A large, rocky planet composed partially of diamonds has been discovered by astronomers at Yale University.The planet, called 55 Cancri e, has a radius twice as big as Earth’s and a mass eight times greater. It is one of five planets that orbit a star 40 light years from Earth.“This is our first glimpse of a world with a fundamentally different chemistry from Earth,” said lead researcher Nikku Madhusudhan, a Yale postdoctoral researcher in physics and astronomy.“The surface of this planet is likely covered in graphite and diamond rather than water and granite.”The planet orbits exceedingly quickly. Its year lasts just 18 hours, in contrast to Earth’s 365 days. Researchers say it is also blazingly hot, with a temperature of about 2,149 C — a far cry from a habitable world.

'Super-Earth'

The planet was first observed transiting its star last year, allowing astronomers to measure its radius for the first time. This new information, combined with the most recent estimate of its mass, enabled Madhusudhan's team to infer its chemical composition using models of its interior."It's close in astronomical standards," Madhusudhan says. "But if you're thinking of getting there, it's not possible."The discovery of a carbon-rich "super-Earth" means that distant rocky planets can no longer be assumed to have chemical constituents, interiors, atmospheres or biologies similar to those of Earth, Madhusudhan said.Astronomers initially thought 55 Cancri e contained a substantial amount of super-heated water, based on the assumption that its chemical makeup was similar to Earth’s. But the new research suggests the planet has no water at all, and appears to be composed primarily of carbon, iron, silicon carbide, and, possibly, some silicates.
'That's scientific discovery. You don't know what's out there.'—Nikku Madhusudhan
It is estimated that at least one-third of the planet's mass — the equivalent of about three Earth masses — could be diamond."That's scientific discovery. You don’t know what's out there. And you sometimes find something completely different from what you expect," Madhusudhan said. "It can uplift your spirits as a scientist."David Spergel, a professor of astronomy and chair of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University, who is not a co-author of the study, said: "This diamond-rich super-Earth is likely just one example of the rich sets of discoveries that await us as we begin to explore planets around nearby stars."
Madhusudhan's research will be published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.

JEREMIAH 1:5
5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

The Abomination of Abortion

Are we courting the wrath of God?

by

In January of 1973 the Supreme Court of the United States made one of its most momentous decisions. It has since proved to be its most infamous decision.The Court ruled in the case of Roe v. Wade that states could not outlaw abortion. In effect, the Court authorized abortion on demand.

The Legal Grounds

Since there was no Constitutional basis for the decision, the justices invented a justification by proclaiming that they had discovered an implied "right of privacy." They argued that this newly discovered right was sufficient to guarantee a pregnant woman freedom of choice regarding the destiny of the baby in her womb.
This incredible decision flew in the face of 4,000 years of Western civilization. It violated the fundamental tenets of America's Judeo-Christian heritage. It contradicted the Hippocratic Oath that has guided the medical profession for centuries.The decision also violated the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. That amendment specifies that "no person shall be denied life, liberty or property without due process of law."The justices got around this prohibition by declaring a baby in the womb to be a non-person, just as the Court ruled in 1856 in the notorious Dred Scott decision that Negroes were non-persons.

The Slaughter of the Innocent

The Court's decision unleashed a holocaust of unprecedented proportions — a holocaust of babies.
Newborn
Since 1973 Americans have been killing their babies at the rate of 4,000 per day, or 1 1/2 million per year. The 40th anniversary of the Court's decision in 2013 will mark a total slaughter of almost 60 million babies. That's ten times the death count of Hitler who murdered 6 million Jews.In all the wars the United States has fought since the Revolutionary War — including the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — the number of Americans killed totals 848,163. We kill almost twice that many babies in America every year in the name "of freedom of choice for women."
How many Beethovens have died? How many Shakespeares have been killed? How many Billy Grahams, Jonas Salks and Martin Luther Kings have been murdered in their mothers' wombs?

The Nature of the Crime

Yes, I said, "murdered," because the Word of God makes it clear that abortion is murder.
The Bible says that we are to "choose life" (Deuteronomy 30: 19). The abortionists choose death. The Bible says that God hates "hands that shed innocent blood" (Proverbs 6:17). The abortionists shed the blood of the innocent.The abortionists say that the baby in the womb is not a human being. They dehumanize it by calling it a fetus or a "protoplasmic blob." But God said to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5).
These passages from God's Word clearly teach that the baby in the womb is a human being from the moment of conception.

A Significant Confirmation

The humanity of the baby in the womb is confirmed in the New Testament in a story related to the birth of Jesus.
Pro-Life Protest
We are told in Luke 1:39-44 that when Mary became pregnant with Jesus, she went to see her relative Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. When Mary came into the presence of Elizabeth, the Word says that the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped with joy over the presence of the Christ child who was yet to be born! Was Jesus a human being in His mother's womb? Was John the Baptist? God's Word tells of a baby leaping with joy in his mother's womb. All across America today we have babies writhing in agony as they burn to death in their mothers' wombs from injected saline solutions.

A Perverted Value System

Our society has reached the same despicable level of degradation that characterized the ancient nation of Judah when God poured out His wrath upon them. The prophet Isaiah wrote of that nation: "Men call evil good and good evil" (Isa. 5:20). That's where we are today.Our nation is characterized by many grievous sins. For example, we are the moral polluter of planet earth through the exportation of our violent, immoral and blasphemous television programs and movies. We are also encouraging a plague of homosexuality worldwide. But our most horrible sin by far is the seal of approval that we have placed on the murder of babies in their mothers' wombs. We have the blood of the innocent on our hands, and that blood is crying out for revenge.As we have rejected God's laws in favor of Man's philosophical meanderings, we have perverted and distorted the Judeo-Christian value system that made this country so great. Our Humanistic values now reflect a perverse sense of priorities.For example, we require parental consent for a girl to get her ears pierced. But she can get birth control pills and an abortion without anyone's consent. We protect bald eagles and their eggs with stiff fines and prison sentences while we encourage people to kill their unborn babies. We weep over the killing of whales and rejoice over the slaughter of human babies.Like the Nazis who dehumanized the Jews by calling them "vermin" and "parasites," the abortion advocates have dehumanized the baby in the womb by calling it anything except a baby. To them the unborn child is "a chunk of tissue," "gametic materials," "fetal tissue," or "protoplasmic rubbish."The widespread practice of abortion is desensitizing the American people to the value and dignity of life. This, in turn, is preparing us to accept the same atrocities which the Nazis committed — namely, infanticide and euthanasia. Both practices are becoming more common in this country and both are being advocated more and more openly.After all, what is the difference in killing a baby in the womb a week before its scheduled delivery and killing it a week after it has been delivered? Why not give the parents a waiting period after delivery to decide if the baby should live? That way they could order it killed if it was the wrong sex, or had the wrong color of hair, or had a handicap of some sort.And shouldn't the same standard be applied to the elderly? Why should they be allowed to live if their "quality of life" becomes low due to illness or feebleness. Why should they be allowed to become a burden on the taxpayer? It is certain that the acceptance of abortion will ultimately lead to the widespread practice of euthanasia. If parents can pay doctors to kill their unwanted children, then children will pay the same doctors to kill their unwanted parents. We reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7).

The Pros and Cons

I realize there are many sincere people, even professing Christians, who believe abortion should be a matter of personal choice. These people have developed many sophisticated arguments in behalf of abortion. But those arguments do not stand the test of Scripture or logic or experience.
Pro-Life Protest
1) "Is it fair," the abortionists ask, "to bring a baby into the world who is unwanted?" This argument is an emotional deception. There is no such thing as an unwanted baby because there are hundreds of thousands of couples in America today who ardently desire to adopt a child.
2) "But what about rape victims?" the abortionists scream. Again, this argument is an emotional manipulation. Less than one percent of rape victims ever conceive, due probably to the trauma involved. But even in those situations where conception does occur, should the baby be killed for its father's crime?
3) "But we must provide for the protection of the mother's life," argue the abortionists. But is this a valid issue? Consider these words by the former Surgeon-General of the U.S., Dr. C. Everett Koop:
Protection of the life of the mother as an excuse for an abortion is a smoke screen. In my 36 years of pediatric surgery, I have never known of one instance where the child had to be aborted to save the mother's life. If toward the end of the pregnancy complications arise that threaten the mother's health, the doctor will either induce labor or perform a Caesarian section. His intention is to save the life of both the mother and the baby. The baby's life is never willfully destroyed because the mother's life is in danger.
4) "But what about a deformed or retarded child? Shouldn't it be aborted?" What about a child who becomes mentally retarded or blind at age six due to an illness or accident? Should that child be killed? How perfect must a person be in order to live? And who is to play God by making the decisions as to who lives and who dies?
5) "If abortion is outlawed again, tens of thousands will die from back-alley abortions performed by medically unqualified people." In 1972, the year before the Court legalized abortion, it is estimated that there were about 500 abortions nationwide, resulting in 39 recorded deaths (see Dr. Bernard Nathanson's book, Aborting America). We are killing 1 1/2 million babies per year right now, and hundreds of women die from the complications.
6) "But what about a woman's right to privacy?" What about the baby's right to life? Which right is more important? The right to privacy is a selfish right. The right to life is a God-given right. And if the privacy argument is going to prevail, should we then prohibit police from violating the privacy of a home to stop parents from abusing their children?

The Crucial Issue

The bottom line in all these arguments is whether or not the baby in the womb is a human being. If it is, as God's Word teaches, then it should be accorded the full protection of our Constitution.
Why is an eagle in the egg considered to be an eagle, but a baby in the womb is not considered to be a human being? Even logic demands that we recognize the humanity of the unborn child.

Political Cowardice

President Reagan spoke out strongly against abortion, but he was never willing to expend his political energy to fight against it. President Bush also spoke out strongly against abortion in his first campaign, but he too refused to follow up his words with strong actions — and by the time of his second campaign, he was waffling on the issue. President Clinton became the first president in history to openly endorse the right of a woman to get an abortion on demand.
Pro-Life Protest
But President Clinton — the epitome of the slick politician — took the coward's way out. He said he opposed abortion but believed in freedom of choice. Politicians all over the country jumped on that bandwagon, hoping it would placate both sides. This position of being anti-abortion but pro-choice is the ultimate cop-out.

The Slavery Parallel

It is equivalent to saying, "I am opposed to slavery, but I believe in the freedom of people to own slaves if they so desire." I think it is interesting to note that this is exactly the position that most politicians took in this nation prior to the Civil War.Lincoln stood above the run-of-the-mill politicians of his day precisely because he was willing to take a moral stand on the issue of slavery. On March 6, 1860, during the presidential campaign, he delivered a speech in New Haven, Connecticut in which he taunted those who claimed to be opposed to slavery but who believed in free choice:Let us apply a few tests. You say that you think slavery is wrong, but you denounce all attempts to restrain it. Is there anything else that you think is wrong, that you are not willing to deal with as wrong? You will not let us do a single thing as if it [slavery] is wrong . . . We must not call it wrong in politics because that is bringing morality into politics, and we must not call it wrong in the pulpit because that is bringing politics into religion . . . There is no single place, according to you, where this wrong thing can properly be called wrong.Go back and substitute the word "abortion" for "slavery," and you will have the current debate. Where among our political leaders is there a Lincoln who is willing to take a stand for what is right and then fight for it?

The Obama Administration

President Obama wasted no time making his position on abortion crystal clear. The day after his inauguration, he issued a statement affirming his support of the Roe v. Wade decision. The next day he rescinded the Mexico City Policy instituted by President Reagan, a policy that disallowed government funding to any non-government organization that promotes or performs abortions in foreign countries.
Pro-Life Protest
Since that time, Obama has done everything possible to promote abortion, including several attempts to overturn all conscience protections instituted by President Bush to make sure that medical staff and centers are not forced to do abortions.None of these actions by Obama should have surprised anyone since he opposed all limitations on abortion when he was a state senator in Illinois. In 1997 he opposed a bill that would have prevented the horrible procedure known as "partial-birth abortion." And in 2001 he was the only Illinois senator who spoke against a bill that was designed to protect babies born alive after botched abortions.

What Are We to Do?

First, we as Christians need to take a stand for righteousness. Our Savior has called us to be light and salt in the world (Matt. 5:13-14). We cannot stand by passively and allow the innocent to be murdered. Proverbs 24:11 says, "Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don't stand back and let them die" (TLB).
Psalm 82:4 says, "Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked." What could possibly be weaker than a baby in its mother's womb? What could be more wicked than a medical doctor who perverts his life-saving skills by using them to kill babies? Proverbs 31:8 says that we are to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves, for those who are unfortunate. Amos 5:15 admonishes us to "hate evil, love good, and establish justice."Christians cannot be neutral about abortion. We must speak out against it. Some of us will be called of God to do more than that. God does not call all of us to do the same thing.He may call you to be a soldier on the front lines who sits in the abortuary door and risks going to jail. He may call you to be a sidewalk counselor or an on-the-scene prayer warrior. He may call you to walk in a picket line or write letters to politicians or to newspapers. He may call you to adopt a child or to help establish or run a crisis pregnancy center. You do what God calls you to do.

A Word of Caution

God cannot be mocked (Gal. 6:7). He is going to deal with our sin of abortion. The Word says He is "slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished" (Nahum 1:3).
Pro-Life Protest
We are already experiencing the consequences of abortion.
They include a depreciation in the value of life and a corresponding increase in violent crime. Another consequence is a generation of women burdened with guilt and depression for their abortions. We are also missing a whole generation of young people who were aborted and who could now be living productive lives, paying the Social Security taxes necessary to support the very parents who killed them.But the ultimate consequence is going to be the wrath of God, if we refuse to repent. This nation is crying out for judgment. We are kindling the wrath of God.As in the days of Isaiah, "God looks for justice, but He sees bloodshed; He looks for righteousness, but He hears cries of distress" (Isa. 5:7). Therefore, "because we have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and have despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel, the Lord's anger burns against us and His hand will strike us down" (Isa. 5:24-25).The hand of God can be stayed only by our repentance. We must roll back the abominable decision of the Supreme Court. It must be overturned, just as the Dred Scott decision was ultimately invalidated. So, speak out, pray, and write to your political representatives. Choose life!

A Word of Comfort

I want to conclude with a word of comfort for those who have had an abortion. God hates what you did, but He loves you. He is willing to forgive and forget if you will repent of your sin and receive His Son as your Savior.In a remarkable passage in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul says that the church in Corinth was full of former fornicators, idolaters, homosexuals, drunkards and swindlers. But, Paul proclaims that they had been washed, sanctified and justified before God through their repentance and acceptance of Jesus as their Savior. Read this passage and then turn to Romans 8:1 and rejoice in the promise that "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."