eChurch Christian Blog

By Piero A. Tozzi, J.D.

(NEW YORK – C-FAM)  A week after nations criticized a United Nations (UN) special rapporteur for exceeding his mandate in order to push a redefinition of the term “gender” and a controversial “gay rights” document known as the Yogyakarta Principles, a second special report – this time on health – is sparking similar concern.

Presented to the UN General Assembly late last month, “The Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health” by special rapporteur Anand Grover references not only the Yogyakarta Principles, but also a hotly-disputed “General Recommendation” by the Committee monitoring compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. General Recommendation 20 would read a new non-discrimination category based on “sexual orientation and gender identity” into that treaty, even though UN member states have repeatedly rejected inclusion of such a category in any binding international law document.

Critics see a coordinated push to promote the Yogyakarta Principles, injecting it into the UN system via repeated reference and thus create an impression that a “soft law” norm exists. The Yogyakarta Principles purport to “reflect the existing state of human rights law” with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity, yet merely reflect the policy predilections of the roughly 30 self-selected experts, activists and UN bureaucrats who crafted them. Indeed, terms such as “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are not defined in any binding international law document and would likely never be accepted by UN Member States.

The specific Principles referred to in the Grover report are Principles 17 and 18. Although the context references informed consent regarding medical procedures among “vulnerable groups,” the text of Principles 17 and 18 contain several controversial mandates. Principle 17 would require states to “Facilitate access by those seeking body modifications related to gender reassignment” (i.e., “sex change” operations), while Principle 18 would require that states “Ensure that any medical or psychological treatment or counseling does not, explicitly or implicitly, treat sexual orientation and gender identity as medical conditions to be treated, secured or suppressed.” Such a mandate would deny someone struggling with sexual disorders the option of receiving reparative therapy.

Grover is an activist attorney from India who litigated the case that resulted in a lower court ruling this past summer that India’s anti-sodomy law violated the nation’s constitution. Last year he succeeded Paul Hunt – one of thirty Yogyakarta draftsmen – as special rapporteur on health.

Grover is further credited with having helped draft the International Guidelines on Human Rights and HIV/AIDS, a 1996 document reissued in 2002 that calls for the repeal of “Criminal law prohibiting sexual acts (including adultery, sodomy, fornication and commercial sexual encounters) between consenting adults in private” – a step critics point out would fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Grover’s appointment as health rapporteur was welcomed by activist organizations such as the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. The group, which promotes “community action on AIDS in developing countries,” noted at the time that “Anand has passionately advocated for the rights of sex workers, drug users and men who have sex with men,” calling the appointment “a tremendous opportunity and a step in the right direction.”

Listen to the Lecture Here

Interesting and bold comments from Lord Sacks at the Theos lecture:-

Telegraph

Europe is ”dying” because the continent’s secular culture has made people too selfish to have children, the Chief Rabbi has said.

Lord Sacks said European society’s focus on consumerism and instant gratification had left little room for the sacrifice involved in parenthood.

Describing this as ”one of the unsayable truths of our time”, he warned: ”We are undergoing the moral equivalent of climate change and no one is talking about it.”

The Chief Rabbi’s provocative comments came as he delivered the annual lecture for theology think-tank Theos in central London.

He argued that neo-Darwinian attacks on religion – typified by Richard Dawkins’ book The God Delusion – were leading to a population crisis in Europe.

Lord Sacks pointed out that Europe was the most secular region in the world, and also the only continent experiencing population decline.

He said: ”Wherever you turn today – Jewish, Christian or Muslim – the more religious the community, the larger on average are their families.

”The major assault on religion today comes from the neo-Darwinians.”

The Chief Rabbi said being a parent involved a ”massive sacrifice” of money, attention, time and emotional energy.

Read Entire Article

This is the press release from Theos

The Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks of Aldgate, delivered the 2009 Theos Annual Lecture in Central London last night.

In the lecture, Lord Sacks called for a “tolerant religiosity” in society and respectful dialogue between religious faith groups and secular humanists.

The Chief Rabbi said “All peace depends on compromise and that is why peace comes to seem to some religious groups to be a form of betrayal, and that is why peacemakers get assassinated.” In the Q&A, following the lecture, the Chief Rabbi said that Islam would embark on its own reformation.

“I believe we have no choice but to articulate an intellectually open and humble religiousity as the only strong enough defence with some of the religiosity that is coming our way with the force of a hurricane” Lord Sacks said.

The Chief Rabbi argued that the future of religion in twenty-first century Britain lay in three directions: a new dialogue between religion and science, the unparalleled power of religious groups to confront the big global issues of the day, including climate change, and respectable conversations between religious groups and secular humanists. Speaking on the latter point, Lord Sacks said “Religious groups in the liberal democratic states must be able to get into serious respectable conversations with secular humanists, charities, other groups in civil society about the nature of the common good.”

The Chief Rabbi added “At the moment, religious groups tend to act more as pressure groups, lobbyists than as conversation partners. But, that conversation is there to be had and I hope Theos plays a part in facilitating it.”

Lord Sacks noted that “Albert Camus once said ‘the only serious philosophical question is why should I not commit suicide.’ I think he was wrong. The only serious philosophical question is why should I have a child? Our culture is not giving an easy answer to that question.” He highlighted the fact that Europe is the only secular continent on the planet and is the only continent that is dying out.

The Theos Annual Lecture was given at Millbank Tower and was chaired by writer and broadcaster Libby Purves. The audience comprised senior politicians, journalists, academics, business people and faith group representatives. In his lecture, Lord Sacks paid tribute to the work of Theos . “I am an enormous fan of their work,” he said. “Public theology is not particularly well known in Britain – it has a much bigger place in the US – but it is going to become more and more relevant in the years to come and I wish you every success.”

From the Times

At Theos this week, the Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks of Aldgate, took on the neo-Darwinists in a typically challenging and amusing lecture with many points for debate and interest.

This MP3 also contains the questions at the end. The final question, on which my story in the paper was based, was asked by the BBC’s Christopher Landau. He has a knack for asking good questions. Long-time readers here will remember that it was Christopher Landau who asked the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams about the introduction of Sharia into Britain on BBC Radio 4′s World at One, and we all know what happened then!

In the questions, Lord Sacks says that Muslims need to get used to living as a minority – to sing in a minor key as he puts it. ‘One of the great advantages of being Jewish is you know how to sing in the minor key. We have had 26 centuries of experience ever since the Babylonian exile of living as a minority in the midst of a culture that does not share our views. Christianity and Islam have not had that experience.’ Christianity had learnt toleration but only after 100 years of  ‘knocking the hell out of each other all over Europe.’

He also applauds the existence of an established church in Britain. And he jokes that Jewish people could never be Catholic, because they would never accept that their rabbis were infallible.

In the lecture itself, he advocates a tolerant religiosity ‘as the only strong enough defence with some of the religiosity that is coming our way with the force of a hurricane.’

But even though he claims to have given up philosophy in favour of religion after a conversation at Cambridge with the great Isaiah Berlin, one of the most interesting aspects of the lecture was his philosophical, neo-Darwinist attack on neo-Darwinism.

‘After all its their two hundredth anniversary and one hundred and fiftieth of the Origin of Species. I haven’t seen this presented before, a five step neo-Darwinian refutation of neo -Darwinism.

’1. A person is ‘a genes way of making another gene.’ Forget religion, moral ideals, its all about reproduction. Handing on our genes to the next generation.

’2. Europe today is the most secular region in the world.

’3. Europe is the only region in the world which is experiencing population decline. Zero population growth in a stable population requires an average of 2.1 children for every woman of child-bearing age in the population. Not one European country has anything like that rate today. In 2004 the UK was 1.74, Netherlands 1.73, Germany 1.37, Italy 1.33, Spain 1.32 and Greece 1.29.

4. Wherever you turn today (Jewish, Christian or Muslim) the more religious the community, the larger on average are their families.

’5. The major assault on religion today comes from the neo-Darwinians from which it follows as night doth follow day, that if you are a true neo-Darwinian believer you want there to be as few neo-Darwinians as possible.

‘Actually, it sounds like a joke, but beneath it, it’s a very serious point indeed. Parenthood involves massive sacrifice: money, attention, time and emotional energy. Where today, in European culture with its consumerism and its instant gratification because you’re worth it. In that culture, where will you find space for the concept of sacrifice for the sake of generations not yet heard?

‘Europe is dying, exactly as Poledious said about ancient Greece in the third pre-Christina century. The century which is intellectually as similar to our own – the sceptics, epicureans and cynics. He wrote this: ‘the fact is, that the people of Hellas had entered upon the fools path of ostentations, avorous and laziness. Were therefore unwilling to marry, or if they did to bring up the children born to them. The majority were bringing up at most one or two.’

‘That is where Europe is today. That is one of the un-sayable truths of our time. We are undergoing the moral equivalent of climate change and no one is talking about it. Albert Camus once said ‘the only serious philosophical question is why should I not commit suicide.’ I think he was wrong; the only serious philosophical question is why should I have a child? Our culture is not giving an easy answer to that question.’

I don’t have any answers either. Maybe you do?

Prevous related posts

Muslim Europe: the demographic time bomb transforming our continent. The EU is facing an era of vast social change, reports Adrian Michaels, and few politicians are taking notice

Western Immigration and Global Jihad by Bill Muehlenberg

Modern Day Trojan Horse: The Islamic Doctrine of Immigration

The conspiracy to transform Britain

Christopher Caldwell on the greatest change in the history of Europe – This mild-mannered, mainstream journalist’s predictions for Europe’s future are devastating, says Ed West

A nightmare for Richard Dawkins: statistics show that atheists are a dying breed

With headlines like these regarding the education of our children, is it any wonder that some would opt for home-schooling? There is no area off bounds any longer for our governments tentacles, no area sacred to the family and parents.

The government wants to become the ideological and moral parent to our children and socialise them as early as possible, to fill their heads with their agenda, world-view and moral relativism.

The problem? The government and teachers can’t be trusted morally or ethically, that’s the problem, as aply demonstrated every single day in news reports. Do you trust your child with the government?

BBC

Parents’ right to pull their children out of sex education classes in England is being ended once the pupils turn 15.

Telegraph

Here is a sample of what they will be teaching our 7 year olds (Key Stage 2)

Telegraph

About puberty, including changes to bodies, feelings and attitudes

How physical changes relate to human reproduction

How to listen to and respect other people’s views and feelings

About different relationships, including marriage, civil partnerships and separation

and 11 year olds (key Stage 3)

Sexual activity, human reproduction, contraception, pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases

How to deal with relationship breakdowns

Same sex relationships, including civil partnerships

The nature and importance of marriage and of stable relationships for bringing up children

Sexual orientation and the impact of prejudice, bullying and discrimination

Read More

Previous recent post:-

By a 53%-47% margin, Maine voters have repealed a measure that would have legalized homosexual marriage in the state — even though, in the words of the Associated Press, “the stars seemed aligned for supporters of gay marriage.

Daily Mail

Voters in the U.S. state of Maine yesterday rejected a law allowing same-sex ‘marriage’.

It means such unions have now been refused in all 31 states where the issue has been put directly to the electorate.

The result in the north- eastern state – which is known for its moderate electorate  -  was hailed last night as a victory for traditional marriage.

‘The institution of marriage has been preserved in Maine and across the nation,’ said Frank Schubert, chief organiser for the winning side.

A heavy voter turnout defied predictions that an energetic, well-financed campaign by gay rights activists would buck the national trend.

The idea was rejected by 53 per cent of the vote.

Five other states have legalised gay ‘marriage’ – Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Iowa  -  but all did so through legislation or court rulings.

[.....]

Jubilant conservatives in Maine were last night discussing challenging the law in the five states where gay ‘marriage’ is allowed.

Read more:

Science Daily

Religion And Medicine: Sometimes A Healing Prescription

Through in-depth interviews with 30 pediatricians and pediatric oncologists at elite medical centers, the authors discovered that physicians tend to view religion and spirituality pragmatically, considering them resources in family decision-making and in end of life situations, and barriers when they conflict with medical decisions, said lead author Brandeis sociologist Wendy Cadge.

Pediatricians, more than pediatric oncologists, say that religion is outside the purview, or boundary, of their profession, most likely because they deal primarily with healthy children. Pediatric oncologists, on the other hand, say that religion can help families cope with a dying child or an unfavorable medical outcome, said Cadge.

“Physicians view religion and spirituality as a barrier when it impedes medical recommendations and as a bridge when it helps families answer questions medicine inherently cannot,” the authors wrote.

Only one physician in the study directly asked patients and their families about religion and spirituality regularly. The other pediatricians said that direct conversations about religion were either not relevant or too personal, drawing a clear boundary between public and private that puts religion on the private side of the line.

Still, religion and spirituality almost always come up when medical treatment fails to cure the patient. As one physician explained, “The old adage that there are very few nonbelievers in fox holes applies in this setting also.” The study found that many of the physicians believe religious and spiritual beliefs help patients and their families shift from curative to palliative care.

As one physician said, “…frankly those who do have religious convictions…there’s a belief…that there’s something beyond this world, they seem to handle better, even the patients quite a bit better. And it’s easier to talk about death with those families and those patients. There’s an underlying belief that there’s something beyond this world that is basically a better world. It is much easier to discuss in a much more helpful manner than with families that do not.”

“The study shows that physicians do not want religious beliefs to trump medical care or expertise, and they get frustrated when such beliefs interfere with medical decisions,” said Cadge. “But at the end of the day, when a loved one is dying or all medical options are exhausted, physicians often welcome a family’s religious beliefs because they help a family answer the “why us” questions that medicine cannot,” said Cadge.