Conservatives Rebuke Hate Crimes Bill Play
By Michelle Vu

    Conservative Christian groups were quick to denounce the Senate’s attachment of a hate crimes amendment to the Defense Funding Bill, criticizing the measure for elevating some violent crimes above others.
    Opponents of the political ploy argue all violent acts should be given equal justice instead of designating some worse than others when the end results are the same. They contend it is a “dangerous mistake” to rank crimes of violence based on purported motives or the identity of the victim as the proposed amendment would do.
    “Murder is murder and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of the possible motives of the murderer or the racial, ethnic or sexual identity of the victim,” said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, to the Baptist Press.
    “It’s called blind justice for a reason,” he added. “It is why the symbol for law is a blindfolded woman holding the scales of justice. It’s called blind justice because justice should be meted out based on actions, refusing to take into account the particular identities of perpetrators or victims.”
    Tony Perkins, president of Washington-based Family Research Council, would agree. He pointed out the hate crimes legislation is a “direct violation” of the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. “Congress needs to remember that preserving equal justice under the law is more important than scoring points with advocates of homosexual behavior,” Perkins said in a statement. “All violent crimes are hate crimes, and every victim is equally important…All our citizens deserve equal justice under the law,” he said. “Congress should represent all Americans, not give special protections for some.”
    The U.S. Senate voted to attach the hate crimes bill to the high-priority Department of Defense authorization bill September 27th in a political maneuver to pressure President Bush to pass the contentious amendment.
    The measure seeks to add violence against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to the list of federal hate crimes involving prejudice against an individual’s race, color, religion, and national origin.

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What Does the Bible Mean by Examine Ourselves?
By Dr. Herbert Samworth

    In a study of the Bible we encounter verses that encourage us to examine ourselves. For example, Paul, when writing to the Corinthians, states that they were to examine themselves to determine if they were true Christians (2 Corinthians 13:5). Why are these types of verses found in Scripture and what do they mean?
    The Word of God takes very seriously the spiritual condition of men. Everything the Bible says is true. It states, without equivocation, that there is a heaven and a hell. Every person born on the earth is going to spend eternity either in one or the other.
    Hell is the place of indescribable anguish and punishment. Jesus tells us that hell has been created for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). It is where unrepentant sinners will be condemned for all eternity. Human language is nearly incapable of describing its horrors. The Lord Jesus Himself has given us the most graphic description of its nature when He described it as a place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48).
    Heaven is the place where eternal joy will be unbroken. It is the dwelling place of God Himself. Those who spend eternity in heaven will never again experience pain or suffering. Sin will not enter heaven. Words fail in their ability to describe the blessings of heaven. Christians will experience unbroken fellowship with the Triune God and their fellow believers for all eternity. While one phrase cannot do adequate justice to the blessedness of heaven, John, writing in Revelation 21:4, says that God will wipe away all tears.
    It is not the purpose of this paper to prove the reality of these places. The Bible states their existence and it is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. Although many have denied the existence of heaven and hell, the Bible is the standard of truth. Because they are real places, it is of the utmost importance to know where one will spend eternity. This is the single most important question that a person will answer and it is the question that the Scriptures present to every person: where will you spend eternity?

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