President Bush made his first veto yesterday, rejecting a bill that would have advanced embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. Sometimes people merely say "stem cell research holds the promise for curing intractable diseases." But such statements are illusive because they are ambiguous. Then they can make conservatives look bad by saying they "oppose important research that has the potential to save lives." Michael Fumeno notes that adult stem cells (ASCs) from numerous places in the body as well as umbilical cord blood and placenta – are curing diseases here and now and have been doing so … [Read more...] about Embryonic vs Adult Stem Cell Research
Archives for July 2006
Women and Childlessness
I am continuing to discuss the Barbara Dafoe Whitehead/David Popenoe report entitled The State of Our Unions, The Social Health of Marriage in America 2006, Essay: Life Without Children. I make this particular post because I find the report's observations on women and childlessness to be interesting and provocative. I'm not entirely sure what to make of them. The report notes, "most women still want to have at least one child and, ideally, two. In fact, 68 percent of Gen X women today are likely to say that having a child is an experience every woman should have compared to just 45 percent … [Read more...] about Women and Childlessness
Economic Ramifications of Childlessness
I am continuing to discuss the Barbara Dafoe Whitehead/David Popenoe report entitled The State of Our Unions, The Social Health of Marriage in America 2006, Essay: Life Without Children. I want to highlight some of the report's findings on the economic factors of the childless trend, and the market forces that support it (perhaps unwittingly, though I think sometimes consciously): 1. Childless young adults are exceedingly well suited to life and work in a dynamic society and global economy. They display great facility and comfort with new technologies. Their youthful penchant for … [Read more...] about Economic Ramifications of Childlessness
State of the (Marriage) Unions – Childlessness
Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and David Popenoe of the National Marriage Project have come out with their State of Our Unions report for 2006 (the reports come out annually, in the summer). The report is titled Life Without Children, highlighting the troubling trend of (often deliberately) childless marriages. Their Executive Summary: For most of the nation’s history, Americans expected to devote much of their adult life and work to the rearing of children. Today, life without children is emerging as a social reality for a growing number of American adults. Due to delay of marriage, postponed … [Read more...] about State of the (Marriage) Unions – Childlessness
Al Mohler (Years Ago) Changed His Mind on Women as Pastors
Al Mohler comments on the fact that Dr. Frank Page (SBC President) once affirmed that women should be allowed to be pastors. In Dr. Page's 1980 Ph.D. dissertation, he argued for the abolition of all distinctions in the role of men and women in the church. Mohler explains that this was the prevailing view in the SBC at that time, which led him, too, to accept this position as a seminary student in the early 1980s. Get this: Mohler actually went so far as to help lead a protest of the 1984 SBC resolution on women in ministry. So how did Mohler come to change his mind on this crucial issue, … [Read more...] about Al Mohler (Years Ago) Changed His Mind on Women as Pastors
Cotton Mather on Preaching
Cotton Mather, who died in 1728, wrote this in the Preface of his book Student and Preacher, a declaration he termed "Directions for a Candidate of the Ministry:" The great design and intention of the office of a Christian preacher are to restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men; to display in the most lively colours, and proclaim in the clearest language, the wonderful perfections, offices and graces of the Son of God; and to attract the souls of men into a state of everlasting friendship with Him. (As quoted in Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today by John … [Read more...] about Cotton Mather on Preaching