Welcome to
A R C-N e w s, Jun. 21, 2025
Fortnightly Report on Christian Agape-Care in Secular Societies, by Dr. Robert D. Hosken
The right to believe and the right to life are inseparable: Right belief in a loving God enables us to love our neighbor!
Go to: Subscribe | Our Views | The News | Previous Issues
PRAYER AND PRAISE:
To pray for one article each day, click HERE & add it to your bookmarks: please share it with your friends!
1.Sun.| 2.Mon.| 3.Tue.| 4.Wed.| 5.Thu.| 6.Fri.| 7.Sat.
Join our "Morning Prayers" daily at 7 a.m. & click on "an."
Regarding "The Fallacy of Tolerance," G.K. Chesterton wrote – "Tolerance is the virtue of people who do not believe in anything." If you don't really believe in something, you'll fall for anything. The mistaken understanding of tolerance and freedom, that people should tolerate and be free to believe in anything and behave any way they want, leads to moral and political anarchy and nihilism. It rests on the assumption that "man is the measure of all things," that "I am the maker of my fate, the master of my soul." As Elon Musk recently posted on eX-Twitter, "No gods or kings, only man."
By this line of reasoning, tolerance is more a vice than a virtue. In essence, all of these quotes exalt man over God. This idea did not begin with the Age of Reason, the "Enlightenment" (better called the "Endarkenment"), but long before: in the ancient Book of Job we read – "Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?" (Job 4:17). How can we remake tolerance into a virtue again? Please read our web-page below:
"The ARC" Chat/Video Forum exists to 
Build the ARC – Agape Restoration Communities, to promote practical cooperation between like-minded Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians. The shared doctrines found in the basic Christian Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (Filioque open) form the basis for this online group to work together on joint efforts in practical spheres such as caring for orphans, the poor, elderly, and people with disabilities, and providing a forum to promote the open exchange of information between Christians who in faith confess and accept others who also affirm this Creed as genuinely seeking to be disciples of Christ.
To JOIN "The ARC" (Agape Restoration Communities) Chat/Video Forum, please read the Guidelines below. If you agree to them, and send us your contact info in the form below so we can add you to this Forum. We're now using a Teams group. Microsoft's Teams is a free, all-in-one app that's easy to use: you can join our "live" group video calls that we will announce from time to time, when the moderator starts a group video call with other members. Or you can select the "Chat" area for text messaging our group *anytime* when members don't have to all be online at the same time.
Guidelines:
Traditional Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians hold much in common such as belief in the Trinity, the inspiration of the Bible and its teachings on Christian sexual morality and the sanctity of human life, belief in the doctrines in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and the need to demonstrate that our faith works through agape-love. Genuine faith must produce fruit, good works – look at all the Scripture texts that show Living Faith That Works.
Divine revelation, supremely in Jesus Christ and also in Scripture, means that an Absolute and Truth exist. Therefore we reject the notion that religious tolerance implies relativism, even if we don't agree on secondary points of doctrine. There are serious theological differences between Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians. While Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians believe that their respective confessions constitute the visible one, holy, catholic and Apostolic Church described in the Nicene Creed, Evangelical Protestant Christians regard their denominations as valid expressions of an invisible, universal Church, the Body of Christ.
But we believe it is possible, in a forum such as this, to practice genuine Christian love and find ways to cooperate on charitable and practical levels without proselytizing, attacking or denigrating each other, to discuss both what we have in common and our differences without rancour or bitterness, and to learn more about each other's Christian faith. We will leave it to the professional theologians and various confessions' hierarchies to iron out theological differences and hopefully someday lead us to visible unity, but meanwhile we at "the grass-roots level" must work out our faith in agape-love (Galatians 5:6) to each other and to our needy neighbors in the world.
The disciple John once told Jesus – "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn't follow with us." Jesus said to him, "Don't forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us." Then both James and John said – "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, "You don't know of what kind of spirit you are. For the Son of Man didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:49-56).
So as sincere followers of Christ, rather than arguing, we will strive to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) and practice the dual test of faith, which is truth combined with agape-love, as in 1 John 4:2 and 7-8 - "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.... Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
Get the full article on our web-page "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum, or on our ARC-News blog. And create your own blog for less than $2 per month!
A Personal Note:
My wife Cheryl is starting to feel less pain now, six weeks after her second spinal fusion surgery on May 13. She has also started a new med, daily injections to strengthen her bones. Please keep on praying for her: full recovery from spinal fusion surgery can take from six to twelve months.
Our friend Maureen in Nairobi, Kenya reports that due to riots there this week (watch the video!), she and her first-grade daughter Kayla have not eaten since Tuesday. It isn't safe to go outside, and her shop in the market was looted. Pray for them, and for Nairobi! Also, Kayla hasn't been able to start this school term because Maureen lacks the funds. Please, if you're able to help Kayla with $50/month, go to https://Agape-Restoration-Society.org/donate.htm and designate a monthly gift for "sponsor Kayla" – thank you!
Simon in Tanzania has sent us a photo of nearby villagers coming to his Vision Complex Orphanage and School, asking him for a church! We've been urging local Orthodox Christian leaders in East Africa to go to Vision Complex and begin teaching them about the faith. Please pray about this.
SYNOPSIS: SBA Pro-Life America honors fathers in the pro-life movement, highlighting their personal journeys and dedication to defending unborn children. Andrew Nesti, Billy Valentine, and Charlie at SBA Pro-Life share their experiences, emphasizing the impact of fatherhood on their pro-life views. These fathers describe how fatherhood deepened their understanding of the value of life, including a stronger empathy for parents facing unplanned pregnancies and the importance of fatherly presence. 
SYNOPSIS: Metropolitan Epifaniy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine calls on the "civilized world" to help stop the "terrorist Kremlin regime" due to the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine. The recent shelling of Ukraine, specifically Kyiv, resulted in civilian casualties and widespread destruction, as reported on June 17, 2024. Metropolitan Epifaniy argues that Ukraine's resistance is necessary to prevent future terror, destruction, and murder, citing historical examples of Russian occupation and the Holodomor genocide.
SYNOPSIS: New York's legislature passed the "Medical Aid in Dying Act", allowing assisted suicide for terminally ill patients with a prognosis of six months or fewer, requiring Governor Kathy Hochul's signature. The bill, supported by numerous medical organizations, including the Medical Society of the State of New York, allows two doctors to confirm the patient's "decision-making capacity" before prescribing euthanasia drugs. Critics, such as the New York Post, oppose the bill, raising concerns about a lack of adequate tracking mechanisms for deaths and the potential for financial incentives for ending "marginal" lives.
SYNOPSIS: Slippery Rock University's Rock Life program allows students with intellectual or developmental disabilities to have a full college experience, including classes, dorms, and extracurricular activities. The program, launched in 2016, offers a certificate program enabling students to earn college credits, develop social and independent living skills, and participate in campus life. Adam McChesney, a graduate of the program, highlighted the program's positive impact on his life, fostering friendships, participation in activities, and opportunities for personal growth and future career aspirations. 
SYNOPSIS: Researchers engineered microglia to deliver the anti-Alzheimer's drug neprilysin to amyloid plaques in a mouse model. The study found that secreting neprilysin (sNEP) from the microglia was more effective at clearing plaques than simply expressing it on the membrane (NEP). Microglia were shown to effectively target and degrade amyloid beta, improving synaptic function, and reducing inflammation in the model. The microglia engrafted themselves and delivered neprilysin directly to plaques. Secreting the protein rather than merely expressing it on the membrane appeared to be more effective.
SYNOPSIS: This paper presents a comprehensive scholarly analysis of Candidatus Sukunaarchaeum mirabile, a recently discovered archaeon that fundamentally challenges our understanding of cellular life's minimal requirements. The research examines an organism with an unprecedented genome size of only 238 kilobase pairs - less than half the size of any previously known archaeal genome - discovered within dinoflagellate-associated microbial communities through advanced metagenomic techniques.
Private charity by individuals, churches, synagogues and other non-profit organizations should replace government welfare programs. Why? Because private charity is by nature more efficient! 
If just 5% of the people who see this would give 