The FaithWalkers Daily — Nov. 19: French Marriage Battles, SanFran Cover-Up, Israel Defends Itself

The FaithWalker’s Daily is a quick review of key news stories of the day from the perspective of a conservative Christ-follower living in, but not of, the world.

• Traditional Marriage Battle Heats Up in France

The Basics —

A day after 100,000 gathered in support of homosexual marriage and adoption in France, another 100,000 took to the streets to protest the law to be considered that would redefine marriage and expand same-sex adoption.

Dig Deeper:

Full story here from France 24.com. Key quote from a sign: “”France needs children, not homosexuals,” expressing Europe’s very real lack of children.

The Financial Mirror puts the count for the counter protest at 100,000 with limited tales of violence. Key quote:  “The rallies, which were organized by conservative Catholic groups, were called in response to the “Marriage and Adoption for all” bill which would legalize gay marriage and adoption for French citizens. It would also replace the entries in a child’s registry book from ‘father’ and ‘mother’ to ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2.’ ”

A Few Thoughts…

One protester claimed, “A child cannot flourish normally without a father and a mother. It’s against nature.” He forgot to mention nature’s God. In this case, Europe faces a very real shortage of children that threatens its very identity in the near future. That shortage is not to be blamed solely or even primarily on those engaging in homosexual behavior, but on a culture that has refused to “be fruitful and multiply” for many reasons. We see also the language battle (words have meaning) in the media as the pro-homosexual marriage effort is called a rally while the pro-traditional marriage group is referred to as a “protest” and “anti-gay” who dare to react when topless opponents antagonize them.

When we abandon God’s design for anything in His world, we should expect real-world consequences.

• San Francisco Cover-up: City Telling Nudists to Put Clothes On

The Basics —

San Francisco City Council plans to vote Tuesday on a law that would make it illegal in most public areas of San Francisco for people over the age of five to walk around with no clothes on. Such behavior is currently permitted.

Dig Deeper:

The Associated Press account here. Those behind the federal lawsuit no kidding claim their free speech rights are being violated by attempts to make them wear clothes in public…. “The complaint alleges that the ban infringes on the free speech rights of nudists….”

 A Few Thoughts….

The naked truth is that a biblical worldview views our human bodies as “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God.  Yet sin changed everything. One of the first things we did after the Fall was seek to cover our nakedness. God immediately affirmed that move and gave countless commands to support it to protect ourselves from falling further. We celebrate that thanks to Christ’s redemption, in eternity we will once again no longer be concerned with clothes. Until then, our love for God and others should move us to keep our shirts on – among other things.

Freedom is not free. One price we pay is restraint in respecting the freedom of others

• Conflict Escalates as Israel Responds to Hamas Attacks

The Basics —

Israel continues to insist Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules Palestine, must stop firing rockets into Israel in order for Israel to talk about a truce in the fighting that has broken out in the past few days. Israel claims it is defending itself and is poised to send ground troops into Gaza if needed.

Dig Deeper:

•  Al Arabiya: Accounts of Israeli attacks, dead Palestinians, and Hamas Cabinet destroyed.  Also reports from Turkey saying Israel will be held accountable for deaths of children.
• Via France24.com: “Our sole aim of this offensive is to make Hamas stop firing rockets. We have used air strikes but if that’s not enough then we may contemplate ground operations as well,” Ygal Palmor from the Israeli foreign ministry told FRANCE 24 on Sunday.
• Reuters via CNBC: 44 Million hacking attacks on Israeli government sites in last few days.
• Via Business Week  President Obama’s statement: “Let’s understand what the precipitating event was that was causing the crisis, and that was an ever-escalating number of missiles,” Obama said at a press conference in Bangkok, where he began a three-nation trip. “We will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
•  Anonymous declares cyberwar on Israel  http://rt.com/news/anonymous-israel-officials-leaked-002/

A Few Thoughts…

If the government of Canada continuously fired rockets across Lake Erie into Ohio, few would question our right to respond with force to stop it. Hamas, a terrorist organization, has done exactly that to Israel for years. Israel has said it must stop and is backing it up once again with targeted force. Hamas reveals itself for what it is by hiding rocket sites and military targets behind human shields in schools, hospitals , and other children-oriented sites.

Does a nation have a right to defend the lives of its citizens? Of course. President Obama has taken the wise position (as President Bush did a few years ago) of endorsing Israel’s right to defend itself. A key difference now is that Egypt is no longer neutral thanks to the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the “Arab Spring” gone awry.  Look for things to get worse before they can get better. Unfortunately.

Woe to those who call good evil and evil good.

Note: New e-mail subscribers to this blog in November are eligible for a drawing to receive a free copy of Os Guinness’ book  A Free People’s Suicide.