As a physician, I witness countless first and last breaths. As a Christian, I am constantly reminded of how God breathes life into us through his Spirit.The scalpel sliced through the uterine wall. The amniotic sac ruptured, and fluid flowed across the blue surgical drapery toward me. The obstetrician’s fingers curled around the baby’s head while my gloved hands pressed firmly against the mother’s abdomen. The baby was larger than we had expected. I shifted my full body weight against the mother’s belly, and, at last, the newborn’s head slipped through. Her shoulders quickly followed, and there she lay, eyes taking in the bright world for the first time.Before she could cry, she took her first breath. Air rushed in, pushing aside fluid that had filled her lungs from six weeks of gestation. The oxygen diffused through the blood vessels of the alveoli, tiny air sacs within her lungs, relaxing the pulmonary arteries and allowing blood to course through her lungs for the first time. The short vessel connecting her lung arteries and heart began to close. Pressure built in her heart, causing the tiny hole between its chambers to snap shut.She breathed more vigorously than anyone else in the operating room, her purple hue softening to a rich pink. Squinting against the glaring light above, she cried again. What a foreign world this is—where air becomes breath, and then breath returns to air.Ruach is a Hebrew word meaning breath, wind, or spirit. (In the Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, it is rendered as pneuma or pneumon, the roots from which we get many English words pertaining to lungs.)In Genesis, ruach is both the Spirit of God bringing light and order into an unordered world (1:1–4) and the breath of life that God breathes into Adam (2:7). Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of ...Continue reading...

By calling or circumstance, millions in the “sandwich generation” feel the weight and cost of tending to aging relatives. Shanoah Bruner is among the quarter of American adults who find themselves in the “sandwich generation,” raising children under 18 and supporting aging parents.At her home in the Indianapolis suburbs, the 40-something mom lives with her husband, tween and teen daughters, mother-in-law, and biological father.The caretaking role comes naturally to Bruner. She was raised in a family that regularly opened their home to others and served their church and community. Plus, she worked in assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing for over 20 years.“I grew up in a very Christian home where, you know, people meant more than possessions,” she said. “So that’s just how I look at it, and it’s definitely rewarding for me, though that’s not the case for everybody.”As baby boomers descend into their twilight years, their kids are taking them in or helping manage care from afar. Sixty-six percent of caregivers are women like Bruner, most of them in their mid-to-late 40s, who also work outside the home.The demanding needs of caregivers and their loved ones offer believers a chance to provide support and gospel hope. Churches, nonprofits, and government and parachurch organizations have resources, and individual Christians can provide personal, tangible love in action.In 2022, the first Bible study specifically for dementia caregivers was published. Some churches are implementing caregiver workshops. The Caregiving Support Network hosts a program to “sponsor a caregiver,” and there’s even a dedicated “Caregiver’s Prayer.”Richard Gentzler Jr., an expert in ministry for aging adults, paraphrased former First Lady Rosalynn Carter when he wrote that ...Continue reading...

One of the NFL's top placekickers urged graduates during a commencement speech to prioritize their faith over their career and to resist the “lies” society teaches about gender, saying they should “move closer and closer to God's will” instead of living a work-centric life.

Cass cautioned against a "politically driven"? medical system and recommended a more holistic approach to treating minors with gender dysphoria. She noted that the U.S. medical system has failed such patients due to being overwhelmed by the issue.

With the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual World Health Assembly less than two weeks away, a burgeoning array of lawmakers, state attorneys general, and international leaders are voicing forceful opposition to a WHO-proposed “pandemic agreement” over concerns that it infringes on national sovereignty, violates the Constitution, promotes abortion, and will likely lead to increased censorship […]The post Opposition to Pro-Abortion WHO Pandemic Treaty Grows as World Health Assembly Approaches appeared first on LifeNews.com.

A heralded Catholic football player defends traditional moral values at a Catholic college—how novel—and within no time he’s being bashed all over the place. Had he endorsed transgenderism, or Hamas, he would now be praised to high heaven. The man is Harrison Butker, the phenomenal kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. Butker is not in […]The post Harrison Butker is Right: Abortion is Bad, Traditional Families are Good appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Prime Video has offered a glimpse into the upcoming second season of its blockbuster series, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," the hotly-anticipated continuation of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary tale.

The Presbyterian Church in America has canceled a panel event slated for their churchwide gathering next month that would have included Evangelical writer and New York Times columnist David French.

A healthcare provider in Mississippi is suing the Biden administration over its new interpretation of nondiscrimination provisions barring discrimination on the basis of sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity.?

The highlife musician challenged the materialism and extortion he encountered too often in the church. Kofi Owusu Dua-Anto, a Ghanaian gospel musician who challenged church leaders with his catchy songs, died last month age 45. Known professionally as KODA, the artist passed away suddenly on April 21 after a yet-undisclosed short illness.KODA won awards for his vocal and musical finesse and production skills, but he used the platform his music offered him to speak out against the materialism and self-promotion he believed had overtaken his country’s church leaders.“What is being preached from the pulpit? If it’s just the aesthetics of Christianity … the flashy things of how the man of God has visited 20 churches in the UK or the US and how he stood in T. D. Jakes’s church … if that’s the vision … then that’s what [Christians will] chase,” he said in 2021.In 2013, KODA put these concerns to music when he released “Nsem Pii” (“Many Issues”).“Fifteen ways to be successful, 13 ways to make much money, but the one way to make to heaven, preacher man, you don’t preach about it,” he sang in both Twi, a Ghanian local language, and English. “Listen, last Sunday I heard you preach; I must confess, I was confused, was that church of GIMPA?” (GIMPA or Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, is a prestigious public university in Ghana.)The track surprised many in the local Christian community, one that traditionally practiced unquestioned reverence toward pastors and church leaders, and the gospel music industry, which generally only sang about God and commented little on culture.KODA credited the Bible as his inspiration for his lyrics.“I was reading the Acts of the Apostles from [chapters] 1 to ...Continue reading...

For seven seasons, the show has offered a clichéd (and nostalgic) vision of how atheists and believers relate to each other.My mom was the one who told me to watch The Big Bang Theory. It was a show about nerds—and I was a nerd. She thought I’d enjoy it. A friend had already mentioned that the main character, Sheldon Cooper, was “exactly like” me. After I watched the show, at Mom’s encouragement, I joked that I had mixed feelings about the comparison.The Big Bang Theory was extremely popular and not just with my mom; at its height, it averaged 20 million viewers a night. But it never really resonated with actual dweebs. Its audience was largely Gen X women—not people who were Sheldon but people who “knew a Sheldon,” not the geeks themselves but their mothers and friends.It’s fitting, then, that the even-more-popular Big Bang spinoff would be Young Sheldon, a prequel about the title character’s childhood in East Texas—and that Sheldon’s relationship with his mom, Mary, would be at the heart of the show. Young Sheldon sits at the top of the prime-time rankings; one recent week, the show (which streams on Netflix, Max, and Paramount+) topped all streamed content across US household televisions.As Young Sheldon comes to an end (its series finale airs May 16; a spinoff starring two breakout characters—Georgie and Mandy—has already been announced), so too does the onscreen dynamic between Sheldon and Mary. So too does a nostalgic vision for how the “science vs. religion” debate plays out in our families.Mary is Sheldon’s opposite in nearly every way. He’s a logical atheist physicist with no people skills; Mary is a warm, folksy conservative Christian. In many ways, she serves as an audience surrogate. (For what it’s worth, Mary was my ...Continue reading...

Earlier today, a large crowd gathered at a rally outside Parliament at the start of the biggest Parliamentary battle on abortion in a generation. MPs will soon be given the opportunity to vote on two pro-life changes to the law: one amendment tabled by Caroline Ansell MP to lower the abortion time limit from 24 […]The post Hundreds of People Attend Rally to Defeat UK Bill for Abortions Up to Birth appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Māori Christians in New Zealand bristle at newly translated portions of the Bible that use the names of local deities.Last year, Bible Society New Zealand (BSNZ) released a 109-page booklet with 10 Bible passages published in a contemporary Māori translation for the first time. The version used the names of atua Māori, or Māori gods and deities, in place of words like heaven, earth, land, and sea. Genesis 1:1, for example, says that in the beginning, God made Rangi-nui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) instead of rangi and whenua respectively.The changes, meant to appeal to younger Māori, stirred debate. While some readers praised the changes (“The terms are more relatable,” wrote one respondent in a BSNZ survey), many, including Māori theologians and church leaders, decried the use of atua Māori in the Scriptures as “twisted” and “blasphemous.”The aim of publishing He Tīmatanga (A Beginning) was not to present a final translation but to offer a draft for feedback, said Clare Knowles, translation coordinator at BSNZ. Publishing these passages was part of an effort that began in 2008 to “retranslate the entire Bible into Māori [in] today’s language.”While Māori speakers in New Zealand have a Bible translation in their language, it was last revised in 1952. The most recent edition in 2012 mainly focused on reformatting the text with updated paragraphs, spelling, and punctuation, but the content has largely remained the same since missionaries first translated the Bible into Māori in the 19th century.“Imagine if the only English translation we had was the King James Version. … This is a bit like the situation with Te Paipera Tapu, the Māori Bible,” Knowles wrote in an article promoting He Tīmatanga.In New Zealand, about 8 percent of the population speak Māori, ...Continue reading...

By Dr. Mathew Maavak The Magufuli government revealed how samples drawn from a papaya, a quail, a goat and engine oil, among others, can generate...Remembering John Magufuli — the late Tanzanian president who exposed the coronavirus farce

Studies show the vast majority of the next generation will not have a biblical worldview. So what can parents do?

Jerry Seinfeld committed an unforgivable sin in much of American culture by supporting Israel after it was brutally attacked by genocidal terrorists last October. He is Jewish; last December he traveled to Tel Aviv to meet with families of hostages held by Hamas.

The Texas Medical Board (TMB) is finally stepping up in attempts to clear the confusion regarding emergency medical interventions for pregnant women in Texas. Texas outlaws elective abortion from the moment of fertilization, with the only exception for medical emergencies of a pregnant woman. Sometimes, this intervention tragically can involve ending a pregnancy before the […]The post Texas Medical Board is Making it Clear That Abortion Ban Allows Emergency Medical Care for Pregnant Women appeared first on LifeNews.com.

The champion of “native missions” trained more than 100,000 evangelists but got in trouble for financial mismanagement.Athanasius Yohannan, who built one of the world’s largest mission organizations on the idea that Western Christians should support “native missionaries” but got in trouble for financial irregularities and dishonest fundraising, died on May 8. He was 74 and got hit by a car while walking along the road near his ministry headquarters in Texas.Born Kadapilaril Punnoose Yohannan and known for most of his ministry as K. P., Yohannan founded Gospel for Asia in 1979. Over the next 45 years, the organization trained more than 100,000 people to preach the gospel and plant and pastor churches in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and other places in Southeast Asia, according to a recent ministry report. Gospel for Asia raised as much as $93 million in a year and in 2005 reported it was supporting about 14,500 indigenous evangelists and pastors in same-culture and near-culture ministry. Christians in the US were asked to give $30 per month to support them.“If we evangelize the world’s lost billions … it will be through native missions,” Yohannan wrote for CT. “The native missionary is far more effective than the expatriate. The national already knows the language and is already part of the culture. In many instances, he or she can go places where outsiders cannot go.”Yohannan’s death was mourned by Gospel for Asia, the church that he started and served as metropolitan bishop, and prominent political leaders in India.“He will be remembered for his service to society and emphasis on improving the quality of life of the downtrodden,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media. “May his soul rest in peace.”Both the governor of Kerala and the ...Continue reading...

The Uniform Civil Code seeks “one nation, one law” to govern citizens' personal lives, but religious minorities fear hidden costs.In February, the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand passed a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which aims to implement a common set of rules governing crucial aspects of life, including marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.This code would supplant existing personal laws that religious groups in India currently ascribe to. Personal laws cover family-related matters such as marriage, divorce, child custody, adoption, property rights, and inheritance.If the ruling Hindu-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has its way, a UCC will eventually be implemented across all of India. (At present, Goa is the only other state with a UCC, derived from the Portuguese-era Civil Code of 1867.)The BJP’s push to implement a national UCC may bring relief for Christians in India, especially in terms of women’s inheritance rights. Under existing personal laws, Christian mothers cannot inherit their deceased children’s property. The UCC proposes to eliminate discriminatory provisions that favor male inheritance, potentially leading to more equitable inheritance rights for Christian women.But few of India’s religious minorities trust the BJP, whose policies have often been more harmful than helpful to Christian communities. In Assam, Christian leaders protested the passing of a bill banning “magical healing” as it unfairly impacted their custom of praying for the sick. Ministries including World Vision and the Evangelical Fellowship of India recently lost government authorization to collect foreign donations. Nine states now have anti-conversion laws in place, and believers have borne the brunt of religious unrest in these areas as a result.As this year’s general elections seem likely ...Continue reading...

The Uniform Civil Code seeks “one nation, one law” to govern citizens' personal lives, but religious minorities fear hidden costs.In February, the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand passed a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which aims to implement a common set of rules governing crucial aspects of life, including marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.This code would supplant existing personal laws that religious groups in India currently ascribe to. Personal laws cover family-related matters such as marriage, divorce, child custody, adoption, property rights, and inheritance.If the ruling Hindu-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has its way, a UCC will eventually be implemented across all of India. (At present, Goa is the only other state with a UCC, derived from the Portuguese-era Civil Code of 1867.)The BJP’s push to implement a national UCC may bring relief for Christians in India, especially in terms of women’s inheritance rights. Under existing personal laws, Christian mothers cannot inherit their deceased children’s property. The UCC proposes to eliminate discriminatory provisions that favor male inheritance, potentially leading to more equitable inheritance rights for Christian women.But few of India’s religious minorities trust the BJP, whose policies have often been more harmful than helpful to Christian communities. In Assam, Christian leaders protested the passing of a bill banning “magical healing” as it unfairly impacted their custom of praying for the sick. Ministries including World Vision and the Evangelical Fellowship of India recently lost government authorization to collect foreign donations. Nine states now have anti-conversion laws in place, and believers have borne the brunt of religious unrest in these areas as a result.As this year’s general elections seem likely ...Continue reading...

Tuberous sclerosis complex. Most people have never heard of this rare medical condition. Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), also known as tuberous sclerosis, is a rare genetic disease that causes non-cancerous (benign) tumors to grow in the brain and several areas of the body, including the spinal cord, nerves, eyes, lung, heart, kidneys, and skin. The […]The post Couple Refuses Doctor's Suggestion to Have Abortion Just Because Their Son Had a Rare Diagnosis appeared first on LifeNews.com.

In December 2022, Congress passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), a pro-life bill that aimed to make the workplace more accessible to pregnant women by requiring employers to provide accommodations to pregnant workers under The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This bill was implemented at the end of June 2023.However, the Biden administration is […]The post Attorneys General File Lawsuit Against New Biden Rule Forcing Employers to Fund Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.

By Dr. Mathew Maavak The Magufuli government revealed how samples drawn from a papaya, a quail, a goat and engine oil, among others, can generate...Remembering John Magufuli — the late Tanzanian president who exposed the coronavirus farce

By Debbie Lerman In a previous article, I laid out? the legal framework for issuing Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)? for medical products. EUA was the type of...Legal Context Behind the Bioweapon Hypothesis

Practicing Christians and Scripture-engaged believers are more skeptical of artificial intelligence than the American public as a whole, according to a new survey.?