Welcome to
A R C-N e w s, Feb. 22, 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!
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PRAYER AND PRAISE:
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Get Aboard the ARC!
"A decline in courage may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West in our days."
"Socialism of any type and shade leads to a total destruction of the human spirit and to a leveling of mankind into death."
"Only morality can help the West against communism's well planned world strategy. There is no other way."
"All the glorified technological achievements of Progress, including the conquest of outer space, do not redeem the 20th century's moral poverty which no one could imagine even as late as in the 19th Century."
"Liberalism was inevitably displaced by radicalism; radicalism had to surrender to socialism; and socialism could never resist communism."
"Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free."
— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Solzhenitsyn became a Christian while undergoing the beastly treatment he endured in Soviet concentration camps. Millions of people in the West who had read his books championed him as a leader of resistance to communism, and advocated and petitioned for his release, including myself. But when the Soviet regime exiled him to the U.S. and he began giving speeches about the decline of the West, American elite universities and mainstream media reacted by dropping him like a hot potato.
The prolific journalist and author Rod Dreher's recent column on Substack "Should We Climb Aboard The ARC?" summarizes the three-day conference of the world's thought leaders brought together by the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC).
Dreher wrote – "politics are necessary to civilizational renewal, but not sufficient... ultimately, our civilizational crisis is a crisis of meaning, and that means, at bottom, a religious crisis... nearly every good thing about our civilization came down to us because our ancestors were Christians. God knows they were flawed, as all of us are, but the moral code that guided them, and by which they measured their success or failure, was that of the Bible."
The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) website contains a rich, read-worthy series of written articles and videos. A simply wonderful article, "Soul Trader: Identity in a Digital Age", explains the difference between machine-computed information and human comprehension, and between humans as mere thinking animals and souls who happen to have a human body. You do not have a soul: you are a soul who happen to have a body.
Another excellent article on their website is "Family Matters: Why Our Choices Determine Our Economic Prosperity" that tells us how family breakdown is directly linked to spiralling government budgets and population collapse. For example, "An analysis of European fertility has revealed that marital fertility rates are at least 2.6 children per woman, and up to 6 times higher than non-marital fertility rates – a stark reminder that the family is the key to population growth." In other words, fornication and the resulting abortions are a direct cause of population collapse....
Get the full article on our ARC-News blog!
A Personal Note: My wonderful wife Cheryl continues to slowly recover from a fractured L4 vertebra and her Dec. 10 spinal fusion surgery. Last week we went to the pain clinic where she got a prescription for a longer-lasting pain medication, and it's helping manage the pain. It will likely take at least two more months for recovery, so please keep praying for her!
(click the pic!) Feb. 20, 2025: Check out the happy kids at Vision Complex: Simon Walia has sent us a few new videos and photos of "his" 70+ kids, mostly orphans. It thrills us each time we see them: praise the Lord for giving them a safe, healthy, and happy place to live and learn! Just in: Simon used the money from selling eggs to buy more chicken feed and to pay off the remaining balance for the Bajaji, so now the Bajaji is theirs. But he has used all of the cash on hand, and needs to take the kids who have Sickle Cell Anemia to the hospital for their regular blood transfusions, which will cost $270: please help! Go to https://Agape-Restoration-Society.org/donate.htm and designate for "Sickle Cell Anemia kids" – thanks in advance!
(click the pic!) In the same town, Bunda, Tanzania, where Vision Complex is located, Jackson Mwenula runs "Sun Rays Open School" – a vocational school for about 20 children in the upper grades. He has recently joined us in our online daily "Morning Prayers and Readings." When kids at Vision Complex finish grade school, Jackson can accept them at Sun Rays Open School. Also click HERE to see several of the older students! You can write to Jackson at jackymwenula2@gmail.com and give at the above "donate" link, designating it for "Sun Rays Open School."
Here's our next free online course: (click →) Course 400, "Care for Patients with Various Health Conditions" - deadline to enroll: 24 Feb. 2025 (← click). So enroll today, before you forget!
2. SEARCHES FOR 'ABORTION' ON CDC WEBSITE NOW DIRECT USERS TO LOOK UP 'ADOPTION'
from: LifeSiteNews
SYNOPSIS: In a move some workers in the so-called "reproductive health" industry say is a "clear attempt" to change how conversations around pregnancy are approached, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) site no longer shows search results for the word "abortion" and instead suggests that users try searching the word "adoption": a hopeful sign for the future survival of our society.
Jezebel, an aptly-named far-left website for women, said the move by the CDC was "alarming." Their headline: "CDC Site Ominously Redirects Searches For Abortion to Adoption," and their article stated: "Key federal websites are increasingly scrubbing and replacing vital, objective information to push the new administration's far-right agenda – including manipulatively presenting adoption as an alternative for abortion," lamented the outlet. Too bad, lefties!
Thank God for this new policy of "Adoption, not Abortion" and pray for leftist women to comprehend that killing babies is not the way to preserve human society.
3. FINALLY! FAMILY-FRIENDLY PUBLIC POLICY FOR ALL AMERICANS ON THE WAY
from: Mercator
SYNOPSIS: The article highlights the introduction of family-friendly public policies in the U.S., driven by concerns about declining birth and marriage rates. It states: "There is growing alarm about the US's fertility rate, which has crashed to an all-time low of 1.6, below the 2.0 level needed for the nation's population to sustain itself".
Pro-natalist advocates in the new administration including Department of Transportation head Sean Duffy emphasize the need to reverse the fertility crisis. New policies prioritize highway infrastructure grants for communities with higher marriage and birth rates, sparking political debate. Supporters argue that these measures promote a sustainable future, while critics claim they favor certain states. The shift reflects a broader pro-family movement within the U.S. government.
Thank the Lord again that the U.S. government is introducing family-friendly public policies to raise the birth rate.
4. LOONVILLE, INC.
from: American Life League
SYNOPSIS: Loons are people who have fallen for the deceptions of the world. Today that pretty much describes most of what we see and hear. Planned Parenthood Federation of America's senior staff attorney's opinion is that since pro-life folks are seeking legal protection once a preborn child’s heartbeat is detected, any abortion performed prior to that time should be acceptable.
Only a loon would make such a preposterous statement. Each and every unborn baby, from the first cell until death, is a unique, living human being, not an unwanted clump of cells, and deserves respect because each of them possesses inherent human dignity. You see, the loons say this is only our opinion, but the reality is that when someone who has supported abortion finally confronts truth, the scales fall from their eyes.
Pray for pro-abortion folks like those at Planned Barrenhood to realize that before a preborn child’s heartbeat is detected, that new living object in the womb is a real human being.
5. 'D WORD' BILLBOARDS AIM TO GET PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT DISABILITIES
from: Disability Scoop
SYNOPSIS: An eye-catching campaign is usually a successful one. If people follow the billboard's suggestion and visit the website, they can learn more about the campaign, which states emphatically: "Disability is not a bad word".
"For a long time, people have shied away from using the term 'disability' because they don’t want to be offensive," Allison Leece said. "And that goes back to the fact that in our society and our schools and places we grow up, we don't tend to talk about disabilities." Disability Network Southwest Michigan helps people of all ages with any type of disability to navigate life, with a goal of helping people live more independently. "A lot of organizations require some type of proof of disability and we don't, which makes us really unique," Leece said. One example is helping select lights with people who have sensory issues.
Ask the Lord for people to realize that "Disability is Not a Dirty Word" and begin to accept, not ignore, those with disabilities.
6. MAYO CLINIC CONTRIBUTES TO NATIONAL ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH PRIORITIES
from: Mayo Clinic
SYNOPSIS: The Mayo Clinic contributed to a new report outlining national Alzheimer's disease research priorities. The report, titled "Preventing and Treating Dementia: Research Priorities to Accelerate Progress," was conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
It identifies 11 research priorities for the next decade, focusing on developing better diagnostic tools, advancing clinical research methods, and understanding disease risk factors in diverse populations. The goal is to accelerate progress in preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Thank the Lord for Mayo Clinic's report on progress being made on preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease.
7. EXPLORING AMERICA'S UNIQUE AND ACCESSIBLE GARDENS
from: Disabled World
SYNOPSIS: There's a diverse array of unique gardens across the United States, emphasizing their accessibility features that cater to seniors and individuals with disabilities. From the underground fruit tree grotto of Forestiere in Fresno, California, to the whimsical literary-themed Bookworm Gardens in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, these destinations offer enriching experiences for all visitors.
Notably, many of these gardens are designed with accessibility in mind: Bookworm Gardens features hardened rubberized mulch paths and provides a loaner wheelchair; Topiary Park in Columbus, Ohio, offers scooter and power wheelchair-friendly pathways; and the Forestiere Underground Gardens accommodate visitors using canes or walkers, with alternative routes for standard wheelchair users. These thoughtfully designed spaces ensure that everyone, regardless of mobility, can enjoy the beauty and stories these gardens present.
Praise God for His amazingly beautiful creation being made more accessible to seniors and other individuals with disabilities.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! Perhaps you've read this before and are wondering, "Why am I seeing this again?" But millions of other Christians haven't seen it! So please use the "share" buttons above to share it with your social media friends. Thanks!!
Christ Sending Out the Twelve
Jesus Christ showed and taught His followers how to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and care for the poor and brokenhearted, then He sent them out to do the same. It seems, however, that many Christians think - "I don't have the gift of healing, I'm not a great evangelist or a pastor, so I guess I'll just be an ordinary layperson, sitting in my cushioned pew, singing hymns and listening to sermons." Why do people think that way? And what should we do about it?
We've been conditioned by centuries of social pressure, for example, under the Moslems who in the seventh century conquered the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, parts of France, Italy, Russia, the Balkans and Hungary, and who at best consigned Christians to second-class "dhimmi" status and forbade them to have any social outreach - only Moslems were allowed to do that. Christians were limited to only hold religious observances within four church walls. At worst, Christians were persecuted and killed if they wouldn't convert to Islam.
Then in Western Europe, after driving the Moslems back and after several religious wars that decimated the populations, the various Edicts of Toleration reinforced the notion that people should stop fighting and show "tolerance" to those of other religious convictions, not pushing their religious beliefs on others.
But in the Christian East, shortly after the collapse of the Moslem Turkish Empire, in the 1917 Russian Revolution, Communism took hold and at best strictly limited the Christian faith to only religious observances within four church walls, they were forbidden to have any kind of social ministry: only communists were allowed to do that. At worst, Christians who wouldn't meekly comply were tortured and killed.
And in the West it's just a bit more subtle: the ever-expanding secular humanism under the guise of "democracy", "freedom" and "tolerance" exerts strong social pressure against living out one's Christian faith in the public square. Nowadays, if any Christian suggests, "We ought to be taking care of 'the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind' like Christ did and taught His followers to do! - the standard reply is - "Oh, that's not our job: let the government do it." But government-managed "healthcare" doesn't care about your health, it's motivated by power and money: if the patient can't pay, shove him out the door. Don't think so? We've seen it happen!
And leftists now push the idea that religious freedom means only the right to attend the worship service of your choice, not "the free exercise of religion" as the First Amendment clearly states. Do you see a pattern developing here? They want to take over the Social Ministry of the Church - see our six short courses that will help you break out of these cultural stereotypes! [read more...]
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If just 5% of the people who see this would give $5 per month (just 17¢ per day!) – coffee with your favorite friend at your favorite coffee shop – we could cover our operating expenses and do much more in spreading the word, supporting orphans, 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!
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