Bible or no Bible

This item is available on the Apologetics Press website at: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2813 - it was originally published in Reason & Revelation, issue 5[3]:12-RAP Content :: Reason & Revelation

Quran Okay—but not Bible by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

You are aware of the systematic cleansing of America’s public schools and government buildings by the elimination of references to God and the Bible. This conspiratorial departure from the nation’s origins has been illustrated once again—but in a rather unexpected place: the detention center for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The politically correct crowd saw to it that every Muslim had access to a Quran. Oh, yes, inmates who want a Quran are carefully accommodated. But when a Pakistani Muslim inmate (detained for alleged ties to Osama bin Laden) requested a copy of the Bible—no can do.

Though the Quran is preeminent to the Muslim, Islam nevertheless acknowledges the Bible as Scripture from God. So, when he requested that his lawyer ship him a copy of the Bible, prison officials promptly confiscated the package. U.S. government lawyers said the detainee had not shown that the practice of his religion had been “substantially burdened” by being deprived of a Bible.
Unbelievable! Our own people no longer see the Bible as necessary, or its unavailability as adverse and creating a hardship. Since the Bible is the inspired Word of God, an honest Muslim would have the opportunity to see the stark difference between the Bible and the Quran. He might repent of his terrorist bent and pursue “the peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7). But we can’t have that!

We live in a time warp far removed from America’s origins. The Founders clearly believed that the initial existence and future survival of the Republic was heavily, if not exclusively, dependent on the successful diffusion of the Bible throughout society. While abundant evidence for this assertion exists, consider just one example. A year after declaring independence from England, the Colonies began to feel the effects of the British embargo. Consequently, the Continental Congress directed a committee to investigate ways by which Bibles could be secured. The committee made its report on September 11, 1777, stating “that the use of the Bible is so universal, and its importance so great...your Committee recommends that Congress will order the Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the States of the Union.” Congress promptly ordered the importation (Journals of..., 1907, 8:734-745). Four years later, as the shortage continued, importation became sufficiently impractical that Congress was again petitioned for approval, this time to print Bibles in America rather than purchase them abroad. The request was approved and upon completion of the printing, on September 12, 1782, the full Congress not only approved the edition, but their endorsement was given in the front of the Bible: “Whereupon, Resolved, That the United States in Congress assembled...recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States” (Journals of..., 1914, 23:574). Who today would believe that the original Congress of the United States considered the Bible so important to national existence that they would expend effort—even in wartime—to make certain that Bibles were available to the American population? The present widespread loss of respect for and interest in the Bible, if continued, will spell our national doom.
By the way, government lawyers representing prison officials at Guantanamo Bay also argued that letting the Islamic detainee have a Bible would “set off a chain reaction among the other 170 detainees” and “incite them” (Serrano, 2005). Oh, but don’t you see? That’s precisely what needs to be done.

REFERENCES
Journals of the Continental Congress (1904-1937), (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office).
Serrano, Richard A. (2005), “Guantanamo Bay Prisoner Sues U.S. to Get a Bible,” Los Angeles Times, November 22, [On-line], URL: http://www.algeria-watch.org/pdf/pdf_en/press_21_27_11_05.pdf.
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New Tiny Babies

This item is available on the Apologetics Press website at: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3280AP Content :: In the NewsTiny Babies

Abortionists Would Rather We Forgetby Eric Lyons, M.Min.

When Samuel Armas was a 21-week unborn baby, USA Today photojournalist Michael Clancy snapped what arguably would become the most famous pre-natal photograph ever. On August 19, 1999, Dr. Joseph Bruner, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, performed spina bifida surgery on Samuel while he was in utero. During the surgery, Samuel, who was only about half way through the normal gestation period, was pictured with his tiny hand resting on one of the doctor’s fingers. Samuel was born 15 weeks later.
When Samuel’s surgery was first reported more than seven years ago, many eyes were opened to the preciousness and humanity of early unborn children. More recently, however, another baby who further testifies to the humanity of unborn children has captured the headlines. Her name: Amillia Sonja Taylor. She was born on October 24, 2006 in south Florida. What makes Amillia so special? Doctors believe she “spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant” (“World’s Youngest...,” 2007). Amillia’s mother, Sonja, carried Amillia for less than 22 weeks. At delivery, she was only 9½ inches long and weighed less than a can of soda. But, she was a living human being. Four months later, Amillia weighed 4½ pounds, was 15½ inches long, and was almost ready to go home for the very first time (“Doctors Extend...,” 2007).
Amillia did not turn into a human 15 to 18 weeks later—when most babies are delivered—she was a human at 22 weeks, and had been human since she was conceived. She was not lifeless matter—a blob of tissue. She was not a plant. She was not an animal. She was a living, growing human being.
How can anyone look at pictures of an unborn child such as Samuel Armas, or a 10-ounce baby such as Amillia Taylor, and justify the hideous sin of abortion? The fact that doctors in the United States and other countries legally can rip unborn babies to pieces with plier-like forceps, chop them up with knife-like devices or puncture their skulls with a pair of scissors before removing the babies’ brains, is simply atrocious. What could be more inhumane? Indeed, “hands that shed innocent blood” are “an abomination” to the Lord. To be sure, God “hates” abortion (Proverbs 6:16-17).
“...[P]ut away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good;...defend the fatherless” (Isaiah 1:16-17).
“Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).


REFERENCES
“Doctors Extend Hospital Stay of Tiniest Premature Baby” (2007), Associated Press, February 20, [On-line], URL: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,252878,00.html.
“World’s Youngest ‘Miracle Baby’ Beats Odds” (2007), Associated Press, February 20, [On-line], URL: http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/worlds-youngest-miracle-baby-beats-odds/ 20070220071609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001.
Copyright © 2007 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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