Stem Cell Research

Stem Cell Research: Needless Death

Politicians who believe a particular “cause” will increase their odds in a voting booth can often be heard (loudly) beating the drum for that cause on the campaign trial. If a public poll appears to indicate that Americans are in favor of something—a check of the wind, so-to-speak—many politicians adopt that cause with gusto. But occasionally, it would be nice if the politicians would check the facts rather than checking the wind and popular opinion. Americans would be better informed and better served if those nominated for office would educate themselves on the facts.

For instance, embryonic stem cell research has been a political hot button for several years. Many elected officials and celebrities take pleasure in locking arms together and demanding that the government fund embryonic stem cell research. To hear their rhetoric, one might believe that these cells harvested from human embryos could not only cure Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, but also give us peace on Earth and resolve gridlock on the nation’s interstates. Surely the average person can see through this political grandstanding. [One wonder’s how much money the abortion lobbyists have funneled into this debate to keep the issue in the headlines.]

In reality, we know today that those embryonic stem cells are totally unnecessary. Stem cell research can continue without the destruction of innocent embryos. Adult stem cells provide the answer. Initially, the controversy was allegedly whether or not the stem cells were “pluripotent”—meaning cells that have the ability to become almost any cell in the body. These special cells can become healthy heart tissue or nervous tissue which could potentially be used to treat congestive heart failure or various brain disorders respectively. Currently stem cells are collected from four different sources: adult tissue, umbilical cords, aborted fetuses, and leftover embryos stored from in vitro fertilization procedures. The real controversy surrounds where the stem cells are collected from.

Prior to 2001, it was believed that only embryonic stem cells—that is, cells collected from aborted fetuses or embryos—were pluripotent. However, in the past six years, several peer-reviewed research studies have clearly shown that adult stem cells are also pluripotent. In fact, in January 2007 researchers demonstrated they could derive human stem cells from the amniotic fluid surrounding babies in the womb. Adult stem cells collected from this method would potentially provide an endless source of stem cells that are easily available for research. According to USA Today staff writer Elizabeth Weise, “The researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., were able to get the amniotic cells to differentiate into fat, bone, muscle, blood, nerve and liver cells.” Simply put, we do not need embryonic stem cells. The current “score” is 72 to 0—meaning there are currently seventy-two conditions successfully being treated using adult stem cells (see http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm), whereas embryonic stem cells have still yet to show any benefit in treating human conditions.

Dr. Mae-Wan Ho wrote a paper comparing the “score” between embryonic (ES) and adult stem cells.  After reviewing studies employing embryonic stem cells she concluded: “These latest results show that the ES cells need to be genetically modified and extensive manipulation in vitro before they can be transplanted safely. Direct transplant of ES cells are known to give rise to teratomas (tumors—BH) and uncontrollable cell proliferation. There is already evidence that ES cells are genetically unstable in long term culture, and are especially prone to chromosomal abnormalities.” This is not exactly the scorecard that the media has been presenting the general public.

The American people should be bold enough to hold politicians and the mainstream media accountable: “Why promote embryonic stem cells if the adult stem cells work?”Why do individuals continue to promote the “potential” benefit of embryonic stem cells when it has been unmistakably shown that adult stem cells are working better? What does this tell us about the value our society is placing on human life? Have we forgotten that the first step toward the Nazi Holocaust was when physicians began to selectively determine which lives were worth living? Much of the moral decay we are witnessing today is a direct result of society in which human life is no longer valued. Robert Reily observed: “The problem is that, by denying the possibility of a relationship between God and man, atheism also denies the possibility of a just relationship between men…. Human life is sacred only if there is a God to sanctify it. Otherwise man is just another collection of atoms and can be treated as such” (1988). Children (and adults) need to be taught that life is precious, and reminded that God views life to begin before birth (see Isaiah 49: 1,5; Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-14; Job 3:13-16, etc.). Otherwise, without intervention, society will continue to treat humans as simply a collection of atoms—and we will continue to watch the onslaught of needless deaths.

For a more detailed review of the stem cell controversy please see the January 2006 issue of Think available online.

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Trinity

GOD IS A TRINITY

QUESTION: “I have a friend who is a Jehovah’s Witness who says there is no trinity in the Bible. She says that the God of the Bible is Jehovah only and that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were servants (angels) of Jehovah. Is that what you understand about the God of the Bible?”

MY ANSWER: In the beginning there was God:

1. The FATHER and SPIRIT are mentioned in Gen. 1:1-2.

2. JESUS CHRIST (i.e. the WORD) is mentioned in John 1:1

3. The two readings establish that all three members of the Godhead were present at the CREATION!

Genesis 1:1-2 – 1 in the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (KJV)

John 1:1 – in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (KJV)

The Godhead is a trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Godhead exists and is one in purpose (i.e. intent); these three are in complete accord in all things.

Consider the following as Biblical proof that God consists of FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT:  The first four books of the New Testament (i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) state the facts for us regarding the trinity – All three members of the Godhead were present and identified at the baptism of Jesus by John the baptizer in the River Jordan.

Matt. 3:16-17 – “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (KJV)

Mark 1:10-12 – “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit drives him into the wilderness. (KJV)

Luke 3:21-22 – Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. (KJV)

John 1:32-34 – And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. (KJV)

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Heaven Holds My Standards and Ideals

We are all familiar with the idea of a standard.  Perhaps the most common standard is the ruler, a flat stick of wood on which is inscribed twelve numbers sequentially, evenly spaced at regular intervals.  The entire ruler is known as a “foot.”  The smaller divided spaces as “inches.”  In the construction industry, this standard is critical for consumers to know exactly the amount of product they are receiving.  Were a construction worker to depart from this standard and provide less, the consumer would balk at the product and cry foul, and rightly so.  So also, one would be upset were he to receive a ticket for running a green light, get charged for a gallon of milk when he only bought half a gallon, or get an “F” on a test on which he missed no questions.  We expect agreed upon standards to go unaltered.

While the above conventions are humanly devised, it is a fundamental mistake to say that all standards are simply the product of human invention.  The implication of such a notion is that Nazi Germany was not wrong in its extermination of seven million Jews.  Neither could Stalin have been wrong when he intentionally starved to death six to eight million Ukrainians in the early 1930s.  If all standards are humanly devised, then standards of right and wrong must be humanly devised as well.  If such is the case, then no higher standard than humanity itself could judge an action to be wrong.  That implies that if humanity (or a certain contingent thereof) agrees upon it, it must be right, regardless of how atrocious it may be.  Such is the quagmire into which one wades when he leaves heaven out of his thinking.

Indeed, in order to escape the morass of problems that results from the notion that humans invent morals, one must appeal to a standard of morality that is above and beyond humanity.  The Bible sets forth God as the source of all things morally praiseworthy, and the ultimate standard for right and wrong (Luke 18:19, James 1:17).  This means that heaven holds my standards and ideals for morality and right living.  How does heaven reveal this message to me?

First, God reveals the standard for right living through the life and person of Jesus who is the Christ, God in the flesh.  Jesus reveals to us who God truly is (John 1:18), teaches us what God’s will is (John 7:17), and provides for us a perfect example for how to live (1 Peter 2:21).  Titus 2:11-12 says of Jesus, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”

Second, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His apostles and prophets to guide them into all truth (John 16:13).  These apostles were inspired by God’s Spirit to preach, teach, and write the things which they saw and heard of the life of Jesus (John 14:26).  These men of God spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).  When they wrote these things down so that others could read them, they revealed the very mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).  We may understand what they wrote, and apply them to our lives as we seek to live in a morally praiseworthy way (Ephesians 3:3-4).

Third, as I seek God within my life, I must handle the scriptures in a responsible way.  Paul told Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).  I must be honest with the evidence that is presented (Luke 8:15).  I must make personal application of the truths of the word of God to my life (James 1:21-27).  I must not wrest the scriptures to my own destruction (2 Peter 3:16).

It is not the case that a single human, a group of humans, or the whole of humanity are the standard for right and wrong.  Each person must look to heaven, wherein dwells righteousness (2 Peter 3:13), for his standards and ideals.  Indeed, heaven holds all to me!

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Don’t Touch That!

Don’t Touch That

In the beginning, man was warned not to touch a certain food or disastrous consequences would happen:

Genesis 2:16-17 – And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Man defied God and paid the consequences. Now, some 6000+ years later, man starts each new year warning themselves not touch certain foods or there will be disastrous consequences. Of course, the disaster of increasing one’s waistband is not as serious as the physical and spiritual death which resulted from the first poor choice.

Food choices seem to haunt many and there are many solutions. Some individuals who claim we should follow a pre-flood diet, eating only vegetables. However, as part of the New Covenant in Christ, man was given the blessing of being authorized by God to eat bacon and other meats:

Mark 7:18-19 – And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) [ESV]

I Timothy 4:3-4 – Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.  For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

On another extreme, some instruct others to eat whatever and as much as they want, but to counteract the gluttony with diet pills. Gluttony is not smiled upon in scripture.

Deuteronomy 21:20 – And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

Proverbs 23:21 – For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Proverbs 28:7 – Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son; But he that is a companion of gluttons shameth his father.

Titus 1:12 – One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.

So gluttony countered by diet pills, this too is doomed to fail. Is there a Biblical solution? Why yes, of course, God has given us all we need to tackle the diet dilemma.

2 Peter 1:2-3 – Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue;

The call to action harkens back to the beginning. Where did Adam and Eve fail? They failed to control their behavior. No one forced them to partake of the forbidden fruit. They made the conscious decision to do something which was detrimental to body and soul. Self control is fruit of the spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.

It is not a miraculous gift, but an attribute of man subjecting himself fully to God. Paul spoke of the need for self control and Felix was afraid.

Acts 24:25 – And as he reasoned of righteousness, and self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, Go thy way for this time; and when I have a convenient season, I will call thee unto me.

A lack of self control is what individuals must fear and correct. Embrace self control now and rejoice in God.

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Holy Priesthood

Peter told the church that “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 2:5). He also said that the church is “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (1 Pet. 2:9).

When the Law of Moses was handed down on the mountains of Sinai and the tabernacle was constructed and finally assembled, God authorized specific people from the tribe of Levi to be the priests of the tabernacle. Moses was told to, “take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.” (Ex. 28:1).

It was the responsibility of these priests to offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people of Israel (Lev. 1:17). The priests were also made to wear special clothing that would set them apart from others. We are told, “And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” (Ex. 28:4).

But, both the Law of Moses and the Levitical priesthood was taken away when Jesus died on the cross for mankind. Paul wrote, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:” (Eph. 2:13‐16). Thus, since the priesthood had changed, it was necessary to change the law (Heb. 7:12).

Under the Christian time, Jesus Christ is our “great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Heb. 4:14). Under his teachings, there is no special class of priest among the people. Under Christ, every Christian is a priest and is authorized to go directly to God through Jesus Christ to confess HIS sins and to OFFER up his worship for the Hebrew writer said, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Heb. 13:15-16). How blessed Christians are today to be able to be a priest under our great high Priest!

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