( A3e) building a culture of life

In a culture of life God must be recognized as the source and sustainer of life. A culture without God will self-destruct. A culture of life will not become a reality without self-sacrifice. Ponder the words of St. Therese of Lisieux (St. Theresa the little flower): "Believe me, the writing of pious books, the composing of the most sublime poetry; all that does not equal the smallest act of self-denial." As of this date, 06-12-21, this folder contains 11 items. ******* item 1 POPE JOHN PAUL II: DEFENSE OF PEACE INCLUDES PROTECTING UNBORN ******* item 2 90% OF PARENTS FAVOUR ABSTINENCE EDUCATION ******* item 3 WHY I JOINED THE CHRISTIAN HERITAGE PARTY ******* item 4 FAMILY SAVED BY CHRISTIANS IN COLUMBUS OHIO ******* item 5 USA SPONSORED PANEL CALLS FOR FOCUS ON MAIN CAUSES OF MATERNAL MORTALITY ******* item 6 ABSTINENCE EDUCATION FUNDS HIT RECORD LEVELS IN CONGRESSIONAL BILL ******* item 7 GREAT NEWS FROM THE USA ******* item 8 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ADOPTS MONUMENTAL PRO-FAMILY DECLARATION ******* item 9 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS: ANOTHER KIND OF DIET ******* item 10 A PLEA TO PRO LIFERS ******* item 11 WHERE'S THE REMOTE? THE CASE FOR MARRIAGE ************************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 1 POPE JOHN PAUL II: DEFENSE OF PEACE INCLUDES PROTECTING UNBORN ******* From: The Pro-Life Infonet ******* Reply-To: Steven Ertelt ******* Subject: Pope: Defense of Peace Includes Protecting Unborn ******* Source: Zenit; May 22, 2003 ******* Vatican City -- Peace dictates that life be respected from the moment of conception until natural death, John Paul II says. ******* The Pope addressed the need for the respect of life when he met last week with some 150 representatives of the Italian Pro-Life Movement, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. It arose with the legalization of abortion in Italy in 1978. ******* In his address, the Holy Father recalled the message left by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whom the Italian Movement regards as its spiritual president. ******* The Pope said that when she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, the nun "had the courage to affirm before leaders of political communities: 'If we accept that a mother can do away with the fruit of her womb, what is left for us? Abortion is the principle that endangers peace in the world.'" ******* "It is true! There can be no authentic peace without respect for life, especially for the innocent and defenseless, as are unborn children," the Pope said. "Basic coherence requires that those who seek peace defend life." ******* "No action for peace can be effective if it is not opposed with the same force to the attacks against life in each of its phases, from the moment it emerges, until natural death," he added. ******* This is why the Pro-Life Movement is "a genuine movement for peace, precisely because it makes every effort to safeguard life always," the Pope explained. ******* Addressing women in particular, John Paul II renewed his appeal that they "defend the alliance between women and life" and "become promoters of a new feminism which rejects the temptation of imitating models of male domination in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation." ******* The Italian Pro-Life Movement reckons that it has helped to save 60,000 children from abortion, and offered spiritual, psychological and material help to their mothers. See http://www.mpv.org. ******* -- We make it easy for you to contribute to the Pro-Life Infonet using your credit card. Point your web browser to https://secure.entango.com/donate/pE6bLWyec4s to make a donation online. To make a contribution via PayPal, email [email protected] for details. ********************************************************************************************************************* ******* item 2 90% OF PARENTS FAVOUR ABSTINENCE EDUCATION ******* Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 20:01:46 -0600 ******* From: "Mission America" ******* More than 90% want schools to teach qualities tied to marriage ******* � 2004 WorldNetDaily.com ******* A majority of American parents favor a message to teens that promotes abstaining from sexual activity, according to a new poll. ******* Out of the 1,004 parents surveyed across the nation, 96 percent said abstinence is best for teens, according to Zogby International, which was commissioned by Focus on the Family to conduct the poll. ******* Ninety-one percent said the best choice is for sexual activity to be linked to love, intimacy and commitment. ******* These are the qualities most likely to occur in a faithful marriage, says the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council. ******* "For too long, teenagers have been fed the lie that reliance on contraception amounts to 'safe sex.' It doesn't," said Genevieve Wood, the FRC's vice president of communications. "Parents are waking up to the fact that schools aren't teaching their children the values of love, commitment and basic life choices that lead to building a healthy marriage." ******* Wood emphasized parents are the most significant factor in curbing sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. ******* "Study after study indicates that when teenagers perceive that their parents, particularly their mothers, strongly disapprove of them having sex, they are more likely to delay sexual activity," she said. ******* Wood said educators who promote "comprehensive sex education," including encouraging teens to use condoms, have tried to paint supporters of abstinence as "moral and religious zealots who just don't want children and teenagers to know about sex." ******* "But with 3 million teens each year contracting a sexually transmitted disease, it's time we take a closer look at what sex education messages are being taught in our nation's classrooms," she said. "Today's poll results show that when parents take a closer look, they soundly support abstinence-centered education." ******* ----------------------- Mail service for Mission America provided by American Family Online ******* www.afo.net ******* Mission America ******* www.missionamerica.com *********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 3 WHY I JOINED THE CHRISTIAN HERITAGE PARTY ******* by Dr. Chris Kempling Psy.D. R.C.C., Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada ******* Early in June of 2004, I decided to join the Conservative Party of Canada. The polls were looking good, the PC�s and Alliance had finally managed to pull off a merger, and Stephen Harper appeared able to handle himself well on the national stage as leader of that merger. Furthermore, the local candidate, Dick Harris, was an experienced incumbent. ******* But as the (June 28, 2004)election unfolded, my sense of comfort began to dissolve. It started with Robert Merrifield�s resignation as family affairs critic, after suggesting that women seeking abortions should have impartial counselling available to them. The social liberal media pounced on him as a wild-eyed reactionary and ardent enemy of �women�s rights�. ******* This situation disturbed me for three reasons. It was no surprise that the SoLibs would attack him � what was surprising was that firstly, Merrifield would feel obligated to offer his resignation, and secondly, that Harper would accept it. That the federal leader of the most prominent political social conservative movement would not stand up and defend such an eminently reasonable position made me realize that perhaps the Conservative party was not really the place to park my vote and my allegiance. ******* Thirdly, as the election unfolded, Harper repeatedly stated that his party, if elected to government, would not introduce any legislation to limit access to abortion. In other words, he was prepared to allow the on-going holocaust of more than 100,000 babies per year to continue without lifting a finger, if that position would make him more electable. To take a public position to protect the unborn takes moral courage, and Mr. Harper demonstrated that political opportunism outweighed doing what was right. ******* The last straw for me was when deputy leader Peter Mackay wrote a reference letter for Svend Robinson, to help him escape the full consequences of his grand theft. Providing a character reference to the arch-enemy of social conservatives is hardly appropriate for the second in command of the Conservative Party of Canada, and evidence of poor judgment. ******* As I considered my options, I took a closer look at the Christian Heritage Party. Unabashedly pro-life, fully committed to Biblical principles of honesty, integrity, justice, and good stewardship of taxpayers� funds and environmental resources, preserving and strengthening traditional families, elimination of government-sponsored gambling, and most importantly, a pledge to uphold the principle of acknowledging the supremacy of God in all acts of government. ******* Principled, uncompromising, and no waffling on critical moral positions � this was a party I could support. ******* So I sent the Conservative Party a letter notifying them of my intention to resign from the party. I also contacted Ron Gray, national leader of the CHP, and over lunch, made plans to start a constituency association in the riding of Cariboo-Prince George. In the next federal election, there will be a Christian Heritage Party candidate in this riding to take a principled position on critical moral issues. ******* It's high time for the faithful to speak boldly, assertively, and with conviction in every riding in the land. ******* I�m convinced that the Christian Heritage Party is the best way to achieve principled, God-fearing government. ******************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 4 FAMILY SAVED BY CHRISTIANS IN COLUMBUS OHIO ******* Fom: "Patrick Johnston, D.O." ******* date Sun, 7 Nov 2004 ******* Dear friends, ******* I think many of you will find this encouraging. Anywhere from fifteen to thirty Protestants have joined a few dozen Catholics out in front of the Capital Care Women's Clinic, an abortion clinic close to the campus of Ohio State University. Three women who were there Saturday - Nancy from New Beginnings Church of God in Warsaw, Beth from Perry Chapel in Coshocton, and Cindy from Belville - drive about an hour to get there. We stand outside with our anti-abortion signs, praying, pleading for couples to repent and keep their child. About thirty "Clinic Volunteers" and a Security Guard named Dave are the recipients of most of our preaching and exhortations. Nancy, Beth, and Cindy begged a black woman who was headed for the clinic doors to reconsider, to not kill her baby, and they pleaded with the man that was with her to repent and care for his child. The black woman just shook her head and walked inside, sheltered from our cries by the Volunteers who were skilled in distracting troubled mothers from our calls and our signs. The three pro-life women felt a special burden to pray for this black woman, and so they did. ******* An half an hour later, the black couple walked out of the clinic and headed for their car. Nancy asked her, "Did you do it? Did you get an abortion?" ******* The black woman just shook her head and mumbled, "I couldn't do it." ******* The three women rushed toward her with tears of joy in their eyes and embraced her. The man that was with her came over and some of the men shook his hand and encouraged him. One of the pro-lifers put an hundred dollar bill into his hand to help him care for the child. With their permission, we laid hands on both of them, and prayed for their baby and their family. They thanked us, and got in their car to leave. ******* It was at this time that I realized that the Security Guard, Dave, was about five feet away from us! In the excitement, we did not realize that we were on the property of the abortion clinic! Those of you who have experience ministering in front of an abortion clinic know that, whatever you do, you don't go on the property of an abortion clinic! Dave had come over to scoot us off the property, but when he saw that we were praying for the couple, he let us finish praying. I sensed a tenderness in his heart toward us that I had never felt there before in my three years ministering at this clinic. I was able to witness to him like never before. ******* Please take a moment and pray for Dave, for this young black family, and for Capital Care to close down in Jesus name! Nothing is too difficult to those who believe. If you don't live close to an abortion clinic, don't let that discourage you. Find the nearest one that's open on a Saturday, and make it a family outing! Nancy, Beth, and Cindy drove an hour to get to the clinic, but, boy, are they glad they did! ******* For "the least of these, ******* Patrick Johnston www.prolifephysicians.org www.rightremedy.org *********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 5 USA SPONSORED PANEL CALLS FOR FOCUS ON MAIN CAUSES OF MATERNAL MORTALITY ******* Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 ******* From: "Austin Ruse -- C-FAM" ******* Dear Colleague, ******* Today we report on an important panel convened by the Bush administration at the United Nations to tackle maternal mortality in the developing world. The US wants real health care for poor women and their babies, not a "right" to abortion. ******* Spread the word. ******* Yours sincerely, Austin Ruse, President ******* FRIDAY FAX, October 22, 2004, Volume 7, Number 44 ******* At a panel convened Tuesday at the UN, public health experts discussed the failure of UN �reproductive rights� and family planning programs to reduce maternal mortality in the developing world. The panel was convened by the United States to explore alternative programs for maternal health. ******* US Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, who moderated the event, explained that over half a million women die each year due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth. Almost all deaths occur in developing countries, where women are �100 times more at risk." ******* Sauerbrey stressed that the causes of maternal mortality are well known and mostly preventable. Women die �largely because of unavailable, inaccessible or poor quality care." The solution lies in the �political will� to address the real causes of the problem. ******* Dr. George Mulcaire-Jones of Maternal Life International pointed out that 60% of births in Africa occur in the most primitive conditions, without the aid of skilled birth attendants whose presence is the �fundamental determinant in reducing maternal death.� ******* Mulcaire-Jones was asked by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) about ways of increasing contraception and family planning services as a way of reducing maternal deaths. Mulcaire-Jones replied that reproductive health funding already goes mostly to family planning, �leaving little for basic and emergency obstetrical care.� ******* For example, 70% of all reproductive health funds in Zambia are allocated to family planning, with only 15% for antenatal care and 15% for safe births. Mulcaire-Jones stressed the need for a paradigm shift, since �a [hemorrhaging] pregnant woman doesn�t need contraceptives, she needs emergency obstetrical care.� ******* Former Peruvian Minister of Health, Fernando Carbone Campoverde, stated that over the last 20 years Peru has focused on providing family planning services because �we found that we received [international] aid if we implemented [such] policies�. However, the maternal mortality rate failed to drop as expected. The Peruvian government found that �75% [of maternal deaths] were [due to] causes that were not being focused on� by family planning services, such as poor antenatal care and lack of �attention at delivery." ******* Campoverde also pointed out that many women avoid health centers partly because they fear sterilization, as a result of the recent forced sterilization program that targeted poor women and that a Peruvian congressional report established was supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). ******* Dr. Howard Zucker from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services placed emphasis on education as a means of reducing maternal mortality. Zucker showcased copies of an interactive book to be distributed throughout Afghanistan. The talking book presents 350 health-related messages in an entertaining format. The books have already gained popularity as educational tools and may eventually be used in other countries. ******* Copyright 2004 � C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute). Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required. ******* Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 427, New York, New York 10017 ******* Phone: (212) 754-5948 ******* Fax: (212) 754-9291 ******* E-mail: [email protected] ******* Website: www.c-fam.org ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 6 ABSTINENCE EDUCATION FUNDS HIT RECORD LEVELS IN CONGRESSIONAL BILL ******* From: "LifeNews.com" ******* Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 ******* For news updated throughout the day, visit LifeNews.com. ******* Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Bush in his State of the Union speech in January asked for Congress to significantly increase abstinence education funding in the next budget. With the omnibus Congressional spending bill just passed by Congress, he's getting his wish. The final version of the bill approved by both the House and Senate included just over $104 million for the community-based abstinence education grants. That's a 39% increase beyond the $70 million that was approved in the fiscal year 2004 version of the bill. The total funding for abstinence programs under the bill rises to $173 million, another record level, with the rest of the funds sent to states in block grants for public abstinence education programs. In his State of the Union speech, President Bush asked that funding for federal abstinence programs be doubled now and tripled by 2005. Bush said he wanted the extra funding "so schools can teach this fact of life: Abstinence for young people is the only certain way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases." A January 2004 Zogby International poll shows parents overwhelmingly support abstinence education for teenagers. Out of the 1,004 parents surveyed across the nation, 96 percent said abstinence is best for teens. The vast majority of American parents want their children's sex education classes to emphasize abstinence until marriage, according to poll, which was commissioned by Focus on the Family. Only 39.9 percent thought that abstinence and contraception should be combined in a single class. ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 7 GREAT NEWS FROM THE USA ******* From: "Roy Hamel" ******* Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2004 ******* Friends, ******* Here is an excellent article, well worth reading, on the present state of abortion in USA. May these favourable prevailing winds soon blow over our Dominion as well. ******* Royal of Guelph ******* THE ABORTION DEBATE ******* IT'S THE PRO-LIFERS' MOMENT ******* Bush's re-election, the Peterson case and other factors show that the right has gathered steam - James P. Pinkerton ******* November 25, 2004 ******* On abortion, the tide has turned. ******* Events in 2004 have heralded the moment when pro-life - or, if one prefers, anti-choice - forces gained decisive momentum. This trend cannot be dismissed merely as a victory of Karl Rove and the Religious Right. Instead, deeper forces are at work: the basic instinct to perpetuate the species. ******* Let's consider the evidence, from just this month. First, George W. Bush, an abortion opponent, won 31 states and a second term. ******* Second, Sen. Arlen Specter, one of the few pro-choice Republicans in the Senate, was threatened with the loss of his judiciary committee chairmanship - unless he pledged not to block pro-life nominees for judgeships, including for the Supreme Court. ******* Third, just on Tuesday, Congress passed legislation guaranteeing the right of health-care providers to refuse to take part in abortions. In the cheering words of the conservative Family Research Council, "This is a monumental victory in the fight for life." ******* Indeed for years now, the right has been winning the fight. In the '90s, conservatives won the moral-intellectual battle over "partial-birth abortion"; most Americans deem it to be an abhorrent practice. In fact, the more time people spend pondering the mechanics of abortion, the less likely they are to support it. In the meantime, pro-life sentiment builds further as ultrasound technology improves, to the point where in utero imaging becomes three-dimensional and all the more vivid. ******* The coverage of the 2002 killing of eight-months-pregnant Laci Peterson in California illustrated a further shift. Reporters routinely referred to "the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son Conner." That a fetus was thus deemed to be a full person, with a name, was a spectacular success for the right. Scholars call it "semantic infiltration." Indeed, this infiltration was enshrined in a new federal law making it a crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a pregnant woman. Bush himself refers to the bill as "Laci and Conner's Law." ******* The continuing, growing power of the right-to-life movement has many sources, but the most profound source is basic biology: The human species, like any species, is programmed for its own perpetuation. And yet across the industrial nations, the birth rate has fallen. Births are now at or below the numerical replacement level. The once-feared "population bomb," in other words, has proven to be a "population bust." Three major books have been published of late on this topic, the most recent of which is "Fewer: How the New Demography of Depopulation Will Shape Our Future," by Ben Wattenberg, a scholar who hardly rates as a traditional pro-life conservative. ******* One solution to the birth-dearth, of course, is immigration. Yet that brings controversy. A more natural solution, which people yearn for in their bones, is an increase in the birth rate - more patter of more little feet. Hence the surging popularity of "pro-family" policies put forth by "family values"-oriented candidates. And yes, as part of the same swell of feeling comes the impulse to restrict abortion. ******* To be sure, the pro-choice establishment is deeply entrenched - in the media, in the legal system and throughout the affluent knowledge economy. Yet pro-lifers have growing numbers on their side. How so? People in "red states" are having more children - which is to say, more future voters - than people in blue states. ******* The abortion debate is hardly settled, but biological instinct, as well as demographic destiny, is smiling on the pro-lifers. ******* James P. Pinkerton's e-mail address is [email protected]. ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 8 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ADOPTS MONUMENTAL PRO-FAMILY DECLARATION ******* Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 ******* From: "Austin Ruse -- C-FAM" ******* Dear Colleague, ******* An extremely important document was negotiated this week in Qatar. Dozens of governmental negotiators agreed to a very strong document in support of the family. This document proves conclusively there is no consensus in favor of "reproductive rights," changing definitions of the family, and population control. This document should be passed around from hand to hand all over the world. ******* I am pleased to report that C-FAM was on the steering committee of this conference. ******* Spread the word. ******* Yours sincerely, Austin Ruse, President ******* Action item: to read more about the conference and to get a copy of the Declaration, go to: http://www.dicf.org.qa/english/documents/doha_declaration/index.html ******* INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ADOPTS MONUMENTAL PRO-FAMILY DECLARATION ******* A two-day governmental conference in Doha, Qatar ended on Tuesday with the adoption of a groundbreaking document that endorses the traditional family as the foundation of society. The Doha Declaration reaffirms that the �family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to the widest possible protection and assistance by society and the State,� and calls upon all nations to �uphold, preserve and defend the institution of marriage.� ******* The Doha International Conference for the Family was convened by the State of Qatar to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the UN�s International Year of the Family. The Doha Conference was the culmination of a series of preparatory events around the world, including a number of high-level regional conferences started in March with the Third World Congress of Families in Mexico City, evidencing the strength of a new international effort to recognize and protect the traditional family as the basis of a stable society. ******* The Doha Conference attracted hundreds of participants from different countries and cultures, including members of parliaments, scholars, and nongovernmental organizations. Prominent religious speakers included Pope Shenonda III of the Egyptian Coptic Church, Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Daniel Lapin, and Alfonzo Cardinal Lopez Trujillo of the Catholic Church. ******* The wife of the Emir of Qatar opened the Conference with a speech praising the family as a �sacred institution� that forges a �strong bond between males and females which conforms to human nature in bearing and raising new generations.� Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned warned against current attempts �under the guise of modernity� to redefine the traditional religious and cultural understanding of the family. ******* the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahatir Mohamad, also delivered a speech in which he called the family the �pillar which stabilizes human society and sustains the good values in human cultures,� and linked emerging attempts to redefine the family with the �moral collapse of the human society.� Along with some other Muslim speakers, Mohamad also stressed the need for Muslims to become more involved in protecting the family, since in the age of globalization and the mass media, even the Muslim family is showing �cracks in its structure.� ******* Dr. Gary Becker, Nobel laureate in economics, posited that in a modern economy based on knowledge and innovation rather than on industry, a large population spurs rather than checks economic growth. Becker thus echoed Sheika Mozah�s call for a �mentality� that views the family not �as a burden to development, but rather as a driving force behind it.� ******* In the same vein, the Doha Declaration calls on governments to �reassess� their �population policies, particularly in countries with below replacement birthrates� and to �ensure that the inherent dignity of human beings is recognized and protected throughout all stages of life.� ******* Copyright 2004 � C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute). Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required. ******* Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 427, New York, New York 10017 ******* Phone: (212) 754-5948 ******* Fax: (212) 754-9291 ******* E-mail: [email protected] ******* Website: www.c-fam.org ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 9 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS: ANOTHER KIND OF DIET ******* Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 ******* From: "Mission America" ******* by Jane Jimenez - www.fromthehomefront.org ******* Is there anything we haven�t eaten in the past week: ham, tamales, potatoes, chocolate, brandy, wine�and� ******* On the way to eating, there is tasting, munching, nibbling and sipping. Whatever you call it, the food goes in�and settles in for a long winter�s nap�right around the waist. ******* One week later, stuffed to the gills, we must face the truth. A diet is in order. The belt is tight, and we are too bottom-heavy to lift out of the recliner. Eating may be natural, but it certainly has its limits. ******* Guided by New Year�s Resolutions, millions of Americans begin to set boundaries on what we put in our mouth. We post calorie counts on the refrigerator door, we empty the kitchen of temptation and we carry boxed chocolates to the office. ******* Indulging at the banquet table comes at a cost. Anyone laboring to shed a few �holiday pounds� knows the painful and difficult process of �paying for our pleasure.� Food is only one item on a long list of indulgences�each with a cost. ******* For the past thirty years, we have winked at sexual indulgences, and our children are paying the price. An epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases and thousands of children raised by single moms are testimony to the need for a diet of a different kind. ******* Abstinence education is about more than sex. It is a diet for the soul. It is about making the connections for our children between the indulgence and the consequence. It offers children hope because it tells them they don�t have to pay a price if they can learn restraint. ******* Abstinence education is about the dreams of our children, about the quality of their lives both now and forever. It works to give young people the imagination, confidence and tools to fulfill their dreams. Sex is a part of the dream. And so is restraint. ******* Debates over sex education continue to rage. Millions of dollars are being poured into campaigns to paint abstinence educators as fear-filled, shame-based fools. After all, one condom-friendly sexpert lectured her audience�sex is natural�like eating. ******* This was the major point she wanted to make? A woman with over twenty years experience in teaching our children about sex? ******* She turned to face an abstinence teacher and lashed out in her most indignant voice. �We want our children to celebrate sex. We don�t need them to be fearful and filled with shame. We want them to feel at home with their sexuality. After all, sex is perfectly natural.� ******* She smiled�smugly. She had trumped any challenge to acting on a sexual urge. Well�after thirty years of reassuring our children that sex is natural, these sexperts have achieved their goal�and more. ******* No fear and no shame�this goes a long way to explain Superbowl XXXVIII and its international show of bumping and grinding center stage�pelvic thrusts set to music�complete with one naked breast. Not to mention MTV. And this sexpert wants us to believe the most pressing thing to teach our children is that sex is natural? ******* Eating is natural. But it is only healthy when it is managed, limited, and held inside the bounds of medical realities by exercising self control. Eating is not to be feared. But it is to be restrained. If not, why bother with New Year�s Resolutions? ******* Sex, just like dining at a banquet table filled with delectable dishes, is a passion best enjoyed when boundaries are observed. Natural desires have natural consequences. This is the truth from which we build New Year�s Resolutions�both for the kitchen and for the bedroom. ******* No fear. No shame. Teaching our children restraint is not about teaching shame. Restraint is their ultimate liberation from the very real fear of paying a consequence more severe than a few extra holiday pounds around the waist. ******* Our children need more than the simplistic reassurance that sex is natural. They need the perfection of nature�s ultimate truth: Our greatest hopes and dreams are more often than not fulfilled with a simple resolution of self control made�and kept. ******* Happy New Year. ******* COPYRIGHT DEC. 2004 Jane Jimenez ******* Mail service for Mission America provided by American Family Online www.afo.net ******* Mission America, www.missionamerica.com ******************************************************************************************************** ******* item 10 A PLEA TO PRO LIFERS - just a little something I whipped up ******* From: Suzanne Fortin ******* Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 ******* For several decades now, pro-lifers have had the issue of fetal rights defined for them. It has been labeled "the abortion debate" and pro-lifers have been complicit in accepting the terminology, when in fact, this is not what the debate is about at all. In allowing ourselves to be boxed in by this labeling, we have accepted the poor-choicer's terms of engagement on the debate, and by accepting their terms, we guaranteed that our side would lose the public debate. ******* Why is this? ******* Because the so-called abortion debate is not about abortion. The pro-lifer's true mission is to have society recognize the equality of the unborn child. For several decades, we thought that by emphasizing the right to *life* we were emphasizing the most important value there is and thus the value of the child. But when you think about it, how is the unborn child supposed to have a right to life if he is not already considered an equal? This is essentially why the public at large does not take seriously the notion that the unborn child's right to life trumps the mother's choice. If he is not an equal, he does not deserve equal consideration. ******* The so-called abortion debate always pits the mother against the child. So long as the debate is pictured as a scale weighing the rights of the mother versus the non-established rights of the child, the debate will automatically weigh in the mother's favour in the mind of the public. It's a losing proposition for the pro-life side. ******* That scale must be done away with. The debate must no longer be about abortion; or IVF or embryonic stem cell research or any other issue affecting the unborn child. It must be about the equality of the unborn child. ******* When the focus shifts to the inherent dignity of the unborn child, the terms of debate shift in our favour. We are no longer talking about militating against an accepted medical procedure called abortion, or an abstract right-to-life of individuals who are not an equal. We are talking about expanding rights in general to a marginalized group that does not have its equality recognized. Then the opposition MUST answer the question: "why is the unborn child not an equal?", instead of insisting why the mother's rights trump those of the unborn, without evening considering the issue. ******* So what I am asking you-- pleading of you-- is that you change your vocabulary in discussing the so-called abortion issue. From now on, please refer to it as the Unborn Rights Issue. You are not simply fighting for the right to life of the unborn child, you are fighting for the recognition of his equality. Make that abundantly clear in your discussions regarding the unborn child. Never engage in an abortion debate without saying that the unborn child is an equal. If you are a member of the clergy or have some influence over a group of people, never fail to mention the equality of the unborn child. Once this notion enters the public consciousness, the pro-life side will have a stronger footing in convincing the public of its message. ******* To visit your group on the web, go to: http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/canadapro-life/ ******************************************************************************************************* ******* item 11 WHERE'S THE REMOTE? THE CASE FOR MARRIAGE ******* From: Robert A Jason ******* Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2005 ******* LeRoy Sullivan is the pastor of the Bread of Life Church, a small African-American congregation in Kansas City, Kansas. Sullivan learned about Mike McManus�s Marriage Savers programs and thought they made a lot of sense. ******* Many couples think that living together is a good way to find out if they�re really compatible. But the truth is that living together is more likely to destroy a couple�s chances of a good marriage. Almost half of all couples who cohabit break up before the wedding. And even if they do marry, couples who cohabit beforehand are fifty percent more likely to divorce. ******* They�re also more likely to become victims of violence. The U.S. Justice Department found that women are three times more likely to be assaulted by a live-in boyfriend than by a husband. And a child living with a mother and her boyfriend is thirty-three times more likely to be abused than the child of married parents. ******* Finally, studies have shown that one of the best ways to eliminate childhood poverty is for parents to marry before having children. ******* Pastor Sullivan took a hard look at all of this evidence and then stared at his congregation. Seven couples were living together. He hesitated to confront them at first, because as he put it, �My biggest sinners were my biggest givers.� The seven couples were tithers. Nevertheless, Sullivan took a deep breath and, from the pulpit, made a strong, biblical case for marriage. Living together, he told his flock, �is not part of God�s plan. You need to marry or separate.� ******* Most of the couples listened and tied the knot. But one cohabiting couple resisted. At least, the man did. His girlfriend told Sullivan, �Sam won�t marry me, and he won�t move out.� ******* One night Sullivan showed up on the couple�s doorstep. �Hi, pastor, what are you doing here?� Sam greeted him. ******* �Lucinda tells me you won�t marry her and won�t move out either,� Sullivan responded. �Now, that�s not right.� Glancing around the living room, Sullivan commented, �That looks like the most comfortable chair. I�m going to sit here until you move out. Now, where�s the remote?� ******* Dumbfounded, Sam asked, �Pastor, you�re not really going to sit there all night, are you?� ******* �Of course not,� Sullivan cheerfully replied. �At midnight, Elder Jones is relieving me!� Sam moved out that night. ******* Sadly, taking such a strong stand on marriage is controversial within urban communities. According to Mike McManus, to many non-whites, promoting marriage sounds like a white man�s message. But Pastor Sullivan knows that marriage is a big part of the answer to the social ills that plague America�s inner cities; he believes the Church ought to be a force in building godly families. And that�s why he�s willing to go to such extremes to encourage it. His uncompromising stand has transformed his own church from one mostly made up of women and children, to one made up of married couples and children. ******* You and I need to make sure that our friends and especially our children have the facts about living together. Read Mike McManus�s book, Marriage Savers. You�ll learn why cohabitation�so common in our culture�sets up families for poverty, violence, and divorce. ******* http://www.pfm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=BreakPoint1&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=16243 ******************************************************************************************************* www.ncln.ca (Canadian) National Campus Life Network http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/canadapro-life/

Links to other sites on the Web

(A3e1) Care of Homosexuals
(A3e2) ex gays on homosexual sex
(A3e3) Pro Life Actions
(A3e4) types of Pro Life Organizations
(A3e5) location of pro life organizations
(A3e6) (A) home page

The following warning is a prophetic message given to me, Frank Wagner, in November of 1974. ******* LISTEN TO THE CRY OF THE ABORTED CHILDREN. THEIR CRY IS NO. THEIR CRY IS A CRY OF TERROR. HEED THEIR CRY. ******* This prophecy is now being fulfilled. ******* For details about the source, meaning and fulfillment of this prophetic message go to ******* http://ca.geocities.com/fwagner4/index.html ******* email me at *** [email protected] ***