John Stonestreet – Page 68

New Zealand Legalizes Euthanasia

Nov 16, 2020John StonestreetEuthanasia and Assisted SuicideEuthanasia, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

John Stonestreet, Radio Host and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.

New Zealand is the sixth country to legalize euthanasia.

The October referendum, called the “End of Life Choice Act” had the support of both major parties, and received over 65% support from voters.

Kiwis are being promised that proposed “safeguards” will prevent the sort of abuse and spread of the practice that we’ve seen in the Netherlands and Belgium. One journalist assured Al Jazeera that the New Zealand law is “more stringent,” because it is only for “terminally-ill patients” that “they need two doctors to approve” and “there’s a long checklist” of necessary conditions.

But of course, the Netherlands and Belgian had their own “safeguards” which didn’t hold. They never do. Once a nation accepts that some lives aren’t worth living and that it’s okay for doctors to become killers, it’s impossible to prevent financial incentives from entering consideration or the most vulnerable from being pressured.

To put it another way, not even the best Kiwi intentions is immune to gravity when the slope is this slippery.

Catholic Hospitals Criticized for . . . Being Catholic

Nov 11, 2020John StonestreetReligious FreedomReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty

The Roma Catholic Church, as many know, opposes artificial birth control and sterilization. So, neither are available at Catholic hospitals. However, for some reason, there is outrage when Catholic health care providers follow Catholic teaching.

For example, a recent Los Angeles Times’ op-ed about a hospital operated by Providence Health Care System complains that the hospital “has increasingly disallowed women’s health services when they involve any form of contraceptive care,” such as IUDs and sterilization.

In an ominous tone, the op-ed notes “the growing influence of Catholic health systems, which now account for one of every six acute care hospital beds in the country.” And, just in case readers aren’t scared enough, the article cites the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as additional cause for fear.

We should remember that Catholic hospitals care for 5 million patients per year, and the same faith that critics fear is what motivates them to care for the sick in the first place.

Fulfill Your Civic Duty and Vote

Nov 3, 2020John StonestreetElectionsElections

In 2016, only about 61 percent of voting-age Americans cast a ballot. The percentage was similar for self-identifying Christians. In other words, while faith seems to make a difference in the voting decisions of American Christians who do vote, it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference in whether they vote at all.

But it should. The fact that Jesus Christ is Lord of all should make a difference in every aspect of life, including how live out our citizenship.

Too often Christians make one of two opposite mistakes. The first is what French theologian Jacques Ellul called “the political illusion,” or assuming that everything rests on political outcomes.

The other mistake is the political delusion, the idea that political engagement of any kind is pointlessly unnecessary or perhaps even implicates one in evil. Neither is not the case for American Christians today.

I will put it bluntly, for American Christians, voting is both a civic duty and a Christian responsibility. Make sure you fulfill your duty today.