RORY SYNOGROUND PUBLICATIONS
IN THIS ISSUE PAGE 1
CITIZENS OPPOSED LANDMARK ABORTION BILLS
PAGE 2 & 3
PRAYER & HEALING CENTER PROPHECY WATCH A TIME OF REFORMATION
PAGE 4:
HAS AMERICA SEEN THE END OF PROPERITY UNSHROUDING THE SCIENCE OF THE SHROUD
PAGE 5 PRESIDENTS CORNER FAITH IS OUR VICTORY
PAGE 6 & 7
MEDIA BIAS AGAINST TEA PARTY CHRISTIAN INVESTING VIP BUSINESS PROFILE
PAGE 8 & 9 WALL BUILDERS
Health Care & the Constitution
PAGE 10 & 11
PRINCIPLES OF PROSPERITY SERVICEMENS SPOTLIGHT
PAGE 12 & 13
CITIZENS OPPOSED BASKETBALL PRODIGY
PAGE 14 & 15 & 16
LANDMARK ABORTION BILLS UNSHROUDING THE SCIENCE OF THE SHROUD
www.freedompublications. December Issue 2005
APRIL / MAY 2010
CITIZENS OPPOSED TO HEALTH CARE LAW
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ennessee attorney Van Irion, a Republican candidate for Congress, filed the complaint Thursday April 8th 2010 in Eastern Tennessee’s Federal District Court. Irion allows concerned citizens to join the lawsuit through a form on his Web site. More than 1500 Americans have joined a lawsuit against President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority L e a d e r Harry Reid that challenges the constitutionality of the entire health care law. While several lawsuits are pending against the health care law, this lawsuit may be the only one taking broad aim at the law’s constitutionality. Tennessee attorney Van Irion, a Republican candidate for Congress, filed the complaint Thursday in Eastern Tennessee’s Federal District Court. Irion allows concerned citizens to join the lawsuit through a form on his Web site.
by Lauren Miller
“We’ve been surprised at how many people from across the country want to join,” Irion said in an email to Fox News. Eighteen state attorneys general and other individuals have filed suits that attack only the specifics of the health care law. This is an attack on the law’s very foundation, claiming that nothing in the Constitution grants the federal government authority to regulate health care. Therefore the plaintiffs claim the law violates the 10th Amendment that reserves Continued on Page 12
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LANDMARK ABORTION BILLS
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By Daniel Greenfield
wo bills, one barring abortions at and after 20 outside the womb. weeks of pregnancy and the other requiring “It absolutely cannot survive a challenge without women to be screened before having abortions a change to three decades of court rulings,” said for mental health and other problems, became law in Nancy Northup, president of the Center for ReproNebraska on Tuesday. ductive Rights. “Courts have been chipping away LINCOLN, Neb. - Two landmark measures putting at abortion rights ... this would be like taking a huge new restrictions on abortion became law in Nebraska hacksaw to the rights.” on Tuesday, including one that critics say breaks with The law focusing on late-term abortions is designed court precedent by changing the legal rationale for a to shut down one of the few doctors in the nation ban on later-term aborwho performs them in tions. Nebraska. Republican Gov. Dave Set to take effect in OcHeineman signed both tober, it is based on the bills, one barring abortions claim that fetuses can feel at and after 20 weeks of pain at 20 weeks. The pregnancy and the other current standard in aborrequiring women to be tion restrictions is viability, screened before having or when a fetus is able to abortions for mental health survive outside the womb and other problems. Both -- generally at 22 to 24 sides of the abortion deweeks. bate say the laws are firsts The law could lead to of their kind in the U.S. changes in state laws A national abortion rights across the country if State of Nebraska) Gov. Dave Heineman (left) is joined by Sen. Mike Flood (not group already appeared to Photo: pictured), Sen. Cap Dierks (not pictured), Dave Bydalek of Nebraska Family First (second from upheld by the courts, said be girding for a legal chal- right) and Julie Schmit-Albin of Nebraska Right to Life (far right) during the signing two pro-life Mary Spaulding Balch, lenge, calling the ban after bills - LB 1103 and LB 594 - on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. legislative director for Na20 weeks “flatly uncontional Right to Life. stitutional” because it is based on the assertion that “It would broaden the interests of states in protectfetuses feel pain, not on the ability of a fetus to survive ing the unborn child,” she said. “It says the state Continued on Page 12
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Prayer Healing CENTER
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&
"...and by H is ye were heale d." 1 Peter 2:24
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“For with
God nothing will be impossible.�
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" the Lord O my soul, and forget not all Luke 1:37 His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquiti es; ases upon thee se di e es th of ne no t pu "...I will who hea leth all 6 thy :2 dise ase 15 s." us Psa lms 103:2-3 thee." Exod ...for I AM the Lord that
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PROPHECY WATCH YOUR FINEST HOUR IS YET TO COME KENNETH COPELAND “No, no, no, no, your o, no, no, no, finest hour is yet to this is not come and it is on its the time,” saith way and it’s being the Lord, “of the born at this very downfall of your time.” Oh, hallelujah. nation. Your nation Hallelujah. “No, no, is under covenant no, I did not bring with Me,” saith this financial disaster the Lord. “You are on this nation. Now witnessing not some have said this the failure of the Prophecy given by is judgment. It is United States, you KENNETH COPELAND judgment but I’m not are witnessing the bringing judgment failure of a worldly financial system that has eroded on this nation. The seed of sin and Babylonian-world thinking over the years. has in itself its own judgment “My Word of prosperity, My Word and its own disaster. And when of function, My Word that this you continue to walk out of line nation began on and prospered with My Word and My plan and beyond any nation in the history My way you will eventually fail. of this world. No, the United States is not falling. No! I will not “It’s not this nation that’s failing, it is the system that it has allow that to happen,” says the eroded into by getting away Spirit of Grace. “How foolish do you think I am to allow the cradle from My Word and depending of the gospel to fall from its limb? on Me. But fear not. I have My eye on it and it will go only so How foolish do you think I am? far and no further,” saith the No, I remember your deeds, I remember the gospel that’s come Lord. Hallelujah. “And you will see it, you will see it, you will be from this nation. I remember,” in it, you will be involved in the saith the Lord, “that this is the greatest spiritual awakening that most giving nation in history and this nation has ever seen. This is I will not, I will not, I will not let you go.” Hallelujah. Give the Lord My time,” saith God. praise, hallelujah.
N
i
love you GOD
COME TO THE TABLE
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got plans that you ain’t even ever dreamed of,” saith the Lord, “far beyond your wildest imagination and I did it just for you. Heaven is overloaded with things that I have prepared for your enjoyment. And if you’ll just simply come to that place where you just say, ‘God I’m so grateful,’ and just give Me an opportunity. “Become a giver and not a taker. Become a thinker like I think. And I will think through your mind, and I’ll see through your eyes, and I’ll speak through your lips and I’ll give you power within that is far greater than anything you’ve ever imagined. And oh, the flow—oh, I need you to help Me in these end times to bless and to raise up an army of believers. And you’re my key personnel. I don’t need you broke! I don’t need you sick! I need you healed and well! I paid for it! Come and get it! Come and dine! Come and dine! Come to the table! I have prepared a table in the presence of your enemies. This is not a heavenly fest. You haven’t got any enemies in heaven!” This is a feast of abundance in the valley of the shadow of death.
Fear no evil! Fear not the shadow of death, nor the valley therein. I, your Lord, your Savior—I am the Lord of hosts and I am the biggest thing in the valley. Have no fear for the table is full. Come and dine, come and dine.” Oh hallelujah, Jesus. “Pass the healing, pass the debtfree pudding. (laughs) Yeah! Pass the miracles down here on this end of the table. Come and dine, come and dine. Oh glory. I’ll send you to places, and I’ll anoint you and I’ll take care of you while you’re there. And people will be amazed at the grace that comes out of your mouth and the riches that come through your hands. And whole nations will come to Me. Trillions are nothing to Me. 747s are nothing to Me. Ha, ha, ha, all things were created for and by Me,” saith the Lord. “And I don’t need your airplanes up here. My chariot way out-classes that.” Have you not seen in My Word where My chariot is like the lightening from the east to the west. My stuff moves at the speed of light. Your stuff is extremely slow. But stay with Me, you’re getting faster.” www.kcm.org
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HAS AMERICA SEEN THE END OF PROSPERITY? 700 Club
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Now, the leader of the 1980’s tax-cutting ecent estimates show that America movement has returned with a follow up faces a record $1.6 trillion deficit and book, “Return to Prosperity.” unemployment rates at a 25-year high. He, along with co-author Stephen Moore, show how For everyday America can reAmericans, it’s gain its economeasy to lose hope. ic superpower But has America status. Laffer seen the end of it’s says knee-jerk prosperity? spending packArthur Laffer, forages, price and mer economic adwage controls, visor to President and government Ronald Reagan, over-regulation doesn’t think so. suffocate the Rather, he insists economy. that recent adminHis prescription? istrations have failed to grasp what he calls • Cut government fat “Economics 101.” • Reduce debt While former President George W. Bush and • Encourage retirement savings President Obama may not appear to have • Revive the investor class. much in common, Laffer says they share Bottom line, he says, is “we can’t tax and a fundamentally wrong view on economic policy and have given into fear in attempts spend our way back to the good times.” In his book, Laffer offers practical ecoto counter-balance the failing economy. nomic theories to back a plan that would Hasty decisions and bad political policy return America back to its super-power have led the country further into debt and status. It’s a plan he insists is vital to all ultimately to “the end of prosperity” - the Americans. topic of Laffer’s 2008 best-selling book.
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UNSHROUDING THE SCIENCE OF By Tom de Castella THE SHROUD
he exact history of Turin shroud, which has gone on display for the first time in 10 years, is hotly disputed. So what do we know about its authenticity? It’s perhaps the most controversial religious artefact in the world. The Shroud of Turin cloth that supposedly wrapped Jesus’s body after the crucifixion and became imprinted with his image, has intrigued millions of believers and sceptics alike. Having gone on public display for the first time in a decade, the debate over its authenticity is set to resume.
Numerous historical references to Christ’s shroud exist but the only reliable records for the one today housed in Turin Cathedral begin in the 16th Century. The herringbone woven cloth measuring 1.21m by 4.42m (4ftx14ft), is stained with human blood and appears to show the imprint of a crucified man. The most iconic aspect - the apparent image of Jesus’s bearded face - is not easily distinguishable to the naked eye, and was only noticed at the end of the 19th Century in an amateur photograph. But in 1988 the subject seemed to be closed. Carbon dating experts from universities in Oxford, Zurich and Arizona “proved” that the shroud originated in the
14th Century and thus could not be an imprint of Jesus. And yet many now argue that process was flawed. Ian Wilson, a historian who has written a number of books on the subject, believes the shroud could indeed be genuine. “Through no fault of the labs the 1988
sample was taken from the most inadvisable place - the top left hand corner,” he says. “Before 1840 the normal process of display was to have the cloth loose and held up by at least three bishops so the corners would have been contaminated.” Another doubt raised was that the sample may have been repaired with cotton strands. “A further problem was that the shroud was in a serious fire in 1532 and smoke introduces a lot of contaminants. All of these factors are ways that
the carbon dating could have been skewed as it’s not infallible,” he argues.
Holes in wrists Mr Wilson believes the type of weave used is more consistent with ancient than medieval times and that the medical evidence is compelling. “It’s true that thousands of people were crucified at the time of Jesus. But one singular thing about the crucifixion of Christ is the crown of thorns and on the shroud there are a whole series of puncture wounds where the scalp has bled.” And whereas every artist imagined Jesus crucified through the palms, the shroud indicates it was through the wrist, which is the only plausible way the body would have remained on the cross, he says. But how to explain the photographic negative like print of Jesus’s face? “It is something very peculiar. The shroud is some kind of negative of the body it’s wrapped up. So you can ask ‘Was that the moment of resurrection?’ That has to be speculation.” The Catholic church has always refused to take a position on the shroud’s authenticity but it expects between 1.5 and two million people to visit and the Pope is due to attend on 2 May. Before it went on display, the Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Severino Poletto, who is responsible for the shroud, signalled the symbolic importance it attaches to the object: “The Holy Shroud Exhibition is a spiritual and religious event,
it is neither touristic nor commercial.” For his part Bruno Barberis, director of the International Centre of Sindonology in Turin, which is dedicated to the study of the Shroud, suspects the cloth is genuine. “A lot of studies have proved that it’s human blood for example - so it’s not just done by a painter,” he says. “It really is an image left by a real corpse. I think the probability is very high that it’s genuine.”
Map of cloth The centre plans to produce “an accurate map of the cloth” to discern whether it was made from the same cloth or contains repairs. Continued on page 14
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Rev. Rory Synoground Founder and President of Rory Synoground Ministries International President & CEO of FREEDOM PUBLICATIONS
FAITH IS OUR VICTORY “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (I John 5:4)
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e must understand here that when the Bible mentions “the world”, it is referring to a foreign system of thought, behavior and consequences. It is a way of living in the earth today. In Romans 12:2 the Bible commands us not to be conformed to this worldly system, to this fashion or this age, but rather to be transformed. God is literally saying there is another system of thought, behavior and blessings that you can operated in, and it comes by renewing your mind to His Word. If we are going to escape and overcome the conformity that the pressure of this worlds system is constantly putting on us, we are going to have to learn to live our life by faith in Jesus Christ and what He says in His Word. This is Gods system of living in the earth today. Now the worlds system of operating has consequences. These consequences are clearly seen. In the earth we have disease, sickness, poverty, lack, emotional turmoil, mental illnesses all forms of selfishness, debauchery, and the like. All of these fruits, if you will, are the result of worldly ways of thinking, acting, and believing. We don’t deny that there are things like viruses and deadly forces at work in the earth today. But what I John 5:4 declares, is that faith is our answer to overcoming these things. Faith is the victory that not only overcomes the way the worlds system operates, but it will also overcomes the fruit that the worlds system produces. Rev. John G. Lake was a man who ministered in a place where a deadly plague was killing thousands of people. He lived in the midst of it, and was ministering the healing power of God. Many had died, yet many people who should have died, lived.
the area it touched. What was empowering Rev. Lake. What was the key that enabled him to overcome that disease? That’s right; it was FAITH! I John 5:4 tells us that faith is the victory that overcomes the sickness and disease that is trying to kill you. That is trying to imprison you. That is trying to take away the liberty and freedom that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for you to experience. In Hebrews Chapter 11 we begin reading how to live by faith. During the first few verses we read where our elders actually obtained good reports by faith. In fact the very first thing that was obtained by faith was the universe that you and I are living in right now. God is a God of faith. He looked into nothing and said “LIGHT BE”, and LIGHT WAS. He knows how to operate in faith. Now God is trying to help you and I operate in that same faith as well. In Ephesians 5:1 we read: “And be ye followers of God as dear children. . . ." The word “follower” here means “to imitate, or to copy.” God knows how this thing works. He is the one who created this system of faith. In fact there is nothing good in this earth that will manifest without faith. Everything that is good in this earth will come to you and I, by operating in and through Gods system of faith. So faith is the thing that obtains good reports. SICKNESS IS NOT A GOOD REPORT FOR YOUR BODY. HEALING, IS A GOOD REPORT FOR YOUR BODY. Living by faith, will obtain the good report of health and healing for your body. 2 Corinthians 5:7 commands us to walk by faith. “(...regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief....with trust and holy fervor, thus we walk) not by sight or appearance.
Now the scientific community of the day were confused as to why Rev John G. Lake wasn’t dying from the plague.
The worlds system is based on conducting your behavior on believing what you see. What you hear, what you feel, what you experience through your five physical senses.
So a group of them went and studied Rev. Lake. The scientists placed a portion of the plagued filled foam from a dead mans mouth on Rev. Lake’s hand. Then put them both under a microscope to see what would happen. What they saw was amazing. When the virus touched Lakes body the virus died, instead of infecting
When you and I choose to believe, to have faith in what the Word says about our situation, and allow that Word and our faith in that Word to influence the way we think, and act, that is when we begin to overcome.
Romans 10:17 on the other hand tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
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FREEDOM
MEDIA BIAS AGAINST TEA PARTY MOVEMENT
he conservative leaning Media Research Center has taken a look at mainstream media TV coverage of the Tea Party movement in their first year of existence. The conclusion: Bias. Big time bias. The report just came out. You can read the main highlights below. Let me just say that beyond the well known liberal slant by the media the other problem in the media today is that it is VERY easy to get lazy and just simply buy into the stereotypes. Just because the tea party folks don’t happen to be well dressed elites or may like country music or don’t speak in proper media approved syntax doesn’t mean they are a bunch of angry, dumb crazies. Quite the opposite actually. And just because the majority of them are white doesn’t mean that racism is an issue. It isn’t. Those are intellectual lazy stories. Here’s another issue too: There is an elitism factor at play as well here. Let’s face it. The NY-Washington media corridor loves credentials. If you have a Masters Degree from Princeton or a Doctorate from Columbia then you have “media street cred”. If you went to Community College somewhere in rural Georgia you are looked at differently in the eyes of the media. It’s just a fact. The heart of Tea Party movement is made up average, ordinary, real Americans. I’m not saying you won’t find a few Princeton graduates in the crowd but the media has a tendency to judge people and so you have that bias at play here as well.
MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER ANALYSIS: After reviewing every mention of the Tea Party on ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening newscasts and Sunday talk shows, the MRC found the below alarming trends, statistics and comparisons with other political protests.
MINISCULE COVERAGE ABC, CBS and NBC aired a mere 61 stories or segments about the Tea party over a 12-month period despite the movement’s demonstrated political force Another 141 items included brief references to the movement Networks virtually refused to recognize the Tea Party in 2009 (just 19 stories) with coverage increasing only after Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts NO COMPARISON TO LIBERAL PROTESTS
The Nation of Islam’s “Million Man March” in 1995 was featured in 21 evening news stories on just the night of the march – more than the Tea Party received in all of 2009 The anti-gun “Million Mom March” in 2000 was preceded by 41 broadcast network reports heralding its message with a dozen positive pre-march interviews w/ organizers and participants This promo favor was never granted to the Tea Party
SMEARED AS EXTREME RACISTS After the Sept. 12, 2009 rallies, networks suggested the Tea Party was an extreme or racist movement 44% of network stories (27 out of 61) suggested the movement reflected a fringe or dangerous quality Network reporters strained to protect left-wing causes (such as the anti-war movement) from the outrageous acts of individual protesters, but no such effort was made for the Tea Party
CHRISTIANS MORAL INVESTING HELP
A
website has been launched that will help Christians become responsible investors.
MoralMoney. com was developed to teach investment stewardship to Christians because, according to company President Mark Minnella, Jr., too many Christians support companies that contribute to the advancement of anti-Christian lifestyles. “I like to tell people, you wouldn’t want your church buying an abortion clinic to make money to give to the poor. The idea is appalling,” he argues. “But the church is the people, not the building. And using the money that God’s entrusted to you to
Allie Martin
buy a company that supports abortion or pornography just to make a profit, even for the best intentions -- whether it’s for retirement or just to support your family -- is right along the same lines,” says Minnella. Moral Money offers a free service that screens companies for potential investors. “We screen for involvement in abortion, embryonic stemcell research, adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, and immoral lifestyles,” he notes. So far the website screens more than 3,400 companies.
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A-BEST SEW & VAC
ewing and Cleaning has been around since Adam and Eve made their own clothing and had small children tracking “outside” dirt onto the dirt floor inside their cave. We recognize that we’re not bringing any “new” concepts to the public, however, what we are bringing is something more than a little uncommon. We’re not your average business, from start to finish, and neither is the service or products we provide. But before I get ahead of myself, we’ve got to go way back to the beginning... of our business that is, not time itself. We really got our start when my grandfather, Byron Hanson, started running a sewing machine and vacuum store in 1982. Back in those days you could get your average sewing machine repaired for under $30 and that sometimes even covered the parts. My, how things have changed in 27 years! In 1990 Grandpa Hanson opened his own store, A-Plus Sew & Vac, in Owatonna, MN. That store is still open, providing great service and quality products to this day in the same location! God has certainly shown his providential blessings! In 1994, my grandparents opened another store in Albert Lea and my father, Vern Hanson, began to run that store for them. Things were going really well. A few years later my parents bought the store from my grandparents. Recently my grandparents have retired from the business in Owatonna and we’ve acquired that store from them as well in 2009. We now have two convenient locations to serve the upper Midwest! We believe that one of the reasons we’ve had such success in business, even through the “economic recession,” is only because of God’s providence. We are so thankful for all that God has provided for and allowed us to continue to do for our community and neighbors, Whom without, all our plans and work would have come to nothing. The second reason I believe we’ve been around so long and have continued to thrive is because of our great clientele. We have made it our focus to try to provide the best possible, friendly, individualized service to each and every person who walks through our doors. In order to do this we attend training events and conferences where we are educated on the professional level. This allows us to stay up-to-date on the latest
in the area of sewing, embroidery and quilting, including long arm machines and quilting frames. Some people think that a vacuum is just a vacuum. But in today’s world of cheap, disposable, foreign made vacuums, there is no longer the assurance that just because a “device” is called a vacuum, that it is a vacuum. In reality you may be paying hundreds for a “Stress-youout” machine that has been designed and manufactured to last you only 9-18 months and does not do the job efficiently. We not only get the professional training in the fun side of our business, but also in the “clean” side. We become the experts in the field of vacuums so that you don’t have to. We go to annual training to stay up-to-date on the latest issues facing the modern vacuum client today with their myriad of difficult and challenging cleaning needs! We focus on determining what the individual needs and wants of our clients are and then we find the perfect machine to match their needs and all for the best value. Often we’ll have someone come in who has no idea what they will walk out with (they just know they need a vacuum that actually works for them), and that’s why they come to us, because they don’t really know what it is that they need. So they come to us and tell us what their challenges and needs are and we start narrowing the possibilities down to the best vacuum for them. We are the cleaning experts and we specialize in household, commercial and central vacuums as well as many other household cleaning products that are “green” so they’re safe for you, your children, pets and the environment! We are the warranty and repair center for everything we carry. Our professional technicians provide service & repair for all makes & models of sewing machines & vacuums. We specialize in being a full service center, providing you with certified technical service, instructional classes & fun project workshops taught by professional educators. When it comes down to the bottom line, we’re truly concerned about the clients interests and needs. We consider you the boss, and we take very good care of our boss. We’re in the business of fulfilling dreams and providing joy in everything you do at home and abroad!
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FREEDOM
Health Care and the
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fter a year of contentious debate, it became clear that the House intended to pass the health care bill by whatever means necessary, even if it required the use of a “deem and pass”
question, Rep. John Conyers (MI) replied: “Under several clauses – the Good and Welfare Clause and a couple others. All the scholars – the constitutional scholars that I know (I’m chairman of the Judiciary committee, as you know) – they all say that there’s nothing unconstitutional in this bill.” Of course, there is no Good and Welfare Clause in the Constitution, but assuming that Conyers simply made an honest mistake, he likely was referring to the General Welfare Clause, which appears in two locations: We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote THE GENERAL WELFARE, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION
procedure whereby Members would not vote directly on the bill. After a massive public outcry arose against that unconstitutional proposal (Article I, § 7, ¶ 2, and § 5, ¶ 3 direct that “the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays” on a measure rather than just “deeming” it passed), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD), The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, head of the Democrat imposts, and excises to pay the Congressional Campaign debts and provide for the common Committee, urged Democrat House defense and GENERAL WELFARE Members to remain quiet and avoid of the United States. ART. 1, SEC. talking about the unconstitutional 8, PAR. process in an attempt to lessen the political backlash. House Majority Leader Steny That procedure ultimately was not used, but once the health care bill passed, voters demanded of congressional leaders the constitutional provision that authorized the federal takeover of health care. In answering that
Hoyer (MD) agreed that “Congress has ‘broad authority’ to force Americans to purchase” health care “so long as it was trying to promote ‘the general welfare’.” (Rep. James Clyburn – the No. 3
ranking Democrat in the House – did not invoke the General Welfare Clause but instead candidly admitted, “Most of what we do down here is not authorized by the Constitution.”
The attempt by congressional leaders to invoke the General Welfare Clause as a cover for an unconstitutional act is nothing new. In 1792 when New England was suffering a crisis in one of its most important economic industries (fishing), some Congressmen proposed that federal funds be used to subsidize that troubled industry. James Madison quickly asserted that such a proposal was unconstitutional, explaining: Those who proposed the Constitution knew, and those who ratified the Constitution also knew that this is . . . a
limited government tied down to specified powers. . . . It was never supposed or suspected that the old Congress could give away the money of the states to encourage agriculture or for any other purpose they pleased. Madison then warned about the consequences of allowing Congress to expand the narrow meaning of the “General Welfare Clause”: If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the “general
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Author and historian David Barton is the Founder and President of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization which distributes historical, legal, and statistical information; and helps citizens become active in their local schools and communities. WallBuilders is a name taken from the Bible book of Nehemiah. And just as Nehemiah led a grassroots movement in Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of that city and restore its strength and honor; so, too, WallBuilders seeks to energize the grassroots today to rebuild that which makes America strong—its constitutional, moral, and religious foundations.
Constitution welfare,” and are the sole and supreme judges of the “general welfare,” then they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county, and parish and pay them out of their public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the United States; they may assume the provision for the poor; they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads; in short, everything from the highest object of state legislation down to the most minute object of police would be thrown
under the power of Congress, for every object I have mentioned would admit of the application of money, and might be called, if Congress pleased, provisions for the “general welfare.” According to Madison, if the original intent of the General Welfare Clause were ever expanded, then Congress would begin an unbridled intrusion into areas that were deliberately designed by the Constitution to be under the control of the state and local governments. Two specific aspects of the Constitution were intended to prohibit such federal encroachments: (1) the Enumerated Powers
Doctrine, and (2) the Bill of Rights – specifically the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. Concerning the first, the Constitution authorizes Congress to address only eighteen specifically enumerated (that is, individually listed) areas and responsibilities; this is called the Enumerated Powers Doctrine. As affirmed by Thomas Jefferson: Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare but is restrained to those specifically enumerated, and . . . it was never meant they should provide for that welfare but by the exercise of the enumerated powers. Many other Founders were equally outspoken about Congress’ limitations under the Enumerated Powers Doctrine. In fact, this doctrine was so well understood that in America’s first several decades, presidents had only four cabinet level departments: the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General (occasionally there was also a separate Secretary of the Navy, but many presidents often placed him under the Secretary of War). Today, however, there are almost four times as many cabinet level positions, including a Secretary of Agriculture, Labor, Commerce, Housing, Education, Transportation, Energy, and many others. 8 Each of those areas was also very important two centuries ago, but because the Constitution had placed these
areas under the jurisdiction of state governments, there was no federal presence involved in them. Concerning the second point (the Bill of Rights), the Founding Fathers – dedicated students of history, government, and human nature that they were – knew that the federal government would invariably try to step beyond its enumerated powers; they therefore added the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution, directly stipulating that all areas not specifically listed in the Constitution were to remain under the jurisdiction of the states and local governments, which thus included areas such as education, criminal justice, energy, agriculture, and many others. As Thomas Jefferson affirmed: I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: that “all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people” [the Tenth Amendment]. . . . To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition. Continued In the Next Issue of Freedom
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FREEDOM
PRINCIPLES OF PROSPERITY DO YOU QUALIFY FOR PHILIPPIANS 4:19?
DO YOU QUALIFY
out.
The Bible says in Proverbs 13:22 that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. If you are faithful with the little, He will make you a ruler over much (Matt. 25:21). Let me tell you why it is by Rodney Howard-Browne living off heaven’s grace. You need important to give. Paul said, “Not that “And my God to replenish your heavenly account I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that will liberally abounds to your account.” You need and sow into eternity. supply (fill to to give so that you may have fruit that the full) your The promised blessings of abounds to your heavenly account. every need Philippians 4:19 only belong You would never invest in a company according to to believers who are faithful in His riches in supporting the work of the ministry. that was going to fail or a business opportunity that was going to go glory in Christ The Traveling Ministry bankrupt. Likewise, with the finances Jesus” Dr. Rodney Howard Browne (Phil. 4:19 AMP) In the early days of my ministry, I you plant for the work of God, invest in Adonica Howard Browne would call upon a pastor and tell him a ministry that brings forth fruit. Invest his is a widelywe were passing through town and he would in a ministry that is going to produce known Bible Scripture. It has been say, “Wonderful, just keep passing through.” successful outcomes for the kingdom stuck on magnets that go on the Then, if I did get a place to speak, they would of God. refrigerator. It has been put on bumper give me a love offering—plenty of love and stickers, placed on cars so old they have Giving based on the Word of God will no offering. been held together with baling wire. It has produce results in your life. Giving even been printed on t-shirts. You needed a magnifying glass to find it. We based on emotions will fade into once preached an entire week in the church nothingness. It will only give you However, a lot of people know a of a millionaire farmer. We stayed in his temporary satisfaction. As you sow Scripture, but they usually don’t know the home, and when we departed, they gave us your finances into the work of God, context in which it was given. If you ask a box of asparagus. They said, “God bless people, “What does Philippians 4:15-18 you, we really appreciate your ministry.” say?”, they usually don’t know. So, let’s Unfortunately, asparagus wouldn’t pay for find out. anything we may have needed. And you Philippians yourselves well Paul was a pioneer in more ways than one. know that in the early days of the Gospel First of all, he wrote two-thirds of the New ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church Testament. Then, he began a traveling (assembly) entered into partnership with ministry. Back then, they were not taught me and opened up (a debit or credit) to support traveling ministries. Through the account in giving and receiving except years, the traveling ministry has always been you only. in conflict with the local "For even in church. Thessalonica you sent Pastors have felt that (me contributions) for evangelists have come to my needs, not only take their money. Generally, once but a second a proper agreement has time. Not that I seek not been worked out—the or am eager for (your) evangelist does his thing gift, but I do seek and the church does its and am eager for the . thing, which often leads to fruit which increases hard feelings. to your credit (the harvest of blessing For this reason, when we that is accumulating to your account). come as traveling evangelists, we pray that the church will be blessed because we are But I have (your full payment) and there. We believe for the church’s income more; I have everything I need and to go up. Many times, after four weeks of am amply supplied, now that I have revival, the church receives the biggest received from Epaphroditus the gifts Sunday offering they have ever had. you sent me. (They are the) fragrant odor of an offering and sacrifice I am sharing this principle with you to help which God welcomes and in which He you understand what God expects from us. delights." Stewardship is an important part of your (Phil. 4:15-18 AMP) Christian walk. If you want to be blessed of God, you need to be a good steward of your I thought people would have fallen over money. backwards to support the ministry of the great Apostle Paul. I thought they would Don’t tell me, “I am not worried about have done everything in their power to money.” Just wait until you have to feed your help him. The Philippians were faithful children. Then you start thinking, “Where can to the ministry. This Scripture is talking I get a couple of dollars?” Do you realize how about having a debit and credit account— much it costs to take care of a family? giving and receiving in the financial realm. Have you found out that stores don’t give Did you know that you have a heavenly anything away? Yet, people expect the bank account? Many people want to Gospel to be that way. Well, the Gospel is withdraw from what they have in heaven, free, but it takes finances to get the Gospel but they are overdrawn. They have been
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purpose in your heart to sow in good soil. Tell the Lord, “Father, I am sowing into good soil. I am investing in a revival in America. I am claiming souls for Your kingdom. I am claiming that churches be revived and cities shaken by the power of God.” Then you can expect a harvest. You can expect to reap in every soul that is saved. Commit yourself today to take God at His Word and become a giver. His promises are true. Together, as faithful stewards, we can reach this world for Jesus and see His vision fulfilled. Source: Thoughts On Stewardship—Vol. 1 by Rodney Howard-Browne Excerpt permission granted by R.H.E.B.A. Publishers
Web site: Revival Ministries International
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sex:: reasons sex reasons to wait
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his decade is plagued with the notion that everybody is fooling around before marriage. The way that movies and TV programs depict sex outside of marriage, you feel like you are not normal if you wait.
Can’t Look ‘em in the Eye The big question young ladies ask themselves when they are about to lose their purity is, “Will he respect me in the morning?” The answer is always No! And worse still, you won’t respect yourself either.
Hollywood glamorizes immorality, making it seem like anyone who wants to have any kind of real life has to fool around before he gets married. They only show the “exciting” or passionate side of sex without showing the truth of what happens inside someone’s heart when he gets involved sexually before marriage.
Sex in the context of marriage is pure and holy and there is nothing to be ashamed of. After giving away the precious gift of your purity in an immoral situation there is only one way you can feel; ashamed. Many people feel ugly or dirty or like a dark cloud follows them around wherever they go. So what if you have hormones, so do dogs! A real man will control himself and treat a young lady with respect.
God is looking for fired-up people who love Him with all they’ve got and who will stand up for Him and live pure lives dedicated to Him. No longer should you ashamedly have to look down as if you are embarrassed for being a virgin. There are a lot of great reasons to stay pure. Those who aren’t virgins should be the ones who are ashamed, not you. They are the ones who have blown it, not you! Date ‘em and Hate ‘em Most young adults do not know how to have a real friendship with someone of the opposite sex. When we have a close friend we usually say, “I know him too well to date him.” Studies show that one of the primary reasons that teens date is to fulfill their desire for companionship. They are looking for good friends who care about them. They are fooled into thinking that “the father I go with this person, the better friends we will be.” Just the opposite is true. After a few dates, kissing substitutes for real communication. Before long, more sexual involvement follows with the hope that it will make you closer. The closeness you really want is impossible to find if you get involved sexually. Sex will enhance the closeness a couple has only after they are married. If you do not have a heart-to-heart friendship with a person, having sex with him will not give it to you. Getting physical at all before marriage will only destroy your relationship. Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places Many young people think that if they could finally experience sexual intimacy, then they would find real love. As a result, emptiness and depression begin to hound the love-starved teen. The love and acceptance that you desire cannot be found in a passionate moment of immorality. True love respects a person’s purity. Someone may ask, “If it’s really love, is it okay?” If it was real love, he would not even ask you.
It’s a Matter of Life and Death We all know about sexually transmitted diseases but we think it could never happen to us. STDs are much more rampant than we like to think - the statistics sound pretty scary and maybe even hopeless, but it will never happen to you if you follow God’s plan and wait until marriage. God Said So We have established a lot of common sense reasons not to fool around before marriage. But just in case common sense does not make sense to you, here is the best reason: God says so! First Corinthians 6:18 says to flee from sexual immorality. If none of these other reasons have convinced you, do it because God says to. Even if you don’t understand why, just obey anyway. One day you will be walking down the aisle of a church to get married. When you stand there looking your bride or groom in the eyes with no shame, you will be glad you did things God’s way. What If You Have Already Blown it? Good news for you. Jesus still forgives! His love will wash away your past as if it had never happened. He will forget it and He will help you to forget it, too. You must ask Him to forgive you, and then you must repent. Put your foot down and say, “No more!” Some people think, well, since I have already blown it, it doesn’t matter if I keep messing up. Wrong! The more you fool around, the more it will mess up your head, your heart, and your marriage! It is time to stop now. It is time to start over again. It is time to begin your second virginity. That’s right, I said - second virginity! Now that you know about living pure, you can stay pure from this time forward. Source: Quit Playing With Fire by Ron Luce. Excerpt permission granted by Teen Mania
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CITIZENS OPPOSED
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powers not granted to the national government to the states. The complaint claims that the high-profile Democratic defendants abused their power and violated their oaths of office. The suit claims they failed to uphold and defend the Constitution by supporting legislation the plaintiffs say is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs argue the defendants violated their constitutional rights, and they are seeking “injunctive relief, declaratory relief,” and “damages to redress and remedy of the violations” to prevent “irreparable harm and future violations” of their rights and the rights of others. A constitutional law professor at Emory University says this lawsuit is unique because it questions the long-standing interpretation of the Constitution’s commerce clause. That clause, which says that Congress has power to regulate commerce among the states, is central to this lawsuit. During Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, after passage of the New Deal policies, the Supreme Court broadened the definition of “commerce” to allow more federal regulation, setting a precedent that stands today. “I think [this lawsuit] is different,” Robert Schapiro said . “It doesn’t even really pretend to argue under the way the Constitution is [currently] interpreted. It’s saying we should have some other interpretation of the Constitution.” Confronting and reversing the court’s precedent is Irion’s goal. “It’s a direct challenge to the Supreme Court’s commerce clause precedent of the 1930s and ‘40s,” Irion said. “If the Supreme Court was to overturn its commerce clause precedent, the size and authority of the Federal Government would be slashed.” Irion says he is taking this case pro bono. The initial plaintiff was Anthony Shreeve, a Tennessee Tea Party activist, but now the complaint will be changed to include the hundreds of individuals and compa-
nies from every state that have signed on as plaintiffs. Irion is seeking class-action status for the suit. The plaintiff registration process is relatively simple, and any individual or company can participate, according to Irion. After each person signs up, his or her contact information and place of residency is confirmed, and then they are added to the complaint as plaintiffs. No attorney fees or costs will be charged to them.
has an interest in the unborn child before viability.” Heineman also signed the other bill, approved by lawmakers on Monday, that requires the screening for mental health problems and other risk factors indicating if women might have problems after having abortions. The fetal-pain bill is partially meant to shut down Dr. LeRoy Carhart, who attracted attention after his friend and fellow late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was shot to death by an abortion foe in Kansas last year. Kansas, worried that he might
has Practiced with the Knicks and the Bulls, but He’s Keeping it in Godly Perspective
“…every day I thank God for what fore long, Jaylin was replicating Acker’s He’s done drills. for me Said John and I stay Fleming, humble.” “When I walked back It’s not in, Maurice every day told me that a 5th Though the lawsuit is unique, Schapiro says what Jaylin grader has ultimately it lacks merit, and that the legislawas doing his skills on tion is on firm Constitutional footing, based with the ball the court on precedent from Supreme Court cases on and I could checked commerce regulation. hear God out by high “It would be unwise and destabilizing to say saying this school and we should try to abandon the evolution of is what he’s college the Constitution that has taken place over so supposed recruiters, but for Jaylin Fleming, it’s many years, and to start from scratch and to do. He gave me the understanding reconstruct a constitutional system from that,” something he’s getting used to. to see that Jaylin was born to play this The 10-year-old basketball sensation Schapiro said. who has already played with Chris Paul game.” By law, the defendants have 60 days to (New Orleans Hornets) when he was “We keep it all in perspective,” added respond to the complaint. Schapiro says they just 7, seems to have a very sensible John in the FOXNews video interview, will most likely move to dismiss the lawsuit approach to his obvious gifting—even “It’s just a joy, as a father, to see your “on a number of different grounds.” way beyond his years. that the Good Father brings from up The suit was prompted by the Tennessee atIn a FOXNews video, when asked what above. We keep it humble, he’s very torney general’s announcement that he would he thinks about all the attention, Jaylin humble about it while all these people not file a suit against the federal law. Irion answered, “It feels good, but everyday are recognizing his talent. …His talent says his intent in filing the suit was to give the I thank God for what He’s done for me and his ability are something that was citizens of Tennessee a voice, but the idea and I stay humble, because that’s what given to him by God to inspire others, has caught on around the nation. my dad and my mom and my whole and we keep it that way, we keep it very Irion is running for Tennessee’s Third Confamily teaches me every day.” humble.” gressional District seat. Long-time Democratic John Fleming, Jaylin’s dad explained Beside his remarkable talent for basketincumbent Rep. Zach Wamp is leaving to run that when he was born everyone ball, Jaylin is also an A and B student for governor. Irion faces an uphill battle. As of seemed to notice his large hands, who attends Bible study each Thursday Dec. 31, he had less money than any of the “They were incredibly huge, and I was and enjoys playing football with his little six other Republican candidates, according to praying and asking God, what would brother. federal filing records. He had only $304 cash Jaylin be, what would he do with those on hand, compared to Republican candidate hands?” “I never feel pressure to play,” JayCharles J. Fleischmann’s $451,369. Fast forward seven years as Jaylin lin said in a Chicago Breaking News happened to accompany his father and article, “I want to play basketball. I just older brother as they shot hoops with stay humble and keep working hard.” John Fleming’s godson; future Marquette point guard Maurice Acker. Be-
LOVE EACH OTHER
LANDMARK ABORTION ABORTION BILLS Continued from page 1
Only 10, Basketball Prodigy
move there, has passed new bills that are awaiting action from Gov. Mark Parkinson, an abortion-rights Democrat. They would require doctors to list an exact medical diagnosis justifying a late-term abortion and also adjusts the definition of viability so that a fetus would be considered viable if there’s a “reasonable probability” it would survive outside the womb with life-sustaining measures such as an incubator. Also, it Continued on page 14
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AL LOBAINA LOBAINA Al Lobaina loves Jesus, his wife of seven years Tara, his children Isabella, Boaz, and Caleb, and his Bible—in that order. He is the lead volunteer for the Mars Hill Military Mission. Al holds a B.A. in History from the University of New Mexico and is currently pursuing an M.Div from Western Seminary. He served five years in the Army with tours in Afghanistan (where God saved him) and Iraq. This is Als Testimony: atching the Twin Towers crumble to the ground like a couple of Jenga towers, I knew that my future would be in the military. It didn’t help that Band of Brothers was currently playing on HBO, and I would have felt like a wuss if I hadn’t joined the military. After finishing college and joining the Army, it wasn’t long before I found myself in northern Afghanistan. It was a couple of surreal weeks during my first month in Afghanistan. I was conducting missions during the day, reading the book of John at night, and watching porn before I went to sleep. It was during this time that Jesus took my heart of stone, gave me a heart of flesh, took the scales off my eyes, and gave me the ears to hear His call. During these sleepless nights in Afghanistan, as I went through C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, I came face to face with having to decide who I thought Jesus Christ actually was. Through the grace of God, I knew that if He was indeed Lord (and not a liar or a lunatic), the way I had been living my life—commonly referred to as sinning—was putting me at odds with the Creator of the universe. This was when I became a Christian.
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I started getting plugged into a Bible study with our battalion chaplain, who was a King James-only Baptist dude. I still love the guy to this day. Thankfully, as I continued to read God’s Word, speak with other believers, and read what other folks had to say, I realized that there’s more to Christianity than this. A year after getting back from Afghanistan, I found myself in a remote base in northern Iraq, which used to be a granary but was now occupied by 500 Iraqi Army soldiers and 75 US military personnel. We had a solid chaplain assigned to our unit, but he was only able to visit our base about once a month. Jesus laid it on my heart to just start pulling guys together on a regular basis to open the Bible, read it, and have it transform our lives. Over the 14 months that I was in Iraq, our group would fluctuate from 3 guys to 15
depending on our OPTEMPO (operations tempo). We started with the book of John, and chewed our way through 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Matthew. Right before we actually got to Iraq, I started to listen to some sermons on my iPod that I had randomly downloaded off of iTunes from this guy from a church in Seattle called Mark Driscoll. The first sermon I listened to was out of 1 Corinthians 11, in which Paul is speaking about head coverings and symbols of authority. As soon as Pastor Mark made some comment about butch ladies and bucking authority, I was hooked on this guy’s teaching. My wife started burning anything she could get her hands on from Mars Hill, from audio sermons to video sermons, and mailing them out to me in Iraq. We started rounding up the guys and showing at least one sermon a week on a laptop through a projector with speakers hooked up to it, and this was our Sunday church service. There were nights when we would even just chill, drink some coffee, and go through a few sermons. The floodgates opened up with the guys as we worked through porn, beer, the exclusivity of Christ, being a husband and daddy, and war, just to name a few topics. l
When guys are deployed, a lot of them have external hard drives that they keep all their media files on, and they share these with one another. Guys are notorious for having gigs upon gigs of porn. One of the coolest things I got to experience was seeing guys borrow external hard drives from one another, not to get the latest porn, but rather to make sure they had all of the vodcasts posted by Mars Hill Ministries. Instead of filling their brains with endless hours of garbage, they were watching Pastor Mark preach the Word. For those of us who have gotten the Afghan “moon” dust under our fingernails, or seen the sky turn orange during Iraqi dust storms, we see the necessity for the gospel to impact the military in significant ways. A “care package” should attempt to alleviate eternal suffering, not just temporal. Please help us spread the word to chaplains, service members, and churches as we call men in the military to understand their missional call and be rooted in the church. Send Your Care Package To: FREEDOM PUBLICATIONS/ MARS HILLS MINSTRIES 1207 1st Ave N.W. Austin MN 55912
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LANDMARK ABORTION ABORTION BILLS
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codifies a state rule that the required second opinion on whether late-term abortions are necessary come from doctors in Kansas. Attempts to restrict abortion across the country aren’t unusual -- in Oklahoma, for example, new laws on abortions have been approved this year including a ban on abortions based on the gender of the child and tighter restrictions on the use of the RU-486 abortion pill. South Dakota voters in 2006 and 2008 turned down proposals to ban abortion outright. Nebraska’s law barring abortions after 20 weeks is sure to be challenged in court. Carhart has suggested he might do so. In January, he told The Associated Press, “they can pass any law they want to ... and spend millions of dollars to go to court and lose.” A spokesman for Carhart said this week that he has no plans to leave Nebraska, but is exploring his options and isn’t ruling out a move to Kansas. The switch from viability to fetal pain in justifying abortion limits raises fresh legal issues. Abortion opponents say a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a federal ban on certain late-term abortions opens the door for such legislation because it suggests states have
an interest in protecting fetuses. They also say new studies and testimony from doctors prove fetuses feel pain at 20 weeks. “The Nebraska Legislature has taken a bold step which should ratchet up the abortion debate across the nation,” Nebraska Right to Life director Julie Schmit-Albin said. “What we didn’t know in 1973 in Roe versus Wade ... we know now.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, however, says it knows of no legitimate evidence that fetuses experience pain at that stage. “There is certainly no solid scientific evidence establishing that a fetus can perceive pain at these earlier stages, so any court decisions to uphold such broader laws could only do so by disregarding the importance of good scientific evidence,” said Caitlin Borgmann, a law professor at The City University of New York. The U.S. Supreme Court would have to overturn earlier abortion-related rulings to uphold the Nebraska law, Borgmann said, including a 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that upheld the right of women to have abortions before fetuses were viable.
UNSHROUDING THE SCIENCE OF THE SHROUD
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Once that has been completed the carbon dating will be repeated, he says. Scientists take a different view though. Prof Gordon Cook, at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, rejects the idea that the sample may have been irrevocably damaged by human hands. “Pre-treatment methods should get rid of the contamination,” says Dr Cook, a professor of environmental geochemistry and a carbon dating expert. “The measurements were done by three really good radiocarbon labs so I’ve no doubt what they measured is the correct age.” The only question relates to whether the sample contained repairs rather than original material, he says. Most of the scientists at the 1988 test have either died or retired. But one key witness remains - Dr Hans Arno Synal, who remembers the excitement well. At the time, a 30 year-old PhD student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, he now heads up the university’s ion beam physics laboratory, and believes that the mystery was solved back then. “We applied very rigid procedures. If you’d had human contamination then you would have seen a difference between the different degrees of cleaning we did.”
But there was no difference, he says. On the question of cotton repairs, he is sure that the textile experts would have picked up any discrepancy in material. “I don’t doubt that the sample has the same structure as the rest of the shroud. So much effort was put into the sample taking procedure.” In short, he is convinced that the object dates from the 14th Century. And yet that doesn’t take away from the shroud’s power to move people, he adds. “This is something very special, a historical object whether it originated 2000 or 700 years ago. So I have no bad feelings about people going to see it. Maybe I’ll go too. Why not? It’s a very historical thing.” He has his own view about why some people are unwilling to accept the science. “It’s clear the fibre can’t be from Jesus’s time. But the debate has not been stopped and maybe it never will. It goes beyond the science. There’ll always be some who believe it’s true.” Interestingly, it is not the Catholic church that insists the shroud is genuine but people outside it, he says. “Maybe some people want to have proof for the existence of God. But I don’t think that’s what this is about.”
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EVIDENCE FOR CREATION A tremendous pyramid of evidence for design and recent creation is available for detailed study. Romans 1:20 states: “For the invisible things of him from the creation are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead: so that they are without excuse.”
THE HEAVENS & RECENT CREATION.... Contrary to popular secular models, the heavens are observed to be young.
III. Solar System Alignment Verifies Recent Creation… Without any indication of an internal dynamo to maintain its strength, the magnetic field of Jupiter is extremely powerful. The fields of Uranus and Neptune are also quite strong. If, as secular astronomers believe, these planets are really billions of years old, their magnetic fields would be extremely weak by now. Yet, they are not. A reasonable explanation for this is that these planets are only a few thousand years old.[5] “Late in 1993 planetary scientist George Wetherell, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C., made an exciting discovery about our solar system. In observing computer simulations of our solar system, he found that without a Jupiter-sized planet positioned just where it is, Earth would be struck about a thousand times more frequently than it is already by comets and comet debris…Jupiter, two and a half times more massive than all the other planets combined…either draws comets (by gravity) to collide with itself, as it did in July 1994, or, more commonly, it deflects comets right out of the solar system. In Wetherell’s words, if it were not for Jupiter, ‘we wouldn’t be around to study the origin of the solar system.’…French astrophysicist Jacques Lasker determined that if the outer planets were less [orbitally] regular, then the inner planets’ motions would be chaotic, and Earth would suffer orbital changes so extreme as to disrupt its climatic stability.”
IV. Young Age of the Sun Evidences Recent Creation… Writing in the respected British journal Nature, a team of Russian astronomers showed how their research pointed clearly to the startling fact that the sun does not even seem to possess a large dense burning core. Instead, their results showed the sun as bearing the characteristics of a very young homogeneous star that corresponds with the early stages of computer models…The solar neutrino emission is that of a young star, and the lithium- beryllium abundance in the sun is consistent with that of a young star.
V. Supernova Shell Shock Echoes Recent Creation… As reported by David Coppedge of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, supernova remnants (SNRs) are shells of material expanding outward from stellar explosions. In the case of RCW 86 in Centaurus, the calculated time of explosion was 10,000 years. Astronomers now realize it was witnessed by Chinese astronomers just 1,821 years ago.[8] A pulsar thought to be 24,000 years old was photographed by the Chandra telescope in 2003. Astronomers later realized it lined up with a supernova observed by the Chinese in AD 386.[9] Light echoes from two “ancient” SNRs in the Large Magellanic Cloud were recently reported to be merely 410 and 610 years old.[10] Expansion of space fabric accounts for the larger deep time and deep space events, all within a recent timeframe of a few thousand years.[11]