TBC NewsWatch

ABORTED FETUSES—IN FOOD?

ABCNews, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/01/26/bill-would-ban-aborted-fetuses-in-food/, 1/26/2012: Bill Would Ban Aborted Fetuses in Food—An Oklahoma bill that would ban the sale of food containing aborted human fetuses has some people wondering: What food currently contains aborted human fetuses?

The bill introduced Jan. 18 by State Sen. Ralph Shortey, prohibits the manufacture or sale of “food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients.” Shortey declined to give specific examples, but said some food manufacturers used stem cells in the research and development process.

“There is a potential that there are companies that are using aborted human babies in their research and development of basically enhancing flavor for artificial flavors....What I am saying is that if it does happen, then we are not going to allow it to manufacture here.”

Shortey may be acting on claims that the San Diego-based company Semonyx used proteins derived from human embryonic kidney cells to test artificial sweeteners, NPR reported. The cell line, known as HEK 293, was created from a human embryo in 1970 and has become a staple in biochemistry labs around the world.

5 REASONS WHY NOT ALL YOUNG ADULTS LEAVE

Crosswalk.com, Joe McKeever, 4/24/12: Five Reasons Why Not All Young Adults Leave the Church—Recently, 20-year-old Bailey, a student at a local college, heard her professor of comparative religion tell the class, “The Christian faith uses terms like sanctification, justification, and propitiation. But church members have no idea what these terms mean.”

Bailey raised her hand and said, “Professor, they do in my church.”

A few days later, this same professor, who seems to be making a career of misrepresenting believers, told the class, “There are 66 books in the Christian Bible. But only the professionals can name them all.”

Bailey said, “Sir, in my church, even the children can name the books of the Bible.” Bailey demonstrates why not everyone raised in the church strays or drops out altogether when they reach young adulthood.

A stat often quoted from Lifeway Research—the study was done in 2007, so it’s slightly dated—says 2/3 of all young adults raised in the church will stop attending services between the ages of 18 and 22. Most will never return.

In the study, asked about their withdrawal, dropouts said they were too busy, churches too irrelevant, Christians too judgmental, leaders too hypocritical, and denominations too political.

I suspect the dropouts omitted one huge factor for their non-attendance in church: the heart is a rebel. The temptation to renege on life’s commitments—even those we feel strongest about—is continually present, not always complicated, and ever a concern for even the most faithful of believers.

From all I know and have observed, here [are five reasons] why they stayed:

1) A genuine, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, those with a personal relationship with a particular church or youth group or student minister cannot be counted on to stay.

2) A solid foundation. Young adults like Bailey who grow up with strong roots in the doctrines of the Bible cannot be easily pulled off course by errant professors or pleasure-seeking friends.

This “solid foundation” is no mystery and does not have to be complicated. It’s simply the result of discipling young believers, teaching them, in the words of our Lord, “to observe all the things that I have commanded you” (Matthew:28:20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
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3) The security of supporting friends.No group on the planet is as vulnerable to peer influence as young people. While this is generally viewed as a negative, it can be made to work for us. Young people reach their friends for Christ. (In contrast, churches with no youth at all find it nearly impossible to begin a ministry to them.)

4) Great role models. Once or twice during those college years, when professors or my reading material caused me to question my Christian faith, the Scriptures, and even the existence of God, nothing pulled me back from the brink like looking around at the sharp men and women in my church who were devoutly following Jesus Christ. Before I learned how to study the evidence for the faith myself, these were my proofs that God is real and Christ is alive and the gospel is true.

In fact, as I compared the Christian men and women I knew with the typical miserable atheistic philosophy major or the professor who prided himself on his agnosticism, there was no question which I would prefer to model my life after.

5) No viable alternative. Young adults are not stupid. They can see the church has problems. However, as they think the matter through, they frequently come to the same conclusion as the Apostle Peter. When our Lord noticed the crowd leaving because they’d found His teachings difficult, Jesus said to the disciples, “Well, how about you? Will you go away too?”

Simon Peter said, “Lord, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John:6:66-68 [66] From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. [67] Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? [68] Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
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That one fact, more than anything else, may account for believers through the ages hanging tough with the Lord’s church when times were hard, temptations strong, questions proliferated, and the enemy was active.

ALLAH WILL 'BRING DOWN' AMERICA'S SKYSCRAPERS

The Blaze Online, 5/29/12: Hallowell, Farrakhn: Allah will bring down America’s Skyscrapers [Excerpts]—The Minister Louis Farrakhan [the Nation of Islam leader]...in his Sunday address in San Diego, slammed Israel, lamented Mexico’s loss of land at the hands of American “trickery” and derided President Barack Obama for his endorsement of same-sex marriage....During the last 10 minutes, the fiery Farrakhan erupted with fervency, applauding the violence of sharia law and giving some cryptic warnings to America regarding Iranian intervention....

“So, America I close. I tell you, you’re on your way to war and if you declare war on Iran at the behest of Israel and you bomb Iran and some of you are saying we should invoke Hiroshima again on Iran, meaning drop an atomic bomb on Muslims…,” he continued. “So I’m warning you, America, if you bomb Iran...the God that I represent is going to take out some of your cities with earthquakes,” he proclaimed....

“I’m sorry to have to tell you, but I’m saying this to our president and the warmongers. We can’t stop you from bombing Iran if that’s what you want to do, but as you destroy the lives of innocent people like you did in Baghdad on the basis of a lie—then what are you doing for the American people? You’re sentencing them in the weight of justice to the same death you have dealt to other people in other nations.

“I am warning you:...He will take down cities and when I look at the skyscrapers in some of these major metropolis....He’s going to show you his power...one calamity after another until you submit, America, and know that judgement [sic] is here. You can escape it but you gotta do right by this people. And if you don’t do right by them, you can’t do right by the people outside of America, if you won’t do right for those who have…built your country.”