Important Abortion Vote Coming

Next Week, the Pain-Capable Unborn Protection Act is scheduled to come up for votes in the U. S. Senate. This will be worth watching not only because protecting the unborn is of paramount importance, but only because of the political ramifications.

Alabama Senator Doug Jones is among the Democrats not thrilled about the political ramifications. If a 2018 vote repeats itself, Democrats and two or three RINOs will filibuster the bill.  However Democrats choose to oppose the bill this time, it will put them on the record during this crucial election year as extreme supporters of legal abortion.

For the bill outlaws abortions after 20 weeks unless medically necessary.  I believe there are exceptions for rape and incest as last time.  And the bill targets abortion providers, not women seeking abortions.

I know enough biology to know that after 20 weeks, the unborn child is very much a baby; it is almost entirely a matter of growth after that.  That the child can experience pain is only part of the picture.  And women know they are pregnant weeks before that point.  There is no excuse for seeking an elective abortion after 20 weeks except in the most extreme, life-threatening circumstances. One does not have to be a pro-lifer to see that the Pain-Capable Act is the very least we should do to protect unborn children.

So in the next week or so, the country will likely get a reminder what a bunch of baby killers Democrat politicians are. It will be interesting to see if those Senators running for President, including Bernie Sanders, even show up for the vote and so expose their monstrous abortion extremism.

It will also be interesting to watch those, in and out of the church, who claim to be pro-life yet usually support Democrats.  How will “social justice” “pro-lifers” respond to this vote, before, during, and after?  I do not have expectations in that regard, and some will surely be more active than others, but it may reveal just how pro-life they really are – or are not.

Bernie Sanders' Anti-Semite

In the UK, it is hard to miss that Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party have a serious problem with anti-semitism.  He and the Corbynistas are that blatant at times about their Jew-hate plus the UK has a politically diverse print news media, remarkably so. Yes, there are UK newspapers willing to do actual journalism on the sins of the Left.

The US “news” media lacks such political diversity.  That is one reason it is easy to miss that Democrats also have a problem with anti-semitism.  For example, I bet most of you good readers, though unusually well informed, did not know that Bernie Sanders has added to his campaign as a surrogate the notorious anti-semite Linda Sarsour.  But now you do.

You’re welcome.

Now, yes, Sanders is technically an independent Socialist, but that’s pretty much the same as a Democrat nowadays, and he is again running for President as a Democrat.  I should also say that not all Leftists and Democrats are okay with anti-semitism.  To their credit, some left the Women’s March due to anti-semitism from Sarsour and others.

But the Democrat Party is still the Party of Linda Sarsour, Ilhan Omar and their ilk.

And, not so by the way, I still have heard just about nothing about the Democrat’s anti-semitism problem from the woke church crowd, from the AND Campaign, from the Anglican Multi-Ethnic Network (AMEN), etc.

The AND Campaign tells us, “Christians can hold both parties accountable.” But when it comes to Democrat Anti-Semitism, AND and most other woke churchers are not among said Christians.

NOTE: AMEN has a new director now, the Rev. Canon Lawrence McElrath.  May his leadership be more balanced and edifying than Esau McCaulley’s was.

The Party of Infanticide - Senate Democrats Make It Official

After yesterday’s vote in the Senate, there is no getting around it – the Democrat Party is now the Party of Infanticide.  All but three Democrats voted against the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Act, which would have required medical treatment of babies that survive late-term abortions.  No Republican voted against it although three Republicans did not vote. Here is the roll call.

Oh, and all the Democrat Senators who are declared candidates for President voted against it – Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Amy Klobuchar.

At times I’ve wrestled with the question of whether support for today’s Democrats is an acceptable position for a Christian.  (Now I always cut new Christians some slack.  I even supported abortion for a short time after I became a Christian.  Likewise those who are apolitical.)  But, at least as far as the 44 Democrats who voted “No” are concerned, we are surely far beyond what Christians can agree to disagree on. I cannot see how it is acceptable for at least Christian ministers to support any of these six or those 44.  In my jurisdiction, I would consider reporting any such clerics to their bishop.

On a slightly happier note, more are noticing the push towards infanticide and are turning against it and against abortion:

According to a new poll from Marist, Americans' attitudes on abortion have dramatically shifted over the last month. Americans are now as likely to identify as pro-life (47 percent) as they are pro-choice (47 percent). A similar survey taken by Marist just last month found Americans were more likely to identify as pro-choice than as pro-life by a 17-point difference.

It is distressing that this country – or at least blue states – has gotten to this point of depravity.  But maybe such open displays of evil are necessary to open people’s eyes.

So Bernie Sanders Thinks Being an Orthodox Christian Is Not Okay

There has been a *cough* remarkable exchange between Senator Bernie Sanders, Socialist from Vermont, and Deputy White House Budget Director nominee Russell Vought.

Sanders: Let me get to this issue that has bothered me and bothered many other people. And that is in the piece that I referred to that you wrote for the publication called Resurgent. You wrote, “Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned.” Do you believe that that statement is Islamophobic?

Vought: Absolutely not, Senator. I’m a Christian, and I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith. That post, as I stated in the questionnaire to this committee, was to defend my alma mater, Wheaton College, a Christian school that has a statement of faith that includes the centrality of Jesus Christ for salvation, and . . .

Sanders: I apologize. Forgive me, we just don’t have a lot of time. Do you believe people in the Muslim religion stand condemned? Is that your view?

Vought: Again, Senator, I’m a Christian, and I wrote that piece in accordance with the statement of faith at Wheaton College:

Sanders: I understand that. I don’t know how many Muslims there are in America. Maybe a couple million. Are you suggesting that all those people stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too? Vought: Senator, I’m a Christian . . .

Sanders: I understand you are a Christian! But this country are made of people who are not just — I understand that Christianity is the majority religion, but there are other people of different religions in this country and around the world. In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christians are going to be condemned?

Vought: Thank you for probing on that question. As a Christian, I believe that all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their religious beliefs. I believe that as a Christian that’s how I should treat all individuals . . .

Sanders: You think your statement that you put into that publication, they do not know God because they rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned, do you think that’s respectful of other religions?

Vought: Senator, I wrote a post based on being a Christian and attending a Christian school that has a statement of faith that speaks clearly in regard to the centrality of Jesus Christ in salvation.

Sanders: I would simply say, Mr. Chairman, that this nominee is really not someone who this country is supposed to be about.

So if one believes Jesus when he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” that is just not acceptable to Bernie.

The push of the Left to marginalize traditional Christians continues.

About Support of Jeremy Corbyn

Due to pressing ministry duties, I cannot go into the subject in detail.  But the election of Jeremy Corbyn as UK Labour leader compels me to put my foot down.  Support of him is not morally defensible.  And, to put it as nicely as I can, the overwhelming election of him by Labourites does not speak well of them at all.

He is a vile man in so many ways, including his history of anti-Semitism and his past support for IRA and Muslim terrorists.  His appointment to Shadow Chancellor just adds to his enormities. The appointee, MP John McDonnell, once said he would like to “go back to the 1980s and assassinate Thatcher.”  What a lovely man.

And, no, although working within Labour to oust Corbyn may be morally defensible for a Christian, support for him most emphatically is not, Bishop Pete Broadbent’s support for him not withstanding.

One wonders how Church of England authorities would respond to a bishop supporting an equally vile politician of the Right.  Oh, I think we already know.

Really, I was tempted to re-run a slightly edited version of my August post questioning Christian support for today’s U.S. Democrat Party because so many of the same principles apply here.  No political party is undeserving of robust criticism (And I am hardly a supporter of establishment Republicans or of Cameronite Tories, and this post is not to be so taken.).  But there is a point beyond which arguments of moral equivalence or indifference utterly fail as such arguments often do. And arguments to Christian freedom in various spheres, which I hold dear, also have limits.  And Labour has lurched far, far beyond said limits with the election of such an evil man.

Trust me I could say more.  And I am confident Mr. Corbyn will give us all much on which to converse.

By the way, Bernie Sanders is just “delighted” with Corbyn’s election as Labour leader.