels of pro-life Governor Greg Abbott announcing earlier in the week that the state would further de-fund the abortion business.  Abbott said this week “the gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed,” but so far the state has released no evidence of illegal activity by the group.

The raids were carried out at Planned Parenthood abortion centers in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio by representatives from the Texas Office of the Inspector General and the state served subpoenas on five total Planned Parenthood centers. The Houston Chronicle has more:

Officials with the inspector general’s office at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission went to two facilities in Houston as well as clinics in Dallas, San Antonio and Brownsville. The Brownsville center does not perform abortions.

Planned Parenthood was given 30 days to respond to the move; a legal challenge is likely.

On Thursday, Planned Parenthood officials decried the subpoenas as politically-motivated, saying officials were “looking for an excuse to take health care away from thousands of women and men who rely on Planned Parenthood for preventive care.”

“The investigators were seeking hundreds of pages of information, from patient records to employee home addresses, involving 10 Planned Parenthood facilities across the state” the Austin newspaper reported. “Officials would not confirm details of the investigation, but the sources said it’s related to suspicions of misspent Medicaid money.”

ECM was quite delighted with this story, and it does show why the United States of America is still a great country. My Canadian friends have been filling up my ears with laments. “Angry”, was how one Calgary man described his feelings to me. “I’m hiding under blankets” one Calgary woman told me. Well, yes. When the Liberal Party gets a majority in a country where federalism is severely crippled, then no matter where you live, you’re pretty much done for.

But that’s not the case in the USA, where a man can dream of living under Mary Fallin in Oklahoma, or Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, or under Sam Brownback in Kansas. Or even in Tennessee or Texas under other Republican governors. You have your pick. And when you open up the local newspaper, you are going to see things happening that don’t make you angry, or make you hide under blankets. What a country! We should be thankful for the boundary between federal and state governments, and seek to strengthen the jurisdiction of states.

By the way, Texas also defunded Planned Parenthood earlier this week.

Upcoming debate between William Dembski and Christopher Hitchens

Upcoming debate between William Dembski and Christopher Hitchens. (H/T Apologetics 315)

Details:

William Dembski will be debating Christopher Hitchens at the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX, Nov. 18th, on the question of God’s goodness.

“Does a Good God Exist?”

Debate between Dr. William Dembski and Christopher Hitchens

Two intellectual heavy weights will square off toe-to-toe on the existence and goodness of God.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where Dr. Dembski is a research professor, has an article on the debate.

Dembski and Hitchens will debate the existence of a good God during a conference for the Biblical Worldview Institute at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas. The debate will be hosted in the worship center at Prestonwood Baptist Church from 8:40 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. It will also be webcast on http://www.pcawebcast.com.

Dembski, a champion of the Intelligent Design movement, is also a senior fellow with the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and an author of numerous books, including The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems and The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World. He was also featured in the 2008 documentary on Intelligent Design, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

Hitchens has authored, along with other controversial books, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, and he edited The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer. Alongside Sam Harris, Daniel C. Dennett and Richard Dawkins, Hitchens has been called one of “The Four Horsemen” of the atheism. A former atheist, Hitchens’ brother, Peter, renounced his disbelief and recently wrote the 2010 publication, The Rage against God: How Atheism Led me to Faith.

Prestonwood Christian Academy is a ministry of Prestonwood Baptist Church, the location of one of Southwestern Seminary’s seven extension centers. The College at Southwestern is also a sponsor for the debate. For more information on the conference or to register, visit www.prestonwoodchristian.org.

I am a big fan of William Dembski. He will crush Hitchens, just like Craig did at Biola in 2009.

Dallas/Fort-Worth apologetics conference TODAY

Here’s a quick reminder about the upcoming conference in Dallas, TX.

When:

  • November 5th and 6th, 2010
  • Friday: 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
  • Saturday: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Where:

Speakers and topics:

  • Tag-team of all speakers on apologetics
  • Dr. Paul Nelson, “The Power and Promise of Intelligent Design in Biology”
  • Dr. Craig Hazen, “Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?”
  • Sean McDowell, “Equipping Young People with a Biblical Worldview”
  • Dr. J.P. Moreland, “The War of Worldviews”
  • Dr. Mike Licona, “Can We Really Trust the Gospels”
  • Dr. William Lane Craig, “The Case for the Existence of God”

The main page is here.

The thing I like about this conference is that all of the speakers have participated in lectures and debates. Paul Nelson has debated on intelligent design, JP Moreland has debated on the existence of God, Craig debates regularly on the existence of God, Licona has debated Ehrman and others on the resurrection, and Sean McDowell kicked butt in his debate on morality and atheism. Craig Hazen hasn’t debated to my knowledge, but he does tons of lecturing, and people tend to really like his lectures. I once gave an entire set of lectures to my friends Andrew and Jen and they liked Craig Hazen the best.

So the point is that these guys are all really really good speakers! This conference should be a very lively affair.

Upcoming “On Guard” apologetics conference in November

Here’s a quick reminder about the upcoming conference in Dallas, TX.

When:

  • November 5th and 6th, 2010
  • Friday: 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
  • Saturday: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Where:

Speakers and topics:

  • Tag-team of all speakers on apologetics
  • Dr. Paul Nelson, “The Power and Promise of Intelligent Design in Biology”
  • Dr. Craig Hazen, “Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?”
  • Sean McDowell, “Equipping Young People with a Biblical Worldview”
  • Dr. J.P. Moreland, “The War of Worldviews”
  • Dr. Mike Licona, “Can We Really Trust the Gospels”
  • Dr. William Lane Craig, “The Case for the Existence of God”

The main page is here.

The thing I like about this conference is that all of the speakers have participated in lectures and debates. Paul Nelson has debated on intelligent design, JP Moreland has debated on the existence of God, Craig debates regularly on the existence of God, Licona has debated Ehrman and others on the resurrection, and Sean McDowell kicked butt in his debate on morality and atheism. Craig Hazen hasn’t debated to my knowledge, but he does tons of lecturing, and people tend to really like his lectures. I once gave an entire set of lectures to my friends Andrew and Jen and they liked Craig Hazen the best.

So the point is that these guys are all really really good speakers! This conference should be a very lively affair.