Grace Blogs

An Interview with Scott Klusendorf, President of Life Training Institute.

Read the entire interview by Justin Taylor
Scott’s forthcoming book, The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage Culture, will be published by Crossway in March 2009.

JT: Just how bad was this election for pro-lifers? Give us the big picture.

SK: There’s no doubt we’ve experienced a crushing defeat in the current political cycle. The executive and legislative branches of the federal government are now firmly in the hands of those deeply committed to the proposition that an entire class of human beings can be set aside to be killed simply because they are in the way of something we want. In the weeks ahead, even before the …

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While many were focused on the big prize of the Presidential election, there was a pivotal vote on a referendum called “Proposition 8″ in California. Proposition 8 is a amendment to the Constitution of California that would define marriage exclusively between a man and a woman.

What does this mean? Since California voters have approved the amendment, this effectively outlaws some 18,000 same-sex marriage that have taken place over the last 4 1/2 months. The voters have overturned the California State Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to marry.

The passage of Proposition 8 represents a crushing political defeat for gay rights activists. They had hoped public opinion on the contentious issue had shifted enough …

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A stirring reminder from CatholicVote.com

This is one issue that both Protestant and Roman Catholic can agree on: every child conceived has a right to live!

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1. How Not to Help the Poor

The Acton Institute observes that government policies addressing poverty have perpetuated it and even worsened it by creating social pathologies… prior to 1960, 82% of black families had a married man and woman raising their children. The situation is very different now. Even during slavery days, a black child was more likely to grow up with both parents than he or she is today.

[via JT]

2. The End of the Nation? Russia Chooses Death Over Life

Al Mohler writes on the alarming fact that 64% of Russian pregnancies end in abortion:

The recent

…

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Yesterday, ABC ran a story with an interesting title: Palin Shopping Spree Legal? Yes, but Barely

Do you find that title a wee-bit leading? Is it me or does the title of this article make it seem like Govenor Palin is pushing the limits of legality? I conclude from this article that the thing being exposed is not the bottom line of a clothing budget but the bent of the writer, Emma Schwartz.

Also, this week I received a letter regarding_endorsing_political_candidates that is a shot across the bow for those who shepherd the souls of people. Notice key phrases like, “subject to audits” and “significant fines on houses of worship or its leaders.” The full-court press …

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In my lifetime I do not remember a time in which the political landscape was shaken more than it has in the days following the Republican National Convention. There is one reason for this rise in the political temperature - Sarah Palin. So who is this political juggernaut and what does she stand for? I found this article helpful.

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John McCormack of the Weekly Standard tells of the growing contradiction between Barack Obama - “the man of principle” and Barack Obama - “the politician searching for votes.”

McCormack: “During the past week, Obama has proven to be woefully ignorant of abortion law, or he has been deceiving voters about the legality of abortion, as well as his own position on the issue. . . . Are we really supposed to believe that Obama, the former editor of Harvard Law Review and onetime lecturer at the University of Chicago law school, doesn’t understand Roe v. Wade and a bill that he’s co-sponsoring?”

Full Article

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There are few issues like politics that inspire question marks in the minds of Christians. Questions like, Do I vote for a candidate who is “pro-choice” when the other candidate is not only “pro-choice” but “pro-tax”, “pro-big government,” “pro-liberal social programs”, etc? Living in a society in which we are given the freedom to participate in the political process in turn demands that we learn to think through finding balance in how we cast our vote as a follower of Christ. Let’s face it, to abstain completely from voting because a candidate holds a view that you or me would consider to be “unchristian” will leave us with no candidate at all. A person with this …

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I am young enough that I didn’t really appreciate what William F. Buckley did for the cause of conservativism in this country until those that I consider great conservative thinkers today began paying tribute to him in his recent death. He was brilliant, untiring, charming, and witty; so, it comes as no surprise to me that his office looked like this…

I’ll bet you can guess whether I am a neat or messy office person.

HT: Justin Taylor

Here are a some thoughts on his passing from a few thinkers I respect…

John Mark Reynolds

Doug Groothius

Melinda

…

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John Mark Reynolds captured my thoughts well on Mitt Romney’s announcement yesterday that he was getting out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. He exhibited a graciousness that is too rare in public life today. Here is a brief excerpt from Reynolds’ post…

A gentleman knows how to lose and do so with dignity.

He knows what is important and what is not. He lives for a cause bigger than self.

Nothing so proved the point that Mitt Romney is a gentleman and a statesman as his withdrawing from the race.

He could have continued and built up delegates for himself. He could not win. Most important, he loves this nation and this nation is at war. If the Democrats

…

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