Pandora Box Opened - Can the Lid Be Put Back On?

Below are three independent but related short stories by Tony Perkins, Family Research Council that makes one realize that as illustrated by Greek mythology, Pandora's Box has truely been opened. Christians address these items as faith, ethics and sin issues. Since the the early times of man, these and other issues have plagued us in the forms of man's continued desires for more knowledge be it good or evil and of mans continued lust of the flesh.

No Embryos, No Cloning, No Eggs--No Problem! Two prominent embryonic stem cell scientists today published results showing that they can produce cells with the qualities of embryonic stem cells directly from human skin cells, without the need for creating or destroying embryos, without cloning, and without the need for eggs used in cloning. The groundbreaking news by Dr. James Thomson, first to grow human embryonic stem cells, and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, Japan, was that they produced what are called "iPS" cells (induced Pluripotent Stem cells) using a simple recipe that involved adding four genetic factors to a human skin cell. When comparing these new cells with existing embryonic stem cells, Thomson noted that iPS cells "meet the defining criteria" for embryonic stem cells "with the significant exception that the iPS cells are not derived from embryos." Yamanaka and Thomson are to be congratulated for pushing forward the frontiers of science and demonstrating that good science can also satisfy ethical requirements. Coupled with the recent announcement by Dr. Ian Wilmut, cloner of Dolly the sheep, that he is shelving cloning as an unproductive technique in favor of this new ethical method, dubious experiments involving embryo cloning and embryo destruction are being rendered obsolete. Scientists can now work with "embryonic-like" stem cells without ethical concerns, while for patients the adult and cord blood stem cells continue to treat thousands of patients now. Congress should move swiftly to ban all human cloning by passing the Brownback-Weldon human cloning prohibition. See Also: New Stem Cell Method Could Ease Ethical Concerns

No Miracle on This Street - Philadelphia Mayor John Street is slamming the door on the Boy Scouts this holiday season, all while he is putting out the welcome mat for homosexual activists. Yesterday I talked about a triumph over unconstitutional hate crime laws in Pennsylvania. However, that victory happened despite the city mayor's efforts to promote the homosexual lifestyle at the cost of religious liberty and freedom. Philadelphia has given the local Boy Scouts chapter until December 3 to renounce their belief that it is morally wrong to have homosexual scoutmasters, or the city will break a longstanding lease on the city-owned facilities the local chapter rents. Mayor Street has made it clear that the faith behind the Boy Scout policy is not his concern, and neither is the safety of the children whom the Boy Scouts implemented the policy to protect. If you need to know more of where the Philly Mayor's sympathies lie, just look for him this Saturday at City Hall in Philadelphia, where he will be presiding over a same-sex commitment ceremony. While Philadelphia might be known as the City of Brotherly Love - that love is not shared for the good work of the Boy Scouts. See also: Philadelphia Gives Boy Scouts Ultimatum

The Rouge Baron - Recently FRC, working with the Louisiana Family Forum, was involved in successful efforts to defeat a pro-homosexual resolution in my home town of Baton Rouge, called One Baton Rouge. As the measure was going down in defeat the mayor, Kip Holden, lashed out in anger at area pastors who had opposed the measure. According to news reports and council meeting transcripts, Mayor Kip Holden accused Pastor Dennis Eenigenburg of the Chapel on the Campus of "not speaking as Godly person," saying Pastor Eenigenburg "is someone who has hatred in his heart." (Read about the Mayor's comments at the link below.) Increasingly government officials are trying to intimidate into silence pastors who speak out against the advancement of the homosexual agenda. When we asked folks in Baton Rouge to contact the Mayor and ask him to apologize to the pastors of the city, his office was overwhelmed with calls--and to our surprise, the Mayor is insisting he never said anything about Pastor Eenigenburg. Whenever something like this happens we, as religious people, need to come together as a community. So I ask you to call the Mayor at (225) 389-3100 to let him know he needs to stop trying to dodge the facts and start apologizing. See also: Council Members Reject "One Baton Rouge" Resolution

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