Archive for the ‘Morality & Ethics’ Category
“There have always been mad-men, but the 20th century was the bloodiest century in human history. Why? What changed? Why did the world suddenly find itself murdering millions of innocent people?
Is it possible that one specific idea influenced or provided a justification for the atrocities we know as Nazi Germany, the eugenics movement and abortion?
Is it possible that idea was Darwinian evolution?
Charles Darwin loved his wife and children. He paid his taxes and he never kicked his dog. But Charles Darwin had a big idea, and ideas have consequences.
Can we thank the advocates of natural selection for the deaths of millions of people? Or were their ideas twisted and misapplied? Dr. John West, Dr. Richard Weikart and Dr. David Berlinski present the evidence that seeks to resolve the question,
“What hath Darwin wrought?”
This 2-DVD set features the full television presentation and over ninety minutes of bonus features. …”
Read More:
https://store.afa.net/pc-10000578-65-what-hath-darwin-wrought-dvd.aspx
Warning!
In the event you have a hard time figuring out the meaning of some of the terms used in this allegory, you might want to read Erv Taylor’s parable listed below first, as well as the lively exchange of comments that it generated from many individuals, before you read this posting. The Internet link for it is listed below.
Reading both allegories and the comments they generated may take some of your time, but you will not regret investing some of your most precious commodity in doing this. There is also a third allegory listed at the end of all the lively and long exchange of views between myself and Dr. Sean Pitman.
THE ROPE PEOPLE OF THE KINGDOM OF THE BLIND
http://sdaforum.com/page181.html
Note: In the event the sda forum links fail, you will need to copy and paste the title of the article onto the search blank space located on the top right-hand-corner of this page.
Continued below. Click on “Comments” if needed.
When I wrote this article, several years ago, the tiny Pacific Island of Pitcairn had a population of 47, and six Islanders had been convicted of rape. If these men were convicted and jailed, the rest of the islanders might have faced a bleak future, since they were needed for the manning of the longboat that goes out to passing ships, and life on the island might have been placed in jeopardy.
Some islanders were saying that sex with underage girls as young as 12 or 13 was considered normal on the island; it is what their ancestors had done for generations. I am wondering if the SDA church was aware of this anomaly. You may be aware that the entire population converted to the SDA denomination many decades ago. William Johnson, the former editor of the “Adventist Review” probably responded by saying, “Don’t tell it in Gath.” Is sweeping this under the rug beneficial in the long run? What is your opinion?
You can read more about Pitcairn by clicking on the links listed below:
Pitcairn Facing A Fragile Future
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3950991.stm
Continued below. Click on “Comments” if needed.
LSU promotes acceptance of homosexuality but not creation
By Educate Truth Staff
“One student got permission to write an article rebutting the church’s position on homosexuality, but Louie Bishop couldn’t get permission to distribute a letter to his classmates about the theory of evolution being promoted in the classrooms.
Current LSU student, Louie Bishop, published a letter in response to “LSU responds to Adventist Review article” on his website May 11, 2010. In his letter he states:
Because of my concern for the salvation of other students who could lose their faith because of the promotion of evolution in Biology classes at LSU, I wrote a personal note which I gave to about 20 of my fellow classmates.
For this alleged infraction I was disciplined by the so-called “Judicial Committee,” which does not appear to be an official committee of LSU. I was given a “Letter of Censure” for not having my note approved by LSU before I distributed it. I have since sought approval for distribution of my letter through the process that the Administration requestedmy letter was denied.
Here is the letter Louie wrote to his fellow classmates that was denied distribution: …”
“Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. Our greatest enemy today is not Obama. It’s not the socialists in Congress, the liberal activists that serve as judges, it’s not Islamist terrorists, the Communist Chinese, the Federal Reserve, or illegal immigrants. Let us learn from history.
The Roman empire covered the world with roads, trade, soldiers, and technology. It was a thing of pride to be a Roman citizen. Produce and goods were inexpensive. They were the wealthiest people in the world who conquered all her challengers.
But Rome became overrun with illegal immigrants, who at first assimilated and worked as servants, but then came so fast that they did not learn the language or adopt the Roman culture. Rome became addicted to the cheap labor, and didn’t enforce her immigration laws. Politicians and businesses catered to illegal immigrants.
The highly-trained Roman military, moving rapidly on their advanced road system, was over-stretched in conflicts at the boundaries of their vast empire. For the military industrial complex, business was booming.
Motivated by the intrusive military presence all over the world, Attila the Hun was committing terrorist attacks against Rome. The over-extended military could not catch him.
Rome had a trade deficit, having outsourced most of its grain production to N. Africa. When Vandals captured the area, Rome did not have the resources to retaliate.
The citizens of Rome were on welfare. They were given free food. Those who lived at the expense of the public treasury were more numerous than those who paid into it.
To the taxpaying Romans, tax collectors were more terrible than the enemy.
The courts were unjust and corrupt. They didn’t follow the law.
Adultery and immorality were the norm. Bathhouses were filled with homosexual and heterosexual lust.
Unwanted and unloved infants were abandoned in fields to die. Some Roman leaders even proposed paying men to stay married and father more children, as Rome’s birth rate was dropping too low to sustain their culture and their quality of life.
The Roman citizen’s heart was not in the home, but in the Coliseum, the bathhouse, and the theater. They lived for entertainment. Plays, music, art, and literature – the Romans were intoxicated with entertaining themselves. Gladiators provided violent entertainment in the Coliseum.
Continued below. Click on “Comments” if needed.
“A middle-school student in Minnesota has regained his right to wear at school a T-shirt bearing an abstinence message.
Officials at Hastings Middle School had initially prohibited seventh-grader Johnathon Kinney from wearing the T-shirt with the message “Virginity Rocks!” On April 26, two school teachers confronted Kinney about the shirt, informing him that it was offensive and should be covered up. School officials also warned Kinney against wearing the shirt again.
After contacting the principal about the incident — and finding he supported the teachers’ decision — Kinney’s parents contacted The Rutherford Institute. John Whitehead, president of the Institute, explains the sequence of events that followed.
“We sent a very strong legal letter saying we’re going to sue the school district because this is a First Amendment right of school students,” says the attorney. …”
More:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=1029184
Introduction:
You are probably familiar with the book written by Robert Fulghum entitled “All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten.” Of course, I borrowed the idea for this thread from said book, but what I learned about abortion I did not learn in kindergarten, but rather in old age.
When the Adventist Church approved the document entitled “Guidelines on Abortion,” nearly two decades ago, I got very interested in this topic for two reasons: A. I grew up in Argentina where abortion is still illegal and B. I had the strong suspicion that the Adventist pioneers were strongly pro-life.
I decided to investigate this matter. I was nearly sixty at the time, and I used approximately 150 percent of my free time for this intensive research. The things I discovered shocked me no end. They may shock you as well. I thought that it is my moral duty to share this with you. My aim is to publish a book about this topic, if the Lord permits and if I am still alive by the time I am able to finish it.
Continued below: [Click on "Comments" if needed!]
Considering the fact that both Iran and North Korea are on the way to acquiring a nuclear capability which might threaten the stability of the Middle East and the Korean peninsula, I believe that we should do well to revisit Bush’s doctrine of Preemptive Strike, which suggests that it is wise and morally acceptable to attack first instead of waiting to be attacked by those who hate the free world.
The Origin of the Preemptive Strike Doctrine
The origin of the idea of a preemptive strike against Iraq was rooted in the reaction of George Bush against the unexpected terrorist attack against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon three years ago, which engulfed in a ball of fire and smoke the Twin Towers that had graced the New York skyline for many decades; leveled the proud symbol of western civilization and the free world to the ground; cut short the lives of three thousand innocent civilians, policemen and firemen; and left thousands of widows and orphans who even today are having a hard time comprehending the enormity of their irreplaceable loss. Shortly after this incredible terrorist strike, carried out with diabolic precision and astounding success on U.S. soil and with our own weapons, in his State of the Union message, George Bush issued a declaration identifying several countries as the axis of evil: Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.
“A Pennsylvania judge has said no to a lesbian pair seeking a divorce — and a state-based family advocate is applauding that decision.
Carole Ann Kern and Robin Lynn Taney were married in June 2009 in Massachusetts, where homosexual “marriage” is legal. When they did not meet the residency requirements to file for divorce in that state, they returned to their home state and filed there. But Berks County Judge Scott Lash ruled as “unsupportable” the couple’s argument that same-sex marriage passes the test for being a “fundamental right.”
“This is a plea for social change,” the judge wrote. “If homosexuals had a fundamental right to be married to each other, this plea would be unnecessary.”
Diane Gramley of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania reacts to the judge’s ruling. “Well, I think we have at least one good judge in Pennsylvania,” she comments. “It was encouraging that he ruled that this lesbian couple could not get a divorce in Pennsylvania, because Pennsylvania does not recognize their marriage to begin with.”
“Courts should be reluctant to identify a right as fundamental when not clearly required by the Constitution or established precedent. A court who finds a fundamental right where none exists bypasses the legislative process and denies the people a voice in effecting social policy, in essence, trumping democracy by judicial fiat.” …”
More:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=953092
“LOS ANGELES- In his 28 years with the Burbank Police Department, Sgt. Robert Quesada had never heard of anything quite like it: A well-respected teacher at one of the city’s public schools walks into police headquarters and confesses to having an affair with a 14-year-old boy.
With her attorney by her side, police say, Amy Victoria Beck told detectives the relationship with one of her former students began in March 2009 and continued until last December. She said it left her wracked with guilt.
Beck, who Quesada said is married and the mother of three children, had taught school for several years in the Los Angeles suburb that is home to such major studios as Walt Disney and Warner Bros. She was teaching English and social science at David Starr Jordan Middle School until last week when she abruptly resigned.
“Burglars, robbers, criminal suspects, they don’t turn themselves in,” he said. “But when people are overwhelmed with guilt, and they have a conscience, I guess it makes them do what’s right.”
After hearing Beck’s story, detectives tracked down the boy, who is now a 15-year-old high school student. Quesada said he confirmed what she told them. …”
More: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Headlines/Default.aspx?id=932774
When I applied for my California Realtor’s license, the first thing I was drilled on was the Code of Ethics real estate licensees are required to abide by. One of the basic principles of said Code of Ethics is a full disclosure of known facts.
When I show a house to a prospective buyer and I notice a stain on the ceiling, I immediately ask my client: “Did you notice that stain on the ceiling?” If he/she asks me what to do about this, I tell the potential buyer to hire a professional roofer for an expert opinion about the condition of the roof.
I have wondered many times whether churches and religious organizations are exempt from such full disclosure requirements. Some decades ago the accepted advice was: “Buyers, beware!” The duty to investigate was expected to be a buyer’s concern.
Some prospective buyers protected themselves from purchasing somebody else’s headache by taking a car mechanic along on his/her car shopping trip. Things have changed since then. Now the duty is on the seller to disclose all known facts, positive and negative about the product being sold.
What is happening to the Toyota Company is a good example of how things have changed. The Toyota CEO had to testify in the U.S. Congress about what the Toyota Company knew about the alleged defects in the vehicles they are selling.
Should this accepted ethical norm of full disclosure requirement society has accepted be expected from religious organizations?
This need for full disclosure was highlighted for me on March 13 following the screening of a new documentary film, “The Adventists,” which will be available for public viewing soon. This documentary depicts the amazing work done by Adventist medical institutions on behalf of the public in the area of healthcare.
Adventists in general tend to live between six and ten years longer than the general population. In addition, Adventist physicians are on the cutting edge of the technological advances in medical care.
Adventists have done quite well in prolonging the lives of patients and in saving the lives of many infants born with defective hearts through their infant heart transplant program. This is great, and I feel proud of being a second generation Adventist.
What I am not so proud about is the fact that some Adventist hospitals have been engaged in the abortion business and a full disclosure policy would have required that this be included in a documentary film, in my opinion.
The principle of full disclosure is solidly embedded in the biblical tradition. The Bible tells us all the positive things about God’s men and women, but also their failings and shortcomings. Moses was a man who talked face to face with God Almighty, but his murder of the Egyptian is not ignored. David was the Lord’s favorite king, but his sin with Bathsheba was recorded as well.
The Bible should be a model for all documentary films. In this respect, the documentary film “The Adventists” has failed to live to the best biblical tradition.
The film included the fact that Dr. Bailey performs approximately five infant heart transplants per year. This is an amazing feat and we need to thank the Lord for this.
What the documentary failed to include is that, according to a Washington Post report, between 1975 and 1982 our Adventist Washington Hospital terminated the lives of 1494 unborn infants through their abortion services to their patients.
This means that while Dr. Bailey was saving five infants per year, our WAH was killing 213 unborn children per year. Do you think that this is something which should have been included in the documentary?
More: http://sdaforum.com/page107.html
More: George Gainer, “The Wisdom of Solomon?” Spectrum 19/4 (May 1989): 38-46.
“A British Christian organization reports children as young as 5 years old soon could have their names added to “hate registers” of people accused of showing disrespect to homosexuality in violation of “hate crimes” laws.
According to the Christian Institute, a nondenominational charity committed to upholding the truths of the Bible, already a 10-year-old child was added to the registry after he called a friend a “gay boy.”
The case was reported by the London Daily Mail, which said teachers are being ordered to write up even minor incidents as “serious bullying” and add them to a database that will follow a student through a school career.
The Christian Institute reported Penny Drury commented, “He doesn’t even understand about the birds and the bees, so how can he be homophobic?”
Obama signed the “Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act” in October after Democrats strategically attached it to a “must-pass” $680 billion defense-appropriations bill. …”
More: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=127050
“Following a five-month investigation, employees from the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) who were caught on video reportedly offering advice on how to cheat on taxes and loan applications to a couple posing as a prostitute and a pimp have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said last week.
Republicans have long accused the controversial anti-poverty group of widespread corruption and voter registration fraud, and have suggested that the organization has close ties to the current administration.
Shortly after the investigation began, Congress voted by a wide margin to cut off federal funding to ACORN, although that decision is currently being disputed in court.
Meanwhile, several of the organization’s offices have disbanded and resumed operations under new names and with similar staffs, Fox News Reports.
Although the two employees have been cleared, ACORN is still under federal investigation for fraud and corruption. …”
“I assured him birth is not restricted, but I admitted that the practice of abortion is widespread. Though both knew an Arabic word for abortion, they lack any concept of abortion as it is practiced on humans.
It is apparent that abortion, as we Americans have come to know it, does not exist in Palestine and had probably never been discussed before by these two adult men.
They may not even believe what I told them, and I regretted mentioning it. Abortion is as alien to their way of life as is stealing their children’s food.
Several amenities we are used to in the West and Israel are completely absent in Gaza, starting with abortion clinics. I did not see a bar, pub, saloon or disco, though there are bound to be some underground.
I did not hear of a single case of wife beating or child abuse, in fact, there was not a single mention of any crime in those five days. No drunk driving, drug abuse, car thefts or murders of other Palestinians came to my attention, though I am sure there is some minimum level of crime. Family structure in Gaza discourages these acts, and I felt safe walking any street at any time of the day or night.
I only feared the possibility of being bombed by the Israelis, or being lost in the pitch black if they suddenly decided to kill the electricity, as they do.
When I passed out of Gaza to Israel, the cork was slammed back in the bottle behind me. All the Western practices I have mentioned were immediately available in Israel. For example, abortion is common and accepted.
Most abortions are publicly financed, and in the military, where men and women serve together, abortion appears to be a daily solution to over-familiarity.
All the Israeli businessmen I asked told me the war must be stopped, but how? To the question, “Why does Israel have a right to the Arab’s land?” every Israeli I spoke to answered, “God gave it to us.”
But not one of these people claimed to attend Synagogue or considers himself “religious” or “Orthodox.” Israelis tend to use God as a convenient Clerk and Recorder who gives them title to the land they occupy. …”
More: http://whtt.org/ind
“A Planned Parenthood official in Wisconsin is being accused of lying to reporters after she defended her Milwaukee clinic’s actions in an undercover video that reveals workers allegedly covering up a child-sex abuse case.
WND reported just days ago on the video, released by Live Action.org, showing staff members at a Milwaukee, Wis., Planned Parenthood abortion clinic counseling a woman who posed as a 14-year-old statutory rape victim not to tell anyone about her 31-year-old boyfriend.
They also coached her on how to obtain an abortion without her parents’ knowledge or approval, the group said. Lila Rose, a 21-year-old UCLA student and Live Action’s president, went undercover at the Milwaukee business and told a counselor she was 14, pregnant by her “31-year-old boyfriend,” and she couldn’t let her parents know. …”
Read More: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=126221