Things Went Wrong In England?

I want you to imagine having a child born premature. There are terrible health issues, and the doctors tell you that things do not look good. Now imagine the doctors telling you that they have decided not to try to save your baby's life if it happens to go into cardiac arrest, and even if you want them to try to save the baby's life they will refuse to do it.

This is exactly what happened to Darren and Debbie Wyatt. The Wyatt's believe that they should do all that they can to keep their baby alive. Their doctors believe that their baby is in pain, and shouldn't receive any life saving procedures if the baby should stop breathing.

Last week, I read one of the saddest stories ever written. The story was about Justice Mark Hedley's decision not to follow the Wyatt's wishes. Judge Hedley believed that the doctors should make the final decision on life and death issues. Thus the Wyatt's wishes as parents of the child were denied.

There are two lessons to be learned from all of this. First, when you allow the government to run your health care system you lose your say in your family's care. This case took place in the UK. England has had socialized medicine for many years. When you allow the government to run your hospitals you lose your rights. The government, not the parents, have final say over the child's care.

The second lesson we learn is that cultures that move away from Christian principles are more willing to destroy life than those who hold onto Christian principles. England used to be one of the great Christian nations. Ministers such as George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, William Carey, John Gill, Andrew Fuller, John Wesley, and Charles Spuergon all came from England. However, the 20th century all but killed evangelicalism in the UK. And as the nation continued to slip away from its Christian heritage, it has become more and more likely to embrace the culture of death.

America needs to make some very serious decisions in the near future. As Christians, we must do all that we can to uphold life. Our nation is trying to embrace the culture of death. When humans are no longer seen as God's glorious creation, life becomes meaningless. We need to pray that God would move our nation away from the culture of death. As Christians, we must error on the side of life every single time.

So what should we do? The answer is simple, make sure you are educated on the issues of life. You need to know what the Bible says, and you need to submit to what the Bible teaches. Sometimes the Bible teaches things that are difficult, and often the Bible teaches things that we may not like all that well. Nevertheless, we are to submit ourselves to the teaching of the Scripture, and not manipulate the Scripture to make us feel more comfortable with it.

Once you have educated yourself, you need to get involved. We must find out what the people we vote for believe on these vital issues. In America, the greatest way to speak is at the voting booth. We have an obligation as Christians to vote against those who support the culture of death.

My hope is that America never moves to where England is today. However, we are headed in that direction. If we do not take a stand today, then we may not get the chance to take a stand at all. Once we give our rights over to the government, we will never get them back. I believe that most Americans think that parents should have the final say on the medical procedures done to their children. Let us hope they remember this when well meaning people talk about government controlled medicine.

The New Pope

We have a new Pope. One may ask, why is this important to a Baptist minister. The answer is simple: morality.

I have been amazed by the coverage in the American press. I heard one reporter on CNN say that she hoped that the new Pope would not hold to the controversial views of John Paul II. These controversial views included birth control, abortion, and women in the ministry.

In my opinion, the controversy would be if the new Pope didn't hold to the traditional views of the Catholic Church. These three views are the historic orthodox doctrines of the Catholic Church. It would be astonishing if Pope Benedict XVI did not hold firm on these important beliefs.

Many on the left believe that the Catholic Church should soften its views to be more open to the opinions of the American public. What they do not understand is that the Catholic Church is not accountable to the people. The Church is accountable to its history and heritage. For the Church to budge on these issues would make the church derelict in its purpose.

The truth is that there is little that most conservative evangelicals and the Catholic Church can agree on. One area that we can and should work together on is issues of morality. I believe I can stand side by side with Benedict XVI on the issue of abortion and the roles of men and women in the church and society. I applaud the Cardinals for choosing a Pope that will not bend in these important issues.

My disagreement with Rome on many issues is vast and complicated. The reason for these disagreements is based in where we find our authority. For me, and most conservative evangelicals, our authority lies completely in the Bible. For the Roman Catholic Church, their authority is found in church councils and the Bible. I believe Apostolic authory ended with the death of the Apostle John. They believe that Apostolic authority continues to reign within their church hiarchy. This means we will continue to disagree in areas of Salvation and Justification. Which means we cannot honestly have communion with each other as believers.

This being said, my hope is that God allows me to minister to Catholics in hope that they may recieve the grace of God that brings about real conversion. In the mean time, I hope that the Roman Catholic Church holds firm on historic moral issues so that we can work together in areas of agreement.

To call this ecuminical would be a stretch, but we all should work together in areas where there is common ground.