September 2015 Newsletter
Posted By cmbuuck on September 15, 2015
Life Affirming News
TODAY’S SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ” (John 8:12)
NEWS #1: 8TH UNDERCOVER VIDEO OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD AND BABY PARTS TRAFFICKING RELEASED
NRL News Today / 8-25-15
Latest video reveals business end of baby parts procurement and the psychological toll taken on many fetal research workers.
The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) Tuesday released its 8th video exposing the harvesting and trafficking of baby body parts.
During the lunch meeting, Cate Dyer, chief executive officer of the fetal tissue procurement company StemExpress LLC, casually discusses the purchase and shipment of aborted baby organs — some of which are fully intact — with undercover CMP investigators. Dyer further suggests the need for “another 50 livers a week.”
In the discussion, Dyer also explains the shipping of whole baby cadavers to labs and recommends a warning label for workers opening the package — since some don’t want to see the heads, hands, and feet of unborn children. Her conversation provides insight into the psychological toll organ harvesting takes on many of the employees in the fetal tissue research industry. “Their lab techs freak out and have meltdowns,” Dyer explains, while laughing over lunch.
NEWS #2: FINAL EXIT NETWORK SENTENCED IN MINNESOTA WOMAN’S ASSISTED SUICIDE
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition / 8-24-15
Judge applies maximum sentence to pro-death organization in assisting in the 2007 death of Doreen Dunn.
Final Exit Network (FEN) was ordered Monday to pay $30,000 — the maximum sentence allowed under Minnesota law. Judge Christian Wilton also fined the group another $3,000 towards the woman’s funeral costs.
Last May the group was convicted by a jury in the death of the 57-year-old Apple Valley woman. Doreen Dunn ended her life with assistance from members of the organization. The conviction marked the first time the group had been found guilty of such a charge.
During trial proceedings, the Dakota County prosecutor said the group provided the woman with a “blueprint” to end her life and then removed the equipment she used to conceal the suicide from family and authorities.
The two FEN members arrived at Dunn’s home on May 30, 2007, to assist the woman in ending her life. They removed the equipment used in the suicide and left — making it appear Dunn died of natural causes. Dunn’s husband arrived home later to discover the woman dead on the couch.
Doreen Dunn suffered from depression after experiencing years of chronic pain but had no life-threatening illness. The family remains puzzled by her death.
Criminal cases against FEN’s coordinator and medical director are still pending.
Researchers Grow First Almost Fully-Formed Brain
Center for Bioethics and Culture Network / 8-21-15
Researchers at the University of Ohio announced success in growing an almost fully-formed brain using adult human skin cells. One bioethicist, Wesley Smith, suggests there is no need to pursue unethical human cloning for further research and no need for fetal tissue or organ experimentation.
‘God Is Not Silent’
By Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison
“It is the deadly hatred with which Satan attacks Christ. It is the thirst for a vengeance against Christ, which Satan cannot satisfy. It is the anxiety before Christ the judge. It is the rage of the fatally wounded beast.” — Rev. Hermann Sasse’s sermon on the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 1942
Tuesday morning, the Center for Medical Progress released another video exposing Planned Parenthood and the evil and immense pain that occur inside its clinics. The video is graphic. Little arms and legs are ripped from tiny bodies. They are callously referred to as “specimens,” sold at a price.
Jesus warned us about this. He reminded us that the devil would be hard at work, seeking to devour hearts and minds. He told us the world would try to silence His Word of life, and that His truth would be shunned. Satan will stop at nothing to rage at Christ, even if it means murdering the tiniest of people and selling their bodies for profit.
But God is not silent. He has a word for us, too. He comforts us in the knowledge that the devil’s attempts are desperate and futile, for Jesus came to save people, regardless of their size. He reminds us that He has “overcome the world” (John 16:33) and “came that [we] may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). His point? Satan is fighting a losing battle, and he knows it.
So also, we pray, is Planned Parenthood. Its leadership can make excuses and attempt to justify its actions, complain that the videos are edited or that the Center for Medical Progress isn’t a legitimate organization. The chatter doesn’t matter. In Christ, the tide has already turned. God is not silent. He will not allow Satan to prevail.
Even now, He is causing young people to rise up, no longer content to let this genocide continue. His Church is standing up, too, as congregations and individuals show mercy to those who suffer the emotional pain of an abortion and come alongside moms and babies in financial and spiritual need. LCMS Life Ministry carries on its joyful work as well, supporting crisis pregnancy centers, providing educational life materials, teaching youth about chastity and working closely with our friends at Lutherans For Life and the National Pro-Life Religious Council.
Satan will roar for a time, but his evil, murderous ways won’t last. Sasse reminds us, “Before the power of Jesus the unbridled power of Satan has to stop,” for Jesus “takes the dominion of the world away from Satan.
“Satan cannot overpower us,” Sasse continues. “He cannot stand before this Lord Jesus. That’s why he rages.” Be comforted. Pray boldly. Speak bravely. Defend life. Act courageously. Let your frustration and disgust be turned to prayer and action on behalf of our littlest neighbors, for Satan cannot win, and God is not silent.
The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison is president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.