Newslines
By Editorial Staff
Published April 1, 1985
- Welfare Reform and Teenage Pregnancy — In March, the House of Representatives began to legislate the most comprehensive welfare reforms of this century as part of the “Contract with America.” As a part of the welfare reform package, congress has proposed a welfare plan to reduce the number of out-of-wedlock births without increasing the number of abortions. Currently, 30.1 percent of all births are to unwed mothers. Republicans claim that the current welfare system rewards illegitimacy. They say the new measure would reduce the strain on welfare. The House Ways and Means Committee has promised increased block grants to states that reduce their illegitimacy rate. A state would get a five percent bonus if it showed a drop of one percentage point in its “illegitimacy ratio” – defined as the number of out-of-wedlock births plus any increase in abortions. Simply reducing illegitimacy through abortion would not bring the ratio down. A reduction of two percentage points would reap a ten percent bonus.
- Religion and Science — Paul Davies, an Australian physicist whose inquires into the nature of the universe have emphasized the compatibility of theology and science, has won the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. The award is reserved for individuals who advance the world’s understanding of matters of religious faith. Mother Theresa, Billy Graham and Alexander Solzhenitsyn have been past recipients. Davies claims that scientific research illuminates theological issues. Says Davies, “Having spent half a lifetime at the forefront of fundamental physics, I have found the use of words like ‘design,’ ‘meaning,’ and ‘purpose’ irresistible. How can one accept a scheme of things so cleverly arranged, so subtle and felicitous, simply as brute fact, as a package of properties that just happens to be?”
- Liberal Media — House Speaker Newt Gingrich says many newspaper editorial boards contain “socialists” and suggested businesses stop advertising in papers that contain liberal views. According to the Washington Post, Gingrich told business executives at a private dinner that the establishment press was the mortal enemy of GOP reformers. Christian leaders have often lamented the liberalization of media especially since the Christian conservative press dominated the media from the founding of our country throughout the Civil War era.
- Homosexuality — With the conservative swing in America evidenced by last November’s mid-term elections, “homosexual rights” are under increased scrutiny. School programs that deal with gays and lesbians have become suspect as thinly veiled efforts to recruit new homosexuals. Children’s books used with grade schoolers such as Heather Has Two Mommies have been cited by House Republicans during debates as evidence that schools are going beyond education into promotion of homosexuality.
- Abortion — Pro-life lobbyist groups are pushing for legislation for the “Second Hundred Days” of the Republican dominated U.S. Congress. Although a majority of pro-life representatives were swept into both houses, legislation to limit or ban abortion has not appeared in the “Contract with America.” On the state level, pro-life legislation is more pronounced. In the state of Kansas, legislation has been introduced to increase regulation of abortion clinics. Supporters of the bill point to cases where women have died on the operating table in the clinics or have left in ambulances headed towards the hospital. Incidences of malpractice, drug abuse and unsafe medical procedures by doctors who perform abortions in Kansas are being used to promote the bill.
- Death Penalty — For each the past 18 years, the New York Assembly passed a death penalty bill only to have it vetoed by Democratic Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo. This year, Republican Governor George Pataki signed the bill into law. The new law establishes ten crimes punishable by death by legal injection including intentional murder committed during violent crimes such as rape, robbery or kidnapping. Serial killings, murders of judges, on-duty police officers, prison guards and murders involving torture are also covered. Former Governor Mario Cuomo commented, “One of the things I’m genuinely happy about is my position never changed. I’m so convinced this is the wrong direction.” Death penalty advocates counter that the low ratio of executions to capital crimes now negates the death penalty’s deterrent to violent crime. According to national statistics, about 24,000 homicides are committed annually, and only about 30 are punished by execution each year.
- School Prayer — Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has promised to take up a controversial amendment allowing school prayer by July 1995. The measure was shelved earlier in the year after some House members complained that such an amendment might become a distraction from the “Contract with America.” Polls regularly show that over 75 percent of Americans favor prayer in public schools.
- Myth of the “Radical Right” — As a majority of voters demonstrated last November, the American public agrees with the so-called “radical right agenda” – a balanced budget amendment, tax cuts, welfare reform, and a school prayer amendment. Before the 1994 elections, major news media frequently labeled this reform package as that of the “radical right” and its “radical agenda.” However, the vast majority of Americans, who by definition make up the “mainstream middle,” voted to endorse the Republican “Contract with America.” The message they gave was that the self-proclaimed “moderate Democrat” President Bill Clinton was too far to the Left for the tastes of the American public. – CBN World Watch
- A.D. 2000 Movement — In what has been called the “greatest prayer movement in history” by Christian leaders, an international movement of millions of intercessors are praying for revival in the Church and a new wave of evangelism throughout the world. A.D. 2000’s goal is to enlist 30 to 50 million people during October 1995 in a focused prayer effort targeting 100 cities in the world’s least evangelized region, sometimes called the “10/40 window.” Christian leaders hope that the effort will result in the church’s obedience of Christ’s commandment to fulfill the Great Commission in the not too distant future. – CBN World Watch
- Will North Korea Open to Gospel? — Just a few decades ago, the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang, was the center of missionary activity for all Asia. Today, few north Koreans have ever heard the name of Jesus Christ and there are no known Christian missionaries working with North Koreans. According to missions experts, the nation is the most closed of the remaining communist bloc. North Korea is decades behind the West in its economic progress and the people are oppressed by a spiritual emptiness. Although the situation appears to be bleak, doors for missionary work could be opening soon in North Korea. South Korea continues to experience remarkable church growth and economic prosperity. Missions experts say that within a few years, North Korea will be absorbed by South Korea out of sheer economic necessity and that the waves of revival will sweep over one of the last remaining totalitarian communist regimes. – CBN World Watch
- Turkey: Largest Unreached Nation — Turkey is the largest nation in the world unreached by the Gospel. Although in the first century it was the center for Gospel activities in the whole world, the number of Christians in Turkey has dwindled from 22 percent to 0.2 percent. With a population of 55 million, Turkey has become the target of western missionaries. Several churches have recently begun in Turkey and the nation has been targeted for prayer by intercessors. – CBN World Watch
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God's Law and Society (DVD)
Download the Free Study Guide!
God’s Law and Society powerfully presents a comprehensive worldview based upon the ethical system found in the Law of God.
Speakers include: R.J. Rushdoony, George Grant, Howard Phillips, R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misconceptions related to this volatile issue:
1. Are we under Law or under Grace?
2. Does the Old Testament Law apply today?
3. Can we legislate morality?
4. What are the biblical foundations of government?
5. Was America founded as a Christian nation?
6. What about the separation of Church and State?
7. Is neutrality a myth?
8. What about non-Christians and the Law of God?
9. Would there be “freedom” in a Christian republic?
10. What would a “Christian America” look like?
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal Bible study.
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction!
Running Time: 240 minutes
Watch over 60 on-line video interviews from God’s Law and Society.
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)Click here for more information
The Beast of Revelation: Identified (DVD)
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation?
Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry’s insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation — and even more importantly — amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview!
Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue — but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today.
Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study — for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John’s famous letter “… to the seven churches which are in Asia.” (Revelation 1:4)
Running Time: 145 minutes
$17.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)Click here for more information
Freedom: The Model of Christian Liberty (DVD)
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
Patrick Henry’s famous declaration not only helped launch the War for Independence, it also perfectly summarized the mindset that gave birth to, and sustained, the unprecedented experiment in Christian liberty that was America.
The freedom our Founders envisioned was not freedom from suffering, want, or hard work. Nor was it freedom to indulge every appetite or whim without restraint—that would merely be servitude to a different master. No, the Founders’ passion was to live free before God, unfettered by the chains of autocracy, shackles that slowly but inexorably bind men when the governments they fashion fail to recognize and uphold freedom’s singular, foundational truth: that all men are created in the image of God, and are thereby co-equally endowed with the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
This presentation is a similar call, not to one but many. By reintroducing the principles of freedom that gave birth to America, it is our prayer that Jesus, the true and only ruler over the nations, will once again be our acknowledged Sovereign, that we may again know and exult in the great truth that “where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17).
Welcome to the Second American Revolution!
This DVD features “Liberty: The Model of Christian Liberty” along with “Dawn’s Early Light: A Brief History of America’s Christian Foundations.” Bonus features include a humorous but instructive collection of campaign ads and Eric Holmberg’s controversial YouTube challenge concerning Mitt Romney’s campaign for president.
$14.95 — ORDER NOW!
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The Silent Scream (DVD) Eight Languages
“When the lives of the unborn are snuffed out, they often feel pain, pain that is long and agonizing.” – President Ronald Reagan to National Religious Broadcasters Convention, January 1981
Ronald Reagan became convinced of this as a result of watching The Silent Scream – a movie he considered so powerful and convicting that he screened it at the White House. More recently, it was by catching just a glimpse of what this film reveals that Planned Parenthood director and abortion advocate Abby Johnson turned and became a strong advocate for the pre-born.
The modern technology of real-time ultrasound now reveals the actual responses of a 12-week old fetus to being aborted. As the unborn child attempts to escape the abortionist’s suction curette, her motions can be seen to become desperately agitated and her heart rate doubles. Her mouth opens – as if to scream – but no sound can come out. Her scream doesn’t have to remain silent, however … not if you will become her voice. This newly re-mastered version features eight language tracks and two bonus videos.
“…a high technology “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” arousing public opinion just as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 antislavery novel ignited the abolitionist movement.” – Sen. Gordon Humphrey, Time Magazine
Languages: English, Spanish, French, South Korean, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese
Running Time: 28 minutes
$17.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)Click here for more information
Abortion Clinic 911 Calls (DVD)
Exposes the Dangers of Abortion to Women!
These shocking eyewitness accounts expose the dangers of abortion not only to unborn children, but to the health and lives women as well. An antidote to the smokescreens of the liberal media, these six short clips show what really happens in and around abortion clinics.
Although the content is emotionally gut-wrenching, these videos have been used in church seminars and small groups to educate Christians on the abortion issue and to lead people toward a pro-life position.
Watch these pro-life videos on-line.
“These videos helped change my mind from pro-choice to pro-life. Your videos are what did it for me. I will be walking in next year’s March For Life in San Francisco.” — A. Jackson, California
“I was going to have an abortion until I saw your video. Praise Jesus!”
— M. Drew, YouTube Commenter
$4.95 — ORDER NOW!
(We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.)
