By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League of North Carolina
November 26, 2008

RALEIGH - The 163 prisoners on death row at North Carolina’s Central Prison have had more than a two-year reprieve as the courts, the state’s Medical Board and the Department of Correction clash over the role doctors are asked to play in lethal injection. But that could begin to change within the next three months as the N.C. Supreme Court heard arguments on the matter on Nov. 18 and is expected to release a ruling within about 90 days.

“We can only hope that this controversy that has resulted in an effective moratorium on the death penalty will be put to rest so that justice can be restored,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. “God’s Word in Genesis 9:6 declares to governments of all eras: ‘Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”

The case argued Tuesday hinges on a 2006 challenge to the use of lethal injection, a method capital punishment opponents say is cruel and unusual.  Read the rest of this entry »

By Warren Cole Smith
Evangelical News Press
November 26, 2008

The Republicans took a beating on Nov. 4.  There can be no doubt about that.  Barack Obama won the presidency, and the Democrats gained seats in both the House and the Senate.

But was the election a disaster?  Hardly.  As political strategist Karl Rove said, “In a year when all currents were running against Republicans and our campaign was lackluster and erratic, Barack Obama received only 3.1 points more than Al Gore in 2000 and only 4.6 more than John Kerry in 2004.”

Rove is right:  this wasn’t a landslide.  If you look at a map of the nation “colored in” by county, you’ll still see a lot more red than blue.  And if you drill down, while Republicans might be wringing their hands, this social conservative finds much to like about this election.  Here are a few lessons from the 2008 election that bode well for the future.  Read the rest of this entry »

Abortionist Becomes Pro-Life Champion
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
November 25, 2008

The barrier-breaking transplant into a woman of an entire organ made from her own stem cells is “marvelous news,” says a consultant for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Claudio Castillo, 30, of Barcelona has shown no signs of rejecting her new windpipe after it was placed in her chest in June in the Spanish city, The Independent reported Nov. 19. Researchers used stem cells from Castillo’s blood marrow to grow the replacement organ, which was combined with a donated trachea for the transplant. Four months after the surgery, she was able to take care of her two children, go dancing and climb two flights of stairs, activities that previously had been impossible for the tuberculosis patient, according to the British newspaper.

The successful transplant again demonstrates the promise of non-embryonic stem cells, which have produced treatments for at least 73 human ailments, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research. Read the rest of this entry »

By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

Ever play a board game with a cranky 2-year-old? Forget the roll of the dice; the number on the spinner or the clearly printed rules inside the box lid. He won’t be satisfied unless he wins.

Enter the world of same-sex marriage proponents protesting California’s Proposition 8 and, in essence, the decisions of voters there and in 29 other U.S. states that have amended their constitutions to confirm the sanctity of marriage as a commitment between one man and one woman.

With increasingly intense and in some places even violent protests, homosexual activists are calling for people who choose the gay lifestyle to band together in civil disobedience for the next seven weeks, from Nov. 27 to Jan. 20, when they will converge on Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Rallies were held in about a half dozen North Carolina cities last weekend as part of the “Join the Impact” national protest. Estimates from GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender) Web blogs showed Raleigh’s gathering as largest in N.C. with a crowd of some 1,400; 300 to 400 were reported in Greensboro; a similar size crowed in Asheville; 200 in Charlotte; 130 in Wilmington; and roughly 50 in Boone.

Although the Tar Heel events were apparently peaceful, that hasn’t been the case elsewhere. Read the rest of this entry »

By Bob Steinberg
Christian Action League of North Carolina

Dr. Alveda King, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives agrees that Barack Obama’s election to the presidency has changed the face of America. She says it strikes a blow to white guilt because hundreds of thousands of white people voted for him to prove they were not racist. Dr. King goes on to say that it gives blacks who voted for him hope, because there has never been a black president of America.

There has also never been a president who has promised to do more to advance abortion rights than our new president-elect. As a pro-life activist, Dr. King is deeply concerned.

Alveda King is the mother of six and a grandmother. Her uncle was the famed civil-rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Her father, the Rev. A. D. King, was the slain civil-rights leader’s youngest brother, whose untimely death at age 38, one year after King’s assassination in Memphis, was considered by many to be suspicious. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Richard Land
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

On Nov. 4, 2008, the people of California, Florida and Arizona joined the ranks of the approximately 30 of the United States that have outlawed same-sex marriage either by amending their respective state constitutions or by passing appropriate legislation.

The three states mentioned above amended their state constitutions by the following margins: California (52%), Arizona (56%) and Florida (62%).

The results in California are causing the most controversy. Why? First, because same-sex marriages were already being performed in that state since June because the California Supreme Court refused to delay their ruling until the people could vote in November. Second, California is a much more liberal state culturally than either Arizona or Florida.

Now we are witnessing the spectacle of same-sex marriage advocates going before the California Supreme Court in attempts to convince them to overturn the people’s choice to amend their state’s constitution. Read the rest of this entry »

Christian Action League of North Carolina

COATS - Area Christians concerned about the state of America and, more specifically conditions in the Tar Heel state, will want to mark their calendars for the annual meeting of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, set for Nov. 20 at Coats Baptist Church.

“This is a chance for Christians to have a voice in our state government, to get informed about issues our lawmakers will be deciding on next session and to get plugged in to the Christian Action League,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the organization that lobbies for believers and promotes a Biblical worldview in the General Assembly.

The meeting is the last of three regional events held across the state this year to make it more convenient for attendees. It will be hosted by The Rev. Jesse Mooney and his Coats Baptist congregation, which has already proven itself active on civic issues, having helped lead a successful fight against the on-premise sale of malt beverages, unfortified wine and mixed drinks this past spring.
Read the rest of this entry »

North Carolina Family Policy Council

On November 10, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina heard arguments in an important religious freedom case involving a pastor who was denied a permit by the city of Charlotte to hold a pro-life event. Frederick Nelson, an allied attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), who is representing the plaintiff in Benham v. City of Charlotte, presented oral arguments before the federal court.

The case began when Reverend Phillip Benham submitted an application to the city of Charlotte for a “festival permit” for a Roe v. Wade anniversary event scheduled for January 22, 2007. The city denied his application on the grounds that his event was a “demonstration” and not a “festival.” Under a city ordinance, demonstrations are not permitted. In September 2007, Mr. Nelson filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of Rev. Benham, arguing that the city had violated his client’s First Amendment rights. According to ADF, Rev. Benham’s permit application included the following description of his proposed event: “Evangelical, Gospel proclamation, praise and worship band, local Christian pastors speaking, post-abortive mothers give testimony, call to repentance.” The lawsuit argues that the city’s designation of the event as a demonstration was “purely subjective” and based solely on the religious nature of the event. Read the rest of this entry »

By John Hood
John Locke Foundation

A useful way to think about the two Democratic wave elections of 2006 and 2008 is that they’ve taken America back to the status quo ante of 1993, though not all the way back in the case of North Carolina.

After the 1992 election, America had a young Democratic president promising change, economic recovery, and a middle-class tax cut and a Democratic Congress intent on federalizing health care and cutting defense spending. There were 57 Democrats and 43 Republicans in the U.S. Senate. In the House, the Democratic majority consisted of 256 members. At the state level, Democrats controlled both legislative chambers in 25 states, Republicans in eight, and power was split in 16 (Nebraska’s legislature is nonpartisan and unicameral). There were 29 Democratic governors, 20 Republicans, and one third-party governor. Read the rest of this entry

By Bob Steinberg

After 21 months, the longest presidential campaign in this nation’s history has mercifully drawn to a close. On January 20, President- elect Barack Obama will be sworn in as our 44^th president. Obama’s nearly flawless campaign managed to overcome swirls of controversy surrounding many of his past associations with a cast of characters right off the pages of a modern day conspiracy novel.

How did a candidate this far to the left ever get elected to the presidency in a nation that most would agree is center-right? A friend shared a story about an experience he witnessed while working at the polls last Tuesday. A black woman, accompanied by her husband, entered a polling precinct here appearing to be in severe pain. She was pregnant and obviously near term. When my friend inquired if there was anything wrong, she told him her doctor instructed her to remain in bed for the final days leading up to her delivery. Her husband, she said, insisted that she vote. She did - and gave birth less than 24 hours later.

The above story illustrates just how committed African-Americans were to elect Obama. Read the rest of this entry »