On the morning of Sunday, November 5, 2017, worshippers gathered at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, a small town of about 500 people. During the service, a 26 year old gunmen came into the sanctuary and began shooting. 26 people died, 20 others were injured.
This weekend, the congregation dedicated a new church, next to the former building where the assure occurred. During the service, the names of the victims and their ages were read aloud as a bell tolled. The bell comes from the original building, and the bell tower of the new church is now the tallest building in Sutherland Springs. First Baptist Pastor Frank Pomeroy said, “It will be a beacon on a hill that people can look to wherever they’re at and be reminded about what God’s done here,” he said. “It’s not about the building. It’s about the provisions of God and what he’s done for us over this last 18 months.” (more…)
On Wednesday, Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion law in America. On the same day, Alabama also executed a man who was a participant in a grizzly quadruple murder in 1997.
It was interesting seeing how those two stories are being taken together in the media. The New York Times ran an article titled “a day after banning abortions, Alabama executes a murderer.” The LA times ran a headline that said, “Alabama’s antiabortion governor urges respect for life, will oversee 7th execution.”
I’ve hard this argument before levied against those who are pro life but also support the death penalty, as if it’s some sort of moral inconsistency. For the life of me, I don’t understand why this position should have to be defended.
It’s really quite simple. I believe a baby should be allowed to live. I believe a quadruple murderer should not.
I think that a person who supports abortion and opposes capital punishment is the one who needs to answer for that stance. Because it treats a murderer as being more deserving of life than a baby.
Some people oppose both abortion and capital punishment. I respect that view. There are a number of thoughtful arguments that can be made on that subject, and at least it has consistency to a moral principle.
I hold my view because I believe that life is precious. Every human is created in the image of God and is worthy of dignity. The most fundamental right that humanity has is the right to life (because all other rights presuppose a right to the life through with other rights are exercised.) And so I believe that a baby has the right to be born and to live.
If a person deprives someone else of their right to life, that is so wicked, so grotesque, so heinous of a thing to do that in the process of depriving someone of that right, the assailant has forfeited their right to life.
I don’t expect everyone to agree with my view, but that’s how I look at the issue.
As a Christian, the Old Testament certainly allows for capital punishment. Genesis 9:6 is a good example of this: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
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Josh Benner has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.
A recent Saturday Night Live sketch featured SNL alum Adam Sandler as the host of a fake tour company. The premise of the parody commercial is explaining what his Italian tour company can (and cannot) do for customers.
If a person is unhappy in America, they will be the same unhappy person in Italy. “You’re still gonna be you on vacation,” Sandler’s character points out. Sandler continues, “there’s a lot a vacation can do – help you unwind, see some different looking squirrels – but it cannot fix deeper issues: like how you behave in group settings or your general baseline mood. That’s a job for incremental lifestyle changes sustained over time.” (more…)
Last night, the state senate in Alabama overwhelmingly approved an abortion bill which would enact the strictest abortion laws in the nation. The bill passed the Alabama house earlier this month. The ball is now in governor Kay Ivey’s court. She has six days to sign or veto the bill.
From the text of the Alabama Human Life Protection Act:
This bill would make abortion and attempted abortion felony offenses except in cases where abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother.
Mason High School in Mason, OH announced last week that they will be discontinuing their awards of valedictorian and salutatorian next year.
In a statement from the school, they talk about research they’ve done as well as focus groups among students, faculty, and parents. They argue that class rank is not
Mason High School principal Bobby Dodd argued, “We have researched the reasons why students take a large number of AP courses. While there are some students who take a large number of courses because of their general interest in the subject area, there is a disturbingly large number of students who take AP courses to increase their grade point average.” (more…)
