NFL Quarterback Chooses Moral Medical Treatment

September 30, 2011 By

by Nathan A. Cherry, 09/30/2011

Martinsburg, WV – By now you are well aware of my position on stem cell research and the use of stem cells in patient treatment. I don’t support in any way, shape, or form the use of embryonic stem cells for research or treatment. I hold this position partially because to date not one person has been helped using embryonic stem cells, but mostly I oppose their use because it is a life-destroying form of research in that it kills a living human embryo.

ManningIf you want to know more about the difference between these two forms, check out this article I wrote earlier this year.

What you may not know is that I am a huge New England Patriots fan. And what you might be wondering at this point is how the Patriots and stem cells are related. I’m glad you asked.

Anyone that follows football with any sort of mild interest knows the two best quarterbacks of the last decade are Tom Brady of my beloved Patriots, and Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. You also know these two teams are rivals. So it goes without saying that I am not a fan of the Colts. However, being a fan of the game I have great respect for Peyton Manning. It could be for his faith, or the class with which he plays the game (a lesson I wish he would teach more players). It could simply be that he is undoubtedly one of the greatest QB’s ever to shout a cadence or throw a pigskin. And now I can add one more reason to respect Manning to the list: his decision to use adult stem cells to treat his neck injury.

Our friends at the Family Research Council blog report:

“Manning has had three surgeries on his neck in the last 19 months, little detail was available, but the information indicates that the procedure may have used adipose (fat) derived adult stem cells from Manning’s own body; this autologous procedure (using your own adult stem cells) bypasses any problems of transplant rejection and is relatively safe. Manning’s adult stem cells may have then been injected around the site of his problem vertebra in the neck, to assist healing and help with spinal disc fusion.”

[Read more...]

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Engaging Essentials – 9/29

September 29, 2011 By


Pulling Back from Divorce – Here is an intriguing article from the USA Today noting how many couples, having once filed for divorce, are instead working through tough issues to continue their marriage.  Pray such a trend continues . . . and that government will make it easier to mend marriages, not easier to end them.

Why Can’t I Own Canadians? – Tim Challies linked to this in his daily link sharing post yesterday.  It’s hard to describe, except to say that theologian Michael Horton does a fabulous job of refuting common argument thrown at us by same-sex activists, namely, the “Leviticus [false] dilemma.”

Rights Clash in NY – As predicted, the redefinition of marriage in NY has pitted the “civil” rights of homosexual couples vs. the religious liberty rights of an individual.  Please note, the much vaulted protections for religious freedom that helped senators feel comfortable redefining marriage in NY cannot protect this clerk.

38 Ways to Make a Baby – Food for thought: “Whether out of ignorance or oversight, the pro-life community has until recently tended to overlook embryo destruction that occurs ex vivo. . . .But while the motives may differ, all created embryos have the same moral status and deserve the same level of protection from harm. The pain of infertility does not provide an exemption to this obligation.”  Consider also the re-release of West Virginia native Robert George’s book, Embryo.

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Engaging Essentials, Life, Marriage, Religious Freedom

High School Freshman Accused of “Bullying” for Sharing View on Homosexuality

September 29, 2011 By

by Nathan A. Cherry, 09/29/2011

Martinsburg, WV – You remember back in August when I wrote about “conscience exemptions” related to same-sex “marriage” and the fact that they would not hold up and settling for them would be a very bad idea? If you missed that post, you can see it here.

Just two months later here I am once again writing about conscience/religious freedom and free speech related to same-sex marriage. This is a serious issue that, if traditionalTexas Freshman Dakota Ary marriage proponents are not careful with, will erode our rights and liberties before our eyes. Don’t be fooled, the same-sex “marriage” crowd wants us to buy into “exemptions” as an olive branch between the two views. Those exemptions however are nothing more than a stall tactic to get their way before homosexual rights groups lobby for their removal.

In this recent incident out of Texas, a student was talking with one of his friends and the conversation turned to homosexuality in relation to religion. The student, freshman Dakota Ary shared his Christian view and was immediately given an infraction and sent to the principal’s office. Liberty Counsel shares more on this incident.

“Dakota was in a German language class at Western Hills High School on Tuesday when the topic of homosexuality arose. ‘I’m a Christian and, to me, being homosexual is wrong,’ Dakota said to one of his classmates. His teacher overheard the comment, wrote Dakota an infraction, and sent him to the principal’s office. The class topic was religious beliefs in Germany. During the discussion, one student asked what Germans thought about homosexuality in relation to religion. Another student then asked to hear some translated terms such as ‘lesbian.’ These questions provoked the conversation about Christianity and Dakota’s expression of his opinion to one classmate.”

This alone is infuriating. But the comments written on the formal discipline form are outrageous.

[Read more...]

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Marriage, Religious Freedom Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Engaging Essentials – 9/28

September 28, 2011 By


‘Gay Marriage’ and Religious Freedom – Seems I’m not the only one linking the press for the redefinition of marriage with limiting religious freedom – this time it’s from someone who theologically favors the redefinition of marriage.

Abortion Industry Lawyers Up – If you haven’t heard, Planned Parenthood is facing investigation by the US House of Representatives.  This has forced them to turn to some attorneys for help.

Pastor Nadarkhani – An Iranian pastor, for refusing to recant his faith, is facing execution in Iran.  Pray for mercy by the state and that God will receive great glory in this faithful follower’s life and/or death.

RU-486 is Convenient and Dangerous – In a day and age where everything is solved by popping a pill, it’s important to remember that some pills are not good for you.  This article makes it clear that, though a convenient money-maker for the abortion industry, patients aren’t as jazzed about it.

Bible Verses are Against the Law – At least that is what is suggested by a police officer in England.  Consider this either a warning or a coming attraction, depending on how faithfully you wish to steward the government entrusted to your care.

 

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Engaging Essentials, Life, Marriage, Religious Freedom

We’d Stop Talking About Civil Unions . . . If the ACLU Would Let Us!

September 27, 2011 By


Earlier today, I posted my thoughts about Rhode Island’s chapter of the ACLU calling for the doing away with civil unions in favor of redefining marriage.  Give it a read before you go on.  Go ahead.  I’ll wait.

Done?  Good.  Now here is an update.

Just this afternoon, a friend pointed out to me the section on the national ACLU’s website regarding their efforts to redefine marriage.  Right at the bottom of the page, here is what they admit:

As a stepping-stone to full equality [I.e., redefining marriage], we also support efforts to pass comprehensive civil unions and domestic partnerships, like recently passed laws in Illinois and Hawaii, which grant all the same rights as marriage under state law to same-sex couples.

There you have it.  Straight from the equine’s oral cavity – efforts to appeal to compromise positions of civil unions are merely “stepping-stone[s]” to redefining marriage.

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Marriage

Can We Stop Talking About Civil Unions Now?

September 27, 2011 By


It has long been my contention that civil unions and domestic partnerships have had only one purpose: to press society to redefine marriage.  Sure, they have been used as political compromises.  Those who really want to stay in the mushy middle of the ‘culture wars’ try to offer civil unions and domestic partnerships as the “Can’t we all just get along” for marriage.

The left has variously positioned these institutions.  In some respects, they have declared them a meaningful compromise, while likewise claiming to have protected marriage from redefinition.  Others, more liberal, have deemed them, “separate and unequal” legal structures, thus hearkening back (with intentional coincidence) to the days of Jim Crow.  Most conservatives have steadfastly seen through the ruse and maintained that any institution that compromises marriage or creates a, “marriage-lite” institution inherently undermines the valuable status marriage deserves in our society.

From the beginning, civil unions and domestic partnerships were intended to undermine the institution of marriage.  Moreover, the goal has never been to create a parallel system for same-sex couples to pass their property to their partners or visit one another in the hospital.  It has been to silence any opposition, especially religious opposition.

So, this morning I am, for once, thankful for the ACLU.

According to a report yesterday, the ACLU of Rhode Island is demanding that Rhode Island ditch their support for civil unions and fully redefine marriage.  At least they are honest.  According to the story, the reason to oppose civil unions is that no one wants them.  In fact, since they were instituted earlier this year, only 14 couples have registered their civil union.

But, that’s not the whole story.

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About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Marriage, Religious Freedom

The Engaging Essentials – 9/27

September 27, 2011 By


Cha-Ching – Planned Parenthood makes money aborting enough children to wipe out the population of Kanawha, Putnam, Jackson, and Cabell Counties: “According to their own figures, in 2009 alone, Planned Parenthood performed 332,278 abortions. That’s like wiping out the population of a sizeable city. Since the average cost of an abortion was $468, Planned Parenthood’s total abortion income that year was $155,506,104.”

Coal and Abortion? – During a Congressional hearing held in Charleston yesterday, one environmentalist calls lawmakers hypocrites for claiming to be pro-life, but failing to protect children around strip mines.

Scalia and the Moral Law – While at Duquesne, Justice Scalia remarks, “‘Moral formation is a respectable goal for any educational institution, even a law school.’”

The Lost Girls – Have you ever wondered what China’s One-Child Policy is all about?  This is a thorough and well-drafted article about how it came to be law and what it means for the future of China.

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Engaging Essentials, Life, Religious Freedom

CNN Poll Concludes Most Americans are Pro Life

September 27, 2011 By

Will Presidential Candidates listen to Americans on abortion?

by Nathan A. Cherry, 09/27/2011

Martinsburg, WV – as election campaigns heat up and races get more focused there will be a narrowing of issues leading back to some of the main concerns Americans continue to have. For conservatives – Republican and Democrat alike – one issue where common ground is found is on the issue of abortion. More than once surveys have shown broad bi-partisan support for limiting abortion and a recent CNN Poll is no different.

People holding hands

Americans stand strong in favor of life

 

This new CNN Poll concludes, nearly the same as an earlier Gallup Poll did, that nearly two-thirds (62%) of Americans want to see a majority of abortions made illegal. It would be hard to argue that the findings reflect only Republican or even conservative American opinion. The issue of abortion has taken on a political position all its own as both Democrats and Republicans are tired to seeing innocent children killed and millions of dollars wasted in the form of Planned Parenthood and other abortion business funding.

Consider these findings from the CNN Poll:

*The survey found 25 percent of Americans want all abortions legal while 21 percent want all abortions illegal, and it had a large group of 53 percent of Americans saying abortions should be legal only under certain circumstances.

*In total, 62 percent of Americans want all or most abortions to be prohibited while only 37 percent of Americans want all or most abortions kept legal — the position of President Barack Obama and Planned Parenthood, the nation’s biggest abortion business.

[Read more...]

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Engaging Essentials – 9/26

September 26, 2011 By


WaPo: ‘More Minority Abortions!’ – “The main victims of choking off the availability of abortions will be poor African Americans and Hispanics, who account for a majority of women who undergo abortions nationwide.”

Conscience, Coercion, and Healthcare – Fellows at the Witherspoon Institute highlight some of the impending ethical issues surrounding healthcare reform.

Into the Lion’s Den – A pro-life supporter goes undercover to see what the other side talks about when they get together.  The result is not terribly surprising, but makes for an interesting read.

Safe-Haven Babies are Adopted – An interesting article out of Florida reporting on the successes of safe-haven laws.  Painful as that must be, it is intriguing to see (a) how many lives have been saved and (b) how quickly these lives are adopted into waiting homes.

GBTV and the Pulpit Initiative – Personally, I’m not a big fan of Glenn Beck.  Sometimes he’s funny, but more often he simply aggravates me for his moralistic and sarcastic approach to politics and public policy.  Nonetheless, this is a good interview highlighting the upcoming Pulpit Initiative:

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Engaging Essentials, Life, Religious Freedom

Creation vs. Evolution Sparks Public School Controversy

September 26, 2011 By

by Nathan A. Cherry, 09/26/2011

Martinsburg, WV – When I read stories such as this one regarding Intelligent Design and Creationism being taught in the classroom I can’t help but be sickened by the intolerant discrimination taking place. Displaying outrageous levels of hatred for opposing views, especially the view that God or an “intelligent designer” could have created everything, we see further proof of hypocritical double standards.

Milky Way galaxy

Where did it all come from? "In the beginning God, created..."

A small group of atheists and scientists, led by Sir David Attenborough and Richard Dawkins, are asking UK officials to restrict education in public schools by prohibiting the teaching of creationism and Intelligent Design. The group calls such teaching “unacceptable.”

What I find to be unacceptable is limiting the free exchange of ideas in an environment where education should trump politics and discrimination should have no place (maybe we need a good anti-discrimination policy for this).

The group is saying that “Creationism and intelligent design are not scientific theories, but they are portrayed as scientific theories by some religious fundamentalists who attempt to have their views promoted in publicly funded schools.” And for this reason such teaching should be banned.

Well, let’s consider this for just a minute. One of the most foundational principles to the scientific method is observation. Without observation science will reject a theory nearly every time; of course Darwinian evolution has a death grip on many scientists today (though that trend is changing and many young scientists reject the poor theory).

My question is who observed evolution? At what point in time has anyone ever witnessed a fish crawl out of the ocean because it miraculously grew legs and lungs for breathing air? Or when has anyone ever seen a monkey get up and walk upright out of the zoo because it completed its evolution to becoming a man. And if this is such a concrete ‘theory” then someone needs to tell me when it ended? If monkeys became man, when did they stop becoming men?

[Read more...]

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Religious Freedom Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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