Issue Briefs
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Capital Punishment
Capital punishment, or the death penalty, refers to the execution by the state of those guilty of certain crimes. Theologically, most mainline Protestant churches, such as Presbyterian Church in the USA, many Episcopal, and Lutheran churches, oppose the death penalty. Even some historically evangelical churches such as the United Church of Christ and many Methodist …
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Defining Terms for a Defining Moment
Most readers of this site are likely aware that Southern Baptists are facing yet another defining moment. On February 11, 2014, Pastor Danny Cortez announced to the congregation at New Hope Community Church in Los Angeles that he had changed his position on homosexuality. Cortez delivered an hour-long message explaining why he no longer believed …
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Gambling
Public resistance to tax increases, the political power of gambling interests, and the growing pursuit of easy money have led to the legalization of some form of gambling in the District of Columbia and every state except Utah and Hawaii. An enormous increase in the amount of money Americans are betting has accompanied the wildfire …
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Casinos and Predatory Gambling
What is predatory gambling? Predatory gambling is the practice of using gambling to prey on human weakness for profit. For-profit gambling, or commercial gambling, is illegal unless granted special legal exemption by the government.1 Casino gambling, the most common form of predatory gambling, differs from other problematic forms, such as social gambling, because it leads …
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Human Cloning
What is cloning? Cloning is a form of reproduction in which offspring result not from the chance union of egg and sperm (sexual reproduction) but from the deliberate replication of the genetic makeup of another single individual (asexual reproduction). Human cloning, therefore, is the asexual production of a new human organism that is, at all …
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Embryonic Stem Cell Research
“The issue of research involving stem cells derived from human embryos is increasingly the subject of a national debate and dinner table discussions,” said President George W. Bush in a 2001 speech announcing his policy on embryonic stem cell research. More than a decade later, the discussion and debate has not only continued but has …
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The Effects of Pornography on the Male Brain
Over the past thirty years, increasing access to pornography has made millions of people — including an ever-growing number of men — “slaves of corruption.” This willing enslavement to pornography has affected almost every area of our society, from the home to the office to our churches. But the place most affected and most detrimentally …
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End-of-Life:
End-of-life issues are the various topics and ethical concerns that arise during the time surrounding death. ERLC is developing issue analysis briefs to address a broad range of issues, from decision-making to euthanasia, that concern the end of life. The purpose of this brief on the “dying process” is to provide a broad, general overview …
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