
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-03/20/2009

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Senate panel OKs former abortion rights advocate
by Staff
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved March 19 a former official with a leading abortion rights organization to an influential post in the Department of Justice.

The Democratic-controlled committee sent President Obama's nomination of Dawn Johnsen as head of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to the full Senate with a party-line, 11-7 vote. As assistant attorney general in charge of the OLC, Johnson would provide "authoritative legal advice" to the president and all executive branch agencies, according to the Department of Justice.

From 1988 to 1993, Johnsen served as legal director of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, now known as NARAL Pro-choice America. NARAL is one of the country's leading abortion rights advocacy organizations. Before her NARAL tenure, Johnsen worked in 1987-88 with the American Civil Liberties Union's Reproductive Freedom Project. She served at DOJ during President Clinton's administration from 1993 to 1998.

"NARAL's obsession with abortion skews its legal positions, blinding it to the Constitution's equal protection for all human beings," Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said after Johnsen's nomination, according to LifeNews.com. "The fact that Ms. Johnsen worked for NARAL is a huge black mark against her judgment and exposes her bias.

"Americans will not be able to trust that &#91;the&#93; Department of Justice's legal opinions or Obama's executive orders comply with the Constitution when the lead person for making that judgment is incapable of treating all human beings with respect," Wright said.

The Judiciary Committee's forwarding of Johnsen's nomination came on the same day the full Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as solicitor general with a 61-31 vote, with all "nay" votes coming from Republicans. As solicitor general, Kagan will represent the U.S. government in cases before the Supreme Court.

The nomination of Kagan, who served most recently as dean of Harvard Law School, drew opposition from some pro-life and pro-family organizations.

"In the past Kagan has been a strong supporter of the pro-abortion agenda," the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List said in a written statement after her confirmation. "She has vigorously opposed the defunding of taxpayer-funded clinics which promote abortions, despite the fact that a majority of Americans do not want their tax dollars to fund abortion providers."

Kagan also has opposed the federal government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars homosexuals from open military service.

Kagan and Johnsen are two of four Obama nominees to the DOJ who have received criticism from social conservatives.

On March 12, the Senate confirmed the other two, David Ogden as deputy attorney general, DOJ's No. 2 post, and Thomas Perrelli as associate attorney general, the No. 3 spot.

Ogden filed legal briefs on behalf of or represented clients who opposed anti-obscenity and anti-pornography policies. Among his clients were Playboy and PHE, Inc., one of the country's largest distributors of hard-core pornography.

Perrelli was a member of the legal team that successfully represented Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael, in his successful attempt to have his brain-damaged wife taken off a feeding tube to hasten her death in 2005.
--30--
Compiled by Tom Strode, Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press. With reporting by Michael Foust, an assistant editor of Baptist Press.


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Ala. town buoyed by family's love
by Grace Thornton
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

SAMSON, Ala. (BP)--Alisha Lewis and her family may live an hour away from Samson, Ala., but the little town nevertheless is home.

Her two kindergarten- and preschool-age daughters go to Samson Baptist Academy where their father, Wade Lewis, is principal and minister of music at Samson's First Baptist Church. They can walk from class to his office and, from there, to the Big Little store across the street to get a drink. They've always done it without thinking.

"People walk the sidewalks without really thinking about it," Lewis said. "It's quiet -- it's business as usual. There's not much going on."

Until March 10 when everything changed.

Some of the kids had already made trips to the Big Little earlier that day, before 28-year-old Michael McLendon gunned down a woman at the store -- victim No. 8 of 10 he killed. Other victims included several of his family members, the wife and child of a local sheriff's deputy and others who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Lewis children weren't among them. Alisha Lewis learned that through the same phone call that informed her of the horrific murders.

But the family was placed in Samson for a reason -- of this, she's certain.

"For this small town to have that type of trauma, it's devastating and overwhelming for people," Lewis said. A tragedy like the shooting, she noted, "hits even closer to home when you have a tight-knit community like this."

She knows this from professional experience -- she's a counselor with Pathways Professional Counseling of the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH).

In the hours and days after the shooting, Lewis made herself available to the community, offering counseling time to the local high school where one of the victims was a student. She's walked from local business to local business handing out her card.

She's talked with children, teens and adults carrying a lot of grief, a lot of fear and a lot of questions. "Here everybody knows everybody. They are really dealing hard with the killings. There are mixed emotions, anger and tears," she said.

There's not a lot of physical evidence from the shootings left at the Big Little or the other parts of town torn apart by the killings, but the emotional scars remain -- and will for a long time, Lewis said.

"In terms of counseling, there will be a great need to follow up," she said. "Other people who are coming in to offer things now, it's so appreciated, but when they drive away, there will still be a lot of people who need help who are hurting."

When that happens, Lewis hopes they will pick up her Pathways card, see the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes and think, "I need to call this lady and get help."

That's the whole goal of the ministry, said Steve Sellers, ABCH church relations manager. "Alabama Baptist Children's Homes responds to people in crises, whether that be a child or through Pathways."

Sellers and ABCH southeastern regional director Kim McGainey also responded after the shootings, assisting First Baptist Church with a prayer service March 11 for the broken community.

"I want to thank you, Lord, that in the coming days that this community walks through that process of healing that there is a God who carries them through that valley," Sellers prayed during the meeting, according to a report from CNN.

Wade Lewis led the crowd of about 300 in a "very worshipful, very moving song that brought peace to a lot of people," Sellers said, and when an invitation was given at the end of the service, people flooded the altar, pouring out their hearts to God.

Area pastors -- including First Baptist pastor Sam Totten -- and counselors were there to minister to and talk with the people and "just did an awesome job," Sellers said. "First Baptist Church, all the churches in the area and the &#91;Geneva Baptist Association&#93; director of missions responded in a tremendous way."

Other churches in the area, such as Ino Baptist Church in Kinston held services and sought ways to minister to grieving families.

It's a group effort that will continue, Lewis said. In the coming days, "We hope to keep helping hurting people to take care of themselves."
--30--
Grace Thornton is assistant editor of The Alabama Baptist (www.thealabamabaptist.org), newsjournal of the Alabama Baptist Convention.


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TRUSTEES: No time to say 'Enough!' International Mission Board chairman says
by By Shawn Hendricks
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

GREENVILLE, S.C. (BP)--Have Southern Baptists said, "Enough!"? Have they reached their potential in reaching a lost world for Christ? Is their work done?

"I will not accept that Southern Baptists have said, 'Enough!'" said Paul Chitwood, chairman of the International Mission Board's trustees. During the March 17-18 trustee meeting in Greenville, S.C., the Kentucky pastor challenged fellow trustees to encourage Southern Baptists to dig deeper and give sacrificially to missions during these difficult economic times.

Until giving increases, the IMB's missionary count will remain in the mid-5,000s, said Chitwood, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mt. Washington, Ky. More will be needed to help reach 1.6 billion people who have little to no access to the Gospel, he said.

"We must shout from the rooftops and the mountaintops the news that we cannot grow our missionary force because we do not have the money to do so.... &#91;T&#93;he possibility has now become a reality."

Trustees appointed 89 new missionaries for a total missionary count of 5,569 during their meeting. Fourteen more missionaries have been delayed in being appointed because their stateside houses have not sold. The March appointment service would have been the IMB's fourth-largest group of appointees had the 14 missionaries been able to participate.

OFFERING UPDATE

IMB treasurer David Steverson cautioned trustees to be ready for a sobering financial report later this year, as Cooperative Program giving remains down by about 3 percent and the economy and financial markets continue to struggle.

Steverson also remained cautious in making projections for the 2008 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

The goal for the 2008 offering is $170 million. The 2007 annual offering totaled $150,409,653.86 but fell short of the $165 million goal.

In other business, trustees approved the appropriation of $503,868.51 for 27 human needs projects.

HONORED SERVICE

Trustees were reminded of the hard work and sacrifice missionaries make in honoring 43 who died last year.

With his voice breaking several times with emotion, Clyde Meador, the IMB's executive vice president, read the names of seven active missionaries, one volunteer, three missionary kids (MKs) and 32 retired missionaries.

"These &#91;retired&#93; missionaries served 1,015 years, for an average of 32 years each," Meador said.

'AMAZING' CUBA

Following a recent trip to Cuba to celebrate the centennial of the country's Western Cuban Baptist Convention, Meador reported, "God is working in Cuba in amazing ways."

According to reports from Cuban Baptists, 70 percent of Cuba's 11 million people have received a copy of the "JESUS" film, received a Gospel tract or heard a personal witness.

"Don't you wish that was true in the United States?" Meador asked.

Cuban Baptists have a vision to start 100,000 new house churches and see 1 million Cubans give their lives to Christ by the end of 2010.

"Cubans have no doubt that the Lord is going to do this vision that He has laid upon their heart," Meador said.

One local believer told Meador, "I am willing to sacrifice anything in order that others might know the true freedom that I know in Christ."

The next trustee meeting will be May 19-20 in Denver. The appointment service will be held at Riverside Baptist Church on May 20.
--30--
Shawn Hendricks is a writer with the International Mission Board.


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89 new missionaries to go overseas
by Emilee Brandon
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

TAYLORS, S.C. (BP)--"We do not have lofty goals of world success," missionary Christine Moffett said. "Our desire is simply to live through Christ and to proclaim His message of grace and salvation."

Moffett, a South Carolina native, was among 89 new missionaries appointed by the International Mission Board during a March 18 service at Taylors First Baptist Church in South Carolina, bringing the current missionary count to 5,569. The new appointees will serve throughout the world, joining missionaries in all of the board’s current 11 regions of service. The March appointment service would have been the IMB’s fourth-largest group of appointees had 14 more missionaries been able to participate. The 14 are being delayed because their stateside houses have not sold yet.

Moffett, a South Carolina native, was among 89 new missionaries appointed by the International Mission Board March 18 at Taylors First Baptist Church in South Carolina. She and her husband Andrew, who was appointed in 2002 to serve in Bolivia, now will minister in Argentina.

Before she married, God had been preparing Christine to go overseas full-time -- first as an exchange student in Japan and then as a journeyman missionary in Peru. She returned to the United States to attend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. 

"I started seminary in New Orleans, desiring to return overseas one day," she said. "But I did not want to go alone. Early in my seminary studies God called me to release the condition I had been placing on my obedience to His call." 

When she did, God brought Christine and Andrew together and confirmed their call to missions -- "first as individuals, now brought together in God's timing," she said. 

Amy Fisher of Kentucky grew up learning about missionaries in the Girls in Action missions organization. But it wasn't until she served as a journeyman in Bolivia that she understood the extraordinary need to share the Gospel. "God showed me firsthand a lost and dying world," she said.

When she returned to the United States, Fisher began taking seminary classes at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, hoping to someday return to the field. Someday came sooner than she expected.

"I had the opportunity to finish my degree on the mission field, so I went as an International Service Corps missionary to Peru &#91;in 2007&#93;."

While there, Fisher had the opportunity to minister to people affected by an earthquake.

"An earthquake brought the hopelessness of a dying world even closer. Now I &#91;return&#93; to Peru to share the hope found in Christ."

Like Fisher, Tyler and Jennifer Eiland weren't planning to become missionaries until they participated in missions training in Zambia to serve for six weeks in the bush of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"God may be calling us to &#91;full-time&#93; missions," Tyler told his wife.

Jennifer admits she was scared at first. Leaving the comfort of her home, family and country to start a new life halfway around the world was an overwhelming thought.

"But God delivered me from every fear," she said, "confirming His call."

The couple is leaving Alabama and returning to the Congo. "God knit my heart to Africa," Tyler said. "I left Africa, but my heart never did....

"My life's purpose is to make Christ known among the nations of the earth and to mobilize and equip others to do the same."

SPIRITUAL PROVISIONS

God wants to "turn the hearts of people to what only Jesus can provide," IMB President Jerry Rankin said in addressing the new missionaries.

Speaking from Colossians 1, Rankin encouraged each person to use the Apostle Paul's prayer for spiritual provisions as an example -- pray to be filled with the knowledge of God's will, to always walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and to be strengthened by His power and presence.

Being a missionary is not just a job, Rankin reminded, but rather a witness for Jesus Christ, a representative for Him in a lost world.

The most effective witness of Christians is the way they live their lives. Believers need to "demonstrate peace in the midst of adversity, joy in all circumstances," Rankin said.

Each new missionary carries the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ onto the mission field, he said. No believer is limited to his or her own strength and ability to handle difficulties.

"You folks are going to go through the fire again and again and again," Rankin said. "But you can be certain your Lord will show up and see you through."
--30--
Emilee Brandon is a writer with the International Mission Board.


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Ministry surpasses 20,000 professions
by Charlie Warren
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (BP)--The Southern Baptist Mississippi River Ministry has reached a new milestone: More than 20,000 people have made professions of faith in Christ since the outreach began in 1992.

MRM is a partnership between eight state conventions (Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee), the North American Mission Board and Woman's Missionary Union.

In addition to 20,000-plus decisions for Christ, the Mississippi River Ministry has drawn the efforts of more than 100,000 volunteers.

It began after the U.S. government-sponsored Delta Commission conducted a study of poverty along the lower Mississippi River. Using data from the study, Southern Baptists began meeting together to explore ways to address some of the many needs.

"The Mississippi River Ministry calls attention to this great mission field along the lower Mississippi River, where mission volunteers have been serving since MRM began," said Diana Lewis, Arkansas Baptist State Convention mission ministries team member, who coordinates Arkansas MRM efforts. "MRM ministries serve people who are spiritually and/or physically living in poverty. Southern Baptists are working together to provide ministries, evangelize, strengthen existing churches and start new churches in over 165 counties and parishes of the MRM region."

Among the 250 MRM projects in the eight-state region are evangelistic initiatives; construction and maintenance efforts; medical, dental, health and wellness clinics; Vacation Bible Schools and Backyard Bible Clubs; block parties and Bible studies; prayerwalking; children and youth activities; Hispanic outreach; sports clinics and camp ministries; mentoring programs; nursing home visitation; Bible distribution; crisis pregnancy centers; assistance to battered women and their children; and food, clothing, recovery and jail ministries.

Lewis has seen God at work through MRM volunteers, recounting, for example, the time when a prayerwalking team paused in front of a home and a young woman got out of a car that had pulled up. She asked if they were there because they knew her brother. No, they answered, then explained what they were doing.

The woman had just received word that her brother, who lived in the house, had died that morning.

"They prayed for her and asked if they could share her name with a Blytheville &#91;Ark.&#93; church," Lewis said. "I think about how God ordered their steps that day, so they could be right there at the right moment for her."

Another volunteer, who had prayed all week for God to give her an opportunity to share the plan of salvation with a senior adult, began visiting with an 89-year-old man at a nursing home.

"He shared that he didn't believe there could be a God who could forgive him of all he had done wrong in his life." Lewis said. The volunteer assured the man there is a God who loved him and wanted to forgive him.

"That 89-year-old man in his wheelchair prayed to receive Christ," Lewis said.

The eight-state, 165-county/parish region has been referred to as the "third world along the Mississippi," according to the MRM website, www.riverministry.com. Low-income families in the region suffer from inadequate health care, reflected in the highest infant mortality rate in the United States and the lowest ratio of doctors and nurses per 1,000 population. In some counties, newborns stand less chance of survival than in Chile, Cuba or Malaysia, the website notes.

Many people in the region live in substandard or deteriorated housing or they face homelessness, the website also notes. Only about 50 percent of people 25 and older have a high school diploma, reflecting a high illiteracy rate.

Lewis said in addition to the 20,000 salvations and 100,000 volunteers involved, the ministry also has had an economic impact on people's lives in the region, but that impact is difficult to measure.

One of the Arkansas projects is in the impoverished Dixsonville area, where Lewis has been personally involved for about 20 years.

"I can see economic changes there, but a lot of them are small things to celebrate," Lewis said. "Some things are improvements we won't see in this world. These ministries are changing generations and changing a culture. Such changes are slow to come. We celebrate the small things. Some of the people we have helped may say their lives are better economically because of this ministry, but the region is not better statistically than it was in 1992."

Mission volunteers and mission teams from churches and associations can get involved by going to the MRM website, www.riverministry.com.

"Church volunteers should get involved with the Mississippi River Ministry for two reasons: It will change the lives of other people and it will change them," Lewis said.

"When we work with people in poverty, we are reminded of how great the Father's love is for all of us. And people's hearts are touched through what we do and their hearts are then more open to the Good News of Jesus Christ."
--30--
Charlie Warren is editor of the Arkansas Baptist News (www.arkansasbaptist.org), newsjournal of the Arkansas Baptist Convention.


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Salvadorans headline music workshop
by Brian Koonce
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP)--The former concert master and principal violinist with the El Salvador National Orchestra and two other musicians from the Central American country were the featured speakers at the Missouri Baptist Convention's Instrumental Workshop Feb. 27-28.

Elmer Amaya, the former symphony musician, now is the music leader at Temple Cristiano in San Salvador.

Joining Amaya for the workshop were his son Alex, a cellist, and Mauricio Solis, a violinist and luthier (someone who makes or repairs stringed instruments), who also are Temple Cristiano members.

John Francis, the Missouri convention's worship specialist, met the three classical musicians during a series of trips to El Salvador in conjunction with the state convention's partnership with Salvadoran Baptists.

"They really charmed me with their music and their love for Jesus," Francis said.

The workshop is an annual training event for musicians of every stripe; this year's gathering highlighted the new Baptist Hymnal and its new instrument-by-instrument orchestral arrangement of new and old hymns and choruses.

"We learned from them as much they learned from us," Francis said of the Salvadoran musicians, "especially in terms of improvisation. They have a lot of experience playing unprinted music."

Aside from the cold temperatures -- and 21-year-old Alex's first sight of snow -- the Salvadorans said they enjoyed their first "mission trip" to Missouri.

"It is interesting to see how you use music in churches," Elmer Amaya said. "I will take some of it home to use in our church."

"We have never gotten together musicians who love Jesus," Solis noted. "We have concerts of popular music and classical music, but we have never had a concert of religious music. This will be a good way to worship Jesus and reach out to musicians who don't know Jesus."

Solis said a similar hands-on workshop in El Salvador also would open up communication with non-believers wishing to learn. "I like the doing and playing instead of just listening or writing some notes," he said. "That is different from anything I have done."

Solis said that apart from the national orchestra, there is very little music education in El Salvador and very little music appreciation except for those from musical families. Elmer Amaya's father was the director of the national choir, while Solis' father is a composer and is known as the father of music education in El Salvador. Both Elmer Amaya and Solis began playing the violin at age 7. Alex Amaya began playing the violin when he was 4 and later moved on to the cello.

Besides the technical instruction provided by the Amayas and Solis during the workshop, their musicianship during the concert that followed were testament that worship transcends a barrier of language.

"I understand that &#91;talent&#93; is a gift," Elmer Amaya said as his son interpreted. "It is important to give my gift back to Jesus. This is the first thing I have in my mind. After I became a Christian, I changed the way I played to worship God."
--30--
Brian Koonce is a staff writer for The Pathway (www.mbcpathway.com), newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention.


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Vt. committee passes 'gay marriage' bill
by Michael Foust
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

MONTPELIER, Vt. (BP)--A Vermont state Senate committee unanimously passed a bill Friday to legalize "gay marriage," marking the first step in a legislative process that could make the Green Mountain State the third state in the nation to redefine marriage -- and the first one voluntarily to do so.

The bill, S. 115, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, 5-0, and now heads to the full chamber, where it appears to have the votes to pass. The bill apparently has majority support in the House as well, and the only question may be whether Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, will veto it -- and whether if he does, the legislature will be able to override it.

Douglas has said he is opposed to "gay marriage" and has criticized legislators for taking up the bill -- saying they instead should focus on the economy -- but he has yet to promise to veto it. The committee has four Democrats and one Republican, and Democrats hold strong majorities in both chambers.

Vermont is on the forefront of the "gay marriage" battle after three states -- California, Florida and Arizona -- passed constitutional amendments last fall defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Thirty states now have such amendments, although a handful of left-leaning states are considering "gay marriage" bills.

Vermont has been through a similar debate before, but the first time came via court order when, in 2000, it became the first state to legalize same-sex civil unions.

"I think &#91;Vermont legislative leaders&#93; realize that with California, Arizona and Florida this last election, and with secular social science &#91;supporting traditional marriage&#93; ... they had better do it now because they really don't have any arguments for gay marriage since we already have civil unions," Steve Cable, president of Vermont Renewal and spokesperson for the Vermont Marriage Advisory Council (vtmarriage.org), told Baptist Press. "Civil unions provide -- according to every legal expert that's testified to this committee -- every legal benefit and protection that Vermont can provide. The only thing they can get out of this is the social status of marriage."

The bill would change state law so that it no longer defines marriage as a "legally recognized union of one man and one woman" but instead as a "legally recognized union of two people."

Cable said the bill likely will pass both chambers and that the bill apparently has stronger support in the Senate than the House. Therefore, opponents of the bill may have their best chance in the House, where they hope to have enough "no" votes so that the bill falls short of veto-proof support. Cable, though, isn't certain Douglas will veto the bill.

"The governor is a good man, he comes from a good family," Cable said. "I like him personally. But he is a politician first and a statesman second, and the governor is playing politics with this rather than dealing directly with the issue, and it is not helping the Republican Party and those members of it."

Douglas said recently, "I've made my position quite clear that I believe marriage is and ought to remain the union of a man and a woman, that our civil unions law affords equality of opportunities and rights under state law and that that should suffice." 

Cable also expressed frustration that the Senate Judiciary Committee did not study a series of questions raised by the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection, which issued a report in April 2008 that stopped just short of recommending the legalization of "gay marriage" but said "further study and review" of four areas needed to be done. Among those areas: "what is the best science available today on the different impacts on children raised in different family structures?" and "what has been the experience of the Massachusetts lesbian and gay couples who have married under Massachusetts law?" That commission was formed by Democratic leaders in the legislature.

"They made recommendations to the legislature ... and the committee did not cover one of the areas they were asked to look at," Cable said.

Only two states -- Connecticut and Massachusetts -- recognize "gay marriage." 
--30--
Michael Foust is an assistant editor of Baptist Press. 


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LIFE NEWS: Fetal harvesting in Britain?
by Staff
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--A top British scientist has recommended research into the transplantation of kidneys and livers from aborted babies, prompting an outcry from pro-life advocates.

Richard Gardner, an Oxford University stem cell specialist and an adviser to Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, proposed studies using organs from aborted human beings. He made his comments at a biomedical conference, according to a March 11 report in the Daily Mail, a British newspaper.

"It is at least a temporary solution" to the organ donor shortage, Gardner said.

Nearly 7,000 of the 8,000 Brits on transplant lists need kidneys, the Daily Mail reported.

Stuart Campbell, a British obstetrics and gynecology professor, endorsed the proposal. If babies "are going to be terminated, it is a shame to waste their organs," Campbell said, according to the newspaper. "I am sure very few of those on the transplant list would rather die than accept an organ from an aborted fetus."

Pro-life advocates on both sides of the Atlantic decried the suggestion. Some said it presented the possibility of abortions being scheduled to coincide with transplants, the Daily Mail reported.

"This is about as scary as the news can get," Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. wrote in a March 16 commentary. "Here we confront a serious proposal to use aborted fetuses as factories for spare organs and tissues. Having commodified the human embryo and then allowing its destruction in the name of medical progress, the fetus is next in line.

"Human dignity rests on an eroding foundation in terms of secular argument," Mohler wrote. "We can see human dignity as it is more and more endangered with every passing proposal like Professor Gardner's. The use of fetal tissue in medical research is grossly immoral -- but so is the use of human embryos."
--30--
Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.


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LIFE NEWS: Pro-life Dems criticize Obama
by Staff
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--Democrats for Life of America has called the Obama administration's refusal to consult it on the March 9 executive order revoking a federal funds ban for most embryonic stem cell research "a cooling of our relations."

Democrats for Life said it had an opportunity to express disagreement with the administration before Obama's Jan. 23 order rescinding the Mexico City Policy, which barred federal grants to organizations that promote or provide abortions overseas. But the organization said it had no such opportunity on the stem cell order.

"DFLA is against President Obama's decision, period. To frame this decision as a necessity to cure-finding medical research is not accurate," Democrats for Life said, citing successful results in ethical research using non-embryonic stem cells. "While we have zero confidence that a call for reversal of the executive order will prevail, we are hopeful that the President will heed our call for common ground solutions in dealing with pro-life Democrats."

Democrats for Life said it still is hopeful that Obama will support the Pregnant Women's Support Act (PWSA), which is part of its 95-10 initiative that seeks to reduce abortions by 95 percent in 10 years.

Obama's stem cell order overturned a policy instituted by President Bush in 2001. Extracting stem cells from an embryo results in the tiny human being's destruction. Embryonic stem cell research has produced no therapies in human beings, while non-embryonic stem cell trials have provided treatments for 73 ailments, according to Do No Harm, a coalition concerned with ethical research.
--30--
Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.


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LIFE NEWS: Pope challenges Pelosi
by Staff
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--Pope Benedict XVI challenged Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D.-Calif., on her abortion-rights record when she visited the Vatican in mid-February.

After the pope and Pelosi met for about 15 minutes, the Vatican released a brief statement, which noted in part:

"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."

The Feb. 18 meeting illustrated the divide that exists between the Roman Catholic Church, which champions the sanctity of human life, and many American politicians who support abortion rights despite being Catholics. Pelosi has consistently supported abortion rights during her 22-year career as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
--30--
Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.


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LIFE NEWS: County defunds P. Parenthood
by Staff
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--Supervisors of Southern California's Orange County voted unanimously March 10 to suspend a $291,788 contract with Planned Parenthood, according to The Orange County Register.

The grant was not for abortion services but for health outreach efforts, including comprehensive reproductive information for children and teenagers, the newspaper reported. The supervisors instructed a county health agency to line up another clinic to utilize the funds.

"I believe money is fungible," supervisor John Moorlach said, according to The Register. "So if we're providing money to Planned Parenthood, which recommends abortions, which it provides, that's a concern."
--30—
Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.


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An invitation to Louisville
by Johnny M. Hunt
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

WOODSTOCK, Ga. (BP)--I would like to encourage all my fellow Southern Baptists to join me at our annual meeting June 23-24 in Louisville, Kentucky.  

It has been a joy and privilege serving as your president the past nine months. I have traveled to many of your states and witnessed first-hand the way the Lord is moving in so many places. That has been so encouraging to me. However, we still have so many places nationally and internationally where we need to encourage, motivate and refocus on the mission the Lord has given us to reach others with the good news of the Gospel.

That is exactly what we want to accomplish as we gather together in Louisville. We have sought the Lord as we have planned our program for our meeting. I believe He has helped us to do just that. We have some incredibly encouraging worship times planned with some musicians who truly desire to honor the Lord and lead us to the throne of God. I have invited some young men to speak to us who have never addressed our convention. They will have a special and fresh message to challenge us from the Word of God from a little different perspective than perhaps we have been accustomed. I believe that will be healthy for us as a denomination. I have also made committee appointments with many of the young men who are doing a great job in many of our churches. Many of them have never served before.

As you may have heard already, I have chosen the theme "LoveLoud -- Actions Speak Louder Than Words." The Scripture is Matthew 5:16. We simply have got to do a better job of showing this generation that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ not only talks the talk but walks the walk. It really is true that "people don't care what you know till they know that you care." All our time together in Louisville will be with that focus in mind.

I am asking you to make a commitment to do absolutely all you can to be present in Louisville. I realize this is a bad time with the economy and it will be increasingly more difficult for you to make the effort to come. However, we cannot be encouraged as effectively to make new strides in our efforts to reach the world as we can if we come together for those two days. I believe with all my heart you will leave inspired and grateful you made the effort to come on Wednesday night, June 24, when we complete our time together.

I am looking so forward to seeing you in Louisville. Visit www.sbc.net and register as a messenger and bring some folks with you. Join me in praying that our time in Louisville will honor our blessed Lord. That is my desire. If you are not able to join us there, please log on to the sbc.net web site and watch as much of the meeting as you can during those two days.
--30--
Johnny M. Hunt is pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., and president of the Southern Baptist Convention.


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The AIG hot potato
by Kelly Boggs
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--"The buck stops here" was one of President Harry Truman's guiding principles. The 33rd President of the United States was so committed to the idea that he had a plaque adorned with the phrase placed on his desk in the Oval Office. 

Truman's motto was in direct response to another phrase -- "passing the buck." 

The expression "pass the buck" is said to have its etymology rooted in the game of poker. A marker often was used during the play of this game to indicate whose turn it was to deal the cards. In frontier times a buck knife was often used as the marker. If a player did not want the responsibility of dealing, he or she would "pass the buck knife" to the next player. 

Over time, "pass the buck" came to denote the act of passing blame or responsibility onto another person. 

President Truman understood that leadership is the last stop on the line of accountability. A leader is ultimately responsible for the action or lack thereof of the organization he or she is called to lead. Leaders simply do not "pass the buck." 

Given the recent reaction of the elected officials in Washington D.C. over bonuses that have been paid to executives at AIG, it seems evident that there is a dearth of leadership in our nation's capital. 

Cries of outrage echoed through the halls of Congress when it came to light that insurance behemoth AIG, which received billions of dollars of bailout money from the federal government, was dolling out million dollar retention bonuses to several of its executives.

Senators, representatives and the president joined together signing a chorus of dismay, shock and anger. They could not believe that this was occurring. All confessed they did not know the stimulus bill would allow for such bonuses. Of course, those same members of Congress voted for the bailout, and the president signed it into law. 

What seems clear, based on their reaction, is that the senators and representatives who voted for the bailout bill did so without really knowing fully what was in it. The same holds true for President Obama who signed it into law. 

One member of Congress admitted during an interview on Fox News that he didn't read the bill. His excuse: the urgency to pass the stimulus bill was so great that he did not have time adequately to go over it.  

While those who voted in favor of the bail-out bill are attempting to "pass the buck," in reality, since they voted on it, there is really no one to whom they can transfer responsibility. A few, like the congressman that appeared on Fox News, are trying to "pass the buck" to ignorance that was compounded by the urgency of the situation. 

In an effort to make up for their mistake, members of Congress passed a law March 19 that will retroactively tax the AIG bonuses, in some cases up to 90 percent. In essence, elected officials are shifting the blame to some AIG employees for taking bonuses that were written into their contracts way before the stimulus bill was ever a thought in a congressional mind. 

Some suggest the lawmakers' effort to punish AIG employees is unconstitutional based on a provision in Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution which states, "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." Which means no law shall be passed to criminalize or punish actions after the fact. 

While it remains to be seen if the tax-punishment bill will be challenged in court, it is very clear that Washington has a problem. Rather than have "the buck" stop somewhere, members of Congress, who voted for the stimulus package, are content to toss responsibility around like it was a hot potato. 

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things," management guru Peter Drucker once observed. Based on the recent bailout bonus debacle at AIG, it seems Washington D.C. is not only suffering from a dearth of leaders, but there also seems to be a lack of competent managers as well. 
--30--
Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press and editor of the Baptist Message (www.baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.


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Salvadoreños dirigen un taller de música
by Por Brian Koonce
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP)--El concertista maestro y el violinista principal de la Orquesta Nacional de El Salvador, junto con otros dos músicos de este país centroamericano fueron los conferencistas principales en el Taller Musical de la Convención Bautista de Missouri el 27 y 28 de febrero. 

Elmer Amaya, quien anteriormente era un músico de orquesta, ahora es el líder de la música del Templo Cristiano en San Salvador.

A Amaya lo acompañaron su hijo Alex, violonchelista, y Mauricio Solís, violinista y lutier (la persona que hace y repara instrumentos de cuerda), quienes también son miembros del Templo Cristiano.

John Francis, el especialista en alabanza en la convención de Missouri, conoció a los tres músicos durante una serie de viajes a El Salvador en conjunción con la alianza que la convención de Missouri tiene con los bautistas salvadoreños.

"Realmente me cautivaron con su música y su amor por Jesús," dijo Francis. 

El taller es un evento anual de entrenamiento para músicos de cualquier tipo; la reunión de este año subrayó el nuevo Himnario Bautista y su nuevo arreglo orquestal instrumento por instrumento aplicado a los himnos y coros antiguos y nuevos.

"Aprendimos de ellos tanto como ellos aprendieron de nosotros," dijo Francis acerca de los músicos salvadoreños, "especialmente en términos de improvisación. Tienen mucha experiencia tocando música sin partituras."

Excepto por  la muy fría temperatura -- Alex presenció por primera vez la nieve -- los salvadoreños dijeron que disfrutaron su primer "viaje misionero" a Missouri.

"Es interesante ver cómo se usa la música en las iglesias," dijo Elmer Amaya. "Voy a llevarme algunas de ellas a casa y las usaré en nuestra iglesia."

"Nunca habíamos reunido a músicos que amaran a Jesús," dijo Solís. "Tenemos conciertos de música popular y clásica, pero nunca hemos tenido un concierto de música religiosa. Ésta será una buena manera de alabar a Jesús y alcanzar a los músicos que aún no lo conocen."

Solís dijo que un taller práctico similar en El Salvador abriría la comunicación con los no creyentes que quisieran aprender. "Me gusta tocar y hacer en vez de sólo escuchar o tomar algunas notas," afirmó. "Es algo que yo no había hecho."

Solís dijo que aparte de la orquesta nacional, hay muy poca educación musical en El Salvador y muy poca apreciación musical excepto por aquellos que provienen de familias musicales. El padre de Elmer Amaya fue el director del coro nacional, mientras que el padre de Solís comenzó a tocar el violín cuando tenía 7 años. Alex Amaya comenzó a tocar el violín a los 4 años y después lo cambió por el violonchelo.

Además de la instrucción técnica que proveyeron los Amaya y Solís durante el taller, la maestría musical expuesta durante el concierto que prosiguió fue un testimonio de que la alabanza trasciende la barrera del idioma.

"Yo entiendo que &#91;el talento&#93; es un don," dijo Elmer Amaya mientras su hijo tocaba. "Es importante que yo devuelva este don a Jesús. Es lo primero que tengo en la mente. Después de que me convertí al cristianismo, cambié la manera en que tocaba para alabar a Dios."
--30--
Brian Koonce es un escritor de The Pathway (www.mbcpathway.com), el boletín noticioso de la Convención Bautista de Missouri.


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COMPENDIO VIDA: Científico británico propone recolección fetal;...
by Por Tom Strode
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--Un renombrado científico británico ha recomendado dirigir la investigación hacia el transplante de riñones e hígados de bebés abortados. Esto produjo una protesta clamorosa de parte de los defensores de la vida.

Richard Gardner, especialista en células madre de la Universidad de Oxford y asesor de la Autoridad Embriológica y Fertilización Humana de Gran Bretaña, propuso que se hicieran estudios usando órganos de seres humanos abortados. Él hizo los comentarios en una conferencia biomédica, de acuerdo al reporte del 11 de marzo del Daily Mail, un periódico británico.	

"Por lo menos es una solución temporal" a la escasez de donadores de órganos, dijo Gardner.

Casi 7.000 de los 8.000 británicos que están en la lista de transplantes necesitan riñones, reportó el Daily Mail.

Stuart Campbell, obstetra británico y profesor de ginecología, respaldó la propuesta. Si los bebés van a ser aniquilados, es una pena desperdiciar sus órganos," dijo Campbell, de acuerdo al periódico. "Estoy seguro que muy pocos de los que están en la lista de transplantes preferirían morir en vez de aceptar un órgano de un feto abortado."

Los defensores de la vida a ambos lados del océano Atlántico condenaron abiertamente la sugerencia. Algunos dijeron que ésta presentaba la posibilidad de programar abortos que coincidieran con transplantes, reportó el Daily Mail.

"Esto es lo más espeluznante que pueda publicarse en las noticias," escribió el 16 de marzo en un comentario R. Albert Mohler Jr., presidente del Seminario Teológico Bautista Southern. "Aquí confrontamos una propuesta seria para usar fetos abortados como fábrica de órganos y tejidos de repuesto. Luego de haber comercializado al embrión humano y después haber permitido su destrucción en nombre del progreso médico, lo próximo que sigue es el feto.

"La dignidad humana descansa en un fundamento socavado en términos de argumento secular," escribió Mohler. "Podemos ver la dignidad humana más y más en peligro con cada propuesta que pasa como la del profesor Gardner. El uso de tejido fetal en la investigación médica es demasiado inmoral -- pero de la misma manera lo es el uso de embriones humanos."

LOS PRO-VIDA DEMÓCRATAS SE OPONEN A DISPOSICIÓN -- Los Demócratas a Favor de la Vida en EE. UU. dijeron que el rechazo de la administración Obama a consultar la disposición ejecutiva del 9 de marzo para revocar una prohibición del uso de fondos federales para realizar más investigación con células madre embrionarias "indica un enfriamiento de nuestras relaciones."

Hubo oportunidad de expresar su desacuerdo con la administración Obama antes de la disposición de rescindir la Política Mexico City del 23 de enero, la cual prohibía subvenciones federales a organizaciones que promovieran o proveyeran abortos en el extranjero, dijeron los Demócratas a Favor de la Vida. No hubo una oportunidad así en la disposición de células madre, de acuerdo a la organización.

"Demócratas a Favor de la Vida de EE. UU. (DFLA por sus siglas en inglés) están en contra de la decisión del presidente Obama, punto. Enmarcar esta decisión como una necesidad para la investigación médica en busca de encontrar la cura no es correcto," dijeron los Demócratas a Favor de la Vida, citando resultados exitosos en investigaciones éticas que no usan células madre embrionarias. "Aunque no tenemos ninguna confianza en que prevalezca una petición para revertir la disposición ejecutiva, tenemos la esperanza de que el Presidente atienda nuestra petición para encontrar solución a intereses mutuos al lidiar con los demócratas pro-vida."

Los Demócratas a Favor de la Vida están promoviendo la Ley de Apoyo a la Mujer Embarazada (PWSA por sus siglas en inglés), la cual es parte de su iniciativa 95-10 que busca reducir el aborto en un 95 por ciento en 10 años. Hay optimismo en que Obama apoye el proyecto de ley.

La disposición de Obama revocó la política de células madre instituida por el presidente Bush en el 2001. Extraer células madre a un embrión resulta en la destrucción del pequeño ser humano. La investigación en células madre embrionarias no ha producido terapias en seres humanos, mientras que pruebas con células madre no embrionarias han provisto tratamientos a 73 dolencias, de acuerdo a Do No Harm (No Dañar), una coalición interesada en la investigación ética.

EL PAPA INSTRUYE A PELOSI -- El papa Benedicto XVI desafió a la Presidenta de la Cámara de Representantes Nancy Pelosi, demócrata por California, sobre su récord sobre derechos del aborto cuando ella visitó el vaticano el 18 de febrero.

Luego de que el Papa y Pelosi se reunieran cerca de 15 minutos, el Vaticano publicó una breve declaración, la cual incluía:

"Su Santidad usó la oportunidad de hablar sobre los requisitos de la ley de moral natural y la enseñanza consistente de la iglesia sobre la dignidad de la vida humana desde la concepción hasta la muerte natural la cual obliga a todos los católicos, y especialmente a los legisladores, juristas y aquellos responsables del bien común de la sociedad, a trabajar en cooperación con todos los hombres y mujeres de buena voluntad para crear un sistema justo de leyes capaces de proteger la vida humana en todas las etapas de su desarrollo."

La reunión ilustró la brecha que existe entre la Iglesia Católica Romana, la cual en sus enseñanzas aboga por la santidad de la vida humana, y muchos políticos estadounidenses que apoyan los derechos al aborto a pesar de ser católicos. Pelosi consistentemente ha apoyado el derecho al aborto durante sus 22 años de carrera como miembro de la Casa de Representantes de EE. UU.

CONDADO RETIRA FONDOS A Planned Parenthood -- Supervisores del condado Orange del sur de California votaron unánimemente el 10 de marzo suspender un contrato de $291.788 con Planned Parenthood, de acuerdo al Orange County Register. La subvención no era para servicios de aborto sino para esfuerzos de extender la ayuda en salud, incluyendo la información reproductiva para niños y adolescentes, reportó el periódico. Los supervisores instruyeron a una agencia de salud del condado que pusiera en fila otra clínica para utilizar los fondos.

"Creo que el dinero es fungible," dijo el supervisor John Moorlach, de acuerdo al Register. "Así que si estamos proveyendo dinero a Planned Parenthood, la cual recomienda los abortos, que provee, es una preocupación."
--30—
Tom Strode es jefe de la oficina de Baptist Press en Washington. 



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Preguntas frecuentes acerca de las células madres
by Por Michael Foust
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

WASHINGTON (BP)--La orden ejecutiva dada el 9 de marzo por el Presidente Obama expandirá dramáticamente el papel del gobierno en la investigación de las células madres embriónicas. A continuación presentamos una lista de las preguntas más frecuentes, con su debida respuesta, acerca de las células madres.

¿QUÉ SON LAS CÉLULAS MADRES?

células madres son las células maestras del cuerpo a partir de las cuales se forman todas las células y tejidos. Aparentemente prometen curar enfermedades y padecimientos a partir de ellas.

¿EN DÓNDE SE ENCUENTRAN LAS CÉLULAS MADRES?

Generalmente, en dos fuentes: 1) por todo el cuerpo humano, por ejemplo,en las células de la piel, y 2) en embriones. Las células madres que se encuentran en el cuerpo son llamadas "células madres adultas," mientras que las células madres en la segunda categoría se conocen como "células madres embriónicas." La investigación de las células madres adultas no es dañina ni controversial. Sin embargo, la investigación de células madres embriónicas requiere la destrucción de los embriones y es muy controversial. La orden ejecutiva del Presidente Obama se refiere principalmente a esta última categoría.

¿QUÉ HACE LA ORDEN EJECUTIVA DEL PRESIDENTE OBAMA?

La orden de Obama revoca los límites impuestos por el Presidente Bush en las células madres; Bush había prohibido el financiamiento federal de la investigación de líneas de células madres embriónicas creadas después del 9 de agosto del 2001, (día en que se dio el anuncio de Bush). La orden de Obama permite que los dólares de los contribuyentes se usen para financiar la investigación de otros centenares más de líneas de células madres embriónicas.

ANTES DE LA ORDEN DE OBAMA, ¿ESTABA PROHIBIDA LA INVESTIGACI"ON DE CÉLULAS MADRES EMBRIÓNICAS?

No. Toda investigación de células madres embriónicas ha sido legal en el sector privado, y algunas de ellas (véase en la respuesta a la pregunta anterior) ya habían recibido financiamiento federal.

¿OBAMA DIJO QUE SE OPONÍA A LA CLONACÍON HUMANA?

Realmente no. Pareció que Obama descartó la clonación humana en su declaración, pero emitió un comentario calificador. Dijo, "Nos aseguraremos que nuestro gobierno nunca abra la puerta al uso de la clonación para la reproducción humana." Aparentemente Obama se opuso a la clonación humana -- es decir, al hecho de clonar a una persona a través de la cual nace un bebé -- pero realmente está dejando abierta la puerta al uso de los fondos federales para la clonación terapéutica, la cual es la clonación de un embrión con la meta de cosechar sus células madres. En otras palabras, pudiera estar a favor de la clonación, siempre y cuando se destruya al embrión clonado. Los opositores lo llaman "clonar y matar." El mismo procedimiento de laboratorio -- conocido como transferencia nuclear de células somáticas -- se usa en ambos tipos de clonación.

¿POR QUÉ HAY ALGUNAS PERSONAS QUE SE OPONEN A LA INVESTICACÍON DE CÉLULAS MADRES EMBRIÓNICAS?

Por tres razones principales: 1) requiere que se destruya al embrión, estos pequeñitos seres humanos, 2) la investigación de células madres adultas, hasta ahora, ha tenido un mayor éxito, y 3) una nueva forma de investigación de células madres conocida como investigación de células madres "pluripotenciales inducidas" pudiera proveer células madres parecidas a las embriónicas, pero sin implicar el dilema ético. Algunos de los opositores de la investigación de células madres embriónicas también afirman que los embriones "extra" usados en la investigación deberían recibir la oportunidad de ser adoptados a través de programas de adopción de embriones "copo de nieve," a través del cuál serían implantados en una mujer y crecerían para ser un bebé.

¿QUÉ SON LAS CÉLULAS MADRES PLURIPOTENCIALES INDUCIDAS?

Las células madres pluripotenciales inducidas (iPS, por sus siglas en inglés) son una nueva forma de células a través de las cuales los científicos reprograman las células adultas de la piel y las transforman en células madres similares a las embriónicas -- proveyendo a los científicos las células madres que desean sin la necesidad de destruir embriones. No se crean o destruyen embriones durante el proceso. Las células madres iPS fueron presentadas ante el mundo durante un anuncio sin precedentes en el 2007, y el 2 de marzo de este año los científicos anunciaron que habían encontrado una mejor manera de hacerlas más seguras para los pacientes. Uno de los científicos involucrados en el anuncio del 2 de marzo dijo que las células madres iPS quizá podrían eliminar "la necesidad de embriones humanos como una fuente de células madres.

¿QUÉ SIGNIFICA "PLURIPOTENCIALES"?

El término "pluripotenciales" significa que las células madres, en teoría, se pueden transformar en cualquiera de los tejidos del cuerpo. Las células madres embriónicas también son pluripotenciales. A diferencia de éstas, las células madres adultas son "multipotenciales," es decir, que se pueden transformar en muchas, aunque no todos, los diferentes tipos de células del cuerpo. Las células madres iPS tendrían la ventaja, sobre las embriónicas, de ya tener el ADN del paciente, porque se utilizarían las células de la piel del mismo paciente para hacerlas. Por lo tanto, sería menos probable que el cuerpo del paciente las rechazara. Aún no se han probado estas células madres iPS en humanos.

SI LA INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS CÉLULAS MADRES PLURIPOTENCIALES ESTÁ MOSTRANDO TANTO PREOGRESO, ¿ENTONCES POR QUÉ LOS CINTÍFICOS APOYAN LA INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS CÉLULAS MADRES EMBRIÓNICAS?

Los científicos que apoyan la investigación que involucra embriones dicen estar emocionados acerca del potencial de las células madres iPS pero quieren que ambos tipos reciban financiamiento para así determinar cuál de las dos tiene el mayor éxito.

¿HA ENCONTRADO MUCHAS CURAS LA INVESTIGACIÓN DE CÉLULAS MADRES EMBRIÓNICAS EN EL SECTOR PRIVADO?

No. Los científicos han batallado por controlar las células madres embriónicas en el laboratorio. A menudo, los experimentos en animales que involucran tales células les han causado tumores. Bernadine Healy, la directora de los Institutos Nacionales de la Salud, bajo la administración del Presidente Bush, escribió el 4 de marzo en una columna para el U.S. News and World Report que "varios eventos" desde que Obama asumió el poder han "reforzado la noción de que las células madres embriónicas, las cuales se pensaba tenían la cura para el mal de Parkinson y Alzheimer, y la diabetes, son obsoletas." Señaló en parte ante el sorprendente anuncio de las células iPS.

¿HA LLEVADO A ALGUNA CURA LA INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS CÉLULAS MADRES ADULTAS?

Aunque los científicos que trabajan en la investigación de las células madres adultas probablemente no usarían la palabra "cura," sí han visto que las células madres adultas hacen maravillas en pacientes específicos. Una organización que mantiene el registro de tales avances -- conocida como Do Not Harm -- dice que las células madres adultas han tratado 73 padecimientos diferentes, incluyendo a la diabetes y a la leucemia. De hecho, la mayoría de los sorprendentes encabezados sobre los avances en la investigación de las células madres implican a células madres adultas, no a las embriónicas.

¿CUÁNTO TIEMPO MÁS LE LLEVAR"A A LOS CIENTIFICOS HASTA ENCONTRAR CURAS QUE INVOLUCREN A LAS CÉLULAS MADRES EMBRIÓNICAS?

Nadie lo sabe, pero es probable que faltan muchos años. En el 2006, un instituto en California que se propuso supervisar un financiamiento público de $3,000 millones en la investigación de células madres embriónicas, publicó un reporte de sus logros. El reporte no prometió alguna cura al final del periodo de 10 años y dijo que el instituto simplemente esperaba tener "evidencia primaria" de por lo menos uno de los experimentos con las células madres embriónicas al final del periodo. El repote dice que el entendimientos de los científicos acerca de las células madres embriónicas es "incompleto."
--30--
Michael Foust es uno de los editores asistentes de Baptist Press. 



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'¿Qué si? enfoca la Conferencia de Pastores en la Gran Comisión
by Por Mark Kelly
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

MOBILE, Ala. (BP)--Ed Litton cree que en tiempos de cambios culturales sísmicos e incertidumbre económica, los bautistas del sur enfrentan tanto el peligro como la oportunidad. El peligro, dice, es que las iglesias se retraigan a un lugar seguro, mientras que la oportunidad es confiar en Dios y verlo moverse poderosamente para cambiar el corazón de la gente y transformar la sociedad.

Como presidente de la Conferencia de Pastores de la CBS, Litton está elaborando un programa para la reunión anual en Louisville, Kentucky, que él espera que encienda esta última. Y está desafiando a los pastores a llevar a cabo esfuerzos inusuales para ayudar a que esto suceda.

"Estamos en tiempos de cambios sísmicos en nuestra cultura. Hay enormes movimientos que están tomando lugar," dijo Litton, quien es pastor de la First Baptist North Mobile (Primera Iglesia Bautista del Norte de Mobile) en Saraland, Alabama. "Y la gente está sintiendo mucha presión económica hoy en día. Hay un miedo palpable e, intuyo, una retirada. Eso es peligroso. El peligro es que vayamos en cierto modo a encerrar o a capear esto cuando tenemos la gran oportunidad de confiar en Dios, de creerle a Dios, y de alcanzar más durante esta crisis que nunca antes."

Los dramáticos cambios sociales y políticos que ocurren en EE. UU. -- desde el auge de un ateísmo agresivo hasta el tiroteo a un pastor que se encontraba en el púlpito -- deberían llevar a los cristianos a evaluar sus prioridades a la luz de su misión, dijo Litton.

"Me encantaría ver un apasionado reavivamiento por la Gran Comisión. Creo que la Gran Comisión nos resuelve muchos de estos problemas debido a que últimamente lo que importa es la transformación del corazón de la gente," dijo. "Necesitamos regresar a la Gran Comisión y decir: 'Esto es para lo que estamos aquí.' 

"Podría ayudarnos a agilizar cuando vayamos a cortar presupuestos o a lidiar con cosas difíciles," añadió Litton. "¿Qué es realmente lo esencial de la misión aquí? ¿De qué nos podemos dar el lujo de deshacernos y de qué nunca nos podemos dar el lujo de deshacernos? Con esta clase de preguntas luchan los pastores a través de todo este país."

Cuando él consultó con el presidente de la CBS, Johnny Hunt acerca de la necesidad del "resurgimiento de la Gran Comisión" entre los bautistas del sur, Litton se encontró a sí mismo recordando Filipenses 2:2 – "Haced completo mi gozo, siendo del mismo sentir, conservando el mismo amor, unidos en espíritu, dedicados a un mismo propósito." (BA)

Él dijo que se encontró a sí mismo preguntándose en qué forma serían diferentes las cosas si todos los bautistas del sur verdaderamente tuvieran la mente, el amor, el espíritu y el propósito de Cristo.

"En nosotros surgió la idea de hacer la simple pregunta: '¿Qué si?'" dijo Litton. "Es un contraejemplo. Si contestamos esa pregunta correctamente como pueblo de Dios, estoy convencido que experimentaremos un resurgimiento de la Gran Comisión en la vida de los bautistas del sur. Esto nos ayudará a enfocarnos en tiempos realmente difíciles en este país y a través del mundo."

Organizados bajo el tema "¿Qué si?," la Conferencia de Pastores del 2009, establecida para el 21 y 22 de junio en Louisville, reunirá a los pastores para buscar un reavivamiento transformador de pasión por la Gran Comisión.

Litton dijo que el programa presentará una amplia variedad de oradores: 

-- J.D. Greear, Summit Church de Durham, Carolina del Norte; 

-- Mac Brunson, First Baptist Church de Jacksonville, Florida; 

-- Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship;

-- Mike Landry, Sarasota (Florida) Baptist Church; 

-- Ed Stetzer, LifeWay Research;

-- Francis Chan, Cornerstone Church de Simi Valley, California

-- Tom Elliff, Junta Internacional de Misiones; 

-- Michael Catt, Sherwood Baptist Church de Albany, Georgia; 

-- Fred Luter Jr., Franklin Avenue Baptist Church de New Orleans, Louisiana; 

-- Johnny Hunt, First Baptist Church de Woodstock, Georgia; 

-- David Platt, Church at Brook Hills de Birmingham, Alabama

El programa también incluye a Mike Huckabee, ex-pastor bautista del sur y candidato presidencial en el 2008.

Una influencia clave para formar el programa fue el hecho de que solamente unos pocos pastores jóvenes participaron en la reunión anual del 2008 en Indianápolis, dijo Litton.

"Algo de nuestra apretada agenda está diseñado para incluir gente joven que tenga mensaje y voz que calce con el tema que presentamos, que demuestre en su ministerio y en su vida un compromiso con la Gran Comisión," dijo Litton. "quiero apelar a que los pastores lleven con ellos pastores jóvenes."

Otra diferencia este año es que Litton está emitiendo un amplio llamado a hacer donaciones para apoyar la conferencia, la cual podría costar hasta $140.000. La Conferencia de Pastores debe cubrir todo el costo de la conferencia de este año.

"Les estamos pidiendo a las iglesias, grandes y pequeñas, que consideren dar algo para apoyar la Conferencia de Pastores. Levantar esos fondos es una gran parte de lo que he estado haciendo desde que fui elegido," dijo Litton. "Hemos tenido algunas personas muy generosas. Han sido en lo absoluto poderosa y maravillosamente de apoyo. Sin embargo, todavía tenemos mucho camino por recorrer en eso."

Por muchos años, los presidentes de la Conferencia de Pastores guiaban grandes iglesias que podían financiar la mayoría de los gastos, dijo Litton. La actual situación económica, sin embargo, ha creado la necesidad de una amplia gama de participación en el apoyo económico. El sitio Web de la Conferencia de Pastores: sbcpc.net, ahora tiene una página para hacer más fácil las donaciones, dijo. 

Litton dijo que cree que cuando los bautistas del sur son desafiados, se aúnan por una necesidad, sea acerca del "resurgimiento de la Gran Comisión" o para involucrarse más en apoyar la Conferencia de Pastores.

"Este es un tiempo para que caminemos por fe y vivamos nuestra fe y creamos en Dios. Creo que esto está sucediendo en toda la convención. Las iglesias se van a aunar," dijo. "Aquí en Mobile, nosotros pasamos el huracán Katrina, y fue sorprendente cómo se aunaron los bautistas del sur. Nunca me he sentido más orgulloso de ser bautista del sur. 

"Creo que esta es nuestra hora de hacer esto, aun económicamente, en este país."
--30--
Mark Kelly es editor asistente de Baptist Press. Para obtener información sobre el programa de la Conferencia de Pastores durante la reunión anual 2009 de la CBS, visite sbcpc.net.


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EDITORIAL: ¿Cristianismo casual?
by Por Óscar J. Fernández
Date: March 20, 2009 - Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--¿Alguna vez alguien le ha dado una bofetada sin manos al decirle que asistir a la iglesia es una forma tonta de perder el tiempo? ¿Le ha dicho alguien que para adorar a Dios no hace falta ir a la iglesia? ¿Ha escuchado decir a alguien que él tiene su propia religión?
	
En los últimos dos años se han escrito muchos libros que plantean que hoy día hay mucha gente a la cual no le agrada la iglesia y que piensan que los cristianos son unos hipócritas. ¿Qué podemos hacer nosotros para mostrar amor y alcanzar a esa gente del mundo que nos desprecia? De seguro que cambiar lo que creemos o a quién servimos no es una opción. Entonces, ¿qué podemos hacer?

Aunque a primera vista parece un asunto muy complicado, la respuesta es bien sencilla aunque muy difícil de hacer. ¡Tenemos que cambiar la forma en la que vivimos nuestra fe! Tenemos que cambiar la manera en la cual vemos a la gente que nos rodea. Tenemos que cambiar la manera en la cual trabajamos juntos, como un grupo de creyentes. El asunto es que tenemos que comenzar a seguir a Cristo de la manera en la que Él nos enseñó que lo hiciéramos y no a nuestra manera.

No creo que a alguien se le ocurriría calificar a los discípulos de Jesús como "creyentes casuales". Sin embargo, cada uno de nosotros, de una forma u otra comenzamos a enfrentar en nuestras vidas y practicamos algún tipo de "cristianismo casual". Este problema es como un virus que se propaga, contagia a otros y llega a proliferar en el seno de algunas iglesias.

¿Qué quiero decir con "cristianismo casual"? Es el que practica aquella persona que asiste cada domingo a la iglesia, porque "tiene que" y no porque siente deseos y necesidad de hacerlo. Aquel que tiene como característica criticar todo lo que se hace en la iglesia que no se ajusta a los deseos o costumbres que tiene de antes. Es aquel que trata a toda costa de imponer su idea y voluntad. Aquel que anda de un lado para otro haciendo cosas en la iglesia, sin detenerse y preocuparse por su propio crecimiento espiritual y por estrechar la relación que tiene con Cristo. Es aquel que cree que la Biblia hay que leerla todos los días pero no toma en cuenta que hay que vivirla. Es aquel que se preocupa más por los números y las estadísticas de la iglesia que por el impacto que la misma tiene en la comunidad y la vida de los creyentes. Es resumen, es aquel que se ocupa de la forma y se olvida del contenido.

Si cada uno de nosotros se hiciera el propósito de dejar cualquier manifestación de "cristianismo casual" que pudiera tener para convertirnos en verdaderos cristianos espiritualmente transformados, el mundo pronto notaría la diferencia. Seríamos entonces gente que ama y tiene esperanza. Nuestras iglesias comenzarían a irradiar la luz que está buscando la gente en el mundo. Entonces y sólo entonces haríamos que la gente pudiera ver a Cristo por medio de nosotros y deseara tener un encuentro con Él, en lugar de rechazarlo, en parte por la manera en la que muchos cristianos vivimos. No es un sueño, es algo que podemos lograr si nos lo proponemos y nos esforzamos en lograrlo. Cristo está esperando que le pidamos que tome el control total de nuestras vidas para poder dejar de ser cristianos ocasionales. La Biblia está llena de ejemplos de hombres que lo hicieron. También la historia presenta a muchos que lo han hecho.

Debemos entender que el avivamiento que se necesita hoy comienza por una sola persona. ¡Usted! ¿Una sola persona? ¡Sí, yo! Queda a nuestra voluntad el seguir siendo cristianos casuales, de esos a los que el mundo llama hipócritas, o detener nuestra loca carrera, rendir nuestros pensamientos e "ideas geniales" a Cristo y dejar que sea Él quien controle todo cuanto hagamos, cada instante de nuestra vida. Esto lo incluye todo, desde nuestras relaciones familiares, trabajo, estudio, iglesia, pasatiempos, amistades, lecturas y pensamientos.

El mundo necesita de Cristo, y cada uno de nosotros es una imagen de Él. Esa imagen puede ser positiva que atraiga a la gente, que motive a las personas a rendirse a los pies del Salvador o puede ser negativa, que haga que la gente lo rechace. Tristemente depende de nosotros, ya que es nuestra decisión. Yo, comenzando hoy, haré un análisis cada día para eliminar cualquier rasgo de "cristianismo casual" que pueda haber estado anidando en mi vida. ¿Qué va a hacer usted?
--30--
Oscar J. Fernandez es el editor jefe de LifeWay Español para Adultos de Leadership & Adult Publishing, LifeWay Church Resources en Nashville, Tenn.



