FIRST, A QUICK RECAP:      
 FASTDOMAIN 


WE WHO ARE STRONG: St. Paul emphasizes caring for the weak and building up neighbors. Acts of kindness, like running errands, showcase love and unity.

MOM FIGHTS FOR BABY WITH LIFE-LIMITING DIAGNOSIS, WHO IS NOW THRIVING: 'I DIDN'T THINK TWICE': Florida mom Andi Mahoney defied a fatal diagnosis for her preborn daughter, Emmie, seeking specialized care and infusions to increase survival chances. Emmie underwent surgery after birth.

ITALY GRANTS CITIZENSHIP TO A TERMINALLY ILL BABY AFTER UK DOCTORS REFUSED TO KEEP HER ON LIFE SUPPORT: UK judge allows life support removal of an 8-month-old British baby with a mitochondrial disease. Italy grants citizenship, parents seek treatment in Italy.

RUSSIA: ARMED RAID ON KRASNODAR REGION CHURCH: Armed men raid a Russian Orthodox Church in Krasnodar Region opposing Russia's war in Ukraine; priest tortured, detained, charged.

NO PEOPLE, NO SUFFERING – ANTINATALISM AT ITS BEST: Two Finnish bioethicists propose "antinatalism" for voluntary human extinction, citing humanity's destructive impact on the planet and endorsing cessation of reproduction.

THE SBU SERVED NOTICE OF SUSPICION ON THE PATRIARCH OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, KIRILL: Ukrainian authorities accuse Russian Orthodox Church head Kirill of promoting Russia's aggression, denying war crimes, and using religious communities for propaganda. Charges include encroachment and war crimes denial.

OVER HALF OF THE OLDEST AMERICANS DO NOT HAVE DISABILITIES: Americans aged 75 and older with disabilities are below 50%, challenging stereotypes. Highest disability rates include walking difficulties and hearing issues.



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WE WHO ARE STRONG (← get the PDF!)

we who are strong"Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up" (Romans 15:1-2). Are you reasonably strong and healthy? If so, what do you think about those who aren't? Or do you not even bother to think about them? St. Paul tells us that we "ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves."

How can we do that? How can we build up our infirm or disabled or elderly neighbor? We shouldn't just live to "please ourselves" – we can run errands for home-bound persons who have no relatives nearby to care for them. We can take them grocery shopping, to doctor's appointments, to church, and especially to pleasant places like the park, the botanical gardens or the zoo in the summer: show them that they are important and loved! Again, the Apostle Paul wrote –

"The eye can't say to the hand, 'I have no need for you,' or again the head to the feet, 'I have no need for you.' No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. Those parts of the body which we think to be less honorable, on those we bestow more abundant honor; and our unpresentable parts have more abundant propriety; whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God composed the body together, giving more abundant honor to the inferior part, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or when one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually" (1 Corinthians 12:21-27).

We really do need each other! Not only do dependent little children need their parents' love; but also, disabled adults and lonely elderly people need love... and we who are reasonably strong and healthy also need them. Why? To learn how to love with a pure heart, not thinking of material gain or our own pleasure. As St. Paul wrote, "...not to please ourselves." You probably have heard the term "4G" meaning "fourth generation internet." The internet started out in the 1990s as a means for the free exchange of ideas, but has degenerated today into what I call the 4G's - "Greed, Gluttony, Gossip & Grumbling." All four of these are focused on self rather than others... [read more...]

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If 5% of the people who see this would give $5 per month (just 17¢ per day!) – two cups of coffee with your favorite friend at your favorite coffee shop – we could cover our operating expenses and do much more in spreading the word, serving and providing accessible housing for the disabled. My wife and I left our careers over 30 years ago to serve in Russia as missionaries: we're now "semi-retired" – we've put on a new set of semi tires and keep on trucking! We live on our retirement income and volunteer our time: we receive no financial support from Agape Restoration Society. Our websites and ministry are funded by us and just a few friends. ...thanks in advance!

 
 
NEXT, THE NEWS:
 
 

MOM FIGHTS FOR BABY WITH LIFE-LIMITING DIAGNOSIS, WHO IS NOW THRIVING: 'I DIDN'T THINK TWICE'
from: LiveAction News

Emmie Mahoney (27 Oct.) When Florida mom Andi Mahoney was 20 weeks pregnant, she was given devastating news: her preborn daughter, Emmie, had a condition called bilateral renal agenesis. The condition meant Emmie didn't have kidneys — and therefore, doctors said, had no chance of surviving past birth. They said – "It's universally fatal," Mahoney told 11 Alive. "So, we grieved. We thought we were losing our baby, and we were told that there's no hope."

Despite the life-limiting diagnosis, Mahoney refused to accept that nothing could be done. She began searching for a specialist willing to help her and her daughter, a process she said took weeks. Eventually, she found Dr. Ruben Quintero with the Fetal Institute in Miami, a six-hour drive from her Jacksonville home. Mahoney began traveling to see Quintero for infusions of fluids that would increase the chance of Emmie's survival.

"I kept traveling to Miami to get more, to keep Emmie alive," Mahoney said. "My baby needed fluid to breathe. By the time I got to the 34-week mark, I had an unnatural rupture." Due to the rupture, Mahoney had to act fast to find a hospital that could help her. She found one in Stanford, California, that had previous experience helping babies with bilateral renal agenesis. "I hopped on a flight from Jacksonville to California with my membranes ruptured," Mahoney said. "I wanted to go somewhere that would deliver me my Emmie. Also, they gave me hope that she would live." Emmie was whisked away for surgery immediately after birth, and though she survived, her outlook was still grim... [read more...]

COMMENTARY: Emmie is now a happy toddler. This story disproves the notion that because an unborn baby has a serious health problem, it should be aborted – put to death. We must protect the lives of the unborn and those with disabilities because each person is created in God's image and therefore has intrinsic value.

 
 

ITALY GRANTS CITIZENSHIP TO A TERMINALLY ILL BABY AFTER UK DOCTORS REFUSED TO KEEP HER ON LIFE SUPPORT
from: BioEdge.org

Indi Gregory (9 Nov.) Italy has granted citizenship to an 8-month-old British baby, Indi Gregory, who is suffering from a serious and probably terminal mitochondrial disease. A judge in London ruled in favour of removing her from life support at Queen's Medical Centre, in Nottingham, against the wishes of her parents. He accepted evidence from the doctors that "that the burdens of invasive treatment outweigh the benefits.”

The U.K. judge ruled on October 31: "There is nothing to suggest that IG's prognosis would be beneficially altered by the Italian hospital's treatment. On the contrary, it may well prolong pain and suffering." But Indi's parents hope that the Italian government's decision will add weight to their fight to allow her to be transferred to Italy where she can be treated at the Vatican's paediatric hospital, Bambino Gesu, in Rome.

Surprisingly, the U.K. hospital's attitude convinced Indi's father to be baptized: "I am not religious and I am not baptized. But when I was in court, it felt like I had been dragged to hell. I thought if hell exists then heaven must exist. It was like the devil was there. I thought if there's a devil then God must exist … I have seen what hell is like and I want Indi to go to heaven. In fact, I have decided that me and my daughter should get baptized too.” [read more...]

COMMENTARY: It seems quite clear that the U.K.'s motivation is to not waste any more money to try prolonging the life of a disabled baby. Indi's condition is presently incurable, but until a cure is found so is asthma, diabetes, and some cancers. Yet, we keep those people alive even though their "quality of life" is diminished.

 
 

RUSSIA: ARMED RAID ON KRASNODAR REGION CHURCH
from: Forum 18 News Service
Hebrews 13:3 – "Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them..."

Hieromonk Iona Sigida (2 Nov.) In early October, 10 unidentified armed men raided a non-Moscow Patriarchate Russian Orthodox Church in the southern Krasnodar Region whose clergy have repeatedly spoken out against Russia's war in Ukraine. A priest was physically tortured, detained, and charged with "disobeying a police officer" and "discrediting the Russian Armed Forces." "At least five searches took place simultaneously," Fr Iona told Forum 18. The Krasnodar Region branches of the Investigative Committee, Federal Security Service (FSB), Interior Ministry, and National Guard failed to respond to Forum 18's questions about the raid.

The church's 86-year-old Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov was threatened with criminal prosecution for repeated "discreditation" of the Armed Forces. In March he was fined two months' average pension for giving an anti-war sermon in church.

The raid on the church was not the only one. "At least five searches took place simultaneously," Fr Iona told Forum 18. "One in the church, one at Archbishop Viktor's place of registration, one at my place of registration, one at Fr Aleksandr's house church, and the fifth at the place of registration of Fr Aleksandr. All early in the morning."

"I was amazed by this level of aggression and anger," Fr Iona told Novaya Gazeta Europe. "And the most important thing is that they entered the church with machine guns. They completely turned everything over.... They scattered everything as if on purpose." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: The unholy alliance between church and state uses both armed force and pseudo-religious ideology to achieve imperialist goals: see the article "The Universal Christ: Neither Imperialist nor Localist but Evangelists."

 
 

NO PEOPLE, NO SUFFERING – ANTINATALISM AT ITS BEST
from: BioEdge.org

hedonistic antinatalism (2 Nov.) "The darkness grew apace; a cold wind began to blow in freshening gusts from the east, and the showering white flakes in the air increased in number. From the edge of the sea came a ripple and whisper. Beyond these lifeless sounds the world was silent. Silent? It would be hard to convey the stillness of it. All the sounds of man, the bleating of sheep, the cries of birds, the hum of insects, the stir that makes the background of our lives – all that was over. … I saw the black central shadow of the eclipse sweeping towards me. In another moment the pale stars alone were visible. All else was rayless obscurity. The sky was absolutely black."

That's Time Traveller by H.G. Wells describing the world in 30,000,000 AD. A bit sombre, bleak even. But scoured, thankfully, clean of mankind.

The end of humanity is not such a bad outcome, write two Finnish bioethicists in an editorial about "antinatalism” in Bioethics, one of the world's leading bioethics journals. "[B]y adopting antinatalism through voluntary human extinction, all of humanity's problems could be solved," they say.

Humans are causing planetary destruction so great that it would be better if they ceased to exist, the two bioethicists contend. They quote a character from the popular TV show Real Detective: "The honorable thing for our species to do is deny our programming. Stop reproducing. Walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight. Brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: Using the phrase "The honorable thing for our species to do" is really just a smokescreen, an excuse to live a hedonistic lifestyle because "in the end, we're all dead." How can people who call for the extermination of the human race call themseves bioethicists? For them to keep themselves alive while advocating the death of all people is the height of hypocrisy!

 
 

THE SBU SERVED NOTICE OF SUSPICION ON THE PATRIARCH OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, KIRILL
from: Religious Information Service of Ukraine

Patriarch Kirill under suspicion (4 Nov.) As reported by the agency's press service, the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office have gathered evidence against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Gundyayev (known as Kirill), who promotes Russia's armed aggression and denies war crimes committed by Russian troops.

"According to the investigation, the Moscow patriarch is a member of the inner circle of Russia's top military and political leadership and was one of the first to publicly support a full-scale war against Ukraine. To spread propaganda, he extensively uses religious communities of the Russian Orthodox Church under his control on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) in Ukraine," the report says.

The SBU specified that Kirill is suspected under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
  * encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine;
  * justification, recognition as legitimate, denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants;
  * planning, preparation, launching and conducting an aggressive war.

According to the Security Service, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, 70 criminal proceedings have been initiated against representatives of the UOC-MP, with 16 of them being metropolitans of the Church. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: The misuse of religion to rationalize Russia's expansionist, imperialist its goals of re-establishing a decrepit Russian-Soviet Empire ought to be recognized for what it is. Sadly, many in the West, even conservatives, have swallowed Russia's disinformation and repeat its claims.

 
 

OVER HALF OF THE OLDEST AMERICANS DO NOT HAVE DISABILITIES
from: American Psychological Association

half-of-oldest-Americans-arent-disabled (1 Nov.) If under half of Americans 75 and older have disabilities, that means that over half of them are quite healthy. This disproves the common bias toward them, that they are all "on the ropes."

Just 46% of Americans ages 75 and older report having a disability. That compares with 24% of adults ages 65 to 74, 12% of adults ages 35 to 64, and 8% of adults younger than 35.

30% of adults ages 75 and older who have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs – a much higher rate than other age groups. People in this age group are also much more likely than other age groups to have disabilities related to hearing (20.9%), independent living (22.4%), cognition (12.2%), and vision (8.7%).

18% of American Indians and Alaska Natives who report having a disability, compared with 14% each of White and Black Americans, 10% of Hispanic Americans, and 8% of Asian Americans.

66% of adults with a disability or health condition that prevents them from participating fully in work, school, housework, or other activities reported a high level of distress between March 2020 and September 2022, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That compares with 34% of those who do not have a disability. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: It's a fact that the probability of disability increases with age, but we should not allow ourselves to form an unconscious confirmation bias toward all older people: over half of the oldest Americans are quite healthy, and many with a minor disability that prevents them from participating fully can still function very well in many activities: we must not write off all elderly people as disabled and not worth keeping around.

NOW, OUR VIEWS:
 

 

DO NOT REJECT ME IN MY OLD AGE

 

 

Do Not Reject Me in my Old Age This picture (click it) was in my blog & newsletter article "Ageism Is The New Racism" (7 May 2022 ARC-News). It focused on the unconscious confirmation bias toward elderly people which is coming to the fore now that racial bias is receding. It's become "cool" to be anti-racist these days, but ageism is still alive and well... and increasing. Why is it that even people who rail against racism and think they aren't prejudiced in any way can harbor the unconscious confirmation bias of ageism?

Get "Ageism Is the New Racism" also as a PDF, a 5.5" x 8.5"-formatted 4-page booklet. Ageism, like racism, is an often-subconscious bias that is reflected in the way many people relate to elderly people, either by "politely" ignoring them or by assuming that elderly people (especially with a disability such as hearing loss) have "dementia" – Parkinson's or Alzheimer's Disease – and are incapable of interacting, thus treating them as "other" or less than human. This brief article is based on the Conclusion in this webmaster's online M.Th.S. thesis A First-Century View of Yeshua, the Messiah – you can read it online or download and print this thesis by clicking here.

All people understand new things on the basis of what they have previously learned. We learn how to speak by hearing certain sounds over and over again in various contexts. After we've learned how to speak, read and write our native language, we don't consciously think about making the right sounds or connecting the sounds with written letters: it has become an unconscious process. It's the same with ageism: when a child first sees older people and asks mama or daddy why they look or act differently, the parents explain that as people get older they slow down physically and/or mentally, their bodies get worn out or sick, and eventually they die.

So later, when that child sees an older person, he might assume that the person is starting to slow down physically and/or mentally, the person will get worn out or sick, and then die. How often have you heard derogatory terms such as "old geezer" or "crabby old lady"? We've finally learned not to use the "n-word" but we feel perfectly comfortable thinking and using such derogatory expressions about the elderly. And when an older person shows one of those behaviors, it may unconsciously confirm the idea – the bias – that this person is also going to become demented, get sick, and die pretty soon. By projecting those thoughts toward an older person through body language and tone of voice, without even saying a word, that person gets the idea that he/she ought to drop dead pretty soon.

We have collected a whole series of books along with the article "Ageism Is The New Racism" on our "Free Literature" page...

Get the full article on our ARC-News blog at blogspot.com and share it!

 

 

PRAYER AND PRAISE. To read and pray for one article each day, click HERE and add the link to your browser's Bookmarks!

Sun. – Pray that those who are strong will bear with the failings of the weak, and not please themselves.

Mon. – Thank God Emmie Mahoney has survived, although her mom Andi was told her condition was fatal.

Tue. – Pray that Indi Gregory, suffering from a likely terminal mitochondrial disease, will be healed.

Wed. – Intercede for Fr. Iona Sigida who was tortured, detained, and charged because he prayed for peace.

Thu. – Pray against the pseudo-bioethicists who keep themselves alive while advocating for our extinction.

Fri. – Ask the Lord for justice to be served on Patriarch Kirill who supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Sat. – Pray that people will respect the elderly and be freed from the confirmation bias of ageism.

 

Who Are We?   Please remember to pray for Christians in Secularized Countries, and for...

  Your fellow-servants,

  Bob & Cheryl

  p.s. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. - George Washington

 

 

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