Tattoos worse than abortions?

From Mats Tunehag´s blog in "Världen i dag":
In Maryland, USA, a minor can have an abortion without the knowledge and consent of her parents. But if the same child wants to have a tattoo she needs parental permission. What values are surfacing? What do we consider more important?
There was an intense debate in Sweden recently about abortion. Surprisingly, though, the debate centred not on human dignity and the value of life, but on gender. It was revealed that some women chose to have an abortion due to gender of the unborn child, preferring not to give birth to a daughter.
In Sweden it is uncontroversial to have an abortion if the unborn child has a defect (and some say you should). Similarly no-one will question a couple who chose to abort a child because they would rather travel than take care of a newborn. But if you mention gender as a reason in a society preoccupied with gender equality, heaven and hell break loose.
Are image and looks more important than human dignity? Is gender equality more valued and than human life?

Trusting God - Straight talk with Joyce Meyer

From Charisma Magazine:
"Do you see things about yourself that you know need to change—and then desperately try to change them? I did that for many years, and they were some of the most complicated and frustrating years of my life. Through God’s grace, I finally saw that it was a waste of time for me to try to fix areas in my life only God could do something about.....
I remember putting a sign on my refrigerator that said, “Frustration = works of the flesh.” God has graciously taught me that each time I feel frustrated, it is because I am taking over and trying to do something without His help. It is what His Word calls “works of the flesh”—something He hates. We honor God when we depend on Him in all things."
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An urgent message

Prophesy by David Wilkerson from his web-site:
"AN URGENT MESSAGE
I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world.
AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE - EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US."

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Why the British Aren’t Boarding the Atheist Bus

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones from Charisma Magazine:

"British atheist Richard Dawkins wants to stamp out Christian faith in England. But that faith is still very much alive.

When I arrived in London last week I fully expected to see one of the city's celebrated "atheist buses" racing past Gatwick Airport on its way to Victoria Station. I had read about how Oxford University professor Richard Dawkins, author of the book The God Delusion, helped raise more than 140,000 British pounds from donors in January to plaster the city's famous double-decker buses with signs that read: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

Dawkins, who has publicly compared religion with the smallpox virus, is quite evangelistic when it comes to his doubts. But his London bus experiment was a dud, if you ask me. Early 2009 was not a good time to mount an atheist campaign. With British banks in crisis and companies laying off workers all over the U.K., most people would prefer to believe divine help is a possibility. "There's probably no God" is a depressing message to share with anxious Londoners who are weathering the Great Recession."

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Former SA leaders lecturing at Oslo University - 2009-02-19

The former Salvation Army leaders general Paul A. Rader and Commissionar Kay F.Rader are now visiting the Nordic Leadership Development Institute in Norway.

During their visit to Norway they also took time to lecture at the Oslo Univeristy.

On the Norwegian SA web-site you can find a link to their speech in full text>>
(You will find the link if you klick on the word "her" on the web-page)

Bush's Faith-Based Legacy

From Christianity Today:
"Following the presidential election of Barack Obama, Christianity Today spoke with Blair and dozens of other leaders to assess the Bush presidency. We wanted to examine his legacy in four areas of particular concern to evangelicals: health-based foreign aid, domestic faith-based initiatives, judicial appointments, and the war in Iraq.

Several themes popped up consistently in our interviews: faith, freedom, values, and engagement. In the month after 9/11, Blair delivered a major speech to Labor Party leaders in which he invoked the biblical mandate to care for the oppressed: "The starving, the wretched, the dispossessed, the ignorant, those living in want and squalor, from the deserts of northern Africa to the slums of Gaza, to the mountain ranges of Afghanistan: they too are our cause." Blair called on the Western powers to steer the world toward democracy and compassionate concern.
Critics mocked Blair as "Bush's poodle." But Blair told CT that he has always considered his and Bush's views on the role of faith in foreign policy to be "essentially the same approach."

"It is important that you follow through on the values you have," says Blair. "Spiritual capital is an important part of building human capital and a deep, thriving global system."

"As an atheist, I truly believe that Africa needs God"

From blogg of Credoakademien:
The atheist Matthew Parris wrote in an article published in The Times the 27th of december 2008:"Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa’s biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people’s mindset.

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it’s Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.
In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good."

You can read the article in Times Magazine here>>