Pope Francis

The Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church have chosen the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new pope.  He will be known as Pope Francis.

Bergoglio, of Italian ancestry, was born in Argentina in 1936.  he is a Jesuit intellectual who is known to eschew private limousines and to travel by bus.  He is said to have a great compassion and burden for the poor and places great emphasis on spirituality and personal holiness.

Though many Catholics, especially in the United States and Europe, had hoped for a "progressive" pope, Bergoglio has made known his opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage, the adoption of children by homosexuals, abortion, euthanasia, and liberation theology.

Film Comment: October Baby

Really powerful movies are rarely about what they seem to be on the surface.  October Baby (2012) is one of those films.  You absolutely MUST see this film if you possibly can.

A distressingly large number of “Christian” films suffer from weak writing, amateurish acting, poor pacing, and an obvious dependence on one primary set.  You will find none of that in October Baby.

Hannah Lawson (actress Rachel Hendrix) is a freshman in college who suddenly discovers that her entire life is “a lie.”  She learns that she was adopted and that her birth was as the result of a failed abortion.  As the film progresses, Hannah learns even more secrets about her parents, a nurse, a male friend, and her birth mother.

Abortion is the catalyst for the events in the film, but, while the film is clearly pro-life (The tagline is “Every life is beautiful.”), what the film is actually about is the redeeming power of forgiveness.   Hannah, a Baptist, learns from a Roman Catholic priest that because God has forgiven us, we have the power to forgive.

Watch during the credits for a shocking revelation about the actress, Shari Rigby, who portrayed the birth mother.  God works in individual lives in ways we could never have anticipated.

Again, as a Christian, you absolutely MUST see this film.  If you read the film chat rooms you will find equal numbers of people who were absolutely amazed by the film and others, who clearly do not understand, and who post snarky sarcastic comments.  The New York Times film critic, Jeannette Catsoulis, says that the film has "ugliness at its core," while Penny Young Nance, the Chief Executive Officer of Concerned Women for America says that it should be called "Hallelujah Baby."

Extrabiblical Evidences of Biblical Persons, Places, and/or Events: Caesar Augustus

Gaius Octavius (b. 63 BC/BCE, Italy – d. 14 AD/CE), the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar,  is mentioned only once in the Bible, at Luke 2:1.  Gaius is best known as Augustus Caesar or Caesar Augustus.  His full imperial title was Imperator Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus Divi Filius Augustus.  By birth he was Julius Casear’s great nephew.

Embryo Adoption

As a follow-up to my series of posts on Why Life Begins At Conception, here is something to think about from the edges of reproductive science: embryo adoption.

In-vitro fertilization is the procedure of fertilization of human eggs outside of the mother’s body and their subsequent implantation in the uterus..  This procedure is used when, for various reasons, it is highly unlikely, dangerous, or impossible for fertilization to occur in the natural way.   The procedure can be used for non-spousal donor fertilization, for fertilization after the death of the husband, or for implantation into surrogate mothers.  Some lesbians use this method to become pregnant.

It is common for 10 to 30 eggs to be chosen for fertilization.  The healthiest eggs are incubated for about 18 hours in a concentrated solution of sperm.  Any eggs which become fertilized are graded on several factors to choose those which will optimize the expected pregnancy rate.  With women under 30 the pregnancy rate approaches 50%.  The rate drops off sharply as the mother’s age approaches or exceeds 40.

Two to three of the optimal eggs will be implanted into the mother’s uterus.   The fate of the other fertilized embryos then becomes a controversial question.  Many agree with former US president George W. Bush that “These boys and girls are not spare parts.”

What currently happens:

1.     Many of the fertilized embryos are discarded or are donated to research laboratories.

2.     Some embryos are donated to other couples who are otherwise unable to conceive.

3.     Some of the embryos are intentionally implanted when conception is unlikely, letting “nature take its course.”

4.     Some couples pay to maintain their unused embryos in a frozen state. There are currently about 400,000 to 600,000 frozen embryos in the United States.

A growing movement among evangelicals is embryo adoption.  In 2003, there were about 11,500 embryo adoptions in the United States.  By 2010, the number had risen to about 15,000.

“The earliest Christians were distinguished by their care for those society discarded.  Embryo adoption seems to me a seminal way to do such a thinhg here in the third millennium.”  Gabriel Fluhrer. 

Embryo Adoption

Many pro-life advocates are opposed to in-vitro (outside the body) fertilization and to embryo storage because "excess" embryos are often discarded or donated for stem cell research. For those of us who believe ** that human life begins at conception, this is nothing short of murder and it presents a special problem for those who, because of other medical conditions, can not get pregnant any other way.

There are currently about 500,000 embryos held in a frozen state. The majority will never be used for implantation. This leaves four possibilities for their future: 1. destroy them; 2. donate them for stem cell research, which results in number 1; 3. donate them to another family, or 4. keep them frozen, which will eventually lead back to number 1. The longest period of freezing known to have resulted in viable implantation is about ten years.

Christian couples who resort to this technique to become pregnant will have "excess" embryos over which they will have legal control. One option is making the frozen embryos available to other infertile couples; ie. embryo adoption, or FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer). This is an "adoption" because the baby is not the biological child of the second couple, but the second couple gets to experience a real pregnancy and a real birth. A failed implantation is not destroying the embryo, but is a failed attempt at pregnancy akin to a miscarriage.

Concerns are the cost (about $6000.00 per attempt), and the strong possibility of a multiple pregnancy.

One company providing this service in an explicitly Christian format is Nightlight Christian Adoptions, see www.EmbryoAdoption.org.

** (This is not just a religious faith statement. There is a solid scientific basis for the declaration that human life begins at conception. See my post on 29 July 2009. You can access the post at the "abortion" keyword at the end of this page.)