Posted on 10/02/2009 4:46:22 PM PDT by wagglebee
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A coalition of mainline Protestant churches have authored a letter to members of Congress asking them to make certain the health care bills they are considering contain taxpayer funding for abortions. The letter comes from a group of churches that have long advocated the pro-abortion position.
Under the umbrella of the Religious Institute, the church denominations and more than 1,100 pastors and church staff from the denominations endorsed the letter.
The letter calls abortion a “morally justifiable decision” and opposed any amendments to the House and Senate bills, which current contain massive abortion funding, to strike that taxpayer-financing.
“Already, federal policy unfairly prevents low-income women and federal employees from receiving subsidized [abortions]," Rev. Debra W. Haffner, executive director of the Religious Institute complained.
The letter added that she doesn't want more abortion funding bans in place and complained that additional "restrictions" on abortion funding constitute a "serious moral injustice.”
The denominations endorsing the letter include the American Baptist Churches, Church of the Brethren, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church, and others.
"We affirm women as moral agents who have the capacity, right and responsibility to make the decision as to whether or not abortion is justified in their specific circumstances," the letter says.
The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Unitarian Universalist Association, and United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism also endorsed the pro-abortion letter.
The Religious Institute claims to represent 4,800 clergy and 40 Christian denominations.
Some of the signers to the letter include: Fr. Dr. Luis Barrios, Chair of Latin American and Latina/o Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice - CUNY; Rabbi Dan Ehrenkrantz, President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder, Bishop, The Fellowship; The Rev. Dr. Paula Gravelle, Chair, Clergy Action Board; and Rev. Dr. Larry Greenfield, Executive Minister, American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago.
They also include Rabbi Peter Knobel, Former President, Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey, Dean, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary; Rev. Michael Livingston, Executive Director, International Council of Community Churches; Rev. Dr. Deborah Mullen, Director, Center for African American Ministry and Black Church Studies, McCormick Theological Seminary; Dr. Sylvia Rhue, Interim Executive Director, National Black Justice Coalition; and Rev. Dr. William Stayton, Professor of Sexuality and Religion, Morehouse School of Medicine
God doesn't want you to kill ANY babies you fool.
Pro-Life Ping
yikes! They should be ashamed.
These people are NOT Christians.
I had no idea Satan was so well-represented in church.
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Ichabod.
Words fail me.
Anyone know, are these Baptists Baptists? The others, sadly, don’t surprise me, they’re just more of what we’re getting used to seeing, cardboard cutouts pretending to be something they aren’t. But Baptists? When they go over to the dark side, I’m getting scared.
These are not “mainline” church denominations. They are extreme leftist churches.
I knew that when an oddball guy from school became a minister at a “Brethren” church only AFTER he got divorced that that church was one bizarre place.
God made a mistake when he placed that child in your belly, so it is perfectly acceptable for you to kill it. ELCA
My God doesnt make mistakes.
Bunch of Godless heathens. I truly despise those who advocate abortion, and the fact that these bastards would stand as leaders of churches makes my blood boil. I truly hope they rot in hell for this.
American Baptist Convention is the northern and always very liberal group, much smaller in number than the Southern Baptists; likewise the “Lutherans” are not the “Missouri Synod” Lutherans.
how inexpressibly tragic.
My assumption is that they ARE NOT Southern Baptists, they are probably part of the same apostate Baptist group that Jimmy Carter is (in other words, not really a Christian Church, just a group of Marxists who meet on Sunday morning to sing Kumbaya).
I'm sure I'll hear about this Sunday from our former refugees from ELCA, now become Anglicans. At least if this is causing them pain I hope I'll hear, because a few of us have been through this too.
The Weed of Heresy bears bitter fruit, s. It always has and it always will. Heretics are the enemies of God and communion with them makes one equally God’s enemy.
Amen....:(
They are not Americans either.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life . . .
Yes it is.
Here’s a quiz: of the denominations that endorsed this (and I wonder how much that endorsement was just the product of a few loud and allegedly representative leftists), how many have clamored for female and/or homosexual senior leadership?
My guess (and this is just an assumption) is almost all of them have.
We are some of the remnant holding the line.
***The letter calls abortion a “morally justifiable decision” and opposed any amendments to the House and Senate bills, which current contain massive abortion funding, to strike that taxpayer-financing.
“Already, federal policy unfairly prevents low-income women and federal employees from receiving subsidized [abortions],” Rev. Debra W. Haffner, executive director of the Religious Institute complained.
The letter added that she doesn’t want more abortion funding bans in place and complained that additional “restrictions” on abortion funding constitute a “serious moral injustice.”
The denominations endorsing the letter include the American Baptist Churches, Church of the Brethren, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church, and others.
“We affirm women as moral agents who have the capacity, right and responsibility to make the decision as to whether or not abortion is justified in their specific circumstances,” the letter says.
The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Unitarian Universalist Association, and United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism also endorsed the pro-abortion letter.
The Religious Institute claims to represent 4,800 clergy and 40 Christian denominations.
Some of the signers to the letter include: Fr. Dr. Luis Barrios, Chair of Latin American and Latina/o Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice - CUNY; Rabbi Dan Ehrenkrantz, President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder, Bishop, The Fellowship; The Rev. Dr. Paula Gravelle, Chair, Clergy Action Board; and Rev. Dr. Larry Greenfield, Executive Minister, American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago.
They also include Rabbi Peter Knobel, Former President, Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey, Dean, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary; Rev. Michael Livingston, Executive Director, International Council of Community Churches; Rev. Dr. Deborah Mullen, Director, Center for African American Ministry and Black Church Studies, McCormick Theological Seminary; Dr. Sylvia Rhue, Interim Executive Director, National Black Justice Coalition; and Rev. Dr. William Stayton, Professor of Sexuality and Religion, Morehouse School of Medicine***
Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, the church of the Convenience, it doesn’t matter does it?
There are a handful of our Protestant brethren that are holding the line, but for me the question is not whether their grasp on morality will give way, but when.
bump
They’re the people who fund “social justice” scams like ACORN, and choose fish over people.
We not only need to take our country back. We also need to take back our Churches.
Pro-Life bump
Extend that morality a bit and they have the right to bump their children off too. Nay, the responsibility.
The Churches of Satan. The whore of Babylon of the Book of Revelation in The Bible.
These children are in God's loving care to be loved and cherished forever. Their parent's have deemed themselves unfit to be their parents. It is not the children that are mistakes, it is their parents evil actions that show that their parents are not fit to raise them up to become children of God.
Wolves in poorly made sheep’s clothing.
This is a parody, right? Take names, so we’ll recognize these Death Eaters, even under their hoods, when Der Tag arrives.
Matthew 7
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
***They’re the people who fund “social justice” scams like ACORN, and choose fish over people.
We not only need to take our country back. We also need to take back our Churches.***
Applause, sort of. Jesus has established His Church. If we repudiated all the churches of men, then the efforts of the true believers would concentrate on the Church. There would be, I suspect, very little need at that point to take the Church back.
Every man interpreting scripture for himself sure is going well.
Why are you pessimistic about your Protestant brethren holding the line and we are a lot more than a handful? Many of us are optimistic about you and other conservative Catholics standing together with us on moral issues like abortion. Can’t you share that optimism with us? We need to remember that God is in control. God bless.
Disgrace; ping.
Maybe Harold Camping is right.
NAsbU Matthew 7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord,shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons,
and in Your name perform many miracles?'NAsbU John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
***Why are you pessimistic about your Protestant brethren holding the line and we are a lot more than a handful?***
I sometimes despair when I look at articles like this, which are absolutely correct and completely in context. What percentage of Protestant brethren are represented by this coalition?
***Many of us are optimistic about you and other conservative Catholics standing together with us on moral issues like abortion. Can’t you share that optimism with us? ***
Much appreciated. Yet, this article is representative of the state of what we see as the Protestant condition today. Yes, there are some conservative groups, but remember that all of these were former conservative groups and all of them were anti abortion; all of them did not ordain women or have them preach from the pulpit; and all of them did not permit homosexual marriage or condone homosexual activity. From our vantage point, it is almost like watching dominos fall.
***We need to remember that God is in control. ***
Certainly, of His Creation. Individual men and individual groups however, have the same freedom to march towards either heaven or hell.
***God bless.***
Much appreciated; may God bless you as well. His blessings are needed now more than ever.
You’re right.
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