Friday, December 28, 2007

Sharing Loss

Gasoline prices are rising because of the death of one woman in Pakistan. How happy the terrorists who planned her death must be. Her passing should remind us how fragile the lives around us are.

I think about her children and their loss of their mother. My mother died three years ago, so I can empathize with them. I believe we need to make all such deaths personal and grieve for those that mourn.

The fear that Pakistan will become a failed state fills our television screen. Pakistan has the atomic bomb therefore we are in danger if that nation falls into anarchy. I am sure that is true, but I look at the Pakistani people on the screen, torn by grief, roused by anger, or stunned by fear. We need to remember that their pain should also be ours and pray for peace and safety for all.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The Least of Those Among Us

This is the day after Christmas and time to contemplate the passing year. I fear for our country. As a nation, I fear we have lost our heart. Why should people suffer because they are too poor to pay for health insurance? Yet, as a nation we have turned our backs on such pain. We let insurance companies make life and death decisions based on profit and loss. There is no compassion or nurture.

Christ asked us: "Who is your brother?" We have answered: no one who costs us money. Our second television is more important than a child's smile whose pain has been relieved. We are so afraid of being cheated that we turn away all. Is it time to ask why in a nation of conspicuous consumption, why so many struggle to survive?

We are a self-centered nation. Our goal is wealth. Our God has become the golden idol of gratification. We pay those who defend our nation, but not enough. We would rather have the money go to private mercenaries with exorbitant fees because this is free enterprise, not government. Our corporations look only at the bottom line, not the worker at the bottom.

We must remember that we are our brother's keeper, and we are judged by how well we treat the least of those among us.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Christmas Thoughts

I enjoy Christmas, even though, I am alone. Friday, I took my aunt to her autistic son's Christmas party. He lives in a group home with two other disabled men. The company that runs his home, runs several others. All the residents of the homes get together with their families for this Christmas party. Too many have no family.

My cousin was overjoyed when he saw his mother, just as she was glad to hug her son. We ate, then Santa came and passed out simple gifts to each resident. The room was filled with kindness and love. My aunt sat with one man who has lost his parents, so he would not feel so alone.

I will see my cousin and my aunt again Christmas Eve. I will take them to my church for its Christmas Eve service, then out to eat at Luby's, a cafeteria. I will help my cousin select his food because he cannot talk, but he does know what he wants. We did this last year, and he still remembers that it snowed inside the church when we sang "Winter Wonderland." Although he cannot talk, he can read and carries a card on which he spells out words.

My cousin is lucky in many ways. His cousins will see he is never alone at Christmas even when
his mother is gone. Many are not so fortunate.

I urge anyone that is alone and healthy this Christmas to look for opportunities to help the disabled and elderly. The gift of your time is priceless to them.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

God's Name

Recently, a Baptist church refused the use of a recreational facility by an interdenominational group because Muslims would be praying there. Evidently, this church believed that prayers addressed to a God they believed was a different diety are forbidden in the Bible and would somehow contaminate their faith. Maybe they are right about the biblical prohibition. I do not know and I do not care.

If you believe there is only one God and no others, then no matter how you address him, since there is only one God you must be talking to her. Do we really think God cares what human word we use to call to him? I doubt that is so.

Understand that I believe Jesus Christ is the truest manifestation of God and the reason I am a Christian. But I believe that there is truth in all faiths that seek a higher meaning for our existence. God loves human beings. We need to love God back.

I think that for some unfathomable reason, God likes us to babble to him. No matter what our faith, prayer links us to the Creator. I do not think any sincere prayer can contaminate another's faith. Again, I believe there is one God with many names.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

New Research in Stem Cells

In the last few weeks, there have been two research achievements in stem cell research. Just to make my position clear: I am a born-again Christian who supports embryonic stem cell research. One achievement has been virtually ignored by the media, the other hyped beyond all common sense.

The achievement ignored was the successful creation of embryonic stem cells by somatic cell nuclear transfer in primates. Skin tissue taken from an adult monkey was implanted in an egg and stimulated to divide and form stem cells. This is the first step to the ability to grow replacement tissues of all kinds for humans that would not have rejection problems. This is the great hope for cures. I think just as important would be the potential to study the disease process of particular concern. We could gain insight into the beginnings of disease that could lead to prevention, so no cure is necessary. That a path to saving millions from suffering has been hardly mentioned.

The achievement hyped was the successful creation of pluripotent cells without the use of an egg. Some columnists and many conservative religious representatives have hailed this breakthrough as the death knell of all embryonic stem cell research. Supporters of embryonic stem cell research cannot allow these voices to stop or cripple vital research. There are many problems with the new method including a high incidence of cancer. This research represents another door opening to the possibility of a cure for a myriad of humanities ills. We cannot allow it to close another door.

We do not know which pathway ( perhaps even both) will lead to the ultimate: replacement cells for the worn-out or malfunctioning parts of the human body. We must fight to see that monies already earmarked for embryonic stem cell research are not diverted to the new pluripotent cell research. Both areas are only threshholds now. Where the research will lead in either case is unknown. Both must be supported by those of us who believe that a day without disease suffering will dawn. Science moves by fits and starts. Discoveries are made by accident and design. Which of these achievements will be the more productive is simply unknown at this point. Therefore both must be pursued.

As I stated earlier, I am a born-again Christian. I do not believe that a clump of cells created in a petri dish has a soul. I understand that many Christians would disagree. For them the union of sperm and egg creates a soul. So I respect their beliefs and their right to express those beliefs. I do not want anyone driven from the public square by the fact that they are religious and that their beliefs are based on faith, not science. The separation of church and state applies to the government, not the people. As citizens, we have the right to make our opinions known and an equal right to dispute the opinions of others. If we choose to associate with others of like mind and speak as a group, that is our right. We cannot allow either side of this great debate to be muzzled.

I, of course, believe my opinion on stem cells is correct and will prevail. Our institutions often are the last to acknowledge change. We must help them see stem cells in all forms as a gift from our Creator that we must use, not abuse.