I have debated with Ark Times Bloggers many times in the past on many different subjects. Abortion is probably the most often debated subject and I have noticed that many pro-life individuals are now surfacing on the Arkansas Times Blog.  Here are some examples. Arhogfan501 asserted: This is the beginning of the end for recreational abortion in Arkansas. Songbird777 noted: Babies have a right to live and not be chopped up for someone else’s convenience. The person using the username “baker” commented: Planned Parenthood (PPA) does not nor cannot provide mammograms, indeed no affiliate has the necessary license. PPA is an abortion provider and at some 900 plus killings a day rather prolific.

Here is another debate I got into recently on the Arkansas Times Blog and I go by the username “Saline Republican”:

The person using the username “mountaingirl” asserted:

The day was summed up for me by one sentence, spoken by the beautiful and eloquent Joyce Elliott. “This battle is not about abortion, it is about choice.”

I replied:

Life news reported:

Expert: Kermit Gosnell’s Ineptitude Led to Woman’s Abortion Death
by Steven Ertelt | Philadelphia, PA | LifeNews.com | 3/21/13 3:58 PM

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Abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell was so inept as to the proper use of anesthesia during an abortion procedure that his shoddy clinic standards led to one woman dying from a legal abortion.

That’s the conclusion of a Pittsburgh anesthesiologist, who told a jury today during is trial for eight counts of murder that the amount of anesthesia given to one woman during her abortion was enough to kill her.

Gosnell has been charged with eight counts of murder and several of his staff at the abortion center, including his wife and sister-in-law, have been charged as well in the case with assisting in botched abortions, practicing medicine without a license or covering up the actions of those who did. The counts include grisly infanticidesthat involved Gosnell snipping the spines with scissors of babies who had purposefully been prematurely born so they could be killed moments later.

Gosnell has also been charged with third-degree murder in the death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar(right)  and the national controversy that has erupted over Gosnell’s abortion business. The details are now coming up in court.

“The dose given to her exceeded the norm,” said Andrew Herlich, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy. “It would make her stop breathing.”

Herlich said that given Mongar’s size – 5-foot-1 and 110 pounds – the doses of a cocktail of Demerol, promethazine and diazepam would have put the petite woman “into a coma.”

In addition to Herlich’s opinion about Mongar’s death, Assistant District Attorney Edward Cameron also questioned the anesthesiologist about Gosnell’s practice of having his staff – none of whom had any medical training – to administer anesthesia and perform other medical tasks.

Herlich said no doctor performing procedures on a patient who is sedated and anesthetized should do so without an anesthesiologist present monitoring the patient’s vital signs and prepared to begin lifesaving techniques in an emergency.

Examining Gosnell’s “crash kit,” the container of medications and equipment needed for emergency resuscitation, that was seized by authorities in 2010, Herlich noted that crucial medicines such as epinephrine had expired in 2007.

A political refugee from the country of Bhutan, Mongar went to Gosnell on Nov. 19, 2009 for the abortion and, prior to it, was given numerous doses of pain and sedation drugs by an individual who was not a licensed medical practitioner.

Massive amounts of drugs found in the victim’s system led authorities to suspect Gosnell was illegally prescribing pain-killers. He temporarily lost his medical license in both Pennsylvania and neighboring Delaware. Pennsylvania officials suspect Mongar died from the botched abortion in part because she had been treated by unlicensed personnel.

The State Board of Medicine says Gosnell had the unlicensed staff member give vaginal exams and administer the drugs Demerol, Promethazine and Diazepam. He was eventually fined $1,000 for the violations.

She experienced severe cramping and asked for additional pain medication. The unlicensed assistant contacted Gosnell, who instructed her to administer more doses. Near the end of the procedure, Mongar began losing color and had no pulse.

The family has previously spoken out about her death.

“We want justice, this doctor has to be out of that clinic or he should not be treating anybody,” Damber Ghalley told CNN Monday. “And the things that happen to my sister, I don’t want to happen to anybody in the future.”

He told CNN “the clinic was so dirty, filthy with blood stains and a dirty floor, everywhere dirty, I cannot describe how dirty it was.”

“It’s unforgettable, my sister will never come back and it’s sad,” Ghalley said. “All the happiness is gone, they miss their mother every day and night,” Ghalley said, referring to Mongar’s four children.”

Karamaya’s daughter Yashoda Gurung is also speaking out and said the abortion turned bad when the overdose of anesthesia kicked in.

“We were waiting but it was a long time and my mom was not outside,” she told NBC Philadelphia, saying she began to panic when an ambulance pulled up to the abortion facility.

Gurung said an abortion center worked told her nothing was wrong: “She said, ‘your mom is good, don’t worry about that.’”

She said Gosnell’s staff moved the family to another room away from Mongar and would not give them updates on her condition. She finally saw her mother as emergency workers took her to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where, hours later, Mongar was pronounced dead.

“I want justice,” says Gurung.

____________________

____________

In the film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” the arguments are presented  against abortion (Episode 1),  infanticide (Episode 2),   euthenasia (Episode 3), and then there is a discussion of the Christian versus Humanist worldview concerning the issue of “the basis for human dignity” in Episode 4 and then in the last episode a close look at the truth claims of the Bible.

I truly believe that many of the problems we have today in the USA are due to the advancement of humanism in the last few decades in our society. Ronald Reagan appointed the evangelical Dr. C. Everett Koop to the position of Surgeon General in his administration. He partnered with Dr. Francis Schaeffer in making the video below. It is very valuable information for Christians to have.  Actually I have included a video below that includes comments from him on this subject.

Francis Schaeffer: What Ever Happened to the Human Race? (Full-Length Documentary)

Part 1 on abortion runs from 00:00 to 39:50, Part 2 on Infanticide runs from 39:50 to 1:21:30, Part 3 on Youth Euthanasia runs from 1:21:30 to 1:45:40, Part 4 on the basis of human dignity runs from 1:45:40 to 2:24:45 and Part 5 on the basis of truth runs from 2:24:45 to 3:00:04

Francis Schaeffer “BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY” Whatever…HTTHR

Remembering Francis Schaeffer: On The Occasion of His 100th Birthday

Francis Schaeffer—100? Who can believe it?! Schaeffer (1912-1984) was born 100 years ago on January 30th. On this special occasion, it’s worth taking a few minutes to remember his important legacy. Many of us were greatly blessed by his life.

Schaeffer was a Presbyterian pastor, then missionary, then apologist, prolific author, evangelist, film maker and activist . He was one of six evangelical leaders (along with Billy Graham, John Stott, J.I. Packer, Carl F. H. Henry, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones) who profoundly shaped the evangelical movement in the second half of the 20th century.

His life
Francis Schaeffer was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. As a student he attended Westminster Theological Seminary where he studied under Cornelius Van Til and J. Gresham Machen. He then went to Faith Theological Seminary. Schaeffer had pastorates in Grove City and Chester, Pennsylvania, and also in St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1948, he and his wife Edith moved to Switzerland as missionaries. There they later established the community called L’Abri (French for “the shelter”). During the 1960s and 1970s, L’Abri became a study center that attracted thousands of students and professionals from all over the world promoting the relevance of Christian truth. A constant stream of books flowed from both Francis and Edith including: The God Who Is There, Escape From Reason, He is There He is Not Silent, Art and the Bible, The Mark of the Christian, Pollution and the Death of Man, How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture, Whatever Happened to the Human Race, Death in the City, L’Abri, What is a Family, The Tapestry, A Christian Manifesto, etc..

His influence
I first encountered Francis Schaeffer’s books as a high school student. Here’s what impressed me.

First, Schaeffer understood the times. He began talking about “great, titanic shifts” taking in place in the second half of the 20th century when few others were even aware of it. From his European vantage point he saw the suffocating effects of post war Western materialism. He also realized that the Christian base of Western society was being quickly eroded, and that this would have immense consequences. He tried to describe how the modern world came to distance itself from the God of the Bible, and how, in this rejection, our society began to lose contact with reason, reality and even our own humanness.

Schaeffer saw that a new secular, post Christian materialistic humanism would take our culture in a very different direction—abortion on demand was only an early manifestation. Modernity, he said, had thrown away Christian theology and in so doing we have thrown away the possibility of what our forebearers had as the basis for morality and law.

Second, Francis Schaeffer believed in truth and made truth understandable to average lay people. He introduced us to many different philosophers and world views and helped us catch the broad currents of Western philosophy.

But Schaeffer also knew the power of truth. He understood that a new subjective view of truth was emerging. He insisted that God created us in his image and has spoken to us—hence we have a groundwork for knowing truth. As the idea of truth was being relativized, Schaeffer talked about “true truth” and truth spelled with a capital “T.”

Yet Schaeffer wasn’t content to simply argue for truth, he went further saying that Biblical Christianity provides a unified answer for the whole of life. And that truth is ultimately found in Jesus Christ. Discovering Christ and his truth leads us back to freedom and dignity.

Third, I learned about the lordship of Christ from Schaeffer. Raised in a pietistic Christian tradition, I grew up living in two worlds. There was the very important spiritual and religious world. And then there was everything else. That “everything else” did not seem all that important to me…..until “Schaeffer came into my life.”

Schaeffer understood the sweeping implications of the lordship of Christ. He had a reformed, and ultimately Biblical vision of the wholeness of life. Schaeffer once said that if he had a common unifying theme it was “the Lordship of Christ in the totality of life.” If Christ is indeed Lord, he is lord of spiritual matters, but just as much, he is lord across the whole spectrum of life—including the areas of culture, law and government.

This opened up a whole new world for many of us. We saw that culture matters. Literature, ideas, art, music, painting and film all of a sudden became interesting to us. This unconventional theologian with his gotee and knickers helped us make connections. For me, he expanded my view of Christ, but also sparked a kind of Christian liberal arts revolution in my mind. Many of us now wanted to “think Christianly” about, not just Christian things, but about everything.

Fourth, Francis Schaeffer was prophetic. In understanding the immense forces shifting western culture, he issued prophetic books and films affirming the dignity of human beings based on Biblical values. He was actually articulating the vision of a Christian humanism, though I don’t recall him ever using that phrase. Consequently, Francis Schaeffer became one of the first evangelical Protestants to speak out on the abortion issue. When Southern Baptists and some northern evangelicals were silent, or even going along with the liberalizing tendencies, Schaeffer thundered that abortion and euthanasia were not just Roman Catholic issues (even though Catholics were speaking out about these issues first) but they were life issues that should concern all Christians. In his book and film series What Ever Happened to the Human Race, Schaeffer called on evangelicals to join the pro-life movement.

Schaeffer was also one of the first to see the rise of a new statism that was beginning to challenge religious freedom. At the end of his life he believed that statism was actually one of the greatest problems facing America.

Consequently, Schaeffer called evangelicals to move away from their preoccupation with personal peace and affluence. He called them to a new social activism that did not neglect the gospel, or confuse the kingdom of God with a social agenda, but that refused to be content with a privatized Christianity. He called evangelicals to a co-belligerency with other groups (such as Roman Catholics) but in a way that did not promote deep alliances or compromise Biblical convictions.

Fifth, with all his outspokenness and advocacy, Schaeffer insisted that it was not just truth that mattered but also love. The mark of the Christian, he said, must be love. He understood that Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is very ugly. I suspect he said this because he saw a lot of ugly Christianity while growing up.

Where are you Francis Schaeffer?
Reflecting on Schaeffer’s influence in my own life, I can’t help but think that the American church still needs his voice, especially in the election year of 2012. The same huge historical currents are still at work. Many Christians are passive about our society and stuck in what Chuck Colson calls a “spiral of silence.” And in our polarized society, many Christians have lost that important balance that Schaeffer prized—the balance of truth and love.

Fact is, it has been 28 years since Schaeffer’s death, and we still need him.
Some have inaccurately cast Schaeffer as a a dominionist, theonomist or Christian reconstructionist. He was not.

Of course, Francis Schaeffer had his flaws. His son says he was sometimes impatient, angry and depressed. I reply—who hasn’t been, especially in his line of work! Also, in Schaeffer’s concern to highlight sweeping historical trends, he sometimes got details wrong. But then, that happens to most of us who write and try to grasp the big picture.

Schaeffer was the first to admit that he needed the righteousness of another—which is why he never gave up on his Biblical and reformed convictions.

As we reflect on his life and remember what he was, we dare not forget what has happened since Francis Schaeffer’s departure. Because today, along with all who die in Christ, he is glorified. What he saw through a glass dimly, he now more clearly understands. In the presence of his savior, he knows present glory and unimaginable joy. What is more—the world he longed for is on its way.

For more information on Francis Schaeffer, read the Crossway biography written by Colin Duriez–Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life

Dr. Don Sweeting is the president of the Orlando Campus of Reformed Theological Seminary and professor of church history. He is an ordained minister of the word in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). This article is taken from his blog,What Is The Chief End of Man, and is used with permission.

President Obama is doing everything he can to help expand abortion rights as this editorial cartoon shows:

.

Francis Schaeffer Whatever Happened to the Human Race (Episode 1) ABORTION

Francis Schaeffer: What Ever Happened to the Human Race? (Full-Length Documentary)

Part 1 on abortion runs from 00:00 to 39:50, Part 2 on Infanticide runs from 39:50 to 1:21:30, Part 3 on Youth Euthanasia runs from 1:21:30 to 1:45:40, Part 4 on the basis of human dignity runs from 1:45:40 to 2:24:45 and Part 5 on the basis of truth runs from 2:24:45 to 3:00:04

________________

Picture of Francis Schaeffer and his wife Edith from the 1930′s above. I was sad to read about Edith passing away on Easter weekend in 2013. I wanted to pass along this fine article below.

FRANCISSCHAEFFERSTUDIES.ORG BLOG

The Official Blog of FRANCIS SCHAEFFER STUDIES .ORG

Saturday, March 30, 2013

FINALLY ENTRANCE TOGETHER INTO ETERNITY – Edith Schaeffer (1914 – 2013)

Edith Schaeffer Photo by Mustapha Ashrad

“How I hope we may have many years of service together, and finally entrance together into eternity.” ~ Francis Schaeffer to his wife Edith, 1935.

As we reflect on the passing of Edith Schaeffer, who went to be with the Lord in the early hours of March 30th, 2013, it is worthwhile to note the events of her life to get a sense of who she was. It is a most distinct providence that guided such a couple as her and Francis together. Both whom were avid defenders of the faith, who were passionate about people and teaching the truth. Yet, as we reflect, consider the story, but also consider Edith’s passion. She was passionate for Christ, for ministry, for children, and especially her dear husband “Fran” whom she loved and served with side-by-side with for so many years.

1914 – “Edith Rachel Merritt Seville was born in Wenchow, China on November 3. [1]” She was the fourth child of missionaries, George Hugh Seville and Jessie Maude Merritt Seville. [2] They served in what was formerly known as the China Inland Mission, founded by Hudson Taylor. Edith had a wonderful family Christian heritage and was well educated and highly artistic and loved the arts greatly. She and her family had tried to learn Chinese culture and even adopted some Chinese dress. Edith was known as Mei Fuh during their time in China. Edith notes in her children’s book by the same title that because of the time difference, her birth was recorded officially a day earlier in the United States as November the 2nd. [3]

Fran & Edith’s Wedding July 6, 1936

Francis and Edith would be married on July 6th. They were married at Wayne Avenue United Presbyterian Church, by Edith’s father George Seville. Fran was twenty-three and Edith was twenty. Fran and Edith saw their relationship as rooted in ministry. He remarked to Edith in a letter, this wonderful thought: “How I hope we may have many years of service together, and finally entrance together into eternity.” [8] 

This trip would result in them being called by the missions board to be missionaries to Europe, with the specific calling to, “strengthen that which remains.” They would have a particular emphasis on spreading their work of Children For Christ there.

1948 – The Schaeffers move to Lausanne, Switzerland with their three daughters to be missionaries to Europe. Their primary work involved their Children for Christ ministry, and helping with the formation of the International Council of Christian Churches. Their first home would be the Chalet Bijou. Eventually their prayers would be answered to stay in Champery and they would move to Chalet des Frenes. [12]

1955 – In the following year, on February 14 the Schaeffer received notice from the Swiss government on that they must leave Switzerland permanently within six weeks for their “religious influence” in the Catholic canton. Each Swiss canton are member states within the federal state of Switzerland. The word canton is a French word that more literally means “corner” or “district.” The Schaeffers were at this time living in the Roman Catholic bishopric of Valais.

The Schaeffers, by April 1st would move out of this canton and into another. Their new home would be Chalet Les Melezes in Huemoz, Switzerland. God brought about a series of miraculous circumstances which would open the way for a new beginning in ministry. The circumstances that surrounded this event are numerous and amazing all recounted in Edith’s book entitled L’Abri. Edith’s strong faith and conviction in the matter proved to open the door to the new location, as at just the right time God would provide both the location as well as the provision through a gift in the mail to start L’Abri.

Edith’s March 7-9th family letter makes the official announcement of the work of L’Abri. “L’Abri is what we feel the Lord would have us add to the work He had given us here in Switzerland. L’Abri means “shelter” in French, and our thought is to have a spiritual shelter for any who have spiritual need. [15]”

In her May 30th family letter, written just after they had completed their move into Chalet les Melezes, Edith remarks, “And so literally L’Abri began in Chalet les Melezes immediately upon our arrival–with a German musician, a Swiss peasant, and an English ex-Wren and ex-nurse for our first guest.

The Schaeffers officially resigned from the Independent Board of Presbyterian Foreign Missions on June 4, marking the final commitment to L’Abri Fellowship.

1955 – Following the resignation, in her June 17th letter, Edith explains in a bit more detail how L’Abri will operate. “And so we face a busy summer as L’Abri Fellowship begins, and such a thing as a vacation must be put off again. But the Lord is sending those who need a time in L’Abri, and he can just as easily provide an opening for a vacation when He knows it is necessary.
There are a few things you should know about L’Abri Fellowship. The material needs of the work, and ourselves, will be met as the Lord sends in gifts in answer to prayer. We believe that if He sends the people to us who need to be here for study and asking questions and prayer, He will also send in the means to feed them.” Edith goes on to explain the garden and matters with the appliances, the states, “Each need will be prayed about and we will wait for guidance to proceed according to His specific answers in sending the means.

Finally, and most important–L’Abri Fellowship may seem very small–but we know there are many who are having a daily part in the work here through your faithful prayers. The ones who are working here through prayer we wish to speak of as the Praying Family of L’Abri. You yourself know whether you are one whom the Lord has joined to us in this way or not. May L’Abri truly be a shelter in a weary land for those who will find Christ their shelter here. [16]”

Edith clarifies in her work L’Abri that L’Abri Fellowship became official in July when her father, Dr. George H. Seville, former missionary to China with the China Inland Mission took on the work of creating a home office in the states for them. He had just retired from his teaching position at a theological school and wanted to work as their “home secretary” as his contribution to the work of L’Abri. While he assumed legal roles and the handling and sending of gifts, Edith’s mother duplicated and mailed the family letters to their family. These letters, with family members in mind would become “Dear Family” and would grow as God brought people to follow the work of their ministry. [17]

1959 – In November of 1959 a journalist from Time magazine, showed up at L’Abri, who had been tipped off by a journalist parent who had a daughter in school with Deborah Schaeffer. The following day a photographer would also drop in to shoot the photographs.

1960 – The Time magazine article was published entitled “Mission to Intellectuals” in the January 11th publication.[18]

1964 –  It was about this time that Betty Carlson is convinced that the Lord is leading her to give a month’s wages to send Edith away to write the story of L’Abri. [19] Edith in fact does write her book on L’Abri. It however sits as a completed manuscript under the Schaeffer’s bed for the next five years! During which time Betty remained confident that it would be published at the right time. [20] Probably one of the first converts from the reading of the book, and in this instance, in it’s pre-published state, was Larry Snyder, future leader of the Rochester branch, who ran the branch with his wife Nancy. Larry and Nancy have now since retired. Larry came to L’Abri searching for answers when he met a person in a youth hostel in Europe who that told him, that he seemed confused and that L’Abri was a place he could go to get his questions answered.[21] Many others in Larry’s situation would find their way to L’Abri under similar circumstances. Larry was quite intent on finding answers and immediately inquired about them. As Edith describes it, as soon as he had heard the person say L’Abri, he felt driven to go there, and began working in order to do so. Finally, he arrived late one night on his motorcycle and wanted to know all that he could so that he could start studying the next day. Edith apparently saw how intent he was and let him read her manuscript. He read it that night and started study at the Farel house the next day. Although Larry noticed something happening, he could not quite grasp it yet, and he was not an immediate convert. Larry would have further discussion with Dr. Schaeffer, in which he told him flatly that he did not want to discuss his God or his religion. Yet much to his surprise, Francis did not see that as the end of the conversation, but rather encouraged him to stay and keep asking his questions. Edith notes, “As time went on, Larry became an understanding Christian and the problems he had in philosophic areas and areas of doctrine cleared up. He not only studied hard, he was an outstanding help…” During his time as a L’Abri worker he would become convinced that he was being led into further Christian ministry. He would leave in the following summer for Covenant Seminary.

1968 – Fran’s first books, Escape From Reason and The God Who Is There are published.

1969 – Edith publishes her first book, L’Abri.

Fancis and Edith saw L’Abri as a witness of living by faith and prayer before the watching world. Their work was always seen as being in tandem. Here Edith sets out to chronicle the early history of L’Abri. Edith here writes a very personal and “real” work that recounts the history of L’Abri thus far. It is a testimony of the hand of God at work in their lives “before a watching world” as thousands of visitors journey to their house from all over the world.

As we mentioned before, L’Abri had actually been written five years earlier. Betty Carlson gave Edith a gift which allowed her to get away for a time and write the work. The manuscript would sit under the Schaeffer’s bed, until Francis published his first books. The timing of the printing would allow the book to become very popular along with Francis’ books.

1969-2000 – Edith would go on to publish 20 books, and her works would be popular in their own right, with a unique and endearing writing style. Perhaps her most notable works are L’Abri, The Tapestry, Hidden Art, and Affliction.  These last two books won her the Gold Medallion Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (in 1979 and 1982 respectively).

1984 – Fran and Edith had relocated to Rochester, MN for Fran to receive treatment. From there she continued a busy speaking schedule and wrote further books.

2000 – Edith moved to Switzerland to live with her daughter Debbie and husband Udo Middleman.

2013 – Edith passes into eternity to be with Fran and her Lord Jesus.

Other articles on the Internet remembering Edith:

(Barbara Challies) Edith Schaeffer (1914 – 2013)

A Message from L’Abri on the Passing of Edith Schaeffer

(Frank Schaeffer): Goodbye Mom, Edith Schaeffer 1914 – 2013 RIP

(Mark Tooley) The Legacy of Edith and Francis Schaeffer

Worldmag – Edith Schaeffer, 1914-2013

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[1] Lane T. Dennis. The Letters of Francis Schaeffer.
Westchester, IL, Crossway Books,1985. 25.

[2] Ibid., 29.

[3] Edith Schaeffer, Mei Fuh, Memories from China,
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston 1998.  1-2.

[4] Colin Duriez. Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life.
Wheaton, IL, Crossway Books, 2008. 29,30.

[5] Ibid., 30.

[6] Ibid., 32.

[7] Ibid., 33.

[8] Lane T. Dennis. The Letters of Francis Schaeffer.
Westchester, IL, Crossway Books,1985. 25.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Colin Duriez. Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life.
Wheaton, IL, Crossway Books, 2008. 45.

[11] Lane T. Dennis. The Letters of Francis Schaeffer.
Westchester, IL, Crossway Books,1985. 25.

[12]  Schaeffer, Edith. The Tapestry: The Life and Times of
Francis and Edith Schaeffer, Waco, Tx, Word Books. 308.

[13] Schaeffer, Edith. With Love Edith.
Harper & Row, San Francisco, CA. 1989. 5.

[14] Ibid. 402.

[15] Ibid. 308.

[16] Ibid. 332.

[17] Schaeffer, Edith. L’Abri. Tyndale House, USA. 1969. 135.

[18] “Mission to Intelectuals,” Time, January, 11, 1960.

[19] Carlson, Betty. The Unhurried Chase that Ended at L’Abri. Good News Publishers. Westchester, IL. 1984. Forward by Edith Schaeffer.

[20] Ibid. 12.

[21] Schaeffer, Edith. Dear Family. Harper & Row, San Francisco, CA. 1989. 98-98.

Dan Guinn at1:18 PM

We take up for the prisoners that are tortured but what about unborn babies?

(Francis did a great job in his film series “How Should we then live?” in looking at how humanism has affected art and culture in the Western World in the last 2000 years. My favorite episodes include his study of the Renaissance, the Revolutionary age, the age of Nonreason, and the age of Fragmentation.)

Related posts:

I have debated with Ark Times Bloggers many times in the past on many different subjects. Abortion is probably the most often debated subject and I have noticed that many pro-life individuals are now surfacing on the Arkansas Times Blog.  Here are some examples. Arhogfan501 asserted: This is the beginning of the end for recreational abortion in Arkansas. Songbird777 noted: Babies have a right to live and not be chopped up for someone else’s convenience. The person using the username “baker” commented: Planned Parenthood (PPA) does not nor cannot provide mammograms, indeed no affiliate has the necessary license. PPA is an abortion provider and at some 900 plus killings a day rather prolific.

Here is another debate I got into recently on the Arkansas Times Blog and I go by the username “Saline Republican”:

The person using the username “Bluesyoucanuse” asserted:

First protest I’ve been involved in in probably 30 years. Glad to say I was there. Glad to see the huge range of ages. Loved the family with the t-shirts — Mom by Choice, Dad by Choice, Born by Choice. Personal favorite sign — “If you don’t want an abortion, don’t have one.”

I responded:

Bluesyoucanuse says “Born by Choice.”

This follows the statements “Dad by choice and Mom by choice.”

I can only wish that unborn babies could be born if they chose to be. Unfortunately their parents choose selfishly to end their hopes of being born way too often.

Bluesyoucanuse was born not by her choice. It was not possible, but I am glad her parents made the prolife choice!!!!!!!!!

_________

Bluesyoucanuse says, “If you don’t want an abortion, don’t have one.”

Deanna Gandler responded to this question with this reasoned response:

What if Abraham Lincoln had told the North – ‘Don’t like Slavery? Don’t own slaves.’?”

Slavery was the defining issue of the day during that time period, and there were many citizens in America who truly believed that an African American was not a person, but a belonging, a piece of property to be disposed of as their owners saw fit. The Supreme Court of the United States had even ruled in the Dred Scott case that they were property and not citizens. The Supreme Court chose to uphold slavery, and claimed Constitutional authority in their decision.

Much like the Dred Scott ruling was overturned by the refusal of brave men and women in our country to merely turn a blind eye to the injustice going on all around them- the unconstitutional Roe v Wade can be overturned one day as well. But we must not give up on this fight. We must follow the example of Lincoln, and continue to fight for the rights of our fellow man.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Abraham Lincoln, in The Gettysburg Address

______

I truly believe that many of the problems we have today in the USA are due to the advancement of humanism in the last few decades in our society. Ronald Reagan appointed the evangelical Dr. C. Everett Koop to the position of Surgeon General in his administration. He partnered with Dr. Francis Schaeffer in making the video below. It is very valuable information for Christians to have.  Actually I have included a video below that includes comments from him on this subject.

In the film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” the arguments are presented  against abortion (Episode 1),  infanticide (Episode 2),   euthenasia (Episode 3), and then there is a discussion of the Christian versus Humanist worldview concerning the issue of “the basis for human dignity” in Episode 4 and then in the last episode a close look at the truth claims of the Bible.

Many liberals actually truly do argue for abortion rights over human rights. Prochoice advocate Elizabeth Williams came out and said that on 1-23-13 in her article on Salon. We hear reasons for abortion such as poverty,and  child abuse,  but why not consider adoption? Instead, the political left will stop at nothing to push the pro-abortion agenda. Why not stop and take an honest look at when life begins for the unborn child and when she begins to feel pain?

Francis Schaeffer: What Ever Happened to the Human Race? (Full-Length Documentary)

Part 1 on abortion runs from 00:00 to 39:50, Part 2 on Infanticide runs from 39:50 to 1:21:30, Part 3 on Youth Euthanasia runs from 1:21:30 to 1:45:40, Part 4 on the basis of human dignity runs from 1:45:40 to 2:24:45 and Part 5 on the basis of truth runs from 2:24:45 to 3:00:04

Francis Schaeffer “BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY” Whatever…HTTHR

Dr. John Russell:

The Devaluing of Life in America

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and Christian apologist Francis A. Schaeffer issue a stern warning concerning the devaluing of life in America. They quote Psychiatrist Leo Alexander, who served with the office of Chief of Counsel for War Crimes in Nuremberg:

It started with the acceptance of the attitude basic in the euthanasia movement, that there is such a thing as life not worthy to be lived….   …. The first direct order for euthanasia was issued by Hitler on Sept. 1, 1939…. All state institutions were required to report on patients who had been ill for five years or more or who were unable to work, by filling out questionnaires giving name, race, marital status, nationality, next of kin, whether regularly visited and by whom, who bore the financial responsibility and so forth. The decision regarding which patients should be killed was made entirely on the basis of this brief information by expert consultants, most of whom were professors of psychiatry in the key universities. These consultants never saw the patients themselves.

The Nazis set up an organization specifically for the killing of children, which they called, “Realm’s Committee for Scientific Approach to Severe Illness Due to Heredity and Constitution.” Children were transported to the killing centers by “The Charitable Transport Company for the Sick.” “The Charitable Foundation for Institutional Care” collected the cost of killing the children from the relatives, who did not know that they were paying to kill their own kinfolk. The cause of death was falsified on the death certificates. [Francis A. Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop, M.D., Whatever Happened to the Human Race? (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1979), pp. 103-107].

It hasn’t been too far back in the history of the United States, that black people were sold like cattle in our slave markets. For economic reasons, white society had classified them as “nonhuman.” The U S Supreme Court upheld this lie in its infamous Dred Scott Decision.

Jesse L. Jackson, in 1977, tied the prior treatment of blacks with our present treatment of the preborn:

You could not protest the existence or treatment of slaves on the plantation because that was private and therefore outside your right to be concerned…. The Constitution called us three-fifths human and the whites further dehumanized us by calling us `niggers.’ It was part of the dehumanizing process…. These advocates taking life prior to birth do not call it killing or murder, they call it abortion. They further never talk about aborting a baby because that would imply something human…. Fetus sounds less than human and therefore can be justified…. What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of a person and what kind of a society will we have twenty years hence if life can be taken so casually? It is that question, the question of our attitude, our value system, and our mind set with regard to the nature and the worth of life itself that is the central question confronting mankind. Failure to answer that question affirmatively may leave us with a hell right here on earth. [Francis A. Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop, M.D., Whatever Happened to the Human Race? (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1979), p. 209.]

Twenty-five years after Rev. Jackson’s prediction, we have seen 45,000,000 preborn children killed for convenience and money. There is no telling how many newborns have been sedated and deliberately left to die of starvation.

For a former “insider” expose of the brutal and woman-exploiting abortion industry, read Carol Everett’s book, Blood Money (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Press Books, 1992). Her book tore at my heart. It spoke of how degenerate a part of the medical community had become. Carol Everett later found Christ and now ministers hope and healing.

The infamous pathologist Jack Kevorkian has grabbed headlines by murdering sick people. But, secretly in the hospitals, how many old and sick people have been “put to sleep” by other physicians simply by administering an overdose of medication, or by withholding needed medication?

I was touched, influenced and inspired by the ideas of Bill Bennett. See William J. Bennett, The De-Valuing of America—The Fight for Our Culture and Our Children (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992).

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It is a sad fact that so many unborn babies have been aborted in the last 40 years and this editorial cartoon touches on that fact:

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