Friday, May 25, 2012
America's largest Hispanic Christian organization is weighing in on President Obama's recent change of heart on gay marriage. The Hispanic Evangelical Association (officially the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference or NHCLC) is calling on its 40,118 member churches to take part in a 40 day fast starting on June 1. The purpose is to pray for "righteousness and favor in defense of God's institution of marriage".
The NHCLC Board has also designated Father's Day "Celebrating God's Plan for Marriage Sunday". Pastors will read a declaration affirming a commitment to the sacred institution of marriage.
The Association's president Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, regularly attends meetings at the White House to speak on behalf of Hispanic issues. He's also a member of President Obama's White House Task Force on Fatherhood.
In a statement, Rev. Rodriguez says, "we express our deep disappointment in President Obama's change of position on the vitally important issue of marriage protection. Marriage has always been and should always remain the union of one man and one woman."
Here is the full text of his statement.
"First, as Christians we must stand committed to reconciling the vertical Imago Dei, the image of God, in every human being with the horizontal Habitus Christus, the habits and actions of Christ. This requires a new narrative, an alternative discourse, where we stand for truth without sacrificing civility.
It is within this context that we express our deep disappointment in President Obama's change of position on the vitally important issue of marriage protection. Marriage has always been and should always remain the union of one man and one woman.
Even as we stand for traditional marriage, we affirm that the image of God lives in all human beings; black and white, rich and poor, straight and gay, conservative and liberal, citizen and undocumented.
Our challenge is to see the image of God in the suffering, the marginalized, the oppressed and the hurting. Our challenge is to see the image of God in every human being including those we disagree with. Our challenge is to see the image of God in those that oppose us. Our challenge is to see the image of God even in those that persecute and slander us. Our challenge is to see the image of God in friend and foe, acquaintance and stranger, strong and weak, oppressor and liberator.
We believe this approach is Biblical not political. As Hispanic Evangelicals, we stand committed to advancing not the agenda of the donkey or the elephant but only the agenda of the Lamb. The agenda of Christ is one of righteousness and justice, sanctification and service, covenant and community, holiness and humility, conviction and compassion. It is this agenda that provides the moral imperative to defend biblical truth with love and civility.
While President Obama's support of same-sex marriage does not reflect the sentiment of either the majority of African Americans or Hispanics and places him at odds with two segments of the electorate that celebrated his election in 2008, we must respond with both civility and conviction.
To Hispanics, our support of the biblical definition of marriage is not a matter of politics but a matter of faith. It is our faith that compels us to care for the poor and speak against injustice. It is our faith that prompts us as Hispanic evangelicals to speak out against bullying and against the persecution of gays and lesbians in third world countries. It is our Christian faith that requires us to uphold the biblical definition of marriage as a sacred union between one man and one woman.
To our community, supporting the traditional definition of marriage is not about being anti-anyone or anything. We understand that a marriage with mom and dad in the home serves as the primary antidote against teen pregnancy, gang activity, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency and many social ills.
Hence, the great concern stemming out of the President's declaration is whether or not he will pursue federal public policy initiatives that in essence redefine a sacred institution whose definition stems from natural law consistent with a Judeo-Christian Worldview. This is, of course, in addition to the recent HHS mandate that infringes on the first amendment rights of religious organizations.
At the end of day, Hispanics are both in support of biblical marriage and against homophobia. We desire that all Americans embrace life, enjoy liberty and pursue happiness without exception.
Yet, we also desire for our elected officials to pursue policy initiatives that advance the common good, using language that brings us together rather than tear us apart. As the Scripture commands, we will pray for President Obama, for his family and for wisdom as he leads our nation.
We will also pray that the President will defend the religious liberties of Americans who, because of conscience and conviction, do not view this issue via the same lens he recently engaged.
Finally, we pray that his support of gay marriage does not exacerbate the growing intolerance of a Christian worldview, which is wholeheartedly embraced by a majority of the Hispanic community."
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Could you soon handle business with the Social Security office through your smart phone? Maybe. The Obama Administration is working to make more government services available through mobile apps. The president has directed all major federal agencies to make two key government services that the public depends on available on mobile phones within the next 12 months.
“Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device. By making important services accessible from your phone and sharing government data with entrepreneurs, we are giving hard-working families and businesses tools that will help them succeed," says the president in a statement.
His administration is also working to make more government data more easily accessible. Mister Obama believes this will spur entrepreneurs to develop new services which will lead to .... wait for it... more new jobs.
U.S. Chief Technology Office Todd Parks says we've already seen it happen. “The release of government weather and GPS data has already led to countless entrepreneurial innovations, which have made life easier for America’s families while also creating multi-billion-dollar industries and generating jobs," Park says. The initiatives we’re launching will make government data resources even more accessible to the public and to entrepreneurs who can turn these data into services that can help Americans find the best doctor for their family, choose the college that offers them the most value for their money, save money on their energy bills through smarter shopping, and much more."
According to the government, in just three years, more Americans will be accessing the internet via mobile phones than traditional computers.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Conservatives say the bill is borne out of compassion for the unborn. Opponents say it's the latest example of an abuse of power.
The bill, H.R.3803 - The District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, aims to ban abortions at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy in the nation's capital.
"The late term abortion of unborn children who can feel pain is, in my opinion, the greatest human rights atrocity in the United States today," said Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., who chaired a hearing on the bill.
Democrats countered with what has grown into an election year theme for their party.
"This looks like another battle in the Republican war on women," Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said.
The bill would only apply to the District of Columbia, which critics seized upon to exploit hypocrisy from conservatives who subscribe to the mantra of states' rights.
"Is there anything unique that this should be applied to D.C. and nowhere else?" asked Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.
But Rep. Franks told CBN News neither the issue of Congress's constitutional authority over the District nor Congressional protocol (Franks refused to permit D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton to testify before the panel) captured the essence of the debate. He said the purpose of the hearing was to protect the unborn by pointing to evidence that they can feel pain.
In witness testimony, Republicans called on three medical experts in the fields of pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology to refute reports that suggest otherwise.
Rather than calling in their own expert, Democrats reserved their only witness position for Christy Zink, a Washington, D.C., resident who opposed the bill based on her own past experience.
Zink, a mother of two, recounted how she and her husband chose an abortion in 2009 after learning 21 weeks into pregnancy that their unborn child was missing part of its brain.
"If this bill had been passed before my pregnancy, I would have had to carry to term and give birth to a baby whom the doctors concurred had no chance of a life and would have experienced near-constant pain," Zink explained. "The decision I made to have an abortion at almost 22 weeks was made out of love and to spare my son's pain and suffering."
Franks' bill does provide an exception to save the life of the mother but instructs the physician to attempt to save the child if possible. If passed, medical professionals who break the law could be fined and imprisoned for up to 2 years.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has introduced similar legislation in the Senate.
Questioning its constitutionality, opponents are calling on Republicans to make the law federally applicable beyond the District of Columbia.
Currently, more than a dozen other states have some sort of fetal pain laws on their books.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio has cancelled its health insurance plan because of the Obama administration's mandate that it include birth control, sterilization, and the morning-after pill in its insurance coverage.
The mandate goes against teachings of the Catholic Church and the conscience of many Catholics.
According to an explanation on the university's website, "Up to this time, Franciscan University has specifically excluded these services and products from its student health insurance policy, and we will not participate in a plan that requires us to violate the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life."
Here's the full explanation offered by the university on its website.
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Campus Health Insurance Policy
The Obama Administration has mandated that all health insurance plans must cover "women's health services" including contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing medications as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Up to this time, Franciscan University has specifically excluded these services and products from its student health insurance policy, and we will not participate in a plan that requires us to violate the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life.
Additionally, the PPACA increased the mandated maximum coverage amount for student policies to $100,000 for the 2012-13 school year, which would effectively double your premium cost for the policy in fall 2012, with the expectation of further increases in the future.
Due to these changes in regulation by the federal government, beginning with the 2012-13 school year, the University 1) will no longer require that all full-time undergraduate students carry health insurance, 2) will no longer offer a student health insurance plan, and 3) will no longer bill those not covered under a parent/guardian plan or personal plan for student health insurance. The current student health insurance plan will expire on August 15, 2012.
We encourage you to decide how you are going to provide for accidents or illnesses requiring visits to physicians, health clinics, or the hospital emergency room while you are a student here. As always, our Health Center on campus will be staffed by a certified nurse practitioner Monday - Friday during normal business hours. No insurance is necessary to receive basic health-related services at the Health Center, and the visits cost only $5 at the time of service. However, if you are referred off campus for further lab testing, physician specialists, X-rays, etc., you will be responsible to pay for those services.
While Studying Abroad
Those who study for a semester in Austria while students at Franciscan will be covered under a different plan-contact the Study Abroad Director for further information. Students will need to waive this plan to avoid being charged for it automatically.
Athletics
Students who participate in intercollegiate sports will be covered under a different plan during all activities related to that athletic endeavor. This plan does not incur a separate fee of its own; it is covered by the fee charged for participation in intercollegiate sports.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Over the past few years President Obama has been doing lots of thinking about gay marriage. In an interview with ABC News, the president says he now believes same sex couples should be allowed to wed.
"At a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," he says.
Mr. Obama is the first president to endorse homosexual marriage. It's a major shift for him. The last time he ran for the White House he was opposed to it. He offered ABC News' Robin Roberts a glimpse into his evolution, saying he has "hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought that civil unions would be sufficient."
He added that he is "sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word 'marriage' was something that evokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth."
He's right. Matt Smith, president of Catholic Advocate says, "Marriage was created long before any government came into existence. It is a settled issue in the eyes of the Catholic Church and should not be redefined."
President Obama told Roberts he's been affected by the gay and lesbian people he's met.
"When I think members of my own staff," he says, "who are in incredibly committed, monogamous same sex relationships who are raising kids together. When I think about those soldiers, or airmen or marines of sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that "don't ask, don't tell" is gone because they're not able to commit themselves in a marriage."
Gay marriage was already a major issue in the upcoming presidential race among a number of voting blocs. Now it's amplified. The president's stance on it is something he was expected to clarify during the course of the race. It was sped up when his vice president spoke out on Sunday, saying men should be allowed to marry men and women should be allowed to marry women.
Mr. Obama's interview with Ms. Roberts was only scheduled yesterday late in the afternoon. Soon-to-be-GOP nominee Mitt Romney is opposed to gay marriage. Both candidates have said this election will present two separate visions, the issue of gay marriage sharpens that reality.
Smith says, "Many faithful Catholics were fooled by clever political rhetoric in 2008. This year, the anti-Catholic record of the Obama administration should inform their vote."
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is asking Georgetown University to rescind an invitation to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to speak at one of the commencement ceremonies for the university's Public Policy Institute.
To quell fears, President Obama and Secretary Sebelius have offered a work-around in which employees at religious affiliated organizations can get contraception coverage directly from their insurance providers, thus bypassing their employers. However, critics of the rule say that's not good enough.
The Becket Fund is a public interest law firm that filed the first lawsuit against the Obama administration for its controversial decision to require religiously affiliated organizations, like certain colleges and universities, to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives (birth control, sterilization and the morning after pill), even if it goes against their organization's religious teachings. Georgetown University is America's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university.
The Becket Fund and other organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, argue that the new rule promulgated by Sebelius' secretariat, violates religious liberty, calling it "the height of religious intolerance." The same religious liberty that allowed for the founding of Georgetown University in 1789.
The Becket Fund has created a petition to disinvite Sebelius that it's sending to the university. It reads, in part, "Secretary Sebelius has declared that she is 'in a war' with those whose religious beliefs about abortion and contraception are different from her own. Georgetown should not associate itself with this attack on religious liberty."
The administration is still working on a "fix" for organizations that self insure.
Friday, May 04, 2012
Christians across the country gathered this week for the annual National Day of Prayer, the day set aside by Congress in 1952.
The main event took place in the marble-lined halls of the U.S. Capitol, where people prayed for America, the Church, the military, and the economy. The event drew lawyers, judges, members of the Armed Forces, lawmakers, and religious leaders from various denominations.
Watch John Jessup's report below, which includes this year's keynote speaker Dr. David Jeremiah's remarks.
In conjunction with the National Day of Prayer, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert is sponsoring an event for members of Congress and their staff in the U.S. Capitol's grand Statuary Hall.
Designed to mark the 223rd anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington, the event focuses on the nation's first President as a man of faith and a man of prayer. A public bulletin about the event notes that "Washington's first act as President was to offer a prayer of dedication to God on behalf of the new Republic."
Organizers of "Washington - A Man of Prayer" are asking all Christians to pray for America, spiritual awakening and revival.
Speakers include David Barton (WallBuilders), Doug Stringer (Somebody Cares International), Harry Jackson (High Impact Leadership), and the event organizer Dan Cummins (Come Pray with Me).
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, approved the use of Stat Hall for the gathering, scheduled for Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 5 p.m. You can see the broadcast on CBN.com.
Watch Rep. Louie Gohmert discuss the significance of "Washington - A Man of Prayer."
Friday, April 20, 2012
Stick around this city long enough and you're pretty much guaranteed to see a political resurrection. The latest example is Miguel Estrada. His name should ring a bell to anyone who's familiar with the "Justice for Judges" campaign to un-stall the filibuster of former Pres. George W. Bush's judicial nominees.
This week, Senate Republicans announced that they hired Miguel Estrada to represent them in a legal challenge to Pres. Obama's use of recess appointments. At issue is whether the president circumvented the Senate and it's role to offer advice and consent on political nominees - a debate that goes to the heart of the constitutional balance of powers. Critics say last January's appointments represent an unprecedented "power grab" since the Senate was technically in a "pro forma" session.
Republicans describe Estrada, who's argued at least 19 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, as one of the country's foremost appellate advocates. He's also the first of Pres. Bush's judicial candidates to withdraw his nomination after Senate Democrats prevented an up or down vote on his nomination. (At the time, many viewed him as a potential Supreme Court nominee - and perhaps the first Hispanic to serve on the bench.)
Now that Estrada has agreed to file a friend of the court brief on behalf of Senate Republicans, he not only calls into question the actions of Pres. Obama but senior Democrats in the U.S. Senate. They have been vocal in their support for the man for whom the president chose to use the recess appointment, Richard Cordray, to head up a new consumer protection bureau.
As a former nominee, Estrada knows a thing or two about the nomination process. Moreover, he's intimately familiar with Constitutional law. He even co-chairs his law firm's appellate and constitutional law practice group. We'll have to wait and see who falls on the winning side of the debate this time around.
Stick around this city long enough and you're pretty much guaranteed to see a political resurrection. The latest example is Miguel Estrada. His name should ring a bell to anyone who's familiar with the "Justice for Judges" campaign to un-stall the filibuster of former Pres. George W. Bush's judicial nominees.
This week, Senate Republicans announced that they hired Miguel Estrada to represent them in a legal challenge to Pres. Obama's use of recess appointments. At issue is whether the president circumvented the Senate and it's role to offer advice and consent on political nominees - a debate that goes to the heart of the constitutional balance of powers. Critics say last January's appointments represent an unprecedented "power grab" since the Senate was technically in a "pro forma" session.
Republicans describe Estrada, who's argued at least 19 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, as one of the country's foremost appellate advocates. He's also the first of Pres. Bush's judicial candidates to withdraw his nomination after Senate Democrats prevented an up or down vote on his nomination. (At the time, many viewed him as a potential Supreme Court nominee - and perhaps the first Hispanic to serve on the bench.)
Now that Estrada has agreed to file a friend of the court brief on behalf of Senate Republicans, he not only calls into question the actions of Pres. Obama but senior Democrats in the U.S. Senate. They have been vocal in their support for the man for whom the president chose to use the recess appointment, Richard Cordray, to head up a new consumer protection bureau.
As a former nominee, Estrada knows a thing or two about the nomination process. Moreover, he's intimately familiar with Constitutional law. He even co-chairs his law firm's appellate and constitutional law practice group. We'll have to wait and see who falls on the winning side of the debate this time around.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
The White House issued this statement on North Korea’s missile launch.
Despite the failure of its attempted missile launch, North Korea’s provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments. While this action is not surprising given North Korea’s pattern of aggressive behavior, any missile activity by North Korea is of concern to the international community. The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations, and is fully committed to the security our allies in the region.
The President has been clear that he is prepared to engage constructively with North Korea. However, he has also insisted that North Korea live up to its own commitments, adhere to its international obligations and deal peacefully with its neighbors.
North Korea is only further isolating itself by engaging in provocative acts, and is wasting its money on weapons and propaganda displays while the North Korean people go hungry. North Korea's long-standing development of missiles and pursuit of nuclear weapons have not brought it security – and never will. North Korea will only show strength and find security by abiding by international law, living up to its obligations, and by working to feed its citizens, to educate its children, and to win the trust of its neighbors.