TBC NewsWatch

EUROPE IS MAKING A FATAL MISTAKE

FrontPageMag.com, 9/16/15, “Europe Is Making a Fatal Mistake” [Excerpts]: Allowing millions of Syrians and others from the Muslim Middle East into Europe will end up a catastrophe for Europe...As a Jew, I am particularly sensitive to any parallels to the Holocaust. [Since] Syria,—the Assad regime and the Islamic State are devouring each other and hundreds of thousands in their way, how can I not think back to a time when Jews sought to escape the Nazi monster devouring them?

For one thing, the parallels are far from precise. Every Jew in Nazi-occupied Europe—man, woman, child, baby—was targeted for death. The Syrian people are not targeted for death. The only such targets in the Middle East—aside from the Jews of Israel—are Christians and Yazidis.

[It’s]also imprecise because the vast majority of the Jews...were assimilated citizens of their respective countries. In contrast, most of the Muslims of the Middle East...hold values that are not merely different from, but opposed to, those of Europe.

(http://goo.gl/xdZwOH)

VIABILITY OF BABIES NOT LEGALLY "HUMAN"

ChristianHeadlines.com, 9/14/15, “Evidence Mounts for Viability of Babies not Considered Legally ‘Human’” [Excerpts]: A new study published September 8 found that more infants born before 28 weeks gestation are surviving without disease or other complications compared to 20 years ago. The findings cast further doubt on the adequacy of the viability standard for protecting the unborn.

The study....broadens a previous study published in May that found an increased survival rate for infants born at 22 weeks. The study examined 5,000 infants born at 27 weeks or earlier between 2006 and 2011.

More than 450,000 infants are born prematurely in the United States every year. While the previous study showed improvement in survival rates for infants born at 22 weeks gestation, the latest study shows a greater upward trend. In 1993, only 52 percent of infants born at 24 weeks survived. But in 2012, 65 percent survived. And the percentage increase in healthy premature infants is even more significant: 47 percent of infants born at 27 weeks in 2012 survived without major illnesses compared to 29 percent in 1993.

“Extremely pre-term babies born before the 28th week are now surviving in greater numbers, and their outcomes are better when you look at the illnesses they have” in neo-natal intensive care units.

Though prematurely born infants still face respiratory struggles due to under-developed lungs, medical advances have improved their chances of survival. More doctors prescribe antenatal steroids [which] help stimulate an infant’s lung development. In 1993, only 24 percent of women at risk for a premature delivery were prescribed the steroids, compared to about 87 percent in 2012, according to the study.

Despite the new research, babies are still only legally considered viable at 24 weeks. But Dr. Edward Bell, co-author of the May study, told The New York Times that 22 weeks should be the new viability standard. “I guess we would say that these babies deserve a chance,” he said.

(http://goo.gl/YCPJqj)

HILLSONG'S HOUSTON KNEW ABOUT "GAYS" IN CHOIR

ChristianPost.com, 7/28/15, “Houston, We Have a Problem: Video Shows Hillsong’s Brian Houston Knew About Open ‘Gays’ in Choir” [Excerpts]: A video has surfaced online showing that Hillsong leader Brian Houston knew about two openly homosexual men serving as choir members at least one year ago—despite his recent claims that it was a “complete surprise” for him to learn that two men at Hillsong’s New York campus had become “engaged.”

Houston was interviewed on ABC’s “Nightline” in November 2014 [where he said] “Apparently—someone told me—there’s two gay guys singing in the choir in New York.”

(http://goo.gl/2OiI6j)

SUDANESE CHRISTIAN WOMEN FOUND INNOCENT

ChristianHeadlines.com, 8/13/15, “Four Sudanese Christian women found innocent of ‘immoral dress’” [Excerpts]: Four Sudanese Christian women have been found innocent after being arrested for “immoral dress.” [The] women were among four others who were charged with immoral dress when they left a church service in Khartoum; three of the women were fined, and one is still awaiting trial.

Khartoum has a strict policy of dress, requiring women to keep their bodies covered, except for hands, feet and face. However, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) believes the increased number of Christian women arrested for immoral dress is a campaign against religious minorities in Sudan.

CSW [said], “While we welcome the fact that four of these women were found innocent, we question how some have been found guilty when they were all dressed similarly and entirely in keeping with the law and Sudanese customs.”

(http://goo.gl/f5mgSl)