March - the Free Presbyterian church of Scotland

92The Free Presbyterian Magazinerelegating matters on which God has spoken to the realm of the secondaryor indifferent is a house built on sand and hinders the reunification of theChurch in “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3). In addition,such an attitude cannot but displease God and further deprive the Church ofher strength.While deploring the divisions in the Church of Christ, Thomas M‘Criewarned against “the danger of latitudinarian schemes of union and fellowship.Mournful as the divisions of the Church are, and anxious as all its genuinefriends must be to see them cured, it is their duty to examine carefully theplans which may be proposed for attaining this desirable end. We must notdo evil that good may come; and there are sacrifices too costly to be madefor procuring of peace with fellow Christians.” The way to unity is a returnon the part of us all, in spirit and truth, to the liberating requirement of divineauthority for all that is admitted into the doctrine, worship and discipline ofthe Church.HMCAbortion, Marriage and EuthanasiaMargo Whitford, who suffers from spina bifida, has recently been awardedthe honour of Scotswoman of the Year. She is a consultant geneticist atYorkhill Hospital, Glasgow. Yet unborn children with spina bifida are oftenaborted on the pretext that their “quality of life” will be so poor.A study from the Bristol Community Family Trust, based on census data,showed that currently only 60% of couples with children are still togetherwhen the child is aged 15, but that of those couples who are still together,97% are married. Other statistics of a similar nature were given but this wasthe most striking. The study confirms the appalling rate of separation. It alsodemonstrates, even allowing for the increase over recent years in theproportion of cohabiting (as opposed to married) couples, the remarkablyhigh instability of cohabitation in the long term.A way has been found of enabling patients in a so-called “vegetativestate” to communicate. For example, they may be told a name, and told toimagine playing tennis if the name is that of their mother, and to imaginethat they are roaming the streets otherwise. The differing brain activity canthen be detected, and they have answered the question. One Belgian man,who has been in a vegetative state for seven years after a traffic accident,answered five out of six autobiographical questions correctly. He confirmed,for instance, that his father’s name was Alexander. The discovery shows thedanger of end-of-life decisions based on a patient’s supposed inability torespond. The Belgian man may be outwardly unresponsive but he canclearly hear and understand perfectly well.DWBS