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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Stem cells restore eyesight: ADULT stem cells, that is

But Seven News does not give the complete story, which you can find elsewhere, this one from biotechnews.com.au:

 The research team from UNSW’s School of Medical Sciences harvested stem cells from patients’ own eyes to rehabilitate the damaged cornea.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

What sort of world arises when there is no concept of right and wrong?

Something like this, perhaps. The 60s and 70s folks took up the fight for no taboos, no rules, no boundaries, and what did they expect to happen? Can peace, order or love flourish without the notion of good and bad? When all they teach children are consequences and how to escape or suppress them, then we can expect no less than this sort of insanity.

Oz Conservative talks about the same problem here, concerning the Christchurch woman who consented to a night out with seven football players at once. His point is simple and correct: obtaining consent cannot take the place of morality. He cites Andrew Bolt in his Herald Sun column who states what should be obviously alarming:

  Consent also means it’s every man for himself. That you can do whatever you can force some silly or intimidated woman to agree to, however much it will hurt them.

It isn't just that concepts of objective good and evil are relevant to society. They certainly are, but so those concepts make sense, there should be love -- charity. If that had won out over lust, perhaps one or more of those football players might have spared a thought about the woman herself, her welfare, whether they would be causing harm to her -- or themselves.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Urgency of Sanctification

One of the things I've come to realize as my parenting years went by is just how daunting my accountability really is, as a parent. While I can look to the Holy Spirit to be the ultimate illumination and sanctification of my children, I do have a great deal to do with how their characters shape up. Just as they inherit genetic aspects of mine, so they also inherit behavioral traits. I'm not proud of my less than stellar control over my temper (and my mouth, when the former slips). I see the fruits of my trespasses in my children, who can be emotional and/or grouchy as a result. In a truly horrifying way, "my sin is always before me". Which brings me to my point: I need sanctification. Thank God for his free gift of the Holy Spirit who is the Sanctifier, but I'm not making the job easy. And my other point is that this need to be made holy, set apart for God and consecrated for good works, is an urgent need. I have a long way to go in ridding myself of my attachment to Sin, and that's a big problem, for nothing unclean may enter the Kingdom. But it isn't just that I might die tomorrow and I'm not ready. I think it is a bigger problem that I might still be alive tomorrow and I would have left my children with unresolved bad examples to follow. I'm not exaggerating my role in their upbringing, for I know that the Holy Spirit is the ultimate source of their growth in the faith, hope and love. But I do know how my actions have badly affected their behavior in some ways.

I don't want to define the boundaries of my sons' ideals based on my failures. That is simply not fair to them. Like me, the inheritance marked out for them is of the best: Heavenly glory. My bad example pulls them down and away from that! I've often thought of it in terms of health and hygiene. If I needlessly risk my health, I might fall ill and either fail to care for them due to some debilitation or.. bring home a virus that will in turn infect them.

Which is why sanctification is urgent for parents. We must cooperate with grace and do our darnedest best to become holier men and women. It's a matter of life and death, joy and misery, and it isn't just mine that's on the line.