Governor Signs 20 Week Abortion Ban – in Mississippi
Posted on April 4, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
Fox News: “Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Tuesday that he looks forward to quickly signing a bill that would ban abortion at 20 weeks, the midpoint of a full-term pregnancy. ‘This measure represents a great effort to protect the unborn in Mississippi,’ Bryant said in a statement after House Bill 1400 passed the House 91-20 and the Senate 41-10.”
Just days after West Virginia governor Earl Ray Tomblin decided to veto a 20 week abortion ban because his legal team said it was “unconstitutional,” Mississippi governor Phil Bryant is preparing to sign one into law. Apparently Gov. Bryant did not consult Gov. Tomblin’s legal team to know such bills are unconstitutional. Apparently the other dozen states and the U.S. House of Representatives did not consult Gov. Tomblin’s legal team to know such bill are unconstitutional.
Or maybe Gov. Tomblin is playing political games to protect vulnerable Democrat lawmakers up for re-election in 2014.
Perhaps Gov. Tomblin is is signaling to national Democrats that he is with them on this issue in order to gain favor as he seeks federal office.
It could be that Gov. Tomblin’s claim to be “pro-life” is nothing more than empty words since his voting record does not reflect such a claim.
Whatever the reasons, one thing is clear, Gov. Tomblin’s legal team gave bad advice, and Gov. Tomblin should have signed the bill in order to show West Virginians that he truly is pro-life. The fact that he vetoed the bill while claiming to be pro-life is hypocrisy at its worst and West Virginia can do better.
Our Culture is Starving for Bold Pastors Willing to Speak Up
Posted on April 4, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
Pastor, let me ask you a question. Does your congregation know their religious rights? I’m not trying to be funny, it’s a serious question. And I am willing to bet that not only does many in your congregation not know their rights, but neither do you.
My friend Erik Stanley has been leading the charge to educate churches and pastors on their religious rights for a long time. As a religious freedom litigator with Alliance Defending Freedom he is on the front lines ensuring our constitutional rights are protected and defended. Part of his work has been the “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” project which aims to challenge the unconstitutional Johnson Amendment in the IRS code. Erik recently wrote:
“Why is it that Christians have a sense that our faith is under attack and that we are a disfavored minority on the road to sure persecution? One reason is because of the stories we see of fellow believers who are currently undergoing trials and tribulations for simply exercising their faith… Pastor, what are you doing to prepare your congregation to live in a culture that seems bent on denying them the right to live out their faith and to share their faith with others around them? Are they aware of the increasing attacks on people of faith?”
By now many people know of the florist in Washington, the baker in Colorado, and the photographer in New Mexico facing lawsuits for adhering to their religious convictions. What you might not know is that these are just three of the hundreds of cases wherein people of faith are facing legal action for their convictions. The reality is that these stories are growing in number. Continue reading…
West Virginia Lawmakers Making National News for All the Wrong Reasons
Posted on April 3, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
Over the last few days West Virginia governor Earl Ray Tomblin has been in the news quite a bit. His claim to fame is that he vetoed the 20 week abortion ban last Friday. Tomblin, a “pro-life” governor said the bill was unconstitutional. I guess the other states and the U.S. House of Representatives that passed similar bills should have consulted with Tomblin’s legal team.
Joining Gov. Tomblin in the halls of shame this week is West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. Manchin is also a self-proclaimed “pro-life” politician that is coming under fire for not becoming a sponsor of the federal 20 week abortion ban. An article at LifeNews.com explains:
“To put pressure on Manchin to support the bill, the SBA List today informed LifeNews of a $20,000 radio ad buy encouraging Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia to become the first Democratic senator to cosponsor the federal Pain Capable Unborn Child Act. The legislation would protect unborn children beginning at 20 weeks – more than halfway through pregnancy. Similar laws have been passed in 13 states. The federal bill passed the U.S. House and has more than 40 Senate cosponsors.”
Having more than 40 co-sponsors in the Senate is encouraging and gives hope for the bills hearing and passage. But it does not guarantee anything will come of it. Gov. Tomblin proved that when the West Virginia bill gained an overwhelming bi-partisan support only to have Tomblin veto the bill.
Once again West Virginia finds itself in the un-enviable position of having lawmakers in the news for all the wrong reasons. Republicans and Democrats came together to pass a life saving bill only to have our “pro-life” governor veto it. And our “pro-life” Senator won’t sign on to another life saving bill in the Senate. At some point we have to stop listening to what our candidates say and start paying attention to what they do. The next time Tomblin and Manchin claim to be pro-life the audience needs to laugh and remind them of their voting records.
Why Did “Pro Life” Gov. Tomblin Veto a Bill Banning Abortion?
Posted on April 3, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin will have a hard time convincing anyone that he’s pro-life from this point forward. News broke late last night that Gov. Tomblin vetoed the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act after he doubted the bills constitutionality.
This bill, HB 4588, also known as the 20 week abortion ban, would have made it illegal to perform an abortion after 20 weeks gestation. That is the point at which most doctors and scientists agree that an unborn child can certainly feel pain. This fact means that abortion after 20 weeks is nothing short of torture as the pain capable unborn child is being torn limb from limb and can feel everything.
It was a surprise that the bill even made it out of committee and found a hearing in the legislature considering the Democratic majority and the hurdles placed before it. Nonetheless HB 4588 was voted on and passed in the house and senate by overwhelming bi-partisan majorities. This should have made the bill very easy for Gov. Tomblin to sign, considering the super-majority of state senators and delegates that supported it.
A Charleston Gazette article reported on the reasons why Gov. Tomblin decided to veto the bill: Continue reading…
Joe Carter: 9 Things You Should Know About the Story of Noah
Posted on April 2, 2014 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
Joe Carter writes for the Gospel Coalition, among other venues, and does a great job of research and writing. Besides that, he’s a really nice guy. Carter has written another in his “9 Things You Should Know” series, this one concerning the story of Noah. While we are quick to relay the basic story of Noah from the Bible, Carter brings out details that few ever consider. Considering how badly the new Noah movie portrays the biblical events, these very biblical facts from the Noah narrative are worth taking a look at. Here’s Carter’s list:
1. The story of Noah is told is chiastic parallelism (or chiasmus), a figure of speech in which the order of the terms in the first of two parallel clauses is reversed in the second. If you assign the letters A and B to the first appearance of the key words or phrases and A’ and B’ to their subsequent appearance, they follow what is commonly referred to as an A-B-B-A pattern.
A chiasm in the story of Noah and the flood (Genesis 6.10-9.19): Continue reading…
If This Photo Shows “Gay Pride” Then Gays Should Be Ashamed of Themselves
Posted on April 2, 2014 in Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
Warning: Graphic image below that some might find disturbing.
Let’s suppose you are walking in the park with your children enjoying a beautiful day. The kids are running and laughing while you stroll along and everyone is enjoying themselves. Suddenly a most disturbing image reveals itself as a completely nude man strolls down the sidewalk toward your children.
What would you do?
Like nearly every parent you would most like grab your kids and run in the opposite direction seeking shelter from the offensive image. You would do everything in your power to keep your kids from seeing the image and perhaps call the police to report the indecency.
Why would you do that?
I suspect that you would react in that way because you inherently know that it is not right for someone, man or woman, to be walking around the park naked. We have laws against public nudity that forbid such things. We have those laws not only to protect the innocence of children, but to protect the moral conscience of people in general. Decency an nudity laws protect innocence, conscience, order, and the morals of people that would otherwise be susceptible to diverse forms of crude, lascivious behaviors.
The picture below illustrates that thought with pinpoint accuracy. Continue reading…
Governor Tomblin Playing Political Games with Unborn Children
Posted on April 1, 2014 in Life by Nathan Cherry
Last week Gov. Tomblin vetoed the Unborn Pain Capable Child Protection Bill (HB 4588) saying it was unconstitutional. Never mind that the bill passed in 10 other states and even the U.S. House of Representatives, Tomblin’s legal team advised him that the bill was problematic.
And article yesterday morning at the Daily Caller quotes Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser regarding the incident:
“This high profile hypocrisy is producing justified outrage in West Virginia and across the nation. Shame on Governor Tomblin for turning his back on unborn children and women by vetoing a compassionate, common sense limit passed with overwhelming bipartisan support…This bill has passed in 10 other states and even the U.S. House of Representatives – none of which considered the bill to be unconstitutional, as the Governor claimed. I believe this was the plan of the Democratic Leadership in West Virginia all along, to allow the bill to pass so their vulnerable Democrat members could vote pro-life before an important election and then have lame-duck Governor veto the bill. That’s not leadership.”
I couldn’t agree more with that assessment as the only plausible explanation for the weak, barely there “unconstitutional” reason for the veto. My contention is simple, if Gov. Tomblin was truly pro-life he would eagerly sign the bill and let the courts decide if it was constitutional or not. His primary goal would be protecting the unborn. If his primary goal is his own career, and creating a sound bite for fellow Democrats up for re-election, veto the bill. By doing so he tells national Democrats – of which I believe Tomblin wants to join in Washington – that he will be a “team player” on the issue. He gives Democrats in the state legislature a good talking point on the campaign trail and once again the desires of the people of West Virginia are ignored.
An article at LifeNews.com highlights the states that have passed 20 week abortion bans, and also makes mention that every West Virginia congressional member voted for the bill that passed the House of Representatives:
“The states that have passed Pain-Capable bills include Nebraska, Kansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Dakota, and Texas. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797) passed the U.S. House of Representatives on June 18, 2013, by 228-196. All three members of the West Virginia congressional delegation voted for that bill.”
Tell Gov. Tomblin if you agree with his decision. Let him know if you will or will not support him should he decide to run for federal office. Personally, if he won’t defend the unborn here in West Virginia there is no reason to believe he will do so in Washington. That’s not a candidate I can support.
Doug Mainwaring Explains Why Gays Don’t Want to be Married
Posted on April 1, 2014 in Marriage by Nathan Cherry
Doug Mainwaring, an openly gay man, married to a women, rejecting the homosexual lifestyle and same-sex “marriage,” has gained attention in recent years for his outspoken opposition to marriage redefinition.
Mainwaring is a well educated, successful, articulate, communicator of the fact that marriage is inherently the union of a man and woman and nothing, not laws, not judges, not certificates, can change that. He has, as you might have guessed, gained a number of detractors seeking to silence him from exposing the true motives behind the LGBT agenda.
Mainwaring recently wrote an article in the American Thinker responding to some of his detractors after they viciously attacked him for daring to say that marriage cannot be redefined. you can click the link to see what some of those “tolerant” people wrote and Mainwaring’s responses. I’ve posted part of his article below because he explains in find detail common sense reasons to reject marriage redefinition. The fact that he is gay and holds this position makes him dangerous to “the cause” of liberals and those seeking more than they care to admit.
“This whole disagreement stems not from gays being discriminated against by a society that wants to deny them rights. It stems from gays choosing to abandon certain rights. Gays reject the right to marriage. Most don’t want marriage. They want something different from marriage. They want a committed, sexual relationship with another man. And in practice, sometimes these are monogamous, but let’s face it: most evolve into open or semi-open relationships. Continue reading…
Video: Candace Cameron-Bure Shares Her Faith on “Dancing With the Stars”
Posted on March 31, 2014 in Marriage by Nathan Cherry
I’ve become a fan of Candace Cameron-Bure for her bold faith in the face of criticism as a result of being such a public figure. Her appearance on ‘Dancing with the Stars” is no exception as she seeks to balance her faith with a show that has a certain level of sensuality and sex-appeal.
The Blaze reported on Cameron-Bure’s idea of being on the show:
“I’m a Christian. My life revolves around my relationship with Jesus Christ. So with the overall tone of the dance and the costumes I’m not going to take a backseat. My voice will definitely be heard.” In the video, the crowd can be heard cheering her position. Cameron-Bure then proceeded to nix her partner’s costume idea that included him without a shirt. And while she admitted the dance was “sensual,” she maintained that she would not be over-the-top.”
Watch the performance below, it is quite beautiful without being raunchy. I applaud Candace Cameron-Bure for her convictions and willingness to stand for her beliefs no matter what. If the video doesn’t appear automatically, please refresh your browser.
Man Wants to Compete As A Woman – CrossFit Says No
Posted on March 31, 2014 in Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
It was bound to happen sooner or later. A transgender woman is suing CrossFit for refusing to allow “her” to compete in one of their annual CrossFit games in the women’s division.
The Blaze reports:
“The lawsuit brought Thursday by Chloie Jonsson, 34, accuses CrossFit Inc. of violating her rights under a California law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Jonsson’s complaint says she was born male but has been living as a woman since she was a teenager and underwent sex reassignment surgery eight years ago. The surgery, coupled with the female hormones she takes, satisfied the state’s requirements for her to be recognized as female on her birth certificate and other official documents.”
The case itself is not so shocking as transgender people are making a major push for their “rights” in light of legal gains by homosexuals. But when CrossFit told this person that they could not allow her to compete because of the unfair advantage she would have over other women due to her birth as a biological male, the response by her lawyer is beyond the pale: Continue reading…