The Senate voted 63-37 in favor of overturning the President’s current policy of prohibiting federal funds from supporting embryonic stem cell research. This vote margin is four votes short of the two-thirds majority required to over-ride a presidential veto, which will probably occur.
The same strategy employed in the House last summer was undoubtedly used in the Senate to ensure that just enough Senators voted ‘No’ and deny the prospect of over-riding the President’s veto. This is a good thing. It affirms, however, the fact that a pro-life majority does not exist in either Congressional body.
Here is the bottom line: The church has done a miserable job in effectively promoting the sanctity of human life as its number one public policy priority. That is why pro-life legislators in Congress must resort to rear-guard efforts.
People of faith must move past simply having a voice in the public square and begin considering the effectiveness of that voice. We have control over whether or not society considered Christ-followers as narrow-minded, dualist thinking, extremists. It is incumbent upon us as Christians to improve the testimony and witness of the Body of Christ on issues that speak to the heart of creation and a redemptive life. Failure to do so means accepting mediocrity in representing our Lord.
July 21, 2006 at 2:07 pm
PDub On Stem Cells…
I am a little late in highlighting this post by PDub. It is about the Stem Cell battle on Capitol Hill the other day. Here is the money quote: blockquotePeople of faith must move past simply having a voice in the public square and begin considering the…
July 21, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Great post PDub!
July 22, 2006 at 10:27 pm
I am challenged by Randy Thomas’ extracted quote of yours. I must now ask, how can we be more effective…how can we improve our aim?
July 23, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Laura,
I am dis-sasitified with the status of our involvement and witness for Christ as His followers in public matters. I am trying to develop some ideas in the catagory “Propositions” on my page.
The bottom line is that we need to pray more, ask God his will more, become more educated in the areas that affect our lives instead of remaining clanging gongs and crashing cymbals, we need to see politics as a mission field and ministry, and attempt to flesh out the redemptive in those areas of our lives.
Is this a poor response to your question? YES!! But I think the first step is to develop a discipline of prayer and education regarding our elected officials including the school board, the city council, the water district, the mosquito abatement district. We need to throw away the old and ineffective and rely on God’s Spirit and power in our weakness.
The current Pro-Family empires have proven worthy, but we need to exect more from them and take it up to the next level. We need to cultivate a healthy dis-satisfaction with what is occuring now in the name of Christ in the realm of pulic policy and advocacy for His Kingdom.
Let’s create and engage in this dialog. We must!!
July 24, 2006 at 6:45 am
My issue is that the church (Christ’s living bride) is so issue oriented that she departs from her own hope. My issue is that she is powerless because she has departed from her testimony. My issue is that she seldom listens, seldom speaks, is seldom thoughtful, seldom forgiving, seldom clear…in the ears of non-church folks, she just babbles. I agree with your thought that we forget that the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, with a good conscience and a sincere faith…
PDub, I have been challenged again and again this year to write, to speak, to say…but I am intimidated by the accusation (sometimes correct) that accuses anyone bearing a moral message of any kind of intolerance and hate. Very often they aren’t wrong but, golly, it takes one to know one, you know?
I got my feet wet in the debate many years ago when I was first speaking my story of coming out of homosexuality. My first true opponents were so-called Christians sent to picket a meeting in Kansas City. These picketers were Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church. It was they who called me the worst names I’ve ever been called…hated but not listened to.
I don’t ever want to be THEM. But, I don’t want to be silent. I am being challenged and I can’t find my beginning.
I was in a meeting with a man named Andy Comiskey recently and he’s talking about the same thing as you are. He’s saying we must. I didn’t realize that this “calling” I am sensing is NOT coming to everyone in the same way. Some of us in the world are called to SPEAK OUT LOUD! He is doing it. That challenges me. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/opinion/14863327.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
I am praying. I guess I’m surprised how hard it is to find men and women who are out there. That’s why I wrote.
I apologize for my own ramblings. I’m trying to find my voice here.
August 5, 2006 at 3:36 am
Dude,
Republicans will continue to fail in public policy issues surrounding personhood without a coherent/consistent philosophical position on embryonic personhood. Until then, the best they can do is permit the bad to prevent the ugly.
Mossberg
August 5, 2006 at 3:42 am
Dude,
Every member of the Federal Government should take the SLED test: S-Size, L-Level of Development, E-Environment, and D-Degree of Dependency: You can find the test put forward by Stand To Reason here: http://www.str.org/site/DocServer/2.1_four_top_arguments.pdf?docID=861
Basically it demonstrates that all human beings are persons. The existence of a human being necessarily implies the existence of a person.
If members of the Federal Government can’t figure this out, they should be fired or voted out of office. Our tax money can be better spent.
Mossberg
August 5, 2006 at 11:27 pm
Mossberg,
You are, of course, correct. If they are not fired or voted out of office because of the lack of clear thinking and/or right thinking, what should we as Ambassadors for Christ and His voice in the public square to do? Shruggin one’s shoulders and opting out with an “I don’t know” response is not an option!
PDub