Whose Pain Is It Anyway? – A Look at Pain Management
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources A while back I attended an ethics seminar in which the speaker said that 50% of pain medication requests come from family members, not the patient. In another survey, nurses estimate that…
The Holy Grail of Medicine – A Look at Ethical Stem Cell Research
By Dr. Robert Balza Jr., Associate Professor of Biology, Wisconsin Lutheran College No one believed him. No one thought Dr. Shinya Yamanaka had managed to do the impossible. The 44-year-old physician/scientist from Japan had been encouraged to enter medicine by…
Trained to Live Forever: End-of-Life Resuscitation Orders
People don’t want to talk about dying. In 2015, according to the Funeral and Memorial Information Council, 69% of adults over the age of 40 indicated they would prefer to pre-arrange their funeral but only 17% actually did so. Conversely,…
Who Assists with Suicide
By Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources The exhausting effort to legalize assisted suicide is like so many other ill-conceived notions of our times. The persuasive forces of video and social media advocates for “aid in dying”…
Fatal Flaw
By Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources The tenets of evolution and creation conflict on many points but none as significantly as on the reality of original sin. The Lutheran Catechism defines original sin as: “The guilt…
Faith and Planned Parenthood
By Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources In 2015 The Center for Medical Progress secretly video recorded conversations with executives from Planned Parenthood. The topic was the gruesome practice of selling fetal body parts to researchers. The expose made national…
Looking Down the Road
In the Old Testament, Adam and Eve demonstrated shortsightedness when they ate the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). When Cain killed Abel (Genesis 4), he failed to consider the consequence of his action. Lot never considered…
When Working with Human DNA, It’s Best to Be As Accurate As Possible
By Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources This headline was actually a sentence buried in a July 28, 2017 article on gene editing of human embryos in the United States. For those of you who are new to…
It Depends How You Say It
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources When the United States legalized abortion on January 22, 1973, the language changed. No longer was a little one growing and kicking in the womb referred to as a “baby.” Rather, the…
A Tiny Step – A Look at Quality of Life Arguments
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, Christian Life Resources National Director C. Everett Koop served as the U.S. Surgeon general from 1982-1989. He also served as a main speaker at an early Christian Life Resources convention. It was a tumultuous time in the…
G. U. L. A. G. – A Look at Ethnic Cleansing and Abortion
Rev. Fred Toppe Do you know these initials? They stand for Glavnoe upravlenie ispravitel’no-trudovykh lagerei, the Russian words for Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps. The GULAG was in operation in the former Soviet Union from the early 1920s until…
Inconvenient People and the Quality of Life
Rev. Thomas Trapp An interview with Kenneth Schleef, a Christian with cerebral palsy. Q: Your appearance at a Life Chain told me you’re concerned about life issues. I also know you have cerebral palsy. Tell me about your cerebral palsy…
Is An Objection on Religious Grounds Enough?
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources “The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.” [attributed to H.G. Wells, 1866-1946] We have done it before, and it appears we are poised to do it again….
Stem Cell Research: Is There a Benefit?
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources Upon fertilization, life begins an amazing journey of cell division, differentiation, and finally maturation. Between fertilization and differentiation, life is in its embryonic stage. The cells that divide are “generic” in nature…
How Small Is Too Small? – Issues Surrounding the Low-Birth-Weight Infant
Linda L. Bellig, RN, BSN My first job as a new RN in 1969 was in the special care nursery at Babies Hospital in New York City. The environment was cutting-edge. We rigged adult ventilators for babies, grappled with the…
What Should I Do?
By Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources As life and family issues continue to expand, it’s often difficult to sort them out. Even church bodies differ on a particular issue though they claim to have the same Bible….
Transformed
By Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources “I sure miss kindergarten.” I know you have heard or read these words from me before. The older I get the more I miss the simplicity of life that I enjoyed…
AI on Our Side
By Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources When I speak about artificial intelligence (AI), I suspect I sound alarmist. Some of what I read about AI development is concerning. Yet, I have long felt that technological advancements…
Q&A on Genetic Testing of Preborn Children
QUESTION: Is genetic testing of preborn children acceptable for Christians? ANSWER: The answer to your question requires some clarification, because there are many variables that come into consideration. Some parents are concerned about a genetic disease that could be passed…
God’s Life-Giving Love Is Active at Conception
Prof. Ryan MacPherson, Bioethics Professor at Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN When does human life begin? This question has perplexed our generation and divided our nation. The stakes are quite high. If a human embryo is a person, then abortion…
Life Worth Living
By Ben Berger On June 22, 2015, Simona De Moor of Belgium was euthanized. She was a healthy 85 year old who saw her death as her only reprieve from the grief of losing her daughter several months before.[i] On…
Christian Life Resources’ Euthanasia Position Statement
This Christian Life Resources Position Statement on Euthanasia was adopted by the organization’s National Congress to state its position on issues that are addressed by CLR, in this case, on the subject of euthanasia. Christian Life Resources Position Statement on Euthanasia PREAMBLE…
Leading Cause of Death?
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources We tend to think biologically when it comes to death. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) the top five leading causes of death in the United States are: Heart disease: 647,457…
At What Cost? – A Look at Medical Progress and Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources I live today because of medical progress. I was born prematurely in 1956 with a condition called “atrial septal defect.” That means I had a hole in the heart. Not just any…
Embryonic Stem Cells Present Ethical Limits
David A. Kaufmann, Ph.D. What is stem cell research, and what is the Biblical Christian view of it? What is Stem Cell Research? Stem cells are living units that can grow and differentiate into multiple, different types of advanced, mature…
Mary Ann’s Story: A Journey of Faith (An Adult Stem Cell Success Story)
Mrs. Amy Schultz Editor’s Note: Much debate today about stem cell research should really be divided between (1) embryonic stem cell research and (2) adult or cord blood stem cell research. CLR has condemned embryonic stem cell research because in…
Embryonic Stem Cell Research: People’s Arguments and A Christian’s Response
When People Say: “Embryonic stem cell research is necessary to further the work toward a cure for deadly diseases or injuries.” All of us likely fear that one of those “deadly diseases” may strike someone we love or ourselves. We…
What the Bible Says About Organ Transplants
Bobby A. Howard, RN, BSN, MDiv In this era of rapidly advancing health care technology, on a daily basis Christian nurses are confronted with critical issues that result in questions and doubt concerning the relationship between Christian ethics and modern…
Cloning: Where Will It All End?
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources On February 24, 1997, it rocked the scientific community and stimulated the exaggerated imaginations of sci-fi enthusiasts. Scottish scientists cloned a sheep and named it “Dolly.” Fantasies fostered in fiction and played…
The Value of Human Life
Rev. Robert R. Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources It is becoming more difficult to know what to do in life and death situations. Advancements in medicine, challenges in the court, and changing opinions have raised questions about when life…
God Alone Has the Right to Initiate and Terminate Life // Bible Study
Read the Following Passages: Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver…
Christian Life Resources Abortion Position Statement
Preamble Abstract Background Terminology The Issues Section 1: What the Scriptures Say About Human Life Human Beings are Unique and Prized in All God’s Creation Human Beings Consist of Body and Soul Human Beings Exist in the Womb Protecting the…
A Consistent Ethic
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources The way in which people conduct their lives is often framed by their ethical standards — whether in business, medicine, the justice system, and even their Christian living. The problem is people…
Hospitals – A Historical Perspective
Caregiving is rooted in a desire to enhance the well-being of our fellow man. Whether it is through our own need to be cared for or a loved one’s need, at some point in each of our lives we can…
Q&A on the Modern Eugenics Movement
QUESTION: I’ve heard about the eugenics movement, but I thought that essentially ended with the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Does the eugenics movement still exist today? ANSWER: The eugenics movement is more comprehensive than most people realize. A review of…
Eugenics Revisited
The 19th and early 20th centuries saw an emergence of the eugenics movement in which eugenic sterilization, anti-immigrant advocacy, and anti-mixed race marriage activism all played crucial roles in the goal of advancing social control by a small elite. This…
Eugenics and the Quality of Life
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without…
Defending the ‘Defective’
In 1915 Dr. Harry Haiselden, the chief of staff at German-American Hospital on Chicago’s near north side, made national headlines for his contribution to the eugenics movement. Haiselden gained front-page notoriety on the issue of eugenic euthanasia. In November of…
Cherish the Quality of Life
Rev. Paul Prange When I was a boy, my parents took me more than once to visit Bethesda Lutheran Home (located in Watertown, Wisconsin). When it was still operating, it was a home for the developmentally disabled. I recall being…
Wretched Refuse
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! (Excerpted from The New Colossus…
Evolution: A Fatal Equalizer
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, CLR National Director I have had the opportunity to visit the Creation Museum in Kentucky (www.creationmuseum.org) several times. If you have not seen it – go! It is an incredibly professional testimony to the creation account and…
The Acquiescence of Sin
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, Christian Life Resources National Director ac•qui•es•cence – [ak-wee-esuhns] – the act or condition of acquiescing or giving tacit assent; agreement or consent by silence or without objection; compliance. sin – transgression of divine law [Source: www.dictionary.com] In…
Subtle Verbal Splicing
Pastor Robert Fleischmann Did you see the July 4, 2016 issue of Time magazine? In her lead story on the potentials and pitfalls of CRISPR (the process for DNA splicing) Alice Park overlooks the first ethical problem with her own…
Q&A on Medical Technology
QUESTION: If medical technology gives us cures derived from taking lives, should Christians refuse that treatment even if it means possibly a shortening of our own life? ANSWER: Underlying your question is the suggestion that using such medical technology may…
Boys, Girls, and Everything In-Between
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director, Christian Life Resources It can be dangerous to express an opinion on the state of sexuality in today’s world. Once it is known, such expression on this contentious subject can result in dissension among loved…
A Dark Passing Cloud
By Rev. Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources In 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in the infamous Roe v. Wade case, pro-life forces warned that this decision placed us on a “slippery slope.” It…
Charlie Gard Is Us
By Robert Fleischmann, National Director of Christian Life Resources, July 18, 2017 Charles (Charlie) Gard was born on August 4, 2016. He was diagnosed with infantile-onset encephalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (also known as MDDS). Simply stated, Charlie’s brain is…