http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/breakpoint/ en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:34:10 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411242/posts Regular BreakPoint listeners know about the inhumane lengths some environmentalists are prepared to go to “save the planet.”Some have proposed taxing the parents of newborns several thousand dollars to discourage child-bearing, and thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Others have spoken of “culling” the human herd.What these proposals have in common, besides their cold-bloodedness, is that mainstream environmentalists keep insisting that they are “fringe” views. Well, recent statements from sources that couldn’t be more “respectable” put the lie to those claims. And they should remind Christians why the sanctity of human life must be our highest priority.During the recent U.N. global... BreakPoint http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411242/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:34:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231798/posts The story is heartbreaking. A woman showed up at an abortion clinic “in flip-flops and in tears,” having walked for an hour to have her fourth child aborted after her boyfriend lost his job. “‘This was a desired pregnancy—she’d been getting prenatal care—but they re-evaluated expenses and decided not to continue,’ said Dr. Pratima Grupta,” in the Associated Press report. Yes, it’s a heartbreaking story. But columnist Bonnie Erbe sees it quite differently. “In the long run,” she asks, “can we agree that this unwed couple’s decision not to bring a fourth child into the world when they are having... BreakPoint http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231798/posts#comment Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:30:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2211640/posts According to a new study, terminally ill cancer patients who “drew comfort from religion” don’t want to die if they don’t have to. Well, no surprise. But, says the Times, they’re less eager to die than people who don’t draw “comfort from religion.” Well that’s interesting, perhaps, but there is a more important as well as more troubling aspect to the story that’s going unnoticed.The study appears in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston used questionnaires and interviews “to assess the level of reliance on... BreakPoint http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2211640/posts#comment Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:24:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199295/posts In his new book, The Last Goodnights: Assisting My Parents with Their Suicides, lawyer and author John West publicly tells a story that most people would have kept silent. He does it so that one day others may be able to kill openly and without fear. That’s not how West puts it, of course, but I’m afraid that’s what it boils down to. West’s parents were prestigious psychiatrists. As West wrote, “Neither was at all religious, but both had deep insight into the human condition. . . . And they knew what they wanted.” What they wanted was to die... BreakPoint http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199295/posts#comment Wed, 4 Mar 2009 21:11:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006852/posts A few days ago, Fox News ran a grim special titled “Jihad USA: Confronting the Threat of Homegrown Terror.” It was a warning of the continuing danger of Islamo-fascism. The program probably deepened many Americans’ fear of and hostility toward Muslims. That is unfortunate, because most Muslims are not would-be jihadists. But we Christians especially need to guard our emotions so we can be a good witness to Muslims—a caution raised by Dr. Dudley Woodberry, professor of Islamic Studies at Fuller. Woodberry, aware that throughout the world Muslims have been turning to Christ, was curious about the reasons why—especially in... BreakPoint http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006852/posts#comment Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:24:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980816/posts Mary Ann Andree was drying her hair in the Rio Sport and Health Club in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last month when the door to the women’s locker room suddenly opened. In came a man, wearing a blue ruffled skirt and make-up. As Andree later told reporters, “I was very upset. There is a lot he could have seen.” Andree is far from alone. A lot of other women in Montgomery County, Maryland, are upset over a new law that demands co-ed locker rooms and bathrooms in all public accommodations. Montgomery County, adjacent to Washington, D.C., passed the law last November to... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980816/posts#comment Wed, 5 Mar 2008 18:19:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980803/posts Heather Martin, a junior at Union University, was trying to climb into a bathtub for safety when the F4 tornado hit the Union campus in Jackson, Tennessee. It was 7:02 p.m. on February 5. “It sounded like a thousand trains,” she said, describing the funnel cloud that ripped through the school, causing massive damage to all but one campus building. The wind nearly sucked Heather out of the building. When the walls came crashing down, her legs were pinned between the side of the tub and the floor above. In the tub were three other girls. Crushed beneath her was... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980803/posts#comment Wed, 5 Mar 2008 17:52:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980799/posts This summer the Olympics will be held in Beijing, a decision fraught with controversy since it was announced back in 2001. China’s human-rights record is abysmal—from forced abortions, to persecuting Christians and other people of faith, to clamping down on free speech, to supporting a government that has committed genocide in Darfur. The Olympic committee, back in 2001, said choosing Beijing would be a catalyst for change in China. It “may help to liberalize a country,” said the committee’s vice president, Thomas Bach of Germany. But that will not happen when, as the London Daily Mail puts it, you “kow... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980799/posts#comment Wed, 5 Mar 2008 17:36:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977849/posts French President Nicholas Sarkozy is an unlikely scourge of European secularism: He is on his third marriage and has been called the “playboy president” by his critics. But it is what Sarkozy has just said about the role of religion in French life that has really got his critics up-in-arms. For more than a century, what the French call laïcité has been the defining characteristic of French politics and public life. The word, which has no English equivalent, goes beyond the separation of church and state. It is a kind of secularism that tends to see “any strong religious views... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977849/posts#comment Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:41:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977090/posts Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley. The following commentary includes details from the movie Juno. Do not read on if you prefer not to read about the film before viewing it. If Hollywood is any indicator, I think it is safe to say that the pro-life message is making serious headway. Within the past year or two, a string of movies has shown women in a heroic light for choosing to keep their babies. That includes the films Bella, Waitress, Knocked Up, and the most recent surprise-hit, Juno, which just won the Oscar for best original... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977090/posts#comment Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:51:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976884/posts Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley. Since 1926, February has been known as Black History Month. We often tend to think of it as just being something that schools celebrate every year. But a recent book by Edward Gilbreath, titled Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical’s Inside View of White Christianity makes me think that maybe we should be thinking beyond that. The Church, Gilbreath believes, has a lot of thinking and learning to do about black history, and about race relations in general. Gilbreath is editor-at-large for Christianity Today Magazine and director of editorial for Urban... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976884/posts#comment Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:30:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976020/posts There are an estimated 1.6 million Muslims in Great Britain. By some estimates, more people attend mosque than go to Anglican churches every week. Judging by recent comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury, it is easy to see why. As most of you by now know, Archbishop Rowan William said in a recent interview that the “UK has to ‘face up to the fact’ that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system.” He left no doubt who those “citizens” are: British Muslims. So according to Williams, British Muslims should not have to choose between “the... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976020/posts#comment Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:36:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1970544/posts Note: This commentary contains sensitive information that may not be suitable for children. Tonya was only 12 when she was approached by a man as she walked down a city street. Over the next few months, his gifts and compliments impressed her—and soon, she thought she was in love. The minute he gained Tonya’s trust, the man—who was actually a pimp—took her to another city and forced her into a nightmare world of sexual slavery. She was forced to sell her body to countless men. To keep her in line, the pimp beat her violently. He kept all the money... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1970544/posts#comment Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:57:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969941/posts Ten years ago, evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker offered a Darwinian explanation for infanticide. Pinker wrote, “A new mother will first coolly assess the infant and her situation and only in the next few days begin to see it as a unique and wonderful individual.” This nonsense prompted the late journalist Michael Kelly to reply, “Yes, that was my wife all over: cool as a cucumber as she assessed whether to keep her first-born child or toss him out the window.” Pinker, the celebrated Harvard professor and science popularizer, is still at it, and the results are no less nonsensical. In... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969941/posts#comment Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:37:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969316/posts It has taken me a long time to get to this point, but I am finally ready to praise People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or as they are more commonly known, PETA. This organization really gets it when it comes to worldview. In fact, PETA accepts and follows the logical consequences of a worldview better than almost any other group I can think of. Let me explain. Today is Darwin Day, the 199th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. The Darwin Day Celebration website explains that Darwin Day “is an international celebration of science and humanity.” The... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969316/posts#comment Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:35:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969304/posts Last month, the president announced his intention to sell Saudi Arabia some of our most sophisticated weapons. This is a bad idea, and you should let your representative know it right away. The proposed $20 billion deal includes “satellite-guided weaponry” and “high-tech munitions,” including 900 JDAM bombs. The JDAM is arguably the smartest “smart bomb” in our arsenal. Its electronics can “guide the bomb to its target regardless of weather.” And, it is also resistant to the jamming of its GPS system. According to Reuters, the deal appears to be part of an “effort to persuade Saudi Arabia . .... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969304/posts#comment Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:25:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1962145/posts In his World Peace Day message, Pope Benedict XVI included caring for the environment as an important part of promoting peace. Nothing controversial about that—environmental degradation has often led to conflict over resources. What was controversial was the Pope’s speaking about environmental issues as if the Christian worldview were true. Benedict told his audience that “respecting the environment does not mean considering material or animal nature more important than man.” This statement should not have been controversial or even noteworthy. As Frank Furedi of the British magazine spiked pointed out, the fact that the Pope “felt it was necessary to... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1962145/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:28:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961661/posts Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley. Writing about the movie Juno in a recent column in the New York Times, author Caitlin Flanagan laments the plight of a pregnant teenage girl. Flanagan proclaims what she says is the “bitterly unfair truth of sexuality: Female desire can bring with it a form of punishment no man can begin to imagine”—and that is pregnancy. Flanagan is right, of course, that becoming pregnant will forever alter the life of a teenage girl. Whether she keeps the baby, puts it up for adoption, or, tragically, decides to abort, the teenage... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961661/posts#comment Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:29:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961069/posts Have you received one of those letters in the mail—asking you to send money to help wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan? If so, I hope you ignored it—not because I do not care about our troops, but because I do. It turns out that at least two of these charities are run by people who would rather line their own pockets than help veterans. One charity is called Help Hospitalized Veterans. The Washington Post reports that this outfit spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal expenses for Roger Chapin, who manages the charity. Richard Viguerie, “to whom the... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961069/posts#comment Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:51:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961060/posts Former Minnesota Governor Al Quie remembers hoboes—as they were called—showing up at his family’s dairy farm during the Great Depression. “Evidently our farm was known as a place where they could get a meal,” says Quie. His parents always served their unexpected guests in the formal dining room—a place usually reserved for holidays or for a visiting Lutheran minister. The lesson Al learned was simple, yet profound: Respect the dignity of every person. Indeed, upholding human dignity has been a hallmark of Al Quie’s decades of public service and ministry—and the reason why last week he was honored with our... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961060/posts#comment Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:42:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959241/posts Little Noah Markham was one of the tiniest victims of Hurricane Katrina. When the levees broke, Noah was trapped in a flooded New Orleans hospital. It took 10 police officers using flat-bottomed boats to rescue him. It is an amazing story, but what makes it even more incredible is the fact that—on the day Noah was rescued—he had not yet been born. And no, he was not living in his mother’s womb. Instead, young Noah was living in a canister of liquid nitrogen. He was, in fact, a frozen embryo—a human being at the embryonic stage of life. On January... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959241/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jan 2008 03:41:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958423/posts Is it possible, or even worthwhile, for Christians to reach a consensus on impacting culture—from the performing arts, to music, to literature? Well, there are probably as many answers to that question as there are Christians. But theologian T. M. Moore, in his compelling new book Culture Matters, explains why it is so important that Christians reach a cultural consensus: “All culture,” he says, “is a gift from God. The challenge to us is in learning how to take what is good in contemporary culture, reclaim and retool it, and put it to work in a Christian framework for forming... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958423/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:06:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1957779/posts Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley. A woman—let’s call her Caroline—was 92 years old. She was dying, in agony, but Caroline’s pain was not physical. It was emotional. Caroline, you see, had been carrying a secret for more than 50 years: As a young woman, she had undergone two abortions, suffered terrible guilt all her life—and now, on her death-bed, afraid that God could not forgive her. As her palliative-care nurse, Jean Echlin, writes, “At the end of her life she shared with me her agony over her lost babies . . . she felt that... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1957779/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:58:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1957299/posts As Americans observe Martin Luther King Day today, I am reminded of the rich Christian tradition of activism in this country. For millions of Christians who have gone before us, activism was considered fruit of the faith. Not only was the civil-rights movement led by evangelical Christians like Dr. King, so too were campaigns for abolition and women’s suffrage heavily influenced by Christians expressing their faith. But for much of the twentieth century, Christians—especially white evangelicals—shied away from activism. Part of the reason is that from about the 1920s to the 1970s, many evangelical Christians simply withdrew from the public... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1957299/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:20:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955759/posts With the help of Dr. Ken Boa, each month on “BreakPoint” we discuss one of the monumental books of Christendom. This month, we focus on a work by a man who most people agree, secular and Christian, was a genius: Blaise Pascal. Pascal’s legacy of scientific achievement is almost without equal. By age 30, Pascal had made vital contributions to mathematics, physics, meteorology, and what would become computer science. But as impressive as all of these accomplishments are, Pascal’s most important legacy is his apologetic for the Christian faith, the Pensées. At age 31, Pascal had a religious experience that... Breakpoint with Chuck Colson http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955759/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:25:59 GMT