Life Petition

Lutherans for Life has posted a petition in support of life as a gift from God. Go check it out and sign if you agree with it.

March for Life 2019

The March for Life was yesterday. It's always a fun event to go to. This year wasn't too cold, which also was nice. It was also a "Life Conference" year, which meant more-then-the-usual-number-of-Lutherans were taking part. I didn't know as many folks as usual (or maybe just didn't see them), but I do have a couple of pictures . . .

Some friends from New Jersey.

One of our newest Athanasians with her daughter.

Daughter Peasant (in the glasses) and another young Athanasian.

Walk-Run-Ride for Life Update

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me and our Lutherans for Life team for the Walk-Run-Ride for Life this year. The event was a great success!

The Lutherans for Life team raised $3,045, which was good enough for 4th place in the team competition . . . only $15 short of 2nd place! (If only we'd had one more sponsor . . . :-)

Personally, you all exceeded my goal of $1,000 and sponsored me for $1,320!

And overall, the goal was to raise $70,000 for the Pregnancy Center, but your generosity rocketed the money received to $81,000!

So thank you again for all who showed the love of Christ and help the fathers, mothers, and babies here in Northern Virginia. And look for us again next year, and maybe we can put the Lutherans on top in speaking for and support LIFE!

Walk-Run-Ride for Life Is Back!

I am again registered as a participant for the annual Walk-Run-Ride for Life to raise funds for our local Pregnancy Center - the Assist Pregnancy Center. Please sponsor me! I've set my goal really high this year to see if I can raise more. This Center does excellent work and is worth our support as they help mothers and fathers keep and care for their babies. Here's the link to my fundraising page - and if you'd like to join our team and help raise funds, you can do so through this link as well. Thanks!

Click here to sponsor me!

2017 Walk-Run-Ride for Life

It's that time of year again - time for the annual Walk-Run-Ride for Life, an even which helps raise funds for our local Crisis Pregnancy Center. Here is the link to my fundraising page - sponsor me! OR, scroll down the page a little bit and see the whole "Lutherans for Life" team. They need sponsors, too. OR, you can join our team and participate! The folks at the Assist Pregnancy Center do such good and important work, we are happy to partner with them. So click on the link and help us out! THANKS!

Politics, Part 2

One things that bugs me is the seeming inability or unwillingness of some to clearly differentiate positions on some issues. Two examples:

1. Stem cell research. There are two different strands of this research going on: one using “adult” stem cells, which are available from any person, and the second using “embryonic” stem cells which come from the destruction of a baby boy or girl to use these cells that are harvested. If a person expresses concern or objection to embryonic stem cell research, that person is painted as “against stem cell research.” No! Just that one kind. Why is it so hard to make that distinction? Why does such a broad brush need to be used?

2. Immigration. This is a big issue right now, but why does everything have to be: you are either for or against immigration? Why can’t the argument be more nuanced, so that you can be for legal immigration, but against illegal immigration? Why is it all one or all the other?

Yes, I know perhaps some will do this for political reasons, but I think it’s bigger than that. Are we just that intellectually lazy?

March for Life 2017

Another great March for Life this year. It is such a joyous (and important) day. A bunch of folks from my church went and I met friends from all over the country as well. Notice all that different states represented . . .

Here are some pictures:

Young ladies from my church with a friend they met at a Higher Things conference from Illinois.

GMU student and organizer of our campus ministry Bible study there, with another wonderful lady from my church.

LCMS President Harrison leading us in prayer before the March.

More folks (two wonderful families) from my church.

They let their kids have off from school to come to his great learning experience!

Dr. Wenthe, past president of our Ft. Wayne seminary (Indiana), and Pastor Linthicum from Maryland.

Pastor Beinke from Connecticut (a friend of mine when I was in NY and now my sister's pastor).

Pastor Zill, head of our Synod's LCMSU program (lives in New Mexico).

Folks from my church again . . . :-)

Pastor Grewe from New Jersey (who I had the privilege of installing this past summer).

Pastor Shultanis, a neighboring pastor.

Nancy Nus, a good friend from Wyoming.

Pastor Lange, president of the Kansas District (and my Greek teacher at seminary when he was a graduate student).

Pastor Espinosa from California and adjunct professor at Concordia, Irvine.

Pastor Jagow, another neighboring pastor from here in Virginia (I also knew him in NY).

Peter, who I got to know as a student at Patrick Henry college, and who is now at Concordia, Seward (Nebraska) studying to be a Lutheran school teacher.

So how many states is that? And I didn't even get all the pictures I wanted (my pastor friend from Michigan, another state, for example).

It's easy for me to go, living right here in Washington, but for all these folks to come from all over the country is something pretty special. So come next year! It really is a wonderful time and important to keep standing up and speaking up for life. (And you might just get an attractive lime green hat!)

Catching Up and A Thought About Communion Practice

Been a bit since I posted. Still basking in the glow of Villanova's victory! :-) Got my National Championship hat in the mail yesterday. Way overpriced, but I wanted to have one.

In other news . . .

+ The Walk-Run-Ride for Life was today, to benefit our local pregnancy center. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the ride was a great success. Right now, they have raised 88% of their goal, which I'm sure will updated higher at the beginning of the week. That is (I believe) better than they usually do - so good news! It also seemed to me like they had more participation this year, which is also good!

+ Going to Wisconsin next week for a pastoral conference, and really looking forward to it. It is always nice to get away from the usual routine and spend some time with my brothers. Also have the District Board of Directors meeting, which will not be as much fun. Have some tough things to discuss and decisions to be made.

+The Phillies are off to a pretty good start - their record is 5-6 right now, but they have some really good talent on the cusp, so they are trending in the right direction. Last night, however, was abysmal. I got to watch as they played the Washington Nationals and so were on TV here, but they got smoked. Hopefully they'll do better tonight.

And now a thought I've been having . . . regarding Close(d) Communion practice in the Church . . .

It seems to me that not many churches actually practice what is called "open" communion. Oh, I'm sure there are a few that will commune anyone, anywhere, at anytime. But I think the great majority follow some sort of guidelines as to who may commune. So here's what I think the issue REALLY is: Who gets to decide? Is it the individual, or the pastor (in the name of the church/congregation)?

That, I think, is the crux of the issue. Our hyper-self focused, self-identifying, self-actualizing, self-centered, self-exalting culture puts the responsibility for deciding on the individual, while the Scriptures give that responsibility to the church. In our world today the former is acceptable, the latter is not.

To be brief, I'll just mention two Scriptures that speak to the church as having this responsibility. In the Old Testament, it was given to the priests to distinguish between the clean and the unclean, the holy and the profane. They did not announce a general description of what these things were and leave it up to the individual to decide where he or she fell - this was a task give to the priests. And even in Jesus' day, when He healed lepers, Jesus told them to "go show themselves to the priests." This was the church's culture.

Then in the New Testament, it is the apostles (and their successor) who are the stewards of the mysteries of God. They are the ones tasked with the proper distribution of the master's goods, to give them as He wants them given. It, again, is not left to the individual.

So that (I've been thinking lately) is really the crux of the issue - it is a clash of cultures. The world which believes authority lies in the self, and the Church which believes authority lies in God and His Word. Of course they're going to disagree! But what will the Church do?

March for Life

I was not able to be at the March for Life this year as I attended the Theological Symposia at the Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN and was driving home on Friday in an effort to beat the storm . . . but here's a good picture for you . . . and look what group is right at the front! (Check the front right of the picture.)  :-)

Ethical Dilemma?

World Magazine this week has an article provocatively titled: Life after death: Where vaccines saving millions of lives are derived from the tissue of aborted babies, is it ethical to use them? Here's the link to the online article.

This is an issue that I knew absolutely nothing about until it was brought to my attention about a year ago. I tried to find out more information online, but sometimes good information is hard to find! And this, it seems to me, is an important matter to think about, and one that may crop up more and more in the future. Can a Christian, in good conscience, use such vaccines?

I imagine most people are like me and never realize what goes into the making of a vaccine and where they come from. This article does a good job in laying out the history is a pretty short space. I appreciated that. It also laid out the case that such vaccines can also be manufactured by using animal cell lines - the cell lines of aborted babies are not essential. And this, the article concludes, is the direction we should be going. I concur.

Where I was disappointed was in the answer to the question posed in the title: Is is ethical to use them? Actually, I was disappointed that there really wasn't an answer given or any thought process presented to think through the issue. What was cited were opinions put out by the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA), whose conclusion were (1.) that "we should not risk the lives of our children [now] in order to avoid a remote connection that is tangentially related to an evil act" (Baptists); (2.) it is "permissible . . . to use such vaccines "on a temporary basis" if no animal-based alternatives [are] available" (Vatican); and (3.) since the manufacturing of such vaccines does not require ongoing abortions, it's permissible for Christian to use them until alternatives are available" (CMDA).

It's nice to have such opinions to salve the consciences of Christians who may be struck by guilt at having received themselves or had these vaccines given to their children. However, two problems exist here: What was the reasoning used to come to such conclusions? The Baptist answer seems to be pragmatic, the Vatican answer practical, and the CMDA's utilitarian. I would like to know more, especially to think through such problems - and related ones - that will certainly arise in the future, as medical technology grows and becomes able to do many more things. I wish the article would have provided some of that instead of just conclusions, though I understand their space was probably greatly limited. The other problem that exists is a really practical one: how many doctors or nurses are going to know where their vaccines come from and how they were manufactured? I would guess very, very few. So what is a Christian to do in that case?

Part of the problem of being a pastor in the 21st century is trying to stay current on so many ethical issues facing us in our world today. There simply isn't enough time or energy to read up on everything - or even to know about all the dilemmas out there. Which makes it all the more important to know that we live under grace. That we live in the forgiveness earned by Jesus on the cross for us, and that is true for sins of ignorance, sins of weakness, sins committed as the lesser of two evils - all sins. My eternal life does not depend on my doing everything right, but because Jesus did everything right, and then died for my sins and gave me His perfection. That's not a free pass to sin or not care about such matters, but it is the salve this pastor's conscience needs! And it's true for you too.

A Good Word from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Those working for the gay rights agenda often compare themselves to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights battles of the 60's and 70's. So to them, I offer this quote from the man himself:

Who you would change you must first love.

If you really are following in the footsteps of this man, then would you be forcing businesses to close, jailing those who disagree with you, and hatefully shouting down anyone who may voice another opinion? What you are doing may be advancing your cause, but it is not helpful to our culture, our society, or ultimately to yourselves.

I'm not saying that persons on the other side of this debate, including many Christians, are always loving. We don't get a pass either, and if the only Christians you know are from Westboro Baptist, I don't blame you for hating all Christians. But we're not all like that, you know.

So maybe we should spend some time talking to each other, rather than just at each other. Maybe we should try to understand the other side before calling them haters, bigots, racists, homophobes, or worse. Maybe we should try to love our neighbor, for after all, there was someone who said that long before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

And one of them, a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

~ Matthew 22:35-40

Maybe we should give it a try. And maybe then, we'll find out something about love, too.

Protest Pictures

Here are a couple pictures from the protest at Planned un-Parenthood today. I was told there were over a thousand folks that  came! By the end, we lined the street all around the block, surrounding the building - pretty impressive. I hope there will be some reports about how the protest in other cities went. A few folks from my church were able to come also. 

This was the crowd already there when I arrived.

Later. You can see the people now extending all the way down to the end of the block.

Two of my newly confirmed came! Good sign!

And they got a free shirt too.

Come to the Protest Tomorrow!

Come to the protest in front of Planned Parenthood the baby death camp and organ supply depot tomorrow. You need to do this. Don't have time? Neither do I. I am leaving for vacation and have about a thousand things to do before that, not to mention getting ready for Sunday. But if not now, when? The videos have exposed an evil that cannot be denied. Come. Your presence and voice is needed. This has to stop. Now. Come. Really.

9:00-11:00 am
303 S Maple Street Suite 300
Falls Church, VA  22046

Here is a link to the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/864586836963653/

#Not4Sale

#Not4Sale

(click and read!)

A Busy Day

Well, today was the Walk-Run-Ride for Life. Team Athanasius raised $2,615 for the pregnancy center, good for 6th place among the teams. Thanks to all who helped and sponsored us. No pictures of the riders this year, though.

After that, however, was the Stop Hunger Now food packing event. We joined with a bunch of other churches in Vienna to package 250,000 meals for people around the world in need. This year, our food is going to Liberia and people effected by the Ebola outbreak there. Here are a couple of pictures:

Looking good in the mandatory hair nets!

Mrs. Peasant (black shirt center), daughter Peasant (white shirt next to her),

and two other Athanasians work on weighing and sealing the food bags.

My job this year was to help restock those who were filling the food bags. That meant I got to carry around and pour 50 lb. bags of rice and soy for my shift! But it was a good time. There were other Athanasians who participated also, but during different shift times.

Now I am tired and ready to relax. A nice cold beer when I got home hit the spot. Now a little more prep for tomorrow and then off to bed. 

Life Issues

The only reason there are "life issues" in this world is because a life has become an issue with me. When this happens, I am not called to eliminate the life (and so the issue), but help, serve, love, and forgive. That is how Christ dealt with "life issues."

Is Abortion Declining?

Is the number of abortions declining? I'd like to think so. The article I posted yesterday made such an assertion, but I'm not so sure. I believe the number of surgical abortions is declining. That, I think, is probably pretty easy to determine. But why? Is the country turning pro-life? Again, I'd like to think so. But my gut tells me there is another answer: the "morning after" pill. How many of these are being purchased? And how many abortions are the result? Truth is: we cannot know. Did a fertilization take place and result in a baby? Maybe. Maybe not. But just to be sure, pills purchased, pills taken, implantation prevented, "problem solved."

This pill is marketed as "preventing pregnancy." So, if a pregnancy is prevented, it cannot be aborted, right? So these are probably not being counted. As I said, it would also be an inaccurate count since no one really knows if a fertilization has taken place. So rather than the country turning pro-life, I have a feeling many people are just being deceived. And the reality is that the number of abortions could actually be rising, and we don't even know it. So we who are pro-life must not be deceived either. There is still much work to be done.

They Could Have Been . . .

Found this on another blog:

There was a theologian who, when discouraged, would keep repeating to himself, “I [am] baptized.” Since the Prince of Lies has discouragement as his chief strategy and purpose, the Rite of Baptism includes an exorcism: an explicit renunciation of Satan, and all his works, and all his empty promises.  . . .

Ever since the legalization of abortion in our country, the Church has resisted the temptation to discouragement in defending innocent life. January 22 will mark the 41st annual March for Life in Washington. The March has gone on in weather fair and foul, whether government administrations have been friend or foe. In those years, more than 56 million babies in our country alone have been destroyed in their mothers’ wombs.  . . .

Last year at this time, I cited a statistical abstract using the ratio of professions to population and the number of infants aborted. The resulting estimate showed that in the last 35 years, those lives destroyed could have included: two U.S. presidents; seven Supreme Court justices; 102 U.S. senators and 589 congressmen; 8,123 judges; 31 Nobel Prize laureates; 328 Olympic medalists; 6,092 professional athletes; 134,841 physicians and surgeons; 392,500 registered nurses; 70,669 clergy, including 6,852 Catholic priests and 11,010 nuns; 1,102,443 elementary and high-school teachers; 553,821 truck drivers; 224,518 maids and housekeepers; 33,939 janitors; 134,028 farmers and ranchers; 109,984 police officers; and 39,477 firefighters.

None of those infants lived to be baptized, and they are entrusted to the mercy of God. Our nation now has the lowest birthrate in its history, and may be approaching the demographic winter that is destroying many other countries. The good news is that contending for life year in and year out has raised consciences, and the rate of abortions is at an all-time low. So when facing Satan and all his works and all his empty promises, say with good courage: I [am] baptized.

HT: Father Z

Abortion as Moral Good

There is a well known dictum that states that error first seeks only to be tolerated, then to be accepted and given equal footing with the truth, and then to dominate the truth and become the "new normal." Think about the rapid progress that homosexuality has made following this path. Abortion has been much slower but, make no mistake about it, is following the same path.

In case you doubt, there is a new book out, reviewed quite glowingly in the Washington Post this week, which contains the following quote from the book:

It is long past time, [the author] argues, for abortion to be cast as a social good. "We need to see abortion as an urgent practical decision that is just as moral as the decision to have a child - indeed, sometimes more moral," she writes. "Abortion is part of being a mother and of caring for children, because part of caring for children is knowing when it's not a good idea to bring them into the world." (Emphases mine)

Huh? So now the long held pro-choice mantra that we want abortion that is safe, legal, and rare is out the window. Now, abortion is good - in fact, it is sometimes more moral than having a child. Killing your baby is part of mothering and caring. Really? Someone tell the Oxford people because that definition of mothering is not in my dictionary!

So, the evil of abortion is now cast as good, and the good of life is now cast as evil. Does that sound familiar to any of you Lutherans out there? Luther talked this way when defining the theology of the cross versus the theology of glory, saying: A theology of glory calls good evil and evil good; the theology of the cross calls a thing what it is. The theology of glory is you trying to save yourself; you as decider of good and evil; you as your own god. And you'll always get it wrong; you'll think good is evil and evil is good. The theology of cross is to be saved by Christ crucified; He is the decider of good and evil; He is the only true God. And He always gets it right.

Now, having said all that, the author does bring up one good point:

If you really think abortion is murder, how can you carve out exceptions?

Yes! The default political escape clause: "I'm personally against abortion but don't want to impose my beliefs on others," or "I'm against abortion except in cases of rape and incest" are arguments that may sound good, but are correctly seen as weak and capitulating by those who support abortion as a right. If we really believe what we say, we need to stand firm.

Now, I have not read the book - only the review. But from the review, the arguments seem largely anecdotal, from "abortion is 4,000 years old and we didn't always condemn women who sought one" [who's "we"?], to the story of one woman who had to go to Sweden to kill her baby [how inconvenient], to the horror stories of botched abortions [those are sad but hardly justifications], to some religious organizations supporting abortion is some circumstances [sad again, capitulating to the culture], to abortion opponents as political hacks seeking to oppress women. Ah, this last one seems to ring true as the real purpose and agenda for the book.

I feel badly for women who have been deceived to think of abortion as an answer or as a moral good. I feel even worse for those who have had to endure hacks who botched their abortions or have been the victims of rape or incest. These things certainly should not be. But cut through all this clutter and the issue is quite clear: it is not good, moral, or mothering to kill your child, inside the womb or outside of it. Children are precious gifts and the longer we go on thinking they are ours to do with whatever we want, our world and society will continue to slouch toward greater and greater evil all the while whistling a joyful song thinking that we are becoming more and more advanced and great. This book is but the first salvo in that direction. I expect more will be forthcoming.

Time for the Walk-Run-Ride for Life Again!

Saint Athanasius will again have a team participating in the Assist Pregnancy Center's Walk-Run-Ride for Life, to raise money for the important work of saving babies and helping mothers in crisis. Help us raise money for them! Sponsor us! Click here to go to my fundraising page. Then scroll down a little and click on the "My Team" tab to see the whole Athanasian team, then sponsor either me or any or ALL of our participants. Thanks in advance for your help. The past few years our team has placed third in fund raising - let's see if we can do better this year. (Is that a theology of glory? Maybe, but it's for a good cause :-)